John Chrysostom, On Susanna

a flood. But none of these things was strong enough to overcome the reasoning of the modest woman; for the hope of her heart was in God. Groaning, therefore, she said: I am in a strait on every side; for if I do this thing, it is death to me; and if I do it not, I cannot escape your hands. It is better for me to fall into your hands, and not do it, than to sin in the sight of the Lord. Woe is me, those whom I thought to be shepherds, I see are wolves; those whom I thought to be harbors for the storm-tossed, these have become a shipwreck. You shall not defile my modesty; I will not shame my parents; I will not dishonor my kindred; I will not grieve my husband; I will not dissolve my union with him by this disorderly conversation with you; I choose an unlawful death rather than a disorderly bed. My husband is with me, not by the presence of his body, but by the disposition of his soul, and I carry with me the characters of my parents. Fear the God who sees; be ashamed before the angels who are present; understand what you are; know the law which you read, which says: You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.

Having said these things, she cried out, calling together witnesses of their disorder; and the two elders also cried out; Susanna's menservants and maidservants ran in; they see the two elders with her. But when the elders spoke their words against Susanna, the servants were exceedingly ashamed, because such a word had never been spoken about Susanna. And on the next day a very great assembly was held; for the critical struggle, the victory for the crown, was yet to come. All the people were gathered, men, women, and children; again the theatre was assembled; the people below did not know what they were watching; but the angels in heaven knew the matter. The elders came, full of iniquity; they call for Susanna, as they thought, to shame and death; but as it was predestined by the just judge, to life and eternal glory. And they say to the people: Send for Susanna, daughter of Chelcias; so they sent. She came, and her parents, and her husband, and her children. And Susanna came as one who was to die for her modesty, groaning with great reverence, afflicted, not because she was about to die, but because she was leaving a bad name to her parents, because she was about to leave a reproach to her family; for she had no witness of what had happened in the garden. Many were weeping for her, her friends, her relatives, her parents, her neighbors; her husband was mourning, her house was wailing; and she herself, full of pain, gloomy, weeping, afflicted, stands in the midst with great humility of heart. The spectacle was for all, for God, for angels, for men.

The two elders rise up, wolves in the guise of shepherds; they lay their hands on her, and in them the slandering serpent was speaking. What did it speak? While we were walking alone yesterday in the garden, this woman came in, and sent her maids away, and the young man, who was hidden, came to her, and lay with her. And we, being in the corner of the garden, and seeing the iniquity taking place, ran up to them; and we were not able to get hold of him, because he was stronger than us, and opening the doors he had leapt out; but seizing this woman we asked who the young man was, and she would not tell us. These things we testify. And the assembly believed them, as elders of the people and judges; and they condemned her to die. And Susanna was led away to death, and there was no one to vindicate the truth, and no witness, except God alone; and he allowed what was happening to happen, so that the complete deed of both might be shown, of the lawless men the 56.593 wickedness of licentiousness and slander, and of the blessed Susanna the steadfastness of modesty even unto death.

Do you see how long God forsakes? But He forsakes them as one tests gold in a furnace, trying the righteous in temptations; just as also in the case of Abraham

