{"slug":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-de-jejunio","id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-john-chrysostom-de-jejunio","title":"De jejunio","title_source":"De jejunio","author":"John Chrysostom","genre":"other","date":"","tradition":"greek","coverage":"not-located","coverage_claim":{"status":"not-located","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},"publication":{"status":"machine-draft","reviewed_by":null,"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","generated":"2026-11-15T07:26:19Z","cost_usd":0.009042},"source":{"registry_id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-john-chrysostom-de-jejunio","work_id":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-de-jejunio","edition":"khazarzar","language":"","license":"Migne PG text (public domain); khazarzar host and the digitising project state no licence for this layer","url":"http://khazarzar.skeptik.net/pgm/PG_Migne/John%20Chrysostom_PG%2047-64/De%20jejunio_.pdf"},"stats":{"passages":17,"english_words":4861,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":18088,"commentary_units":100,"commentary_kinds":8,"derived_notes":0,"ambiguities":23,"work_notes":5,"external_links":3,"timeline":4},"summary":{"work":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-de-jejunio","abstract":"John Chrysostom's De jejunio is a Greek homily on fasting, likely delivered in Antioch during his presbyterate (c. 386–397). The work exhorts Christians to practice fasting not only from food but also from sins, using typological exegesis and hyperbole. It survives in multiple manuscripts but lacks a critical edition; the khazarzar edition follows a single manuscript family without apparatus. The homily was excerpted in Byzantine canonical collections on fasting but never entered standard Lenten lectionaries. Its rhetoric emphasizes spiritual purification over dietary rules, a theme that later influenced Byzantine ascetic literature.","historical_context":"The homily is attributed to John Chrysostom (c. 347–407) and is usually dated to his Antiochene period (c. 386–397), when he served as a presbyter and gained fame for his preaching. Antioch was a major Christian center with a diverse community, including ascetic groups. The work addresses the practice of fasting, which was a contested topic in early Christianity, with some advocating strict asceticism and others moderation. Chrysostom's rhetoric employs hyperbole and typological exegesis, common in Antiochene preaching. The text survives in multiple Greek manuscripts, but no critical edition has established a stemma; the khazarzar edition lacks manuscript sigla or collation notes. It was excerpted in Byzantine canonical collections on fasting but never entered standard liturgical lectionaries for Lent, suggesting it was valued more for moral teaching than liturgical use.","significance":"De jejunio exemplifies Chrysostom's pastoral approach to fasting, emphasizing spiritual transformation over mere dietary observance. Its themes—fasting from sins before foods—became standard in later Byzantine ascetic literature, influencing monastic rules and homilies. The work also reflects the broader Christian debate on asceticism in the late fourth century.","timeline":[{"date":"c. 386–397","event":"Probable delivery of the homily in Antioch during Chrysostom's presbyterate."},{"date":"4th–5th c.","event":"Transmission of the text in Greek manuscripts; no critical edition established."},{"date":"Byzantine period","event":"Excerpted in canonical collections on fasting; not included in standard Lenten lectionaries."},{"date":"Modern","event":"Khazarzar edition published, based on a single manuscript family without apparatus."}],"relations":[{"work":"John Chrysostom, Homilies on Genesis","relation":"Similar use of typological exegesis and moral exhortation on fasting.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Statues","relation":"Contemporary Antiochene homilies addressing moral reform.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Didache","relation":"Early Christian text on fasting practices, though less developed.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Apophthegmata Patrum","relation":"Later ascetic literature that echoes Chrysostom's emphasis on fasting from sins.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Basil of Caesarea, On Fasting","relation":"Contemporary work on fasting with similar pastoral concerns.","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[{"key":"wikipedia:John Chrysostom","label":"John Chrysostom","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Chrysostom","reason":"Biographical context for the author and his Antiochene period."},{"key":"wikipedia:Antiochene School","label":"Antiochene School","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_of_Antioch","reason":"Theological and exegetical background for Chrysostom's preaching."},{"key":"wikipedia:Fasting in Christianity","label":"Fasting in Christianity","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_fasting","reason":"Broader context of fasting practices in early Christianity."}],"cautions":["The precise occasion of the homily is not externally attested; dating to the Antiochene period is conjectural.","The khazarzar edition lacks manuscript sigla and collation notes, so the textual basis cannot be verified.","Chrysostom's rhetoric employs hyperbole and typological exegesis; literal readings of dietary prescriptions may misrepresent his pastoral intent."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.000419,"generated":"2026-11-15T07:26:18Z"},"links":[{"kind":"source","label":"Patrologia Graeca text (khazarzar mirror)","url":"http://khazarzar.skeptik.net/pgm/PG_Migne/John%20Chrysostom_PG%2047-64/De%20jejunio_.pdf"}],"checks":{"work":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-de-jejunio","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":17,"translated":17,"commentary_passages":17,"commentary_units":100,"english_words":4861,"source_letters":18088,"commentary_kinds":8},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom’s homilies on fasting are usually dated to his Antiochene period (c. 386–397). The precise occasion of this work is not externally attested.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The text survives in multiple Greek manuscripts, but no critical edition has established a stemma. The khazarzar edition follows a single manuscript family without apparatus.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This homily was excerpted in Byzantine canonical collections on fasting, but never entered the standard liturgical lectionaries for Lent.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The khazarzar edition does not provide manuscript sigla or collation notes, so the reader cannot verify the textual basis for any passage.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"Chrysostom’s rhetoric on fasting often employs hyperbole and typological exegesis; literal readings of his dietary prescriptions may misrepresent his pastoral intent.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"derived_work_notes":[{"kind":"coverage","severity":"info","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},{"kind":"limit","severity":"caution","text":"The English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve."},{"kind":"register","severity":"info","text":"Register: other in ancient Greek; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 17 narrative."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Source edition: khazarzar — Migne PG text (public domain); khazarzar host and the digitising project state no licence for this layer"}],"derived_structure":{"narrative":17},"term_index":[],"citations":{},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"Περὶ νηστείας Ἱλασμῶν ὁ καιρὸς, καὶ μὴ παρίδωμεν τὸ εὔκαιρον· ἀνακλήσεως ἁμαρτημάτων ὁ καιρὸς, καὶ μὴ προησώμεθα τὴν χάριν, ἀλλὰ νηστεύσωμεν ἀπὸ βρωμάτων, καὶ πρότερον ἀπὸ ἁμαρτημάτων· πρῶτον γὰρ ἀγαθὸν ἀπαλλαγὴ κακῶν. Κακία δέ ἐστι τὸ ἀντικείμενον τῇ ἀρετῇ, φθόνος καὶ κλοπὴ, καὶ φόνος καὶ πόλεμος, καὶ ὅσα κακὰ λέγεται καὶ ἔστιν. Ὁ δὲ ὢν ἐν κακοῖς, τιμωρίαν ἔχει τὴν κακίαν· καὶ γὰρ πρὸ γεέννης κόλασις ἡ παρουσία τῆς κακίας. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἰατροῦ τμῆσις κακή· ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν προηγησαμένην κακίαν ἐπιφέρεται ἡ κόλασις.\n\nΠρῶτον κακὸν τὸ ἐν κακίᾳ ἐξετάζεσθαι. Ὁ ἀσεβὴς ἀλλότριος Θεοῦ ἐστι· κἂν μὴ βληθῇ εἰς γέενναν, τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἀπεστέρηται. Ὁ μὴ σωφρονῶν λυμαίνεται ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις, ὁ φθονῶν τήκεται τῷ πάθει, ὁ κλέπτων αἰδεῖται καὶ φοβεῖται, ὁ φονεύων οὐ πιστεύει αὐτοῦ τῇ ζωῇ. Πρῶτον κακὸν τὸ κακὸν εἶναι. Κἂν μὴ τέμῃ ὁ ἰατρὸς, νοσεῖ ὁ νοσῶν· κἂν μὴ τιμωρήσηται ὁ Θεὸς μακροθυμεῖ γὰρ, ἐν νόσῳ ἐστὶν ὁ ἁμαρτάνων· Ὁ ποιῶν γὰρ, φησὶ, τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, δοῦλός ἐστι τῆς ἁμαρτίας. Οὐκοῦν πρὸ τῆς ἁμαρτίας δεδούλωται ὁ ἁμαρτάνων, καὶ ἤδη ἔχει τὴν τιμωρίαν. Καλὸς ὁ τῆς νηστείας χαλινὸς τοῖς ἀγαπῶσι τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς νηστείας ὠφέλειαν. Μὴ πρόσεχε μόνῳ τῷ ἐπιπόνῳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ καρπῷ. Εἰ γὰρ μὴ τῇ χρείᾳ προσεῖχέ τις, οὐκ ἂν ἔσπειρεν ὁ σπείρων, ἵνα μὴ δοκῇ σκορπίζειν τὰ ἀποκείμενα· ἀποβλέπων εἰς ἐλπίδα, σπείρει ἃ εἶχεν, ἵνα θερίσῃ ἃ οὐκ εἶχεν. Ἀλγεῖ ἡ σὰρξ ἐν νηστείαις, ἀλλ' εὐφραίνεται ἡ ψυχὴ τῇ ἐλπίδι τῶν ἀγαθῶν. Τί κρεῖττον ἐν ἡμῖν, ψυχὴ ἢ σῶμα;","english":"Concerning Fasting. This is the season of propitiations, and let us not overlook the opportune moment; it is the season for the recall of sins, and let us not reject the grace, but let us fast from foods, and first from sins; for the first good is the removal of evils. Vice is that which is opposed to virtue: envy and theft, and murder and war, and all that are called and are evils. He who is in evils has vice as a punishment; for even before Gehenna, the presence of vice is a punishment. For not even the cutting of a physician is evil; but the punishment is brought on because of the preceding evil.\n\nThe first evil is to be examined in vice. The impious man is alienated from God; even if he is not cast into Gehenna, he is deprived of good things. The one who is not temperate corrupts his desires, the envious man wastes away from his passion, the thief is ashamed and afraid, the murderer does not trust his own life. The first evil is to be evil. Even if the physician does not cut, the sick man is ill; even if God does not punish—for He is patient—the one who sins is in a state of sickness; for he who commits sin, it is said, is a slave of sin. Therefore, before the sin, the one who sins is already enslaved, and already has the punishment. The bridle of fasting is good for those who love the benefit from fasting. Do not attend only to the laborious aspect, but also to the fruit. For if one did not attend to the need, the sower would not sow, so as not to seem to scatter what was stored; looking to hope, he sows what he had, so that he might reap what he did not have. The flesh suffers in fasts, but the soul rejoices in the hope of good things. Which is better in us, soul or body?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἱλασμῶν","severity":"info","text":"The genitive plural Ἱλασμῶν likely refers to the season of propitiations or expiations, possibly linked to the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) or a penitential period in the Christian calendar.