Homilies on the Acts of the Apostles 9

'And when Peter saw it,' it says, 'he answered unto the people:

Men of Israel, why marvel you at this? or why fasten you your eyes on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man to walk?'

This public address is full of greater boldness.

And this he does, not because in the former one he was afraid, but because those men, being scoffers and mockers, would not have borne it.

Wherefore, in beginning that former address, he even turns them round by his opening words, saying at once:

'Be this known unto you, and give ear unto my words.'

But here he has no need of this kind of preparation;

for the sign had turned them all round;

whence also they were full of fear and astonishment.

Therefore he had no need to begin from this point, but from another, whence he most of all won them over, thrusting from himself the glory which came from them.

For nothing so profits and relieves the hearers as when the speaker says nothing great about himself, but even removes their suspicion.

Rather, then, they glorified themselves by despising glory, and by showing that what had come to pass was not human but divine;

and that they are worthy to marvel along with them, not to be marveled at.

Do you see how, being pure from love of honour, he pushes away the glory directed toward himself? So also the ancients did, as Daniel said:

'And as for me, it is not by any wisdom that is in me;'

and again Joseph, 'Do not interpretations belong to God?' and David, 'When the lion and the bear came, in the name of the Lord I tore them with my hands.'

'Why fasten you your eyes on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man to walk?' 'Neither is this ours,' he says;

for it was not because we are worthy that we drew down God's favour.

'The God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers.'

See how he continually thrusts himself in among the forefathers, that he may not seem to be bringing in some new doctrine;

and there he made mention of the patriarch David, and here of those about Abraham.

'He glorified His Servant Jesus.'

Again humbly, just as in the exordium.

Then thereafter he dwells upon their audacity, and heightens what had been done, but does not, as before, throw it into shadow.

And he does this, wishing rather to draw them to himself.

For the more he showed them to be accountable, the more this came to pass.

'He glorified,' he says, 'His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up, and denied Him in the presence of Pilate, when he had determined to release Him.'

There are two charges: both that Pilate wished to release Him, and that you, when he wished it, would not.

'But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked that a man who was a murderer should be granted unto you;

but the Prince of Life you killed, whom God raised from the dead, whereof we are witnesses.'

As if he said, 'In His stead you asked for a robber.'

He greatly aggravated the deed.

For since he had them under his hand, he thereupon smites them vehemently.

'But the Author of life,' he says.

Here he establishes the faith of the resurrection.

'Whom God raised from the dead.'

That no one might say, 'Whence is this clear?'—he no longer takes refuge in the prophets, but in himself, since by now he was worthy of belief.

For at that earlier time, having said that He rose, he brought forward David as witness;

but now, saying the same thing, he brings forward the apostolic band.

'Of which,' he says, 'we are witnesses.'

'And by faith in His name, this man whom you behold and know, His name has made strong; and the faith which is through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.'

Seeking to state the fact, he at once adduces the sign.

'In the presence,' he says, 'of you all.'

Since he had touched them to the quick, and had shown that He who was crucified had risen, he again relaxes his rebuke, granting them opportunity for repentance, saying:

'And now, brethren, I know that you did it in ignorance, as did also your rulers.'

A second point: 'as did also your rulers.'

Just as Joseph said to his brethren, 'God sent me before you;'

or rather, what there he stated in condensed form—'Him, delivered up by the determined counsel and foreknowledge of God, you took'—this he here amplifies.

'But God, the things which He foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ should suffer, He has thus fulfilled.'

At the same time he shows that, if this be demonstrated, it is not their doing, and that it came to pass according to the counsel of God.

And by saying, 'The things which He foretold,' he hints at the words with which they reviled Him upon the cross, saying, 'If He desires Him, let Him save Him.'

'For He said, I am the Son of God;'

'let Him now come down from the cross.'

Are these things then idle talk, O senseless ones? Away with the thought!

But it was needful that it should so come to pass;

and the prophets bear witness.

