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having put aside this evil habit of the soul, to bind on another crown. And just as everywhere they sing of our city, that it was the first of all throughout the world to take upon itself the name of Christians, so grant that all may say that Antioch alone of all throughout the world has driven out oaths from its own territory. Rather, if this should happen, she will not be crowned alone, but will also lead others to the same zeal; and just as the name of Christians, beginning from here as from some spring, flooded the whole world, so indeed also this good deed, taking its root and starting point from here, 49.154 will make all the people who dwell on the earth your disciples, so that your reward will become twofold and threefold, both for your own good deeds, and for the teaching of others. This will be more splendid for you than any diadem, this will make the city a metropolis for you, not on earth, but also in the heavens; this will also stand for us on that day, and will bring us the crown of righteousness; which may we all attain, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom be glory to the Father, together with the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

49.153 Further on the calamity of the city of Antioch, and that

fear is everywhere useful, and that mourning is more profitable than laughter, and on the saying which says: Know that you are walking in the midst of snares;

and that making others swear is worse than murdering. Homily 15. 1. It was necessary both today and on the previous Sabbath to start the discourse on fasting

discourse, and let no one think what was said to be untimely. For in the days of the fast there is no need of counsel and exhortation for this, since the very presence of the days rouses even the most dissolute to the struggle of fasting. But since many people, when they are about to enter the fast, as if their stomach were about to be delivered to some long siege, store up gluttony and drunkenness beforehand, and when they come out again, as if released from some long famine and harsh prison of the fast, they run with much lack of grace to their tables, as if eager to destroy again by the immoderation of gluttony the benefit that had come to them from the fast, it was necessary both then and now to begin discourses on self-control. But nevertheless we have neither said any such thing before, nor shall we say it now; for the fear of the impending calamity is sufficient instead of all exhortation and counsel to chasten the souls of all. For who is so wretched and miserable as to be drunk in such a storm? Who is so insensible, when the city is so shaken, and such a shipwreck is threatened, as not to be sober and watchful, and to be corrected more accurately by this agony than by any counsel and exhortation? For a word will not be able to accomplish as much as fear accomplishes; and this itself it is possible to prove from what has now happened. How many words, indeed, have we spent, exhorting and counseling many of the indolent to forsake the theaters and the licentiousness there? and they did not endure it, but always on this day they would run together to the unlawful spectacles of the dancers, and they set up a diabolical assembly against the congregation of the Church of God, and the shouts from there, carried with much vehemence, echoed against the psalmody here; but behold now, while we are silent, and saying nothing about this, they have of their own accord blocked up the orchestra, and the

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ταύτην καὶ πονηρὰν συνήθειαν ἀποθεμένους τῆς ψυχῆς, ἕτερον στέφανον ἀναδήσασθαι. Καὶ ὥσπερ πανταχοῦ περὶ τῆς πόλεως ᾄδουσι τῆς ἡμετέρας, ὅτι πρώτη τῶν κατὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἁπασῶν τὸ Χριστιανῶν ὄνομα ἀνεδύσατο, οὕτω δότε πᾶσι λέγειν, ὅτι μόνη τῶν κατὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἁπασῶν Ἀντιόχεια τοὺς ὅρκους τῶν οἰκείων ὅρων ἀπήλασε. Μᾶλλον δὲ, ἂν τοῦτο γένηται, οὐκ αὐτὴ στεφανωθήσεται μόνη, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἑτέρας εἰς τὸν αὐτὸν ἐνάξει ζῆλον· καὶ καθάπερ τὸ ὄνομα τῶν Χριστιανῶν ὥσπερ ἔκ τινος πηγῆς ἐντεῦθεν ἀρξάμενον πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐπέκλυσεν, οὕτω δὴ καὶ τὸ κατόρθωμα τοῦτο τὴν ῥίζαν καὶ τὴν ἀφορμὴν ἐντεῦθεν λαβὸν, 49.154 πάντας τοὺς τὴν γῆν οἰκοῦντας ἀνθρώπους μαθητὰς ὑμετέρους ἐργάσεται, ὥστε διπλοῦν ὑμῖν καὶ τριπλοῦν γενέσθαι τὸν μισθὸν, καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν οἰκείων κατορθωμάτων, καὶ ὑπὲρ τῆς τῶν ἄλλων διδασκαλίας. Τοῦτο διαδήματος ὑμῖν παντὸς ἔσται λαμπρότερον, τοῦτο μητρόπολιν ὑμῖν ποιήσει τὴν πόλιν, οὐκ ἐν τῇ γῇ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν οὐρανῶν· τοῦτο καὶ κατ' ἐκείνην ἡμῶν προστήσεται τὴν ἡμέραν, καὶ τὸν τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἡμῖν οἴσει στέφανον· οὗ γένοιτο πάντας ἡμᾶς ἐπιτυχεῖν, χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, μεθ' οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ ἡ δόξα, ἅμα τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