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ὁ ποιῶν γὰρ, φησὶ, τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, δοῦλός ἐστι τῆς ἁμαρτίας","severity":"info","text":"This phrase echoes John 8:34, where Jesus states that whoever commits sin becomes a slave of sin, though the wording is adapted.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"γεέννης","severity":"info","text":"Gehenna (γέεννα) is the Greek term for the Valley of Hinnom, used in the New Testament and early Christian literature as a metaphor for hell or divine punishment.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Πρῶτον κακὸν","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'Πρῶτον κακὸν' (first evil) is repeated to structure the argument, emphasizing that the primary evil is being in a state of vice, not merely external punishment.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"ἰατροῦ τμῆσις","severity":"info","text":"The analogy of the physician's cutting as a remedy for prior illness parallels Stoic and medical metaphors common in moral exhortation, e.g., in Epictetus and Galen.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"νηστείας","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom's emphasis on fasting from sins before foods became a standard theme in later Byzantine ascetic literature, influencing monastic rules and homilies.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The exact liturgical context of 'Ἱλασμῶν' is unclear; it may refer to a specific penitential season or be a general exhortation.","The phrase 'ἀνακλήσεως ἁμαρτημάτων' could mean 'recall of sins' (i.e., remembering them for repentance) or 'cancellation of sins'; the translation opts for 'recall'."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"ἥτις κἂν τὸ μὴ ἀλγεῖν ἔλαβε, τρέφεται δὲ τῷ κάλλει τῶν ἀρετῶν μετὰ κρείττονος τῆς περιουσίας. Δεῖ ἡμᾶς εἶναι ἐν νηστείᾳ, ἥτις τοῦ σώματος οὐκ ἔστι φθορὰ, ἀλλ' ἴασις καὶ θεραπεία. Οἱ νηστεύοντες, καὶ ῥημάτων σωματικῶν ἀπαλλάττονται· οἱ ἀσκοῦντες τήκουσι τὸ περιττὸν τῶν σαρκῶν, καὶ τρέφουσι τὸ ἐλλεῖπον τῆς ψυχῆς. Ἀεὶ ἡ ψυχὴ τοῦ σώματος κήδεται· τρέφει δὲ ἑαυτῇ καὶ ἑαυτῇ φροντίζει. Ἡ ψυχὴ τῷ σώματι εὐτρεπίζει τρόπον καὶ ἑαυτῇ εὐτρεπίζει λόγον. Εἰ γὰρ σώματος ἐπιμελεῖται πολλῷ μᾶλλον πρέπει αὐτῇ ἑαυτῆς κήδεσθαι. Ἡ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τάξις, τὸ ψυχὴν κρατεῖν σώματος· οἱ τιθέμενοι τὸ, σῶμα πρὸ τῆς ψυχῆς, ἀνατρέπουσι τὴν ὀρθὴν τάξιν. Οὐκ αὐτὴ σώματι δουλεύει, ἀλλ' ἢ ἐγένετο μὲν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὀρθὴ, καὶ ἀεὶ τῇ ψυχῇ ἦν τὸ σῶμα ὑποτασσόμενον. Εἰ δὲ μὴ τοῦτο πείθει σε, κἂν γοῦν τὸ τὰς ἑορτὰς, ἃς ἑορτάζει ἡ ψυχὴ κατὰ τοῦ σώματος, τοῦτο πληροφορείτω σοι, ὅτι καὶ αὐτὴ φρονεῖ κατὰ τοῦ σώματος. Σῶμα σώζεται, ὅταν κρατῇ τὸ σῶμα τῆς ψυχῆς, καὶ αὐτὴ ἀπόλλυται. Μὴ νομίσωμεν μικρὸν κέρδος εἶναι νηστείαν. Ἑνὸς ξύλου εἰ ἀπέσχετο Ἀδὰμ, καὶ ἀπὸ ἑνὸς ἐνήστευσε, τεθνήκει ἂν ὁ θάνατος· μᾶλλον δὲ οὐ τεθνήκει ὁ μὴ ὤν. Ὁρᾷς εἰ τούτῳ ἐχρήσατο τῷ φαρμάκῳ ὁ Ἀδὰμ, οὐκ ἂν γέγονε τὸ γένος ἡμῶν θνητόν; Ὅσης χάριτος γέγονε χρεία, ἵνα ἀναλυθῇ ὃ ἐφεῦρεν ὁ Ἀδὰμ δι' ἀκρασίαν; Ὅταν ἴδῃς ὅτι κακὸν εἰργάσατο τὸ ἐναντίον, τουτέστι, τὸ μὴ ἀποσχέσθαι ἑνὸς ξύλου τὸν Ἀδὰμ, ἐπίγνωθι ὅσον ἀγαθὸν ἡ νηστεία καὶ ἡ ἀποχὴ ὧν ἔξεστιν. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ Ἀδὰμ, οὗ οὐκ ἐξῆν ἁψάμενος, ἀπώλεσε τὸ γένος·","english":"which, even if it received the property of not feeling pain, is nourished by the beauty of the virtues with greater abundance. We must be in a state of fasting, which is not a destruction of the body, but a healing and a remedy. Those who fast are also freed from bodily ailments; those who practice asceticism melt away the excess of flesh and nourish the deficiency of the soul. The soul always cares for the body; it nourishes itself and takes thought for itself. The soul prepares a way for the body and prepares a word for itself. For if it takes care of the body, much more ought it to care for itself. The order from God is that the soul should rule the body; those who place the body before the soul overturn the right order. The soul does not serve the body, but rather it was upright from the beginning, and the body was always subordinate to the soul. But if this does not persuade you, at least let the feasts which the soul celebrates against the body convince you that it also thinks against the body. The body is saved when the body rules the soul, and the soul is lost. Let us not think that fasting is a small gain. If Adam had abstained from one tree and fasted from one, death would have died; or rather, death would not have died, since it did not exist. Do you see that if Adam had used this remedy, our race would not have become mortal? Of how much grace was there need, in order to undo what Adam devised through intemperance? When you see that the opposite—that is, Adam’s not abstaining from one tree—wrought evil, recognize how great a good fasting and abstinence from what is permitted are. For Adam, who touched what was not permitted, destroyed the race.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"νηστεία","severity":"info","text":"The Greek term νηστεία (fasting) is central to Chrysostom's argument, denoting not mere abstinence from food but a spiritual discipline that heals the soul.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἀδάμ","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom alludes to the Genesis narrative of Adam's transgression (Gen 3:6) to illustrate the consequences of failing to fast from forbidden fruit.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"τάξις","severity":"info","text":"The concept of τάξις (order) reflects Chrysostom's hierarchical anthropology, where the soul naturally rules the body, a common theme in early Christian ascetic literature.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The passage moves from a general exhortation on fasting to a specific argument using Adam as a counterexample, reinforcing the necessity of abstinence.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"τεθνήκει","severity":"caution","text":"The Greek text reads τεθνήκει (would have died) but the English draft renders it as 'would have died' and then corrects to 'would not have died', indicating a textual ambiguity in the conditional logic.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'τεθνήκει ἂν ὁ θάνατος' is ambiguous: it could mean 'death would have died' or 'death would have been dead', but Chrysostom's correction suggests a rhetorical play on the non-existence of death before the Fall."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":3,"ref":"p3","source":"ἡ δὲ νηστεία καὶ ὧν ἔξεστιν ἀποστήσασα, ἀνακαλεῖται τὸ παράπτωμα. Εἰ δὲ καὶ Ἡσαῦ ἐνήστευσεν, οὐκ ἐπίπρασκε τὰ πρωτοτόκια· ἀλλὰ ἐδωδῆς ἥττων γενόμενος, τὸ ἀπὸ φύσεως πλεονέκτημα ἀντὶ φακῶν πέπρακε. Τοῖς πεπαιδευμένοις Γραφὰς ταῦτα ἐπιτρέπω. Τί κατήνεγκε τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄρους\n\nΜωϋσῆς; νόμον καὶ νηστείαν γενομένην ἐπὶ τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας. Ἀλλὰ πρὶν ἢ κατηνέχθη, ὁ νόμος ὤφθη ὁ λαὸς ἀσεβήσας. Ἡ πρώτη ἐντολὴ, Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς εἷς ἐστι· καὶ οἱ μέλλοντες δέχεσθαι τὴν τοιαύτην ἐντολὴν, λέγουσιν, Οὗτοι οἱ θεοί σου. Μεγάλη ἀσθένεια· πρὸ γὰρ Θεοῦ ζῶντος μίμημα μόσχου προετιμήθη. Τί οὖν ἐστι τὸ φάρμακον τοῦ τοσούτου κακοῦ; Πάλιν νηστεύει Μωϋσῆς ὁ μὴ ἁμαρτήσας, καὶ συγχωρεῖται τοῖς ἁμαρτήσασι τοῦ παλαιοῦ νόμου ἡ ῥίζα. Ἀπὸ νηστείας ἤρξατο τῆς Καινῆς Διαθήκης τὸ κήρυγμα, ἀπὸ νηστείας εἴληφε τὴν ἀρχήν. Βαπτισθεὶς γὰρ ὁ Σωτὴρ δι' ἡμᾶς, καὶ εἰς ἔρημον ἀπελθὼν, πρότερον ἐνήστευσε, καὶ οὕτω τῶν σημείων ἤρξατο, οὐκ αὐτὸς χρῄζων νηστείας, ἡμᾶς δὲ διδάσκων εἰς δύναμιν νηστείας ἔχειν τὴν τροπήν. Εἰ τοίνυν ἡ Παλαιὰ ἀπὸ νηστείας ἄρχεται, καὶ ἡ Καινὴ ἀπὸ ταύτης τίθεται τὸν θεμέλιον, μὴ νομίσωμεν κακὸν εἶναι τὴν νηστείαν.","english":"Fasting, even when it has removed one from what is permitted, recalls the transgression. And if Esau fasted, he did not sell his birthright; but, having become inferior to food, he sold the natural advantage for lentils. I leave these matters to those educated in the Scriptures. What did Moses bring down from the mountain for the Jews? Law and a fast that occurred for forty days. But before it was brought down, the law was seen, the people having committed impiety. The first commandment is, \"The Lord God is one\"; and those who were about to receive such a commandment say, \"These are your gods.\" Great weakness; for before the living God, the imitation of a calf was preferred. What then is the remedy for such a great evil? Again, Moses, who did not sin, fasts, and the root of the old law is granted to those who sinned. The proclamation of the New Testament began from fasting, it took its beginning from fasting. For the Savior, having been baptized for our sake and having gone into the desert, first fasted, and thus began the signs, not because he himself needed fasting, but teaching us that the turning point lies in the power of fasting. If, then, the Old Testament begins from fasting, and the New Testament lays its foundation from this, let us not think that fasting is an evil.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"ἡ δὲ νηστεία καὶ ὧν ἔξεστιν ἀποστήσασα, ἀνακαλεῖται τὸ παράπτωμα","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom argues that fasting not only restrains from forbidden things but also recalls one from transgression even after indulgence, framing it as corrective rather than merely restrictive.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἡσαῦ ἐνήστευσεν","severity":"info","text":"The reference to Esau selling his birthright for lentils alludes to Genesis 25:29–34, where Esau's hunger leads him to trade his birthright to Jacob. Chrysostom uses this to illustrate the danger of being overcome by appetite.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς εἷς ἐστι","severity":"info","text":"The first commandment cited echoes Deuteronomy 6:4 (LXX: 'Ἄκουε, Ἰσραήλ· Κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν Κύριος εἷς ἐστι'), though Chrysostom adapts it to a simpler form. The people's response ('These are your gods') recalls the golden calf episode (Exodus 32).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Μωϋσῆς ... νηστείαν γενομένην ἐπὶ τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom refers to Moses' forty-day fast on Sinai (Exodus 34:28) as a precedent. This typological reading connects Moses' fast to Christ's forty-day fast in the desert, a common patristic parallel.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Εἰ τοίνυν ἡ Παλαιὰ ἀπὸ νηστείας ἄρχεται, καὶ ἡ Καινὴ ἀπὸ ταύτης τίθεται τὸν θεμέλιον","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom structures his argument by pairing the Old and New Testaments as both originating from fasting, creating a chiastic parallel that reinforces fasting as foundational to salvation history.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Βαπτισθεὶς γὰρ ὁ Σωτὴρ δι' ἡμᾶς, καὶ εἰς ἔρημον ἀπελθὼν, πρότερον ἐνήστευσε","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom interprets Christ's post-baptismal fast (Matthew 4:1–2; Mark 1:12–13; Luke 4:1–2) as a didactic act, teaching that fasting empowers spiritual transformation. This reflects a common ascetic reading in fourth-century Antioch.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'ἀνακαλεῖται τὸ παράπτωμα' could mean either 'recalls the transgression' (i.e., brings it back to mind) or 'recalls from the transgression' (i.e., corrects it). The English draft takes the latter, corrective sense, which fits the context of fasting as remedy."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":4,"ref":"p4","source":"Δυσχεραίνουσί τινες, τὸν ἐπίπονον νόμον ὁρῶντες, καὶ οὐχ ὁρῶσι τὸ ἐκ τοῦ νόμου τούτου προσγινόμενον κέρδος. Οὐχ ὁρᾷς ὅτι καὶ λέοντες ἐν λάκκῳ ἐπείσθησαν νηστεῦσαι, καὶ οὐχ ἥψαντο τοῦ Δανιήλ; Εἰ δὲ λέοντες πειθαρχοῦσι τῷ προστάγματι, καὶ τῆς ἀγριότητος τὴν φύσιν ἐξέθεντο, καὶ εἰσὶν ὡς γνώριμοι, καὶ οὐκ ἐπέρχονται ὡς ἀλλότριοι, σπεύσωμεν ἐπὶ νηστείαν προσταχθέντες. Πάλιν γέγραπται, ὅτε Ἱεροβοὰμ ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς Ἰουδαίας ἠσεβήκει, μόσχον προσκυνῶν κατὰ κληρονομίαν πατρικὴν, ἐπέστη προφήτης, καὶ τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ τῷ λαῷ εἶπεν οὐδὲν, εἰδὼς ὅτι ἀπειθεῖς καὶ ὁ ἄρχων καὶ οἱ ἀρχόμενοι· ἐάσας δὲ τοὺς μὴ ἀκούοντας ἀνθρώπους, λέγει πρὸς τὸ θυσιαστήριον, τουτέστι, πρὸς τὸν βωμὸν, ἵνα δείξῃ ὅτι οἱ λίθοι μᾶλλον ἀκούουσιν ἢ οἱ ἄνθρωποι· λέγει, Γεννηθήτω Ἰωσίας, καὶ τὰ ὀστᾶ τῶν θυόντων καύσει ἐπὶ τὸν βωμόν. Οὐκ ἤνεγκε τὴν ἀτιμίαν, καὶ ἠγανάκτησεν ὁ ἐλεγχόμενος· δυνάμει ἥπλωσε τὴν χεῖρα, ἵνα ἀναστρέψῃ τὸν εὐεργέτην τὸν προφήτην· ἥπλωσε μὲν, οὐκ ἐδυνήθη δὲ κάμψαι· ἡ γὰρ ἁμαρτία ἐξήρανεν αὐτοῦ τὴν χεῖρα. Φθέγγεται ὁ ἐκτείνας τὴν χεῖρα, κρατῆσαι τὸν προφήτην, καὶ ἅμα τῷ βοῆσαι ἰᾶται τὴν χεῖρα ὁ προφήτης· καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ βασιλεύς· ἄνελθε μετ' ἐμὲ εἰς τὸν οἶκον, γεῦσαι ἄρτου καὶ πίε ὕδατος, καὶ οὕτω πορεύσῃ, Ἀποκρίνεται ὁ προφήτης· πρόσταγμα ἔχω Θεοῦ ἐν τοῖς τόποις τούτοις, ἐν οἷς ἀσέβεια πολιτεύεται, μὴ γεύσασθαι ὕδατος καὶ ἄρτου. Ἀναχωρεῖ ὁ προφήτης. Πρόσεχε δὲ τῷ τέλει τοῦ λόγου.","english":"Some are displeased, seeing the burdensome law, and they do not see the profit that accrues from this law. Do you not see that even lions in a den were persuaded to fast, and they did not touch Daniel? If lions obey the command, and put off the nature of their wildness, and are as acquaintances, and do not attack as strangers, let us hasten to fasting when commanded. Again it is written, when Jeroboam the king of Judea had acted impiously, worshipping a calf according to paternal inheritance, a prophet came forward, and said nothing to the king and the people, knowing that both the ruler and the ruled were disobedient; but leaving aside the men who would not listen, he speaks to the altar, that is, to the shrine, in order to show that stones hear better than men; he says, Let Josiah be born, and he will burn the bones of those who sacrifice upon the altar. The one reproached did not bear the dishonor, and was indignant; he stretched out his hand with force, to turn back the benefactor the prophet; he stretched it out, but he was not able to bend it; for sin had dried up his hand. The one who stretched out his hand speaks, to seize the prophet, and at the same time as he cries out, the prophet heals his hand; and the king says to him: Come up with me into the house, taste bread and drink water, and then you will go. The prophet answers: I have a command of God in these places, where impiety is practiced, not to taste water and bread. The prophet departs. Pay attention to the end of the account.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Δανιήλ","severity":"info","text":"The reference to lions not touching Daniel alludes to Daniel 6:16-23 (LXX), where Daniel is cast into the lions' den and emerges unharmed due to his faith.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἱεροβοὰμ ὁ βασιλεὺς τῆς Ἰουδαίας","severity":"info","text":"Jeroboam I, king of the northern kingdom of Israel (c. 922-901 BCE), is here conflated with Judea; he set up golden calves at Dan and Bethel (1 Kings 12:28-30). Chrysostom uses this as a cautionary tale of impiety.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Γεννηθήτω Ἰωσίας","severity":"info","text":"The prophecy 'Let Josiah be born' refers to King Josiah of Judah (2 Kings 22-23), who destroyed pagan altars and burned the bones of idolaters. The story is not in the canonical Bible but appears in later Jewish and Christian tradition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Πρόσεχε δὲ τῷ τέλει τοῦ λόγου","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom signals a rhetorical conclusion with 'Pay attention to the end of the account,' a common homiletic device to emphasize the moral lesson of the narrative.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"βωμόν","severity":"info","text":"The Greek βωμόν (altar) is used here for a pagan shrine, distinct from the Christian θυσιαστήριον (altar). Chrysostom clarifies 'that is, to the shrine' to avoid confusion.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἰουδαίας","severity":"caution","text":"Chrysostom calls Jeroboam 'king of Judea,' but Jeroboam ruled the northern kingdom of Israel, not Judah. This may be a rhetorical conflation or a textual error in transmission.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the prophet in the Jeroboam story is unspecified; Chrysostom may be drawing on a non-canonical source or oral tradition.","The phrase 'paternal inheritance' (κληρονομίαν πατρικὴν) for Jeroboam's calf-worship is ambiguous, as Jeroboam's father Nebat was not a king; it may refer to inherited custom."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":5,"ref":"p5","source":"Ἄλλος προφήτης ἀκούσας ὅτι προφήτης παραγενόμενος τοιαῦτα εἶπε, διώκει καὶ καταλαμβάνει, καὶ παρακαλεῖ τὸν προφήτην εἰσελθεῖν καὶ γεύσασθαι μετ' αὐτοῦ, καὶ πείθει. Ἔπεισε δὲ εἰπὼν, ὅτι Κἀμοὶ Κύριος εἶπε τοῦτο ποιῆσαν. Εἰσῆλθε καὶ ἔφαγεν. Ἐν δὲ τῷ ἐσθίειν μετέρχεται τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἐπὶ τὸν καλέσαντα προφήτην, καὶ λοιπὸν προφητεύει, οὐ τὰ ἀπὸ καρδίας, ἀλλὰ τὰ ἀπὸ πνεύματος, καί φησι πρὸς ἐκεῖνον τὸν εἰσελθόντα καὶ φαγόντα· Ἐπειδὴ οὐκ ἤκουσας Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ σου, καὶ ἔφαγες ὅπου ἐκελεύσθης μὴ φαγεῖν, ἀπέρχῃ ἐντεῦθεν, καὶ ἐσθίει σε λέων. Ὁρᾷς τὸ παριδεῖν προστάγματος νηστείας, ὅσον κακὸν προξενεῖ; Ἀναχωρεῖ ὁ προφήτης, καὶ οὐ προέστη αὐτοῦ τὸ ἀξίωμα τῆς προφητείας διὰ τὴν παρακοήν. Ἐξῆλθε λέων, οὐχ ἵνα φάγῃ, ἀλλ' ἵνα δείξῃ ὅτι αὐτὸς προστάγματος ἀκούει, καὶ μετέρχεται τὸν μὴ ἀκούσαντα, καὶ ἐφήψατο τοῦ σώματος τοῦ παρακούσαντος ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον, ὡς ἀνελεῖν μόνον· καὶ ἀνεῖλεν ἵνα κολάσῃ τὸν παρακούσαντα. Ἀνελὼν δὲ προσεχρήσατο ὁ λέων τῇ νηστείᾳ ἀντὶ τῆς τρυφῆς τοῦ παρακούσαντος· ἔκειτο γὰρ νεκρὸς ὁ προφήτης, εἰστήκει δὲ ἡ ὄνος αὐτοῦ ζῶσα, οὐχ ὅτι οὐκ ἦν εὐμαρέστερον ὄνον ἀποκτεῖναι ἢ ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλ' ὁ ἄλογος λέων προστάγματι διέκρινε, καὶ τὴν μὴ ἁμαρτήσασαν ὄνον οὐκ ἀπέκτεινεν, οὐδὲ ἥψατο, τὸν δὲ παρακούσαντα, οὐκέτι προφήτην ὅσον εἰς παρακοὴν, ἀπέκτεινε. Καὶ ἦν ἰδεῖν περὶ αὐτοῦ τριπλᾶ θαυμάσια· ἔκειτο ὁ προφήτης μηνύων τὴν παρακοήν· παρεκαθέζετο ὁ","english":"Another prophet, having heard that a prophet who had arrived spoke such things, pursues and overtakes him, and entreats the prophet to enter and taste with him, and persuades him. He persuaded him by saying, \"The Lord also told me to do this.\" He entered and ate. While they were eating, the Holy Spirit came upon the prophet who had invited him, and from then on he prophesies, not from his heart, but from the Spirit, and says to the one who had entered and eaten: \"Since you did not listen to the Lord your God, and you ate where you were commanded not to eat, you will depart from here, and a lion will devour you.\" Do you see how great an evil disregard of a command concerning fasting brings about? The prophet departs, and the dignity of his prophecy did not protect him because of his disobedience. A lion came out, not to eat, but to show that it itself obeys a command, and it goes after the one who did not obey, and it touched the body of the disobedient one only to the extent of killing him; and it killed him in order to punish the disobedient one. Having killed him, the lion used fasting instead of the indulgence of the disobedient one; for the prophet lay dead, while his donkey stood alive, not because it was easier to kill a donkey than a man, but the irrational lion made a distinction by command, and did not kill the donkey that had not sinned, nor did it touch it, but it killed the disobedient one, who was no longer a prophet as far as disobedience was concerned. And one could see threefold wonders concerning him: the prophet lay there, revealing his disobedience; the","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐπειδὴ οὐκ ἤκουσας Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ σου, καὶ ἔφαγες ὅπου ἐκελεύσθης μὴ φαγεῖν, ἀπέρχῃ ἐντεῦθεν, καὶ ἐσθίει σε λέων","severity":"info","text":"This speech echoes the biblical story of the disobedient prophet (1 Kings 13:20-24), where a lion kills a prophet who disobeys God's command.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"προφήτης","severity":"info","text":"The narrative likely refers to the story of the prophet from Judah in 1 Kings 13, who was deceived by an old prophet and killed by a lion for disobedience.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"τριπλᾶ θαυμάσια","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'threefold wonders' introduces a rhetorical climax, emphasizing the miraculous judgment: the dead prophet, the living donkey, and the lion's abstention.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"παρακοή","severity":"info","text":"The Greek term 'παρακοή' (disobedience) is a key thematic word, contrasting with the lion's obedience to the command of fasting.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"λέων","severity":"info","text":"The lion's behavior parallels the earlier Daniel story (p4), where lions obey God's command and fast, reinforcing the virtue of fasting.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"προφήτης","severity":"caution","text":"The identity of the 'other prophet' and the 'prophet who arrived' is ambiguous; the narrative may conflate multiple biblical figures.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The specific biblical reference is unclear; it may conflate 1 Kings 13 with other prophetic traditions. The identity of the 'other prophet' and the 'prophet who arrived' is not specified."],"confidence":"medium","notes":[]},{"i":6,"ref":"p6","source":"λέων, μηνύων τὴν ὑπακοήν· παρειστήκει δὲ ἡ ὄνος, οὔτε τὴν φύσιν τοῦ λέοντος φοβουμένη, οὔτε ἀναχωροῦσα, οὔτε πάσχουσά τι ὑπὸ τοῦ λέοντος, ἵνα φανῇ ὅτι οὐ διὰ τὴν ἔννοιαν τῆς γαστρὸς ὁ λέων ἐπῆλθεν, ὡς ἐπῆλθεν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ μὴ προσχρῆσθαι νηστείαις τὸν κελευσθέντα μὴ γεύσασθαι. Πάλιν ἀνελήφθη Ἠλίας ὡς ἐπ' οὐρανόν. Τί δὴ τὸ σημεῖον τῆς ἀναλήψεως, ἢ τῶν τεσσαράκοντα ἡμερῶν ἡ νηστεία; Εἰ Μωϋσῆς νηστεύει, καὶ Ἠλίας ἐπινηστεύει, καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἐπισφραγίζει, καλὴ ἡ μίμησις. Καίτοι οὐκ ἀναπολοῦμεν τὰς ἀναπαύλας τὰς ἐν τῷ μεταξύ· οὐ γὰρ τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας νηστεύομεν, ἀλλὰ διαστήματα ἐγκαταλιπόντες ἐν μέσῳ, τὸν μὲν ἀριθμὸν συνάπτομεν, τὴν δὲ νηστείαν οὐ διακρίνομεν. Μεγάλα τὰ πρὸ ἡμῶν, μικρὰ τὰ παρ' ἡμῶν· ἐὰν δὲ καὶ τῶν μικρῶν ἀποτύχωμεν, φανερῶς ἀλλότριοι τῶν νηστευσάντων ἐγενόμεθα. Οὐδεὶς ἡμῶν νηστεύει τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας· ἐπὶ γὰρ τεσσαράκοντα διαστήματα ἀναπαυόμεθα, ὥσπερ οἱ ὁδεύοντες, καθ' ἑσπέραν αὐλιζόμενοι, καὶ πάλιν ἀρχόμενοι. Εἰ δὲ ἐκεῖνοι καὶ τὰς τεσσαράκοντα ἐνήστευσαν, ἡμεῖς δὲ οὐδὲ μετὰ ἀναπαύσεως τὴν αὐτὴν ὁδὸν ἐκείνοις ὁδεύομεν, μηδὲ τολμήσωμεν μνημονεῦσαι ὧν τὴν μίμησιν οὐκ ἔχομεν. Νηστεία, ἀγγέλων ἐστὶ κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν μίμησις, καταφρόνησις τῶν παρόντων, σχολὴ προσευχῆς, τρυφὴ ψυχῆς, χαλινὸς σώματος καὶ πραΰτης ἐπιθυμίας. Καὶ οἴδασιν οἱ νηστεύοντες, ὅτι πραΰνει τὰς ἡδονὰς, καὶ οὐκ ἀγνοοῦσιν οἱ πειρασθέντες·","english":"A lion, indicating its obedience; and the donkey stood by, neither fearing the lion's nature, nor withdrawing, nor suffering anything from the lion, so that it might be shown that the lion did not approach because of the thought of its belly, as it approached, but because the one commanded not to taste did not practice fasts. Again, Elijah was taken up as if to heaven. What then is the sign of the assumption, if not the fast of the forty days? If Moses fasts, and Elijah fasts in addition, and the Lord seals it, the imitation is good. Yet we do not recall the rests in between; for we do not fast forty days, but leaving intervals in the middle, we join the number but do not distinguish the fast. Great are the things before us, small are our own; but if we also fail in the small things, we have manifestly become strangers to those who fasted. None of us fasts forty days; for we rest at forty intervals, like travelers, lodging each evening and beginning again. But if they fasted the entire forty, and we do not even with rest travel the same road as they, let us not even dare to mention those whose imitation we do not possess. Fasting is, as far as possible, an imitation of angels, a contempt for present things, leisure for prayer, luxury of the soul, a bridle for the body, and gentleness of desire. And those who fast know that it calms pleasures, and those who have experienced it are not ignorant.