Works And Pride

Εἴπε πάλιν· Οἴδα μοναχοὺς μετὰ πολλοὺς κόπους πεσόντας, καὶ εἰς ἔκστασιν φρενῶν ἐλθόντας, διὰ τὸ ἠλπικέναι ἐπὶ τὸ ἔργον αὐτῶν, καὶ παραλογισαμένους τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ εἰπόντος· Ἐπερώτησον τὸν πατέρα σου, καὶ ἀναγγελεῖ σοι. Ἀποφθέγματα Των Ἁγίων Γερόντων, Παλλάδιος Γαλατίας Source: Migne PG 65.88b

Again Father Anthony said, 'I knew nine monks who fell away after many labours and went off with proud minds, for they trusted in their works and did not consider the commandment that says, 'Ask your father and he will tell you.' 1 Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia 1 Deut. 32.7

Labour And Salvation

Verum si diligenter observem praecepta medici, erit etiam consolationis occasio, Sicut enim gravem agnosco morbum, cui tanla apponitur medicina, sic et ex hoc ipso non incurabilem esse conjector. Neque enim pretiosissimas species frustra insumeret medicus sapiens, imo sapienlia ipsa. Porro frustra insumi constat, non solum si absque eis facilis esset curatio, sed multo magis et si cum eis sit impossibilis. Animat itaque ad poenitentiam, et accendit vehementius desiderium spes concepta. Sane accedit ad consolationem ipsa quoque , quae pastoribus vigilantibus exhibita est, visitatio et allocutio angelorum. Vae vobis, divites, qui habetis consolationem vestram, ut jam non mereamini habere coelestem. Quam multi enim nobiles secundum carnem, quam multi potentes, quam multi sapientes hujus saeculi, hora illa in stratis mollibus quiescebant; et nemo eorum dignus habitus est novam videre lucem, scire magnum illud gaudium, angelos audire cantantes: Gloria in excelsis Deo. Agnoscant igitur homines, quia qui in labore hominum non sunt, visitari ab angelis non merentur. Agnoscant quam placeat supernis civibus labor cujus spiritualis intentio est, quandoquidem et eos qui pro victu corporis, coroporali urgente necessitate laborant, suo dignantur alloquio, et alioquio tam felici. Nimirum humanum in eis agnoscant ordinem, quo constituit Deus ut in sudore vultus sui vescatur Adam pane suo. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermones De Tempore, In Nativitate Domini Sermo III Source: Migne PL 183.125b-c

Truly if I diligently observe the instructions of the physician there shall be a time of comfort, for as I know the sickness is grave, since such a great cure has been administered, so from this I conjecture that it is not incurable. The wise physician does not take up this most precious form in vain, but on account of His own wisdom, and yet He does apply Himself vainly with those who would have an easy cure, and much more with those who make it impossible. Even so, He stirs to penitence, and He more eagerly kindles the desire of hope conceived. Certainly there is consolation also, which was shown to those watching shepherds with the visitation and speech of angels. 'Woe to you, O rich ones, who have your consolation,' 1 so that now you do not merit heaven. How many are noble according to the flesh, how many powerful, how many wise according to the world, and in that hour they were silent, wrapped up in soft garments, for not one of them was clothed so worthily that they might see the new light, and know that great joy, and hear angels singing, 'Glory to God on High.' 2 Therefore let men know that those who are not amid the labours of men, 3 shall not merit the visitation of angels. Let them know the work that is spiritual in intent pleases the dwellers in heaven, and whenever those labour under bodily necessity for the sustenance of the body, they are worthy of their speech, even a speech so fortunate. Let them know the order for men, which God established, that in the sweat of his face Adam eats his bread. 4 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons for the Season, On The Nativity Of The Lord, from Sermon 3 1 Lk 6.24 2 Lk 2.14 3 Ps 72.5 4 Gen 3.19

Wheat And Reward

Ἔλεγον περι τοῦ ἀββᾶ Ἠσαιου, ὅτι ποτὲ ἕλαβε θαλλιον, και ἀπῆλθεν εις τὴν ἅλωνα, και λέγει τῷ γεούχῳ· Δος μοι σἶτον. Και λέγει αὐτῷ· Και σὺ ἐθερισας, ἀββᾶ; Λέγει· Οὐχι. Και λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γεούχος· Πῶς οὖν θέλεις σἶτον λαβειν, μὴ θερισῃ; Και λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων· Οὐκοῦν ἐὰν μή τις θερισῃ, οὐ λαμβάνει μισθον; Λέγει ὁ γεοῦχος· Οὐχι. Και οὔτως ἀνεχώρησεν ὁ γέρων. Ὁι δ' ἀδελφοι, ιδόντες τι ἐποιησεν, ἔβαλον αὐτῶ μετάνοιαν, παρακαλοῦντες μαθειν τι τοῦτο ἐποιησε. Λέγει ἀυτοις ὁ γέρων· Ὑπόδειγμα αὐτὸ ἐποιησα, ὅτι ἐὰν μή τις ἐργάσηται, οὺ λαμβάνει μισθὸν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ.  Ἀποφθέγματα Των Ἁγίων Γερόντων, Παλλάδιος Γαλατίας Source: Migne PG 65.181b

It was said of father Isaiah that he once took a small branch and went out to the threshing floor and said to the farmer, 'Give me some wheat.' The farmer replied, 'Have you harvested it, father?' He said, 'No.' And so the farmer said to him, 'How, then, do you wish to have wheat if you do not harvest it?' The elder said to him. 'If I will not harvest, I will not have the reward?' The farmer said, 'You will not.' And thus the elder went away. The brothers, learning of what he had done, were puzzled and they came to him and asked him why he had acted in such a way. He said to them, 'To give an example, that if you do not labour, you will not gain any reward from God.' Sayings of the Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

