John Chrysostom, On 2 Thessalonians

burdensome of the words? For if you are silent, have you extinguished Gehenna? for if you speak, have you kindled it? Whether you speak, or do not speak, the fire will burn up. Let it be spoken of continually, that you may never fall into it. It is not possible for a soul that is anxious about Gehenna to sin readily; for hear the best advice: Remember, it says, your end, and you will never sin. It is not possible for a soul that fears for its reckoning not to be hesitant about its offenses; for fear flourishing in the mind allows nothing worldly to be in it. For if a word spoken about it so humbles and checks, will not a thought dwelling constantly in souls purify a soul more than any fire? Let us not be so mindful of the Kingdom as of Gehenna; for fear is stronger than the promise; and I know that many would have despised countless good things, if they had been delivered from punishment; since even now it is enough for me not to be punished, not to be chastised. No one who has Gehenna before his eyes will fall into Gehenna; no one who despises Gehenna will escape Gehenna. For just as among us those who fear the courts will not be convicted by the courts, but those who despise them, they are the ones who are most likely to fall into them; so it is there also. If the Ninevites had not feared the destruction, they would have been destroyed; but since they feared, they were not destroyed. If in Noah's time they had feared the flood, they would not have been flooded; and if the Sodomites had feared, they would not have been burned. It is a great evil to despise a threat; he who despises a threat will quickly experience the trial of it through events. Nothing is so useful as to discourse about Gehenna; it makes our souls purer than any silver. For hear the Prophet saying that, Your judgments are before me continually. And Christ also discourses continually about it. For even if it grieves the hearer, yet it benefits him greatly. 4. For such are all beneficial things; and do not be surprised; for both medicines and foods, after first grieving the sick person, then bring their benefit. But if we do not endure the weightiness of words, it is clear that we will not endure the affliction of deeds; if no one can endure words about Gehenna, it is clear that, if persecution came, no one would ever stand against fire, against the sword. Let us train our hearing not to be soft; for from this we shall come to the deeds themselves. If we are accustomed to hearing terrible things, we will also be accustomed to enduring terrible things; but if we are so dissolved as not even to bear words, when shall we stand against