So that it was not through any weakness of His own that He did not come down, but through power.

And he sets it in order

as a defense on behalf of the Jews, that they too might receive it.

Do you see how he refers the whole matter to that source? 'Repent therefore,' he says, 'and turn again.'

And he does not say, 'From your sins,' but, 'That your sins may be blotted out,' signifying the same thing.

'That times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.'

Here he shows that they had been sorely afflicted, and worn down by many evils.

Wherefore he spoke thus, knowing that to one who suffers and seeks consolation this word would be fitting.

And observe how he advances step by step.

In the first discourse he hinted only gently at the resurrection and the sitting in heaven;

but here he speaks also of the manifest coming.

'And that He may send the appointed Jesus Christ, whom heaven must indeed receive;'

'until the times of the restitution of all things.'

As to why He does not come now, the reason is plain.

'Which,' he says, 'God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old.'

'Moses indeed said to the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up for you from among your brethren, like me;'

'Him you shall hear in all things, whatsoever He shall say to you.'

There he made mention of David, but here of Moses.

'All things,' he says, 'which God spoke.'

He does not say, 'Which Christ said,' but, 'Which God spoke,' still by veiling it the more leading them gently to faith.

Then he takes refuge in that which is worthy of belief, saying:

'A prophet shall the Lord God raise up for you from among your brethren, like me;'

'Him you shall hear in all things.'

'And it shall be,' he says, 'that every soul which will not hear that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.'

'And all the prophets also, from Samuel and those that followed after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold these days.'

Here he has well set down the destruction.

For whenever he says something great, he takes refuge in the earliest authorities.

And he found a testimony containing both things, as he said there:

'Until He make His enemies the footstool of His feet.'

For the marvel is that the two things are together—both subjection and disobedience, and the punishment.

Why then are you afraid? You are the sons of the prophets.

So that it was to you that they spoke, and for your sakes all these things have come to pass.

For since, on account of their audacious deed, they supposed themselves to have become estranged (for it stands not to the same reason, now to be crucifying, and now to be tended as His own), he shows that both that deed was according to prophecy, and this also.

'You are,' he says, 'the sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham:'

'And in your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.'

'To you first,' he says, 'God, having raised up His Servant, sent Him.'

'but to you first,' to you who crucified Him.

'Blessing you, in turning away each one from his iniquities.'

But let us look more carefully, from the beginning, at what has been read.

For the present he establishes that it was they themselves who wrought the miracle, in that he says:

'Why do you marvel?' And he does not permit what is said to be disbelieved.

And that he may make it the more worthy of belief, he anticipates their judgment:

'Why,' he says, 'do you fasten your eyes on us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made him to walk? If this troubles and disturbs you, learn who it is that has done it, and be not amazed.'

And observe everywhere, that when he takes refuge in God, and says that all things come to pass from Him, then he rebukes them without fear.

For this reason also he said above, 'A man approved by God among you.'

And everywhere he reminds them of their audacious deed, that both the miracle may be shown and the resurrection confirmed.

But here he added yet another thing:

For he no longer calls Him the Nazarene, but what does he say? 'The God of our fathers,' he declares, 'hath glorified His Servant Jesus.'

He did not bring an accusation, nor did he say straightway:

'Behold, a man forty years lame hath risen up in the name of Jesus Christ,'

for this would have made them more contentious.

But for the present he praises them, because they marveled at what had come to pass.

And again he calls upon them by way of their forefather.

And he does not say, 'Jesus healed him,'

although in fact it was He Himself who healed him;

so that they might not say, 'And how does this stand to reason, if he glorifies the transgressor of the law?' For this cause he reminds them of the judgment before Pilate, showing that, if they were willing to attend to it, He is no transgressor of the law;

for Pilate would not have been willing to release Him.

And he did not say, 'When he was willing,' but, 'When that man had determined to release Him;'

making it plain that the one who had slain others you asked to be set free, but Him who quickens those that had been slain you would not have.