The Vineyard And The Workers

Simile est regnum coelorum homini patrifamilias qui exiit primo mane conducere operarios in vineam suam. Conventione autem facta cum operariis ex denario diurno, misit eos in vineam suam. Et egressus circa horam tertiam, vidit alios stantes in foro otiosos, et dixit illis: Ite et vos in vineam meam, et quod justum fuerit, dabo vobis. Illi autem abierunt. Iterum autem exiit circa sextam et nonam horam, et fecit similiter. Circa undecimam vero exiit, et invenit alios stantes, et dicit illis: Quid hic statis tota die otiosi? Dicunt ei: Quia nemo nos conduxit. Dicit illis: Ite et vos in vineam meam. Cum sero autem factum esset, dicit Dominus vineae procuratori suo: Voca operarios, et redde illis mercedem, incipiens a novissimis usque ad primos. Cum venissent ergo qui circa undecimam horam venerant, acceperunt singulos denarios. Venientes autem et primi, arbitrati sunt quod plus essent accepturi. Acceperunt autem et ipse singulos denarios. Et accipientes murmurabant adversus patrem familias, dicentes: Hi novissimi una hora fecerunt, et pares illos nobis fecisti, qui portavimus pondus diei et aestus? At ille, respondens uni eorum, dixit: Amice, non facio tibi injuriam. Nonne ex denario convenisti mecum? Tolle quod tuum est, et vade. Volo autem et huic novissimo dare sicut et tibi. Aut non licet mihi quod volo facere? An oculus tuus nequam est quia ego bonus sum? Sic erunt novissimi primi, et primi novissimi. Multi enim sunt vocati, pauci vero electi. Possumus vero et easdem diversitates horarum, etiam ad unumquemque hominem per aetatum momenta distinguere. Mane quippe intellectus nostri pueritia est. Hora autem tertia adolescentia intelligi potest, quia quasi jam sol in altum proficit, dum calor aetatis crescit. Sexta vero juventus est, quia velut in centro sol figitur, dum in ea plenitudo roboris solidatur. Nona autem senectus intelligitur, in qua sol velut ab alto axe descendit, quia ea aetas a calore juventutis deficit. Undecima vero hora ea est aetas quae decrepita vel veterana dicitur. Unde Graeci valde seniores, non gerontos sed presbiteros appellant, ut plus quam senes esse insinuent quos provectiores vocant. Quia ergo ad vitam bonam alius in pueritia, alius in adolescentia, alius in juventute, alius in senectute, alius in decrepita aetate perducitur, quasi diversis horis operarii ad vineam vocantur. Mores ergo vestros, fratres charissimi, aspicite, et si jam Dei operarii estis videte. Penset unusquisque quid agat, et consideret si in Domini vinea laboret. Qui enim in hac vita ea quae sua sunt quaerit adhuc ad Dominicam vineam non venit. Illi namque Domino laborant, qui non sua, sed lucra dominica cogitant, qui zelo charitatis, studio pietatis inserviunt, animabus lucrandis in vigilant, perducere et alios secum ad vitam festinant. Nam qui sibi vivit, qui carnis suae voluptatibus pascitur, recte otiosus redarguitur, quia fructum divini operis non sectatur. Qui vero et usque ad aetatem ultimam Deo vivere neglexerit, quasi usque ad undecimam otiosus stetit. Unde recte usque ad undecimam torpentibus dicitur: Quid hic statis tota die otiosi? Ac si aperte dicatur: Et si Deo vivere in pueritia et iuventute noluistis, saltem in ultima aetate resipiscite, et ad vitae vias cum iam laboraturi multum non estis, vel sero venite. Et tales ergo paterfamilias vocat, et plerumque ante remunerantur, quia prius ad regnum de corpore exeunt quam hi qui iam a pueritia vocati esse videbantur. An non ad undecimam horam venit latro, qui etsi non habuit per aetatem, habuit tamen sero per poenam, qui Deum in cruce confessus est, et pene cum voce sententiae spiritum exhalavit vitae? A novissimo autem reddere denarium paterfamilias coepit, quia ad paradisi requiem prius latronem quam Petrum perduxit. Quanti patres ante legem, quanti sub lege fuerunt, et tamen hi qui in Domini adventu vocati sunt ad coelorum regnum sine aliqua tarditate pervenerunt. Eumdem ergo denarium accipiunt qui laboraverunt ad undecimam quem exspectaverunt toto desiderio qui laboraverunt ad primam, quia aequalem vitae aeternae retributionem sortiti sunt cum his qui a mundi initio vocati fuerant, hi qui in mundi fine ad Dominum venerunt. Unde et hi qui in labore praecesserant, murmurantes dicunt: Hi novissimi una hora fecerunt, et pares illos nobis fecisti qui portavimus pondus diei et aestus? Pondus enim diei et aestus portaverunt hi quos a mundi initio, quia diu hic contigit vivere, necesse fuit etiam longiora carnis tentamenta tolerare. Unicuique enim pondus diei et aestus ferre est per longioris vitae tempora carnis suae calore fatigari. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, Homiliarum in Evangelia Liber I, Homilia XIX Source: Migne PL 76.1155b-1152b

