The Wise Man's Choice

Mόνη δ' ἡ δι' ἀγάπην εὐποιία ἡ δι' αὐτὸ τὸ καλὸν αἱρετὴ τῷ γνωστικῷ. αὐτίκα ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ τῷ Kυρίῳ λέλεκται· αἴτησαι παρ' ἐμοῦ καὶ δώσω σοι ἔθνη τὴν κληρονομίαν σου, αἴτημα τὸ βασιλικώτατον διδάσκων αἰτεῖσθαι τὴν τῶν ἀνθρώπων σωτηρίαν ἀμισθί, ἵνα δὴ ἡμεῖς κληρονομήσωμεν καὶ κτησώμεθα τὸν Kύριον. Ἔμπαλιν γὰρ χρείας τινὸς ἕνεκεν, ἵνα μοι τόδε γένηται καὶ τόδε μὴ γένηται, τῆς ἐπιστήμης ἐφίεσθαι τῆς περὶ τὸν θεὸν οὐκ ἴδιον γνωστικοῦ, ἀπόχρη δ' αὐτῷ αἰτία τῆς θεωρίας ἡ γνῶσις αὐτή. Tολμήσας γὰρ εἴποιμ' ἄν, οὐ διὰ τὸ σῴζεσθαι βούλεσθαι τὴν γνῶσιν αἱρήσεται ὁ δι' αὐτὴν τὴν θείαν ἐπιστήμην μεθέπων τὴν γνῶσιν· τὸ μὲν γὰρ νοεῖν ἐκ συνασκήσεως εἰς τὸ ἀεὶ νοεῖν ἐκτείνεται, τὸ δὲ ἀεὶ νοεῖν, οὐσία τοῦ γινώσκοντος κατὰ ἀνάκρασιν ἀδιάστατον γενομένη καὶ ἀίδιος θεωρία, ζῶσα ὑπόστασις μένει. Eἰ γοῦν τις καθ' ὑπόθεσιν προθείη τῷ γνωστικῷ, πότερον ἑλέσθαι βούλοιτο, τὴν γνῶσιν τοῦ θεοῦ ἢ τὴν σωτηρίαν τὴν αἰώνιον, εἴη δὲ ταῦτα κεχωρισμένα παντὸς μᾶλλον ἐν ταὐτότητι ὄντα, οὐδὲ καθ' ὁτιοῦν διστάσας ἕλοιτ' ἂν τὴν γνῶσιν τοῦ θεοῦ, δι' αὑτὴν αἱρετὴν κρίνας εἶναι τὴν ἐπαναβεβηκυῖαν τῆς πίστεως δι' ἀγάπην εἰς γνῶσιν ἰδιότητα. Αὕτη τοίνυν ἡ πρώτη ἀγαθοποιία τοῦ τελείου, ὅταν μὴ διά τι χρειῶδες τῶν εἰς αὐτὸν συντεινόντων γίνηται, κρίναντος δ' ὅτι καλὸν τὸ ἀγαθὸν ποιεῖν, ἐκτενῶς ἡ ἐνέργεια φερομένη ἐν πάσῃ πράξει ἀγαθύνηται, οὐκ ἐφ' ὧν μέν, ἐφ' ὧν δ' οὔ, ἀλλ' ἐν ἕξει εὐποιίας καταστᾶσα μήτε διὰ δόξαν ἔτι ἤ, ὥς φασιν οἱ φιλόσοφοι, τὴν εὔκλειαν μήτε διὰ μισθὸν εἴτε παρὰ ἀνθρώπων εἴτε καὶ ἐκ θεοῦ· κατ' εἰκόνα καὶ καθ' ὁμοίωσιν τοῦ Kυρίου τὸν βίον ἐκτελοίη. Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς, Στρωματεων, Λογος Δ' Κεφ' ΚΒ' Source: Migne PG 8.1345c-1348b

But the choice of the wise man is to do good out of love alone. Now, in the person of God it was said to the Lord, 'Ask of me, and I will give the Gentiles for your inheritance,' 1 teaching Him to ask a regal request, that is, the salvation of men without price, that we may inherit and possess the Lord. For on the contrary if it is on account of something that this is done, or not done, it is not proper to the wise man, but the knowledge itself is enough as the reason for contemplation. For I will venture to say that it is not because he wishes to be saved that knowledge shall be chosen by him who by knowledge seeks Divine understanding. For thinking by practice is extended to perpetual thinking, and to be always thinking is the essence of an intelligent being, according to a continual process of admixture, and there is everlasting contemplation, a living substance. If, then, we supposed that someone proposed to the wise man a preference, the knowledge of God or everlasting salvation, and if these things were separable which are in every way alike, he would without hesitation choose the knowledge of God, judging as desirable in itself the ascension of faith through love to knowledge. This, then, is the first good work of the perfect man, when it is done not for any advantage in what concerns him, but because he judges it right to do good, and the energy zealously exerted in all deeds becomes good, not good in this and not good in that, but in the habit of doing good, neither for glory, nor, as the philosophers say, for reputation, nor for reward from men or God, but to pass life as an image and likeness of the Lord. Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata, Book 4, Ch 22 1 Ps 2.8

