Dialogus de vita Joannis Chrysostomi

 honor, but he who is called by God. Thus 5 also Aaron, he says, did not glorify himself to become high priest. For although there were six hundred

 the flight of concord, most of us who are active and eager for it have become fugitives from the country, being unable to live safely and without trou

 he met with us, he did not share in words, nor in prayer, nor in communion but disembarking from the ship and running past the doors of the church, h

 to share in the suffering and to do everything, so as to stop these evils. For he put a stop to none of their lawlessness here, but even after this he

 and lamentations and fountains of tears in the marketplaces and the houses and in the desolate places and the whole part of the city was filled with

 you are exhorted to contribute zeal from yourselves. For thus you will gratify not only us, 16 but also the community of the churches, and you will re

 had fled on account of the threat contained in the imperial decree, that If anyone is not in communion with Theophilus and Arsakius and Porphyry, let

 of Bishop John of the Constantinopolitans and, as it seems, it has not been accomplished. Therefore, I wrote again through the bishops and presbyters

 savagery. This also the Savior God did, illuminating them with various revelations, so that also to Paul, the deacon of Saint Emilius, a most gentle

 He who speaks a lie is not of God, and again from David, Because the mouth of those who speak unjust things was stopped. For he who lies truly wro

 by his own choice, he was trained in the discourses for the ministry of the divine oracles. From there, being in the eighteenth year of his physical a

 of those who have believed in him will be bound. {THE DEACON} But where did they recognize the presence of the Savior? {THE BISHOP} When they cried ou

 of the rich, cutting away the abscesses of the soul, teaching them humility, to be of a humble mind towards other people, obeying the apostolic word,

 she gives one thousand gold pieces, having made him swear by the table of the Savior that he would buy clothes and clothe the poorer women of the Alex

 with his own hands on his neck, and after inflicting blows on his jaws, with clenched fingers he bloodied his nostrils, shouting 38 with a loud voice:

 by an excess of conceit. But those men, driven by great necessity because they were changing places from place to place, arrive at the camp, where Bis

 of the church, Dioscorus the bishop, who had grown old in the church but to the bishop John he writes: I think you are not ignorant of the decree of

 of John for unlawful offenses, he took advantage of their fickleness and persuades them to submit bills of accusation against John, promising them to

 Elijah was taken up did not Elisha prophesy? Paul was beheaded did he not leave behind Timothy, Titus, Apollos and ten thousand others? After these

 these of the council but if as accusers, set them up for the trial, so that I may know how I should contend, whether as against adversaries or as jud

 (for he is impetuous by nature, and rash and bold and exceedingly contentious—for there is nothing that appears to him by sight, <towards> which he do

 brother Acacius and Antiochus whom they put forward as canons of the orthodox, because We are of the faith of those who set them forth, and our doub

 reading the oracles, and others baptizing the catechumens, as was fitting because of Easter. These very things the corruptors of minds and deceivers o

 a proof of the diligence of teachers, unceasingly setting right the unconquerable quality of their resolve. Theodore said: {THE DEACON} You have spoke

 near him to the west), but in the western part, where the gate of the church is, the mule-team, on which he was accustomed to sit, having ordered it t

 of a hierophant, a man more silent than a fish and more idle than a frog (for there are times when even action speaks, especially when the good is don

 terrifying, just as bogeymen do children? Alas! Those who are clothed in worldly powers and ecclesiastical wealth with authority, with command even of

 on the one hand, that he ate alone but I did not wish you, most harmonious Theodore, to ask about the things of gluttonous infants. For being a man,

 he says, urging us to imitation Do not forget hospitality, he says, for by this some have entertained angels unawares. But the host must have the

 fell from blessing? was it not when he served his belly, deceived by the food? When did Saul fall from the kingdom? was it not when he ate the best of

 to eat bread and to put on a garment, all that you give me, I will tithe a tenth of it to you -he did not say, I will consume it at tables. That sp

 to give glory to God <in> persecutions. in the refutations of error, is there any mention of a table? But again to Titus, the bishop of Crete, let us

 they were seeking luxury. It was absurd to squander the food of the sick or the poor on the intemperance of the healthy. And what sort of law is this,

 from seeing evil. For many of the so-called bishops, wishing to cut off the reasonable hatred directed at them on account of their own ways and their