The kingdom of heaven is like to a householder who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. And having agreed a price with the labourers, he sent them to his vineyard. Then going out about the third hour, he saw others standing about idle in the market place and he said to them, 'Go also to my vineyard and I will give you what will be fair,' and they went. Then again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour and did the same. But about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around, and he said to them, 'Why stand here idle all day long?' They said to him, 'Because no man has hired us. 'He said to them, 'Go also into my vineyard.' When evening had come, the lord of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the labourers and pay them their hire, beginning from the last even to the first.' When therefore they had come, each one of those who came about the eleventh hour received a coin. And when the first also came, they thought that they should receive more, but each one of them also received a coin. And receiving this they murmured against the master of the house, saying, 'These who came last have worked but one hour and you have made them equal to us who have endured the burden of the day and the heat. But in answer he said to one of them, 'Friend, I do you no harm. Did you not agree to come with me for a price? Take what is yours and go. I will give to those who come last even as I give to you. Or is it not permitted that I may do as I wish? Is your eye evil because I am good? So the last shall be first and the first shall be last. For many are called, but few are chosen. 1 In these different hours of the parable we can distinguish the different times of a man's life. Certainly the morning is to be understood as our childhood. The third hour can be understood as youth, because as the sun advances toward its height, so the heat of the time grows. The sixth hour is manhood, because the sun is fixed at its peak and there is firmness in an abundance of strength. The ninth hour is understood as middle age, when the sun is as declining from its height, because in that time the youthfulness of the heart declines. The eleventh hour is that time which is called decrepitude or advanced old age. In Greek such men are not called 'aged,' but 'elders,' so that there it is more than mere old age that is alluded to in those who have advanced so far. Because, then, as regards the good life, some are in childhood, and some are in youth, and some are in manhood, and some are in middle age, and others have reached old age, so the workers are called to the vineyard at different times. Look, therefore, to the ways of your life, most dearest brothers, and see if you are now workers for the Lord. Let each one think on how he conducts himself and consider if he labours in the vineyard of the Lord. He who seeks out the things of this life has not yet come to the vineyard of the Lord. For they who labour for the Lord do not think of their own advantage but the Lord's, and those who serve with a zeal for charity and an eagerness of piety, watching over their soul's enrichment, hasten to lead others to life with them. For he who lives for himself, he feeds on the pleasures of his own flesh, and rightly he is reproved as an idle fellow, because he does not seek the fruit of Divine work. So those who neglect to live for God until final old age are as those who stand idle at the eleventh hour. Whence rightly it is said to those lazy ones at the eleventh hour, 'Why stand here idle all day long?' As if it were said more plainly, 'Even if you were unwilling to live for God in your childhood and when you were younger, now look to yourselves in your old age, how you have not laboured in the ways of life at all, or how lately you come.' Yet the master calls such fellows, and many of them receive the reward first, because they first went out of the body to the kingdom before those who were seen to have been called from childhood. The thief did not come until the eleventh hour, who even if not advanced in age was made late by his punishment, he who confessed God on the cross, and indeed with the voice of understanding exhaled the spirit of life. 3 The master begins to give reward from the last, because the thief came to the rest of paradise before Peter. How many fathers there were before the law, and how many under the law, and how many who were there at the coming of the Lord, who were called to the kingdom of heaven and went without any delay. Therefore those who laboured at the eleventh hour receive the same payment which they hoped for with all their hearts, and it is the same as those who laboured from the first hour, because they are all given the equal reward of eternal life, they who were all called from beginning of the world, 3 who at the end of the world have come to God. Whence those who went first to their labours, murmuring said, 'These who have come last have worked only for an hour, and you have given the same to them as those who bore the burden and the heat of the day?' Yet even these who came last have borne the burdens of the heat of the day from the beginning of the world, because while they lived there it was necessary that they endure the long trials of the flesh. Each type has his burden and bears the heat, struggling in the sweat of his flesh through life's duration. Saint Gregory the Great, Homilies On The Gospels, Book 1, from Homily 19 1 Mt 20.1-16 2 Lk 23.39-43 3 Ephes 1.4

Gifts And Offerings

Respexit Dominus ad Abel et ad munera eius... Sed quaeri potest quare Deus respexit ad munera Abel, ad Cain vero munera non respexit? Nunquid enim plus placet peculiaris hostia quam sacrificium Deo de fructibus? Sed sciendum quia Deus plus mentes offerentium, quam id quod offerebatur, attendit, et ideo respexit, id est, acceptum habuit et placuit illi munus ejus. Potest et aliud dici, quia avaritia detestatus est in labore Cain. Sunt enim quidam qui plus justo desudant in laborando, non tantum ut habeant sufficientiam, sed ut superflua quaeque et minus necessari congregent. Hunc laborem superfluum vidit Deus in Cain et ideo ad munus ejus non respexit. Ars vero pastoralis simplex est et innocua, quam post Abel sancti Patres habuisse leguntur. Remigius Antissiodorensis, Commentarius In Genesim, Cap IV Source: Migne PL 131.68d-69a

The Lord looked on Abel and his gift... 1 But one may ask: why did God look on the gifts of Abel but not on the gifts of Cain? Shall it be that the offering of one's own animals is more pleasing to God than a sacrifice of fruits? But it must be understood that God looks more on the mind of those who offer, than what is offered, and therefore He looked on, that is, he accepted and was pleased, by his gift. It is possible to say something else, that the avarice that was in the labour of Cain was detested. For there are some who toil more in their labour than the righteous man, so that they might not only have what is sufficient, but that they even gather to themselves what is superfluous and quite unneeded. God sees this superfluous labour in Cain and therefore He does not look on his gift. The art of the shepherd is simple and harmless, which one reads that the holy patriarchs possessed after Abel. Remigius of Auxerre, Commentary On Genesis, Chapter 4 1 Gen 4.4

Work Superior And Inferior

Ὁ αὐτός ποτε παρέβαλε τῷ ἀββᾷ Ἰωάννῃ τῷ ἀπὸ γεννήσεως εὐνούχῳ· καὶ λαλούντων αὐτῶν, εἶπεν· Ὅταν ἤμην εἰς Σκῆτιν, τὰ ἔργα τῆς ψυχῆς ἦν τὸ ἔργον ἡμῶν, τὸ δὲ ἐργόχειρον ὡς πάρεργον εἴχομεν· νῦν δὲ γέγονε τὸ ἔργον τῆς ψυχῆς ὡς πάρεργον, καὶ τὸ πάρεργον ἔργον. Ἀποφθέγματα Των Ἁγίων Γερόντων, Παλλάδιος Γαλατίας Source: Migne PG 65.189b

The same father Theodore came to father John who was a eunuch from birth, and in their talk he said: 'When I came to Scetis, our work was the work of the soul, and manual work we had as a subordinate activity, but now the work of the soul is subordinate and the subordinate is the work.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

Work And Food

Item quaeritur de hoc quod dicit: Operamini non cibum, qui perit. Quaerit Chrysostomus: utrum debeat homo operari pro cibo corporali? Quod non, videtur: Per litteram istam. Item, Matthaei sexto: Nolite solliciti esse, quid manducetis etc. Item, Lucae decimo reprehendit Dominus Martham, quae circa cibum corporalem sollicita erat. Ergo non videtur, quod debeat homo pro cibo corporali operari. CONTRA: Primae ad Thessalonicenses quarto: Operamini manibus vestris, sicut praecepimus vobis. Item, secundae ad Thessalonicenses ultimo: Qui non laborat non manducet; ubi etiam Apostolus dicit, se praebuisse exemplum. RESPONDEO: Dicendum, quod bonum est operari pro habendo cibo corporali, sicut dicitur: Labores manuum tuarum manducabis; beatus es etc. Sed circa hanc manuum operationem triplex contingit esse inordinatio: in intentione, ut cum finaliter hunc cibum requirit, et Dominus hoc prohibet hic; in sollicitudine , ut quando absorbetur mens circa terrena, et sic prohibet Dominus in Matthaeo; in tempore, ut quando debet vacare auditioni verbi Dei, vacat operi vel cibo corporali; et sic Christus reprehendit Martham, quae debuisset audire Dominum praedicantem. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput VI Source: Here, p671-2

