1

De Maccabeis

TO THE HOLY MACCABEES And to their mother. Homily 1. 1. How bright and joyous is our city, and today's day is more brilliant than the whole year, not because the sun sends a ray brighter than usual to the earth today, but because the light of the holy martyrs has illuminated our whole city beyond any lightning; for they are more brilliant than ten thousand suns, and brighter than the great luminaries. Because of them, the earth today is more majestic than heaven. For do not speak to me of the dust, nor consider the ashes, nor the bones consumed by time, but open the eyes of faith, and see sitting beside them the power of God, clothing them with the grace of the Spirit, enveloping them with the glory of heavenly light. Such rays are not sent from the solar orb to the earth, as are the gleams and splendors leaping from these bodies, which blind the very eyes of the devil. For just as chieftains of robbers and tomb-robbers, when they see royal arms lying somewhere, a breastplate, and a shield, and a helmet, all gleaming with gold, they leap away immediately, and do not dare even to approach or to touch them, suspecting great danger, should they dare any such 50.618 thing; so indeed the demons, the true chieftains of robbers, wherever they see the bodies of martyrs lying, flee and leap away immediately. For they do not look at their nature, for a time mortal, but at the ineffable worth of Christ who wore them. For these arms no angel, no archangel, no other created power has put on, but the Master of the angels himself. And just as Paul cried out saying: Do you seek proof of Christ speaking in me? so also these can cry out and say: Do you seek proof of Christ who contended in us? For the bodies are precious, because they received wounds for their own Master, because they bear the marks for the sake of Christ. And just as a royal crown, adorned on all sides with various stones, gives off different gleams, so also the bodies of the holy martyrs, marked as if with precious stones by the wounds for Christ, appear more precious and venerable than any royal diadem. The worldly sponsors of games, then, when they institute contests, consider it a matter of the greatest ambition when they bring young and vigorous athletes into the wrestling-pits and the games, so that before the exhibition in the matches, they may provide a spectacle for the viewers from the good condition of their limbs; but here it is not so, but entirely the opposite. For Christ, instituting a contest, sets up one not like theirs, but one that is dreadful and full of fear; for the wrestling is not of men against men, but the battle is of men against demons; so, instituting such a contest for us, he did not bring young and vigor50.619ous athletes to the matches, but mere boys, and with them an old man, Eleazar, and in addition to these an aged woman, the mother of the boys. What can this mean, Master? You bring an age useless for contests into the wrestling-pits? Who ever heard of a woman competing at such an old age? No one has heard; but I, He says, will make credible this paradox, this novelty never before accepted by hearsay, through their very deeds. For I am not such a sponsor of games as to entrust everything to the strength of the contestants; but I stand by, and I help, and I stretch out my hand to my athletes, and of the

