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BOOK I.

CONTENTS.

I.HOW BASIL EXCELLED ALL THE FRIENDS OF CHRYSOSTOM.

II.THE UNANIMITY OF BASIL AND CHRYSOSTOM, AND THEIR JOINT STUDY OF ALL SUBJECTS.

III.THE BALANCE UPSET IN THE PURSUIT OF THE MONASTIC LIFE.

IV.THE PROPOSAL TO OCCUPY A COMMON HOME.

V.THE FOND ENTREATIES OF CHRYSOSTOM'S MOTHER.

VI.THE DECEIT EMPLOYED BY CHRYSOSTOM IN THE MATTER OF ORDINATION.

VII.CHRYSOSTOM'S DEFENCE IN REPLY TO OBJECTIONS.
VIII.THE GREAT ADVANTAGE OF DECEIT WHEN WELL TIMED; CONCLUSION AND GENERAL  REMARKS.

    1. I HAD many genuine and true friends, men who understood the laws of friendship, and faithfully observed  them; but out of this large number there was one who excelled all the rest in his attachment to me, striving to  outstrip them as much as they themselves outstripped ordinary acquaintance. He was one of those who were  constantly at my side; for we were engaged in the same studies, and employed the same teachers.(1) We had the  same eagerness and zeal about the studies at which we worked, and a passionate desire produced by the same  circumstances was equally strong in both of us. For not only when we were attending school, but after we had left  it, when it became necessary to consider what course of life it would be best for us to adopt, we found ourselves to  be of the same mind.
    2. And in addition to these, there were other things also which preserved and maintained this concord unbroken  and secure. For as regarded the greatness of our fatherland neither had one cause to vaunt himself over the other,  nor was I burdened with riches, and he pinched by poverty, but our means corresponded as closely as our tastes.  Our families also were of equal rank, and thus everything concurred with our disposition.
    3. But when it became our duty to pursue the blessed life of monks, and the true philosophy,(2) our balance was  no longer even, but his scale mounted high, while I, still entangled in the lusts of this world, dragged mine down  and kept it low, weighting it with those fancies in which youths are apt to indulge. For the future our friendship  indeed remained as firm as it was before, but our intercourse was interrupted; for it was impossible for persons  who were not interested about the same things to spend much time together. But as soon as I also began to emerge  a little from the flood of worldliness, he received me with open arms; yet not even thus could we maintain our  former equality: for having got the start of me in time, and having displayed great earnestness, he rose again above  my level, and soared to a great height.
    4. Being a good man, however, and placing a high value on my friendship, he separated himself from all the rest  (of the brethren), and spent the whole of his time with me, which he had desired to do before, but had been  prevented as I was saying by my frivolity. For it was impossible for a man who attended the law-courts, and was in  a flutter of excitement

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about the pleasures of the stage, to be often in the company of one who was nailed to his books, and never set foot  in the market place. Consequently when the hindrances were removed, and he had brought me into the same  condition of life as himself, he gave free vent to the desire with which he had long been laboring. He could not bear  leaving me even for a moment, and he persistently urged that we should each of us abandon our own home and  share a common dwelling :--in fact he persuaded me, and the affair was taken in hand.
    5. But the continual lamentations of my mother hindered me from granting him the favor, or rather from  receiving this boon at his hands. For when she perceived that I was meditating this step, she took me into her own  private chamber, and, sitting near me on the bed where she had given birth to me, she shed torrents of tears, to  which she added words yet more pitiable than her weeping, in the following lamentable strain: My child, it was not  the will of Heaven that I should long enjoy the benefit of thy father's virtue. For his death soon followed the pangs  which I endured at thy birth, leaving thee an orphan and me a widow before my time to face all the horrors of  widowhood, which only those who have experienced them can fairly understand. For no words are adequate to  describe the tempest-tossed condition of a young woman who, having but lately left her paternal home, and being  inexperienced in business, is suddenly racked by an overwhelming sorrow, and compelled to support a load of care  too great for her age and sex. For she has to correct the laziness of servants, and to be on the watch for their  rogueries, to repel the designs of relations, to bear bravely the threats of those who collect the public taxes,(1) and  harshness in the imposition of rates. And if the departed one should have left a child, even if it be a girl, great  anxiety will be caused to the mother, although free from much expense and fear: but a boy fills her with ten  thousand alarms and many anxieties every day, to say nothing of the great expense which one is compelled to incur  if she wishes to bring him up in a liberal way. None of these things, however, induced me to enter into a second  marriage, or introduce a second husband into thy father's house: but I held on as I was, in the midst of the storm  and uproar, and did not shun the iron furnace(2) of widowhood. My foremost help indeed was the grace from  above; but it was no small consolation to me under those I terrible trials to look continually on thy face and to  preserve in thee a living image of him who had gone, an image indeed which was a fairly exact likeness.
    On this account, even when thou wast an infant, and hadst not yet learned to speak, a time when children are  the greatest delight to their parents, thou didst afford me much comfort. Nor indeed can you complain that,  although I bore my widowhood bravely, I diminished thy patrimony, which I know has been the fate of many who  have had the misfortune to be orphans. For, besides keeping the whole of it intact, I spared no expense which was  needful to give you an honorable position, spending for this purpose some of my own fortune, and of my marriage  dowry. Yet do not think that I say these things by way of reproaching you; only in return for all these benefits I beg  one favor: do not plunge me into a second widowhood; nor revive the grief which is now laid to rest: wait for my  death: it may be in a little while I shall depart. The young indeed look forward to a distant old age; but we who  have grown old(3) have nothing but death to wait for. When, then, you shall have committed my body to the  ground, and mingled my bones with thy father's, embark for a long voyage, and set sail on any sea thou wilt: then  there will be no one to hinder thee: but as long as my life lasts, be content to live with me. Do not, I pray you,  oppose God in vain, involving me without cause, who have done you no wrong, in these great calamities. For if you  have any reason to complain that I drag you into worldly cares, and force you to attend to business, do not be  restrained by any reverence for the laws of nature, for training or custom, but fly from me as an enemy; but if, on  the contrary, I do everything to provide leisure for thy journey through this life, let this bond at least if nothing else  keep thee by me. For couldst thou say that ten thousand loved thee, yet no one will afford thee the enjoyment of so  much liberty, seeing there is no one who is equally anxious for thy welfare.
    6. These words, and more, my mother spake to me, and I related them to that noble youth. But he, so far from  being disheartened by these speeches, was the more urgent in making the same request as before. Now while we  were thus situated, he continually entreating, and I refusing my assent, we were both of us disturbed by a report  suddenly reaching us that we were about to be advanced to the dignity of

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the episcopate.(1) As soon as I heard this rumor I was seized with alarm and perplexity: with alarm lest I should be  made captive against my will, and perplexity, inquiring as I often did whence any such idea concerning us could  have entered the minds of these men; for looking to myself I found nothing worthy of such an honor. But that  noble youth having come to me privately, and having conferred with me about these things as if with one who was  ignorant of the rumor, begged that we might in this instance also as formerly shape our action and our counsels the  same way: for he would readily follow me whichever course I might pursue, whether I attempted flight or  submitted to be captured. Perceiving then his eagerness, and considering that I should inflict a loss upon the whole  body of the Church if, owing to my own weakness, I were to deprive the flock of Christ of a young man who was  so good and so well qualified for the supervision of large numbers, I abstained from disclosing to him the purpose  which I had formed, although I had never before allowed any of my plans to be concealed from him. I now told  him that it would be best to postpone our decision concerning this matter to another season, as it was not  immediately pressing, and by so doing persuaded him to dismiss it from his thoughts, and at the same time  encouraged him to hope that, if such a thing should ever happen to us, I should be of the same mind with him. But  after a short time, when one who was to ordain us arrived, I kept myself concealed, but Basil, ignorant of this, was  taken away on another pretext, and made to take the yoke, hoping from the promises which I had made to him  that I should certainly follows or rather supposing that he was following me. For some of those who were present,  seeing that he resented being seized, deceived him by exclaiming how strange it was that one who was generally  reputed to be the more hot tempered (meaning me), had yielded very mildly to the judgment of the Fathers,  whereas he, who was reckoned a much wiser and milder kind of man, had shown himself hotheaded and conceited,  being unruly, restive, and contradictory.(2) Having yielded to these remonstrances, and afterwards having learned  that I had escaped capture, he came to me in deep dejection, sat down near me and tried to speak, but was  hindered by distress of mind and inability to express in words the violence to which he had been subjected. No  sooner had he opened his mouth than he was prevented from utterance by grief cutting short his words before they  could pass his lips. Seeing, then, his tearful and agitated condition, and knowing as I did the cause, I laughed for  joy, and, seizing his right hand, I forced a kiss on him, and praised God that my plan had ended so successfully, as I  had always prayed it might. But when he saw that I was delighted and beaming with joy, and understood that he  had been deceived by me, he was yet more vexed and distressed.
    7. And when he had a little recovered from this agitation of mind, he began: If you have rejected the part allotted  to you, and have no further regard for me (I know not indeed for what cause), you ought at least to consider your  own reputation; but as it is you have opened the mouths of all, and the world is saying that you have declined this  ministry through love of vainglory, and there is no one who will deliver you from this accusation. As for me, I  cannot bear to go into the market place; there are so many who come up to me and reproach me every day. For,  when they see me anywhere in the city, all my intimate friends take me aside, and cast the greater part of the  blame upon me. Knowing his intention, they say, for none of his affairs could be kept secret from you, you should  not have concealed it, but ought to have communicated it to us, and we should have been at no loss to devise some  plan for capturing him. But I am too much ashamed and abashed to tell them that I did not know you had long  been plotting this trick, lest they should say that our friendship was a mere pretence. For even if it is so, as indeed  it is--nor would you yourself deny it after what you have done to me--yet it is well to hide our misfortune from the  outside world, and persons who entertain but a moderate opinion of us. I shrink from telling them the truth, and  how things really stand with us, and I am compelled in future to keep silence, and look down on the ground, and  turn away to avoid those whom I meet. For if I escape the condemnation on the former charge, I am forced to  undergo judgment for speaking falsehood. For they will never believe me when I say that you ranged Basil  amongst those who are not permitted to know your secret affairs. Of this, however, I will not take much account,  since it has seemed agreeable to you, but how shall we endure the future disgrace? for some accuse you of  arrogance, others of vainglory: while those

