In illud Habentes eundem spiritum

On the Apostolic Saying, "Having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written," and on "I believed, therefore I spoke," and concerning almsgiving. 1. The wisest of physicians, when they see a wound that requires the knife, apply the incision—they apply it not without feeling, nor without compassion, but they both grieve and rejoice, no less than those who are cut. They grieve because of the pain that comes from the blow, but they rejoice because of the health that is born from it. This is what Paul also did, the wise physician of souls. For when he had rebuked the Corinthians, who needed a sharper rebuke, he both rejoiced and grieved. He grieved because he caused pain, but he rejoiced because he benefited them. And declaring both of these things, he said: "So then, even if I grieved you in the former letter, I do not regret it, though I did regret it." Why did you regret it? And why again do you not regret it? I regretted it, because I struck too sharply; I do not regret it, because I set things right. And so that you may learn that it was for this reason, hear what follows: "For I see that that letter, even if for a time, grieved you; now I rejoice, not that you were grieved, but that you were grieved unto repentance." Even if I grieved you for a time, he says, the grief is temporary, but the benefit is lasting. Grant me, then, I beseech you, to say these words also to your love: so then, even if I grieved you in my former exhortation, I do not regret it, though I did regret it; for I see that that exhortation and counsel, even if it grieved you for a time, gladdened us all the more—not that you were grieved, but that you were grieved unto repentance.

For behold, this very thing—your grief according to God—how great a zeal it produced in you! Brighter is our assembly today, more radiant the theater, greater the chorus of the brethren. This zeal is the fruit of that grief. Therefore, as much as I grieved then, so much do I now rejoice, seeing our spiritual vine weighed down with fruit. For if in the case of perceptible foods the multitude of guests brings some honor and gladness to the host, much more would this be so in the case of spiritual foods—although there the multitude of those invited rather consumes what is set before them and produces greater expense; but here the opposite: the multitude of those invited not only does not consume it, but even multiplies the table. And if there the expense produces pleasure, much more here will the increase produce this; for such is the nature of spiritual things, that when distributed to many, it is rather increased. Since, then, our table is full, I expect that the grace of the Spirit will also sound in our mind. For when it sees many present, it then sets out a more abundant feast—not because it despises the few, but because it desires the salvation of the many. For this reason Christ also, appearing to Paul, commanded him to stay in Corinth while passing by the other cities, and said: Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not be silent, because I have a great people in this city. For if for the sake of one sheep the shepherd traverses mountains and valleys and an impassable land, when he is about to lead many sheep away from negligence and error, how will he not display great zeal?

For hear him saying that he does not despise even the little ones: It is not the will of my Father that one of these little ones should perish. Neither their smallness, he says, nor their lowliness persuades him to overlook our salvation. 2. Since, then, his providence over the little and least is so great, and so great over the many, let us cast the whole matter upon the inclination from above, and bring our discourse to Paul's statement that was read today. And what is the statement? For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle, he says, be dissolved—or rather, let us go higher, even to the very head of the thought. For just as some, tracking down a spring, then seeing a place that is soaked, do not dig there only, but, led by the moisture itself and by the vein, proceed further in, until they come to the root and the source of the streams—so let us also do. Having found a spiritual spring flowing out from Paul's wisdom, let us, as if led by a kind of vein of the statement, ascend to the very root of the thought. What, then, is the head and the root? But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written: I believed, and therefore I spoke; and we believe, and therefore we also speak. What are you saying? If you do not believe, you do not speak, but stand voiceless? Yes, he says; I cannot even open my mouth without faith, nor move my tongue, nor open my lips; I, a rational being, stand voiceless without the teaching from above. For just as, if a root has not been planted, the fruit would not sprout, so, if faith has not first been laid down, the word of teaching would not come forth.

This is why he also says elsewhere: With the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses unto salvation. What could be better than this tree, or equal to it, when not only the branches but the root itself bears fruit—the one righteousness, the others salvation? This is why he says: We believe, and therefore we speak. For just as a staff safely guiding limbs trembling and slackened by old age does not let them slip and fall down, so too faith, drawing our soul—shaken and carried about by the weakness of its reasonings—more safely than a staff, and resting it upon the power of its own strength, establishes it with precision and never allows it to be tripped up, correcting the weakness of its reasonings by the abundance of its own strength, and driving away the darkness that comes from it, and illuminating with its own light the soul that sits, as in a dark house, in the tumult of its reasonings. This is why those deprived of it are no better off than those who spend their time in darkness, but just as those men strike against walls and dash against whatever they meet and are carried down into pits and precipices, and their eyes are of no benefit to them since the guiding light is absent—so too those deprived of faith have dashed against one another and stumbled against walls, and in the end, carrying themselves to the pit of destruction, have cast themselves down headlong. 3. And witnesses to these words are those who boast of the wisdom from outside, who think greatly of their beard, their cloak, and their staff.

For after long and many courses of arguments, they did not see the stones lying before their eyes; for if they had seen them as stones, they would not have thought them to be gods. And they dashed against one another, and were carried down into the very deepest precipice of impiety, from nowhere else but because they entrusted all their own affairs to their own reasonings. And Paul, making this clear, said: They became vain in their reasonings, and their foolish heart was darkened; professing to be wise, they became fools. Then, stating the proof of the darkness and the folly, he added: They changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. But faith, entering in, scattered all this darkness from the soul of the one who received it; and just as a ship, tossed by the onset of the winds and swamped by the rising of the waves, is steadied on every side by an anchor let down, and is rooted in the middle of the sea, so too when the thoughts that fall upon us from outside toss our mind, faith, entering in more securely than an anchor, delivers it from shipwreck, mooring the vessel, as it were in a calm harbor, by the full assurance of conscience. And Paul again, making this very thing clear, said that for this reason God gave apostles for the perfecting of the saints, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God; that we may no longer be children, tossed and carried about by every wind.

You see the success of faith, that like a safe anchor it casts out the surge. This is precisely what he himself again writes to the Hebrews, speaking thus about faith: Which we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and entering into the inner part of the veil. For so that, having heard "anchor," you might not think it is dragged downward, he shows that this nature of the anchor is a new kind, not pressing the mind down but lifting it up, and transferring it to heaven, and leading it by the hand into the inner part of the veil; for here he called heaven the veil. For what reason, and why? Because just as the veil separated the holy of holies from the outer tabernacle, so also this heaven, like a veil, placed in the middle of creation, separates the holy of holies from the outer tabernacle—that is, from this visible world—calling "the holy of holies" the things above and the things beyond them, where Christ entered as a forerunner on our behalf. 4. What he says is of this sort: There faith lifts up our soul, he says, not allowing it to be humbled by any of the present terrors, lightening our labors by the hope of things to come. For the one who looks to things to come, and awaits the hope from the heavens, and transfers the eyes of his mind there, does not even perceive the pain of present terrors, just as Paul did not perceive it, and he taught the reason for this philosophy, saying: For the momentary lightness of our affliction works for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure. How, and in what way?

Since we do not look at the things that are seen, but at the things that are not seen, through the eyes of faith. For just as the eyes of the body see nothing intelligible, so the eyes of faith see nothing perceptible. But what faith does Paul mean here? For the name of faith has a double meaning. For faith is spoken of in the sense in which the apostles then worked signs, about which Christ said: If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Move, and it will move. And again, when the disciples could not free the moonstruck man from the demon, and wished to learn the cause, he hinted to them that this was a lack of faith, saying: Because of your unbelief. And Paul also spoke of this faith: If I have faith so as to remove mountains. And when Peter was about to sink as he walked on foot upon the sea, Christ again reproached him for this very thing, saying: Why did you doubt, O man of little faith? Faith, then, is spoken of as that which produces signs and wonders; and faith is also spoken of as that which prepares the knowledge of God, by which each of us is a believer; as when he writes to the Romans: I thank my God through Jesus Christ, that your faith is proclaimed in the whole world; and again to the Thessalonians: For from you the word of God has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia, but also in

in Achaia, and in every place your faith toward God has gone forth. What faith, then, does he hint at here? It is clear that it is the faith of knowledge; and what follows makes it plain. For we believe, he says, and therefore we speak. What do we believe? That he who raised Jesus will also raise us through his power. But why does he call it a spirit of faith, and reckon it in the order of the gifts? For if faith is a gift, and belongs only to the gift of the Spirit, and is not our own achievement, then neither will those who disbelieve be punished, nor will those who believe be praised. For such is the nature of gifts: it has no crowns, nor rewards. For the gift is not the achievement of those who receive it, but the gracious gift of the kindness of him who provides it. For this reason he also commanded the disciples not to rejoice that they cast out demons, and he cast out of the kingdom of heaven those who prophesied in his name and performed many mighty works, since from their own achievements they had no confidence, but wished to be saved only from gifts.