κατάκλυσις. Ἀλλ' οὐδὲν τούτων τὸν λογισμὸν νικῆσαι ἴσχυσε τῆς σώφρονος· ἡ γὰρ ἐλπὶς τῆς καρδίας αὐτῆς ἦν εἰς Θεόν. Στενάζουσα γοῦν ἔλεγε· Στενά μοι πάντοθεν· ἐάν τε γὰρ πράξω, θάνατός μοί ἐστιν· ἐάν τε μὴ πράξω, οὐκ ἐκφεύξομαι τὰς χεῖρας ὑμῶν. Αἱρετόν μοί ἐστι μὴ πράξασαν ἐμπεσεῖν εἰς τὰς χεῖρας ὑμῶν, ἢ ἁμαρτεῖν ἐνώπιον Κυρίου. Οἴμοι, οὓς ἐδόκουν εἶναι ποιμένας, λύκους ὁρῶ· οὓς ἐδόκουν εἶναι τῶν χειμαζομένων λιμένας, οὗτοι ναυάγιον γεγόνασιν. Οὐ μιανεῖτέ μου τὴν σωφροσύνην· οὐ καταισχύνω μου τοὺς γονεῖς· οὐκ ἀτιμάζω μου τὴν συγγένειαν· οὐ λυπῶ μου τὸν ἄνδρα· οὐ λύω μου τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν συζυγίαν ἐκ τῆς πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἀτάκτου ὁμιλίας· αἱροῦμαι θάνατον ἄνομον ἤπερ θάλαμον ἄτακτον. Ἐμοὶ δὲ καὶ πάρεστιν ὁ ἀνὴρ, οὐ τῇ τοῦ σώματος παρουσίᾳ, ἀλλὰ τῇ τῆς ψυχῆς διαθέσει, καὶ τοὺς τῶν γονέων μου χαρακτῆρας μεθ' ἑαυτῆς περιφέρω. Φοβήθητε τὸν ὁρῶντα Θεόν· αἰσχύνθητε τοὺς παρόντας ἀγγέλους· νοήσατε ὅ ἐστε· γνῶτε ὃν ἀναγινώσκετε νόμον τὸν λέγοντα· Οὐκ ἐπιθυμήσῃ τὴν γυναῖκα τοῦ πλησίον σου.

Ταῦτα εἰρηκυῖα ἀνεβόησε, μάρτυρας τῆς ἀταξίας αὐτῶν συγκαλοῦσα· ἀνεβόησαν δὲ καὶ οἱ δύο πρεσβύτεροι· εἰσέδραμον οἱ τῆς Σουσάννης δοῦλοι, καὶ παιδίσκαι· ὁρῶσι μετ' αὐτῆς τοὺς δύο πρεσβυτέρους. Ἡνίκα δὲ εἶπον οἱ πρεσβύτεροι τοὺς λόγους κατὰ Σουσάννης, κατῃσχύνθησαν οἱ δοῦλοι σφόδρα, ὅτι οὐκ ἐῤῥήθη λόγος τοιοῦτος περὶ Σουσάννης ποτέ. Ἐγένετο δὲ τῇ ἐπαύριον συνέδριον μέγιστον· ἔτι γὰρ ἡ κρίσιμος πάλη, ἡ περὶ στεφάνου νίκη. Συνήχθη πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ἀνδρῶν, γυναικῶν, νηπίων· πάλιν συνηθροίσθη τὸ θέατρον· οἱ κάτω ἄνθρωποι οὐκ ᾔδεισαν τί ἐθεώρουν· οἱ δὲ ἐν οὐρανῷ ἄγγελοι ἐπεγίνωσκον τὸ πρᾶγμα. Ἦλθον οἱ πρεσβύτεροι γέμοντες τῆς ἀνομίας· καλοῦσι τὴν Σουσάνναν, ὡς μὲν ἐκεῖνοι ἐνόμιζον, πρὸς αἰσχύνην καὶ θάνατον· ὡς δὲ τῷ δικαίῳ κριτῇ προώριστο, πρὸς ζωὴν καὶ δόξαν αἰώνιον. Καί φασι πρὸς τὸν λαόν· Ἀποστείλατε πρὸς Σουσάνναν θυγατέρα Χελκίου· οἱ δὲ ἀπέστειλαν. Ἦλθεν αὐτὴ, καὶ οἱ γονεῖς αὐτῆς, καὶ ὁ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς, καὶ τὰ τέκνα αὐτῆς. Καὶ ἦλθεν ἡ Σουσάννα ὡς θανεῖν ὀφείλουσα διὰ σωφροσύνην, μετὰ πολλῆς εὐλαβείας στενάζουσα, θλιβομένη, οὐχ ὅτι ἤμελλεν ἀποθνήσκειν, ἀλλ' ὅτι ὄνομα κακὸν κατελίμπανε τοῖς γονεῦσιν, ὅτι ἤμελλεν ὀνειδισμὸν τῷ γένει καταλιπεῖν· οὐδένα γὰρ εἶχε μάρτυρα τοῦ γεγονότος πράγματος ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ. Πολλοὶ ἦσαν οἱ δακρύοντες ὑπὲρ αὐτῆς, οἱ φίλοι, οἱ συγγενεῖς, οἱ γονεῖς, οἱ γείτονες· ὁ ἀνὴρ ἐπένθει, ὁ οἶκος αὐτῆς ἐθρήνει· κἀκείνη αὐτὴ κατώδυνος, σκυθρωπὴ, δακρύουσα, θλιβομένη, ἐν πολλῇ ταπεινότητι καρδίας ἵσταται ἐν τῷ μέσῳ. Πάνδημος ἦν ἡ θέα, Θεοῦ, ἀγγέλων, ἀνθρώπων.