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who are our more merciful accusers, lay both these offences to our charge, and add that we have insulted those who  did us honor, although had they experienced even greater indignity it would only have served them right for passing  over so many and such distinguished men and advancing mere youths,(1) who were but yesterday immersed in the  interests of this world, to such a dignity as they never have dreamed of obtaining, in order that they may for a brief  season knit the eyebrows, wear dusky garments, and put on a grave face. Those who from the dawn of manhood  to extreme old age have diligently practised self-discipline, are now to be placed under the government of youths  who have not even heard the laws which should regulate their administration of this office. I am perpetually  assailed by persons who say such things and worse, and am at a loss how to reply to them; but I pray you tell me:  for I do not suppose that you took to flight and incurred such hatred from such distinguished men without cause or  consideration, but that your decision was made with reasoning and circumspection: whence also I conjecture that  you have some argument ready for your defence. Tell me, then, whether there is any fair excuse which I can make  to those who accuse us.
    For I do not demand any account for the wrongs which I have sustained at your hands, nor for the deceit or  treachery you have practised, nor for the advantage which you have derived from me in the past. For I placed my  very life, so to say, in your hands, yet you have treated me with as much guile as if it had been your business to  guard yourself against an enemy. Yet if you knew this decision of ours to be profitable, you ought not to have  avoided the gain: if on the contrary injurious, you should have saved me also from the loss, as you always said that  you esteemed me before every one else. But you have done everything to make me fall into the snare: and you had  no need of guile and hypocrisy in dealing with one who was wont to display the utmost sincerity and candor in  speech and action towards thee. Nevertheless, as I said, I do not now accuse you of any of these things, or reproach  you for the lonely position in which you have placed me by breaking off those conferences from which we often  derived no small pleasure and profit; but all these things I pass by, and bear in silence and meekness, not that thou  hast acted meekly in transgressing against me, but because from the day that I cherished thy friendship I laid it  down as a rule for myself, that whatever sorrow you might cause me I would never force you to the necessity of an  apology. For you know yourself that you have inflicted no small loss on me if at least you remember what we were  always saying ourselves, and the outside world also said concerning us, that it was a great gain for us to be of one  mind and be guarded by each other's friendship. Every one said, indeed, that our concord would bring no small  advantage to many besides ourselves; I never perceived, however, so far as I am concerned, how it could be of  advantage to others: but I did say that we should at least derive this benefit from it: that those who wished to  contend with us would find us difficult to master. And I never ceased reminding you of these things: saying the age  is a cruel one, and designing men are many, genuine love is no more, and the deadly pest of envy has crept into its  place: we walk in the midst of snares, and on the edge of battlements;(2) those who are ready to rejoice in our  misfortunes, if any should befall us, are many and beset us from many quarters: whereas there is no one to  condole with us, or at least the number of such may be easily counted. Beware that we do not by separation incur  much ridicule, and damage worse than ridicule. Brother aided by brother is like a strong city, and well fortified  kingdom.(3) Do not dissolve this genuine intimacy, nor break down the fortress. Such things and more I was  continually saying, not indeed that I ever suspected anything of this kind, but supposing you to be entirely sound in  your relation towards me, I did it as a superfluous precaution, wishing to preserve in health one who was already  sound; but unwittingly, as it seems, I was administering medicines to a sick man: and even so I have not been  fortunate enough to do any good, and have gained nothing by my excess of forethought. For having totally cast  away all these considerations, without giving them a thought, you have turned me adrift like an unballasted vessel  on an untried ocean, taking no heed of those fierce billows which I must encounter. For if it should ever be my lot  to undergo calumny, or mockery, or any other kind of insult or menace (and such things must frequently occur), to  whom shall I fly for refuge: to whom shall I impart my distress, who will be willing to succour me and drive back  my assailants and put a stop to their assaults? who

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will solace me and prepare me to bear the coarse ribaldry which may yet be in store for me. There is no one since  you stand aloof from this terrible strife, and cannot even hear my cry. Seest thou then what mischief thou hast  wrought? now that thou hast dealt the blow, dost thou perceive what a deadly wound thou hast inflicted? But let all  this pass: for it is impossible to undo the past, or to find a path through pathless difficulties. What shall I say to the  outside world? what defence shall I make to their accusations.
    8. CHRYSOSTOM: Be of good cheer, I replied, for I am not only ready to answer for myself in these matters,  but I will also endeavor as well as I am able to render an account of those for which you have not held me  answerable. Indeed, if you wish it, I will make them the starting-point of my defence. For it would be a strange  piece of stupidity on my part if, thinking only of praise from the outside public, and doing my best to silence their  accusations, I were unable to convince my dearest of all friends that I am not wronging him, and were to treat him  with indifference greater than the zeal which he has displayed on my behalf, treating me with such forbearance as  even to refrain from accusing me of the wrongs which he says he has suffered from me, and putting his own  interests out of the question in consideration for mine.
    What is the wrong that I have done thee, since I have determined to embark from this point upon the sea of  apology? Is it that I misled you and concealed my purpose? Yet I did it for the benefit of thyself who wast deceived,  and of those to whom I surrendered you by means of this deceit. For if the evil of deception is absolute, and it is  never right to make use of it, I am prepared to pay any penalty you please: or rather, as you will never endure to  inflict punishment upon me, I shall subject myself to the same condemnation which is pronounced by judges on  evil-doers when their accusers have convicted them. But if the thing is not always harmful, but becomes good or  bad according to the intention of those who practise it, you must desist from complaining of deceit, and prove that  it has been devised against you for a bad purpose; and as long as this proof is wanting it would only be fair for  those who wish to conduct themselves prudently, not only to abstain from reproaches and accusation, but even to  give a friendly reception to the deceiver. For a well-timed deception, undertaken with an upright intention, has  such advantages, that many persons have often had to undergo punishment for abstaining from fraud. And if you  investigate the history of generals who have enjoyed the highest reputation from the earliest ages, you will find that  most of their triumphs were achieved by stratagem, and that such are more highly commended than those who  conquer in open fight. For the latter conduct their campaigns with greater expenditure of money and men, so that  they gain nothing by the victory, but suffer just as much distress as those who have been defeated, both in the  sacrifice of troops and the exhaustion of funds. But, besides this, they are not even permitted to enjoy all the glory  which pertains to the victory; for no small part of it is reaped by those who have fallen, because in spirit they were  victorious, their defeat was only a bodily one: so that had it been possible for them not to fall when they were  wounded, and death had not come and put the finishing stroke to their labors, there would have been no end of  their prowess. But one who has been able to gain the victory by stratagem involves the enemy in ridicule as well as  disaster. Again, in the other case both sides equally carry off the honors bestowed upon valor, whereas in this case  they do not equally obtain those which are bestowed on wisdom, but the prize falls entirely to the victors, and,  another point no less important is that they preserve the joy of the victory for the state unalloyed; for abundance of  resources and multitudes of men are not like mental powers: the former indeed if continually used in war  necessarily become exhausted, and fail those who possess them, whereas it is the nature of wisdom to increase the  more it is exercised. And not in war only, but also in peace the need of deceit may be found, not merely in  reference to the affairs of the state, but also in private life, in the dealings of husband with wife and wife with  husband, son with father, friend with friend, and also children with a parent. For the daughter of Saul would not  have been able to rescue her husband out of Saul's hands' except by deceiving her father. And her brother, wish-bag  to save him whom she had rescued when he was again in danger, made use of the same weapon as the wife?
    BASIL: But none of these cases apply to me: for I am not an enemy, nor one of those who are striving to injure  thee, but quite the contrary. For I entrusted all my interests to your judgment, and always followed it whenever  you bid me.
    CHRYSOSTOM: But, my admirable and excellent Sir, this is the very reason why I took the precaution of  saying that it was a good thing to employ this kind of deceit, not only in war, and in dealing with enemies, but also

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in peace, and in dealing with our dearest friends. For as a proof that it is beneficial not only to the deceivers, but  also to those who are deceived; if you go to any of the physicians and ask them how they relieve their patients from  disease, they will tell you that they do not depend upon their professional skill alone, but sometimes conduct the  sick to health by availing themselves of deceit, and blending the assistance which they derive from it with their art.  For when the waywardness of the patient and the obstinacy of the complaint baffle the counsels of the physicians,  it is then necessary to put on the mask of deceit in order that, as on the stage, they may be able to hide what really  takes place. But, if you please, I will relate to you one instance of stratagem out of many which I have heard of  being contrived by the sons of the healing art.(1) A man was once suddenly attacked by a fever of great severity; the  burning heat increased, and the patient rejected the remedies which could have reduced it and craved for a draught  of pure wine, passionately entreating all who approached to give it him and enable him to satiate this deadly  craving--I say deadly, for if any one had gratified this request he would not only have exasperated the fever, but  also have driven the unhappy man frantic. Thereupon, professional skill being baffled, and at the end of its  resources and utterly thrown away, stratagem stepped in and displayed its power in the way which I will now  relate. For the physician took an earthen cup brought straight out of the furnace, and having steeped it in wine,  then drew it out empty, filled it with water, and, having ordered the chamber where the sick man lay to be  darkened with curtains that the light might not reveal the trick, he gave it him to drink, pretending that it was filled  with undiluted wine. And the man, before he had taken it in his hands, being deceived by the smell, did not wait to  examine what was given him, but convinced by the odor, and deceived by the darkness, eagerly gulped down the  draught, and being satiated with it immediately shook off the feeling of suffocation and escaped the imminent  peril.(2) Do you see the advantage of deceit? And if any one were to reckon up all the tricks of physicians the list  would run on to an indefinite length. And not only those who heal the body but those also who attend [to the  diseases of the soul may be found continually making use of this remedy. Thus the blessed Paul attracted those  multitudes of Jews:(3) with this purpose he circumcised Timothy,(4) although he warned the Galatians in his  letter(5) that Christ would not profit those who were circumcised. For this cause he submitted to the law, although  he reckoned the righteousness which came from the law but loss after receiving the faith in Christ.(6) For great is  the value of deceit, provided it be not introduced with a mischievous intention. In fact action of this kind ought not  to be called deceit, but rather a kind of good management, cleverness and skill, capable of finding out ways where  resources fail, and making up for the defects of the mind. For I would not call Phinees a murderer, although he  slew two human beings with one stroke:(7) nor yet Elias after the slaughter of the 100 soldiers, and the captain,(8)  and the torrents of blood which he caused to be shed by the destruction of those who sacrificed to devils.(9) For if  we were to concede this, and to examine the bare deeds in themselves apart from the intention of the doers, one  might if he pleased judge Abraham guilty of child-murder(10) and accuse his grandson(11) and descendant(12) of  wickedness and guile. For the one got possession of the birthright, and the other transferred the wealth of the  Egyptians to the host of the Israelites. But this is not the case: away with the audacious thought! For we not only  acquit them of blame, but also admire them because of these things, since even God commended them for the  same. For that man would fairly deserve to be called a deceiver who made an unrighteous use of the practice, not  one who did so with a salutary purpose. And often it is necessary to deceive, and to do the greatest benefits by  means of this device, whereas he who has gone by a straight course has done great mischief to the person whom he  has not deceived.
    1. THAT it is possible then to make use of deceit for a good purpose, or rather that in such a case it ought not to  be called deceit, but a kind of good management worthy of all admiration, might be proved at greater length; but  since what has already been said suffices for demonstration, it would be irksome and tedious to lengthen out my  discourse upon the subject. And now it will remain for you to pave whether I have not employed this art to your  advantage.
    BASIL: And what kind of advantage have I derived from this piece of good management, or wise policy, or  whatever you may please to call it, so as to persuade me that I have not been deceived by you?
    CHRYSOSTOM: What advantage, pray, could be greater than to be seen doing those things which Christ with  his own lips declared to be proofs of love to Himself?(1) For addressing the leader of the apostles He said, "Peter,  lovest thou me?" and when he confessed that he did, the Lord added, "if thou lovest me tend my sheep." The  Master asked the disciple if He was loved by him, not in order' to get information (how should He who penetrates  the hearts of all men?), but in order to teach us how great an interest He takes in the superintendence of these  sheep. This being plain, it will likewise be manifest that a great and unspeakable reward will be reserved for him  whose labors are concerned with these sheep, upon which Christ places such a high value. For when we see any one  bestowing care upon members of our household, or upon our flocks, we count his zeal for them as a sign of love  towards ourselves: yet all these things are to be bought for money :--with how great a gift then will He requite  those who tend the flock which He purchased, not with money, nor anything of that kind, but by His own death,  giving his own blood as the price of the herd. Wherefore when the disciple said, "Thou knowest Lord that I love  Thee," and invoked the beloved one Himself as a witness of his love, the Saviour did not stop there, but added that  which was the token of love. For He did not at that time wish to show how much Peter loved Him, but how much  He Himself loved His own Church, and he desired to teach Peter and all of us that we also should bestow much  zeal upon the same. For why did God not spare His only-begotten Son, but delivered Him up, although the only  one He had?(2) It was that He might reconcile to Himself those who were disposed towards Him as enemies, and  make them His peculiar people. For what purpose did He shed His blood? It was that He might win these sheep  which He entrusted to Peter and his successors. Naturally then did Christ say, "Who then is the faithful and wise  servant, whom his lord shall make ruler over His household."(3) Again, the

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words are those of one who is in doubt, yet the speaker did not utter them in doubt, but just as He asked Peter  whether he loved Him, not from any need to learn the affection of the disciple, but from a desire to show the  exceeding depth of his own love: so now also when He says, "Who then is the faithful and wise servant ?" he  speaks not as being ignorant who is faithful and wise, but as desiring to set forth the rarity of such a character, and  the greatness of this office. Observe at any rate how great the reward is--" He will appoint him," he says, "ruler  over all his goods."(1)
    2. Will you, then, still contend that you were not rightly deceived, when you are about to superintend the things  which belong to God, and are doing that which when Peter did the Lord said he should be able to surpass the rest  of the apostles, for His words were, "Peter, lovest thou me more than these?"(2) Yet He might have said to him, "If  thou lovest me practise fasting, sleeping on the ground, and prolonged vigils, defend the wronged, be as a father to  orphans, and supply the place of a husband to their mother." But as a matter of fact, setting aside all these things,  what does He say? "Tend my sheep." For those things which I have already mentioned might easily be performed  by many even of those who are under authority, women as well as men; but when one is required to preside over  the Church, and to be entrusted with the care of so many souls, the whole female sex must retire before the  magnitude of the task, and the majority of men also; and we must bring forward those who to a large extent  surpass all others, and soar as much above them in excellence of spirit as Saul overtopped the whole Hebrew  nation in bodily stature: or rather far more.(3) For in this case let me not take the height of shoulders as the  standard of inquiry; but let the distinction between the pastor and his charge be as great as that between rational  man and irrational creatures, not to say even greater, inasmuch as the risk is concerned with things of far greater  importance. He indeed who has lost sheep, either through the ravages of wolves, or the attacks of robbers, or  through murrain, or any other disaster befalling them, might perhaps obtain some indulgence from the owner of  the flock; and even if the latter should demand satisfaction the penalty would be only a matter of money: but he  who has human beings entrusted to him, the rational flock of Christ, incurs a penalty in the first place for the loss  of the sheep, which goes beyond material things and touches his own life: and in the second place he has to carry  on a far greater and more difficult contest. For he has not to contend with wolves, nor to dread robbers, nor to  consider how he may avert pestilence from the flock. With whom then has he to fight? with whom has he to  wrestle? Listen to the words of St. Paul.  "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against  powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."(4) Do you see  the terrible multitude of enemies, and their fierce squadrons, not steel clad, but endued with a nature which is of  itself an equivalent for a complete suit of armor. Would you see yet another host, stern and cruel, beleaguering this  flock? This also you shall behold from the same post of observation. For he who has discoursed to us concerning  the others, points out these enemies also to us, speaking in a certain place on this wise: "The works of the flesh are  manifest, which are these, fornication, adultery, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance,  emulation, wrath, strife,(5) backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults,"(6) and many more besides; for he did not  make a complete list, but left us to understand the rest from these. Moreover, in the case of the shepherd of  irrational creatures, those who wish to destroy the flock, when they see the guardian take to flight, cease making  war upon him, and are contented with the seizure of the cattle: but in this case, even should they capture the whole  flock, they do not leave the shepherd unmolested, but attack him all the more, and wax bolder, ceasing not until  they have either overthrown him, or have themselves been vanquished. Again, the afflictions of sheep are manifest,  whether it be famine, or pestilence, or wounds, or whatsoever else it may be which distresses them, and this might  help not a little towards the relief of those who are oppressed in these ways. And there is yet another fact greater  than this which facilitates release from this kind of infirmity. And what is that? The shepherds with great authority  compel the sheep to receive the remedy when they do not willingly submit to it. For it is easy to bind them when  cautery or cutting is required, and to keep them inside the fold for a long time, whenever it is expedient, and to  bring them one kind of food instead of another, and to cut them off from their supplies of water, and all other  things which the shepherds may decide to be conducive to their health they perform with great ease.

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    3. But in the case of human infirmities, it is not easy in the first place for a man to discern them, for no man  "knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him."(1) How then can any one apply the remedy  for the disease of which he does not know the character, often indeed being unable to understand it even should he  happen to sicken with it himself? And even when it becomes manifest, it causes him yet more trouble: for it is not  possible to doctor all men with the same authority with which the shepherd treats his sheep. For in this case also it  is necessary to bind and to restrain from food, and to use cautery or the knife: but the reception of the treatment  depends on the will of the patient, not of him who applies the remedy. For this also was perceived by that  wonderful man (St. Paul) when he said to the Corinthians--"Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but  are helpers of your joy."(2) For Christians above all men are not permitted forcibly to correct the failings of those  who sin. Secular judges indeed, when they have captured malefactors under the law, show their authority to be  great, and prevent them even against their will from following their own devices: but in our case the wrong-doer  must be made better, not by force, but by persuasion. For neither has authority of this kind for the restraint of  sinners been given us by law, nor, if it had been given, should we have any field for the exercise of our power,  inasmuch as God rewards those who abstain from evil by their own choice, not of necessity. Consequently much  skill is required that our patients may be induced to submit willingly to the treatment prescribed by the physicians,  and not only this, but that they may be grateful also for the cure. For if any one when he is bound becomes restive  (which it is in his power to be), he makes the mischief worse; and if he should pay no heed to the  words which cut  like steel, he inflicts another wound by means of this contempt, and the intention to heal only becomes the  occasion of a worse disorder. For it is not possible for any one to cure a man by compulsion against his will.
    4. What then is one to do? For if you deal too gently with him who needs a severe application of the knife, and  do not strike deep into one who requires such treatment, you remove one Dart of the sore but leave the other: and  if on the other hand you make the requisite incision unsparingly, the patient,driven to desperation by his  sufferings, will often fling everything away at once, both the remedy and the bandage, and throw himself down  headlong, "breaking the yoke and bursting the band."(3) I could tell of many who have run into extreme evils  because the due penalty of their sins was exacted. For we ought not, in applying punishment, merely to proportion  it to the scale of the offence, but rather to keep in view the disposition of the sinner, lest whilst wishing to mend  what is torn, you make the rent worse, and in your zealous endeavors to restore what is fallen, you make the ruin  greater. For weak and careless characters, addicted for the most part to the pleasures of the world, and having  occasion to be proud on account of birth and position, may yet, if gently and gradually brought to repent of their  errors, be delivered, partially at least, if not perfectly, from the evils by which they are possessed: but if any one  were to inflict the discipline all at once, he would deprive them of this slight chance of amendment. For when once  the soul has been forced to put off shame it lapses into a callous condition, and neither yields to kindly words nor  bends to threats, nor is susceptible of gratitude, but becomes far worse than that city which the prophet reproached,  saying, "thou hadst the face of a harlot, refusing to be ashamed before all men."(4) Therefore the pastor has need  of much discretion, and of a myriad eyes to observe on every side the habit of the soul. For as many are uplifted to  pride, and then sink into despair of their salvation, from inability to endure severe remedies, so are there some,  who from paying  no penalty equivalent to their sins, fall into  negligence, and become far worse, and are  impelled  to greater sins. It behoves the priest therefore to leave none of these things unexamined, but, after a thorough  inquiry into all of them, to apply such remedies as he has appositely to each case, lest his zeal prove to be  in vain.  And not m this matter only, but also in the work of knitting together the severed members of the Church, one can  see that he has much to do. For the pastor of sheep has  his flock following him, wherever he may lead   them: and  if any should stray out of the straight path, and, deserting the good pasture, feed in unproductive or rugged place, a  loud shout suffices to collect them and bring back to the fold those who have been parted from it: but if a human  being wanders away from the right faith, great exertion, perseverance and patience tare required; for he cannot be  dragged back   by force, nor constrained by fear, but must be   led back by persuasion to the truth from which be  originally swerved. The pastor therefore ought to be of a noble spirit, so as not to despond, or to despair of the  salvation of wan-

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derers from the fold, but continually to reason with himself and say, "Peradventure God will give them repentance  to the acknowledging of the truth, and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil."(1)  Therefore the Lord, when addressing His disciples, said, "Who then is the faithful and wise servant?"(2) For he  indeed who disciplines himself compasses only his own advantage, but the benefit of the pastoral function extends  to the whole people. And one who dispenses money to the needy, or otherwise succors the oppressed, benefits his  neighbors to some extent, but so much less than the priest in proportion as the body is inferior to the soul. Rightly  therefore did the Lord say that zeal for the flock was a token of love for Himself.
  BASIL: But thou thyself--dost thou not love Christ?
  Chrysostom: Yea, I love Him, and shall never cease loving Him; but I fear lest I should provoke Him whom I  love.
  BASIL: But what riddle can there be more obscure than this--Christ has commanded him who loves Him to tend  His sheep, and yet you say that you decline to tend them because you love Him who gave this command?
    Chrysostom: My saying is no riddle, but very intelligible and simple, for if I were well qualified to administer  this office, as Christ desired it, and then shunned it, my remark might be open to doubt, but since the infirmity of  my spirit renders me useless for this ministry, why does my saying deserve to be called in question? For I fear lest  if I took the flock in hand when it was in good condition and well nourished, and then wasted it through my  unskilfulness, I should provoke against myself the God who so loved the flock as to give Himself up for their  salvation and ransom.
    BASIL: You speak in jest: for if you were in earnest I know not how you would have proved me to be justly  grieved otherwise than by means of these very words whereby you have endeavored to dispel my dejection. I knew  indeed before that you had deceived and betrayed me, but much more now, when you have undertaken to clear  yourself of my accusations, do I plainly perceive and understand the extent of the evils into which you have led me.  For if you withdrew yourself from this ministry because you were conscious that your spirit was not equal to the  burden of the task, I ought to have been rescued from it before you, even if I had chanced to have a great desire for  it, to say nothing of having confided to you the entire decision of these matters: but as it is, you have looked solely  to your own interest and neglected mine. Would indeed you had entirely neglected them; then I should have been  well content: but you plotted to facilitate my capture by those who wished to seize me. For you cannot take shelter  in the argument that public opinion deceived you and induced you to imagine great and wonderful things  concerning me. For I was none of your wonderful and distinguished men, nor, had this been the case, ought you to  have preferred public opinion to truth. For if I had never permitted you to enjoy my society, you might have  seemed to have a reasonable pretext for being guided in your vote by public report; but if there is no one who has  such thorough knowledge of my affairs, if you are acquainted with my character better than my parents and those  who brought me up, what argument can you employ which will be convincing enough to persuade your hearers that  you did not purposely thrust me into this danger: say, what answer shall I make to your accusers?
    CHRYSOSTOM: Nay! I will not proceed to those questions until I have resolved such as concern yourself  alone, if you were to ask me ten thousand times to dispose of these charges. You said indeed that ignorance would  bring me forgiveness, and that I should have been free from all accusation if I had brought you into your present  position not knowing anything about you, but that as I did not betray you in ignorance, but was intimately  acquainted with your affairs, I was deprived of all reasonable pretext and excuse. But I say precisely the reverse: for  in such matters there is need of careful scrutiny, and he who is going to present any one as qualified for the  priesthood ought not to be content with public report only, but should also himself, above all and before all,  investigate the man's character. For when the blessed Paul says, "He must also have a good report of them which  are without,"(3) he does not dispense with an exact and rigorous inquiry, nor does he assign to such testimony  precedence over the scrutiny required in such cases. For after much previous discourse, he mentioned this  additional testimony, proving that one must not be contented with it alone for elections of this kind, but take it  into consideration along with the rest. For public report often speaks false; but when careful investigation  precedes, no further danger need be apprehended from it. On this account, after the other kinds of evidence he  places that which comes from those who are without. For he did not simply say, "he must have a good report," but  added the

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words, "from them which are without," wishing to show that before the report of those without he must be  carefully examined. Inasmuch, then, as I myself knew your affairs better than your parents, as you also yourself  acknowledged, I might deserve to be released from all blame.
    BASIL: Nay this is the very reason why you could not escape, if any one chose to indite you. Do you not  remember hearing from me, and often learning from my actual conduct, the feebleness of my character? Were you  not perpetually taunting me for my pusillanimity, because I was so easily dejected by ordinary cares?
    5. CHRYSOSTOM: I do indeed remember often hearing such things said by you; I would not deny it. But if I  ever taunted you, I did it in sport and not in serious truth. However, I do not now dispute about these matters,  and I claim the same degree of forbearance from you while I wish to make mention of some of the good qualities  which you possess. For if you attempt to convict me of saying what is untrue, I shall not spare you, but shall drove  that you say these things rather by way of self--depreciation than with a view to truth, and I will employ no  evidence but your own words and deeds to demonstrate the truth of my assertion. And now the first question I  wish to ask of you is this: do you know how great the power of love is? For omitting all the miracles which were to  be wrought by the apostles, Christ said, "Hereby shall men know that ye are my disciples if ye love one  another,"(1) and Paul said that it was the fulfilling of the law,(2) and that in default of it no spiritual gift had any  profit. Well, this choice good, the distinguishing mark of Christ's disciples, the gift which is higher than all other  gifts, I perceived to be deeply implanted in your soul, and teeming with much fruit.
    BASIL: I acknowledge indeed that the matter is one of deep concern to me, and that I endeavor most earnestly  to keep this commandment, but that I have not even half  succeeded in so doing, even you yourself would bear me  witness if you would leave off talking out of partiality, and simply respect  the truth.
    6. CHRYSOSTOM: Well, then, I shall betake myself to my evidences, and shall now do what I threatened,  proving that you wish to disparage yourself rather than to speak the truth. But I will mention a fact which has only  just occurred, that no one may suspect me of attempting to obscure the truth by the great lapse of time in relating  events long past, as oblivion would then prevent any objection being made to the things which I might say with a  view to gratification.(3) For when one of our intimate friends, having been falsely accused of insult and folly, was  in extreme peril, you then flung yourself into the midst of the danger, although you were not summoned by any  one, or appealed to by the person who was about to be involved in danger. Such was the fact: but that I may convict  you out of your own mouth, I will remind you of the words you uttered: for when some did not approve of this  zeal, while others commended and admired it, "How can I help myself?" you said to those who accused you, "for I  do not know how otherwise to love than by giving up my life when it is necessary to save any of my friends who is  in danger:" thus repeating, in different words, indeed, but with the same meaning, what Christ said to his disciples  when he laid down the definition of perfect love. "Greater love," He said, "hath no man than this that a man lay  down his life for his friends." If then it is impossible to find greater love than this, you have attained its limit, and  both by your deeds and words have crowned the summit. This is why I betrayed you, this is why I contrived that  plot. Do I now convince you that it was not from any malicious intent, nor from any desire to thrust you into  danger, but from a persuasion of your future usefulness that I dragged you into this course?
    BASIL: Do you then suppose that love is sufficient for the correction of one's fellowmen?
    CHRYSOSTOM: Certainly it would contribute in a great measure to this end. But if you wish me to produce  evidence of your practical wisdom also, I will proceed to, do so, and will prove that your understanding exceeds  your loving-kindness.
    At these remarks he blushed scarlet and said, "Let my character be now dismissed: for it was not about this that  I originally demanded an explanation; but if you have any just answer to make to those who are without, I would  gladly hear what you have to say. Wherefore, abandoning this vain contest, tell me what defence I shall make, both  to those who have honored you and to those who are distressed on their account, considering them to be insulted.
    7. CHRYSOSTOM: This is just the point to which I am finally hastening, for as my ex-

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planation to you has been completed I shall easily turn to this part of my defence. What then is the accusation  made by these persons, and what are their charges? They say that they have been insulted and grievously wronged  by me because I have not accepted the honor which they wished to confer upon me. Now in the first place I say  that no account should be taken of the insult shown to men, seeing that by paying honor to them I should be  compelled to offend God. And I should say to those who are displeased that it is not safe to take offence at these  things, but does them much harm. For I think that those who stay themselves on God and look to Him alone,  ought to be so religiously disposed as not to account such a thing an insult, even if they happened to be a thousand  times dishonored. But that I have not gone so far as even to think of daring anything of this kind is manifest from  what I am about to say. For if indeed I had been induced by arrogance and vainglory, as you have often said some   slanderously affirm, to assent to my accusers, I should have been one of the most iniquitous: of mankind, having  treated great and excellent men, my benefactors moreover, with contempt. For if men ought to be punished for  wronging those who have never wronged them, how ought we to honor those who have spontaneously preferred to  honor us? For no one could possibly say that they were requiting me for any benefits small or great which they had  received at my hands. How great a punishment then would one deserve if one requited them in the contrary  manner. But if such a thing never entered my mind, and I declined the heavy burden with quite a different  intention, why do they refuse to pardon me (even if they do not consent to approve), but accuse me of having  selfishly spared my own soul? For so far from having insulted the men in question I should say that I had even  honored them by my refusal.
    And do not be surprised at the paradoxical nature of my remark, for I shall supply a speedy solution of it.
    8. For had I accepted the office, I do not say all men, but those who take pleasure in speaking evil, might have  suspected and said many things concerning myself who had been elected and concerning them, the electors: for  instance, that they regarded wealth, and admired splendor of rank; or had been induced by flattery to promote me  to this honor: indeed I cannot say whether some one might not have suspected that they were bribed by money.  Moreover, they would have said, "Christ called fishermen, tentmakers, and publicans to this dignity,whereas these  men reject those who support themselves by daily labor: but if there be any one who devotes himself to secular  learning, and is brought up in idleness, him they receive and admire. For why, pray, have they passed by men who  have undergone innumerable toils in the service of the Church, and suddenly dragged into this dignity one who has  never experienced any labors of this kind, but has spent all his youth in the vain study of secular learning." These  things and more they might have said had I accepted the office: but not so now. For every pretext for maligning is  now cut away from them, and they can neither accuse me of flattery, nor the others of receiving bribes, unless  some choose to act like mere madmen. For how could one who used flattery and expended money in order to  obtain the dignity, have abandoned it to others when he might have obtained it? For this would be just as if a man  who had bestowed much labor upon the ground in order that the corn field might be laden with abundant produce,  and the presses overflow with wine, after innumerable toils and great expenditure of money were to surrender the  fruits to others just when it was time to reap his corn and gather in his vintage. Do you see that although what was  said might be far from the truth, nevertheless those who wished to calumniate the electors would then have had a  pretext for alleging that the choice was made without fair judgment and consideration. But as it is I have prevented  them from being open mouthed, or even uttering a single word on the subject. Such then and more would have  been their remarks at the outset. But after undertaking the ministry I should not have been able day by day to  defend myself against accusers, even if I had done everything faultlessly, to say nothing of the many mistakes  which I must have made owing to my youth and inexperience. But now I have saved the electors from this kind of  accusation also, whereas in the other case I should have involved them in innumerable reproaches. For what would  not the world have said? "They have committed affairs of such vast interest and importance to thoughtless youths,  they have defiled the flock of God, and Christian affairs have become a jest and a laughingstock." But now "all  iniquity shall stop her mouth."(1) For although they may say these things on your account, you will speedily teach  them by your acts that understanding is not to be estimated by age, and the grey head is not to be the test of an  elder--that the young man ought not to be absolutely excluded from the ministry, but only the novice: and the  difference between the two is great.
   1. CHRYSOSTOM: As regards the insult to those who have done me honor, what I have already said might be  sufficient to prove that in avoiding this office I had no desire to put them to shame; but I will now endeavor to  make it evident, to the best of my ability, that I was not puffed up by arrogance of any kind. For if the choice of a   generalship or a kingdom had been submitted to me, and I had then formed this resolution, any one might  naturally have suspected me of this fault, or rather I should have been found guilty by all men, not of arrogance,  but of senseless folly. But when the priesthood is offered to me, which exceeds a kingdom as much as the spirit  differs from the flesh, will any one dare to accuse me of disdain? And is it not preposterous to charge with folly  those who reject small things, but when any do this in matters of preeminent importance, to exempt such persons  from accusations of mental derangement, and yet subject them to the charge of pride? It is just as if one were to  accuse, not of pride, but of insanity, a man who looked with contempt on a herd of oxen and refused to be a  herdsman, and yet were to say that a man who declined the empire of the world, and the command of all the  armies of the earth, was not mad, but inflated with pride. But this assuredly is not the case; and they who say such  things do not injure me more than they injure themselves. For merely to imagine it possible for human nature to  despise this dignity is an evidence against those who bring this charge of the estimate which they have formed of  the office. For if they did not consider it to be an ordinary thing of no great account, such a suspicion as this would  never have entered their heads. For why is it that no one has ever dared to entertain such a suspicion with  reference to the dignity of the angels, and to say that arrogance is the reason why human nature would not aspire  to the rank of the angelic nature? It is because we imagine great things concerning those powers, and this does not  suffer us to believe that a man can conceive anything greater than that honor. Wherefore one might with more  justice indite those persons of arrogance who accuse me of it. For they would never have suspected this of others if  they had not previously depreciated the matter as being of no account. But if they say that I have done this with a  view to glory, they will be convicted of fighting openly against themselves and falling into their own snare; for I do  not know

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what kind of arguments they could have sought in preference to these if they had wished to release me from the  charge of vainglory.
    2. For if this desire had ever entered my mind, I ought to have accepted the office rather than avoided it. Why?  because it would have brought me much glory. For the fact that one of my age, who had so recently abandoned  secular pursuits, should suddenly be deemed by all worthy of such admiration as to be advanced to honor before  those who have spent all their life in labors of this kind, and to obtain more votes than all of them, might have  persuaded all men to anticipate great and marvellous things of me. But, as it is, the greater part of the Church does  not know me even by name: so that even my refusal of the office will not be manifest to all, but only to a few, and  I am not sure that all even of these know it for certain; but probably many of them either imagine that I was not  elected at all, or that I was rejected after the election, being considered unsuitable, not that I avoided the office of  my own accord.
    3. BASIL: But those who do know the truth will be surprised.
    CHRYSOSTOM: And lo! these are they who, according to you, falsely accuse me of vainglory: and pride.  Whence then am I to hope for praise? From the many? They do not know the actual fact. From the few? Here  again the matter is perverted to my disadvantage. For the only reason why you have come here now is to learn  what answer ought to be given to them And what shall I now certainly say on account of these things? For wait a  little, and you will clearly perceive that even if all know the truth they ought not to condemn me for pride and love  of glory. And in addition to this there is another consideration: that not only those who make this venture, if there  be any such (which for my part I do not believe), but also those who suspect it of others, will be involved in no  small danger.
    4. For the priestly office is indeed discharged   on earth, but it ranks amongst heavenly ordinances; and very  naturally so: for neither  man, nor angel, nor archangel, nor any other created power, but the Paraclete Himself,  instituted this vocation, and persuaded men while still abiding in the flesh to represent the ministry of angels.  Wherefore the consecrated priest ought to be as pure as if he were standing in the heavens themselves in the midst  of those powers. Fearful, indeed, and of most awful import, were the things which were used before the  dispensation of grace, as the bells, the pomegranates, the stones on the breastplate and on the ephod, the girdle,  the mitre, the long robe, the plate of gold, the holy of holies, the deep silence within.(1) But if any one should  examine the things which belong to the dispensation of grace, he will find that, small as  they are, yet are they  fearful and full of awe, and that what was spoken concerning the law is true in this case also, that "what has been  made glorious hath no glory in this respect by reason of the glory which excelleth."(2) For when thou seest the Lord  sacrificed, and laid upon the altar,(2) and the priest standing and praying over the victim, and all the worshippers  empurpled with that precious blood,(4) canst thou then think that thou art still amongst men, and standing upon  the earth? Art thou not, on the contrary, straightway translated to Heaven, and casting out every carnal thought  from the soul, dost thou not with disembodied spirit and pure reason contemplate the things which are in Heaven?  Oh! what a marvel! what love of God to man! He who sitteth on high with the Father is at that hour held in the  hands of all,(5) and gives Himself to those who are willing to embrace and grasp Him. And this all do through

