Homilies on the Gospel of St. John and the Epistle to the Hebrews

NPNF (V1-14)St. ChrysostomAfter the publication of Dr. Field’s text ( Bibliotheca Patrum Ecclesiae Catholicae Qui anteOrientis et Occidentis schisma floruerunt , tom. vii. Oxonii 1862) the translation was again verycarefully revised by that text by the Rev. Dr. Barrow , Principal of St. Edmund Hall: he also wroteheads for the present Preface. The headings were given (as far as could be done) in the ms . andmany of them have been retained; others, fitting in less well with the printed page, seemed to needa little modification. For an occasional note enclosed in brackets, the son of the one remainingEditor of the Library is responsible.P. E. Pusey.Oxford , May, 1877.[It has seemed better in this edition to conform the translation of the Scripture texts to someone standard. St. Chrysostom used the current text of his day, which, on the whole, was more likethe Textus Receptus , the basis of the A.V., than the more critical text followed by the R.V. It hastherefore seemed best to take the A.V. as the standard (except where St. Chrysostom has followeda different text), but note has been made of any variations of the R.V. materially affecting the sense.There remain a number of loose quotations and combinations of different texts, and in these theEnglish translation is retained.Effort has been made to simplify the language and remove involved constructions in thetranslation of the <strong>Homilies</strong>. The English translation was originally made from the Benedictine, andafterwards revised from Field’s more accurate text, and the differences between these have sometimesbeen overlooked. Besides this, it has often been possible to give St. Chrysostom’s meaning moreaccurately,—sometimes even reversing the sense. There are, however, many very felicitoustranslations in the English edition which have been retained. It is a revision, and not a new translation.All the notes in the English edition have been scrupulously retained, additions being enclosedin square brackets, with the initials of the reviser. An introduction on the authorship of this Epistlehas been inserted.—F.G.][Published after his decease.—F.G., jr.]341Introduction.by the american reviser.————————————In the following <strong>Homilies</strong> St. Chrysostom assumes throughout St. Paul’s authorship of theEpistle, and in his opening Homily deals with considerable ingenuity with several of the mostobvious objections to the Pauline authorship.The Epistle, however, is anonymous, and is not attributed to St. Paul by the most ancienthistorical testimony which has come down to us, nor is his authorship generally recognized bymodern criticism. It is interesting, therefore, to enquire whether St. Chrysostom, in adopting theprevailing view of his time, did so on sufficient grounds.504