Commentarii in matthaeum (in catenis) 1 mt 1, 2 abraham was justified through faith and to him, having believed, god said: i will multiply your seed

 Having believed in god, he shone forth those, therefore, who believe in god, even if they come from obscure and lowly origins, are raised up by god a

 Despising the son of a carpenter, they clearly also considered his commandments to be cheap and despised, but for their insolence and contempt toward

 He made them so that they become imitators of him who both rains upon the just and sinners and makes the sun rise on all alike. 22 mt 6, 3 4 let not,

 Being bodiless it neither eats nor drinks, but do not be anxious for the soul about what you might eat or what you might drink for the soul puts fort

 Wanting it ready at hand. for lest someone should say, i have come to judge not wishing to reproach or grieve my brother, but taking thought to clean

 As we understand the gate and the way that leads to eternal life to be called narrow, not even my yoke is easy and my burden is light will contradic

 To them the sins, for which was the sacrifice, they both promised and seemed to accomplish, but a paralyzed man they were in no way strong enough to h

 Of grace, but they fasted according to the old custom. it was therefore unfitting and inappropriate for those appointed as lawgivers and heralds of th

 But they pursue the royal houses. since, therefore, you have supposed no such thing about the man, but you knew him to be a prophet in deeds and words

 To those who have despised wealth and renown and parents as well as children and death itself. but before the teaching of christ and the coming of joh

 You have received, or rather through which you have abundantly enjoyed the benefaction, through those things it was necessary, if you are ungrateful,

 His own creation, being led by good works to the knowledge of both himself and of his own father and of the consubstantial and co-powerful spirit. the

 Made man, and to hear the voice of god united to flesh hypostatically. 61 mt 13, 24 52 the kingdom of the heavens and the kingdom of god is said to be

 Knowledge and comprehension as he says: for this reason every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven, and so forth for through knowled

 For the children considered nothing of their own labors and resources to be their own, but they brought everything to their fathers, fearing lest they

 He awaited an opinion and testimony about him for if he had said: whom do men say that i, the son of god, am, the disciples' response would have been

 The narrative of higher and more wondrous things. but the lord does not offer to the scribes a solution appropriate to the seeming difficulty, showing

 They escaped the civil disturbances. and elijah dwelt on carmel, but john tarried in the desert, and in other respects the similarity between them was

 From there by a mist they were able to perceive none of the things being done, but later, having been freed from that confusion and having come to the

 Of evils) not only does he subtly and wisely exclude wealth from the appellation of 'good,' but also all other things, by his declaration concerning a

 They will convict the disobedient jews, but they themselves will be shining in honor and glory, while the others are in utmost disgrace and dejection.

 Unbearable, but what appeared heavy and unbearable by the judgment of those priests themselves for what they themselves do not move even with a finge

 Seek the rank of deacons and of those who are last, that is, practice humility for through this it is possible to obtain true primacy and inexpressib

 To kill the righteous. therefore you bear witness to your forefathers as impious, desiring to become like them. and you, he says, fill up the measu

 Always having the inflamed passion of avarice, he is indignant everywhere when deprived of profit. therefore the master, looking to their thought and

 Will be preached, not depriving the one reward of the other for each of the sins has found forgiveness and through the deed is preached throughout th

 He says, that before the entire first cockcrowing is completed, you will deny me three times. but when mark says, “before the cock crows twice, you wi

 This has been permitted for security, that we may always be sober, that even if we seem to do any good work, we may always consider it a gift from abo

