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TOPIC: Post-Nicene Fathers Vol 06 (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 26.01.08 Letters XXII Part 3
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28. But I will not speak only of women. Avoid men, also, when you see them loaded with chains and wearing their hair long like women, contrary to the apostle's precept,hyperlink not to speak of beards like those of goats, black cloaks, and bare feet braving the cold. All these things are tokens of the devil. Such an one Rome groaned over some time back in Antimus; and Sophronius is a still more recent instance. Such persons, when they have once gained admission to the houses of the high-born, and have deceived "silly women laden with sins, ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth,"hyperlink feign a sad mien and pretend to make long fasts while at night they feast in secret. Shame forbids me to say more, for my language might appear more like invective than admonition. There are others-I speak of those of my own order-who seek the presbyterate and the diaconate simply that they may be able to see women with less restraint. Such men think of nothing but their dress; they use perfumes freely, and see that there are no creases in their leather shoes. Their curling hair shows traces of the tongs; their fingers glisten with rings; they walk on tiptoe across a damp road, not to splash their feet. When you see men acting in this way, think of them rather as bridegrooms than as clergymen. Certain persons have devoted the whole of their energies and life to the single object of knowing the names, houses, and characters of married ladies. I will here briefly describe the head of the profession, that from the master's likeness you may recognize the disciples. He rises and goes forth with the sun; he has the order of his visits duly arranged; he takes the shortest road; and, troublesome old man that he is, forces his way almost into the bedchambers of ladies yet asleep. If he sees a pillow that takes his fancy or an elegant table-cover-or indeed any article of household furniture-he praises it, looks admiringly at it, takes it into his hand, and, complaining that he has nothing of the kind, begs or rather extorts it from the owner. All the women, in fact, fear to cross the news-carrier of the town. Chastity and fasting are alike distasteful to him. What he likes is a savory breakfast-say off a plump young crane such as is commonly called a cheeper. In speech he is rude and forward, and is always ready to bandy reproaches. Wherever you turn he is the first man that you see before you. Whatever news is noised abroad he is either the originator of the rumor or its magnifier. He changes his horses every hour; and they are so sleek and spirited that you would take him for a brother of the Thracian king.hyperlink
29. Many are the stratagems which the wily enemy employs against us. "The serpent," we are told, "was more subtile than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made."hyperlink And the apostle says: "We are not ignorant of his devices."hyperlink Neither an affected shabbiness nor a stylish smartness becomes a Christian. If there is anything of which you are ignorant, if you have any doubt about Scripture, ask one whose life commends him, whose age puts him above suspicion, whose reputation does not belie him; one who may be able to say: "I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." Or if there should be none such able to explain, it is better to avoid danger at the price of ignorance than to court it for the sake of learning. Remember that you walk in the midst of snares, and that many veteran virgins, of a chastity never called in question, have, on the very threshold of death, let their crowns fall from their hands.
If any of your handmaids share your vocation, do not lift up yourself against them or pride yourself because you are their mistress. You have all chosen one Bridegroom; you all sing the same psalms; together you receive the Body of Christ. Why then should your thoughts be different?hyperlink You must try to win others, and that you may attract the more readily you must treat the virgins in your train with the greatest respect. If you find one of them weak in the faith, be attentive to her, comfort her, caress her, and make her chastity your treasure. But if a girl pretends to have a vocation simply because she desires to escape from service, read aloud to her the words of the apostle: "It is better to marry than to burn."hyperlink
Idle persons and busybodies, whether virgins or widows; such as go from house to house calling on married women and displaying an unblushing effrontery greater than that of a stage parasite, cast from you as you would the plague. For "evil communications corrupt good manners,"hyperlink and women like these care for nothing but their lowest appetites. They will often urge you, saying, "My dear creature, make the best of your advantages, and live while life is yours," and "Surely you are not laying up money for your children." Given to wine and wantonness, they instill all manner of mischief into people's minds, and induce even the most austere to indulge in enervating pleasures. And "when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ they will marry, having condemnation because they have rejected their first faith."hyperlink
Do not seek to appear over-eloquent, nor trifle with verse, nor make yourself gay with lyric songs. And do not, out of affectation, follow the sickly tastehyperlink of married ladies who, now pressing their teeth together, now keeping their lips wide apart, speak with a lisp, and purposely clip their words, because they fancy that to pronounce them naturally is a mark of country breeding. Accordingly they find pleasure in what I may call an adultery of the tongue. For "what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial?"hyperlink How can Horace go with the psalter, Virgil with the gospels, Cicero with the apostle?hyperlink Is not a brother made to stumble if he sees you sitting at meat in an idol's temple?hyperlink Although "unto the pure all things are pure,"hyperlink and "nothing is to be refused if it be received with thanksgiving,"hyperlink still we ought not to drink the cup of Christ, and, at the same time, the cup of devils.hyperlink Let me relate to you the story of my own miserable experience.
30. Many years ago, when for the kingdom of heaven's sake I had cut myself off from home, parents, sister, relations, and-harder still-from the dainty food to which I had been accustomed; and when I was on my way to Jerusalem to wage my warfare, I still could not bring myself to forego the library which I had formed for myself at Rome with great care and toil. And so, miserable man that I was, I would fast only that I might afterwards read Cicero. After many nights spent in vigil, after floods of tears called from my inmost heart, after the recollection of my past sins, I would once more take up Plautus. And when at times I returned to my right mind, and began to read the prophets, their style seemed rude and repellent. I failed to see the light with my blinded eyes; but I attributed the fault not to them, but to the sun. While the old serpent was thus making me his plaything, about the middle of Lent a deep-seated fever fell upon my weakened body, and while it destroyed my rest completely-the story seems hardly credible-it so wasted my unhappy frame that scarcely anything was left of me but skin and bone. Meantime preparations for my funeral went on; my body grew gradually colder, and the warmth of life lingered only in my throbbing breast. Suddenly I was caught up in the spirit and dragged before the judgment seat of the Judge; and here the light was so bright, and those who stood around were so radiant, that I cast myself upon the ground and did not dare to look up. Asked who and what I was I replied: "I am a Christian." But He who presided said: "Thou liest, thou art a follower of Cicero and not of Christ. For `where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also.'"hyperlink Instantly I became dumb, and amid the strokes of the lash-for He had ordered me to be scourged-I was tortured more severely still by the fire of conscience, considering with myself that verse, "In the grave who shall give thee thanks?"hyperlink Yet for all that I began to cry and to bewail myself, saying: "Have mercy upon me, O Lord: have mercy upon me." Amid the sound of the scourges this cry still made itself heard. At last the bystanders, failing down before the knees of Him who presided, prayed that He would have pity on my youth, and that He would give me space to repent of my error. He might still, they urged, inflict torture on me, should I ever again read the works of the Gentiles. Under the stress of that awful moment I should have been ready to make even still larger promises than these. Accordingly I made oath and called upon His name, saying: "Lord, if ever again I possess worldly books, or if ever again I read such, I have denied Thee." Dismissed, then, on taking this oath, I returned to the upper world, and, to the surprise of all, I opened upon them eyes so drenched with tears that my distress served to convince even the incredulous. And that this was no sleep nor idle dream, such as those by which we are often mocked, I call to witness the tribunal before which I lay, and the terrible judgment which I feared. May it never, hereafter, be my lot to fall under such an inquisition! I profess that my shoulders were black and blue, that I felt the bruises long after I awoke from my sleep, and that thenceforth I read the books of God with a zeal greater than I had previously given to the books of men.
31. You must also avoid the sin of covetousness, and this not merely by refusing to seize upon what belongs to others, for that is punished by the laws of the state, but also by not keeping your own property, which has now become no longer yours. "If have not been faithful," the Lord says, "in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?"hyperlink "That which is another man's" is a quantity of gold or of silver, while "that which is our own" is the spiritual heritage of which it is elsewhere said: "The ransom of a man's life is his riches."hyperlink "No man can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon."hyperlink Riches, that is; for in the heathen tongue of the Syrians riches are called mammon. The "thorns" which choke our faithhyperlink are the taking thought for our life.hyperlink Care for the things which the Gentiles seek afterhyperlink is the root of covetousness.
