Cain's Exile

Exiit ergo Cain a facie Domini, et habitavit in terra Naid. Quod LXX Naid transtulerunt, in Hebraeo נוֹד dicitur, et interpretatur σαλευόμενος, id est, instabilis et fluctans, et sedis incertae. Non est igitur Naid terra, ut vulgus nostrorum putat, sed expletur sententia Dei, quod huc atque illuc vagus et profugus oberravit. Contra quod malum Dominus rogatur in Psalmo: Ne dederis in motu pedes meos, et manus peccatorum non moveant me. Nune ergo Judaei, et omnes diviersis erroribus contumaces sunt, resistendo veritati exeunt a facie Dei, id est, a misericordia dilectionis ejus, vel a participatione lucis ejus, et habitant profugi in terra commotionis, id est, in perturbatione carnali, contra jucunditatem Dei, hoc et contra Eden, quod interpretatur epulatio, id est, plantatus paradisus. Rabanus Maurus, In Genesim Libri Quatour, Liber II, Cap I Source: Migne PL 107.507a-b

Therefore Cain went away from the face of God and dwelt in the land of Naid.' 1   What the Septuagint translates as 'Naid', in Hebrew is written נוֹד, that is Nod, and is interpreted as σαλευόμενος that is unstable and fluxing, and an uncertain seat. Therefore Naid is not a land, as the common ones among us may think, but a dismissal from the knowledge of God, because of which he wandered here and there as a fugitive and vagrant. Against which evil the Lord in the Psalm says, 'Do not give my feet to wandering and let not the hands of sinners move me.' 2 Now therefore the Jews and those who persist in varied errors, by their opposition to truth, go out from the face of God, that is, from the mercy of His love, or from participation in His light, and they dwell outcasts in an unstable land, that is, in the clamour of the flesh, against the joy of God, that is, against Eden, which interpreted is 'feast,' that is, a paradise firmly planted. Rabanus Maurus, from the Commentary On Genesis, Book 2, Chapter 1 1 Gen 4.16 2 Ps 35.12

Knowing All Things

Ἀγχίνους ὤν, καὶ συνετῶς ἐρευνῶν, οὐδεν δύνασαι ἀγνοεῖν, πάντα γὰρ καλῶς ἀθροίσας ἐν νεότητι, ἔχεις ἐν γήρει ἀνάπαυσιν. Τὸ ἀνακτέργαστόν μου εἴδοσαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί σου. Τὸ μήπω πραχθέν μοι, φησὶν ὁ Ἀδὰμ, ὡς ἤδη τελεσθὲν καθορᾷς. Καὶ τοὺς τέως μὴ τεχθέντας, ὡς ἤδη τεχθέντας ἐπίστασαι. Δύναται δὲ νοῆσαι καὶ διχῶς· Τὸ ἄκακον καὶ ἀπόνήρον καὶ ἀνεξέργαστόν μου ἔργον γὰρ ἡ περίνοια λέγεσθαι φιλεῖ εἰδοσαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοί σου, καὶ ἐπὶ τῷ βιβλίῷ σου πάντες γραφήσονται. Καὶ οὐκ ἔστι, φησὶν, ὂ μὴ συνιεῖς, ἤ λανθάνει σε· ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ μέλλοντα γινώσκεις, καὶ τὸ ἄκακόν μου οἴδας, ὅπως ἀγνοίᾳ ἠπάτημαι, καὶ τῷ ἀλήστῳ τῆς μνήμης σου πάντες οἱ λογισμοί μου ἐνσημαίνονται. Ἅγιος Ἰσίδωρος Του Πηλουσιώτου, Βιβλίον Πρῶτον, Ἐπιστολή ΤΛΑ' Διδυμῳ Source: Migne PG 78.373 a-b

Being of acute understanding and having an inquiring mind nothing shall be able to be unknown, for everything gathered in youth you shall have for your rest in old age. It says, 'Your eyes have seen my imcompleteness.' 1 That which I have not yet done, says Adam, you perceive as a thing done. And those things which are not yet conceived you know as if they have been brought into the light. But this is able to be understood in a different way. My innocence and guilelessness and my works yet done your eyes see, for He likes to speak of knowing as seeing, 'And in your book all things shall be written.' 1 That is, there is nothing you do not know, or that escapes you, but you know even things to come, and you see my guilelessness and how in ignorance I will fall, and all my thoughts are declared in your unforgetting mind. Saint Isidore of Pelusium, Book 1, Letter 331 To Didymos 1 Ps 131.16

Purity And Images

Μακάριοι οἱ καθαροὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ, ὅτι αὐτοὶ Θεὸν ὅψονται. Ὅτι ὁ πάσης ἐμαθοῦς διαθέσεως τὴν ἑαυτοῦ καρδίαν ἀποκαθάρας ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ κάλλει τῆς θείας φύσεως καθορᾷ τὴν εἰκόνα. Ἰκανὴ γὰρ ἡ τῆς ψυχῆς καθαρότης ἐστὶ τὸν Θεὸν δι' ἑαυτῆς κατοπτρίζεσθα. Ἅγιος Ἀθανάσιος, Εἰς Τὸ Κατὰ Ματθαιον Εὐάγγελιον, Ἐκλογή Source: Migne PG 27.1368b

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 1 For he who has cleansed the heart from every discordant desire in that same beauty of the Divine nature beholds the image. For fittingly the purity of the soul is in itself the reflection of the Divine.   Saint Athanasius, Fragment on Matthew 1 Mt 5.8

