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De continentia

Of St. John Chrysostom: On Self-Control.

575 The discourse on self-control always seems to me to be most useful and fitting for the servants of Christ, but especially now we shall make this discourse to you at a fitting time, when the children of the church, having put on Christ, ought especially to possess self-control before other good things; since even whoever saw athletes deemed worthy of the Olympics, anointed, going down to the stadium, and then discoursed to them about wrestling and endurance and victory, 576 would rightly be thought by all to have done this at a fitting time; and so we too, having seen the athletes of the Savior receive power from the Spirit through the divine mysteries, might fittingly discourse on behalf of self-control and send them forth to the spiritual contest.

In human contests, then, the crowns are after the victory, but in the stadia of Christ, the crowns are before the victory. For what reason then did Christ send us forth to the contest having crowned us? Wishing at once to strike fear into our opponents, and also to rouse our spirits, so that, looking to the honor given by Christ, we might do and say all things worthily of the honor from the master. For if a king, dressed in purple, his head adorned with a crown, is then carried away by natural passions to do something unworthy of his kingship, as soon as he looks upon the robe of his office, he becomes superior to shameful things; but you, who have put on Christ, whenever you see a shameful desire troubling your soul, look immediately to the divine robe and you will quickly become superior to the device of the evil one.

It is a fine thing, then, to praise self-control, but a finer thing to possess it; but those who continually hear and speak about it receive no small encouragement for continence from the words. For this reason God also commanded that the virtues of the saints be made renowned through the divine scriptures, in order that He might draw all men to their zeal and persuade them to practice self-control by following precisely in the footsteps of the righteous. For if in the gymnastic contests many, having often seen the athletes crowned, quickly stripped down and took part in the contests, and 577 endured many sweats and toils, in order that they might be crowned with branches of olive or laurel, with how much eagerness does it befit us to endure the sweats for self-control, when we see others being crowned by God, in order that we might bind on the heavenly crowns for our good and salutary exploits? And yet how is it not dreadful and worthy of much wrath, if a leaf of olive or laurel and an empty glory that will perish along with this life exhort the athletes to victory, but the gifts of Christ do not persuade us to push away all pleasure and to set the fear of God over our desires? Therefore, it is not only among men that one can see zeal for their equals, but also doves, often seeing just one begin its flight, follow swiftly; and a noble colt in a herd of horses, having leaped, has drawn the whole herd into the race. Therefore, since we are all a herd of Christ, and there is a good colt among us, the most self-controlled Joseph, with his heavenly leaps exhorting his fellow servants to his own zeal, let us dance the spiritual dance with the good young man, praising his self-control not only with words, but also with the imitation of his works.

De continentia

Τοῦ ἐν ἁγίοις Ἰωάννου τοῦ Χρυσοστόμου· Περὶ σωφροσύνης.

575 Ἀεὶ μὲν ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ χρησιμώτατος εἶναι καὶ πρέπων τοῖς τοῦ Χριστοῦ δούλοις

ὁ περὶ σωφροσύνης λόγος, μάλιστα δὲ νῦν ἐν καιρῷ τοῦτον ποιησόμεθα πρὸς ὑμᾶς, ὅτε τὸν Χριστὸν ἐνδυσάμενοι τῆς ἐκκλησίας οἱ παῖδες σωφροσύνην μάλιστα κεκτῆσθαι πρὸ τῶν ἄλλων ὀφείλουσιν ἀγαθῶν· ἐπεὶ καὶ ὅστις εἶδεν ἀθλητὰς Ὀλυμπίοις νομισθέντας πρέπειν ἀλειψαμένους ἐπὶ τὸ στάδιον καταβαίνοντας, εἶτα περὶ παλαισμάτων καὶ καρτερίας καὶ νίκης διελέχθη πρὸς αὐτούς, 576 ἐν καιρῷ τοῦτο πεποιηκέναι δικαίως ἂν παρὰ πάντων νομίζοιτο· καὶ δὴ καὶ ἡμεῖς ἑωρακότες τοὺς τοῦ σωτῆρος ἀθλητὰς δύναμιν λαβόντας παρὰ τοῦ πνεύματος διὰ τῶν θείων μυστηρίων εἰκότως ἂν ὑπὲρ σωφροσύνης διαλεχθέντες ἐπὶ τὸν ἀγῶνα τὸν πνευματικὸν παραπέμψοιμεν.

Ἐν μὲν οὖν τοῖς ἀνθρωπίνοις ἀγωνίσμασι μετὰ τὴν νίκην οἱ στέφανοι, ἐν δὲ τοῖς τοῦ Χριστοῦ σταδίοις πρὸ τῆς νίκης οἱ στέφανοι. Τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν στεφανώσας ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ τὸν ἀγῶνα παρέπεμψεν ὁ Χριστός; Ὁμοῦ μὲν φόβον ἐμβαλεῖν τοῖς ἀντιπάλοις βουλόμενος, ὁμοῦ δὲ καὶ τὰ ἡμέτερα διεγείρων φρονήματα, ἵνα πρὸς τὴν τιμὴν ὁρῶντες τὴν παρὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ δεδομένην ἀξίως τῆς παρὰ τοῦ δεσπότου τιμῆς ἅπαντα καὶ ποιῶμεν καὶ λέγωμεν. Εἰ γάρ τις βασιλεὺς ἁλουργίδα περιθέμενος, στεφάνῳ τὴν κεφαλὴν κοσμηθείς, εἶτα ἐξενεχθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν τῆς φύσεως παθημάτων ἀνάξιόν τι τῆς βασιλείας ποιῆσαι, ἅμα τε ἀπέβλεψεν εἰς τὴν τοῦ πράγματος στολὴν καὶ κρείττων ἐγένετο τῶν αἰσχρῶν· σὺ δὲ ὁ τὸν Χριστὸν ἐνδεδυμένος, ὅταν ἴδῃς αἰσχρὰν ἐπιθυμίαν τῇ ψυχῇ διενοχλοῦσαν, ἀπόβλεψον εὐθέως εἰς τὴν θείαν στολὴν καὶ ταχέως κρείττων γενήσῃ τῆς τοῦ πονηροῦ μηχανῆς.

Σωφροσύνην τοίνυν καλὸν μὲν ἐγκωμιάζειν, κάλλιον δὲ κεκτῆσθαι· οἱ δὲ συνεχῶς περὶ ταύτης καὶ ἀκούοντες καὶ λέγοντες οὐ μικρὰν ἐγκρατείας παράκλησιν ἀπὸ τῶν λόγων λαμβάνουσι. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ τὰς ἀρετὰς τῶν ἁγίων περιβοήτους γενέσθαι διὰ τῶν θείων γραφῶν προςέταξεν ὁ θεός, ἵνα πάντας ἀνθρώπους εἰς τὸν ἐκείνων ἐπισπάσηται ζῆλον καὶ πείσῃ σωφροσύνην ἀσκεῖν τοῖς ἴχνεσι τῶν δικαίων ἀκριβῶς ἑπομένους. Εἰ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς γυμνικοῖς ἀγῶσι πολλοὶ πολλάκις τοὺς ἀθλητὰς ἐστεφανωμένους ἰδόντες ταχέως ἀποδυσάμενοι τῶν ἀγώνων ἥψαντο καὶ 577 πολλοὺς ἱδρῶτας καὶ πόνους ὑπέμειναν, ἵνα κλάδοις ἐλαίας ἢ δάφνης στεφανωθῶσι, μετὰ πόσης ἡμᾶς προςήκει προθυμίας τοὺς ὑπὲρ τῆς σωφροσύνης ὑπομένειν ἱδρῶτας, ὅταν ἑτέρους ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστεφανωμένους ἴδωμεν, ἵνα τοὺς οὐρανίους ἀναδησώμεθα στεφάνους ἐπὶ τοῖς καλοῖς καὶ σωτηρίοις ἀνδραγαθήμασι; Καίτοι πῶς οὐ δεινὸν καὶ πολλῆς ὀργῆς ἄξιον, εἰ τοὺς μὲν ἀθλητὰς ἐπὶ τὴν νίκην παρακαλεῖ φύλλον ἐλαίας ἢ δάφνης καὶ δόξα κενὴ τῷ βίῳ τούτῳ συνδιαφθείρεσθαι μέλλουσα, ἡμᾶς δὲ μὴ πείθει τὰ δῶρα τοῦ Χριστοῦ πᾶσαν ἡδονὴν ἀπωθεῖσθαι καὶ ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις ἐφιστάναι τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ φόβον; Οὐ τοίνυν ἐν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις μόνοις ἔστιν ἰδεῖν τῶν ὁμοίων τὸν ζῆλον, ἀλλὰ καὶ περιστεραὶ πολλάκις ἰδοῦσαι μόνην ἀπαρξαμένην τῆς πτήσεως ἀκολουθοῦσιν ὀξέως· καὶ πῶλος γενναῖος ἐν ἵππων ἀγέλῃ σκιρτήσας πᾶσαν ἐπεσπάσατο τὴν ἀγέλην ἐπὶ τὸν δρόμον. Οὐκοῦν ἐπειδὴ πάντες ἡμεῖς ἀγέλη Χριστοῦ, ἔστι δὲ πῶλος ἐν ἡμῖν ἀγαθὸς ὁ σωφρονέστατος Ἰωσὴφ τοῖς οὐρανίοις σκιρτήμασιν ἐπὶ τὸν ζῆλον τὸν ἑαυτοῦ τοὺς ὁμοδούλους παρακαλῶν, συγχορεύσωμεν τῷ καλῷ νεανίσκῳ τὴν πνευματικὴν χορείαν ἐπαινοῦντες αὐτοῦ τὴν σωφροσύνην μὴ λόγοις μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῇ μιμήσει τῶν ἔργων.