[68] Here again, as usual, in the renewed exposition, the text is omitted.
[69] E meter sou kai hoi adelphoi sou ezetoumen se. A. C. ho pater sou k. t. l. B. For ezet. we must read zetousin. The passage referred to is Matt. xiii. 47, where however it is not Mary that speaks, but "A certain person said unto Him, Behold, Thy mother and Thy brethren stand without seeking to speak with Thee." In the Homily on that passage, Chrys. interprets that Mary presented herself on that occasion ouden oudepo peri autou mega phantazomene, "having as yet no high idea of His Person," and that both she and His brethren, hos anthropo proseichon psilo "looked upon Him as mere man." In the same way he adverts to that incident here, for contrast with the higher faith of Joseph; but as the statement, "His mother said," is not accurate, the modern text substitutes the passage, Luke ii. 48, and reads, he meter elegen, 'Ego kai ho pater sou odunomenoi ezetoumen se. It seems that Chrys. cited this passage also (hence our mss. have ezetoumen for zetousi), meaning, that it was not Joseph who said this, but Mary.--OEcumenius, however, gives a different turn to this passage of St. Chrys. "And if Joseph had been alive, he too would have been present; especially as he never, like his sons (hoi ex autou viz. the adelphoi), entertained a doubt of the mystery of the Incarnation. But it is manifest that he was long dead; since even on the occasion when, as Jesus was teaching, His kinsfolk demanded to see Him, Joseph was not present. For what says the Gospel? "Thy mother and thy brethren without seek thee;" but not also, Thy father.
[70] 'Epi to auto: a comment on v. 15.
[71] Kaitoige isotupon hapasin eiche ten katastasin, which Erasm. justly renders, Quanquam habebat jus constituendi por omnibus: i.e. the ordination by St. Peter singly, would have been as valid as the ordination by the whole body. D. F. have kaitoi oude, i.e. and yet he possessed a power of ordaining, in which they were not all upon a par with him: which reading is accepted by Morel. Sav. and Ben., and is rendered by the last, Quanquam non pari forma apud omnes ejus vigebat auctoritas. This reading originated in a mistake as to the meaning of the other, as if that asserted only that St. Peter had the same power of ordaining as any of the rest.
[72] kurios eremoseos megales. Something perhaps is wanting between kur. and er. m. Indeed the text seems to consist of little more than a few rough notes.
[73] Taphos gegonen he polis ton xenon, ton stratioton. In the defective state of the text it is not easy to conjecture what this can mean. Perhaps, alluding to the words in St. Matthew, "a place to bury strangers in." St. Chrys. may have explained, that the strangers were not heathen (ekeinous gar oud' an eiasan taphenai, they would not have allowed such to be buried in or by the Holy City, much less have provided a place of burial for them), but foreign Jews: and if in taphos gegonen he polis he alludes to the description in Josephus, B. J. v. 12. 3. and 13. 7. this explanation of the term "strangers" would be the more apposite, as the myriads who perished in the siege were assembled from all parts of the world. The soldiers' seem to be the mercenaries on the side of the Jews: five thousand Idumæans are mentioned, B. J. v. 6. 1.
[74] The requirement for the apostolic office is here clearly indicated. The candidate must have associated with Christ and his apostles during the period from John's baptism to the Lord's ascension, i.e. during His public ministry. The character of the apostolate is also significantly implied in the term martus tes anastaseos autou. The resurrection was the great central theme of apostolic teaching and preaching (vid. Acts iv. 2, 33; xvii. 18, 32).--G.B.S.
[75] Here the Edd. have hemeis; pothen delon; ex hon thaumatourgoumen. "ourselves: how is this proved? by the miracles we work." C. has not these words, which are not needed, but rather disturb the sense.
[76] The words of the text (v. 23) Kai estesan duo are better rendered "put forward" (Rev. Vs.) than "appointed." (A.Y.) The meaning is that the company chose two persons as candidates, leaving the decision between them to the lot.--G.B.S.