Receiving The Sight Of God

Εἰ οὖν εὕρηκα χάριν ἐναντίον σου ἐμφάνισόν μοι σεαυτόν γνωστῶς ἴδω σε ὅπως ἂν ὦ εὑρηκὼς χάριν ἐναντίον σου καὶ ἵνα γνῶ ὅτι λαός σου τὸ ἔθνος τὸ μέγα τοῦτο. Τὸ γνωστῶς ὁρώμενον, εὔδηλον ὡς θεωρίᾳ μόνον, καὶ οὐκ αἰσθήσει καταλαμβάνεται. Ὥσπερ γὰρ καὶ ὀφθαλμὸς τῶν αἰσθητῶν ἀντιλαμβάνεται δι' ὁράσεως οὕτως ὁ νοῦς, διὰ γνώσεως, Θεοῦ θεωρίαν δέχεται. Δίδυμος Αλεξανδρεύς, Ἐκλογαὶ Εἰς Την Ἐξοδον Source: Migne PG 39.113c-d

'If then I have found grace before You show Yourself to me that seeing I know You, and find grace before Your eyes that I know that this great nation is Your people.' 1 By intellectual sight He is seen, clearly by that sight alone, and the senses do not grasp Him. For as the eye by its vision perceives sensible things, so the mind by knowledge receives the sight of God. Didymus the Blind, Commentary on Exodus, Fragment 1 Exod 33.13 LXX

The Force And Man

Ubi erat impetus spiritus, illuc gradiebantur... In electis et reprobis diversi sunt impetus. In electis videlicet impetus spiritus in reprobis impetus carnis. Impetus quippe carnis ad odium, ad elationem, ad immunditiam, ad rapinam, ad exteriorem gloriam, ad crudelitatem, ad perfidiam, ad desperationem, ad iram, ad jurgia, ad voluptates animum impellit. Impetus vero spiritus ad charitatem, ad humilitatem, ad continentiam, ad largitatem misericordiae, ad interiorem provectum, ad pietatis opera, ad aeternorum fidem, ad spem sequentis gaudii, ad patientiam, ad pacem, ad considerationem vitae mortalis, ad lacrymas mentem pertrahit. Unde necesse est ut magna semper cura considerare debeamus in omne quod agimus quis nos impetus ducat; utrum nostra cogitatio per impetum carnis, an per impetum spiritus impellatur. Amare enim terrena, temporalia aeternis praeponere, exteriora bona non ad usum necessarium habere, sed ad voluptatem concupiscere, ultionem de inimico quaerere, de aemuli casu gaudere, impetus carnis est. At contra, amare coelestia, contemnere terrena, non ad fructum voluptatis transitoria, sed ad usum necessitatis quaerere, de inimici morte tribulari, impetus spiritus est. Sanctus Gregorius Magnus, In Ezechielem Prophetam, Liber Primus, Homilia V Source: Migne PL 76.821c-822a

Where was the force of the spirit, there they went... 1 In the elect and the reprobate there are different forces. In the elect certainly the force of the spirit, in the reprobate the force of the flesh. A certain force of the flesh leads the soul to hatred, to self-exaltation, to uncleanliness, to theft, to exterior glory, to cruelty, to treachery, to despair, to anger, to abuse, to pleasures. However the force of the spirit draws the mind to love, to humility, to continence, to the bounty of mercy, to interior contemplation, to works of piety, to eternal faith, to hope of coming joy, to endurance, to peace, to consideration of this mortal life, to tears. Whence it is necessary that we should always have great care in what we do as to what force is leading is. For to love worldly things, to prefer temporal things to eternal things, to have more external good than is necessary for us, to seek pleasure, to seek to be revenged on an enemy, to rejoice in envy, is the force of the flesh. But on the contrary, to love heavenly things, to spurn earthly things, not to go after the transitory fruits of pleasure but to seek the one thing necessary, to be troubled by the death of an enemy, is the force of the spirit.   Saint Gregory the Great, On the Prophet Ezekiel, Book 1, from Homily 5 1 Ezekiel 1.13

Soul And Church

Καὶ ἀνίσταται ἐκ νυκτῶν καὶ ἔδωκεν βρώματα τῷ οἴκῳ καὶ ἔργα ταῖς θεραπαίναις Ἥ καὶ τὴν ἐκ νυκτὸς ἀνισταμένην ψυχὴν, γρηγοροῦσαν εὑρισκει ὁ τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἥλιος νυμφίος· πάντως δὲ καὶ προσευχομένην τοῦ μὴ ἐμπεσεῖν εἰς πειρασμὸν, λέγουσαν τὸ, Ἠγρυπνησα καὶ ἐγενόμην ὡς στρουθίον μονάζον ἐπὶ δώματος· βρῶμα δέ ἐστι ψυχῆς, ἡ μελέτη τῶν θείων λόγων· ἔργα δὲ, αἱ ἀρεταί· θεραπαινίδες δὲ, αἱ αἰσθήσεις· ταῦτ' οὖν παρέχει ἡ τιμιωτέρα λίθων πολυτελῶν ψυχὴ τῷ σωματικῷ αυτῆς οἴκῳ. θεωρήσασα γεώργιον ἐπρίατο ἀπὸ δὲ καρπῶν χειρῶν αὐτῆς κατεφύτευσεν κτῆμα. Τὴν τοῦ σπουδαίου ψυχήν φησιν ἔχουσαν Ἐκκλησίαν ξύλον γνώσεως καὶ ξύλον ζωῆς· γνώσεως μὲν ὡς νόμου, ζωῆς δὲ ὡς λόγου· αὕτη γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ἐκ πλευρᾶς Χριστοῦ προελθοῦσα, καὶ νύμφη τούτου εὑρεθεῖσα, ἡ σώφρων καὶ ἀνδρεία γηνὴ, ἡ τὴν πίστιν τούτου τηρήσασα, καὶ τοῦτον νυμφίον ἀπ' οὐρανῶν πάλιν προσδοκῶσα. Ὠριγένης, Ἐκλογαὶ Εἰς Παροιμίας Source: Migne PG 17.249d-252a

