Homilies on Second Corinthians 23

'Would that ye could bear with me a little in my folly; nay indeed, do bear with me.'

Being about to enter upon his own praises, he employs much preliminary correction.

And he does this not once, nor twice only;

and yet the necessity of the matter was sufficient to make his defence for him, as were also the things he had often said.

For he who calls to mind sins which God had not remembered, and who on account of this says he is unworthy even of the very name of the apostles, is plainly seen even by those who are utterly senseless not to be saying these things which he is now about to say for the sake of glory.

For indeed, if one must say something remarkable, this very thing—to speak anything about himself—was especially damaging to his glory;

and this is offensive to the many.

But nevertheless he regarded none of these things, but looked to one thing only, the salvation of his hearers.

So then, in order that he might not even injure the foolish by this, by speaking great things about himself, he uses out of abundant caution these many preliminary corrections, and says, 'Would that ye could bear with me while I play the fool a little.'

Dost thou see his prudence? For to say 'Would that' is the mark of one who makes them the masters of the matter;

but to make a declaration is the mark of one who greatly trusts in their love, and who shows that he both loves and is loved;

or rather, he says they ought to bear with him even in his folly, not out of bare love simply, but out of a certain warm and passionate affection.

Wherefore also he added, 'For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy.'

He said not, 'For I love you,' but that which was far more vehement than this he sets down.

For jealous are those souls that are vehemently inflamed with love for the beloved; and jealousy could not otherwise be born, except from vehement love.

Then, that they might not suppose that it was for the sake of dominion, or honour, or money, or some other such thing, that he desired their love, he added, 'with a godly jealousy.'

For God also is said to be jealous, not that anyone should suspect a passion;

but that all might learn that for no other reason, but only for the sake of those very ones over whom He is jealous, He does all things;

not that He Himself might gain anything, but that He might save them.

For among men jealousy does not arise in this way, but for the sake of one's own repose;

not because the beloved are outraged, but because the lovers are wounded, and are surpassed, and hold a lower place in the esteem of the beloved.

'For it is not this that concerns me,' he says, 'lest I should hold a lower place with you, but lest I should see you being corrupted.'

For such is the jealousy of God, and such is mine also, at once vehement and pure.

Then also the cause is a compelling one:

'For I espoused you to one husband, that I might present you a chaste virgin.'

'So then it is not for myself, but for Him to whom I espoused you, that I am jealous.'

For the present time is the time of betrothal, and that of the bridal chamber is another, when they shall say, 'The bridegroom is risen.'

In the world virgins remain so before marriage, but after marriage no longer;

but even if they be not virgins before this marriage, after this marriage they become virgins.

So the whole Church is a virgin.

For indeed, in discoursing to all, he says these things, both to those who have married husbands and to those who have married wives.

But let us see what he brought when he espoused us, what sort of dowry.

Not gold, nor silver, but the kingdom of heaven;

wherefore also he said, 'We are ambassadors on behalf of Christ;'

and he exhorts them, since he was about to receive the bride.

A type of this were the things that took place concerning Abraham.

For he too sent his faithful servant to betroth a maiden from among the nations;

and here too God sent His own servants to betroth the Church to His Son, and

the prophets from of old declaring these things:

'Hearken, O daughter, and behold, and forget thine own people and thy father's house, and the king shall desire thy beauty.'

Dost thou see the prophet too espousing? Dost thou see the Apostle also with much boldness uttering this word, and saying, 'I espoused you to one husband, to present you a chaste virgin to Christ'? Dost thou see again his prudence? For having said, 'Ye ought to bear with me,' he said not, 'For I am your teacher,' nor, 'I speak for my own sake;'

but that which especially carried weight with them, this he sets down, placing himself in the station of the bridesmaid, and them in the rank of the bride;

and he goes on, saying, 'But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his craftiness, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is toward Christ.'

For even if the ruin be yours, yet the grief is common to us both.

