16. Pride is the source of all diseases, because pride is the source of all sins. When a physician removes a disorder from the body, if he merely cures the malady produced by some particular cause, but not the cause itself, he seems to heal the patient for a time, but while the cause remains, the disease will repeat itself. For example, to speak of this more expressly, some humor in the body produces a scurf or sores; there follows a high fever, and not a little pain; certain remedies are applied to repress the scurf, and to allay that heat of the sore; the remedies are applied, and they do good; thou seest the man who was full of sores and scurf healed; but because that humor was not expelled, it returns again to ulcers. The physician, perceiving this, purges away the humor, removes the cause, and there will be no more sores. Whence doth iniquity abound? From pride. Cure pride and there will be no more iniquity. Consequently, that the cause of all diseases might be cured, namely, pride, the Son of God came down and was made low. Why art thou proud, O man? God, for thee, became low. Thou wouldst perhaps be ashamed to imitate a lowly man; at any rate, imitate the lowly God. The Son of God came in the character of a man and was made low. Thou art taught to become humble, not of a man to become a brute. He, being God, became man; do thou, O man, recognize that thou art man. Thy whole humility is to know thyself. Therefore because God teaches humility, He said, "I came not to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent me." For this is the commendation of humility. Whereas pride doeth its own will, humility doeth the will of God. Therefore, "Whoso cometh to me, I will not cast him out." Why? "Because I came not to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent me." I came humble, I came to teach humility, I came a master of humility: he that cometh to me is made one body with me; he that cometh to me becomes humble; he who adhereth to me will be humble, because he doeth not his own will, but the will of God; and therefore he shall not be cast out, for when he was proud he was cast out.
17. See those inner things commended to us in the psalm: "But the sons of men will put their trust in the covering of Thy wings." See what it is to enter within; see what it is to flee for refuge to His protection; see what it is to run even under the Father's lash, for He scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. "But the sons of men shall put their trust under the cover of Thy wings." What is within? "They shall be filled with the plenteousness of Thy house," when Thou shalt have sent them within, entering into the joy of their Lord; "they shall be filled with the plenteousness of Thy house; and Thou shalt give them to drink of the stream of Thy pleasure. For with Thee is the fountain of life." Not away without Thee, but within with Thee, is the fountain of life. "And in Thy light we shall see light. Show Thy mercy upon them that know Thee, and Thy righteousness to them that are of upright heart." They who follow the will of their Lord, not seeking their own, but the things of the Lord Jesus Christ, they are the upright in heart, their feet shall not be moved. For "God is good to Israel, to the upright in heart. But, as for me, says he, my feet were almost moved." Why? "Because I was jealous at sinners, looking at the peace of sinners." [505] To whom is God good then, unless to the upright in heart? For God was displeasing to me when my heart was crooked. Why displeasing? Because He gave happiness to the wicked, and therefore my feet tottered, as if I had served God in vain. For this reason, then, my feet were almost moved, because I was not upright of heart. What then is upright in heart? Following the will of God. One man is prosperous, another man toils; the one lives wickedly and yet is prosperous, the other lives rightly and is distressed. Let not him that lives rightly and is in distress be angry; he has within what the prosperous man has not: let him therefore not be saddened, nor vex himself, nor faint. That prosperous man has gold in his own chest; this other has God in his conscience. Compare now gold and God, chest and conscience. The former has that which perishes, and has it where it will perish; the latter has God, who cannot perish, and has Him there whence He cannot be taken away: only if he is upright in heart; for then He enters within and goeth not out. For that reason, what said he? "For with Thee is the fountain of life:" not with us. We must therefore enter within, that we may live; we must not be, as it were, content to perish, nor willing to be satisfied of our own, to be dried up, but we must put our mouth to the very fountain, where the water fails not. Because Adam wished to live by his own counsel, he, too, fell through him who had fallen before through pride, who invited him to drink of the cup of his own pride. Wherefore, because "with Thee is the fountain of life, and in Thy light we shall see light," let us drink within, let us see within. Why was there a going out thence? Hear why: "Let not the foot of pride come to me." Therefore he, to whom the foot of pride came, went out. Show that therefore he went out. "And let not the hands of sinners move me;" because of the foot of pride. Why sayest thou this? "They are fallen, all they that work iniquity." Where are they fallen? In their very pride. "They were driven out, and they could not stand." [506] If, then, pride drove them out who were not able to stand, humility sends them in who can stand for ever. For this reason, moreover, he who said, "The bones that were brought low shall rejoice," [507] said before, "Thou shalt give joy and gladness to my hearing." What does he mean by, "to my hearing"? By hearing Thee I am happy; because of Thy voice I am happy; by drinking within I am happy. Therefore do I not fall; therefore "the bones that were brought low will rejoice;" therefore "the friend of the Bridegroom standeth and heareth Him;" therefore he stands, because he hears. He drinks of the fountain within, therefore he stands. They who willed not to drink of the fountain within, "there are they fallen: they were driven, they were not able to stand."
18. Thus, the teacher of humility came not to do His own will, but the will of Him that sent Him. Let us come to Him, enter in unto Him, be ingrafted into Him, that we may not be doing our own will, but the will of God: and He will not cast us out, because we are His members, because He willed to be our head by teaching us humility. Finally, hear Himself discoursing: "Come unto me, ye who labor and are heavy laden: take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly of heart:" and when ye have learned this, "ye shall find rest for your souls," [508] from which ye cannot be cast out; "because I am come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent me;" I teach humility; none but the humble can come unto me. Only pride casteth out; how can he go out who keeps humility and falls not away from the truth? So much as could be said about the hidden sense has now been said, brethren: this sense is hidden enough, and I know not whether I have drawn out and shaped in suitable words for you, why it is that He casteth not out him that cometh unto Him; because He came not to do His own will, but the will of Him that sent Him.
19. "And this," saith He, "is the will of the Father that sent, that of all that He hath given me I should lose nothing." He that keeps humility was given to Him; the same He receives: he that keeps not humility is far from the Master of humility. "That of all which He hath given me, I should lose nothing." "So it is not the will of your Father that one of these little ones should perish." Of the proud, there may perish; but of the little ones, none perisheth; because, "if ye will not become as this little one, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." "Of all that the Father hath given me, I should lose nothing, but I will raise it up again on the last day." See how here He delineates that twofold resurrection. "He that cometh unto me" immediately rises again, being made humble in my members; but I will raise him up again on the last day also according to the flesh. "For this is the will of my Father that sent me, that every one who seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have eternal life; and I will raise him up on the last day." He said above, "Whoso heareth my word, and believeth Him that sent me:" but now, "Whoso seeth the Son, and believeth on Him." He has not said, seeth the Son, and believeth on the Father; for to believe on the Son is the same thing as to believe on the Father. Because, "even as the Father hath life in Himself, so hath He given also to the Son to have life in Himself. That every one who seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have eternal life:" by believing and by passing unto life, just as by that first resurrection. And, because that is not the only resurrection, He saith, "And I will raise him up at the last day."
[487] 1 Cor. xv. 24.
[488] Matt. xxv. 34.
[489] Luke xxiv. 13-21.
[490] Acts i. 6-8.
[491] Ps. vii. 8.
[492] Col. i. 18; Rom. viii. 34.
[493] 1 John ii. 11.
[494] Matt. xxiv. 12.
[495] Ps. ix. 7.
[496] Ps. xxxvi. 7.
[497] Matt. xvi. 13-16.
[498] Ps. xlv. 8.
[499] Rom. iii. 28.
[500] Rom. x. 4.
[501] Gal. v. 6.
[502] Rom. iii. 3.
[503] Matt. xxv. 23.
[504] Ecclus. x. 14, 15.
[505] Ps. lxxiii. 1, 2.
[506] Ps. xxxvi. 8-13.
[507] Ps. li. 10.
[508] Matt. xi. 28, 29.
Tractate XXVI.