That Former Offences Do Sometimes Render After Accusations Credible.
L. For if he has been before addicted to wicked works, the accusations which are now brought against him will thence in some measure appear to be true, unless justice do plainly plead for him. For it may be, that though he had formerly been an offender, yet that he may not be guilty of this crime of which he is accused. Wherefore be exactly cautious about such circumstances, and so render your sentences, when pronounced against the offender convicted, safe and firm. And if, after his separation, he begs pardon, and falls down before the bishop, and acknowledges his fault, receive him. But neither do you suffer a false accuser to go unpunished, that he may not calumniate another who lives well, or encourage some other person to do like him. Nor, to be sure, do ye suffer a person convicted to go off clear, lest another be ensnared in the same crimes. For neither shall a witness of mischiefs be unpunished, nor shall he that offends be without censure.
Against Judging Without Hearing Both Sides.
LI. We said before that judgment ought not to be given upon hearing only one of the parties; for if you hear one of them when the other is not there, and so cannot make his defence to the accusation brought against him, and rashly give your votes for condemnation, you will be found guilty of that man's destruction, and partaker with the false accuser before God, the just Judge. For "as he that holdeth the tail of a dog, so is he that presides at unjust judgment." [2808] But if ye become imitators of the elders in Babylon, who, when they had borne witness against Susanna, unjustly condemned her to death, you will become obnoxious to their judgment and condemnation. For the Lord by Daniel delivered Susanna from the hand of the ungodly, but condemned to the fire those elders who were guilty of her blood, and reproaches you by him, saying: "Are ye so foolish, ye children of Israel? Without examination, and without knowing the truth, have ye condemned a daughter of Israel? Return again to the place of judgment, for these men have borne false witness against her." [2809]
The Caution Observed at Heathen Tribunals Before the Condemnation of Criminals Affords Christians a Good Example.
LII. Consider even the judicatures of this world, by whose power we see murderers, adulterers, wizards, robbers of sepulchres, and thieves brought to trial; and those that preside, when they have received their accusations from those that brought them, ask the malefactor whether those things be so. And though he does not deny the crimes, they do not presently send him out to punishment; but for several days they make inquiry about him with a full council, and with the veil interposed. And he that is to pass the final decree and suffrage of death against him, lifts up his hands to the sun, and solemnly affirms that he is innocent of the blood of the man. Though they be heathens, and know not the Deity, nor the vengeance which will fall upon men from God on account of those that are justly condemned, they avoid such unjust judgments.
That Christians Ought Not to Be Contentious One with Another.
LIII. But you who know who our God is, and what are His judgments, how can you bear to pass an unjust judgment, since your sentence will be immediately known to God? And if you have judged righteously, you will be deemed worthy of the recompenses of righteousness, both now and hereafter; but if unrighteously, you will partake of the like. We therefore advise you, brethren, rather to deserve commendation from God than rebukes; for the commendation of God is eternal life to men, as is His rebuke everlasting death. Be ye therefore righteous judges, peacemakers, and without anger. For "he that is angry with his brother without a cause is obnoxious to the judgment." [2810] But if it happens that by any one's contrivance you are angry at anybody, "let not the sun go down upon your wrath;" [2811] for says David, "Be angry and sin not;" [2812] that is, be soon reconciled, lest your wrath continue so long that it turn to a settled hatred, and work sin. "For the souls of those that bear a settled hatred are to death," [2813] says Solomon. But our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ says in the Gospels: "If thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift to God." [2814] Now the gift to God is every one's prayer and thanksgiving. If, therefore, thou hast anything against thy brother, or he has anything against thee, neither will thy prayers be heard, nor will thy thanksgivings be accepted, by reason of that hidden anger. But it is your duty, brethren, to pray continually. Yet, because God hears not those which are at enmity with their brethren by unjust quarrels, even though they should pray three times an hour, it is our duty to compose all our enmity and littleness of soul, that we may be able to pray with a pure and unpolluted heart. For the Lord commanded us to love even our enemies, and by no means to hate our friends. And the lawgiver says: "Thou shalt not hate any man; thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy mind. Thou shalt certainly reprove thy brother, and not incur sin on his account." [2815] "Thou shalt not hate an Egyptian, for thou wast a sojourner with him. Thou shalt not hate an Idumæan, for he is thy brother." [2816] And David says: "If I have repaid those that requited me evil." [2817] Wherefore, if thou wilt be a Christian, follow the law of the Lord: "Loose every band of wickedness;" [2818] for the Lord has given thee authority to remit those sins to thy brother which he has committed against thee as far as "seventy times seven," [2819] that is, four hundred and ninety times. How oft, therefore, hast thou remitted to thy brother, that thou art unwilling to do it now, when thou also hast heard Jeremiah saying, "Do not any of you impute the wickedness of his neighbour in your hearts?" [2820] But thou rememberest injuries, and keepest enmity, and comest into judgment, and art suspicious of His anger, and thy prayer is hindered. Nay, if thou hast remitted to thy brother four hundred and ninety times, do thou still multiply thy acts of gentleness more, to do good for thy own sake. Although he does not do so, yet, however, do thou endeavour to forgive thy brother for God's sake, "that thou mayest be the son of thy Father which is in heaven," [2821] and when thou prayest, mayest be heard as a friend of God.
That the Bishops Must by Their Deacon Put the People in Mind of the Obligation They are Under to Live Peaceably Together.
LIV. Wherefore, O bishop, when you are to go to prayer after the lessons, and the psalmody, and the instruction out of the Scriptures, let the deacon stand nigh you, and with a loud voice say: Let none have any quarrel with another; let none come in hypocrisy; that if there be any controversy found among any of you, they may be affected in conscience, and may pray to God, and be reconciled to their brethren. For if, upon coming into any one's house, we are to say, "Peace be to this house," [2822] like sons of peace bestowing peace on those who are worthy, as it is written, "He came and preached peace to you that are nigh, and them that are far off, whom the Lord knows to be His," [2823] much more is it incumbent on those that enter into the Church of God before all things to pray for the peace of God. But if he prays for it upon others, much more let himself be within the same, as a child of light; for he that has it not within himself is not fit to bestow it upon others. Wherefore, before all things, it is our duty to be at peace in our own minds; for he that does not find any disorder in himself will not quarrel with another, but will be peaceable, friendly, gathering the Lord's people, and a fellow-worker with him, in order to the increasing the number of those that shall be saved in unanimity. For those who contrive enmities, and strifes, and contests, and lawsuits, are wicked, and aliens from God.
An Enumeration of the Several Instances of Divine Providence, and How in Every Age from the Beginning of the World God Has Invited All Men to Repentance.
LV. For God, being a God of mercy from the beginning, called every generation to repentance by righteous men and prophets. He instructed those before the flood by Abel and Sem, and Seth, also by Enos, and by Enoch that was translated; those at the flood by Noah; the inhabitants of Sodom by hospitable Lot; those after the flood by Melchizedek, and the patriarchs, and Job the beloved of God; the Egyptians by Moses; the Israelites by him, and Joshua, and Caleb, and Phineas, and the rest; those after the law by angels and prophets, and the same by His own incarnation [2824] of the Virgin; those a little before His bodily appearance by John His forerunner, and the same by the same person after Christ's birth, saying, "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand;" [2825] those after His passion by us, the twelve apostles, and Paul the chosen vessel. We therefore, who have been vouchsafed the favour of being the witnesses of His appearance, together with James the brother of our Lord, and the other seventy-two disciples, and his seven deacons, have heard from the mouth of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by exact knowledge declare "what is the will of God, that good, and acceptable, and perfect will" [2826] which is made known to us by Jesus; that none should perish, but that all men with one accord should believe in Him, and send unanimously praise to Him, and thereby live for ever.
That It is the Will of God that Men Should Be of One Mind in Matters of Religion, in Accord with the Heavenly Powers.
LVI. For this is that which our Lord taught us when we pray to say to His Father, "Thy will be done, as in heaven, so upon earth;" [2827] that as the heavenly natures of the incorporeal powers do all glorify God with one consent, so also upon earth all men with one mouth and one purpose may glorify the only, the one, and the true God, by Christ His only-begotten. It is therefore His will that men should praise Him with unanimity, and adore Him with one consent. [2828] For this is His will in Christ, that those who are saved by Him may be many; but that you do not occasion any loss or diminution to Him, nor to the Church, or lessen the number by one soul of man, as destroyed by you, which might have been saved by repentance; and which therefore perishes not only by its own sin, but also by your treachery besides, whereby you fulfil that which is written, "He that gathereth not with me, scattereth." [2829] Such a one is a disperser of the sheep, an adversary, an enemy of God, a destroyer of those lambs whose Shepherd was the Lord, and we were the collectors out of various nations and tongues, by much pains and danger, and perpetual labour, by watchings, by fastings, by lyings on the ground, by persecutions, by stripes, by imprisonments, that we might do the will of God, and fill the feast-chamber with guests to sit down at His table, that is, the holy and Catholic Church, with joyful and chosen people, singing hymns and praises to God that has called them by us to life. And you, as much as in you lies, have dispersed them. Do you also of the laity be at peace with one another, endeavouring like wise men to increase the Church, and to turn back, and tame, and restore those which seem wild. For this is the greatest reward by His promise from God, "If thou fetch out the worthy and precious from the unworthy, thou shalt be as my mouth." [2830]
[2788] Lev. xxvi. 27, 28.
[2789] Ps. xviii. 26.
[2790] 1 Cor. i. 10; Eph. iv. 4.
[2791] Ex. xviii.
[2792] 1 Cor. vi. 1, etc.
[2793] Matt. xxii. 21.
[2794] Matt. xvii. 24, etc.
[2795] One V. ms. reads "God" instead of "Christ."
[2796] Matt. xviii. 21, 22.
[2797] Matt. v. 9.
[2798] [i.e., Saturday.]
[2799] Deut. xix. 17.
[2800] Deut. xvi. 20.
[2801] Matt. vii. 2.
[2802] Deut. xix. 15.
[2803] Susanna 28.
[2804] 1 Kings xxi.
[2805] Matt. xxvi.
[2806] Acts vi. and vii.