[77] Ouch haplos de prostithesin ekeinon, D. and E. have ouch haplos de ou protithesin ekeinon, according to which the sense would be the same: "Not without reason does he avoid putting Matthias first."
[78] Here the Edd. add, ouchi ton exothen, "not by those without:" but these words are not found in our mss. of either text, nor in the Catena.
[79] So, except E. all our mss. and the Catena: and Morel. Ben. But Sav. and Par. "they did not yet think themselves worthy to make the election by themselves: wherefore they desire to be informed by some sign." An unnecessary alteration; for the sign means some miraculous token. So OEcumen.
[80] Mss. and Edd. pollo mallon entautha eplerose ton choron, apertise ten taxin. The Catena adds ho anadechtheis (anadeichtheis), which we have adopted.
[81] Edd. Panu ge. Ou gar episkopou legeis ergon. Read Panu ge (ou gar;) episk. leg. ergon.
[82] Sumbainei tina kleron diadexasthai andron mochtheron. The expression below, hoti mochtheros tis esti shows that the and. mochth., ill-conditioned men,' are clerks. The offences meant seem to have been before ordination: and the difficulty is, How to deal with a clerk who ought not to have been ordained at all? You cannot cut him off from the order of clergy, there being no present actual delinquency to justify such a step. Then suppose you do not call him to account for the past, on the ground that the bishop who ordained him must be answerable: what are you to do, when this man should in the regular course be advanced to a higher order of the ministry? To refuse to ordain him, would be to publish his unworthiness, and call attention to the scandal of his having been ordained in the first instance: to advance him, would be even worse.
[83] Here the Edd. add antisteson ten geennan, "put in the other balance--hell:" which, however, is not found in any of our mss.
[84] hina hen hamarte hamartema monon, ekolazeto pikros. On this peculiar construction, see Field, Adnotat, in Hom. in Matt. p. 404. E.--In the next sentence St. Chrys. in applying the term hiereus to Moses, does not mean that Moses was a Priest, but that he held a station similar in some regards to that of Bishops afterwards. Aaron was properly the High Priest, but Moses was a type of Christian Bishops, considered as Chief Pastors and Rulers.
[85] Mallon de nun oude meta to ekbenai delos tois pollois; ou gar estin autois polemos; & 135;lla kata tous poimenas ekeinous, k. t. l. Perhaps Chrys. is not fully reported here. The meaning seems to be: "The proverb, glukus ho polemos apeirois, may well be applied here; it is a fine thing to be a bishop, to those who have not tried it. Little do people think what this war is, before they have entered into it. But in our times, not only pro tou embenai, but even meta to ekbenai, after a good bishop has gone through with it, the generality of people do not see that there has been any war in the case. We bishops, in their view, are like Ezekiel's shepherds. And no marvel, for many among us are such." The author of the modern text has given a different turn to the sentiment. Here it is: "The same may well be said in the present case; or rather, we do say it before we have entered into the contest; but after we have embarked in it, we become not even visible to the generality. For to us now there is no war, against those who oppress the poor, nor do we endure to battle in defence of the flock; but like those shepherds, etc."
[86] Vigils were celebrated in C.'s time with much pomp. A grand ceremonial of this kind was held in the first year of his episcopate, at the translation of the relics.
[87] Poi& 251; gar suneidoti an (l. kan) gene spoudasas e, k. t. l. The meaning is strangely mistaken by the Lat. transl. Erasm. has, Quem enim conscium adibis si vel, etc. Ben. Quo uteris conscio si ambias vel, etc. The poiois ophthalmois following might have shown the meaning, not to mention the ungrammatical rendering of an gene spoudasas.
[88] See de Sacerdot, lib. iv. in the opening, where this question is considered at length.
[89] Parachoreso tes didaskalias himin: I will cede the teaching to you; let it be yours to teach by your actions, which is the more potent teaching.
[90] Ta gar para philon legomena, Kan hubris e, phoreta. Apparently a quotation.
[91] Edd. apuloimen ei me: "May I perish if, etc." but none of our mss. have this word.