{"slug":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-illud-exiit-qui-seminat","id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-illud-exiit-qui-seminat","title":"In illud Exiit qui seminat","title_source":"In illud Exiit qui seminat","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":"2026-11-15T06:50:10Z","cost_usd":0.005091},"source":{"registry_id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-illud-exiit-qui-seminat","work_id":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-illud-exiit-qui-seminat","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/In%20illud%20Exiit%20qui%20seminat.pdf"},"stats":{"passages":9,"english_words":2246,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":9501,"commentary_units":52,"commentary_kinds":8,"derived_notes":0,"ambiguities":11,"work_notes":5,"external_links":3,"timeline":6},"summary":{"work":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-illud-exiit-qui-seminat","abstract":"This homily by John Chrysostom, titled 'In illud Exiit qui seminat' (On the text 'The sower went out'), survives in a single manuscript tradition with no independent witnesses. Its dating is uncertain but generally placed in Chrysostom's Antiochene period (c. 386–397) based on style and content. The work is not included in standard Byzantine liturgical cycles, suggesting limited liturgical use. The Greek text from the khazarzar source has not been collated against a critical edition, and no modern critical edition or translation exists. The homily uses a scriptural lemma (Mark 4:3 or parallel) and draws on contemporary agricultural practices, transitioning from agricultural allegory to ecclesiological interpretation.","historical_context":"The homily is attributed to John Chrysostom (c. 347–407), a prominent Church Father and preacher in Antioch and later Constantinople. It is generally dated to his Antiochene period (c. 386–397), when he served as a presbyter and delivered many exegetical homilies. The work survives only in a single manuscript tradition, with no independent witnesses to verify the text, indicating a narrow transmission. The homily's genre is a homily or exegetical sermon, likely delivered to a Christian community in Antioch. Its absence from standard Byzantine liturgical cycles suggests it was not widely used in later liturgy. The text reflects late antique agricultural practices in the eastern Mediterranean, such as plowing with oxen and threats from wind, rust, locusts, and hail. The homily relates to the Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:3-8) and Old Testament agricultural imagery (e.g., Joel 1:4, Amos 4:9).","significance":"This homily provides insight into Chrysostom's exegetical method and his use of agricultural imagery to convey spiritual lessons. It illustrates the transition from literal scriptural interpretation to allegorical and ecclesiological application, a common homiletic device. The work's survival in a single manuscript tradition highlights the fragility of textual transmission for some patristic works. Its limited liturgical use suggests it may have been a occasional or non-lectionary sermon, offering a window into the diversity of early Christian preaching.","timeline":[{"date":"c. 347","event":"Birth of John Chrysostom in Antioch."},{"date":"c. 386–397","event":"Probable composition of the homily during Chrysostom's Antiochene period."},{"date":"c. 397","event":"Chrysostom becomes Archbishop of Constantinople."},{"date":"c. 407","event":"Death of John Chrysostom."},{"date":"Medieval period","event":"Transmission of the homily in a single manuscript tradition."},{"date":"Modern","event":"Publication of the Greek text in the khazarzar source, not collated against a critical edition."}],"relations":[{"work":"Gospel of Mark","relation":"The homily is based on a scriptural lemma from Mark 4:3 or a parallel, referencing the Parable of the Sower.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Old Testament (Joel 1:4, Amos 4:9)","relation":"The homily echoes agricultural imagery from these prophetic books.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Other Chrysostom homilies","relation":"The homily shares stylistic and thematic features with Chrysostom's Antiochene exegetical sermons.","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Patristic homiletic tradition","relation":"The work exemplifies the transition from literal to allegorical interpretation common in early Christian preaching.","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[{"key":"wikipedia:John Chrysostom","label":"John Chrysostom","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Chrysostom","reason":"Provides background on the author and his historical context."},{"key":"wikipedia:Parable of the Sower","label":"Parable of the Sower","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parable_of_the_Sower","reason":"The scriptural basis for the homily."},{"key":"wikipedia:Antiochene School","label":"Antiochene School","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_of_Antioch","reason":"Context for Chrysostom's exegetical approach."}],"cautions":["The dating of the homily is uncertain; it is generally placed in Chrysostom's Antiochene period (c. 386–397) based on style and content, but no firm evidence exists.","The work survives only in a single manuscript tradition, with no independent witnesses to verify the text.","The Greek text in the khazarzar source has not been collated against a critical edition; variants may exist.","No modern critical edition or translation of this work is available; the present edition relies on a single early printed source.","The verb 'ἐγκοιμίσαντα' (putting to rest) is rare and may be a scribal error or hapax legomenon."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.000513,"generated":"2026-11-15T06:50:09Z"},"links":[{"kind":"source","label":"Patrologia Graeca text (khazarzar mirror)","url":"http://khazarzar.skeptik.net/pgm/PG_Migne/John%20Chrysostom_PG%2047-64/In%20illud%20Exiit%20qui%20seminat.pdf"}],"checks":{"work":"khazarzar-john-chrysostom-in-illud-exiit-qui-seminat","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":9,"translated":9,"commentary_passages":9,"commentary_units":52,"english_words":2246,"source_letters":9501,"commentary_kinds":8},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The work survives only in a single manuscript tradition, with no independent witnesses to verify the text.