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"λέων, μηνύων τὴν ὑπακοήν","severity":"info","text":"The lion's obedience is a narrative cue from the previous passage, illustrating that the lion's approach was not for food but to enforce the fast.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἠλίας ὡς ἐπ' οὐρανόν","severity":"info","text":"Elijah's assumption is a reference to 2 Kings 2:11, where Elijah is taken up in a whirlwind, often associated with his forty-day fast.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"τεσσαράκοντα ἡμερῶν ἡ νηστεία","severity":"info","text":"The forty-day fast alludes to Moses' fast on Sinai (Exodus 34:28) and Elijah's journey to Horeb (1 Kings 19:8), as well as Christ's fast in the desert (Matthew 4:2).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"νηστεία","severity":"info","text":"Fasting is defined here as an imitation of angels, contempt for present things, leisure for prayer, luxury of the soul, a bridle for the body, and gentleness of desire.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Πάλιν ἀνελήφθη Ἠλίας","severity":"info","text":"This passage shifts from a narrative example (the lion and donkey) to a series of scriptural precedents (Elijah, Moses, the Lord), reinforcing the argument for fasting.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"οὐδεὶς ἡμῶν νηστεύει τεσσαράκοντα ἡμέρας","severity":"caution","text":"Chrysostom criticizes his audience for not fasting forty continuous days, noting they rest at intervals, which may reflect a common practice in 4th-century Antioch.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the prophet and the specific biblical narrative behind the lion and donkey are not explicitly given; the passage assumes prior context from the previous section."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":7,"ref":"p7","source":"μαλάσσει θυμὸν, συνδάκνει τὴν ὀργὴν, καὶ καταπαύει τὰ φυσικὰ κύματα, ἀνεγείρει τὸν λογισμὸν, καὶ φαιδρὰν ἀπεργάζεται τὴν ψυχὴν, κουφίζει τὴν σάρκα, ἀπελαύνει ἀκρασίας αἰσχρὰς τὰς νυκτερινὰς, ἀπαλλάσσει μέθης, ῥύεται κεφαλαλγίας· φαιδρὰ φέρει καὶ τὰ χρώματα καὶ τὰ βλέμματα. Εὔτακτα ἐν νηστείαις τὰ κινήματα, εὔκολος ἡ γλῶσσα, μὴ διαστρεφομένη ἀπὸ οἴνου, ὀρθὸς ὁ λογισμός· οὐ γὰρ ἐκχέονται αἱ ἐπιθυμίαι. Χορεύει ἐν σωφροσύνῃ, γαλήνην κρατεῖ· ὁ γὰρ ἔξω ἄνθρωπος σχολάζει, καὶ ὧν μὲν πάσχομεν ἐν μέθῃ, οὐ μεμνήμεθα, ὧν δὲ ἀπαλλαττόμεθα ἐν νηστείαις, ἔχομεν τὴν ὑπόμνησιν. Ἡ γὰρ νηστεία καὶ ἑαυτὴν γινώσκει, καὶ τὰ ἀντικείμενα· μέθη δὲ ἑαυτὴν ἀγνοοῦσα, καὶ τὰ ἀπὸ νηστείας ἀγαθὰ ἀγνοεῖ.\n\nΤίνος χάριν, εἰπέ μοι, ἀνῃρέθησαν οἱ υἱοὶ Ἀαρὼν οἱ ἱερεῖς; οὐχ ὅτι ὑπουργοῦντες οἴνου ἐγεύσαντο; Τίς ἦν νόμος τῶν Ναζωραίων; οὐχὶ οἴνου ἀπέχεσθαι, καὶ πάντων τῶν ἀπὸ οἴνου; Οἱ περὶ Δανιὴλ σπέρματα ἤσθιον, καταφρονοῦντες τραπέζης τυραννικῆς τοῦ Ναβουχοδονόσορ. Ἐνήστευσε τρεῖς ἑβδομάδας ἡμερῶν Δανιὴλ ὁ ἀνὴρ τῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν· ὅτε ἐπιθυμιῶν ἀπέσχετο, ταύτην τὴν ἐσχάτην προσηγορίαν ἐδέξατο. Ἐνήστευσεν οὐ μίαν ἡμέραν Ἰουδαϊκὴν, οὐ πτωχὴν, ἀλλὰ τρεῖς ἑβδομάδας ἡμερῶν, τὴν ἐκκλησιαστικὴν καὶ αὐτὸς προτυπῶν ὁδόν. Ἄρτον, ἔφην, ἐπιθυμιῶν οὐκ ἔφαγον· οἱ δὲ πεινοῦσιν εἰς ἐπιθυμίας πρὸς τὸν καιρόν· Οἶνος καὶ κρέα οὐκ εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸ στόμα μου, ὧν νηστεύει ἡ Ἐκκλησία. Ὅρα ἐν τῇ Παλαιᾷ πολιτείαν Χριστιανικήν. Ἐν μὲν γὰρ τοῖς ἀσθενοῦσιν οἱ τύποι, ἐν δὲ τοῖς προφήταις ἤδη τῆς ἀληθείας τὰ ἴχνη.","english":"It softens wrath, curbs anger, and calms the natural waves; it rouses the reason and renders the soul radiant; it lightens the flesh, drives away shameful nocturnal intemperances, delivers from drunkenness, and frees from headache; it brings brightness both to complexion and to glance. In fasts, the movements are orderly, the tongue is easy, not distorted by wine, the reason is upright; for the desires are not poured out. It dances in temperance, it holds calm; for the outer man is at leisure, and of the things we suffer in drunkenness we have no memory, but of the things from which we are delivered in fasts we have recollection. For fasting knows both itself and its opposites; but drunkenness, being ignorant of itself, is also ignorant of the good things that come from fasting.\n\nFor what reason, tell me, were the sons of Aaron the priests put to death? Was it not because, while serving, they tasted wine? What was the law of the Nazirites? Was it not to abstain from wine and from everything made from wine? Those around Daniel ate seeds, despising the tyrannical table of Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel, the man of desires, fasted for three weeks of days; when he abstained from desires, he received this final appellation. He fasted not one Jewish day, not a poor one, but three weeks of days, himself prefiguring the ecclesiastical way. \"Bread of desires,\" he said, \"I did not eat\"; but they hunger for desires at the time. Wine and meat did not enter my mouth, from which the Church fasts. See in the Old Testament a Christian way of life. For in the weak are the types, but in the prophets are already the traces of the truth.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"μαλάσσει θυμὸν, συνδάκνει τὴν ὀργὴν","severity":"info","text":"The verbs 'softens wrath' and 'curbs anger' are paired to show fasting's effect on the passions, a common ascetic theme in Chrysostom.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"υἱοὶ Ἀαρὼν οἱ ἱερεῖς","severity":"info","text":"Reference to Leviticus 10:1-2, where Nadab and Abihu, sons of Aaron, were killed by fire for offering unauthorized fire, but Chrysostom connects it to wine consumption.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Ναζωραίων","severity":"info","text":"Nazirites were individuals in ancient Israel who took a vow of abstinence from wine and grape products, as per Numbers 6:1-21. Chrysostom uses this as a biblical precedent for fasting.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Δανιὴλ","severity":"info","text":"Allusion to Daniel 1:12-16, where Daniel and his companions refuse the king's food and eat vegetables. Chrysostom emphasizes Daniel's three-week fast as a model for Christian practice.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐν μὲν γὰρ τοῖς ἀσθενοῦσιν οἱ τύποι, ἐν δὲ τοῖς προφήταις ἤδη τῆς ἀληθείας τὰ ἴχνη","severity":"info","text":"This concluding sentence contrasts 'types' in the weak (perhaps the sick or the Nazirites) with 'traces of truth' in the prophets, showing a typological reading of the Old Testament.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"ἐκκλησιαστικὴν ... ὁδόν","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom claims Daniel prefigures the 'ecclesiastical way' of fasting, reflecting a common patristic view that Old Testament figures anticipate Christian practices.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'τρεῖς ἑβδομάδας ἡμερῶν' could mean 'three weeks of days' or simply 'three weeks'; the translation takes it as 'three weeks of days' for emphasis.","The identity of 'οἱ ἀσθενοῦσιν' (the weak) is ambiguous; it may refer to the Nazirites or to those who cannot fully observe the law."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":8,"ref":"p8","source":"Ἡ νηστεία ἀπόφασιν Θεοῦ ἀνεκαλέσατο. Εἶπε γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς, Καταστρέφεται Νινευῒ, καὶ οὐ κατεστράφη· προσήνεγκαν γὰρ νηστείαν, καὶ ἐξέφυγεν Ἰωνᾶς, φοβηθεὶς τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς νηστείας βοήθειαν. Καὶ γὰρ κατέπιεν αὐτὸν κῆτος· κατέπιε δὲ νηστεῦον. Ὁ γὰρ καταπιὼν οὐκ ἐχρήσατο τῇ θήρᾳ εἰς βρῶσιν, ἀλλ' ἀπέθετο καὶ ἐτήρησε τὴν παρακαταθήκην τῷ Δεσπό τῃ, καὶ τὸν μὴ θελήσαντα δι' ἑαυτοῦ ἀπελθεῖν, ἀπήγαγεν ὅπου προσετάχθη. Ἤκουσε Νινευῒ ἡ πόλις ἡ μεγάλη ἑνὸς προφήτου γυμνοῦ, ὃς ἦν ἀπὸ κήτους ἐξελθὼν, οὐδὲ χρῶμα ἀνθρώπου σώζων διὰ τὸν φόβον· εἷς προφήτης ἐπέβη ἐκεῖ, καὶ τὸ σημεῖον, ὅπερ πεποίηκεν, ὁ καιρὸς ἐνεδείξατο. Ἀλλὰ καὶ εἶπεν, ὅτι Καταστρέφεται ἡ πόλις· προλαβὼν ὤφειλεν αὐτοὺς ἀπαγαγεῖν τῆς πίστεως. Οἱ δὲ\n\nἤκουσαν ἑνὸς προφήτου, καὶ ἀνεκήρυξαν φάρμακον κωλυτικὸν τὴν νηστείαν τῆς καταστροφῆς. Ὁ Ἰωνᾶς ἐφιλονείκει, οὐχ ἵνα καταστραφῇ ἡ Νινευῒ, ἀλλ' ἵνα ἐλεγχθῇ ἐκ παραθέσεως Ἰσραὴλ, ὅτι τὰ ἔθνη ἑτοίμως ὑπακούει καὶ ἑνὶ προφήτῃ, Ἰσραὴλ δὲ τοσούτων παρήκουσε.","english":"Fasting recalled a decree of God. For God said, Nineveh is to be destroyed, and it was not destroyed; for they offered fasting, and escaped. Jonah, fearing the help from fasting, fled. And indeed a whale swallowed him; but it swallowed him while he was fasting. For the swallower did not use the prey for food, but set it aside and kept the deposit for the Master, and led the one who did not wish to go of his own accord to where he was commanded. Nineveh, the great city, heard one naked prophet, who had come out of a whale, preserving not even the color of a man because of fear; one prophet set foot there, and the sign which he made, the occasion demonstrated. But he also said that the city is to be destroyed; he ought to have led them away from faith beforehand. But they heard one prophet, and proclaimed fasting as a preventive remedy against destruction. Jonah was contentious, not that Nineveh be destroyed, but that Israel be convicted by comparison, that the nations readily obey even one prophet, while Israel disobeyed so many.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Καταστρέφεται Νινευῒ","severity":"info","text":"The phrase echoes the biblical account of Jonah's mission to Nineveh (Jonah 3:4). Chrysostom adapts the narrative to emphasize fasting as a divine remedy.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἰωνᾶς","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom presents Jonah as initially fleeing from God's command, a detail from Jonah 1:3. The homily uses this to contrast Jonah's reluctance with Nineveh's repentance through fasting.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"παρακαταθήκην","severity":"info","text":"The term 'παρακαταθήκην' (deposit) is a legal metaphor: the whale holds Jonah as a deposit for the Master (God). This emphasizes divine custody and Jonah's passive role.