Oration XLII. The Last Farewell in the Presence of the One Hundred and Fifty Bishops.

 1.  What think ye of our affairs, dear shepherds and fellow-shepherds:  whose feet are beautiful, for you bring glad tidings of peace and of the good

 2.  What then is my defence?   If it be false, you must convict me, but if true, you on behalf of whom

 3.  To speak in a more feeling strain, trusting in Him Who then forsook me, as in a Father, “Abraham has been ignorant of us, Israel has acknowledged

 4.  To return to my original startingpoint.  This was my field, when it was small and poor, unworthy not only of God, Who has been, and is cultivating

 5.  But since God, Who maketh poor and maketh rich, Who killeth and maketh alive Who maketh and transformeth all things Who turneth night into day,

 6.  Such then was once this flock, and such it is now, so healthy and well grown, and if it be not yet in perfection, it is advancing towards it by co

 7.  I seem indeed to hear that voice, from Him Who gathers together those who are broken, and welcomes the oppressed:  Enlarge thy cords, break forth

 8.  Thou countest tens of thousands, God counts those who are in a state of salvation thou countest the dust which is without number, I the vessels o

 9.  This I seemed to hear Him say, and to see Him do, and besides, to hear Him shouting to His people, which once were few and scattered and miserable

 10.  These we present to you, dear shepherds, these we offer to you, with these we welcome our friends, and guests, and fellow pilgrims.  We have noth

 11.  Lift up thine eyes round about, and see, thou critic of my words!  See the crown which has been platted in return for the hirelings of Ephraim

 12.  To those who platted this crown—that which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, nevertheless I will say it—I also have given assistance.  Some

 13.  Would you have me say something still more venturesome?  Do you see the tongues of the enemy made gentle, and those who made war upon the Godhead

 14.  But you are perhaps longing for me to give an exposition of the faith, in so far as I am able.  For I shall myself be sanctified by the effort of

 15.  One concise proclamation of our teaching, an inscription intelligible to all, is this people, which so sincerely worships the Trinity, that it wo

 16.  Let us then bid farewell to all contentious shiftings and balancings of the truth on either side, neither, like the Sabellians, assailing the Tri

 17.  But, to resume:  let us speak of the Unbegotten, the Begotten, and the Proceeding, if anyone likes to create names:  for we shall have no fear of

 18.  Moreover, the Moabites and Ammonites must not even be allowed to enter into the Church of God, I mean those sophistical, mischievous arguments wh

 19.  You have now, my friends, heard the defence of my presence here:  if it be deserving of praise, thanks are due for it to God, and to you who call

 20.  What then do I mean?  I am no proficient in virtue without reward, having not attained to so high a degree of virtue.  Give me the reward of my l

 21.  What more need be said?  But how can I bear this holy war?  For there has been said to be a holy, as well as a Persian, war.   How shall I unite

 22.   I cannot bear your horse races and theatres, and this rage for rivalry in expense and party spirit.  We unharness, and harness ourselves on the

 23.  Now, consider the charges laid against us.  You have been ruler of the church, it is said, for so long, and favoured by the course of time, and t

 24.  Perhaps we may be reproached, as we have been before, with the exquisite character of our table, the splendour of our apparel, the officers who p

 25.  What say you?  Are you persuaded, have you been overcome by my words?  Or must I use stronger terms in order to persuade you?  Yea by the Trinity

 26.  Farewell my Anastasia, whose name is redolent of piety:  for thou hast raised up for us the doctrine which was in contempt:  farewell, scene of o

 27.  Farewell, mighty Christ-loving city.  I will testify to the truth, though thy zeal be not according to knowledge.   Our separation renders us mor

13.  Would you have me say something still more venturesome?  Do you see the tongues of the enemy made gentle, and those who made war upon the Godhead against me tranquillised?  This also is the result of our Spirit, of our husbandry.  For we are not undisciplined in our exercise of discipline, nor do we hurl insults, as many do, who assail not the argument but the speaker, and sometimes strive by their invective to hide the weakness of their reasoning; as the cuttlefish are said to cast forth ink before them, in order to escape from their pursuers, or themselves to hunt others when unperceived.  But we show that our warfare is in behalf of Christ by fighting as Christ, the peaceable and meek,92    S. Matt. xi. 29. Who has borne our infirmities, fought.93    Ib. viii. 17; Isai. liii. 4.  Though peaceable, we do not injure the word of truth, by yielding a jot, to gain a reputation for reasonableness; for we do not pursue that which is good by means of ill:  and we are peaceable by the legitimate character of our warfare, confined as it is to our own limits, and the rules of the Spirit.  Upon these points, this is my decision, and I lay down the law for all stewards of souls and dispensers of the Word:  neither to exasperate others by their harshness, nor to render them arrogant by submissiveness:  but to be of good words in treating of the Word, and in neither direction to overstep the mean.

ΙΓʹ. Βούλεσθε προσθῶμέν τι καὶ νεανικώτερον; Ὁρᾶτε τὰς ἐναντίας γλώσσας ἡμερουμένας, καὶ τοὺς θεότητι πολεμοῦντας ἡμῖν ἡσυχάζοντας; Καὶ τοῦτο τοῦ Πνεύματος, καὶ τοῦτο τῆς γεωργίας τῆς ἡμετέρας. Οὐ γὰρ ἀπαιδεύτως παιδεύομεν, οὐδὲ ταῖς ὕβρεσι βάλλομεν, ὅπερ πάσχουσιν οἱ πολλοὶ, μὴ τῷ λόγῳ μαχόμενοι, τοῖς δὲ λέγουσι, καὶ τὴν ἀσθένειαν ἔστιν ὅτε τῶν λογισμῶν ταῖς ὕβρεσι συγκαλύπτοντες: ὥσπερ τὰς σηπίας λόγος ἐμεῖν τὸ μέλαν πρὸ ἑαυτῶν, ἵνα τοὺς θηρεύοντας διαφύγωσιν, ἢ τῷ λανθάνειν θηράσωσιν. Ἀλλὰ τὸ περὶ Χριστοῦ πολεμεῖν δείκνυμεν, ἐν τῷ μάχεσθαι κατὰ Χριστὸν, τὸν εἰρηνικόν τε καὶ πρᾶον, καὶ τὰς ἀσθενείας ἡμῶν βαστάσαντα. Οὔτε εἰρηνεύομεν κατὰ τοῦ λόγου τῆς ἀληθείας, ὑφιέντες τι διὰ δόξαν ἐπιεικείας: οὐ γὰρ κακῶς τὸ καλὸν θηρεύομεν: καὶ εἰρηνεύομεν ἐννόμως μαχόμενοι, καὶ εἴσω τῶν ἡμετέρων ὅρων, καὶ κανόνων τοῦ Πνεύματος. Περὶ μὲν οὖν τούτων οὕτω γινώσκω, καὶ νόμον τίθημι πᾶσι τοῖς ψυχῶν οἰκονόμοις, καὶ τοῦ λόγου ταμίαις: μήτε τῷ σκληρῷ τραχύνειν, μήτε τῷ ὑπεσταλμένῳ κατεπαίρειν: ἀλλ' εὐλόγους εἶναι περὶ τὸν λόγον, μηδετέρῳ τὸ μέτρον ὑπερβαίνοντας.