John Chrysostom, On "I saw the Lord"

teachings are brought in, from there these irreverent and vulgar shouts, from there the disorders of the hands, the quarrels, the rivalries, the disorderly manners. 1.4 For nothing so prepares one to despise the oracles of God as the distractions of the spectacles there. For this reason I have often urged none of those who come here and enjoy the divine teaching and partake of the awesome and mystical sacrifice to go to those theaters, and to mix the divine mysteries with the demonic ones. But some are so mad that, even while wearing the appearance of piety and having reached a deep old age, they nevertheless desert to those places, paying attention neither to our words, nor being ashamed of their own appearance. But when we bring this up to them and advise them to respect their old age and piety, what is their cold and ridiculous argument? Listen. "They are an example," he says, "of the victory and the crowns there, and from this we reap the greatest benefit." What are you saying, man? This argument is stale and full of deceit. From where do you reap benefit? from those myriad rivalries and the oaths cast down rashly and in vain to the harm of those who speak them? or from the insults and blasphemies and jests, with which the spectators of such things drench one another? But not from these things, surely; but is it from the disorderly shouts and the unintelligible clamor and the dust sent up and those pushing and shoving and the posturing in front of women that you gather the benefits? But this is not so, it is not. And here, on the one hand, all the prophets and teachers show the very Master of the angels sitting on a throne high and lifted up, and to the worthy awarding the prizes and the crowns, but to the unworthy allotting Gehenna and fire; and the Lord himself also affirms this. Then do you despise these things, in which there is both the fear of conscience and the examination of what has been done and the anxiety of accountability and the inevitability of punishment; and so that you may invent an irrational excuse for your distractions, you say that you are benefited, in things wherein you suffer inconsolable loss? Do not, I beg and beseech you, let us not make excuses in our sins; for these things are a pretext and a deceit causing us harmful loss. But so much for this; it is now time to return to the former exhortation and, having said a few things about it, to put the fitting end to the discourse. For not only matters of disorder are here, but also another grievous sickness goes about. What is this? That having proposed to make their conversation with God and to send up doxology to Him, then, having left Him, each taking his neighbor aside, discusses matters at home, matters in the marketplaces, in the populace, in the theaters, in the army, and how these things were managed, and how those were overlooked, and what is the surplus in their business dealings, and what the deficit; and in short they converse here about all public and private affairs. And of what pardon are these things worthy? And when one speaks with an earthly king, he speaks only of those things about which that man would wish and of which he proposes the questions; but if he should dare to suggest anything else contrary to his will, he will suffer the ultimate punishment; but you, while conversing with the King of kings, whom angels serve with trembling, having abandoned the conversation with him, do you converse about mud and dust and a spider's web? For these are what present affairs are. And how will you bear the penalty for your contempt? And who will deliver you from such a punishment? "But," he says, "matters of business and of the state are in a bad way, and our talk about this is much, our struggle is great." And what is the cause? "The folly," he says, "of those in power." Not the folly of those in power, but our own

