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by address we call the one receiving the letter; but when they far exceed our own rank, we also add other, more numerous names, which have greater respect; if, then, we use such forethought, and do not write to all in one manner, but make the forms of address suitable to the different persons receiving them; much more did Paul not write simply or randomly to these in this way, and to others in another way, but with a certain spiritual wisdom. That, when writing to none of the others, he called himself "called" in the preface of the Epistle, it is possible for us to learn this by going through the beginnings of the Epistles themselves. But for what reason he did this, it would now be for us to say, after we first show what "called" is, and what Paul wished to teach us through this saying. What then does he want to teach us by calling himself "called"? That he did not approach the Master first, but having been called, he obeyed; he did not seek and find, but was found while wandering; he did not look up to the light first, but the light sent forth its own rays to his eyes, and having blinded his outer eyes, thus opened those within. Wishing, then, to teach us that of all his accomplishments he credits nothing to himself, but to the God who called him, he calls himself "called." For he who opened for me the gates of the contest, he says, and the stadium, he is also the cause of the crowns; he who provided the beginning and laid the root, he also provided me with the opportunities for the fruits that grew for me after this. For this reason, also saying elsewhere, "I labored more than all," he added, "Yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me." The name "Called," then, is an indication of nothing else, 51.151 than that Paul considers none of his own achievements to be his own, but to attribute all things to the Master, God. Which, then, Christ also taught his disciples, saying, "You did not choose me, but I chose you"; and the Apostle alludes to this same thing again in the same Epistle, saying: "Then I shall know, even as also I am known"; for now, he says, it was not I who first knew, but I was first known. For Christ called him while he was persecuting and destroying the Church, saying: "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" For this reason he calls himself "called." For what reason did he write thus to the Corinthians? This Corinth is the metropolis of Achaia, and it abounded in spiritual gifts; and very reasonably so; for it was the first to enjoy Paul's tongue, and just as a vine, enjoying a certain excellent and careful farmer, is lush with many leaves, and is continually heavy with much fruit; so indeed also that city, as of a certain excellent farmer, having been the first to partake of Paul's teaching, and having reveled for a long time in his wisdom, flourished with all good things; and it was not only an abundance of spiritual gifts, but it also had a great profusion of worldly advantages. For in the wisdom of external words, and in wealth and power, it surpassed the other cities. And these things puffed it up and lifted it to arrogance, and through arrogance split it into many parts. For such is the nature of pride; it breaks the bond of love, and separates neighbor from neighbor, and makes each one who possesses it to be by himself. And just as a wall that is puffed up breaks up the building, so indeed also a soul that is puffed up does not tolerate connection with another, which is indeed what Corinth suffered then; and they were at variance with one another, and cut the Church into many parts, and set up for themselves countless other teachers, and having formed themselves into clans and parties, they ruined the dignity of the Church. For the dignity of the Church is when those who are gathered together maintain among themselves the coherence of a body.