Likewise a question must be asked concerning this which He says, 'Do not labour for the food which perishes.' 1 Chrysostom asks if a man should work for material food. 2 It seems one should not by this word in John, and likewise in the sixth chapter of Matthew: 'Do not worry about what you shall eat...' 3 and likewise in the tenth chapter of Luke the Lord reproves Martha for fretting over material food. 4 Therefore it does not seem that a man should labour for corporeal bread. Against this in the fourth chapter of the First Letter to the Thessalonians it says: 'Work with your hands, as we have instructed you.' 5 Likewise in the last chapter of the second letter to the Thessalonians: 'He who shall not work, he shall not eat,' which the Apostle says, having given himself as an example. 6 I answer that it should be said that it is a good to work for the possession of material food, as it is said: 'You shall eat of the labour of your hands, happy are you...' 7 But concerning this work of the hands a threefold disorder is found: in intention, that this food is sought as the final end, and this is what the Lord prohibits here in John; in worry, when the mind is absorbed by care for worldly things, and this the Lord prohibits in Matthew; and in time, when one should give space to the hearing of the word of God but one instead gives oneself to work for material food, and so Christ reproves Martha, who should have listened to the preaching of the Lord. Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 6 1 Jn 6.27 2 Homily John 44.1 3 Mt 6.31 4 Luke 10.41 5 1 Thes 4.11 6 2 Thes 3.9-10 7 Ps 127.2

Work And Wealth

Ὁ ἐργαζόμενος τὴν ἑαυτοῦ γῆν πλησθήσεται ἄρτων ὁ δὲ διώκων σχολὴν πλησθήσεται πενίας Ὁ καθαίρων ἑαυτον ἐκ τῶν παθῶν, καὶ ἐργαζόμενος τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ Θεοῦ, τοῦ ψυχοτρόφου ἄρτου σοφίας καὶ γνώσεως Θεου ἐμλησθήσεται· ὁ δὲ διώκων σχολὴν τοῦ μὴ ποιεῖν τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ Θεοῦ, πλησθήσεται πενίας. Ὠριγένης, Ἐκλογαὶ Εἰς Παροιμίας, Κεφ ΚΘ' Source: Migne PG 17.245a

He who works the earth fills himself with bread and he who pursues leisure shall be filled with poverty. 1 He who in cleansing himself of the passions, labours over the commandments of God, he feeds the soul with the bread of wisdom and is filled with the knowledge of God. But he who pursues leisure, neglecting the commandments of God, he shall be filled with poverty. Origen, On Proverbs, Fragment 1 Prov 28.19

Leisure And Works

Ὅτι ἡ ἀργία ἀρχή κακουργίας τοῖς ἀπαιδεύτοις γίνεται, καὶ αὐτὸς συνομολογεῖς, καὶ ὅτι μὴ ἔχοντες τί πρᾶξαι οἱ Ἐβραῖοι ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ εἰς εἰδελατρίαν ἐξέπεσαν, γινώσκεις. Μὴ οὖν βδελύττου τὸ ἔργον τὸ τῶν χειρῶν, ὅτι ὠφέλιμον, καὶ πάνυ νηφάλιον. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΤΙ' Ἐλλαδιῳ Ἀναγνωστῃ Source: Migne PG 79.195 a-b

That idleness is the beginning of evil works to the uneducated, you will allow, and you know that having no work to do the Hebrews in the desert fell into idol worship. Do not, then, despise manual work, for it is useful and indeed sensible. Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 310, To Helladius the Lector

The Labourers

Venite ad me omnes, qui laboratis, et onerati estis, et ego reficiam vos. Id est, repausabo. Et vide quomodo dicit, Quia laboratis? Quis est qui laborat? Qui festinat adimplere justitiam, et non praevalet. Qui autem non vult facere justitiam, ille non laborat sub pondere legis. Utputa, si ante te videris aliquem ponderis fascem: siquidem contendisti eum tollere super te, et non potes, laboras: si autem nec tentas, nullum sentis laborem de pondere. Ergo non illos vocabat Christus ad se, qui omnino non concupiscebant facere justitiam, sed qui festinbant, et qui laborabunt, et praevalere non poterant. Adhuc etiam sermonibus istis etiam Christianos peccatorum pondere praegravatos ad requiem poenitentiae vocat. Putas quod peccatores istius mundi non laborant? Vere enim majores labores et sollicitudienes habent, quam servi Dei, dicente propheta: Contritio et infelicitas in viis eorum, et viam pacis non cognoverunt. Item ex persona peccatorum poenitentiam agentium dicit Salomon: Ergo erravimus a via veritas, et lumen justitiae non luxit nobis, et sol non ortus est nobis: lassati sumus in iniquitatis via et perditionis, ambulavimus solitudines desertas, difficiles autem vias Domini ignoravimus. Quid nobis profuit superbia nostra, aut quid divitiarum jactatio contulit nobis? Transierunt omnia illa tamquam umbra. Ergo laborant multum, et conteruntur in saeculo, sed laborem non sentiunt: spiritus enim qui seducit eos, ipse delectat in malo. Sicut enim qui susipiunt jugum Christi, Christus eos delectat in spiritu, ne fatigentur in bonis operibus: sic et qui jugum suscipiunt diaboli, diabolus eos delectat et decipit, ne discedant a malo impii usque ad mortem suam. Ideo dicit Christus: Jugum enim meum sauve est est onus meum leve. Nam etsi corpore non gravantur peccatores, nec laborant, animae tamen eorum gravatae sunt et laborant, dicente propheta de onere peccatorum: Quoniam iniquitates meae superposuerunt caput meum , sicut onus grave gravatae sunt super me. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia XXVIII Source: Migne PG 56.779-780