From the night she rises and distributes food to the house and work to the handmaids. 1 The soul rising in the night is found watchful by the spouse, the sun of righteousness, ever praying lest it fall into temptation, saying, 'I watched and was made like a lonely sparrow on the roof.' 2 And the food of the soul is meditation on the Divine words, and the works are the virtues, the handmaids the senses. These things, then, richer than precious stones, she, the soul, brings to the dwelling place of the body.   Ground must be examined and bought and planted out as a vineyard with the earnings of her toil. 3   He speaks of the Church as a zealous soul in possession of the tree of knowledge and the tree of life, that is, having knowledge of the law and the life of the Word. For she who came from the side of Christ is found to be His spouse, a prudent and brave woman, holding to the faith, hoping for that spouse from heaven again. Origen, On Proverbs, Chap 31 Fragment 1 Prov 31.15 2 Ps 101.8 3 Prov 31.16

A Woman Rises Up

Ερώτησις. ΙΒ' Τί δήποτε γυνὴ προφητευει; Ἐπειδὴ ἀνδρῶν καὶ γυναικῶν μία ἡ φήσις. Ἐκ γὰρ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ ἡ γυνὴ δυεπλάσθη, καὶ λόγου μετείληχεν ὡς ἐκεῖνος. Διὸ καὶ ὁ Απόστολός φησιν, Ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ οὐκ ἔνι ἄῥῥεν καὶ θῆλεν. Οῦτω καὶ Μωσῆς προφήτης, καὶ Μαριὰμ προφῆτις. Οἴμαι δὲ καὶ τὴν Δεββώραν εἰς ἔλεγχον τῶν τότε ἀνδρῶν τῆς προφητείας ἀξιωθῆναι. Οὐδενὸς γὰρ ἐξ ἐκείνων εὐρεθέντος ἀξίου τῆς χάριτος, αὕτη τῆς τοῦ παναγίου Πνεύματος τετύχηκε δωρεᾶς· καὶ οὕτω δήλη ἧν, ὅτι τῆς ἄμωθεν ἡξίωτο χάριτος, ὡς τὸν βαρὰκ μὴ τολμῆσαι δίχα ταύτης εἰς τὴν παράταξιν ἐξελθεῖν· τοῦτο δὲ καὶ ἐν τῇ ᾠδῇ αὐτῆς ἔφη· Ἐξέλιπον οἱ κρατοῦντες ἐν τῷ Ἰσραὴλ, ἕως οὕ ἐξανέστη Δεββώρα μήτηρ ἐν Ἰσραήλ. Θεοδώρητος Ἐπίσκοπος Κύρρος, Εἰς Τους Κριτάς Source: Migne PG 80.497c-500a

Question 12 Why was it that a woman made prophecy? Because there is one nature of men and women. For from Adam the woman was formed and was made a participant in reason, as even he was. Thus the Apostle says, 'In Jesus Christ there is neither male nor female.' 1 So Moses was a prophet and Miriam a prophetess. And I think that Deborah was given the gift of prophecy to shame men. For when among men none could be found worthy to receive the grace, so she was endowed with this gift by the Holy Spirit. And so clearly was she in receipt of the supernal grace that Barac would not dare go to the mountain without her, whence she sings concerning herself: 'Israel was bereft of mighty men, until Deborah rose up, a mother in Israel.' 2 Theodoret of Cyrrhus, from Questions On Judges 1 Galat 3.28 2 Judges 5.7

Reading And Doing

Divinarum Scripturarum ardor erat incredibilis, semperque cantabat: In corde meo abscondi eloquia tua, ut non peccem tibi. Et illud de perfecto viro; Et in lege Domini voluntas ejus, et in lege eius meditabitur die et nocte. Meditationem legis non in replicando quae scripta sint, ut Judaeorum existiment Pharisaei; sed in opere intelligens, juxta illud Apostolicum: Sive comeditis, sive bibitis, sive quid agitis; omnia in gloriam Domini facientes. Et Prophetae verba dicentes: A mandatis tuis intellexi, ut postquam mandata complesset, tunc se sciret mereri intelligentiam Scripturarum. Quod et alibi legimus: Quia coepit Jesus facere et docere. Erubescit enim quamvis praeclara doctrina, quam propria reprehendit conscientia; frustaque ejus lingua praedicat paupertatem, et docet eleemosynas, qui Croesi divitiis tumet; vilique opertus pallio, pugnat contra tineas vestium sericarum. Sanctus Hieronymus, Epistula CXXVII, Ad Principiam Virginem Source:  Migne PL 22 1089

