1

De siccitate

On Drought.

61.723 Who will give water to my head, and a fountain of tears to my eyes?

Let the most compassionate of the prophets lavish upon me the beginning of his discourse. But he bewailed the desolation of one city, Jerusalem; I, however, seeing the scourge that has come upon all this surrounding region, am moved to lamentations and tears. For heaven has been shut up on account of our sins, and the clouds have been roasted like brushwood by the sun; the fountains of water have been dried up, and the streams of ever-flowing rivers have failed; and the earth, fired by the burning heat, refuses to give her accustomed fruits. Alas for our evils. For even the irrational animals are in danger on account of our sins. The earth has been dried up and its grass, or rather it has not sprouted, and it is being destroyed by plague! And the ox lows piteously, as if at the point of death; and the flocks bleat with a mournful bleating, as they see the drinking of water set before them like a fiery crater, and the crops drying up before their time; so that the prophecy of Joel is now fulfilled in us: The herds of cattle lamented, because there was no pasture for them; and the flocks of sheep vanished, because the outlets of streams were dried up. To such an extent have our offenses provoked the gracious and gentle nature of God to just anger. And since we do not cease kindling the fire of sins every day, we are fittingly punished with drought and burning heat. Perhaps the prophet also cries out to us: Walk in the light of your fire, and in the flame which you have kindled. To the Israelites, therefore, God promised through the prophet, if they should keep his commandments, I will rain upon you the early and the latter rain; and your threshing floors shall be filled with wheat, and the winepresses with wine; but for us this promise has been turned to the contrary; or rather, the curse of Jeremiah has overtaken us; Let the heaven above your head, he says, be bronze; signifying by the threat of the word the complete dryness and lack of water. Or has this not just now been fulfilled for us? For the earth, gullied by drought and as if turned to stone, has blunted the labor of the farmers, accepting neither the plow nor the hoe; and the crops, having sprouted a little and given good hopes, withered away and were gone before the ear of corn could be formed. Only the scorching of the vines and plants is left, perhaps itself hinting at the withering that will soon follow. Such is the fruit of sins, such are the rites of wickedness, because we did not walk in his ways, that is, of God, but were enslaved to wicked deeds, envying one another, looking down on those of lower station, desiring to be filled with what belongs to others, rejoicing in the misfortune of a neighbor, devouring one another with slander, being led into bondage by monstrous desires, having become horses mad for females, as the Scripture says, and ravening wolves, and bearing grudges like camels, not pitying the poor, not sympathizing with sinners, neglecting the assemblies in the Church, despising the saints, not revering their relics, fleeing from confession, as concerning f. just as those who are in a frenzy do their attendants.

The priests have become a bad example to the people, being insolent, bearing grudges, being hostile, plotting, showing partiality, not rebuking and correcting sinners, but by their silence partaking in injustice, as the

1

De siccitate

Περὶ αὐχμοῦ.

61.723 Τίς δώσει τῇ κεφαλῇ μου ὕδωρ, καὶ τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς μου πηγὴν δακρύων;

Ἐπιδαψιλευέτω μοι τὸ τοῦ λόγου προοίμιον ὁ τῶν προφητῶν συμπαθέστατος. Ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνος μιᾶς πόλεως τῆς Ἱερουσαλὴμ τὴν ἐρημίαν ὠδύρετο· ἐγὼ δὲ πάσης τῆς περιχώρου ταύτης ὁρῶν τὴν ἐπελθοῦσαν μάστιγα, εἰς θρήνους κινοῦμαι καὶ δάκρυα. Ἐκλείσθη γὰρ ὁ οὐρανὸς διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν, καὶ τῷ ἡλιακῷ αἱ νεφέλαι, Ὡσεὶ φρύγιον συνεφρύγησαν· αἱ τῶν ὑδάτων ἀπεξηράνθησαν πίδακες, καὶ ποταμῶν ἀεννάων ἐξέλιπε ῥεύματα· ἡ δὲ γῆ πυρακτωθεῖσα τῷ καύσωνι τοὺς συνήθεις αὐτῆς δοῦναι καρποὺς ἀπαναίνεται. Φεῦ τῶν ἡμετέρων κακῶν.

Καὶ αὐτὰ γὰρ τὰ ἄλογα ζῶα κινδυνεύει διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν. Ἀπεξηράνθη ἡ γῆ καὶ ὁ χόρτος αὐτῆς, μᾶλλον δὲ οὐκ ἐβλάστησε, καὶ τῷ λοιμῷ διαφθείρεται! Καὶ βοῦς μὲν ἐλεεινὸν μυκᾶται, καὶ οἷον ἐπιθανάτιον· τὰ δὲ ποίμνια βληχᾶται γοερῷ τῷ βληχήματι, ὡς φλογώδη κρατῆρα τὴν τῶν ὑδάτων πόσιν προκειμένην θεώμενα, καὶ πρὸ καιροῦ τὰ λήϊα ξηραινόμενα· ὡς καὶ τὴν Ἰωὴλ προφητείαν πεπληρῶσθαι νῦν ἐν ἡμῖν· Ἔκλαυσε βουκόλια βοῶν, ὅτι οὐχ ὑπῆρχε νομὴ αὐτοῖς· καὶ ποίμνια τῶν προβάτων ἠφανίσθη, ὅτι ἐξηράνθησαν ἀφέσεις ναμάτων. Τοσοῦτον τὰ ἡμέτερα πταίσματα τὴν ἵλεων τοῦ Θεοῦ φύσιν καὶ ἥμερον εἰς δίκαιον θυμὸν παρεκίνησαν. Καὶ ἐπειδὴ καθ' ἑκάστην οὐ παυόμεθα τὸ πῦρ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὑφάπτοντες, εἰκότως αὐχμῷ καὶ καύσωνι τιμωρούμεθα. Τάχα που καὶ πρὸς ἡμᾶς ὁ προφήτης βοᾷ· Πορεύεσθε τῷ φωτὶ τοῦ πυρὸς ὑμῶν, καὶ τῇ φλογὶ ᾗ ἐξεκαύσατε. Τοῖς μὲν οὖν Ἰσραηλίταις διὰ τοῦ προφήτου ἐπήγγελτο ὁ Θεὸς, εἰ φυλάττοιεν τὰς αὐτοῦ ἐντολὰς, Ἐπιβρέξω εἰς ὑμᾶς ὑετὸν πρώϊμον καὶ ὄψιμον· καὶ πληθυνθήσονται ὑμῶν αἱ ἅλωνες σίτου, καὶ αἱ ληνοὶ οἴνων· ἡμῖν δὲ ἡ ἐπαγγελία αὕτη εἰς τοὐναντίον μετέστραπται· μᾶλλον δὲ ἡμᾶς ἡ τοῦ Ἱερεμίου κατάρα κατείληφεν· Ἔστω σοὶ, φησὶν, ὁ ὑπὲρ τὴν κεφαλὴν οὐρανὸς χαλκοῦς· τὴν παντελῆ ξηρασίαν καὶ ἐπίλειψιν τῶν ὑδάτων τῇ ἀπειλῇ τοῦ λόγου σημαίνοντος. Ἢ οὐ τοῦτο ἡμῖν ἀρτίως πεπλήρωται; Ἡ μὲν γῆ χαραδρωθεῖσα αὐχμῷ καὶ οἷον ἀπολιθωθεῖσα, τῶν γεωργῶν τὸν πόνον ἠμάλδυνεν, οὔτε τὴν ἄροσιν παραδεχομένη, οὔτε τὴν σκάφησιν· τὰ δὲ λήϊα μικρὸν ἐκβλαστήσαντα, καὶ χρηστὰς ἐλπίδας παρασχόντα, πρὸ τοῦ ἐγκυμονῆσαι τὸν ἄσταχυν, ἀπεμαράνθη καὶ ᾤχετο. Μόνη δὲ λέλειπται τῶν ἀμπέλων καὶ φυτῶν ὑπετάλωσις, τάχα καὶ αὐτὴ τὸν μετ' ὀλίγον ἐσόμενον μαρασμὸν ὑπεμφαίνουσα. Τοιοῦτος τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ὁ καρπὸς, τοιαῦτα τῆς κακίας τὰ ὄργια, ἀνθ' ὧν οὐκ ἐπορεύθημεν ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτοῦ, ἤτοι τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ ταῖς πονηραῖς ἐδουλώθημεν πράξεσιν, ἀλλήλων φθονοῦντες, τῶν ἐλαττόνων κατεπαιρόμενοι, ἐπιθυμοῦντες κορεσθῆναι τῶν ἀλλοτρίων, χαίροντες τῇ δυσπραγίᾳ τοῦ γείτονος, ἀλλήλους κατεσθίοντες τῇ συκοφαντίᾳ, ἀτόποις ἐπιθυμίαις δουλαγωγούμενοι, Ἵπποι θηλυμανεῖς γεγονότες, ὅ φησιν ἡ Γραφὴ, καὶ λύκοι ἅρπαγες, καὶ μνησικακοῦντες ὡς κάμηλοι, οὐκ ἐλεοῦντες τοὺς πένητας, οὐ συμπαθοῦντες τοὺς πταίοντας, ἀμελοῦντες τῶν ἐν τῇ Ἐκκλησίᾳ συνάξεων, καταφρονοῦντες τῶν ἁγίων, τὰς μνήμας αὐτῶν μὴ σεβόμενοι, φεύγοντες τὴν ἐξομολόγησιν, ὡς περὶ f. ὥσπερ οἱ ἐν φρενίτιδι ὄντες τοὺς θεράποντας.

Οἱ ἱερεῖς κακὸν ὑπόδειγμα γεγόνασι τῷ λαῷ, ὑβρίζοντες, μνησικακοῦντες, ἐχθραίνοντες, ἐπιβουλεύοντες, εἰς πρόσωπα βλέποντες, οὐκ ἐλέγχοντες καὶ διορθοῦντες τοὺς πταίοντας, ἀλλὰ τῇ σιωπῇ κοινωνοῦντες τῆς ἀδικίας, ὡς ὁ