Say not, Wherefore had I not the gift of teaching? or, If I had it, I should have edified innumerable souls. Thou knowest not, if thou hadst it, whether it would not be to thy condemnation,--whether envy, whether sloth, would not have disposed thee to hide thy talent. Now, indeed, thou art now free from all these, and though thou give not "the portion of meat" ( Luke xii. 42 ), thou art not called to account: but then, thou wouldest have been responsible for many.
[9.] And besides, neither now art thou without the gift. Show in the little, what thou wouldst have been, if thou hadst had the other. "For if" (he says) "ye are not faithful in that which is little, how shall any one give you that which is great?" ( Luke xvi. 11.) Give such proof as did the widow; she had two farthings, [2778] and she cast in all, whatsoever she possessed.
Dost thou seek riches? Prove that thou thinkest lightly of the few things, that I may trust thee also concerning the many things. But if thou dost not think lightly even of these, much less wilt thou do so of the other.
Again, in speech, prove that thou canst use fitly exhortation and counsel. Hast thou not external eloquence? hast thou not store of thoughts? But nevertheless thou knowest these common things. Thou hast a child, thou hast a neighbor, thou hast a friend, thou hast a brother, thou hast kinsmen. And though publicly before the Church, thou art not able to draw out a long discourse, these thou canst exhort in private. Here, there is no need of rhetoric, nor of elaborate discourse: prove in these, that if thou hadst skill of speech, thou wouldest not have neglected it. But if in the small matter thou art not in earnest, how shall I trust thee concerning the great?
For, that every man can do this, hear what Paul saith, how he charged even lay people; "Edify," he says, "one another, as also ye do." ( 1 Thess. v. 11.) And, "Comfort one another with these words." ( 1 Thess. iv. 18.) God knoweth how He should distribute to every man. Art thou better than Moses? hear how he shrinks from the hardship. "Am I," saith he, "able to bear them? for Thou saidst to me, Bear them up, as a nursing-father would bear up the sucking-child." ( Num. xi. 12.) What then did God? He took of his spirit and gave unto the others, showing that neither when he bare them was the gift his own, but of the Spirit. If thou hadst had the gift, thou wouldst perchance [2779] have been lifted up, perchance wouldst thou have been turned out of the way. Thou knowest not thyself as God knoweth thee. Let us not say, To what end is that? on what account is this? When God dispenseth, let us not demand an account of Him: for this [is] of the uttermost impiety and folly. We are slaves, and slaves far apart from our Master, knowing not even the things which are before us.
[10.] Let us not then busy ourselves about the counsel of God, but whatsoever He hath given, this let us guard, though it be small, though it be the lowest, and we shall be altogether approved. Or rather, none of the gifts of God is small: art thou grieved because thou hast not the gift of teaching? Then tell me, which seems to you the greater, to have the gift of teaching, or the gift of driving away diseases? Doubtless the latter. But what? Tell me; doth it not seem to thee greater to give eyes to the blind than even to drive away diseases? But what? Tell me; doth it not seem to thee greater to raise the dead than to give eyes to the blind? What again, tell me; doth it not seem to thee greater to do this by shadows and napkins, than by a word? Tell me then, which wouldst thou? Raise the dead with shadows and napkins, or have the gift of teaching? Doubtless thou wilt say the former, to raise the dead with shadows and napkins. If then I should show to thee, that there is another gift far greater than this, and that thou dost not receive it when it is in thy power to receive it, art not thou justly deprived of those others? And this gift not one or two, but all may have. I know that ye open wide your mouths and are amazed, at being to hear that it is in your power to have a greater gift than raising the dead, and giving eyes to the blind, doing the same things which were done in the time of the Apostles. And it seems to you past belief.
What then is this gift? charity. Nay, believe me; for the word is not mine, but Christ's speaking by Paul. For what saith he? "Covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet show I unto you a more excellent way." ( 1 Cor. xii. 31.) What is this, "yet more excellent"? What he means is this. The Corinthians were proud over their gifts, and those having tongues, the least gift, were puffed up against the rest. He saith therefore, Do ye by all means desire gifts? I show unto you a way of gifts not merely excelling but far more excellent. Then he saith, "Though I speak with the tongues of Angels, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I have faith so as to remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing." ( 1 Cor. xiii. 1, 2.)
Hast thou seen the gift? Covet earnestly this gift. This is greater than raising the dead. This is far better than all the rest. And that it is so, hear what Christ Himself saith, discoursing with His disciples, "By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples." ( John xiii. 35.) And showing how, He mentioned not the miracles, but what? "If ye have love one with another." And again He saith to the Father, "Hereby shall they know that Thou hast sent Me, if they be one." ( John xvii. 21.) And He said to His disciples, "A new commandment I give to you, that ye love one another." ( John xiii. 34.) Such an one therefore is more venerable and glorious than those who raise the dead; with reason. For that indeed is wholly of God's grace, but this, of thine own earnestness also. This is of one who is a Christian indeed: this shows the disciple of Christ, the crucified, the man that hath nothing common with earth. Without this, not even martyrdom can profit.
And as a proof, see this plainly. The blessed Paul took two of the highest virtues, or rather three; namely, those which consist in miracles, in knowledge, in life. And without this the others, he said, are nothing. And I will say how these are nothing. "Though I give my goods to feed the poor," he says, "and have not charity, I am nothing." ( 1 Cor. xiii. 3.) For it is possible not to be charitable even when one feeds the poor and exhausts one's means.
[11.] And indeed these things have been sufficiently declared by us, in the place concerning Charity: [2780] and thither we refer the readers. Meanwhile, as I was saying, let us covet earnestly the Gift, let us love one another; and we shall need nothing else for the perfect acquisition of virtue, but all will be easy to us without toils and we shall do all perfectly with much diligence.
But see, even now, it is said, we love one another. For one man hath two friends, and another three. But this is not to love for God's sake, but for the sake of being beloved. But to love for God's sake hath not this as its principle of Love; but such an one will be disposed towards all men as towards brethren; loving those that are of the same faith as being true brothers; heretics and Heathen and Jews, brothers indeed by nature, but vile and unprofitable,--pitying and wearing himself out and weeping for them. Herein we shall be like God if we love all men, even our enemies; not, if we work miracles. For we regard even God with admiration when He worketh wonders, yet much more, when He showeth love towards man, when He is long-suffering. If then even in God this is worthy of much admiration, much more in men is it evident that this rendereth us admirable.
This then let us zealously seek after: and we shall be no way inferior to Paul and Peter and those who have raised innumerable dead, though we may not be able to drive away a fever. But without this [Love]; though we should work greater miracles even than the Apostles themselves, though we should expose ourselves to innumerable dangers for the faith: there will be to us no profit from any. And these things it is not I that say, but he, the very nourisher of Charity, knoweth these things. To him then let us be obedient; for thus we shall be able to attain to the good things promised, of which may we all be made partakers, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, with whom to the Father with the Holy Ghost, be the glory, now and for ever and world without end. Amen.
[2766] duo prosopa deiknus, kai Theon kai anthropon. That is both two distinct Persons in the Godhead, and also the Divine and human natures of the Christ. The corrector would seem to have understood it "two Persons, both God and man" ; the common texts read duo ton auton deiknus, k. th. k. a "showing the same [Person] to be two, both God and man." [The first kai may well be translated both. It seems to have been omitted by the corrector simply as superfluous, not as altering the sense.--F.G.]
[2767] Sav. and Ben. omit Ioudaious. The teaching of Paul of Samosata was regarded as closely connected with Judaism, and he and his followers were called Jews.
[2768] kata ten hupostasin, see above, pp. 370, 371, notes.
[2769] The Ben. editor observes that it had been said that ho theos with the article is used in Scripture only of the Father, and that St. Chrys. here as in other places argues that it is used of the Son.
[2770] This last clause seems unconnected as it stands here. If there were ms. authority one should be glad to transfer it a few lines lower, after the management of Angels: ta dia ton angelon oikonomethenta, or to place here the words "What shall we say," down to " thick darkness."
[2771] See St. Chrys. on the passage, 2 Cor. x. 5 [p. 242, O.T.]. The expression "captivity" was the "word of evil sound."
[2772] Rom. i. 27
[2773] lit. ferried it over: dieporthmeusen, the word is specially applied to messages between earth and heaven, by Pseudo-Dionys. Areop. de Celesti Hierarchia, c. xv. 6. "The Angels are called Winds, to express their rapid power of making things, how it reaches almost to all things without time; and their motion in the manner of those who ferry over, from above downwards, and again from the lower parts up the steep, both drawing out the things of secondary order towards that loftier height, and moving those of the first order to come forth in the way of sympathy and care for their inferiors."
[2774] e pisteuthe. Dunæus suggested e pistothe, "it was accredited," but there is no ms. authority for the change.
[2775] St. Chrys. seems to have had in view 2 Cor. i. 21, 22 , where "confirming" is connected with the earnest of "the Spirit." [The passage is, "how he which stablishes us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God; who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." --F.G.]
[2776] dunameis
[2777] Hist. Sus . 42
[2778] o bolous
[2779] pollakis, see Mr. Field's note.
[2780] His Homily on 1 Cor. xiii. 3 [pp. 444 sqq. O.T.] is referred to.