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De sanctis martyribus

ENCOMIUM on all the saints who have been martyred in the whole world.

50.705

1. Since we celebrated the sacred festival of Pentecost, a number of seven days has not yet passed, and again a chorus of martyrs has come upon us, or rather an encampment and battle-array of martyrs, like the encampment of the angels, which the patriarch Jacob saw, 50.706 being in no way inferior, but a rival to it and equal. For martyrs and angels are distinguished in name only, but are joined in deeds; angels inhabit heaven, but so do the martyrs; they are ageless 50.707 and immortal, this also the martyrs will have. But have they obtained a bodiless nature? And what of it? for the martyrs, even if they are clothed in a body, it is an immortal one; or rather, even before immortality, the death of Christ beautifies their bodies more than immortality.

The heaven, adorned with the chorus of the stars, is not so brilliant, as the bodies of the martyrs adorned with the brilliant chorus of their wounds. Therefore, because they have died, for this reason especially they have the advantage, and before immortality they have received the prizes, being crowned by death. You made him a little lower than the angels, you crowned him with glory and honor, concerning the common nature of men, says David; but Christ, having come, restored even this little, by condemning death by death. But I do not argue from this, but that this very defect of death has become an advantage; for if they were not mortal, they would not have become martyrs; so if there were no death, there would be no crown; if there were no end, there would be no martyrdom; if there were no death, Paul could not say, I die daily, I protest by your boasting which I have in Christ Jesus; if there were no death and corruption, the same could not say: I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions. So let us not grieve that we have become mortal, but let us give thanks, because through death the arena of martyrdom has been opened to us; from corruption we have received the occasion for prizes; from this we have the starting-point for our struggles. Do you see the wisdom of God, how the greatest of evils, the capital point of our misfortune, which the devil introduced, I mean death, He has changed this into our honor and glory, for this reason leading the athletes to the prizes of martyrdom? What then? Shall we give thanks to the devil for death? By no means! for the achievement is not of his intention, but the gift is of the wisdom of God; he introduced it in order to destroy, and by bringing us back to the earth to cut off all hope of salvation; but Christ, taking it, turned it around, and through it led us up again to heaven.

Let none of us therefore condemn me, if I have called the company of martyrs a chorus and a battle-array, applying two opposite names to one thing; for chorus and battle-array are opposites, but here both have come together; for they went to their tortures with pleasure as if dancing, and like warriors they displayed all courage and endurance, and prevailed over their adversaries. If you look at the nature of what was happening, what happened was battle and war and battle-array; but if you examine the mindset of those who suffered, what was accomplished were dances and feasts and festivals and the greatest pleasure. Do you wish to learn how these things are more terrible than war? I mean the things of the martyrs. What is it in war that is terrible? Armies stand on either side

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De sanctis martyribus

ΕΓΚΩΜΙΟΝ Εἰς τοὺς ἁγίους πάντας τοὺς ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ κόσμῳ μαρτυρήσαντας.

50.705

αʹ. Ἐξ οὗ τὴν ἱερὰν πανήγυριν τῆς Πεντηκοστῆς ἐπετελέσαμεν, οὔπω παρῆλθεν ἡμερῶν ἑπτὰ ἀριθμὸς, καὶ πάλιν κατέλαβεν ἡμᾶς μαρτύρων χορὸς, μᾶλλον δὲ μαρτύρων παρεμβολὴ καὶ παράταξις, τῆς παρεμβολῆς τῶν ἀγγέλων, ἣν ὁ πατριάρχης εἶδεν Ἰακὼβ, 50.706 κατ' οὐδὲν οὖσα χείρων, ἀλλ' ἐφάμιλλος αὐτῆς καὶ ἴση. Μάρτυρες γὰρ καὶ ἄγγελοι τοῖς ὀνόμασι διεστήκασι μόνον, τοῖς δὲ ἔργοις συνάπτονται· τὸν οὐρανὸν οἰκοῦσιν ἄγγελοι, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ μάρτυρες· ἀγήρατοι 50.707 καὶ ἀθάνατοί εἰσιν ἐκεῖνοι, τοῦτο καὶ οἱ μάρτυρες ἕξουσιν. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀσώματον ἔλαχον ἐκεῖνοι φύσιν; Καὶ τί τοῦτο; οἱ γὰρ μάρτυρες εἰ καὶ σῶμα περίκεινται, ἀλλ' ἀθάνατον· μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ πρὸ τῆς ἀθανασίας ὁ τοῦ Χριστοῦ θάνατος τῆς ἀθανασίας μᾶλλον καλλωπίζει τὰ σώματα.