But you will say: "I am a girl delicately reared, and I cannot labor with my hands. Suppose that I live to old age and then fall sick, who will take pity on me?" Hear Jesus speaking to the apostles: "Take no thought what ye shall eat; nor yet for your body what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them."hyperlink Should clothing fail you, set the lilies before your eyes. Should hunger seize you, think of the words in which the poor and hungry are blessed. Should pain afflict you, read "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities," and "There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure."hyperlink Rejoice in all God's judgments; for does not the psalmist say: "The daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O Lord"?hyperlink Let the words be everon your lips: "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither;"hyperlink and "We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out."hyperlink
32. To-day you may see women cramming their wardrobes with dresses, changing their gowns from day to day, and for all that unable to vanquish the moths. Now and then one more scrupulous wears out a single dress; yet, while she appears in rags, her boxes are full. Parchments are dyed purple, gold is melted into lettering, manuscripts are decked with jewels, while Christ lies at the door naked and dying. When they hold out a hand to the needy they sound a trumpet;hyperlink when they invite to a love-feasthyperlink they engage a crier. I lately saw the noblest lady in Rome-I suppress her name, for I am no satirist-with a band of eunuchs before her in the basilica of the blessed Peter. She was giving money to the poor, a coin apiece; and this with her own hand, that she might be accounted more religious. Hereupon a by no means uncommon incident occurred. An old woman, "full of years and rags,"hyperlink ran forward to get a second coin, but when her turn came she received not a penny but a blow hard enough to draw blood from her guilty veins.
"The love of money is the root of all evil,"hyperlink and the apostle speaks of covetousness as being idolatry.hyperlink "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you."hyperlink The Lord will never allow a righteous soul to perish of hunger. "I have been young," the psalmist says, "and now am old, yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread."hyperlink Elijah is fed by ministering ravens.hyperlink The widow of Zarephath, who with her sons expected to die the same night, went without food herself that she might feed the prophet. He who had come to be fed then turned feeder, for, by a miracle, he filled the empty barrel.hyperlink The apostle Peter says: "Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have give I thee. In the name of Jesus Christ rise up and walk."hyperlink But now many, while they do not say it in words, by their deeds declare: "Faith and pity have I none; but such as I have, silver and gold, these I will not give thee." "Having food and raiment let us be therewith content."hyperlink Hear the prayer of Jacob: "If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and raiment to put on, then shall the Lord be my God."hyperlink He prayed only for things necessary; yet, twenty years afterwards, he returned to the land of Canaan rich in substance. and richer still in children.hyperlink Numberless are the instances in Scripture which teach men to "Beware of covetousness."hyperlink
33. As I have been led to touch to the subject-it shall have a treatise to itself if Christ permit-I will relate what took place not very many years ago at Nitria. A brother, more thrifty than covetous, and ignorant that the Lord had been sold for thirty pieces of silver,hyperlink left behind him at his death a hundred pieces of money which he had earned by weaving linen. As there were about five thousand monks in the neighborhood, living in as many separate cells, a council was held as to what should be done. Some said that the coins should be distributed among the poor; others that they should be given to the church, while others were for sending them hack to the relatives of the deceased. However, Macarius, Pambo, Isidore and the rest of those called fathers, speaking by the Spirit, decided that they should be interred with their owner, with the words: "Thy money perish with thee."hyperlink Nor was this too harsh a decision; for so great fear has fallen upon all throughout Egypt, that it is now a crime to leave after one a single shilling.
34. As I have mentioned the monks, and know that you like to hear about holy things, lend an ear to me for a few moments. There are in Egypt three classes of monks. First, there are the coenobites,hyperlink called in their Gentile language Sauses,hyperlink or, as we should say, men living in a community.hyperlink Secondly, there are the anchorites,hyperlink who live in the desert, each man by himself, and are so called because they have withdrawn from human society. Thirdly, there is the class called Remoboth,hyperlink a very inferior and little regarded type, peculiar to my own province,hyperlink or, at least, originating there. These live together in twos and threes, but seldom in larger numbers, and are bound by no rule; but do exactly as they choose. A portion of their earnings they contribute to a common fund, out of which food is provided for all. In most cases they reside in cities and strongholds; and, as though it were their workmanship which is holy, and not their life, all that they sell is extremely dear. They often quarrel because they are unwilling, while supplying their own food, to be subordinate to others. It is true that they compete with each other in fasting; they make what should be a private concern an occasion for a triumph. In everything they study effect: their sleeves are loose, their boots bulge, their garb is of the coarsest. They are always sighing, or visiting virgins, or sneering at the clergy; yet when a holiday comes, they make themselves sick-they eat so much.
35. Having then rid ourselves of these as of so many plagues, let us come to that more numerous class who live together, and who are, as we have said, called Coenobites. Among these the first principle of union is to obey superiors and to do whatever they command. They are divided into bodies of ten and of a hundred, so that each tenth man has authority over nine others, while the hundredth has ten of these officers under him. They live apart from each other, in separate cells. According to their rule, no monk may visit another before the ninth hour;hyperlink except the deanshyperlink above mentioned, whose office is to comfort, with soothing words, those whose thoughts disquiet them. After the ninth hour they meet together to sing psalms and read the Scriptures according to usage. Then when the prayers have ended and all have sat down, one called the father stands up among them and begins to expound the portion of the day. While he is speaking the silence is profound; no man ventures to look at his neighbor or to clear his throat. The speaker's praise is in the weeping of his hearers.hyperlink Silent tears roll down their cheeks, but not a sob escapes from their lips. Yet when he begins to speak of Christ's kingdom, and of future bliss, and of the glory which is to come, every one may be noticed saying to himself, with a gentle sigh and uplifted eyes: "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! For then would I fly away and be at rest."hyperlink After this the meeting breaks up and each company of ten goes with its father to its own table. This they take in turns to serve each for a week at a time. No noise is made over the food; no one talks while eating. Bread, pulse and greens form their fare, and the only seasoning that they use is salt. Wine is given only to the old, who with the children often have a special meal prepared for them to repair the ravages of age and to save the young from premature decay. When the meal is over they all rise together, and, after singing a hymn, return to their dwellings. There each one talks till evening with his comrade thus: "Have you noticed so-and-so? What grace he has How silent he is! How soberly he walks!" If any one is weak they comfort him; or if he is fervent in love to God, they encourage him to fresh earnestness. And because at night, besides the public prayers, each man keeps vigil in his own chamber, they go round all the cells one by one, and putting their ears to the doors, carefully ascertain what their occupants are doing. If they find a monk slothful, they do not scold him; but, dissembling what they know, they visit him more frequently, and at first exhort rather than compel him to pray more. Each day has its allotted task, and this being given in to the dean, is by him brought to the steward. This latter, once a month, gives a scrupulous account to their common father. He also tastes the dishes when they are cooked, and, as no one is allowed to say, "I am without a tunic or a cloak or a couch of rushes," he so arranges that no one need ask for or go without what he wants. In case a monk falls ill, he is moved to a more spacious chamber, and there so attentively nursed by the old men, that he misses neither the luxury of cities nor a mother's kindness. Every Lord's day they spend their whole time in prayer and reading; indeed, when they have finished their tasks, these are their usual occupations. Every day they learn by heart a portion of Scripture. They keep the same fasts all the year round, but in Lent they are allowed to live more strictly. After Whitsuntide they exchange their evening meal for a midday one; both to satisfy the tradition of the church and to avoid overloading their stomachs with a double supply of food.
A similar description is given of the Essenes by Philo,hyperlink Plato's imitator; also by Josephus,hyperlink the Greek Livy, in his narrative of the Jewish captivity.
36. As my present subject is virgins, I have said rather too much about monks. I will pass on, therefore, to the third class, called anchorites, who go from the monasteries into the deserts, with nothing but bread and salt. Paulhyperlink introduced this way of life; Antony made it famous, and-to go farther back still-John the Baptist set the first example of it. The prophet Jeremiah describes one such in the words: "It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. He sitteth alone and keepeth silence, because he hath borne it upon him. He giveth his cheek to him that smiteth him, he is filled full with reproach. For the Lord will not east off forever."hyperlink The struggle of the anchorites and their life-in the flesh, yet not of the flesh-I will, if you wish, explain to you at some other time. I must now return to the subject of covetousness, which I left to speak of the monks. With them before your eyes you will despise, not only gold and silver in general, but earth itself and heaven. United to Christ, you will sing, "The Lord is my portion."hyperlink
37. Farther, although the apostle bids us to "pray without ceasing,"hyperlink and although to the saints their very sleep is a supplication, we ought to have fixed hours of prayer, that if we are detained by work, the time may remind us of our duty. Prayers, as every one knows, ought to be said at the third, sixth and ninth hours, at dawn and at evening.hyperlink No meal should be begun without prayer, land before leaving table thanks should be returned to the Creator. We should rise two or three times in the night, and go over the parts of Scripture which we know by heart. When we leave the roof which shelters us, prayer should be our armor; and when we return from the street we should pray before we sit down, and not give the frail body rest until the soul is fed. In every act we do, in every step we take, let our hand trace the Lord's cross. Speak against nobody, and do not slander your mother's son.hyperlink "Who art thou that judgest the servant of another? To his own lord he standeth or falleth; yea, he shall be made to stand, for the Lord hath power to make him stand."hyperlink If you have fasted two or three days, do not think yourself better than others who do not fast. You fast and are angry; another eats and wears a smiling face. You work off your irritation and hunger in quarrels. He uses food in moderation and gives God thanks.hyperlink Daily Isaiah cries: "Is it such a fast that I have chosen, saith the Lord?"hyperlink and again: "In the day of your fast ye find your own pleasure, and oppress all your laborers. Behold ye fast for strife and contention, and to smite with the fist of wickedness. How fast ye unto me?"hyperlink What kind of fast can his be whose wrath is such that not only does the night go down upon it, but that even the moon's changes leave it unchanged?
38. Look to yourself and glory in your own success and not in others' failure. Some women care for the flesh and reckon up their income and daily expenditure: such are no fit models for you. Judas was a traitor, but the eleven apostles did not waver. Phygellus and Alexander made shipwreck; but the rest continued to run the race of faith.hyperlink Say not: "So-and-so enjoys her own property, she is honored of men, her brothers and sisters come to see her. Has she then ceased to be a virgin?" In the first place, it is doubtful if she is a virgin. For "the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh upon the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."hyperlink Again, she may be a virgin in body and not in spirit. According to the apostle, a true virgin is "holy both in body and in spirit."hyperlink Lastly, let her glory in her own way. Let her override Paul's opinion and live in the enjoyment of her good things But you and I must follow better examples.
Set before you the blessed Mary, whose surpassing purity made her meet to be the mother of the Lord. When the angel Gabriel came down to her, in the form of a man, and said: "Hail, thou that art highly favored; the Lord is with thee,"hyperlink she was terror-stricken and unable to reply, for she had never been saluted by a man before. But, on learning who he was, she spoke, and one who had been afraid of a man conversed fearlessly with an angel. Now you, too, may be the Lord's mother. "Take thee a great roll and write in it with a man's pen Maher-shalal-hash-baz."hyperlink And when you have gone to the prophetess, and have conceived in the womb, and have brought forth a son,hyperlink say: "Lord, we have been with child by thy fear, we have been in pain, we have brought forth the spirit of thy salvation, which we have wrought upon the earth."hyperlink Then shall your Son reply: "Behold my mother and my brethren."hyperlink And He whose name you have so recently inscribed upon the table of your heart, and have written with a pen upon its renewed surfacehyperlink -He, after He has recovered the spoil from the enemy, and has spoiled principalities and powers, nailing them to His crosshyperlink -having been miraculously conceived, grows up to manhood; and, as He becomes older, regards you no longer as His mother, but as His bride. To be as the martyrs, or as the apostles, or as Christ, involves a hard struggle, but brings with it a great reward.
All such efforts are only of use when they are made within the church's pale;hyperlink we must celebrate the passover in the one house,hyperlink we must enter the ark with Noah,hyperlink we must take refuge from the fall of Jericho with the justified harlot, Rahab.hyperlink Such virgins as there are said to be among the heretics and among the followers of the infamous Maneshyperlink must be considered, not virgins, but prostitutes. For if-as they allege-the devil is the author of the body, how can they honor that which is fashioned by their foe? No; it is because they know that the name virgin brings glory with it, that they go about as wolves in sheep's clothing.hyperlink As antichrist pretends to be Christ, such virginsassume an honorable name, that they may the better cloak a discreditable life. Rejoice, my sister; rejoice, my daughter; rejoice, my virgin; for you have resolved to be, in reality, that which others insincerely feign.
39. The things that I have here set forth will seem hard to her who loves not Christ. But one who has come to regard all the splendor of the world as off-scourings, and to hold all things under the sun as vain, that he may win Christ;hyperlink one who has died with his Lord and risen again, and has crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts;hyperlink he will boldly cry out: "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" and again: "I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord."hyperlink
For our salvation the Son of God is made the Son of Man.hyperlink Nine months He awaits His birth in the womb, undergoes the most revolting conditions,hyperlink and comes forth covered with blood, to be swathed in rags and covered with caresses. He who shuts up the world in His fisthyperlink is contained in the narrow l limits of a manger. I say nothing of thethirty years during which he lives in obscurity, satisfied with the poverty of his parents.hyperlink When He is scourged He holds His peace; when He is crucified, He prays for His crucifiers. "What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits towards me? I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints."hyperlink The only fitting return that we can make to Him is to give blood for blood; and, as we are redeemed by the blood of Christ, gladly to lay down our lives for our Redeemer. What saint has ever won his crown without first contending for it? Righteous Abel is murdered. Abraham is in danger of losing his wife. And, as I must not enlarge my book unduly, seek for yourself: you will find that all holy men have suffered adversity. Solomon alone lived in luxury and perhaps it was for this reason that he fell. For "whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth."hyperlink Which is best-for a short time to do battle, to carry stakes for the palisades, to bear arms, to faint under heavy bucklers, that ever afterwards we may rejoice as victors? or to become slaves forever, just because we cannot endure for a single hour?hyperlink
40. Love finds nothing hard; no task is difficult to the eager. Think of all that Jacob bore for Rachel, the wife who had been promised to him. "Jacob," the Scripture says, "served seven years for Rachel. And they seemed unto him but a few days for the love he had to her."hyperlink Afterwards he himself tells us what he had to undergo. "In the day the drought consumed me and the frost by night."hyperlink So we must love Christ and always seek His embraces. Then everything difficult will seem easy; all things long we shall account short; and smitten with His arrows,hyperlink we shall say every moment: "Woe is me that I have prolonged my pilgrimage."hyperlink For "the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."hyperlink For "tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope; and hope maketh not ashamed."hyperlink When your lot seems hard to bear read Paul's second epistle to the Corinthians: "In labors more abundant; in stripes above measure; in prisons more frequent; in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one; thrice was I beaten with rods; once was I stoned; thrice I suffered shipwreck; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren, in weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness."hyperlink Which of us can claim the veriest fraction of the virtues here enumerated? Yet it was these which afterwards made him bold to say: "I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day."hyperlink
But we, if our food is less appetizing than usual, get sullen, and fancy that we do God a favor by drinking watered wine. And if the water brought to us is a trifle too warm, we break the cup and overturn the table and scourge the servant in fault until blood comes. "The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence and the violent take it by force."hyperlink Still, unless you use force you will never seize the kingdom of heaven. Unless you knock importunately you will never receive the sacramental bread.hyperlink Is it not truly violence, think you, when the flesh desires to be as God and ascends to the place whence angels have fallenhyperlink to judge angels?
