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

NPNF (V1-14)St. Chrysostom426And herein he establishes two great truths: one, that we should not be lifted up: 2945 even shouldstthou run (he would say), even shouldst thou be very earnest, do not consider that the well doing 2946is thine own. For if thou obtain not the impulse 2947 that is from above, all is to no purpose.Nevertheless that thou wilt attain that which thou earnestly strivest after is very evident; so longas thou runnest, so long as thou willest.He did not then assert this, that we run in vain, but that, if we think the whole to be our own,if we do not assign the greater part to God, we run in vain. For neither hath God willed that thewhole should be His, lest He should appear to be crowning us without cause: nor again our’s, lestwe should fall away to pride. For if when we have the smaller [share], we think much of ourselves,what should we do if the whole depended on us?[6.] Indeed God hath done away many things for the purpose of cutting away our boastfulness,and still there is the 2948 high hand. With how many afflictions hath He encompassed us, so as tocut away our proud spirit! With how many wild beasts hath He encircled us! For indeed when somesay, ‘why is this?’ ‘Of what use is this?’ They utter these things against the will of God. He hathplaced thee in the midst of so great fear, and yet not even so art thou lowly-minded; but if thouever attain a little success, thou reachest to Heaven itself in pride.For this cause [come] rapid changes and reverses; and yet not even so are we instructed. Forthis cause are there continual and untimely deaths, but are minded as if we were immortal, as if weshould never die. We plunder, we over-reach, as though we were never to give account. We buildas if we were to abide here always. And not even the word of God daily sounded into our ears, northe events themselves instruct us. Not a day, not an hour can be mentioned, in which we may notsee continual funerals. But all in vain: and nothing reaches our hardness [of heart]: nor are we evenable to become better by the calamities of others; or rather, we are not willing. When we ourselvesonly are afflicted, then we are subdued, and yet if God take off His hand, we again lift up our hand:no one considers what is proper for man, 2949 no one despises the things on earth; no one looks toHeaven. But as swine turn their heads downwards, stooping towards their belly, wallowing in themire; so too the great body of mankind defile themselves with the most intolerable filth, withoutbeing conscious of it.[7.] For better were it to be defiled with unclean mud than with sins; for he who is defiled withthe one, washes it off in a little time, and becomes like one who had never from the first fallen intothat slough; but he who has fallen into the deep pit of sin has contracted a defilement that is notcleansed by water, but needs long time, and strict repentance, and tears and lamentations, and morewailing, and that more fervent, than we show over the dearest friends. For this defilement attaches2945In the genuine text here as in some other places, there is no mention of the second point. The longer text has “ onethat we should not be lifted up by what we do well: the other that when we do well, we should attribute to God the cause ofour well-doing. Therefore, ” &c. Mr. Field thinks that either the thread of the discourse is broken, and the second point notmentioned, or (which seems more probable) that it is contained in the words “ Nevertheless, ” &c.2946κατόρθωμα2947ῥ οπὴ : “ The inclining of the balance ” ; or, “ the weight which makes it turn. ”2948Sav. and Ben. add αὐτοῦ , “ His hand is high ” ; but the reference is to our sinning “ with a high hand, ” as appears fromwhat follows in the next paragraph.2949οὐδεὶς ἀνθρώπινα φρονεῖ . This is the reading also of Savile and Morell. It is supported by one ms. and the pr. m. ofanother: which had been corrected to οὐδ. οὐράνια φ ., the reading of the Verona edition. Mutianus has nemo divina sapit ;and the later translator cælestia . The other mss. have ἀ νθρώπινα περιφρονεῖ . ταπεινὰ φρονεῖ, ταπεινοφρονεῖ . Montfauconconjectured τὰ ἄνω φρονεῖ614