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In principium Actorum

HOMILY To those who have abandoned the assembly of the Church, and on not overlooking the inscriptions of the divine Scriptures, and on the inscription of the altar, and on the newly-illuminated.

1. What is this? As the feasts advance for us, so the assemblies become smaller. But let us who are present not be idle; they become fewer in multitude, but not fewer in zeal; fewer in number, but not fewer in desire. They become fewer, so that the approved may become manifest among you, and we may learn, who come out of habit, who out of desire for the divine oracles during the yearly festival, and who out of a desire for spiritual hearing. The whole city was here last Sunday, the precincts were full, and the multitude imitated waves going out and coming back; but to me your calm is more desirable than those waves, to me your tranquility is more precious than that noise and confusion. Then there were bodies present to be counted, now dispositions full of piety. If someone should wish to weigh this assembly, with its few people and composed mostly of the poor, and that assembly, with its many people and gathered mostly from the rich, if someone should wish to weigh both these assemblies as if on a yoke and scale, he would find this one weighing more. For though you are fewer in number, yet you are more precious in desire. So also it happens with things that are weighed: if someone takes ten staters of gold and places them in one scale-pan, and then into the other scale-pan one hundred copper coins, the one hundred copper coins pull down the beam toward themselves; but the ten gold coins, by the superiority of their nature, pull more strongly against them, being heavier and more precious in their substance. So it is possible for the few in number to be more precious and more essential than the many. But why do I bring you examples from common matters, when I should bring forward the very verdict of God on these things? What then does it say? Better is one who does the will of the Lord, than ten thousand transgressors. For there is, there often is, one man worth ten thousand. And what am I saying, is one man worth only ten thousand? No, he is even more essential and more precious than the whole world. And I will take the testimony for this from the words of Paul. For when he mentioned poor men, driven out, afflicted, tormented, he says thus: They went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, of whom the world was not worthy. What are you saying? Of the destitute, of the tormented, of those who have no homeland the 51.6668 world was not worthy? Do you not see how many you have set against how many? I do see, he says, and for this reason I said that the world was not worthy of them; for I know clearly the nature of these coins. And if I place the earth, and the sea, and kings, and prefects, and simply the whole nature of humanity on one side, and set two or three poor men against these, I would confidently say that these poor men weigh more. Though they were driven from their homeland, yet they had a homeland, the Jerusalem above. They lived in poverty; but they were rich in piety. They were enemies of men; but friends to God. And who are these? Elijah, Elisha, and all those like them. For do not see this, that they did not even have necessary food, but that the mouth of Elijah closed and opened the heaven, and his sheepskin turned back the Jordan. And considering these things I rejoice, and I grieve; I rejoice because of you who are present, but I grieve for those who are not present; I grieve exceedingly, and I am in pain, and my heart is crushed. For who even of the most callous would not grieve at the things of the devil

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In principium Actorum

ΟΜΙΛΙΑ Πρὸς τοὺς ἐγκαταλείψαντας τὴν σύναξιν τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, καὶ εἰς τὸ μὴ παρατρέχειν τὰς ἐπιγραφὰς τῶν θείων Γραφῶν, καὶ εἰς τὸ

ἐπίγραμμα τοῦ βωμοῦ, καὶ εἰς τοὺς νεοφωτίστους.