Come to me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I shall give you rest. 1 That is, I shall give you peace. And consider how He says it is because you labour. Who is it that labours? He who hurries to fulfill righteousness and does not achieve it. For he who does wish to be righteous, he does not labour under the weight of the Law. As if you saw someone burdened by a bundle and demanded he place it on you and you were not able to bear it, so you would labour. For if you do not try, you do not know the labour of bearing the weight. Therefore Christ does not call them to Himself who have no desire at all to be righteous, but those who hurry to it, and who labour and are not able to attain to it. Yet even with these words he calls Christians to the rest of penance from the grave weight of their sins. Do you think that sinners do not labour in this world? Truly they have greater labours and cares than the servants of God, as the Prophet says: 'Afflicted and unhappy in their ways, they did not know the way of peace.' 2 And in the person of sinners making penance Solomon says: 'So we strayed from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness did not shine on us, and the sun did not rise on us, and we were wearied in the way of our iniquity and ruin; we walked with fruitless cares, and we disregarded the hard ways of the Lord. What has our pride profited us? Or what has the boast of our wealth brought us? All these things pass away like a shadow.' 3 Therefore they labour much, and are crushed down to dust in the world, but they are not aware of their labour, for the spirit who seduces them, he delights in evil. For as those who take up the yoke of Christ, Christ loves in the spirit, that they not weary in good works, so those who take up the yoke of the devil, the devil loves and deceives them, lest before death the impious depart from evil. Therefore Christ says: 'My yoke is easy and my burden light.' 4 For even if sinners are not burdened in their bodies, nor do they labour, yet their souls are weighed down and they labour, with the Prophet saying about the burden of sinners: 'Because my iniquities have been heaped on my head, like a heavy burden weighing down on me.' 5 Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 28 1 Mt 11.28 2 Ps 13.3 3 Wis 5.6-9 4 Mt 11.30 5 Ps 37.5

Work And Leisure

Ὁ νόμος ἓξ ἡμέρας τυπικῶς ἐργάζεσθαι, τῇ δὲ ἑβδόμῃ σχολάζειν παρακελεύεται· διότι ψυχῆς ἔργον ἐστὶν ἡ διὰ χρημάτων εὐποιία· σχολὴ δὲ αὐτῆς καὶ κατάπαυσις, τὸ πωλῆναι πάντα, καὶ δοῦναι πτωχοῖς κατὰ τὸν λόγον τοῦ Κυρίου· καὶ διὰ τῆς ἀκτημοσύνης καταπαύσαντα τῇ νοερᾷ σχολάζειν ἐλπίδι. Εἰς ταύτην τὴν κατάπαυσιν καὶ ὁ Παῦλος ἡμῶν μετὰ σπουδῆς προτρέπεται λέγων· Σπουδάσωμεν εἰσελθεῖν εἰς ἐκείνην τὴν κατάπαυσιν. Ταῦτα δὲ εἰρήκαμεν, οὐκ ἀποκλείοντες τὰ μέλλοντα, οὖτε ὧδε τὴν καθολικὴν ἀνταπόδοσιν εἶναι ὁρίσαντες· ἀλλ' ὅτι χρὴ πρῶτον ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ ἔχειν τὴν χάριν τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἐνεργοῦσαν, καὶ οὔτω κατ' ἀναλογίαν εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν. Τοῦτο φανεροποιῶν ὁ Κύριος, ἔλεγεν· Ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ἐντὸς ὑμῶν ἐστι. Τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Ἀπόστολος ἔλεγεν· Ἔστι πίστις ἐλπιζομένων ὑπόστασις· καὶ πάλιν· Οὕτως τρέχετε, ἵνα καταλάβητε· καὶ πάλιν· Δοκιμάζετε ἑαυτοὺς εἴ ἐστε ἐν τῇ πίστει· εἰ δὲ οὐκ ἐπιγινώσκετε ὅτι Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς οἰκεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν; εἰ μήτι ἂρα ἀδόκιμοί ἐστε. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Τῶν Οἰομένων Ἐξ Ἔργων Δικαιοῦσθαι Source: MignePG 65.952a-b

The law commands as a type that six days are for work and the seventh for leisure, 1 because the work of the soul is the making of goods, and its leisure and rest is to sell everything and to give it to the poor, according to the word of the Lord, 2 and so by a restful poverty in the mind it has leisure for hope. To this rest Paul calls all of us with zeal, saying: 'Let us make haste to enter into that rest.' 3 And we say this not to the exclusion of the future, nor to the limitation of the fullness of reward here, but that one must first have the grace of the Holy Spirit working in the heart, and according to that measure one enters into the kingdom of heaven. This the Lord made clear when he said, 'The kingdom of heaven is within you.' 4 And the Apostle said: 'Faith is the substance of things hoped for.' 5 And again: 'So run that you might seize.' 6 And again: 'Examine yourselves, if you stand in the faith. For how do you not know if Christ is in you, unless perhaps you are condemned?' 7 Saint Mark The Ascetic, from On Those Who Think Themselves Justified By Works 1 Exod 34.21 2 Mt 19.21 3 Heb 4.11 4 Lk 17.21 5 Heb 11.1 6 1 Cor 9.24 7 2 Cor 13.5

