John Chrysostom, On Anna I

that one, as this passion. Therefore, let us wall them in on all sides with counsels, exhortations, fears, threats. If they overcome this desire, they will not quickly be captured by another, but they will also be superior to money, and they will master drunkenness, and with all diligence they will push away drunken brawls and evil companionships, and they will be more longed for by their parents, and more respected by all people. For who will not respect a temperate young man? who will not embrace and love the one who has bridled his unseemly desires? and who, even among the most exceedingly wealthy, will not choose with much favor to give his daughter to him, even if he were the poorest of all? For just as no one is so wretched and miserable as to want to take as a kinsman by marriage one who lives in debauchery and consorts with harlots, even if he were wealthier than all; so no one is so foolish as to reject and dishonor the temperate and respectable man. Therefore, so that our children may be respected by men and desired by God, let us adorn their souls, and lead them to marriage with temperance. For thus all present things will come to them, as from springs, and they will have God as merciful, and they will enjoy the glory of the present, and of the future; may it be granted that we all attain to it, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory, honor, power to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

HOMILY 3. On Hannah, and on the nursing of Samuel; and that delay in childbirth is useful, and that it is dangerous and

perilous to neglect one's children. 1. Unless I seem to some to be tiresome and burdensome, I wish for the same

subject to take up again, about which I also spoke to you before, and to lead you by the hand to Hannah, and to bring the discourse into the meadow of the woman's virtuous deeds; a meadow not having a rose garden, nor withering flowers, but prayer and faith and much forbearance. For these things are much more fragrant than the flowers of spring, being watered not by springs of water, but by showers of tears. For the springs of streams do not make gardens so flourishing, as the springs of tears, watering the plant of prayer, prepare it to run up to the greatest height; which indeed also happened in the case of this woman. For at the same time she spoke, the prayer ran up to heaven, and brought forth ripe fruit for her, the holy Samuel. Do not be displeased, then, if we begin again from the same subject. For we will not say the same 54.653 things, but certain other new and fresh things. For even at a physical table, one could prepare many dishes from a single food. And we see goldsmiths from one mass of gold making both bracelets, and necklaces, and many other golden things. For even if the material is of one form, yet the art is varied, and being resourceful and full of contrivances, it is not constrained by the single manner of the underlying substance. If things here are so, much more is the grace of the Spirit. For that this table is varied, and manifold, and multiform, hear Paul saying: To one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, and to another the word of knowledge, to another faith, to another gifts of healing, helps, administrations, various kinds of tongues. But all these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills. Do you see how varied? The rivers are many, but the spring, he says, is one; the dishes are different, but the host is one. Since, therefore, the grace of the Spirit is so great, let us not grow weary. We have seen her being barren, we have seen her becoming a mother, we have seen her weeping, we have seen her rejoicing; we have shared her grief

ἐκείνην, ὡς τοῦτο τὸ πάθος. Πανταχόθεν τοίνυν αὐτοὺς τειχίζωμεν συμβουλαῖς, παραινέσεσι, φόβοις, ἀπειλαῖς. Ἂν ταύτης περιγένωνται τῆς ἐπιθυμίας, οὐδὲ ἑτέρᾳ ταχέως ἁλώσονται, ἀλλὰ καὶ χρημάτων ἔσονται κρείττους, καὶ μέθης κρατήσουσι, καὶ τὰς παροινίας καὶ τὰς πονηρὰς συνουσίας πάσῃ σπουδῇ διακρούσονται, καὶ ποθεινότεροι μὲν ἔσονται τοῖς γεγεννηκόσιν, αἰδεσιμώτεροι δὲ πᾶσιν ἀνθρώποις. Τίς γὰρ οὐκ αἰδεσθήσεται σωφρονοῦντα νέον; τίς δὲ οὐκ ἀσπάσεται καὶ φιλήσει τὸν χαλινώσαντα τὰς ἀτόπους ἐπιθυμίας; τίς δὲ οὐχ αἱρήσεται καὶ τῶν σφόδρα εὐπορωτάτων μετὰ πολλῆς αὐτῷ τῆς χάριτος ἐκδοῦναι τὸ θυγάτριον, κἂν ἁπάντων ἐκεῖνος πενέστερος ᾖ; Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὸν ἐν ἀσωτίᾳ ζῶντα, καὶ πόρναις προσέχοντα, κἂν ἁπάντων εὐπορώτερος ᾖ, οὐδεὶς οὕτως ἄθλιος καὶ ταλαίπωρος, ὡς θελῆσαι κηδεστὴν λαβεῖν· οὕτω τὸν σώφρονα καὶ σεμνὸν οὐδεὶς οὕτως ἀνόητος, ὡς ἀποκρούσασθαι καὶ ἀτιμάσαι. Ἵν' οὖν καὶ ἀνθρώποις αἰδέσιμοι, καὶ τῷ Θεῷ ποθεινοὶ οἱ παῖδες γένωνται, κατακοσμῶμεν αὐτῶν τὰς ψυχὰς, καὶ μετὰ σωφροσύνης ἐπὶ τοὺς γάμους ἄγωμεν. Οὕτω γὰρ καὶ τὰ παρόντα αὐτοῖς, ὥσπερ ἐκ πηγῶν, ἅπαντα ἥξει, καὶ τὸν Θεὸν ἕξουσιν ἵλεων, καὶ τῆς παρούσης, καὶ τῆς μελλούσης ἀπολαύσονται δόξης· ἧς γένοιτο πάντας ἡμᾶς ἐπιτυχεῖν, χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, μεθ' οὗ Πατρὶ δόξα, τιμὴ, κράτος, σὺν τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

