De mansuetudine sermo

Of the Same Author, On Meekness. 1. I think you all clearly understand that those who listen attentively to the oracles of God ought to cultivate good character and virtue in their ways. For this is the very thing by which the servants of Christ differ most from those who are ignorant of the truth: to live with kindness and to present a life worthy of piety. For it is not surprising that those who are ignorant of Christ are wicked and depraved in their character; but the servant of Christ should be called by the gentleness of his manners rather than by the name given him by his parents. For the human race is not so beloved by God because of virginity, nor because of fasting, nor because of contempt for money, nor because of readily extending a hand to those in need, as it is because of gentleness and good order of character; although even the readiness to assist those in need comes from nowhere else but from kindness, which accrues to all who love Christ. And just as streams flow from springs, so does care for the poor flow from gentleness of character.

For every equitable and meek person is easily drawn to philanthropy, and would not bear to overlook those in need, considering the poverty of others as his own misfortune. Envy, then, is the worst of all evils; but a good and meek man does not admit this wicked malady into his soul, but seeing his brothers who are esteemed, he rejoices with them and takes delight, considering the good reputation of others as his own good reputation, holding friends' goods in common, rejoicing in good things and grieving in painful ones. Such are the gifts of meekness, such is the life of those who live in equity: the meek man is a father to orphans, a protector of widows, a guardian of poverty, a helper of the wronged, everywhere establishing the power of justice. And a child is a reverend father to one who lives in meekness, and a child to a father, and a slave to a master, and nothing else makes the master enjoy the goodwill of his servants. For when they see him delighting in equity and dealing gently with all, they value and admire him greatly, considering the one who possesses them a father rather than a master. Come then, let us examine as accurately as we can, according to our ability, all the goods that accrue to the equitable from the gentleness of their character. So the meek man is a friend to those who see him, and a friend also to those who know him by report; and there is no one who, hearing a gentle person praised, would not desire to see and greet him and see him constantly, counting the friendship of such a one as a gain.

Even if some people fall into dispute with one another over money, they hasten to the gentle and meek person, believing that every quarrel and contentiousness will be quickly dissolved by his gentleness. For if it happens that people are hostile toward one another, the mildness of the judge shames those who are easily carried away into anger and wrath into becoming meek. But if others appear who wish to lead the combatants into friendship, they would not be able to appear worthy of respect. For in each matter, I think, the persuasive counselor is the one who first touches upon the actions he advised to be undertaken. Therefore, when the teacher of equity first appears confirming his precepts, as soon as he is seen, he tames even the frenzied, and he has no need of admonition or words, but before uttering anything, he has introduced peace. And just as a ray of the sun, when it appears, quickly drives away the darkness, so the gentle and meek person quickly transforms turmoil and battle into peace and tranquility. It is also worth noting this: that Christ says only those who are peaceful in character are sons of God. For what reason, then, did he share his own title only with the equitable? Because only the one who becomes a cause of friendship and peace for others imitates the Son of God to the best of his ability. For He, as God and lord of all, blended the holy angels, who were at war with humans, into friendship, appearing to us through His divine flesh.

that a gentle person persuades brothers and relatives and household members who are at war with one another to respect the laws of God, and, casting off enmity, to love one another according to the divine command. Indeed, what the sinews are in our bodies, that a gentle person is in a household, a church, and a city. For Paul is accustomed to call brothers the body and its members in relation to one another; and the one who leads the divided and the quarreling into friendship confirms Paul’s word, persuading all not to be ignorant of the members, nor to devour one another. Therefore that word is true; so that the one who becomes the cause of peace for brothers has the same power in a church and a household and a city as the sinews have in bodies, gluing together and joining those who are divided and at war with one another. Each person, however, receives this power over others when he himself is first seen to live with gentleness; but one who is easily carried away into anger would seem ridiculous to the many when he attempts to calm those who are enraged. For what could be worse than men enslaved to anger? And who, seeing such a man, does not turn away his eyes? An angry man is unpleasant to those he meets, unpleasant to his neighbors, and if he falls into need of money, he does not easily find those who relieve his poverty; he is a common enemy of both citizens and strangers, shouting and crying out, inflicting blows on those he meets, saying unspeakable and speakable things.

