John Chrysostom, On Lazarus

having suffered nothing, but on account of the laziness of some, having become fainthearted and having withdrawn from teaching them, and especially when there are so many who pay attention? 2. And I say these things, not comforting myself, nor exhorting myself; for I have persuaded my own soul, as long as I breathe and it seems good to God for us to be in this present life, to fulfill this ministry, and whether anyone pays attention or does not pay attention, to do what has been commanded; but since there are some who weaken the hands of the many, and in addition to contributing nothing useful themselves to our life, also paralyze the zeal of others, mocking and ridiculing, and saying: "Cease from advising, stop admonishing; they do not want to listen to you, have nothing in common with them;" since there are some who say these things, wishing to cut out this wicked and inhuman opinion and diabolical plot from the soul of the many, I am making this discourse longer. For indeed, yesterday I know many said these words, who, when they saw some who had spent time in a tavern, laughing and mocking, said: "Indeed they were persuaded! Absolutely no one entered a tavern; all became sober-minded." What are you saying, man? Did we promise to catch everyone in our net in a single day? For if only ten were persuaded, if only five, if only one, is it not suffi48.965 cient for our comfort? And I will make another exaggeration. Let it be supposed that no one has been persuaded by our words, which is impossible, for a word sown in so many ears to ever be fruitless; but nevertheless, let this itself be supposed; not even so is our word without profit. For even if they entered a tavern, yet they did not enter with the same shamelessness, but even at the table they often remembered our words, the censure, the rebuke, and remembering, they were ashamed, they blushed in their mind; they did not do the customary things with such recklessness. And this is the beginning of salvation and of an excellent change, to be ashamed at all, to condemn at all what is being done. In addition to these things, another no less gain has come to us from this. What is that? That we made the sober-minded more reverent, and persuaded them through what was said that they have made the best of all decisions, by not being led away with the many. I did not raise up those who were sick? But I made the healthy more secure. The word did not lead some away from wickedness? But it made those living in virtue more exact. Let me say a third thing in addition to this. I did not persuade them today? But perhaps tomorrow I will be able to persuade them. But not even tomorrow? But after tomorrow, or perhaps even after that. The one who heard today and rejected it, will perhaps hear tomorrow and will accept it; and the one who disdained it today and tomorrow, will perhaps pay attention to what is said after several days. For a fisherman too, having often pulled up an empty net throughout the whole day, often in the evening when he is about to depart, has gone away having caught the fish that eluded him the whole day. But if we were to be idle on account of the failures that are always happening, and to desist from all our undertakings, our whole life will be ruined; and not only spiritual matters, but also all worldly matters will be gone. For the farmer, if he were to abandon farming on account of the irregularities of the weather that happen once and twice and many times, we would all quickly perish from famine. And a pilot, if he were to flee the sea on account of the storm that has occurred once and twice and many times, the deep will be unnavigable for us, and from this our life will again become useless. And going through each trade, if you were to admonish and advise these things, everything will be utterly destroyed, and the earth will be uninhabited. Knowing all these things, therefore, everyone, even if they fail once, or twice, or many times in the outcome of the matters in which they are engaged, takes them up again with the same eagerness. 3. Knowing all these things, therefore, we too, beloved, let us not, I beseech you, let us not utter these things, nor say: "What need have we of so many words? No benefit comes from these words." For the

παθόντες οὐδὲν, διὰ δὲ τὴν ῥᾳθυμίαν τινῶν μικροψυχήσαντες, καὶ τῆς διδασκαλίας ἀποστάντες τῆς πρὸς ἐκείνους, καὶ μάλιστα, ὅταν τοσοῦτοι οἱ προσέχοντες ὦσι; βʹ. Ταῦτα δὲ λέγω, οὐκ ἐμαυτὸν παραμυθούμενος, οὐδὲ παρακαλῶν· καὶ γὰρ πέπεικα τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ ψυχὴν, ἕως ἂν ἐμπνέω, καὶ δοκῇ τῷ Θεῷ κατὰ τὸν παρόντα βίον ἡμᾶς εἶναι, ταύτην πληροῦν τὴν διακονίαν, καὶ ἄν τε προσέχῃ τις, ἄν τε μὴ προσέχῃ, τὸ ἐπιταχθὲν ποιεῖν· ἀλλ' ἐπειδή τινές εἰσιν οἱ τὰς τῶν πολλῶν ἐκλύοντες χεῖρας, καὶ πρὸς τῷ μηδὲν αὐτοὺς χρήσιμον εἰς τὸν βίον εἰσφέρειν τὸν ἡμέτερον, καὶ τὴν ἑτέρων παραλύοντες σπουδὴν, χλευάζοντες καὶ διακωμῳδοῦντες, καὶ λέγοντες· ἀπόστηθι συμβουλεύων, παῦσαι παραινῶν· οὐ βούλονταί σοι προσέχειν, μηδὲν κοινὸν ἔχε πρὸς αὐτούς· ἐπειδή τινές εἰσι ταῦτα λέγοντες, τὴν πονηρὰν καὶ ἀπάνθρωπον ταύτην γνώμην καὶ διαβολικὴν ἐπιβουλὴν τῆς ψυχῆς τῶν πολλῶν ἐκκόψαι βουλόμενος, μακρότερον τοῦτον ποιῶ τὸν λόγον. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ χθὲς οἶδα πολλοὺς εἰρηκότας ταῦτα τὰ ῥήματα, οἳ, ἐπειδάν τινας εἶδον ἐν καπηλείῳ διατρίψαντας, γελῶντες καὶ χλευάζοντες ἔλεγον· πάνυγε γὰρ ἐπείσθησαν· ὅλως οὐδεὶς εἰς καπηλεῖον εἰσῆλθε· ἅπαντες ἐσωφρόνησαν. Τί λέγεις, ἄνθρωπε; τοῦτο γὰρ ὑπεσχόμεθα πάντας ἐν μιᾷ σαγηνεύειν ἡμέρᾳ; Εἰ γὰρ δέκα μόνον ἐπείσθησαν, εἰ γὰρ πέντε μόνον, εἰ γὰρ εἷς, οὐχ ἱκα48.965 νὸν ἡμῖν εἰς παραμυθίαν; Ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ ὑπερβολὴν ἑτέραν ποιοῦμαι. Κείσθω μηδένα πεπεῖσθαι τοῖς ἡμετέροις λόγοις, ὅπερ ἀδύνατον εἰς τοσαύτας ἀκοὰς σπειρόμενον λόγον ἄκαρπον γενέσθαι ποτέ· πλὴν ἀλλὰ κείσθω τοῦτο αὐτό· οὐδὲ οὕτως ἀκερδὴς ἡμῖν ὁ λόγος. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ εἰσῆλθον εἰς καπηλεῖον, ἀλλ' οὐ μετὰ τῆς αὐτῆς ἀναισχυντίας εἰσῆλθον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς τραπέζης πολλάκις τῶν ἡμετέρων ἐμνήσθησαν λόγων, τῆς ἐπιτιμήσεως, τῆς ἐπιπλήξεως, καὶ μνησθέντες ᾐσχύνθησαν, ἠρυθρίασαν κατὰ διάνοιαν· οὐ μετὰ τοσαύτης ἰταμότητος τὰ εἰωθότα ἔπραξαν. Τοῦτο δὲ ἀρχὴ σωτηρίας καὶ μεταβολῆς ἀρίστης, τὸ ὅλως αἰσχυνθῆναι, τὸ ὅλως καταγνῶναι τῶν γινομένων. Πρὸς τούτοις δὲ οὐκ ἔλαττον καὶ ἕτερον ἡμῖν ἐκ τούτου γεγένηται κέρδος. Ποῖον δὴ τοῦτο; Τὸ καὶ τοὺς σωφρονοῦντας σεμνοτέρους ποιῆσαι, καὶ πεῖσαι διὰ τῶν εἰρημένων ὅτι ἄριστα πάντων εἰσὶ βεβουλευμένοι, μὴ συναπαγόμενοι τοῖς πολλοῖς. Οὐκ ἀνέστησα τοὺς νοσοῦντας; ἀλλὰ τοὺς ὑγιεῖς ἀσφαλεστέρους ἐποίησα· οὐκ ἀπήγαγέ τινας τῆς κακίας ὁ λόγος; ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἐν ἀρετῇ ζῶντας ἀκριβεστέρους εἰργάσατο. Εἴπω τι καὶ πρὸς τούτοις τρίτον. Οὐκ ἔπεισα σήμερον; ἀλλ' αὔριον ἴσως δυνήσομαι πεῖσαι. Ἀλλ' οὐδὲ αὔριον; ἀλλὰ μετὰ τὴν αὔριον, ἢ καὶ μετ' ἐκείνην ἴσως. Ὁ σήμερον ἀκούσας καὶ διακρουσάμενος, αὔριον ἴσως ἀκούσεται καὶ καταδέξεται· ὁ δὲ σήμερον καὶ αὔριον καταφρονήσας, μετὰ πλείους ἴσως ἡμέρας προσέξει τοῖς λεγομένοις. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἁλιεὺς πολλάκις δι' ὅλης τῆς ἡμέρας κενὸν ἀνασπάσας τὸ δίκτυον, ἐν ἑσπέρᾳ πολλάκις ἀναχωρεῖν μέλλων, τὸν δι' ὅλης αὐτὸν τῆς ἡμέρας διαφυγόντα ἰχθὺν ἁλιεύσας ἀπῆλθεν. Εἰ δὲ μέλλοιμεν διὰ τὰς ἀεὶ γινομένας ἀποτυχίας ἐν ἀργίᾳ εἶναι, καὶ τῶν πραγμάτων ἀφίστασθαι πάντων, ἅπας ἡμῖν ὁ βίος ἀπολεῖται· καὶ οὐχὶ τὰ πνευματικὰ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ βιωτικὰ οἰχήσεται πάντα. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ γεωργὸς, εἰ μέλλοι διὰ τὰς ἅπαξ καὶ δὶς καὶ πολλάκις γινομένας τῶν ἀέρων ἀνωμαλίας τῆς γεωργίας ἀποπηδᾷν, λιμῷ ταχέως ἀπολούμεθα πάντες. Καὶ κυβερνήτης δὲ, εἰ διὰ τὸν ἅπαξ καὶ δὶς καὶ πολλάκις συμβάντα χειμῶνα φύγοι τὴν θάλατταν, ἄπλωτον ἡμῖν ἔσται τὸ πέλαγος, καὶ ἄχρηστος καὶ ἐντεῦθεν ἡμῖν ὁ βίος πάλιν γενήσεται. Καθ' ἑκάστην δὲ τέχνην ἐπιὼν, εἰ ταῦτα παραινοίης καὶ συμβουλεύοις, πάντα ἄρδην ἀπολεῖται, καὶ ἀοίκητος ἔσται ἡ γῆ. Ἅπερ οὖν ἅπαντες εἰδότες, κἂν ἅπαξ, κἂν δὶς, κἂν πολλάκις ἀποτύχωσι τοῦ τέλους τῶν πραγμάτων, ἐν οἷς εἰσι καὶ διατρίβουσι, πάλιν αὐτῶν ἐπιλαμβάνονται μετὰ τῆς αὐτῆς προθυμίας. γʹ. Ἅπερ ἅπαντα δὴ καὶ ἡμεῖς εἰδότες, ἀγαπητοὶ, μὴ, παρακαλῶ, μὴ ταῦτα φθεγγώμεθα, μηδὲ λέγωμεν· τί δεῖ λόγων ἡμῖν τοσούτων; οὐδὲν ἐκ τῶν λόγων τούτων ὄφελος γίνεται, Καὶ γὰρ ὁ