Hope And Salvation

Ἀνάξιος ὤν, πίστευσον σωθῆναι· ἀναίσθητος ὤν, μὴ προσδοκήσῃς σωθῆναι. Ἀναξίους εὐγνωμονοῦντας, καὶ ἐπὶ πάσῃ θλίψει εὐχαριστοῦντας ἐλεεῖ, καὶ σώζει ὁ φιλάνθρωπος Θεὸς, κἂν μέχρι βαθείας τῶν καλῶν φθάσωσιν ἀπογνώσεως· τοὺς δ' ἀναισθήτους οὐκ ἐλεεῖ. Τίς δέ ἐστιν ὁ ἀναίσθητος, εἰ μὴ ὁ μὴ θέλων ὁμολογῆσαι εὐγνωμόνως μυρία εὐεργετεῖσθαι, καὶ ὠφελεῖσθαι τὸν κόσμον διὰ τῆς τοῦ Δεσπότου Χριστοῦ ὁμολογίας; Ἅγιος Νειλος, Βιβλιον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολὴ ΚΒ´ Μαρκιανῳ Source: Migne PG 79.89c

Being unworthy, have faith in salvation; being senseless do not hope for it. Those unworthy, if they have right minds and give thanks in every difficulty, the man loving God shall have mercy on and save, even one who declares himself utterly despairing of better things. However, He has no mercy on the senseless. And who is senseless if not the one who is thankless and unmindful of innumerable blessings, he who does not admit that he has received good things here by the concession of the Lord Christ? Saint Nilus of Sinai, Book 1, Letter 22 to Marcianus

Justification And Salvation

Ἐξ ἔργων, καὶ λόγων, καὶ ἐννοίας, δικαίωσις· ἐκ δὲ πίστεως, καὶ χάριτος, καὶ μετανοίας, θησαυροὶ σωτηρίας πολλοί Ἅγιος Μάρκος ὁ Ἐρημίτης, Περὶ Τῶν Οἰομένων Ἐξ Ἔργων Δικαιοῦσθαι Source: Migne PG 65.945a

From works and words and thought there is justification, but from faith and grace and repentance the many treasures of salvation. Saint Mark The Ascetic, On Those Who Think Themselves Justified By Works

Advice On Service

Nemo potest duobus dominis servire. Nisi enim prius a secreto cordis expellatur importuna saecularium multitudo curarum, anima quae intrinsecus jacet nequaquam resurgit. Arguitur eorum tepor qui, Dei vacare volentes, mundoque renuntiant, et curas proprias aspernantur, sed dum propinquorum utilitates procurant, a Dei amore se separant. Vir spiritualis prodesse debet suae propinquitati, tamen cavere ne dum illis gratiam carnis praestare studet, ipse a spirituali proposito non declinet. Multi enim monachorum amore parentum non solum terrenis cruis, sed etiam forensibus jurgiis involuti, et pro suorum temprali salute suas animas perdiderunt. Sicut nostra nobis non odienda est animas perdiderunt. Sicut nostra nobis non odienda est anima, sed ejus carnales affectus, uta nec parentes a nobis odeindi sunt, sed eroum impedimenta, quae nos ab itinere recto praepediunt. Dum tamen Dominus ita praecepit a nobis parentes odiri sicut animas nostras. Nemo enim perpendere potest, quanti sit ponderis declinare a bono et facere malum, nisi prius toto mentis annisu convertitur ad Deum. Tripertitum describitur esse uniuscujusque conversi profectum, id est, primum corrigendi a malo, secundum feciendi bonum, tertium consequendi boni operis praemium. Ideoqie festinare debet ad Deum poenitendo unusquisque dum potest, ne si dum potest noluerit, cum tarde voluerit, omnino non possit. Proinde propheta ait: Quaerite Dominum dum inveniri potest, invocate eum dum prope est. Et ubi inveniri potest, nisi in hac vita, in qua etiam prope est omnibus invocantibus se in veritate Jesus Christus Dominus noster, qui omnibus in se veraciter fideliterque credentibus vitam et gloriam sempiternam praeparabit? Theodulfus Aurelianensis, Fragmentum Sermonis Source:Migne PL 105.280a-c

No one can serve two masters. 1 Unless from the depths of heart the great crowd of the demands of the world's cares is expelled, the soul that may boast within shall never rise. It is proved by the tepidness of those who wishing to make space for God, renounce the world, and despise their own cares, but they are yet eager to be useful to their families, by which they are separated from the love of God. A spiritual man should be of profit to his family, however let him beware lest being eager to excel in being benefical to their corporeal concerns, he falls away from the vow of the spiritual. Many monks because of love of parents have been embroiled not only in worldly cares, but even in quarrels in the courts, and for temporal advantage have destroyed their own souls. So as it is of us not to hate our souls, but the passions of the flesh, so we do not hate our own parents but their impediments, which bind us far from the right way. So does the Lord command us to hate our own parents like our souls. 2 No one is able to weigh matters carefully when by a great weight he falls away from the good and does evil, unless first the whole of the will of his heart is converted to God. The way of conversion for everyone is described in a threefold manner. First to correct onself in matters of evil, second to do good, third to achieve the reward of one's good works. Therefore we should make haste by penance to come to God while we are able, lest while we can we are unwilling, and when later we wish to, it is not longer possible. So the prophet says: 'Seek the Lord while he can be found. Call on him while He is near.' 3 And where is He to be found unless in this life, in which He is near to those who invoke Him in truth, 4 our Lord Jesus Christ, who being true and faithful to everyone who believes, prepares eternal life and glory. 5 Theodulf of Orleans, Fragment of A Sermon 1 Mt 6.24 2 Mt 10.37-39 3 Isaiah 55.6 4 Jn 4.24, Ps 144.18 5 Jn 14.2-3