In such a person the gaze is disturbed, the face swells, the tongue rages, the hands are readily set upon everything; such a one does the works of the possessed. And anyone seeing a man in a rage would be at a loss whether the demon drives the wretch, or he has willingly been carried away into such madness. Anger is a voluntary demon, a self-chosen madness, a desolation of the mind. The angry man is a plaything of the devil, a workshop of demons, a worthy servant of their wickedness. Tell me, what do demons most wish men to do? Is it not to insult parents? Is it not to lay foul hands on those who gave them birth? Is it not to blaspheme God? All these things, then, are the works of the angry. So anger readily becomes a cause of impiety for those who serve it; for those who have given themselves over to anger cannot quickly control themselves. But just as in a storm and squall at sea, when the helmsman is absent, the waves seizing the abandoned ship quickly sink it, so anger, falling upon the soul like a thunderbolt and storm, quickly makes its servant senseless and deranged. What then? It is the part of right-minded men to check the disease beforehand, and before being carried away into anger, to restrain the soul and lull the wrath with the admonitions from Scripture. For if wild beasts readily yield to the incantations of sorcerers, why are you surprised that the oracles of Christ quickly transform a savage soul into calm and equanimity? "Let all bitterness and anger and wrath and shouting," it says, "be removed from you, along with every evil; and be kind, compassionate, and forgiving toward one another.

If someone has a complaint against another, just as God forgave you in Christ. Therefore, become imitators of God. Do you see what the gentle person is like? Whose imitator is he called? Not of angels, not of archangels, but of the Master of all. And yet those are very gentle and full of every virtue; but nevertheless Paul called the meek zealots of God, so that through the greatness of the honor he might teach the hearers to be very gentle, so that everyone who is insulted or suffers something terrible might bear the reproaches meekly and restrain anger, as one about to follow God in restraining anger. For what are the things of God? From above he sees and hears everything, but in the things said and done on earth there are many injustices. And there are some who have reached such a degree of impiety that they even blaspheme God, when they are grieved by events, and looking up to the sky, they refrain from no word; but God endures it, and having such power to exact punishment from the impious, does he not exact it? If God punished all who sin, the saved would be very few, and the living would not suffice for the burials. Therefore David says: If you examine lawlessness, Lord, Lord, who will withstand? Because with you is atonement. Now even in this very thing God shows his love for humanity, in that he does not punish even justly. Therefore whoever wishes to resemble God, as far as human ability allows, let him be gentle and meek, and let him bear nobly when he suffers something terrible from others.

Love your enemies," he says, "do good to those who hate you, pray for those who abuse and persecute you, so that you may become like your Father in heaven, because he makes his sun rise on the wicked and the good, and rains on the just and the unjust." There are indeed many virtues befitting Christian men, but greater than all is gentleness; for Christ calls only those who shine in this virtue imitators of God. Therefore, it is fitting for us, when someone insults or strikes us or does something else terrible, to endure everything nobly with a calm soul, reflecting that gentleness makes us imitators of God. For our Lord and Savior himself, when insulted, beaten, nailed, and crucified, bore the madness of the Jews gently, and though he had such power to exact punishment from the impious, he did not take it, but showed his power in shaking the earth, raising the dead, hiding the sun, and turning day into night, and his gentleness and love for humanity in punishing none of those who had committed impiety; so that all who bring impious hands against the Lord might learn that he who so easily shook the earth and commanded the sun suddenly to disappear could easily have punished the madmen; but now, because he is gentle and bears the madness of the impious mildly, he not only himself gently endured those who crucified and blasphemed him, but also begged the Father not to use the heavenly bolts against the impious.