ΟΜΙΛΙΑ Γʹ. Εἰς τὴν Ἄνναν, καὶ εἰς τὴν τοῦ Σαμουὴλ γαλακτοτροφίαν· καὶ ὅτι χρήσιμος ἡ περὶ τὸν τόκον βραδύτης, καὶ ὅτι ἐπικίνδυνον καὶ

σφαλερὸν τὸ τῶν παίδων ἀμελεῖν. αʹ. Εἰ μὴ δοκῶ προσκορής τισιν εἶναι καὶ φορτικὸς, βούλομαι τῆς αὐτῆς

ὑποθέσεως ἅψασθαι πάλιν, ὑπὲρ ἧς καὶ πρώην ὑμῖν διελέχθην, καὶ πρὸς τὴν Ἄνναν ὑμᾶς χειραγωγῆσαι, καὶ εἰς τὸν λειμῶνα τῶν κατορθωμάτων τῆς γυναικὸς εἰσαγαγεῖν τὸν λόγον· λειμῶνα οὐχὶ ῥοδωνιὰν ἔχοντα, οὐδὲ ἄνθη μαραινόμενα, ἀλλ' εὐχὴν καὶ πίστιν καὶ ἀνεξικακίαν πολλήν. Πολὺ γὰρ ταῦτα τῶν ἠρινῶν ἀνθέων εὐωδέστερα οὐχὶ πηγαῖς ὑδάτων, ἀλλ' ὄμβροις δακρύων ἀρδόμενα. Οὐ γὰρ οὕτω τοὺς κήπους αἱ πηγαὶ τῶν ναμάτων εὐθαλεστέρους ποιοῦσιν, ὡς τὸ φυτὸν τῆς εὐχῆς αἱ πηγαὶ τῶν δακρύων ποτίζουσαι, πρὸς ὕψος μέγιστον ἀνατρέχειν παρασκευάζουσιν· ὅπερ οὖν καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γυναικὸς ταύτης ἐγένετο. Ὁμοῦ γὰρ ἐφθέγξατο, καὶ πρὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀνέδραμεν ἡ εὐχὴ, καὶ καρπὸν ἤνεγκεν ὥριμον αὐτῇ, τὸν ἅγιον Σαμουήλ. Μὴ δὴ δυσχεράνητε, εἰ τῆς αὐτῆς ὑποθέσεως ἀρχόμεθα πάλιν. Οὐ γὰρ τὰ αὐτὰ 54.653 ἐροῦμεν, ἀλλ' ἕτερά τινα νέα καὶ πρόσφατα. Καὶ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῆς αἰσθητῆς τραπέζης ἐξ ἑνὸς ὄψου πολλὰ ἄν τις ἐδέσματα κατασκευάσειε. Καὶ τοὺς χρυσοχόους δὲ ὁρῶμεν ἀπὸ μιᾶς μάζης χρυσίου καὶ ψέλλια, καὶ περιδέῤῥαια, καὶ ἕτερα πολλὰ ποιοῦντας χρυσία. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ μονοειδὴς ἡ ὕλη, ἀλλὰ ποικίλον ἡ τέχνη, καὶ οὐ στενοχωρεῖται τῷ μονοτρόπῳ τῆς ὑποκειμένης οὐσίας εὐπόριστος οὖσα καὶ πολυμήχανος. Εἰ δὲ τὰ ἐνταῦθα τοιαῦτα, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἡ τοῦ Πνεύματος χάρις. Ὅτι γὰρ ποικίλη ταύτης ἡ τράπεζα, καὶ πολύτροπος, καὶ πολυειδὴς, ἄκουσον τοῦ Παύλου λέγοντος· Ὧ μὲν διὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος δίδοται λόγος σοφίας, ἄλλῳ δὲ λόγος γνώσεως, ἑτέρῳ δὲ πίστις, ἄλλῳ δὲ χαρίσματα ἰαμάτων, ἀντιλήψεις, κυβερνήσεις, γένη γλωσσῶν. Ταῦτα δὲ πάντα ἐνεργεῖ τὸ ἓν καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ Πνεῦμα, διαιροῦν ἰδίᾳ ἑκάστῳ καθὼς βούλεται. Ὁρᾷς πῶς ποικίλη; Οἱ ποταμοὶ πολλοὶ, ἀλλὰ μία, φησὶν, ἡ πηγή· διάφορα τὰ ἐδέσματα, ἀλλ' εἷς ὁ ἑστιάτωρ. Ἐπεὶ οὖν τοσαύτη ἡ τοῦ Πνεύματος χάρις, μὴ ἀποκάμωμεν. Εἴδομεν δὲ αὐτὴν στεῖραν οὖσαν, εἴδομεν αὐτὴν μητέρα γενομένην, εἴδομεν δακρύουσαν, εἴδομεν χαίρουσαν· συνηλγήσαμεν