John Chrysostom, On Lazarus

a dove the Holy Spirit, the olive leaf the philanthropy of God. The tame animal was sent out, and came out from the ark; but those things were a type, and these are truth. See the abundance of the truth. Just as the ark in the midst of the sea saved those who were inside, so also the Church saves all who are wandering. But the ark only saved, while the Church does something more. What I mean is this: The ark took in irrational animals, and saved them as irrational animals; the Church took in irrational men, and not only saves but also transforms them; the ark took in a raven, and sent out a raven; the Church takes in a raven, and sends out 48.1038 a dove; it takes in a wolf, and sends him out a sheep. For when a rapacious, grasping man enters here, and hears the teaching of the divine oracles, he changes his mind, and instead of a wolf becomes a sheep; for the wolf seizes even what belongs to others, but the sheep gives up even its own wool. The ark rested, and the doors were opened. Noah came out, saved from the shipwreck; he sees the earth desolate, he sees a makeshift tomb of mud, a common tomb for beasts and men, all the bodies of horses and men and irrational beasts all buried together. He saw that tragedy, he saw the earth full of bitterness; he was in great despondency, all had perished; no man, no beast, nothing else outside the ark was saved; he saw only the sky; he was tyrannized by despondency, possessed by grief, he drank wine, he gave himself to sleep, in order to soothe the wound of despondency. He lay on his couch, having given himself over to sleep as to a physician, working forgetfulness in his mind of the things that had happened, as is natural for one grown old, and having drunk wine, and being possessed by sleep. For it is necessary to make an apology for the just man, that what happened was not a desire for drunkenness or passion, but through both he was healing his wound. For Solomon also said this: Give wine to those in sorrow, and strong drink to those in pain. For this reason many men, and especially at funerals, when someone loses a child or a wife, since passion tyrannizes, since despondency overcomes, since conscience prevails, he takes friends into his own house, and makes an abundant feast, and unmixed wine is given to the one grieving, in order to soothe the wound. This is what that old man also suffered then. For being tyrannized by despondency, he used wine as a medicine, and from the wine he gave himself over to sleep. But so that you may learn from where slavery was given, after a little while that accursed son of his entered, his son by nature, but not a son by choice (again I speak of nobility, not