John Chrysostom, On John

did they hear? These things which you now see and hear. But if they did hear a voice, and they did see him, yet not in the flesh, nor thus conversing with men, nor speaking to them with so much freedom. For indeed He Himself, making this plain, did not say simply, They desired to see Me; but what? The things which you see; nor, To hear Me; but what? The things which you hear. So that even if they did not behold His presence in the flesh, yet they knew that it would be, which they also desired; and they believed in Him, even without having seen Him in the flesh. Therefore when the Greeks accuse us, saying these things: But what was Christ doing in the time before, not overseeing the race of men? And why ever did He come in the last time to take up our salvation, having neglected us for so long a time? we shall say that even before this He was in the world, and was providing for His works, and was known to all the worthy. But if because not all knew Him then, but He was known only by those noble and virtuous men, you should say that He was not known; by this reasoning you would not confess even now that He is worshiped by men, since not even now do all men know Him. But just as at present no one would disbelieve those who know Him on account of those who are ignorant of Him; so too concerning the times before one must not dispute that He was known to many, or rather to all, those noble and wonderful men. 2. But if someone should say: And for what reason did not all pay attention to Him, nor did all worship Him then, but only the righteous? I too will ask, for what reason do not all know Him even now? And what am I to say about Christ? For His Father, why did not all, neither then nor now, know Him; but some say that all things happen automatically, while others entrust the providence of the universe to demons; and there are some who even fashion another god besides this one; and some of them blaspheme that there is an opposing power to Him, and consider His laws to be from some wicked demon? What then? On this account shall we say that He is not God, because there are some who say this, and shall we confess that He is wicked? for there are also those who blaspheme Him in this way. Away with the folly and extreme madness. For if we were to characterize doctrines from the judgment of madmen, nothing prevents us from raging with a most grievous madness ourselves. Then, no one will say that the sun is destructive to the eyes on account of those whose sight is diseased, but rather that it is illuminating, taking judgments from those who are healthy; and no one will call honey bitter, because it seems so to the sense of the sick; but will some people, from the opinion of the weak, vote that God either does not exist, or is wicked, or sometimes exercises providence, and at other times does not do this at all? And who would say that such men are sane, and not that they are out of their minds and delirious, and raging with the utmost madness? The world knew him not, he says. But those of whom the world was not worthy, these knew Him. And having mentioned those who did not know Him, He also briefly stated the cause 59.68 of their ignorance. For He did not say simply, that no one knew Him, but that The world knew him not; that is, the men who are nailed only to the world, and who mind the things of the world. For so Christ is also accustomed to call them, as when He says, O holy Father, the world has not known You. Therefore the world was ignorant not only of Him, but also of His Father, as we were saying. For nothing so clouds the mind as being melted down into present things. Knowing these things, therefore, remove yourselves from the world, and tear yourselves away from fleshly affairs, as much as is possible. For the loss to you from these things is not in trivial matters, but in the chief of good things. For it is not possible for a man who holds fast to the affairs of the present life to be able to lay hold genuinely of the things in the heavens; but it is necessary for one who is zealous about these things to fall away from those. For you cannot, he says, serve God and mammon; for it is necessary to hold to the one, and the

ἤκουσαν; Ταῦτα ἃ νῦν ὑμεῖς βλέπετε καὶ ἀκούετε. Εἰ δὲ καὶ φωνῆς ἤκουσαν, καὶ εἶδον αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνοι, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐν σαρκὶ, οὐδὲ οὕτω τοῖς ἀνθρώποις συναναστρεφόμενον, οὐδὲ μετὰ τοσαύτης αὐτοῖς ὁμιλοῦντα τῆς ἀδείας. Τοῦτο γοῦν καὶ αὐτὸς δηλῶν, οὐχ ἁπλῶς εἶπεν· Ἐπεθύμησαν ἰδεῖν ἐμέ· ἀλλὰ τί; Ἃ ὑμεῖς βλέπετε· οὐδὲ, Ἀκοῦσαι ἐμοῦ· ἀλλὰ τί; Ἃ ὑμεῖς ἀκούετε. Ὥστε εἰ καὶ μὴ τὴν ἔνσαρκον αὐτοῦ παρουσίαν ἐθεάσαντο, ἀλλ' ὅμως ᾔδεσαν αὐτὴν ἐσομένην, ἧς καὶ ἐπεθύμουν· καὶ ἐπίστευον εἰς αὐτὸν, καὶ μὴ ἑωρακότες αὐτὸν ἐν σαρκί. Ὅταν οὖν ἐγκαλῶσιν ἡμῖν Ἕλληνες ταῦτα λέγοντες· Τί δὲ τὸν ἔμπροσθεν ἐποίει χρόνον ὁ Χριστὸς, τὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων οὐκ ἐπισκοπούμενος γένος; καὶ τί δήποτε ἐν ἐσχάτῳ τῆς ἡμετέρας ἦλθεν ἀντιληψόμενος σωτηρίας, τοσοῦτον ἀμελήσας χρόνον ἡμῶν; ἐροῦμεν, ὅτι καὶ πρὸ τούτου ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἦν, καὶ προενόει τῶν ἔργων αὐτοῦ, καὶ γνώριμος τοῖς ἀξίοις ἅπασιν ἦν. Εἰ δὲ διὰ τὸ μὴ πάντας αὐτὸν τότε ἐπεγνωκέναι, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τῶν γενναίων αὐτὸν καὶ ἐναρέτων ἐκείνων μόνων ἐγνῶσθαι, φαίητε μὴ γνωρίζεσθαι· κατὰ τοῦτο οὐδὲ νῦν ὁμολογήσετε προσκυνεῖσθαι αὐτὸν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἐπειδὴ μηδὲ νῦν ἅπαντες αὐτὸν ἴσασιν. Ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος οὐδεὶς ἂν διὰ τοὺς ἀγνοοῦντας αὐτὸν τοῖς εἰδόσι διαπιστήσειεν· οὕτως οὐδὲ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἔμπροσθεν χρόνων ἀμφισβητεῖν χρὴ, ὅτι πολλοῖς, μᾶλλον δὲ πᾶσιν ἔγνωστο τοῖς γενναίοις καὶ θαυμασίοις ἀνδράσιν ἐκείνοις. βʹ. Εἰ δὲ λέγοι τις· Καὶ τίνος ἕνεκεν μὴ πάντες προσεῖχον αὐτῷ, μηδὲ πάντες αὐτὸν ἐθεράπευον τότε, ἀλλὰ μόνοι οἱ δίκαιοι; ἐρήσομαι κἀγὼ, τίνος ἕνεκεν μηδὲ νῦν ἅπαντες αὐτὸν ἴσασι; Καὶ τί λέγω περὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ; Τὸν γὰρ Πατέρα τὸν τούτου, διατί μὴ πάντες, μήτε τότε, μήτε νῦν ἔγνωσαν· ἀλλ' οἱ μὲν αὐτομάτως ἅπαντα φέρεσθαι λέγουσιν, οἱ δὲ δαιμονίοις τὴν τοῦ παντὸς ἐπιτρέπουσι πρόνοιαν· εἰσὶ δὲ οἳ καὶ ἕτερον παρὰ τοῦτον ἀναπλάττουσι θεόν· τινὲς δὲ αὐτῶν καὶ τὴν ἀντικειμένην εἶναι βλασφημοῦσιν αὐτοῦ δύναμιν, καὶ τοὺς νόμους αὐτοῦ, πονηροῦ τινὸς δαίμονος εἶναι νομίζουσι; Τί οὖν; παρὰ τοῦτο οὔτε Θεὸν αὐτὸν φήσομεν εἶναι, ἐπειδή τινές εἰσιν οἱ τοῦτο λέγοντες, καὶ πονηρὸν αὐτὸν ὁμολογήσομεν εἶναι; καὶ γὰρ καὶ τοῦτό εἰσιν οἱ βλασφημοῦντες αὐτόν. Ἄπαγε τῆς παραφροσύνης καὶ τῆς ἐσχάτης παραπληξίας. Εἰ γὰρ μέλλοιμεν ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν μαινομένων κρίσεως χαρακτηρίζειν τὰ δόγματα, οὐδὲν κωλύει μαίνεσθαι καὶ αὐτοὺς μανίαν χαλεπωτάτην. Εἶτα, ἥλιον μὲν οὐδεὶς λυμαντικὸν ὀφθαλμῶν εἶναι φήσει διὰ τοὺς νοσοῦντας τὰς ὄψεις, ἀλλὰ φωτιστικὸν, ἀπὸ τῶν ὑγιαινόντων λαμβάνων τὰς κρίσεις· καὶ τὸ μέλι δὲ οὐδεὶς πικρὸν προσερεῖ, ἐπειδὴ τοῦτο τῇ αἰσθήσει τῶν ἀῤῥώστων δοκεῖ· τὸν δὲ Θεὸν ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν ἀσθενούντων ὑπολήψεως, ἢ μὴ εἶναι, ἢ πονηρὸν εἶναι, ἢ ποτὲ μὲν προνοεῖν, ποτὲ δὲ μηδὲ ὅλως τοῦτο ποιεῖν ψηφιοῦνταί τινες; Καὶ τίς ἂν τοὺς τοιούτους ὑγιαίνειν φήσειεν, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐξεστηκέναι καὶ παραπαίειν, καὶ μαίνεσθαι τὴν ἐσχάτην μανίαν; Ὁ κόσμος αὐτὸν οὐκ ἔγνω, φησίν. Ἀλλ' ὧν ὁ κόσμος οὐκ ἦν ἄξιος, οὗτοι αὐτὸν ἔγνωσαν. Εἰπὼν δὲ καὶ τοὺς μὴ γνόντας αὐτὸν, ἐν βραχεῖ καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν 59.68 τῆς ἀγνοίας ἔθηκεν. Οὐ γὰρ ἁπλῶς εἶπεν, ὅτι οὐδεὶς αὐτὸν ἔγνω, ἀλλ' ὅτι Ὁ κόσμος αὐτὸν οὐκ ἔγνω τουτέστιν, οἱ τῷ κόσμῳ μόνῳ προσηλωμένοι, καὶ τὰ τοῦ κόσμου φρονοῦντες ἄνθρωποι. Οὕτω γὰρ εἴωθε καλεῖν αὐτοὺς καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς, ὡς ὅταν λέγῃ· Πάτερ ἅγιε, καὶ ὁ κόσμος σε οὐκ ἔγνω. Οὐκ ἄρα αὐτὸν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν Πατέρα αὐτοῦ ὁ κόσμος ἠγνόησε, καθάπερ ἐλέγομεν. Οὐδὲν γὰρ οὕτω θολοῖ διάνοιαν, ὡς τὸ προστετηκέναι τοῖς παροῦσι. Ταῦτ' οὖν εἰδότες, ἀποστήσατε ἑαυτοὺς τοῦ κόσμου, καὶ τῶν σαρκικῶν ἀποῤῥήξατε πραγμάτων, καθόσον οἷόν τε. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς τυχοῦσιν ὑμῖν ἀπὸ τούτων ἡ ζημία γίνεται, ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ κεφαλαίῳ τῶν ἀγαθῶν. Οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν ἄνθρωπον τῶν κατὰ τὸν παρόντα βίον ἀντεχόμενον πραγμάτων σφοδρῶς δυνηθῆναι ἐπιλαβέσθαι τῶν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς γνησίως· ἀλλὰ ἀνάγκη τὸν περὶ ταῦτα ἐσπουδακότα ἐκείνων ἐκπεσεῖν. Οὐ δύνασθε γὰρ, φησὶ, Θεῷ δουλεύειν καὶ μαμωνᾷ· ἀνάγκη γὰρ ἑνὸς ἔχεσθαι, καὶ τὸν