Homilies on the Gospel of John 40

'For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son even as they honor the Father.'

We have need of much earnestness in all things, beloved.

For we shall give an account, and shall render exact reckonings, both of words and of deeds.

For our affairs do not stand fixed at the present life only, but another condition of life awaits us from here, and we shall stand before a fearful tribunal.

'For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,' says Paul, 'that each one may receive the things done through the body, according to what he has practiced, whether good or evil.'

Let us therefore ever bear in mind this tribunal, and thus throughout all our time we shall be able to be in virtue.

For just as he who has cast that day out of his soul, like a horse that has broken off its bridle, is carried into precipices (for 'his ways are profaned at every season,' it says;

wherefore also, giving the cause, He added:

'He takes away thy judgments from before His face.'

In this way he who continually keeps this fear will walk soberly.

For 'Remember thy last end,' it says, 'and thou shalt never sin.'

For He who now forgives us our sins, this same One shall then sit as Judge;

He who died for our sake, this same One shall appear again to judge all our nature.

For 'a second time,' it says, 'apart from sin shall He appear unto them that look for Him, unto salvation.'

'My Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son, that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father.'

'Shall we then also call Him Father?' someone says. Away with the thought!

For this reason He said 'the Son,' that while He remains Son we may honour Him even as we honour the Father.

But he who calls Him Father no longer honours the Son as Son, but confounds all things together.

Now since men, when they receive benefits, are not so drawn on as when they are chastised, for this reason He spoke thus in a fearful manner, so that at least fear might draw them to His honour.

And when He says 'all,' He means this: that He is Lord both to punish and to honour, and to do either as He wills.

And the word 'gave' is said, that thou mayest not suspect Him to be unbegotten, nor suppose that there are two Fathers.

For whatsoever things the Father is, these also is the Son, being begotten, and remaining in His being as Son.

And that thou mayest learn that the word 'gave' is equivalent to 'begat,' hear this same thing declared from another passage.

'For as the Father hath life in Himself,' He says, 'so hath He given also to the Son to have life in Himself.'

What then? Did He first beget Him, and then give Him life? For he who gives, gives to one already existing.

Was He then begotten without life? But not even demons would suspect this;

for besides its impiety it contains also much folly.

As therefore the words 'He gave life' mean 'He begat Him as life,'

so also 'He gave judgment' means 'He begat Him as judge.'

For lest, hearing that He has the Father as His cause, thou shouldest imagine a difference of substance and a diminution of honour, He Himself comes to judge thee, thereby also showing His equality.

For He who has authority to punish and to honour whom He will, can do the same things as the Father.

Since, if this be not so, but He received the honour as one begotten afterwards, what happened that He should be honoured later? From what advancement did He come to this so as to receive this dignity and be appointed to it? Are ye not ashamed thus shamelessly to bring in these human and paltry conceptions upon a nature that is undefiled and has nothing adventitious? 'For what reason then,' one says, 'does He speak thus?' In order that His word might be readily received, and that He might prepare the way for His loftier sayings.

For this reason He mingles these with those, and those with these.

For it is good to view these matters from the beginning.

He said, 'My Father worketh, and I work';

showing thereby His equality and His equal honour;

And they sought to kill Him.

What then does He do next? In wording He lowers Himself, yet He sets forth the very same thoughts, speaking thus:

'The Son can do nothing of Himself.'

Then again He raises His discourse to the sublime;

'For what things soever He doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise,' saying,

Then again to what is more lowly;

'For the Father loveth the Son, and showeth Him all things that He Himself doeth;'

'and greater works than these will He show Him.'

Then again to what is loftier;

'For as the Father raiseth up the dead and quickeneth them, even so the Son also quickeneth whom He will.'

And after this, again to what is at once lowly and lofty;

'For neither doth the Father judge any man, but hath given all judgment unto the Son.'

'That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father.'

Dost thou see how He varies His discourse, weaving it together of both lofty and lowly names and expressions, so that it might both be readily received by those of that day, and that those who came after might take no harm, receiving from the lofty sayings the fitting understanding concerning the others also? For if this be not so, and these things were not spoken by way of condescension, for what reason were the lofty sayings added? For he whose duty it is to speak great things concerning himself, when he says something small and lowly, has a plausible pretext, doing this for the sake of some dispensation;

but he whose duty it is to speak mean things concerning himself, if he says something great, for what reason does he utter things surpassing his own nature? For this is no longer a matter of any dispensation, but of the utmost impiety.