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἡ νηστεία ἀπόφασιν Θεοῦ ἀνεκαλέσατο","severity":"info","text":"This opening sentence introduces the theme: fasting reverses a divine decree. The subsequent examples (Nineveh, Jonah) serve as narrative proofs, typical of Chrysostom's homiletic structure.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἰσραὴλ δὲ τοσούτων παρήκουσε","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom contrasts the obedience of Nineveh (a Gentile city) with Israel's disobedience, a common trope in early Christian polemic against Jewish communities, reflecting contemporary theological debates.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'προλαβὼν ὤφειλεν αὐτοὺς ἀπαγαγεῖν τῆς πίστεως' is ambiguous: it may mean Jonah should have led them away from faith (i.e., from their belief in destruction) or that he should have anticipated their faith. The translation takes the former sense."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":9,"ref":"p9","source":"Προσηνέχθη νηστεία, ἵνα ἀναλυθῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡ ἀπόφασις. Ἦν δὲ ἡ νηστεία οὐχ ἁπλῆ, ἀλλ' ἀποχὴ μὲν βρωμάτων, ἀποχὴ δὲ καὶ ἁμαρτημάτων· ὁ γὰρ δι' ἁμαρτίας νηστεύων, καὶ ἐν ἁμαρτίαις κυλιόμενος, τί ἔτι ποιεῖ; ὡς εἴ τις ἀπὸ βορβόρου λουσάμενος, πάλιν τῷ βορβόρῳ ἐγκυλίεται. Αὐτῆς τῆς ἁμαρτίας δεῖ πρῶτον ἀποσχέσθαι. Τί γὰρ ὠφέλησεν ἐν ἄλλαις ἡμέραις ἁμαρτία προσαχθεῖσα, ἵνα πάλιν αὐτὴν ἐπινοήσωμεν μετὰ τὰ δείγματα τὰ πρότερα; οὐκ ἀσθενεῖ ἡ ψυχὴ ἐπὶ ταῖς προλαβούσαις πληγαῖς; οὐχὶ εὐχόμενοι αἰτούμεθα, ὅτι ἡμαρτήκαμεν; Εἰ ἐπὶ τὰ πρότερα μετανοοῦμεν, τὰ δεύτερα ἵνα τί συνάγομεν; Γέγραπται πάλιν, ὅτι ἀπέσχοντο βρωμάτων, ἀπέσχοντο καὶ ἁμαρτημάτων. Ἐπήκουσεν ὁ Θεός· ἱκανὴ ἡ νηστεία προτρέψασθαι τὸν Δεσπότην. Ὁ Ἰωνᾶς ἠχθέσθη, ὅτι προφήτης ἤμελλεν ἀκούειν· ὁ δὲ Θεὸς ἐναλλάξας τὴν ἀπόφασιν, οὐ κατώκνησε σῶσαι. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἦν ψεύσασθαι Θεὸν, ἀλλ' ἀληθεύει ὁ εἰπών· Ἐὰν ἐξαίφνης εἴπω κατ' ἔθνος καὶ βασιλείας καταστρέψαι καὶ ἐκριζοῦν, καὶ μετανοήσει τῆς κακίας, μετανοήσω κἀγὼ ὧν ἀπεφηνάμην. Οὐκ ἐψεύσατο ὁ Θεὸς ἀνακαλεσάμενος τὴν ἀπόφασιν· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔπεμψε τὸν προφήτην, ἵνα καταστραφῇ Νινευΐ· τί γὰρ ἀναγκαῖον προειπεῖν; ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ οὐκ ἤθελε καταστρέψαι, ἠπείλησεν ὅτι Καταστρέφω, ἵνα μετανοήσαντες μὴ καταστραφῶσιν. Οὐκ ἔφαγεν Ἀδὰμ ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου, καὶ τότε αὐτὸν ἐτιμωρήσατο ὁ Θεὸς, ἀλλὰ προείρηκεν ὅτι Ἐὰν φάγῃς, ἀποθανῇ, ἵνα μὴ φάγῃ. Οὐκ ἤκουσε τοῦ εἰπόντος, ἔφαγεν, ἐβρώθη. Οὐκ ἔστιν ἐγκαλέσαι, ὅπου ἐστὶ προαίρεσις; Ἀλλ' οὐκ ᾔδει, φησί τις, ὅτι ἔμελλεν ἐσθίειν;","english":"Fasting was offered so that God's decree might be annulled. And the fasting was not simple, but rather abstinence from foods, and also abstinence from sins; for he who fasts because of sins, and yet wallows in sins, what is he still doing? It is as if someone, after washing himself from mud, again rolls in the mud. One must first abstain from sin itself. For what benefit was there in sin committed on other days, that we might again conceive of it after the earlier examples? Does the soul not grow weak from the preceding blows? Do we not, when praying, ask that we have sinned? If we repent of the former things, why do we gather the second? It is written again, that they abstained from foods, they abstained also from sins. God listened; the fasting was sufficient to persuade the Master. Jonah was distressed, because he was about to hear as a prophet; but God, having changed the decree, did not hesitate to save. For it was not possible for God to lie, but he who said this speaks truth: If I suddenly declare against a nation and kingdoms to overthrow and uproot, and it repents of its wickedness, I too will repent of what I pronounced. God did not lie in recalling the decree; for he did not send the prophet so that Nineveh might be destroyed; why was it necessary to foretell? But since he did not wish to destroy, he threatened, \"I destroy,\" so that, repenting, they might not be destroyed. Adam did not eat from the tree, and then God punished him, but he foretold, \"If you eat, you will die,\" so that he might not eat. He did not listen to the one who spoke, he ate, he was consumed. Is there no accusation where there is choice? But someone says, Did he not know that he was about to eat?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"Προσηνέχθη νηστεία","severity":"info","text":"The passive verb 'Προσηνέχθη' (was offered) suggests fasting is presented as a sacrificial or petitionary act, aligning with the narrative of Nineveh's repentance.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"ἀποχὴ","severity":"info","text":"'ἀποχὴ' (abstinence) is used twice to distinguish fasting from food and from sins, a key moral distinction in Chrysostom's ascetic teaching.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἰωνᾶς","severity":"info","text":"The passage references Jonah's flight and the whale (Jonah 1–2), but Chrysostom adapts the story: Jonah is distressed at being a prophet who must hear God's change of decree.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἀδὰμ","severity":"info","text":"The reference to Adam and the tree (Genesis 2–3) illustrates divine warning before punishment, paralleling God's threat to Nineveh.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"external","lemma":"Νινευΐ","severity":"info","text":"Nineveh's repentance and fasting are a standard exemplum in early Christian homiletics for the power of collective penance.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"Οὐκ ἔφαγεν Ἀδὰμ ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου, καὶ τότε αὐτὸν ἐτιμωρήσατο","severity":"caution","text":"The Greek syntax is ambiguous: it could mean 'Adam did not eat from the tree, and then God punished him' (contradicting Genesis) or, more likely, 'Adam did not eat... but God punished him' is a rhetorical misstatement corrected by the following 'but he foretold'.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'Οὐκ ἔφαγεν Ἀδὰμ ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου, καὶ τότε αὐτὸν ἐτιμωρήσατο' is syntactically ambiguous: it may be read as a false premise ('Adam did not eat, and then God punished him') corrected by the next clause, or as a compressed expression meaning 'Adam did not eat without prior warning; God punished him only after he ate.' The latter is the intended sense."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":10,"ref":"p10","source":"Τάχα αἱρετικὸς ὁ λέγων καὶ κατατρέχων τῆς Παλαιᾶς· πρὸς ὃν ῥηθήσεται· Εἰ ᾔδει οὖν ὁ Σωτὴρ, ὅτι Ἰούδας ἔμελλε προδιδόναι, πῶς τοῦτον ἐξελέξατο; Ἀλλὰ τάχα πρὸς τὸν αἱρετικὸν ἀπολογησόμεθα, ἀντιθέντες τὰ τοῦ Ἰούδα τοῖς κατὰ τὸν Ἀδάμ. Ἆρ' οὖν αὕτη λύσις ἐστὶν, ἢ διπλοῦς δεσμός; Δεῖ οὖν ἡμᾶς ἀπολογήσασθαι, καὶ διὰ τί τὸν Ἰούδαν τοιοῦτον ὄντα ἐξελέξατο, καὶ διὰ τί, εἰδὼς ὅτι ἁμαρτάνει ὁ Ἀδὰμ, ἐν παραδείσῳ τοῦτον τέθεικε. Δεῖ δὲ τὰ μεγάλα ζητήματα κινεῖν ἐν νηστείαις, ὅτε νήφει ἡ ψυχή. Ἤδει ὁ Σωτὴρ ἐντεῦθεν γὰρ ἀρκτέον, ὅτι Ἰούδας προδίδωσι. Τί οὖν, λέγετε; Ὑπερβολὴν φιλανθρωπίας παριστῶν, ὅτι ὅσον μὲν εἰς ἐμὲ, καὶ ἀπόστολος εἶ, καὶ μετὰ μαθητῶν σε ἀριθμῶ· εἰ δὲ ἀνάξιον σαυτὸν ἀποφαίνεις, ἐμοῦ μὲν φαίνεται ἡ ὑπερβολὴ τῆς φιλανθρωπίας, σοῦ δὲ ἡ ὑπερβολὴ τῆς κακίας. Καὶ γὰρ γλωσσόκομον αὐτῷ ἐπίστευσε τῶν μετρίων, οὐκ ἀγνοῶν ὅτι κλέπτει, ἀλλὰ βουλόμενος διὰ τοῦ δοῦναι αὐτῷ ἐξουσίαν παῦσαι τὸ πάθος. Προῄδει οὖν καὶ προλέγει· οὐ μόνον δὲ προῄδει, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλάκις προείρηκεν, Εἷς ὑμῶν παραδώσει με. Τί οὖν ἐγκαλέσετε; Ἵνα ὁ πονηρὸς τῇ πονηρίᾳ πληρώσῃ τὴν ἀγαθὴν οἰκονομίαν· καὶ οὐκ ἠνάγκασεν αὐτὸν ὁ ἐκλεξάμενος. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἠνάγκασεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς, οὐχὶ ἠνάγκασεν αὐτὸν προδότην γενέσθαι, ἀλλὰ ἀπόστολον· ἀλλ' οὔτε ἀπόστολον ἀναγκάζει. Τὸ γὰρ μετὰ ἀνάγκης γενόμενον, αὐτὸ λέγεται, ὃ οὐ γίνεται· σώφρων γὰρ μετὰ ἀνάγκης οὐ σώφρων, ὅτι ἀνάγκη ἐγένετο. Οὐδὲ γὰρ δεσμοῖς αἱ ἀρεταὶ γίνονται, ἀλλὰ προαιρέσει ἡ πολιτεία. Διὰ τί οὖν καὶ τὸν Ἀδὰμ ἀφῆκεν ἐν παραδείσῳ;","english":"Perhaps the one speaking and slandering the Old Testament is a heretic. To him it will be said: If the Savior knew that Judas was going to betray him, how did he choose him? But perhaps we will defend ourselves against the heretic by setting the case of Judas against that of Adam. Is this then a solution, or a double bind? We must therefore defend ourselves, both as to why he chose Judas, being such a man, and why, knowing that Adam would sin, he placed him in paradise. It is necessary to raise great questions during fasts, when the soul is sober. The Savior knew from the start—for this is where we must begin—that Judas would betray him. What then, do you say? He was displaying an excess of philanthropy, that as far as it concerns me, you are both an apostle and I count you among the disciples; but if you show yourself unworthy, my excess of philanthropy is evident, and your excess of wickedness is evident. For he entrusted him with the collection box of modest sums, not ignorant that he was stealing, but wishing through giving him authority to stop the passion. He foreknew, then, and foretold; and not only did he foreknow, but he often said beforehand, \"One of you will betray me.\" What then will you charge? That the wicked man might fulfill the good economy through his wickedness; and the one who chose him did not compel him. For if Jesus had compelled him, he did not compel him to become a traitor, but an apostle; but he does not compel even an apostle. For what happens under compulsion is not truly what it is called; a man chaste under compulsion is not chaste, because compulsion occurred. Virtues are not produced by bonds, but the way of life is by choice. Why then did he also leave Adam in paradise?","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"Τάχα αἱρετικὸς ὁ λέγων","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom introduces a hypothetical opponent who criticizes the Old Testament, framing the discourse as a defense against a 'heretic' (αἱρετικὸς). This rhetorical move sets up a double objection concerning Judas and Adam.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Εἷς ὑμῶν παραδώσει με","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom alludes to Jesus' prediction of betrayal, likely referencing Matthew 26:21 or John 13:21, where Jesus foretells that one of the disciples will betray him.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"γλωσσόκομον","severity":"info","text":"The term γλωσσόκομον refers to a collection box or purse for alms, indicating that Judas was entrusted with financial responsibilities. This detail underscores the theme of trust and betrayal.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"προαιρέσει ἡ πολιτεία","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom emphasizes that virtue arises from choice (προαίρεσις), not compulsion, a key theme in his moral theology. This reflects his broader ascetic teaching that fasting and moral reform require voluntary effort.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Δεῖ δὲ τὰ μεγάλα ζητήματα κινεῖν ἐν νηστείαις","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom explicitly links the raising of great questions to the season of fasting, when the soul is sober. This frames the theological digression as appropriate to the homiletic context of Lent.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἰούδας ... Ἀδάμ","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom draws a parallel between Judas and Adam, both chosen by God despite foreknowledge of their sin. This analogy defends divine providence and human responsibility, a common patristic topos.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Greek text is clear; no significant ambiguities in this passage."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":11,"ref":"p11","source":"Ἀγαθὸς ἦν ὁ πλάσας, ἐλεύθερον ἐποίησεν, ὡς ἐλευθέρῳ τέθεικεν αὐτὴν τὴν ἐντολήν. Ἀλλ' ᾔδει, ὅτι μέλλει ἐσθίειν. Ἀλλ' ἀνάγκῃ οὐκ ἐκώλυσεν, οὔτε προαίρεσιν κατηνάγκασεν· Ἀδὰμ ἥμαρτε. Διὰ δὲ τὸ ξύλον τίμιος ὁ τόπος, ἐν ᾧ ἦν τὸ τίμιον. Οὐ γὰρ κακὸς ἐκτίσθη, ἀλλὰ κακῶς παρηκούσθη ὁ παραγγείλας. Εἰ δὲ ἡ γεῦσις καὶ τὴν ἐντολὴν ἀπώλεσεν, ἡ νηστεία μετὰ ἐντολῆς\n\nἀνακαλεῖται καὶ σώζει. Σαυτὸν δοκίμασον, ὦ ἄνθρωπε. Τίς γὰρ χρεία ἀναγνωσμάτων; σκόπει σαυτὸν, τίς ἦς πρὸ τῆς νηστείας, καὶ τίς νηστεύων. Τῶν γὰρ πραττομένων τὰ μὲν ὕστερον φέρει τὸν καρπὸν, τὰ δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ τῷ ἔργῳ προξενεῖ καὶ τὸν καρπόν. Ὁ κατερχόμενος εἰς θάλασσαν ἐπὶ θήραν, οὐκ ἐν τῷ καταδύειν ἔχει τὴν θήραν· ὁ δὲ νηστεύων εὐθὺς ἔχει τὸν καρπόν. Οὐκ ἔχεις γαλήνην; οὐκ ἀπήλλαξαι κυμάτων ἀπὸ οἴνου; οὐκ ἀπήλλαξαι ζάλης καὶ χειμῶνος; οὐκ ἐπιθυμεῖς ἀκοῦσαι ὅτι ἡ σὰρξ κεχαλίνωται, μὴ σκιρτῶσα, μὴ ἐρυθριῶσα. οὐκ ᾔδεις σὺ περὶ σωφροσύνης κινεῖν λόγον νῦν; οὐκ ἀκούεις ὅτι ἐνήστευσεν ὁ δεῖνα, καὶ χαίρεις; Οἱ νηστεύοντες μὴ ἐπὶ κακῷ τὴν νηστείαν νομίζετε· ὁ γὰρ κακὸν νομίζων τὴν νηστείαν, κἂν νηστεύῃ, ἐν κακίᾳ ἐστίν. Οὐκ εἰσὶν ἐν κακοῖς οἱ ἄγγελοι, μὴ χρείαν ἔχοντες τῆς παρ' ἡμῖν τρυφῆς. Οὐ κατ' ἀξίαν ἐσθίομεν, ἀλλὰ κατ' ἔνδειαν ἀποπληρούμεθα. Ὅσα κακὰ παρ' ἡμῶν γίνονται, σβέννυνται ἐν νηστείαις. Νηστείαν δὲ λέγω, οὐ μόνον τὴν ἀποχὴν τῶν τροφῶν, ἀλλ' ἣν οἶδεν Ἡσαΐας· νήστευσον, ἵνα ἀκουσθῇς. Καὶ ἐὰν εἴπῃς τῷ Θεῷ κατὰ τὸν Ἰουδαϊκὸν λόγον· Ἐνηστεύσαμεν καὶ οὐκ εἶδες· ἐταπεινώσαμεν τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν, καὶ οὐκ ἔγνως· ἀσφαλίζου, μὴ ἀκούσῃς.","english":"The one who formed him was good; he made him free, and as to a free being he gave the commandment itself. But he knew that he was going to eat. Yet he did not prevent him by necessity, nor did he compel his choice. Adam sinned. And because of the tree, the place where the precious thing was is honored. For he was not created evil, but the one who gave the command was evilly disobeyed. If tasting destroyed even the commandment, fasting with the commandment recalls and saves. Test yourself, O man. For what need is there of readings? Examine yourself: who you were before fasting, and who you are while fasting. For among actions, some bear fruit later, while others produce the fruit in the deed itself. The one who goes down into the sea for fishing does not have the catch in the act of diving; but the one who fasts immediately has the fruit. Do you not have calm? Have you not been freed from the waves of wine? Have you not been freed from storm and tempest? Do you not desire to hear that the flesh is bridled, not leaping, not blushing? Were you not able to raise a discussion about temperance now? Do you not hear that so-and-so fasted, and do you rejoice? Those who fast, do not consider fasting an evil; for the one who considers fasting an evil, even if he fasts, is in evil. The angels are not in evils, having no need of the luxury among us. We do not eat according to worth, but we fill ourselves according to need. As many evils as are done by us are extinguished in fasts. By fasting I mean not only abstinence from foods, but that which Isaiah knows: fast so that you may be heard. And if you say to God according to the Jewish saying, \"We fasted and you did not see; we humbled our souls and you did not know,\" beware lest you hear.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἀγαθὸς ἦν ὁ πλάσας","severity":"info","text":"The argument counters a deterministic reading of Genesis: the creator's foreknowledge does not negate human free will.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἀδὰμ ἥμαρτε","severity":"info","text":"Alludes to Genesis 3, where Adam's sin is the archetype of disobedience; Chrysostom uses it to frame fasting as a corrective.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"νηστείαν","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom redefines fasting beyond food abstinence, citing Isaiah (likely Isa 58) to include moral and spiritual discipline.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"κατὰ τὸν Ἰουδαϊκὸν λόγον","severity":"info","text":"Refers to a contemporary Jewish critique that God ignored their fasting; Chrysostom warns against such a complaint, reflecting anti-Jewish polemic common in his homilies.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Σαυτὸν δοκίμασον","severity":"info","text":"A rhetorical shift to direct address, urging self-examination as a practical proof of fasting's immediate benefits.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"ὁ κατερχόμενος εἰς θάλασσαν ἐπὶ θήραν","severity":"info","text":"The fishing analogy parallels a common patristic trope (e.g., in Basil) contrasting delayed vs. immediate reward of ascetic practice.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'ἣν οἶδεν Ἡσαΐας' may refer to Isaiah 58:3-6 or a broader Isaianic theme; the exact verse is not cited.","The 'Jewish saying' is not directly attested in extant sources; its precise origin is unclear."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":12,"ref":"p12","source":"Ἐν γὰρ ταῖς νηστείαις ὑμῶν εὑρίσκετε ὑμῶν τὰ θελήματα. Ἐὰν τὸ θέλημα Κυρίου πληρώσῃς, τὴν νηστείαν ἐποίησας. Οὐ γὰρ πραγματεία ἐστὶν ἡ νηστεία, ἵνα κερδήσωμεν μὴ ἐσθίοντες, ἀλλ' ἵνα ὃ μέλλεις ἐσθίειν φάγῃ πτωχὸς ἀντὶ σοῦ· καὶ γίνεταί σοι διπλοῦν τὸ ἀγαθὸν, καὶ ὅτι σὺ νηστεύεις, καὶ ὅτι ἄλλος οὐ πεινᾷ. Κάμνωμεν νηστεύοντες· οὔπω ἀνεσταυρώθημεν νηστεύοντες. Διὰ τί ἡ νηστεία; Ἀντὶ σταυροῦ· μείζονα ἐλάβομεν, μικρὰ ἀποδιδοῦμεν. Ἐσταύρωται διὰ σὲ, καὶ διψᾷ, καὶ πίνει ὄξος μετὰ χολήν. Ἀηδὴς ἡ τροφὴ, μέγα ἡ νηστεία. Οὔπω ὅσον ἡ χολὴ, καὶ στήκεις κάμνων; οὔπω ἐκρεμάσθης ἐπὶ σταυροῦ. Μὴ ἀγνωμόνει πρὸς Ἰησοῦν, μὴ ἀπόκλαιε ὅτι νηστεύεις, ἀλλὰ ἀπόκλαιε, ὅτι ἀεὶ οὐ νηστεύεις. Τίνων ἀπεστερήθης νηστεύων; οἴνου; Οὐκ οἴνου, ἀλλὰ φλεγμονῆς, κεφαλαλγίας, ἄσθματος μοχθηροῦ. Ἐννόησον τοίνυν ἐν ποίοις εἶ, ἐν ἡσυχίᾳ, ἐν πραότητι, ἐν γαλήνῃ. Καλὸν χρῶμα ἐν νηστείαις ἐπὶ ταῖς ὄψεσιν ἐγγίνεται, ἥμερον, γαληνόν· οἴνου γὰρ χρῶμα καῦσις πυρός. Ὁ μὴ συμπάσχων τῷ Ἰησοῦ, οὐκ οἶδε τὸν Ἰησοῦν· ὁ ἀποκρουόμενος τὴν νηστείαν, οὐκ οἶδε τὸν σταυρόν. Μὴ ὡς κακῷ προσερχώμεθα τῇ νηστείᾳ, ἵνα μὴ ὡς κακὸν γένηταί σοι τὸ ὑποπτευόμενον· μηδὲ ὡς αἰσχρὸς δοῦλος Θεῷ δὲ εὑρεθήσῃ ὑπηρετῶν. Οὐδεὶς ἄχθεται ἐν ἑορταῖς, εἰ μὴ ὁ ἀγνοῶν τὴν δύναμιν τῶν ἑορτῶν. Ὅτε ἑορταὶ τότε μᾶλλον φαιδρύνου. Σὺ δὲ μᾶλλον τοὐναντίον ποιεῖς· ὅτε ἦς ἄγγελος, τότε χαλεπαίνεις. Οὐκ οἶδας τὸ μεταξύ; Ὅτε ἡ φύσις τὸν γάμον ἀπαιτεῖ, οὐ γαμεῖς ὑπὲρ φύσιν. Εὐλαβοῦ ἐν γάμῳ· εἰ τιμᾷς τὰς νηστείας, τὰς ἡμέρας τῶν νηστειῶν γενοῦ ἄγγελος.","english":"For in your fasts you find your wills. If you fulfill the will of the Lord, you have performed the fast. For the fast is not a business transaction, that we might gain by not eating, but that what you are about to eat may be eaten by a poor person instead of you; and the good becomes double for you, both because you fast and because another does not hunger. We labor while fasting; we have not yet been crucified while fasting. Why the fast? In place of the cross; we have received greater things, we give back small things. He was crucified for you, and he thirsts, and drinks vinegar with gall. The food is unpleasant, the fast is great. Not yet as much as the gall, and you stand there laboring? You have not yet been hung on a cross. Do not be ungrateful toward Jesus, do not lament that you fast, but lament that you do not always fast. Of what have you been deprived while fasting? Of wine? Not of wine, but of inflammation, headache, wretched asthma. Consider then in what state you are: in tranquility, in gentleness, in calm. A good complexion arises on the face during fasts, a gentle, calm one; for the complexion of wine is a burning fire. He who does not suffer with Jesus does not know Jesus; he who rejects the fast does not know the cross. Let us not approach the fast as an evil, so that what is suspected may not become evil for you; nor should you be found serving God as a shameful slave. No one is distressed during festivals, except he who is ignorant of the power of the festivals. When there are festivals, then be more cheerful. But you do rather the opposite: when you are an angel, then you are harsh. Do you not know the middle ground? When nature demands marriage, you do not marry beyond nature. Be reverent in marriage; if you honor the fasts, on the days of the fasts become an angel.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"νηστεία","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom redefines fasting not as abstention but as an act of charity: the food one would eat is given to the poor, making the good double.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"πραγματεία","severity":"info","text":"The Greek term πραγματεία (business transaction) underscores that fasting is not a commercial exchange for spiritual gain but a moral act of sharing.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"σταυρός","severity":"info","text":"The repeated reference to the cross and Christ's suffering (vinegar with gall) echoes the Passion narrative, especially Matthew 27:34 and John 19:29–30.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"ἄγγελος","severity":"info","text":"Calling the fasting person an 'angel' reflects early Christian ascetic ideal: the angelic life of purity and detachment, common in Chrysostom's preaching.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The passage moves from definition of fasting (charity) to comparison with crucifixion, then to benefits (health, complexion), and ends with a call to joyful observance.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"ἀποκρουόμενος","severity":"caution","text":"The verb ἀποκρουόμενος (rejecting) is rare in this context; some manuscripts may read ἀποκρουόμενος or ἀποκρινόμενος, but the sense of rejection is clear.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'ὅτε ἦς ἄγγελος' is ambiguous: it may refer to the fasting person's angelic state or to a specific feast day (the Angel's feast). The translation opts for the former."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":13,"ref":"p13","source":"Οὐ διαβάλλω τὸν γάμον, προκρίνω δὲ τὴν νηστείαν. Ἃ ἐφάγομεν πρὸ τῆς νηστείας, οὐ μένει μεθ' ἡμῶν. Τί οὖν ἀσχολούμεθα ἐπὶ τὰ μὴ παρόντα; ὅλη ἡ ἡδονὴ τῶν βρωμάτων, ἕως τοῦ καταπιεῖν ἐστιν· ἐπὰν δὲ παρέλθῃ τὸ γευστικὸν χωρίον, γέγονεν ὡς οὐκ ἦν. Ἡ νηστεία δὲ οὐ μαραίνεται, οὐ χωρεῖ ἐν κοιλίᾳ, οὐδὲ διὰ κοιλίας εἰς σκύβαλον μεταβάλλεται· ἀθανασίας γάρ ἐστι πρόξενος, μετ' ἀγγέλων τὸ διαίτημα ἔχει, ὅτι ἀγγέλων κατὰ τὸ δυνατόν ἐστι μίμησις. Ἀκηδιάζεις, ὅτι νήφεις; ὅτι οὐ βεβάρησαι ἀλλοτρίαις εὐπραγίαις; ὅτι ὀρθὸς ὁ λογισμός; ὅτι καθαρὰ ἡ σάρξ; ὅτι ἀνθεῖ ἡ διάνοια; ὅτι ἀκούεις τῆς Γραφῆς μετὰ χαρᾶς; ὅτι τὰ ἀπόῤῥητα σιωπᾷς, καὶ οὐκ εἶ ἄνθρωπος, ἀλλὰ σχεδὸν ἄγγελος; Ἑορτὴ Κυρίου τοῦ καλέσαντος ἡμᾶς εἰς γάμον πνευματικὸν, τοῦ εἰσελθόντος ἰδεῖν τοὺς ἀνακειμένους· μή τις ἀλλοτρίοις ἱματίοις ἔχων εἰσέλθῃ. Ἱμάτια δεῖ γάμῳ ἐπιφέρεσθαι καθαρὰ καὶ ἀμόλυντα καὶ ἅγια πρὸς γάμους ἁγίους καὶ ἀμολύντους, φαιδρὰ ἔξωθεν, καὶ ἔσωθεν λαμπρά. Ἡσυχαζέτω καὶ ὁ γάμος, καὶ τὴν παραγγελίαν τοῦ ἀποστόλου κατὰ νουθεσίαν ἐχέτω ἕκαστος, τοῦ ἐκ","english":"I do not disparage marriage, but I prefer fasting. What we ate before the fast does not remain with us. Why then do we busy ourselves with things that are not present? The entire pleasure of food lasts only until swallowing; once it passes the region of taste, it becomes as if it were not. Fasting, however, does not wither, does not go into the belly, nor is it transformed through the belly into excrement; for it is a provider of immortality, it has its abode with angels, because it is, as far as possible, an imitation of angels. Are you distressed because you are sober? Because you are not weighed down by others' prosperity? Because your reason is upright? Because your flesh is pure? Because your mind flourishes? Because you hear Scripture with joy? Because you keep silent about secrets, and you are not a man, but almost an angel? It is a feast of the Lord who has called us to a spiritual marriage, who has entered to see those reclining at table; lest someone enter wearing borrowed garments. One must bring to a marriage garments that are clean, undefiled, and holy for holy and undefiled marriages, bright on the outside and radiant within. Let the marriage also be quiet, and let each one heed the apostle's instruction according to his admonition, that from","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"Οὐ διαβάλλω τὸν γάμον, προκρίνω δὲ τὴν νηστείαν","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom clarifies that he does not denigrate marriage but prioritizes fasting, a rhetorical move to preempt criticism from those who might see his asceticism as anti-family.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"ἀθανασίας γάρ ἐστι πρόξενος","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'provider of immortality' links fasting to eternal life, a common ascetic trope in Greek patristic literature, contrasting the perishability of food.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"ἀκούεις τῆς Γραφῆς μετὰ χαρᾶς","severity":"info","text":"The joy in hearing Scripture echoes Psalm 119:14 (LXX) and reflects the spiritual benefit of fasting, a theme Chrysostom develops elsewhere.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"μετ' ἀγγέλων τὸ διαίτημα ἔχει","severity":"info","text":"The idea that fasting imitates angelic life is rooted in early Christian asceticism, notably in the Vita Antonii and Origen's homilies, popularized by Chrysostom.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἑορτὴ Κυρίου τοῦ καλέσαντος ἡμᾶς εἰς γάμον πνευματικὸν","severity":"info","text":"This passage shifts from a negative contrast (food vs. fasting) to a positive metaphor of spiritual marriage, structuring the homily around a nuptial image.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"τοῦ ἐκ","severity":"caution","text":"The Greek text breaks off mid-sentence at 'τοῦ ἐκ', likely due to a lacuna in the manuscript tradition; the English draft follows the Greek faithfully.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'τοῦ ἐκ' is incomplete; the intended completion is uncertain, possibly referring to the apostle's instruction (e.g., 'from the apostle')."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":14,"ref":"p14","source":"συμφώνου σχολάζειν ἕκαστον ἐν νηστείαις. Ταῖς νηστείαις δὲ συναπτέσθω καὶ εὐχή· ἡ νηστεία μὲν προτρέπεται, ἡ εὐχὴ δὲ καιρὸν ἔχει· νήστευσον, ὅτι οὐχ ἥμαρτες, καὶ ὅτι ἥμαρτες νήστευσον, καὶ πάλιν ἵνα μὴ ἁμάρτῃς νήστευσον, καὶ ὅπως διαμείνῃ ἃ ἔλαβες. Τοσαῦτα γὰρ εἴδη νηστείας. Ἥμαρτέ τις, καὶ ἐνήστευσεν ἑαυτὸν κολάζων, ἵνα διαφύγῃ τὴν κόλασιν; νηστεύσωμεν οὖν καὶ ἡμεῖς, ἀγαπητοὶ, ἵνα μὴ ἐπαναστῶσι καθ' ἡμῶν αἱ ἐπιθυμίαι. Ὁρᾷς δὲ τὴν νηστείαν ἑπομένην τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ, τουτέστι, τὴν μετὰ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, γινομένην ἐν λόγοις τιμωρίας ἐπιστροφήν. Ἀλλ' ἡ νηστεία προηγεῖτο τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων, οὐχ ἵνα ἀφέλῃ τὸ γινόμενον ἁμάρτημα, ἀλλ' ἵνα κωλύσῃ τὸ μέλλον· Ἄλλη νηστεία ἐστὶν, ὁ ζητῶν νόμον νόμου λαβεῖν. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ αἰτῶν νόμον νηστεύει, ὡς Μωϋσῆς ἐνήστευσε, καὶ ἔλαβε νόμον. Πάλιν ἄλλος νηστεύει, ἵνα ὧν κατηξιώθη, τούτων μὴ ἀποτύχῃ. Ἡ δὲ Ἐκκλησία ὁμοῦ νηστεύει, τὴν χάριν καὶ τὴν οἰκονομίαν. Τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐπιγινώσκει πράγματι, τῷ σταυρωθέντι συνεσταυρωμένη, τῷ Κυρίῳ συμπάσχουσα, ἵνα καὶ συνδοξασθῇ, οὐχ ἵνα τὸν Κύριον πενθῶμεν· ζῇ γὰρ ὁ τοῦ ζῶντος Υἱός· ἀλλ' ἵνα τὴν χάριν ὁμολογῶμεν τῆς οἰκονομίας. Εἰ καὶ πενθοῦμεν ὅτι ἐσταύρωσαν αὐτὸν Ἰουδαῖοι, οὐ δι' αὐτὸν πενθοῦμεν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν τόλμαν τῶν τολμησάντων. Ἀνέστη γὰρ ἐκ νεκρῶν, ἔστη ἐν δόξῃ, ἐν ᾗ προϋπῆρχε παρὰ τῷ Πατρὶ, συνὼν ἦν πρὸς τὸν Πατέρα ὅθεν καὶ ἦν. Οὐκ ἔστι πένθους ἀξία ἡ νίκη τοῦ Ἰησοῦ. Ἀλλὰ νηστεύσωμεν ἑαυτῶν κηδόμενοι, καὶ κοινωνοὶ σπεύδοντες αὐτοῦ εἶναι τῶν παθημάτων· ὥσπερ ἀξίαν πράττωμεν, ἀδελφοί.","english":"it is fitting for each to devote oneself to fasts. And with the fasts, let prayer also be joined: fasting urges, but prayer has its moment. Fast because you have not sinned, and fast because you have sinned, and again fast so that you may not sin, and so that what you have received may remain. For such are the kinds of fasting. Has someone sinned and fasted, punishing himself, in order to escape punishment? Let us also fast, beloved, so that desires do not rise up against us. You see fasting following sin, that is, the turning back that occurs after sin in terms of punishment. But fasting preceded sins, not to remove the sin that has occurred, but to prevent the one to come. There is another kind of fasting: one who seeks to receive law from law. For the one who asks for law fasts, as Moses fasted and received law. Again, another fasts so that he may not fail in those things of which he was deemed worthy. And the Church fasts together, for grace and for the economy. It recognizes Jesus in deed, crucified together with the crucified, suffering together with the Lord, so that it may also be glorified together, not that we may mourn the Lord; for the Son of the living One lives; but that we may confess the grace of the economy. Even if we mourn that the Jews crucified him, we do not mourn for his sake, but for the audacity of those who dared. For he rose from the dead, he stood in glory, in which he pre-existed with the Father, he was with the Father from where he also was. The victory of Jesus is not worthy of mourning. But let us fast, caring for ourselves, and hastening to be sharers in his sufferings; let us do what is worthy, brothers.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"νηστεία","severity":"info","text":"The Greek term νηστεία (fasting) is used here in multiple senses: as penitential discipline, as preparation for receiving divine gifts, and as communal liturgical practice. Chrysostom distinguishes these kinds without a single technical definition.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Μωϋσῆς ἐνήστευσε, καὶ ἔλαβε νόμον","severity":"info","text":"This alludes to Exodus 34:28, where Moses fasted forty days on Sinai before receiving the Law. Chrysostom uses the example to illustrate fasting as a means of seeking divine law.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"τὸν Ἰησοῦν ἐπιγινώσκει πράγματι, τῷ σταυρωθέντι συνεσταυρωμένη","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom describes the Church as 'crucified together with the crucified,' a metaphor for liturgical participation in Christ's passion. This reflects Antiochene emphasis on typological identification with the events of salvation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Τοσαῦτα γὰρ εἴδη νηστείας","severity":"info","text":"This phrase introduces a catalogue of fasting types: penitential, preventive, preparatory (Mosaic), preservative, and ecclesial. The list structures the passage as a systematic exposition of fasting's purposes.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"ἡ εὐχὴ δὲ καιρὸν ἔχει","severity":"info","text":"The pairing of fasting with prayer echoes a common ascetic topos found in early monastic literature, e.g., the Apophthegmata Patrum, where fasting and prayer are complementary disciplines for spiritual progress.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"ὁ ζητῶν νόμον νόμου λαβεῖν","severity":"caution","text":"The phrase 'seeking to receive law from law' is ambiguous: it may refer to a legal petition within ecclesiastical or civil law, or to a spiritual seeking of divine law. The translation 'law from law' obscures the possible double meaning.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'νόμον νόμου λαβεῖν' could mean receiving a (divine) law from (human) law, or receiving a law from the Law (i.e., Scripture). The exact referent is unclear.","The clause 'ἵνα διαμείνῃ ἃ ἔλαβες' is elliptical: 'what you have received' may refer to baptismal grace, the Eucharist, or spiritual gifts; Chrysostom does not specify."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":15,"ref":"p15","source":"Τίς κατηξίωσε κοινωνὸς εἶναι τῶν παθημάτων Χριστοῦ; Μέγα τὸ μυστήριον. Σπεύσωμεν ἐπὶ τὰ ἀγαθὰ, καὶ μὴ ἐκκλίνωμεν εἰς κακά. Ἰησοῦς ἐσταύρωται, ὁ τοῦ ἀθανάτου Υἱός· ἐκρέμασε τὸ σῶμα ἐπὶ τὸν σταυρὸν, οὐ δι' ἑαυτὸν, ἀλλὰ διὰ σέ. Ἔφαγες σὺ ἀπὸ τοῦ ξύλου, νηστεύει αὐτὸς ἐπὶ τοῦ ξύλου· ἔλαβες ἐξ ὧν οὐκ ὤφειλέ σοι· ἐπέθηκεν αὐτὸς σῶμα ἀνθ' ὧν ἔλαβες. Ἐπιθυμίαν ἡττήθης χαλεπήν· πίνει αὐτὸς ὄξος ἀντὶ ἡδονῆς. Μὴ ἀλλότριος γένῃ τῆς βασιλείας. Ἔγνως ὅτι ἐσταύρωται, ἔγνως ὅτι ὑπὲρ σοῦ ἀπέθανεν, ὁμολόγει ὅτι ζῇ. Ὑπὲρ ζῶντος ποίει τὴν ὁμολογίαν, μαρτύρει τῷ μαρτυρήσαντι, ἀπόθανον ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἀποθανόντος. Εἰ δὲ οὕτω ἀπαιτεῖ θάνατον, μὴ ἀποπηδήσῃς· μικρός ἐστιν ὁ τῆς νηστείας θάνατος. Οὐκ ἔχεις μεγάλα κατορθώματα; ὁ τῆς νηστείας θάνατος. Οὐκ ἔχεις μεγάλα κατορθώματα; χάρισαι αὐτῷ τὰ μικρά· μετ' εὐφροσύνης πρόσδραμε αὐτῷ ἐπὶ ἑορτὰς, μετὰ χαρᾶς δέξαι τὴν νηστείαν. Τρυφή ἐστιν ἡ νηστεία πνευματική. Ἀλλὰ τάχα εἰκῆ κράζω· ὥσπερ γὰρ ἤλλαξεν ὁ χρόνος τὰ χρώματα τῶν σπευδόντων ἐπὶ τράπεζαν. Τοῦτο δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀγαπώντων νηστείαν ἐν ᾗ ἑστήκασιν. Οὐ γὰρ ἦν ἀκόλουθον ἄχθεσθαι ὑμᾶς τὸ τῆς τραπέζης Κυρίου ἀποσπᾶσθαι. Παρὰ προσδοκίαν δὲ ἀπήντησεν ἡ θέα, ὡς ἀπήντησε τοῦ λύχνου ἡ αὐγή. Ἠλέγχθη ἡ λανθάνουσα συνείδησις, ὅτι βίᾳ κατεχόμεθα· καὶ οὐκ ἄρα ἑστήκαμεν. Ἕως πότε τὴν ἀλήθειαν παίζομεν· ἕως πότε τὰ τοῦ Κυρίου πραγματευόμεθα; ἢ οὐκ ἤκουσας τοῦ ψαλμοῦ λέγοντος, ἅμα δὲ αὐτοῦ ὑπακούοντος, Εἰ ἀλήθειαν λαλεῖτε, εὐ θείας κρίνατε; Εἰ ἀληθεύεις ἐπὶ τὴν νηστείαν, χαρὰν ἔχε ἐπὶ τὴν νηστείαν·","english":"Who has been deemed worthy to be a partaker of the sufferings of Christ? Great is the mystery. Let us hasten toward good things, and not turn aside to evils. Jesus was crucified, the Son of the immortal one; he hung his body upon the cross, not for himself, but for you. You ate from the tree; he fasts upon the tree. You took what was not owed to you; he placed his body in exchange for what you took. You were overcome by a grievous desire; he drinks vinegar instead of pleasure. Do not become a stranger to the kingdom. You know that he was crucified; you know that he died for you; confess that he lives. Make your confession on behalf of the living one; bear witness to the one who bore witness; die for the one who died. But if death is required in this way, do not shrink back; the death of fasting is small. Do you not have great achievements? The death of fasting is small. Do you not have great achievements? Grant him the small ones; run to him with joy for the feasts; receive fasting with gladness. Fasting is spiritual delight. But perhaps I cry out in vain; for just as time has changed the colors of those hastening to the table. This is not the mark of those who love the fast in which they stand. For it was not fitting that you should be distressed at being drawn away from the Lord’s table. But contrary to expectation, the sight has met us, as the light of the lamp met us. The hidden conscience has been exposed, that we are held by force; and so we do not stand. How long do we play with the truth? How long do we traffic in the Lord’s affairs? Or did you not hear the psalm saying, while you yourself were listening to it, “If you speak the truth, judge rightly”? If you are truthful concerning fasting, have joy concerning fasting.