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every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Why then do you exalt yourself, O Jew? Why are you proud? For your mouth too is stopped, and your boldness is taken away, and with the whole world you too have become accountable, and like the others you stand in need of being justified freely. It was necessary, then, even if you had succeeded and had great boldness before God, not even so to envy those who are about to be shown mercy and saved through loving-kindness. For this is of the utmost wickedness, to pine away at the good things of others, and especially when this was not going to happen with any loss to you. For if the salvation of others were a detriment to your good things, it would be reasonable to be grieved; and yet even this is not for one who has learned to be a philosopher. But if your rewards neither increase when the other is punished, nor decrease when he is treated well, for what reason do you vex yourself over another being saved freely? It was necessary, then, as I said, even if you were among the approved, not to be vexed at the salvation that comes to the Gentiles by grace; but when you, being liable for the same things to the Master, and having stumbled yourself, are displeased at the good of others, and are proud as if you alone ought to partake of grace, you would be liable not only for envy and desperation, but also for the utmost folly, and for all the most grievous torments; for you have planted the root of all evils in yourself: pride. Wherefore a certain wise man also said: The beginning of sin is pride; that is, its root and source and mother. Thus also the first-formed man fell from that blessed way of life; thus also the devil who deceived him was cast down from that height of dignity. Therefore the wicked one, knowing that the nature of this sin was sufficient to cast down even from the heavens, came by this path when he was eager to bring Adam down from so great an honor. For by puffing him up with the promise of equality with God, he thus shattered and cast him down into the very depths of Hades. For nothing so alienates from the loving-kindness of God, and delivers over to the fire of Gehenna, as the tyranny of pride. For when this is present in us, our whole life becomes unclean, even if we practice self-control, or virginity, or fasting, or prayers, or almsgiving, or whatever we may perform. For, he says, every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord. Let us therefore suppress this puffing up of the soul, and let us check this arrogance, if we wish to be pure, and to be delivered from the punishment laid up for the devil. For that the proud man must suffer the same things as he, listen to Paul saying: Not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the condemnation and snare of the devil. What is condemnation? Into the same judgment, he says, into the same punishment. How then can one escape this terrible thing, he says? If he would consider his own nature, and the multitude of his sins, and the magnitude of the torments there, and the temporary nature of the things here that seem 59.73 splendid, being no different from grass, and withering more than the flowers of spring. If we constantly stir up these reflections within ourselves, and keep in memory those who have achieved the greatest things, the devil will not easily be able to lift us up, even if he strives ten thousand times, nor even trip us up at 59.74 the beginning. But may the God of the humble, who is good and gentle, himself grant both to you and to us a contrite and humbled heart. For so we shall be able to accomplish the other things also with ease, to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom and with whom be glory to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.

59.73 HOMILY 10. He came to his own, and his own did not receive him.

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στόμα φραγῇ, καὶ ὑπόδικος γένηται πᾶς ὁ κόσμος τῷ Θεῷ. Πάντες γὰρ ἥμαρτον, καὶ ὑστεροῦνται τῆς δόξης τοῦ Θεοῦ. Τί οὖν ἐπαίρεις σαυτὸν, ὦ Ἰουδαῖε; τί μέγα φρονεῖς; Καὶ γὰρ καὶ τὸ σὸν ἐμπέφρακται στόμα, καὶ ἡ σὴ παῤῥησία ἀνῄρηται, καὶ μετὰ τοῦ κόσμου παντὸς καὶ σὺ γέγονας ὑπόδικος, καὶ ὁμοίως τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐν χρείᾳ καθέστηκας τοῦ δωρεὰν δικαιωθῆναι. Ἐχρῆν μὲν οὖν μηδὲ εἰ κατωρθωκὼς ἦς, καὶ παῤῥησίαν πολλὴν εἶχες πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, μηδὲ οὕτω τοῖς μέλλουσιν ἐλεεῖσθαι καὶ σώζεσθαι διὰ φιλανθρωπίαν φθονεῖν. Πονηρίας γὰρ τοῦτο ἐσχάτης, ἐπὶ τοῖς ἑτέρων τήκεσθαι ἀγαθοῖς, καὶ μάλιστα ὅτε μηδὲ μετὰ τῆς σῆς τοῦτο ἔμελλε γίνεσθαι ζημίας. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἡ τῶν ἄλλων σωτηρία τοῖς σοῖς ἐλυμαίνετο καλοῖς, λόγον ἂν εἶχε τὸ ἀλγεῖν· καίτοι γε οὐδὲ τοῦτο κατὰ τὸν μεμαθηκότα φιλοσοφεῖν. Εἰ δὲ μήτε κολαζομένου θατέρου πλεονάζει σοι τὰ τῶν μισθῶν, μήτε εὖ πάσχοντος ἐλαττοῦται, τίνος ἕνεκεν σὺ κόπτεις σαυτὸν ὑπὲρ ὧν ἕτερος σώζεται δωρεάν; Ἐχρῆν μὲν οὖν, ὅπερ ἔφην, μηδὲ εἰ τῶν εὐδοκιμηκότων ἦς, ἐπὶ τῇ κατὰ χάριν εἰς τὰ ἔθνη γινομένῃ δάκνεσθαι σωτηρίᾳ· ὅταν δὲ τῶν αὐτῶν ὑπεύθυνος ὢν τῷ ∆εσπότῃ, καὶ προσκεκρουκὼς καὶ αὐτὸς, δυσχεραίνῃς ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις ἀγαθοῖς, καὶ μέγα φρονῇς ὡς αὐτὸς ὀφείλων μόνος τῆς χάριτος μετασχεῖν, οὐ βασκανίας μόνον καὶ ἀπονοίας, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς ἐσχάτης ἀνοίας, καὶ πάντων τῶν χαλεπωτάτων ἂν εἴης ὑπεύθυνος βασανιστηρίων· τὴν γὰρ τῶν κακῶν ῥίζαν ἁπάντων ἐν σεαυτῷ κατεφύτευσας τὴν ὑπερηφανίαν. ∆ιὸ καί τις σοφὸς ἔλεγεν· Ἀρχὴ ἁμαρτίας ὑπερηφανία· τουτέστι, ῥίζα καὶ πηγὴ καὶ μήτηρ. Οὕτω καὶ ὁ πρωτόπλαστος ἐξέπεσε τῆς μακαρίας ἐκείνης διαγωγῆς· οὕτω καὶ ὁ τοῦτον ἀπατήσας διάβολος ἀπ' ἐκείνου κατηνέχθη τοῦ τῆς ἀξίας ὕψους. Ὅθεν εἰδὼς ὁ μιαρὸς τῆς ἁμαρτίας ταύτης τὴν φύσιν ἱκανὴν οὖσαν καὶ ἐξ αὐτῶν καταβαλεῖν τῶν οὐρανῶν, ταύτην ἦλθε τὴν ὁδὸν, ὅτε τὸν Ἀδὰμ ἀπὸ τῆς τοσαύτης κατενεγκεῖν ἐσπούδασε τιμῆς. Τῇ γὰρ ἐπαγγελίᾳ τῆς ἰσοθεΐας φυσήσας αὐτὸν, οὕτω κατέῤῥηξε καὶ κατέβαλεν εἰς αὐτὰ τοῦ ᾅδου τὰ βάραθρα. Οὐδὲν γὰρ οὕτω τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίας ἀλλοτριοῖ, καὶ τῷ τῆς γεέννης παραδίδωσι πυρὶ, ὡς ἡ τῆς ὑπερηφανίας τυραννίς. Ταύτης γὰρ ἡμῖν παρούσης, ἅπας ἡμῶν ὁ βίος ἀκάθαρτος γίνεται, κἂν σωφροσύνην, κἂν παρθενίαν, κἂν νηστείαν, κἂν εὐχὰς, κἂν ἐλεημοσύνην, κἂν ὁτιοῦν ἐπιτελῶμεν. Ἀκάθαρτος γὰρ, φησὶ, παρὰ Κυρίῳ πᾶς ὑψηλοκάρδιος. Καταστέλλωμεν οὖν τοῦτο τὸ φύσημα τῆς ψυχῆς, καὶ τὸν ὄγκον τοῦτον ἀνακόπτωμεν, εἴ γε ἐθέλοιμεν εἶναι καθαροὶ, καὶ τῆς τῷ διαβόλῳ κειμένης ἀπηλλάχθαι κολάσεως. Ὅτι γὰρ τὸν ἀλαζόνα τὰ αὐτὰ ἐκείνῳ παθεῖν ἀνάγκη, ἄκουσον τοῦ Παύλου λέγοντος· Μὴ νεόφυτον, ἵνα μὴ τυφωθεὶς, εἰς κρῖμα ἐμπέσῃ καὶ παγίδα τοῦ διαβόλου. Τί ἐστι κρῖμα; Εἰς τὴν αὐτὴν, φησὶ, καταδίκην, εἰς τὴν αὐτὴν κόλασιν. Πῶς οὖν ἄν τις ἐκφύγοι τοῦτο τὸ δεινὸν, φησίν; Εἴ γε ἀναλογίσαιτο τὴν ἑαυτοῦ φύσιν, καὶ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων τὸ πλῆθος, καὶ τῶν ἐκεῖ βασανιστηρίων τὸ μέγεθος, καὶ τῶν ἐνταῦθα δοκούν 59.73 των λαμπρῶν τὸ πρόσκαιρον οὐδὲν χόρτου διαφέρον, καὶ τῶν ἐαρινῶν ἀνθέων μᾶλλον μαραινόμενον. Ἂν τούτους συνεχῶς παρ' ἑαυτοῖς κινῶμεν τοὺς λογισμοὺς, καὶ τοὺς τὰ μέγιστα κατωρθωκότας ἐπὶ μνήμης ἔχωμεν, οὐ ῥᾳδίως ὁ διάβολος ἐπᾶραι δυνήσεται, κἂν μυρία φιλονεικῇ, ἀλλ' οὐδὲ ὑποσκελίσαι τὴν 59.74 ἀρχήν. Ὁ δὲ Θεὸς ὁ τῶν ταπεινῶν, ὁ χρηστὸς καὶ ἐπιεικὴς, αὐτὸς καὶ ὑμῖν καὶ ἡμῖν παράσχοι καρδίαν συντετριμμένην καὶ τεταπεινωμένην. Οὕτω γὰρ δυνησόμεθα καὶ τὰ ἄλλα μετ' εὐκολίας κατορθοῦν, εἰς δόξαν τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, δι' οὗ καὶ μεθ' οὗ δόξα τῷ Πατρὶ ἅμα τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

59.73 ΟΜΙΛΙΑ Ιʹ. Εἰς τὰ ἴδια ἦλθε, καὶ οἱ ἴδιοι αὐτὸν οὐ παρ έλαβον.