the fame of ancestors, but a manner of virtue); the son entered and saw his father's nakedness. It was necessary to cover him, necessary to conceal him because of his old age, because of his grief, because of the disaster, because he was his father; but he went out and made a public show and a tragedy of it. But his other brothers, taking a cloak backwards, so that they would not see what was being paraded by him, entered and covered their father. But the father arose, knew everything, and begins to say: Cursed be Canaan the boy; he shall be a servant to his brothers. What he says is this: You shall be a slave, because you made a public show of your father's shame. Do you see that slavery is from sin, and wickedness introduced slavery? Do you want me to show you freedom from slavery? There was a certain Onesimus, a servant, a contemptible runaway; this one fled, and went to Paul, received baptism, washed away his sins, remained at his feet; Paul writes to his master: Onesimus, who was once useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me, receive 48.1039 him as myself. For what happened? Whom I have begotten in my bonds. 8. Did you see nobility, did you see a manner providing freedom? For slave and free are simply names. What is a slave? A mere name. How many masters lie on couches drunk, while servants

περιστερὰ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, τὸ φύλλον τῆς ἐλαίας ἡ φιλανθρωπία τοῦ Θεοῦ. Τὸ ἥμερον ζῶον ἐξεπέμπετο, καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ἀπὸ τῆς κιβωτοῦ· ἀλλὰ τύπος ἐκεῖνα, ταῦτα δὲ ἀλήθεια. Ὅρα δὲ τὴν δαψίλειαν τῆς ἀληθείας. Καθάπερ ἡ κιβωτὸς ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ πελάγους διέσωζε τοὺς ἔσω ὄντας, οὕτω καὶ ἡ Ἐκκλησία διασώζει τοὺς πλανωμένους ἅπαντας. Ἀλλ' ἡ μὲν κιβωτὸς ἔσωζε μόνον, ἡ δὲ Ἐκκλησία πλέον τι ἐργάζεται. Οἷόν τι λέγω· Ἔλαβεν ἡ κιβωτὸς τὰ ἄλογα, καὶ ἔσωσεν ἄλογα· ἔλαβεν ἡ Ἐκκλησία ἀλόγους ἀνθρώπους, καὶ οὐ σώζει μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ μεταβάλλει· ἔλαβεν ἡ κιβωτὸς κόρακα, καὶ κόρακα ἔπεμψε· λαμβάνει ἡ Ἐκκλησία κόρακα, καὶ ἐκπέμπει 48.1038 περιστεράν· λαμβάνει λύκον, καὶ ἐκπέμπει αὐτὸν πρόβατον. Ὅταν γὰρ εἰσέλθῃ ἐνταῦθα ἄνθρωπος ἁρπάζων, πλεονεκτῶν, ἀκούσῃ δὲ τῶν θείων λογίων τῆς διδασκαλίας, μεταβάλλει τὴν γνώμην, καὶ ἀντὶ λύκου γίνεται πρόβατον· ὁ μὲν γὰρ λύκος καὶ τὰ ἀλλότρια ἁρπάζει, τὸ δὲ πρόβατον καὶ τὸ ἔριον αὐτοῦ προΐεται. Ἐκάθισεν ἡ κιβωτὸς, καὶ ἀνεῴγησαν αἱ θύραι. Ἐξῆλθε Νῶε ἐκ τοῦ ναυαγίου διασωθείς· βλέπει τὴν γῆν ἠρημωμένην, βλέπει τάφον ἐσχεδιασμένον ἰλὺν, τάφον κοινὸν κτήνεσι καὶ ἀνθρώποις, πάντα ὁμοῦ τὰ σώματα ἵππων καὶ ἀνθρώπων καὶ κτηνῶν ἀλόγων πάντων ὁμοῦ κατακεχωσμένα. Εἶδε τὴν τραγῳδίαν ἐκείνην, εἶδε τὴν γῆν