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them, they said: How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land? And if it was not lawful to sing the oracles of God in a barbarian land, how much more the barbarian soul? for the unmerciful soul is barbarian. For if the law set in silence those who were captives and slaves of men in a strange land; how much more just it is for those who are slaves of sin and in a strange commonwealth to be silenced. And yet they had their instruments then; For upon the willows in the midst thereof, he says, we hung up our instruments; but not even so was it permitted. Therefore, it is not lawful for us either, even if we have a mouth and a tongue, which are the instruments of speech, to speak freely, so long as we are enslaved to sin, which is more tyrannical than all barbarians. For tell me, what will you say to the Greek while you are robbing and being covetous? Depart from idolatry? Know God, and do not approach silver and gold? Will he not then laugh and say: Discuss these things with yourself first? For it is not the same thing for a Greek to be an idolater, as for a Christian to commit this same sin. For how shall we be able to lead others away from that idolatry, not leading ourselves away from this one? For we are nearer to ourselves than to our neighbor. When, therefore, we do not persuade ourselves, how shall we persuade others? For if a man knows not how to rule his own house well, he will not take care of the Church either; how shall he who does not rule even his own soul be able to correct others? For do not tell me this, that you do not worship a golden idol; but show me this, that you do not do these things which gold commands. For there are different kinds of idolatry; and one considers mammon lord, another his belly a god, another some other most grievous desire. But you do not sacrifice oxen to them, as the Greeks do? But what is far more grievous, you slay your own soul. But you do not bend the knees and worship? But with greater obedience you do all things whatsoever both your belly and gold and the tyranny of desire command; since the Greeks are also abominable for this reason, that they deified their passions, calling desire Aphrodite, and anger Ares, and drunkenness Dionysus. And if you do not carve idols, as they do, yet with much readiness you submit to the same passions, making the members of Christ 60.441 the members of a harlot, and washing yourself in other transgressions. Wherefore I exhort you, considering the excess of the absurdity, to flee idolatry; for so Paul calls covetousness; and to flee not only covetousness in money, but also that in evil desire, and in clothes, and in the table, and in all other things. For we shall pay a much more grievous penalty for not obeying the laws of the Lord. For the servant, he says, who knew the will of his Lord 60.442 and did not do it, will be beaten with many stripes. In order, therefore, that we may escape this punishment, and be useful both to others and to ourselves, let us, having cast out all wickedness from our soul, choose virtue. For thus we shall also obtain the good things to come; of which may it be granted to us all to partake, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, be glory, honor, might, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

HOMILY VII.

What then? are we better than they? Not at all; for we have before proved both Jews and

Greeks, that they are all under sin; as it is written: There is none righteous, no, not one, there is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that does good, no, not so much as one. Their throat is an open sepulchre, with their tongues they have used deceit, the poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness, their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction

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ἐκείνας, ἔλεγον· Πῶς ᾄσομεν τὴν ᾠδὴν Κυρίου ἐπὶ γῆς ἀλλοτρίας; Εἰ δὲ ἐν βαρβάρῳ γῇ τὰ λόγια τοῦ Θεοῦ θέμις οὐκ ἦν ᾄδειν, πολλῷ μᾶλλον τὴν βάρβαρον ψυχήν; βάρβαρος γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ἀνελεὴς ψυχή. Εἰ γὰρ τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους ὄντας, καὶ δούλους ἀνθρώπων ἐν ἀλλοτρίᾳ γῇ γενομένους ὁ νόμος ἐκάθισεν ἐν σιγῇ· πολλῷ μᾶλλον τοὺς δούλους ὄντας τῆς ἁμαρτίας καὶ ἐν ἀλλοτρίᾳ πολιτείᾳ γενομένους ἐπιστομίζεσθαι δίκαιον. Καίτοι καὶ τὰ ὄργανα εἶχον τότε ἐκεῖνοι· Ἐν γὰρ ταῖς ἰτέαις ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῆς, φησὶν, ἐκρεμάσαμεν τὰ ὄργανα ἡμῶν· ἀλλ' οὐδὲ οὕτως ἐξῆν. Οὐκοῦν οὐδὲ ἡμῖν, κἂν στόμα ἔχωμεν καὶ γλῶτταν, ἅπερ ἐστὶν ὄργανα τοῦ λόγου, θέμις παῤῥησιάζεσθαι, ἕως ἂν τῇ πάντων βαρβάρων τυραννικωτέρᾳ δουλεύωμεν ἁμαρτίᾳ. Εἰπὲ γάρ μοι, τί πρὸς τὸν Ἕλληνα ἐρεῖς ἁρπάζων καὶ πλεονεκτῶν; ἀπόστηθι τῆς εἰδωλολατρείας; ἐπίγνωθι τὸν Θεὸν, μηδὲ ἀργύρῳ καὶ χρυσῷ πρόσιθι; Ἆρ' οὖν οὐ γελάσεται καὶ ἐρεῖ· Σαυτῷ ταῦτα διαλέγου πρότερον; οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἴσον Ἕλληνα ὄντα εἰδωλολατρεῖν, καὶ Χριστιανὸν ὄντα τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο πλημμελεῖν. Πῶς γὰρ δυνησόμεθα ἑτέρους ἀπάγειν τῆς εἰδωλολατρείας ἐκείνης, ἑαυτοὺς ταύτης οὐκ ἀπάγοντες; τοῦ γὰρ πλησίον ἡμεῖς ἐγγύτεροι ἑαυτοῖς. Ὅταν οὖν ἑαυτοὺς μὴ πείθωμεν, πῶς ἑτέρους πείσομεν; Εἰ γὰρ ὁ τῆς οἰκίας τῆς ἑαυτοῦ μὴ προεστὼς καλῶς, οὐδὲ Ἐκκλησίας ἐπιμελήσεται· πῶς ὁ μηδὲ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ψυχῆς προεστὼς, ἑτέρους διορθῶσαι δυνήσεται; Μὴ γάρ μοι τοῦτο εἴπῃς, ὅτι οὐ προσκυνεῖς εἴδωλον χρυσοῦν· ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνό μοι δεῖξον, ὅτι μὴ ποιεῖς ταῦτα, ἅπερ ὁ χρυσὸς κελεύει. Καὶ γὰρ διάφοροι εἰδωλολατρείας τρόποι· καὶ ὁ μὲν τὸν μαμμωνᾶν ἡγεῖται κύριον, ὁ δὲ τὴν κοιλίαν θεὸν, ὁ δὲ ἑτέραν ἐπιθυμίαν χαλεπωτάτην. Ἀλλ' οὐ καταθύεις αὐτοῖς βόας, καθάπερ οἱ Ἕλληνες; Ἀλλὰ τὸ πολλῷ χαλεπώτερον τὴν σαυτοῦ κατασφάζεις ψυχήν. Ἀλλ' οὐ κάμπτεις τὰ γόνατα καὶ προσκυνεῖς; Ἀλλὰ μετὰ πλείονος ὑπακοῆς ποιεῖς πάντα, ἅπερ ἂν ἐπιτάξωσι καὶ ἡ γαστὴρ καὶ τὸ χρυσίον καὶ ἡ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας τυραννίς· ἐπεὶ καὶ οἱ Ἕλληνες διὰ τοῦτό εἰσι βδελυκτοὶ, ὅτι τὰ πάθη ἐθεοποίουν, τὴν μὲν ἐπιθυμίαν Ἀφροδίτην, τὸν δὲ θυμὸν Ἄρην, τὴν δὲ μέθην ∆ιόνυσον προσειπόντες. Εἰ δὲ οὐ γλύφεις εἴδωλα σὺ, καθάπερ ἐκεῖνοι, ἀλλὰ μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς προθυμίας τοῖς αὐτοῖς ὑποκύπτεις πάθεσι, τὰ μέλη τοῦ Χρι 60.441 στοῦ μέλη πόρνης ποιῶν, καὶ ταῖς ἄλλαις σεαυτὸν πλύνων παρανομίαις. ∆ιὸ παρακαλῶ τῆς ἀτοπίας τὴν ὑπερβολὴν ἐννοήσαντας φεύγειν τὴν εἰδωλολατρείαν· οὕτω γὰρ ὁ Παῦλος καλεῖ τὴν πλεονεξίαν· φεύγειν δὲ μὴ τὴν ἐν χρήμασι πλεονεξίαν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἐν ἐπιθυμίᾳ πονηρᾷ καὶ τὴν ἐν ἱματίοις καὶ τὴν ἐν τραπέζῃ καὶ τὴν ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασι. Καὶ γὰρ πολλῷ χαλεπωτέραν δώσομεν δίκην ἡμεῖς μὴ πειθόμενοι τοῖς τοῦ Κυρίου νόμοις. Ὁ γὰρ δοῦλος, φησὶν, ὁ εἰδὼς τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Κυρίου 60.442 αὐτοῦ καὶ μὴ ποιήσας, δαρήσεται πολλάς. Ἵν' οὖν καὶ τὴν κόλασιν ταύτην διαφύγωμεν, καὶ ἑτέροις καὶ ἑαυτοῖς γενώμεθα χρήσιμοι, πᾶσαν κακίαν ἀπὸ τῆς ψυχῆς ἐκβαλόντες, ἑλώμεθα τὴν ἀρετήν. Οὕτω γὰρ καὶ τῶν μελλόντων ἐπιτευξόμεθα ἀγαθῶν· ὧν γένοιτο πάντας ἡμᾶς ἐπιτυχεῖν, χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, μεθ' οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ ἅμα τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι δόξα, τιμὴ, κράτος, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

ΟΜΙΛΙΑ Ζʹ.

Τί οὖν; προεχόμεθα; Οὐ πάντως· προῃτιασά μεθα γὰρ Ἰουδαίους τε καὶ

Ἕλληνας πάντας ὑφ' ἁμαρτίαν εἶναι· καθὼς γέγραπται· Οὐκ ἔστι δίκαιος οὐδὲ εἷς, οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ συνιῶν, οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ ἐκζητῶν τὸν Θεόν. Πάντες ἐξέκλιναν, ἅμα ἠχρειώθησαν· οὐκ ἔστι ποιῶν χρηστότη τα, οὐκ ἔστιν ἕως ἑνός. Τάφος ἀνεῳγμένος ὁ λάρυγξ αὐτῶν, ταῖς γλώσσαις αὐτῶν ἐδολιοῦ σαν, ἰὸς ἀσπίδων ὑπὸ τὰ χείλη αὐτῶν· ὧν τὸ στόμα ἀρᾶς καὶ πικρίας γέμει, ὀξεῖς οἱ πόδες αὐτῶν ἐκχέαι αἷμα· σύντριμμα