To Whom It Is Given

Οὐ πάντες, φησὶ, χωροῦσι τὸν λόγον τοῦτον, ἀλλ' οἷς δέδοται. Τὸ, δέδοται, ὅταν ἀκούσῃς, μηδὲν αἱρετικὸν πάθῃς, μὴ τὰς φύσεις εἰσαγάγῃς, μὴ τοὺς χοϊκοὺς, καὶ τοὺς πνευματικοὺς, καὶ τοὺς μέσους. Εἰσὶ γὰρ οὕτω τινὲς διακείμενοι κακῶς, ὥστε οἴεσθαι, τοὺς μὲν πάντη ἀπολλυμένης εἶναι φύσεως, τοὺς δὲ σωζομένης, τοὺς δὲ οὕτως ἔχειν, ὅπως ἂν ἡ προαίρεσις ἄγῃ πρὸς τὸ χεῖρον, ἢ βέλτιον. Ἐπιτηδειότητα μὲν γὰρ ἄλλον ἄλλου μᾶλλον, ἢ ἔλαττον ἔχειν, κἀγὼ δέχομαι·οὐκ ἀρκεῖν δὲ μόνην τὴν ἐπιτηδειότητα πρὸς τελείωσιν· λογισμὸν δὲ εἶναι τὸν ταύτην ἐκκαλούμενον, ἵνα ἡ φύσις εἰς ἔργον προέλθῃ, καθάπερ λίθος πυρίτης σιδήρῳ κρουσθεὶς, καὶ οὕτω πῦρ γένηται. Ὅταν ἀκούσῃς, Οἷς δέδοται, πρόσθες, δέδοται μὲν τοῖς καλουμένοις καὶ τοῖς οὕτω νεύουσι. Καὶ γὰρ ὅταν ἀκούσῃς, οὐ τοῦ θέλοντος, οὐδὲ τοῦ τρέχοντος, ἀλλὰ τοῦ ἐλεοῦντος Θεοῦ, συμβουλεύω σοι ταυτὸν ὑπολαβεῖν. Ἐπειδὴ γάρ εἰσί τινες οἱ τοσοῦτον μεγαλοφρονοῦντες ἐπὶ τοῖς κατορθώμασιν, ὥστε τὸ πᾶν ἑαυτοῖς διδόναι, καὶ μηδὲν τῷ ποιήσαντι, καὶ σοφίσαντι, καὶ χορηγῷ τῶν καλῶν, διδάσκει τούτους ὁ λόγος, ὅτι καὶ τὸ βούλεσθαι καλῶς, δεῖται τῆς παρὰ Θεοῦ βοηθείας· μᾶλλον δὲ, αὐτὸ τὸ προαιρεῖσθαι τὰ δέοντα, θεῖόν τι καὶ ἐκ Θεοῦ δῶρον φιλανθρωπίας· δεῖ γὰρ, καὶ τὸ ἐφ' ἡμῖν εἶναι, καὶ τὸ ἐκ Θεοῦ σώζεσθαι. Διὰ τοῦτό φησιν· Οὐ τοῦ θέλοντος· τοῦτ' ἔστιν, οὐ μόνον τοῦ θέλοντος, οὐδὲ τοῦ τρέχοντος μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ ἐλεοῦντος Θεοῦ. Εἶτα, ἐπειδὴ καὶ τὸ βούλεσθαι παρὰ Θεοῦ, τὸ πᾶν εἰκότως ἀνέθηκε τῷ Θεῷ. Ὅσον ἂν δράμῃς, ὅσον ἂν ἀγωνίσῃ, χρῄζης τοῦ διδόντος τὸν στέφανον. Ἐὰν μὴ Κύριος οἰκοδομή σῃοἶκον, εἰς μάτην ἐκοπίασαν οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες αὐτόν. Ἐὰν μὴ Κύριος φυλάξῃ πόλιν, εἰς μάτην ἠγρύπνησαν οἱ φυλάσσοντες αὐτήν. Οἶδα, φησὶν, ὅτι οὐ τοῖς κούφοις ὁ δρόμος, οὐδὲ τοῖς δυνατοῖς ὁ πόλεμος, οὐδὲ τῶν μαχομένων ἡ νίκη, οὔτε τῶν εὐπλούντων οἱ λιμένες· ἀλλὰ Θεοῦ, καὶ νίκην ἀπεργάσασθαι, καὶ εἰς λιμένας ἀποσῶσαι τὸ σκάφος. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, Λογός ΛΖ' Source: Migne PG 35.297b-300a

'Not all,' He says, 'can receive this saying, but they to whom it is given.'1 When you hear this, 'It is given,' do not receive it in a heretical way, and bring in different natures, the earthly and the spiritual and the mixed. For there are those who are so wickedly constituted that they think some people have an utterly ruined nature, and some are saved, and others are of such a disposition as their will may lead them, to better or to worse. For that one man has a certain aptitude more than another, and another less, I do admit, but it does not please that aptitude alone tends to perfection, but rather it is reason which calls to that, that nature may advance to action, just as fire when flint is struck with iron. When you hear 'To whom it is given,' add, 'And it is given to those who are called and to those who incline so.' For when you hear, 'Not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of the mercy of God,' 2 I counsel you to think the same. For since there are some who being proud of their successes attribute it all to themselves and nothing at all to Him that made them, and gave them intellect, and supplied them with good, such folk are taught by this passage that even to wish well needs God's aid, or rather that even to choose things which are right is Divine and a gift of God's charity. For it is necessary that we should be our own masters and also that salvation is from God. This is why He says 'not of him that wills,' that is, not of him that wills only, nor of him that runs only, but also of the mercy of God. And then, since to will is also from God, he has reasonably attributed the whole to God. However much you run, however much you may struggle, yet you have need of Him who gives the crown. 'Unless the Lord build the house, in vain have laboured who build it; unless the Lord guard the city, in vain they have watched who guard it.' 3 'I know,' He says, 'that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong,' 4 nor the victory to the fighters, nor the harbours to the good sailors, but to God it belongs both to work victory, and to bring the boat safe to to port. Saint Gregory Nazianzus, from Oration 37 1 Mt 19.11 2 Rom 9.16 3 Ps 126.1 4 Eccl 9.11 4 Isaiah 53.8 4 Gen 14

Farmers And Teachers

Ἅπας καὶ φυτουρὸς καὶ γηπόνος ἐλπίδι κρείττονι ἀνέχεται τῶν πόνων, ὑφαιρουμένης τοὺς κόκοῦς τῆς τῶν καρπῶν προσδοκίας, Οὕτως ἡμεῖς κατηχοῦντες κεκμήκαμεν. Δεῖξον αὐτὸς τὴν γεωργίαν βλαστήσασαν. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΥΠΗ' Θεωδωρῳ Σκολαστικῳ Source: Migne PG 78.448c-d