Marcella's zeal for the Divine Scriptures was incredible. She was for ever singing, 'Your words have I stored away in my heart that I might not sin against you,' 1 as well as the words which describe the perfect man: 'His delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night.' 2 This meditation in the law she understood not as a review of the written words, as among the Jews the Pharisees think, but of action according to that saying of the Apostle, 'Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.' 3 She remembered also the Prophet's words, 'By your commandments I have gained understanding,' 4 and felt sure that only when she had fulfilled these would she be worthy to understand the Scriptures. In this sense we read elsewhere that 'Jesus began both to do and teach.' 5 For the greatest teaching blushes when one's own conscience rebukes one, and it is in vain that a man's tongue preach poverty or teach almsgiving if he rolls in the riches of Croesus and if, in spite of a threadbare cloak, he has silken robes at home to protect from the moth. St Jerome, from Letter 127, To The Nun Principia 1 Ps 118.11 2 Ps 1.2 3 1 Cor 10.31 4 Ps 118.104 5 Acts 1.1

Dogs And Men

Λόγου μὲν ἄμοιρος ὁ κύων, ἰσοδυναμοῦσαν δὲ ὅμως τῷ λόγῳ αἴσθησιν ἔχει. Ἃ γὰρ οἱ κατὰ πολλὴν σχολὴν τοῦ βίου καθεζόμενοι μόλις ἐξεῦρον οἱ τοῦ κόσμου σοφοὶ, τὰς τῶν συλλογισμῶν λέγω πλοκὰς, ταῦτα δείκνυται παρὰ τῆς φύσεως ὁ κύων πεπαιδευμένος. Τὸ γὰρ ἴχνος τοῦ θηρίου διερευνώμενος, ἐπειδὰν εὕρῃ αὐτὸ πολυτρόπως σχιζόμενον, τὰς ἑκασταχοῦ φερούσας ἐκτροπὰς ἐπελθών, μονονουχὶ τὴν συλλογιστικὴν φωνὴν ἀφίησι δι᾿ ὧν πράσσει· ἢ τήνδε, φησίν, ἐτράπη τὸ θηρίον, ἢ τήνδε, ἢ ἐπὶ τόδε τὸ μέρος· ἀλλὰ μὴν οὔτε τήνδε, οὔτε τήνδε, λειπόμενόν ἐστι τῇδε ὡρμῆσθαι αὐτό· καὶ οὕτως τῇ ἀναιρέσει τῶν ψευδῶν εὑρίσκει τὸ ἀληθές. Τί περισσότερον ποιοῦσιν οἱ ἐπὶ τῶν διαγραμμάτων σεμνῶς καθεζόμενοι, καὶ τὴν κόνιν καταχαράσσοντες, τριῶν προτάσεων ἀναιροῦντες τὰς δύο, καὶ ἐν τῇ λειπομένῃ τὸ ἀληθὲς ἐξευρίσκοντες; Τὸ δὲ μνημονικὸν τῆς χάριτος τοῦ ζῴου, τίνα τῶν ἀχαρίστων πρὸς εὐεργέτας οὐ καταισχύνει; Ὅπου γε καὶ φονευθεῖσι δεσπόταις κατ᾿ ἐρημίαν, πολλοὶ τῶν κυνῶν ἐπαποθανόντες μνημονεύονται. Ἤδη δέ τινες ἐπὶ θερμῷ τῷ πάθει καὶ ὁδηγοὶ τοῖς ἐκζητοῦσι τοὺς φονέας ἐγένοντο, καὶ ὑπὸ τὴν δίκην ἀχθῆναι τοὺς κακούργους ἐποίησαν. Τί εἴπωσιν οἱ τὸν ποιήσαντα αὐτοὺς καὶ τρέφοντα Κύριον οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἀγαπῶντες, ἀλλὰ καὶ φίλοις κεχρημένοι τοῖς λαλοῦσι κατὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀδικίαν, καὶ τῆς αὐτῆς αὐτοῖς τραπέζης μετέχοντες, καὶ παρ᾿ αὐτὴν τὴν τροφὴν τῶν κατὰ τοῦ τρέφοντος βλασφημιῶν ἀνεχόμενοι; Ἅγιος Βασιλειος Καισαρείας, Εις Την ῾Εξαημερον, Ὁμιλὶα Θ' Source Migne PG 29.197c-200a

The dog lacks a share of reason but he has instinct, which has a similar power to reason. Elaborate syllogisms which the wise of the world after long years of study have hardly been able to disentangle, the dog shows himself educated in by nature. For when he is on the track of prey and he finds that the prey has gone off in different directions, he applies himself to examination of the different paths, and only lack of speech fails to declare his reasoning. The creature, he says, is gone here, or there, or in another direction, but since it is neither here nor there, it is therefore in the third direction; and thus dismissing the false tracks he finds the true one. What more is done by those who, deeply occupied in demonstrating theories, trace lines in the dust and reject two propositions to reveal that the remaining one is the true one? And shall it not be thought that the gratitude of this animal disgraces all those who are ungrateful to their benefactors? Many have been told to have remained until death by murdered masters in deserted places. And some, when a crime has been committed, have been guides of those searching for the murderers, and have been the cause of the evil doers being brought to justice. What will say of those who have for friends not only those who do not love the Master who has created and nourished them, but have those at table with them those whose mouth speaks vilely against the Lord, and while taking food blaspheme Him who maintains them? Saint Basil of Caesarea, Hexameron, from Homily 9

