480

in this respect such a one as He was, as it is possible for a human to be. For this reason he that speaks thus is greater than he that prophesies. For the one is all grace; but here is also your labor and sweat. Teach your soul to fashion for you a mouth like the mouth of Christ. For it is able to create such things, if it wishes; it knows the art, if it is not slothful. And how is such a mouth fashioned? he asks; through what colors? through what material? Through no colors or material, but through virtue alone, and gentleness, and humility. Let us see how the devil's mouth is also fashioned, so that we may never construct that one. How then is it fashioned? Through curses, through insults, through slander, through perjury. For when someone speaks his words, he takes on his tongue. What excuse, then, shall we have, or rather, what punishment shall we not undergo, when the tongue with which we have been counted worthy to taste the Lord's flesh, we allow this to speak the things of the devil? Let us not then allow it, but let us use all diligence to train it to imitate its own Master. For if we train it in this, it will set us with great boldness before the judgment seat of Christ. If someone does not know how to speak thus, the judge will not even hear him. For just as, when the judge happens to be a Roman, he will not listen to the defense of one who does not know how to speak thus; so also Christ, if you do not speak according to His way, will not hear you, nor will He pay attention. Let us learn, therefore, to speak in the way our King is accustomed to hear; let us be zealous to imitate that tongue. And if you fall into grief, see that the tyranny of despondency does not distort your mouth, but that you speak just as Christ. For He Himself mourned for Lazarus and for Judas. If you fall into fear, seek again to speak thus as He did. For He Himself also fell into fear for you according to the plan of the economy. You also say: Yet not as I will, but as you. And if you weep, weep quietly as He did. And if you fall into plots and sorrow, handle these things as Christ did. For He was also plotted against and was sorrowful, and says: My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. And He has provided all the examples for you, so that you may keep to these measures, and not corrupt the rules given to you. Thus you will be able to have a mouth like His mouth; thus walking on earth, you will show us a tongue like His who sits above, by observing the measures in despondency, in anger, in grief, in agony. How many of you are there who desire to see His form? Behold, it is possible not only to see, but also to become like Him, if we are diligent. Let us not then put it off. He does not so embrace the mouth of prophets, as that of gentle and meek men. For many will say to me, He says, Did we not prophesy in your name? And I will say to them: I do not know you. But that of Moses, since he was very gentle and meek (For Moses, it says, was a very meek man, above all the men who were on the earth), He so embraced and loved, as to say, Face to face, mouth to mouth He spo 58.717 ke, as a friend to his friend. You will not command demons now, but you will then command the fire of Gehenna, if you have your mouth like the mouth of Christ. You will command the abyss of fire, and you will say, Be silent, be muzzled; and with great boldness you will 58.718 ascend to the heavens, and you will enjoy the kingdom; which may we all be counted worthy to obtain, by the grace and loving-kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father together with the Holy Spirit be glory, dominion, honor, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.

58.717 HOMILY 79. But when the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit, it says, upon the throne of His glory, and He shall separate the sheep from the goats; and some