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The dating of this homily is uncertain; it is generally placed in Chrysostom's Antiochene period (c. 386–397) based on style and content.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This homily is not included in the standard liturgical cycles of the Byzantine Church, suggesting limited liturgical use.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The Greek text in the source edition (khazarzar) has not been collated against the critical edition; variants may exist.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"No modern critical edition or translation of this work is available; the present edition relies on a single early printed source.","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: 9 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":9},"term_index":[],"citations":{},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"Εἰς τὸ, Ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπεῖραι τὸν σπόρον αὑτοῦ. Ἡ παρθένος ἄρουρα ὑπὸ ἐμπείρων γεωργῶν τῇ τῶν βοῶν συνεργείᾳ τοῖς ἀρότροις αὐλακισθεῖσα, δέχεται τὰ σπέρματα, καὶ ταῖς βώλοις περιπτύξασα, πρῶτον βλαστάνει τὴν πόαν, εἶτα μηκύνει τὸν στάχυν, εἶτα πλήρη ἐν τῷ στάχυϊ τοῦ σίτου τὸν κόκκον προβάλλεται. Τότε οἱ γεωργοὶ λαμπρὸν ὁρῶντες τῶν ἀσταχύων τὸ λήϊον, τῶν οἰκείων πόνων τὰς ἐλπίδας σεμνύνουσι, τὸν Θεὸν δὲ ἱκετεύειν εἰλικρινῶς σπεύδουσιν, ἵνα τῶν φαινομένων ἀγαθῶν τοὺς καρποὺς ἀβλαβεῖς διασώσῃ. Πολλάκις γὰρ ἐγγιζούσης τῆς τοῦ θέρους ἀκμῆς, καὶ εὐλήπτου τῆς ἐλπίδος τυγχανούσης, καὶ περιχαροῦς ὄντος τοῦ γεωργοῦ, ἢ θερμὸς ἐπιπνεύσας τὸν ἄσταχυν ἐλίκμησεν, ἢ ἐρυσίβη κατέσηψεν, ἢ βροῦχος κατέφαγεν, ἢ χάλαζα κατέξανε, καὶ ἄωρον τῆς ἐλπίδος τὸ τέλος ἐμάρανεν· ὡς τὸν γεωργὸν ὑπὸ πολλῆς ἀθυμίας πιασθέντα, τὴν δρεπάνην τῇ σκηνῇ ἐγκοιμίσαντα, τῷ ἀώρῳ τέλει τοῦ θέρους ἑαυτὸν συμμαραίνειν τῇ λύπῃ.","english":"On the phrase, \"The sower went out to sow his seed.\" The virgin soil, furrowed by skilled farmers with the cooperation of oxen and plows, receives the seeds, and enfolding them in clods, first sprouts the grass, then lengthens the ear, then puts forth the full grain in the ear. Then the farmers, seeing the bright crop of ears, exalt the hopes of their own labors, and hasten to entreat God sincerely that he preserve the fruits of the visible goods unharmed. For often, when the height of harvest approaches, and the hope is readily grasped, and the farmer is overjoyed, either a hot wind blowing has winnowed the ear, or rust has rotted it, or a locust has devoured it, or hail has shattered it, and has withered the untimely end of hope; so that the farmer, seized by great despondency, putting the sickle to rest in his hut, withers himself with grief at the untimely end of the harvest.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"Εἰς τὸ, Ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπεῖραι τὸν σπόρον αὑτοῦ","severity":"info","text":"The opening phrase is a lemma, a scriptural citation (Mark 4:3 or a parallel) that Chrysostom uses as the title of his homily.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"παρθένος ἄρουρα","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'virgin soil' (παρθένος ἄρουρα) is a classical agricultural metaphor, not a biblical term, emphasizing the land's untilled state before cultivation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"γεωργοί","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom draws on contemporary agricultural practices: plowing with oxen, sowing, and the threats of wind, rust, locusts, and hail, reflecting the realities of late antique farming in the eastern Mediterranean.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The passage follows a narrative structure: it begins with a scriptural lemma, then describes the agricultural process, the farmer's hope, and the potential disasters, ending with the farmer's despondency.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The description of the sower and the threats to the harvest echoes the Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:3-8) and the agricultural imagery in the Old Testament (e.g., Joel 1:4, Amos 4:9).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"ἐγκοιμίσαντα","severity":"caution","text":"The verb 'ἐγκοιμίσαντα' (putting to rest) is rare; it may be a scribal error or a hapax legomenon, but the context clearly indicates the farmer lays aside the sickle.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The lemma 'Εἰς τὸ, Ἐξῆλθεν...' is a direct citation from Mark 4:3, but the exact wording may vary in manuscript traditions; the text assumes the standard form.","The phrase 'παρθένος ἄρουρα' could be interpreted as a metaphor for the Virgin Mary in later exegesis, but here it is purely agricultural."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"Ὁπόταν δὲ ἡ τῶν ἀέρων εὐκρασία λαμπρὸν καὶ πέπειρον τὸν στάχυν ἀπεργάσηται, καὶ οἷον ἐν εἰκόνι γερόντων τὸ λήϊον λευκανίζον κεκύρτωται, τὴν τοῦ θέρους τομὴν ἀπεκδεχόμενον, τότε ἄγροικοι, καὶ παλάμαι σὺν δρεπάνοις ὀξέσιν ἁπλωθεῖσαι, πόνοις πόνους προσάγουσι, καὶ τὸν πόθον προσκοιμίζουσιν, αὐτῷ τῷ τέλει τὰς ἐλπίδας χορτάζοντες. Τότε τῶν ἄλλων ζώων οἴκαδε ἡσυχαζόντων, μόνος ὁ βοῦς ἱλαρῷ τῷ βήματι, βλοσυρῷ τῷ βλέμματι ἐπὶ τὴν ἅλω πορεύεται. Καὶ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα ζῶα, αἶγες καὶ χοῖροι καὶ πρόβατα ὅσα τὸν ἑαυτῶν αὐχένα τῷ ζυγῷ τοῦ ἀρότρου οὐχ ὑπέταξαν, οἰκείᾳ συνειδήσει ἀγχόμενα, δουλικαῖς προσόδοις τῇ ἅλῳ προσεγγίζοντα, τῶν ἀσταχύων τὸ δράγμα λῃστεύουσι· μόνος δὲ ὁ βοῦς ἐλευθέραν τὴν γλῶσσαν ἁπλώσας, τῶν οἰκείων πόνων τοὺς καρποὺς θαρσαλέως ἀρύεται. Εἶδες ἐκεῖ τοὺς δρεπανιστὰς, εἶδες ἐκεῖ τὴν σταχυοφόρον ἄρουραν, τὴν ἅλω, τὸν βοῦν· μετάβα μοι ἐκεῖθεν τῷ λόγῳ ἐπὶ τὴν ἐκκλησιαστικὴν εὐταξίαν, καὶ ὄψει τῶν προειρημένων τὴν γεωργίαν τῷ μυστηρίῳ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας. Ἐξῆλθε, φησὶν, ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπεῖραι. Τοῦτο γὰρ ἀρτίως ἠκούσαμεν ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ. Ἐξῆλθε, τίς; Χριστὸς, ἀπ' οὐρανοῦ εἰς τὸν κόσμον παραγενόμενος. Σπορεὺς γὰρ ὁ Χριστὸς, σπέρμα ὁ θεῖος λόγος, ἄρουρα ἡ ἀνθρωπότης, βόες οἱ ἀπόστολοι, ἄροτρον ὁ σταυρὸς, ζυγὸς ἡ ὁμόνοια, ζεύγλη ἡ περισφίγγουσα τοὺς τῶν ἀποστόλων αὐχένας γλυκεῖα ἀγάπη. Ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπεῖραι. Ἐξῆλθεν ὁ Χριστὸς, οὐχ ἵνα θερίσῃ, ἀλλ' ἵνα σπείρῃ· οὔπω γὰρ ἦν τὰ τῆς ἀναστάσεως σπέρματα ἐν ταῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων καρδίαις κατεσπαρμένα.","english":"When the favorable temperature of the air produces a bright and ripe ear of grain, and the field, like an image of old age, is bent over, whitening, awaiting the harvest cut, then the farmers, and hands with sharp sickles spread out, bring labors upon labors, and lull their desire to rest, satisfying their hopes with the very end. Then, while the other animals rest at home, the ox alone goes to the threshing floor with a cheerful step and a fierce look. And the other animals—goats, pigs, and sheep, all those that did not submit their own neck to the yoke of the plow—oppressed by their own conscience, approaching the threshing floor with slavish gains, plunder the sheaf of the ears of grain. But the ox alone, stretching out its tongue freely, confidently draws the fruits of its own labors. You saw there the reapers, you saw there the grain-bearing field, the threshing floor, the ox. Transfer from there with my word to the ecclesiastical order, and you will see the agriculture of the aforementioned things in the mystery of the Church. \"The sower went out to sow,\" it says. For we have just heard this in the Gospel. He went out. Who? Christ, having come from heaven into the world. For the sower is Christ, the seed is the divine word, the field is humanity, the oxen are the apostles, the plow is the cross, the yoke is harmony, the collar is the sweet love that binds the necks of the apostles. The sower went out to sow. Christ went out, not to reap, but to sow; for the seeds of the resurrection were not yet sown in the hearts of men.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"μετάβα μοι ἐκεῖθεν τῷ λόγῳ ἐπὶ τὴν ἐκκλησιαστικὴν εὐταξίαν","severity":"info","text":"This sentence marks the transition from the agricultural allegory to its ecclesiological interpretation, a common homiletic device in Chrysostom.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"ἅλως","severity":"info","text":"The threshing floor (ἅλως) is a key image in the allegory, representing the Church where the harvest of souls is gathered and processed.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐξῆλθε, φησὶν, ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπεῖραι","severity":"info","text":"This phrase quotes the Gospel reading for the homily, likely Matthew 13:3 or a parallel, though the exact verse is not specified in the text.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"βόες οἱ ἀπόστολοι","severity":"info","text":"The identification of apostles as oxen is a patristic trope, emphasizing their labor in plowing the field of humanity with the cross as plow.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"ζυγὸς ἡ ὁμόνοια, ζεύγλη ἡ περισφίγγουσα ... γλυκεῖα ἀγάπη","severity":"info","text":"This allegorical chain (yoke = harmony, collar = sweet love) reflects Chrysostom's emphasis on unity and love in the apostolic mission, a theme echoed in later Byzantine exegesis.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"οἷον ἐν εἰκόνι γερόντων τὸ λήϊον λευκανίζον κεκύρτωται","severity":"caution","text":"The phrase 'like an image of old age' is ambiguous: it may describe the bent-over appearance of ripe grain or a metaphorical comparison to elderly stooping, but the exact referent is unclear.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'οἷον ἐν εἰκόνι γερόντων' could be read as a simile for the grain's bent shape or as a reference to an actual image of old men; the translation opts for the former.","The identity of the Gospel passage quoted ('Ἐξῆλθε, φησὶν, ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπεῖραι') is not explicitly given; it is assumed to be from Matthew 13, but the exact verse is uncertain."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":3,"ref":"p3","source":"Ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπεῖραι, οὐ σῖτον, οὐ κριθὰς, οὐ κέγχρον, οὐδ' ἄλλο τι τῶν γηΐνων, ἀλλὰ πίστιν εἰς Πατέρα καὶ Υἱὸν καὶ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα, ἐλπίδα ἀναστάσεως, ἀγάπην εἰς Θεὸν καὶ ἀνθρώπους ἀνυπόκριτον καὶ ἀδιάκριτον. Ἐξῆλθε σπείρων Χριστὸς ἐκ πατρικῶν λαγόνων, ὁ ὢν ἐν τοῖς κόλποις τοῦ Πατρὸς, καὶ ἧκε πρὸς ἡμᾶς, καθὼς αὐτὸς φάσκων λέγει· Ἐγὼ ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐξῆλθον καὶ ἥκω. Ἀλλ' ἐξῆλθεν ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς αὐτοῦ μὲν μὴ χωριζόμενος, μεθ' ἡμῶν δὲ τυγχάνων. Ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων, ἵνα τὰ ὑπὸ τοῦ διαβόλου ἐπισπαρέντα κακῶς ἐν ταῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ψυχαῖς ζιζάνια ἐκριζώσῃ. Πᾶσα γὰρ φυτεία, φησὶν, ἣν οὐκ ἐφύτευσεν ὁ Πατήρ μου ὁ οὐράνιος, ἐκριζωθήσεται.\n\nἘξῆλθεν ὁ ἥλιος τῆς δικαιοσύνης, ἵνα τὰς φεγγοβόλους αὐτοῦ ἀκτῖνας τῆς θεότητος ἐν ταῖς τῶν ἐσκοτισμένων ἀνθρώπων καρδίαις ἐῤῥάνῃ. Ἐξῆλθεν ὁ ποιμὴν τῶν προβάτων, ἵνα τὸ ἅλας τῆς εὐσεβείας σπείρας, νόστιμον τὸν χόρτον τοῦ νομικοῦ\n\nγράμματος τοῖς προβάτοις ἀρτύσῃ· ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων, ἔχων τὰ δέκα ζεύγη τῶν βοῶν, ἵνα ποιήσῃ τὸ κεράμιον τὸ ἓν, καὶ σπείρας ἀρτάβας ἓξ, ποιήσῃ μέτρα τρία. Λάλει νῦν, Ἠσαΐα, μὴ σιώπα. Οὗ γὰρ ἐργῶνται δέκα ζεύγη βοῶν, ποιήσει κεράμιον ἕν. Δέκα ζεύγη βοῶν εἴκοσι βόες εἰσί· δέκα ζεύγη βοῶν λογικὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ οἱ ἀπόστολοι τυγχάνουσιν οἱ δώδεκα, καὶ ἑπτὰ οὓς ἐξελέξαντο οἱ ἀπόστολοι. Τίνας τούτους; Στέφανον, Φίλιππον, Πρόχορον, Νικάνορα, Τίμωνα, καὶ Παρμενᾶν, καὶ Νικόλαον προσήλυτον Ἀντιοχέα· καὶ τὸν ἀπὸ Ἱερουσαλὴμ μέχρι τοῦ Ἰλλυρικοῦ γεωργήσαντα τὸν ἀπόστολον.","english":"The sower went out to sow, not wheat, not barley, not millet, nor any other earthly thing, but faith in Father and Son and Holy Spirit, hope of resurrection, love for God and for men unfeigned and undiscriminating. Christ went out sowing from the Father’s loins, he who is in the bosom of the Father, and came to us, as he himself declares, saying: I came out from the Father and I am come. But he came out from his Father not being separated from him, while being with us. The sower went out to root out the tares which the devil had wickedly sown in the souls of men. For every plant, he says, which my heavenly Father did not plant, shall be rooted out.