and to those from the middle of the inhabited world of rivers, both Cappadocians and Egyptians, they spoke in their own tongues. And the matter was accomplished for them by the energy and grace of the Spirit; for it is written that "there appeared to them tongues as of fire, being distributed," and what follows; but what was done was a mode of the divine economy, yet not all understood. But since they once spoke in the tongues of others, making a sort of demonstration of the grace through the Spirit, and receiving the sign as an occasion for boasting, they were negligent in the necessity of discoursing to the crowds from the holy prophets, and of speaking in harmony with the evangelical dogmas, as having been proclaimed from above and from of old; and priding themselves as if only on the ability to speak in tongues, they thought it necessary to lay claim to this and this alone; and the matter was among their most urgent concerns.
For just as the body is one, and has many members, etc. For we are united to one another, and have become one body in Christ, He having raised us together and, so to speak, bound us together through the one Holy Spirit who is in all, of whom we have also been made to drink in the manner of a life-giving drink. And so Christ said when he made his speech to the woman at the well of Jacob, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever "drinks of the water that I will give him, it will become "in him a spring of water leaping up to eternal life." And He said somewhere also to the Jews, "He who believes in me, as "the Scripture has said, 'Out of his belly will flow rivers 291 "of living water.' This He said," it says, "concerning the Spirit "whom those who believed in Him were to receive." And do not be surprised; for if He is "the river of God," according to the voice of the psalmist, the one full of waters, the torrent of delight, with which God the Father is said to give drink to those who love him, how should His Spirit not be understood as a life-giving drink and water? Therefore, having been called into unity through the Spirit, and having become one body with Christ, let us keep the bond of love unbreakable.
VOLUME 5
DISCOURSE 2.
For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men, but to God, etc. He dissuades them from the need to think that speaking in tongues is indeed more for glory itself than interpreting the things of the prophets; for since faith and hope, and indeed love for God and for the brothers, which also has the fulfillment of the whole law, are presupposed in us and preferred, let the other things be brought in addition; for then, then indeed, and very seasonably, we will be filled with the very gifts from God, and we will be enriched with the gifts through the Spirit; I mean the ability to prophesy, that is, to interpret the things of the prophets. For once the Only-Begotten became man, and suffered and was raised, and the economy concerning 292 us has been completed, what time was there still for prophecy, or what foretelling of events still? Therefore, to prophesy in these circumstances would be nothing other than only the ability to interpret prophecies; and making things as clear as possible to the hearers, then confirming from them our own word towards the truth, we will be correct and unerring interpreters of the most beautiful things. He, therefore, he says, who speaks in a tongue, speaks not so much to men but to God; But how, or in what way? For no one hears, he says; for if it has been given, perhaps, to a certain one of the disciples 17
καὶ τοῖς ἐκ μέσης οἰκούσης ποταμῶν, Καππαδόκαις τε καὶ Αἰγυπτίοις, ταῖς αὐτῶν προσελάλουν γλώσσαις. καὶ διεπεραίνετο μὲν τὸ χρῆμα αὐτοῖς τῇ τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐνεργείᾳ καὶ χάριτι· γέγραπται γὰρ ὅτι "ὤφθησαν αὐτοῖς διαμεριζόμεναι γλῶσσαι ὡσεὶ πυρὸς" καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· ἀλλὰ τρόπος μὲν οἰκονομίας τὸ δρώμενον ἦν, συνίεσαν δὲ οὐ πάντες. ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἅπαξ ταῖς ἑτέρων γλώσσαις ἐλάλουν, ἐπίδειξιν ὥσπερ τινὰ τὴν διὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος ποιούμενοι χάριν, καὶ φιλοκομπίας ἀφορμὴν δεχόμενοι τὸ σημεῖον, ῥᾴθυμοι μὲν ἦσαν τὸ δεῖν τοῖς ὄχλοις τὰ ἐκ τῶν ἁγίων προφητῶν διαλέγεσθαι, καὶ τοῖς εὐαγγελικοῖς συναγορεύειν δόγμασιν, ὡς ἄνωθέν τε καὶ ἐκ πολλοῦ προκεκηρυγμένου· ἀποσεμνυνόμενοι δὲ ὡς ἐπὶ μόνῳ τῷ δύνασθαι γλώσσαις λαλεῖν, τούτου τε καὶ μόνου μεταποιεῖσθαι δεῖν ᾤοντο· καὶ τὸ πρᾶγμα ἦν ἐν σπουδαῖς ταῖς προυργιαιτάταις.