αʹ. Τί τοῦτο; ὅσον προΐασιν ἡμῖν αἱ ἑορταὶ, τοσοῦτον καὶ αἱ συνάξεις ἐλάττους γίνονται. Ἀλλὰ μὴ ῥᾳθυμῶμεν ἡμεῖς οἱ παρόντες· ἐλάττους μὲν γίνονται τῷ πλήθει, οὐκ ἐλάττους δὲ τῇ προθυμίᾳ· ἐλάττους τῷ ἀριθμῷ, οὐκ ἐλάττους δὲ τῷ πόθῳ. Ἐλάττους γίνονται, ἵνα οἱ δόκιμοι φανεροὶ γένωνται ἐν ὑμῖν, καὶ μάθωμεν, τίνες μὲν συνηθείᾳ, τίνες δὲ ἐπιθυμίᾳ θείων λογίων παραγίνονται δι' ἐνιαυσίου ἑορτῆς, τίνες ἐπιθυμίᾳ ἀκροάσεως πνευματικῆς. Πᾶσα ἡ πόλις ἦν ἐνταῦθα τῇ προτέρᾳ κυριακῇ, μεστοὶ οἱ περίβολοι, καὶ κύματα ἀπιόντα καὶ ἐπανιόντα ἐμιμεῖτο τὸ πλῆθος· ἀλλ' ἐμοὶ τῶν κυμάτων ἐκείνων ποθεινοτέρα ἡ ὑμετέρα γαλήνη, ἐμοὶ τοῦ θορύβου καὶ τῆς ταραχῆς ἐκείνης τιμιωτέρα ὑμῶν ἡ ἡσυχία. Τότε τὰ σώματα ἦν ἀριθμεῖν παρόντα, νῦν τὰ φρονήματα εὐλαβείας γέμοντα. Εἴ τις τὴν σύναξιν ταύτην τὴν ὀλιγάνθρωπον καὶ τὸ πλέον ἐκ πενήτων συνεστηκυῖαν, κἀκείνην τὴν σύναξιν τὴν πολυάνθρωπον καὶ τὸ πλεῖον ἀπὸ πλουσίων συγκεκροτημένην, εἴ τις ἀμφοτέρας τὰς συνάξεις ταύτας ὥσπερ ἐν ζυγῷ καὶ σταθμῷ θελήσει σταθμῆσαι, εὕρῃ ἂν ταύτην καθέλκουσαν. Εἰ γὰρ ἐλάττους τῷ ἀριθμῷ, ἀλλὰ τιμιώτεροί ἐστε τῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ. Οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν σταθμητῶν γίνεται· ἐὰν δέκα τις στατῆρας χρυσίου λαβὼν εἰς μίαν κατάθηται πλάστιγγα, εἶτα εἰς τὴν ἑτέραν πλάστιγγα χαλκοὺς ἑκατὸν, οἱ μὲν ἑκατὸν χαλκοὶ πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς καθέλκουσι τὴν τρυτάνην· οἱ δὲ δέκα χρυσοὶ τῇ τῆς φύσεως ὑπεροχῇ μειζόνως ἀνθέλκουσι, βαρύτεροι καὶ τιμιώτεροι ὄντες κατὰ τὸν τῆς οὐσίας λόγον. Ὥστε ἔστιν ὀλίγους ὄντας τῷ ἀριθμῷ, τῶν πολλῶν εἶναι τιμιωτέρους καὶ ἀναγκαιοτέρους. Ἀλλὰ τί ὑμῖν τὰ παραδείγματα ἀπὸ τῶν ἐν τῇ συνηθείᾳ φέρω πραγμάτων, δέον αὐτὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν ψῆφον περὶ τούτων παραγαγεῖν ἀποφαινομένην; Τί οὖν αὕτη φησί; Κρείσσων εἷς ποιῶν τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Κυρίου, ἢ μυρίοι παράνομοι. Ἔστι γὰρ, ἔστι πολλάκις ἄνθρωπος εἷς μυρίων ἀντάξιος. Καὶ τί λέγω, ἔστιν εἷς ἄνθρωπος μυρίων ἀντάξιος μόνος; ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς οἰκουμένης ἀναγκαιότερος καὶ τιμιώτερος. Καὶ τούτου τὴν μαρτυρίαν ἀπὸ τῶν Παύλου ῥημάτων ποιήσομαι. Ἀνθρώπων γὰρ μνησθεὶς πενήτων, ἐλαυνομένων, θλιβομένων, κακουχουμένων, οὕτω φησί· Περιῆλθον ἐν μηλωταῖς, ἐν αἰγείοις δέρμασιν, ὑστερούμενοι, θλιβόμενοι, κακουχούμενοι, ὧν οὐκ ἦν ἄξιος ὁ κόσμος. Τί λέγεις; τῶν ὑστερουμένων, τῶν κακουχουμένων, τῶν οὐκ ἐχόντων πατρίδα οὐκ ἦν ἄξιος ὁ 51.6668 κόσμος; Οὐχ ὁρᾷς πόσους πόσοις ἀντέστησας; Ὁρῶ μὲν, φησὶ, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο εἶπον ὅτι οὐκ ἦν ὁ κόσμος ἄξιος αὐτῶν· ἐγὼ γὰρ τῶν νομισμάτων τούτων τὴν φύσιν οἶδα σαφῶς. Καὶ γῆν, καὶ θάλατταν, καὶ βασιλεῖς, καὶ ἐπάρχους, καὶ πᾶσαν ἁπλῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν φύσιν τιθεὶς, καὶ δύο ἢ τρεῖς πένητας τούτοις ἀντιστήσας, θαῤῥῶν ἂν εἴποιμι, ὅτι οὗτοι μᾶλλον κατάγουσιν οἱ πένητες. Εἴπερ ἐκεῖνοι ἀπηλαύνοντο πατρίδος, ἀλλ' εἶχον πατρίδα τὴν ἄνω Ἱερουσαλήμ. Ἐν πενίᾳ διῆγον· ἀλλ' ἐπλούτουν κατὰ τὴν εὐσέβειαν. Ἀνθρώπων ἦσαν ἐχθροί· ἀλλὰ τῷ Θεῷ φίλοι. Καὶ τίνες εἰσὶν οὗτοι; Ὁ Ἠλίας, ὁ Ἐλισσαῖος, καὶ οἱ κατ' ἐκείνους ἅπαντες. Μὴ γὰρ δὴ τοῦτο ἴδῃς, ὅτι οὐδὲ τῆς ἀναγκαίας ηὐπόρουν τροφῆς, ἀλλ' ὅτι τὸ στόμα Ἠλίου τὸν οὐρανὸν ἔκλεισε καὶ ἀνέῳξε, καὶ ἡ μηλωτὴ αὐτοῦ τὸν Ἰορδάνην ἀπέστρεψε. Καὶ ταῦτα ἐννοῶν χαίρω, καὶ ἀλγῶ· χαίρω μὲν δι' ὑμᾶς τοὺς παρόντας, ἀλγῶ δὲ δι' ἐκείνους τοὺς μὴ παρόντας· ἀλγῶ σφόδρα, καὶ ὀδυνῶμαι, καὶ συντέτριμμαι τὴν καρδίαν. Τίς γὰρ καὶ τῶν σφόδρα ἀναλγήτων οὐκ ἂν ἀλγήσειε τὰ τοῦ διαβόλου