For he does not declare it outright, although they had been corrupted;

and showing this he said, 'When your obedience shall be fulfilled,' and, 'I shall bewail many of those who have sinned before;'

but nevertheless he does not suffer them to grow shameless;

for he neither condemns them, nor keeps silence;

for neither was safe, neither to speak plainly, nor to conceal it continually.

Wherefore he takes the middle course, saying, 'Lest by any means.'

For this is the mark neither of one who utterly condemns, nor of one who is greatly confident, but of one who stands in the midst between these two.

In this way, then, he comforted them;

but by the recollection of the history he cast them into unspeakable fear, and deprives them of all excuse.

For even if the serpent was crafty, and she was foolish, yet none of these things snatched the woman away from blame.

'See therefore that ye suffer not these same things,' he says, 'and nothing shall stand up in your defence.'

For that one too, by promising greater things, thus deceived her.

Whence it is clear that these men too, by boasting and puffing them up, were deceiving them.

And this may be conjectured not only from hence, but also from what he says afterward, that 'If indeed he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or ye receive a different spirit, which ye did not receive, or a different gospel, which ye did not accept, ye might well bear with him.'

And he says not, 'Lest by any means, as Adam was deceived,' but he shows that those who suffer these things are women;

for it belongs to women to be deceived.

And he said not, 'So may ye also be deceived;'

but still abiding in the metaphor, he says, 'Lest by any means your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is toward Christ.'

'From the guilelessness,' I say, 'not from the wickedness.'

neither from malice nor from any unbelief on your part, but from simplicity of heart.

Yet even so, those who are deceived are not on this account worthy of pardon;

But if this does not deserve pardon, how much less when a man suffers this out of vainglory!

For if he who comes preaches another Jesus, whom we did not preach,

Herein he shows that the Corinthians were not being corrupted by anything of their own, but that those who deceived them came upon them from elsewhere;

or if you receive a different spirit, or a different gospel which you did not accept, you might well have borne with it.

What do you say? You who told the Galatians, 'If anyone preaches to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let him be accursed,' now say, 'You bore with it well'? And indeed, for this very reason one ought not to have borne with it, but to have leapt away from it.

But if they say the very same things, one ought to bear with them.

How then do you say, 'Since they say the same things, one ought not to bear with them'? For if they said other things, he means, one ought to have borne with them? Let us therefore give heed;

for great is the danger and deep is the precipice, if we simply run past this saying, and it gives all the heresies an entrance.

What then is the meaning of these words? Those men so boasted, as though the apostles had taught imperfectly, and as though they themselves were bringing in something more.

For it is likely that they, prating much, were foisting some senseless rubbish upon these doctrines.

Wherefore he also called to mind the serpent and Eve, who was thus deceived by the expectation of something greater.

This also he hinted at in the former Epistle when he said, 'Already you have become rich, apart from us you have become kings;'

and again, 'We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ.'

Since therefore it was likely that they, employing the outward wisdom, prated much, he says this: If indeed these men said something superfluous, and preached another Christ, whom it was not fitting

to be preached, and we had passed it over, you would have done well to bear with them;

for this reason he added, 'Whom we did not preach.'

But if the chief points of the faith are the same, what is there more? For whatever they may say, they will say nothing more than what we have said.

And observe how carefully he states it;

for he did not say, 'If he who comes says something more;'

for they did indeed say something more, haranguing with greater authority and much beauty of words;

wherefore he did not say this, but what? 'He who comes preaches another Jesus;'

which had no need of elaboration through words;

'Or you receive a different spirit;'

for neither here was there any need of words;

that is, He makes you richer in respect of grace;

'Or a different gospel which you did not accept;'

neither did this again require words, 'You bore with it well.'

But consider, I pray, how everywhere he employs the distinction which makes it clear that nothing superfluous, nothing more, was brought in by them.

For having said, 'If he who comes preaches another Jesus,' he added, 'Whom we did not preach;' and 'you receive a different spirit,' he added, 'Which you did not receive;'

'or a different gospel,' he added, 'Which you did not accept;'

showing by all these things that one ought not simply to give heed if they say something more, but only if they say something more which ought to have been said, and which was omitted by us.