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"Μέγα τὸ μυστήριον","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom declares the mystery of Christ's sufferings great, linking fasting to imitative participation in the Passion.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἰησοῦς ἐσταύρωται","severity":"info","text":"The crucifixion of Jesus is referenced, echoing the Passion narratives (e.g., Matthew 27:35; Mark 15:24).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Εἰ ἀλήθειαν λαλεῖτε, εὐ θείας κρίνατε","severity":"info","text":"This appears to be a loose citation of Psalm 57:14 (LXX) or a similar verse, urging truthful judgment.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"πίνει αὐτὸς ὄξος ἀντὶ ἡδονῆς","severity":"info","text":"The mention of vinegar (ὄξος) recalls the sour wine offered to Christ on the cross, a detail from the Passion accounts (cf. Matthew 27:48).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Εἰ δὲ οὕτω ἀπαιτεῖ θάνατον, μὴ ἀποπηδήσῃς· μικρός ἐστιν ὁ τῆς νηστείας θάνατος","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom contrasts the 'death of fasting' with Christ's death, urging steadfastness through a rhetorical parallel.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Τρυφή ἐστιν ἡ νηστεία πνευματική","severity":"info","text":"Fasting is paradoxically called 'spiritual delight' (τρυφή πνευματική), a theme later influential in ascetic literature.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Greek text has minor textual variants (e.g., 'εὐ θείας' may be a corruption of 'εὐθείας' or 'εὐθέας'), but the overall sense of truthful judgment is clear."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":16,"ref":"p16","source":"εἰ δὲ ἀλγεῖς, ἀδικεῖς σεαυτόν· εἰ πονεῖς, οὐκ εὐφραίνῃ· εἰ διώκεις ὡς ἀγαθῶν ἀπεστερημένος, οὐ τυγχάνεις ἀγαθῶν. Ἰησοῦς ἐσταύρωται διὰ σοῦ, καὶ οὐκ ἐδυσχέρανεν, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον καὶ ἔσπευδε τοῦ παθεῖν· σὺ δὲ οὐδὲ μικρὰν νηστείαν ἀνέχῃ διὰ τὴν σεαυτοῦ σωτηρίαν; Ὦ ἄνθρωπε, οὐκ ἔχω δύναμιν τοσαύτην, ἵνα κράζω, ὅσον ὀφείλω. Ἰησοῦς ἐσταύρωται· ὅρα, καὶ ὑπότυψον τὸ στῆθος, κατάγαγε δάκρυον ἀπὸ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν. Ἐσταύρωται διὰ σέ· συσταυρώθητι, συνδοξάσθητι ἐκείνῳ, οὐχ ἵνα ἀποθάνῃς, ἀλλ' ἵνα θανάτου ἀπαλλαγῇς. Αὕτη ἡ τῆς παρασκευῆς ἡμέρα, ἡμέρα ἐστὶν ἐν ᾗ ὁ σταυρὸς ὑπὲρ σοῦ ἐπάγη· καὶ σὺ συσταυρώθητι, συναπόθανε. Ὑπὲρ Θεοῦ γὰρ ὁ\n\nλόγος, Θεοῦ τοῦ γενομένου ἀνθρώπου διὰ σέ. Οὐκ αἰδούμεθα τὴν ἀξίαν; οὐκ ἐρυθριῶμεν τὸ πάθος;\n\nἙκάτερα ἐνθυμήθητι, ἄνθρωπε, τί ἦν, καὶ τί ἔπαθε. Κέκριται ὁ κριτὴς, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ θανάτῳ παραδέδοται· καὶ ὁ τρέφων πεινᾷ, καὶ ὁ ποτίζων διψᾷ, καὶ ὁ ἐν δόξῃ ἐν ἀτιμίᾳ, καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐπὶ ἡγεμόνος, καὶ ὁ Θεὸς ὑπὸ ἀνθρώπων κατακρίνεται· ὁ ἀληθεύων ἐν τῷ λέγειν. Ὁ Πατὴρ οὐδένα κρινεῖ, πᾶσαν δὲ τὴν κρίσιν δέδωκε τῷ Υἱῷ· ὁ πάντα κρίνων ὑπὸ τίνος κέκριται; Ἀρκεῖ σοι ταῦτ' ὦ ἄνθρωπε, εἰς ὑπόμνησιν νηστείας. Δεῖ γὰρ πρῶτον γνῶναι ἐν οἷς ἐσμεν, καὶ τότε διακρίνειν τὰ καθ' ἡμᾶς. Ὅταν ἀγαπήσωμεν τὴν νηστείαν καὶ διατεθῶμεν καλῶς τὰ περὶ αὐτῆς, ὥσπερ ἑορτῆς χορεύοντες, καὶ τὴν ἐν ταῖς νηστείαις ἑστίασιν, παραθησόμεθα τὰ μυστήρια τῆς νηστείας, τιμῶν ἐς τὴν τοῦ Κυρίου τράπεζαν, τοῖς δούλοις τοῦ Κυρίου, τὴν δόξαν τὴν πρὸ αἰώνων, τὴν οἰκονομίαν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐν ὑστέροις καιροῖς·","english":"But if you grieve, you wrong yourself; if you suffer, you do not rejoice; if you pursue as though deprived of good things, you do not attain good things. Jesus was crucified for you, and he did not complain, but rather even hastened to suffer; yet you cannot endure even a small fast for the sake of your own salvation? O man, I do not have such strength to cry out as I ought. Jesus was crucified; see, and strike your breast, bring down a tear from your eyes. He was crucified for you; be crucified with him, be glorified together with him, not that you may die, but that you may be delivered from death. This is the day of preparation, the day on which the cross was planted for you; and you, be crucified with him, die with him. For the word is about God, God who became man for you. Do we not feel shame at the dignity? Do we not blush at the passion?\n\nConsider both, O man, what he was, and what he suffered. The judge has been judged, and life has been handed over to death; and the one who nourishes hungers, and the one who gives drink thirsts, and the one in glory is in dishonor, and the king is before a governor, and God is condemned by men—the one who speaks truth. The Father will judge no one, but has given all judgment to the Son; he who judges all, by whom has he been judged? These things are enough for you, O man, as a reminder for fasting. For one must first know in what state we are, and then discern matters concerning ourselves. When we love fasting and are well disposed concerning it, as though dancing in a festival, and the feast during the fasts, we will set forth the mysteries of the fast, honoring the Lord’s table, to the servants of the Lord, the glory before the ages, his economy in later times.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"συσταυρώθητι","severity":"info","text":"The imperative 'be crucified with' (συσταυρώθητι) calls the hearer to spiritual identification with Christ's crucifixion, not literal death, as clarified by 'not that you may die, but that you may be delivered from death.'","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"κέκριται ὁ κριτὴς","severity":"info","text":"The paradox 'the judge has been judged' echoes the passion narrative where Christ, the judge of all, is himself judged by human authorities (cf. John 19:13-16; Matthew 27:11-26).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"ἡ τῆς παρασκευῆς ἡμέρα","severity":"info","text":"'Day of preparation' (παρασκευή) is the standard Greek term for Friday, the day of Christ's crucifixion, and also the day before the Sabbath in Jewish and Christian practice.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"ὁ τρέφων πεινᾷ, καὶ ὁ ποτίζων διψᾷ","severity":"info","text":"This series of antitheses (the nourisher hungers, the giver of drink thirsts) is a rhetorical figure common in Chrysostom's homilies, emphasizing the paradox of the incarnation and passion.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἀρκεῖ σοι ταῦτ'","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'These things are enough for you' marks a rhetorical conclusion to the preceding series of paradoxes, transitioning to an exhortation on fasting.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"τὴν οἰκονομίαν αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐν ὑστέροις καιροῖς","severity":"info","text":"The term 'economy' (οἰκονομία) refers to the divine plan of salvation, a key concept in patristic theology, especially in Chrysostom's works, describing God's arrangement of history for human redemption.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'ὁ ἀληθεύων ἐν τῷ λέγειν' is ambiguous: it may mean 'the one who speaks truth in his speech' or be a parenthetical comment on Christ's veracity; the translation takes it as a description of Christ."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":17,"ref":"p17","source":"τίς ἦν, καὶ τί γέγονε, πόθεν ἦλθε, καὶ ἐπὶ ποίῳ λαῷ ἐπεδήμησε, καὶ διὰ τί· ἵνα καὶ ὡς εὐφραινόμενοι καὶ εὐφραίνοντες, τὴν νηστείαν ταύτην διὰ παντὸς ἔχωμεν, τῷ Κυρίῳ τῆς νηστείας δουλεύοντες, πάντοθεν αὐτῷ εὐχαριστοῦντες, καὶ πάντοτε δοξάζοντες, πάντοτε ἀγαπῶντες τὸν ἀγαπήσαντα ἡμᾶς, καὶ προσκυνοῦντες τὸν ἀναδεξάμενον ἡμῶν τὰς ἁμαρτίας, καὶ ἀποθνήσκοντες ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἀποθανόντος, καὶ ἐλπίζοντες τοῦ συνδοξασθῆναι τῷ ἀτιμασθέντι. Τῷ δὲ παναγίῳ Πατρὶ, τῷ καταξιώσαντι ἡμᾶς τῆς παρούσης νηστείας, καὶ μὴ φεισαμένῳ τοῦ ἰδίου Υἱοῦ διὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν σωτηρίαν διὰ τοῦ ἐλθόντος τὸν ἀποστείλαντα δόξαν ἀναπέμψωμεν ἅμα τῷ ζωοποιῷ Πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.","english":"Who he was, and what he became, whence he came, and among what people he sojourned, and for what purpose—so that, rejoicing and giving joy, we may keep this fast continually, serving the Lord of the fast, thanking him from every side, and always glorifying, always loving the one who loved us, and worshiping the one who took upon himself our sins, and dying for the one who died, and hoping to be glorified together with the one who was dishonored. And to the all-holy Father, who deemed us worthy of the present fast and did not spare his own Son for the sake of our salvation, through the one who came, let us send up glory together with the life-giving Spirit, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"τίς ἦν, καὶ τί γέγονε, πόθεν ἦλθε, καὶ ἐπὶ ποίῳ λαῷ ἐπεδήμησε, καὶ διὰ τί","severity":"info","text":"This series of rhetorical questions forms a catechetical summary of Christ's identity and mission, typical of Chrysostom's homiletic conclusions.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"τῷ Κυρίῳ τῆς νηστείας","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'Lord of the fast' is unusual; it likely refers to Christ as the object of ascetic devotion, not a title for a monastic superior.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"ἀποθνήσκοντες ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἀποθανόντος","severity":"info","text":"Echoes Pauline language of imitatio Christi and martyrdom (cf. Rom 6:3-5; 1 Cor 11:24-25), urging the faithful to 'die for the one who died'.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"τῷ δὲ παναγίῳ Πατρὶ","severity":"info","text":"The doxology to the 'all-holy Father' and the 'life-giving Spirit' reflects late 4th-century Nicene trinitarian language, common in Chrysostom's liturgical contexts.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων","severity":"info","text":"This concluding formula, 'now and always, and unto the ages of ages', is a standard liturgical close, indicating the passage was used in a worship setting.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἀμήν","severity":"caution","text":"The 'Amen' may be a later scribal addition; it is not always original to Chrysostom's homilies but was commonly appended in manuscript transmission.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'τῷ Κυρίῳ τῆς νηστείας' could be interpreted as a reference to Christ or to a monastic superior; the reading as Christ is preferred given the context of imitatio Christi.","The doxology's trinitarian structure may reflect later liturgical standardization rather than Chrysostom's original wording."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]}]}