De Eleazaro et septem pueris

Homily 11. A homily by the same author, delivered after another very elderly man had spoken, concerning Eleazar and the seven children. 1. How beautiful is this spiritual olive tree! Though its branches have grown old, it has borne us ripe fruit. For the plants of the earth are not like the trees of the Church; those, when they reach old age, then shed most of their leaves, and whatever fruit they bear, they bear it overripe and sparse; but these, when they reach old age, are then especially laden with fruit. This can be seen in the case of the one who has spoken today; therefore I have decided to be silent. For it was fitting, with so many elders present who know how to speak, that the young man should keep quiet. Thus also the divine Scriptures instruct us; when they address a young man, they say: "Speak, young man, if you must, and barely if asked twice; summarize much in few words." But to the elder they do not speak with such restrictions, but allowing him the same freedom, they permit him to run on without such limits; and again, marveling at the pleasure of what is said when spoken with understanding, they spoke thus: "Speak, elder, for it is fitting for you, with precise knowledge, and you will hinder the music." What is "and you will hinder the music"? It shows from this that neither flute nor lyre nor pipes are as sweet to the hearers as the teaching of an elder delivered with precise knowledge. For comparing pleasure with pleasure, it says that this is far more tyrannical than that, and that one prevails, the other yields to it; therefore it says, "You will hinder the music," that is, you will not allow (the music).

you will allow them to be seen, you will overshadow them, you will cast a shade over them. For this reason, then, we ought to be silent and listen, while this man speaks and teaches; but, as I have often said, I will say now also: I can bear neither your tyranny nor their compulsion. Therefore I again strip for my customary courses, handling the laborious task of speaking with great ease, not because of my own power, but because of the eagerness of you, my hearers. For even earlier, when the discourse was carried down into such a depth, it was not drowned; and crossing such vast seas, it nowhere suffered shipwreck for you. The reason is that there were no reefs, no sunken rocks, no cliffs anywhere, but everywhere it found a sea calmer than a harbor; and as if by a west wind standing at the stern, the desire of your attention escorted it into a fair-weather harbor. For as soon as it leaped from our tongue, you all received it with upturned hands, even though it contained much difficulty; such was the nature of the thoughts earlier. But nevertheless, both the excess of your eagerness and the concentration of your mind with all exactness have alleviated our labor and made the difficult things easy. For you did not allow it to be cast upon a rock, or upon thorns, or upon the road, but you received everything into a rich and deep-soiled field, into the depth of your mind. Therefore we see the crops flourishing each day, nourished by the breezes of the Spirit instead of the west wind, and the spectacle becoming splendid for us each day.

For this reason, then, I wished today to touch upon what remains. But what am I to do? The chorus of the Maccabees stands before my eyes, and by the radiance of their own wounds, dazzling my mind, it calls my tongue to its own beauty. But let no one condemn the discourse as untimely, because, although the day of the contests is tomorrow, today we weave the crowns and proclaim the trophy before the time of the wars. For if, when marriages are being celebrated, those who gather weave bridal chambers and adorn houses with crowns and hangings even before the appointed day, much more shall we do this, inasmuch as this marriage is more spiritual, not of a man taking a woman, but of God joining the souls of men. Therefore one would not err in calling the soul of the martyrs a bride, a spiritual bride, since they also bring blood as a dowry, a dowry that is never spent. But let the time for encomia await us until tomorrow; today let us correct the weaker among our brethren. For since many of the simpler ones, limping in their understanding, are led astray by the enemies of the Church, and do not hold the proper opinion concerning these saints, nor do they count them among the rest of the chorus of martyrs, saying that they did not pour out their blood for Christ, but for the law and the letters in the law, slaughtered for the sake of pork meat—come, then, let us correct their understanding; for it would be shameful to celebrate a festival while being ignorant of the festival’s subject.

