On the Priesthood 4

That not only those who eagerly seek to come to clerical office, but also those who undergo it by compulsion, are severely punished in whatever they sin. When Basil heard these things, he paused a little and said:

'But if you yourself had eagerly sought to obtain this office,' he said, 'this fear would have reason on your part.

For the one who, by his eagerness to receive it, has confessed himself fit for the administration of the matter, cannot, after being entrusted with it, take refuge in inexperience for whatever he stumbles in;

for he himself, by running forward and snatching the ministry, has beforehand robbed himself of this defense, and the one who came to this willingly and of his own accord could no longer say, 'against my will I sinned in this matter, and against my will I ruined that man.'

For the one who then sits in judgment of this case will say to him:

'And why ever, being conscious to yourself of such great inexperience, and not having understanding sufficient to handle this art without fault, did you hasten and dare to take upon yourself matters greater than your own power? Who compelled you? Who forcibly dragged you as you leapt away and fled?' But you indeed will hear none of these things;

for you could not yourself bring such a charge against yourself, and it is plain to all that you sought after this honor neither much nor little, but the accomplishment was others', and the very thing that, in their sins, leaves others without excuse, this very thing furnishes you with ample ground for defense.

To this I, shaking my head and smiling gently, both marveled at his simplicity and said to him:

JOHN: 'I too could have wished these things were so, as you say, O best of all men—not that I might be able to accept now this thing which I have fled;

for even if no punishment were laid up for me as one who tends the flock of Christ haphazardly and without skill, yet to me this very thing was harder than any punishment—that, having been entrusted with affairs so great, I should appear so base toward the One who entrusted them.

For what reason, then, was I wishing that this opinion of yours might not fall to the ground? That for the wretched and miserable—for so must one call those who have not found how to preside well over this business, even if you should say ten thousand times that they were brought to it by compulsion and sinned in ignorance—that for these there might come the escaping of that unquenchable fire, and the outer darkness, and the undying worm, and the being cut asunder, and the perishing with the hypocrites.

But what am I to do for you? It is not so, it is not so.

And, if you will, beginning first from kingship—of which the account before God is not so great as that of the priesthood—I will furnish you the proof of the things I have said.

That Saul, the son of Kish, did not become king by his own eager seeking, but went out in search of the donkeys, and came to ask the prophet concerning these, while the other spoke to him about the kingship.

And not even so did he run forward, although he heard it from a prophet, but drew back and declined, saying:

'Who am I, and what is my father's house?' What then? Since he used wickedly the honor given him by God, did these words have power to deliver him from the wrath against the one who reigned? And yet he might have said to Samuel, when he accused him:

'For did I run forward to the kingship myself? Did I leap upon this dominion? I wished to live the life of private men, the untroubled and quiet life, but you drew me to this dignity.

Had I remained in that lowliness, I should easily have avoided these offenses;

for surely, being one of the many and obscure, I should not have been sent out to this work, nor would God have committed to me the war against the Amalekites;

and not being so committed, I should never have committed this sin.'

But all these things are weak as a defense; and not only weak, but even dangerous, and rather kindle the wrath of God the more.

For the one honored beyond his desert ought not to put forward the greatness of the honor as a defense for his sins, but ought to use the great zeal of God concerning him for a greater advance toward betterment.

But he who, because he obtained a higher dignity, on that account thinks it allowed him to sin, has been eager to do nothing else than to demonstrate that God's loving-kindness is the cause of his own sins;

which is the thing the impious, and those who govern their own life in slothfulness, are ever accustomed to say.

But we must not be so disposed, nor fall into the same madness as they, but everywhere be zealous to bring our own contribution to the utmost of our power, and to have both a tongue and a mind that bless.

For neither did Eli—that, leaving the kingship, we may come now to the priesthood about which our discourse is—eagerly seek to obtain the office.

What then did this profit him when he sinned? And why do I say 'obtain'? It was not even possible for him to escape it, even had he wished, because of the necessity of the law;

for he was of the tribe of Levi, and it was necessary to receive the office which came down from above through his lineage;

but nevertheless this man too paid no small penalty for the wantonness of his sons.