5. If, then, faith is such a thing, and we have contributed nothing, but the whole is of the grace of the Spirit, and that grace has cast itself into our souls, and we shall receive no reward in return for these things, how then did he say, "For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses unto salvation"? Because faith is also the achievement of the believer's own virtue. But how does he elsewhere again hint at this same thing, saying, "But to him who does not work, but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness," if the whole is of the grace of the Spirit? And how did he also crown the patriarch Abraham through it with countless garlands of praise, because, passing by all things present, he believed in hope against hope? For what reason, then, does the Spirit call it the spirit of faith? Wishing to show that the initial act of believing is of our own good disposition, and the obeying when called; but after faith has been laid down, we need the Spirit's assistance, so that it may remain continually unshaken and unperverted. For neither God nor the grace of the Spirit anticipates our free choice; but he calls, yet waits for us to come of our own accord and willingly, of ourselves; then, when we have come, he then provides all the alliance that comes from himself.

For since the devil also, after we have come to faith, immediately enters in, wishing to pull up this good root and eager to sow tares and to corrupt the genuine and pure seeds, we need the help of the Spirit then, so that, like a diligent farmer, settling himself in our soul, with great sparing and providence he may wall round on every side the newly planted shoot of faith. For this reason he wrote to the Thessalonians, saying, Do not quench the Spirit, making clear that when the grace of the Spirit has come in, we shall thereafter be unconquerable by the evil demon and by all his methods. For if no one can say Lord Jesus except in the Holy Spirit, much more will he not be able to hold fast faith secure and rooted except in the Holy Spirit. 6. And how shall we be able to draw to ourselves the help of the Spirit and persuade him to remain with us? By good works and the best conduct. For just as the light of a lamp is sustained by oil, and when this is consumed that light too, consumed along with it, departs; so also the grace of the Spirit, when good works are present with us and much almsgiving is poured out upon the soul, remains, held fast as the flame is by oil; but when this is not present, it departs and withdraws; which also happened in the case of the five virgins. For those women too, after many labors and sweats, since the

they had no help from loving-kindness, they were not able to hold fast the grace of the Spirit by their own strength; and for this reason they were cast out of the bridal chamber, and heard that fearful voice, "Depart, I do not know you"—which was harsher even than Gehenna. For this reason he also called them foolish; and rightly so, because after overcoming more tyrannical desires, they were captured by the weaker one. For observe: they conquered the violence of nature, they bridled raging madness, they calmed the waves of desire, while dwelling on earth they displayed an angelic life, while clothed in a body they rivaled the incorporeal powers; and after so much toil they did not master the desire for money—truly foolish and senseless; and for this reason they were not even deemed worthy of pardon. For their fall came from negligence alone; for those who were able to quench a furnace of desire amid so great a flame, and who leaped beyond the wrestling-grounds, and who displayed more than what was commanded (for virginity is not a law, but has been entrusted to the free choice of those who hear it), and then were defeated by money—of whom would they not be more pitiable, having cast the crown from their head for a few pieces of silver? I say these things, not loosening the hands of virgins, nor wishing to quench virginity, but so that they may not run in vain, so that after countless sweats they may not withdraw from the wrestling-grounds uncrowned and full of shame. Virginity is a good thing, and the achievement is beyond nature; but this good thing, great and beyond nature as it is, if it does not have loving-kindness yoked to it, will not be able even to tread the thresholds of the bridal chamber.

And observe with me the strength of loving-kindness and the power of almsgiving. Virginity without almsgiving was not strong enough even to bring them as far as the vestibule of the bridal chamber; but almsgiving without virginity led its own nurslings with many praises into the kingdom prepared before the foundation of the world. For those women, since they did not show abundant almsgiving, heard, "Depart, I do not know you"; but those who gave drink to the thirsty and fed the hungry Christ, although they did not put forward virginity, heard, "Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." And very reasonably: for the one who practices virginity and fasting is useful to himself; but the one who shows mercy is a common harbor for the shipwrecked, correcting the poverty of his neighbors and loosing the necessities of others. And among good deeds, those are especially wont to be approved which are done for the benefit of others. 7. And so that you may learn that these commandments are more earnestly sought after by God than the others: when he speaks of fasting and virginity, he makes mention of the kingdom of heaven; but when he legislates about almsgiving and loving-kindness and making ourselves merciful, he has set a reward much greater than the kingdom of heaven, saying, "That you may become like your Father who is in the heavens." For those laws especially make men like God—as it is possible for men to become like God—which go forth for the common benefit. And declaring this very thing, Christ said:

Because he makes his sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. So you also, having used what you have according to your ability for the common benefit of your brothers, imitate the one who sets his good things before all alike. Great is the dignity of virginity, and for this reason I especially wish it to be firmly established. For the dignity of virginity is not merely abstaining from marriage, but being humane, brother-loving, and compassionate. For what profit is virginity with cruelty? What gain is chastity with inhumanity? You were not taken captive by desire for bodies, but you were taken captive by desire for money; you did not admire the beauty of gold; you conquered the greater adversary, but the lesser and weaker one mastered you and prevailed over you. For this reason it made your defeat more shameful; for this reason you did not even obtain pardon, when you had prevailed over so great a force and had stripped yourself even against nature itself, but were captured by love of money, which even slaves and barbarians have often been able to conquer without effort.

Knowing all these things, therefore, beloved, both those who are engaged in marriage and those who practice virginity, let us show great zeal for almsgiving, since it is not possible to attain the kingdom of heaven in any other way. For if virginity without almsgiving was not strong enough to bring one into the kingdom, what other achievement will be strong enough, or will be able to do so without it? There is none. With all our soul and strength, then, let us pour oil into our lamps, and let this be abundant and unceasing, so that the light may remain bright and rich. Do not look at the poor man who receives, but at God who repays; not at the one who takes the silver, but at the one who becomes liable for the debt. For this is why one person receives and another repays: so that the poverty and misfortune of the receiver may bend you toward mercy and compassion, while the wealth of the one who will repay, guaranteeing the deposit and the repayment that follows with great increase, may make you confident about the loan and the interest, and may call forth your almsgiving with greater abundance. For tell me, who, when about to receive a hundredfold and fully confident about the repayment, would not give up everything? Let us not, then, spare money—or rather, let us spare money; for the one who spares what he has deposits it into the hands of the poor, into the inviolable treasury, safe from robbers and household slaves and malicious informers and all attacks.

But if, even when you hear these things, you hesitate to give up any of your possessions, and neither the promise of receiving a hundredfold, nor the misfortune of the poor man, nor anything else will be able to bend you, then reckon up the offenses you have committed; enter into the conscience of your sins; examine your whole life; consider your transgressions with precision. And even if you are harsher than all men, yet surely, driven by the fear of the sins you have committed throughout all your time, and expecting through almsgiving that forgiveness for these will come to you, you will give up even your own body—how much more your money. For if, when we have wounds and bodily diseases and wish to drive them off, we spare none of our possessions, even if it should be necessary to sell the very cloak itself, so as to be freed from that sickness, how much more, when we are about to lay aside the sickness of the soul and the grievous wounds of sins through almsgiving, should we practice it with all eagerness. And yet in the case of diseases it is not possible, simply by paying out money, to be freed from the disease, but there is often need of cutting and cautery and bitter medicines, and hunger, and cold, and other more burdensome prescriptions; but here it is not so, but it suffices to pay out the money into the hands of the poor, and immediately to wash away all the offenses committed, without pain and toil. For the physician who heals the soul does not need methods and instruments, and iron and fire; but it suffices for him only to nod, and all the offenses flow out of our soul and are destroyed into non-being.

9. Do you not see the monks who desire the solitary life and withdraw to the peaks of the mountains, what hardship they endure? For they spread ashes beneath them, and clothe themselves in sackcloth, and put collars around their whole body, and shut themselves up in a house, and struggle with continual hunger; they live with lamentations and unbearable sleeplessness, so that they may be able to cast off even a small portion of their sins. But for you it is possible, without all that hardship, to display this easy and light devotion. For what toil is it, tell me, while enjoying what you have, to spend what is beyond your need on those who are in need? For if no reward were set before us, if no such recompense had been appointed, would not the very nature of the thing be sufficient to persuade even the most savage of men to use their surplus for the comfort of the needy? But when so many crowns, and so many recompenses, and such great forgetfulness of sins come about through almsgiving, what defense will they have, tell me, who spare their money and sink their own soul in sins? For if nothing else moves you and stirs you to compassion and to almsgiving, consider the uncertainty of the end; and bearing in mind that even if you do not give to the poor, when death comes you will depart from your possessions unwillingly and leave them to others, even so become now a lover of mankind. For it would be the height of folly, when we are about to give up unwillingly what we have, not to share it willingly with those in need, and that too when we are about to reap so many good things from this generosity.