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προῤῥήσει καλοῦμεν τὸν δεχόμενον τὴν ἐπιστολήν· ὅταν δὲ πολὺ τὴν ἀξίαν ὑπερέχωσι τὴν ἡμετέραν, καὶ ἕτερα πλείονα προστίθεμεν ὀνόματα, μείζονα ἔχοντα τὴν θεραπείαν· εἰ οὖν ἡμεῖς τοσαύτῃ προνοίᾳ κεχρήμεθα, καὶ οὐχ ἑνὶ τρόπῳ πᾶσι γράφομεν, ἀλλὰ τῇ διαφορᾷ τῶν δεχομένων προσώπων καταλλήλους ποιούμεθα τὰς προσηγορίας· πολλῷ μᾶλλον ὁ Παῦλος, οὐχ ἁπλῶς, οὐδὲ εἰκῆ τούτοις μὲν οὕτως, ἐκείνοις δὲ ἑτέρως ἐπέστελλεν, ἀλλὰ μετά τινος σοφίας πνευματικῆς. Ὅτι μὲν οὐδενὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἐπιστέλλων, κλητὸν ἑαυτὸν ἐν τῷ προοιμίῳ τῆς Ἐπιστολῆς ἐκάλεσεν, ἔξεστιν ἡμῖν αὐτὰς τῶν Ἐπιστολῶν τὰς ἀρχὰς ἐπελθοῦσι τοῦτο μαθεῖν. Τίνος δὲ ἕνεκεν τοῦτο ἐποίει, ἡμέτερον ἂν εἴη λοιπὸν εἰπεῖν, ἐπειδὰν δείξωμεν πρότερον τί ἐστιν ὁ κλητὸς, καὶ τί διὰ τῆς ῥήσεως ἡμᾶς διδάξαι ὁ Παῦλος ἠθέλησε ταύτης. Τί ποτ' οὖν ἡμᾶς βούλεται διδάξαι διὰ τοῦ κλητὸν ἑαυτὸν καλέσαι; Ὅτι οὐκ αὐτὸς τῷ ∆εσπότῃ προσῆλθε πρῶτος, ἀλλὰ κληθεὶς ὑπήκουσεν· οὐκ αὐτὸς ἐζήτησε καὶ εὗρεν, ἀλλ' εὑρέθη πλανώμενος· οὐκ αὐτὸς πρὸς τὸ φῶς ἀνέβλεψε πρῶτος, ἀλλὰ τὸ φῶς τὰς οἰκείας ἀκτῖνας πρὸς τὰς ὄψεις ἀφῆκε τὰς ἐκείνου, καὶ τοὺς ἔξω πηρώσας ὀφθαλμοὺς, οὕτω τοὺς ἔνδοθεν ἤνοιξε. Βουλόμενος οὖν ἡμᾶς παιδεῦσαι ὅτι τῶν κατορθωμάτων αὐτοῦ πάντων οὐδὲν ἑαυτῷ λογίζεται, ἀλλὰ τῷ κεκληκότι Θεῷ, κλητὸν ἑαυτὸν καλεῖ. Ὁ γὰρ τὰς πύλας μοι τοῦ σκάμματος ἀνοίξας, φησὶ, καὶ τὸ στάδιον, οὗτος καὶ τῶν στεφάνων αἴτιος γίνεται· ὁ τὴν ἀρχὴν παρασχὼν καὶ τὴν ῥίζαν καταβαλλόμενος, οὗτος καὶ τῶν βλαστησάντων μοι μετὰ ταῦτα καρπῶν παρέσχε μοι τὰς ἀφορμάς. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ πάλιν εἰπὼν, Πλείονα πάντων ἐκοπίασα, ἐπήγαγεν, Οὐκ ἐγὼ δὲ, ἀλλ' ἡ χάρις ἡ σὺν ἐμοί. Τὸ οὖν Κλητὸς ὄνομα οὐδενός ἐστιν ἔνδειξις 51.151 ἑτέρου, ἢ τὸ μηδὲν οἰκεῖον νομίζειν εἶναι Παῦλον τῶν οἰκείων κατορθωμάτων, ἀλλὰ πάντα ἀνατιθέναι τῷ ∆εσπότῃ Θεῷ. Ὅπερ οὖν καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς τοὺς μαθητὰς ἐδίδασκε λέγων, Οὐχ ὑμεῖς με ἐξελέξασθε, ἀλλ' ἐγὼ ἐξελεξάμην ὑμᾶς· καὶ ὁ Ἀπόστολος τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο πάλιν ἐπὶ τῆς αὐτῆς Ἐπιστολῆς αἰνίττεται λέγων· Τότε δὲ ἐπιγνώσομαι, καθὼς καὶ ἐπεγνώσθην· νῦν γὰρ, φησὶν, οὐκ ἐγὼ πρῶτος ἐπέγνων, ἀλλ' αὐτὸς ἐπεγνώσθην πρῶτος. ∆ιώκοντα γὰρ αὐτὸν καὶ πορθοῦντα τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν ὁ Χριστὸς ἐκάλεσε, λέγων· Σαῦλε, Σαῦλε, τί με διώκεις; ∆ιὰ τοῦτο κλητὸν ἑαυτὸν καλεῖ. Τίνος ἕνεκεν Κορινθίοις οὕτως ἐπέστελλεν; Ἡ Κόρινθος αὕτη τῆς Ἀχαΐας μητρόπολίς ἐστι, καὶ πνευματικοῖς ἐκόμα χαρίσμασι· καὶ μάλα εἰκότως· τῆς γὰρ Παύλου γλώττης πρώτη ἀπήλαυσε, καὶ καθάπερ ἄμπελος, ἀρίστου τινὸς καὶ ἐπιμελοῦς ἀπολαύουσα γεωργοῦ, πολλοῖς μὲν κομᾷ τοῖς φύλλοις, πολλῷ δὲ τῷ καρπῷ βρίθει διηνεκῶς· οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἡ πόλις ἐκείνη, ὥσπερ τινὸς ἀρίστου γεωργοῦ, τῆς Παύλου διδασκαλίας μετασχοῦσα πρώτη, καὶ ἐπὶ πολὺν ἐντρυφήσασα χρόνον τῇ τούτου σοφίᾳ, πᾶσιν ἐτεθήλει τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς· οὐ πνευματικῶν δὲ αὕτη χαρισμάτων περιουσία μόνη ἦν, ἀλλὰ καὶ βιωτικῶν πλεονεκτημάτων πολλὴν εἶχε τὴν ἀφθονίαν. Καὶ γὰρ σοφίᾳ λόγων τῶν ἔξωθεν, καὶ πλούτῳ καὶ δυναστείᾳ τῶν ἄλλων ἐκράτει πόλεων. Καὶ ταῦτα αὐτὴν ἐφύσησε καὶ πρὸς ἀπόνοιαν ἦρε, καὶ διὰ τῆς ἀπονοίας εἰς πολλὰ διέστησε μέρη. Τοιαύτη γὰρ τῆς ὑπερηφανίας ἡ φύσις· τὸν τῆς ἀγάπης διαῤῥήγνυσι σύνδεσμον, καὶ τὸν πλησίον ἀποσχίζει, καὶ καθ' ἑαυτὸν ἕκαστον εἶναι ποιεῖ τὸν κεκτημένον αὐτήν. Καὶ καθάπερ τοῖχος φυσηθεὶς διαλύει τὴν οἰκοδομὴν, οὕτω δὴ καὶ ψυχὴ φυσηθεῖσα τῆς πρὸς ἕτερον συναφείας οὐκ ἀνέχεται, ὃ δὴ καὶ ἡ Κόρινθος ἔπαθε τότε· καὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους διεστασίαζον, καὶ εἰς πολλὰ μέρη τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν κατέτεμον, καὶ μυρίους ἑαυτοῖς ἑτέρους ἐπέστησαν διδασκάλους, καὶ κατὰ φρατρίας καὶ συμμορίας γενόμενοι ἐλυμήναντο τὸ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας ἀξίωμα. Ἐκκλησίας γὰρ ἀξίωμα, ὅταν σώματος ἀκολουθίαν πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς οἱ συλλεγόμενοι διατηρῶσι.