Καθάπερ γὰρ τὸ σῶμα ἕν ἐστι, καὶ μέλη ἔχει πολλὰ κ.τ.λ. Ἡνώμεθα γὰρ ἀλλήλοις, σύσσωμοί τε γεγόναμεν ἐν Χριστῷ, συνεγείραντος ἡμᾶς καὶ μονονουχὶ συνδέοντος διὰ τοῦ ἑνὸς καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν Ἁγίου Πνεύματος, ὃ καὶ ἐν πόματος τάξει ζωοποιοῦ πεποτίσμεθα. καὶ γοῦν ἔφη Χριστὸς ὅτε πρὸς τὸ γύναιον ἐποιεῖτο τοὺς λόγους τὸ ἐπὶ τῇ πηγῇ τοῦ Ἰακώβ "Ὁ πίνων ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος τούτου διψήσει πάλιν, ὃς "δ' ἂν πίῃ ἐκ τοῦ ὕδατος οὗ ἐγὼ δώσω αὐτῷ, γενήσεται "ἐν αὐτῷ πηγὴ ὕδατος ἁλλομένου εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον." ἔφη δέ που καὶ πρὸς Ἰουδαίους "Ὁ πιστεύων εἰς ἐμὲ, καθὼς "εἶπεν ἡ γραφὴ, ποταμοὶ ἐκ τῆς κοιλίας αὐτοῦ ῥεύσουσιν 291 "ὕδατος ζῶντος· τοῦτο δὲ εἶπεν, φησὶ, περὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος "οὗ ἔμελλον λαμβάνειν οἱ πιστεύοντες εἰς αὐτόν." καὶ μὴ θαυμάσῃς· εἰ γάρ ἐστιν αὐτὸς "ὁ ποταμὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ," κατὰ τὴν τοῦ ψάλλοντος φωνὴν, ὁ πλήρης ὑδάτων, ὁ χειμάῤῥους τῆς τρυφῆς, ὃν ποτίζειν λέγεται τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας αὐτὸν ὁ Θεὸς καὶ Πατὴρ, πῶς οὐκ ἔδει τὸ Πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ πόμα τε καὶ ὕδωρ νοεῖσθαι τὸ ζωοποιόν; οὐκοῦν εἰς ἑνότητα κεκλημένοι διὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος, σύσσωμοί τε γεγονότες Χριστῷ, τῆς ἀγάπης τὸν σύνδεσμον τηρήσωμεν ἀῤῥαγῆ.
ΤΟΜΟΣ Ε
ΛΟΓΟΣ Β.
Ὁ γὰρ λαλῶν γλώσσῃ, οὐκ ἀνθρώποις λαλεῖ, ἀλλὰ τῷ Θεῷ κ.τ.λ. Ἐξίστησιν αὐτοὺς τοῦ χρῆναι νομίζειν ὥς ἐστι δὴ μᾶλλον πρὸς εὐκλείας αὐτῆς τοῦ διερμηνεύειν τὰ προφητῶν, τὸ γλώσσαις λαλεῖν· προϋποκειμένων γὰρ ἐν ἡμῖν καὶ προτιμωμένων πίστεώς τε καὶ ἐλπίδος καὶ μὴν καὶ ἀγάπης τῆς εἰς Θεόν τε καὶ ἀδελφοὺς, ἥτις καὶ παντὸς τοῦ νόμου τὴν πλήρωσιν ἔχει, προσεπαγέσθω τὰ ἕτερα· τότε γὰρ τότε καὶ λίαν ἐπὶ καιροῦ καὶ αὐτῶν ἐσόμεθα τῶν παρὰ Θεοῦ χαρισμάτων μεμεστωμένοι, καὶ τὰς διὰ τοῦ Πνεύματος καταπλουτήσομεν δωρεάς· τὸ προφητεύειν δύνασθαί φημι, τουτέστι τὸ διερμηνεύειν τὰ προφητῶν. ἐνηνθρωπηκότος γὰρ ἅπαξ τοῦ Μονογενοῦς, παθόντος τε καὶ ἐγηγερμένου, καὶ τῆς καθ' 292 ἡμᾶς οἰκονομίας ἐκπεπερασμένης, ποίας ἦν ἔτι προφητείας καιρὸς, ἢ ποίων ἔτι πραγμάτων ἡ προαγόρευσις; οὐκοῦν τὸ προφητεύειν ἐν τούτοις εἴη ἂν ἕτερον οὐδὲν, πλὴν ὅτι καὶ μόνον τὸ διερμηνεύειν δύνασθαι προφητείας· καὶ τοῖς ἀκροωμένοις ὡς ἔνι καταλευκαίνοντες, εἶτα πρὸς ἀλήθειαν τὸν οἰκεῖον ἐξ αὐτῶν ἐμπεδοῦντες λόγον, ὀρθοί τε καὶ ἀπλανεῖς ἐσόμεθα τῶν καλλίστων ἐξηγηταί. ὁ τοίνυν φησὶ γλώσσῃ λαλῶν οὐκ ἀνθρώποις μᾶλλον ἀλλὰ τῷ Θεῷ προσλαλεῖ· πῶς δὲ ἢ τινὰ τρόπον; οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἀκούει, φησίν· εἰ γὰρ δέδοται τυχὸν τῷ μὲν δεῖνι τῶν μαθητῶν 17