Your abundance, it says, let it become their deficiency. And what is it that he says? You receive greater things than you give. You give perceptible things, and you receive intelligible and spiritual things; you give silver, and you receive forgiveness of sins; you relieve the poor man's hunger, and he relieves God's wrath against you. It is a kind of exchange and commerce, having a return far greater and more profitable than the expense. For the expense is in money; but the return is no longer in money alone, but also in forgiveness of sins, and boldness toward God, and the kingdom of heaven, and the enjoyment of good things which eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man. How then is it not absurd that merchants spare none of their possessions, and this when the cargo of their commerce is going to be not of some newer kind, but like the merchandise itself; while we, who are going to reap through corruptible and perishable things not corruptible and perishable goods, but incorruptible and immortal ones, do not show the same zeal as they do concerning their possessions? No, brothers, no; let us not so badly deliberate concerning our own salvation; but knowing the example of the virgins, and of those led away into the fire prepared for the devil and his angels, because they did not feed nor give drink to Christ, let us hold fast the fire of the Spirit through generous and intense almsgiving, so that we may not shipwreck concerning the faith. For faith needs the Spirit's help and continuance, so that it may remain unshaken.

The help of the Spirit is accustomed to remain with us through a pure life and the best conduct. So then, if we are to have our faith firmly rooted, we need a pure conduct, which persuades the Spirit to remain and to hold fast his power. For it is not possible, it is not possible, for one who has an unclean life not also to be shaken in regard to the faith. 10. At any rate, those who babble about fate, and who disbelieve the saving word of the resurrection, have fallen into this abyss of unbelief from a wicked conscience and corrupted deeds. And just as those who are feverish, wishing to shake off the suffocation, have often thrown themselves into cold waters, and having for a short time relieved the disease, afterward kindled the flame more severely; so indeed also those held by a wicked conscience, then seeking to find comfort and not wishing to wash away their sins by repentance, brought in the tyranny of fate, and the unbelief of the resurrection. For this reason here they themselves through their

Having been comforted for a short time by cold reasonings, they will kindle for themselves a flame greater than Gehenna, when, having become more slack, they then depart there and see each one giving an account of his own transgressions. And so that you may learn that this is true, and that evil deeds corrupt the firmness of faith, hear what Paul says when writing to Timothy: "That you may wage the good warfare," he says, "having faith and a good conscience" (and a good conscience would come from a upright life and deeds); "which some having thrust away," he says, "made shipwreck concerning the faith." And again elsewhere: "The love of money is the root of all evils, which some desiring have wandered away from the faith." Do you see that those men made shipwreck because of this, and these wandered away because of this, since the former thrust away a good conscience, and the latter laid hold of the love of money? Having considered all these things with precision, let us take care for the best conduct, so that our reward may become double—one prepared from the recompense of works, the other from the firmness of faith. For what food is to the body, that conduct is to faith; and just as the nature of our flesh could not be sustained without food, so neither could faith without good works; for "faith without works is dead." One thing remains to be said: what is "the same"? For he did not say simply, "having the Spirit of faith," but what? "Having the same Spirit of faith." And I would have wished to expound this also in my discourse.

But since I see many rivers of thoughts flowing from this bare phrase, I fear that, by overwhelming with the multitude of things about to be said all that has been said, I may make the teaching useless to you, having spoiled it for you through excess. Therefore, having stopped the discourse here, I exhort and entreat you to keep with accuracy the things that have been said—all that you have heard about conduct, and faith, and virginity, and love of humanity, and almsgiving—and, holding these securely, to come to the hearing of what is to follow. For in this way the building of what has been said will be firm and unshaken for us, when, with the former things well fixed in your minds, we lay on the second. And may God, who has given us to say these things and you to hear them with eagerness, also count us worthy to show the fruit through works, by the grace and love of humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, because to him be the glory into the ages of ages. Amen. On the apostolic passage that says, "Having the same Spirit of faith, according to what is written," and against the Manichaeans, and all who slander the Old Testament and divide it from the New, and concerning almsgiving.

1. I owe you an old debt of apostolic exposition; but perhaps you have forgotten this debt because of the time, while I have not forgotten it because of my longing for you. For such is love: it is a watchful thing, and full of care; and those who love do not only carry the beloved in their mind, but whatever they have promised to give them, they hold the memory of what is to be received more exactly than the things themselves. So too a tender-hearted mother, having preserved leftovers from her table for her own children, even if they happen to forget, she at least will not forget, but having carefully guarded them with all zeal, she brings them into the midst and feeds the hungry. But if mothers are so tender-hearted toward their offspring, much more must we show greater zeal and care for your love, inasmuch as the pangs of the Spirit are more powerful than those of nature. What, then, was the table whose leftovers we preserved for you? It was an apostolic passage, which at that time provided us with much spiritual nourishment, a part of which we placed in your mind, and a part we deferred until the present day, so as not to bury the power of your memory under the multitude of things said. What, then, is the passage? "Having the same Spirit of faith, according to what is written: I believed, therefore I spoke; and we believe, therefore we also speak." About what faith, then, was it spoken—whether the faith that produces signs, about which Christ says: "If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here,' and it will move"?

or of the one that implants knowledge in us, according to which we are all faithful; and for what reason it is called the Spirit of faith, and what this faith itself is, and all these things we then discussed, as far as we were able, with your love, when we also raised the discourses concerning almsgiving. But since it remained to say also for what reason the same Spirit is called the Spirit of faith, and the multitude of things said then did not permit us to go through this passage also with precision, for this reason we reserved it for the present day, and now we have risen to pay you this debt. For what reason, then, has he said, The same? He wishes to show the great kinship of the New Testament with the Old; for this reason he also reminded us of a prophetic utterance, saying, Having the same Spirit, and adding, As it is written: I believed, therefore I spoke. David had said this from above and before many years, which Paul now brought forward, showing that the grace of the Spirit, the same both in that man then and now in us, rooted the power of faith; as if he were saying, The same Spirit of faith, the one that spoke in that man, also worked in us.

2. Where now are those who slander the Old Testament, who tear apart the body of Scripture, who assign one God to the New and another, different God to the Old? Let them hear Paul, who stops the godless mouths and silences the God-fighting tongue, and by this very passage shows that the same Spirit is in both the Old and the New. For these very names show us the great harmony of the Covenants. For the New is named because of the Old, and the Old because of the New; just as Paul also says, "In saying 'new,' he has made the former old." But if they were not of the same Master, neither could this be called New nor that Old. So this difference in names displays the kinship of each, and this difference is not in essence but in the succession of times; for the new is distinguished from the old only in this respect; and the succession of times introduces neither a difference of ownership nor any diminution. And Christ again made this clear, saying: "Therefore I say to you, every scribe who has been made a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like a man, a householder, who brings out of his treasure new and old." Do you see that the possessions are different, but the ownership is one? Just as that man, being one householder, can bring out new and old, so here too it is possible for the New and the Old to belong to one God; for this very thing most of all shows his wealth and abundance—not only to possess new things, but also to display his abundance in the old.

So there is only a difference of names in the Testaments, not a conflict or opposition. For the old becomes old from the new; and this is not a matter of conflict or opposition, but of a difference of name only. But I make so great an assertion that, even if the laws of the Old were opposed to those of the New, I would strongly maintain that not even in that case ought one to introduce another God. For if at the same time, to the same people, engaged in the same pursuits, involved in the same circumstances, he had enjoined opposing laws, the sophism might perhaps have some plausibility for them. But if those laws were written for one people and these for another, and for those at one time and for these at another, with those disposed in one way and these in another, what necessity is there, because of the difference of the laws, to introduce two opposing lawgivers? I for my part see none; but if they can say, let them speak—yet they could not. For indeed a physician often does many contrary things, but not from a contrary mind, but from one and the same consistent mind. For he both cauterizes and does not cauterize, cuts and does not cut the same body many times; and now he gives bitter and now sweet medicines to drink; and the things done are contrary, but the mind from which these things are done is consistent and one; for it looks to one end, the health of the sick. How then is it not absurd not to accuse a physician who does many contrary things concerning the nature of one body, but to bring a charge against God if at different times he gave different commandments to different people?

