John Chrysostom, On Consubstantiality

might harm those who came after, He did not neglect that part either; but although He knew beforehand that they would not listen, but would even revile Him, and would leap away, He nevertheless spoke, establishing this very thing I have said, and showing the reason for which He also mixed humble sayings in for them. And this was, that they were not yet able to receive the greatness of the things being said. And if He had not wished to establish this, the teaching of lofty doctrines to those who would not listen, nor pay attention, would have been superfluous; but as it is, even if it did not benefit them at all, it was instructing us, and preparing us to hold the fitting opinion concerning Him, and persuading us that it was because they were not yet able to receive the greatness of the things said, that He shifted His discourse to what was more humble. When, therefore, you see Him saying humble things, do not think the condescension is due to the meanness of His substance, but to the weakness of the hearers' minds. Do you wish me to state a third reason also? For not only because of the covering of the flesh, nor because of the weakness of the hearers, but also because He wished to teach His listeners to be humble, He both did and said many humble things; and this is yet a third reason. For one who teaches humility instructs in this not only through words, but also through actions, being moderate both in word and deed; for, Learn from Me, He says, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and again elsewhere: The Son of man came not to be served, but to serve. Therefore, one who teaches to be humble, and nowhere to strive for the first places, but to accept being in a lesser position everywhere, and leading to this both through words and actions, had many pretexts for uttering humble things. It is possible to state a fourth reason also, no less than those mentioned. And what is this? That we should not, because of the great and ineffable proximity of the hypostases, ever fall into the suspicion of a single person, seeing that even now when He has said something of this sort only a few times, some have already slipped into this impiety. For Sabellius the Libyan, having heard Him say, I and the Father are one, and, He who has seen me has seen the Father, seized upon the proximity to the Begetter, which is displayed by these words, as a basis for impiety, 48.762 and the suspicion of one person and one hypostasis. And these are not the only pretexts, but also that no one should think Him to be the first and unbegotten substance, and suppose Him to be greater than the One who begot Him. For Paul also seems to have feared this very thing, lest someone should ever suspect this impious and wicked dogma. For having said, For He must reign until He has put His enemies under His feet, and having added, that He has subjected all things under His feet, he added: Except for the One who subjected all things to Him; he would not have added this, had he not feared that some such diabolical notion might arise. In many places also, to soothe the envy of the Jews, He lowers the loftiness of His sayings, and also often replies to the suspicion of those conversing with Him, as when He says: If I testify about myself, my testimony is not true. For He spoke thus, addressing their suspicion; for He certainly did not wish to show that He is not true, but, as you think and suspect, He says, not wishing to accept me when I speak about myself. 5. And it is possible to find yet more reasons. For the humility of the sayings, then, we could state many pretexts; but you state one other pretext for the lofty doctrines, besides that which we have mentioned; and this was His wishing to demonstrate His own noble birth to us; but you would not be able to state another. For one who is great could also say something small about himself, and it is not an accusation; for this is of reasonableness;

