John of Damascus, Sacred parallels

each one should have said to his neighbor, and heard from his neighbor, that Vanity of vanities, all things are vanity. Did I not say continually, that wealth is a runaway? but you did not bear with us; did I not say, that it is an ungrateful servant? but you were not willing to be persuaded. Behold, the experience of affairs has taught you; that not only is it a runaway, nor 95.1128 an ungrateful servant, but also a murderer; for this has prepared you now to tremble and be afraid. Did I not say continually, when you rebuked the one speaking truth to you, that I love you more than those who flatter? did I not say, that I who reprove care more than those who gratify? did I not add to these words, that the wounds of friends are more faithful than the voluntary kisses of enemies? If you had listened to my wounds, their kisses would not have brought forth this death for you. For my wounds work health, but their kisses have caused an incurable disease. Where now are the cup-bearers? where are those who strutted in the marketplace, and wove countless praises for everyone? they have run away; they have denied the friendship, procuring safety for themselves through your ignorance. They do not dare even to come near; and the Church, which was warred against by you, has spread her bosom, and received you; but the theaters, which were courted, about which I often conversed with you, have betrayed and destroyed you, but nevertheless we have not ceased always saying: why are you doing these things? You are driving the city to a Bacchic frenzy, and carrying it over cliffs? And you ran past everything. And the horse-races, which wickedly consumed your wealth, have sharpened the sword, but the Church, having enjoyed your irrational and untimely anger, runs about everywhere, hastening to snatch you from these nets. And I say these things, not trampling on the one who is down, not tearing open the wounds of the wounded, not drowning the one tossed by the waves, but I am instructing those who are sailing with a fair wind not to become submerged. For nothing is more rotten than human affairs. Therefore, whatever name of worthlessness someone might say of them, he will say less than the truth, whether he names smoke, or a shadow, or grass, or a dream, or spring flowers, or anything else, and more insignificant than things that are nothing, along with their nothingness they also have much that is precipitous. For who has become higher than this man? did he not surpass the whole world in wealth? did he not ascend to the very peaks of dignities? Was he not fearsome even to those wearing the diadems? Did not all tremble and fear him? But behold, he has become more wretched than prisoners, more pitiful than slaves, and poorer than the poor who are wasted by hunger, seeing sharpened swords every hour, and a pit, and executioners, and the leading away to death; and he does not even know if he ever was in that pleasure; nor does he perceive the sunbeam, but at midday is surrounded as if by the thickest night; thus his eyes have been blinded. But rather, however much we may strive, we will not be able to represent in speech the suffering, which it is likely he endures, perhaps expecting to be beheaded every hour. For the other day when they came upon him from the royal courts, wishing to drag him to the house, and he ran to the holy vessels, his face was 95.1129 the color of boxwood, and in no better state than one already dead. And a clattering and chattering of his teeth, and a trembling of his whole body, and a broken voice, and a faltering tongue, and a form, such as could melt even a soul of stone. And I say these things not reproaching, nor trampling on his misfortune, but wishing to soften your mind, and to draw it to pity. For what reason are you indignant? Because, he says, he who continually warred against the Church has fled to it. For this reason above all one should glorify God, that He allowed him to fall into so great a necessity, so as to learn both the power of the Church, and her love for mankind. Not remembering past wrongs, but spreading her bosom of tender affection. This is more glorious than any trophy; this shames the Greeks; this the Jews

ἐπιλέγειν ἕκαστον τῷ πλησίον ἐχρῆν, καὶ παρὰ τοῦ πλησίον ἀκούειν, ὅτι Ματαιότης ματαιοτήτων, τὰ πάντα ματαιότης. Οὐκ ἔλεγον συνεχῶς, ὅτι δραπέτης ὁ πλοῦτος; σὺ δὲ ἡμῶν οὐκ ἠνέχου· οὐκ ἔλεγον, ὅτι ἀγνώμων ἐστὶν οἰκέτης; σὺ δὲ οὐκ ἠβούλου πείθεσθαι. Ἰδοὺ σὲ τῶν πραγμάτων ἐδίδαξεν ἡ πεῖρα· ὅτι οὐ δραπέτης μόνον, οὐδὲ 95.1128 ἀγνώμων οἰκέτης, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀνδροφόνος· οὗτος γάρ σε τρέμειν νῦν καὶ δεδιέναι παρεσκεύασεν. Οὐκ ἔλεγον συνεχῶς, ἡνίκα ἐπετίμας ἀληθῆ σοι λέγοντι, ὅτι ἐγώ σε φιλῶ μᾶλλον τῶν κολακευόντων; οὐκ ἔλεγον, ὅτι ἐγὼ ὁ ἐλέγχων, πλέον κήδομαι τῶν χαριζομένων; οὐ προσετίθουν τοῖς ῥήμασι τούτοις, ὅτι ἀξιοπιστότερα τραύματα φίλων, ἢ ἑκούσια φιλήματα ἐχθρῶν; Εἰ τῶν ἐμῶν ἤκουσας τραυμάτων, οὐκ ἄν σοι τὰ φιλήματα τὰ ἐκείνων τὸν θάνατον τοῦτον ἔτεκον. Τὰ γὰρ ἐμὰ τραύματα ὑγείαν ἐργάζονται, τὰ δὲ ἐκείνων φιλήματα νόσον ἀνίατον κατεσκεύασε. Ποῦ νῦν οἱ οἰνοχόοι; ποῦ δὲ οἱ σοβοῦντες ἐπὶ τῆς ἀγορᾶς, καὶ μυρία πᾶσιν ἐγκώμια πλέκοντες; ἐδραπέτευσαν· ἠρνήσαντο τὴν φιλίαν, ἀσφάλειαν ἑαυτοῖς διὰ τῆς σῆς ἀγνοίας πορίζοντες. Οὔτε ἐγγὺς γενέσθαι τολμῶσι· καὶ ἡ μὲν πολεμηθεῖσα παρά σου Ἐκκλησία, τοὺς κόλπους ἥπλωσε, καὶ ὑπεδέξατο· τὰ δὲ θεραπευθέντα θέατρα, ὑπὲρ ὧν πρός σε πολλάκις διελέχθην, προὔδωκεν, καὶ ἀπώλεσεν, ἀλλ' ὅμως οὐκ ἐπαυσάμεθα ἀεὶ λέγοντες· τί ταῦτα