But if it neither ought to have been said, and therefore was not spoken by us either, why then have you gaped after them?

And yet if they say the same things, he means, for what reason do you hinder them? Because, using hypocrisy, they introduce other doctrines.

But this he does not say for the present, but sets it down later, when he says, 'They fashion themselves into apostles of Christ;'

for the present, from the less offensive considerations, he draws the disciples away from their authority;

and this not out of envy toward them, but to make these secure.

For why does he not hinder Apollos, though he was an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, but even exhorts him and promises to send him? Because that man, together with his learning, also preserved the soundness of the doctrines;

wherefore he wages war upon these men, and rebukes the disciples who gape after them, saying: If indeed we omitted anything of what ought to have been said, and those men supplied it, we do not hinder you from giving heed;

but if everything has been completed by us, and nothing has been left out, whence did those men take you captive? Wherefore also he adds, saying, 'For I reckon that I have come short in nothing of the superlative apostles;'

no longer making the comparison with those men, but with Peter and his company.

So that if they know anything more than I, then more than those apostles also.

And observe how here also he speaks with moderation.

For he did not say that 'The apostles said nothing more than I;'

'So I think that I have fallen short in nothing of the superlative apostles.'

For since this also seemed to be a defect in him, that those men, having taken the lead, had a greater name, and the glory concerning them was greater, and these men were about to smuggle themselves in, for this reason he makes the comparison with them, in the manner befitting himself.

Wherefore also he mentions them with praise, not saying simply 'the apostles,' but 'the superlative ones,' indicating Peter and James and John.

But if I am rude in speech, yet not in knowledge.

For since it was in this that those who were corrupting the Corinthians had the advantage, namely in not being unskilled in speech, he sets down this also, showing that he is not ashamed of it, but even glories in it.

And he did not say, 'But if I am also rude in speech,' but 'they too;'

for this would have seemed to be the mark of one who disparaged them and exalted these;

but he overthrows the very matter itself, that of outward wisdom.

And in the former Epistle he even contends vehemently about this, saying that not only does it contribute nothing to this preaching, but even casts a shadow over the glory of the cross;

'For I came to you,' he says, 'not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, lest the cross of Christ should be made void;'

because they were rude in knowledge, which indeed is the very lowest rudeness.

When therefore it was necessary to compare himself in great matters, he compares himself with the apostles;

but when it was necessary to show what seemed to be a defect, no longer so, but he grapples with the matter itself, and shows that this became an advantage;

and when there was no necessity

pressing upon him, he says that he is the least of the apostles, and not even worthy of the appellation;

but here again, when the occasion called for it, he says that he has come short in nothing of the superlative apostles.

For he knew that this would most of all benefit the disciples;

wherefore also he adds, saying, 'But in everything we have been made manifest among all men toward you.'

For here again he censures the false apostles, as walking in craftiness.

And these things he had said before also concerning himself, that he did not live according to outward show, nor preach the word by adulterating it and trafficking in it.

But those men were one thing and appeared another, whereas he himself was not so.

Wherefore also everywhere he takes great pride in doing nothing for the glory that is of men, nor in concealing his own affairs.

Which also he said before, that 'By the manifestation of the truth we commend ourselves to every conscience of men;'

and now too he says, 'In everything we have been made manifest toward you.'

But what is this? 'We are rude,' he says, 'and we do not hide ourselves;'

We receive from certain persons, and we do not keep silent.

From you, therefore, do we receive? And we do not pretend not to receive, as these men do while they are in fact receiving;

but we make all things plain to you.

And this belonged to one greatly confident before them, and one who proclaimed all things with truth.

Wherefore he even calls them as witnesses, both now, having said, 'In all things toward you,' and before, when he said, 'For we write no other things to you than what you read, or even acknowledge.'

Then, since he had made his defense concerning matters touching himself, he weightily adds what follows, saying, 'Or did I commit a sin in abasing myself, that you might be exalted?' And interpreting this, he says, 'I robbed other Churches, taking wages for your ministry.'

