John Chrysostom, On Virginity

42 Concerning the humility of Paul. For he did not say: I give my opinion as one entrusted with the gospel, as one deemed worthy to be a preacher to the Gentiles, as one entrusted with your leadership, as a teacher and instructor, but what? “As one who has obtained mercy,” he says, “from the Lord to be faithful,” and stating the lesser thing. For to be merely faithful is less than to be a teacher of the faithful. And again he devises another humiliation. And what is this one? He did not say: as one who became faithful, but “As one who has obtained mercy to be faithful.” For do not think that only the apostleship and the preaching and the teaching are from the gift of God; for even to believe itself has come to me from His mercy. For it was not because I was worthy, he says, that I was counted worthy of faith, but only because I obtained mercy; and mercy is of grace, not according to worth. So that if God were not exceedingly compassionate, not only could I never have become an apostle, but not even a believer. Have you seen the gratitude of a servant and a contrite heart? How he gives himself nothing more than the rest, but even this which was common to him and his disciples, namely faith, he says is not his own but of the mercy and grace of God, showing the same thing through these words, as if he were saying: do not disdain to receive counsel from me; for neither did God disdain me from His mercy. Besides, the matter is an opinion, not a command; for I am advising, not legislating. And to bring forth and propose the things that seem expedient to each person, no law would forbid, and especially when this is done at the request of the hearers, as in your case. “I think,” he says therefore, “that this is good.” Do you see again his language being understated and devoid of all authority? And yet it was possible to say thus: since the Lord did not command virginity, for this reason neither do I. But I advise and exhort you to emulate this, for I am your apostle. Just as also after these things, speaking to them, he said: “If to others I am not an apostle, yet at least I am to you.” But here he utters none of these things, but uses his words with great restraint, saying “I give an opinion” instead of “I advise,” and instead of “as a teacher,” “As one who has obtained mercy from the Lord to be faithful.” And as if these things were not enough to make his speech restrained, beginning his counsel he again curtails his authority, not simply declaring but also adding a reason. “For I think this to be good,” he says, “on account of the present necessity.” And yet when he was speaking about self-control, he neither used “I think” nor any reason, but simply “It is good for them if they remain even as I;” but here, “I think therefore this to be good on account of the present necessity.” And he does this not because he doubts about the matter—far from it—but because he wishes to entrust the whole thing to the judgment of his hearers. For such is the counselor: he does not himself vote for what is said, but leaves the whole thing to lie under the judgment of the hearers.

43 What present necessity Paul speaks of. And what necessity does he mean here? Is it that which comes from nature? By no means. For in the first place, if he meant this, he would have established the opposite of what he wished by mentioning it. For those who wish to marry harp on this. Secondly, he would not have called it “present.” For it was not planted in the human race for the first time now but from the beginning, and in the past it was more difficult and untamable, but with the coming of Christ and the increase of virtue it has become easy to conquer, so that his argument is not about this, but he hints at some other necessity, manifold and of many forms. What then is this? The perversity of the affairs of life. For so great is the confusion, so great the tyranny of cares, so great the crowd of circumstances that often the married man is forced, even unwillingly, to sin and transgress.

