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trodden underfoot, nor a barren rock, but a certain deep and fertile land, at once receiving the seeds and providing us with the ear of corn. These things I say and I will never cease saying them; that the encomium of our city is, not that it has a senate and we can count consuls, nor that it has many statues, nor that it has an abundance of goods for sale, nor that it has a convenient location; but that it has a people eager to hear and temples of God filled, and the Church rather delights each day in a flowing word and a desire that is never sated. For the city is not admired for its buildings, but for its inhabitants. Do not tell me that the city of the Romans is great in size; but show me there a people so eager to hear. Since even Sodom had towers, but the hut, Abraham; but when the angels came, they passed by Sodom, and were brought down to the hut. For they were not seeking the magnificence of houses, but they went about for the virtue of a soul. So indeed and otherwise the desert had John, and the city, Herod; for this reason the desert is more well-judged than the city. Why then? Because prophecy is not in buildings. And I say these things, so that we may never praise a city for things that are being destroyed. Why do you speak to me of buildings and columns? These are destroyed along with the present life. Enter into a church and see the nobility of the city. Enter and see the poor remaining from midnight until day, see holy all-night vigils joined day and night, see a Christ-loving people, fearing neither the necessity of poverty in the day, nor the tyranny of sleep in the night. A great city and metropolis of the inhabited world. How many bishops, how many teachers have come here and, having been taught by the people, depart and prepare to transplant from here the innate law? If you speak to me of dignities and abundance of money, you praise the tree for its leaves and not for its fruit. And I say these things not flattering your love, but proclaiming your virtue. Blessed am I because of you, blessed are you because of yourselves. Blessed is he who speaks into the ears of those who hear; thus I have become blessed. "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness." See how you have become blessed through yourselves. Blessed is the man who loves spiritual words. This distinguishes us from the irrational animals. For it is not indeed the proportion of the body, nor being nourished, nor drinking, nor grazing, nor living; for all these things we have in common with the irrational animals; but what distinguishes man from the irrational animals? By reason; for this reason man is a rational animal. For just as bodies are nourished, so also the soul is nourished; but the body with bread, and the soul with the word. Tell me; If then you see a man eating a stone, would you say he is a man? Thus if you see one not being nourished by reason, but by irrationality, you will say: This one has lost even his being a man; for his nourishment shows the nobility of the man. Since, therefore, our theater has been filled and again the sea is waving and full of calm and again the ocean is stormy and still, come now, let us draw the ship, spreading out the tongue instead of the sail, calling on the grace of the Spirit instead of the west wind, using the cross as our helmsman instead of the tiller and rudder. For the sea has salty waters, but here is living water. There are irrational animals, but here are rational souls; there those sailing from sea to land, but here those sailing from earth to heaven come to anchor; there ships, but here spiritual words; there planks in the ship, but here frameworks of words; there a sail, but here a tongue; there a breeze of the west wind, but here the coming of the Spirit; there a man is helmsman, but here Christ is helmsman. For this very reason the ship is tossed by storm, but it does not sink. For it was able to sail even in a calm, but the helmsman did not permit it, so that also of the

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πατουμένην, οὐδὲ πέτραν ἄγονον, ἀλλὰ βαθεῖάν τινα καὶ λιπαρὰν χώραν, ὁμοῦ δεχομένην τὰ σπέρματα καὶ τὸν στάχυν ἡμῖν παρέχουσαν. Ταῦτα λέγω καὶ ἀεὶ λέγων οὐ παύσομαι· ὅτι ἐγκώμιον τῆς πόλεως τῆς ἡμετέρας, οὐχ ὅτι σύγκλητον ἔχει καὶ ὑπάτους ἀριθμεῖν ἔχομεν, οὐδ' ὅτι ἀνδριάντας πολλούς, οὐδ' ὅτι ὠνίων ἀφθονίαν, οὐδ' ὅτι θέσεως ἐπιτηδειότητα· ἀλλ' ὅτι δῆμον ἔχει φιλήκοον καὶ ναοὺς Θεοῦ πεπληρωμένους, καὶ ἡ Ἐκκλησία μᾶλλον τρυφᾷ καθ' ἑκάστην ἡμέραν λόγον ῥέοντα καὶ πόθον οὐδέποτε κορεννύμενον. Ἡ γὰρ πόλις οὐκ ἀπὸ τῶν οἰκοδομῶν, ἀλλὰ ἀπὸ τῶν ἐνοίκων θαυμάζεται. Μή μοι λέγε ὅτι ἡ Ῥωμαίων πόλις μεγάλη τῷ μεγέθει· ἀλλὰ δεῖξόν μοι ἐκεῖ οὕτω λαὸν φιλήκοον. Ἐπεὶ καὶ τὰ Σόδομα πύργους εἶχεν, ἡ δὲ καλύβη τὸν Ἀβραάμ· ἀλλ' ἐλθόντες οἱ ἄγγελοι τὰ μὲν Σόδομα παρέδραμον, ἐπὶ δὲ τὴν καλύβην κατήχθησαν. Οὐ γὰρ οἴκων περιφάνειαν ἐζήτουν, ἀλλὰ ψυχῆς ἀρετὴν περιῄεσαν. Οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἄλλως ἡ ἔρημος εἶχε τὸν Ἰωάννην, ἡ δὲ πόλις τὸν Ἡρώδην· διὰ τοῦτο ἔρημος πόλεως εὐγνωμονεστέρα. Τί δήποτε; Ὅτι οὐκ ἐν τοῖς κτίσμασιν ἡ προφητεία. Ταῦτα δὲ λέγω, ἵνα μηδέποτε πόλιν ἐγκωμιάσωμεν ἀπὸ πραγμάτων καταλυομένων. Τί μοι λέγεις οἰκοδομήματα καὶ κίονας; Ταῦτα τῷ παρόντι συγκαταλύεται βίῳ. Εἴσελθε εἰς ἐκκλησίαν καὶ βλέπε τῆς πόλεως τὴν εὐγένειαν. Εἴσελθε καὶ βλέπε πένητας ἐκ μεσονυκτίων μέχρι τῆς ἡμέρας παραμένοντας, βλέπε παννυχί δας ἱερὰς ἡμέρᾳ καὶ νυκτὶ συναφθείσας, βλέπε δῆμον φιλόχριστον, οὔτε ἐν ἡμέρᾳ τὴν ἀνάγκην τῆς πενίας φοβουμένους, οὔτε ἐν νυκτὶ τὴν τυραννίδα τοῦ ὕπνου. Μεγάλη πόλις καὶ μητρόπολις τῆς οἰκουμένης. Πόσοι ἐπίσκοποι, πόσοι διδάσκαλοι ἦλθον ἐνταῦθα καὶ παιδευθέντες παρὰ τοῦ λαοῦ ἀναχωροῦσι καὶ τὸν νόμον τὸν ἔμφυτον ἐντεῦθεν μεταφυτεῦσαι παρασκευάζονται; Ἐὰν λέγῃς μοι ἀξιώματα καὶ χρημάτων περιουσίαν, ἀπὸ τῶν φύλλων τὸ δένδρον ἐπαινεῖς καὶ οὐκ ἀπὸ τοῦ καρποῦ. Ταῦτα δὲ λέγω οὐ κολακεύων ὑμῶν τὴν ἀγάπην, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀρετὴν ὑμῶν ἀνακηρύττων. Μακάριος ἐγὼ δι' ὑμᾶς, μακάριοι ὑμεῖς δι' ἑαυτούς. Μακάριος ὁ λέγων εἰς ὦτα ἀκουόντων· οὕτως ἐγὼ μακάριος ἐγενόμην. "Μακάριοι οἱ πεινῶντες καὶ διψῶντες τὴν δικαιοσύνην." Ἰδὲ πῶς ὑμεῖς μακάριοι δι' ἑαυτοὺς ἐγένεσθε. Μακάριος ἀνὴρ λόγων ἐρῶν πνευματικῶν. Τοῦτο διίστησιν ἡμᾶς τῶν ἀλόγων. Οὐ γὰρ δὴ ἡ τοῦ σώματος ἀναλογία, οὐδὲ τὸ τρέφεσθαι, οὐδὲ τὸ πίνειν, οὐδὲ τὸ νέμεσθαι, οὐδὲ τὸ ζῇν· ταῦτα γὰρ ἡμῖν ἅπαντα κοινὰ πρὸς τὰ ἄλογα· ἀλλὰ τί διέστηκεν ἄνθρωπος τῶν ἀλόγων; Τῷ λόγῳ· διὰ τοῦτο καὶ λογικὸν ζῶόν ἐστιν ὁ ἄνθρωπος. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τρέφεται τὰ σώματα, οὕτω τρέφεται καὶ ἡ ψυχή· ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν σῶμα ἄρτῳ, ἡ δὲ ψυχὴ λόγῳ. Εἰπέ μοι· Ἂν οὖν ἴδῃς ἄνθρωπον λίθον ἐσθίοντα, ἆρα ἂν εἴποις ἄνθρωπον εἶναι; Οὕτως ἂν ἴδῃς μὴ λόγῳ τρεφόμενον, ἀλλ' ἀλογίᾳ, ἐρεῖς· Οὗτος καὶ τὸ εἶναι ἄνθρωπος ἀπώλεσεν· ἡ γὰρ ἀνατροφὴ δείκνυσι τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὴν εὐγένειαν. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν τὸ θέατρον ἡμῖν πεπλήρωται καὶ πάλιν ἡ θάλασσα ἡ κυμαινομένη καὶ γαλήνης γέμουσα καὶ πάλιν τὸ πέλαγος τὸ χειμαζόμενον καὶ ἑστηκός, φέρε δὴ τὸ πλοῖον ἑλκύσωμεν, ἀντὶ τοῦ ἱστίου τὴν γλῶτταν ἀναπετάσαντες, ἀντὶ τοῦ ζεφύρου τοῦ Πνεύματος τὴν χάριν καλέσαντες, ἀντὶ τοῦ αὐχένος καὶ πηδαλίου τῷ σταυρῷ χρώμενοι κυβερνήτῃ. Ἡ θάλασσα μὲν γὰρ ἔχει ἁλμυρὰ ὕδατα, ἐνταῦθα δὲ ὕδωρ ζῶν. Ἐκεῖ ἄλογα ζῷα, ἐνταῦθα δὲ ψυχαὶ λογικαί· ἐκεῖ οἱ πλέοντες ἀπὸ θαλάσσης εἰς γῆν, ἐνταῦθα δὲ οἱ πλέοντες ἀπὸ γῆς εἰς οὐρανὸν ὁρμίζονται· ἐκεῖ πλοῖα, ἐνταῦθα δὲ λόγοι πνευματικοί· ἐκεῖ σανίδες ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ, ἐνταῦθα δὲ λόγων συγκροτήματα· ἐκεῖ ἱστίον, ἐνταῦθα δὲ γλῶττα· ἐκεῖ ζεφύρου αὔρα, ἐνταῦθα δὲ Πνεύματος ἐπιδημία· ἐκεῖ ἄνθρωπος κυβερνήτης, ἐνταῦθα δὲ κυβερνήτης ὁ Χριστός. ∆ιὰ δὴ τοῦτο τὸ πλοῖον χειμάζεται, ἀλλ' ὑποβρύχιον οὐ γίνεται. Ἠδύνατο μὲν γὰρ καὶ ἐν γαλήνῃ πλεῖν, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀφῆκεν ὁ κυβερνήτης, ἵνα καὶ τῶν