For this is what is meant by 'abasing myself.'

This, then, is what you have to charge me with? And is it for this that you exalt yourselves against me, because I abased myself by begging, being straitened, suffering hunger, that you might be exalted? And how were these men exalted, while he was in straits? Rather, they were built up and were not caused to stumble;

which would indeed be a very great accusation against them, and a charge against their weakness, that there was no way to lead them on except by his being first abased.

Do you then accuse me because I have become lowly? But it was through this that you were exalted.

For since he had said above that they slandered him, alleging that when present he is lowly, but when absent he is bold, in making his defense he here strikes them again, saying that 'this too was for your sakes.'

'I robbed other Churches.'

Here at length he speaks reproachfully;

yet the earlier words do not permit these to appear burdensome.

For he had said, 'Bear with me a little in my folly;'

and before all his other good deeds, in this first he glories.

For this is what worldly men most seek after, and in this those others also, who on the opposite side had high thoughts of themselves.

For this reason he does not first enter upon the account of his dangers, nor of his signs, but upon that of his contempt for money, since it was in this that they took pride;

and at the same time he hints that they were wealthy.

And what is admirable in him is this: that although he could have said that he was even supported by his own hands, he did not say this, but says that which most of all put them to shame, and which was not even to his own praise—namely, that 'I received from others.'

And he did not say 'I received,' but 'I robbed;'

that is, I stripped them bare and made them poor.

And what is yet greater, that it was not for superfluity, but for the need of necessary things;

for when he says 'wages,' he means the necessary sustenance.

And what is harder still, 'for your ministry.'

To you we preach, and though I ought to be supported by you, I was maintained by these others.

The charge is double—nay, rather threefold;

that though he was among them, and was ministering to them, and was seeking the necessary sustenance, he had others as those who supplied him.

And great is the excess of these over those.

For the one were in slothfulness, the others in zeal;

the one sent to him even when he was far off, the others did not support him even when he was present.

Then, since he had grasped them severely, he again gently relaxes the vehemence of his rebuke, saying:

'And when I was present with you and was in want, I was a burden to no man.'

For he did not say, 'You did not give to me,' but, 'I did not receive;'

yet even in the abatement of his words, he strikes again unawares;

for the word 'present' is very emphatic, and so is 'being in want;'

for lest they should say, 'What then, if you had it?' he added, 'And being in want I was not a burden to you.'

Here again he moderately strikes them, as having offered such supply reluctantly, as being burdened by it.

Then also the reason, full of accusation and teeming with jealous zeal.

Wherefore he set it down not as his main point, but as if teaching from whence and by whom he was supported, so as, without arousing suspicion, again to stir them up to the subject of almsgiving.

'For my want,' says he, 'the brethren who came from Macedonia supplied.'

Do you see how he provokes them again, bringing into the midst those who ministered to him? For having first led them to a desire to learn who these might be, when he said, 'I robbed other Churches,' he then also names them by name;

which also urged them on to almsgiving.

For those who had been overcome in not supporting the Apostle, he persuades not to be overcome also in aid to the poor.

And this he says also when writing to the Macedonians themselves, that 'In my needs you sent to me once and again, even in the beginning of the gospel;'

which was also their very great commendation, that from the very outset they shone forth.

But observe how everywhere he sets down his need, and nowhere superfluity.

By saying, then, 'present,' and 'being in want,' he showed that he ought to have been supported by the Corinthians;

but by saying, 'They supplied my want,' he shows that he did not even ask.

And he sets down a reason which was not the real one.

What sort of reason is this? The having received from others;

for 'my want,' says he, 'those who came supplied.'

For this reason he says, 'I was not a burden,' not because of any lack of confidence.

And indeed for this very reason he acts thus, and shows it in what follows;

but he does not say it plainly, rather he veils it, leaving it to the conscience of his hearers.

And unawares he intimates it through what follows, saying, 'And in everything I kept myself from being burdensome to you, and will keep myself.'