3. That, then, even if the laws were opposed, not even so ought one to bring accusation, is clear from these things; but that they are not even opposed, but only different, come, let us bring the laws forward into the middle. You heard, he says, that it was said to the ancients, You shall not murder. This is the old law; let us see the law of the New: But I say to you, the one who is angry with his brother without cause is liable to the Gehenna of fire. Are these commandments opposed, tell me? And who among men, even if he partakes of understanding in any way whatsoever, would say this? For if, when the former had commanded not to murder, this one had commanded [something else], perhaps someone might say that what is said is a contradiction of laws; but if, while that one commands not to murder, this one commands not even to be angry, the former law is an intensification, not an opposition, of the second. For the one cut off the fruit of evil, murder, but this one pulled out even the root, anger; that one cut off the stream of wickedness, this one dried up even the source itself. For the source and root of murder is rage and anger. That law prepared our nature beforehand for this; this one, having come, fulfilled what was lacking. What opposition is there, when the one cuts off the end of evils, but the other even the beginning? That one made the hand clean of blood, this one released even the mind itself from evil counsels. But these things are the work of laws agreeing with one another, not fighting; which the enemies of the truth strive to establish up and down, not perceiving that from this they subject the God of the New [Covenant] to a great charge of negligence and contempt;

For he will be found (but may the blasphemy recoil upon the heads of those who compel us to say these things) to have ordered our affairs unseasonably; and how, I will tell. The pedagogy of the Old Testament resembles milk-feeding, while the philosophy of the New Testament resembles solid food; but no one, before nourishing with milk, leads to solid food. This is what the God of the New Testament would have done, unless He Himself were the one who gave the Old; for before nourishing with milk and the pedagogy through the law, He led us to solid food. And not only by this, but by another charge greater than this they again subject Him, if indeed after five thousand and more years of the race He came to provide for ours. For if it was not He Himself who ordered all our affairs through the prophets and the patriarchs and the righteous men, but some other besides Him, He will be found to have taken up the providence of our affairs late and slowly, as if recovering from some repentance; which would be unworthy not only of God but even of any ordinary man, to have let so many perish in so long a time, and only late, at the last of the ages, to take up the providence of the few. 4. Do you see with how many blasphemies those men subject God, saying that one is the lawgiver of the New and another of the Old? All these things are dissolved if we grant that there is one God of each Testament. For He will be found to order our affairs reasonably, at that time through the law, but now through grace, and not recently, nor newly, but from above and from the first day He has taken up the providence of our affairs.

But to shut their mouths more decisively, come, let us bring forward the very utterances themselves, with prophets and apostles crying out that there is one lawgiver of the New and the Old. Let Jeremiah, then, who was sanctified from the womb, come into our midst, and let him show clearly this very thing—that the God of both Testaments is one and the same. What, then, does he say, proclaiming in the person of the lawgiver? I will make with you a new covenant, not according to the covenant which I made with your fathers. So that the one who made the New Covenant with them is himself the God who also gave the Old. Here he has sufficiently stopped the mouths of the followers of Paul of Samosata, who abolish the pre-eternal existence of the Only-Begotten. For if he did not exist before his birth from Mary, nor existed before he appeared in the flesh, how did he legislate when he did not exist? How did he say, I will make with you a new covenant, not according to the covenant which I made with your fathers? How did he make a covenant with their fathers when he did not exist, nor was, according to their account? But against the Jews and the Paulianists who are sick with Jewish notions, the testimony of the prophet is sufficient to withstand them; but in order that we may also stop the mouths of the Manichaeans, let us bring forward testimony from the New Testament, since they have no regard for the Old—or rather, not even for the New; but even this, which they seem to honor, they revile no less than the other: in one way, by cutting off the Old and corrupting its credibility.

For it is no small proof of the truth of the things contained in it that the fore-announcement of the prophecies in the Old was there, which these men, having turned away from, do not perceive that they have dishonored the apostles more than the prophets. In one way, then, they outrage the New, and in another, second way, by cutting out the greater part of it. Nevertheless, even so, the power of the things contained in it is so great that even from the very remnants it makes their wickedness easily detected; for the severed members cry out and shout, seeking the harmony with their own members. 5. How, then, shall we demonstrate that there is one lawgiver of the New and the Old? From these very words of the apostles left among them, which appear to contain an accusation of the law, but which establish it most of all, and show that it is a divine oracle and has come from above. And this too was the work of the wisdom of the Spirit, so that those who accuse the law, lured by the ready phrase, might accept unwillingly and unknowingly the defense written on its behalf; so that, if they wish to look toward the truth, they may have the utterance that leads them by the hand; but if they persist in unbelief, they may no longer obtain any forgiveness, being unbelieving even toward those very things which they seem to believe, to their own destruction. Where, then, does the New say that it and the Old have one lawgiver? In many places, and elsewhere too; but for now we are eager to bring forward that passage which is preserved even now among the Manichaeans. What, then, is it?

Tell me, you who wish to be under the law, do you not hear the law, that Abraham had two sons, one from the slave-girl and one from the free woman? The heretics heard that one was from the slave-girl, and at once they leapt up; for they thought that what was said was an accusation against the law; and having cut it off from the rest of the sequence, they hold to it as though it supported them. Come then, let us show from this very passage that the lawgiver is one. Abraham had two sons, one from the slave-girl and one from the free woman; and these things, he says, are spoken allegorically. And what is "spoken allegorically"? The things that happened in the Old Testament were types of the things that came to be in grace. For just as there were two women there, so here there are two covenants. First, in this he shows the kinship of the New to the Old, since those things are a type of these. For the type is not contrary to the truth, but akin to it. But if the God of the Old were contrary to the God of the New, he would not have prefigured through the women the superiority of the New Covenant. And if he prefigured it, Paul ought not to have made use of the type. But if they should say that he did this condescending to Jewish weakness, then when preaching to Greeks he ought also to have introduced Greek types and to have made mention of histories of things that happened among the Greeks. But he did not do this; and very reasonably. For those things had nothing in common with the truth, whereas these are oracles and laws of God; therefore the old things have great kinship with the New Covenant. 6. First, then, he shows this, that there is great harmony of the New with the Old.

And a second point no less important than this, drawn from the history itself. For just as there were then two women belonging to one man, so now there are two Covenants belonging to one Lawgiver; since, if the Lawgiver of the New were one and of the Old another, he would have introduced the history superfluously. For the husband of Sarah was not one man and the husband of Hagar another, but one and the same. So that when he says, "These are two covenants," he says nothing other than that they have one Lawgiver, just as those women had one husband, Abraham. But, he says, the one was a slave-girl and the other was free. And what of that? For the point being sought for the present was whether there is one Lawgiver of both. Let them therefore first accept this, and then we will answer them concerning that other matter. For if you compel them to accept this, and they are persuaded, their whole doctrine will be gone. For when the Old Covenant is found to be of the same Lawgiver—as indeed it is—our entire dispute with them is dissolved. But so that this too may not disturb you, let us attend closely to the wording. For he did not say, "The one a slave-girl, the other free," but, "The one bearing children into slavery"; yet she who bore into slavery was not in every respect a slave-girl; and the very fact of being born into slavery is not a charge against the mother, but against the children born. For since through their own wickedness they deprived themselves of freedom and fell from their noble birth, God trained them as slaves, ungrateful ones, with continual fear, punishing them with penalties and threats. Many fathers, then, even now bring their own sons not as sons but with the fear befitting household servants.

And the blame is not the fathers', but the children's who made the fathers as they were, so as to treat free men as slaves. Thus God also then led that people with so much fear and so great a punishment, with as much as was fitting for a senseless servant; but what was done is not an accusation against God, nor a charge against the Law, but against the Jews who were breaking loose and needed a sharper bridle. At any rate, in the Old Testament itself many will be found who were not led in this way, such as Abel, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Elijah, Elisha, and all the others, as many as zealously emulated the philosophy that is in the New Covenant. For it was not by fear and punishment, nor by threat and penalty, but by divine love and a fervent affection toward God that they became such as indeed they became. For they had no need of commands, nor of ordinances and laws, in order to choose virtue and flee vice, but like well-born and free children, having recognized their own worth, they deserted to virtue without any fear or punishment; but all the rest of the Jews, since they inclined toward vice, needed the bridle that comes from the Law. When, then, they made the calf and worshiped the graven image, then they heard: The Lord your God, the Lord is one; when they murdered and corrupted their neighbors' wives, then they heard, You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, and all the other commandments likewise.