\n\nThe sun of righteousness went out to sprinkle his radiant beams of divinity in the hearts of darkened men. The shepherd of the sheep went out to sow the salt of piety, seasoning the grass of the legal letter for the sheep to make it savory. The sower went out, having the ten yoke of oxen, to make the one jar, and having sown six artabas, to make three measures. Speak now, Isaiah, do not be silent. For where ten yoke of oxen labor, they will make one jar. Ten yoke of oxen are twenty oxen. Ten yoke of oxen are the rational oxen of Christ, the apostles, who are the twelve, and the seven whom the apostles chose. Who are these? Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch, and the apostle who labored from Jerusalem as far as Illyricum.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"πίστιν εἰς Πατέρα καὶ Υἱὸν καὶ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα","severity":"info","text":"The sower sows faith in the Trinity, hope of resurrection, and unfeigned love for God and humanity, replacing earthly crops with spiritual virtues.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐγὼ ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐξῆλθον καὶ ἥκω","severity":"info","text":"This saying echoes John 16:28, where Christ states his departure from the Father to come into the world, adapted here to emphasize his continued presence with the Father.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Πᾶσα γὰρ φυτεία, φησὶν, ἣν οὐκ ἐφύτευσεν ὁ Πατήρ μου ὁ οὐράνιος, ἐκριζωθήσεται","severity":"info","text":"This is a paraphrase of Matthew 15:13, where Jesus says every plant not planted by the Father will be uprooted, applied here to the devil's tares in human souls.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"δέκα ζεύγη βοῶν","severity":"info","text":"The ten yoke of oxen (twenty oxen) are allegorized as the twelve apostles plus seven deacons (Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, Nicolaus) and Paul, who labored from Jerusalem to Illyricum.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Λάλει νῦν, Ἠσαΐα, μὴ σιώπα","severity":"info","text":"This invokes Isaiah as a prophetic witness, likely referencing Isaiah 28:24-25 or similar agricultural imagery, though the exact verse is not quoted.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"ἐῤῥάνῃ","severity":"caution","text":"The verb ἐῤῥάνῃ is a hapax or rare form; likely a scribal error for ἐῤῥάνῃ (to sprinkle) or a variant of ῥαίνω, but the intended reading is clear from context.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'ἐῤῥάνῃ' is uncertain; it is read as a form of ῥαίνω (to sprinkle) based on context. The list of seven deacons includes Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch, but the eighth figure (Paul) is introduced without explicit numbering, creating a slight ambiguity in the allegory of the ten yoke."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":4,"ref":"p4","source":"Ταῦτα δέκα ζεύγη τῶν βοῶν εἰς τὴν τῆς ἀνθρωπότητος ἄρουραν ἐποίησε τὴν εἰς τὸν Ἰησοῦν ὁμολογίαν, τὸν τὸ ἡμέτερον ὀστράκινον τοῦ σώματος σκεῦος ἐνδυσάμενον. Ὅτι δὲ κεράμιον λέγει τὴν ἔνσαρκον τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐπιδημίαν ὁ θεῖος λόγος, ἄκουε. Ὅτε ἔμελλεν ἀπέρχεσθαι ἐπὶ τὸ παθεῖν, λέγουσιν αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ· Ποῦ θέλεις ποιῶμεν τὸ πάσχα; Ὁ δὲ πρὸς αὐτοὺς, Ἀπέλθετε εἰς τήνδε τὴν πόλιν, καὶ ἀπαντήσει ὑμῖν ἄνθρωπος κεράμιον ὕδατος βαστάζων, καὶ εἴπατε αὐτῷ· Ὁ Διδάσκαλος ἡμῶν εἶπε· Πρὸς σὲ ποιῶ τὸ πάσχα. Καὶ δείξει ὑμῖν ἀνώγεον ἐστρωμένον, καὶ ἐκεῖ ἡμῖν ἑτοιμάσατε τὸ πάσχα. Τίς δέ ἐστιν ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ φέρων τὸ κεράμιον τοῦ ὕδατος, ἢ τίς ἡ πόλις εἰς ἣν αὐτοὺς πέμπει, ἢ τί τὸ ἀνώγεον τὸ ἐστρωμένον, ἀναγκαῖον ζητήσαντας ὑμᾶς καταμαθεῖν. Ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ βαστάζων τὸ κεράμιον τοῦ ὕδατος, Ἰωάννης ἐστὶν ὁ πρόδρομος τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καταγγέλλων τὸν Ἰησοῦν τὸν τὸ ἡμέτερον κεράμιον τοῦ σώματος ἐνδυσάμενον, ἔχοντα ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὸ τοῦ βαπτίσματος ὕδωρ. Ἀνώγεων δὲ ἐστρωμένον τὴν εἰς οὐρανοὺς μετὰ τὴν ἀνάστασιν τοῖς ἁγίοις ἀνάπαυσιν ἐσομένην λέγει. Ἀπέλθετε εἰς τήνδε τὴν πόλιν· μὴ εἰς τὴν παλαιὰν συναγωγὴν τῶν Ἰουδαίων, ὅπου ὁ παλαιὸς νόμος ἐν τοῖς παλαιοῖς ἀσκοῖς ὤξισεν· ὄξος γὰρ σὺν χολῇ μίξαντες προσήνεγκαν τῷ Κυρίῳ. ἀλλ' ἀπέλθετε εἰς τὴν καινὴν πόλιν, εἰς τὴν νέαν Ἱερουσαλὴμ, ὅπου ὁ νέος λόγος, ὅπου ἡ καινὴ τοῦ Πνεύματος χάρις ἐν τοῖς καινοῖς ἀσκοῖς τὸ τῆς πίστεως γλεῦκος πηγάζει· οὐχ ὅπου τὸ παλαιὸν πάσχα, ἀλλ' ὅπου ἡ καινὴ ἀνάστασις· οὐχ ὅπου ὁ ἀμνὸς θύεται, ἀλλ' ὅπου ὁ Χριστὸς ῥύεται·","english":"These ten yoke of oxen made into the field of humanity the confession of faith in Jesus, who put on our earthenware vessel of the body. That the divine word calls the incarnate sojourn of Christ a jar, listen. When he was about to go to his passion, his disciples said to him, \"Where do you want us to keep the Passover?\" He said to them, \"Go to such and such a city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you, and say to him, 'Our Teacher said, \"I keep the Passover with you.\"' And he will show you an upper room furnished, and there prepare the Passover for us.\" Who is the man carrying the jar of water, or what is the city to which he sends them, or what is the furnished upper room, it is necessary for you to seek and understand. The man carrying the jar of water is John the forerunner of Christ, proclaiming Jesus, who put on our earthenware jar of the body, having within himself the water of baptism. The furnished upper room means the rest that will be for the saints in heaven after the resurrection. \"Go to such and such a city\": not to the old synagogue of the Jews, where the old law in the old wineskins turned sour; for they mixed vinegar with gall and offered it to the Lord. But go to the new city, to the new Jerusalem, where the new word is, where the new grace of the Spirit in the new wineskins wells up the new wine of faith; not where the old Passover is, but where the new resurrection is; not where the lamb is sacrificed, but where Christ is delivered.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"κεράμιον","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom uses κεράμιον (earthenware jar) as a metaphor for Christ's incarnate body, linking it to the Gospel story of a man carrying a water jar.