'For do not suppose,' says he, 'that I say these things in order that I may receive.'

And the phrase 'I will keep myself' is weightier, if he no longer has confidence in them, but has once for all given up receiving anything from them.

And he shows that they even reckoned this to be a burden;

wherefore he said, 'I kept myself from being burdensome, and will keep myself.'

This he says also in the former Epistle, 'I have written nothing that it should be so done in my case;'

'for it were good for me rather to die, than that any one should make my glorying void.'

And here again, 'I kept myself from being burdensome to you, and will still keep myself.'

Then, lest he should seem to say these things for the sake of drawing them the more to himself, he says:

'The truth of Christ is in me.'

'Do not suppose that I said this in order to receive, so as to draw you the more;'

'for there is truth in me,' says he, 'that this my glorying shall not be stopped in the regions of Achaia.'

For lest any one should think that he is again grieved over this, or says these things in anger, he even calls the matter a glorying.

And in the former Epistle likewise he established this same point.

For so that he might not there also strike them, he says:

What then is my reward? That in preaching I may present the Gospel of Christ without charge.

And just as there he calls it a reward, so here he calls it a boasting, that they might not be too much put to shame by what is said, as though they had failed to supply one who was asking.

For what, he says, even if you also give? Yet I do not receive it.

And the phrase 'shall not be stopped' is drawn from the metaphor of rivers, since his fame flows everywhere, that he does not take anything.

You do not stop up my boldness of speech by the gift.

But he did not say, 'You do not stop it up,' which would have been more cutting, but rather, 'It shall not be stopped in the regions of Achaia.'

This again would have dealt them a mortal blow, and would have been quite enough to abase and grieve them, if indeed he had refused to accept only from them.

For if he had boasted, he ought to have boasted everywhere;

but if only among you, it was perhaps because of your weakness.

In order, then, that they might not be despondent by reasoning thus, see how he corrects it:

Why? Is it because I do not love you? God knows.

having quickly and readily brought forward the resolution.

But nevertheless, not even so did he acquit them of the charges.

For neither did he say, 'It is not that you are weak,' nor, 'You are strong,' but, 'Because I love you'—

which most of all intensified the accusation against them.

For it was a mark of loving them most that he took nothing from them, since—

So that out of love he did the contrary, both taking and not taking;

and the contrariety lay in the disposition of those who were giving.

And he did not say, 'For this reason I do not take, because I love you exceedingly,' since that would have carried a charge of their weakness and cast them into perplexity, but he turned the argument to another cause.

What cause, then, is this? That I may cut off the occasion of those who desire an occasion, that wherein they boast they may be found even as we.

For since they were eager for this, to find some handle, this too must be taken away.

For this is the only thing in which they take pride.

In order, then, that they might have nothing more, this too had to be set right;

for in the other respects they had been outdone.

For nothing, as I said, so edifies worldly men as the refusing to take.

The devil, therefore, being wicked, let down this bait especially, wishing to injure them in other matters.

And this too seems to me to be a kind of hypocrisy.

For this reason he did not even say, 'Wherein they have succeeded,' but what? 'Wherein they boast;'

which was the mark of one taunting them for arrogance;

for they boasted even of that which they were not.

But the noble-minded man must not boast, not only in the things he does not possess, but not even in those he has acquired;

even as this blessed one did, even as the patriarch Abraham, saying, 'But I am earth and ashes.'

For since he could not name any sins, but shone with good deeds, having run over everything and found no very great handle against himself, he takes refuge in his nature;

and since the name of earth is in some way honourable, he added also that of ashes.

Wherefore another too said, 'Why is earth and ashes proud?' For do not tell me of the bloom of the countenance, nor of the uplifted neck, nor of the fine robe and the horse and the retinue;

but consider and add where all these things end.

But if you speak of the things that appear, I too will tell you of the things in the Scriptures, which are far more splendid than these.

But just as we do not marvel at those things because of their appearance, seeing that their substance is that the whole is clay;

or rather, even before it is dissolved and becomes dust.