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the eyes of faith!(1) Do these things seem to you fit to be despised, or such as to make it possible for any one to be  uplifted against them?
    Would you also learn from another miracle the exceeding sanctity of this office? Picture Elijah and the vast  multitude standing around him, and the sacrifice laid upon the altar of stones, and all the rest of the people hushed  into a deep silence while the prophet alone offers up prayer: then the sudden rush of fire from Heaven upon the  sacrifice:--these are marvellous things, charged with terror. Now then pass from this scene to the rites which are  celebrated in the present day; they are not only marvellous to behold, but transcendent in terror. There stands the  priest, not bringing down fire from Heaven, but the Holy Spirit: and he makes prolonged supplication,(2) not that  some flame sent down from on high  may consume the offerings, but that grace descending on the sacrifice may  thereby enlighten the souls of all, and render them more refulgent than silver purified by fire. Who can despise this  most awful mystery, unless he is stark mad and senseless? Or do you not know that no human soul could have  endured that fire in the sacrifice, but all would have been utterly consumed, had not the assistance of God's grace  been great.
    5. For if any one will consider how great a thing it is for one, being a man, and compassed with flesh and blood,  to be enabled to draw nigh to that blessed and pure nature, he will then clearly see what great honor the grace of  the Spirit has vouchsafed to priests; since by their agency these rites are celebrated, and others nowise inferior to  these both in respect of our dignity and our salvation. For they who inhabit the earth and make their abode there  are entrusted with the administration of things which are in Heaven, and have received an authority which God has  not given to angels or archangels. For it has not been said to them, "Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be  bound in Heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven."(3) They who rule on earth  have indeed authority to bind, but only the body: whereas this binding lays hold of the soul and penetrates the  heavens; and what priests do here below God ratifies above, and the Master confirms the sentence of his servants.  For indeed what is it but all manner of heavenly authority which He has given them when He says, "Whose sins ye  remit they are remitted, and whose sins ye retain they are retained?"(4) What authority could be greater than this?  "The Father hath committed all judgment to the Son?"(5) But I see it all put into the hands of these men by the  Son. For they have been conducted to this dignity as if they were already translated to Heaven, and had  transcended human nature, and were released from the passions to which we are liable. Moreover, if a king should  bestow this honor upon any of his subjects, authorizing him to cast into prison whom he pleased and to release  them again, he becomes an object of envy and respect to all men; but he who has received from God an authority  as much greater as heaven is more precious than earth, and souls more precious than bodies, seems to some to  have received so small an honor that they are actually able to imagine that one of those who have been entrusted  with these things will despise the gift. Away with such madness! For transparent madness it is to despise so great a  dignity, without which it is not possible to obtain either our own salvation, or the good things which have been  promised to us. For if no one can enter into the kingdom of Heaven except he be regenerate through water and  the Spirit, and he who does not eat the flesh of the Lord and drink His blood is excluded from eternal life, and if all  these things are accomplished only by means of those holy hands, I mean the hands of the priest, how will any one,  without these, be able to escape the fire of hell, or to win those crowns which are reserved for the victorious?
    6. These verily are they who are entrusted with the pangs of spiritual travail and the birth which comes through  baptism: by their means we put on Christ, and are buried with the Son of God, and become members of that    blessed Head. Wherefore they might not   only be more justly feared by us than rulers  and kings, but also be more  honored than parents; since these begat us of blood and the will of the flesh, but the others are the authors of our  birth from God, even that blessed regeneration which is the true freedom and the sonship according to grace. The  Jewish priests had authority to release the body from leprosy, or, rather, not to release it but only to examine those  who were already released, and you know how much the office of priest

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was contended for at that time. But our priests have received authority to deal, not with bodily leprosy, but spiritual  uncleanness--not to pronounce it removed after examination, but actually and absolutely to take it away.  Wherefore they who despise these priests would be far more accursed than Dathan and his company, and deserve  more severe punishment. For the latter, although they laid claim to the dignity which did not belong to them,  nevertheless had an excellent opinion concerning it, and this they evinced by the great eagerness with which they  pursued it; but these men, when the office has been better regulated, and has received so great a development, have  displayed an audacity which exceeds that of the others, although manifested in a contrary way. For there is not an  equal amount of contempt involved in aiming at an honor which does not pertain to one, and in despising such  great advantages, but the latter exceeds the former as much as scorn differs from admiration. What soul then is so  sordid as to despise such great advantages? None whatever, I should say, unless it were one subject to some  demoniacal impulse. For I return once more to the point from which I started: not in the way of chastising only,  but also in the way of benefiting, God has bestowed a power on priests greater than that of our natural parents.  The two indeed differ as much as the present and the future life. For our natural parents generate us unto this life  only, but the others unto that which is to come. And the former would not be able to avert  death from their  offspring, or to repel the assaults of disease; but these others have often saved a sick soul, or one which was on the  point of perishing, procuring for some a milder chastisement, and preventing others from falling altogether, not  only by instruction and admonition, but also by the assistance wrought through prayers. For not only at the time of  regeneration, but afterwards also, they have authority to forgive sins. "Is any sick among   you?" it is said, "let him  call for the elders   of the Church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the  Lord. And  the prayer of faith shall save the   sick, and the Lord will raise him up: and if   he have committed sins they shall be  forgiven  him."(1) Again: our natural parents, should  their children come into conflict with any men   of high rank  and great power in the world, are   unable to profit them: but priests have reconciled, not rulers and kings, but  God Himself  when His wrath has often been provoked  against them. Well! after this will any one venture to  condemn me for arrogance? For my part, after what has been said, I imagine such religious fear will possess the  souls of the hearers that they will no longer condemn those who avoid the office for arrogance and temerity, but  rather those who voluntarily come forward and are eager to obtain this dignity for themselves. For if they who have  been entrusted with the command of cities, should they chance to be wanting in discretion and vigilance, have  sometimes destroyed the cities and ruined themselves in addition, how much power think you both in himself and  from above must he need, to avoid sinning, whose business it is to beautify the Bride of Christ?
    7. No man loved Christ more than Paul: no man exhibited greater zeal, no man was counted worthy of more  grace: nevertheless, after all these great advantages, he still has fears and tremblings concerning this government  and those who were governed by him. "I fear," he says, "lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his  subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity which is in Christ."(2) And again, "I was with you  in fear and in much trembling;"(3) and this was a man who had been caught up to the third Heaven, and made  partaker of the unspeakable mysteries of God,(4) and had endured as many deaths as he had lived days after he  became a believer--a man, moreover, who would not use the authority given him from Christ lest any of his  converts should be offended.(5) If, then, he who went beyond the ordinances of God, and nowhere sought his own  advantage, but that of those whom he governed, was always so full of fear when he considered the greatness of his  government, what shall our condition be who in many ways seek our own, who not only fail to go beyond the  commandments of Christ, but for the most part transgress them? "Who is weak," he says, "and I am not weak?  who is offended and I burn not?"(6) Such an one ought the priest to be, or, rather, not such only: for  these are  small things, and as nothing compared with what I am about to say. And what is this? "I could wish," he says, "that  myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh."(7) If any one can utter  such a speech, if any one has the soul which attains to such a prayer, he might justly be blamed if he took to flight:  but if any one should lack such excellence as much as I do, he would deserve to be hated, not if he avoided the  office, but if he accepted

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it. For if an election to a military dignity was the business in hand, and they who had the right of conferring the  honor were to drag forward a brazier, or a shoemaker, or some such artisan, and entrust the army to his hands, I  should not praise the wretched man if he did not take to flight, and do all in his power to avoid plunging into such  manifest trouble. If, indeed, it be sufficient to bear the name of pastor, and to take the work in hand hap-hazard,  and there be no danger in this, then let whoso pleases accuse me of vainglory; but if it behoves one who undertakes  this care to have much understanding, and, before understanding, great grace from God, and uprightness of  conduct, and purity of life and superhuman virtue, do not deprive me of forgiveness if I am unwilling to perish in  vain without a cause.
    Moreover, if any one in charge of a full-sized merchant ship, full of rowers, and laden with a costly freight, were  to station me at the helm and bid me cross the AEgean or the Tyrrhene sea, I should recoil from the proposal at  once: and if any one asked me why? I should say, "Lest I should sink the ship." Well, where the loss concerns  material wealth, and the danger extends only to bodily death, no one will blame those who exercise great prudence;  but where the shipwrecked are destined to fall, not into the ocean, but into the abyss  of fire, and the death which  awaits them is not   that which severs the soul from the body, but   one which together with this dismisses it to    eternal punishment, shall I incur your wrath and hate because I did not plunge headlong into so great an evil?
    8. Do not thus, I pray and beseech you. I know my own soul, how feeble and puny it is:   I know the magnitude  of this ministry, and  the great difficulty of the work; for more stormy billows vex the soul of the priest than the  gales which disturb the sea.
    9. And first of all is that most terrible rock of vainglory, more dangerous than that of the Sirens, of which the  fable-mongers tell such marvellous tales: for many were able to sail past that and escape unscathed; but this is to  me so dangerous that even now, when no necessity of any kind impels me into that abyss, I am unable to keep  clear of the snare: but if any one were to commit this charge to me, it would be all the same as if he tied my hands  behind my back, and delivered me to the wild beasts dwelling on that rock to rend me in pieces day by day. Do you  ask what those wild beasts are? They are wrath, despondency, envy, strife, slanders, accusations, falsehood,  hypocrisy, intrigues, anger against those who have done no harm, pleasure at the indecorous acts of fellow,  ministers, sorrow at their prosperity, love of praise, desire of honor (which indeed most of all drives the human  soul headlong to perdition), doctrines devised to please, servile flatteries, ignoble fawning, contempt of the poor,  paying court to the rich, senseless and mischievous honors, favors attended with danger both to those who offer  and those who accept them, sordid fear suited only to the basest of slaves, the abolition of plain speaking, a great  affectation of humility, but banishment of truth, the suppression of convictions and reproofs, or rather the  excessive use of them against the poor, while against those who are invested with power no one dare open his lips.
    For all these wild beasts, and more than these, are bred upon that rock of which I have spoken, and those whom  they have once captured are inevitably dragged down into such a depth of servitude that even to please women they  often do many things which it is well not to mention. The divine law indeed has excluded women from the  ministry, but they endeavor to thrust themselves into it; and since they can effect nothing of themselves, they do all  through the agency of others; and they have become invested with so much power that they can appoint or eject  priests at their will:(1) things in fact are turned upside down, and the proverbial saying may be seen realized--"The  ruled lead the rulers:" and would that it were men who do this instead of women, who have not received a  commission to teach. Why do I say teach? for the blessed Paul did not suffer them even to speak in the Church.(2)  But I have heard some one say that they have obtained such a large privilege of free speech, as even to rebuke the  prelates of the Churches, and censure them more severely than masters do their own domestics.
    10. And let not any one suppose that I subject all to the aforesaid charges: for there are some, yea many, who are  superior to these entanglements, and exceed in number those who have been caught by them. Nor would I indeed  make  the priesthood responsible for these evils: far be such madness from me. For men of understanding do not  say that the sword is to blame for murder, nor wine for drunkenness, nor strength for outrage, nor courage for  foolhardiness, but they lay the blame on those who make an improper use of the gifts which have been bestowed  upon them by God, and punish them accordingly. Certainly, at least, the priesthood may justly accuse us

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if we do not rightly handle it. For it is not  itself a cause of the evils already mentioned, but we, who as far as lies in  our power have defiled it with so many pollutions, by entrusting it to commonplace men who readily accept what is  offered them, without having first acquired a knowledge of their own souls, or considered the gravity of the office,  and when they have entered on the work, being blinded by inexperience, overwhelm with innumerable evils the  people who have been committed to their care. This is the very thing which was very nearly happening in my case,  had not God speedily delivered me from those dangers, mercifully sparing his Church and my own soul. For, tell  me, whence do you think such great troubles are generated in the Churches? I, for my part, believe the only source  of them to be the inconsiderate and random way in which prelates are chosen and appointed. For the head ought  to be the strongest part, that it may be able to regulate and control the evil exhalations which arise from the rest of  the body below; but when it happens to be weak in itself, and unable to repel those pestiferous attacks, it becomes  feebler itself than it really is, and ruins the rest of the body as well. And to prevent this now coming to pass, God  kept me in the position of the feet, which was the rank originally assigned to me. For there are very many other  qualities, Basil, besides those already mentioned, which the priest ought to have, but which I do not possess; and,  above all, this one:--his soul ought to be thoroughly purged from any lust after the office: for if he happens to have  a natural inclination for this dignity, as soon as he attains it a stronger flame is kindled, and the man being taken  completely captive will endure innumerable evils in order to keep a secure hold upon it, even to the extent of using  flattery, or submitting to something base and ignoble, or expending large sums of money. For I will not now speak  of the murders with which some have filled the Churches,(1) or the desolation which they have brought upon cities  in contending for the dignity, lest some persons should think what I say incredible. But I am of opinion one ought  to exercise so much caution in the matter, as to shun the burden of the office,(2) and when one has entered upon  it, not to wait for the judgment of others should any fault be committed which warrants deposition, but to  anticipate it by ejecting oneself from the dignity; for thus one might probably win mercy for himself from God: but  to cling to it in defiance of propriety is to deprive oneself of all forgiveness, or rather to kindle the wrath of God,  by adding a second error more offensive than the first.
    11. But no one will always endure the strain; for fearful, truly fearful is the eager desire after this honor. And in  saying this I am not in opposition to the blessed Paul, but in complete harmony with his words. For what says he?  "If any than desireth the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work."(3) Now I have not said that it is a terrible  thing to desire the work, but only the authority and power. And this desire I think one ought to expel from the soul  with all possible earnestness, not permitting it at the outset to be possessed by such a feeling, so that one may be  able to do everything with freedom. For he who does not desire to be exhibited in possession of this authority, does  not fear to be deposed from it, and not fearing this will be able to do everything with the freedom which becomes  Christian men: whereas they who fear and tremble lest they should be deposed undergo a bitter servitude, filled  with all kinds of evils, and are often compelled to offend against both God and man. Now the soul ought not to be  affected in this way; but as in warfare we see those soldiers who are noble-spirited fight willingly and fall bravely,  so they who have attained to this stewardship should be contented to be consecrated to the dignity or removed  from it, as becomes Christian men, knowing that deposition of this kind brings its reward no less than the  discharge of the office. For  when any one suffers anything of this kind, in  order to avoid submitting to something  which is unbecoming or unworthy of this dignity, he procures punishment for those who wrongfully depose him,  and a greater reward for himself.   "Blessed," says our Lord, "are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you,  and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake; rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your  reward in Heaven."(4) And this, indeed, is the case when any one is expelled by those of his own rank either on  account of envy, with a view to the favor of others, or through hatred, or from any other wrong motive: but when it  is the lot of any one to  experience this treatment at the hand of opponents, I do not think a word is needed to  prove what great gain they confer upon him by their wickedness.
    It behoves us, then, to be on the watch on all sides, and to make a careful search lest any

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spark of this desire should be secretly smouldering somewhere. For it is much to be wished that those who are  originally free from this passion, should also be able to avoid it when they have lighted upon this office. But if any  one, before he obtains the honor, cherishes in himself this terrible and savage monster, it is impossible to say into  what a furnace he will fling himself after he has attained it. Now I possessed this desire in a high degree (and do  not suppose that I would ever tell you what was untrue in self-disparagement): and this, combined with other  reasons, alarmed me not a little, and induced me to take flight. For just as lovers of the human person, as long as  they are permitted to be near the objects of their affection, suffer more severe torment from their passion, but  when they remove as far as possible from these objects of desire, they drive away the frenzy: even so when those  who desire this dignity are near it, the evil becomes intolerable: but when they cease to hope for it, the desire is  extinguished together with the expectation.
    12. This single motive then is no slight one: and even taken by itself it would have sufficed to deter me from this  dignity: but, as it is, another must be added not less than the former. And what is this? A priest ought to be sober  minded, and penetrating in discernment, and possessed of innumerable eyes in every direction, as one who lives  not for himself alone but for so great a multitude. But that I am sluggish and slack, and scarcely able to bring about  my own salvation, even you yourself would admit, who out of love to me art especially eager to conceal my faults.  Talk not to me in this connexion of fasting, and watching, or sleeping on the ground, and other hard discipline of  the body: for you know how defective I am in these matters: and even if they had been carefully practised by me  they could not with my present sluggishness have been of any service to me with a view to this post of authority.  Such things might be of great service to a man who was shut up in a cell, and caring only for his own concerns: but  when a man is divided among so great a multitude, and enters separately into the private cares of those who are  under his direction, what appreciable help can be given to their improvement unless he possesses a robust and  exceedingly vigorous character?
    13. And do not be surprised if, in connexion with such endurance, I seek another test of fortitude in the soul.  For to be indifferent to food and drink and a soft bed, we see is to many no hard task, especially at least to such as  are of a rough habit of life and have been brought up in this way from early youth, and to many others also; bodily  discipline and custom softening the severity of these laborious practices: but insult, and abuse, and coarse language,  and gibes from inferiors,whether wantonly or justly uttered, and rebukes vainly and idly spoken both by rulers and  the ruled--this is what few can bear, in fact only one or two here and there; and one may see men, who are strong  in the former exercises, so completely upset by these things, as to become more furious than the most savage  beasts. Now such men especially we should exclude from the precincts of the priesthood. For if a prelate did not  loathe food, or go barefoot, no harm would be done to the common interests of the Church; but a furious temper  causes great disasters both to him who possesses it, and to his neighbours. And there is no divine threat against  those who fail to do the things referred to, but hell and hell-fire are threatened against those who are angry without  a cause.(1) As then the lover of vainglory, when he takes upon him the government of numbers, sup  plies  additional fuel to the fire, so he who by himself, or in the company of a few, is unable to control his anger, but  readily carried away by it, should he be entrusted with the direction of a whole multitude, like some wild beast  goaded on all sides by countless tormentors, would never be able to live in tranquillity himself, and would cause  incalculable mischief to those who have been committed to his charge.
    14. For nothing clouds the purity of the reason, and the perspicuity of the mental vision so much as  undisciplined wrath, rushing along with violent impetuosity. "For wrath," says one, "destroys even the  prudent."(2) For the eye of the soul being darkened as in some nocturnal battle is not able to distinguish friends  from foes, nor the honorable from the unworthy, but handles them all in turn in the same way; even if some harm  must be suffered, readily enduring everything, in order to satisfy the pleasure of the soul. For the fire of wrath is a  kind of pleasure, and tyrannizes over the soul more harshly than pleasure, completely upsetting its healthy  organization. For it easily impels men to arrogance, and unseasonable enmities, and unreasonable hatred, and it  continually makes them ready to commit wanton and vain offences; and forces them to say and do many other  things of that kind, the soul being swept along by the rush of passion, and having nothing on which to fasten its  strength and resist so great an impulse.
    BASIL: I will not endure this irony of yours any longer: for who knows not how far removed you are from this  infirmity?

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    CHRYSOSTOM: Why then, my good friend, do you wish to bring me near the pyre, and to provoke the wild  beast when he is tranquil? Are you not aware that I have achieved this condition, not by any innate virtue, but by  my love of retirement? and that when one who is so constituted remains contented by himself, or only associates  with one or two friends, he is able to escape the fire which arises from this passion, but not if he has plunged into  the abyss of all these cares? for then he drags not only himself but many others with him to the brink of  destruction, and renders them more indifferent to all consideration for mildness. For the mass of people under  government  are generally inclined to regard the manners of those who govern as a kind of model type, and to  assimilate themselves to them. How then could any one put a stop to their fury when he is swelling himself with  rage? And who amongst the multitude would straightway desire to become moderate when he sees the ruler  irritable? For it is quite impossible for the defects of priests to be concealed, but even trifling ones speedily become  manifest. So an athlete, as long as he remains at home, and contends with no one, can dissemble his weakness  even if it be very great, but when he strips for the contest he is easily detected. And thus for some who live this  private and inactive life, their isolation serves as a veil to hide their defects; but when they have been brought into  public they are compelled to divest themselves of this mantle of seclusion, and to lay bare their souls to all through  their visible movements. As therefore their right deeds profit many, by provoking them to equal zeal, so their  shortcomings make men more indifferent to the practice of virtue, and encourage them to indolence in their  endeavours after what is excellent. Wherefore his soul ought to gleam with beauty on every side, that it may   be  able to gladden and to enlighten the souls of those who behold it. For the faults of ordinary men, being committed  as it were in the dark, ruin only those who practise them: but the errors of a man in a conspicuous position, and  known to many, inflicts a common injury upon all, rendering those who have fallen more supine in their efforts  for good, and driving to desperation those who wish to take heed to themselves. And apart from these things, the  faults of insignificant men, even if they are exposed, inflict no injury worth speaking of upon any one: but they  who occupy the highest seat of honor are in the first place plainly visible to all, and if they err in the smallest  matters these trifles seem great to others: for all men measure the sin, not by the magnitude of the offence, but by  the rank of the offender. Thus the priest ought to be protected on all sides by a kind of adamantine armour, by  intense earnestness, and perpetual watchfulness concerning his manner of life, lest some one discovering an  exposed and neglected spot  should inflict a deadly wound: for all who surround him are ready to smite and  overthrow him: not enemies only and adversaries, but many even of those who profess friendship.
    The souls therefore of men elected to the priesthood ought to be endued with such power as the grace of God  bestowed on the bodies of those saints who were cast into the Babylonian furnace.(1) Faggot and pitch and tow are  not the fuel of this fire, but things far more dreadful: for it is no material fire to which they are subjected, but the  all-devouring flame of envy encompasses them, rising up on every side, and assailing them, and putting their life to  a more searching test than the fire then was to the bodies of those young men. When then it finds a little trace of  stubble, it speedily fastens upon it; and this unsound part it entirely consumes, but all the rest of the fabric, even if  it be brighter than the sunbeams, is scorched and blackened by the smoke. For as long as the life of the priest is  well regulated in every direction, it is invulnerable to plots; but if he happens to overlook some trifle, as is natural  in a human being, traversing the treacherous ocean of this life, none of his other good deeds are of any avail in  enabling him to escape the mouths of his accusers; but that little blunder overshadows all the rest. And all men are  ready to pass judgment on the priest as if he was not a being clothed with flesh, or one who inherited a human  nature, but like an angel, and emancipated from every species of infirmity. And just as all men fear and flatter a  tyrant as long as he is strong,   because they cannot put him down, but when they see his affairs going adversely,  those who  were his friends a short time before abandon their hypocritical respect, and suddenly become his  enemies and antagonists, and having discovered all his weak points, make an attack upon him, and depose him  from the government; so is it also in the case of priests. Those who honored him and paid court to him a short  time before, while he was strong, as soon as they have found some little handle eagerly  prepare to depose him, not  as a tyrant only, but something far more dreadful than that. And as the tyrant fears his body guards, so also does  the priest dread most of all his neighbours and fellow-ministers. For no others  covet his dignity so much, or know  his affairs so well as these; and if anything occurs, be-

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ing near at hand, they perceive it before others, and even if they slander him, can easily command belief, and, by  magnifying trifles, take their victim captive. For the apostolic saying is reversed, "whether one member suffer, all  the members suffer with it; or one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it;"(1) unless indeed a man  should be able by his great discretion to stand his ground against everything.
    Are you then for sending me forth into so great a warfare? and did you think that my soul would be equal to a  contest so various in character and shape? Whence did you learn this, and from whom? If God certified this to you,  show me the oracle, and I obey; but if you cannot, and form your judgment from human opinion only, please to  set yourself free from this delusion. For in what concerns my own affairs it is fairer to trust me than others;  inasmuch as "no man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him."(2) That I should have  made myself and my electors ridiculous, had I accepted this office, and should with great loss have returned to this  condition of life in which I now am, I trust I have now convinced you by these remarks, if not before. For not  malice only, but something much stronger--the lust after this dignity--is wont to arm many against one who  possesses it. And just as avaricious children are oppressed by the old age of their parents, so some of these, when  they see the priestly office held by any one for a protracted time--since it would be wickedness to destroy  him--hasten to depose him from it, being all desirous to take his place, and each expecting that the dignity will be  transferred to himself.
    15. Would you like me to show you yet another phase of this strife, charged with innumerable dangers? Come,  then, and take a peep at the public festivals when it is generally the custom for elections to be made to ecclesiastical  dignities, and you will then see the priest assailed with accusations as numerous as the people whom he rules. For  all who have the privilege of conferring the honor are then split into many parties; and one can never find the  council of elders(3) of one mind with each other, or about the man who has won the prelacy; but each stands apart  from the others, one preferring this man, another that. Now the reason is that they do not all look to one thing,  which ought to be the only object kept in view, the excellence of the character; but other qualifications are alleged as  recommending to this honor; for instance, of one it is said, "let him be elected because he belongs to an illustrious  family," of another "because he is possessed of great wealth, and would not need to be supported out of the  revenues of the Church," of a third "because he has come over from the camp of the adversary;" one is eager to  give the preference to a man who is on terms of intimacy with himself, another to the man who is related to him  by birth, a third to the flatterer, but no one will look to the man who is really qualified, or make some test of his  character. Now I am so far from thinking these things trustworthy criteria of a man's fitness for the priesthood,  that even if any one manifested great piety, which is no small help in the discharge of that office, I should not  venture to approve him on that account alone, unless he happened to combine good abilities with his piety. For I  know many men who have exercised perpetual restraint upon themselves, and consumed themselves with fastings,  who, as long as they were suffered to be alone, and attend to their own concerns, have been acceptable to God, and  day by day have made no small addition to this kind of learning; but as soon as they entered public life, and were  compelled to correct the ignorance of the multitude, have, some of them, proved from the outset incompetent for  so great a task, and others when forced to persevere in it, have abandoned their former strict way of living, and  thus inflicted great injury on themselves without profiting others at all. And if any one spent his whole time in the  lowest rank of the ministry, and reached extreme old age, I would not, merely out of reverence for his years,  promote him to the higher dignity; for what if, after arriving at that time of life, he should still remain unfit for the  office? And I say this now, not as wishing to dishonor the grey head, nor as laying down a law absolutely to exclude  from this authority those who come from the monastic circle (for there are instances of many who issued from that  body, having shone conspicuously in this dignity); but the point which I am anxious to prove is, that if neither piety  of itself, nor advanced age, would suffice to show that a man who had obtained the priesthood really deserved it,  the reasons formerly alleged would scarcely effect this. There are also men who bring forward other pretexts yet  more

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absurd; for some are enrolled in the ranks of the clergy, that they may not range themselves among opponents,  and others on account of their evil disposition, lest they should do great mischief if they are overlooked. Could  anything be more contrary to right rule than this? that bad men, laden with iniquity, should be courted on account  of those things for which they ought to be punished, and ascend to the priestly dignity on account of things for  which they ought to be debarred from the very threshold of the Church. Tell me, then, shall we seek any further  the cause of God's wrath when we expose things so holy and awful to be defiled by men who are either wicked or  worthless? for when some men are entrusted with the administration of things which are not at all suitable to  them, and others of things which exceed their natural power, they make the condition of the Church like that of  Euripus.(1)
    Now formerly I used to deride secular rulers, because in the distribution of their honors they are not guided by  considerations of moral excellence, but of wealth, and seniority, and human distinction; but when I heard that this  kind of folly had forced its way into our affairs also, I no longer regarded their conduct as so atrocious. For what  wonder is it that worldly men, who love the praise of the multitude, and do everything for the sake of gain, should  commit these sins, when those who affect at least to be free from all these influences are in no wise better disposed  than they, but although engaged in a contest for heavenly things, act as if the question submitted for decision was  one which concerned acres of land, or something else of that kind? for they take commonplace men off-hand, and  set them to preside over those things, for the sake of which the only begotten Son of God did not refuse to empty  Himself of His glory and become man, and take the form of a servant, and be spat upon, and buffeted, and die a  death of reproach in the flesh. Nor do they stop even here, but add to these offences others still more monstrous;  for not only do they elect unworthy men, but actually expel those who are well qualified. As if it were necessary to  ruin the safety of the Church on both sides, or as if the former provocation were not sufficient to kindle the wrath  of God, they have contrived yet another not less pernicious. For I consider it as atrocious to expel the useful men  as to force in the useless. And this in fact takes place, so that the flock of Christ is unable to find consolation in any  direction, or draw its breath freely. Now do not such deeds deserve to be punished by ten thousand thunder-bolts,  and a hell-fire hotter than that with which we are threatened [in Holy Scripture]? Yet these monstrous evils are  borne with by Him who willeth not the death of a sinner, that he may be converted and live. And how can one  sufficiently marvel at His lovingkindness, and be amazed at His mercy? They who belong to Christ destroy the  property of Christ more than enemies and adversaries, yet the good Lord still deals gently with them, and calls  them to repentance. Glory be to Thee, O Lord! Glory to Thee! How vast is the depth of Thy lovingkindness! how  great the riches of Thy forbearance! Men who on account of Thy name have risen from insignificance and  obscurity to positions of honor and distinction, use the honor they enjoy against Him who has bestowed it, do  deeds of outrageous audacity, and insult holy things, rejecting and expelling men of zeal in order that the wicked  may ruin everything at their pleasure in much security, and with the utmost fearlessness. And if you would know  the causes of this dreadful evil, you will find that they are similar to those which were mentioned before; for they  have one root and mother, so to say--namely, envy; but this is manifested in several different forms: For one we  are told is to be struck out of the list of candidates, because he is young; another because he does not know how to  flatter; a third because he has offended such and such a person; a fourth lest such and such a man should be pained  at seeing one whom he has presented rejected, and this man elected; a fifth because he is kind and gentle; a sixth  because he is formidable to the sinful; a seventh for some other like reason; for they are at no loss to find as many  pretexts as they want, and can even make the abundance of a man's wealth an objection when they have no other.  Indeed they would be capable of discovering other reasons, as many as they wish, why a man ought not to be  brought suddenly to this honor, but gently and gradually. And here I should like to ask the question, "What, then,  is the prelate to do, who has to contend with such blasts? How shall he hold his ground against such billows? How  shall he repel all these assaults?"
    For if he manages the business(2) upon upright principles, all those who are enemies and adversaries both to  him and to the candidates do everything with a view to contention, provoking daily strife, and heaping infinite

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scorn upon the candidates, until they have got them struck off the list, or have introduced their own favorites. In  fact it is just as if some pilot had pirates sailing with him in his ship, perpetually plotting every hour against him,  and the sailors, and marines. And if he should prefer favor with such men to his own salvation, accepting unworthy  candidates, he will have God for his enemy in their stead; and what could be more dreadful than that? And yet his  relations with them will be more embarrassing than formerly, as they will all combine with each other, and thereby  become more powerful than before. For as when fierce winds coming from opposite directions clash with one  another, the ocean, hitherto calm, becomes suddenly furious and raises its crested waves, destroying those who are  sailing over it, so also when the Church has admitted corrupt men, its once tranquil surface is covered with rough  surf and strewn with shipwrecks.
    16. Consider, then, what kind of man he ought to be who is to hold out against such a tempest, and to manage  skillfully such great hindrances to the common welfare; for he ought to be dignified yet free from arrogance,  formidable yet kind, apt to command yet sociable, impartial yet courteous, humble yet not servile, strong yet  gentle, in order that he may contend successfully against all these difficulties. And he ought to bring forward with  great authority the man who is properly qualified for the office, even if all should oppose him, and with the same  authority to reject the man who is not so qualified, even if all should conspire in his favor, and to keep one aim  only in view, the building up of the Church, in nothing actuated either by enmity or favor. Well, do you now think  that I acted reasonably in declining the ministry of this office? But I have not even yet gone through all my reasons  with you; for I have some others still to mention. And do not grow impatient of listening to a friendly and sincere  man, who wishes to clear himself from your accusations; for these statements are not only serviceable for the  defence which you have to make on my behalf, but they will also prove of no small help for the due administration  of the office. For it is necessary for one who is going to enter upon this path of life to investigate all matters  thoroughly well, before he sets his hand to the ministry. Do you ask why? Because one who knows all things clearly  will have this advantage, if no other, that he will not feel strange when these things befall him. Would you like me  then to approach the question of superintending widows, first of all, or of the care of virgins, or the difficulty of the  judicial function. For in each of these cases there is a different kind of anxiety, and the fear is greater than the  anxiety.
    Now in the first place, to start from that subject which seems to be simpler than the others, the charge of widows  appears to cause anxiety to those who take care of them only so far as the expenditure of money is concerned; but  the case is otherwise, and here also a careful scrutiny is needed, when they have to be enrolled,(1) for infinite  mischief has been caused by putting them on the list without due discrimination. For they have ruined households,  and severed marriages, and have often been detected in thieving and pilfering and unseemly deeds of that kind.  Now that such women should be supported out of the Church's revenues provokes punishment from God, and  extreme condemnation among men, and abates the zeal of those who wish to do good. For who would ever choose  to expend the wealth which he was commanded to give to Christ upon those who defame the name of Christ? For  these reasons a strict and curate scrutiny ought to be made so as to prevent the supply of the indigent being wasted,  not only by the women already mentioned, but also by those who are able to provide for themselves. And this  scrutiny is succeeded by no small anxiety of another kind, to ensure an abundant and unfailing stream of supply as  from a fountain; for compulsory poverty is an insatiable kind of evil, querulous and ungrateful. And great  discretion and great zeal is required so as to stop the mouths of complainers, depriving them of every excuse. Now  most men, when they see any one superior to the love of money, forthwith represent him as well qualified for this  stewardship. But I do not think that this greatness of soul is ever sufficient of itself, although it ought to be  possessed prior to all other qualities; for without this a man would be a destroyer rather than a protector, a wolf  instead of a shepherd; nevertheless, combined with this, the possession of another quality also should be  demanded. And this quality is forbearance, the cause of all good things in men, impelling as it were and conducting  the soul into a serene haven. For widows are a class who, both on account of their poverty, their age and natural  dispo-

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sition, indulge in unlimited freedom of speech (so I had best call it); and they make an unseasonable clamor and  idle complaints and lamentations about matters for which they ought to be grateful, and bring accusations  concerning things which they ought contentedly to accept. Now the superintendent should endure all these things  in a generous spirit, and not be provoked either by their unreasonable annoyance or their unreasonable  complaints. For this class of persons deserve to be pitied for their misfortunes, not to be insulted; and to trample  upon their calamities, and add the pain of insult to that which poverty brings, would be an act of extreme brutality.  On this account one of the wisest of  men, having regard to the avarice and pride of human nature, and  considering the nature of poverty and its terrible power to depress even the noblest character, and induce it often  to act in these same respects without shame, in order that a man should not be irritated when accused, nor be  provoked by continual importunity to become an enemy where he ought to bring aid, he instructs him to be affable  and accessible to the suppliant, saying, "Incline thine ear to a poor man and give him a friendly answer with  meekness."(1) And passing by the case of one who succeeds in  exasperating (for what can one say to him who is  overcome?), he addresses the man who is able to bear the other's infirmity, exhorting him before he bestows his  gift to correct the suppliant by the gentleness of his countenance and the mildness of his words. But if any one,  although he does not take the property (of these widows), nevertheless loads them with innumerable reproaches,  and insults them, and is exasperated against them, he not only fails through his gift to alleviate the despondency  produced by poverty, but aggravates the distress by his abuse. For although they may be compelled to act very  shamelessly through the necessity of hunger, they are nevertheless distressed at this compulsion. When, then,  owing to the dread of famine, they are constrained to beg, and owing to their begging are constrained to put off  shame, and then again on account of their shamelessness are insulted, the power of despondency becoming of a  complex kind, and accompanied by much gloom,   settles down upon the soul. And one who has the charge of these  persons ought to be so long-suffering, as not only not to increase their despondency by his fits of anger, but also to  remove the greater part of it by his exhortation. For as the man who has been insulted, although he is in the  enjoyment of great abundance, does not feel the advantage of his wealth, on account of the blow which he has  received from the insult; so on the other hand, the man who has been addressed with kindly words, and for whom  the gift has been accompanied with encouragement, exults and rejoices all the more, and the thing given becomes  doubled in value through the manner in which it is offered. And this I say not of myself, but borrow from him  whose precept I quoted just now: "My son, blemish not thy good deeds, neither use uncomfortable words when  thou givest anything. Shall not the dew assuage the heat? So is a word better than a gift. Lo! is not a word better  than  a gift? but both are with a gracious man."(2)
    But the superintendent of these persons ought not only to be gentle and forbearing, but also skillful in the  management of property; for if this qualification is wanting, the affairs of the poor are again involved in the same  distress. One who was entrusted not long ago with this ministry, and got together a large hoard of money, neither  consumed it himself, nor expended it with a few exceptions upon those who needed it, but kept the greater part of  it buried in the earth until a season of distress occurred, when it was all surrendered into the bands of the enemy.  Much forethought, therefore, is needed, that the resources of the Church should be neither over abundant, nor  deficient, but that all the supplies which are provided should be quickly distributed among those who require them,  and the treasures of the Church stored up in the hearts of those who are under her rule.
    Moreover, in the reception of strangers, and the care of the sick, consider how great an expenditure of money is  needed, and how much exactness and discernment on the part of those who preside over these matters. For it is  often necessary that this expenditure should be even larger than that of which I spoke just now, and that he  who  presides over it should combine prudence and wisdom with skill in the art of supply, so as to dispose the affluent to  be emulous and ungrudging in their gifts, lest while providing for the relief of the sick, he should vex the souls of  those who supply their wants. But earnestness and zeal need to be displayed here in a far higher degree; for the sick  are difficult creatures to please, and prone to languor; and unless great accuracy and care are used, even a slight  oversight is enough to do the patient great mischief.
    17. But in the care of virgins, the fear is greater in proportion as the possession is more precious, and this flock  is of a nobler character

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than the others. Already, indeed, even into the band of these holy ones, an infinite number of women have rushed  full of innumerable bad qualities; and in this case our grief is greater than in the other; for there is just the same  difference between a virgin and a widow going astray, as between a free-born damsel and her handmaid. With  widows, indeed, it has become a common practice to trifle, and to rail at one another, to flatter or to be impudent,  to appear everywhere in public, and to perambulate the market-place. But the virgin has striven for nobler aims,  and eagerly sought the highest kind of philosophy,(1) and professes to exhibit upon earth the life which angels lead,  and while yet in the flesh proposes to do deeds which belong to the incorporeal powers. Moreover, she ought not  to make numerous or unnecessary journeys, neither is it permissible for her to utter idle and random words; and  as for abuse and flattery, she should not even know them by name. On this account she needs the most careful  guardianship, and the greater assistance. For the enemy of holiness is always surprising and lying in wait for these  persons, ready to devour any one of them if she should slip and fall; many men also there are who lay snares for  them; and besides all these things there is the passionateness of their own human nature, so that, speaking  generally, the virgin has to equip herself for a twofold war, one which attacks her from without, and the other  which presses upon her from within. For these reasons he who has the superintendence of virgins suffers great  alarm, and the danger and distress is yet greater, should any of the things which are contrary to his wishes occur,  which God forbid. For if a daughter kept in seclusion is a cause of sleeplessness to her father, his anxiety about her  depriving him of sleep, where the fear is so great lest she should be childless, or pass the flower of her age  (unmarried), or be hated (by her husband),(2) what will he suffer whose anxiety is not concerned with any of these  things, but others far greater? For in this, case it is not a man who is rejected, but Christ  Himself, nor is this  barrenness the subject  merely of reproach, but the evil ends in the destruction of the soul; "for every tree," it is  said, "which bringeth not forth good fruit, is hewn down and cast into the fire."(3) And for one who has been  repudiated by the divine Bridegroom, it is not sufficient to receive a certificate of divorce and so to depart, but she  has to pay the penalty of everlasting punishment. Moreover, a father according to the flesh has many things which  make the custody of his daughter easy; for the mother, and nurse, and a multitude of handmaids share in helping  the parent to keep the maiden safe. For neither is she permitted to be perpetually hurrying into the market-place,  nor when she does go there is she compelled to show herself to any of the passers-by, the evening darkness  concealing one who does not wish to be seen no less than the walls of the house. And apart from these things, she  is relieved from every cause which might otherwise compel her to meet the gaze of men; for no anxiety about the  necessaries of life, no menaces of oppressors, nor anything of that kind reduces her to this unfortunate necessity,  her father acting in her stead in all these matters; while she herself has only one anxiety, which is to avoid doing or  saying anything unworthy the modest conduct which becomes her. But in the other case there are many things  which make the custody of the virgin difficult, or rather impossible for the father; for he could not have her in his  house with himself, as dwelling together in that way would be neither seemly nor safe. For even if they themselves  should suffer no loss, but continue to preserve their innocence unsullied, they would have to give an account for  the souls which they have offended, just as much as if they happened to sin with one another. And it being  impossible for them to live together, it is not easy to understand the movements of the character, and to suppress  the impulses which are ill regulated, or train and improve those which are better ordered and tuned. Nor is it an  easy thing to interfere in her habits of walking out; for her poverty and want of a guardian does not permit him to  become an exact investigator of the propriety of her conduct. For as she is compelled to manage all her affairs she  has many pretexts for going out, if at least she is not inclined to be self-controlled. Now he who commands her to  stay always at home ought to cut off these pretexts, providing for her independence in the necessaries of life, and  giving her some woman who will see to the management of these things. He must also keep her away from funeral  obsequies, and nocturnal festivals; for that artful serpent knows only too well how to scatter his poison through the  medium even of good deeds. And the maiden must be fenced on every side, and rarely go out of the house during  the whole year, except when she is constrained by inexorable necessity. Now if any one should say

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that none of these things is the proper work of a bishop to take in hand, let him be assured that the anxieties and  the reasons concerning what takes place in every case have to be referred to him. And it is far more expedient that  he should manage everything, and so be delivered from the complaints which he must otherwise undergo on  account of the faults of others, than that he should abstain from the management, and then have to dread being  called to account for things which other men have done. Moreover, he who does these things by himself, gets  through them all with great ease; but he who is compelled to do it by converting every one's opinion does not get  relief by being saved from working single-handed, equivalent to the trouble and turmoil which he experiences  through those who oppose him and combat his decisions. However, I could not enumerate all the anxieties  concerned with the care of virgins; for when they have to be entered on the list, they occasion no small trouble to  him who is entrusted  with this business.
    Again, the judicial department of the bishop's office involves innumerable vexations, great consumption of time,  and difficulties exceeding those experienced by men who sit to judge secular affairs; for it is a labor to discover  exact justice, and when it is found, it is difficult to avoid destroying it. And not only loss of time and difficulty are  incurred, but also no small danger. For ere now, some of the weaker brethren having plunged into business,  because they have not obtained patronage have made shipwreck concerning the faith. For many of those who have  suffered wrong, no less than those who have inflicted wrong, hate those who do not assist them, and they will not  take into account either the intricacy of the matters in question, or the difficulty of the times, or the limits of  sacerdotal authority, or anything of that kind; but they are merciless judges, recognizing only one kind of  defence--release from the evils which oppress them. And he who is unable to furnish this, although he may allege  innumerable excuses, will never escape their condemnation.
    And talking of patronage, let me disclose another pretext for fault-finding. For if the bishop does not pay a  round of visits every day, more even than the idle men about town, unspeakable offence ensues. For not only the  sick, but also the whole, desire to be looked after, not that piety prompts them to this, but rather that in most cases  they pretend claims to honor and distinction. And if he should ever happen to visit more constantly one of the  richer and more powerful men, under the pressure of some necessity, with a view to the common benefit of the  Church, he is immediately stigmatized with a character for fawning and flattery. But why do I speak of patronage  and visiting? For merely from their mode of accosting persons, bishops have to endure such a load of reproaches as  to be often oppressed and overwhelmed by despondency; in fact, they have also to undergo a scrutiny of the way in  which they use their eyes. For the public rigorously criticize their simplest actions, taking note of the tone of their  voice, the cast of their countenance, and the degree of their laughter. He laughed heartily to such a man, one will  say, and accosted him with a beaming face, and a clear voice, whereas to me he addressed only a slight and passing  remark. And in a large assembly, if he does not turn his eyes in every direction when he is conversing, the majority  declare that his conduct is insulting.
    Who, then, unless he is exceedingly strong, could cope with so many accusers, so as either to avoid being indited  altogether, or, if he is indited, to escape? For he must either be without any accusers, or, if this is impossible, purge  himself of the accusations which are brought against him; and if this again is not an easy matter, as some men  delight in making vain and wanton charges, he must make a brave stand against the dejection p