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἰωάννης ἐστὶν ὁ πρόδρομος","severity":"info","text":"The passage identifies the man with the water jar as John the Baptist, the forerunner, alluding to his role in proclaiming Christ's baptism and incarnation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"ἀνώγεον ἐστρωμένον","severity":"info","text":"The 'furnished upper room' is interpreted as the heavenly rest for saints after resurrection, a common early Christian typology for the eschatological banquet.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"ἀπέλθετε εἰς τήνδε τὴν πόλιν","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom contrasts the 'old city' (Jewish synagogue) with the 'new city' (New Jerusalem), structuring the allegory as a movement from old law to new grace.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"ὄξος γὰρ σὺν χολῇ μίξαντες","severity":"info","text":"The reference to vinegar mixed with gall offered to the Lord echoes patristic polemic against Jewish rejection of Christ, common in Chrysostom's anti-Jewish rhetoric.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the 'ten yoke of oxen' is not explained in this passage; it likely refers to a prior allegorical figure not preserved in the excerpt."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":5,"ref":"p5","source":"οὐχ ὅπου ἡ παλαιὰ ζύμη, ἀλλ' ὅπου ὁ οὐράνιος ἄρτος ἐπὶ σταυροῦ τελειοῦται. Οὗ γὰρ ἐργῶνται δέκα ζεύγη βοῶν, ποιήσει κεράμιον ἕν. Ὅπου ἐργάζονται δέκα ζεύγη βοῶν, τῶν ἀποστόλων (βουσὶ γὰρ ὡμοιώθησαν οἱ ἀπόστολοι, ὡς Παῦλος ἐμοὶ μαρτυρεῖ λέγων· Γέγραπται, φησὶν, ἐν τῷ νόμῳ, Οὐ φιμώσεις βοῦν ἀλοῶντα. Μὴ γὰρ, φησὶ, τῶν βοῶν μέλει τῷ Θεῷ; Ἀλλὰ δι' ἡμᾶς λέγει)· ὅπου οὖν ἐργάζονται ταῦτα τὰ δέκα ζεύγη τῶν βοῶν, ποιοῦσι τὴν εἰς τὸν Ἰησοῦν ὁμολογίαν, τὸ κεράμιον τοῦ σώματος ἡμῶν ἐνδυσάμενον. Καὶ ὁ σπείρων ἀρτάβας ἓξ, ποιήσει μόνον μέτρα τρία. Ἆρα τοσαύτη ἀφορία γεωργῶν γέγονε πώποτε, ὥστε σπαρῆναι ἀρτάβας ἓξ, ποιῆσαι μόνον μέτρα τρία; Ἀλλὰ ζητήσωμεν τὸν νοῦν τῆς Γραφῆς, ἀγαπητοὶ, εἰσέλθωμεν εἰς τὸ ἐνδότερον καταπέτασμα τοῦ γράμματος, καὶ ἀπαντήσει ἡμῖν ἡ θεία τοῦ Πνεύματος γνῶσις. Ὁ σπείρων ἀρτάβας ἓξ, ποιήσει μέτρα τρία. Ἓξ ἀρτάβαι εἰσὶν ἡ καινὴ Διαθήκη. τουτέστιν, οἱ τέσσαρες εὐαγγελισταὶ, καὶ Πράξεις, καὶ ἀπόστολοι.","english":"not where the old leaven is, but where the heavenly bread is perfected on the cross. For where ten yoke of oxen labor, they will make one jar. Where ten yoke of oxen labor—the apostles (for the apostles were likened to oxen, as Paul testifies to me, saying: It is written in the law, You shall not muzzle an ox threshing. For does God, he says, care about oxen? But he speaks for our sake)—where then these ten yoke of oxen labor, they make the confession into Jesus, who put on the jar of our body. And the sower of six artabae will make only three measures. Has there ever been such a dearth of farmers that six artabae sown produce only three measures? But let us seek the meaning of the Scripture, beloved; let us enter into the inner veil of the letter, and the divine knowledge of the Spirit will meet us. The sower of six artabae will make three measures. The six artabae are the New Testament: that is, the four evangelists, and Acts, and the Apostles.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Οὐ φιμώσεις βοῦν ἀλοῶντα","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom cites a law from the Old Testament (Deut 25:4 LXX) about not muzzling an ox while threshing, interpreting it allegorically for the apostles.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"ἀρτάβαι","severity":"info","text":"An artabē is a Persian-Egyptian dry measure, roughly 30–40 liters. Here it symbolizes the six books of the New Testament canon as seed.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The passage moves from a farming metaphor (oxen, jar, sowing) to a direct identification: six artabae = the four Gospels, Acts, and the Apostles (i.e., the epistles).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"καταπέτασμα","severity":"info","text":"The 'inner veil of the letter' echoes the temple veil (Exod 26:31–33 LXX) and is a common patristic image for moving from literal to spiritual exegesis.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom's enumeration of the New Testament as six books (four Gospels, Acts, Apostles) reflects an early stage of canon formation before the full 27-book list was universal.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"μέτρα τρία","severity":"caution","text":"The yield of three measures from six artabae is a 50% loss; the allegorical meaning (perhaps the Trinity or a reduced spiritual harvest) is not explicitly resolved by Chrysostom here.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of 'the Apostles' as a book (perhaps a collection of epistles) is not specified; Chrysostom may refer to the Pauline corpus or a broader apostolic collection."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":6,"ref":"p6","source":"Ταύτας τὰς ἓξ ἀρτάβας ὁ σπείρας ἔν τινι ψυχῇ, ποιεῖ τὰ τρία μέτρα τὴν εἰς Πατέρα καὶ Υἱὸν καὶ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα ὁμολογίαν. Ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπεῖραι, οὐ σίτον ἀρτοποιῶν, ἀλλὰ πίστιν ζωοποιῶν· οὐ κριθὰς εἰς τὰς τῶν ἀλόγων τροφὰς, ἀλλὰ τροφὰς εἰς τὰς τῶν ἀνθρώπων πνοάς· οὐ κέγχρον ὀρνεοτρόφον, ἀλλὰ θεῖον λόγον, διάπυρον, κόκκῳ σινάπεως παρεικαζόμενον, σφοδρῶς πρὸς εὐσέβειαν καὶ φρόνησιν τὰς ψυχὰς ἡμῶν ἐκθερμαίνοντα. Ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπεῖραι. καὶ ἃ μὲν ἔπεσε παρὰ τὴν ὁδὸν, καὶ κατεπατήθη, καὶ ἐλθόντα τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κατέφαγον αὐτά· ἄλλα ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ τὰς ἀκάνθας, καὶ συνέπνιξαν αἱ ἄκανθαι τὴν βλάστην· ἄλλα ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ τὰ πετρώδη, καὶ διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν ῥίζαν, φυὲν εὐθέως\n\nἐξηράνθη. Τὰ παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν εἰσιν Ἀρειανοὶ, τὰ ἀκανθώδη εἰσὶν Εὐνομιανοὶ, τὰ ἐπὶ τὰ πετρώδη εἰσὶ Μαραθώνιοι. Καὶ κατάμαθε ἀκριβῶς, ἀγαπητέ. Ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπεῖραι· καὶ ἃ μὲν ἔπεσε παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν. Οὐκ εἶπεν, Ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ, ἀλλὰ, Παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν. Τίς ἐστιν ἡ ὁδὸς, ἢ πάντως ὁ Χριστὸς ὁ λέγων, Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδὸς καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια; Τὰ μὲν οὖν παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν εἰσιν οἱ Ἀρειανοί. Οὐκ εἰσὶν ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ· οὐ γάρ εἰσιν ὀρθόδοξοι· οὐδὲ πάλιν πόῤῥω τῆς ὁδοῦ, ὡς Ἕλληνες ἢ Ἰουδαῖοι, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν· τουτέστι, παρὰ τὸν Χριστὸν, παρὰ τὴν πίστιν τὴν ὀρθήν. Τὸ ὁμολογεῖν αὐτοὺς Χριστὸν, τοῦτ' ἔστι τὸ ποιοῦν αὐτοὺς ἐγγὺς εἶναι τῆς ὁδοῦ· τὸ ἀρνεῖσθαι αὐτοὺς Χριστὸν εἶναι Υἱὸν Θεοῦ, τοῦτ' ἔστι τὸ κωλῦον αὐτοὺς μὴ εἶναι ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ.","english":"These six artabas the sower sows in some soul, producing the three measures: the confession into Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The sower went out to sow, not grain for making bread, but faith that gives life; not barley for the food of beasts, but food for the breath of men; not millet that feeds birds, but divine word, fiery, likened to a mustard seed, vehemently heating our souls toward piety and prudence. The sower went out to sow. And some fell by the road, and were trampled, and the birds of the sky came and ate them; others fell on thorns, and the thorns choked the sprout; others fell on rocky ground, and because it had no root, having sprung up it immediately withered. Those by the road are the Arians, the thorny ones are the Eunomians, those on the rocky ground are the Marathinians. And learn precisely, beloved. The sower went out to sow. And some fell by the road. He did not say, On the road, but, By the road. Who is the road, if not certainly Christ who says, I am the road and the truth? So those by the road are the Arians. They are not on the road, for they are not orthodox; nor again are they far from the road, as Greeks or Jews, but by the road; that is, beside Christ, beside the right faith. That they confess Christ, this is what makes them be near the road; that they deny Christ to be Son of God, this is what prevents them from being on the road.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"ἀρτάβας","severity":"info","text":"The Greek ἀρτάβας (artabas) is a Persian dry measure, used here metaphorically for the seed of faith. Chrysostom adapts the term from the parable's agricultural setting.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ ὁδὸς καὶ ἡ ἀλήθεια","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom quotes John 14:6, where Christ says 'I am the way and the truth,' to identify the 'road' in the parable with Christ himself.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἀρειανοί, Εὐνομιανοί, Μαραθώνιοι","severity":"info","text":"Arians, Eunomians, and Marathinians are fourth-century heretical groups. Arians denied the consubstantiality of the Son; Eunomians were radical Arians; Marathinians (followers of Marathus) held a modalist view.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom contrasts παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν ('by the road') with ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ ('on the road') to distinguish heretics who are near orthodoxy but not fully within it, from pagans and Jews who are far off.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπεῖραι","severity":"info","text":"This passage adapts the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:3-8) to a catechetical allegory, where the seed types represent heretical groups. Chrysostom's exegesis is typical of Antiochene typology.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the 'Marathinians' (Μαραθώνιοι) is uncertain; they may be a minor Arianizing group or a textual corruption for 'Macedonians' (semi-Arians)."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":7,"ref":"p7","source":"Διὰ τοῦτο κατελθόντα τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, τουτέστι, τὰ πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας συνάγουσι τὸν θεῖον λόγον ἐκ τῶν καρδιῶν αὐτῶν, καὶ παντελῶς κενοὺς πίστεως ὀρθῆς αὐτοὺς ἀποτελοῦσι.\n\nΤὰ δὲ ἀκανθώδη εἰσὶν Εὐνομιανοί· ἔχουσι γὰρ ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τὰς τῶν βλασφήμων ἀκάνθας· καὶ βλαστάνουσι μὲν τὴν πόαν τῆς πίστεως, οὐ μὴν τελεσιουργοῦσι τὸν ἄσταχυν τῆς ὁμολογίας. Τὸ ὁμολογεῖν αὐτοὺς Χριστὸν, τοῦτο ποιεῖ αὐτοὺς βλαστάνειν τὴν πόαν τῆς πίστεως· τὸ δὲ πάλιν λέγειν αὐτοὺς κτίσμα καὶ ποίημα, τοῦτ' ἔστι τὸ ποιοῦν αὐτῶν ἄωρον μαραίνεσθαι τὸν τῆς πίστεως στάχυν. Τοῖς γὰρ Ἑλληνικοῖς δόγμασι τῆς κτισματολατρείας νύττοντες καὶ συμπνίγοντες τὸν τῆς ἀληθείας λόγον, ἄκαρπον αὐτὸν καὶ ἄγονον παντελῶς πίστεως ὀρθῆς ἀποτελοῦσιν. Οἱ δὲ ἐπὶ τὰ πετρώδη, οὗτοί εἰσι Μαραθωνιανοί. Οὐκ εἶπεν ἡ Γραφὴ, ὅτι, Τὰ μὲν ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ τὴν πέτραν· ἡ γὰρ πέτρα ἦν ὁ Χριστός· ἀλλ' Ἐπὶ τὰ πετρώδη. Οὔτε γῆ εἰσιν ἀγαθή· οὐ γάρ εἰσιν ὀρθόδοξοι· οὔτε πέτρα εἰσὶν, ἵνα ὑπὸ διδασκάλων λαξευθέντες τὸν ναὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ οἰκοδομήσωσιν· ἀλλὰ τί; Πῶρός εἰσιν. Ἔστι τις λίθου φύσις, πῶρος ὀνόματι· οὔτε γῆ ἐστιν, οὔτε λίθος στερέμνιος· ἁπαλὸς μὲν παρὰ τὸν λίθον, σκληρὸς δὲ παρὰ τὴν γῆν. Τὸ ὁμολογεῖν αὐτοὺς τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ κατ' οὐσίαν ὅμοιον τῷ Πατρὶ, τοῦτ' ἔστι τὸ ποιοῦν αὐτοὺς ἁπαλωτέρους τυγχάνειν· τὸ ἀρνεῖσθαι αὐτοὺς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, τοῦτο αὐτῶν ποιεῖ τὰς καρδίας πεπωρωμένας τυγχάνειν. Οὔτε τοίνυν γῆ εἰσιν ἀγαθὴ, ἵνα βλαστήσωσιν εὐθαλῆ, καὶ κατακοσμῶνται πίστεως κόσμον·","english":"For this reason the birds of the sky, that is, the spiritual forces of wickedness, gather the divine word from their hearts and render them completely empty of right faith.\n\nThe thorny ones are the Eunomians; for they have within themselves the thorns of blasphemy; and they sprout the blade of faith, but they do not bring to completion the ear of confession. That they confess Christ causes them to sprout the blade of faith; but that they again call him a creature and a product causes the ear of their faith to wither prematurely. For by pricking and stifling the word of truth with the Hellenic doctrines of creature-worship, they render it completely fruitless and barren of right faith. Those upon the rocky places are the Marathonians. Scripture did not say, \"Some fell upon the rock\"; for the rock was Christ; but \"Upon the rocky places.\" They are neither good earth, for they are not orthodox; nor are they rock, so that they might be hewn by teachers to build the temple of God; but what? They are pumice. There is a certain nature of stone, called pumice; it is neither earth nor solid stone; soft compared to stone, but hard compared to earth. That they confess the Son of God to be of like essence with the Father causes them to be softer; that they deny the Holy Spirit causes their hearts to be hardened. Therefore they are neither good earth, so that they might sprout luxuriantly and be adorned with the ornament of faith.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'spiritual forces of wickedness' interprets the 'birds of the sky' as demonic powers, a common exegetical move in Chrysostom.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Εὐνομιανοί","severity":"info","text":"Eunomians were radical Arians who held the Son was unlike the Father in essence; Chrysostom attacks their Christology as 'thorns of blasphemy'.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Μαραθωνιανοί","severity":"info","text":"Marathonians (followers of Marathonius) denied the divinity of the Holy Spirit; Chrysostom likens them to pumice, neither solid rock nor fertile earth.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"πῶρος","severity":"info","text":"Pumice (πῶρος) is a porous stone; Chrysostom uses it to illustrate the Marathonians' mixed state—soft in confessing the Son, hard in denying the Spirit.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐπὶ τὰ πετρώδη","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom corrects a misreading of the parable (Matthew 13:5): 'upon the rocky places' not 'upon the rock', to avoid identifying the rock with Christ.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"κτισματολατρείας","severity":"caution","text":"The term 'creature-worship' (κτισματολατρείας) is a polemical coinage; its precise referent in Eunomian teaching is unclear from this passage alone.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the 'spiritual forces of wickedness' is not further specified; the reading takes them as demonic powers."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":8,"ref":"p8","source":"οὔτε πέτρα στερέμνιος, ἵνα ἄσειστον καὶ ἀσάλευτον τὴν εἰς τὸν Πατέρα καὶ Υἱὸν καὶ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα ὁμολογίαν φυλάττωσι. Καὶ δέχονται μὲν τὸν λόγον τοῦτον, καὶ βλαστάνουσιν· εὐθέως δὲ αὐτὸν ξηραίνουσι καὶ ψύγουσι, διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν αὐτοὺς τὰς ῥίζας τῶν λογισμῶν ἐν τῷ βάθει τοῦ πνεύματος. Οὗτοι κἂν ὁμολογῶσι τὸν Χριστὸν εἶναι Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἀρνούμενοι, οὐδὲ τὸν Υἱὸν ἔχουσι, τοῦ ἀποστόλου μοι μαρτυροῦντος καὶ λέγοντος· Εἴ τις πνεῦμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ οὐκ ἔχει, οὗτος οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτοῦ. Τὰ ἄλλα, φησὶν, ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἀγαθὴν, καὶ ἐδίδου καρπόν, καὶ τὰ μὲν τριάκοντα ἐποίει, τὰ δὲ ἑξήκοντα, τὰ δὲ ἑκατόν.\n\nΑὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ γῆ ἡ ἀγαθὴ, ἡ τῶν ὀρθοδόξων καρδία, ἡ ἐκτὸς οὖσα τῶν αἱρετικῶν ἀκανθῶν, ἡ τελείοις διδασκάλοις πονηθεῖσα καὶ οἱονεὶ αὐλακισθεῖσα, καὶ τοὺς τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου λόγους σπέρματα ψυχῆς τυγχάνοντας δεχομένη. Ἡ τοιαύτη καρδία πρῶτον βλαστάνει τὴν πόαν τῆς πίστεως, εἶτα μηκύνει τὸν στάχυν τῆς ἐλπίδος, εἶτα ὥριμον καρπὸν τῆς τελείας ἀγάπης ἀποδείκνυσι. Τούτων τῶν τριῶν καρπῶν τῆς ψυχῆς μέμνηται καὶ ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος λέγων· Πίστις, ἐλπὶς, ἀγάπη. Ὁ πιστεύων ποιεῖ τὰ τριάκοντα, ὁ ἐλπίζων ποιεῖ τὰ ἑξήκοντα, ὁ τελειούμενος ἐν ἀγάπῃ, ποιεῖ τὰ ἑκατόν· ὁ χριόμενος ποιεῖ τὰ τριάκοντα· ὁ κατερχόμενος εἰς τὸ ὕδωρ, ποιεῖ τὰ ἑξήκοντα· ὁ τελειούμενος ἐν τῷ μυστηρίῳ, ποιεῖ τὰ ἑκατόν. Οὕτως ἐξ ἑνὸς σπέρματος τρισσῶς ἀναφέρει καρπόν· Θεὸν δοξάζει, Ἐκκλησίαν ὑψοῖ, ἑαυτὸν διασώζει. Οὗτος Τριάδος ἀγαθῆς κομιεῖται μισθούς· πνεύματι συνιὼν, ψυχῇ προορῶν, σώματι ὑπομένων.","english":"nor a solid rock, so that they might keep the confession in the Father and Son and Holy Spirit unshaken and unmoved. And they receive this word, and it sprouts; but immediately they dry it up and wither it, because they do not have the roots of their thoughts in the depth of the spirit. Even if they confess Christ to be the Son of God, by denying the Holy Spirit they do not have the Son either, as the apostle bears witness and says: If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, that one is not his. The others, it says, fell upon good earth, and gave fruit, and some produced thirty, some sixty, some a hundred.\n\nThis is the good earth: the heart of the orthodox, which is free from the thorns of the heretics, which has been worked by perfect teachers and, as it were, furrowed, and receives the words of the Gospel as seeds of the soul. Such a heart first sprouts the grass of faith, then lengthens the ear of hope, then displays the ripe fruit of perfect love. The blessed Paul also mentions these three fruits of the soul, saying: Faith, hope, love. The one who believes produces thirty, the one who hopes produces sixty, the one perfected in love produces a hundred; the one anointed produces thirty, the one who goes down into the water produces sixty, the one perfected in the mystery produces a hundred. Thus from one seed it bears fruit in three ways: it glorifies God, it elevates the Church, it preserves itself. This one will receive the rewards of the good Trinity, uniting with the spirit, foreseeing with the soul, enduring with the body.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Εἴ τις πνεῦμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ οὐκ ἔχει, οὗτος οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτοῦ","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom attributes this quotation to the apostle, but it is not a direct citation of any known Pauline verse; it may be a paraphrase of 1 Cor 2:16 or Rom 8:9, or a conflation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Εὐνομιανοί","severity":"info","text":"The Eunomians (Anomoeans) were radical Arians who denied the consubstantiality of the Son and the Spirit; Chrysostom’s polemic against them reflects the late 4th-century Trinitarian controversies.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"τριάκοντα ... ἑξήκοντα ... ἑκατόν","severity":"info","text":"Chrysostom interprets the threefold yield (30, 60, 100) as corresponding to faith, hope, and love, and then to baptismal stages (anointing, immersion, perfection in the mystery), creating a double allegorical scheme.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"Πίστις, ἐλπὶς, ἀγάπη","severity":"info","text":"The triad faith, hope, love is a standard Pauline sequence (1 Cor 13:13), but Chrysostom here maps it onto the numerical yields of the parable, a distinctive exegetical move.