All who plant and work the earth have hope that their labour will bring forth what is better, in endurance of toil having the expectation of fruit. So we labour in teaching, appearing as a farmer tending the shoots. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 488, To Theodorus the Scholar

Grace And Labour

Audi apostolum laborem cum gratia humili confessione miscentem: gratia autem Dei sum id, quod sum, et gratia illius in me vacua non fuit, sed abundantius illis omnibus laboravi: non ego autem, sed gratia Dei mecum. Vide quomodo ad gratiae donum semper subiungit laboris obsequium: non ego autem. Quia mentionem solius laboris intulerat, cito quasi ad amplexum matris gratiae recucurrit dicens: sed gratia Dei mecum. Gratia, inquit, Dei sum. Primas partes soli gratiae pie subiectus adscripsit, media quaeque labori magister oboedientiae deputavit, utrumque in consummatione moderatus gratiam laboremque coniunxit. Non dixit: ego sine gratia vel gratia sine me, sed gratia Dei mecum. Quae prius singillatim distincta protulerat, quam bene in sermonis fine conexuit. Ac sic apud regeneratos, quando gratia sine labore vel labor sine gratia in scripturis ponitur, supprimitur, non separatur. Cum unum sine altero dicitur, tacetur alterum, non negatur secundum illam regulam, quam antistes Augustinus insinuat: non omnia quae tacentur negantur. Sanctus Faustus Reiensis, De Gratia, V Source: Migne PL 58.806c-807b

Hear the Apostle mixing grace with labour in humble confession: 'For by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace in me was not in vain, but more abundantly I worked than all of them, and yet not I, but the grace of God in me.' 1 See how he always joins the service of labour to the gift of grace, 'and yet not I'. For introducing the subject of labour alone, quickly, as returning to the embrace of a mother, he speaks of grace: 'but the grace of God with me.' By the grace of God I am, he says. In the first parts, as a subject he piously writes of grace alone, in the middle part he speaks as a master of obedient labour, and then as a moderate man he unites both grace and labour in perfection. He does not say, 'I without grace', or 'grace without me', but 'the grace of God with me.' Which things first introducing as distinct, he then joins together at the end of his words. And so for those reborn, when grace without labour, or labour without grace, is spoken of in Scripture, one there is suppressed, not separated. When one without the other is spoken of, one is passed over in silence, not denied, according to that rule, which the bishop Augustine refers to when he says, 'Not everything which is passed over in silence is denied.' Saint Faustus of Riez, On Grace, 5 1 Cor 15.10

Work And Understanding

Μὴ λέγε· οὐκ ἐπίσταμαι τὸ δέον καὶ ἀναίτιος εἰμι μὴ ποιῶν αὐτό. Εἰ γὰρ ἐποίεις καλὰ ὅσα ἐπίστασαι, καὶ τὰ λοιπά σοι ἀκολούθως ἀπεκαλύπτετο, οἰκείῳ τρόπῳ ἕν δι' ἐνος κατανοούμενα Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Νόμου Πνευματικοῦ Migne PG 65.916b

Do not say that you do not know what is needful and you are blameless in doing nothing. For if you did good insofar as you understood it, so the rest would be revealed to you. One thing from one thing in its place being understood. Saint Mark The Ascetic, On The Spiritual Law.

Work And Food

Αὐτὸς μὲν ἐφύβριστον ἡγῇ πᾶσαν χειρόκμητον ἐργασίαν, βιωφελῆ τε ὑπάρχουσαν καὶ πρὸς τὸ ζῇν χρησιμεύουσαν. Ὁ Μιτυλήναῖος δὲ Πιττακὸς, καίτοι βασιλεύς ὠν, τὸν μύλωνα ηὐτούργει, καὶ ἐνεργῶς γυμναζόμενος, καὶ τὴν τροφὴν ἐργαζόμενος. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΥΟ' Θεοδορῳ Σκολαστικῳ Source: Migne PG 78.439b-c

You despise every work which is done with the hands, even when it is most useful and profitable for life. But Pittacus of Mytilene, though he was a king, set to work at a mill, stripping himself down for it, and produced food. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 470 to Theodore the Scholar

Caring For A Man

Ἔλεγον πάλιν περὶ αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἐλθῶν ποτε πολῆσαι σκευτ' ἐν τῇ πόλει, εὗρεν ἄνθρωπον ξένον ἐν τῇ πλατείᾳ ἐῥῥιμμένον ἄῥῥωστον, μή ἔχοντα τὸν ἐπιμελούμενον· καὶ ἔμεινε σὺν αὐτῷ ὁ γέρων λαβὼν ἐνοικίου κελλίον, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ ἐργοχείρου παρεϊχε τὸ ἐνοίκιον, καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ εἰς τὴν τοῦ ἀῥῥώστου χρείαν ἀνήλισκε· καὶ ἔμεινε τετράμηνον, ἕως οὖ ἰάθη ὁ ἄῥῥωστος. Καὶ οὕτως ὁ γέρων ἀπῆλθεν εἰς τὸ κελλίον αὐτοῦ μετ' εἰρήνης. Ἀποφθέγματα Ἀγίων Γερόντων, Παλλάδιος Γαλατίας Source: Migne PG 65.165b

Again it was said of father Agathon that one time when he came to town to sell baskets, he found a stranger struck down by sickness in the street with no one to look after him. The elder remained with him, taking a nearby room, and worked with his hands to pay the rent and spent the rest on the needs of the sick man. He remained there four months until the sick man was well again. Thus the elder went back to his cell in peace. Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

Deeds And Knowledge

Οὐ συμφέρει σοι πρὸ τῆς ἐργασίας τῶν πρώτων, εἰδέναι τὰ δεύτερα· Ἡ γὰρ γνῶσις φυσιοι διὰ τὴν ἀργίαν, ἡ δὲ ἀγάπη οἰκοδομεῖ, διὰ τὸ πάντα ὑπομένειν. Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Νόμου Πνευματικοῦ  Source: Migne PG 65 916b-c

It does not benefit you to go to deeds first and turn to knowledge after. For knowledge in idleness puffs up, but love builds up, enduring through everything. 1 Saint Mark The Ascetic, On The Spiritual Law. 1 Cor 8.1

