De circo

A discourse on the hippodrome. A spiritual stadium and a heavenly racecourse have been opened for us today, for those who are prepared for the contemplation of the spirit, not according to the earthly man of dust, but according to the heavenly man of the spirit; in which one must run upon the earth, but gaze toward heaven. I have been led to recount this for the refutation of those fond of spectacles, who overlook the spiritual vision of salvation and prefer the bodily hippodrome of wickedness, or rather, a satanodrome. Observe diligently, beloved, rather the unpretentious hippodrome of the Church, where Paul contends, not running in circles of the Euripus and the turning-posts, but fulfilling the Gospel of Christ in a circuit from Jerusalem as far as Illyricum; where Elijah drives the chariot, concerning whom it is said: Chariot, chariot, charioteer of Israel, and his horseman; not racing from the white line to the turning-point, but daring a fiery chariot from earth to heaven; where a people of heavenly citizens are present for the spectacle, and a spiritual judge is seated, and a king watches, and a heavenly victory prize is set forth, and the whips of fearful judgment lie before them. God wishes you to contend through yourself. Therefore he has given you the four-horsed chariot of the Gospels, in which chariot the horses are white according to Zechariah: the yoke-horses are light and immortality, the trace-horses are righteousness and truth, which proceed behind the chariot that goes into the land of the north wind; concerning which Wisdom says, A certain harsh north wind; for truly harsh and evil is the spirit of the devil. In his chariot the horses are black.

The under-beasts are Hades and death, the jockeys are darkness and destruction, whom one must guide with the chariot of Christ, for "The chariot," it says, "of God is manifold, with thousands of drivers," whom one must guide in the stormy waves of life, as on a sea. For he mounted his horses onto the sea, churning up many waters, and overturning the chariots of the spiritual Pharaoh, and his power into the Red Sea. He also has a side-horse, an angel, who pursues and darkens the horses of your enemy. For "Let their path," it says, "become darkness and a slipping, and an angel of the Lord pursuing them." You have on the opposing side those who announce his gifts, Canaanites, Pharisees, Sadducees; you also have Moses, Samuel, and David, who foretold the coming of the righteous one. That one has middle-runners, demons, Bel, Dagon, Baal, and Chemosh, who struck Israel from the legs, and cast their limbs in the desert; you also have door-openers, Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, as they themselves say, "A great and clear door opened for us, and many opponents, who also sought that speech be given to them at the opening of their mouth." That one has Philetus, Judas, Demas, and Hermogenes, Hymenaeus and Alexander the coppersmith, full of hypocrisy; you also have spectators, the host of angels, the ranks of the righteous watching from above: how all run, but one receives the prize. One is the true people of Christ, one baptized in Christ, and having put on Christ.

and no longer Jew nor Greek, male and female, slave or free, Scythian, Arian, Eunomian, Marathonian, but one in Christ. Run worthily of God, and conduct yourself, people of God, in the spectacle of the all-holy Spirit. Let not the pre-race contrivances delight you, lest the pre-judgment dangers overtake you. If you wish to contrive and arrange, you can do this rather in the spiritual spectacle. Yoke against the woman-mad horses of the devil your pious reasonings; array against the strong with long-suffering. For it is better, it says, a long-suffering man than a strong one; against Judaism, Christianity; against Hellenism, piety; against fornication, chastity; against greed, almsgiving; against falsehood, truth; against anger, gentleness and fairness. Again, yoke against the swift with submissive ones, that is, against wrath and grief, mildness of temper (for a mild-tempered man, it says, is a physician of the heart); against the swift, mildness of temper; against enmity, friendship; against hatred, love; against affliction, gratitude; against pride, humility; against wickedness, goodness; and against every single opposing thing, hold the orthodox and saving faith. You must, while driving, also have the self-control of the spirit, lest, falling into seasickness, you become despondent. For the one who contends, it says, abstains from everything; they indeed in order to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. Take also the helmet of salvation, and the whip in your hand, which our Lord Jesus, having made from a rope, drove from the temple the merchants of the devil. Stand firmly on the vessel of election.

Mount the chariot of the eunuch, O Philip, who is freed from all impurity; mount the chariot; gaze without distraction at the mapparium serving the reading of the Gospel. Let no one think I speak in jest; I do not lie. For just as in the hippodrome the eyes of all are fixed upon the mapparium, when the barrier is set, awaiting its opening at that one’s decision, no less do we, gathered for the ecclesiastical spectacle, when the deacon is about to open the fourfold Gospel, all gaze at him in silence, and when the course of the reading begins, we immediately rise, exclaiming: Glory to you, O Lord. Mount the chariot, hunt, run him down, restrain him, cast him out, turn him back, seize him, and make the good confession from your mouth, run down the enemy; for he who goes simply goes confidently. Restrain him as David did Goliath, cast him out as Elisha did Gehazi, seize him as Elijah did Ahab in the vineyard of Naboth, turn him back into the outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth; pay attention to yourself. For it says, pay attention to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down by debauchery and drunkenness. Bear everything; for it says, bear one another’s burdens. Keep your foot safe, lest you strike your foot against a stone; do not turn back, remembering Lot’s wife. Keep to the middle path of righteousness, neither swerving to the right nor to the left.

Seek within from paradise, seek within. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, thefts, false testimonies, slanders, blasphemies, the things that defile a person. Do not go up with him, just as God did not go up with Israel, because he is stiff-necked; do not go up with him; he calls you into sin. He will bend you. And stand before him, saying to him: Go behind me, Satan, for you do not think the things of God, but the things of men. Stay outside, as Elijah fleeing Jezebel; hasten to the prize of the higher calling. Let him not catch you, just as the sons of Absalom did not catch those around Jonathan and Ahimaaz, the priests of the Lord who were fleeing; let him not seize you, just as the king of Jericho’s men did not seize the spies; but if possible, deceive him as Rahab the harlot deceived those who were searching. Let him not subdue you, just as Pharaoh did not subdue those around Moses and Aaron; but outflank him, as the magicians outflanked Herod. Do not be anxious; for you have God as your commander, and Christ as your physician. Be not afraid; for you have

The Holy Spirit is your anointing trainer, anointing you with the mystic horn of Samuel with the myrrh. Do not fear thirst; for you have the water of the rest of baptism upon you through the gourd, so that it may come forth to you, that is, through the proclamation of Jonah, and take you up. Turn the chariot of his tyranny; cast him into the pit which he made; cast him into the deep there. Cry out psalmically, From the depths I cried to you, Lord; Lord, hear my voice. Cast him into the deep, having bent down alone from his destruction. Raise holy hands to the height toward the king, taking the prize of the palms like the children, and shaking them, prostrate yourself before him, because Bel has fallen, Dagon is shattered. Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. With this victory you will be able to open paradise like a public bath, where there are four rivers, much water, as in a bath, in a place of grass, so that you also may say opportunely, He settled me in a place of grass, he nourished me on water of rest; and boasting of all these things you may say, I have fought the good fight, I have completed the course, I have kept the faith; henceforth the crown of righteousness awaits me, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom is glory for ever and ever, Amen.