 First, that having melted down treasures he fashioned a silver object in the name of his son second, that having taken marbles from the entrance of t

 love of money is a source of evils. For he who took bribes against the innocent and thought to sell the distribution of the Holy Spirit for silver,

 Antoninus dies, with whom Eusebius had the lawsuit. Again a decree comes from Asia, this one from the clergy of the church of the Ephesians, and this

 to buy the priesthood. They say that the ravager and falsely-named patriarch of the Jews changes the rulers of the synagogue every year, or even more

 of those who deposed him and concluded the trial. <CHAPTER 19> {THE DEACON.} Forgive me, father, such things surpass drunkenness and madness and sport

 ambidextrous (for even his so-called left hand was better than the right hand of others) who at first, having served in letters, was found blameles

 slandering their life, waiting to have help from God. To these things Theodore, being astonished, said: {Ο ∆ΙΑΚ.} I see the facts as contrary to the n

 Or is it proper at all to cast out any disciple, much less a monk? 100 {THE DEACON} Because they provoked him or spoke ill of him. {THE BISHOP} And ou

 having led them back from vice to virtue, it will be clear that their persecutor deserves not to be persecuted, but to be pitied, as one who always ab

 having provoked the physician and enchanter of souls and removed his interpreter from the workshop of salvation, 105 they were handed over to the phys

 imitating him who, having found the one crushed by robbers, half-dead, on the way down to Jericho, placed him on his own beast of burden, having broug

 did he give? And when Optimus died in Constantinople, he closed his eyes with his own hands. In addition to these things, he also refreshed in no smal

 desiring to chasten the herd of men for their various desires towards the more austere part of life, he became his own judge and lawgiver, being stren

 toward the north, and each man's axe in his hand and one man in the midst of them, clothed in a full-length robe, and a sapphire belt on his loins a

 in many ways Who will boast that he has a pure heart? Or who will boldly claim to be pure from sin? but yet the blessed John did not know how to us

 happen to us anonymously and beneficially? sifting the reasons, not obeying him who said: Eat whatever is sold in the meat-market, asking no question

 two? {THE BISHOP} Especially if it is an unprofitable and charlatan crowd such as the one who said to Jesus: Teacher, I will follow you wherever you

 an intemperate old man, and an old man who loves learning above an unlearned younger man, and a poor layman above an educated lover of money, and a vi

 enjoying his disease nor raging with the same desires. For this is a fitting way of life for a teacher, not to linger with the crowds, but in quiet an

 having subjected his body to shameful tortures by the cruelty of judges, to the point of knocking out his teeth, as the story goes, 127 they confined

 knocking, they made the two-day journey into one, arriving late in the evening and departing in the dark of dawn, so that the stomach could not even k

 and that these things are done and are prolonged and are strong, and that the good are afflicted and plundered, brings me to shudder at his approachin

 Why shall I not be angry? looking upon me, marvel, and lay your hand upon your jaw. For if I remember, I am troubled, and pains take hold of my flesh.

 when reviled, we bless when persecuted, we endure when slandered, we entreat we have become as the refuse of the world, the offscouring of all thi

 sleepless or troubled in sleep, he suspects plots even from his own family, not trusting even himself, distrusting everyone as liars. Being such a per

 each other, for which it was also fitting, having learned something, did you not decide to be quiet and remain still by yourselves even for the future

 to his father and to his mother, I have not seen you, and his brothers he did not acknowledge he guarded your oracles, and kept your covenant. He d

 foot-soldiers' machinations for the hindering of those who travel for the truth). How then do they dare to say: By God's economy John has been cast o

happen to us anonymously and beneficially? sifting the reasons, not obeying him who said: "Eat whatever is sold in the meat-market, asking no questions." But if this is not to be, the saints will again be found, on the one hand, to have scandalized some cities or regions by their reproofs, and on the other, to have made others proud by their praises. First, the holy Job, slandering a certain region, Phoenicia, as drawing to itself Satan who warred against him, as he says: "Do the tribes of the Phoenicians divide him?" Then Moses and the prophets, slandering Egypt, and calling it an "iron furnace" and "darkness," and praising Palestine and calling it the "promised land," it is found that to the earnest man Egypt is a "promised land," but to the slothful man Palestine is not only an "iron furnace," but also "outer darkness" through unbelief; since it is not the places that are worthy of blame or praise, but the practices. But why should I extend my discourse to great length, and not begin with concise examples? When Paul called the Cretans "liars" and the Galatians "foolish" and the Corinthians "puffed up," and others other things, did he recognize these passions in them alone, bringing his reproof upon them alone, or upon all? Or, conversely, when he called the Romans "faithful" and the Ephesians "initiated," to whom he also writes in a loftier tone, and the Thessalonians "brother-lovers," did he limit his praises to them alone? By no means; but as one borne by the Spirit he set down both the rebukes and the praises, so that the one worthy of praise, upon recognizing it, might be strengthened in his zeal, while the other, encountering it, might be pained by the reminder, and shake off the cause of the rebuke. Therefore, neither are the Galatians alone foolish, nor the Cretans liars, nor the Corinthians proud; for all things exist everywhere, since nature is one, both sinning and succeeding, becoming the one and the other in the same person by its own choice. In this way, therefore, John spoke frankly in the church; or rather, he carved up virtue for the hungry, and boned out sin with open reproofs, obeying the one who said: "Rebuke the one who sins in the presence of all, so that the rest may also be afraid." But if some, who are sick with extreme pride or folly, wish for their pleasures also to be praised, "the servants of God do not have this custom." For those who are indignant at the censure of greed and fornication and any other abominable pleasure, are in effect saying nothing other than that we ought to accept these things, though they are poisons. <CHAPTER ΙΘʹ> {THE DEACON.} Many thanks, father, for the visit of your brotherly love; for it has become for us beneficial and a memorial of life. And when Theodorus fell silent after the many praises, one of those present uttered a word, saying: How then, being adorned with so many excellent qualities, was he arrogant? {THE BISHOP.} Did you, being present yourself, know him to be arrogant, or did another relate it to you? And he answered: I do not know the man (he says), but I heard from a certain tanner who related that it was rare for him to associate with anyone outside the church, being constrained from spending much time with those who wished it. And this is a sign of arrogance and pride, to flee the company of those who desire it. {THE BISHOP.} And who else would criticize the philosophy of John but a tanner, who accepts the stench of his own workshop as his companion? But if it is a sign of arrogance to flee the crowds, then John the Baptist will also be arrogant according to your reasoning, withdrawing into the deserts. And then also the Savior; for it is written that, "Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up on the mountain; and when he was seated, his disciples came to him," and not the crowds; -and again: "Seeing the crowds, he withdrew by himself." Imitating him according to his ability, the good John also withdrew from the crowds, delighting in those who truly wished to learn something. {THE DEACON.} For you persuade well from scriptural examples; but what have you to say to the fact that he was insolent, and not only withdrew from the many, but also one and

ἀνωνύμως καὶ ἐπωφελῶς ἡμῖν γινο μένους; σιτεύοντες τὰς αἰτίας οὐ πειθόμενοι τῷ εἰρηκότι· "Πᾶν τὸ ἐν μακέλλῳ πωλούμενον ἐσθίετε, μηδὲν ἀνακρίνοντες." εἰ δὲ μὴ τοῦτο ἔσται, ἔσονται πάλιν οἱ ἅγιοι σκανδαλίσαντες μέν τινας πόλεις ἢ χώρας ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐλέγχοις, ἐκτραχηλίσαντες δὲ τοῖς ἐπαίνοις ἄλλας. πρῶτος ὁ ἅγιος Ἰώβ, Φοινίκην τινὰ διαβάλλων χώραν, ὡς ἐπισπωμένην τὸν αὐτῷ προσπολεμοῦντα 119 Σατανᾶν, καθὼς λέγει· "Μεριτεύονται δὲ αὐτὸν γένη Φοινίκων;" ἔπειτα Μωϋσῆς καὶ οἱ προφῆται τὴν Αἴγυπτον διαβάλλοντες, καὶ "κάμινον σιδηρᾶν" προσαγορεύοντες καὶ "σκότος," καὶ τὴν Παλαιστίνην ἐγκωμιάζοντες καὶ "γῆν ἐπαγγελίας" ἀποκα λοῦντες, εὑρισκομένην τὴν μὲν Αἴγυπτον τῷ σπουδαίῳ "γῆν ἐπαγγελίας," τῷ δὲ ῥᾳθύμῳ τὴν Παλαιστίνην οὐ μόνον "κάμινον σιδηρᾶν," ἀλλὰ καὶ "σκότος ἐξώτερον" τῇ ἀπιστίᾳ· ὁπότε οὐ τὰ χωρία ψεκτὰ ἢ ἐπαινετά, ἀλλὰ τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα. τί δέ μοι καὶ εἰς μῆκος ἐκτείνειν τὸν λόγον, καὶ μὴ ἀπὸ τῶν συντόμων ἄρχεσθαι; ἆρά γε ὁ Παῦλος "ψεύστας" Κρῆτας ἀποκαλῶν καὶ Γαλάτας "ἀνοήτους" καὶ Κορινθίους "πεφυσιωμένους" καὶ ἄλλους ἄλλα, τούτοις μόνοις συνέγνω τὰ πάθη, ὡς μόνοις τὸν ἔλεγχον ἐπαγαγών, ἢ καὶ τοῖς πᾶσιν; ἢ ἀνάπαλιν "πιστοὺς" Ῥωμαίους ἀποκαλῶν καὶ "μύστας" Ἐφεσίους, οἷς καὶ ὑψηλότερον ἐπιστέλλει, καὶ "φιλαδέλφους" Θεσσαλονικεῖς, μόνοις περιέγραψεν τοὺς ἐπαίνους; οὐ πάντως· ἀλλ' ὡς πνευματο φόρος τέθεικεν καὶ τοὺς ψόγους καὶ τοὺς ἐπαίνους, ἵνα ὁ μὲν ἄξιος τῶν ἐπαίνων ἐπιγνούς, τονωθῇ τῇ προθυμίᾳ, ὁ δὲ ἕτερος ἐντυχών, ὀδυνήθῃ τῇ ὑπομνήσει, ἀποτριψάμενος τοῦ ψόγου τὸ αἴτιον. οὔτε οὖν μόνοι Γαλάται ἀνόητοι οὔτε Κρῆτες ψεῦσται οὔτε Κορίνθιοι ὑπερήφανοι· πανταχοῦ γὰρ τὰ πάντα ὑπάρχει, τοῦ μίαν εἶναι καὶ τὴν ἁμαρτάνουσαν καὶ τὴν κατορθοῦσαν φύσιν, καὶ ἐκεῖνο καὶ τοῦτο ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ γιγνομένην οἰκείᾳ προαιρέσει. τούτῳ τοίνυν τῷ τρόπῳ ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ ἐπαῤῥησιά ζετο ὁ Ἰωάννης· μᾶλλον δὲ ἐκρεοκόπει τὴν ἀρετὴν τοῖς πεινῶσιν, ἐξοστεΐζων τὴν ἁμαρτίαν τοῖς φανεροῖς ἐλέγχοις, πειθόμενος τῷ εἰρηκότι· "Τὸν ἁμαρτάνοντα ἐνώπιον πάντων ἔλεγχε, ἵνα καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ φόβον ἔχωσι." εἰ δέ τινες ἐπὶ πλεῖστον ὑπερηφανίαν ἢ ἀφροσύνην νοσοῦντες βούλονται αὐτῶν καὶ τὰς ἡδονὰς ἐγκω μιάζεσθαι, "ταύτην τὴν συνήθειαν οἱ τοῦ Θεοῦ δοῦλοι οὐκ ἔχουσιν." οἱ γὰρ ἀγανακτοῦντες ἐπὶ τῷ ψόγῳ τῆς πλεονεξίας καὶ τῆς πορνείας καὶ ἄλλης τινὸς μυσαρᾶς ἡδονῆς, οὐδὲν ἄλλο 120 λέγουσι δυνάμει ἢ τὸ δεῖν ἀποδέχεσθαι ταῦτα δηλητήρια ὄντα. <ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ ΙΘʹ> {Ο ∆ΙΑΚ.} Χάρις πλείστη, πάτερ, τῇ ἐνδημίᾳ τῆς σῆς φιλα δελφίας· γεγένηται γὰρ ἡμῖν ὀνησιφόρος καὶ μνημόσυνον τῆς ζωῆς. Ἡσυχάσαντος δὲ μετὰ τοὺς πολλοὺς ἐπαίνους τοῦ Θεοδώρου, τῶν παρόντων τις ἔῤῥηξεν ῥῆμα, λέγων· Πῶς οὖν τοσούτοις προτερήμασι κεκοσμημένος, ὑπερήφανος ἦν; {Ο ΕΠΙΣΚ.} Αὐτὸς παρὼν ἔγνως αὐτὸν ὑπερήφανον, ἢ ἄλλος σοι ἀφηγήσατο; Ὁ δὲ ἀπεκρίθη· Οὐκ οἶδα τὸν ἄνδρα (φησίν), ἀλλ' ἤκουσα παρά τινος βυρσο δέψου διηγουμένου, ὅτι σπανίως ἦν αὐτῷ συναγελάσαι δίχα τῆς ἐκκλησίας, στενοχωρουμένῳ τὸ συνδιάγειν ἐπὶ πολὺ τοῖς βου λομένοις. τοῦτο δὲ δεῖγμα ὑπεροψίας καὶ τύφου, τὸ φεύγειν τὰς τῶν βουλομένων συνουσίας. {Ο ΕΠΙΣΚ.} Καὶ τίνος ἦν ἄλλου ψέξαι τὴν Ἰωάννου φιλοσο φίαν ἢ βυρσοδέψου, τοῦ καὶ τὴν δυσωδίαν τοῦ ἰδίου ἐργαστηρίου σύντροφον οὖσαν ἀποδεχομένου; εἰ δὲ δεῖγμα ὑπεροψίας τὸ φεύ γειν τοὺς ὄχλους, ἔσται καὶ ὁ βαπτιστὴς Ἰωάννης ὑπερόπτης κατὰ τὸν λόγον τὸν σόν, ὑποχωρῶν εἰς τὰς ἐρήμους. ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ ὁ Σωτήρ· ἀναγέγραπται γάρ, ὅτι "Ἰδὼν τοὺς ὄχλους ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἀνέβη εἰς τὸ ὄρος· καθίσαντος δὲ αὐτοῦ προσῆλθον αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ," καὶ οὐχ οἱ ὄχλοι· -καὶ πάλιν· "Ἰδὼν τοὺς ὄχλους ἀνεχώρησεν κατ' ἰδίαν." ὃν μιμούμενος κατὰ δύναμιν ὁ καλὸς Ἰωάννης, καὶ αὐτὸς ὑπεχώρει τοὺς ὄχλους, συνηδόμενος τοῖς κατὰ ἀλήθειαν μαθεῖν τι βουλομένοις. {Ο ∆ΙΑΚ.} Καλῶς μὲν γὰρ ἀπὸ γραφικῶν παραδειγμάτων πείθεις· τί δὲ ἔχεις εἰπεῖν, ὅτι ὑβριστὴς ἦν, καὶ οὐ μόνον τοὺς πολλοὺς ὑπεχώρει, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἕνα καὶ