John Chrysostom, On 2 Timothy

to innovate and to deceive, they will not cease from their error, but will always invent new deceits and corrupt doctrines; for indeed error never stands still. But here he says this, that they will not deceive, nor will they carry away, even if at the beginning they seem to deceive some, but they will quickly be exposed. For that he speaks concerning this, hear what he says: For their folly will be manifest to all. From where? From every side; Just as theirs also was. For even if the things of error flourish at first, they do not last to the end. For such are the things that are not good by nature, but seem to be good; they flourish for a time, and are detected and perish. But our things 62.645 are not such; and of these you are a witness; for our things are not in deceit; for who would choose to even die for deceit? But you have followed my teaching. Therefore, be strong; for you were not simply present, but you have followed. Here he indicates that much time has passed, by saying, You have followed my teaching. This concerning doctrine. In my manner of life; this concerning life. In my purpose; this concerning zeal and the state of the soul. I did not, he says, say these things but not do them, nor did I philosophize in words only. In faith, in longsuffering. How none of these things, he says, disturbed me. In love; which these men did not have. In patience; just as they did not have this either. In longsuffering, he says. Towards the heretics I showed much longsuffering. In patience, towards persecutions. In persecutions, in sufferings. For these two things disturb a teacher, that there are many heretics, and not to endure in sufferings. But nevertheless concerning these things he has discussed much, that they both existed of old and will exist, and no time is free from them, and that they will be able to harm us in no way, and that in the world there are vessels of gold and of silver. Do you see, then, him discoursing about afflictions? What things happened to me in Antioch, in Iconium, in Lystra. Why has he mentioned these only out of many? Because the rest were known to the man; and perhaps he remembers these matters as being recent, not those of long ago; and he does not enumerate them specifically; for he is not vainglorious nor ambitious; for he speaks for the comfort of his disciple, not for display. And here he means Antioch of Pisidia, and Lystra, from whence Timothy was. What persecutions I endured. Both are for consolation, that I too showed noble zeal, and I was not abandoned, and one cannot say that God betrayed me, but He made my crown more brilliant. What persecutions I endured, he says, and out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 3. But why do I speak at all about myself, he says? each of those who wish to live godly will be persecuted. Here he calls persecutions afflictions, pains. For it is not possible for a man walking the path of virtue to be without grief, affliction, pain, temptations; for how can one, who travels a narrow and afflicted way? one who has heard, 'In the world you will have tribulation'? If in that time Job said, 'The life of man on earth is a trial,' how much more so then? But evil men and seducers, he says, will proceed to what is worse, deceiving and being deceived. Let none of these things trouble you, he says, if they are in prosperity, while you are in temptations; such is the nature of the matter. From my own experiences you can learn that it is not possible for a man who wars against the wicked not to be in affliction. It is not possible for one who is boxing to be in luxury, it is not possible for one who is wrestling to be feasting. Therefore let no one who contends seek for rest, let no one be in good cheer. Again, the present things are a contest, a war, an affliction, distress, a trial, the stadium of contests. Other are the seasons for rest; this is the season for sweat, this is the season for labors. No one, having stripped and anointed himself, seeks for rest. But if 62.646

καινοτομεῖν καὶ πλανᾷν, οὐ στήσονται τῆς πλάνης, ἀλλ' ἀεὶ ἐξευρήσουσιν ἀπάτας καινὰς καὶ δόγματα διεφθαρμένα· καὶ γὰρ ἡ πλάνη οὐδαμοῦ ἵσταται. Ἐνταῦθα δὲ τοῦτό φησιν, ὅτι οὐκ ἀπατήσουσιν, οὐδὲ συναρπάσουσι, κἂν παρὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν δόξωσί τινας παρακρούεσθαι, ἀλλ' εὐφώρατοι ταχέως ἔσονται. Ὅτι γὰρ περὶ τούτου φησὶν, ἄκουσον τί λέγει· Ἡ γὰρ ἄνοια αὐτῶν ἔκδηλος ἔσται πᾶσι. Πόθεν; Πανταχόθεν· Ὥσπερ καὶ ἡ ἐκείνων ἐγένετο. Κἂν γὰρ πρότερον ἀνθήσῃ τὰ τῆς πλάνης, εἰς τέλος οὐ διαμένει. Τοιαῦτα γὰρ τὰ μὴ φύσει καλὰ, ἀλλὰ δοκοῦντα εἶναι καλά· πρὸς καιρὸν ἀνθεῖ, καὶ φωρᾶται καὶ ἀπόλλυται. Ἀλλ' οὐ τὰ 62.645 ἡμέτερα τοιαῦτα· καὶ τούτων σὺ μάρτυς· οὐ γὰρ ἐν ἀπάτῃ τὰ ἡμέτερα· τίς γὰρ ἂν ὑπὲρ ἀπάτης καὶ ἀποθανεῖν ἕλοιτο; Σὺ δὲ παρηκολούθηκάς μου τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ. Ὥστε ἰσχυρὸς ἔσο· οὐ γὰρ ἁπλῶς παρεγένου, ἀλλὰ παρηκολούθηκας. Ἐνταῦθα τὸν χρόνον σημαίνει πολὺν γεγενῆσθαι, ἀπὸ τοῦ εἰπεῖν, Παρηκολούθηκας τῇ διδασκαλίᾳ. Τοῦτο περὶ λόγου. Τῇ ἀγωγῇ· τοῦτο περὶ βίου. Τῇ προθέσει· τοῦτο περὶ προθυμίας καὶ τοῦ παραστήματος τῆς ψυχῆς. Οὐχὶ ἔλεγον μὲν, φησὶ, ταῦτα, οὐκ ἐποίουν δὲ, οὐδὲ ἐν λόγοις μόνον ἐφιλοσόφουν. Τῇ πίστει, τῇ μακροθυμίᾳ. Πῶς οὐδέν με τούτων, φησὶν, ἐτάραττε. Τῇ ἀγάπῃ· ὅπερ οὐκ εἶχον οὗτοι. Τῇ ὑπομονῇ· ὥσπερ οὐδὲ τοῦτο. Τῇ μακροθυμίᾳ, φησί. Πρὸς τοὺς αἱρετικοὺς πολλὴν ἐπεδεικνύμην τὴν μακροθυμίαν. Τῇ ὑπομονῇ, πρὸς τοὺς διωγμούς. Τοῖς διωγμοῖς, τοῖς παθήμασι. ∆ύο γὰρ ταῦτα ταράττει τὸν διδάσκαλον, τὸ αἱρετικοὺς εἶναι πολλοὺς, καὶ τὸ μὴ καρτερεῖν ἐν τοῖς παθήμασιν. Ἀλλ' ὅμως ὑπὲρ τούτων πολλὰ διελέχθη, ὅτι καὶ πάλαι ἦσαν καὶ ἔσονται, καὶ χρόνος οὐδεὶς καθαρὸς τούτων, καὶ ὅτι ἡμᾶς οὐδὲν βλάψαι δυνήσονται, καὶ ὅτι ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ σκεύη χρυσᾶ καὶ ἀργυρᾶ ἐστιν. Ὁρᾷς λοιπὸν αὐτὸν περὶ τῶν θλίψεων διαλεγόμενον; Οἷα μοι ἐγένετο ἐν Ἀντιοχείᾳ, ἐν Ἰκονίῳ, ἐν Λύστροις. Τί δήποτε ταῦτα μόνα εἴρηκεν ἀπὸ πολλῶν; Ἐπειδὴ γνώριμα ἦν τῷ ἀνδρὶ τὰ λοιπά· καὶ ἴσως ὡς νεαρῶν τῶν πραγμάτων τούτων μέμνηται, οὐ τῶν πάλαι· καὶ οὐκ ἀπαριθμεῖται κατ' εἶδος· οὐ γάρ ἐστι κενόδοξος οὐδὲ φιλότιμος· πρὸς γὰρ παραμυθίαν τοῦ μαθητοῦ, οὐ πρὸς ἐπίδειξιν λέγει. Ἀντιόχειαν δὲ τὴν τῆς Πισιδίας ἐνταῦθά φησι, καὶ Λύστραν, ὅθεν ἦν ὁ Τιμόθεος. Οἵους διωγμοὺς ὑπέμεινα. Ἀμφότερα παρακλήσεως, ὅτι καὶ ἐγὼ προθυμίαν παρειχόμην γενναίαν, καὶ οὐκ ἐγκατελείφθην, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν εἰπεῖν, ὅτι προέδωκέ με ὁ Θεὸς, ἀλλὰ τὸν στέφανόν μοι λαμπρότερον εἰργάσατο. Οἵους διωγμοὺς ὑπέμεινα, φησὶ, καὶ ἐκ πάντων με ἐῤῥύσατο ὁ Κύριος. Καὶ πάντες δὲ οἱ θέλοντες εὐσεβῶς ζῇν ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, διωχθήσονται. γʹ. Τί δὲ ὅλως λέγω περὶ ἐμαυτοῦ, φησίν; ἕκαστος τῶν θελόντων ζῇν εὐσεβῶς, διωχθήσεται. ∆ιωγμοὺς ἐνταῦθά φησι τὰς θλίψεις, τὰς ὀδύνας. Καὶ γὰρ οὐκ ἔνι ἄνδρα τὴν τῆς ἀρετῆς ὁδὸν ὁδεύοντα λύπης εἶναι χωρὶς, θλίψεως, ὀδύνης, πειρασμῶν· πῶς γὰρ, ὁ στενὴν καὶ τεθλιμμένην ὁδεύων ὁδόν; ὁ ἀκούσας, ὅτι Ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ θλῖψιν ἕξετε; Εἰ ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ χρόνῳ ἔλεγεν ὁ Ἰὼβ, Πειρατήριον ὁ βίος ἀνθρώπου ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, πόσῳ μᾶλλον τότε; Πονηροὶ δὲ ἄνθρωποι καὶ γόητες, φησὶ, προκόψουσιν ἐπὶ τὸ χεῖρον, πλανῶντες καὶ πλανώμενοι. Μηδέν σε θορυβείτω τούτων, φησὶν, εἰ ἐκεῖνοι μὲν ἐν εὐθηνίᾳ, σὺ δὲ ἐν πειρασμοῖς· τοιαύτη τοῦ πράγματος ἡ φύσις ἐστίν. Ἐκ τῶν ἐμῶν δύνασαι μαθεῖν, ὅτι οὐκ ἔνι ἄνδρα πολεμοῦντα τοῖς πονηροῖς μὴ εἶναι ἐν θλίψει. Οὐκ ἔστι πυκτεύοντα ἐν τρυφῇ εἶναι, οὐκ ἔστι παλαίοντα εὐωχεῖσθαι. Μηδεὶς τοίνυν τῶν ἀθλούντων ἄνεσιν ζητείτω, μηδεὶς ἐν εὐθυμίᾳ εἶναι. Πάλιν τὰ παρόντα ἀγὼν, πόλεμος, θλῖψις, στενοχωρία, πειρατήριον, τῶν ἀγώνων τὸ στάδιον. Ἕτεροι τῆς ἀνέσεως οἱ καιροί· οὗτος τῶν ἱδρώτων, οὗτος τῶν πόνων ὁ καιρός. Οὐδεὶς ἀποδυσάμενος καὶ ἀλειψάμενος ἄνεσιν ἐπιζητεῖ. Εἰ δὲ 62.646