Dialogue on the Life of John Chrysostom

Dialogue on the Life of John Chrysostom

continued

CHAPTER XIV. THE TRIAL OF ANTONINUS----CHRYSOSTOM 'S VISIT TO EPHESUS

1 John's Moderation Deac. Pray, father, cut your narrative short; for those who are here with us are grieved to hear of bishops making such assertions, to say nothing of bishops doing such things. Bish. Woe is me, that I have lived to see these days, in which a sacred office----if under the circumstances it is a sacred office----is being sold for money. "I have become a fool" in giving my account of the doings of John's accusers, who have brought us to this pass. But be patient with me, and you will be surprised at the reasonableness which John showed in this matter, as in others. He restrained his indignation for the time, and said to Eusebius: "Brother Eusebius, as accusations made in a moment of vexation are often not easy to prove, I beg you not to bring a written charge against our brother Antoninus; we will set right the matters which have vexed you."

2 Eusebius' Persistence At this Eusebius was very angry, and indulged in harsh language, raging with all his might against Antoninus, and persisting in his accusations. So |120 John requested Paul of Heracleia, who seemed to be a warm supporter of Antoninus, to bring about a reconciliation between the two. Then he rose, and went into the church, as it was time for the sacrifice; gave the people the usual salutation, and took his seat with the other bishops. But Eusebius, the accuser, came in unobserved, and in the presence of all the people, and the bishops, presented another memorial, containing the same charges; conjuring John by terrible oaths, nothing less than "by the salvation of the king and queen." He made such a disturbance that the people took alarm at his audacity, and supposed that he was urging John to petition the king for reprieve from a death sentence. So John, struck by the man's persistence, and anxious to keep the people quiet, accepted the document, and after the reading of the divine oracles requested Pansophius, Bishop of Pisidia, to offer the gifts, while he himself retired with the rest of the bishops. For he always objected to offering the sacrifice with a disturbed mind, as the gospel requires: "When thou bringest thy gift," etc.

3 The Charges made Public After the dismissal of the people, he carefully considered the situation, and taking his seat in the baptistery with the other bishops, called the accuser, and said to him in the presence of all, "I repeat what I said before, that people under the influence of |121 vexation or anger, often say and write a great deal, while their proofs are feeble. If, then, you have certain knowledge of the charges which you wish to bring----for if you can maintain them we do not reject them, nor, if you cannot, do we invite them----before the memorial is read, decide what is best to be done; for after the charges are read, and reach the cars of the public, the proceedings will be on record, and you cannot then, as a bishop, ask for an annulment.However, Eusebius still persisted; so orders were given for the document to be read, and the seven counts which I detailed were read.

4 The Charge of Simony to be first Investigated With the contents of the document thus brought to their ears, the senior bishops said to John, Without doubt, each single point of each single count is impious, and forbidden from every point of view by the sacred laws; but we must not appear to spend all our time upon the less weighty charges. The investigation therefore should begin with the most awful of the points; for if that be found to be true, there is no answer to be made upon the other counts, as that one count contains the root which bears fruit in every kind of evil, as the writer said, "The love of money is the root of all evils." For if a man has accepted bribes against the innocent, and thought fit to barter for money his powers of distributing the Holy Spirit, how is he likely to spare the plate,or the stones, or the property, of the Church?

5 Then John began the investigation, asking Antoninus, "What answer do you make to these charges, brother Antoninus?" He, of course, denied them; |122 for how could he admit his disgrace at the very beginning? Those who had paid the money were questioned, and they, too, denied the charge. These stages of the carefully conducted investigation lasted till two in the afternoon, when the verdict began to take shape on the strength of certain points of evidence. Absence of the Necessary Witnesses At last, the result of the inquiry turned upon the question of witnesses, in whose presence the money had been given and accepted. These witnesses were not at hand, and their presence was necessary. In view of the trouble which their attendance would involve, John expressed his readiness to secure the purification of the church, and to save the witnesses inconvenience, by going to Asia in person, and completing the investigation there. Then Antoninus, conscious of his guilt, and observing the resolution and impartiality of John, went secretly to one of the officials, for whom he was looking after some estates in Asia, and begged him to arrange that John should be prevented from going to Asia, promising that he would himself see to the attendance of the witnesses. This man at once had a communication sent from the palace to Bishop John, to this effect: "It is out of the question for you, the bishop, the champion of our souls, to leave the city, when there is such grave expectation of disturbance, and commit yourself to a long absence in Asia, when the witnesses can easily be brought over." It was Gainas, the barbarian, who was expected to cause the disturbance. |123

6 The Delegation of Bishops to meet the Witnesses Well, to make a long story short, he consented to stay in Constantinople, as he had to consider not only the burden placed upon the witnesses, but also the claims of justice. This postponement for the appearance of the witnesses was a godsend for the accused, as it was now possible to get rid of them by bribery or by pressure. This John foresaw; and accordingly deliberated with the assembled synod the question of sending to Asia some of the bishops present, to examine the witnesses. Chicanery and Delay 7 Three bishops were at once appointed to go-----Syncletius, metropolitan of Trajanopolis, Hesychius, Bishop of Parius, and Palladius, Bishop of Helenopolis; a resolution of the synod being entered upon the minutes, that if either of the litigants did not within two months appear, and stand by his pleas, in Hypoepi, a city of Asia (chosen as at a convenient distance both for the accused persons, and for the other bishops who had to take part with Syncletius and his companions in, the trial), he should be |124 excommunicated. Two of the bishops nominated, Syncletms and Palladius, went down to Smyrna; for Hesychius, who was a friend of Antoninus, pretended that he had fallen ill. They at once notified both parties, by letter, of their arrival, bidding them to go together without delay to the city designated in the resolution, and carry out their promises. Instead of this, they came to terms with one another, thanks to bribery on one side, met by an oath on the other, and before the judges arrived, had become friends. Then they made a great show of hastening to the district of Hypoepi, and calculated to fool the judges by putting off the appearance of witnesses again, on the ground that they were away from home for various unavoidable reasons. Upon this, the judges asked the accuser: "Within how many days will you produce the witnesses? We will wait for them for so long." As he expected that they would soon leave the place, owing to the oppressive weather ----it was the hottest period of summer----he promised in writing that within forty days he would either produce the witnesses, or submit to the penalties prescribed by the canons. He was accordingly set free to look for his witnesses; but he did nothing of the sort, but came down to Constantinople, and there remained in hiding.

8 Death of Antoninus The judges duly waited for the forty days, and as he did not appear, they sent word to all the bishops of Asia, declaring him to be excommunicate, either as a shirker or as a false accuser. Then they held out for thirty days more, and as he still did not appear, they departed, and came to Constantinople, where they fell in with him, and reproved him for his contemptuous action. He again pleaded the excuse of ill health, and promised to produce the witnesses. |125 Thus matters dragged on, until Antoninus, the defendant in Eusebius' suit, died. The Invitation from Ephesus At this juncture John received a resolution forwarded from Asia, on the part of the clergy of the Ephesian Church, on the one hand, and of the bishops on the other, making requirement of him, with an awful adjuration, as follows: "Whereas for years past the laws of the Church, and we ourselves, have been in a sad state of confusion for want of good shepherds, we beg your honour to come and lay down an order issued of God for the Church of Ephesus, so long oppressed, on the one hand, by persons holding the views of Arius, on the other, by those who make a great show of professing the views we hold, to secure advantage and domination for themselves; especially as there are many who are lurking like savage wolves, eager to seize the episcopal throne with the help of money."

9 Chrysostom' s Visit to Ephesus Now John was seriously ill, and it was the stormy season of winter; but he dismissed every difficulty from consideration, and thought only of the settlement of the troubles from which the whole province of Asia was suffering through the inexperience, or lack, of shepherds. Strengthened by his zeal, he embarked and left the city. A violent storm from the north came on, and the sailors were afraid of being cast upon the Proconnesus, so they set the prow to windward, and ran under Mount Trito, where they |126 cast the anchors, and rode, waiting for the south wind to enable them to reach Apameia. For two whole days they lay without food, the ship rolling heavily, but on the third they arrived at Apameia, where Bishops Paul, Cyrinus, and Palladius were waiting for them; for John had appointed them to be his companions on his visit.