παρεισφέρονται διδάγματα, ἐκεῖθεν αἱ ἀνευλαβεῖς αὗται καὶ δημοτικαὶ φωναί, ἐκεῖθεν αἱ τῶν χειρῶν ἀταξίαι, αἱ ἔριδες, αἱ φιλονεικίαι, τὰ ἄτακτα ἤθη. 1.4 Οὐδὲν γὰρ οὕτω καταφρονεῖν τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ παρασκευάζει λογίων, ὡς οἱ τῶν ἐκεῖ θεαμάτων μετεωρισμοί. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο παρεκάλεσα πολλάκις μηδένα τῶν ἐνταῦθα παραγινομένων καὶ τῆς θείας διδασκαλίας ἀπολαυόντων καὶ τῆς φρικτῆς καὶ μυστικῆς μετεχόντων θυσίας πρὸς ἐκεῖνα βαδίζειν τὰ θέατρα, καὶ τὰ θεῖα τοῖς δαιμονικοῖς ἀναμιγνύειν μυστήρια. Ἀλλ' οὕτω τινὲς μεμήνασιν, ὥστε καὶ σχῆμα εὐλαβείας ἐπιφερόμενοι καὶ εἰς πολιὰν ἐληλακότες βαθεῖαν, ὅμως αὐτομολοῦσιν πρὸς ἐκεῖνα μήτε τοῖς ἡμετέροις προσέχοντες λόγοις, μήτε τὴν οἰκείαν αἰσχυνόμενοι μόρφωσιν. Ἀλλ' ὅταν αὐτοῖς τοῦτο προτείνωμεν καὶ τὴν πολιὰν καὶ τὴν εὐλάβειαν αἰδεῖσθαι παραινῶμεν, τίς αὐτῶν ὁ ψυχρὸς καὶ καταγέλαστος λόγος; Ἄκουσον. Παράδειγμα, φησί, τῆς ἐκεῖσε νίκης καὶ τῶν στεφάνων εἰσὶ καὶ πλείστην ἐντεῦθεν καρπούμεθα τὴν ὠφέλειαν. Τί λέγεις, ἄνθρωπε; Ἕωλος οὗτος ὁ λόγος καὶ ἀπάτης ἀνάμεστος. Πόθεν τὴν ὠφέλειαν καρποῦσαι; ἐκ τῶν μυρίων ἐκείνων φιλονεικιῶν καὶ τῶν εἰκῇ καὶ μάτην καταβαλλομένων ὅρκων ἐπὶ κακῷ τῶν λεγόντων; ἢ ἐκ τῶν ὕβρεων καὶ βλασφημιῶν καὶ σκωμμάτων, οἷς ἀλλήλους καταντλοῦσιν οἱ θεαταὶ τῶν τοιούτων; Ἀλλ' ἐκ τούτων μὲν οὐχί· ἐκ δὲ τῶν ἀτάκτων φωνῶν καὶ τῆς ἀσήμου βοῆς καὶ τῆς κόνεως τῆς ἀναπεμπομένης καὶ τῶν ὠθούντων καὶ βιαζομένων καὶ τῶν ἀκκιζομένων κατέναντι γυναικῶν τὰ τῆς ὠφελείας συλλέγεις; Ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔστι τοῦτο, οὐκ ἔστιν. Καὶ ἐνταῦθα μὲν αὐτὸν τὸν ∆εσπότην τῶν ἀγγέλων προφῆται πάντες καὶ διδάσκαλοι ἐπὶ θρόνου ὑψηλοῦ καὶ ἐπῃρμένου καθήμενον ὑποδεικνύουσιν καὶ τοῖς μὲν ἀξίοις τὰ βραβεῖα καὶ τοὺς στεφάνους ἀπονέμοντα, τοῖς δὲ ἀναξίοις γέενναν καὶ πῦρ ἀποκληροῦντα· καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ ὁ Κύριος τοῦτο διαβεβαιοῖ. Εἶτα τούτων μὲν καταφρονεῖς, ἐν οἷς καὶ ὁ τοῦ συνειδότος φόβος καὶ ὁ τῶν πεπραγμένων ἔλεγχος καὶ ἡ τῶν εὐθυνῶν ἀγωνία καὶ τὸ τῆς κολάσεως ἀπαραίτητον· ἵνα δὲ πρόφασιν ἄλογον τῶν σῶν ἐφεύρῃς μετεωρισμῶν, ὠφελεῖσθαι λέγεις, ἐν οἷς τὴν ἀπαραμύθητον ὑπομένεις ζημίαν; Μή, δέομαι καὶ ἀντιβολῶ, μὴ προφασιζώμεθα προφάσεις ἐν ἁμαρτίαις· σκῆψις γὰρ ταῦτα καὶ ἀπάτη ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς τὸ ἐπιζήμιον προξενοῦσα. Ἀλλὰ περὶ τούτου μὲν τοσαῦτα· ὥρα δὲ λοιπὸν εἰς προτέραν ἀναδραμεῖν παραίνεσιν καὶ βραχέα περὶ ταύτης εἰπόντα, τὸ προσῆκον τέλος ἐπιθεῖναι τῷ λόγῳ. Καὶ γὰρ οὐ μόνον τὰ τῆς ἀταξίας ἐνταῦθα, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἕτερόν τι χαλεπὸν περινοστεῖ νόσημα. Ποῖον δὴ τοῦτο; Τὸ πρὸς Θεὸν τὴν διάλεξιν ποιεῖσθαι προθεμένους καὶ αὐτῷ τὴν δοξολογίαν ἀναπέμποντας, εἶτα ἀφέντες τοῦτον, τὸν πλησίον ἕκαστος ἀπολαβών, τὰ κατ' οἶκον διατίθεται, τὰ ἐν ταῖς ἀγοραῖς, τὰ ἐν τῷ δήμῳ, τὰ ἐν τοῖς θεάτροις, τὰ ἐν τῷ στρατῷ καὶ πῶς μὲν ταῦτα διῳκήθη, πῶς δὲ ἐκεῖνα παρεωράθη καὶ τί τὸ πλεονάζον ἐν ταῖς πραγματείαις, τί δὲ τὸ ἐλλεῖπον· καὶ ἁπλῶς περὶ πάντων τῶν κοινῶν καὶ ἰδίων ἐνταῦθα διαλέγονται. Καὶ ποίας ταῦτα συγγνώμης ἄξια; Καὶ βασιλεῖ μέν τις τῷ ἐπιγείῳ διαλεγόμενος, περὶ ἐκείνων μόνων ποιεῖται τὸν λόγον, περὶ ὧν ἃ ἐκεῖνος βουληθείη καὶ ὧν προτείνει τὰς ἐρωτήσεις· εἰ δὲ καὶ ἕτερόν τι παρὰ τὴν ἐκείνου γνώμην ὑποβαλεῖν τολμήσειε, τὴν ἐσχάτην τιμωρίαν ὑποστήσεται· σὺ δὲ τῷ βασιλεῖ τῶν βασιλευόντων προσομιλῶν, ᾧ φρίττοντες λειτουργοῦσιν ἄγγελοι, ἀφεὶς τὴν πρὸς αὐτὸν διάλεξιν, περὶ πηλοῦ καὶ κόνεως καὶ ἀράχνης διαλέγῃ; Ταῦτα γάρ ἐστι τὰ παρόντα πράγματα. Καὶ πῶς οἴσεις τὴν τῆς καταφρονήσεως δίκην; τίς δέ σε τῆς τοιαύτης ἐξαιρήσεται τιμωρίας; Ἀλλὰ κακῶς, φησί, τὰ τῶν πραγμάτων καὶ τὰ τῆς πολιτείας διάκεινται καὶ πολὺς ἡμῖν περὶ τούτου ὁ λόγος, πολὺς ὁ ἀγών. Καὶ τίς ἡ αἰτία; Ἡ τῶν κρατούντων, φησίν, ἀβουλία. Οὐχ ἡ τῶν κρατούντων ἀβουλία, ἀλλὰ ἡ ἡμῶν