Covetous Men compared with Evil Spirits. 123 18. love of the kingdom there, nor fear of hell; no reverence 1COR.3. for men, no pity, no sympathy: but shamelessness and audacity, and contempt of all things to come. And unto them the words of God concerning punishment seem to be a fable, and His threats mirth. For such is the mind of the covetous man. Since then within they are demons, and without, wild beasts, yea, worse than wild beasts; where are we to place such as they are? For that they are worse even than wild beasts, is plain from this. The beasts are such as they are by nature: but these, endowed by nature with gentleness, forcibly strive against nature to train themselves to that which is savage. The demons too have the plotters among men to help them; to such an extent, that if they had no such aid, the greater part of their wiles against us would be done away: but these, when such as they have spitefully entreated are vying with them, still try to be more spiteful than they. Again, the devil wages war with man, not with the devils of his own kind: but he of whom we speak is urgent in all ways to do harm to his own kindred and family, and doth not even reverence nature. I know that many hate us because of these words; but I feel no hatred towards them; rather I pity and bewail those who are so disposed. Even should they choose to strike, I would gladly endure it, if they would but abstain from this their savage mind. For not I alone, but the prophet also with me, banisheth all such from the family of men, saying 1, 220. Sept. Man being in honour hath no understanding, but is compared rois avonunto the senseless beasts. Ps. 49. τους. 3. 10. Let us then become men at last, and let us look up unto heaven; and that which is according to His image 2, let us? Colos. receive and recover: that we may obtain also the blessings to come, through the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, power, honour, now and always, and unto everlasting ages. Amen. HOMILY X. omitted. 1 Cor. iii. 18, 19. 1 iv iμiv Let no man deceive himself. If any man 'seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. As I said before, having launched out before the proper time into accusation of the fornicator, and having half opened it, obscurely in a few words, and made the man's conscience to quail, he hastens again to the battle with heathen wisdom, and to his accusations of those who were puffed up therewith, and who were dividing the Church: in order that having added what remained, and having completed the whole topic with accuracy, he might thenceforth suffer his tongue to be carried away with vehement impulse against that unclean person, having had but a preliminary skirmishing with him in what he had said before. For this, Let no man deceive himself, is the expression of one aiming chiefly at him, and quelling him beforehand by fear: and the saying about the stubble, suits best with one hinting at him. And so does the phrase, Know ye not that ye are the Temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? For these two things are most apt to withdraw us from sin; when in mind. we realize the punishment appointed for the sin; and when we reckon up the amount of our true dignity. By bringing forward then the hay, and the stubble, he terrifies; but by speaking of the dignity of that noble birth, which was theirs, he puts them to shame; by the former striving to amend the more insensible kind, by the latter the more considerate. Childlike Faith, the only way to Wisdom. 125 [2.] Let no man deceive himself; if any man seemeth to be 1COR.3. wise in this world, let him become a fool. As he bids one become, as it were, dead unto the world;— and this deadness harms not at all, but rather profits, being made a cause of life:- -so also he bids him become foolish unto this world, introducing to us hereby the true wisdom. Now he becomes a fool unto the world, who slights the wisdom from without, and is persuaded that it contributes nothing towards his comprehension of the faith. As then that poverty which is according to God is the cause of wealth, and lowliness, of exaltation, and to despise glory is the cause of glory; so also the becoming a fool maketh a man wiser than all. For all, with us, goes by contraries. Further why said he not, Let him put off wisdom, but, Let him become a fool? That he might most exceedingly disparage the heathen instruction. For it was not the same thing to say," Lay aside thy wisdom," and, become a fool. And besides, he is also training people not to be ashamed at the want of refinement among us; for he quite laughs to scorn all heathen things. And for the same sort of reason he shrinks not from the names, trusting as he does to the power of the things [which he speaks of.] : Wherefore, as the Cross, though counted ignominious, became the author of innumerable blessings, and the foundation and root of glory unspeakable; so also that which was accounted to be foolishness became unto us the cause of wisdom. For as he who hath learned any thing ill, unless he put away the whole, and make his soul level and clear, and so offer it to him who is to write on it, will know no wholesome truth for certain; so also in regard of the wisdom from without. Unless thou turn out the whole, and sweep thy mind clear, and like one that is ignorant yield up thyself unto the faith, thou wilt know accurately nothing excellent. For so those also who see imperfectly, if they will not shut their eyes and commit themselves unto others, but will be trusting their own matters to their own faulty eye-sight, they will commit many more mistakes than those who see not. But how, you will say, are men to put off this wisdom? By their not acting on its precepts. [3.] Then, seeing that he bade men so urgently withdraw 18, 19. X. 126 Reasons against the Wisdom of this World. HOMIL. themselves from it, he adds the cause, saying, For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For not only it contributes nothing, but it even hinders. We must then withdraw ourselves from it, as doing harm. Dost thou mark with what a high hand he carries off the spoils of victory, having proved that so far from profiting us at all, it is even an opponent? 13. And he is not content with his own arguments, but he has 1 Job 5. also adduced testimony again, saying, For it is written', He taketh the wise in their own craftiness. By craftiness, i. e. by their own arms getting the better of them. For seeing that they made use of their wisdom to the doing away of all need of God, by it and no other thing He refuted them, shewing that they are specially in need of God. How and by what method? Because having by it become fools, by it, as was meet, they were taken. For they who supposed that they needed not God, were reduced to so great a strait, as to appear inferior to fishermen and unlettered persons; and from that time forth to be unable to do without them. Wherefore he saith, In their own craftiness He took them. For the saying, I will destroy their wisdom, was spoken in regard to its introducing nothing useful: but this, who taketh the wise in their own craftiness, with a view of shewing the power of God. 11. (2.) ἀνθρώπων Sept. Next, he declares also the mode in which God took them, adding another testimony; ? Ps. 94. Ver.20. For the Lord, saith he, knoweth the thoughts of the wise bey that they are vain. Now when the Wisdom which is boundless pronounces this edict concerning them, and declares them to be such, what other proof dost thou seek of their extreme folly? For men's judgments, it is true, in many instances fail; but the decree of God is unexceptionable and uncorrupt in every case. [4.] Thus having set up so splendid a trophy of the judgment from on high, he employs in what follows a certain vehemence of style, turning it against those who were under 3 agxo- his ministry3, and speaking thus : μένους. 4 ἐν ἀν rec.text Ver. 21. Wherefore let no man glory in human things*; for Ogivas. all things are yours. He comes again to the former topic, pointing out that not even for their spiritual things ought they to be high-minded, as having nothing of themselves. "Since then the wisdom from without is hurtful, and the spiritual ἀνθρώ τοις. 21. "All things are yours,” a reason against Schism. 127 gifts were not given by you, what hast thou wherein to boast?" 1 Cor.3. And in regard to the wisdom from without, Let no man deceive himself, saith he, because they were conceited about a thing which in truth did more harm than good. But here, inasmuch as the thing spoken of was really advantageous, Let no man glory. And he orders his speech more gently: for all things are yours; Ver. 22. Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come, all are yours; and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's. For because he had handled them sharply, he refreshes them again. And as above he had said1, We are fellow-workers with God; and by 11 Cor. many other expressions had soothed them: so here too he saith, 3. 9. All things are yours; taking down the pride of the teachers, and signifying that so far from bestowing any favour on them, they themselves ought to be grateful to the others. Since for their sake they were made such as they were, yea, moreover, had received grace. But seeing that these also were sure to boast, on this account he cuts out beforehand this disease too, saying, As God gave to every man2, and God 2 supr. gave the increase: to the end that neither the one party might be puffed up as bestowers of good; nor the others, on their hearing a second time, All things are yours, be again elated. "For, indeed, though it were for your sakes, yet the whole was God's doing." And I wish you to observe how he hath kept on throughout, making suppositions in his own name and that of Peter. But what is, or death? That even though they die for your sakes they die, encountering dangers for your salvation. Dost thou mark how he again takes down the high spirit of the disciples, and raises the spirit of the teachers? In fact, he talks with them as with children of high birth, who have preceptors, and who are to be heirs of all. We may say also, in another sense, that both the death of Adam was for our sakes, that we might be corrected; and the death of Christ, that we might be saved. And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's. In one sense we are Christ's, and in another sense Christ is God's, and in a third sense is the world ours. For we indeed are Christ's, as His work: Christ is God's, as a genuine v. 5. 6. |