49.153 Ἔτι εἰς τὴν συμφορὰν τῆς πόλεως Ἀντιοχείας, καὶ ὅτι

χρήσιμον πανταχοῦ φόβος, καὶ ὅτι πένθος γέλωτος λυσιτελέστερον, καὶ εἰς τὴν ῥῆσιν τὴν λέγουσαν· Ἐπίγνωθι ὅτι ἐν μέσῳ παγίδων διαβαίνεις·

καὶ ὅτι τοῦ φονεύειν τὸ ὁρκίζειν χεῖρον. Ὁμιλία ιεʹ. αʹ. Ἔδει καὶ τήμερον καὶ τῷ προτέρῳ σαββάτῳ τὸν περὶ νηστείας κινῆσαι

λόγον, καὶ μηδεὶς ἄκαιρον εἶναι νομιζέτω τὸ λεχθέν. Ἐν μὲν γὰρ ταῖς ἡμέραις τῆς νηστείας οὐδὲν δεῖ συμβουλῆς καὶ παραινέσεως εἰς τοῦτο, αὐτῆς τῶν ἡμερῶν τῆς παρουσίας καὶ τοὺς σφόδρα ἀναπεπτωκότας διεγειρούσης πρὸς τὸν τῆς νηστείας ἀγῶνα. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ πολλοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων εἰσιέναι τε εἰς νηστείαν μέλλοντες, καθάπερ πολιορκίᾳ τινὶ μακρᾷ παραδίδοσθαι μελλούσης τῆς γαστρὸς, ἀδηφαγίαν καὶ μέθην προλαβόντες ἀποτίθενται, ἐξιόντες τε πάλιν, ὥσπερ ἔκ τινος μακροῦ λιμοῦ καὶ χαλεποῦ δεσμωτηρίου τῆς νηστείας ἀπαλλαγέντες, μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς ἀπειροκαλίας ἐπὶ τὰς τραπέζας τρέχουσι, καθάπερ σπουδάζοντες τὴν ἐκ τῆς νηστείας γενομένην αὐτοῖς ὠφέλειαν τῇ τῆς ἀδηφαγίας ἀμετρίᾳ καταλῦσαι πάλιν, ἀναγκαῖον ἦν καὶ τότε καὶ νῦν τοὺς περὶ ἐγκρατείας κινῆσαι λόγους. Ἀλλ' ὅμως οὔτε πρώην εἰρήκαμέν τι τοιοῦτον, οὔτε νῦν ἐροῦμεν· ὁ γὰρ τῆς ἐπικειμένης συμφορᾶς φόβος ἀντὶ πάσης παραινέσεως καὶ συμβουλῆς ἀρκεῖ τὰς ἁπάντων σωφρονίσαι ψυχάς. Τίς γὰρ οὕτως ἄθλιος καὶ ταλαίπωρος, ὡς ἐν τοσούτῳ χειμῶνι μεθύειν; τίς οὕτως ἀναίσθητος, ὡς τῆς πόλεως οὕτω σαλευομένης, καὶ ναυαγίας τοιαύτης ἀπειλουμένης, μὴ νήφειν καὶ ἐγρηγορέναι, καὶ πάσης συμβουλῆς καὶ παραινέσεως ἀκριβέστερον ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγωνίας διορθοῦσθαι ταύτης; Οὐ γὰρ τοσοῦτον ἐργάσασθαι δυνήσεται λόγος, ὅσον ἐργάζεται φόβος· καὶ τοῦτο αὐτὸ ἀπὸ τῶν συμβεβηκότων νῦν δυνατὸν ἀποδεῖξαι. Πόσους γοῦν ἀνηλώσαμεν λόγους, πολλοὺς τῶν ῥᾳθύμων παραινοῦντες, καὶ συμβουλεύοντες τὰ θέατρα ἀφεῖναι, καὶ τὰς ἐκεῖθεν ἀκολασίας; καὶ οὐκ ἠνέσχοντο, ἀλλ' ἀεὶ κατὰ τὴν ἡμέραν ταύτην ἐπὶ τὰς παρανόμους τῶν ὀρχουμένων συνέτρεχον θεωρίας, καὶ σύλλογον διαβολικὸν ἀντικαθίστασαν τῷ πληρώματι τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ταῖς ἐνταῦθα ψαλμῳδίαις ἀντήχουν αἱ ἐκεῖθεν κραυγαὶ μετὰ πολλῆς φερόμεναι τῆς σφοδρότητος· ἀλλ' ἰδοὺ νῦν σιγώντων ἡμῶν, καὶ οὐδὲν περὶ τούτου λεγόντων, αὐτόματοι τὴν ὀρχήστραν ἔφραξαν, καὶ ὁ