John Chrysostom, On "It is not in man"

to bring in a bridegroom; to this one I give advice, he says, that it is good to be so; but if she cannot bear the burden, let her marry; but those who have already undertaken and enrolled themselves for the endurance of widowhood, and have made a covenant with God, he says they are no longer at liberty to return to a second marriage. For this reason, writing to Timothy about them, he says something like this: But younger widows refuse. For when they have grown wanton against Christ, they desire to marry, having condemnation, because they have rejected their first faith. Do you see how he here punishes and chastises them, and says they are liable to judgment and condemnation, because they have set aside their covenants with God, and have broken their promise? So from this it is clear that that saying was not spoken to those who have made a promise.

For this reason one must not quote it simply, but also know the persons to whom the Scriptures are speaking. 56.158 Again they circulate another saying, not by distorting its construction, but by adding another thing not written in it. For such is the devil’s malice, to introduce deadly doctrines either by addition, or subtraction, or distortion, or alteration of what is written. And what is this saying? Mine is the silver, he says, and mine the gold; and to whomever I wish, I will give it. Of this, the one part has been said, but the other has not been said, but has been added from somewhere outside. For the prophet said, “Mine is the silver, and mine the gold”; but “to whomever I wish, I give it” is not added, but is circulated from the ignorance of the many. And what harm comes from this?

Many defiled men and sorcerers and licentious men, not even worthy to see this sun, nor to live, nor to breathe, enjoy much wealth, overthrowing everything, seizing the houses of widows, ruining orphans, exalting themselves over the needy. The devil, therefore, wishing to persuade men that all wealth is from above and from the gift of God, so that from this he might attach much blasphemy to the Lord, taking a saying from Scripture which says, “Mine is the silver, and mine the gold,” has added another not in Scripture, saying: And to whomever I wish, I will give it. But the prophet Haggai does not say this; but when the Jews returned from the barbarian land, and were about to raise up the temple, and bring it to its former glory, since they were in difficulty, surrounded by enemies, with much poverty, with no abundance appearing from anywhere, wishing to lead them to good hopes and to persuade them to be confident about the outcome, he says from the person of God: Mine is the silver, and mine the gold, and the latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former. And what has this to do with the matter at hand? That one must not simply cite the sayings of the Scriptures, nor cut them out from their sequence, nor detach them from their context, nor take the words bare and naked of the help of what follows or precedes and simply misrepresent and abuse them. For how is it not absurd, when litigating in a court about matters of this life, to bring forward all the legal points, and places and times and causes and persons and to produce countless other things, but when the contests for eternal life are set before us, to cite things from the Scriptures simply and at random? For no one will read an imperial law simply and at random, but unless he states the time, and shows the one who enacted it, and presents it sound and entire, he is punished and pays the ultimate penalty; but shall we, reading not a law of men but one brought down from heaven, use so much carelessness as to tear away members and parts? And where are these things worthy of defense and pardon? Perhaps I have extended my discourse beyond measure, but not without reason, but so that I might lead you away from this wicked custom.

ἐπεισαγαγεῖν νυμφίον· ταύτῃ παραινῶ, φησὶν, ὅτι καλὸν τὸ οὕτως εἶναι· εἰ δὲ μὴ δύναιτο φέρειν τὸ φορτίον, γαμείτω· τὰς μέντοι ἐπιβαλλομένας ἤδη καὶ ἀπογραψαμένας εἰς τὴν τῆς χηρείας ὑπομονὴν, καὶ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν θεμένας συνθήκας, οὔ φησι λοιπὸν εἶναι κυρίας τοῦ πρὸς δεύτερον γάμον ἐπανελθεῖν. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο Τιμοθέῳ γράφων περὶ αὐτῶν, οὕτω πως φησί· Νεωτέρας δὲ χήρας παραιτοῦ. Ὅταν γὰρ καταστρηνιάσωσι τοῦ Χριστοῦ, γαμεῖν θέλουσιν, ἔχουσαι κρίμα, ὅτι τὴν πρώτην πίστιν ἠθέτησαν. Ὁρᾷς πῶς αὐτὰς ἐνταῦθα κολάζει καὶ τιμωρεῖται, καί φησιν ὑπευθύνους εἶναι δίκῃ, καὶ κρίματι, ὅτι τὰς πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν συνθήκας ἠθέτησαν, καὶ τὴν ὑπόσχεσιν διεψεύσαντο; Ὥστε ἐκ τούτου δῆλον, ὅτι ἐκεῖνο τὸ ῥητὸν οὐ πρὸς τὰς ὑποσχομένας εἴρηται.

∆ιὰ τοῦτο οὐχ ἁπλῶς αὐτὸ χρὴ προφέρειν, ἀλλ' εἰδέναι καὶ τὰ πρόσωπα, πρὸς ἃ διαλέγονται αἱ Γραφαί. 56.158 Πάλιν ἑτέραν περιφέρουσι ῥῆσιν, οὐχὶ διαστρέφοντες αὐτῆς τὴν συνθήκην, ἀλλ' ἕτερον οὐκ ἐγγεγραμμένον προστιθέντες. Τοιαύτη γὰρ ἡ τοῦ διαβόλου κακουργία, ἢ πλεονασμῷ, ἢ ὑφαιρέσει, ἢ διαστροφῇ, ἢ μεταβολῇ τῶν κειμένων τὰ ὀλέθρια εἰσάγειν δόγματα. Τί δὲ τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ ῥῆμα; Ἐμόν ἐστι, φησὶ, τὸ ἀργύριον, καὶ ἐμὸν τὸ χρυσίον· καὶ ᾧ ἐὰν θέλω, δώσω αὐτά. Τούτου τὸ μὲν εἴρηται, τὸ δὲ οὐκ εἴρηται, ἀλλ' ἔξωθέν ποθεν προσέῤῥιπται. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ, Ἐμὸν τὸ ἀργύριον, καὶ ἐμὸν τὸ χρυσίον, εἶπεν ὁ προφήτης· τὸ δὲ, ᾧ ἐὰν θέλω, δίδωμι αὐτὰ, οὐκέτι πρόσκειται, ἀλλ' ἐκ τῆς τῶν πολλῶν ἀμαθίας περιφέρεται. Τίς δὲ καὶ ἐκ τούτου γίνεται βλάβη;