So it is not a charge against the law that it inflicts punishment and chastisement, and trains and corrects them like ignorant slaves, but it is even the greatest commendation, and no ordinary praise, that it was able through its own severity to free those who had fallen into such great wickedness from their evil, to soften them and make them obedient to grace, and to lead them to the philosophy of the New Covenant. For the same Spirit administered all things both in the Old and in the New, even if in different ways. For this reason Paul also said: "Having the same Spirit of faith, according to what is written: I believed, and therefore I spoke." Nor was it for this reason alone that he said "the same Spirit," but also for another cause no less than the one mentioned, which I wished to speak of now, but fearing lest you pour out what has been said, I will store this up for you for another discourse, having for the present exhorted you to remember all of this, and to guard it with precision, and to add the virtue that comes from conduct, and to weave it together with the purity of the doctrines: "That the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." Since there will be no profit for us in right doctrines when our life is corrupt; just as there is no benefit in the best conduct without sound faith. So that we may have complete benefit, let us secure ourselves from both sides, displaying noble fruits in all other things, and along with the others, almsgiving, about which I also spoke to you recently, performing it with great eagerness and with great generosity.

For he says, "The one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly; and the one who sows with blessings will also reap with blessings." What is "with blessings"? With great abundance. Here, then, in the case of worldly things, both the harvest and the sowing are of the same seeds; for the one who sows casts down wheat or barley, or some other such thing, and the one who reaps reaps the same again. But in the case of almsgiving it is not so, but otherwise. For you cast down silver, but you gather boldness toward God; you give money, and you receive forgiveness of sins; you provide bread and a garment, and in return for these the kingdom of the heavens is prepared for you, and the countless good things which neither eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man; and the chief of all good things, you become like God, as far as human power allows. For when Christ discoursed concerning almsgiving and love of humanity, he added: "So that you may become like your Father in the heavens, because he makes his sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust." You cannot make the sun rise, nor send showers, nor benefit so great a world; use the money you have for kindness, and you have become like the one who makes the sun rise, as far as it is possible for a human being to become like God. 9. Pay close attention to what is said. "On the evil and the good," he says. You also, therefore, when you give alms, do not examine a person's life, nor demand an accounting of his ways. For it is called almsgiving for this reason, that we may give even to the unworthy.

For the one who shows mercy shows mercy not to the one who has succeeded but to the one who has sinned; for the one who succeeds is worthy of praises and crowns, while the one who sins is worthy of mercy and forgiveness. So then, in this respect too we will imitate God, if we also give to the wicked. For consider how many throughout the inhabited world are blasphemers, polluted, sorcerers, filled with every kind of evil; yet God feeds even these every day, training us to extend kindness to all. But we do the very opposite; for we not only turn away from wicked and worthless people, but even if someone in good health approaches us—whether because of fairness, or freedom, or perhaps even idleness (for I set this down too), living in poverty—we heap insults, abuse, and countless mockeries against him, and send him away with empty hands, reproaching him for his health and bringing up his idleness, demanding an account of him. For were you commanded, O man, simply to accuse and rebuke those in need? God commanded us to show mercy and to remedy their poverty, not to demand accounts and to insult. But do you wish to correct his manner of life, to lead him away from idleness, and to set the idle man to work? Give first, and then rebuke, so that you may not receive the suspicion of cruelty, having been accused of harshness, but rather the reputation of care. For the poor man turns away from the one who does not give but only accuses, and is disgusted, and would not even endure to look at him—and very reasonably so. For he thinks that the accusations arise not from care but from not wanting to give; which indeed is true. But the one who accuses after giving makes his admonition readily acceptable.

For he makes the rebuke not out of inhumanity but out of solicitude. So too did Paul do: for having said, If anyone does not wish to work, neither let him eat, he adds, saying: But you, while doing good, do not grow weary. And yet these commandments seem to be contrary. For if those who are idle ought not to eat, how do you command these to do good? But it is not contrary; may it not be. For this reason, he says, I said, If anyone does not wish to work, neither let him eat, not in order to draw away those who are about to give from almsgiving, but in order to draw away those living in idleness from idleness. The saying, Neither let him eat, then, stirs those men up to work by the fear of the threat; while the saying, While doing good do not grow weary, rouses these men to almsgiving by the usefulness of the exhortation. For lest some, having heard the threat made against those men, should draw back their hands, he calls them forth to generosity, saying: While doing good do not grow weary. So that even if you give to one who is idle, you have done good.

9. He made this clear also in what follows. For having said, If anyone does not obey our word through the letter, mark that person and do not associate with him, and having cut him off from the sacred court, he again joins him to them in another way, making the minds of those who cut him off friendly to him and gathering them together; for he added, saying: Do not regard him as an enemy, he says, but as a brother. Just as, then, when he said, If anyone does not wish to work, neither let him eat, he again commanded the masters to take great forethought for them; so also here, having said, Do not associate with him, he did not remove those who heard from caring for him, but even urged them very strongly to take hold of him, adding and saying, And do not regard him as an enemy, but as a brother. You have been separated from his company, but do not be separated from your care for him; you have cut him off from the assembly, do not cut him off from love. For I commanded this very thing to be done for the sake of love, so that, having become better through the separation, he might return to the body for the future; since fathers too cast their children out of their house, not so that they remain outside forever, but so that, having become more self-controlled by falling out of the house, they might return again to the house. For those who bring an accusation of idleness, then, what has been said is sufficient. But since there is also another argument, much practiced by many in defense, full of inhumanity and cruelty, it is necessary also

to refute this one again, not so that we might deprive them of a defense, but so that we might persuade them to set aside the defense that does not exist and does not profit, and to practice continually through works the defense that does exist and is able to stand at the judgment seat of Christ. What, then, is the cold and unprofitable defense of the many? "I live for the rearing of children," he says, "I manage a household, I support a wife, I have many compelling expenses; hence I am not able to show mercy to those who come to me." What are you saying? You rear children, and for this reason you do not show mercy to those who come to you? On the contrary, for these very reasons you ought to show mercy to those in need—for the sake of the children, and for their protection, so that with a few coins you may make God, who gave them, propitious, so that you may leave him as their protector even after your death, so that you may draw down great goodwill upon them from above by spending on God from what belongs to them. Do you not see that many people have often brought into their own wills men who were wealthy and in positions of power, who were in no way related to them, and made them co-heirs with their own children, for no other reason than to secure safety for their own children from a few coins? And this, though they do not know how those who have become sharers of the inheritance will be disposed toward their children after their death. But you, knowing the love for humanity and the kindness and the gentleness of your Master, will you not make him a sharer of your will? Will you not make him a co-heir of your children? And where, tell me, are these things [characteristic] of a father who loves his children?

For if you care for the children who have been born, leave them a written testament in which you have God as debtor. This is the greatest inheritance, this is adornment, this is security. Bring him into the inheritance here, so that he may bring you in with your children into the inheritance there. This heir is noble, loving to mankind, kind, powerful, rich; so that in no respect is there reason to suspect his partnership. For this reason almsgiving is also called seed, since the matter is not an expense but a revenue; but you, whenever you must sow, do not pay attention that you are emptying the storehouses of old produce, but you pay attention to the harvest of produce not yet present; and this, not knowing that it will certainly come to pass. For both mildew, and hail, and locusts, and irregularity of the airs, and many things beat against our hope for the future; but when you are about to sow into heaven, where all irregularity of airs has been cast out, and every pretext for grief and plotting has been abolished, do you hesitate and shrink back? And what excuse will you find, when you dare to cast seed into the earth and do this with zeal, but when you are about to cast it into the hand of God, you hesitate and are negligent? For if the earth gives back what has been cast into it, much more will the hand of God give back to you with all its abundance whatever it receives. 10. Knowing these things, then, let us not pay attention to the expense when we give alms, but to the revenue and the future hopes, and also to the present gain; for almsgiving does not only procure for us the kingdom of heaven, but also security and abundance in the present life.

Who says these things? The Lord himself who grants them. For he says, "Whoever gives his own goods to the poor will receive a hundredfold in this age, and will inherit eternal life." Do you see the rewards given in each life with great abundance? Let us not, then, hesitate or delay, but let us bring forth the fruit of almsgiving each day, so that both our present affairs may flow smoothly and we may attain the life to come; may it be granted to us all to share in it, by the grace and love for humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, honor, and power unto the ages of ages. Amen. AGAIN ON THE SAME PASSAGE: "Having the same Spirit of faith, according to what is written"; and why all share in the good things in common, and concerning almsgiving. 1. In the previous assembly and the one before it, having taken up a single saying of the Apostle, we spent our entire discourse on its exposition; and today we endeavor to dwell again on this same saying. We do this deliberately for the benefit of your love, not for our own display. For it is not to show myself off as fruitful and full of thought, but to reveal to you the wisdom of Paul and to stir up your zeal, that I handle the discourse in this way. For the depth of his understanding appears greater when from a single saying he begets for us so many rivers of thoughts.