Man Obedient And Disobedient

In obedientia autem quare? Istud Quare primum adinvenit diabolus. Diabolus enim obedientiae praeceptum primus discutere coepit: quare, inquit, praecepit vobis Deus non comedere de ligno scientiae boni et mali? Antehac homo simplex simpliciter obedierat, non tam propter praecepti rationem, quae ob praecipientis auctoritatem. Sicut enim fides non habet meritum, cui humana ratio praebet experimentum, sic obedientia a virtute humilitatis evacuatur, cum ei ratio praecepti astipulatur. Vis tamen audire, quare ad alienum aut laboramus, aut pausamus arbitrium et imperium? Quia in hoc nimirium imitatores sumus Christi, sicut filii charissimi, et ambulamus in dilectione, qua dilexit nos, qui ad omnia factus est obediens propter nos, non solum ad remedium, sed ad exemplum, ut quemadmodam ille fuit, sic et nos simus in hoc mundo. In hoc enim, ut beatus ait Joannes, et fiducia. Factus est ergo obediens per omnia, non solum Patri usque ad mortem, sed Mariae et Joseph, usque ad praelationem. Cum enim paterna vocatione dicente: Hic est Filius meus dilectus, in quo mihi bene complacuit: ipsum audite, ad praelationem vocaretur, tunc primum coepit aliis praeesse, qui diu didicerat aliis subesse; coepit jubere, qui didicit obedire. Praeterea recompensatio iusta videtur, ut qui in paradiso dedignatus est regnare dominus sub Domino, in exsilio jam serviat servus conservo. Conditio enim naturae statuit hominem sub Domino: transgressio obedientiae subjugavit cum inimico; reconciliatio vero gratiae supposuit fratri conservo. Natura subdidit eum Deo, culpa diabolo, reconciliatio vero homini amico. Isaac, Cisterciensis Abbas, Sermo L, In Natali Apostolorum Petri et Pauli Source: Migne PL 194.1859b-1860a

And why obedience? This 'why' the devil first brought. For the devil first began to shake the command of obedience. 'Why,' he said, 'does He command you not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil?' 1 Before this simple man simply obeyed, not because of the reason of the command but because of it's authority. So even as faith for which human reason gives demonstration has no value, so is obedience detached from the virtue of humility, when it demands reason for the command. You wish, however, to hear why we go out to labour or we rest by judgement and command? Because in this especially we are imitators of Christ, like beloved sons, and we walk in love, with which He loved us, He who in everything was made obedient for us, 2 not only as a remedy, but as an example, that even as He was, we are in this world. For in this, said the blessed John, is faith. He was made then obedient in all things, not only to the Father unto death, but to Mary and Joseph, 3 even to the preferring of it. For when the paternal voice declared: 'This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased,' 4 you will hear the same when you have been called to the preferring of it, for then he first begins to excel others who subjects himself to learning from others, then he begins to command who learns to obey. Besides the righteous reward shall appear, which in paradise is prepared for those who will rule, a lord beneath the Lord, who in exile now are serving, a servant to a fellow servant. The state of our nature places man beneath the Lord, the transgression of obedience subjugates us beneath the enemy, but the reconciliation of grace establishes one beneath a fellow servant. Nature subjects man to God, sin to the devil, reconciliation, however, to a good man. Isaac of Stella, from Sermon 50, On the Feast of Peter and Paul 1 Gen 3.1 2 Phillip 2.8 3 Lk 2.51 4 Mt 17.5