the deeds 62.478? Do you see how the blessed Paul despises all things here, and successive dangers? Why? Because he had practiced despising even Gehenna for the sake of what seemed good to God. He did not even consider the experience of Gehenna to be anything on account of his longing for Christ; we, for the sake of our own interests, cannot even endure words about it. Now, therefore, having heard a few things, you depart; but I beg you, if there is any love among you, to constantly turn over these words. They will be able to do no harm, even if they do not benefit; but they certainly will also benefit; for the soul is also shaped by discussions. Evil communications, it says, corrupt good manners. Therefore, good communications are beneficial; therefore, also, fearful communications make one sober. For the soul is like a kind of wax; for if you bring cold communications to it, you have hardened it and made it callous; but if you bring fiery ones, you have softened it; and having softened it, you shape it to whatever you wish, and you engrave the royal image. Let us therefore stop our ears to idle communications; the evil is not small; from this all evils come. If our mind had practiced attending to divine words, it would not have attended to others; and not attending to others, it would not have pursued evil deeds either. For the way to deeds is a word; first we think, then we speak, then we act. Many

φορτικὸν τῶν ῥημάτων; Μὴ γὰρ, ἂν σιγήσῃς, τὴν γέενναν ἔσβεσας; μὴ γὰρ, ἂν εἴπῃς, ἀνῆψας; Ἄν τε εἴπῃς, ἄν τε μὴ εἴπῃς, ἀναβράσεται τὸ πῦρ. Λεγέσθω συνεχῶς περὶ αὐτῆς, ἵνα μηδέποτε ἐμπέσῃς εἰς αὐτήν. Οὐκ ἔστι ψυχὴν μεριμνῶσαν περὶ γεέννης ἁμαρτεῖν ταχέως· ἄκουε γὰρ τῆς ἀρίστης παραινέσεως· Μιμνήσκου, φησὶ, τὰ ἔσχατά σου, καὶ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα οὐ μὴ ἁμάρτῃς. Οὐκ ἔστι ψυχὴν δεδοικυῖαν ὑπὲρ εὐθυνῶν μὴ ὀκνηρὰν εἶναι περὶ τὰ πλημμελήματα· φόβος γὰρ ἐνακμάζων διανοίᾳ, οὐδὲν ἀφίησι κοσμικὸν εἶναι ἐν αὐτῇ. Εἰ γὰρ λόγος περὶ αὐτῆς κινούμενος οὕτω ταπεινοῖ καὶ συστέλλει, λογισμὸς διαπαντὸς ἐνοικῶν ταῖς ψυχαῖς οὐχὶ παντὸς πυρὸς μᾶλλον ἐκκαθαίρει ψυχήν; Βασιλείας μὴ οὕτω μνημονεύωμεν, ὡς γεέννης· μᾶλλον γὰρ ὁ φόβος ἰσχύει τῆς ἐπαγγελίας· καὶ οἶδα ὅτι πολλοὶ κατεφρόνησαν ἂν μυρίων ἀγαθῶν, εἰ τῆς κολάσεως ἦσαν ἀπηλλαγμένοι· ὅπου γε καὶ νῦν ἐμοὶ ἀρκεῖ τὸ μὴ τιμωρηθῆναι, τὸ μὴ κολασθῆναι. Οὐδεὶς τῶν γέενναν ἐχόντων πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν, εἰς γέενναν ἐμπεσεῖται· οὐδεὶς τῶν καταφρονούντων γεέννης ἐκφεύξεται γέενναν. Καθάπερ γὰρ παρ' ἡμῖν οἱ μὲν δεδοικότες τὰ δικαστήρια, οὐχ ἁλώσονται δικαστηρίοις, οἱ δὲ καταφρονοῦντες, ἐκεῖνοι μάλιστά εἰσιν οἱ περιπίπτοντες· οὕτω κἀκεῖ. Εἰ μὴ ἔδεισαν τὴν