And what of the very man who became the first priest of the Jews, concerning whom God spoke so much to Moses? Since he had not strength alone to stand against the madness of so great a multitude, he came not far from perishing, had not his brother's protection loosed the wrath of God.

And since we have mentioned Moses, it is well also from the things that befell him to show the truth of our argument;

for this very blessed Moses was so far from snatching the leadership of the Jews that he both declined it when it was given, and, when God commanded, refused, and provoked the One who was commanding.

And not then only, but afterward too, when he was in the office, he would gladly have died in order to be released from it.

'Kill me,' he says, 'if you mean to deal thus with me.' What then? Since he sinned at the water, did these continual refusals have power to make defense on his behalf and to persuade God to grant forgiveness? And from what other cause was he deprived of the promised land? From no other, as we all know, but on account of this sin, for which that wondrous man was not able to obtain what those whom he led obtained;

but after the many years and the hardships, after that unspeakable wandering and the wars and the trophies, he died outside the land for which he had toiled so much, and, having endured the evils of the open sea, did not enjoy the good things of the harbor.

Do you see how, not only to those who snatch the office, but not even to those who come to it through the zeal of others, is any defense left in whatever they trip in?

For where those who declined while God was ordaining often paid so great a penalty, and nothing had power to deliver from this danger neither Aaron, nor Eli, nor that blessed man—the holy one, the prophet, the wondrous one, the meekest of all upon the earth, the one who spoke with God as with a friend—scarcely shall the consciousness that we were in no way eager for this office be able to suffice as a defense for us who fall so far short of his virtue, and especially when many of these ordinations come not from divine grace, but also from the eager seeking of men.

God chose Judas, and enrolled him in that holy band, and committed to him the apostolic dignity along with the rest;

and he gave him something even more than the others—the stewardship of the money.

What then? Since he used both of these contrariwise, and betrayed Him whom he was entrusted to proclaim, and wasted wickedly the things he was committed to administer well, did he escape the punishment? Nay, for this very

reason he wrought for himself a more grievous sentence, and that quite justly.

For one must not abuse the honors given by God so as to offend God, but rather so as to please Him the more.

But he who, because he has been more highly honored, on this account claims to escape wherever he ought to be punished, does much the same as if someone of the unbelieving Jews, having heard Christ saying, 'If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin,' and,

'If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have had sin'—as if such a one should bring a charge against the Savior and Benefactor, saying:

'Why then did you come and speak? And why did you do signs, that you might punish us the more grievously?' But these words are of madness and of the utmost derangement;

for the physician came not rather to condemn you, but in order to heal you, that he might wholly free you from the disease.

But you of your own will deprived yourself of his hands;

receive therefore the more grievous punishment.

For just as, had you yielded to the treatment, you would have been freed from your former evils, so, since on seeing him approach you fled, you can no longer wash these away, and being unable to do so, you will pay the penalty for these too, and in return for having made his zeal toward you vain—at least your own part of it.

For these reasons we do not undergo an equal trial before being honored by God and after the honors, but a far more vehement one afterward;

for he who has not become good even by being treated well would justly be punished more bitterly.

Since, then, this defense has been shown to be weak, and not only does not save those who flee to it, but even betrays them the more, we must procure for ourselves another security.

'What sort is this?' said Basil. 'For I, for my part, cannot even be within myself now, so full of fear and trembling have you made me by these words.'

JOHN: 'Do not, I beg and entreat,' I said, 'do not cast yourself down so far;

for us, the weak, the not falling into it at all; but for you, the strong, the fact that the hopes of salvation hang upon nothing else, after the grace of God, than upon doing nothing unworthy of this gift and of the God who gave it.

For they indeed would be worthy of the greatest punishment who, after obtaining this office through their own eager seeking, have used the matter wickedly, whether through slothfulness, or through wickedness, or even through inexperience;

yet not on this account is any forgiveness left to those who did not seek it eagerly, but these too are deprived of every defense.

For one must, I think, even if ten thousand call and compel, not look to them, but, having first tested one's own soul and searched out everything exactly, so yield to those who constrain.

But as it is, no one of those who are not builders would dare to undertake to build a house, nor would any of those who do not know how to heal attempt to lay hands on diseased bodies, but, even if there be many who push them by force, he will decline and will not be ashamed of his ignorance.

But when one is about to be entrusted with the care of so many souls, will he not first examine himself, but, even if he be the most inexperienced of all, will he accept the ministry because so-and-so commands and so-and-so compels, and that he may not offend so-and-so? And how will he not cast himself, along with them, into manifest evil? For though it were possible for him to be saved by himself, he destroys others as well together with himself.

For whence is it possible to hope for salvation? Whence to obtain forgiveness? Who will plead for us then? Those who now perhaps compel us and drag us by force? But who will save these same ones in that day? For they too need others, that they may escape the fire.

That those who ordain unworthy men are liable to the same punishment as they, even if they are ignorant of those they ordain. That I do not say these things now to terrify you, but as the matter truly stands, hear what the blessed Paul says to his disciple Timothy, his genuine and beloved child:

'Lay hands hastily on no one, neither

partake in others' sins.' Do you see how, from those who are to bring us forward to this, we have freed our own part, not from blame only, but also from punishment?

For just as it is not sufficient for those who are chosen to say as a defense:

'I did not come self-invited, nor did I refuse without foreknowing,' so neither can it profit those who ordain at all if they should say that they did not know the one ordained;

but on this very account the charge becomes even greater, that they brought forward one whom they did not know, and the seeming defense increases the accusation.

For how is it not absurd that those wishing to buy a slave both show him to physicians and demand guarantors for the sale, and inquire of neighbors, and after all this still do not take courage, but ask even a long time for proving him; yet when about to enroll someone in so great a ministry, simply and as it chances, they should approve him—if it should seem good to so-and-so to testify for the favor or for the enmity of others—making no other examination? Who then will plead for us then, when those who ought to preside themselves stand in need of patrons? It is necessary, therefore, both that the one who is to ordain make much inquiry, and much more than this that the one ordained do so;

for even if he has those who chose him as sharers in the punishment for whatever he sins, nevertheless not even he himself is freed from the penalty, but gives even a greater one, unless those who chose him acted for some human cause beyond what appeared reasonable to them.

For if they should be found out in this, and, knowing him unworthy, brought him forward for some pretext, the punishments are equal for them—nay, perhaps even greater for the one who appointed the unfit man;

for the one who has granted the power to him who wished to corrupt the Church, this man would be the cause of the things dared by that other.

But if he should be liable to none of these, but should say that he was deceived by the opinion of the many, he would not even so remain unpunished, but gives a penalty a little less than the one ordained.

Why ever? Because it is likely that those who chose him came to this deceived by a false opinion;

but the one chosen could no longer say, 'I was ignorant of myself,' as others were of him.

As one, then, who is to be punished more heavily than those who bring him forward, so he must make the testing of himself more exactly than they; and even if they drag him in ignorance, he must come forward and teach them exactly the reasons by which he will make them cease from being deceived, and, having shown himself unworthy of the appointment, will escape the weight of so many matters.

For why is it that, when a decision is set before one concerning soldiering, or trade, or farming, or the other things of life, neither would the farmer choose to sail, nor the soldier to farm, nor the pilot to soldier, even if one should threaten ten thousand deaths? Is it not plain that each foresees the danger arising from inexperience?

Then, where the loss concerns small things, we will use such great forethought, and would not yield to the constraint of those who compel us;

but where the punishment is eternal for those who do not know how to handle the priesthood, shall we, simply and as it chances, take on so great a danger, putting forward the violence of others? But the One who judges these things will not bear with us then.

For we ought indeed to show far greater security concerning spiritual things than concerning fleshly ones, yet now we are found providing not even an equal one.

For tell me, if, suspecting a man to be a carpenter when he is not a carpenter, we should call him to the work, and he should follow, then, laying hold of the material prepared for the building, he should waste the timber and waste the stones, and build the house so that it straightway falls—will it suffice for his defense that he was constrained by others and did not come self-announced? By no means, and quite reasonably and justly;

for he ought, even though others called him, to have leapt away.

Then for the one who wastes timber and stones there will be no refuge from giving the penalty;

but the one who destroys souls and builds carelessly—does he think the constraint of others suffices him for

escaping? And how is this not exceedingly foolish? For I do not yet add that no one will be able to compel the unwilling.

But let it be granted that he underwent ten thousand constraints and manifold devices so as to fall in;

will this then deliver him from the punishment? No, I beseech you, no—let us not deceive ourselves to such a degree, nor pretend to be ignorant of things plain even to mere children;

for surely this pretense of ignorance will not be able to profit us even at the day of reckoning.

You did not yourself eagerly seek to accept this office, being conscious to yourself of weakness? Well and good.

You ought then, with the same purpose, even though others called you, to have leapt away.

Or, when no one called, were you weak and unfit;

but when there were found those who would give the honor, did you suddenly become strong? These are laughter and trifles, and worthy of the utmost punishment.

For this very reason the Lord also admonishes the one who wishes to build a tower not to lay the foundation first before reckoning his own ability, lest he give to passersby ten thousand occasions of mockery against him.

But for that man the loss extends only to ridicule;

here, however, the punishment is unquenchable fire, and an undying worm, and gnashing of teeth, and outer darkness, and the being cut asunder, and the being appointed with the hypocrites.

But none of these things will those who accuse us consent to see;

for otherwise they would have ceased blaming the one who is unwilling to perish in vain.

The deliberation that lies before us now is not concerning the management of wheat and barley, nor of oxen and sheep, nor concerning other such things, but concerning the very body of Jesus.

For the Church of Christ, according to the blessed Paul, is the body of Christ, and the one entrusted with this must train it up to much soundness and an inconceivable beauty, looking carefully on every side lest some spot, or wrinkle, or any other such blemish, mar that bloom and comeliness.

And what else than to make it, according to human ability, worthy of the Head set over it—the undefiled and blessed Head? For if those zealous about bodily prowess in athletics have need of physicians, and trainers, and a strictly regulated diet, and continual exercise, and ten thousand other watchings—for the slightest thing overlooked in these overturns and casts down all—how shall those allotted to tend this body, the body whose contest is not against bodies but against the unseen powers, be able to keep it whole and sound, unless they far surpass human virtue and understand every cure suited to the soul?

That the priest has need of much power in speaking. Or are you ignorant that this body is subject to more diseases and plots than our flesh, and is corrupted more quickly and recovers health more slowly? And for those who tend those other bodies, a variety of medicines has been devised, and divers contrivances of instruments, and foods suited to the sick, and often the nature of the air alone has sufficed for the patient's health;

and there is a case where sleep coming at the right moment freed the physician from all his toil.

But here none of these things is possible to devise, but one single contrivance and way of treatment is given after the deeds done—the teaching that is through the word.

This is the instrument, this the food, this the best blending of airs;

this instead of medicine, this instead of fire, this instead of iron;

and if it be necessary to cauterize and to cut, one must use this;

and if this avails nothing, all the rest is gone.

By this we both raise up the soul when it lies prostrate, and abate it when it is inflamed, and cut away the superfluous, and fill up what is lacking, and work all the other things that contribute to the health of the soul for us.

For toward the establishing of the best manner of life, another life may lead one into the like zeal;

but when the soul is sick with spurious doctrines, there is much need here of the word,

not only for the security of one's own, but also for the wars from without.

For if one should have the sword of the Spirit and so great a shield of faith as to be able to work wonders and through marvels to stop the mouths of the shameless, he would have no need of the help that comes from the word—or rather, not even then is the nature of this useless, but exceedingly necessary.

For the blessed Paul too employed it, though he was everywhere marveled at on account of his signs.

And another of that band exhorts to give heed to this power, saying:

'Be ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you.' And all together then, for no other reason, committed to Stephen and his companions the stewardship of the widows, than that they themselves might give their leisure to the ministry of the word.

Yet we shall not require it in like manner, possessing the strength that comes from signs; but if of that power not even a trace is left, while many enemies stand over us on every side and continually, it remains necessary for us henceforth to fortify ourselves with this, both that we be not struck by the darts of the enemy, and that we may strike them.

Therefore one must use much diligence that the word of Christ may dwell in us richly;

for our preparation is not against one kind of battle, but this war is manifold and is mustered from divers enemies;

for not all use the same weapons, nor have they practiced to assail us in one manner.

That one must be prepared for the battles of all—both Greeks and Jews and heretics. And the one who is to take up the battle against all must know the arts of all, and must himself be at once archer and slinger and captain and company-leader and soldier and general and foot-soldier and horseman, and one who fights at sea and one who fights at the wall.

For in military wars, whatever work each receives, with that he wards off the assailants;

but here this is not so, but unless the one who is to conquer knows all the forms of the art, the devil knows how, even through one part, when it chances to be neglected, to bring in his pirates and plunder the sheep;

but not when it perceives the shepherd coming through all his skill, and well versed in its plots.

Therefore one must be well fortified on all sides;

for a city, so long as it happens to be walled about on every side, laughs to scorn those who besiege it, remaining in much security;

but if anyone breach the wall only the size of a gate, no further benefit comes to it from the rest of the circuit, even though all the remainder stand securely.

So also, then, is the city of God;

when the shrewdness and understanding of the shepherd surrounds it on every side instead of a wall, all the contrivances of the enemies end in shame and ridicule, and those who dwell within remain unharmed; but when anyone is able to overthrow it in part, even if he does not cast down the whole, through that part he ruins, so to speak, all the rest.

For what, when he contends well against the Greeks, but the Jews despoil him? Or he prevails over both these, but the Manichaeans snatch away? Or, after getting the better of these too, those who bring in fate slaughter the sheep within? And why need one recount all the heresies of the devil, which unless the shepherd know how to repel them all well, he would be able, even through one, to devour the more part of the sheep, the wolf? And with soldiers, one must ever expect both victory and defeat from those who stand and fight.

But here it is much the contrary;

for often the battle against others has caused those who did not engage at all from the start, nor labored in the least, but were at rest and sitting still, to be defeated;

and the one who has not much experience in these matters, pierced through by his own sword, becomes a laughingstock both to friends and to foes.

For I will try to make plain to you by an example what I say—the law given by God to Moses, those who have inherited the derangement of Valentinus and Marcion, and as many as are sick with the same diseases as they, cast it out from the catalogue of the divine Scriptures;

but the Jews so honor it as to contend to keep it all, even when the season forbids, contrary to what seems good to God.

But the Church of God, fleeing the excess of both, walked the middle way, and is neither persuaded to be subjected to its yoke, nor endures to slander it, but even commends it, now that it has ceased, because it was once useful for its season.

The one, then, who is to fight against both must know this due measure;

for if, wishing to teach the Jews that they hold to the old legislation out of season, he begins to accuse it unsparingly, he gives those of the heretics who wish to tear it down no small handle;

but if, zealous to stop their mouths, he should exalt it immoderately and marvel at it as being necessary in the present time, he opens the mouths of the Jews.

Again, those who rage with the madness of Sabellius, and those who are frenzied with the doctrines of Arius—both fell out of the sound faith through excess;

and the name of Christians lies upon both, yet if one should examine the doctrines, he will find the one disposed no better than the Jews, save only that they differ over names alone, and the other having much resemblance to the heresy of Paul of Samosata, and both outside the truth.

Great, then, is the danger here too, and strait and afflicted is the way, hemmed in on both sides by precipices, and there is no small fear lest one, wishing to strike the one, be smitten by a blow from the other;

for if one should say one Godhead, Sabellius straightway drags the saying toward his own derangement;

but if, again, he should divide it, saying that the Father is one, and the Son another, and the Holy Spirit yet another, Arius stands by, dragging the distinction in the persons into an alteration of essence.

But one must turn away from and flee both the impious confusion of the one and the maniacal division of the other, confessing one Godhead of Father and Son and Holy Spirit, while adding the three hypostases;

for thus we shall be able to wall off the assaults of both.

And one may gather many other entanglements as well, against which, unless one fight nobly and exactly, he departs having received ten thousand wounds.

That one must be exceedingly skilled in dialectic. What could one say of the cavils of those within? For these are not fewer than the assaults from without, but cause the teacher even more sweat.

For some, out of meddlesomeness, wish simply and at random to busy themselves with things which it is neither possible to gain by learning, nor possible to learn;

others again demand of him an account of the judgments of God, and force him to measure out the great abyss;

for 'Your judgments,' he says, 'are a great abyss.' And concerning faith and conduct of life, you would find few who are zealous;

but the more part busying themselves with these things and seeking after the things which it is neither possible to find, and which, when sought, provoke God.

For when we force ourselves to learn the very things which He did not wish us to know, we shall neither know them—for how could we, since God does not will it?—and the only thing that will result for us from the seeking is danger.

But nevertheless, even though these things are such, when one with authority stops the mouths of those who pry into these insoluble matters, he draws upon himself a reputation for arrogance and ignorance.

Therefore one must here too use much understanding, so as both to lead the one who presides away from absurd questions, and to escape the aforesaid charges.

And against all these things nothing else, but the help of the word alone has been given;

and if anyone be deprived of this power, the souls of the men ranged under him will be disposed no better than ships tossed in a storm,

continually—I mean the weaker and the more inquisitive.

Therefore the priest must do everything for the sake of obtaining this strength.

That this above all had been achieved by the blessed Paul. And Basil said:

'What then of Paul?' he said. 'Did he not eagerly seek to achieve this virtue, nor is he ashamed at the poverty of his speech, but even openly confesses himself to be unskilled in speech—and that when writing to the Corinthians, who were marveled at for their eloquence and prided themselves much on this?' JOHN: 'This,' I said, 'this is the very thing that has destroyed the many and made them more slothful concerning the true teaching;

for being unable to examine exactly the depth of the apostle's mind, nor to understand the sense of his words, they have spent all their time dozing and yawning, and honoring this 'unskilledness'—not the one which Paul says he was unskilled in, but the one from which he was as far removed as no other of the men under this heaven.

But let this discourse keep for its proper season;

let us grant him to be unskilled in this part which these men wish, what then is this to the men of the present day? For he had a strength far greater than that of speech, and one able to accomplish more;

for merely appearing and being silent, he was terrible to the demons.

But all those of the present day, even if they came together with ten thousand prayers and tears, could not accomplish as much as the handkerchiefs of Paul once did.

And Paul by praying raised the dead and worked other such wonders, so as to be reckoned a god by those without;

and before departing from this life, he was counted worthy to be caught up to the third heaven and to partake of words which it is not lawful for human nature to hear.

But those of the present day—yet I can say nothing harsh or heavy;

for indeed I say these things now not as trampling on them, but in admiration—how do they not shudder at comparing themselves to so great a man? For if, leaving aside even the miracles, we should come to the life of the blessed one and examine his angelic manner of life, and in this rather than in the signs, you will see the athlete of Christ conquering.

For what could one say of his zeal, his forbearance, the continual dangers, the unceasing cares, the unintermitting despondencies on behalf of the Churches, his sympathy toward the weak, the many afflictions, the strange persecutions, the daily deaths? For what place of the inhabited world, what continent, what sea was ignorant of the contests of the righteous one? Even the uninhabited desert knew him, having often received him in his peril;

for he endured every kind of plot, and came at victory in every manner, and never ceased either contending or being crowned.

But indeed I know not how I was led on to do violence to the man;

for his achievements all surpass speech—and ours, by as much as we are surpassed by those who know how to speak;

nevertheless, even so—for the blessed one will judge us not from the outcome, but from the purpose—I will not desist until I have said this one thing, which is as much greater than the things spoken as that man is greater than all men.

What then is this? After so many achievements, after the ten thousand crowns, he prayed to depart into Gehenna and to be given over to eternal punishment, for the sake of the Jews who had often both stoned him and, so far as in them lay, slain him, that they might be saved and come to Christ.

Who so yearned for Christ—if indeed one ought to call it yearning, and not something else even more than yearning? Shall we then still compare ourselves to that man, after the so great grace which he received from above, after the so great virtue which he displayed from his own resources? And what could be more rash than this? But that not even he was unskilled, as these men suppose, this also I will henceforth try to demonstrate.

For these men call unskilled not only the one untrained in

the rhetorical trickery of outward discourses, but also the one who does not know how to fight on behalf of the doctrines of the truth;

but Paul said he was unskilled not in both, but only in the one;

and securing this, he made the distinction exactly, saying that he was unskilled in speech, but not in knowledge.

But I, if I were demanding the smoothness of Isocrates, and the weightiness of Demosthenes, and the dignity of Thucydides, and the loftiness of Plato, would need to bring forward this testimony of Paul;

but as it is, I let all those things go, and the elaborate adornment of outward discourse, and I care nothing for diction or for delivery.

Let it be granted that one be a beggar in diction, and that the composition of words be plain and simple—only let no one be unskilled in knowledge and in the exactness of the doctrines;

and let no one, that he may cover his own idleness, take away from that blessed man the greatest of good things and the chief of his praises.

That he became illustrious not from the signs alone, but also from speaking. For tell me, whence did he confound the Jews dwelling in Damascus, when he had not yet begun the signs? Whence did he overthrow the Hellenists? Why was he sent off to Tarsus? Was it not because he was conquering mightily by the word and was driving them to such a pitch that they were provoked even to murder, not bearing the defeat? For there he had not yet begun to work wonders, nor could anyone say that the many regarded him as wondrous from his reputation for marvels, and that those who fought against him were aggrieved from their opinion of the man's wonder-working;

for as yet he prevailed by speaking alone.

And against those who attempted to Judaize in Antioch, whence did he contend and dispute? And that Areopagite, of that most superstitious city, did he not follow him, along with his wife, from public discourse alone? And Eutychus—how did he fall from the window? Was it not because Paul prolonged his teaching discourse until deep into the night? And what of Thessalonica and Corinth? And what of Ephesus and Rome itself? Did he not spend whole days and nights in succession upon the exposition of the Scriptures? Why should one tell of his disputations against the Epicureans and the Stoics? For if we should wish to recount everything, the discourse will fall into a great length.

When, then, both before the signs and in their very midst, he appears to have made much use of the word, how will they yet dare to call him unskilled—him who was marveled at by all most of all for his disputing and public speaking? For why did the Lycaonians suppose him to be Hermes? For their being regarded as gods came from the signs, but his being thought Hermes came no longer from those, but from the word.

And in what respect did this blessed man have the advantage over the other apostles? And whence is it that throughout the whole inhabited world he is much on the lips of all? Whence is it that not among us alone, but also among Jews and Greeks, he is marveled at most of all? Is it not from the excellence of his epistles, through which he both profited, and will profit, not only the believers of that time, but also those who have lived from that day until today, and those who shall yet come to be until the coming of Christ? And he will not cease doing this so long as the race of men shall endure.

For just as a wall built of adamant, so do this man's writings fortify the Churches throughout the whole inhabited world;

and like some most noble champion he stands even now in the midst, taking captive every thought unto the obedience of Christ, and casting down reasonings and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. And all these things he works through the epistles which he left us, those marvelous ones and full of divine wisdom.