41. Emerge, I pray you, for a while from your prison-house, and paint before your eyes the reward of your present toil, a reward which "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man."hyperlink What will be the glory of that day when Mary, the mother of the Lord, shall come to meet you, accompanied by her virgin choirs! When, the Red Sea past and Pharaoh drowned with his host, Miriam, Aaron's sister, her timbrel in her hand, shall chant to the answering women: "Sing ye unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea."hyperlink Then shall Theclahyperlink fly with joy to embrace you. Then shall your Spouse himself come forward and say: "Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away, for lo! the winter is past, the rain is over and gone."hyperlink Then shall the angels say with wonder: "Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun?"hyperlink "The daughters shall see you and bless you; yea, the queens shall proclaim and the concubines shall praise you."hyperlink And, after these, yet another company of chaste women will meet you. Sarah will come with the wedded; Anna, the I daughter of Phanuel, with the widows. In the one band you will find your natural mother and in the other your spiritual.hyperlink The one will rejoice in having borne, the other will exult in having taught you. Then truly will the Lord ride upon his ass,hyperlink and thus enter the heavenly Jerusalem. Then the little ones (of whom, in Isaiah, the Saviour says: "Behold, I and the children whom the Lord hath given me"hyperlink ) shall lift up palms of victory and shall sing with one voice: "Hosanna in the highest, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, hosanna in the highest."hyperlink Then shall the "hundred and forty and four thousand" hold their harps before the throne and before the elders and shall sing the new song. And no man shall have power to learn that song save those for whom it is appointed. "These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth."hyperlink As often as this life's idle show tries to charm you; as often as you see in the world some vain pomp, transport yourself in mind to Paradise, essay to be now what you will be hereafter, and you will hear your Spouse say: "Set me as a sunshade in thine heart and as a seal upon thine arm."hyperlink And then, strengthened in body as well as in mind, you, too, will cry aloud and say: "Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it."hyperlink
Footnotes
560 1 Cor. xi. 14.
561 2 Tim. iii. 6, 2 Tim. iii. 7.
562 Diomede. See Lucretius, v. 31, and Virgil, A. i. 752.
563 Gen. iii. 1.
564 2 Cor. ii. 11.
565 Cur mens diversa sit. The ordinary text has "menda."
566 1 Cor. vii. 9.
567 1 Cor. xv. 33.
568 1 Tim. v. 11, 1 Tim. v. 12.
569 Persius i. 104.
570 2 Cor. vi. 14, 2 Cor. vi. 15.
571 Viz., the epistles of St. Paul. In like manner the Psalter was often called David.
572 1 Cor. viii. 10.
573 Tit. i. 15.
574 1 Tim. iv. 4.
575 1 Cor. x. 21.
576 Matt. vi. 21.
577 Ps. vi. 5.
578 Luke xvi. 12.
579 Prov. xiii. 8, R.V.
580 Matt. vi. 24.
581 Matt. xiii. 7, Matt. xiii. 22.
582 Matt. vi. 25.
583 Matt. vi. 32.
584 Matt. vi. 25, Matt. vi. 26.
585 2 Cor. xii. 10, 2 Cor. xii. 7.
586 Ps. xcvii. 8.
587 Job i. 21.
588 1 Tim. vi. 7.
589 Matt. vi. 2.
590 Terence, Eun. 236.
591 "The eucharist was at first preceded, but at a later date was more usually followed, by the agape or love-feast. The materials of this were contributed by the members of the congregation, all of whatever station sat down to it as equals, and the meal was concluded with psalmody and prayer." (Robertson, C. H., i. p. 235.) Scandals arose in connection with the practice, and it gradually fell into disuse, though even at a later date allusions to it are not infrequent.
592 1 Tim. vi. 10.
593 Col. iii. 5.
594 Matt. vi. 33.
595 Ps. xxxvii. 25.
596 1 Kings xvii. 4, 1 Kings xvii. 6.
597 1 Kings xvii. 9-16.
598 Acts iii. 6.
599 1 Tim. vi. 8.
600 Gen. xxviii. 20, Gen. xxviii. 21.
601 Gen. xxxii. 5, Gen. xxxii. 10.
602 Luke xii. 15.
603 Matt. xxvi. 15.
604 Acts viii. 20.
605 From koinoj bioj (koinos bios), a common life.
606 Apparently an Egyptian word. It does not occur elsewhere.
607 In commune viventes.
608 From anaxwrein (anachorein), to withdraw.
609 These were monks who lived under no settled rule, but collected in little groups of two and three, generally in some populous place. They seem to have practised all the arts whereby a reputation for sanctity may be won, while they disparaged those who led more regular lives. Cassian (Collat. xviii. 7) draws an unfavorable picture of them. See Bingham, Antiquities, vii. ii. 4, and Dict. Xt. Ant., s. v. Sarabaitae.