Show me this haughty man in a fever, at the point of death;

and then I will discourse with you, and will ask what has become of all that great array, and where has departed all the fawning flattery, and the attendance of servants, and the abundance of money and possessions, what wind swept in and blew it all away.

But you will say that even as he lies upon his bed he bears the tokens of his wealth and pride, with the splendid raiment laid over him, poor and rich escorting him, and the populace acclaiming him.

Most of all, these things too are matter for laughter;

nay, but these too are straightway proved to melt away like a flower.

For when we have passed over the threshold of the city gates, and having handed over the body to the worms return again, I will ask you once more, where is that great throng gone? What has become of the outcry and the tumult? Where are the torches? Where are the choirs of women? Are these things not a dream? What have all the shoutings come to? Where are those many mouths that were crying out and exhorting him to be of good courage, as though there were no death? These things ought not to be said now to one who does not hear, but while he was plundering, while he was overreaching, then, changing them a little, one ought to have said:

You must not be over-confident, no one is immortal;

restrain your madness, quench your desire, and be not confident against him whom you wrong.

Since to say such things to this man now is the part of those who spare him and speak in irony;

for it is not on this account that he ought henceforth to be confident, but rather to fear and tremble.

But even if these things are henceforth of no profit to him who has left the arena, yet at least let those of the rich who are sick with the same disease, and who follow to the tomb, give ear.

For since beforehand, under the intoxication of riches, they think of no such thing, yet in that moment when the very sight of him who lies there confirms what is said, let them be brought to sobriety, let them be instructed, considering that a little later those who lead men away will come for them also to that dread reckoning, and to the giving of account for what they plundered, for what they overreached.

And what, one says, is this to the poor? Most of all, to many this too is sweet, to see the man being punished.

But to us it is not sweet, but rather not to suffer evil.

I praise you exceedingly and accept you, in that you do not rejoice over others' calamities, but seek your own safety.

Come then, this too I will guarantee to you.

For if we suffer evil at the hands of men, we cut off no small part of our debt, if we bear what befalls us nobly.

For God reckons the injury to us against our debt, not according to the rule of strict justice, but according to that of loving-kindness.

For this reason also from the beginning He did not avenge one who had suffered evil.

Whence is this plain, one says? The Jews once suffered evil at the hands of the Babylonians, and God did not prevent it, but children and women were led away captive;

yet afterward this captivity became to them a consolation in proportion to their sins.

For this reason He says to Isaiah, 'Comfort, comfort my people, O priests;

speak to the heart of Jerusalem, that she has received of the Lord's hand double for her sins;'

and again, 'Give us peace;'

And David says, 'Consider mine enemies, for they are multiplied, and forgive all my sins.'

And when he bore with Shimei cursing him, he says, 'Let him alone, that the Lord may look on my affliction, and requite me good for this day.'

For when He does not avenge us who are wronged, then most of all are we benefited;

for it is reckoned to us for a good deed, if we bear it with thanksgiving.

So that when you see a rich man plundering a poor man, leave alone the one who is wronged, and weep for the one who plunders.

For the one lays aside his filth, while the other rubs filth upon himself.

Thus also Elisha's servant suffered, in the matter of Naaman;

For even though he did not seize it by force, yet to have taken it by deceit is itself injustice.

What then came of it? Together with the injustice he received also the leprosy; and the one who was wronged was benefited, while the one who did the wrong suffered the greatest harm.

And the one who was wronged was benefited, while the one who did the wrong suffered the greatest harm.

This same thing happens now also in the case of the soul.

And so great is this, that this alone has oftentimes made God propitious.

For even if the one who suffers evil be unworthy of aid, yet when he suffers this beyond all measure, he draws God both toward pardon of himself and, from this very circumstance alone, toward the punishment of the one who inflicts it.

Therefore God also said of old to the barbarians, 'I indeed delivered them over to few chastisements, but they joined together to add to their evils;'

for this reason they shall suffer things past all remedy.

For there is nothing, nothing at all, that so provokes God as to seize by force, and to use violence, and to take advantage of others through covetousness.

