John Chrysostom, On Lazarus

A farmer, having sown the same field once and twice and many times,48.966 and having failed to gain a profit, worked it again, and often in a single year he recovered the loss of all that time. And a merchant, having endured many shipwrecks many times, did not keep away from the harbor, but even launched a ship, hired sailors, and, having borrowed money, took up the same affairs, although the future was likewise uncertain. And each of those pursuing any occupation is accustomed to act thus, just as the farmer and the merchant. Then while they show such diligence in the affairs of life, although the outcome is uncertain, shall we, if we speak and are not heard, immediately give up? And what excuse shall we have? What defense? And yet for them, in their failures, there is no one to console them for the loss; for example, if the sea overwhelms the ship, no one will correct the poverty of the shipwrecked man; if a heavy rain buries the field and chokes the seeds, the farmer must return home with empty hands. But in our case, of those who speak and exhort, it is not so. But even if you sow the seeds, and the hearer does not receive them, nor bear the fruit of obedience, you have your reward perfected from God for your counsel, and you will receive as great a reward, even if he disobeys, as you would have received if he had obeyed; for you have fulfilled all your part. We are not responsible for not persuading the hearers, but only for giving counsel; for to exhort is our part, but to be persuaded is theirs. And just as if, when we have not exhorted them, they should accomplish myriad good things, all the reward will be laid up for them alone, and for us there will be no gain, since we did not give counsel; so if, when we have exhorted them, they do not pay attention, all the punishment will overtake them, and for us there will be no blame, but also a great reward will come from God; for we have fulfilled our whole part. We are commanded only to deposit the money with the bankers, to speak and to give counsel. Speak, therefore, and exhort your brother. But he did not listen? But you have your reward perfected, only if you always do this, if you never give up, until you persuade, as long as you breathe. Let the end of your counsel be the obedience of the one receiving the exhortation. The devil always runs against our salvation, gaining nothing himself, but rather being harmed in the greatest ways by his zeal; but nevertheless he has such madness that he often attempts impossible things, and attacks not only those whom he expects to trip up and overthrow completely, but also those who are likely to overcome his schemes. For instance, hearing Job being praised by God who knows all secrets, he expected to be able to overthrow him; and the deceitful one did not desist, setting everything in motion and contriving, so as to trip up the 48.967 man; and that foul and all-wicked demon did not despair, although God had decreed such great virtue for the just man. Then are we not ashamed, nor do we blush, tell me, if, when the devil never despairs of our destruction, but always expects it, we ourselves will despair of our brothers' salvation? And yet he ought to have desisted from the struggles even before the trial; for it was God who testified to the just man's virtue; but nevertheless he did not desist, but out of great madness against us, even after God's testimony, he hoped to overcome that noble man. But for us there is nothing of such a kind to make us fall into despair, and yet we desist. And the devil, although God forbids him, does not withdraw from the fight against us; but you, when God urges and rouses you to the help of the fallen, do you leap away? The devil heard God saying: A man just, true, God-fearing, abstaining from every evil thing, and that there is no one like him on the earth; and after so many and such decrees he nevertheless persisted, saying: lest perhaps by the persistence and the magnitude

γηπόνος ἅπαξ καὶ δὶς καὶ πολλάκις τὴν αὐτὴν σπείρας ἄρου48.966 ραν, καὶ ἀποτυχὼν τοῦ κέρδους, πάλιν αὐτὴν εἰργάσατο, καὶ ἐν ἑνὶ πολλάκις ἐνιαυτῷ τοῦ παντὸς χρόνου τὴν ζημίαν ἀνέσωσε. Καὶ ἔμπορος δὲ ναυάγια πολλὰ πολλάκις ὑπομείνας, οὐκ ἀπέστη τοῦ λιμένος, ἀλλὰ καὶ πλοῖον καθείλκυσε, καὶ ναύτας ἐμισθώσατο, καὶ χρήματα δανεισάμενος τῶν αὐτῶν ἥψατο πραγμάτων, καίτοι τοῦ μέλλοντος ὁμοίως ὄντος ἀδήλου. Καὶ ἕκαστος δὲ τῶν ὁτιοῦν μετιόντων οὕτω ποιεῖν εἰώθασιν, ὥσπερ ὁ γεωργὸς καὶ ὁ ἔμπορος. Εἶτα ἐκεῖνοι μὲν τοσαύτῃ χρῶνται πρὸς τὰ βιωτικὰ σπουδῇ, καίτοι τοῦ τέλους ὄντος ἀδήλου, ἡμεῖς δὲ, ἂν εἰπόντες μὴ ἀκουσθῶμεν, εὐθέως ἀποστησόμεθα; καὶ ποίαν ἕξομεν συγγνώμην; τίνα δὲ ἀπολογίαν; Καίτοι ἐκείνοις μὲν ἐν ταῖς ἀποτυχίαις οὐδείς ἐστιν ὁ τὴν ζημίαν παραμυθησόμενος, οἷον ἐὰν ἐπικλύσῃ τὸ πλοῖον ἡ θάλασσα, οὐδεὶς τὴν πενίαν τοῦ ναυαγοῦντος διορθώσεται· ἂν καταχώσῃ τὴν ἄρουραν ἐπομβρία, καὶ ἀποπνίξῃ τὰ σπέρματα, ἀνάγκη κεναῖς τὸν γεωργὸν οἴκαδε ἀναχωρῆσαι χερσίν. Ἐφ' ἡμῶν δὲ τῶν λεγόντων καὶ παραινούντων οὐχ οὕτως. Ἀλλὰ κἂν καταβάλῃς τὰ σπέρματα, καὶ ὁ ἀκροατὴς μὴ δέξηται, μηδὲ ἐνέγκῃ τὸν καρπὸν τῆς ὑπακοῆς, σὺ τὸν μισθὸν ἔχεις ἀπηρτισμένον παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῆς συμβουλῆς, καὶ τοσαύτην ἀπολήψῃ τὴν ἀμοιβὴν, καὶ παρακούσαντος ἐκείνου, ὅσην ἔλαβες ἂν, εἰ ὑπήκουσε· τὸ γὰρ σαυτοῦ πᾶν ἐπλήρωσας. Τοῦ μὴ πεῖσαι τοὺς ἀκούοντας οὐκ ἐσμὲν ὑπεύθυνοι, ἀλλὰ τοῦ συμβουλεῦσαι μόνον· τὸ μὲν γὰρ παραινέσαι ἡμέτερον, τὸ δὲ πεισθῆναι ἐκείνων. Καὶ καθάπερ ἂν ἡμῶν μὴ παραινεσάντων μυρία κατορθώσωσιν ἐκεῖνοι, μόνοις αὐτοῖς ἅπας ὁ μισθὸς κείσεται, ἡμῖν δὲ οὐδὲν ἔσται τὸ κέρδος, ἐπειδὴ μὴ συνεβουλεύσαμεν· οὕτως ἂν ἡμῶν παραινεσάντων ἐκεῖνοι μὴ προσέχωσιν, ἅπασα αὐτοὺς ἡ τιμωρία καταλήψεται, ἡμῖν δὲ οὐδὲν ἔσται ἔγκλημα, ἀλλὰ καὶ πολὺς ὁ μισθὸς ἀπαντήσεται παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ· τὸ γὰρ ἡμῶν ἅπαν ἐπληρώσαμεν. Καταβαλεῖν μόνον κελευόμεθα τὰ ἀργύρια ἐπὶ τοὺς τραπεζίτας, εἰπεῖν καὶ συμβουλεῦσαι. Εἰπὲ τοίνυν, καὶ παραίνεσον τῷ ἀδελφῷ. Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἤκουσεν; Ἀλλὰ σὺ τὸν μισθὸν ἔχεις ἀπηρτισμένον, μόνον ἂν ἀεὶ τοῦτο ποιῇς, ἂν μηδέποτε ἀποστῇς, ἕως ἂν πείσῃς, ἕως ἂν ἐμπνέῃς. Πέρας ἔστω τῆς συμβουλῆς ἡ ὑπακοὴ τοῦ τὴν παραίνεσιν ὑποδεχομένου. Ὁ διάβολος κατὰ τῆς σωτηρίας ἀεὶ τρέχει τῆς ἡμετέρας, οὐδὲν αὐτὸς κερδαίνων, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ μέγιστα βλαπτόμενος ἀπὸ τῆς σπουδῆς· ἀλλ' ὅμως τοσαύτην ἔχει μανίαν, ὡς καὶ πολλάκις ἀδυνάτοις ἐπιχειρεῖν πράγμασι, καὶ ἐπιθέσθαι μὴ μόνον ἐκείνοις, οὓς προσδοκᾷ πάντως ὑποσκελίζειν καὶ περιτρέπειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ οὓς εἰκὸς περιέσεσθαι τῶν μηχανημάτων αὐτοῦ. Τὸν γοῦν Ἰὼβ ἀκούων ἐπαινούμενον παρὰ τοῦ τὰ ἀπόῤῥητα πάντα εἰδότος Θεοῦ, προσεδόκησε δυνήσεσθαι καὶ περιτρέπειν· καὶ οὐκ ἀπέστη πάντα κινῶν καὶ μηχανώμενος ὁ δόλιος, ὥστε ὑποσκελίσαι τὸν ἄν48.967 θρωπον· καὶ οὐκ ἀπεγίνωσκεν ὁ μιαρὸς καὶ παμπόνηρος δαίμων ἐκεῖνος, καίτοι τοῦ Θεοῦ τοσαύτην τῷ δικαίῳ ψηφισαμένου τὴν ἀρετήν. Εἶτα οὐκ αἰσχυνόμεθα, οὐδὲ ἐρυθριάζομεν, εἰπέ μοι, εἰ, τοῦ διαβόλου μηδέποτε ἀπογινώσκοντος τῆς ἀπωλείας ἡμῶν, ἀλλ' ἀεὶ προσδοκῶντος αὐτὴν, αὐτοὶ τῆς τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἀπογνωσόμεθα σωτηρίας; Καίτοι ἐκεῖνον μὲν καὶ πρὸ τῆς πείρας ἀποστῆναι τῶν παλαισμάτων ἔδει· Θεὸς γὰρ ἦν ὁ μαρτυρῶν τῷ δικαίῳ τὴν ἀρετήν· ἀλλ' ὅμως οὐκ ἀπέστη, ἀλλ' ὑπὸ πολλῆς μανίας τῆς καθ' ἡμῶν καὶ μετὰ τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ μαρτυρίαν ἤλπισε περιέσεσθαι τοῦ γενναίου τότε ἐκείνου. Ἡμᾶς δὲ οὐδέν ἐστι τοιοῦτον τὸ ποιοῦν εἰς ἀπόγνωσιν ἐμπίπτειν, καὶ ὅμως ἀφιστάμεθα. Καὶ ὁ μὲν διάβολος, καίτοι τοῦ Θεοῦ κωλύοντος, οὐκ ἀναχωρεῖ τῆς καθ' ἡμῶν μάχης· σὺ δὲ, τοῦ Θεοῦ προτρέποντός σε καὶ διεγείροντος εἰς τὴν ἀντίληψιν τῶν πεπτωκότων, ἀποπηδᾷς; Ἤκουσεν ὁ διάβολος τοῦ Θεοῦ λέγοντος· Ἄνθρωπος δίκαιος, ἀληθινὸς, θεοσεβὴς, ἀπεχόμενος ἀπὸ παντὸς πονηροῦ πράγματος, καὶ ὅτι οὐδείς ἐστι τοιοῦτος τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· καὶ μετὰ τοσαύτας καὶ τοιαύτας ψήφους ἐνέμεινεν ὅμως λέγων· μήποτε τῇ συνεχείᾳ καὶ τῷ μεγέθει