And that they might not again say, 'How does He who then gave Him no help now glorify Him?' they bring forward the prophets bearing witness that it was thus that it must needs come to pass.

Then, lest they should suppose that God's dispensation was an excuse for them, he first lays hold of them.

And moreover, to have denied Him to Pilate's very face was no light matter, seeing that that man was minded to release Him;

and that it was not possible for you to deny it, he who was asked for in His stead stands as your accuser.

So this too was a great dispensation.

Here he shows their shamelessness and their audacity;

and that the Gentile, though he then saw Him for the very first time only, set Him free, and that too having heard nothing great about Him;

but they, who had been nurtured amid the signs, did the very opposite.

And that that man justly determined to release Him, and did not do this by way of a favor, hear him saying elsewhere:

'Ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one;

will ye therefore that I release unto you this man?' But ye denied the Holy and Just One.

He did not say, 'Ye delivered Him up,' but everywhere, 'Ye denied Him.'

'We have no king but Caesar.'

And he did not say, 'Ye did not ask for the innocent One, neither did ye deny Him only, but ye also slew Him.'

When they were hardened, he said nothing of this sort;

when their souls were most of all shaken, then he smites more vehemently, when they are also able to perceive it.

For just as we say nothing to men while they are drunk, but when they have become sober and recovered from their intoxication, then we rebuke them;

even so did Peter also: when they were able to understand what was said, then he also sharpened his tongue;

he counts up many charges:

as, for instance, that Him whom God glorified, these men delivered up;

that Him whom Pilate would have released, these men denied to his very face;

that they preferred the robber.

See again how, without their noticing, he discourses concerning His power, showing that He raised Himself;

just as in the former discourse he said:

'Because it was not possible that He should be holden of it;'

and here, 'But the Prince of life,' he says, 'ye slew.'

It follows then that He did not receive life from another.

For just as the author of wickedness would be he who begat wickedness, and the author of murder he who first brought murder in;

even so also the Prince of life is He who has life from Himself.

Since he had uttered this, he added:

'And through faith in His name hath His name made this man strong, whom ye behold and know;

and the faith which is by Him hath given him this perfect soundness.'

And yet, if it is the faith in Him that has wrought the whole thing, and that he believed in Him, wherefore did he not say, 'Through His name,' but, 'In His name'? Because they did not yet have the courage to say, 'The faith in Him.'

But that the phrase 'through Him' might not be taken as lowly, he added:

'And His name hath made him strong.'

And having said this first, then he says:

'And the faith which is by Him hath given him this perfect soundness.'

See how he shows that even that was spoken by way of condescension.

For He would not have needed another for the raising up, whose name raised up the lame man that differed nothing from a corpse.

Consider how everywhere he draws in their own testimony.

and again, 'whom ye behold and know, in the presence of you all.'

And yet in His name they did not know that he stood whole, but this they did know, that he was lame.

And even those who had wrought it confessed that it was not by their own power, but that he had been made strong by the power of Christ.

But if this had not been so, and they had indeed been persuaded that He had risen, they would not have been willing to establish the glory of a dead man rather than their own, and that with those men looking on at them.

Then he straightway comforted their souls, which were afraid, by the appellation of 'brethren,' saying:

For there indeed he said nothing about themselves, but

only about Christ, saying, 'Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly;'

but here he also adds an exhortation.

There he waited for them to speak;

here he knew how much they had wrought, and that these were more nearly akin to him.

And yet what was said above was not the mark of ignorance.

For to ask for the robber, not to accept the release of Him who was tried, and even to wish to slay Him — of what ignorance is this the mark? But nevertheless he gives them the opportunity to deny it, and to repent of what had been done;

or rather, he even puts together for them a specious defence, and says:

'That indeed ye were slaying an innocent man, ye knew;

but that He was the Prince of life, perhaps ye were ignorant.'

And hence he acquits of the charges not them only, but also the master-builders of the evils.