Οὐχ οὕτως ἐστὶ λαμπρὸς ὁ οὐρανὸς τῷ χορῷ τῶν ἄστρων κοσμούμενος, ὡς τὰ σώματα τῶν μαρτύρων λαμπρῷ τῷ χορῷ τῶν τραυμάτων κοσμούμενα. Ὥστε ἐπειδὴ ἀπέθανον, διὰ τοῦτο μάλιστα πλεονεκτοῦσι, καὶ πρὸ τῆς ἀθανασίας ἔλαβον τὰ βραβεῖα, ἀπὸ τοῦ θανάτου στεφανωθέντες. Ἠλάττωσας αὐτὸν βραχύ τι παρ' ἀγγέλους, δόξῃ καὶ τιμῇ ἐστεφάνωσας αὐτὸν, περὶ τῆς κοινῆς φύσεως τῶν ἀνθρώπων, φησὶν ὁ ∆αυΐδ· ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ βραχὺ τοῦτο παραγενόμενος ὁ Χριστὸς ἀπέδωκε, θανάτῳ θάνατον καταδικάσας. Ἐγὼ δὲ οὐκ ἐντεῦθεν διισχυρίζομαι, ἀλλ' ὅτι καὶ τὸ ἐλάττωμα τοῦτο τοῦ θανάτου πλεονέκτημα γέγονεν· εἰ γὰρ μὴ εἶεν θνητοὶ, οὐκ ἂν ἐγένοντο μάρτυρες· ὥστε εἰ μὴ θάνατος ἦν, οὐδὲ στέφανος ἦν· εἰ μὴ τελευτὴ ἦν, οὐκ ἦν μαρτύριον· εἰ μὴ θάνατος ἦν, οὐκ ἠδύνατο Παῦλος λέγειν, Καθ' ἡμέραν ἀποθνήσκω, νὴ τὴν ὑμετέραν καύχησιν, ἢν ἔχω ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ· εἰ μὴ θάνατος καὶ φθορὰ ἦν, οὐκ ἠδύνατο λέγειν ὁ αὐτός· Χαίρω ἐν τοῖς παθήμασί μου ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν, καὶ ἀναπληρῶ τὰ ὑστερήματα τῶν θλίψεων τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν τῇ σαρκί μου. Ὥστε μὴ ἀλγῶμεν, ὅτι ἐγενόμεθα θνητοὶ, ἀλλ' εὐχαριστῶμεν, ὅτι ἀπὸ τοῦ θανάτου ἠνεῴχθη ἡμῖν τὸ στάδιον τοῦ μαρτυρίου· ἀπὸ τῆς φθορᾶς ἐλάβομεν ὑπόθεσιν τῶν βραβείων· ἐντεῦθεν ἔχομεν ἀφορμὴν τῶν παλαισμάτων. Ὁρᾷς σοφίαν Θεοῦ, πῶς τὸ μέγιστον τῶν κακῶν, τὸ κεφάλαιον τῆς ἡμετέρας συμφορᾶς, ὅπερ εἰσήγαγεν ὁ διάβολος, τὸν θάνατον λέγω, τοῦτον εἰς τιμὴν καὶ δόξαν ἡμετέραν μετέβαλε, διὰ τοῦτο πρὸς τὰ τοῦ μαρτυρίου βραβεῖα τοὺς ἀθλητὰς ἄγων; Τί οὖν; εὐχαριστήσομεν τῷ διαβόλῳ διὰ τὸν θάνατον; Μὴ γένοιτο! οὐ γὰρ τῆς ἐκείνου γνώμης τὸ κατόρθωμα, ἀλλὰ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφίας τὸ χάρισμα· ἐκεῖνος εἰσήγαγεν ἵνα ἀπολέσῃ, καὶ πρὸς τὴν γῆν ἐπαναγαγὼν πᾶσαν ἐκκόψῃ σωτηρίας ἐλπίδα· ὁ Χριστὸς δὲ αὐτὸ λαβὼν μετέστρεψε, καὶ εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἡμᾶς δι' αὐτοῦ πάλιν ἀνήγαγε.

Μηδεὶς οὖν ἡμῶν καταγινωσκέτω, εἰ χορὸν καὶ παράταξιν ἐκάλεσα τῶν μαρτύρων τὸ πλήρωμα, δύο ἐναντία ὀνόματα ἑνὶ πράγματι τιθείς· χορὸς γὰρ καὶ παράταξις ἐναντία, ἀλλ' ἐνταῦθα συνῆλθον ἀμφότερα· καὶ γὰρ ὥσπερ χορεύοντες ἐπὶ τὰς βασάνους ᾔεσαν μεθ' ἡδονῆς, καὶ ὥσπερ πολεμοῦντες οὕτως ἀνδρείαν πᾶσαν καὶ καρτερίαν ἐπεδείξαντο, καὶ τῶν ἐναντίων ἐκράτησαν. Ἂν μὲν τῶν γινομένων τὴν φύσιν ἴδῃς, μάχη καὶ πόλεμος καὶ παράταξις τὰ γινόμενα· ἂν δὲ τὴν γνώμην τῶν γινομένων ἐξετάσῃς, χοροὶ καὶ θαλίαι καὶ πανηγύρεις καὶ μεγίστη ἡδονὴ τὰ τελούμενα. Βούλει μαθεῖν ὡς πολέμου ταῦτα φρικωδέστερα; τὰ τῶν μαρτύρων λέγω. Τί ποτέ ἐστιν ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ τὸ φρικτόν; Στρατόπεδα ἕστηκεν ἑκατέρωθεν