So that not only those who are sick with such things may suffer in the common pleasure of all, but that they may embrace the contestants with sincere mind and see them with pure eyes, having today scraped away the lurking thing in their minds, we shall prepare them tomorrow to meet the spiritual festival with sincere judgment and pure mind. For I do not refuse to count them among the other martyrs, but I say that these are even more illustrious. For they contended at a time when the bronze gates had not yet been broken, nor the iron bolt removed, when sin still prevailed, and the curse flourished, and the acropolis of the devil still stood, and the path of such virtue was still untrodden. For now, even very young boys and many virgins, tender and inexperienced in marriage, in many places of the world have stripped for battle against the tyranny of death; but then, before the coming of Christ, even the righteous greatly feared him. For Moses fled from this fear; and Elijah fled a forty days' journey from here; and the patriarch Abraham, for this reason, advised his wife to say, "I am his sister, not his wife." And why need I mention the others? For Peter himself so feared death that he could not even endure the threat of a doorkeeper; for it was fearful and inaccessible, its sinews not yet cut, its power not yet dissolved. But nevertheless, these men at that time, when it breathed so terribly, overcame it and wrestled it down.

For since the sun of justice was about to rise, what happens at daybreak also occurred then. Just as, even before the sun has appeared, the dawn seems bright to us, with the rays not yet visible, but the light of the rays already illuminating the world from afar, so too did it happen then. For since the sun of justice was about to arrive, the darkness of cowardice was already dissolving, even though he was not yet present in the flesh, but was near and in his preliminaries, already touching the matters themselves. That they displayed great courage in contending at such times is clear to everyone; but that they received their wounds for Christ, I will now try to demonstrate. For what reason did they suffer, tell me? For the law, one says, and for the writings laid down in the law. If, then, it is shown that Christ is the one who gave that law, is it not evident that, having suffered for the law, they displayed all that endurance for the lawgiver? Come then, let us demonstrate this today, that Christ is the one who gave the law. Who says this? The one who clearly knows these things, both the old and the new, Paul, the teacher of the world; for in writing to the Corinthians, he speaks somewhat as follows:

I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, I mean the manna, and all drank the same spiritual drink, I mean the water from the rock. Then, showing that Christ performed these miracles, he added: For they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them; and the rock was Christ. And rightly so; for it was not the nature of the rock that emitted that water and those rivers, but the energy of Christ, striking the stone, caused the springs to be given forth. For this reason he called it a spiritual rock, and said it followed; but the perceptible rock does not follow, but is fixed in one place; but the power present everywhere and working all wonders, that also broke open the rock. But if the Jew cannot bear these words, let us take him with his own weapons, conversing with him not from Paul and Peter and John, but from the prophets, so that he may learn that the facts are with him, but the interpretations are with us.

3. Which of the prophets, then, says these things, that he himself gave the Old Covenant? Jeremiah, sanctified from the womb, who shone in his youth. Where and when? Listen to his words, and be clearly instructed by what is said. What, then, are the words? "Behold, days are coming," says the Lord. From the very beginning he immediately raises up the hearer and stirs the minds of those listening, showing that the words are not his own, but those of the God who sent him. "Behold, days are coming." Then he shows that he is speaking to us about future events. How, then, if he is speaking about future events, does he say that he himself gave the Old Covenant? Wait and do not be disturbed, and then you will clearly see the brilliance of the truth. For when these things were said, the Law had been given and transgressed, but the New Covenant was not yet. Having firmly placed these things in your minds, then receive the solution to what many find perplexing. "Behold, days are coming," says the Lord, indicating the present time, "and I will make a new covenant with you, not like the covenant I made with your fathers." I ask the Jew, I ask the ailing brother: who gave the new covenant? Everyone will surely say, Christ. Therefore, he also gave the old one; for the one who said, "I will make a new covenant, not like the covenant I made," showed that he also made that one. Therefore, there is one lawgiver of both covenants. And when did he make the old one, tell me? On the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt.