Why ever so? Because it is exceedingly easy to abstain from this sin.

For it is not a natural desire that troubles us, but it arises from slothfulness.

How then does the Apostle call it a root of evils? For indeed I too say this;

but this root is from us, not from the nature of the thing.

And, if you please, let us make a comparison, and see which is the more tyrannical, the desire of money or of bodies;

for whichever shall be found to have cast down great men, that is the more grievous.

Let us then see what great man the desire of money laid hold of.

None, but rather men exceedingly wretched and cast off: Gehazi, Ahab, Judas, the Jewish priests;

but the desire of bodies overcame even the great prophet David.

And I say these things not to grant pardon to those who are captured by such desire, but rather to make them sober and watchful.

For when I show that the passion is great, then most of all I show them to be bereft of all excuse.

For if you were ignorant of the beast, you might have taken refuge in that very plea;

but as it is, knowing it and yet falling into it, you can have no defense whatever.

And after him, it laid hold of his son with even greater excess;

and yet none became wiser than that man, and he attained to all other virtue besides;

but nevertheless he was so violently taken captive by this, that he received the blow even in his vital parts.

And the father rose up and renewed the struggle, and was crowned again;

but this one showed forth nothing of the kind.

For this reason Paul also said:

'It is better to marry than to burn;'

and Christ said, 'He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.'

But concerning money it is not so, but rather, 'Whosoever has forsaken his possessions shall receive a hundredfold.'

How then, one asks, did He say concerning the rich, that

they shall hardly attain to the kingdom? Again He was hinting at their softness, not at the tyranny of riches, but at their intense slavery to them.

And this is plain also from what Paul counseled.

For from that desire he leads them away, saying, 'But they that will be rich fall into temptation;'

but concerning this other desire he does so no longer, but having dissolved it only for a season, and this by consent, he counsels them again to come together.

For he dreads the waves of desire, lest they should work some grievous shipwreck.

This is a passion more vehement even than anger;

for anger cannot arise when there is nothing to provoke it;

but there is a necessity to desire, even when the sight that stirs one to it does not appear.

Therefore this passion He did not cut out utterly, but added the word 'without cause;'

nor did He take away desire itself, but the unjust desire.

'For because of desires,' he says, 'let each man have his own wife.'

But to lay up treasure He allowed neither with cause nor without cause.

For these passions were implanted in us for the sake of need;

desire for the begetting of children, and anger for the aid of those who are wronged;

but the desire of money in no way at all.

Therefore neither is this passion natural.

So that when you are taken captive by it, by so much the more will you suffer the most shameful things.

For this very reason Paul also, while permitting a second marriage, requires great strictness in the matter of money, saying, 'Why do you not rather suffer wrong? why do you not rather allow yourselves to be defrauded?' And discoursing about virginity, he says:

and, 'I speak this for your own profit, not that I may cast a snare upon you;'

but when his discourse is about money, he says, 'Having food and covering, with these we shall be content.'

How then, one asks, are many taken captive by this rather? Because they are not so drawn up in battle array against it, as they are against wantonness and fornication;

for if it seemed to be equally dreadful, they would not so quickly have been taken.

So also those wretched virgins were cast out of the bridal chamber, because, having overthrown the greater adversary, they were laid low by the weaker one that was nothing at all.

Together with this it may also be said, that if anyone, while mastering desire, is overcome by money, he does not often even master desire, but has obtained from nature that he is not greatly troubled from that quarter;

for not all men are alike prone to it.

Knowing these things, therefore, and continually turning over among ourselves the example of the virgins, let us flee this wicked beast.

For if virginity profited them nothing, but they perished after countless labors and sweats because of the love of money;

who shall deliver us, if we fall into this passion? Wherefore I exhort you to do everything, neither to be taken captive, nor, if taken, to remain in captivity, but to burst asunder these grievous bonds.

For thus shall we be able to stand toward heaven, and to attain the countless good things;

which may it be granted us all to attain, by the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom, to the Father together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, might, and honor, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.