And you, having learned that from a single apostolic word it is possible to reap an unspeakable wealth of wisdom, will not pass over the Epistles casually, but will be moved forward, nourished by these hopes, to examine each of the sayings contained in them with great diligence. For if one word produced for us a discourse of three days, how great a treasure will a whole passage, carefully contemplated, gush forth for us? Let us not, then, grow weary until we have gathered the whole harvest. For if those who dig in the mines of gold do not desist, however much wealth they have emptied out from there, until they have taken up all the gold, much more must we employ greater eagerness and diligence in the investigation of the divine oracles. For we too dig gold, not perceptible gold, but spiritual; for we work not the mines of the earth, but the mines of the Spirit. For the Epistles of Paul are mines and fountains of the Spirit; mines, because they provide us with wealth more precious than all gold; fountains, because they never fail; but however much you draw out from there, so much and much more flows in again. And of this the whole time that has passed would be a clear proof. For since Paul came to be, five hundred years have now passed; and throughout all this time many writers, many teachers and interpreters have often drawn much from there, and have not emptied the wealth that lies stored. For the treasure is not perceptible; therefore it is not consumed by the multitude of hands of those who dig, but grows and increases. And why do I speak of those who came before?

How many after us will speak, and others again after them, and the wealth will not cease to flow like a spring, nor will the mines run out in this way? For they are spiritual, and it is not their nature ever to be exhausted. What, then, is the apostolic saying about which we also recently conversed with your love? "Having the same Spirit of faith," according to what is written: "I believed, therefore I spoke." 2. At that time, then, we were inquiring for what reason he said "the same Spirit of faith"; and we stated one reason for the present: this was to show that the Old Testament is in agreement with the New. For when the same Spirit of faith appears both to have moved the tongue of David, which said, "I believed, therefore I spoke," and to be at work in the soul of Paul, it is evident that there is a great kinship between prophets and apostles, and that there must be a great agreement between the Old and the New. But so that we may not again trouble you by stirring up the same things, come, let us also state the other reason for which he said "the same." For indeed we also promised you then to state another reason for this saying. But rouse yourselves; for deep is this thought which I am about to set before your love, and

This requires a discerning mind and a most keen soul; therefore I urge you to follow closely what is about to be said. For if the labor is ours, the gain is yours—or rather, the labor is not even ours, but the gift of the Spirit's grace; and when it reveals, neither the speaker nor the hearers grow weary, for great is the ease of the revelation. Let us therefore attend with precision; for even if you follow most of it, but doze off for a small part, you will be ignorant of the whole beauty, since the sequence has been broken. And just as those who do not know the roads and need others to guide them—even if they go far forward following them, but then slacken a little and lose their leader, the earlier following will be of no benefit to them, but they stand still, not knowing where to go forward—so too those who follow the speaker: if, while attending throughout the whole teaching, they slacken a little, they throw away the whole sequence and will no longer be able to stand at the end of the thoughts. So that you may not suffer this, give me equal zeal throughout all that is about to be said, until we come to the very end.

3. For what reason, then, has he said, "Having the same Spirit of faith," and is eager to show that both in the Old and in the New Covenant faith is the mother of good things? It is necessary to speak a little from the beginning above; for thus the cause will be made clearer to us. What, then, is the cause? A great war had surrounded the faithful when these things were being said—a harsh and undeclared war. For whole cities and peoples rose up against them from every side, and all tyrants plotted against them, and kings made preparations, and weapons were being moved, and swords were being sharpened, and armies were being marshaled, and every form of punishment and vengeance was being devised; whence, with their possessions, there were robberies and confiscations, and abductions and daily deaths, and tortures, and prisons, and fire, and iron, and beasts, and the wooden rack, and the wheel, and pits, and precipices, and everything that could be devised for the destruction of the faithful was being set in motion; and not even to these things had the war stood still. For it was not only stirred up by enemies, but nature itself was split against itself. For fathers warred against their children, and daughters hated those who bore them, and friends turned away from friends, and this war, creeping in, entered into families and households, and there was great confusion then throughout the inhabited world.

And just as a ship, when waves rise up, clouds burst asunder, thunders crash, darkness encircles the vessel on every side, the sea rages, wild beasts rise up, pirates attack, and those within are at strife among themselves, would not escape the danger unless the hand from above, the mighty and great one, beat back the war and, dissolving the storm, brought the voyagers into calm—so indeed it also happened then at the beginning of the preaching. For the storm did not attack only from without, but those within also often strove against one another. Who says this? Paul himself, writing, "Without were fightings, within were fears." And that these things are true, and that countless evils surrounded both teachers and disciples, and the war ravaged all—I bring forward again the testimony of Paul himself. But do you remember all that is said, so that when you learn of the dangers, the temptations, the countless evils which those who believed then endured, you may give thanks to God all the more, and for this reason, to God who dissolved all those terrible things, and brought in deep peace, and drove away the war, and established great calm—so that no one, either through sloth, may think to escape punishment, nor, through success, be puffed up now.

4. For it is not the same thing to be able to stand nobly when attacked from every side and deluged by countless evils, and, as it were, to sit in a harbor now and enjoy complete security, and to display the same zeal. For those men were in no better condition than those who were then being tossed and buffeted in the open sea; but we now live more free from fear than those who sit in a harbor. Let us therefore neither be proud over our successes, nor be cast down by the temptations that befall us, nor give ourselves over to ease through the security of peace; but let us always be sober and watchful. For we too have a struggle against the desires of nature. It is not men who rise up against us now, but the pleasures of the flesh rise up; it is not tyrants and kings who wage war, but anger wages war, the love of vainglory, envy, jealousies, and the countless passions of the soul. Since, then, we have been delivered from those temptations, let us overcome these. For this reason I reminded you of the abominations of those times, so that both the one who is now in affliction may receive sufficient consolation from that, and the one who enjoys great security may, in place of the freedom from those dangers, bring great zeal to the battle against unreasonable thoughts.

For all those things were written for our admonition and encouragement and endurance; and it is necessary now to speak to you of them, and to teach the magnitude of the terrible things that then surrounded the faithful—not only the teachers, but also the disciples. Hear, then, what Paul says when writing to the Hebrews: Remember the former days, in which, after you were enlightened, you endured a great contest of sufferings. For the time was not brief, but at the very beginnings of their catechesis and teaching, temptations rose up against them, and having been baptized they were immediately in danger. Hear what they suffered: on the one hand, being made a spectacle by reproaches and afflictions. For all spat on them, insulted them, mocked them, jeered at them, called them fools and senseless, because they had abandoned their ancestral way of life and accepted a new doctrine. And this is no small thing for shaking a soul, unless the faith is rooted deep down. For nothing so bites the soul as reproach; nothing so melts the soul and the mind as mockeries and insults; for many men have often been tripped up by being reproached. And I say these things now so that we may hold the faith with boldness. For if then, when the whole world reproached them, they were not tripped up, much more now must we hold the proclamation of the truth with boldness, when the whole world has ranged itself on our side. And that those men did not stop at accusation and reproaches and insults, but even rejoiced while suffering these things, hear what follows. For the plundering of your possessions, he says, you accepted with joy.

You see that even their possessions were confiscated in the old days, and were exposed to plunder for all who wished to mistreat them. And these things he said while writing to the Hebrews. 5. But to the Thessalonians he testifies to other such things again, saying: For you became imitators, he says, of the Lord and of us, having received the word in much affliction. See that these too were afflicted, and not merely so, but in much affliction. For the trial was with intensity, the danger continual, not allowing those who were struggling then even a little breathing room. But nevertheless, even suffering these things, they did not resent it, nor were they indignant, but rather they even rejoiced. From where is this clear? From Paul's own words; for having said, In much affliction, he added, With joy of the Holy Spirit; showing that the trials produced the affliction, but the occasion of the trials gave birth to their joy. For it was enough for their consolation to be conscious within themselves that they were suffering these things for Christ's sake. Therefore I do not so much marvel at those men then, that they were afflicted, as I marvel that, being afflicted, they rejoiced for God's sake. For this belongs to a noble and God-loving soul—to be afflicted and to suffer badly; but to bear the trial nobly, and to give thanks to the one who permits the afflictions—this belongs to the greatest courage, this belongs to a soul thoroughly awakened and freed from all human things. And not only here, but also elsewhere, declaring how many evils those who believed then suffered at the hands of their own household and relatives (for this was the most grievous thing), he speaks somewhat as follows: For you became imitators, brothers, of the churches of God which are in Judea. In what way imitators?