παραβλάψειε τοὺς μετὰ ταῦτα, οὐδὲ ἐκείνου τοῦ μέρους ἠμέλησεν· ἀλλὰ καίτοι προειδὼς, ὅτι οὐκ ἀκούσονται, ἀλλὰ καὶ λοιδορήσονται αὐτῷ, καὶ ἀποπηδήσουσιν, ὅμως εἶπεν, αὐτό τε τοῦτο ὅπερ εἶπον κατασκευάζων, καὶ δεικνὺς τὴν αἰτίαν, δι' ἣν καὶ τὰ ταπεινὰ αὐτοῖς ἀνέμιξε ῥήματα. Αὕτη δὲ ἦν, τὸ μηδέπω δύνασθαι δέξασθαι τὸ μέγεθος τῶν λεγομένων. Καὶ εἰ μὴ τοῦτο κατασκευάσαι ἐβούλετο, περιττὴ τῶν ὑψηλῶν δογμάτων ἦν ἡ διδασκαλία τοῖς οὐκ ἀκουσομένοις, οὐδὲ προσέξουσιν· νῦν δὲ εἰ καὶ ἐκείνους μηδὲν ὠφέλει, ἀλλ' ἡμᾶς ἐπαίδευε, καὶ τὴν προσήκουσαν περὶ αὐτοῦ δόξαν ἔχειν παρεσκεύαζε, καὶ ἔπειθεν ὅτι διὰ τὸ μὴ δύνασθαι μηδέπω τὸ μέγεθος τῶν λεγομένων δέχεσθαι ἐκείνους, ἐπὶ τὸ ταπεινότερον τὸν λόγον μετήγαγεν. Ὅταν οὖν ἴδῃς αὐτὸν ταπεινὰ λέγοντα, μὴ τῆς εὐτελείας τῆς κατὰ τὴν οὐσίαν, ἀλλὰ τῆς ἀσθενείας τῆς κατὰ τὴν διάνοιαν τῶν ἀκροατῶν εἶναι νόμιζε τὴν συγκατάβασιν. Βούλεσθε εἴπω καὶ τρίτην αἰτίαν; Οὐ γὰρ δὴ μόνον διὰ τὴν τῆς σαρκὸς περιβολὴν, οὐδὲ διὰ τὴν ἀσθένειαν τῶν ἀκροατῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τὸ βούλεσθαι διδάσκειν ταπεινοφρονεῖν τοὺς ἀκούοντας, πολλὰ ταπεινὰ καὶ ἐποίει καὶ ἔλεγε· καὶ ἔστι καὶ αὕτη τρίτη πάλιν αἰτία. Ὁ γὰρ ταπεινοφρονεῖν διδάσκων, οὐχὶ διὰ ῥημάτων μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τῶν πραγμάτων τοῦτο παιδεύει, καὶ λόγῳ καὶ ἔργῳ μετριάζων· Μάθετε γὰρ, φησὶν, ἀπ' ἐμοῦ ὅτι πρᾶός εἰμι καὶ ταπεινὸς τῇ καρδίᾳ· καὶ πάλιν ἀλλαχοῦ· Ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οὐκ ἦλθε διακονηθῆναι, ἀλλὰ διακονῆσαι. Ὁ τοίνυν ταπεινοὺς διδάσκων γίνεσθαι, καὶ μηδαμοῦ τοῖς πρωτείοις ἐπιτρέχειν, ἀλλὰ καταδέχεσθαι τὸ ἐλαττοῦσθαι πανταχοῦ, καὶ διὰ ῥημάτων καὶ διὰ πραγμάτων εἰς τοῦτο ἐνάγων, πολλὰς εἶχε προφάσεις τοῦ ταπεινὰ φθέγγεσθαι. Ἔστι καὶ τετάρτην αἰτίαν εἰπεῖν, οὐκ ἐλάττω τῶν εἰρημένων. Τίς δέ ἐστιν αὕτη; Τὸ μὴ διὰ τὴν πολλὴν ἐγγύτητα καὶ ἄφατον τῶν ὑποστάσεων εἰς ἑνὸς προσώπου ποτὲ ὑπόνοιαν ἡμᾶς ἐμπεσεῖν, ὅπου γε καὶ νῦν ὀλιγάκις αὐτοῦ τι τοιοῦτον εἰπόντος, πρὸς τὴν ἀσέβειαν ταύτην ἤδη τινὲς ἐξώλισθον. Σαβέλλιος γοῦν ὁ Λίβυς ἀκούσας αὐτοῦ λέγοντος· Ἐγὼ καὶ ὁ Πατὴρ ἕν ἐσμεν, καὶ, Ὁ ἑωρακὼς ἐμὲ ἑώρακε τὸν Πατέρα, τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν ῥημάτων τούτων ἐγγύτητα πρὸς τὸν γεγεννηκότα ἐμφαινομένην εἰς ἀσεβείας ὑπόθεσιν, 48.762 καὶ ἑνὸς προσώπου καὶ μιᾶς ὑποστάσεως ὑπόνοιαν ἥρπασεν. Οὐχ αὗται δὲ μόνον εἰσὶν αἱ προφάσεις, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ μηδένα νομίσαι αὐτὸν εἶναι τὴν πρώτην καὶ ἀγέννητον οὐσίαν, καὶ μείζονα τοῦ γεγεννηκότος αὐτὸν ὑπολαβεῖν. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ὁ Παῦλος αὐτὸ τοῦτο φαίνεται δεδοικὼς, μή τις ὑποπτεύσῃ ποτὲ τὸ ἀσεβὲς τοῦτο δόγμα καὶ πονηρόν. Εἰπὼν γοῦν, ∆εῖ γὰρ αὐτὸν βασιλεύειν ἄχρις οὗ ἂν θῇ τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ, καὶ προσθεὶς, ὅτι Πάντα ὑπέταξεν ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ, ἐπήγαγεν· Ἐκτὸς τοῦ ὑποτάξαντος αὐτῷ τὰ πάντα· οὐκ ἂν ἐπαγαγὼν, εἰ μὴ ἔδεισε, μή που διαβολικὴ τοιαύτη τις ἔννοια γένηται. Πολλαχοῦ δὲ καὶ τὸν τῶν Ἰουδαίων φθόνον παραμυθούμενος καθυφίησι τοῦ τῶν ῥημάτων ὕψους, καὶ πρὸς τὴν ὑπόνοιαν δὲ τῶν διαλεγομένων αὐτῷ πολλάκις ἀποκρινόμενος, ὡς ὅταν λέγῃ· Ἂν ἐγὼ μαρτυρῶ περὶ ἐμαυτοῦ, ἡ μαρτυρία μου οὐκ ἔστιν ἀληθής. Πρὸς τὴν ἐκείνων γὰρ ὑπόνοιαν ἀποτεινόμενος οὕτως εἶπεν· οὐ γὰρ δὴ τοῦτο ἠθέλησε δεῖξαι, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἀληθὴς, ἀλλ' ὡς ὑμεῖς νομίζετε καὶ ὑποπτεύετε, φησὶ, μὴ βουλόμενοί με παραδέξασθαι αὐτὸν περὶ ἑαυτοῦ λέγοντα. εʹ. Καὶ ἄλλας δὲ πλείους αἰτίας ἐστὶν εὑρεῖν. Τῆς μὲν οὖν ταπεινότητος τῶν ῥημάτων πολλὰς ἂν ἔχοιμεν εἰπεῖν προφάσεις· σὺ δὲ εἰπὲ τῶν ὑψηλῶν δογμάτων μίαν πρόφασιν ἑτέραν, πλὴν ἧς ἡμεῖς εἰρήκαμεν· αὕτη δὲ ἦν τὸ βούλεσθαι αὐτὸν τὴν οἰκείαν εὐγένειαν ἡμῖν ἐνδείκνυσθαι· ἀλλ' οὐκ ἂν ἔχοις ἑτέραν εἰπεῖν. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ μέγας δύναιτ' ἂν καὶ μικρόν τι περὶ ἑαυτοῦ λέγειν, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἔγκλημα· ἐπιεικείας γὰρ τοῦτό ἐστιν·