And his writings are useful to us not only for the overthrow of spurious doctrines and the security of genuine ones, but also for

living well they contribute to us no small part;

for using these even now, those who preside both regulate and fashion the pure virgin whom they have betrothed to Christ, and lead her toward spiritual beauty;

by these they both repel the diseases that fall upon her and preserve the health that comes to her.

Such medicines did the 'unskilled' man leave us, having so great a power, of which those who use them continually know the proof well.

And that he himself took much pains over this part is plain from these things.

That he wishes us too to accomplish this. And hear too what he says, writing to his disciple:

'Give heed to reading, to exhortation, to teaching.' And he adds the fruit that comes from this, saying:

'For in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.' And again:

'But the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle toward all, apt to teach, patient.' And going on he says:

'But continue in the things which you have learned and have been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from a child you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise.' And again:

'All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable,' he says, 'for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete.' Hear too what he adds, discoursing to Titus concerning the appointing of bishops:

'For the bishop must,' he says, 'hold fast the faithful word according to the teaching, that he may be able both to exhort and to convict the gainsayers.' How then will one who is unskilled, as these men say, be able to convict and stop the mouths of the gainsayers? And what need to give heed to reading and to the Scriptures, if one must embrace this unskilledness? These are excuses and pretexts and the disguises of slothfulness and reluctance.

'But these things,' he says, 'are enjoined upon the priests.'

Yes, for our discourse is now concerning priests.

And that they are enjoined upon the ruled also, hear what again he exhorts to others in another epistle:

'Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom.' And again:

'Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.' And the being ready to make a defense is enjoined upon all. And writing to the Thessalonians:

'Build up,' he says, 'one another, even as also you do.' And when he discourses concerning priests:

'Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in word and teaching.' For this is the most perfect definition of teaching—when both by what they do and by what they say they lead on the disciples toward the blessed life which Christ ordained;

for doing is not sufficient for teaching.

And the saying is not mine, but the Savior's own:

'For whoever shall do and teach,' he says, 'this one shall be called great.' But if to do were to teach, the second would be set down superfluously;

but as it is, by dividing the two he shows that the one belongs to works, and the other to the word, and each has need of the other unto perfect edification.

Or do you not hear what the chosen vessel of Christ says to the elders of the Ephesians? 'Therefore watch, remembering that for three years, night and day, I ceased not with tears to admonish each one of you.' For what need of the tears, or of the admonition through words, when his apostolic life shone so brightly?

That when this is lacking to the priest, those who are ruled must of necessity suffer much loss. But toward the working of the commandments this could contribute to us a large part;

for not even there alone would I say that it accomplishes everything; but when a contest is stirred up concerning doctrines, and all fight from the same Scriptures, what strength will life be able to display here? What profit is there of the many sweats, when

after those toils someone, falling into heresy out of much inexperience, is severed from the body of the Church? Which thing I know many to have suffered.

What profit to him of his endurance? None—just as there is none of a sound faith, when the manner of life is corrupted.

For these reasons above all, the one allotted to teach others must be exceedingly experienced in such contests.

For even if he himself stands in security, in no way harmed by the gainsayers, yet the multitude of the simpler folk ranged under him, when they see their leader vanquished and having nothing to say to the gainsayers, blame not his weakness for the defeat, but the unsoundness of the doctrine; and through the inexperience of the one, the great mass of people is borne down to extreme destruction;

for even if they do not wholly become of the adversaries' party, yet nevertheless they are compelled to doubt concerning things in which they had been able to be confident, and to those things which they had approached with unwavering faith, they can no longer give heed with the same steadfastness, but so great a tempest settles into their souls from the defeat of the teacher, that the evil ends even in shipwreck.

And how great a destruction, and how great a fire is gathered upon that wretched head of his, for each one of these who perish, you will have no need to learn from me, knowing all things yourself exactly.

Is this, then, of madness, this of vainglory—the unwillingness to become the cause of destruction to so many, nor to procure for myself a greater punishment than the one now laid up there? And who would say these things? No one, unless someone should wish to find fault in vain, and to play the philosopher in the misfortunes of others.