See how he showed both the ease of the exodus, and his own affection, and the freedom of their conduct at that time, and that he himself worked all the wonders in Egypt. For by saying, "Taking hold of their hand, I led them out of the land of Egypt," he revealed all the miracles; for that exodus was accomplished through those extraordinary signs. "And they did not abide by my covenant, and I neglected them," says the Lord. That there is one lawgiver of the new and old covenant is clear from this. But here, if one has closely observed what has been said, he knows that it is full of no ordinary difficulty; for, stating the reason why he is about to give another covenant, he called it new, that is, extraordinary: "For I will make," he says, "a new covenant, not like the covenant I made with their fathers, because they did not abide by my covenant; and I neglected them," says the Lord. And yet for this they ought to have been punished, and to have paid the utmost penalty, and to have suffered unbearable retribution, because, after enjoying so many wonders and receiving the law, they became no better in any respect. But here he does not exact punishment from them, but even promises greater things than before. Now, it would have been necessary to bring the solution to this difficulty today as well, but since our discourse is pressing on to another matter, and we wish to educate you so that you do not learn everything from us but also discover it for yourselves, I leave this for you to seek and find. But if we see that you have sought but not found, then we ourselves will lend a hand.

So that the discovery may be easier for you, and the apostolic passages in which the treasure is especially to be found and the solution to this perplexity, I now foretell to you: in the Epistle to the Romans, and to the Galatians, and to the Hebrews, he set forth and resolved this very point. And those who are industrious will be able, by going through the epistles, to detect this solution, if during these intervening days you do not give yourselves over to untimely gatherings or useless idle talk, but, fixed upon the care of what has been said, you dig up the treasure. Leaving this unresolved for the time being, we shall proceed to what follows. And what follows? That this is the covenant which I will covenant to you, says the Lord: giving my laws into their understanding, and I will inscribe them upon their hearts. And each one shall not teach his fellow citizen, and each one his brother, saying: Know the Lord; for all will know me from their small to their great, that I will be merciful to their injustices, and of their sins and their lawless deeds I will no longer be mindful. Having spoken of the old covenant which he gave, and having spoken also of the new which he is about to give, he then describes its beauty, and shows its characteristics, and sets forth the insignia in succession, so that you may learn how great is the difference of the new from the old—the difference, not the opposition—how great the preeminence, how great the radiance, how great the lightning of the gifts and of the grace. 4. What then are the characteristics of the new? Giving my laws into their understanding, and I will inscribe them upon their hearts.

The old law was written on stone tablets, and when the first tablets were broken, he carved others again, and having engraved the letters there, Moses descended, possessing tablets akin in nature to the insensibility of those who received them. But the new covenant is not so; for tablets were not carved when the new covenant was given, but how and in what manner? Listen to Luke as he narrates: They were all together in one place, he says, and suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a violent rushing wind, and tongues as of fire appeared dividing among them; and it settled upon each one of them, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. Do you see how the prophet clearly foretold this from above, saying thus: "I will give my laws into their understanding, and I will inscribe them upon their hearts." For the grace of the Spirit, given from God to dwell in their minds, made them living pillars. And it overshadows the mind with its glory; therefore he also said that he was sent to preach, not in wisdom of speech, lest the cross of Christ be emptied; and again, "God has confounded the wisdom of this world"; and he turns the cross this way and that. For, he says, since the Jews ask for signs,

And the Greeks seek wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified—a scandal to Jews, a folly to Gentiles, and to the elect themselves, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God; for the folly of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. He calls the cross the folly of God and the weakness of God, not because it is foolish—for what is wiser than this?—nor because it is weak—for what is stronger than this?—but he is reporting the suspicion of the unbelievers, which they had concerning the matter. Hence he also said above: "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to those who are being saved it is the power of God." But one must not derive judgments of things from those who are perishing; for even the sick think honey is bitter, but that is an accusation of the disease, not a condemnation of the honey. So too the cross seems to outsiders to be a foolish thing, but it is not. Then, demonstrating that not only is it not foolish, but the thing is exceedingly wise, and not only is it not weak, but exceedingly strong, he compares the achievements from it with creation, with the old law, and with external wisdom; and he shows that what neither internal wisdom nor external wisdom found, nor many men learned from creation, nor gained from the old law—these things this seeming foolish and weak thing (seeming, not being) accomplished. Therefore, having the proof from the facts, he strips himself with great boldness, first against external wisdom, saying, "Where is the wise man?" What is "Where is the wise man?" As if he were saying:

