John Chrysostom, On Lazarus

being licked all over by dogs; see him being escorted by angels; you saw him in poverty then, see him in luxury now; you saw him in famine, see him in great abundance; you saw him struggling, see him being crowned; you saw the toils, see the rewards, both rich and poor; the rich, so that you may not consider wealth without virtue to be a great thing, and the poor, so that you may not consider poverty to be any evil; for both, this man stands as a teacher. For if he, being in poverty, did not despair, what excuse will those have who do this in wealth? if, being in famine and so many evils, he gave thanks, what defense will those have who, with abundance, are not willing to come to the same virtue? Again, the poor who are indignant and distressed on account of their poverty, what excuse will they have, when this man, living in famine and poverty and desolation and continual sickness in the house of a rich man, and 48.982 being overlooked by all, and not having another to see who had suffered the same things as he, appears so to be philosophizing? From this let us learn not to call the rich blessed, nor to deem the poor wretched. Rather, if one must speak the truth, that man is not rich who possesses many things, but he who does not need many things; nor is that man poor who possesses nothing, but he who desires many things; and this one must consider to be the definition of poverty and wealth. If, therefore, you see someone desiring many things, consider him to be poorer than all, even if he possesses the wealth of all; but if again you see someone not needing many things, reckon him to be wealthier than all, even if he possesses nothing. For by the disposition of the mind, not by the measure of substance, we are accustomed to judge poverty and wealth. Just as, therefore, we would not say that one who is continually thirsty is healthy, even if he enjoys abundance, even if he lies down by rivers and springs (for what is the benefit of that profusion of waters, when the affliction remains unquenchable?), so indeed let us do also in the case of the rich; let us never consider those who are always desiring and thirsting for the things of others to be healthy, nor to enjoy any abundance. For he who is unable to stop his own desire, even if he possesses everything, how will this man ever be in abundance? But those who are content with their own things, and are satisfied with what is theirs, and do not look around for the substance of others, even if they are poorer than all, one must consider them to be wealthier than all. For he who does not need the things of others, but loves to be in self-sufficiency, is wealthier than all. 48.983 But if it seems good, let us return to the subject before us. It came to pass, it says, that Lazarus died, and was carried away by the angels. Here I wish to remove a wicked disease of your soul. For many of the simpler sort believe that the souls of those who die a violent death become demons. But this is not so, it is not so. For the souls of those who die a violent death do not become demons, but the souls of those living in sins, not by their substance being changed, but by their choice imitating their evil. At any rate, Christ, declaring this to the Jews, said: You are sons of the devil; and he called them sons of the devil, not because they had changed into his substance, but because they did his works; for which reason he also adds: For you wish to do the desires of your father. And again John: Brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore bear fruit worthy of repentance, and do not think to say, We have Abraham as our father. For Scripture knows to call the laws of kinship not those from nature, but those from virtue and from vice; and of whomever one becomes like-minded, him Scripture says is both son and brother. 2. But for what reason did the devil introduce this wicked dogma? He attempted to undermine the glory of the martyrs. For since they die a violent death, wishing to spread an evil opinion of them, he did this. But in this he did not prevail; for they remain, having their own splendor;

ὑπὸ κυνῶν περιλειχόμενον· βλέπετε αὐτὸν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀγγέλων δορυφορούμενον· εἴδετε αὐτὸν ἐν πενίᾳ τότε, βλέπετε ἐν τρυφῇ νῦν· εἴδετε ἐν λιμῷ, βλέπετε ἐν ἀφθονίᾳ πολλῇ· εἴδετε ἀγωνιζόμενον, βλέπετε στεφανούμενον· εἴδετε τοὺς πόνους, βλέπετε τὰς ἀμοιβὰς καὶ πλούσιοι καὶ πένητες· πλούσιοι μὲν, ἵνα μὴ μέγα εἶναι νομίζητε τὸν πλοῦτον χωρὶς ἀρετῆς, πένητες δὲ, ἵνα μηδὲν κακὸν νομίζητε εἶναι τὴν πενίαν· ἑκατέροις δὲ διδάσκαλος οὗτος ἕστηκεν. Εἰ γὰρ ἐν πενίᾳ ἐκεῖνος ὢν οὐκ ἀπεδυσπέτησε, τίνα ἕξουσι συγγνώμην οἱ ἐν πλούτῳ τοῦτο ποιοῦντες; εἰ ἐν λιμῷ καὶ τοσούτοις κακοῖς ὢν εὐχαρίστησε, ποίαν ἕξουσιν ἀπολογίαν οἱ μετ' ἀφθονίας μὴ βουλόμενοι πρὸς τὴν αὐτὴν ἐλθεῖν ἀρετήν; Πάλιν οἱ πένητες οἱ διὰ τὴν πτωχίαν ἀγανακτοῦντες καὶ δυσχεραίνοντες, τίνα ἕξουσι συγγνώμην, ὅταν οὗτος ἐν λιμῷ καὶ πενίᾳ καὶ ἐρημίᾳ καὶ ἀῤῥωστίᾳ διηνεκεῖ ζῶν ἐν οἰκίᾳ πλουτοῦντος, καὶ 48.982 παρὰ πάντων ὑπερορώμενος, καὶ πρὸς ἕτερον τὰ αὐτὰ αὐτῷ πεπονθότα ἰδεῖν οὐκ ἔχων, οὕτω φαίνηται φιλοσοφῶν; Ἀπὸ τούτου μάθωμεν, μὴ τοὺς πλουτοῦντας μακαρίζειν, μηδὲ τοὺς πενομένους ταλανίζειν. Μᾶλλον δὲ, εἰ χρὴ τἀληθὲς εἰπεῖν, οὐδὲ πλούσιός ἐστιν ἐκεῖνος ὁ πολλὰ περιβεβλημένος, ἀλλ' ὁ μὴ πολλῶν δεόμενος· οὐδὲ πένης ἐστὶν ἐκεῖνος ὁ μηδὲν κεκτημένος, ἀλλ' ὁ πολλῶν ἐφιέμενος· καὶ τοῦτο ὅρον πενίας καὶ πλούτου δεῖ νομίζειν εἶναι. Ἂν τοίνυν ἴδῃς τινὰ πολλῶν ἐφιέμενον, πάντων αὐτὸν πενέστερον εἶναι νόμιζε, κἂν τὰ πάντων ᾖ κεκτημένος χρήματα· ἂν δὲ πάλιν ἴδῃς τινὰ μὴ πολλῶν δεόμενον, πάντων αὐτὸν εὐπορώτερον εἶναι ψηφίζου, κἂν μηδὲν κεκτημένος ᾖ. Τῇ γὰρ διαθέσει τῆς γνώμης, οὐ τῷ μέτρῳ τῆς οὐσίας, τὰς πενίας καὶ εὐπορίας κρίνειν εἰώθαμεν. Ὥσπερ οὖν τὸν διηνεκῶς διψῶντα οὐκ ἂν εἴποιμεν ὑγιαίνειν, κἂν ἀφθονίας ἀπολαύῃ, κἂν παρὰ ποταμοὺς καὶ πηγὰς κατακέηται (τί γὰρ ὄφελος τῆς τῶν ὑδάτων δαψιλείας ἐκείνης, ὅταν τὸ πάθος ἄσβεστον μένῃ;) οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν πλουτούντων ποιῶμεν· τοὺς ἐπιθυμοῦντας ἀεὶ καὶ διψῶντας τῶν ἀλλοτρίων μηδέποτε νομίζωμεν ὑγιαίνειν, μηδὲ ἀφθονίας ἀπολαύειν τινός. Ὁ γὰρ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ στῆσαι μὴ δυνάμενος ἐπιθυμίαν, κἂν τὰ πάντως περιβέβληται, πῶς οὗτος ἔσται ἐν εὐπορίᾳ ποτέ; Τοὺς μέντοι τοῖς οἰκείοις ἀρκουμένους, καὶ στέργοντας τὰ ἑαυτῶν, καὶ μὴ περισκοπουμένους τὰς ἀλλοτρίας οὐσίας, κἂν ἁπάντων ὦσιν ἀπορώτεροι, πάντων εὐπορωτέρους εἶναι χρὴ νομίζειν. Ὁ γὰρ μὴ δεόμενος τῶν ἀλλοτρίων, ἀλλ' ἐν αὐταρκείᾳ ἀγαπῶν εἶναι πάντων 48.983 ἐστὶν εὐπορώτερος. Ἀλλ' εἰ δοκεῖ, ἐπὶ τὴν προκειμένην ὑπόθεσιν ἐπανέλθωμεν. Ἐγένετο, φησὶν, ἀποθανεῖν τὸν Λάζαρον, καὶ ἀπενεχθῆναι ὑπὸ τῶν ἀγγέλων. Ἐνταῦθα πονηρὸν νόσημα τῆς ὑμετέρας ἐξελεῖν βούλομαι ψυχῆς. Καὶ γὰρ πολλοὶ τῶν ἀφελεστέρων νομίζουσι τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν βιαίῳ θανάτῳ τελευτώντων δαίμονας γίνεσθαι. Οὐκ ἔστι δὲ τοῦτο, οὐκ ἔστιν. Οὐ γὰρ αἱ ψυχαὶ τῶν βιοθανατούντων δαίμονες γίνονται, ἀλλ' αἱ ψυχαὶ τῶν ἐν ἁμαρτήμασι ζώντων, οὐ τῆς οὐσίας αὐτῶν μεταβαλλομένης, ἀλλὰ τῆς προαιρέσεως αὐτῶν τὴν ἐκείνων μιμουμένης κακίαν. Τοῦτο γοῦν καὶ πρὸς τοὺς Ἰουδαίους δηλῶν ὁ Χριστὸς ἔλεγεν· Ὑμεῖς τοῦ διαβόλου υἱοί ἐστε· υἱοὺς δὲ διαβόλου αὐτοὺς εἶπεν, οὐκ ἐπειδὴ εἰς τὴν οὐσίαν τὴν ἐκείνου μετέπεσον, ἀλλὰ ἐπειδὴ τὰ ἔργα ἐκείνου ἐποίουν· διὸ καὶ προστίθησι· Τὰς γὰρ ἐπιθυμίας τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν θέλετε ποιεῖν· Καὶ πάλιν ὁ Ἰωάννης· Γεννήματα ἐχιδνῶν, τίς ὑπέδειξεν ὑμῖν φυγεῖν ἀπὸ τῆς μελλούσης ὀργῆς; Ποιήσατε οὖν καρπὸν ἄξιον τῆς μετανοίας, καὶ μὴ δόξητε λέγειν, Πατέρα ἔχομεν τὸν Ἀβραάμ. Συγγενείας γὰρ νόμους, οὐ τοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς φύσεως, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρετῆς καὶ τῆς κακίας οἶδεν ἡ Γραφὴ καλεῖν· καὶ ὧν ἄν τις ὁμότροπος γένηται, τοῦτον καὶ υἱὸν καὶ ἀδελφὸν εἶναί φησιν ἡ Γραφή. βʹ. Ἀλλὰ τίνος ἕνεκεν ὁ διάβολος τὸ πονηρὸν δόγμα τοῦτο εἰσήγαγε; Τὴν τῶν μαρτύρων ἐπεχείρησε διορύξαι δόξαν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ βιαίῳ θανάτῳ τελευτῶσιν ἐκεῖνοι, βουλόμενος αὐτῶν κατασκεδάσαι πονηρὰν ὑπόληψιν, τοῦτο ἐποίησεν. Ἀλλὰ τοῦτο μὲν οὐκ ἴσχυσε· μένουσι γὰρ τὴν οἰκείαν ἔχοντες λαμπρότητα·