Because you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Jews. Behold, it is also war, but even a civil war, which makes the pain greater. For if an enemy had reproached me, I would have endured it, he says; but you, O man, my equal in soul, my leader and my acquaintance—which then happened figuratively. Therefore they needed much consolation. Paul, then, perceiving this and seeing those ranked under him growing weary and sweating, weighed down by the magnitude of their misfortunes and in pain from the successive blows, rouses their thoughts in many ways, now saying, "If indeed it is just before God to repay those who afflict you with affliction, and to you who are afflicted, rest with us"; now saying, "The Lord is near, be anxious about nothing"; and again, "Do not cast away your boldness; for you have need of endurance, so that having done the will of God, you may receive the promise." Then, anointing them for endurance, he adds: "For yet a little, a very little while, the one who is coming will come and will not delay." And just as someone sitting beside a crying child, distressed and seeking its mother, comforts it by saying, "Wait a little longer, and your mother will certainly come," so too Paul, seeing that the believers of that time were impatient, lamenting, and seeking the presence of Christ because of the unbearable onslaught of evils, said in consolation: "For yet a little, a very little while, the one who is coming will come and will not delay." 6.

That the disciples, then, were afflicted and suffered countless terrible things, and like lambs seized in the midst of wolves were driven from every side, is clear from these things. But so that you may learn that the teachers also endured no fewer things than these, but even far harsher things at that time (for by as much as they grieved the enemies of the truth more greatly, by so much were they also assailed by more people), let us hear these things too from the one who spoke the former things. For writing to the Corinthians, he said thus: Giving no offense in anything, so that our ministry not be blamed, but in everything commending ourselves as ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings. Did you see how many contests he counted up, how many snowstorms of trials? Again, writing to the same people, he says: They are ministers of Christ—I speak as one beside himself—I am more. Then, wishing to persuade us that being afflicted for Christ is far more brilliant than doing signs, and making a proof of apostleship, and showing that he is better than them—I do not mean than the apostles, but than the false apostles—he makes the demonstration of his superiority not from wonders and signs, but from dangers following one upon another, saying thus: In labors more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often; five times I received from the Jews forty lashes minus one, three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have spent in the deep.

in journeys often, in dangers of rivers, in dangers of robbers, in dangers from my own people, in dangers from the Gentiles, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness, in dangers at sea, in dangers among false brothers; in labor and toil, in sleepless nights often, in hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness, besides the things without. These are the marks of the exact apostleship. For many others also often performed signs, and they gained nothing from the wonders, but after all those things they heard: Depart, I do not know you, you who work lawlessness. But no one who is able to say these things that Paul has now enumerated will hear that voice; but with great boldness he will step upon the heavens and will enjoy all the good things in the heavens. 7. Perhaps our discourse has become rather long; but do not be afraid; we have not forgotten our promise, but we will return to it again presently. And we have not lengthened these things in vain, but desiring to make the demonstration more indisputable and clearer through a fuller preparation, and at the same time to comfort afflicted souls, so that each of those who are in trials and dangers may depart having received sufficient consolation, having learned that through sufferings he becomes a partaker with Paul, or rather with Christ, the Master of the angels; and partaking of his sufferings here, he will partake of that glory there. For if, he says, we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified with him; and again: If we endure, that we may also reign with him. For it is necessary that the faithful one be afflicted in every way. For all who desire to live piously in Christ will be persecuted; and again:

Child, if you come to serve the Lord, prepare your soul for temptation; make straight your path and endure. The promises are good from the outset—to fall into temptations; it is a great encouragement and a vivid exhortation to taste dangers immediately in service. It is therefore very great and wonderful, and has the greatest gain. And what is this? Hear what follows: For as gold is tested in fire, so are acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation. What he means is this: just as gold, when tried by fire, becomes purer, so too the soul, when it consorts with afflictions and dangers, rises up brighter and more radiant, and will cast off every stain of sins. Whence also Abraham said to the rich man that Lazarus had received his evil things, and here he is comforted. And Paul, writing to the Corinthians, wrote: For this cause many among you are weak and sickly. For if we judged ourselves, we would not be judged; but being judged by the Lord, we are chastened, so that we may not be condemned with the world. And he handed the fornicator over to the destruction of the flesh for this very reason, so that the spirit might be saved; showing that the present temptation works salvation, and that dangers, for those who bear them with thanksgiving, are the greatest purification of the soul. That the faithful were indeed afflicted, and suffered countless terrible things—both disciples and teachers—and did not breathe freely even a little, surrounded on every side by wars of various and manifold kinds, the argument has sufficiently demonstrated; and those who love labor may gather more than what has been said from the divine Scriptures.

8. Let us now bring the discourse back to the proposed subject. What was the proposed subject to say? For what reason did Paul say, "Having the same Spirit of faith"? For what reason, then, did he say it? This disturbed the disciples—that the dreadful things were in experience, but the good things in hope; and the one was present, the other still far off; and the one was happening, the other was hoped for. And what is wonderful if at that time, at the beginning of the preaching, some suffered this, when even now, after so long a time, after the preaching has been spread everywhere throughout the inhabited world, after receiving so many proofs of the promises, many are those who suffer this? But this alone did not trouble them, but also another thing no less than this. What is this? They reasoned among themselves that in the Old Testament things were not administered in this way, but those who had chosen to live with fairness and self-control received the prizes and rewards of virtue immediately. For not after the resurrection of bodies, nor in the life to come, but here, and in the present life, all their promises were fulfilled. For if you love, it says, the Lord your God, it shall be well with you, and God will multiply the herds of your cattle and the flocks of your sheep; there shall be nothing barren or sterile among you; there shall be no sickness, it says, nor disease among you. God will send out his blessing into the storehouses of your granaries; he will open the heaven and give you the early and the late rain. The threshing floor shall overtake the vintage, and the vintage the sowing.

And many other such things he promised them, all of which were being delivered to them in the present life. If anyone is sharper, he already foresees the solution. Since, then, bodily health, and prosperity of land, and many children and good children, and sleek old age, and the best tempering of seasons, and fruitfulness, and timely rains, and many flocks and herds, and simply all good things were being fulfilled for them in the present life, and nothing was in hopes, nor after the departure from here; therefore the faithful, reasoning on these things—that for their own forefathers all good things came at their very feet, but for them the prizes and all the crowns are stored up for the life to come, and the things of the promises are in faith—were growing weary, were fainting, being compelled to drag out the whole present life through trials. Paul, then, considering these things, and the greatness of the terrors hanging over them, and that to these God promised the reward of their labors after their departure from here, but their forefathers he recompensed here, and perceiving the great despondency arising in them from these reasonings, wishing to rouse them and to teach them that even in the case of their own fathers the matters had been so ordered, and that many received the reward in faith, not in experience, he reminded them of the prophetic saying, saying: "Having the same Spirit of faith, according to what is written: I believed, therefore I spoke"; almost saying that even the great David, that wonderful and noble prophet, received his recompense by faith, not by experience.

For if this were not so, he would not have said, "I believed, therefore have I spoken." For faith is the substance of things hoped for, of things not seen; but what someone sees, he certainly does not also hope for. If, then, he believed, he believed in things hoped for. And if he believed in things hoped for, but the things hoped for are not yet seen, he had not yet received those things in which he believed. Therefore he says, "Having the same Spirit of faith," that is, the same faith, the one in the Old Testament, we also have. For this reason he also says elsewhere, speaking of the saints of that time: "They wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, of whom the world was not worthy." Then, teaching that they endured terrible things but had not yet even now received their rewards, he added, saying: "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off and embraced them." And how, tell me, did they see things not yet present? With the eyes of faith, which pass beyond heaven and survey all things there.

9. But consider with me the wisdom of God, how he both showed them the prizes from afar and did not give them immediately, in order that he might make their endurance greater; and he showed them from afar, so that, being nourished by these hopes, they might not even perceive the present labors. But perhaps one of those who attend more sharply to himself will think the argument has fallen into contradiction. For if even the former, he says, did not receive the good things and the recompenses at their very feet, how have you drawn out a long argument for us, enumerating the temperance of the seasons, health of body, good children, many children, abundance of crops, plenty of fruits, herds of cattle, flocks, all the prosperity of life? What then should we say to this? That God led the multitude and the weaker people in one way, but the noble and those already pursuing the philosophy in the New Covenant in another way. For to the many, who crawl on the ground and are able to see nothing great, nor to stretch out the hope of their soul toward the enjoyment of the good things to come, he provided these present good things, consoling the weakness of their soul, and through these guiding them to the practice of virtue, and casting into them the desire for noble things; but Elijah and Elisha, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and simply all the prophets, and as many as have belonged to the chorus of the holy and great men, he called to the heavens and the good things prepared there for those who have been approved.

Therefore Paul did not simply enumerate all of them, but those in sheepskins, in goatskins, those in the furnace, those in prison, those beaten to death, those stoned, those in famine, those in poverty, those in deserts, those in caves, those in the holes of the earth, those who suffered countless terrible things. And then he said that all these had died in faith and had not yet received the promises—hinting to us not at the Jewish multitude, but at those who were like Elijah. But if someone should say, "Why is it that these very men have not even now received the crowns owed to them?" let him learn this reason too from Paul. For after saying, "These all died in faith, not having received the promises," he added, "God having provided something better concerning us, that they should not be made perfect without us." For the assembly is common, he says, since the pleasure is greater when we are all crowned together. This also happens in the Olympic games: the wrestler, the boxer, the pancratiast endure their contests at different times, but in one moment of time they are all proclaimed. So it is also among the best. For when some of the guests have arrived first, while others are still expected, the hosts, honoring those who remain, order those who have already come and arrived to wait for those who are late. This God has also done.

For since he called those who in every age had distinguished themselves throughout the whole inhabited world to a common and spiritual banquet, he commands those who have already arrived and gone on ahead to wait for those who are going to depart after these things, so that when all have thus come together, both the honor and the pleasure may become one for all. 10. For consider how great it is in point of honor that Paul and all those of his time, Abraham and those of his time, and those again before him who so many years earlier struggled and conquered, now sit waiting for our good success. For that Paul has not yet received the crown, nor has any other of those who from the beginning pleased God, nor will they receive it, until all who are destined to be crowned until the end have arrived, hear Paul himself saying: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the righteous judge will give me. When? On that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearing. And again elsewhere, showing that the enjoyment of good things is given to all in common, writing to the Thessalonians he said: If indeed it is righteous with God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to you who are afflicted rest with us. And again: That we who

we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep; by all these things he is making clear that all must arrive together and in common to enjoy the heavenly honors. This brings great pleasure even to those who have arrived first, when they enjoy those ineffable goods together with their own members. For a father too, when he shares a splendid and costly table, will then enjoy its gladness more abundantly when he shares the feast and gladness with his own children. So too Paul and all those of his time will feel greater delight when they enjoy it together with their own members. For fathers do not show as much affection toward their children as those men have care for those who have achieved the same things as they. In order, then, that we too may become among those honored at that time, let us strive to overtake those saints. And how, he says, shall we be able to overtake them? Who will show us the road that leads there? The very Master of those saints, who teaches us not only how we may overtake them, but also how we may become housemates and tent-companions with them all; for he says, Make for yourselves friends out of the mammon of unrighteousness, so that when you fail, they may receive you into their eternal tents. Well did he say, eternal.

For here, even if you have a splendid house, it will certainly perish, being destroyed by time; or rather, even before the corruption that comes with time, death falling upon you will cast you out of this splendid dwelling; and often even before death, the difficulties of certain circumstances and the assaults of slanderers and plots have prepared the way for you to fall from it. But there, none of these things is to be suspected—neither corruption, nor death, nor collapse, nor the insolence of slanderers, nor anything else—but the dwelling is immovable and immortal. For this reason he called them eternal. Make for yourselves friends, he says, from the mammon of unrighteousness. 11. See how great is the lovingkindness of the Master, how great his goodness and forbearance. For he did not simply add this phrase; but since for many rich people wealth has been gathered from robbery and greed, he says: It was wrong, and you ought not to have collected your money in this way; nevertheless, since you have collected it, cease from robbery and greed, and use your money for what is needful. I do not say this so that you may show mercy while robbing, but so that, having desisted from greed, you may employ your wealth for almsgiving and lovingkindness. For if someone does not cease from robbery, he will not even perform almsgiving; but even if he lays down countless sums of money into the hands of the needy, while robbing and defrauding others, he is reckoned by God equal to murderers. Therefore one must first desist from greed, and so show mercy to the needy. For great is the power of almsgiving, about which I also spoke to you in the previous gathering, and now I will speak. But let no one regard the continuity of the reminder as an accusation against the hearers.

For in contests the spectators stir on those runners whom they see to have come near the prize and to have many hopes of victory. And I therefore, since I always see you receiving words about almsgiving with great eagerness, for this reason also I myself more continually stir up the exhortation concerning these things. The poor are the physicians of our souls, benefactors and protectors; for you do not give as much as you receive: you give silver, and you receive the kingdom of heaven; you loose poverty, and you reconcile the Master to yourself. Do you see that the exchange is not equal? These things are on earth, those in heaven; these perish, those remain; these are corrupted, those are above all destruction. For this reason our fathers also set the poor before the doors of the houses of prayer, so that the very sight of the poor might rouse even the most sluggish and most inhuman to the remembrance of almsgiving. For when a chorus of old men stands there, bent over, clad in rags, squalid, filthy, holding staffs, barely able to support themselves, and often with their eyes gouged out and their whole body maimed—who is so stony, who is so adamantine, as to resist and remain unyielding toward all these things, when age, and weakness, and maiming, and poverty, and the cheap garment, and simply all things incline him to compassion?

For this reason, before our doors stand those who are more powerful than any word, drawing us in through sight, calling those who enter to compassion. For just as it is customary for fountains to be in the courtyards of the houses of prayer, so that those who are about to pray to God, having first washed their hands, may thus raise them in prayer, so too the fathers placed the poor before the doors in place of springs and fountains, so that just as we wash our hands with water, so too, having first wiped clean the soul by compassion, we may thus pray. 12. For the nature of water does not so wash away the stains of the body as the power of almsgiving wipes away the filth of the soul. Therefore, just as you do not dare to enter and pray with unwashed hands—although that offense is lesser—so never come to prayer without almsgiving. And yet, even when we often have clean hands, if we have not first washed them with water, we do not raise them in prayer; such is the force of custom. Let us therefore do this also in the case of almsgiving: even if we are conscious of no great sin in ourselves, let us nevertheless wipe clean the conscience through almsgiving. You have drawn many evils from the marketplace: an enemy provoked you, a judge compelled you to do something improper, you often let fall words that were out of place, a friend shamed you into doing something that involves sin, you have contracted many other things besides, such as it is likely for a man to contract while turning about in the marketplace, sitting in the courts, and handling the affairs of the city. For all these things you enter to ask God for forgiveness and to make your defense.

Therefore put down your money into the hands of the poor, and wipe away those stains, so that you may call with boldness, asking the one who is able to forgive you these sins. If you establish it as a habit for yourself never to enter these sacred vestibules without almsgiving, you will never, whether willingly or unwillingly, fall short of this good work; for such is the nature of habit. And just as you never, whatever happens, endure to pray with unwashed hands, since you once established it as a habit, so too with almsgiving: if you impose this law upon yourself, you will fulfill it every day, both willingly and unwillingly, drawn by habit. Prayer is fire, especially when it is sent up from a sober and awakened soul; but this fire also needs oil, so that it may touch the heavenly vaults themselves; and the oil of this fire is nothing other than almsgiving. Therefore pour on the oil abundantly, so that, rejoicing in your good deed, you may perform your prayers with greater boldness and greater zeal. For just as those who are conscious of no good in themselves cannot even pray with boldness, so those who have accomplished something, coming to prayer even after that righteousness, rejoicing in the memory of the good deed, make their supplication with greater zeal. So that our prayer may become more powerful in this respect too, with our mind keeping watch in our petitions because of the memory of good deeds, let us come to prayer with almsgiving, and

Let us remember with exactness all that has been said; and before all else, keep continually in mind that image which I spoke of—the poor standing before the doors of the houses of prayer—fulfilling for the soul that need which the fountain fulfills for the body. For if we keep this continually in remembrance, washing our reasoning continually, we shall be able to offer our prayers pure. And we shall draw great boldness from God, and attain to the kingdom of heaven, by the grace and love for mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen.