John Chrysostom, On the Praises of Saint Paul the Apostle

fearing death, he does not even refuse Gehenna for the sake of the longed-for Jesus, and trembling at his end, he seeks to depart. And not only was he of such a sort, but also their chief, though he often said he was ready to give up his soul, greatly feared death. Listen, then, to what Christ says when speaking to him about this: But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go, setting forth the defect of nature, not that of will. 6.5 For nature displays its own properties even against our will, and it is not possible to overcome those defects, not even for one who greatly wishes and strives; therefore we are not at all harmed by this, but are rather admired. For what crime is it to fear death? and what is not a commendation, for one who fears death to endure nothing ignoble on account of that fear? For it is no crime to have a defective nature, but to be a slave to its defects; whereas he who corrects the insolence from it by the courage of his will, is great and wonderful. For in this way he shows how great is the strength of the will, and he silences those who say, "Why have we not been made good by nature?" for what difference does it make whether this is by nature or by will? and how much better is the latter than the former? Inasmuch as it has crowns, and a glorious proclamation. 6.6 But is what is of nature certain? But if you are willing to have a noble will, this becomes firmer than that. Or do you not see of the martyrs their bodies being cut by swords, and their nature indeed yielding to the iron, but their will not giving way to it, nor being refuted? Did you not see in the case of Abraham, tell me, will overcoming nature, when he was commanded to sacrifice his son, and this appearing more powerful than that? Did you not see this very same thing happen in the case of the three youths? Do you not also hear the proverb from without which says, that will through habit becomes a second nature? But I would say that it is even a first nature, as the things said before have shown. Do you see that it is possible to have even the firmness that comes from nature, if the will is noble and aroused, and to reap greater praise for one who has chosen and willed it, than for one who was compelled to be good? 6.7 This is especially good, as when he says: "I buffet my body and bring it into subjection." Then especially do I praise him, seeing him achieve virtue not without toil, so that there might not be for those after him an excuse for laziness in his ease. And when he says again: "I have been crucified to the world," I crown his will. For it is possible, it is possible to imitate the strength of nature by the exactness of will; and if we bring into our midst this very statue of virtue, we will find that the good things belonging to him from his will, he strove eagerly to bring forth into the firmness of nature. 6.8 For he felt pain when he was beaten, but of the incorporeal powers that feel no pain he thought no less of them, as one may hear from his words, which make him seem to be not even of our nature. For when he says: "The world has been crucified to me, and I to the world," and again: "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me," what else is there to say, than that he has even departed from the body itself? And what, when he says: "There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan"? This is nothing other than to show the pain stopping at the body; not because it did not pass within, but because by the abundance of his will he beat it back and pushed it away. And what, when he says many other things more wonderful than these, and rejoices in being scourged, and boasts in his chains? What else could one say, than this which I have said, that to say: "I buffet my body and bring it into subjection," "and I fear lest, after preaching to others, I myself should become disqualified," the weakness of nature

φοβούμενος θάνατον, οὐδὲ γέενναν παραιτεῖται διὰ τὸν ποθούμενον Ἰησοῦν, καὶ τρέμων τελευτήν, τὸ ἀναλῦσαι ἐπιζητεῖ. Οὐχ οὗτος δὲ μόνον τοιοῦτος ἦν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ κορυφαῖος αὐτῶν πολλάκις εἰπὼν ὅτι ἕτοιμός ἐστι τὴν ψυχὴν ἐπιδοῦναι, σφόδρα ἐδεδοίκει θάνατον. Ἄκουσον γοῦν τί διαλεγόμενος αὐτῷ περὶ τούτου φησὶν ὁ Χριστός· Ὅταν δὲ γηράσῃς, ἐκτενεῖς τὰς χεῖράς σου, καὶ ἄλλος σε ζώσει καὶ οἴσει ὅπου οὐ θέλεις, τὸ τῆς φύσεως ἐλάττωμα διηγούμενος, οὐ τὸ τῆς προαιρέσεως. 6.5 Ἡ γὰρ φύσις τὰ αὐτῆς καὶ ἀκόντων ἡμῶν ἐπιδείκνυται, καὶ κρατῆσαι τῶν ἐλαττωμάτων ἐκείνων οὐκ ἔνι, οὐδὲ τὸν σφόδρα βουλόμενον καὶ σπουδάζοντα· οὐκοῦν οὐδὲν ἐντεῦθεν παραβλαπτόμεθα, ἀλλὰ καὶ θαυμαζόμεθα μᾶλλον. Ποῖον γὰρ ἔγκλημα φοβεῖσθαι θάνατον; ποῖον δὲ οὐκ ἐγκώμιον, φοβούμενον θάνατον μηδὲν διὰ τὸν φόβον ἀνελεύθερον ὑπομεῖναι; Οὐ γὰρ τὸ φύσιν ἔχειν ἐλάττωμα ἔχουσαν, ἔγκλημα, ἀλλὰ τὸ τοῖς ἐλαττώμασι δουλεύειν· ὡς ὅ γε τὴν παρ' αὐτῆς ἐπήρειαν τῇ τῆς προαιρέσεως ἀνδρείᾳ διορθούμενος, μέγας καὶ θαυμαστός. Καὶ γὰρ ταύτῃ δείκνυσιν ὅσον ἐστὶ προαιρέσεως ἰσχύς, καὶ ἐπιστομίζει τοὺς λέγοντας, διὰ τί μὴ φύσει γεγόναμεν καλοί; τί γὰρ διαφέρει τοῦτο φύσει, ἢ προαιρέσει εἶναι; πόσῳ δὲ τοῦτο βέλτιον ἐκείνου; ὅσῳ καὶ στεφάνους ἔχει, καὶ λαμπρὰν τὴν ἀνακήρυξιν. 6.6 Ἀλλὰ βέβαιον τὸ τῆς φύσεως; Ἀλλ' εἰ βούλει προαίρεσιν γενναίαν ἔχειν, τοῦτο στερρότερον ἐκείνου γίνεται. Ἢ οὐχ ὁρᾷς τῶν μαρτύρων ξίφεσι τὰ σώματα τεμνόμενα, καὶ τὴν μὲν φύσιν εἴκουσαν τῷ σιδήρῳ, τὴν δὲ προαίρεσιν οὐ παραχωροῦσαν αὐτῷ, οὐδὲ ἐλεγχομένην; οὐκ εἶδες ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἀβραάμ, εἰπέ μοι, προαίρεσιν φύσεως κρατήσασαν, ἡνίκα τὸν παῖδα σφαγιάσαι ἐκελεύσθη, καὶ ταύτην ἐκείνης δυνατωτέραν φανεῖσαν; οὐκ εἶδες ἐπὶ τῶν τριῶν παίδων τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο συμβάν; οὐκ ἀκούεις καὶ τῆς ἔξωθεν παροιμίας λεγούσης, ὅτι δευτέρα φύσις ἡ προαίρεσις γίνεται ἐκ συνηθείας; Ἐγὼ δὲ φαίην ἂν ὅτι καὶ προτέρα, καθὼς τὰ προειρημένα ἀπέδειξεν. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι δυνατὸν καὶ τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς φύσεως ἔχειν στερρότητα, ἐὰν προαίρεσις ᾖ γενναία καὶ διεγηγερμένη, καὶ πλείονα καρποῦσθαι τὸν ἔπαινον τόν γε ἑλόμενον καὶ βουληθέντα, ἢ ἀναγκασθέντα καλὸν εἶναι; 6.7 Τοῦτό ἐστι μάλιστα καλόν, ὡς ὅταν λέγῃ· Ὑπωπιάζω μου τὸ σῶμα καὶ δουλαγωγῶ. Τότε μάλιστα ἐγὼ αὐτὸν ἐπαινῶ, ὁρῶν οὐκ ἀπονητὶ τὴν ἀρετὴν κατορθοῦντα, ὥστε μὴ εἶναι τοῖς μετὰ ταῦτα ῥᾳθυμίας ὑπόθεσιν τὴν εὐκολίαν τὴν ἐκείνου. Καὶ ὅταν λέγῃ πάλιν· Τῷ κόσμῳ ἐσταύρωμαι, τὴν προαίρεσιν αὐτοῦ στεφανῶ. Ἔνι γάρ, ἔνι φύσεως ἰσχὺν προαιρέσεως ἀκριβείᾳ μιμήσασθαι· κἂν εἰς μέσον ἀγάγωμεν τοῦτον αὐτὸν τὸν ἀνδριάντα τῆς ἀρετῆς, εὑρήσομεν ὅτι τὰ ἐκ προαιρέσεως αὐτῷ προσόντα καλά, εἰς φύσεως στερρότητα ἐφιλονείκησεν ἐξενεγκεῖν. 6.8 Ἤλγει μὲν γὰρ τυπτόμενος, τῶν δὲ ἀσωμάτων δυνάμεων τῶν οὐκ ἀλγουσῶν οὐχ ἧττον αὐτῶν κατεφρόνει, ὡς ἔστιν ἀκοῦσαι τῶν ῥημάτων αὐτοῦ, ἃ μηδὲ τῆς φύσεως αὐτὸν ποιεῖ νομίζεσθαι τῆς ἡμετέρας. Ὅταν γὰρ λέγῃ· Ἐμοὶ κόσμος ἐσταύρωται, κἀγὼ τῷ κόσμῳ, καὶ πάλιν· Ζῶ δὲ οὐκέτι ἐγώ, ζῇ δὲ ἐν ἐμοὶ Χριστός, τί ἄλλο ἐστὶν εἰπεῖν, ἢ ὅτι καὶ ἐξ αὐτοῦ μετέστη τοῦ σώματος; τί δέ, ὅταν λέγῃ· Ἐδόθη μοι σκόλοψ τῇ σαρκί, ἄγγελος σατᾶν; τοῦτο δὲ οὐδὲν ἕτερόν ἐστιν, ἢ δεῖξαι μέχρι τοῦ σώματος ἱστάμενον τὸν πόνον· οὐκ ἐπειδὴ ἔνδον οὐ διέβαινεν, ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ τῇ περιουσίᾳ τῆς προαιρέσεως αὐτὸν διεκρούετο καὶ ἐξώθει. Τί δέ, ὅταν ἕτερα πολλὰ τούτων θαυμαστότερα λέγῃ, καὶ χαίρῃ μαστιζόμενος, καὶ καυχᾶται ἐπὶ ταῖς ἁλύσεσι; Τί ἂν ἄλλο τις εἴποι, ἢ τοῦτο ὅπερ ἔφην, ὅτι τὸ λέγειν· Ὑπωπιάζω μου τὸ σῶμα καὶ δουλαγωγῶ, καὶ φοβοῦμαι μήπως ἄλλοις κηρύξας αὐτὸς ἀδόκιμος γένωμαι, τὸ ἀσθενὲς τῆς φύσεως