καταστροφὴν οἱ Νινευῖται, κατεστράφησαν ἄν· ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἔδεισαν, οὐ κατεστράφησαν. Εἰ ἔδεισαν ἐπὶ τοῦ Νῶε τὸν κατακλυσμὸν, οὐκ ἂν κατεκλύσθησαν· καὶ οἱ Σοδομῖται εἰ ἔδεισαν, οὐκ ἂν κατεκαύθησαν. Μέγα κακὸν τὸ καταφρονεῖν ἀπειλῆς· ὁ καταφρονῶν ἀπειλῆς, ταχέως τῆς διὰ τῶν πραγμάτων αἰσθήσεται πείρας. Οὐδὲν οὕτω χρήσιμον, ὡς τὸ περὶ γεέννης διαλέγεσθαι· ἀργύρου παντὸς καθαρωτέρας ἡμῖν ἐργάζεται τὰς ψυχάς. Ἄκουε γὰρ τοῦ Προφήτου λέγοντος, ὅτι Τὰ κρίματά σου ἐνώπιόν μού ἐστι διαπαντός. Καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς δὲ συνεχῶς περὶ αὐτῆς διαλέγεται. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ λυπεῖ τὸν ἀκροατὴν, ἀλλ' ὠφελεῖ τὰ μέγιστα. δʹ. Τοιαῦτα γὰρ τὰ ὠφελοῦντα πάντα· καὶ μὴ θαυμάσῃς· καὶ γὰρ φάρμακα καὶ σιτία πρότερον λυποῦντα τὸν ἀσθενοῦντα, τότε τὴν ὠφέλειαν ἐπάγει. Εἰ δὲ ῥημάτων οὐκ ἀνεχόμεθα βαρύτητος, εὔδηλον, ὅτι τῆς διὰ τῶν πραγμάτων θλίψεως οὐκ ἀνεξόμεθα· εἰ τῶν περὶ γεέννης οὐδεὶς ἀνέχεται λόγων, εὔδηλον ὅτι, εἰ διωγμὸς κατέλαβε, πρὸς πῦρ, πρὸς σίδηρον οὐδεὶς ἂν ἔστη ποτέ. Γυμνάσωμεν τὴν ἀκοὴν ἡμῶν μὴ μαλακίζεσθαι· ἀπὸ τούτου γὰρ καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ πράγματα ἥξομεν. Ἂν ἐθισθῶμεν ἀκούειν φοβερὰ, ἐθισθησόμεθα καὶ ὑπομένειν φοβερά· ἂν δὲ οὕτως ὦμεν διαλελυμένοι, ὡς μηδὲ ῥήματα φέρειν, πότε πρὸς τὰ πράγματα 62.478 στησόμεθα; Ὁρᾷς πῶς καταφρονεῖ τῶν ἐνταῦθα πάντων, καὶ τῶν ἐπαλλήλων κινδύνων ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος; ∆ιὰ τί; Ὅτι μεμελετήκει καὶ γεέννης καταφρονεῖν ὑπὲρ τῶν τῷ Θεῷ δοκούντων. Ἐκεῖνος οὐδὲ τὴν πεῖραν τῆς γεέννης ἡγεῖτό τι εἶναι διὰ τὸν τοῦ Χριστοῦ πόθον· ἡμεῖς ὑπὲρ τῶν ἡμῖν συμφερόντων οὐδὲ τῶν περὶ αὐτῆς λόγων ἀνεχόμεθα. Νῦν μὲν οὖν ὀλίγα ἀκούσαντες ἀπέρχεσθε· δέομαι δὲ ὑμῶν, εἴ τίς ἐστιν ἐν ὑμῖν ἀγάπη, διαπαντὸς τοὺς περὶ τούτων στρέφειν λόγους. Οὐδὲν βλάψαι δυνήσονται, κἂν μὴ ὠφελήσωσι· πάντως δὲ καὶ ὠφελήσουσι· πρὸς γὰρ τὰς διαλέξεις καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ ποιοῦται. Φθείρουσι, φησὶν, ἤθη χρηστὰ ὁμιλίαι κακαί. Οὐκοῦν ὠφελοῦσιν ὁμιλίαι ἀγαθαί· οὐκοῦν καὶ σωφρονίζουσιν ὁμιλίαι φοβεραί. Ὥσπερ γὰρ κηρός τίς ἐστιν ἡ ψυχή· ἂν μὲν γὰρ ψυχρὰς ἐπαγάγῃς ὁμιλίας, ἐπώρωσας αὐτὴν καὶ ἐσκλήρυνας· ἂν δὲ πεπυρωμένας, ἐμάλαξας· μαλάξας δὲ, τυποῖς πρὸς ὅπερ ἂν θέλῃς, καὶ τὴν εἰκόνα τὴν βασιλικὴν ἐγχαράττεις. Ἀποφράττωμεν τοίνυν ἡμῶν τὰς ἀκοὰς πρὸς τὰς ὁμιλίας τὰς εἰκῆ· οὐκ ἔστι μικρὸν τὸ κακόν· ἀπὸ τούτου γίνεται πάντα τὰ κακά. Εἰ μεμελετήκει ἡμῶν ἡ διάνοια προσέχειν θείοις λόγοις, οὐκ ἂν προσέσχεν ἑτέροις· οὐ προσέχουσα δὲ ἑτέροις, οὐκ ἂν οὐδὲ τὰ πράγματα μετῆλθε τὰ πονηρά. Ὁδὸς γὰρ ἐπὶ τὰ ἔργα λόγος ἐστί· πρῶτον ἐννοοῦμεν, εἶτα φθεγγόμεθα, εἶτα πράττομεν. Πολλοὶ