Ἀνίστανται οἱ δύο πρεσβύτεροι, οἱ ἐν σχήματι ποιμένων λύκοι· ἐπιτιθέασιν αὐτῇ τὰς χεῖρας, καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς ὁ συκοφάντης ὄφις ἐλάλει. Τί ἐλάλει; Περιπατούντων ἡμῶν χθὲς ἐν τῷ παραδείσω μόνων, εἰσῆλθεν αὕτη, καὶ ἀπέλυσε τὰς παιδίσκας αὐτῆς, καὶ ἦλθε πρὸς αὐτὴν ὁ νεανίσκος, ὃς ἦν κεκρυμμένος, καὶ ἀνέπεσε μετ' αὐτῆς. Ἡμεῖς δὲ ὄντες ἐν τῇ γωνίᾳ τοῦ παραδείσου, καὶ ἰδόντες τὴν ἀνομίαν γινομένην, ἐδράμομεν ἐπ' αὐτούς· κἀκείνου μὲν ἐγκρατεῖς οὐκ ἠδυνήθημεν γενέσθαι, διὰ τὸ ἰσχύειν αὐτὸν ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς, καὶ ἀνοίξαντα τὰς θύρας ἐκπεπηδηκέναι· ταύτης δὲ ἐπιλαβόμενοι ἠρωτῶμεν, τίς ἦν ὁ νεανίσκος, καὶ οὐκ ἠθέλησεν ἀπαγγεῖλαι ἡμῖν. Ταῦτα μαρτυροῦμεν. Καὶ ἐπίστευσεν αὐτοῖς ἡ συναγωγὴ, ὡς πρεσβυτέροις τοῦ λαοῦ καὶ κριταῖς· καὶ κατέκριναν αὐτὴν ἀποθανεῖν. Καὶ ἀπήγετο ἡ Σουσάννα πρὸς θάνατον, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἦν ὁ ἐκδικητὴς τῆς ἀληθείας, καὶ μάρτυς, εἰ μὴ μόνος ὁ Θεός· καὶ συνεχώρει γενέσθαι τὸ γινόμενον, ἵν' ἀμφοτέρων τελεία δειχθῇ ἡ πρᾶξις, τῶν μὲν παρανόμων ἡ 56.593 τῆς ἀκολασίας κακία καὶ συκοφαντία, τῆς δὲ μακαρίας Σουσάννης ἡ ἕως θανάτου ἔνστασις τῆς σωφροσύνης.

Ὁρᾷς ἕως πότε ὁ Θεὸς ἐγκαταλιμπάνει; Ἐγκαταλιμπάνει δὲ ὡς χρυσὸν ἐν χωνευτηρίῳ δοκιμάζων ἐν τοῖς πειρασμοῖς τοὺς δικαίους· ὥσπερ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἀβραὰμ