John Chrysostom, On Timothy

of the prophet; I took of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for sanctification? You will gain this, then, that you will not be liable for a greater punishment. For he who is not honored in the present life, and is despised and enjoys no account, but 62.675 is also insulted and spat upon, if nothing else, at least reaps this benefit, of not being liable for this also, of being honored by his fellow servants. And for many other reasons he profits from this; he is restrained, he is humbled, nor, if he wishes, will he ever be proud, if he pays more attention to himself. But he who enjoys much honor, in addition to being liable for great debts, is also lifted up to insolence and to vainglory, and becomes a slave of men. Then, as this lordship increases, he is forced to do many things he does not wish. 4. Knowing then that this is better for us than that, let us neither seek honors, and let us refuse those offered, let us cast them off from ourselves, let us extinguish this desire. These things have been said by us both to rulers and to the ruled. For a soul desiring honor and to be glorified will not see the kingdom of heaven. This saying is not mine, nor do I speak my own words, but those of the divine Spirit; it will not see it, even if it practices virtue. For they have, he says, their reward. He therefore who does not receive a reward, how will he see the kingdom of heaven? I do not forbid desiring glory, but I want glory that is true, that is from God; Whose praise, he says, is not from men, but from God. In secret let us be devout, not clothed with much pride and pretense and hypocrisy; let us cast off the sheep's skin, or rather let us become sheep; nothing is more worthless than the glory of men. For tell me, if you see a crowd of small children, I mean infants, do you desire glory from them? Thus be disposed toward all men with respect to glory. For this reason it is called vainglory. Do you not see the masks which those on the stage put on? how beautiful, how brilliant, how fashioned to the utmost exactness of comeliness? can you show me such a face in reality? By no means. What then? have you ever been in love with them? No; why? because they are empty, and imitate beauty, but are not beauty. So also glory is empty and imitates glory, but is not glory. That alone remains which is natural, which is within; but this which is external and laid upon it often conceals ugliness, it conceals it from men, and until the evening; but when the theatre is dismissed and the 62.676 masks are taken off, each one appears as he is. Let us not then pursue the truth as on a stage and in hypocrisy. For tell me, what good is there in being looked at by the many? it is vainglory, and nothing else; since go up into the house and be alone, and immediately the whole thing has vanished. Did you enter the marketplace? Did you turn the heads of those present? And what is the advantage? Nothing; it was extinguished and went away like smoke dispersing. Do we then so love things without substance? And of how much irrationality are these things, tell me? of how much folly? Let us therefore look to one thing only, how God might praise; if we consider this, we will never seek the things from men, but even if it happens, we will despise it, we will laugh at it, we will spit on it; as if desiring gold, but receiving clay, so we shall be disposed. Let so-and-so not praise you; for it has helped nothing; and if he blames, it has harmed nothing. But in God's case, both of these have some profit and loss; but the things from men are all vain. And in this we are made equal to God, that he does not need glory from men; For glory, he says, from men I do not receive. Is this then a small thing, tell me? When you do not want to despise glory, say that by despising it I become equal to God, and you will immediately despise it. For it is not possible for a man who is a slave to glory not to be a slave to all, and

προφήτου· Ἔλαβον ἐκ τῶν υἱῶν ὑμῶν εἰς προφήτας, καὶ ἐκ τῶν νεανίσκων ὑμῶν εἰς ἁγιασμόν; Κἂν τοῦτο τοίνυν κερδανεῖς, ὅτι οὐκ ἔσῃ ὑπεύθυνος μείζονι τιμωρίᾳ. Ὁ μὲν γὰρ μὴ τιμώμενος ἐν τῷ παρόντι βίῳ, καὶ καταφρονούμενος καὶ οὐδὲ λόγου τινὸς ἀπολαύων, ἀλλὰ 62.675 καὶ ὑβριζόμενος καὶ διαπτυόμενος, εἰ καὶ μηδὲν ἕτερον, τοῦτο γοῦν καρποῦται τὸ μὴ καὶ τούτου ὑπεύθυνος εἶναι, τοῦ τιμηθῆναι παρὰ τῶν ὁμοδούλων. Καὶ διὰ πολλὰ δὲ ἕτερα κερδαίνει ἐντεῦθεν· συστέλλεται, ταπεινοῦται, οὐδὲ, ἐὰν θέλῃ, μέγα φρονήσει ποτὲ, εἰ ἑαυτῷ μᾶλλον προσέχει. Ὁ μέντοι πολλῆς ἀπολαύων τιμῆς, πρὸς τῷ καὶ ὀφλημάτων εἶναι μεγάλων ὑπεύθυνος, καὶ εἰς ἀπόνοιαν αἴρεται καὶ εἰς κενοδοξίαν, καὶ γίνεται δοῦλος ἀνθρώπων. Εἶτα τῆς δεσποτείας ταύτης αὐξομένης, πολλὰ ἀναγκάζεται ποιεῖν, ὧν οὐ βούλεται. δʹ. Ὡς οὖν εἰδότες ὅτι τοῦτο βέλτιον ἡμῖν, ἢ ἐκεῖνο, μήτε ζητῶμεν τιμὰς, καὶ τὰς παρεχομένας διακρουώμεθα, ἀποῤῥίπτωμεν ἀφ' ἑαυτῶν, σβεννύωμεν τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ταύτην. Ταῦτα καὶ πρὸς ἄρχοντας καὶ πρὸς ἀρχομένους ἡμῖν εἴρηται. Ψυχὴ γὰρ τιμῆς ἐπιθυμοῦσα καὶ τοῦ δοξάζεσθαι, οὐκ ὄψεται τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν. Οὐκ ἐμὸς οὗτος ὁ λόγος, οὐδὲ ἐμαυτοῦ λέγω ῥήματα, ἀλλὰ τοῦ θείου Πνεύματος· οὐκ ὄψεται, κἂν ἀρετὴν ἐργάζηται. Ἀπέχουσι γὰρ, φησὶ, τὸν μισθὸν αὐτῶν. Ὁ τοίνυν μισθὸν μὴ λαμβάνων, πῶς ὄψεται τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν; Οὐ κωλύω δόξης ἐφίεσθαι, ἀλλὰ δόξης βούλομαι τῆς ἀληθοῦς τῆς παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ· Οὗ ὁ ἔπαινος, φησὶν, οὐκ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλ' ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ. Ἐν τῷ κρυπτῷ ὦμεν εὐλαβεῖς, μὴ περικείμενοι τῦφον πολὺν καὶ σκηνὴν καὶ ὑπόκρισιν· ῥίψωμεν τοῦ προβάτου τὴν δορὰν, μᾶλλον δὲ γενώμεθα πρόβατα· οὐδὲν τῆς τῶν ἀνθρώπων δόξης οὐδαμινέστερον. Εἰπὲ γάρ μοι, ἐὰν ἴδῃς παίδων πλῆθος μικρῶν, ὑπομαζίων λέγω, ἆρα ἐπιθυμεῖς τῆς δόξης τῆς παρ' ἐκείνων; Οὕτω πρὸς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους διάκεισο πάντας δόξης ἕνεκεν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο κενοδοξία λέγεται. Οὐχ ὁρᾷς τὰ προσωπεῖα, ἃ περιτίθενται οἱ ἐπὶ τῆς σκηνῆς; πῶς μὲν καλὰ, πῶς δὲ λαμπρὰ, πῶς δὲ εἰς τὴν ἐσχάτην ἀκρίβειαν τῆς εὐμορφίας διαπεπλασμένα; ἔχεις μοι δεῖξαι ὄψιν τοιαύτην ἐπὶ τῆς ἀληθείας; Οὐδαμῶς. Τί οὖν; ἆρα ἠράσθης αὐτῶν ποτε; Οὔ· διὰ τί; ἐπειδὴ διάκενά ἐστι, καὶ μιμεῖται κάλλος, οὐκ ἔστι δὲ κάλλος. Οὕτω καὶ ἡ δόξα διάκενός ἐστι καὶ μιμεῖται δόξαν, οὐκ ἔστι δὲ δόξα. Ἐκείνη μόνη μένει ἡ φυσικὴ ἡ ἔνδον· αὕτη δὲ ἡ ἔξω ἐπικειμένη ἐπικρύπτει πολλάκις τὴν ἀμορφίαν, ἐπικρύπτει παρὰ ἀνθρώποις, καὶ μέχρι τῆς ἑσπέρας· τοῦ δὲ θεάτρου λυθέντος καὶ τῶν προσ 62.676 ωπείων ἐπαρθέντων, ἕκαστος, ὅπερ ἐστὶ, τοῦτο φαίνεται. Μὴ τοίνυν ὡς ἐν σκηνῇ καὶ ἐν ὑποκρίσει τὴν ἀλήθειαν μετέλθωμεν. Εἰπὲ γάρ μοι, τί καλὸν ἔχει τὸ περιβλέπεσθαι παρὰ τῶν πολλῶν; κενοδοξία ἐστὶ, καὶ οὐδὲν ἕτερον· ἐπεὶ ἄνελθε εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν καὶ γενοῦ μόνος, καὶ εὐθέως διεῤῥύη τὸ πᾶν. Ἐνέβαλες εἰς τὴν ἀγοράν; ἐπέστρεψας τοὺς παρόντας; καὶ τί τὸ πλέον; Οὐδέν· ἐσβέσθη καὶ ἀπῆλθεν ὡς καπνὸς διαλυθείς. Τῶν οὖν ἀνυποστάτων οὕτως ἐρῶμεν; καὶ πόσης ταῦτα ἀλογίας, εἰπέ μοι; πόσης ἀνοίας; Πρὸς ἓν τοίνυν ὁρῶμεν μόνον, πῶς ὁ Θεὸς ἐπαινέσει ἂν τοῦτο σκοπῶμεν, οὐδέποτε ζητήσομεν τὰ παρὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλὰ κἂν γένηται, καταφρονήσομεν, καταγελασόμεθα, διαπτύσομεν· ὡς ἂν εἰ χρυσίου μὲν ἐφιέμενοι, πηλὸν δὲ λαμβάνοντες, οὕτω διακεισόμεθα. Μὴ ἐπαινείτω σε ὁ δεῖνα· οὐδὲν γὰρ ὠφέλησε· κἂν ψέξῃ, οὐδὲν ἔβλαψεν. Ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ ταῦτα ἀμφότερα ἔχει τι κέρδος καὶ ζημίαν· τὰ δὲ παρὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων πάντα μάταια. Καὶ κατὰ τοῦτο ἐξισούμεθα τῷ Θεῷ, ὅτι οὐ δεῖται τῆς παρ' ἀνθρώπων δόξης ἐκεῖνος· ∆όξαν γὰρ, φησὶ, παρὰ ἀνθρώπων οὐ λαμβάνω. Μικρὸν μὲν οὖν τοῦτο, εἰπέ μοι; Ὅταν μὴ θέλῃς καταφρονεῖν δόξης, εἰπὲ ὅτι τῷ Θεῷ ἴσος γίνομαι καταφρονήσας, καὶ εὐθέως καταφρονήσεις. Οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν, ἄνθρωπον δόξης δοῦλον, μὴ πάντων εἶναι δοῦλον, καὶ