1

De Maccabeis

ΕΙΣ ΤΟΥΣ ΑΓΙΟΥΣ ΜΑΚΚΑΒΑΙΟΥΣ Καὶ εἰς τὴν μητέρα αὐτῶν. Ὁμιλία αʹ. αʹ. Ὡς φαιδρὰ καὶ περιχαρὴς ἡμῖν ἡ πόλις, καὶ τοῦ παντὸς ἐνιαυτοῦ λαμπροτέρα ἡ σήμερον ἡμέρα, οὐ τοῦ ἡλίου φανερωτέραν ἀκτῖνα τῆς εἰωθυίας πρὸς τὴν γῆν ἀφιέντος σήμερον, ἀλλὰ τοῦ φωτὸς τῶν ἁγίων μαρτύρων ὑπὲρ ἀστραπὴν ἅπασαν τὴν πόλιν ἡμῖν καταυγάσαντος· μυρίων γὰρ ἡλίων οὗτοι λαμπρότεροι, καὶ τῶν μεγάλων φωστήρων φανότεροι. ∆ιὰ τούτους σεμνοτέρα τοῦ οὐρανοῦ σήμερον ἡ γῆ. Μὴ γάρ μοι τὴν κόνιν εἴπῃς, μηδὲ τὴν τέφραν λογίζου, μηδὲ τὰ χρόνῳ δαπανηθέντα ὀστᾶ, ἀλλ' ἄνοιξον τῆς πίστεως τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς, καὶ βλέπε παρακαθημένην αὐτοῖς τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν δύναμιν, περιβεβλημένην αὐτοῖς τοῦ Πνεύματος τὴν χάριν, περιστέλλουσαν αὐτοὺς τοῦ οὐρανίου φωτὸς τὴν δόξαν. Οὐ τοιαῦται ἐξ ἡλιακοῦ κύκλου πρὸς τὴν γῆν ἀκτῖνες ἀφίενται, οἷαι μαρμαρυγαὶ καὶ λαμπηδόνες ἐκ τῶν σωμάτων ἐξαλλόμεναι τούτων αὐτὰς ἀποτυφλοῦσι τοῦ διαβόλου τὰς ὄψεις. Καθάπερ γὰρ λῄσταρχοι καὶ τυμβωρύχοι ἐπειδὰν ἴδωσιν ὅπλα που κείμενα βασιλικὰ, θώρακα, καὶ ἀσπίδα, καὶ κράνος, χρυσῷ πάντα καταλαμπόμενα, ἀποπηδῶσιν εὐθέως, καὶ οὐδὲ προσελθεῖν, οὐδὲ ἅψασθαι τολμῶσι μέγαν ὑφορώμενοι κίνδυνον, εἴ τι τοιοῦ50.618 τον τολμήσαιεν· οὕτω δὴ καὶ οἱ δαίμονες οἱ ἀληθινοὶ λῄσταρχοι, ὅπουπερ ἂν ἴδωσι μαρτύρων σώματα κείμενα, δραπετεύουσι, καὶ ἀποπηδῶσιν εὐθέως. Οὐ γὰρ πρὸς τὴν φύσιν αὐτῶν βλέπουσι τὴν τέως θνητὴν, ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὴν ἀπόῤῥητον ἀξίαν τοῦ φορήσαντος αὐτὰ Χριστοῦ. Ταῦτα γὰρ τὰ ὅπλα οὐκ ἄγγελος, οὐκ ἀρχάγγελος, οὐκ ἄλλη τις κτιστὴ ἐνεδύσατο δύναμις, ἀλλ' αὐτὸς ὁ τῶν ἀγγέλων ∆εσπότης. Καὶ καθάπερ ὁ Παῦλος ἐβόα λέγων· Εἰ δοκιμὴν ζητεῖτε τοῦ ἐν ἐμοὶ λαλοῦντος Χριστοῦ; οὕτω καὶ οὗτοι δύνανται βοᾷν καὶ λέγειν· εἰ δοκιμὴν ζητεῖτε τοῦ ἐν ἡμῖν ἀγνωνισαμένου Χριστοῦ; Τίμια γὰρ τὰ σώματα, ἐπειδὴ πληγὰς ἐδέξαντο ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἰδίου ∆εσπότου, ἐπειδὴ στίγματα βαστάζουσι διὰ τὸν Χριστόν. Καὶ καθάπερ στέφανος βασιλικὸς λίθοις ποικίλοις πάντοθεν καλλωπιζόμενος μαρμαρυγὰς διαφόρους ἀφίησιν, οὕτω δὴ καὶ τὰ σώματα τῶν ἁγίων μαρτύρων, ὥσπερ λίθοις τιμίοις τοῖς ὑπὲρ τοῦ Χριστοῦ τραύμασι κατεστιγμένα, παντὸς διαδήματος βασιλικοῦ τιμιώτερα καὶ σεμνότερα φαίνεται. Οἱ μὲν οὖν ἔξωθεν ἀγωνοθέται ἀγῶνας τιθέντες μεγίστην φιλοτιμίαν εἶναι νομίζουσιν, ὅταν νέους ἀθλητὰς καὶ σφριγῶντας εἰς τὰ σκάμματα καὶ τοὺς ἀγῶνας εἰσάγωσιν, ὥστε πρὸ τῆς ἐν τοῖς παλαίσμασιν ἐπιδείξεως, ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν μελῶν εὐεξίας θαῦμα παρασχεῖν τοῖς θεαταῖς· ἐνταῦθα δὲ οὐχ οὕτως, ἀλλὰ πᾶν τοὐναντίον. Ἀγῶνα γὰρ τιθεὶς ὁ Χριστὸς οὐ τοιοῦτον οἷον ἐκεῖνοι, ἀλλὰ φρικτὸν καὶ φόβου γέμοντα· οὐ γὰρ ἀνθρώπων πρὸς ἀνθρώπους ἡ πάλη, ἀλλ' ἀνθρώπων πρὸς δαίμονας ἡ μάχη· τοιοῦτον τοίνυν ἀγῶνα τιθεὶς ἡμῖν, οὐ νέους ἀθλητὰς καὶ σφρι50.619 γῶντας πρὸς τὰ παλαίσματα ἤγαγεν, ἀλλὰ μειράκια κομιδῇ, καὶ μετ' ἐκείνων γέροντα, τὸν Ἐλεάζαρον, καὶ πρὸς τούτοις γυναῖκα γεγηρακυῖαν, τὴν μητέρα τῶν μειρακίων. Τί ποτε τοῦτο ἄρα ἐστὶ, ∆έσποτα; τὴν ἄχρηστον ἡλικίαν πρὸς τὰ ἀγωνίσματα εἰς τὰ σκάμματα ἄγεις; τίς ἤκουσε γυναῖκα ἀγωνιζομένην ποτὲ ἐν γήρᾳ τοσούτῳ; Οὐδεὶς ἤκουσεν· ἀλλ' ἐγὼ τὸ παράδοξον τοῦτο, φησὶ, καὶ καινὸν καὶ οὔτε ἀκοῇ ποτε παραδεχθὲν διὰ τῶν ἔργων αὐτῶν πιστώσομαι. Οὐ γὰρ τοιοῦτος ἀγωνοθέτης ἐγὼ, ὡς τῇ τῶν ἀγωνιζομένων δυνάμει τὸ πᾶν ἐπιτρέπειν· ἀλλὰ παρίσταμαι, καὶ βοηθῶ, καὶ χεῖρα ὀρέγω τοῖς ἐμοῖς ἀθληταῖς, καὶ τῶν