480

κατὰ τοῦτο τοιοῦτος οἶος ἐκεῖνος, ὡς ἄνθρωπον ὄντα ἔνι γενέσθαι. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο μείζων ὁ οὕτω λαλῶν, ἢ ὁ προφητεύων. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ χάρις ὅλον· ἐνταῦθα δὲ καὶ πόνος σὸς καὶ ἱδρώς. ∆ίδαξον τὴν ψυχὴν διαπλάττειν σοι στόμα στόματι Χριστοῦ ἐοικός. ∆ύναται γὰρ τοιαῦτα δημιουργεῖν, ἂν ἐθέλῃ· οἶδε τὴν τέχνην, ἂν μὴ ᾖ ῥᾴθυμος. Καὶ πῶς πλάττεται τοιοῦτον στόμα; φησί· διὰ ποίων χρωμάτων; διὰ ποίας ὕλης; ∆ιὰ χρωμάτων μὲν καὶ ὕλης οὐδεμιᾶς· διὰ δὲ ἀρετῆς μόνης, καὶ ἐπιεικείας, καὶ ταπεινοφροσύνης. Ἴδωμεν πῶς καὶ στόμα διαβόλου πλάττεται, ἵνα μηδέποτε ἐκεῖνο κατασκευάσωμεν. Πῶς οὖν πλάττεται; ∆ιὰ ἀρῶν, διὰ ὕβρεων, διὰ βασκανίας, δι' ἐπιορκίας. Ὅταν γὰρ τὰ ἐκείνου φθέγγηταί τις, τὴν ἐκείνου γλῶτταν λαμβάνει. Ποίαν οὖν ἕξομεν συγγνώμην, μᾶλλον δὲ ποίαν οὐχ ὑποστησόμεθα τιμωρίαν, ὅταν τὴν γλῶτταν, ᾗ κατηξιώθημεν σαρκὸς γεύσασθαι ∆εσποτικῆς, ταύτην περιίδωμεν τὰ τοῦ διαβόλου φθεγγομένην; Μὴ δὴ περιίδωμεν, ἀλλὰ πάσῃ χρησώμεθα σπουδῇ, ὥστε αὐτὴν παιδεῦσαι τὸν ∆εσπότην μιμεῖσθαι τὸν ἑαυτῆς. Ἂν γὰρ αὐτὴν παιδεύσωμεν τοῦτο, μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς παῤῥησίας ἐπὶ τοῦ βήματος ἡμᾶς στήσει τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Ἂν μή τις οὕτως εἰδῇ λαλεῖν, οὐδὲ ἀκούσεται αὐτοῦ ὁ δικαστής. Καθάπερ γὰρ, ὅταν Ῥωμαῖος ὢν ὁ κριτὴς τύχῃ, οὐκ ἀκούσεται ἀπολογουμένου τοῦ οὐκ εἰδότος οὕτω φθέγγεσθαι· οὕτω καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς, ἂν μὴ κατὰ τὸν αὐτοῦ τρόπον λαλῇς, οὐκ ἀκούσεταί σου, οὐδὲ προσέξει. Μάθωμεν τοίνυν οὕτω λαλεῖν, ὡς εἴωθεν ἀκούειν ὁ βασιλεὺς ὁ ἡμέτερος· σπουδάσωμεν ἐκείνην μιμεῖσθαι τὴν γλῶτταν. Κἂν εἰς πένθος ἐμπέσῃς, σκόπει ὅπως μὴ διαστρέψῃ σου τὸ στόμα τῆς ἀθυμίας ἡ τυραννὶς, ἀλλὰ λαλήσῃς ὥσπερ ὁ Χριστός. Ἐπένθησε γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸς τὸν Λάζαρον καὶ τὸν Ἰούδαν. Ἂν εἰς φόβον ἐμπέσῃς, ζήτησον οὕτω λαλῆσαι πάλιν ὡς αὐτός. Ἐνέπεσε γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸς εἰς φόβον διὰ σὲ κατὰ τὸν τῆς οἰκονομίας λόγον. Εἰπὲ καὶ σύ· Πλὴν οὐχ ὡς ἐγὼ θέλω, ἀλλ' ὡς σύ. Κἂν κλαίῃς, δάκρυσον ἠρέμα ὡς αὐτός. Κἂν εἰς ἐπιβουλὰς ἐμπέσῃς καὶ λύπην, καὶ ταῦτα ὡς ὁ Χριστὸς διατίθει. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἐπεβουλεύθη καὶ ἐλυπήθη, καὶ λέγει· Περίλυπός ἐστιν ἡ ψυχή μου ἕως θανάτου. Καὶ πάντα σοι τὰ ὑποδείγματα παρέσχεν, ἵνα αὐτὰ διαφυλάττῃς τὰ μέτρα, καὶ τοὺς δοθέντας σοι μὴ διαφθείρῃς κανόνας. Οὕτω δυνήσῃ στόμα ἔχειν ἐοικὸς ἐκείνου τῷ στόματι· οὕτως ἐπὶ γῆς βαδίζων, τοῦ ἄνω καθημένου γλῶτταν ἡμῖν ἐπιδείξεις ὁμοίαν, τὰ μέτρα τὰ ἐν ἀθυμίᾳ, τὰ ἐν ὀργῇ, τὰ ἐν πένθει, τὰ ἐν ἀγωνίᾳ διατηρῶν. Πόσοι ὑμῶν εἰσιν οἱ ἐπιθυμοῦντες αὐτοῦ τὴν μορφὴν ἰδεῖν; Ἰδοὺ οὐκ ἰδεῖν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ γενέσθαι κατ' αὐτὸν δυνατὸν, ἂν σπουδάζωμεν. Μὴ ἀναβαλλώμεθα τοίνυν. Οὐχ οὕτως ἀσπάζεται προφητῶν στόμα, ὡς ἐπιεικῶν καὶ πράων ἀνθρώπων. Πολλοὶ γὰρ ἐροῦσί μοι, φησὶν, Οὐ τῷ σῷ ὀνόματι προεφητεύσαμεν; Καὶ ἐρῶ αὐτοῖς· Οὐκ οἶδα ὑμᾶς. Τὸ δὲ τοῦ Μωϋσέως, ἐπειδὴ σφόδρα ἐπιεικὴς ἦν καὶ πρᾶος, (Ὁ γὰρ Μωϋσῆς, φησὶν, ἄνθρωπος πραότατος παρὰ πάντας τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τοὺς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς·) οὕτως ἠσπάζετο καὶ ἐφίλει, ὡς εἰπεῖν, Ἐνώπιος ἐνωπίῳ, στόμα κατὰ στόμα ἐλά 58.717 λει, ὡσανεὶ φίλος πρὸς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ φίλον. Οὐκ ἐπιτάξεις δαίμοσι νῦν, ἀλλ' ἐπιτάξεις τότε τῷ τῆς γεέννης πυρὶ, ἐὰν ἔχῃς τῷ στόματι τοῦ Χριστοῦ τὸ στόμα σου ἐοικός. Ἐπιτάξεις τῇ ἀβύσσῳ τοῦ πυρὸς, καὶ ἐρεῖς, Σιώπα, πεφίμωσο· καὶ μετὰ πολλῆς τῆς παῤῥησίας τῶν 58.718 οὐρανῶν ἐπιβήσῃ, καὶ ἀπολαύσεις τῆς βασιλείας· ἧς γένοιτο πάντας ἡμᾶς ἐπιτυχεῖν, χάριτι καὶ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, μεθ' οὗ τῷ Πατρὶ ἅμα τῷ ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι δόξα, κράτος, τιμὴ, νῦν καὶ ἀεὶ καὶ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.

58.717 ΟΜΙΛΙΑ ΟΘʹ. Ὅταν δὲ ἔλθῃ ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐν τῇ δόξῃ τοῦ Πατρὸς αὐτοῦ, καὶ πάντες οἱ ἅγιοι ἄγγελοι μετ' αὐτοῦ, τότε καθίσει, φησὶν, ἐπὶ θρόνου δόξης αὐ τοῦ, καὶ διαιρήσει τὰ πρόβατα ἀπὸ τῶν ἐρίφων· καὶ τοὺς μὲν