Faith And Suffering

Πιστὸς ὁ λόγος· εἰ γὰρ συναπεθάνομεν, καὶ συζήσομεν· εἰ ὑπομένομεν, καὶ συμβασιλεύσο μεν· εἰ ἀρνησόμεθα, κἀκεῖνος ἀρνήσεται ἡμᾶς· εἰ ἀπιστοῦμεν, ἐκεῖνος πιστὸς μένει· ἀρνήσασθαι γὰρ ἑαυτὸν οὐ δύναται. Ταῦτα ὑπομίμνησκε, διαμαρτυρόμενος ἐνώπιον τοῦ Κυρίου, μὴ λογομαχεῖν εἰς οὐδὲν χρήσιμον ἐπὶ κατα στροφῇ τῶν ἀκουόντων. Πολλοὶ τῶν ἀσθενεστέρων ἀνθρώπων πρὸς μὲν τὸν τῆς πίστεως πόνον ἀπαγορεύουσιν, οὐδὲ τὴν ἀναβολὴν τῆς ἐλπίδος φέρουσι· τὰ παρόντα δὲ ἐπιζητοῦσιν καὶ ἀπὸ τούτων τὰ μέλλοντα χαρακτηρίζουσιν. Ἐπεὶ οὖν τὰ μὲν ἐνταῦθα θάνατος ἦν, βάσανοι, δεσμά· αὐτὸς δέ φησιν, ὅτι εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον ἥξουσιν, οὐκ ἂν δέ τις ἐπίστευσεν, ἀλλ' εἶπεν ἂν, Τί λέγεις; Ὅτε ζῶ, ἀποθνήσκω, καὶ ὅταν ἀποθάνω, ζῶ; ἐν τῇ γῇ μοι οὐδὲν ἐπαγγέλλῃ, καὶ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ δίδως; τὰ μικρὰ οὐ δίδως, καὶ τὰ μεγάλα παρέχεις; Ἵνα τοίνυν μηδεὶς ταῦτα ἐννοῇ, ἀναμφίβολον ποιεῖται τούτου τὴν κατασκευὴν, προκαταβάλλων μὲν αὐτὸ καὶ ἤδη, καὶ τεκμήρια διδοὺς ,τὸ γὰρ, Μνημόνευε Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐγηγερμένον ἐκ νεκρῶν, τοῦτό ἐστιν, ὅτι μετὰ θάνατον ἀνέστη· νῦν δὲ τὸ αὐτὸ πάλιν δηλῶν φησί· Πιστὸς ὁ λόγος, ὅτι ὁ ζωῆς οὐρανίου τυχὼν, καὶ αἰωνίου τεύξεται. Πόθεν πιστός; Εἰ γὰρ συναπεθάνομεν, φησὶ, καὶ συζήσομεν. Εἰπὲ γάρ μοι, ἐν τοῖς σκυθρωποῖς κοινωνοῦμεν αὐτῷ καὶ ἐν τοῖς κόπον ἔχουσι, καὶ ἐν τοῖς χρηστοῖς οὐκέτι; Ἀλλὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἂν οὐδὲ ἄνθρωπος ποιήσειεν, ὥστε τὸν ἑλόμενον αὐτῷ συναποθανεῖν καὶ συνθλιβῆναι, εἴ ποτε ἐν ἀνέσει γένηται, ἀρνήσασθαι αὐτῷ γενέσθαι κοινωνόν. Ποῦ δὲ συναπεθάνομεν; Τοῦτον λέγει τὸν θάνατον, τόν τε διὰ τοῦ λουτροῦ, καὶ τὸν διὰ τῶν παθημάτων· φησὶ γὰρ, Τὴν νέκρωσιν τοῦ Κυρίου ἐν τῷ σώματι περιφέροντες· καὶ, Συνετάφημεν αὐτῷ διὰ τοῦ βαπτίσματος· καὶ Ὁ παλαιὸς ἡμῶν ἄνθρωπος συνεσταυρώθη· καὶ, Σύμφυτοι γεγόναμεν τῷ ὁμοιώματι τοῦ θανάτου αὐτοῦ. Ἐνταῦθα δὲ καὶ τὸν τῶν πειρασμῶν λέγει· μᾶλλον δὲ τοῦτον· καὶ γὰρ ἐν πειρασμοῖς ἦν, ὅτε ταῦτα ἔγραφεν. Ὃ δὲ λέγει, τοῦτό ἐστιν· Εἰ δι' αὐτὸν ἀπεθάνομεν, δι' αὐτὸν οὐ ζησόμεθα; ἀναμφισβήτητον τοῦτό ἐστιν. Εἰ ὑπομένομεν, φησὶ, καὶ συμβασιλεύσομεν, Οὐχ ἁπλῶς εἶπε, Συμβασιλεύσομεν· ἀλλ', Εἰ ὑπομένομεν, δεικνὺς ὅτι οὐκ ἀρκεῖ τὸ ἅπαξ ἀποθανεῖν, καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἀπέθνησκεν ὁ μακάριος οὗτος· ἀλλὰ δεῖ πολλῆς ὑπομονῆς, ἧς μάλιστα ἔδει Τιμοθέῳ. Μὴ γάρ μοι, φησὶ, τὰ πρῶτα εἴπῃς, ἀλλ' εἰ διαπαντός. Εἶτα καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἄλλου μέρους προτρέπει, οὐκ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀγαθῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν κακῶν. Εἰ γὰρ μέλλοιεν τῶν αὐτῶν μετέχειν καὶ οἱ πονηροὶ, οὐκ ἔστι τοῦτο παράκλησις· καὶ εἰ μέλλοιεν ὑπομείναντες μὲν συμβασιλεύειν, μὴ ὑπομείναντες δὲ τοῦτο μόνον πάσχειν, τὸ μὴ συμβασιλεύειν, δεινὸν μὲν καὶ τοῦτο, πλὴν ἀλλὰ τοὺς πολλοὺς οὐχ ἱκανὸν δακεῖν. Διὸ τὸ φοβερώτερον λέγει· Εἰ ἀρνησόμεθα αὐτὸν, κἀκεῖνος ἀρνήσεται ἡμᾶς. Ἄρα οὐκ ἐν τοῖς χρηστοῖς μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἐναντίοις αἱ ἀμοιβαί. Τὸν δὲ ἀρνηθέντα ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ αὐτοῦ ἐννοήσατε τί παθεῖν εἰκός· Ὃς ἐὰν ἀρνήσηταί με, φησὶν, ἀρνήσομαι κἀγὼ αὐτόν. Οὐκ ἐξ ἴσης ἡ ἀντίδοσις, εἰ καὶ οὕτω λέγων δοκεῖ· ἡμεῖς μὲν γὰρ ἄνθρωποι οἱ ἀρνούμενοι, ἐκεῖνος δὲ Θεός· ὅσον δὲ τὸ μέσον Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων τί δεῖ λέγειν;    Ἅγιος Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος, Ὑπόμνημα Εις Τήν Πρὸς Τιμόθεον Έπιστολήν Δευτέραν, Ὁμιλία Ε'   Source: Migne PG 62.624-625

