Gregory of Nazianzus, Moral Songs

neither all, nor too much; For it is better to be than to seem. But if you are immoderate, Do not hunt for empty glory, nor for new glory. For what gain is it for an ape, if it seems to be a lion? Praise another, but do not be proud when you are praised; For there is fear you may fall short of the praises. Nor another right away, until you learn by experience, Lest, if he appears wicked, you should incur shame. It is better to be spoken of ill, than to speak ill. Whenever someone puts another forward for ridicule As if to gladden you, think that you yourself are being attacked. In this way you would be most displeased with the talk. Say nothing great while sailing well before you are moored. For many, a ship sailing well has sunk at the harbor; 936 Many have been brought to harbor out of a triple wave. The one safety is not to reproach fortune. It is better to live well, and to be in toil, To speak with some boldness to the Lord, Than, while flourishing in things not good, to be called to account; Even if all things proceed according to reason. Give up all things, and acquire God alone For you are a steward of others' possessions. But if you do not want to give all, give the greater part. But if not even this, be pious with your surplus. It is a good thing to snatch something from moths and from envy, To have Christ as a debtor, rather than to have all things, Who grants a kingdom even for a fragment; You shelter and feed Christ, when you feed the poor. 937 A poor man came, then went away without receiving; I fear, O Christ, lest I also, from your hand Being in need, might go away lacking, by my own laws. For what one has not given, let him not even hope for. Nothing is safer than a poor man. He has inclined toward God, and looks to him alone. But do you embrace him; for an eagle, as the saying goes, Abundantly cares for the slender bird in its nest. Poverty is better than unjust possession; For sickness is indeed better than a wicked prosperity. By famine no one has easily been destroyed; But for the most wicked, wickedness is their fate. What is a master, or a slave, or a mean division? 938 One is the creator of all, one law, one judgment. When you are being served, look upon your fellow slave. And when you are set free, you will appear more honorable. And what of the servants, especially those who are God's? Let them not shun being well-disposed to their masters. Character defines the free man and the slave. And Christ appeared a slave, but he set free. When you are called wicked, be ashamed, not of being low-born. For race is those who have long since decayed. It is better to be the first of a family, than to bring a family to an end, As it is better to be good, than to be born of the good. To be insatiable for God alone, and for divine things, Who gives even more to those who have received, 939 Thirsting to be thirsted for, ever flowing abundantly; But in the rest of things, bear also being defeated. Do not be eager to conquer all things, nor always; It is better to be nobly conquered, than to conquer badly. For indeed a wrestler is not the one lying beneath, in every case defeated, but often he is superior. And suffer some loss; this is often a gain, Just as pruning a plant for good fruitfulness. But if you add something not good to what you now have, You bring fire to wood, or disease to the body. If you owe no punishment to God, Do not yourself be sympathetic to those who owe. But if you know you owe, also lend gentleness. For pity is weighed against pity, even by God. 940 Whenever insolence inflames your mind, Remember Christ, and his wounds, And how small a portion these are compared to the Lord's. So that you might extinguish the pain, as with water. Love, drunkenness, jealousy, and a demon, are equal; To whomever they approach, they wash away reason. Wasting away, prayer, a tear, are the remedies. This is the cure for my diseases. But flee every oath. How then shall we persuade? By word, and by character confirming the word. A false oath is a denial of God. What need have you of God? Put forth your character. What doctrine of goodness is more concise? Be such to your friends and neighbors, 941 As you wish them to be to you; And something more concise, the sufferings of Christ. Consider nothing worth a faithful friend, whom not the mixing-bowl has revealed, but the storm of the moment; who does not bestow favor except only for what is expedient. Know the limits of enmity, but not of friendship. The eye, seeing other things, does not see itself, Nor does it see other things, if it happens to be too bleary. For this reason have a counselor for everything; For hand is in need of hand, and foot of foot. If you follow good things when you are admonished, You will not be shamed when you are mocked by the wicked. Whenever you think of something shameful, consider that for you Many are present, and be ashamed of yourself. 942 Always prefer the good

μήτε πᾶσαν, μήτ' ἄγαν· Κρεῖσσον γὰρ εἶναι τοῦ δοκεῖν. Εἰ δ' ἄμετρος εἶ, Μὴ τὴν κενὴν θήρευε, μήτε τὴν νέαν. Τί γὰρ πιθήκῳ κέρδος, ἢν δοκῇ λέων; Αἴνει μὲν ἄλλον, μὴ φρόνει δ' αἰνούμενος· Καὶ γὰρ δέος σε τῶν ἐπαίνων ὑστερεῖν. Μηδ' ἄλλον εὐθὺς, πρίν γε τῇ πείρᾳ μάθῃς, Μή πως κακοῦ φανέντος, αἰσχύνην ὄφλῃς. Κακῶς ἀκούειν κρεῖσσον, ἢ λέγειν κακῶς. Ὅταν προθῇ τις ἄλλον εἰς κωμῳδίαν Ὡς εὐφρανῶν σε, σαυτὸν ἐγκεῖσθαι δόκει. Ὧδ' ἂν μάλιστα δυσχεραίνοις τῷ λόγῳ. Μηδὲν μέγ' εἴπῃς εὐπλοῶν πρὸ πείσματος. Πολλοῖς πρὸς ὅρμον εὐπλοοῦν ἔδυ σκάφος· 936 Πολλοὶ προσωρμίσθησαν ἐκ τρικυμίας. Μί' ἀσφάλεια μὴ ὀνειδίζειν τύχας. Κρεῖσσον καλῶς βιοῦντα, καὶ πονούμενον, Παῤῥησιάζεσθαί τι πρὸς τὸν ∆εσπότην, Ἢ μὴ καλοῖς θάλλοντ' ἀπαιτεῖσθαι δίκην· Εἰ καὶ τὰ πάντα σὺν λόγῳ πορεύεται. Προοῦ τὰ πάντα, καὶ Θεὸν κτῆσαι μόνον Εἶ γὰρ μεριστὴς χρημάτων ἀλλοτρίων. Εἰ δ' οὐ θέλεις τὰ πάντα, δὸς τὰ πλείονα. Εἰ δ' οὐδὲ τοῦτο, τοῖς περιττοῖς εὐσέβει. Καλόν τι σητῶν ἁρπάσαι καὶ τοῦ φθόνου, Χριστὸν χρεώστην μᾶλλον, ἢ τὰ πάντ' ἔχειν, Ὃς καὶ βασιλείαν κλάσματος χαρίζεται· Χριστὸν σκέπεις τρέφεις τε, τὸν πτωχὸν τρέφων. 