Πολλοὶ μιαροὶ καὶ γόητες καὶ ἀκόλαστοι, καὶ οὐδὲ τὸν ἥλιον τοῦτον ὁρᾷν ἄξιοι, οὔτε ζῇν, οὔτε ἀναπνεῖν, πολλῆς ἀπολαύουσιν εὐπορίας, ἀνατρέποντες πάντα, οἰκίας χηρῶν ἁρπάζοντες, ὀρφανοὺς λυμαινόμενοι, τῶν καταδεεστέρων ἐπαιρόμενοι. Βουλόμενος τοίνυν ὁ διάβολος πεῖσαι τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, ὅτι πᾶς πλοῦτος ἄνωθέν ἐστι καὶ ἐκ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ δωρεᾶς, ἵν' ἐκ τούτου πολλὴν βλασφημίαν προστρίψηται τῷ ∆εσπότῃ, ῥῆσιν ἀπὸ τῆς Γραφῆς λαβὼν τὴν λέγουσαν, Ἐμὸν τὸ ἀργύριον, καὶ ἐμὸν τὸ χρυσίον, ἑτέραν τὴν οὐκ οὖσαν ἐν τῇ Γραφῇ προστέθεικε λέγων· Καὶ ᾧ ἐὰν θέλω, δώσω αὐτά. Ὁ δὲ προφήτης Ἀγγαῖος οὐχ οὕτω φησίν· ἀλλ' ἡνίκα ἐπανῆλθον ἐκ τῆς βαρβάρου γῆς οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι, καὶ τὸν ναὸν ἔμελλον ἀνιστᾷν, καὶ εἰς τὴν προτέραν ἄγειν εὐπρέπειαν, ἐπειδὴ διηπόρουν, πολεμίων περιεστώτων, πενίας οὔσης πολλῆς, οὐδεμιᾶς οὐδαμόθεν εὐπορίας φαινομένης, βουλομένοις εἰς χρηστὰς ἀγαγεῖν αὐτοὺς ἐλπίδας καὶ πεῖσαι θαῤῥεῖν περὶ τοῦ τέλους, φησὶν ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ Θεοῦ· Ἐμόν ἐστι τὸ ἀργύριον, καὶ ἐμὸν τὸ χρυσίον, καὶ ἔσται ἡ δόξα τοῦ οἴκου τούτου ἡ ἐσχάτη ὑπὲρ τὴν πρώτην. Καὶ τί τοῦτο πρὸς τὸ προκείμενον; Ὅτι οὐ δεῖ ἁπλῶς τὰς τῶν Γραφῶν ῥήσεις παραφέρειν, οὐδὲ ἐκκόπτοντας τῆς ἀκολουθίας, οὐδὲ τῆς συγγενείας ἀποσπῶντας, οὐδὲ ἔρημα καὶ γυμνὰ τὰ ῥήματα τῆς τῶν ἑπομένων ἢ προλαβόντων βοηθείας λαμβάνοντας συκοφαντεῖν ἁπλῶς καὶ ἐπηρεάζειν. Πῶς γὰρ οὐκ ἄτοπον, ἐν δικαστηρίῳ μὲν περὶ βιωτικῶν δικαζομένους πραγμάτων, ἅπαντα εἰς μέσον προτιθέναι τὰ δικαιώματα, καὶ τόπους καὶ καιροὺς καὶ αἰτίας καὶ πρόσωπα καὶ μυρία παράγειν ἕτερα, περὶ δὲ ζωῆς αἰωνίου προκειμένων ἡμῖν ἀγώνων, ἁπλῶς καὶ ὡς ἔτυχε τὰ ἀπὸ τῶν Γραφῶν παραφέρειν; Καὶ νόμον γὰρ οὐδεὶς ἀναγνώσεται βασιλικὸν ἁπλῶς καὶ ὡς ἔτυχεν, ἀλλ' ἂν μὴ τὸν χρόνον εἴπῃ, καὶ τὸν θέντα ἐπιδείξῃ, καὶ ὑγιῆ καὶ ὁλόκληρον αὐτὸν παράσχηται, κολάζεται καὶ δίκην δίδωσι τὴν ἐσχάτην· ἡμεῖς δὲ οὐκ ἀνθρώπων νόμον, ἀλλὰ τὸν ἄνωθεν ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν ἐνεχθέντα ἀναγινώσκοντες, τοσαύτῃ ῥᾳθυμίᾳ χρησόμεθα, ὡς μέλη καὶ μέρη παρασπᾷν; Καὶ ποῦ ταῦτα ἀπολογίας ἄξια καὶ συγγνώμης; Τάχα πέρα τοῦ μέτρου ἐξέτεινα τὸν λόγον, ἀλλ' οὐχ ἁπλῶς, ἀλλ' ἵνα τῆς πονηρᾶς ὑμᾶς ἀπαγάγω συνηθείας.