10 They accomplished the journey to Ephesus on foot, and on their arrival gathered together the bishops of Lydia, Asia, and Caria, making in all seventy persons. Thus they held the ordination, the majority meeting them in the most friendly spirit, especially the Phrygian bishops; so much did they appreciate the wisdom which fell from his mouth, as it is written, "Wisdom is praised in the streets"----that is, in those that speak; "in the broad places she uttereth her voice with outspokenness," that is, in the hearts that have been enlarged through manifold distresses, as the scripture saith, "In distress thou didst enlarge me." For wisdom is straitened in those that cultivate tares, and choke the word. |127

CHAPTER XV. SIX BISHOPS DEPOSED----CHRYSOSTOM'S WORK UNDONE

1 Eusebius' Request for Immediate Procedure This was the state of things when the man who caused us all this long story, Eusebius, the accuser of the six other bishops, presented himself to the whole body of bishops, claiming to be admitted to communion with them. Some of the bishops objected, maintaining that as a false accuser he ought not to be admitted. Upon this he played the suppliant, saying, "As the main part of the case has been under investigation for two years, and the adjournment was made to enable the witnesses to be examined, I beseech your love of God, to let me produce the witnesses this very day. For although Bishop Antoninus, who accepted the money, and performed the act of ordination, is dead, there yet remain those who gave the money, and received ordination." Confession of the Accused Bishops 2 The assembled synod resolved that the inquiry should be held, and the proceedings began with the reading of the minutes of the previous transactions. Then the witnesses were introduced, and also six of those who had given bribes and received ordination. At first they denied the charge; but the witnesses, some of whom were laymen, others priests, in whom they had evidently trusted, others again women, held to their assertions, and stated the nature of the pledges exchanged, the places, the dates, and the amount. At last, their consciences so much troubled them, that with very little pressure they confessed of their own free will. "We have given bribes," they said; "the thing is admitted, and we have been made bishops, in the expectation that we should be |128 regarded as exempt from civil duties. And now we beg to be allowed to continue in the ministry of this Church, if there is no impiety in our doing so; or, if that is impossible, that we may receive back the money we have paid. For some of us have given furniture belonging to our wives."

3 The Sentence John in answer promised the synod, that with the help of God he would present a petition to the king, and get them freed from civil duties; and bade them order the accused to recover what they had paid from the heirs of Antoninus. So the synod ordered, that they should recover from the heirs of Antoninus, and should communicate within the sanctuary,but not be reckoned as priests, for fear that if their doings were condoned, a custom might arise worthy of Jews or Egyptians, of selling and buying the priesthood. They say that the pestilential patriarch |129 of the Jews, whose acts belied his title, used to change the rulers of the synagogues every year, or every other year, as a means of raising money; and that the Patriarch of Egypt emulated him by doing the same, that the word of prophecy might be fulfilled, "Her priests made answer for gifts, and her prophets divined for money."

4 Re-introduction of the Condemned Bishops The minutes of all those proceedings, and the names of the judges, are on record. Further, the investigation was not a matter of a single day, as Theophilus falsely asserted, but of two years. Moreover, those who were deposed acquiesced, thankful to be delivered from the judgment to come; indeed, one of them was appointed solicitor for dealing with public affairs. In their places six others were instituted, unmarried men, adorned by graces both of life and speech. And the noble and quarrelsome gentlemen, after John had been exiled, got what they did get (for their villainy has no name, any more than it has a substantial existence), and brought back into the Churches those who had four years before been expelled, while those who had been enthroned with due order they thrust out, scattering the sheep of Christ. A Vile Person enthroned at Ephesus

5 Yet the most ridiculous thing of all, though it calls for lamentation rather than laughter, Theodorus, |130 best friend of learning, is yet to follow. As the prophet says, "Both thine ears shall tingle," if you hear it, but as a lover of God you will mourn for the bishops who are behaving as madmen, and with darkened hands outraging the gifts of Christ. The ordinations which Peter and John and their brethren administered with fasting and prayer, and with careful testing by lot, and fear, they administered with revelry and drunkenness, and lamentable bribes, to abortions of men, not worthy to be set with pigs or dogs, creatures without reason; as Job prophesied, impersonating the Saviour, "Whom I thought not worthy of the dogs of my flocks, who lived beneath the nettles." 6 So these companions of actors and Jews are entrusted by our clever friends with the secrets of the priesthood, as if they were friends of the Saviour, and in consequence the orthodox laity avoid the houses of prayer. For this new and most contemptible form of audacity has actually spread from the Church of Ephesus as far as to us; and it is not to be wondered at, as Ephesus stands upon the sea, and exports its news as easily as its cargoes. For in the place of ----no, I will say, in the place of John, the author of the gospel, the loyal disciple who leaned upon the bosom of wisdom, called in Scripture the disciple whom Jesus loved; who was succeeded by Timothy, the disciple of Paul, to whom are addressed |131 the two epistles of the apostle----there succeeds an abomination of desolation. For they consecrated and enthroned the eunuch Victor the tribune, and cast into prison, where he is still languishing, the bishop enthroned by seventy bishops; a man who had lived a solitary life in the desert, trained in every branch of learning, possessed of a profound knowledge of Holy Scripture, and with three years of service as deacon to his record. Would that the eunuch who was consecrated had been trained by a holy life, for then the evil would have been halved;

7 but as it is, we have a worm of earth, a slave of the belly, lustful, fierce, drunken, profligate, venal, illiberal, covetous, a jail-bird from his birth, a sexless creature, neither man nor woman, raging mad; a man who (so I have often been told) carried theatre girls upon his shoulders at drinking parties lit for satyrs, his head garlanded with ivy, and a bowl clasped in his hand, playing the rôle of Dionysus in the fable, as master of libations. All this he did, not before his initiation into the mysteries of Christ, but after his baptism; from which it is a plain inference, that he does not even believe in the resurrection. For how can a man believe in the resurrection, who has made rotten the foundation of the resurrection? As the apostle says, "How shall they preach, unless they believe? He is moral, thanks to the knife, as to deeds which bring no reward; but |132 he is mad upon unfruitful works, from his natural depravity.

8 Now I have answered your inquiry as to events in Asia, which arose from the statement in Theophilus' letter that John had deposed sixteen bishops. You may be quite sure that the number is six. We have the records preserved, with the signatures of the twenty-two bishops who heard the case from the beginning, and the seventy who effected the deposition, and brought the trial to a conclusion.

CHAPTER XVI. PORPHYRIUS

1 The Deacon's Inquiry Deac. Pardon me, father; such deeds overpass drunkenness, and madness, and youthful folly. Madmen, drunkards, and young men, when they are sober again, or have digested their food, or when they have come to years of discretion, as the case may be, are ashamed of their disgraceful or disorderly doings or sayings, and renounce them; these people, after all they have done in mature age and apparently in a sober frame of mind, so far from repenting of their deeds, hope and pray that their wickedness may be permanent and undisturbed. When men have not shrunk from placing the gospel on a polluted head, upon which coarse women have danced; |133 with whom are they fit to be ranked, but with those who put the crown of thorns about the head of the Son of God? However, if you have personal knowledge of the circumstances of the consecration of Porphyrius to the bishopric of Antioch, or of those who performed the act of consecration, or of the previous life of the man, whether it was distinguished or not, and of his teaching, whether it be true or false, tell us what you know; especially as he has sent a letter to the Church of Rome, and was not considered worthy of an answer.

2 A Protestation of Veracity Bish. My words shall again be the words of truth, for I will not forget the voice of the Master, which says, "For every idle word shall men give account in the day of judgment." Let me venture to add a clause, and say, "For every idle hearing." Do you then guard yourself; if you find me not speaking the truth, do not let my grey hair weigh with you, but only the veracity of my statements. For what profit shall I have from what I have said to-day, or yesterday, if I have told lies, when I am put to shame for ever before the unerring judgment throne? And how shall I bear the mill-stone of slander cast about the neck of my mind, when I am cast down into the pit of hell for the souls who have been caused to offend by my lies?

3 Porphyrius' Career Well, this Porphyrius had long been in the Church, |134 and held office both as deacon and as priest in the presbytery; but his character was quite out of keeping with his long tenure of office, and he was never of the slightest spiritual benefit to the Church. He was always in opposition to the devout bishops in his neighbourhood, and used his position as bishop of the most important city, with the magistrates under his jurisdiction, to make ordination a matter of barter; he exerted his ingenuity to prevent seemly ordinations, and by his uncanny abilities wormed himself into friendship with the bishops in office for the moment, as one may call them, even dragging them down with him against their will, to hold ordinations blasted by the wind. Flattery, coupled with an evil disposition, is a terrible thing; as the comic poet Menander says, "It is hard, Pamphile, for an honest woman to fight with an harlot."

4 Porphyrius' Character The more such a man knows the more harm he does. He is ashamed of no one, but the worse a man is, the more he flatters him. As the wise Solomon says, "The words of flatterers are soft; they smite upon the innermost chambers of the belly." He is as much a stranger, or rather an enemy, to self-control in the pleasures of the flesh, as the vulture is to scent; indeed, common report credits him with the unnatural wickedness of Sodom. Nature imposes upon our pleasures laws, and limits, and barriers; if what they say is true, he has trodden down the barrier, burst |135 the limit, and made despite of the law, until he has produced the impression that he takes the chair and joins in the convivial gatherings of jugglers, and jockeys, and actors who represent incidents of ancient times with improper posturings and distortions of the leg. He had the hardihood to enter into contests of skill with jugglers, and have friendly intercourse with them; indeed, charges of so doing are entered in the records of several of the magistrates. Pie has not read the gnomic poet's words, "What thou ought-est not to do, do not even think." [Thanks to him the Mediator was slain with blows, and "he who found was exiled, and the juggler was put to flight."]

5 They say that besides all this wickedness, he was guilty, after his ordination, of melting down (Church) plate, and lavishing the proceeds upon the magistrates, to produce the appearance of having the authority, not of a spiritual guide, but of a tyrant, over those who unhappily fell into his power. Constantius desired as Bishop 6 Now the death of Flavianus, Bishop of Antioch, coincided with the exile of John to Armenia. Porphyrius observed that the whole population, men and women alike, hung upon the neck of Constantius the priest, longing to have him (as bishop). He had been the servant of the Church from his earliest childhood; an ambidextrous man, to use a term from the book of Judges. What is generally considered the left hand, was in him stronger than the right of other men. He had first rendered service by writing letters, and been found blameless in regard to unrighteous gain and bribes; next he had been promoted to be reader and |136 deacon, and without an effort had mastered the sexual delights which reign among men. As the author of Proverbs says, "The hand of the elect shall easily prevail." For possibly even the vilest of men can master pleasure; either through fear of consequences, or from shame, they may by great exertion restrain their bodily impulses. But it is only those that love God, who through love of the higher can rise superior to the lower----those whom the scripture calls "elect," in the text, "The hand of the elect shall easily prevail." If ever a man was gentle, it was he; or if ever a man was self-disciplined, penetrating of vision, sharp of comprehension, slow to punish, thoughtful, able to draw inferences by reflection, merciful, generous, just in judgment, long-suffering under insults, of ability to win men, oft continuing fasting until evening, so as to relieve the oppressed, of dignified appearance, stern of look, swift of step, celibate, as a bishop should be, ever wearing upon his face, even in sickness, the blossom of a smile.

7 Porphyrius' Private Ordination as Bishop Such a man it was whose banishment Porphyrius set himself to bring about by means of bribery; and his method was this. He sent to the capital a message addressed to the officials in authority over the bishops, and procured his exile to Oasis by royal edict, as a seditious agitator. Constantius, however, at once heard of this, and with the help of his friends escaped to Cyprus. But Porphyrius himself had Cyriacus and Diophantus, priests, and other clergy, put under arrest; and then, keeping by his side in hiding the party of Acacius, Severianus, and Antiochus, he waited for the occasion when the whole city went abroad to the suburbs on one of the great pagan festivals, observed every four years in honour of the labours of Hercules, called Olympia, upon which flocks of women stream out with the crowds to Daphne, to |137 see the sports. Bursting into the church, with the bishops I mentioned, and a few clergy, he was privately ordained, with closed doors, and in such haste, through fear of discovery, that they did not give themselves time to finish the prayer. Such is adultery, its offspring and its deeds ever bastard.

8 Porphyrius' Acts of Violence Severianus and his friends took their bribe-money, and fled through mountains and pathless wastes; they escaped the terror of man, but were pierced through by the terror of God, which they had ignored. Now when the public theatre emptied, and the crowds re-entered the city, they were told what had been done to Porphyrius, and of the drama that Acacius had played. That evening the people forbore, like men flogged for adultery; but next day they rose, and poured through the streets in a great throng, with fire and faggots, determined to destroy Porphyrius with his house. Porphyrius, however, quite aware of the hatred in which he was held, deserted God, and fled to the officer in command of the camp, put money in his hands; and so diverting him from the war with the Isaurians, opened a campaign against the disciples of the Saviour. So the marauding Isaurian savages ravaged Rhosus and Seleucia, while Porphyrius and Valentinus the governor pillaged the Church of the orthodox with an armed force; trampling with their own feet upon the most awful sign of the Cross, which they (the orthodox) bore upon their shoulders to be their teacher, while they offered litanies upon the desolated land. |138

9 The Indignation of the People A few days afterwards, Porphyrius sent to the capital in great haste, and urged upon the magistrates, who were such men as himself, that a certain creature of their own, old but active, and of an evil disposition and a twisted mind, should be appointed night-prefect, that he might so make himself master of the city by bringing false charges against the good citizens without fear of consequences. It was a fine imitation of the ways of Nero the fighter against God. It is not in him to win men by reason, but to vex them with unreason and cruelty; since he does not make it his aim to please God by leading to Him wandering souls, but to fill his serpent-like belly that crawls upon its chest. So a certain number of the laity, in fear of rough treatment, unwillingly assembled in the church, for the sake of appearances, but in reality, they vituperated the lives of the men, and awaited succour from God.

10 Cruelty Preferred to Flattery At this point Theodorus said, in amazement----Deac. I note something contrary to natural order in these events, father. As a general rule, vainglorious persons are men-pleasers, and prove to be flatterers, and provide sumptuous tables, to get themselves liked and well spoken of. Often they will even let people spit upon them. So I cannot see how Porphyrius, or any one else, can have practised methods of threats, and punishment, and banishment. 11 Bish. Yes, this is the extraordinary thing, Theodorus, that they reached such a pitch of wickedness, that so far from being anxious to please men, they did not even give a thought to the disgraceful character of their doings; for wickedness outdoes wickedness in wickedness. Wickedness casts the net of vainglory, when it hopes to catch simple folks by means of |139 flattery; but when the quarry proves to be superior to flattery and the pleasures of the table, it brings up threats and torments, to terrify by cruelty and fear those whom it could not seduce by the pleasures of the table or by flattery. We have seen this in the case of the martyrs. Both methods were employed against them; the snare constructed of bribes and honours, which caught those who had their mouths open for worthless reputation, and also the threat of punishment, which provided the roasting iron, the rack, and the wild beasts, and every kind of horrible torture, and revealed the courageous and the lovers of God. But to return to my story. The leading clergy of Antioch met in secret, without even going near the walls of the church, and all the leading women, for whose sake more particularly the covetous prelates have gone out of their wits. I need not tell you what happened in Constantinople, or what numbers of people, as I told you before, left the church, and gathered in the open air, so that not even our rulers in ecclesiastical affairs had so many auditors----of their silence, for they never tried to speak.

12 Olympias and Theophilus Deac. You have relieved the doubts which were in my mind, father, by your presentation of the facts to my eyes. The consistency of your narrative, and your ingenuous explanation, convinces me that these events really happened; for a fictitious narrative cannot be consistent with itself. If it will not burden you, please tell us about Olympias, if you know anything of her. Bish. Which Olympias? There are several ladies of that name. Deac. The deaconess of Constantinople, who was the wife of Nevridius the ex-prefect. |140 Bish. I know her very well. Deac. What sort of a woman is she? Bish. Do not say woman, but manly creature;she is a man in everything but body. Deac. How so? Bish. In life, and in work, and in knowledge, and in her patience under afflictions. Deac. Why then did Theophilus revile her? Bish. Which Theophilus? Deac. The Bishop of Alexandria.

13 Bish. You appear to me, Theodorus, to have buried in oblivion oceans of words. Deac. How so? Bish. The man who did not spare the truth, but trod it underfoot, as my narrative has established, and did not respect the Church universal, for whose sake the Only-begotten, as we proclaim, was done to death, that He might make it one, but disgraced it by his behaviour----has he it in him to spare a widow woman, who spends her life in prayer? Look all round, and see if he ever reviled a bad man; he always has hated devoutness. Why do you not gather from his very letters, how contrary they are one to another? He vituperated Epiphanius, the blessed Bishop of Constantia in Cyprus, who for thirty-six years ruled the Church there, as a heretic, or a paltry schismatic, in the time of Damas us or of the blessed Sericius; but afterwards, in his letter to Pope Innocent, in which he reviled the blessed John, we find him calling Epiphanius a most holy saint. How often do you suppose he kissed Olympias' knees, when he |141 hoped to get money from her, the woman whom he now reviles; while she threw herself upon the ground in vexation, and shed tears at such things being done by a bishop. However, what were the grounds on which he reviled her?

14 Olympias' Reception of the Monks Deac. He said that she had received into her house the monks whom he had expelled. Bish. Well, is it right or fitting for a bishop to expel any disciple whatever; to say nothing of a monk? Deac. Yes, if they have offended him, or slandered him. Bish. Even if they did, ought he to have satisfied his personal indignation? How then shall Theophilus look for the insults which Christ endured, when he is always thinking of his own reputation? Why did he never imitate the teacher who said, "Being reviled, we bless"? Deac. Then what was he to do, if the monks were unorthodox? Bish. Whatever they were, he ought to have corrected them and convinced them, not to have expelled them. Deac. But what if he did this, and they were so contentious, that they refused to be convinced? Bish. He ought to have carried out the apostle's precept, "The man that is an heretic after one or two admonitions refuse, knowing that such an one is perverted." He does not say, expel him, and rob him, and drive him from his native land, under threat of magistrate's sentence.

15 Deac. You tell me of rules for a perfect man, a lover of God, enduring of evil. Bish. And yet it is not a matter for great praise, to bear with an inferior. But if a man is not perfect, so far as is possible, how can he be a bishop? The imperfect will never have consideration for the |142 imperfect. And how can he be called Theophilus, if he does not love God, for Whose sake he ought readily to have borne the insults of men? And if he does not love God, clearly he does not love himself either; and how shall he who is his own enemy love others? So it is not at all strange, that he blamed Olympias for receiving the monks. Deac. I admit that Theophilus was carried away by his temper when he expelled them, whether they were orthodox or heretical; still, the deaconess ought not to have received them.

16 The Rightfulness of Olympias' Action Bish. Well, what did you think of it? That she did right or wrong? Deac. I said, that she did wrong. Bish. And doing good is sometimes judged? Deac. Most certainly, when good is done to bad people, and people who ought not to be treated well. Bish. Then what were the five thousand, whom the Saviour fed with five barley loaves----good or bad? Deac. As they were fed by the Saviour, clearly they were good. Bish. If they were good, why did he feed them with loaves of barley? Deac. Perhaps because wheaten loaves were scarce, and they were hungry. Bish. Then how is it that they are reproved for want of faith; as good, or as bad men? Deac. If they are reproved, clearly they were bad. Bish. Well, can the same man be both good and bad? Deac. Certainly. Bish. How? Deac. They can be good in comparison with the worse, and bad in comparison with the better.

17 Bish. Splendid. According to this, the monks were both good and bad. And the most faithful |143 deaconess provided hospitality for them, as good men, but our wonderful bishop expelled them, as bad. He ought not to have done so. Deac. But he will say to you, "You received my enemies, to my hurt." Bish. I object. It was wrong for him to call them enemies at all. As an imitator of Christ he ought to endure insults. Deac. One moment; where are the five thousand reproved, as you said they were, by the Saviour? There is no record of reproof of them in scripture. Bish. When they assembled and came to Jesus the second time, and were told, "Ye seek me, not because ye saw signs and wonders, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled." That is very clear, said Theodorus. Bish. If a man is blamed, he is so far bad.

18 Deac. Very true. Bish. Then were those whom the Saviour fed bad, or good? Deac. I admit that they were bad; for "they that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick." Bish. Well then; did Olympias do wrong in imitating her Lord, who "maketh his own sun to rise, and sendeth rain, upon righteous and unrighteous"? Even though the Pharisees reproach Him, and say to the disciples, "Your master eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners." Deac. It appears that, contrary to the general instincts of mankind, noble actions are being condemned, and disgraceful actions approved. Bish. What makes you say that, Theodorus, most truth-loving of men? Deac. I mean that, if you had not made the matter |144 clear to me, by your logical explanation, I should have been led astray to hold the same senseless opinion as other people; the babblings of Theophilus caught my attention more than the ideal of truth.

19 Bish. Then conversely, if these holy men are proved not only to be not bad men, but men who have turned many from vice to virtue, clearly their persecutor deserves not to be persecuted in his turn, but to be pitied, as one who is always oppressing the good, and receiving the bad. Deac. Just so. Even if they cannot be proved to be wise and holy men, as most people say they are; by the lines of reasoning we have been following, Olympias must be freed from blame, as she put into practice the imitation of the Saviour. Bish. And which testimony to the value of actions do you regard as strongest; that of the gospels, or that of Theophilus? Deac. Hush, I beg you; I admit that he expelled the men through ill temper and love of domination, and that he reviled Olympias through superstition and enmity, making the monks his excuse. The fact is, that when he found his servile flatteries fail in getting anything out of her beyond food and hospitality, he turned and reviled her; this is his way with every one. |145

CHAPTER XVII. THE VIRTUES OF THE MONKS, AND OF OLYMPIAS

1 Hierax and Ammonius Bish. Listen, then, best of deacons. [You are worth the trouble], for I see that you will do much good in the world; your youthful zeal is a pledge of an honourable old age. These men from their earliest childhood, brought up by Christian parents, submitted themselves to God, and when quite young refused to be the slaves of vanity, and to associate with the multitude, but found a desolate spot far out of the world, in the south, where they set up huts, to shield them from the fierce heat of the sun, and the dew from the air. Here they lived, spending their time in prayer and reading, producing by manual labour enough fruit of their toil to provide for their frugal nourishment; thinking it better to herd with deer and sparrows and buffaloes, than to feast with people who knew not God. The eldest of them, who was called Hierax, and is still generally known by that name, once an associate of the blessed Antonius, had attained the age of ninety years, or thereabouts; another was Ammonius, sixty years old, and there were besides two anchorite brethren, and one bishop, who were put in pillory and banished under Valens, as all Alexandria knows. Such masters of learning were they, that not a single |146 point of difficulty which men generally find in the scriptures escaped them. Two of them fell asleep, ending their days in Constantinople; Ammonius, as Aurelius and Sisinnius related, had prophesied of his decease, that there would first be a great persecution and schism among the Churches, but that the originators of it would come to a most disgraceful end, and that so the Churches should be made one. This shall come to pass, as it has already come to pass in part.

2 The Divine Punishment of the Persecutors For presently certain of the bishops, and of the lay people as well, were attacked by disease, which rent them with sufferings of various kinds, burning their vitals with slow fever, and setting up such intolerable itchings, that they excoriated with their nails the whole surface of their bodies, and by continual intestinal pains. One man had livid dropsical swellings in the feet; another found the fingers which had written the unrighteous signature shaking with discharges, now hot, now cold, which ran from his four limbs. The abdomen was inflamed, and putrefaction in one member exhaled a far-reaching stench, and bred worms. Other symptoms were asthma, and difficulty of breathing, and tensions of all the limbs; nightmares of ravening dogs changing to savages brandishing swords and yelling in strange tongues like the roaring of the sea, made their sleep to be no sleep. One had his right leg broken like a cabbage stalk, by a fall from his horse, and died immediately from the shock; another entirely lost the use of his voice, and for eight months suffered torments upon his bed, unable to lift his |147 hand to his mouth. Another's legs were almost eaten away as far as the knees, apparently by aggravated erysipelas; the tongue of another swelled so terribly, they say, with raging fever, that it pressed against his teeth, and blocked the [main channel of] the body. As there was no room for his tongue in the space naturally appointed for it, he wrote a confession of his sins upon a tablet.

3 One could see the divine wrath carrying out its punitive operations by various forms of vengeance.For as they had provoked the Physician who brings relief to souls, and had driven His mouth-piece from the workshop of salvation, they were delivered over for torture to physicians of the body, who administered pains by the drugs usually prescribed as remedies, and wrought no salvation. For who shall heal him who is being punished by God? As the prophet says, "Shall physicians rise, and praise thee?" Thus perished all who work against the peace of Thy Church, O Lord. More of the Monks On the other hand, it is said that the tomb of the monk Ammonius expels the shivering fever; he was buried in the shrine of the apostles, beyond the sea. Bishop Dioscorus, they say, had made it his special petition, that he might see either the peace of the Church, or his own death; as the world was |148 not worthy of peace, he was granted death, and was buried in the martyr's shrine facing the gate of the city, with the result that most of the women gave up taking oaths by the martyr, and now swear by the prayers of Dioscorus. As for the rest of the anchorites, the telling of the tale would take many words; and perhaps you cannot spare the time, famous sir.

4 Deac. Nay, who is so sorely pressed, that he must refuse a hearing to tales of heroism? Speak, I pray you, and by every fair word at your command draw away my mind from earthly thoughts. Bish. Well, there is another Hierax; though he bears a Greek name, his life is adorned by the beauty of his character. On first embracing the life of solitary retirement, he withdrew to Mount Porphyrites, quite outside the boundaries of Egypt and Thebais, free from the breath of men; where he lived for four years of strict devotion, finding the virtues of the life themselves sufficient for his comfort. Then he spent twenty-five years in Nitria, with the fathers I have mentioned. He was assailed by demons, as he told us himself, who were transformed into angels of light, and tried to shake him from the hope set before him, by promising him a long life. "You have fifty years to live," they said; "how shall you endure, here in the desert?" But he with the intelligence of faith replied, "You distress me when you tell me of a period shorter than my purpose; I had prepared myself for two hundred years in the desert." Hearing this they vanished howling. Such was the man, whom demons could not shake by the invention of a vast space of time to bring him to accidie, whom Pope |149 Theophilus drove from his home by an edict, and brought to such distress, that he made his way to the capital; a man who now has again, since the falling asleep of Ammonius, returned to the sheer desert, in fearful remembrance of the parable of the plough.

5 Another, a priest called Isaac, a disciple of Macarius the disciple of Antonius, a man who loved the desert to a fault, fifty years of age, who had the whole scripture by heart, and took up horned snakes in his hands unharmed, a virgin from his mother's womb, who at seven years of age had taken to the desert, after forty years was sifted out by Pope Theophilus, with the aforesaid monks. Another priest Isaac, also the disciple of a disciple of Antonius, the priest Cronius, whom he succeeded, extraordinarily learned, like the first Isaac, in the scriptures, hospitable if ever man was----so much so, that in his extraordinary love of his fellow-men, he established a hostel in the sheer desert for the refreshment of sick monks, and of strangers who visited the district to see the blessed fathers----a stranger, they say, to anger, who had lived for thirty years in retirement, was cruelly treated along with the others. The first of these Isaacs had a hundred and fifty ascetics under him; Theophilus, while he was really a Theophilus, appointed disciples of his, to the number of seven or eight, as bishops. The other had two hundred and ten, and many of his disciples, too, are on the roll of bishops.

6 These are the men of whom I told you two days ago; how they were driven by Pope Theophilus |150 from the desert, on account of Isidore the priest. Those are the men, whom priests and Levites passed by, and whom to the shame of men a manly woman received, and to the condemnation of bishops a deaconess hospitably entertained; a woman whose praise dwells in the Churches for many reasons. She followed the example of the famous Samaritan, whoever he was, who found the man maltreated by the robbers half dead in the descent to Jericho, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to the inn, and mingled the oil of love for his fellow-men with the astringent wine, and so healed his swelling wounds. The Life of Olympias 7 Now I must leave the monks, to speak of her. What wealth of money or of goods she distributed to the needy it is not for me to say, but for those who benefited by her generosity; as I lived elsewhere, I had no need to be a burden to her. But listen while I tell of greater virtue yet. She was an orphan, and married; but she was not allowed by the foreknowing God, Who sees the issues of men's lives before they come to pass, to be the slave of the pleasure of the flesh which claims the obedience of all, even for twenty months; her husband being speedily called to pay the debt of nature. It is reported by common rumour that she is still a virgin; while she might have yielded to the apostolic rule, "I will that the younger widows marry, keep the house," she could not bring herself to do so, although she had all the advantages of noble birth, and wealth, and an expensive education, as well as personal beauty and the grace of blossoming womanhood----but leapt free as a gazelle over the snare of second marriage. "For the law is not laid down for a righteous man, but for lawless persons, profane," insatiate for destruction. |151

8 Now it happened that through some kind of satanic malice, her premature widowhood was reported to the ears of King Theodosius, who at once set himself to marry her to a kinsman of his own, one Elpidius, a Spaniard. He again and again urged the brave creature to consent, but to his vexation she refused, declaring, "If my King had desired me to live with a husband, he would not have taken away my first; but as He knew me to be unsuitable to the conjugal life, since I am unable to please a husband, He at once set him free from the bond, and delivered me from the burdensome yoke, and from slavery to a husband, while He laid upon my mind His gentle yoke of continence. At this reply, he ordered the prefect, that her property should be held under trust, until she reached her thirtieth year. The officer, instigated by Elpidius, carried out the king's command by causing her all possible annoyance; she was not allowed to have any dealings even with the most eminent of the bishops, or to attend church, in the hope that in utter weariness she might be driven to prefer the proposed marriage. But she rejoiced all the more, and gave thanks to God, and made answer to the king: "You have shown towards my humble self kindness worthy of a king, and suitable to a bishop, in commanding this very heavy burden, which caused me anxiety, to be put in trust for proper administration;

9 you will do better yet, if you order it to be dispersed among the poor, and the Churches. Indeed, it has long been my prayer, to be delivered from the vainglory which might come from distributing it in charity, that I may not be so engrossed in material things as to lose the soul's true wealth. Hearing on his return from the war with Maximus of her enthusiasm for the disciplined |152 life, the king ordered that she should have the control of her property. 10 Deac. Then John had good reason to hold her in honour, if she was so strict in her self-discipline. Bish. Yes indeed; she abstains from flesh food, and seldom visits the baths; if her health requires it (she has chronic stomach troubles) she enters the water in her chemise, because, they say, modesty forbids her to look upon herself. Olympias' Charities Deac. It is reported that she has entirely maintained the blessed John. Bish. Even if she has, what kindness did she show to him that was worthy of his virtue? She certainly spared him anxiety for his daily barley bread; and this is no small thing for Christ's workers, whose care, night and day, is for the things of Christ. As Paul says, in saluting Persis, who probably had toiled like Olympias; "Salute," he writes, "Persis the beloved, who laboured much in the Lord," "for all seek their own, and not the things of Christ." I know that she did more to maintain the blessed Nectarius----so much so, that he took her advice even in ecclesiastical affairs----and I need not mention Amphilochius, Optimus, Gregorius, Peter the brother of Basil, and Epiphanius Bishop of Cyprus, those saints to whom she actually made gifts of lands and money. When Optimus was dying in Constantinople, she closed his eyes with her own hands. Besides these, she generously provided everything they required for the wretched Antiochus, Acacius, and Severianus; and to put it briefly, for every priest who visited the city, and a host of ascetics and virgins. |153

11 Chrysostom's Sparing Acceptance However, as John had decided that he was sent to be a pattern, so to speak, to future bishops of the manner of life required of them, and therefore, that he should preach Christian repentance, as Paul says, at his own charge, without touching anything that belonged to the Church, he accepted meat for each day as it came, and avoided anxiety about such things. They say that he was like a man ashamed of himself,when he partook of material food. When apples are fully ripe, they cannot endure to stay on the branch, but look for the hand of their master; so it is with the saints. When they rise above nature in their love for the beauty of heavenly things, they long, even before the time appointed for their decease, to attain to the promise. We see the same thing in the children of great houses; when they know that honey-cakes are to follow, they often refuse to touch the food set before them, so as to save their appetites for the sweets with which they look forward to satisfying themselves. I leave my observations to the judgment of those who have set out upon the same track in the spiritual journey; for "if the wise man hear a prudent man, he will commend him, and add unto it." |154

CHAPTER XVIII. CHRYSOSTOM'S IDEALS

1 The Example of St. Paul Deac. You have eased my mind, honoured father, by your painstaking and complete explanation; your narrative is quite consistent with the rumours which had reached our ears, but gives them a new flavour of grace. Yet I must say, that the maintenance of the bishop would have been no burden to the Church, if the holy John had taken his share from the Church; as the writer says, "For the labourer is worthy of his food," and again, "Who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? Who planteth a vineyard, and partakes not of its fruit?" Do we not find these words, and many others to the same effect, in scripture? 2 Bish. Appropriately and intelligently spoken, Theodorus; but add to the texts you have quoted the words that follow. True, the sacred law gives to those employed upon sacred things the right to eat of the sacrifice, but note what Paul, ever covetous of the good, adds: "I did not use the power" in things of the body, "that I may be a partaker of the gospel" in things of the spirit. He would not be "a stumbling-block to the weak"; as he says, "If any one see thee, who hast knowledge, sitting at meat" in weakness, "will not his conscience, as he is weak, be edified" into imitating thy weak doings? If the matter ended with us, and there were none coming after us to receive in their turn maintenance from the laity, it would be possible for an offender to say, Let us live as we will, and enjoy the good things of life. But as those who come after us treat us as teachers, and set our rule and our behaviour before their eyes, we are bound to live |155 not only for ourselves, but for Him Who died and rose for us; to constrain the weakness of the laity, and to lead their ranks to a higher standard of temperance and simplicity, admonishing ourselves. As the writer says, "What man is he that feareth the Lord? He will lay down for him a law in the way that he hath chosen."

3 The Sense of Responsibility For the Master lays down the law for the self-willed and miserable people who sin in thoughtlessness, welcoming the spirit of bondage; as the psalmist David says, "The Lord shall lay down a law for sinners in the way," but will punish transgressors. But the righteous man, breaking the bounds of the law of bondage, for his love of the Master, presses on to his rights of sonship by adoption, and becomes his own law-giver. Such was Job, both in deed and word---- "I made a covenant with my eyes; I will not look upon a maid." Now what was this covenant? That they who rebel against temperance should have their eyes cut out. In the same way David says, "I have sworn, and am steadfastly purposed, to keep thy righteous judgments;" where his will was hesitating and wavering, he bound it with an oath. John followed the example of these fathers, as no bastard, but a true son, and in his longing to make the way easy for the common herd of men, enervated through divers lusts, to a sounder standard of life, he made himself his own law-giver; steeling himself by an unalterable decision, he withdrew himself from drinking parties and gatherings of triflers, jokers, and gossips, arming the eye of his soul with the panoply of the spirit, lest folly should find an entrance through revelry and improper talk, and make havoc of |156 temperance. As the writer says, "Evil communications corrupt good manners."

4 Chrysostom's Action in Accordance with Scripture This is why plots were laid against him; for even when his light shone brightly, he was offensive to them, as a lamp is offensive to watering eyes. Such was his fellow-sufferer, Jeremiah, who lamented with tears the faithlessness of the rulers and the priests, crying, "Who will give to my head water, and fountains of tears to my eyes? And I will weep for my people day and night;" and again, "Who will give me a lodging-place, the furthest in the desert? And I will leave my people, and go from them, for all commit adultery." He calls the assembly of the false prophets and priests a gathering of them that disannul the law. So in another passage he appeals to God, not because God did not know, but because we have to follow his example: "Lord, if I have sat in the assembly of them that make merry; but I lived in godly fear away from thy face; I sat alone, because I was filled with bitterness." Similarly David sings, "I have not sat with the assembly of vanity, and with the transgressors I will not enter;" and he adds, to make his meaning clear, "I have hated the congregation of the evil-doers, and with the ungodly I will not sit; I will wash my hands"----my active powers----"in innocency, and will go round thine altar, O Lord."

5 But these men cared less than he for the altar, and turned their back upon it, not only in purpose, but in their manner of life; not content with defiling it with unwashed and blood-stained hands, with giving and accepting bribes, and making false statements in writing, they trampled upon it with muddy feet. It is of them that Ezekiel speaks in figure: "And he brought me to the door of the court, and I saw, and behold a hole in the wall. And he said unto me, |157 Dig through, son of man. And I dug through, and behold, a door. And he said unto me, Go in, and see the wicked lawlessness, which they do here. And I went in, and behold, every likeness of creeping thing, and beast, and vain idols, abominations. And he said unto me, Thou hast seen, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, in the chamber" (he means, in their minds). "For they said, The Lord seeth us not, the Lord hath forsaken the earth. And he said unto me, Thou shalt see yet greater lawlessness, which these do. And he brought me to another place, and showed me; and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz." And again, "He brought me into the inner house of the Lord; and behold there, twenty and four men, and their faces turned away, and their backs to the altar. And he said unto me, Are these small things, that the house of Israel doeth?"

6 We could not help calling to mind the passage of the prophet, at the thought of these particularly reckless people, who think that they are somewhat and deceive themselves; who disturb the peace of the Church, because they have given their backs to the Lord's table, "Whose judgment ceaseth not, and their destruction slumbereth not; "who mind earthly things. Of them Judas the brother of James says, "These are they who are hidden rocks in your love feasts, feasting with you without fear, shepherds that feed themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds, wild waves of the sea foaming out their own shame, wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved for ever. In calling them "clouds without water," he suggested the evil hail with which they mar the vine; "wandering stars" more distantly suggests the plot against the ship. Both ship and vine are the Church. What consequences are bound to follow from such things? Hear again the same prophet Ezekiel, telling us: "And he |158 showed me, and behold men came from the way of the upper gate, which looketh toward the north, every man with his slaughter weapon in his hand. And one man in the midst of them, clothed down to the feet, and a girdle of sapphire upon his loins. And they went in, and stood beside the brazen altar, and the glory of the God of Israel which was upon them went up from the cherubim to the threshold of the house.

7 And he called the man who was clothed down to the feet, who had the girdle upon his loins. And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, even Jerusalem, and set the sign upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the lawlessness that is done in the midst of them. And to them he said"----clearly, to the six who had the slaughter weapons----"in mine hearing, Go into the city after him"----clearly, after the man who put the signs upon their foreheads----"and smite; let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity; slay utterly the old man, the young man, and maiden, and little children and women. But come not near any man upon whom is the sign, and begin at my sanctuary. Then they began at the elders which were in the house of the Lord." 8 A Piece of Exegesis If any one should imagine that this prophecy is concerned only with occurrences in Judaea, I should consider him to be in ignorance of the fact of the Lord's sojourn upon earth; for Ezekiel was not a priest prior to the Captivity. Under the dispensation of God, he was carried into captivity while quite a child, with the rest of the tribe of Levi, and only in his thirtieth year, while fulfilling his office as a priest among the exiles, was he found worthy of the vision of things to be; as he tells us himself, "And it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month; and I was in the midst of the captivity by the river Chebar." And again, shortly |159 afterwards: "The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel, the son of Buzi, the priest, in the land of the Chaldaeans by the river Chebar."

9 If our objector, finding himself in difficulties, should now say to us: It is the Saviour who went first and set the sign of the cross upon the foreheads of the men, and then, when they would not believe the Saviour, the Roman empire followed, in the days of Vespasian, who forty years later destroyed the synagogue which had worked iniquity; we accept [as a Christian] a man who holds these views, but we urge him, as a son of the New Covenant, to follow the guidance of Paul our instructor in these mysteries, who says of all the books of this kind, "These things happened to them in figure, and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come." Now I do not say this because I make it my prayer that the sword may come upon the enemies of God. God forbid. The prophet does not indicate a sword of steel, but some other punitive force, of which the same Ezekiel says, "The land upon which I bring a sword" ("I bring" for "I will allow"), "and the people of the land take a man, and set him for their watchman, and the watchman seeth the sword coming, and bloweth with the trumpet, and warneth the people, and he that heareth hear, and keepeth not guard; and the sword come and take any one, his blood will I require of him, because he heard not the sound of of the trumpet." And again: "But if the watchman seeth the sword coming, and blow not the trumpet, and give not warning to the people, and the sword come and take any one, his blood will I require at the watchman's hand, because he saw the sword, yet did not blow."

