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he appears to be driving close to His very presence. See how from this too He showed his superiority; and not even here does He stop, but He goes on to add His own vote, saying: Amen I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist. What He says is this: No woman has borne a greater than this man. And His declaration is indeed sufficient; but if you want to learn also from the facts, consider his table, his way of life, the loftiness of his mind. For he lived as if in heaven, and having risen above the necessities of nature, he traveled a strange path, spending all his time in hymns and prayers, and speaking with no man, but continuously with God alone. For he neither saw any of his fellow servants, nor was seen by any of them, he was not nursed with milk, he enjoyed no bed, no roof, no market, nor any other human thing; and yet he was at once gentle and severe. Hear, at any rate, how he speaks with forbearance to his own disciples, how with courage to the people of the Jews, how with boldness to the king. For this reason He also said, ‘Among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist.’ But lest the extravagance of the praise should again produce some absurdity, with the Jews preferring him to Christ, see how He corrects this too. For just as from what edified the disciples, the crowds were harmed, thinking him to be easy-going; so also from what healed the crowds, the harm would have become greater, as they from what was said received a more exalted opinion of him than of Christ. Wherefore He also corrects this unsuspiciously, saying: ‘But he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.’ Lesser in age, and according to the opinion of the many; for they called Him a glutton and a winebibber, and, ‘Is not this the carpenter’s son?’ and they disparaged Him everywhere. What then? he says, was He greater in comparison with John? God forbid. For not even John, when he says, ‘He is mightier than I,’ says it by comparison; nor Paul, when, mentioning Moses, he writes, ‘For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses,’ writes it by comparison. And He Himself, when He says, ‘Behold, a greater than Solomon is here,’ does not say it by comparison. But if we were to grant that this was said by Him in the way of comparison, it was done for the sake of accommodation due to the weakness of the hearers. For the people were exceedingly gaping at him; and at that time the prison made him more illustrious, and his boldness toward the king, and it was desirable for the time being for this to be accepted by the many. For the Old Testament also knows how to correct in this way the souls of those who are led astray, setting things that are beyond comparison side by side as a comparison; as when it says, ‘There is none like You among the gods, O Lord’; and again, ‘There is no God like our God.’ But some say that Christ said this concerning the apostles; and others concerning angels. For when some deviate from the truth, 57.422 they are accustomed to wander in many things. For what is the consistency in speaking either about angels or about apostles? Besides, if He were speaking of the apostles, what prevented Him from mentioning them by name? For when speaking about Himself, He reasonably conceals His person because of the suspicion that still prevailed, and so that He might not seem to be saying something great about Himself; for He is seen to do this in many places. And what is, ‘In the kingdom of heaven’? In all spiritual things and things pertaining to heaven. And His saying, ‘Among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John,’ was His contrasting John with Himself, and so excepting Himself. 3. For though He Himself was also born of a woman, yet not in the same way as John; for He was not a mere man, nor was He born in the same way as a man, but by a certain strange and marvelous birth. ‘But from the days of John the Baptist,’ He says, ‘until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.’ And what consistency would this have with what has been said before? A great one, in fact, and very harmonious. For from this He pushes and urges them on to faith in Himself; and at the same time He also supports what had been said before by John. For if up to John all things

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ἐγγὺς αὐτῆς φαίνεται τῆς παρουσίας ἐλαύνων. Ὅρα πῶς καὶ ἐντεῦθεν τὴν ὑπεροχὴν ἔδειξε· καὶ οὐδὲ ἐνταῦθα ἵσταται, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν παρ' ἑαυτοῦ λοιπὸν ἐπάγει ψῆφον, λέγων· Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, οὐκ ἐγήγερται ἐν γεννητοῖς γυναικῶν μείζων Ἰωάννου τοῦ Βαπτιστοῦ. Ὃ δὲ λέγει, τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν· Οὐκ ἔτεκε γυνὴ τούτου μείζονα. Καὶ ἀρκεῖ μὲν καὶ ἡ ἀπόφασις· εἰ δὲ βούλει καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν πραγμάτων μαθεῖν, ἐννόησον αὐτοῦ τὴν τράπεζαν, τὴν διαγωγὴν, τῆς γνώμης τὸ ὕψος. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐν οὐρανῷ, οὕτω διῆγε, καὶ τῶν τῆς φύσεως ἀναγκῶν ἀνωτέρω γενόμενος, ξένην τινὰ ὥδευσεν ὁδὸν, ἐν ὕμνοις καὶ εὐχαῖς τὸν πάντα διάγων χρόνον, καὶ ἀνθρώπων μὲν οὐδενὶ, Θεῷ δὲ ὁμιλῶν μόνῳ διηνεκῶς. Οὐδὲ γὰρ εἶδέ τινα τῶν ὁμοδούλων, οὔτε ὤφθη τινὶ τούτων, οὐκ ἐγαλακτοτροφήθη, οὐ κλίνης, οὐ στέγης, οὐκ ἀγορᾶς, οὐκ ἄλλου τινὸς ἀπέλαυσε τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων· καὶ ὅμως ἥμερος ἦν ὁμοῦ καὶ σφοδρός. Ἄκουσον γοῦν πῶς μετ' ἐπιεικείας τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς διαλέγεται, πῶς μετὰ ἀνδρείας τῷ δήμῳ τῶν Ἰουδαίων, πῶς μετὰ παῤῥησίας τῷ βασιλεῖ. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ἔλεγεν· Οὐκ ἐγήγερται ἐν γεννητοῖς γυναικῶν μείζων Ἰωάννου τοῦ Βαπτιστοῦ. Ἀλλ' ἵνα μὴ πάλιν ἡ ὑπερβολὴ τῶν ἐγκωμίων τέκῃ τινὰ ἀτοπίαν, προτιμώντων αὐτὸν τοῦ Χριστοῦ τῶν Ἰουδαίων, σκόπει πῶς καὶ τοῦτο διορθοῦται. Καθάπερ γὰρ ἐξ ὧν ᾠκοδομοῦντο οἱ μαθηταὶ, ἐβλάπτοντο οἱ ὄχλοι, εὔκολον αὐτὸν εἶναι νομίζοντες· οὕτω καὶ ἐξ ὧν ἐθεραπεύοντο οἱ ὄχλοι, μείζων ἂν ἐγένετο ἡ βλάβη, σεμνοτέραν τοῦ Χριστοῦ περὶ αὐτοῦ λαμβανόντων αὐτῶν ὑπόνοιαν ἐκ τῶν εἰρημένων. ∆ιὸ καὶ τοῦτο ἀνυπόπτως διορθοῦται λέγων· Ὁ δὲ μικρότερος ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν μείζων αὐτοῦ ἐστι. Μικρότερος κατὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν, καὶ κατὰ τὴν τῶν πολλῶν δόξαν· καὶ γὰρ ἔλεγον αὐτὸν φάγον καὶ οἰνοπότην· καὶ, Οὐχ οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τοῦ τέκτονος υἱός; καὶ πανταχοῦ αὐτὸν ἐξηυτέλιζον. Τί οὖν; φησί· κατὰ σύγκρισιν τοῦ Ἰωάννου μείζων ἦν; Ἄπαγε. Οὐδὲ γὰρ Ἰωάννης ὅτανλέγῃ, Ἰσχυρότερός μού ἐστι, συγκρίνων λέγει· οὐδὲ Παῦλος, ὅταν Μωϋσέως μεμνημένος γράφῃ, Πλείονος γὰρ δόξης οὗτος παρὰ Μωϋσῆν ἠξίωται, συγκρίνων γράφει. Καὶ αὐτὸς δὲ, Ἰδοὺ πλέον Σολομῶνος ὧδε, λέγων, οὐχὶ συγκρίνων φησίν. Εἰ δ' ἄρα δοίημεν καὶ κατὰ σύγκρισιν εἰρῆσθαι παρ' αὐτοῦ τοῦτο, οἰκονομικῶς ἐγίνετο διὰ τὴν τῶν ἀκουόντων ἀσθένειαν. Καὶ γὰρ σφόδρα ἦσαν πρὸς αὐτὸν κεχηνότες οἱ ἄνθρωποι· τότε δὲ λαμπρότερον αὐτὸν καὶ τὸ δεσμωτήριον ἐποίησε, καὶ ἡ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα παῤῥησία, καὶ ἀγαπητὸν ἦν τέως τοῦτο δεχθῆναι παρὰ τοῖς πολλοῖς. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἡ Παλαιὰ οἶδεν οὕτω διορθοῦν τὰς τῶν πεπλανημένων ψυχὰς, τὰ ἀσύγκριτα κατὰ σύγκρισιν παραβάλλουσα· ὡς ὅταν λέγῃ· Οὐκ ἔστιν ὅμοιός σοι ἐν θεοῖς, Κύριε· καὶ πάλιν, Οὐκ ἔστι θεὸς ὡς ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν. Τινὲς δέ φασιν, ὅτι περὶ τῶν ἀποστόλων τοῦτο εἴρηκεν ὁ Χριστός· ἕτεροι δὲ περὶ ἀγγέλων. Ὅταν γὰρ τῆς ἀληθείας 57.422 τινὲς ἐκτραπῶσι, πολλὰ πλανᾶσθαι εἰώθασι. Ποία γὰρ ἀκολουθία, ἢ περὶ ἀγγέλων ἢ περὶ ἀποστόλων εἰπεῖν; Ἄλλως δὲ, εἰ περὶ τῶν ἀποστόλων ἔλεγε, τί ἐκώλυεν ὀνομαστὶ παραγαγεῖν; Περὶ μὲν γὰρ ἑαυτοῦ λέγων, εἰκότως κρύπτει τὸ πρόσωπον διὰ τὴν ἔτι κρατοῦσαν ὑπόνοιαν, καὶ τὸ μὴ δόξαι περὶ ἑαυτοῦ μέγα τι λέγειν· καὶ γὰρ πολλαχοῦ φαίνεται τοῦτο ποιῶν. Τί δέ ἐστιν, Ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν; Ἐν τοῖς πνευματικοῖς καὶ τοῖς κατὰ τὸν οὐρανὸν ἅπασι. Καὶ τὸ εἰπεῖν δὲ, Οὐκ ἐγήγερται ἐν γεννητοῖς γυναικῶν μείζων Ἰωάννου, ἀντιδιαστέλλοντος ἦν ἑαυτῷ τὸν Ἰωάννην, καὶ οὕτως ἑαυτὸν ὑπεξαιροῦντος. γʹ. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ γεννητὸς γυναικὸς ἦν αὐτὸς, ἀλλ' οὐχ οὕτως ὡς Ἰωάννης· οὐ γὰρ ψιλὸς ἄνθρωπος ἦν, οὐδὲ ὁμοίως ἀνθρώπῳ ἐτέχθη, ἀλλὰ ξένον τινὰ τόκον καὶ παράδοξον. Ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν ἡμερῶν Ἰωάννου τοῦ Βαπτιστοῦ, φησὶν, ἕως ἄρτι, ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν βιάζεται, καὶ βιασταὶ ἁρπάζουσιν αὐτήν. Καὶ ποίαν τοῦτο ἀκολουθίαν ἔχοι πρὸς τὰ ἔμπροσθεν εἰρημένα; Πολλὴν μὲν οὖν καὶ σφόδρα συνᾴδουσαν. Καὶ γὰρ ὠθεῖ καὶ ἐπείγει λοιπὸν αὐτοὺς καὶ ἐντεῦθεν εἰς τὴν πίστιν τὴν ἑαυτοῦ· ἅμα δὲ καὶ τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν εἰρημένοις παρὰ Ἰωάννου συνηγορεῖ. Εἰ γὰρ μέχρι Ἰωάννου πάντα