For truly he would have made them more contentious, had he carried his discourse into an accusation.

For he who has done some dreadful deed, when someone accuses him, in trying to defend himself becomes the more vehement.

And he no longer says, 'You crucified, you murdered,' but 'You did it,' thus leading them toward pardon.

but, 'You acted,' bringing them to forgiveness.

If those men acted in ignorance, much more do these;

if those are forgiven, much more are these.

What is marvellous is that, having spoken both above and here—there saying, 'By the determined counsel and foreknowledge,' and here that 'He foretold to all that the Christ should suffer'—nowhere does he adduce a testimony, because each of these sayings was uttered together with many accusations and with the punishment appointed against them.

'And I will give the wicked in place of his burial, and the rich in place of his death,' he says;

and again, 'The things which He foretold,' he says, 'through the mouth of all the prophets, that His Christ should suffer, He thus fulfilled.'

He shows the counsel to be great, seeing that all said this, and not one alone.

Yet not because it came about through ignorance did it come about contrary to what seemed good to God.

See how great is the wisdom of God, when it turns the wickednesses of others to good use, unto what is fitting.

Lest they should henceforth suppose that anything remained to be done, he added this, showing that all that had to be suffered has been fulfilled.

But do not suppose, because the prophets said these things, and because you acted in ignorance,

that this suffices for your defence.

But he does not speak thus; rather, more gently:

Why? 'That your sins may be blotted out.'

I do not speak of the deeds daringly done at the cross;

perhaps those were done in ignorance;

but that your other sins may be blotted out.

'That times of refreshing may come to you.'

Here he discourses, though obscurely, concerning the resurrection.

For those are truly seasons of refreshing which Paul also sought after, saying:

'And we who are in this tabernacle groan, being burdened.'

Then, showing that He Himself is the author of the seasons of refreshing, 'And that He may send,' he says, 'Jesus Christ, who was appointed for you.'

He did not say, 'That your sin may be blotted out,' but 'your sins,' and hinting also at that greater thing, 'that He may send.'

Having said this, he no longer states whence, but only adds, 'Whom heaven must receive.'

And how is it that he did not say, 'Whom heaven received'? This he said as speaking of the times above: 'It has been so ordered,' he says, 'so appointed;'

but concerning His eternal existence he does not yet speak, but still dwells upon the words of the dispensation, and says:

'For Moses indeed said to the fathers, that the Lord will raise up for you a Prophet.'

Then, having said above, 'Until the times of the restitution of all things, which God spoke through the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began,' he then brings in Christ Himself.

For if the prophets foretold many things, and yet one must hearken to Him, no one would err in saying that the prophets spoke these things.

In another way too he wishes to show that the prophets also foretold the very same things.

And if one examines carefully, he will find these things also spoken in the Old Testament, obscurely indeed, yet spoken.

'Whom was appointed,' he says.

Here he also puts them in fear, as though many things remained. How then did he say, 'He fulfilled the things that had to be suffered'? He said 'He fulfilled,' not 'It was fulfilled;'

showing that the things which had to be suffered, He fulfilled;

but the things that yet remain to come to pass, not yet.

'The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet from among your brethren, like me.'

He says that which most of all won them over.

Do you see how he intersperses things lowly and things lofty?

For it is both a lowly thing and a lofty one, if He who is to ascend into the heavens is according to Moses;

For surely it is not according to Moses that 'It shall be that every one who does not hear shall be utterly destroyed.'

And he said countless other things showing that He is not according to Moses, so that he laid hold of great testimony.

'God will raise Him up,' he says, 'from among your brethren.'

So that Moses himself threatened those who do not hearken.

'And all the prophets too,' he says, 'from Samuel.'

He did not wish to go through them one by one, so as not to make the discourse long;

but having mentioned the decisive testimony of Moses, he passed them by.

'You are,' he says, 'sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made.'

'Of the covenant,' he says, 'sons,'—that is, heirs.