937 Πένης προσῆλθεν, εἶτ' ἀπῆλθε μὴ τυχών· ∆έδοικα, Χριστὲ, μὴ κἀγὼ τῆς σῆς χερὸς Χρῄζων, ἀπέλθοιμ' ἐνδεὴς, ἐμοῖς νόμοις. Ὃ γάρ τις οὐ δέδωκε, μηδ' ἐλπιζέτω. Πένητος ἀνδρὸς οὐδὲν ἀσφαλέστερον. Πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν νένευκε, καὶ μόνον βλέπει. Σὺ δ' ἀγκαλίζου· καὶ γὰρ ἀετὸς, ὡς λόγος, Πολὺς καλιᾷ λεπτὸν ὄρνιν ἀμφέπει. Κρεῖσσον πενία μὴ δικαίας κτήσεως· Καὶ γὰρ νόσος γε τῆς κακῆς εὐεξίας. Λιμῷ μὲν οὔ τις ῥᾳδίως διεφθάρη· Τοῖς δ' αὖ κακίστοις πότμος ἡ μοχθηρία. Τί δεσπότης, ἢ δοῦλος, ἢ φαύλη τομή; 938 Εἷς πᾶσι πλάστης, εἷς νόμος, κρίσις μία. Ὑπηρετούμενος δὲ σύνδουλον βλέπε. Ὅταν δὲ λυθῇς, τιμιώτερος φανεῖς. Οἱ δ' οἰκέται τί, καὶ μάλισθ' ὅσοι Θεοῦ; Μὴ φευγέτωσαν εὐνοεῖν τοῖς δεσπόταις. Ἐλεύθερον καὶ δοῦλον ὁ τρόπος γράφει. Καὶ Χριστὸς ὤφθη δοῦλος, ἀλλ' ἠλευθέρου. Κακὸς δ' ἀκούων αἰσχύνου, μὴ δυσγενής. Γένος γάρ εἰσιν οἱ πάλαι σεσηπότες. Γένους προάρχειν κρεῖσσον, ἢ λύειν γένος, Ὡς καλὸν εἶναι, ἢ καλῶν πεφυκέναι. Θεοῦ μόνου, θείων τε ἀπλήστως ἔχειν, Ὃς τοῖς λαβοῦσι καὶ πλέον χαρίζεται, 939 ∆ιψῶν τὸ διψᾶσθ', ἀφθόνως ἀεὶ ῥέων· Ἐν τοῖς δὲ λοιποῖς καὶ φέρειν ἡσσώμενος. Μὴ πάντα νικᾷν, μηδ' ἀεὶ, σπουδὴν ἔχε· Καλῶς κρατεῖσθαι κρεῖσσον, ἢ νικᾷν κακῶς. Καὶ γὰρ παλαιστὴς οὐχ ὁ κείμενος κάτω, Πάντως κρατεῖται, πολλάκις δ' ὑπέρτερος. Καὶ ζημιοῦ τι· τοῦτο κέρδος πολλάκις, Ὥσπερ καθαίρειν φυτὸν εἰς εὐκαρπίαν. Εἰ δ' οὐ καλῶς τι προστίθης οἷς νῦν ἔχεις, Ὕλῃ φέρεις πῦρ, ἢ νόσον τῷ σώματι. Εἰ μηδὲν ὄφλεις τῷ Θεῷ τιμωρίας, Μηδ' αὐτὸς ἴσθι τοῖς ὄφλουσι συμπαθής. Εἰ δ' οἶδας ὄφλων, καὶ πρόχρησον τὸ πρᾶον. Οἴκτῳ γὰρ οἶκτος καὶ Θεῷ σταθμίζεται. 940 Ὅταν ποθ' ὕβρις ἐκκάῃ τὴν σὴν φρένα, Μνήσθητι Χριστοῦ, τῶν τ' ἐκείνου τραυμάτων, Πόση τε μοῖρα ταῦτα τῶν τοῦ ∆εσπότου. Ὣς δ' ἂν τὸ λυποῦν, ὥσπερ ὕδατι, σβέσαις. Ἔρως, μέθη, ζῆλός τε καὶ δαίμων, ἴσα· Οἷς ἂν προσέλθῃ, τὸ φρονεῖν ἐπέκλυσε. Τῆξις, προσευχὴ, δάκρυον, τὰ φάρμακα. Ἥδ' ἰατρεία τῶν ἐμῶν νοσημάτων. Ὅρκον δὲ φεῦγε πάντα. Πῶς οὖν πείσομεν; Λόγῳ, τρόπῳ τε τὸν λόγον πιστουμένῳ. Ἄρνησίς ἐστι τοῦ Θεοῦ ψευδορκία. Τί δεῖ Θεοῦ σοι; τὸν τρόπον μέσον τίθει. Τί χρηστότητος δόγμα συντομώτερον; Τοιοῦτος ἴσθι τοῖς φίλοις καὶ τοῖς πέλας, 941 Οἵους σεαυτῷ τούσδε τυγχάνειν θέλεις· Καὶ συντομώτερόν τι, τὰ Χριστοῦ πάθη. Πιστοῦ φίλου νόμιζε μηδὲν ἄξιον, Ὃν οὐ κρατὴρ ἔδειξε, καιροῦ δὲ ζάλη· Ὃς οὐ χαρίζετ' ἢ μόνον τὸ συμφέρον. Ἔχθρας ὅρους γίνωσκε, φιλίας δὲ μή. Τἄλλα βλέπων ὀφθαλμὸς, αὑτὸν οὐ βλέπει, Ἀλλ' οὐδὲ τἄλλα, ἢν ἄγαν λημῶν τύχῃ. Τούτου χάριν σύμβουλον εἰς ἅπαντ' ἔχειν· Καὶ γὰρ χερὸς χεὶρ, καὶ ποδὸς ποῦς ἐνδεής. Εἰ τοῖς καλοῖς ἕποιο νουθετούμενος, Οὐκ ἐντραπήσῃ τοῖς κακοῖς γελώμενος. Ὅταν ποτ' αἰσχρὸν ἐννοῇς, νόμιζέ σοι Πολλοὺς παρεῖναι, καὶ σεαυτὸν ἐντρέπου. 942 Ἀεὶ προτίμα τοὺς καλοὺς