When, therefore, you suffer something terrible and unbearable, and anger and rage arise, remember the gentleness of Christ, and you will quickly become gentle and meek, not only gaining the greatest benefit yourself from this gentleness, but also helping your enemy and teaching him to be good. For when he sees you, who suffer the worst, bearing it mildly and enduring the anger, he too will quickly become reasonable and good, and, casting off his rage, will desire to become an emulator of your gentleness. Whoever, then, wishes to conquer those who are enraged, let him nobly bear the insults and the blows, and he will see a great change in the one who is mad and striking; but if he himself, conquered by anger, hastens to repay the enemy in kind, there will never be an end to the anger and the fight, but, always mad and desiring to conquer one another with insults and blows, they are carried into an endless war and battle, plotting against each other, kindling slanders, daring to perjure themselves, preparing to accuse of things they have neither seen nor heard, raging by day like mad dogs and seeking the enemy, and spending most of the night planning some evil and weaving plots. For such people, even sleep is not free from passions, but, thinking the enemy is present and that they are reviling and striking him, they leap up from their sleep, loving each other's slaughter more than a feast; others, drunk with anger, hire slanderers and cause countless troubles for each other, and the more evils they inflict on one another, the more they are provoked into madness.

this gentleness, but also becoming a model of virtue for others. For what they say happens to drunkards—that from insatiable drunkenness they are carried into a more severe thirst—this happens to those who are slaves to anger: from excessive contentiousness they are carried into a greater and more severe madness. One called the other a slave, another a son of a whore, one called him foolish, another mad, one a thief and unjust, another full of every wickedness. Then, drunk with anger, they grapple with each other, and all but imitate wild beasts, striking, kicking, biting, mangling bodies, sparing no part—not eyes, not ears, not nose, not face, not any other limb—but, having dashed against each other and mutilated themselves, and having done every evil, they withdraw from the fight, some with an eye knocked out, others with lips, others with some other part of the body destroyed, having corrupted the soul more than the body, raging, raving, foaming, ignorant of the law of God and Savior, which commands that even when slapped and struck and suffering other things, one should bear everything with a calm soul, nobly, and conquer the wrath of wrongdoers by gentleness. For the one who does this is praised by men and crowned by God and Savior. Therefore, one must endure and bear gently with those who are angry, looking toward the crown that God prepares for the gentle and good. For it is absurd that athletes of gymnastic contests endure dust and blows and wounds, looking toward empty glory and a crown worth nothing.

us, who are to be crowned by Christ, not to restrain anger, nor to bear everything nobly, but to prefer brief pleasure and unjust wrath to the honor and good repute in the heavens. And indeed we know this also, that although there are many and great things with which the life of the righteous is adorned, this above all has made those men illustrious: to live with gentleness and to deal mildly even with those who do wrong. For by this Moses, gently enduring the madness of the Jews and saving his enemies through prayers, enjoyed the honor and good repute in the heavens before others, and was called a friend of God; by this David, sparing his enemies and foes, drew the great goodwill and friendship of God. For this can adorn every human being, but especially those in positions of authority. For when the kingdom permits one to do everything, to restrain oneself and to make the law of God the guide of one's deeds is great for praise and glory. And indeed Paul and Peter, having touched the heavenly vault through the virtue with which they lived, shone forth more from gentleness than from other good deeds, honoring those who reviled them, doing good to their enemies, often saving through prayers those who stoned them; for they knew that by doing this they were doing what is most pleasing to God, and that this is admired in the heavens before other good deeds. For this reason they themselves appeared adorning their lives with gentleness, and exhorting other people to this. Since

And we see Stephen, in the dangers for piety, praying for his enemies, and we admire him equally for his gentleness and his struggles. Since, then, we have so many and such great leaders of gentleness, let us exhort ourselves and one another to follow in their footsteps, and to serve God through gentleness, as He receives this service more gladly than all other virtues. For the most divine Paul, wishing to show the virtue of an apostle, especially wants the servant of Christ to be known by his mildness; although he had many things to say, if he wished to speak of what adorns the apostle—the expulsion of demons, the raising of the dead—yet, passing over all those things, he goes through the gentleness of character up and down, relating and telling how mildly he behaved toward his enemies, in order to persuade us also to follow in his own footsteps, and to be kind and gentle. It is right, therefore, to follow those saints, and to make them a model for life, so that, shining in all that is good, we may obtain the promised blessings from our great God and Savior, through whom and with whom, together with the Holy Spirit, all glory, honor, and power belong to the Father for ever and ever. Amen.