Food And Labour

Ἤδεται ὁ ἡμέτερος Κύριος Σωτὴρ καὶ Χριστὸς τοῖς ἐπαινετοῖς ἔργοις ἡμῶν καθεκάστην ἡμέραν, καὶ νύκτα τρεφόμενος. Βρῶμα γὰρ ἔχω φαγεῖν, ἔλεγε τοῖς ἀποστόλοις, ὅπερ ὑμεῖς οὐκ ἐπιστασθε νῦν, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα γνώσεσθε, τῆς τῶν Σαμαρειτῶν πόλεως τῶν τότε πιστευσάντων, καὶ τῆς τῶν μετὰ τοῦτο μυρίων ἐθνῶν χριστιανισάντων σωτηρίαν τὴν ἐδωδὴν προαινιττόμενος τοῖς οἰκείοις φοιτηταῖς, Καὶ γὰρ ὁ Ἠσαῗας προανεφώνει περὶ Χριστοῦ, ὅτιπερ βούτυρον καὶ μέλι φάγεται. Ὁ ἐν ἀρχῇ μὲν τὸν Ἀδὰμ πλαστουργήσας, ὕστερον δὲ ὡς παιδίον, καὶ ὡς ἄνθρωπος ὀφωεὶς Χριστὸς Ἰησοῦς ὁ Θεὸς καὶ οὐρανοῦ, καὶ γῆς, καὶ πάντων ὁρατῶν, Διὰ βουτύρου καὶ μέλιτος το τρόφιμον τῇ ψυχῇ καὶ τὸ γλυκὺ, καὶ προσηνὲς ὑπεμφαίνων τῆς τῶν Χριστιανῶν καλλίστης ἐργασίας. Ἐαν καλὰ πράττῃς ἔργα, καὶ μιμῇ τὸ πρᾶον τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, ἔθρεψας αὐτὸν βουτύρῳ καὶ μέλιτι· ἐὰν δὲ ὀργίλος μένῃ, καὶ φαύλων ἐργάτης πράξεων, λέξει εὐλόγως καὶ περὶ σοῦ Ἰησοῦς, ὅτι Ἔδωκεν οὗτος εἰς τὸ βρῶμα μου χολὴν, καὶ εἰς τὴν δίψαν μου ἐπότισέ με ὄξος. Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΝ' ΣΝΑ' Τευκρῳ Διακονῳ Source: Migne PG 79.176a-b

Our Lord Saviour and Christ takes joy in the labours of our praise on which He feeds night and day. 'For I have food for eating, He says to the Apostles, which you now do not know of now,' 1 and after would be known, in the city of the Samaritans when those among them believed, 2 and after them the endless number of peoples, who were given the name of Christ, foretelling the bread of salvation of our support. Indeed Isaiah gives prophecy concerning Christ, 'Butter and honey he shall eat,' 3 He who before this fashioned Adam and after as a little infant and man was seen, Jesus Christ, God of heaven and of earth, and all things visible. Butter and honey is the nourishment of the soul, and indicates nothing but the sweet and meek good works of Christians. Thus if you do good works and emulate the meekness of Christ, you shall feed Him with butter and honey; but if you are bloated with anger and turned to depraved deeds, not without reason did Christ speak of you, saying, 'They gave me gall for my bread, and for my drink they poured out vinegar. ' 4 Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letters 250 and 251, to Teucer the Deacon 1 Jn 4.32 2 Jn 4.39-42 3 Isai 8.15 4 Ps 68.22

Working And Guarding

Non idem est operari et custodire. In opere enim quidam virtutis processus est, in custodia quaedam consummatio operis deprehenditur; eo quod quasi consummata custodiat. Haec duo ab homine requiruntur, ut et operibus nova quaerat, et parta custodiat, quod est generale. Philon autem, quoniam spiritalia Judaico non capiebat affectu, intra moralia se tenuit, ut dice et haec duo quaeri, opera in agro, custodiam domus. Et quamvis paradisus operibus, inquit, ruralibus non egeret; tamen quia primus homo lex posteritatis futurus erat, ideo legitimi etiam in paradiso speciem suscepit laboris, ut nos ad operationem et custodiam debiti officii, et haereditariae successionis munus astringeret. Haec duo ergo a te exiguntur sive moraliter, sive spiritaliter. Quod etiam psalmus te propheticus docet, quia scriptum est: Nisi Dominus aedificaverit domum; in vanum laboraverunt qui aedificant eam. Nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem, in vanum vigilant qui custodiunt eam. Vides illos laborare qui in operis sunt aedificationisque processu; istos vero vigilare qui jam custodiam perfecti operis receperunt. Unde et Dominus Apostolis quasi jam perfectioribus: Vigilate, inquit, et orate, ne intretis in tentationem; docens perfectae naturae munus, et plenae virtutis gratiam esse servandam, nec quemquam etiam perfectiorem nisi vigilaverit, sui debere esse securum. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, De Paradiso, Caput IV Source: Migne PL 14.284-285a

It is not the same to work and to guard. In working we make a certain advancement in virtue, in guarding we attend to the perfection of the work, by which that which is perfect is guarded. These two things are required from man, that with work he come to new things, and that what is done he guard, that he be complete. Philo, because the Jewish spirit did not grasp this completely, among his morals holds, as he says, that these two things should be attended to, work in the field and guardianship of the house, and although in Paradise man did not require rustic work, he says, however because from the first man the future law was given for posterity, therefore it was fitting that in paradise he take up this type of labour, that he give to us the duties both of working and guarding, and that this inheritance he bind on his successors. These two things, then, are required from you either morally or spiritually. Which even the Prophet teaches in the Psalm, where it is written: 'Unless the Lord builds the house in vain they labour who build it. Unless the Lord guard the city, in vain they watch who guard it.' 1 You see that those who labour are those who progress in the work of building, and those who watch attend to the guarding of the perfected work. Whence the Lord says to the perfected Apostles, 'Watch and pray that you do not enter into temptation.' 2 teaching that they should guard the gift of perfected nature and the grace of complete virtue, for no one is perfect unless he is vigilant, which he should be to be secure. Saint Ambrose, On Paradise, Chapter 4 1 Ps 126.1 2 Mt 26.41