42 Περὶ τῆς τοῦ Παύλου ταπεινοφροσύνης. Οὐ γὰρ εἶπε· δίδωμι γνώμην ὡς πιστευθεὶς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, ὡς ἀξιωθεὶς εἶναι κῆρυξ τῶν ἐθνῶν, ὡς προστασίαν τὴν ὑμετέραν ἐγχειρισθείς, ὡς διδάσκαλος καὶ καθηγητής, ἀλλὰ τί; «Ὡς ἠλεημένος», φησίν, «ὑπὸ κυρίου πιστὸς εἶναι» καὶ τὸ ἔλαττον θείς. Ἔλαττον γὰρ τοῦ διδάσκαλον εἶναι τῶν πιστῶν τὸ μόνον εἶναι πιστόν. Καὶ ἑτέραν ἐπινοεῖ πάλιν ταπείνωσιν. Ποίαν δὲ ταύτην; Οὐκ εἶπεν· ὡς γενόμενος πιστός, ἀλλ' «Ὡς ἠλεημένος εἶναι πιστός.» Μὴ γὰρ τὴν ἀποστολὴν καὶ τὸ κήρυγμα καὶ τὴν διδασκαλίαν μόνον νομίσῃς τῆς δωρεᾶς εἶναι τοῦ Θεοῦ· καὶ γὰρ αὐτὸ τὸ πιστεῦσαι ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐλέους μοι γέγονεν ἐκείνου. Οὐ γὰρ ἐπειδὴ ἄξιος ἤμην, φησί, κατηξιώθην τῆς πίστεως ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ ἠλεήθην μόνον· ὁ δὲ ἔλεος χάριτός ἐστιν, οὐ τοῦ κατ' ἀξίαν. Ὥστε εἰ μὴ ἦν σφόδρα εὔσπλαγχνος ὁ Θεός, οὐ μόνον ἀπόστολος ἀλλ' οὔτε πιστὸς ἠδυνήθην ἂν γενέσθαι ποτέ. Εἶδες εὐγνωμοσύνην οἰκέτου καὶ συντετριμμένην καρδίαν; Πῶς οὐδὲν πλέον ἑαυτῷ δίδωσι τῶν λοιπῶν ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦτο ὃ κοινὸν αὐτῷ καὶ τοῖς μαθηταῖς ἦν, τὸ τῆς πίστεως οὐκ αὐτοῦ φησιν εἶναι ἀλλὰ τοῦ ἐλέους καὶ τῆς χάριτος τοῦ Θεοῦ, ταὐτὸν ἐμφαίνων διὰ τῶν ῥημάτων τούτων, οἱόνως ἔλεγε· μὴ ἀπαξιώσητε συμβουλὴν δέξασθαι παρ' ἐμοῦ· οὐδὲ γὰρ ὁ Θεὸς ἀπηξίωσέ με τοῦ ἐλέους τοῦ παρ' αὐτοῦ. Ἄλλως τε ὅτι καὶ γνώμη τὸ πρᾶγμά ἐστιν, οὐκ ἐπίταγμα· συμβουλεύω γὰρ, οὐ νομοθετῶ. Τὸ δὲ τὰ παραστάντα ἑκάστῳ συμφέροντα φέρειν εἰς μέσον καὶ προτιθέναι οὐδεὶς κωλύσειεν ἂν νόμος καὶ μάλιστα ὅταν ἐξ αἰτήσεως τοῦτο γίνηται τῶν ἀκροατῶν καθάπερ καὶ ἐφ' ὑμῶν. «Νομίζω», οὖν φησι, «τοῦτο καλὸν ὑπάρχειν.» Ὁρᾷς πάλιν ὑφειμένον τὸν λόγον καὶ πάσης ἔρημον ἐξουσίας; Καίτοι γε ἐνῆν οὕτως εἰπεῖν· ἐπειδὴ ὁ κύριος οὐκ ἐπέταξε παρθενίαν, διὰ τοῦτο οὐδὲ ἐγώ. Συμβουλεύω δὲ ὑμῖν καὶ παραινῶ τοῦτο ζηλοῦν, καὶ γὰρ ἀπόστολος ὑμῶν εἰμι. Καθάπερ καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα διαλεγόμενος αὐτοῖς ἔλεγεν· «Εἰ ἄλλοις οὐκ εἰμὶ ἀπόστολος, ἀλλά γε ὑμῖν εἰμι.» Ἀλλ' ἐνταῦθα οὐδὲν τούτων φθέγγεται ἀλλὰ μετὰ πολλῆς φειδοῦς τοῖς ῥήμασι κέχρηται, ἀντὶ μὲν τοῦ συμβουλεύω «Γνώμην δίδωμι» λέγων, ἀντὶ δὲ τοῦ ὡς διδάσκαλος «Ὡς ἡλεημένος ὑπὸ κυρίου πιστὸς εἶναι.» Καὶ ὥσπερ οὐδὲ τούτων ἀρκούντων πρὸς τὸ συνεσταλμένον ποιῆσαι τὸν λόγον ἀρχόμενος τῆς συμβουλῆς ὑποτέμνεται πάλιν τὴν ἐξουσίαν οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἀποφαινόμενος ἀλλὰ καὶ αἰτίαν προστιθείς. «Νομίζω» γὰρ «τοῦτο καλὸν ὑπάρχειν», φησί, «διὰ τὴν ἐνεστῶσαν ἀνάγκην.» Καίτοι γε ὅτε περὶ ἐγκρατείας διελέγετο οὔτε τὸ νομίζω τέθεικεν οὔτε αἰτίαν τινὰ ἀλλ' ἁπλῶς «Καλόν ἐστιν αὐτοῖς ἐὰν μείνωσιν ὡς κἀγώ·» ἐνταῦθα δὲ «Νομίζω οὖν τοῦτο εἶναι καλὸν διὰ τὴν ἐνεστῶσαν ἀνάγκην.» Τοῦτο δὲ ποιεῖ οὐκ ἀμφιβάλλων περὶ τοῦ πράγματος-ἄπαγε-ἀλλὰ τῇ τῶν ἀκουόντων κρίσει τὸ πᾶν ἐπιτρέψαι βουλόμενος. Τοιοῦτον γὰρ ὁ σύμβουλος οὐκ αὐτὸς τοῖς λεγομένοις ψηφίζεται ἀλλὰ τὸ πᾶν ὑπὸ τὴν κρίσιν ἀφίησι κεῖσθαι τῶν ἀκροατῶν.

43 Ποίαν ὁ Παῦλος ἐνεστῶσαν λέγει ἀνάγκην. Ποίαν δὲ καὶ ἀνάγκην ἐνταῦθά φησιν; Ἆρα τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς φύσεως; Οὐδαμῶς. Πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ εἰ ταύτην ἔλεγε, τοὐναντίον ἂν ὅπερ ἐβούλετο κατεσκεύασε μεμνημένος αὐτῆς. Οἱ γὰρ βουλόμενοι γαμεῖν ταύτην ἄνω καὶ κάτω στρέφουσι. ∆εύτερον δὲ οὐκ ἂν αὐτὴν ἐνεστῶσαν ἐκάλεσεν. Οὐ γὰρ νῦν πρῶτον ἀλλ' ἄνωθεν εἰς τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων κατεφυτεύθη γένος καὶ πάλαι μὲν χαλεπωτέρα καὶ ἀτιθάσευτος ἦν, παραγενομένου δὲ τοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἐπιδοθείσης εὐκαταγώνιστος γέγονεν, ὥστε οὐ περὶ ταύτης ὁ λόγος αὐτῷ ἀλλ' ἑτέραν τινὰ αἰνίττεται πολύτροπον καὶ πολυειδῆ. Τίς οὖν ἐστιν αὕτη; Ἡ τῶν ἐν τῷ βίῳ πραγμάτων διαστροφή. Τοσαύτη γάρ ἐστιν ἡ σύγχυσις, τοσαύτη τῶν φροντίδων ἡ τυραννίς, τοσοῦτος ὁ τῶν περιστάσεων ὄχλος ὡς καὶ ἄκοντα πολλάκις ἀναγκάζεσθαι τὸν γεγαμηκότα ἁμαρτάνειν καὶ πλημμελεῖν.