The saying is faithful: for if we are dead with Him, we shall also live with Him; if we suffer, we shall also reign with Him; if we deny Him, He will deny us; if we are faithless, yet He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. Be mindful of these things, bearing witness before the Lord, that there be no profitless strife about words to the turning away of those who hear. 1 Many of the weaker sort of men grow weary of the effort of faith and do not bear the deferring of hope, but they seek after present things and from them they judge the future. When therefore death was present, and torture and chains, and yet he says that they shall come to eternal life, some would not have believed but would have said, 'What do you say? When I live, I die, and when I die, I live? On earth you promise nothing, and will you give it in heaven? Little things you do not give, and you offer great things?' That none therefore may think so, he establishes it as a thing indisputable, laying it down beforehand even now, and giving proofs. For he has already said: 'Remember Jesus Christ raised from the dead,'  2 that is, that He rose again after death, and now showing the same thing again he says that the saying is faithful, that he who has attained a heavenly life will attain eternal life. Whence is it faithful? For if we are dead with Him, he says, we shall also live with Him. For tell me, shall we share in things woeful with Him and have in them toil, and shall we not share in things beneficial? But not even a man would do this, nor, if one had chosen to suffer and die with him, if he came into rest would he refuse a share. But how are we dead with Him? He speaks of this sort of death: in cleansing and in suffering. For he says, 'The death of the Lord bearing about in the body,' 3 and, 'We are buried with Him by baptism,' 4 and, 'Our old man is crucified with Him,' and, 'We have been planted together in the likeness of His death.' 5 But here he also speaks of that death by trials, and that especially, for he was amid trials when he wrote these things. And this is what he says, 'If because of Him we have died, shall we not live because of Him?' This is not to be disputed. 'If we suffer,' he says, 'we shall also reign with Him.' Not without qualification does he say we shall reign, but 'if we suffer,' showing that it does not suffice to die once, for this blessed man himself died daily, 6 but there is need of much endurance, and Timothy especially had need of it. For do not tell me, he says, of your first sufferings, but of that which you continue to suffer. Then from another direction he exhorts him, not from the good, but from the evil side. For if the wicked were to partake of the same things, this would be no comfort, and if those who had endured were to reign with Him and those who did not endure were to suffer only the loss of reigning with Him, though this were wretched, yet it would not be able to trouble many. Whence he speaks of something more fearful: 'If we deny Him, He will also deny us.' So then there is a return not only of good things, but of their contrary. And think what he might suffer who is denied in that kingdom. 'Whoever denies Me, I will deny him,' He says. 7 And the return is not equal, though it seems to be so expressed. For we are men who deny Him, but He is God; and what needs to be said about how great is the distance between God and men? Saint John Chrysostom, On The Second Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy, from Homily 5 1 2 Tim 2.11-14 2 2 Tim 2.8 3 2 Cor 4.10 4 Rom 6.4 5 Rom 6.5-6 6 1 Cor 15.31 7 Mt 10.33

Leading Into Temptation

Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo... Quoniam multa et magnifica supra mandavit hominibus, ut Deum Patrem suum dicant, ut genus suum de caelo cognoscant, ut regnum Dei petant venire, ut non sint solliciti under pascantur, quae omnia magnae spei et justitia signa sunt: ideo nunc additur humilitatis doctrina, ut dum dicunt, Ne nos inducas in tentaionem, cognoscant se esse infirmos, et consideratio infirmitatis causam gloriationis exstinguat. Duo ergo petimus, primum, ut non inducat nos in tentationem: secundo, ut si induxerit, liberet de periculo tentationis. Nam vere, si secundum veritatem justitiae suae examinaret homines Deus nullus posset fieri salvus. Ideo autem difficule tentat, sciens infirmitatem nostram. Aut si tentat, non tamdiu tentat, quamdiu nos vincamus tentationem, sed quamdiu vincere nos velle ostendimus: id est, non virtutem nostram tentat, sed voluntatem: Apostolo nos confirmante, et dicente: Tentatio vos non apprehendat; nisi humana. Fidelis autem Deus, qui non patietur vos tentari supra id quod potestis sustinere. Volens enim glorificare hominem, tentat eum, non ut cum magno judicio glorificet, sed ut ne sine causa glorificet. Opus Imperfectum in Matthaeum, Homilia XIV Source:  Migne PG 56.714

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil... 1 How many great things He has commanded for men: that they name God their own father, that they know their race is from heaven, that they seek the kingdom of God, that they not be anxious how they will be fed, all of which are signs of great hope and righteousness, and therefore He adds the teaching of humility, that while they say, 'Do not lead us into temptation,' they know themselves to be weak and the consideration of this weakness extinguish any cause of boasting. Two things, therefore, we seek, first that He not lead us into temptation, second, that if He does lead, He free us from the peril of the trial. For truly if according to the truth of His justice God examined men, not one would be able to be saved. Therefore with a certain difficulty He tests us being aware of our weakness. Or if He tests, He does so not that while He tests us we conquer the trial, but that during it we show that we wish to conquer it, that is, it is not our strength He tests but our will, which the Apostle confirms, saying, 'Temptation shall not seize you unless it is human. God is faithful, He does not allow us to be tested beyond what we are able to endure.' 2 Indeed wishing to glorify man, He tests him, not that he be glorified with mighty judgement but that not without cause he be glorified. Opus Imperfectum on Matthew, from The Fourteenth Homily 1 Mt 6.13 2 1 Cor 10.13

The Benefit Of Temptations

Εἶπε πὰλιν· Ἔπαρον τοὺς πειρασμοὺς, καὶ οὐδεὶς ὁ σωζόμενος. Ἀποφθεγματα των ἀγιων γεροντων, Παλλαδιος Source: Migne PG 65.176a

Father Evagrius said, 'Take away temptations and no one will be saved.' Sayings of the Desert Fathers, Palladius of Galatia

Permitting Temptation

Sic autem quidam moventur de hac primi hominis tentatione, quod eam fieri permiserit Deus, quasi nunc non videant universum genus humanum diaboli insidiis sine cessatione tentari. Cur et hoc permittit Deus? An quia probatur et exercetur virtus, et est palma gloriosior non consensisse tentatum, quam non potuisse tentari: cum etiam ipsi qui deserto Creatore eunt post tentatorem, magis magisque tentent eos qui in verbo Dei permanent, praebeantque illis contra cupiditatem devitationis exemplum, et incutiant contra superbiam timorem pium? Unde dicit Apostolus: Intendens teipsum, ne et tu tenteris. Mirum est enim quantum ista humilitas, qua subdimur Creatori, ne tamquam eius adiutorio non egentes de nostris viribus praesumamus, per Scripturas omnes divinas cura continua commendatur. Cum ergo etiam per iniustos iusti, ac per impios pii proficiant, frustra dicitur: Non crearet Deus, quos praesciebat malos futuros. Cur enim non crearet quos praesciebat bonis profuturos, ut et utiles eorum bonis voluntatibus exercendis admonendisque nascantur, et iuste pro sua mala voluntate puniantur? Sanctus Augustinus Hipponensi, De Genesi Ad Litteram, Liber XI, Caput VI Source: Migne PL 34 432-3

Some are troubled by the first temptation of man, that God permitted it to happen, that now they might not see the whole human race tempted by the wiles of the devil. And why did God permit this? So that virtue be proved and exercised, and it is a palm more glorious not to consent to temptation than not to be able to be tempted. When indeed they who go off after the tempter deserting the Creator more and more tempt those who remain in the word of God, do they not then gift to them an example of error against desire, and instil a pious fear against pride? Whence the Apostle says, 'Look to yourself that you are not tempted.' 1 How wonderful is this humility, by which we are placed under the Creator, lest as one not needing His help we presume on our own strength, which is a cure recommended all through the Divine Scriptures. When therefore the just are improved by the unjust and the impious by the pious, vainly it is said: 'God should not have created, foreseeing future evils.' Why indeed should He not have created when He foresaw the profit to the good, that it would be useful for those of good will to be exercised and admonished, and rightly they are punished who have evil wills? Saint Augustine of Hippo, from On Genesis To The Letter, Book 11, Chap 6 1 Galat 6.1

Lot's Flight

Καὶ κατέστρεφεν τὰς πόλεωις ταύτας, καὶ πασαν τὴν περίχωρον, καὶ πάντας τοὺς κατοικοῦντας ἐν ταῖς πόλεσι... Καὶ ἀπέβλεψεν ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ εἰς τὰ ὁπίσω, καὶ ἑγένετο στήλη ἁλός... Ὁ Κύριος οὐ μόνον τοὺς ἀσεβεῖς ἀπόλλυσιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς τροφὰς αὐτῶν οὔσας Σοδομιτικὰς, καὶ ἐπιβλαβεῖς· ἐν αἷς ἐστι καὶ ἄμπελος Σοδόμων ἡ ἄμπελος αὐτῶν καὶ ἡ κληματὶς αὐτῶν ἐκ Γομόῥῥας. Ἂμα τε εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἀπεσώθη, καὶ τὸ πῦρ ἐπεφέρετο ταῖς πόλεσι, σημεῖον τῆς μελλούσης συντελείας. Στήλη οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἐγένετο, ἀλλὰ μάλιστα στήλη ἁλὸς, διὰ τό· Ὑμεῖς ἐστε τὸ ἅλας τῆς γῆς. Ἔφαρμόσῃ δὲ τῇ στήλῃ τοῦ ἁλὸς τό· Ἐὰν δὲ τὸ ἅλας μωρανθῇ; Οὐκ ἀθρόως ἀναβαίνει εἰς τὸ ὄρος κατὰ τὰ εἰρημένα αὐτῷ, ἀλλὰ πρῶτον εἰς Σηγὼρ γίνεται, καίτοιγε μὴ θαῥῥήσας ἑαυτῷ περὶ τοῦ ἀναβῆναι εἰς τὸ ὄρος. Ὠριγένης, Εἰς Την Γενεσιν Source: Migne PG 12.13c-d

And he overthrew these cities and all the land around and all the inhabitants of the cities... And his wife looked behind and became a pillar of salt... 1 The Lord does not only destroy the impious but even their sustenance, which is Sodomitical and noxious, even the vine, concerning which it is said, 'Theirs is the vine of the vine of Sodom, and theirs the branch from Gomorrah.' 2 And then he made his way to safety into a city, even as fire fell on the cities, a sign of the future judgement. And it is not written simply 'a tower' but 'a tower of salt', concerning which: 'You are the salt of the earth.' 3 And certainly a tower of salt befits, 'If the salt has lost its flavour,' He does not make haste to go to the mountains as he was bidden but first he goes to Segor, for he does not yet feel confident concerning the ascent of the mountain. Origen, On Genesis, Fragment 1 Gen 19.25-26 2 Deut 32.32 3 Mt 5.13