πικρίας γέμουσαν· ἐν ἀθυμίᾳ πολλῇ ἦν, πάντες ἀπώλοντο· οὐκ ἄνθρωπος, οὐ κτῆνος, οὐκ ἄλλο τι τῶν ἔξω τῆς κιβωτοῦ διεσώθη· οὐρανὸν ἔβλεπε μόνον· ὑπὸ τῆς ἀθυμίας ἐτυραννεῖτο, κατείχετο ὑπὸ τῆς ὀδύνης, ἔπιεν οἶνον, ἔδωκεν ἑαυτὸν τῷ ὕπνῳ, ἵνα παραμυθήσηται τὸ ἕλκος τῆς ἀθυμίας. Ἔκειτο δὲ ἐπὶ τῆς κλίνης, καθάπερ ἰατρῷ τῷ ὕπνῳ ἑαυτὸν ἐκδοὺς, λήθην ἐργαζόμενος τῇ διανοίᾳ τῶν γεγενημένων, οἷα εἰκὸς γεγηρακότα, καὶ οἶνον πιόντα, καὶ ὕπνῳ κατεχόμενον. ∆εῖ γὰρ ὑπὲρ τοῦ δικαίου ἀπολογήσασθαι, ὅτι οὐκ ἦν μέθης οὐδὲ πάθους ἐπιθυμία τὸ γινόμενον, ἀλλὰ δι' ἀμφοτέρων ἰᾶτο τὸ ἕλκος. Τοῦτο γὰρ καὶ ὁ Σολομὼν ἔλεγε· ∆ότε οἶνον τοῖς ἐν λύπῃ, καὶ μέθην τοῖς ἐν ὀδύναις. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο πολλοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ μάλιστα ἐν τοῖς ἐπικηδείοις, ὅταν τις παιδίον ἢ γυναῖκα ἀποβάλῃ, ἐπειδὴ τὸ πάθος τυραννεῖ, ἐπειδὴ ἀθυμία περιγίνεται, ἐπειδὴ κρατεῖ τὸ συνειδὸς, λαμβάνει φίλους εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ συμπόσιον δαψιλὲς ποιεῖ, καὶ οἶνος ἄκρατος δίδοται τῷ λυπουμένῳ, ἵνα παραμυθήσηται τὸ ἕλκος. Τοῦτο ἔπαθε καὶ ὁ γέρων ἐκεῖνος τότε. Ὑπὸ γὰρ τῆς ἀθυμίας τυραννούμενος, καθάπερ φαρμάκῳ τῷ οἴνῳ ἐχρήσατο, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ οἴνου δέδωκεν ἑαυτὸν τῷ ὕπνῳ. Ἵνα δὲ μάθητε πόθεν ἡ δουλεία ἐδόθη, μετὰ μικρὸν εἰσελθὼν ὁ ἐπικατάρατος ἐκεῖνος υἱὸς αὐτοῦ, υἱὸς μὲν αὐτοῦ τῇ φύσει, οὐχ υἱὸς δὲ προαιρέσει (πάλιν δὲ λέγω εὐγένειαν, οὐ προγόνων περιφάνειαν, ἀλλὰ τρόπον ἀρετῆς)· εἰσελθὼν ὁ υἱὸς εἶδε τὴν γύμνωσιν τοῦ πατρός. ∆έον περιστεῖλαι, δέον περικαλύψαι διὰ τὸ γῆρας, διὰ τὸ πένθος, διὰ τὴν συμφορὰν, διὰ τὸ πατέρα αὐτοῦ εἶναι· ὁ δὲ ἐξελθὼν ἐξεπόμπευσε καὶ ἐξετραγῴδησεν. Οἱ δὲ ἄλλοι αὐτοῦ ἀδελφοὶ λαβόντες πάλλιον ὀπισθοφανῶς, ἵνα μὴ ἴδωσι τὰ παρ' ἐκείνου ἐκπομπευόμενα, εἰσελθόντες ἐκάλυψαν τὸν πατέρα. Ἀναστὰς δὲ ὁ πατὴρ, ἔγνω πάντα, καὶ ἄρχεται λέγειν· Ἐπικατάρατος Χαναὰν παῖς· οἰκέτης ἔσται τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς αὐτοῦ. Ὃ δὲ λέγει τοιοῦτόν ἐστι· ∆οῦλος ἔσῃ, ὅτι ἐξεπόμπευσας τὴν ἀσχημοσύνην τοῦ πατρός σου. Ὁρᾷς ὅτι ἀπὸ ἁμαρτίας ἡ δουλεία, καὶ ἡ πονηρία τὴν δουλείαν εἰσήγαγε; Βούλει δείξω σοι ἐλευθερίαν ἀπὸ δουλείας; Ἐγένετό τις Ὀνήσιμος οἰκέτης, κατάπτυστος δραπέτης· οὗτος ἔφυγε, καὶ ἀπῆλθε πρὸς τὸν Παῦλον, ἔτυχε τοῦ βαπτίσματος, ἀπελούσατο τὰ ἁμαρτήματα, παρέμενεν αὐτοῦ τοῖς ποσί· γράφει Παῦλος πρὸς τὸν δεσπότην αὐτοῦ· Ὀνήσιμον, τὸν ποτέ σοι ἄχρηστον, νῦν δὲ καὶ σοὶ καὶ ἐμοὶ εὔχρηστον, προσ48.1039 λαβοῦ αὐτὸν ὡς ἐμέ. Τί γὰρ ἐγένετο; Ὃν ἐγὼ ἐγέννησα ἐν τοῖς δεσμοῖς μου. ηʹ. Εἶδες εὐγένειαν, εἶδες τρόπον παρέχοντα ἐλευθερίαν; ∆οῦλος γὰρ καὶ ἐλεύθερος, ὀνόματά ἐστιν ἁπλῶς. Τί ἐστι δοῦλος; Ὄνομα ψιλόν. Πόσοι δεσπόται ἐπὶ στιβάδος κεῖνται μεθύοντες, οἰκέται δὲ