So that we indeed have a just cause, and one befitting God, to allege for the lowly sayings, namely, the condescension, and the teaching us to be moderate, and the salvation dispensed to us thereby;

which He Himself also declaring elsewhere said;

'These things I say, that ye may be saved.'

For since He had taken refuge in the witness of John, leaving aside His own (which was a thing unworthy of His greatness),

assigning as the cause of so great a lowliness of His words, He said, 'These things I say, that ye may be saved.'

But ye who say that He hath not the same authority and power as

Him who begat Him, what would ye say when ye hear Him speaking words whereby He shows His power and authority and glory to be equal with the Father's? And for what reason does He also require the same honour, if He be far inferior, as ye assert? And He does not even stop here, having spoken thus, but goes on further, saying,

'He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent Him.'

Dost thou see how the honour of the Son is interwoven with the honour of the Father? 'And what of this?' one says. This same thing may be seen also in the case of the Apostles;

'For he that receiveth you,' He says, 'receiveth Me.'

But there, since He makes the concerns of His servants His own, for this reason He spoke thus;

but here, because the substance is one and the glory is one.

And besides, in the case of the Apostles it was not said, 'that they may honour them.'

And well did He say, 'He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father.'

For if, when there are two kings, the one be insulted, the other also is insulted together with him, and especially when he that is insulted is a son.

For a king is indeed insulted even when a common soldier is outraged;

yet not in like manner, but as through an intermediary.

But here it is not so, but as through Himself.

For this reason He said beforehand, 'That they may honour the Son, even as they honour the Father;'

so that, when He says, 'He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father,' thou mightest understand it of the same honour.

For He did not say simply, 'He that honoureth not,' but, 'He that honoureth not in the way I have said,' He means, 'honoureth not the Father.'

'And how,' one says, 'are He that sendeth and He that is sent of the same substance?' Again thou draggest down the discourse to human things, and considerest not that all these things have been said for no other purpose than that we might both know the cause, and not fall into the disease of Sabellius, and that the infirmity of the Jews might be healed in this manner, so that He should not be reckoned by them to be an adversary of God.

For they said, 'This man is not of God;'

'this man is not come from God.'

Now toward removing this suspicion, the lowly sayings contributed more than the lofty.

For this reason He continually, up and down, said that He was sent, not that thou shouldest think the expression to imply any inferiority in Him, but that He might stop their mouths.

For this reason also He continually takes refuge in the Father, while at the same time setting forth His own proper authority.

For if He had spoken everything according to His own dignity, those men would not have received His words, seeing that even from a few such sayings they drove Him out and often stoned Him;

and again, if, having regard to them, He had uttered everything in lowly fashion, many would afterwards have been harmed.

Therefore He blends and tempers His teaching, and by these lowly sayings, as I said, He stops their mouths, while by the things spoken according to His dignity He wards off, in the minds of those who have understanding, the mean conception of what has been said, and shows that it in no way belongs to Him at all.

For to be sent implies a change of place;

but God is present everywhere.

For what reason, then, does He say that He was sent? He speaks in a grosser manner, declaring His concord with the Father;

in this way at any rate He shapes the words that follow, wishing to establish this very point.

For, 'Verily, verily, I say unto you,' He says, 'that he who hears My words and believes on Him that sent Me has everlasting life.'

You see how continually He sets down the same thing, healing that suspicion of theirs, both here and by what follows, and how, by fear and by the promise of benefit, He dissolves their contentiousness against Him, and here again condescends greatly in His words? For neither did He say, 'He that hears My words and believes on Me,'

For then they would have thought the matter to be arrogance, and a superfluous boasting of words.

For if, after so long a time and after countless miracles, they suspected this when He spoke thus, much more would they have done so then.

Wherefore they even said to Him at that time:

'Abraham is dead, and the prophets are dead; and how do You say, If any one keep My word, he shall never taste of death?' In order, then, that they might not here also be roused to fury, see what He says:

'He that hears My word and believes on Him that sent Me has everlasting life.'

And this made the saying no little easy to accept—I mean their learning that those who hear Him believe on the Father.

For having received this with eagerness, they were likely to receive the rest also more readily.

So that by saying something lowly He also contributed to the lofty things and prepared the way for them.

'And comes not into judgment, but has passed from death unto life';

by these two things making the saying easy to accept: both that the Father is believed on, and that he who is persuaded enjoys many good things.

And the phrase 'comes not into judgment' means this, that he is not punished.

For by 'death' He means not this death here, but the eternal one; just as also by that 'life' He means the immortal one.

'Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of Man, and they that hear shall live.'

Having spoken the words, He gives also the demonstration by works.

For since He had said, 'As the Father raises up the dead and quickens them, even so the Son also quickens whom He will,'

in order that the matter might not seem to be boasting and arrogance, He furnishes also the demonstration by works, saying:

Then, that you might not suspect a long time, He adds:

'And now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live.'

Do you see the authority here, and the unspeakable power? For as it shall be in the resurrection, so also shall it be now, He says.

For then too, having heard a voice commanding, we are raised;

for 'at the command of God,' He says, 'the dead shall rise.'

And whence is it plain, some one may perhaps say, that the things spoken are not boasting? From what He added, that 'And now is.'

For if He had promised it only for the time to come, the saying would have been suspect in their eyes.

But as it is, He furnishes the proof.

'For while I,' He says, 'am tarrying with you, this shall come to pass.'

And He would not, being unable, have made such a promise at that time, so as not to incur the greater ridicule from the undertaking.

Then He adds also a reasoning demonstrative of what has been said, saying:

'For as the Father has life in Himself, so has He given to the Son also to have life in Himself.'

Do you see how, showing that there is no difference, and that only in one single thing appears the distinction, namely that the One is Father and the Other Son? For the word 'gave' introduces this one distinction alone, but shows all other things to be equal and without difference.

Whence it is plain that He does all things with as great authority and power as the Father, and is not empowered from some other source.

For He so has life, just as the Father.

For this very reason He immediately added again what follows, that from this we might understand that also.

And what is this? The words, 'He gave Him authority to execute judgment also.'

And for what reason does He turn resurrection and judgment up and down? For, 'As the Father raises up the dead and quickens them, so also the Son quickens whom He will';

and again, 'The Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment unto the Son';

and again, 'As the Father has life in Himself, so has He given to the Son also to have life in Himself';

and again, 'They that hear the voice of the Son of God shall live';

and here once more, 'He gave Him authority to execute judgment also.'

For what reason, then, does He continually revolve these things—I mean judgment and life and resurrection? Because these above all are the things that are able even to win over even the unyielding hearer.

For he that has been persuaded that he shall also rise again, and shall render to Him an account of his transgressions,

even if he saw no other sign, having accepted this he will by all means run to Him, making the judge gracious to himself.

'Because He is the Son of Man, marvel not at this.'

Now Paul of Samosata does not read it thus, but how? 'He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.'

But this, so read, has no logical coherence.

For it was not because He is a man that He received judgment (since what hindered all men from being judges?), but because He is the Son of that unspeakable Essence, on this account He is judge.

Thus, then, must it be read: 'Because He is the Son of Man, marvel not at this.'

Since what was said seemed to the hearers to give offence, and they thought Him to be nothing more than a mere man, whereas the things spoken were greater than befit a man—nay rather, greater than befit an angel, and belonging to God alone—

loosing this objection, He added:

'Marvel not that He is the Son of Man;'

'for the hour is coming, in which they that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth—they that have done good things, unto ...'

'but they that have done evil things, unto the resurrection of judgment.'

And for what reason did He not say:

'Marvel not that He is the Son of Man, for He is also the Son of God';

but made mention of the resurrection? He had indeed set this down above, saying, 'They shall hear the voice of the Son of God.'

But if here He kept silence about it, marvel not.

For having named the work, which was proper to God, He leaves it to His hearers to reason out for themselves henceforth, that He was also God and the Son of God.

For if it had been continually said by Himself, it would then have offended those men;

but being shown by the inference from the miracles, it made the teaching less burdensome.

For those who weave syllogisms too, when, having set down the premises, they have nobly proved the point at issue, often do not themselves add the conclusion, but, fashioning the hearer more fairly disposed and making the victory more brilliant, they get that very opponent who contradicts them to bring forth the verdict, so that those present rather cast their vote for them—the very adversaries bearing the vote in their favour.

Having then made mention of the resurrection of Lazarus, He kept silence about the judgment;

for it was not for this reason that Lazarus rose again.

And having spoken in a general way, He added this also, that 'They that have done good shall come forth unto the resurrection of life;'

'but they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment.'

In this same way John too drew his hearer on, having made mention of judgment, and having said that 'He that believeth not on the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.'

So also did He Himself deal with Nicodemus;

for He said to him, 'He that believeth on the Son is not judged;'

So here too He makes mention both of a tribunal and of the punishment that follows upon wicked deeds.

For since He had said above, 'He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, is not judged;'

in order that no one might suppose that this alone suffices for salvation, He added also the things pertaining to one's manner of life, saying, that 'They that have done good, unto the resurrection of life;'

'but they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment.'

Since therefore He had declared to him that He would call the whole world to account, and that all should rise at His voice—a thing new and marvelous, and even now disbelieved by many, even of those who seem to have believed, much less then among the Jews—hear how He establishes it, again condescending to the weakness of His hearers:

'I can of Mine own self do nothing.'

'As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me.'

And yet He had already given no small proof of the resurrection, in that He had knit together the paralytic.

For this reason He did not discourse concerning the resurrection earlier, until He had wrought that deed which was not far removed from a resurrection.

And He hinted at the judgment also at that time, saying after the strengthening of the body, 'Behold, thou art made whole;'

'sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.'

But nevertheless He foreannounces both the resurrection of Lazarus and that of the whole world.

And since He had foretold these two resurrections—that of Lazarus which was straightway to come to pass, and that of the whole world which was to be after long ages—He confirms the latter by the paralytic and by the nearness of the season, saying, 'The hour cometh, and now is;'

and He confirms the former—that of the whole world—from the resurrection of Lazarus, bringing before their eyes by things already done the things not yet come to pass.

And one may see Him doing this everywhere, setting forth two or even three predictions, and always confirming things to come from things that have come to pass.

But nevertheless, though He had said and done so much, since they were as yet the weaker, He is not content with these things, but by the words which He adds He also puts down their contentiousness, saying:

'I can of Mine own self do nothing.'

'As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me.'

For since He seemed to say things strange and at variance with the prophets—for they said that it is God who judgeth all the earth, that is, the human race;

and David everywhere proclaimed this, saying, 'He shall judge the peoples with equity;'

'righteous, and strong, and longsuffering;'

and so did all the prophets, and Moses;

but Christ said, 'The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed the judgment unto the Son;'

and this was enough to disturb the Jew who was then hearing, and to dispose him again to suspect Him of setting Himself up against God—for this reason He greatly condescends here in His discourse, and to such a degree as their weakness required, so as to root out utterly this destructive suspicion, and He saith:

'I can of Mine own self do nothing;'

that is, You shall see nothing done by Me, nor hear anything said by Me, that is strange, or at variance, or that the Father wills not.

And having first said that He is the Son of man, and having shown that they for the time suspected Him to be but a man, so here also He adds this.

As therefore having said above, 'We speak that which we have heard, and we testify that which we have seen;'

and John, 'What He hath seen, that He testifieth, and no man receiveth His witness;'

yet both these things were spoken of exact knowledge, not simply of hearing and of sight;

so here too, in speaking of hearing, He indicates nothing else than that it is impossible for Him to will any other thing than what the Father wills.

But He did not say it thus plainly—for they would not have received it straightforwardly, hearing thus for the time—

but how? Condescendingly and after a very human manner;

Again He is not here speaking of teaching—for He did not say, 'As I am taught,' but 'As I hear'—nor yet does He say these things as one needing to hear (for He was not only in no need of being taught, but also of needing to hear), but to declare the concord and the undeviating sameness of their sentence.

'I so judge, as if the Father Himself were the one judging.'

Then He adds, 'And I know that My judgment is just, because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me.'

What sayest Thou? Hast Thou then a will other than the Father's? And yet elsewhere Thou saidst, 'As I and Thou are one;'

and again, speaking of will and concord:

'Grant unto them, that they also may be one in Us;'

that is, in the faith concerning Us.

Dost thou see that the very things which seem most of all to be lowly, these are they which have hidden within them the exalted meaning? For that which He hints at is of this kind:

namely, that the will of the Father is not one thing and His own another;

but even as of one mind there is one will, so is it of Me and of the Father.

And marvel not that He spoke of so great a union.

For indeed concerning the Spirit also Paul made use of this same illustration, saying:

'For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.'

He therefore saith nothing else than this: that 'I have no other and peculiar will apart from the Father, but whatsoever He willeth, this I also will;'

'and whatsoever I will, this He also willeth.'

As therefore no one would find fault with the Father when He judgeth, so neither with Me;

for from one and the same mind is each sentence brought forth.

But if He discourseth of these things after a more human manner, marvel not.

For they still thought Him to be a mere man.

Wherefore it especially behoveth us in such passages not to scrutinize the words alone, but also to take into account the supposition of the hearers, and so to hear the words as spoken with reference to that supposition;

since otherwise many absurdities will follow.

He said, 'I seek not Mine own will.'

Then His will is a different thing, and very much at variance;

and not simply at variance, but not even in like manner profitable.

Since if it were saving and agreeing with the Father's, wherefore dost Thou not seek it? For men indeed might reasonably say this, as having many wills at variance with the things that seem good to God;

but Thou, wherefore sayest Thou this, being in all things like unto the Father? For not even of a man made perfect and crucified could one say that this were a fitting saying.

For if Paul so blended himself with the will of God as to say, 'Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me,' how could the Lord of all have said that 'I seek not Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me,' as though that will were another's? What then is it that He saith? He is bringing forward His discourse as concerning a man, and speaketh with reference to the supposition of His hearers.

For having from what went before proved the things spoken, discoursing partly in a manner befitting God, partly after a human manner, again as a man He establishes the same things, and saith, that 'My judgment is just.'

And whence is it manifest? 'Because I seek not Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me.'

For as among men he who is freed from self-love could not justly be accused of having judged contrary to what is right;

so neither shall ye now be able to censure Me.

For he who wishes to establish his own things might perhaps be suspected by many of thereby corrupting justice;

But he who does not look to his own interest — what pretext could he have for not pronouncing a just verdict? Apply, then, this same reasoning to me as well.

For if I were saying that I had not been sent by the Father, and were not ascribing to Him the glory of what is done, perhaps one of you might suspect that, wishing to make myself illustrious, I do not speak the things that are.

But if I reckon and attribute to Another the things that are done, on what account, or from what source, could you hold in suspicion the things I say? Do you see to what a level He brought down His discourse, and on what ground He declared His own judgment to be just — a ground on which even one of the common people, making his defense, might have spoken? Do you see, as I have often said, how clearly He shines forth? And what is it that I said? That this very excess of lowliness in His expressions is precisely what persuades those who have understanding not to sink down by receiving what is said off-hand, but rather to prepare themselves to rise to the height of the meaning;

and this too, little by little and with much readiness, raises up those who at the time are dragged along the ground.

Considering, then, all these things, I beseech you, let us not simply run past the words that are spoken, but let us examine everything with accuracy, and everywhere seek out the reason for what is said;

and let us not suppose that ignorance and simplicity are enough to serve us as an excuse.

For He commanded us to be not only innocent, but also prudent.

Let us therefore practice, together with simplicity, prudence also, both in matters of doctrine and in the upright deeds of life;

and let us judge ourselves here, that we may not then be condemned together with the world, and let us become toward our fellow servants such as we wish our Master to become toward us.

For, 'Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.'

And I know indeed that the soul does not bear meekly being stung;

but if we consider that we show favor not to the one who has grieved us, but to ourselves, we shall quickly let go the venom of wrath.

For indeed, he who would not remit the hundred denarii to the one who had wronged him did not injure his fellow servant, but made himself liable for the ten thousand talents of which he had before received remission.

When, therefore, we do not forgive others, we do not forgive ourselves.

Let us not, then, say to God only, 'Remember not our sins;'

but let each of us also say to himself, Let us not remember the sins of our fellow servants that have been committed against us.

For you first pass judgment on your own affairs, and then God follows;

you write the law concerning forgiveness and punishment, and you bring forth the verdict concerning such matters.

Consequently you are lord both of God's remembering and of His not remembering.

For this reason Paul also commands us to forgive, if anyone has a complaint against another;

and not simply to forgive, but so that not even any remnants remain.

Since Christ also not only did not bring our sins into the midst, but did not even remind us ourselves who had transgressed, nor did He say, 'In this and that you sinned;'

but He both forgave and blotted out the handwriting, not reckoning our trespasses, even as Paul also declared this.

This, then, let us also do, and let us blot out everything from our mind.

And if any good has come to us from the one who grieved us, let us consider this alone;

but if anything painful and grievous, let us cast it out thus and blot it out, so that not even a trace remains behind.

But if no good has come to us from him, then the reward is greater for those who forgive, and the honor more abundant.

Others by watchings and sleeping on the ground and countless hardships blot out their sins;

but for you, by the easier road — I mean, by not bearing a grudge — it is possible to do away with all your transgressions.

Why, then, do you drive the sword against yourself,

like those who are mad and out of their senses, and cast yourself out of the life to come, when you ought to do everything so as to attain it? For if the present life is so desirable, what could one say concerning that life, from which pain and grief and sighing have fled away? There it is not possible to fear death, nor to suspect any end of those good things.

Blessed, and thrice blessed, and this many times over, are those who enjoy that blessed portion;

even as, on the contrary, wretched and thrice wretched, and this ten thousand times over, are those who cast themselves out of that blessedness.

'And what then is it,' one asks, 'that makes us enjoy that life?' Hear the Judge Himself, conversing with a certain young man about these matters.

For when that man asked, 'What shall I do to inherit eternal life?' Christ, having told him the other commandments, ended with the love of one's neighbor.

And perhaps some one of the hearers will say, like that rich man, that 'We too have kept these things;

for we have neither stolen, nor murdered, nor committed adultery.'

But surely you will not be able to say this also — that you loved your neighbor as it was necessary to love him.

For either someone envied another, or spoke evil of him, or did not defend one who was wronged, or did not share of his goods, and so did not love.

But now Christ enjoined not this only, but yet another thing.

What then is this? 'Sell,' He says, 'your possessions, and give to the poor, and come, follow Me;'

calling the imitation through works 'following.'

What, then, do we learn from this? First, that he who does not have all these things cannot attain the first places in that portion.

For after that man had said, 'All these things have I done,' as though some great thing were still lacking for perfect approval, He says:

'If you would be perfect, sell your possessions, and give to the poor, and come, follow Me.'

First, then, this is to be learned;

and secondly, that He convicted that very man of vainly boasting.

For he who lives in such great abundance, and overlooks others in poverty, how could he have loved his neighbor? Therefore neither did he speak that truly.

But let us do both that and these things, and let us be eager to empty out our substance, and to purchase heaven.

For if for the sake of some worldly dignity a man has often given up his whole substance — a dignity destined to remain here,

and not even to abide a long time (for many, even long before their death, have divested themselves of this office, while others have been ruined on account of it, and often their very life as well;

but nevertheless, though they know these things too, they pour out everything for its sake) —

if, then, for the sake of this they do so much, for the sake of that abiding and inalienable dignity, what could be more wretched than we, if we part with not even a little, nor give even these things which, being here yet a little while, we shall leave behind? Of what madness, then, would this not be — that the very things which we are deprived of against our will, these, when it is in our power to give them willingly and to take them with us, we are unwilling to do so? Now if someone were being led to death, and it were then set before him to be released by giving up all his substance, we should even count the matter a favor;

but now, when it is in our power, though being led on the road to Gehenna, to be set free by giving the half, we choose both to be punished and to hold fast in vain to what is not ours, rather than to give up what is ours.

What defense, then, shall we have? What pardon, when so easy a road to life has been cut for us, yet we are borne down the precipices, and walk the fruitless road, and rob ourselves both of the things here and of all the things there, when it is in our power to reap both with security? But if not before, yet at least now let us come to ourselves, and having become our own masters, let us dispose of present things unto what is needful, that we may also receive the things to come with ease, by the grace and lovingkindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father be glory, together with the Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages.