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SERMON 44.

On Beauty. Matt. 6. Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin. For I say

unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

1 Tim. 2. I desire that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with modesty and sobriety; not with braided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array.

Proverbs 6. Let not the desire for beauty overcome you; nor be taken captive by your eyes.

Sirach 11. Praise not a man for his beauty. Sirach 26. The beauty of a face in a mature age. Basil. He who today is blooming in body, fattened by luxury,

having a flourishing complexion, vigorous from the prime of his age, and strong and irresistible in his impulse, tomorrow this same one is pitiable, either withered by time, or dissolved by disease.

Theologian. Gold and stones, and the adornments of art and hand, convict the ugly by comparison, but are no addition to the beautiful, being vanquished by beauty.

Consider the good order of the mind to be beauty.

Neither does a flame remain when its material is consumed, but departs with that which kindled it; nor does a passionate thought subsist when the kindling-wood withers.

Let not the desire for beauty conquer you, nor be carried away by your eyelids, if possible, even to a mere glance.

(928) Chrysostom. What is the virtue of the eyes? Is it to be moist and well-formed and round and dark-blue, or to be sharp and discerning? And what is the virtue of a lamp? To shine brightly and illuminate the whole house, or to be well-shaped and round? For beauty is characterized not by its form, but by its manners and modesty.

Plutarch. Having bent over a mirror, observe: and if you appear beautiful, act in a way worthy of this; but if ugly, adorn the defect of your appearance with goodness and virtue.

Leucippe's. For the eye is the agent of friendship; and the familiarity of association leads to a more venerable grace.

For eyes reflecting one another impress, as in a mirror, the images of bodies.

Diogenes. He said that those who are good-looking and uneducated are like alabaster jars containing vinegar.

Eteocles'. To someone priding himself on his beauty, he said, "Are you not ashamed, thinking highly of your comeliness, which you hold as a deposit for a short time?"

Aesop's. Aesop said to one who used his beauty badly: "Why, when clothed in such a garment, do you take it off so badly?"

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ΛΟΓΟΣ Μ∆´.

Περί κάλλους. Ματθ. στ´. Καταμάθετε τά κρίνα τοῦ ἀγροῦ πῶς αὐξάνει· οὐ κοπιᾷ οὐδέ νήθει. Λέγω

γάρ ὑμῖν, ὅτι οὐδέ Σολομών ἐν πάσῃ τῇ δόξῃ αὐτοῦ περιεβάλετο ὡς ἕν τούτων.

Α´ Τιμ. β´. Βούλομαι τάς γυναῖκας ἐν καταστολῇ κοσμίῳ, μετά αἰδοῦς καί σωφροσύνης, κοσμεῖν ἑαυτάς· μή ἐν πλέγμασιν ἤ χρυσῷ ἤ μαργαρίταις, ἤ ἱματισμῷ πολυτελεῖ.

Παροιμ. στ΄ . Μή σε νικήσῃ κάλλους ἐπιθυμία· μηδέ ἀγρευθῇς σοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς.

Σιράχ ια´. Μή αἰνέσῃς ἄνδρα ἐν κάλλει αὐτοῦ. Σιράχ κς´. Κάλλος προσώπου ἐπί ἡλικίᾳ στασίμῃ. Βασιλείου. Ὁ σήμερον εὐθαλής τῷ σώματι κατασεσαρκωμένος ὑπό τρυφῆς,

ἐπανθοῦσαν ἔχων τήν εὔχροιαν, ὑπό τῆς κατά τήν ἡλικίαν ἀκμῆς σφριγῶν καί σύντονος καί ἀνυπόστατος τήν ὁρμήν, αὔριον ὁ αὐτός οὗτος ἐλεεινός, ἤ τῷ χρόνῳ μαρανθείς, ἤ νόσῳ διαλυθείς.

Θεολόγου. Χρυσός καί λίθοι, καί τά τέχνης καί χειρός ὡραΐσματα, τήν μέν αἰσχράν ἐλέγχει τῇ παραθέσει, τῇ καλῇ δ'οὐ προσθήκη, κάλλους ἡττώμενα.

Κάλλος νόμιζε τήν φρενῶν εὐκοσμίαν.

Οὔτε φλόξ μένει τῆς ὕλης δαπανηθείσης, ἀλλά τῷ ἀνάπτοντι συναπέρχεται· οὔτε λογισμός ἐμπαθής ὑφίσταται μαραινομένου τοῦ ὑπεκκαύματος.

Μή σε νικησάτω κάλλους ἐπιθυμία, νηδέ συναρπασθῇς σοῖς βλεφάροις, εἰ δυνατόν, μέχρι καί παροράματος.

(928) Χρυσοστ. Τίς ἀρετή ὀφθαλμῶν; ἆρα τό ὑγρούς εἶναι καί εὐτρόφους καί στρογγύλους καί κυανούς ἤ τό ὀξεῖς καί διορατικούς; Καί τίς ἀρετή λύχνου; τό λαμπρῶς φαίνειν καί πᾶσαν καταυγάζειν τήν οἰκείαν, ἤ τό καλῶς πεπλᾶσθαι καί στρογγύλον εἶναι; Οὐ γάρ ἀπό τῆς διαπλάσεως, ἀλλ᾿ ἀπό τῶν τρόπων καί τῆς κοσμιότητος τό κάλλος χαρακτηρίζεται.

Πλουτάρχ. Εἰς κάτοπτρον κύψας, θεώρει· καί εἰ μέν καλός φαίνει, ἄξιον τούτου πρᾶττε· εἰ δέ αἰσχρός, τό τῆς ὄψεως ἐλλιπές ὡράϊζε καλοκαγαθίᾳ.

Λαυκίππης. Ὀφθαλμός γάρ φιλίας πρόξενος· καί τό σύνηθες τῆς κοινωνίας εἰς χάριν αἰδεσιμώτερον.

Ὀφθαλμοί γάρ ἀλλήλοις ἀντανακλώμενοι, ἀπομάττουσιν ὡς ἐν κατόπτρῳ τῶν σωμάτων τά εἴδωλα.

∆ιογένης. Τούς εὐειδεῖς καί ἀπαιδεύτους, ὁμοίους ἔφη εἶναι ἀλαβάστροις ἔχουσιν ὄξος.

Ἐτεοκλέους. Σεμνυνομένου τινός ἐπί τῷ κάλλει, Οὐκ αἰσχήνῃ, ἔφησεν, ἐπί τῇ ὥρᾳ μέγα φρονῶν, ἥν παρακαταθήκην τοῦ μικροῦ χρόνου ἔχεις;

Αἰσώπου. Αἴσωπος πρός τόν κάλλει κακῶς κεχρημένον, εἶπεν· Ὁποίῳ ἱματίῳ ἤμφιεσμένος, κακῶς αὐτό ἀποδύῃ;