For lest they should think they were receiving these things as from the grace of Peter, he shows that it was owed to them from of old, so that they might rather believe that this too is what God has resolved.

'To you first,' he says, 'God, having raised up His Servant, sent Him.'

He did not say simply, 'To you He sent His Servant,' but also, 'after the resurrection,' and 'when He was crucified.'

For lest they should think that He Himself bestowed these things, while the Father did not, on this account he added, 'blessing you.'

For if He is your brother and blesses you, the matter is a promise;

that is, So far are you from not sharing in these things, that He wills you to become authors and leaders of them to others also.

Therefore do not be disposed as those cast off or rejected.

'In turning away,' he says, 'each one from his wickednesses.'

Thus He blesses you, and not simply.

And of what kind is this blessing? A great one.

For turning away from wickednesses is not of itself sufficient also to loose them.

But if it was not even sufficient to loose them, how could it furnish a blessing? For surely the man who has done wrong is not thereupon also blessed, but is forgiven his sins.

But the phrase 'like me,' unless one takes it according to the manner of the lawgiving, would nowhere else have any sense.

and not simply, but, 'It shall be that every soul which does not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.'

When he had shown them to have sinned, and had imparted pardon, and had promised good things;

then indeed he shows that Moses too says the same.

And what consistency is there in saying, 'Until the times of restitution,' and then bringing in Moses saying that they shall hear all that Christ shall speak;

and not simply, but with a fearful threat? A great one;

for he shows that on this account also they ought to obey Him.

What means, 'Sons of the prophets, and of the covenant'? Heirs, successors.

If then you are sons, why are you disposed toward your own things as toward things belonging to another? So then, you did indeed do things worthy of accusation;

Yet even so you will be able to obtain pardon.

Then, having said these things, he reasonably goes on to say:

To you God has sent His Servant, blessing you.

He did not say, 'saving,' but what is greater, 'blessing.'

showing that the One who was crucified blesses those who crucified Him.

Let us, then, ourselves also imitate Him.

Let us cast out a murderous and hostile soul.

It is not enough merely not to take revenge (this was done even under the Old Covenant); rather, let us do everything for those who have wronged us, as for genuine friends, as for our very own selves.

We are imitators of Him, disciples of Him who, after being crucified, set everything in motion on behalf of those who crucified Him, and sent out the apostles.

And yet in many cases we suffer justly.

But He suffered not only unjustly, but even impiously.

For it was their Benefactor, one who had done them no wrong, whom they crucified.

For what reason? Tell me—was it for glory's sake? And yet He Himself exalted them.

How? 'The scribes and the Pharisees,' He says, 'sit on Moses' seat.'

'All, therefore, whatever they tell you to do, do.'

'But do not act according to their works.'

'Go, show yourself to the priest.'

And though able to destroy them, He saves them.

Him, therefore, let us imitate, and let no one be anyone's enemy, no one a foe—except of the devil alone.

No small contribution toward this is made both by not swearing oaths and by not being angry.

From not being angry we shall not even have an enemy.

Cut off a man's oath, and you have clipped the wings of anger, its very rage.

For just as anger is a wind, so also is the oath.

There is no use in a sail when there is no wind.

If, then, we do not shout, nor swear, we have cut the sinews of rage.

But if you do not believe it, put the matter to the test, and then you will know that it is so.

Lay down for the angry man a law never to swear, and you will not be forced to reason with him about moderation.

and you will neither forswear yourselves, nor swear at all.

Do you not know into how many absurdities you cast yourselves from this? For of necessity, wrapping yourselves in a bond and striving by every device to drag your soul, as it were, out of some inescapable evil, and then, being unable to do so, you spend the rest of your time in anguish and quarrels, and in cursing in your wrath;

but all this comes about to no purpose and in vain.

Therefore threaten, lay down conditions, do everything—but without an oath.

It is possible to undo both what has been said and what has been done, if you wish.

So today it is necessary to speak with you more gently.

For since you have listened, the greater part has already been accomplished in you.

Come then, let us next say for what reason the oath came in, and why it was permitted to exist.

Recounting its origin from the beginning—when it was born, and how, and from whom—we will requite you with this narrative in return for your obedience.

For it is necessary that he who has succeeded should also pursue wisdom;

but he who has not yet done so is not even worthy to hear the discourse.

Abraham and those with him made many covenants, and slew victims, and offered sacrifices, and as yet there was no oath.

Whence, then, did the oath come in? When evils increased, when everything at once was turned upside down, when men inclined toward idolatry;

then indeed, then, when they at last appeared faithless, they called God to witness, as though giving Him as a trustworthy surety for what was being said.

For this is what an oath is: a surety for characters that are distrusted.

So that this is the first accusation against the one who swears, that he is not believed without a surety, and a great surety at that;

for on account of the great distrust they seek not a man as surety, but God.

Secondly, the same charge lies against him who receives the oath, if, being in dispute over contracts, he drags God to be surety, and says he will not desist unless he obtains Him.

O the excessive insensibility! O the outrage!

Being a worm, and earth, and ashes, and smoke, you drag your Master to be surety, and compel Him to accept it.

Tell me, if, when your own children were quarreling with one another and distrusting each other, a fellow-servant were to say that he would not desist until he obtained the common master as surety—

would he not have received countless blows, and learned that one must make use of the master for other things, not for these? Why do I speak of a fellow-servant? For if he had chosen some more venerable man, would he not have deemed the affair an outrage? 'But I do not wish it,' he says.

Then neither compel Him, since among men too this is what happens: if he says, 'I give so-and-so as surety,' you do not accept it.

'What then? Shall I lose,' he says, 'what is given?' I do not say this, but that you allow God to be insulted.

Wherefore also he who compels rather than he who swears has punishment that cannot be averted;

likewise also he who swears when no one is asking it.

And what is indeed the more grievous, that each man swears over a single obol, over a trifling addition, over an injustice.

These things, when there are no false oaths involved.

but if perjury follows upon it, both he who received and he who gave have turned everything upside down.

'But some things are done in ignorance,' he says.

But foreseeing these things, do nothing carelessly;

and if you do act carelessly, exact of yourself the penalty as a loss.

It is better to suffer loss in this way than in the other.

For tell me, you drag the man into an oath—expecting what? That he will swear falsely? But this is the utmost folly;

for the penalty will turn back upon your own head;

it is better for you to lose your money than for him to be destroyed.

Why do you do this together with your own loss, and together with the insulting of God? This is the soul of a wild beast, and of an impious man.

'But I expect that he will not swear falsely.'

Then believe him even without an oath.

'But there are many,' he says, 'who without an oath have chosen to defraud;'

he who would wrong his neighbor would many times also choose to trample an oath underfoot;

but if he were scrupulous about swearing, he would be much more so about committing injustice.

'But he suffers it unwillingly?' Then he is worthy of pardon.

But why do I speak of these oaths, leaving aside those sworn in the marketplace? For there you cannot even offer such a plea as this;

for over ten obols oaths are made and perjuries committed.

Because no thunderbolt comes down from above, because not all things are overthrown, you stand fast keeping God in your grasp.

And for what reason? That you may get some greens, that you may get shoes—calling Him to witness for the sake of a little silver.

Let us not, then, because we are not punished, suppose that we are not sinning either;

this belongs to the loving-kindness of God, not to any virtue of ours.

Swear by your own child, swear by your own self;

say, 'So may no executioner ever stand over these ribs of mine.'

Is God, then, of less honor than your ribs? cheaper than your head? Say, 'So may I never be maimed.'

But Christ so spares us that He forbids us even to swear by our own head;

yet we are so careless of God's glory that we drag Him in everywhere.

You do not know what God is, and with what manner of lips He ought to be invoked.

But if we are speaking of some virtuous man, we say, 'Cleanse your mouth, and then make mention of him';

yet now the precious Name, the Name above every name, the Name that is wondrous in all the earth, at which the demons hear and shudder, we drag about carelessly.

For from this it has come to be held in contempt.

Indeed, if in a holy house you lay upon someone the necessity of swearing, you are so disposed as though you had made the oath a fearful thing;

and yet whence does it seem so fearful, except that in that place we have used the Name simply, but not so here? Ought there not to be dread when God is named? But among the Jews His Name was so revered that it was written on gold plates, and no one was permitted to wear the letters save the high priest alone;

but now we carry His Name about as though it were any common thing.

If simply to name God is not a holy thing for all men,

then to call Him to witness—of how great presumption, tell me, of how great madness is that? For if all things ought to be cast away for His sake, ought we not readily to give them up? Behold, I say and solemnly charge you: Set right these oaths in the marketplace, and those who will not obey, bring them all to me.

Behold, in your presence I enjoin those set apart for service in the houses of prayer, and I exhort and charge them that it be permitted to no one to swear at all;

let whoever it may be, then, be brought to me, since these matters too must come up to us, as with little children.

For it is a shame still to have to entreat and to teach concerning some things.

Do you, being uninitiated, dare to touch the sacred table? But what is yet worse: you, though initiated, dare to touch the sacred table—which it is not lawful even for all priests to touch—and thus to swear.

And you would not go and touch your child's head, yet you touch the table, and do not shudder nor fear? Bring such men to me;

I will judge the case, and send both parties away rejoicing.

I lay down this law: not to swear at all.

What hope of salvation is there, when we thus make everything void? For this reason there are bonds, for this reason there are contracts—that you may slay your own soul? What do you gain so great as what you lose? Did he swear falsely? You have destroyed both him and yourself.

But did he not swear falsely? Even so you have destroyed him, by forcing him to transgress the commandment.

Let us drive out this disease from the soul;

for the present let us chase it from the marketplace, from the grocers' stalls, from the rest of the workshops;

our gain will be the greater.

Do not suppose that by transgressions of the divine laws the affairs of this life are set right.

For indeed I once heard this too from certain persons: that 'Unless I swear ten thousand oaths, he does not believe me.'

You are the cause of this, you who swear so readily;

for if this were not so, but it were plain to all that you do not swear, believe me when I say that you would be trusted more, on a mere nod, than those who devour ten thousand oaths.

For behold, tell me, whom then do you trust more—me who do not swear, or those who swear? But you, one says, are a ruler and a bishop. What then, if

I show that it is not for this reason alone? Answer me truly, I beg you: if I swore continually and without ceasing, would my office have protected me? By no means.

Do you see that it is not for that reason? And what do you gain at all? tell me.

You too, then, choose rather to hunger than to transgress any of the commandments of God.

Why are you so unbelieving? You, indeed, would choose to do and to suffer all things for the sake of not swearing;

and will He not reward you? But does He feed the perjurers and the swearers of many oaths every single day,

and will He deliver you over to famine because you have hearkened to Him? Let all see that of those gathered into this church there is not one who swears;

and by this let us be known—not by faith alone, and this toward the Greeks—and let us have this as our distinguishing mark before all.

Let us receive a seal from the heavens, that everywhere we may appear like a royal flock;

let us for the present be recognized by our mouth and tongue, just as the barbarians are;

just as those who know Greek differ thereby from the barbarians, so let us differ.

For tell me, those birds called parrots—whence are they recognized? Is it not from speaking like a man? Let us, then, be recognized from speaking like the apostles;

from speaking like the angels.

If someone says, 'Swear,' let him hear that Christ commanded, and I do not swear.

This is enough to bring in every virtue.

It is a door of godliness, a way leading to the love of wisdom (to reverence), a wrestling-school it is.

Let us keep these things, that we may attain both the present good things and those to come, by the grace and loving-kindness 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.