610 Pannonia.
611 I.e. three o'clock.
612 Decani, "leaders of ten."
613 Cf. Letter LII.
614 Ps. lv. 6.
615 See Letter LXX. De Vir. LII. xi.
616 Josephus, The Jewish War, ii. 8.
617 I.e. the hermit of that name. See his Life in vol. iii. of this series.
618 Lam. iii. 27, Lam. iii. 28, Lam. iii. 30, Lam. iii. 31.
619 Lam. iii. 24.
620 1 Thess. v. 17.
621 In Jerome's time the seven canonical hours of prayer had not yet been finally fixed. He mentions, however, six which correspond to the later, Mattins, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers, and Nocturns. Cp. Letters CVII. CVIII. and CXXX.
622 Ps. l. 20.
623 Rom. xiv. 4, R.V.
624 Rom. xiv. 6, R.V.
625 Isa. lviii. 5.
626 Isaiah lviii. 3, Isaiah lviii. 4, R.V. marg.
627 1 Tim. i. 19, 1 Tim. i. 20; 2 Tim. i. 15.
628 1 Sam. xvi. 7.
629 1 Cor. vii. 34.
630 Luke i. 28.
631 Isa viii. 1, i.e. "the spoil speedeth, the prey hasteth;" or, in Jerome's rendering, "quickly carry away the spoils."
632 Isa. viii. 3. Jerome should have substituted "prophet" for "prophetess." As it stands the quotation is meaningless.
633 Isa. xxvi. 18, Vulg.
634 Matt. xii. 49.
635 Prov. vii. 3; Jer. xxxi. 33.
636 Col. ii. 14, Col. ii. 15.
637 Cp. the maxim of Cyprian: Extra ecclesiam nulla salus, "Outside the church there is no salvation."
638 Exod. xii. 46.
639 1 Peter iii. 20, 1 Peter iii. 21.
640 James ii. 25.
641 Founder of the widely prevalent sect of Manichaeans, which at one time numbered Augustine among its adherents. One of its leading tenets was that matter as such was essentially evil.
642 Matt. vii. 15.
643 Phil. iii. 8.
644 Rom. vi. 4; Gal. v. 24.
645 Rom. viii. 35, Rom. viii. 38, Rom. viii. 39.
646 An echo of the Nicene Creed.
647 Cp. Virgil, Ecl. iv. 61.
648 Cp. Ps. xcv. 4, Ps. xcv. 5; Isa. xl. 12.
649 Luke ii. 51, Luke ii. 52.
650 Ps. cxvi. 12, Ps. cxvi. 13, Ps. cxvi. 15.
651 Heb. xii. 6.
652 Cp. Matt. xxvi. 40.
653 Gen. xxix. 20.
654 Gen. xxxi. 40.
655 Ps. xxxviii. 2.
656 Ps. cxx. 5, Vulg.
657 Rom. viii. 18.
658 Rom. v. 3-5.
659 2 Cor. xi. 23-27.
660 2 Tim. iv. 7, 2 Tim. iv. 8.
661 Matt. xi. 12.
662 Luke xi. 5-8.
663 Is. xiv. 12, Is. xiv. 13.
664 1 Cor. ii. 9.
665 Ex. xv. 20, Ex. xv. 21.
666 A legendary virgin of Iconium said to have been converted by Paul.
667 Cant. ii. 10, Cant. ii. 11.
668 Cant. vi. 10.
669 Cant. vi. 9.
670 Viz. Paula, for whom see Letter CVIII., and Marcella, for whom see Letter CXXVII.
671 Matt. xxi. 1-9, literally "she-ass."
672 Isa. viii. 18.
673 Matt. xxi. 9.
674 Rev. xiv. 1-4.
675 Cant. viii. 6; the variant is peculiar to Jerome.
676 Cant. viii. 7.