 For them who are being saved, their commonwealth is on earth, but in heaven is their reward and inheritance. but since, he says, i have received autho

unbearable, but what appeared heavy and unbearable by the judgment of those priests themselves; for what they themselves do not move even with a finger, that is, do not even begin to do, how have they not made them to be considered heavy and unbearable? But these men, having shown them to be heavy and unbearable by what they do not do, nevertheless place them on others, forcing them to do them without exception. Therefore the Master permits the crowds to do what is commanded by them, and this not simply, but as much as is worthy of the Mosaic seat; for on account of this he also placed this first, saying: on the seat of Moses and so forth; for he does not command them to do whatever they have devised (for he has already refuted these, calling them traditions of men for the annulment of the commandments of God) nor these petty and pedagogical things, and unworthy of a perfect and lofty way of life, such as things concerning the observance of foods and sabbaths and the like; for he also rejected these beforehand; for the priests were exact workers of these things. What things, then, when the scribes command them, does the Master command the crowd to do? Those things, as we said, which are worthy of the Mosaic seat, that is, which are able to support and strengthen a soul that is shaken and faltering. And these are sincere love for God, love for one's neighbor, and simply whatever accords with the legislation of grace; which the Master not only did not reject, but also delivered to be firmly kept, which things he says the priests do not wish to move even with a finger, from which they have made them to be considered heavy and unbearable also to others. All these things, he says, if the priests tell you to do, do them, having no pretext for delay, because they do not do them; for neither do I command you to act according to their works; on the contrary, I even turn you away from it. Do not do, he says, according to their works. How then do you command to do what they say? Very consistently, because they themselves do not do what they say, seeming to be approved in this alone, in announcing the commandments of God to others. But if they also did what they said, he would have commanded to imitate also what they do. For this reason the Master pronounces them wretched, because they themselves knew the commandments, because knowing them they did not do them, because they made a burden heavy and unbearable for themselves by what they did not do, because even what they did do, having a Jewish worthlessness and lowliness, they did not do it as a commandment, but so as to please those who were watching. The Lord does not say simply, they happen to be heavy and unbearable, but that they appeared heavy and unbearable according to the judgment of the priests; for what they themselves do not move even with a finger, that is, do not even begin to do, these things they command others to do. 85 Mt 23, 8 10 85 Do not appoint yourselves teachers of new doctrines; for of all good and divine teachings, I, Christ, am your guide and teacher, but you are brothers and have received the same doctrines and for this reason are called brothers, having acquired a common father, the Father in heaven. Just as, therefore, one who seeks after and calls another father besides the one in heaven falls away from that wonderful kinship of the brothers, being deprived, clearly, also of the brotherhood of doctrines, so also one who has pushed aside the common guide and has appointed himself a guide of spurious teachings ostracizes himself from the brotherhood of doctrines and from the kinship of the brothers, of whom the Father in heaven is the common Father. And he shows through these things that, even if he himself is the teacher, nevertheless his teachings lead people to the adoption of God and Father. And if he adopts people as sons, it is nevertheless not without the teaching and offering of the Son, everywhere demonstrating the concordant and unanimous and equal honor of both himself and the Father. 86 Mt 23, 11 12 Since it is possible for the most part to see those who are carried away into novelty of doctrines being tripped up into this destruction by a love of vainglory and arrogance, he then cuts out both the beginning and root of vainglory with a two-edged and sharpened sword; for if you love glory and first places, the... of the

δυσβάστακτα, ἀλλὰ τὰ τῇ αὐτῶν ἐκείνων τῶν ἱερέων κρίσει βαρέα φανέντα καὶ δυσβάστακτα· ἃ γὰρ αὐτοὶ οὐδὲ τῷ δακτύλῳ κινοῦσιν, τοῦτ' ἔστιν οὐδὲ ἀπάρχονται πράττειν, πῶς οὐχὶ βαρέα καὶ δυσβάστακτα νομίζεσθαι πεποιήκασιν; ἀλλ' οὗτοι βαρέα καὶ δυσβάστακτα δι' ὧν οὐ πράττουσιν ἐπιδείξαντες ὅμως ἐπιτιθέασιν αὐτὰ τοῖς ἄλλοις πράττειν ἀπαραιτήτως βιαζόμενοι. διὸ πράττειν μὲν ὁ δεσπότης τὰ παρ' αὐτῶν προσταττόμενα τοῖς ὄχλοις ἐπιτρέπει καὶ ταῦτα δὲ οὐχ ἁπλῶς, ἀλλ' ὅσα τῆς Μωσαϊκῆς καθέδρας ἄξια· διὰ τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ταύτην προέταξεν εἰπών· ἐπὶ τῆς καθέδρας Μωυσέως καὶ ἑξῆς· οὐ γὰρ ὅσα αὐτοῖς ἐπινενόηται ταῦτα ποιεῖν κελεύει (ταῦτα γὰρ προδιήλεγξεν παραδόσεις ἀνθρώπων εἰπὼν ἐπὶ παραλύσει τῶν ἐντολῶν τοῦ θεοῦ) οὐδὲ τὰ μικροπρεπῆ ταῦτα καὶ παιδαγωγικὰ καὶ ἀνάξια πολιτείας τελείας καὶ ὑψηλῆς, οἷα τὰ περὶ βρωμάτων καὶ σαββάτων παρατηρήσεως καὶ τὰ ὅμοια· καὶ γὰρ καὶ ταῦτα προεξέβαλεν· τούτων γὰρ ἐργάται ἀκριβεῖς ὑπῆρχον οἱ ἱερεῖς. ποῖα οὖν προστασσόντων τῶν γραμματέων ὁ δεσπότης κελεύει τὸν ὄχλον ποιεῖν; ἐκείνα, ὡς ἔφαμεν, ὅσα τῆς Μωσαϊκῆς καθέδρας ἄξια, τοῦτ' ἔστιν ὅσα δύναται ψυχὴν σαλευομένην καὶ ὀκλάζουσαν ὑποστηρίζειν καὶ ἐνδυναμοῦν. ταῦτα δέ ἐστιν ἡ πρὸς θεὸν ἀγάπη εἰλικρινής, ἡ πρὸς τὸν πλησίον καὶ ἁπλῶς ὅσα συνᾴδει τῇ νομοθεσίᾳ τῆς χάριτος· ἅπερ οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἐξέβαλλεν ὁ δεσπότης, ἀλλὰ καὶ βεβαίως φυλάττεσθαι παρέδωκεν, ἅτινα οὐδὲ τῷ δακτύλῳ φησὶν θέλειν τοὺς ἱερέας κινεῖν, ἐξ ὧν αὐτὰ καὶ βαρέα καὶ δυσβάστακτα καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις νομίζεσθαι πεποιήκασιν. ταῦτα πάντα, φησίν, ἂν λέγωσιν ὑμῖν οἱ ἱερεῖς ποιεῖν, ποιεῖτε μὴ ἔχοντες προφάσεως ἀναβολήν, ὅτι ἐκεῖνοι οὐ ποιοῦσιν· καὶ γὰρ οὐδὲ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν καὶ ὑμᾶς ποιεῖν ἐπιτάσσω· τοὐναντίον δὲ καὶ ἀποτρέπω. κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν, φησίν, μὴ ποιεῖτε. πῶς οὖν ἃ λέγουσιν ποιεῖν κελεύεις; ἀκολούθως λίαν, ὅτι αὐτοὶ ἃ λέγουσιν οὐ ποιοῦσιν, ἐν τούτῳ μόνῳ δοκοῦντες εὐδοκιμεῖν, ἐν τῷ τὰς ἐντολὰς τοῦ θεοῦ ἄλλοις ἀναγγέλλειν. εἰ δὲ καὶ ἔπραττον, ἃ ἔλεγον, καὶ ἃ πράττουσιν προσέταττεν ἂν μιμεῖσθαι. διὰ τοῦτο δὲ ταλανίζει αὐτοὺς ὁ δεσπότης, ὅτι ᾔδεσαν αὐτοὶ τὰς ἐντολάς, ὅτι οὐκ ἔπραττον εἰδότες, ὅτι βαρὺ αὐτοῖς καὶ δυσβάστακτον, δι' ὧν οὐκ ἔπραττον, ἐποίουν φορτίον, ὅτι καὶ ἃ ἔπραττον εὐτέλειαν ἔχοντα καὶ ταπεινότητα ἰουδαϊκὴν καὶ αὐτὰ οὐχ ὡς ἐντολὴν ἐποίουν, ἀλλ' ὥστε τοῖς ὁρῶσιν ἀρέσαι. Οὐχ ἁπλῶς φησιν ὁ κύριος, βαρέα τυγχάνει καὶ δυσβάστα κτα, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὴν τῶν ἱερέων κρίσιν βαρέα φανέντα καὶ δυσβάστακτα· ἃ γὰρ αὐτοὶ οὐδὲ τῷ δακτύλῳ κινοῦσιν, τοῦτ' ἔστιν οὐδὲ ἀπάρχονται πράττειν, ταῦτα τοῖς ἑτέροις ποιεῖν ἐπιτάττουσιν. 85 Mt 23, 8 10 85 Μὴ διδασκάλους ἑαυτοὺς καινῶν δογμάτων χειροτονήσητε· πάντων γὰρ τῶν καλῶν καὶ θείων μαθημάτων ἐγὼ ὑμῖν ὁ Χριστός εἰμι καθηγητὴς καὶ διδάσκαλος, ὑμεῖς δὲ ἀδελφοὶ καὶ τὰ αὐτὰ παρειλήφατε δόγματα καὶ ἀδελφοὶ διὰ τοῦτο χρηματίζετε πατέρα κοινὸν τὸν ἐν οὐρανοῖς πατέρα κτησάμενοι. ὥσπερ οὖν ὁ πατέρα ἄλλον παρὰ τὸν ἐν οὐρανοῖς ἐπιζητῶν καὶ καλῶν ἐκπίπτει τῆς θαυμασίας ἐκείνης συγγενείας τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἀφαιρούμενος δηλονότι καὶ τὴν τῶν δογμάτων ἀδελφότητα, οὕτως καὶ ὁ τὸν κοινὸν καθηγητὴν παρωσάμενος καὶ ἐκφύλων μαθημάτων καθηγητὴν ἑαυτὸν προστησάμενος ἐξοστρακίζει ἑαυτὸν τῆς τῶν δογμάτων ἀδελφότητος καὶ τῆς συγγενείας τῶν ἀδελφῶν, ὧν ὁ ἐν οὐρανοῖς πατὴρ κοινὸς ὑπάρχει πατήρ. δείκνυσιν δὲ διὰ τούτων, ὅτι, εἰ καὶ αὐτός ἐστιν ὁ διδάσκαλος, ἀλλ' οὖν τὰ διδάγματα αὐτοῦ εἰς υἱοθεσίαν ἄγει τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ πατρός. καὶ εἰ ἐκεῖνος υἱοποιεῖται τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, ἀλλ' οὖν οὐκ ἄνευ τῆς διδασκαλίας καὶ προσενέξεως τοῦ υἱοῦ, πανταχοῦ τὸ σύμφωνον καὶ ὁμόγνωμον καὶ ἰσότιμον αὐτοῦ τε καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς ἀναδεικνύς. 86 Mt 23, 11 12 Ἐπειδὴ τοὺς εἰς καινότητα δογμάτων ἐκφερομένους ἔστιν ὡς ἐπίπαν ἰδεῖν κενοδοξίας καὶ ἀλαζονείας ἔρωτι εἰς τοῦτον τὸν ὄλεθρον συμποδιζομένους, ἐκκόπτει λοιπὸν καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν καὶ ῥίζαν τῆς κενοδοξίας ἀμφιστόμῳ καὶ ἠκονημένῃ μαχαίρᾳ· καὶ γὰρ εἰ δόξης καὶ πρωτείων ἐρᾷς, τὴν τῶν