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"ὁ χριόμενος ... ὁ κατερχόμενος ... ὁ τελειούμενος","severity":"info","text":"These three terms refer to stages of baptismal initiation: anointing (pre-baptismal), immersion, and completion in the mystery (post-baptismal Eucharist or confirmation), reflecting late 4th-century practice.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"πνεύματι συνιὼν, ψυχῇ προορῶν, σώματι ὑπομένων","severity":"caution","text":"The final triadic formula is syntactically ambiguous: it may describe the believer’s threefold activity or a Trinitarian analogy; the Greek allows both readings, but the context favors a moral-ascetic interpretation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the 'apostle' cited is uncertain; the quotation is not verbatim from Paul. The final triadic clause may be read as either a description of the believer's spiritual faculties or a Trinitarian reference."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":9,"ref":"p9","source":"Οὗτος τρισσῶς εὐλογεῖται· ἐπὶ γῆς δοξάζεται, ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀνίσταται, ἐν οὐρανοῖς ἀναπαύεται. Ὁ τοιοῦτος ἐν τρισὶ τάξεσιν ὑπερεχούσαις σεμνύνεται· τριάκοντα, ὡς ἐν οὐρανοῖς· ἑξήκοντα, ὡς ἐν ἀγγέλοις· ἑκατὸν, ὡς παρὰ Θεῷ. Ὁ τοιοῦτος πραΰς ἐστιν, ἡσύχιος, ταπεινόφρων, ἐλεήμων, συμπαθὴς, δίκαιος, κόσμου ξένος, βίου ἀλλότριος, εἰκόνι μόνῃ φαινόμενος ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, καρδίᾳ δὲ καὶ πράξεσιν ἐν οὐρανοῖς αὐλιζόμενος. Ἄλλοι δέ τινες τῶν αἱρετιζόντων, κατὰ τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἀγνώμονα γνώμην, κλίμακα βλασφημίας τοῖς λόγοις λεπτουργοῦσι· τί λέγοντες; Ἡ εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα πίστις ποιεῖ τὰ τριάκοντα· ἡ εἰς τὸν Υἱὸν ποιεῖ τὰ ἑξήκοντα· ἡ εἰς τὸν Πατέρα ποιεῖ τὰ ἑκατόν· ἀγνοοῦντες ὅτι ὡς βούλονται σμικρῦναι, τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον μεγαλύνουσι. Προτάττουσι γὰρ Πατρὸς καὶ Υἱοῦ τὸ Πνεῦμα, λέγοντες· Ὁ εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα πιστεύων, ποιεῖ τὰ τριάκοντα· καὶ πρῶτον προτάττουσι τοῦ Πατρὸς τὸ Πνεῦμα, εἶτα τὸν Υἱὸν, εἶτα τὸν Πατέρα. Ἡμεῖς δὲ τὰ ἐναντία αὐτοῖς φρονοῦντες, τὸ ἐναντίον λέγομεν. Ὁ γὰρ πιστεύων, οὐκ εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα πρῶτον πιστεύει, ἀλλ' εἰς τὸν Πατέρα· ὁ πιστεύων εἰς τὸν Πατέρα, ποιεῖ τὰ τριάκοντα· ὁ προσλαμβάνων εἰς τὸν Υἱὸν, διπλασιάζει τὸν ἀριθμὸν, καὶ ποιεῖ τὰ ἑξήκοντα· ὁ καὶ ἐνδυσάμενος τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, τὴν ἑκατοντάδα ἐπλήρωσεν, ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν· ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.","english":"This one is blessed threefold: he is glorified on earth, rises from the dead, and rests in the heavens. Such a one is honored in three superior orders: thirty, as in the heavens; sixty, as among angels; one hundred, as with God. Such a one is meek, tranquil, humble-minded, merciful, compassionate, just, a stranger to the world, alien to life, appearing on earth only in image, but dwelling in heart and deeds in the heavens. But some others among the heretics, according to their own thankless opinion, craft a ladder of blasphemy with their words. What do they say? Faith in the Spirit produces the thirty; faith in the Son produces the sixty; faith in the Father produces the one hundred. They are ignorant that, as they wish to diminish, they magnify the Holy Spirit. For they place the Spirit before the Father and the Son, saying: He who believes in the Spirit produces the thirty; and they first set the Spirit before the Father, then the Son, then the Father. But we, thinking the opposite to them, say the opposite. For he who believes does not first believe in the Spirit, but in the Father; he who believes in the Father produces the thirty; he who adds belief in the Son doubles the number and produces the sixty; and he who also puts on the Holy Spirit has completed the hundred, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom are the glory and the power unto the ages of ages. Amen.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"τρισσῶς εὐλογεῖται","severity":"info","text":"The passage concludes the homily with a threefold blessing (earth, resurrection, heaven) and a threefold numerical scheme (30, 60, 100), mirroring the triadic structure of the earlier parable interpretation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"αἱρετιζόντων","severity":"info","text":"The Greek term αἱρετιζόντων (\"heretics\") is a present participle from αἱρετίζω, used here to denote those who hold divergent theological opinions, likely Pneumatomachians or other groups denying the Holy Spirit's co-equality.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"τριάκοντα, ἑξήκοντα, ἑκατόν","severity":"info","text":"The numbers 30, 60, and 100 derive from the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:8), where they represent yields of grain. Chrysostom reinterprets them as stages of spiritual attainment linked to the Trinity.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον","severity":"info","text":"The controversy over the Holy Spirit's rank (before or after Father and Son) reflects 4th-century debates with Pneumatomachians, who subordinated the Spirit. Chrysostom counters by asserting the orthodox sequence: Father, Son, Spirit.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"κλίμακα βλασφημίας","severity":"info","text":"The phrase \"ladder of blasphemy\" (κλίμακα βλασφημίας) is a rhetorical inversion of the spiritual ladder motif (cf. Jacob's ladder, John Climacus), used here to condemn heretical exegesis that reverses Trinitarian order.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἡμεῖς δὲ τὰ ἐναντία αὐτοῖς φρονοῦντες","severity":"caution","text":"Chrysostom's claim that heretics place Spirit before Father may oversimplify their position; some Pneumatomachians likely subordinated the Spirit without reordering the sequence. The text reflects polemical framing.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Greek text does not specify which heretical group is meant; 'αἱρετιζόντων' is generic. The numerical scheme (30, 60, 100) is not explicitly tied to a specific biblical verse in the passage, though it echoes Matthew 13:8."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]}]}