ποιεῖς; ἐκβακχεύεις τὴν πόλιν, καὶ κατὰ κρημνῶν φέρεις; Καὶ παρέτρεχες ἅπαντα. Καὶ αἱ μὲν ἱπποδρομίαι, αἱ τὸν πλοῦτον τὸν σὸν κακῶς ἀναλώσασαι, τὸ ξίφος ἠκόνησαν, ἡ δὲ Ἐκκλησία τῆς ὀργῆς ἀπολαύσασα τῆς ἀλόγου καὶ ἀκαίρου, πανταχοῦ περιτρέχει τῶν δικτύων τούτων ἐξαρπάσαι σε ἐπειγομένη. Καὶ ταῦτα λέγω, οὐκ ἐπεμβαίνων τῷ κειμένῳ, οὐκ ἀναξαίνων τὰ ἕλκη τοῦ τετρωμένου, οὐ καταποντίζων τὸν κλυδωνιζόμενον, ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἐξουρίας πλέοντας παιδεύω μὴ γενέσθαι ὑποβρυχίους. Οὐδὲν γὰρ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων πραγμάτων σαθρώτερον. ∆ιὸ, ὅπερ ἂν εἴποι τις ὄνομα τῆς εὐτελείας αὐτῶν, ἔλαττον τῆς ἀληθείας ἐρεῖ, κἂν καπνὸν, κἂν σκιὰν, κἂν χόρτον, κἂν ὄναρ, κἂν ἄνθη ἐαρινὰ, κἂν ὁτιοῦν ἕτερον ὀνομάσῃ, καὶ τῶν οὐδὲν ὄντων οὐδαμινώτερα, μετὰ τῆς οὐδενείας καὶ πολὺ τὸ ἀπόκρημνον ἔχει. Τίς γὰρ τούτου γέγονεν ὑψηλότερος; οὐ πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην παρῆλθεν τῷ πλούτῳ; οὐ πρὸς αὐτὰς τῶν ἀξιωμάτων ἀνέβη τὰς κορυφάς; οὐχὶ καὶ αὐτοῖς τὰ διαδήματα περικειμένοις φοβερὸς ἦν; οὐχὶ πάντες αὐτὸν ἔτρεμον καὶ ἐδεδίεσαν; Ἀλλ' ἰδοὺ γέγονε καὶ δεσμωτῶν ἀθλιώτερος, καὶ οἰκετῶν ἐλεεινότερος, καὶ αὐτῶν τῶν λιμῷ τηκομένων πτωχῶν πενέστερος, καθ' ἑκάστην ὥραν ξίφη βλέπων ἠκονημένα, καὶ βάραθρον, καὶ δημίους, καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ θάνατον ἀπαγωγήν· καὶ οὐδὲ εἰ πώποτε γέγονεν ἐπὶ τῆς ἡδονῆς οἶδεν ἐκείνης· οὐδὲ αὐτῆς αἰσθάνεται τῆς ἀκτῖνος, ἀλλ' ἐν μεσημβρίᾳ μέσῃ ὥσπερ πυκνοτάτῃ νυκτὶ περιστοιχιζόμενος· οὕτως τὰς ὄψεις πεπήρωται. Μᾶλλον δὲ ὅσα ἂν φιλονεικήσωμεν, οὐ δυνησόμεθα παραστῆσαι τῷ λόγῳ τὸ πάθος, ὅπερ ὑπομένειν αὐτὸν εἰκὸς, ἴσως καθ' ἑκάστην ὥραν ὑποτέμνεσθαι προσδοκοῦντα. Τὴν γὰρ προτέραν ὅτε ἐπ' αὐτὸν ἦλθον ἐκ τῶν βασιλικῶν αὐλῶν πρὸς οἰκίαν ἑλκῦσαι βουλόμενοι, καὶ τοῖς σκεύεσι προσέδραμε τοῖς ἱεροῖς, πύξινον μὲν αὐτοῦ τὸ πρόσωπον 95.1129 ἦν, καὶ τοῦ νεκρωθέντος ἅπαξ οὐδὲν ἄμεινον διακείμενον. Κτύπος δὲ τῶν ὀδόντων, καὶ πάταγος, καὶ τρόμος τοῦ παντὸς σώματος, καὶ φωνὴ διακοπτομένη, καὶ γλῶσσα διαλελυμένη, καὶ σχῆμα, οἷον καὶ λιθίνην ψυχὴν τῆξαι δυνάμενον. Καὶ ταῦτα λέγω οὐκ ὀνειδίζων, οὐδὲ ἐπεμβαίνων τῇ συμφορᾷ, ἀλλὰ τὴν ὑμετέραν διάνοιαν μαλάξαι βουλόμενος, καὶ εἰς ἔλεον ἐπισπάσασθαι. Τίνος ἕνεκεν ἀγανακτεῖς; Ὅτι δὴ, φησὶν, εἰς Ἐκκλησίαν κατέφυγεν ὁ πολεμήσας αὐτὴν διηνεκῶς. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο μάλιστα δοξάζειν χρὴ τὸν Θεὸν, ὅτι ἀφῆκεν αὐτὸν εἰς τοσαύτην καταστῆναι ἀνάγκην, ὥστε καὶ τὴν δύναμιν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, καὶ τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν μαθεῖν. Οὐ μνησικακήσασα ὑπὲρ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς κόλπους αὐτῆς ἁπλώσασα τῆς φιλοστοργίας. Τοῦτο τροπαίου παντὸς λαμπρότερον· τοῦτο Ἕλληνας ἐντρέπει· τοῦτο Ἰουδαίους