A Warning Against Looking Back

In Exodo, Judaicus populus, ad umbram nostri et imaginem praefiguratus, cum, Deo tutore et vindice, evasisset Pharaonis atque Aegypti, id est diaboli et saeculi, durissimam servitutem; circa Deum perfidus et ingratus, adversus Moysen mussitat, respiciens solitudinis ac laboris incommoda, et non intelligens libertatis ac salutis beneficia divina, reverti quaerit ad Aegypti, hoc est ad saeculi, servitutem unde fuerat exutus, cum magis fidere deberet in Deum et credere; quoniam qui a diabolo et saeculo liberat populum suum, protegit liberatum: Quid hoc nobis, inquiunt, fecisti in ejiciendo nos de Aegypto? melius est nobis servire Aegyptiis quam mori in solitudine hac. Et dixit Moyses ad populum: Fidite, et state, et cernite salutem quae a Domino est, quam vobis faciet hodie: Dominus ipse pugnabit pro vobis, et vos tacebitis. Quod nos admonens in Evangelio suo Dominus, et docens ne ad diabolum rursus et ad saeculum, quibus renuntiavimus et unde evasimus, revertamur, dicit: Nemo retro attendens et superponens manum suam super aratrum, aptus est regno Dei. Et iterum: Et qui in agro est, non convertatur retro. Memores estote uxoris Loth. Ac, ne quis aliqua vel cupiditate rerum, vel suorum dulcedine retardetur quominus Christum sequatur, addit et dicit: Qui non renuntiat omnibus quae sunt ejus, non est potest meus esse discipulus. Sanctus Cyprianus, Epistola ad Fortunatum, De Exhortatione Martyrii Source:Migne PL 4.660c-661b

In Exodus the Jewish people, prefigured as a shadow and image of us, with God for their protector and avenger, when they had escaped from the most bitter slavery of Pharaoh and of Egypt, that is, of the devil and the world, faithless and ungrateful concerning God, murmur against Moses, and looking back on the discomforts of the desert and of their labour, and, not understanding the Divine benefits of liberty and salvation, they seek to return to Egypt, that is, to the world, the servitude from which they had been drawn forth, when they should rather have trusted and believed in God, because He who delivers His people from the devil and the world, protects them when they are delivered. 'Why have you done this to us,' say they, 'casting us out of Egypt? It is better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in this desert.' And Moses said to the people, 'Trust and stand fast, and see the salvation which is from the Lord, which He shall make for you today. The Lord Himself shall fight for you, and you will be silent.' 1 The Lord, admonishing us concerning this in His Gospel and teaching that we should not return again to the devil and to the world which we have renounced and from which we have escaped, says, 'No man looking back and putting his hand to the plough, is fit for the kingdom of God.' 2 And again, 'And let him who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot's wife.' 3 And lest any one should be slowed from following Christ by desire for wealth or the attraction of his own family, He adds and says: 'He who does not forsake all he has cannot be my disciple.' 4 Saint Cyprian of Carthage, Letter to Fortunatus, On Exhortation to Martyrdom 1 Exodus 14.11-14 2 Lk 9.62 3 Lk 17.31-32 4 Lk 14.33

The Seed Beside The Way

Ecce exiit qui seminat, seminare: et dum seminat, quaedam ceciderunt secus viam, et venerunt volucres et comederunt ea... Quae est via? Mundus iste, per quem omnes transeunt qui nascuntur: via enim et peregrinatio, et transitus est omnibus, qui et a Deo exierunt, et ad Deum festinant. Unde et propheta dicebat: Quoniam incola sum apud te in terra, et peregrinus, sicut patres mei. Sicut ergo viator in via nihil sollicitus est, nisi quod necessarium habet ad usum: ita et homo in hoc transitu mundi nihil debet esse sollicitus, nisi quod opus habet ad usum. Qui autem suam spem ponit in mundo, et delectatur in eo, est similis homini desperato, qui non habet neque patriam, neque domum, neque familiam, ad quam festinet: sed in quocumque loco inventus fuerit, ipse locus domus ejus est. Quae est ergo terra secus viam? Homo secundum istum mundum vivens, qui omnia ea sapit quae mundi sunt, et nihil quod Dei est: sed hoc solum diebus ac noctitbus cogitat, hoc concupiscit, quod perinent ad bene manducandum et bibendum, et spurcitam corporis exercendam. Ex his enim omnia mala nascuntur. Propter cibum enim et potum avaritiae fiunt, furta, violentiae, perjuria, ex avaritia autem invidiae et contentiones, ex invidia autem maliloquia et detractiones, inimicitiae et imposturae: ex inimicitiis manifesta ira, rixae, caedes, homicidia, judicia: ex libidine autem fornicationes, adulteria, masculorum concubitus, feminarum invasiones, Talibus si loqui volueris de spiritualibus rebus, non intelligunt verbum, non sentiunt verbi dulcedinem. Nec enim est possibile, ut inter tantas amaritudines vitiorum sentiatur dulcedo sermonum. Sicut qui in magno vase aceti modicam guttam mellis immisceat, etiam mel perdit, et acerbitas aceti non mutatur: sic homini in hac malorum multitudine constituo si colloquutus fueris justitiae verbum, et verbum perdis, et ille non temperatur in concupiscentia mundialium rerum. Nec enim habet bonum in se. Nam homo illud concupiscit, quod jam habet exceptum in se, et scit esse bonum. Ecce si ostendis leoni viridem herbam, aut campum bene florentem, non excitat eum in concupiscentia, quia non habet hoc in natura, ut herbas manducet: et e contra si ostendas bovi carnes, non concupiscit, quia non est bovis natura, ut manducet carnem: sic et homini mundiali, si de bono caelesti loquaris, non excitatur in concupiscentia boni. Sed quemadmodum si pluiva super lapidem cadat, desuper quidem sudat, ab intus autem siccus est, quia non descendit humor in eum: sic et tali homini quando loqueris verbum Dei, tantummodo sonus verbi desuper percutit aures ejus carnales, in cor autem nihil descendit. Et merito: jacentia super lapidem semina verbi rapiunt volatiles daemones. Dic mihi, cujus cupla est, rapientium daemonum semina, aut hominum durorum non abscondentium ea in sulcis pectoris sui? Puto non esse culpam rapientium deamonum. Ille enim latro, qui parietem perforat, in secreta domus parte ingreditur: qui autem invenit foris impositum et projectum, quomodo quasi latro culpetur? Sic et diabolus, si poterat introire in secreta pectoris tui, ut a te nolente raperet verbum, bene culparetur: nunc autem quod a te neglectum est, et contemptum, hoc ille diripit. Denique sciens propheta homimum abscondentium esse culpam, dicebat: In corde meo abscondi eloquia tua ut non peccem tibi. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia XXXI Source: Migne PG 56.792-793

Behold, a sower went out to sow, and while he sowed, some seeds fell beside the way, and the birds came and ate them... 1 What is the way? It is the world, through which all pass who are born. The way is a journey and a passing through for all who have gone out from God and hurry to Him. Whence the Prophet says: 'Because to you I am a sojourner on the earth, and a stranger like my fathers.' 2 As then a traveller on the way is anxious for nothing but that he has what is necessary for it, so a man in this passing through the world has nothing that should concern him but that he has what he needs for it. But he who puts his hope in the world, and delights in it, is similar to a despairing man, who has neither homeland, nor house, nor family, to whom he hurries, but in whatever place he finds himself that place is his home. Then what is the earth beside the way? It is a man who lives according to this world, whose knowledge is all from the world, and has nothing of God. Day and night he thinks of this alone, this he desires, eating and drinking well, and being rid of bodily filth. From these things all evils are born. On account of food and drink comes avarice, theft, violence, lies. From avarice envy and arguments, from envy wicked speech and detraction, hostility and deception, from hostility comes forth anger, fights, slaughters, murders, condemnations. From lust fornication, adultery, homosexuality, perversion of women. If you wish to speak of spiritual things to such folk, they do not understand a word, nor do they grasp the beauty of the speech. For it is not possible that among such bitterness of vices the sweetness of such words be grasped. If someone mixed a small drop of honey into a large vase of vinegar the honey would be destroyed and the bitterness of the vinegar would be unchanged, and so a man established in such a multitude of evils, if you speak of righteousness to him, such speech is destroyed, and he is not tempered in his desire for worldly things. He has no good in him. For a man desires what he already has received into himself and he knows to be good. Behold, if you show a lion a green plant, or a field bedecked with flowers, it does not arouse desire in him, because he does not have it in his nature that he should eat plants, and contrariwise if you show meat to a bull, he does not desire it, because it is not in the nature of a bull to eat meat. So if you speak of heavenly goods to a worldly man, it does not arouse in him desire for good. But as rain falling on a stone moistens what is outside, but what is within remains dry because the moisture does not go down into it, so even such a man when you speak the word of God to him, only the sound of the word from above strikes his carnal ears and nothing falls into his heart. And rightly, then, the seed which is cast upon the stone is seized by flying demons. Tell me, whose fault is this, the demons who seize the seed, or the hard man who does not take them into the chamber of his heart? I do not think it is the fault of the demons who seize. A thief is someone who breaks through a wall and enters into a secret part of the house; he who finds something set down outside, even thrown down, how is he to be blamed as a thief? So even the devil, if he were able to enter in the secret places of your heart, to seize on the word with you unwilling, he indeed would be blameworthy, but now what has been neglected by you, even scorned, that is what he seizes on. Finally the Prophet, knowing the fault to be found in men regarding the taking in of things, says, 'In my heart I placed your word, that I might not sin against you.' 3 Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from Homily 31 1 Mt 13.3-4 2 Ps 38.13 3 Ps 118.11

Pride And The Waste

Erraverunt, ait Propheta, in solitudine, in inaquoso: viam civitatis habitaculi non invenerunt. Solitudo haec superborum est, quia solos sese reputant, solos appetunt reputari. Litteratus est; odit socium. Astutus in negotiis saecularibus neminem vellet sibi similem inveniri. Pecuniosus est; si ditescere viderit alterum, cruciatur. Fortis est aut formosus; da ei parem, et contabescit. Solitarius est, sed erroneus. Errat in solitudine sua: non enim solus habitare poterit super terram. Nec mirum quod solitudini huic inaquosum additur; ut dicatur, in solitudine, in inaquoso. Sicut enim in solitudinibus aquae deesse solent, et loca deserta sterilia quoque et arida esse consueverunt, sic superbiam impoenitentia comitatur. Elatum enim cor, durum et expers est pietatis, ignarum compunctionis, siccum ab omni rore gratiae spiritualis; quia superbis Deus resistit, humilibus vero dat gratiam. Qui emittit fontes in convallibus, inter medium montium, ait Propheta, pertransibunt aquae. Hinc est quod de se ipso miserabiliter conquerens ait: Anima mea sicut terra sine aqua tibi. Siquidem aquae inopia non modo aridum, sed et sordidum facit, dum non est quo laveris: et humanum cor lacrymas nesciens, non modo durum, sed et impurum esse necesse est. Lavabo, ait, per singulas noctes lectum meum, ut conscientiae maculas diluam. Lacrymis meis stratum meum rigabo, ne in me quoque fiat quod scriptum est de semine quod cecidit supra petram, et natum aruit, quia non habebat humorem. Sanctus Bernardus Clarae Vallensis, Sermo I, De Fallacia et Brevitate Vitae Praesentis Source: Migne PL 183.537d-538d

'They wandered,' says the Prophet, 'in a waste, in a waterless place; they did not find a way to the city of habitation.' 1 And this waste is of the proud, who acclaim only themselves, and who desire only to be acclaimed. According to the letter, such a man hates a companion. Clever in worldly affairs, he does not wish to find anyone like himself. He is richly tormented if he sees another man enriched. If another is strong or handsome, he admits him as an equal and he withers. He is solitary but he errs. He wanders in his solitude, for he cannot dwell alone on the earth. It is not to be wondered that this waste is described as waterless, so that it is said, 'In a waste, in a waterless place,' For as in a wasteland waters are not accustomed to flow and desert places are customarily sterile and arid, so impenitence associates with pride. For the elated heart is hard and knows nothing of piety, it is ignorant of compunction, dry of every dew of spiritual grace, because 'God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble'. 2 'He who sends forth the spring waters in the valleys, the waters which pass amid the mountains,' says the Prophet. 3 Whence it is concerning this one that he says in wretched lament: 'My soul is like a land without water.' 4 A lack of water not only makes something dry but also dirty, when there is nothing one may wash by, and so the human heart that knows not tears is not only hard, but must also be filthy. He says: 'I shall wash my bed each night,' that I wash off the stains of my conscience, 'I shall soak my bed with my tears,' 5lest it be with me as has been written about the seed which falls upon a stone, that being born it withers, because it has no moisture. 6 Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, from Sermon I, On the Delusions and Brevity of the Present Life 1 Ps 106.4 2 James 4.6 3 Ps 103.10 4 Ps 142.6 5 Ps 6.7 6 Lk 8.6

Error And Salvation

Kαὶ ὡδήγησεν αὐτοὺς εἰς ὁδὸν εὐθεῖαν τοῦ πορευθῆναι εἰς πόλιν κατοικητηρίου, ἐξομολογησάσθωσαν τῷ κυρίῳ τὰ ἐλέη αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ θαυμάσια αὐτοῦ τοῖς υἱοῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Οἱ μὲν γὰρ ἐπλανήθησαν ἐν γῇ ἐρήμῳ καὶ ἀνύδρῳ, τοῦτο πρῶτον νόσημα νενοσηκότες τὸ τῆς πλάνης· καὶ δευτέρῳ κακῷ περοπεσόντες ὁδὸν πόλεως κατοικητηρίου αὐτῶν οὐχ εὕρον· καὶ τρίτον δὲ αὐτοὺς περιέσχε κακὸν, ἐπείπερ ἦσαν πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες, ὡς τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτῶν ἐκλείπειν ἐν αὐτοῖς. Ὁ δὲ φιλάνθρωπος Θεὸς καὶ ἀγαθὸς Σωτὴρ πρῶτον μὲν ὠδήγησεν αὐτοὺς εἰς ὁδὸν εὐθεῐαν· ἔπειτα ἔδειχεν αὐτοῖς πῶς χρὴ βαδίζειν τὴν φέρουσαν εἰς τὴν πόλιν τοῦ κατοικητηρίου. Καὶ τίς ἂν εἶη ἡ εὐθεῖα ὁδὸς ἢ ὁ σωτήριος λόγος ὁ εὐαγγελικὸς, ὁ μόνος ἡμᾶς ἄγων εἰς τὴν ἐπουράνιον πόλιν· ἐν ᾗ γενόμενοι τὸ κατοικητήριον ἡμῶν εὑρήσομεν; Ἐξομολογησάσθωσαν τῷ Κυρίῳ τὰ ἐλέη αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ θαυμάσια αὐτοῦ τοῖς υἱοῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων· κηρύσσοντες εἰς πάντας τούς υἱοὺς τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὅπως οἱ πάντες, τὴν χάριν τὴν εἰς ἡμᾶς γεγενημένην καὶ τὰ ἐλέη τοῦ Θεοῦ μαθόντες, σπεύσωμεν ἐπὶ τὴν αὐτῶν σωτηρίαν. Εὐσέβιος ὁ Καισάρειος, Ὑπομνηματα Ἐις Τους ψαλμους, ψαλμος ΡϚ´ Source: Migne PG 23.1321c-1324a

And He led them into the right way, that they enter into the city of habitation. Let them confess to the Lord His mercy, and His wonders to the sons of men. 1 For they wandered in a waterless wasteland, labouring in this first affliction of their error. Whence they fell into a second evil, since they could not find the way to the city in which they should dwell. 2 And then the third evil encompassed them, for they were hungering and thirsting so that their souls perished in themselves. 3 But God is compassionate and the Saviour good, and so first He led them into the right way, and then He taught the way they should walk, leading them on the way into the city of their habitation. And what is the way that is right, unless the evangelical word of salvation, which alone leads to the heavenly city, in which established, we shall find our dwelling place? 'Let them confess to the Lord His mercy and His wonders before the sons of men,' preaching to all the sons of men, how all, with the grace of God being with us and taught by the mercy of God, should hasten to our salvation. Eusebius of Caesarea, Commentary on the Psalms, from Psalm 106 1 Ps 106.7-8 2 Ps 106.4 3 Ps 106.5

Acquiring Nobility

Καὶ ἦν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖνος εὐγενής, τῶν ἀφ' ἡλίου ἀνατολῶν. Πρὸς μὲν οὖν τὸ ῥητὸν, εὐγενὴς τοῦ ἀφ' ἡλίου ἀνατολῶν, λέγεται, διὰ τὴν κατὰ σάρκὰ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ οἰκειότητα· πρὸς δὲ ἀναγωγὴν, οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ φωτὸς, καὶ τέκνα Θεοῦ δι' ἔργων φωτεινῶν χρηματίζονται, οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ ἀφ' ἡλίου ἀνατολῶν. Ὁ γὰρ δίκαιος εὐγένειαν κτᾶται, οὐκ ἀπ' ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τοῦ φωτὸς τοῦ ἡλίου τῆς δικαιοσύνης, καταλαμπομενην. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Ἐκλογαὶ Εἰς Τον Ιὠβ Source: Migne PG 39.1120c-d

And that man was of good birth among those who live in the direction of the rising sun. 1 According to the letter he was well born among those who live in the direction of the rising sun, because according to the flesh he was of the house of Abraham. According to the analogical sense the sons of light and the children of God, who are made so by the works of light, are named as those who dwell in the direction of the rising sun. For the righteous man does not acquire nobility from men but from the light of the sun of righteousness. Didymus the Blind, On Job, Chapter 1 1 Job 1.3

God Near And Far

Quoniam excelsus Dominus et humilia respicit et alta a longe agnoscit... Neque solum magna est Dei gloria: sed etiam excelsus est, et humilia respicit. Hinc eminentis celsitudinis suae admiratio maxima est, uod humilia respicit qui excelsus est. Sed quae humilia respicit? Nempe est: Cor contribulatum et humilitatum Deus non spernet. Et rursum: Et super quem respiciam, nisi super humilem et trementem verba mea. Sed quia exclesus humilia respicit, habet in se aliam quoque admirationem, quod et alta de longe cognoscit. Superbae et insolentes cogitationes Deum non fallunt: agnoscit omnia, et nihil scientiae ejus impenetrabile est. Deus, ut scriptum est, prope est his qui tribulatio sunt corde: non admiscetur autem arrogantibus, neque insolentibus prope est. Unicuique enim nostrum pro fidei diversitate aut proximus est aut remotus, spiritali virtute ubi se dignum est acquiescens. Et ideo a longe alta cognoscit, quia et per indignitatem abest ab insolente, et per virtutem, longe licet, quae sunt superba cognoscit. Sanctus Hilarius Pictaviensis, Tractatus super Psalmos, Tractatus in Psalmum CXXXVII Source: Migne PL 9.790b

Because the Lord is exalted and He looks upon the humble and He knows from afar.... 1 The glory of the Lord is not only great but it is even exalted, and He looks upon the humble. Whence the admiration of His heavenly eminence is greatest because He who is exalted looks upon the humble. But what humility does He look upon? Without doubt it is: the heart troubled and lowly, God does not spurn. 2 And again: 'And who shall I look upon, unless him who is humble and trembles at my words?' 3 Yet because the exalted One looks on the humble, He has in Himself something else to admire, that even He knows the high ones from afar. Proud and insolent thoughts do not escape God. He knows all things, and nothing is impenetrable to His knowledge. God, as it is written, is near to those troubled in their hearts. 4 He does not mingle with those who are arrogant, nor is He near to the insolent. For to all of us, according to the differences of our faith, He is near or far, by spiritual virtue where it has been given. And therefore He knows the high ones from afar, because by indignation He is absent from him who is insolent, and by power He is able to know those who are proud from afar. Saint Hilary of Poitiers, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 137 1 Ps 137.6 2 Ps 50.20 3 Isaiah 66.2 4 Ps 33.19

The Rewards Of Cleanliness

Et vos mundi estis... Notandum est autem quadruplex bonum, quod facit munditia spiritualis: servat innocentes, expedit laborantes, gratificat contemplantes, remunerat pervenientes. Servat innocentes a peccati contagione, sicut vides, quod aliquid tersum et politum non de facili contrahit rubiginem; Iob vigesimo secundo: Salvabitur innocens munditia manuum suarum. Expedit laborantes in actione, sicut diceres, quod aliquis, reiectes superfluitatibus et lotis manibus, paratus est ad serviendum; ideo in Psalmo quaeritur: Quis ascendet in montem Domini? Id est, in eminentiam virtutis, et sequitur: Innocens manibus et mundo corde, etc. Gratificat contemplantes in oratione; Proverbiorum vigesimo secundo: Qui diligit cordis munditiam propter gratiam labiorum suorum habebit amicum regem; Iob octavo: Si mundus et rectus incesseris, statim evigilabit ad te. Remunerat pervenientes beata visione, quae est merces gloriae; Matthaei quinto: Beati mundo corde, quoniam Deum videbunt. Sanctus Bonaventura, Collationes In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput XIII Source: Here, p599

And you are clean... 1 It should be noted that spiritual cleanliness makes a fourfold good. It guards the innocent, it aids in labours, it bestows contemplation, and it rewards those who achieve. It protects the innocent from the infection of sin, as you see that someone who is well groomed and refined does not easily contact illness. In the twenty second chapter of Job: 'The innocent shall be saved by the cleanliness of their hands.' 2 It aids labours in deeds, as you say that someone who puts away distractions and has hands washed is prepared to serve; therefore in the Psalm it says: 'Who shall ascend to the mount of the Lord?' 3 That is, to the peak of virtue. And it continues, 'He who has innocent hands and a clean heart.' It bestows contemplation in prayer. In the twenty second chapter of Proverbs: 'He who loves cleanliness of heart on account of the grace of his lips shall have the king as a friend.' 4 In the eighth chapter of Job: 'If you shall walk cleanly and uprightly, quickly he shall turn his eyes on you.' 5 And the reward of those who achieve is the beatific vision, which is the reward of glory. In Matthew chapter five: 'Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.' 6 Saint Bonaventura, Observations On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 13 1 Jn 13.10 2 Job 22.30 3 Ps 23.3 4 Prov 22.11 5 Job 8.6 6 Mt 5.8

Cheeks And Turtle Doves

Τί ὡραιώθησαν σιαγόνες σου ὡς τρυγόνος... Ἀλλὰ καὶ μέλη Χριστοῦ Ἐκκλησίαν νύμφης ὁ Παῦλός φησιν· ἧς οἱονεὶ πρόσωπον, οἱ τῷ κάλλει τῶν λοιπῶν διαφέροντες, αἰσχρὸν οὐδὲν ἐννοοῦντες· τὴν δὲ τῆς σωφροσύνης αὐτῇ καρποφοροῦντες αἰδῶ, οἱ πρότερον ἴσως οὐκ ὄντες καλοὶ, τοσοῦτον μετέβαλον ὡς εἰρῆσθαι τῇ νύμφῃ· Τί ὡραιώθησαν σιαγόνες σου, μὴ ἔχοντες σπῖλον ἢ ῥυτίδα; τάχα δὲ καὶ τῷ τὸν ἕνα μόνον γινώσκειν Θεόν· καὶ ἡ τρυγὼν γὰρ ἑνὶ μόνῳ συνέρχεται. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Τo Ἀσμα Των Ἀσμάτων, Κεφάλαιον Α´ Source: Migne PG 17.257c

Your cheeks are as fair as turtle doves... 1 For indeed Paul calls bridal church members of Christ, 2 and thinking of the face, these by beauty are more excellent than the others, and contemplating nothing vile, they bear the fruit of wisdom in modesty, who perhaps before were not fair, but have so changed that it is said to the bride: 'How fair your cheeks, as turtle doves having neither wrinkle nor spot.' 3 And perhaps this may even refer to the knowledge of the one true God, for the turtledove is bound only to one. Origen, Commentary On The Song Of Songs, Chapter 1 1 Song 2.10-13 2 Ephes 5.28-30 3 cf Ephes 5.27

Blushes And Believing

Talibus enim obsequiis angelus intentam invenit atque salutavit. Utpote virgo verecunda erubuit; a quo confortata, quae dicebantur credidit, et credendo auctorem nostrae salutis edidit Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum quem partriarchae et prophetae praeviderunt et praedixerunt de virgine nasciturum. Odilo Cluniacensis Abbas, Sermo XIII De Nativitate Beatae Mariae Virginis Source: Migne PL 142.1028d-1029a

With such deference the angel found and saluted her attentive. As is natural in a modest maiden she blushed, by which greatly strengthened she believed in what was said, and in the believing conceived the creator of our salvation our Lord Jesus Christ, whom the patriarchs and prophets foresaw and foretold would be born from a virgin. Saint Odo of Cluny, from Sermon 13, On The Nativity of The Blessed Virgin Mary

Curses And Prophecy

Fac, Domine, ut gladio proprio ejus superbia amputetur: capiatur laqueo oculorum suorum in me, et percuties eum ex labiis charitatis meae. Da mihi in animo constantiam, ut contemnam illum, et virtutem, et evertam illum. Erit enim hoc mermoriale nominis tui, cum manus feminae dejecerit eum. Non enim in multitudine est virtus tua, Domine, neque in in equorum viribus voluntas tua est, nec superbi ab initio placuerunt tibi; sed humilium et mansuetorum semper tibi placuit deprecatio. Videtur quibusdam minus intelligentibus, quod precationes sanctorum contra reprobos, quae in Scripturis aliquando commemorantur, quasi maledictiones sint, cum nullo modo haec verba ex voto malitiae, quod in sanctorum cordibus nequaquam fieri potest, sed ex spiritu prophetiae processerint. Quod enim Spiritus sanctus praesciebat esse justo judicio reprobis futurum, hoc per sanctorum ora praedixit faciendum. Ut est illud in psalmis: Fiat mensa eorum coram ipsis in laqueum, et in retributionem, et in scandalum. Obscurentur oculi eorum, ne videant, et dorsum eorum semper incurvetur. Et Paulus in Epistola sua ita scripsit dicens: Alexander aerarius multa mihi mala ostendit, reddet illi Dominus secundum opera sua. Qui et in Actibus apostolorum ad Ananiam pontificem os ejus percutere jubentem ait: Percutiet te Deus, paries dealbate. Unde et verba ista Judith, quibus dicit: Capietur laqueo oculorum suorum in me, et percuties eum ex labiiis charitatis meae, non sunt maledictiones intelligendae, sed de venturis praeconia prophetiae. Hoc enim Spiritus sanctus per os sanctae feminae voluit praemonstrare, quod sciebat nefarium principem nequitia sua promereri: nec non illud in mystico opere praesagere, quod omnis haereticus, sive schismaticus, sive Judaeus, sive etiam paganus, qui Ecclesiam pravo dogmate, sive perverso exemplo corrumpere voluerit, proprio superbiae suae gladio caput voluntatis iniquae sententiam justi judicis amputabitur, et inferni cruciatibus subiiciendus poenas dolorum sentiet in aeternam. Rabanus Maurus, Expositio in Librum Judith, Caput IX Source: Migne PL 109.564b-d

Let it be, O Lord, that his pride is cut off with his own sword. May he be taken by the snare of his own eyes on me, and strike him by the charm of my lips. Give constancy to my soul, that I may scorn him, and virtue that I may overthrow him. For this shall be a memorial of your name, when by the hand of a woman you cast him down. Not in the multitude is your strength, O Lord, nor in men on horseback is your will, nor have the proud ever been pleasing to you, but the prayer of the humble and the meek has always been pleasing to you. 1 It seems to some with less understanding that the prayers of the holy against the wicked, which are sometimes recorded in Scripture, are just like curses, when in no way do these words come from a wish for evil, because in the hearts of the holy this is never possible, but rather they proceed from a spirit of prophecy. For the Holy Spirit foreknows what the just judgement of the wicked will be, and this He foretells through the mouths of the holy. As it says in the Psalms: 'May their table be before them as a snare, and as a punishment, and as a scandal. Blind their eyes, lest they see, and bend down their backs always.' 2 And Paul in his letter writes, saying: 'Alexander the coppermsith has caused me much evil, the Lord shall reward him according to his works.' 3 He who said in the Acts of the Apostles to Ananias the High Priest, who ordered him to be struck on the mouth, 'God strike you, you whitewashed wall!' 4 Whence these words of Judith, 'May he be taken by the snare of his own eyes on me, and strike him by the charm of my lips' should not be understood as a curse, but a prophetic declaration of things to come. For this is what the Holy Spirit wished to foreshow through the mouth of this holy woman, that He knew what the evil prince deserved for his wickedness. And in this mystical deed it is foretold that every heretic or schismatic or Jew or pagan who with depraved teaching or perverse example shall wish to corrupt the Church, by the sword of his own pride will have the head of his wicked will cut off by the sentence of the righteous judge, and subjected to the torments of hell he shall experience the punishments of the wicked forever. Rabanus Maurus, Commentary On Judith, Chap 9 1 Judith 9.12-16 2 Ps 68.23-24 3 2 Tim 4.14 4 Act 23.3

Falls And Labour

Plerumque humanis obrepit mentibus, ut aliqua levi praestricti offensione, si non illis cedant pro studio voluntaria, officio desistant; quod in alio genere hominum tolerabile, in his vero, qui rei divinae intendunt, plenum doloris. Sunt enim aliqui in clericorum munere, quibus inimicus obrepere studet, si alias eos non potuerit circumvenire, ut laesis huiusmodi inserat cogitationes: Quid mihi prodest in clero manere, subire iniurias, labores perpeti, quasi non possit ager meus me pascere, aut si ager desit, quasi aliter exercere sumptum non queam? Sunt enim aliqui in clericorum munere, quibus inimicus obrepere studet, si alias eos non potuerit circumvenire, ut laesis huiusmodi inserat cogitationes: Quid mihi prodest in clero manere, subire iniurias, labores perpeti, quasi non possit ager meus me pascere, aut si ager desit, quasi aliter exercere sumptum non queam? Itaque hujusmodi cogitationibus etiam boni mores ab officio retrahuntur: quasi vero hoc solum sit in clerico, ut sumptum expediat suum, et non ut divinum sibi post mortem potius subsidium locet; quamquam ille post mortem abundet, qui tutus hic potuerit decernere adversum tot inimicorum insidias. Unde Ecclesiastes ait: Optimi duo super unum, quibus est merces bona in labore ipsorum; quoniam si ceciderit, unus erigit socium suum. Ubi sunt duo optimi super unum, nisi ubi Christus est, et is quem Christus tuetur? Quia si ceciderit, qui cum Domino est Jesu, erigit eum Jesus. Sed qua ratione dixit: In labore ipsorum? Ergo et Christus laborat? Utique laborat, qui ait: Laboravi clamans. Laborat, sed in nobis, denique ad puteum fatigatus sedebat. Sed quomodo laboret, docuit nos Apostolus minore exemplo, dicens: Quis infirmatur, et ego non infirmor? Docuit Dominus sua voce: Aeger eram, et non visitastis me: nudus eram et non operuisitis me. Laborat, ut me jacentem erigat. Sanctus Ambrosius Mediolanensis, Epistola LXXXI, Clericis Source: Migne PL 16.1273b-1274a

It is a common fault which creeps into the human mind, that men easily take offence if things do not happen according to their wishes, and they desist from their duty, which in other types of men may be tolerable, but in those who are devoted to the Divine service it is full of sorrow. There are certain men in the clerical order into whose minds the enemy has crept, if by other means he cannot deceive them, so that he may instil harmful thoughts of the following kind: 'What good for me to be among the clergy, to suffer injuries, to undergo such toil, as if my own farm could not support me, or, if I have no farm, as if I could not obtain some other support?' It is by thoughts like these that even good dispositions are drawn away from their office, as if it were fit for a cleric to care alone for his own sustenance, and not rather to purchase for himself the Divine support after death, for he alone shall be in abundance after death who here was able to watch unharmed against the wiles of his many adversaries. Thus Ecclesiastes says: 'Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labour. For if one fall, the other will lift up his friend.' 1 Where are two better than one, but where Christ is and the one whom Christ guards? For if he falls who is with the Lord Jesus, Jesus lifts him up. But with what sense is it said, 'for their labour'? Does Christ labour? Yes truly, for He says, 'I have laboured, crying out.' 2 He labours, but it is over us. Then He sat down wearied at the well. 3 And how He labours the Apostle teaches by his humbler example, saying: 'Who is weak, and I am not weak?' 4 Our Lord Himself has also taught us in the words, 'I was sick, and you did not visit me. I was naked and you did not cover me.' 5 He labours to lift me up when I fall. Saint Ambrose, from Letter 81 To The Clergy 1 Eccles 4.9-10 2 Ps 58.4 3 Jn 4.6 4 2 Cor 11.29 5 Mt 25.43