Where are the philosophers? Where are the orators? Where are the sophists? Where are the speech-writers? All have perished and been destroyed and have vanished. For the victory has become so brilliant that their works no longer appear. Therefore, since these have become so obscure, as if some dust had been stirred up, he asks and says: Where is the wise man? The cross appeared, and all those things were dissolved; the proclamation sounded, and they were torn apart more cheaply than a spider's web. Where is the wise man? Where is the boast of words? Where is the beauty of eloquence? Where is the cleverness of sophisms? Where is the flow of speeches? Where is the sharpened tongue? Where are the assemblies and councils? All those things have been swept away and destroyed and corrupted and are gone and have turned their backs. Where is the scribe? Where are the things of the Jews, he says? The proclamation prevailed over them as well, and like the sun it hid the shadow. For what the law could not accomplish in so much time among one nation, the cross accomplished everywhere with greater abundance, dissolving sins, bestowing righteousness, making men holy, teaching knowledge of God, and leading them by the hand to heaven.

Then again, leaving aside Jewish matters, he comes to Greek matters: "Where is the disputant of this age?" Here he alludes to the heretics and syllogists, who before these events were sharper than swords, but since the cross appeared, they have been broken more feebly than any clay. "Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?" Again he strips for Greek matters. What does "He made foolish" mean? He declared it foolish, for it was foolish indeed. "And of them and of their sins and of their lawlessnesses I will no longer make mention." But the prophet of the Old Testament describes for us the brightness; the apostle, since he was contending against Jews, sets both in parallel: above saying, "Not on stone tablets, but on tablets of fleshly hearts," and here, "Not of the letter, but of the spirit; for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life." 5. On the Sabbath someone gathered wood and was stoned. Do you see how the letter kills, that is, the law punished? Learn how the spirit gives life. Someone enters full of countless evils, having been a prostitute, a robber, a covetous person, an adulterer, having committed every vice, already deadened by sin; he receives

the grace of the Spirit leads him into the font, and makes the one who has prostituted himself a son of God, and brings to life the one who has been deadened by sins. This is what is meant by, "The Spirit gives life." And how does it give life? Not by demanding an accounting for transgressions, according to the saying of the prophet: "I will be merciful to their injustices, and I will no longer remember their sins and their lawless acts." Ask the Jew again: where has this occurred in the law? But he would not be able to show it. For even the one who gathered wood was stoned, and the adulteress was burned, and Moses, because of a single sin, fell from the promised land; but under grace, those who have committed countless terrible deeds, when they enjoy baptism, are brought to life, and no penalty for their transgressions is demanded of them. That is why Paul said: "Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor effeminate men, nor homosexuals, nor adulterers, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor plunderers will inherit the kingdom of God. And these things some of you were; but you have washed yourselves, you have been sanctified, you have been justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and in the Spirit of our God." Do you see how the prophetic saying shines: "I will be merciful to their injustices"? How the apostolic saying flashes: "The Spirit gives life"? Do you wish to learn also the other, how the apostle Paul, in a brief moment of time, went around the entire world? Listen to him saying: "So that from Jerusalem and as far as Illyricum I have fulfilled the Gospel." And again:

Now, no longer having a place in these regions, but having a longing to see you, so that, if I travel to Spain, I hope to behold you, if I first have my fill of you in part. But if one apostle in a brief moment of time traversed the greater part of the inhabited world, consider how others netted the whole of it. Hence he also said, "The Gospel preached in all creation under heaven," interpreting that prophetic saying, "That all shall know me, from their small to their great." But that Christ gave the law is clear from these things; and that those who were slaughtered for the law poured out their blood for the lawgiver, this too is evident. I therefore exhort your love to come to the festival with great eagerness; like bees leaping from their hives, rush to the wounds of the martyrs, and embrace their torments, shrinking from no length of journey. For if the aged Eleazar dared to face fire, and the mother of those blessed ones endured such pains in extreme old age, what excuse would you have, what pardon, if you do not cross even a few stades for the sake of beholding those struggles?