10 Now the blessed John slept not the sleep of unbelief, |160 nor was he heedless with the heedlessness of pleasure-seeking, but with this peril ever before his eyes, he cried more clearly than a trumpet; no uncertain sound he uttered, but gave men certain knowledge of the sword of the devil, and urged all men to flee from it. And all who had a clear conscience like a sign upon the forehead of their souls, by the grace of God were saved with you the faithful of Rome, while all whose conscience is defiled set people and priests on fire with quarrels among themselves, so as to hide their own in the general wickedness. The Use of the Opportunity Deac. Admirably said. But it is admitted that it is impossible for a man to be found blameless and perfect in this earthly life; for the Scripture says repeatedly, "Who shall boast that he hath his heart pure? Or who shall be confident that he is clean from sin?" Be that as may be, the blessed John at any rate did not know how to use the opportunity, for one ought not to interfere with those in power.

11 Bish. My good Theodorus, I believe you are a rascal. At first you showed us the sympathy that we expected of you, and a certain amount of compunction; but little by little you are proving to have a liking for scurrilities. Why, even his recognized enemies never found such severe fault with his behaviour. Deac. Why are you angry, father, you who have the reputation for being a lover of truth, because I said that the blessed John did not grasp the opportunity? The scripture says, "Stand not in the place of rulers," and again, "Buying up the opportunity." |161 A specially necessary rule in dealing with men who will not accept advice or improvement. Bish. Blessed are ye, who so interpret the scriptures. The verse in Ecclesiastes, "Stand not in the place of rulers," is addressed to those who are unworthy of, and unequal to, the priesthood, to prevent them from seizing upon it. By "rulers," he means the teachers of righteousness; first the apostles, who were rulers, clothed with the spirit of power, and next, those who follow their example. And the phrase "to buy up the opportunity" is used, not to make us hypocrites, but to bid us, when the opportunity of sin arises, to buy the opportunity by means of virtue, and not to sell it to sin. He who little by little thus buys up the opportunity, finds that he has bought up his whole existence; he has passed by the pleasures of life, to find those that are above life. This is what the martyrs have done; they gave away their life in the flesh, and inherited immortality. So they bought up the opportunity in the true sense.

12 Scriptural Illustrations If my view is unsound, it will appear that Moses, Elias, Michaiah, Daniel, John the Baptist, Esaias, Peter and Paul, not to mention others, were ignorant of their own opportunities. Moses, because he reproved a man, secured his safety by flight, and fed the flocks of a Gentile upon the mountains; Elias, overcome by drowsiness in his grief, fell asleep, but as he could find no shade of wall or rock, it was under a juniper bush, which gave him scanty shelter. Esaias was sawn asunder; Daniel for his piety was let down into a den of lions; Michaiah was kept a prisoner in gaol |162 (by which we must understand some underground chamber), condemned to be fed with the bread of affliction and a bare allowance of water, that after prolonged languishing there his life might be cut short through his bad treatment; all because of his outspoken language to one of the kings. What will you say to me of John, unequalled among them that are born of women? Did he not know how to use the opportunity, because he had his head cut off for his undisguised reproof of the king's adultery; he who showed the same care for Herod as a physician, when he cuts away, or cauterizes, the incurable ailment of a patient?

13 No Shrinking from Reproof On the same principle, John reproved his patients, from pity or from affection. If the Baptist did not know the opportunity, how is it that he recognized the Artificer and Maker of the ages, when he said, "Behold the Lamb of God, who beareth the sin of the world "? And how is it that Paul and Peter did not know the opportunity; those pillars of the Church, who even after their deaths shut and open the opportunities of repentance to those who desire it, and knock at the door? I suppose they were specially ignorant, as one was crucified with feet in air, as a sign of his heavenward journey, the other beheaded, because of his bold speaking in Christ; that he might not fall away from the Head Who is Head indeed. Do not then listen to those who criticize and revile the bold speaking of the saints. This is the practice of the Gentiles, and of those who think themselves clever, to whom life, and scurrilous jests at the courage of the saints are dear.

14 Reproof must not be Personal No, the sword must not be blunt, and the bold word must not be left unspoken. Kindness and bold speaking are as inseparable as scent and perfume. I |163 will admit that if reproofs were offered personally,before a man's own household, or friends, or relatives, in whose presence he would not like even to blush, the bold speaker would be open, possibly, to the charge of ignorance of the right opportunity or place; but if the Church is like a butcher's shop, in which praise is given to those who do well, and blame to those who are careless, why should we be vexed at reproofs given without names being mentioned, and for our good? That means feeding our faults, instead of obeying him who said, "All that is sold in the shambles eat, asking no questions." Otherwise, we shall again find the saints to have been the occasion of stumbling to some cities and countries through their reproofs, and to have ruined others by their praises. .

15 The Universal in the Particular Job is the first instance in point; he censures the land of Phoenicia, for inviting his enemy, Satan; as he says, "The peoples of the Phoenicians part him among themselves." Next, Moses and the prophets censure Egypt, and call it an iron furnace, and darkness, while they praise Palestine, and call it a land of promise; yet Egypt proves to be a land of promise to the good, and Palestine, not only an iron furnace, but outer darkness, through unbelief, to the |164 sluggard. It is not the places that are blamed or praised, but the practices of their inhabitants. However, I need not elaborate my argument at length; it will serve for a beginning, briefly to suggest instances. When Paul calls the Cretans liars, and the Galatians foolish, and the Corinthians puffed up, and so on, was he thinking only of the faults of these particular peoples, and reproving them alone, or of those of men in general? Or again, when he calls the Romans faithful, and the Ephesians, to whom he writes in a loftier strain, enlightened, and the Thessalonians, lovers of the brethren, was his commendation intended only for those peoples? Certainly not; guided by the Spirit, he bestowed praise and blame, that the man who is worthy of praise may know it, and be strengthened in his zeal, while he who is otherwise may be distressed as he reads, and purge himself from the .cause of blame. So the Galatians are not the only foolish people, the Cretans the only liars, the Corinthians the only proud; for all these are universal failings, because the human nature which sins and works righteousness is one, and in one and the same matter tends to sinfulness or to righteousness, according to the man's conscious choice.

16 This was the principle of John's boldness of speech in the Church; it would be more true to say, that to the hungry he gave their portion of the meat of virtue, and banished sin with open reproofs, in obedience to him who said, "Him who sins, reprove before all, that the rest also may fear." But if some people are so grievously afflicted with pride or |165 folly, that they wish the pleasures in which they indulge to be commended, the servants of God have no such custom. You see, those who are indignant at reproof given to covetousness, and fornication, and other foul pleasures, virtualfy declare simply that these offences, however poisonous, ought to be accepted (as Christian).

CHAPTER XIX. A DEFENCE AGAINST THE CHARGES OF PRIDE AND INSOLENCE

1 Pride shown by Self-isolation Deac. Very many thanks, father, for the visit of your brotherly love; it has been helpful to us, and a remembrance for all our lives. After these high compliments, Theodorus held his peace; but one of the company burst in with: Well then, how do you account for his being haughty, if he was adorned with all these excellencies? Bish. Did you know him to be haughty by personal experience, or did some one tell you that he was so? The speaker answered: I do not know the man; but I heard the remark made by a certain tanner, that it was rare for him to enter into company, except in the Church, and that he chafed at lengthy interviews with persons who wished for them. It is a proof of conceit and pride,to avoid intercourse with those who desire it. The Example of Our Lord and of the Baptist

2 Bish. Ah, a tanner; a man who takes the stench of his workshop home to live with him. Quite the right man to find fault with John's philosophy. |166 If it is a proof of conceit to avoid crowds, according to your argument, John the Baptist must have been a conceited man, when he retired into the deserts. One step further, and it will be the Saviour Himself; for it is written, "Jesus, seeing the multitudes, went up into a mountain, and when he was set, his disciples came unto him" ----not the multitudes----and again, "Seeing the multitudes, he withdrew apart." It was to follow His example, so far as he could, that good Bishop John too withdrew from the multitudes, while he delighted in the company of those who really wished to learn. Deac. A good argument from scripture proofs. But what have you to say to the charge that he was insolent, when he kept himself in retirement not only from large gatherings, but even from the society of one or two individuals?

3 A Single Person can be a Crowd Bish. A single person can be a particularly unprofitable and misleading crowd. Such was the man who said to Jesus, "Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest." Do you not see that the Saviour was escaping from the crowd, when He said, "Foxes have holes," etc.? But you cannot convince me, that after his baptism John ever swore, or made another swear, or slandered, or lied, or cursed, or indulged in frivolities. Deac. No, I make no assertion of this sort; only that he was insolent. Bish. My excellent friend, how was it possible for the man who was guilty of none of these things to be insolent, and lose control over his tongue? A small sin defiles as much as a great one. Deac. Well then, tell me, what do these popular statements mean? And when will they cease? |167 Christ Himself was Similarly Reviled

4 Bish. Hear the whole story, and do not pay attention to idle reports; you will never find an excuse for doing that. People whose lives are not upright never have upright thoughts; they are for ever gossiping, and have no time for anything else, especially if no one dares to disagree with them. Why, they made all sorts of monstrous statements about the Saviour----God Himself, Who in life, and speech, and act, was above man, above prophet. They heaped insult upon insult, as thick as a herd of swine or a swarm of flies; such was the manner of the time. Some said, "He deceives the world;" others, "He casts out devils in Beelzebul, chief of the devils;" others, "Behold a gluttonous man and a wine-bibber;" others again, "He is a Samaritan, and has a devil." What would be the good of my gathering all their vapourings together? The Saviour Himself knew what was going on, when He said to His apostles, "Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" The disciples replied by mentioning the most complimentary of the current ideas about Him: "Some say Elias, some Jeremias, others, John the Baptist;" they do not quote the language of the vilest of men. So He asked them again, distinguishing them from the "men" of whom He had spoken before (and rightly; for in mind they were not men, but the sons of God, for to us the Word "gave power to become children of God"), "But whom say ye that I am?" Then Peter, expressing the mind of them all, answered, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." The Saviour accepted the correctness of this answer, and declared, "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock," that is, "the confession," I will build my Church, and gates of Hades shall not prevail against it." |168

5 Abuse of the Living turns to Honour of the Dead You will find the same characteristics in the blame or praise given not only to John, but to all. Just as at that time all the work of Christ and His apostles was being reviled----the Ephesians shouted, "These are they that have turned the world upside down," ----but all that has ceased now, and they are glorified; so you will find it when this generation has passed. John will be honoured as a martyr, when those who are set against his good reputation are brought to dust; people on the level of pigs or dogs will say, "He deceives the world," etc., while disciples will honestly and cautiously inquire into his conduct, and say,Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." And if, in the case, of the Saviour Christ, among so many thousands of men only twelve were found at first to recognize Jesus, while the majority even to this day talk nonsense about Him; why need we be so particular as to what is said about John, a man who was not fit to be compared with the spittle of Christ? With the spittle, do I say? Not with the hem of His |169 garment. "All the nations," says Esaias, "shall be counted as a drop from a bottle, and as spittle."

6 Jesting Words taken Seriously As for what you said about his being insolent, the facts are these. In the first place, it was impossible for him to grant favours, much less to be insolent, to everybody; but in dealing with any of his genuine disciples, or clergy, or bishops, if he noticed them boasting of their abstinence from anything, or of their correctness in the practice of bodily discipline, he playfully rallied them, by giving them nicknames expressing the opposite. For instance, he would call the teetotaller a drunkard, the man living in holy poverty covetous, the charitable man a thief. It is a kindly method of instruction for true men, to strengthen qualities which they possess, by speaking of qualities which they do not possess. The truth is, that he used to honour a self-restrained youth more than a licentious senior, a studious senior more than an ignorant junior, a layman who had embraced holy poverty more than a trained scholar who was covetous, a virtuous man living in the world more than an idle monk.

7 Scriptural Reproofs far more Severe Perhaps people who are always on the look-out for honours call this insolence; but John says to those who came to put themselves under his instruction, "O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" And Paul, in the Acts, says to the chief priest, "God shall smite thee, thou whited wall;" and the Saviour in one place says to the Jews, "A wicked and adulterous generation seeks after a sign," and in another, to all the apostles, |170 "O fools and slow of heart." In yet another He calls Peter, Satan----" Get thee behind me, Satan; for thou art an offence unto me." Yet there was no grave offence, which called for these severe expressions. The Purpose of Self-isolation; with Scriptural Examples 8 Let us then make the love of learning our delight in silence, as we cannot judge spiritual persons.They are not insolent to us because they hate us, nor do they love solitude because they are puffed up with pride; their one aim is service springing from love. This again is why we find all those that are described to us in the holy records as good men, declining and turning away from ignorant persons, for fear that they may in time become used to their ways through familiarity, and so adopt a lower standard of virtue, or acquire their failings. Let Sarah be our first instance. She urged her husband Abraham to banish from the domestic hearth the son of the bond-maid, while he was still quite a child; for she objected to his playing with her son Isaac, for fear that if they amused themselves together, he might be demoralized by Ishmael's behaviour and manners. Then Jacob secured his safety by flight, and set out for Mesopotamia, to sojourn there. Next, Lot was warned by the angels to move from among the impious men of Sodom; yes, and Moses, as I said before, when he grew up, and had refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, determined to separate himself from the tyrant and his men-at-arms, and warned those who were of the same mind as himself to start off with him, and make the exodus their first care. The prophets, too, shunned the |171 worthless crowd, and generally lived in the deserts;

9 the apostle said of them, "They wandered in deserts, and mountains, and caves, and the holes of the earth. This was to avoid mingling with the lawless, and because they knew that association has power to deceive, and reduce to a common level those who spend their days together, and more, that such intercourse is of itself blameworthy and poisonous, and even disgraceful. It is against nature to put up with a thing one dislikes, or even to tolerate it for a short time; for like always attracts like (as the saying is, "Every beast loveth his like; but the unlike is hostile and alien). Who in the world can train a grain-eating dove or pigeon to feed with carnivorous martens or ravens? Or the herbivorous goose or crane to herd with vultures that pick bones? For what communion hath light with darkness, or virtue with vice, or the bad with the good?

10 The Meaning of "all Things to all Men" Deac. How then is it that the apostle says, "I became all things to all men, to the Jews as a Jew, that I might gain Jews; to the weak as weak, that I might gain the weak; to them that are without law as without law, that I might gain them that are without law"? 11 Bish. This quotation, my dear sir, does not support your contention; for Paul did not say, I became careless to the careless, or frivolous to the frivolous, or covetous to the covetous, or anything of the sort, but, "I became as this or that"----not, "I became this." For "I became as this" is not the same as "I became this." The words and deeds of the apostle are "such as" (those of others). His condescension possibly did no great good, but it certainly did no harm; "I became to the Jews as a Jew, that I might gain Jews." And yet he was of the Jews, for he was circumcised; in what sense then does he say, |172 "As a Jew," not, "I became a Jew"? He was often to be found keeping the Sabbath, and fasting, with Jews, without detriment to the teachings of the Saviour, in hopes of leading them on to a more perfect knowledge, through familiarity and companionship with him; just as physicians do not always stay with their patients, or surfer from the same complaints or the same delirious cravings as they. The manner of life which befits a teacher requires that he does not spend much time among crowds, but that he keeps quiet, and investigates the differences between various characters by careful research. This is the method of scientific physicians. They devote themselves mostly to their books, and so can diagnose the causes of complaints, and prescribe the remedies for them; they only come near to the sick so far as is necessary to discover the mischief, and administer the medicine, and do not play, or take meals, with them. Medical skill does not profess to be able to eat or play with patients, but to restore the sick to health.

12 Have done then, I beg, and do not keep worrying me with the same objections. Virtue is never vanquished by the cavils of chatterers. Instead of that, accept my view, and set a guard at the doors of your cars, to keep them from reporting everything they hear, and receiving it into the store-room, to the disturbance of your mind. And now allow me to tell the rest of my story; for I must hasten on my way. And Theodorus said---- Deac. Where are the bishops who were sent with our delegates, Eulysius and Palladius, and Cyriacus and Demetrius? We have heard a vague rumour that they were banished. Bish. If my account of the career of the blessed John appears to you clear, and to contain no hidden falsehood, and if you bear in mind what I have said, I will answer any question you wish to ask. |173