No need for me to talk of those who have chosen to go by the broad way, and abuse the narrow; the words of the Saviour are to my mind sufficient condemnation of the roast-hunters, in the passage in which he shows the unnamed rich man, who fared sumptuously every day in this life present, longing for the poor man Lazarus to bring him crumbs and drops of water, and not getting them. Let us look, too, at the company of the saints of old, and see what kind of teaching they employed; whether that of a devout life and words of uprightness, or that of drinking parties and high living. Enoch was the first to be translated; was it by faith, or by joining in drinking parties? Then Noah preserved the human race on the face of the earth, by faith, in the ark of wood, when the world around was purified; was this through a course of drinking parties and unclean works, or by fasting and prayers? And when after this tremendous flood he found a little relief in drinking, do not the scriptures proclaim his disgrace, and not his honour? When the blessed Abraham overcame the five kings at Sodom, and rescued Lot, was it by faith and righteousness, or by eating and drinking?
A Single Instance no Basis for a Universal Rule
Then Theodorus said----
Deac. If you bring Abraham into the discussion, let me call your attention to this point; some one will tell you, that he won the war by faith, but he ensnared God, as you yourself explained just now, by means of the table.
Bish. What an idea! As Abraham ensnared God by means of the table, had we not all better abandon faith and the rest of the virtues, and cultivate drinking parties? Then we shall be no better than inn-keepers and caterers, who line the streets with buildings for the purpose, for filthy lucre's sake. And then the virgins, who strive to be holy in body and spirit, for the glory of God, had better bear children, because Mary bore Christ; if they do so, they will be no better than prostitutes. If our teachers must furnish the pleasures of the table because Abraham did so, then our virgins should bear children because Mary did so.
No, no, my honoured friend; we must not bring ridicule upon things which have been done, or are being done, with the justification of special circumstances; for each man's conscience tells him his duty, if he will have it so.
Further Old Testament Illustrations
Again, did Jacob the wrestler carry off the goods of Laban by austerity, or by taking the chair at drinking parties? "I was consumed by the heat," he said, "and by the frost at night, and sleep departed from me." And he asked in his prayer for no more than bread and clothes: "If thou wilt give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, of all that thou shalt give me I will give the tenth part unto thee." He did not say, "I will spend it on tables." What sort of table did Moses, the spokesman and faithful minister of God, prepare, when he gathered the people to the assembly upon the mountain? What sort of drinking cups did he have? He melted the rock with his rod, because of the unbelief of the people; he led six hundred thousand men out of Egypt; he carried the tables of the law to guide the people in the right way; was it transparent bowls, and pork haggis, and birds from Phasis, and fish from the sea, and Tyrian wine well refined, and snow-white loaves, that he set before those under instruction, or was it words?
Deac. But some one will meet your argument by saying, Give me too manna, and the water that Moses produced, and I ask for no more.
Bish. Who is so dull of wit as to prefer material manna, and water from the stream, to spiritual teaching? Let us pass on. Whom did Samuel, the teacher of the people, after his twenty-five years of retirement at Armathem, ever turn away from idols by means of the table, and not by words? And the king who was at the same time prophet and psalmist; he who said, "I have eaten ashes as bread, and mingled my drink with weeping"; when did he set a luxurious table? Elijah the Tishbite, who brought about a fast all the world over, and made the greedy to go short of food against their will for three years and six months-----by what sort of table did he deliver them from their sin? What cooks had he? Did he not receive his daily bread through ravens?
Daniel the wise, the seer of the future----by what sort of table did he instruct the Assyrians? Was it not by prayer and fasting that he destroyed the dragon, and overthrew Bel, and stopped the mouths of the lions, and moved the king to deny his ancestral gods by the confession of the God who essentially is? What tables, and what sort of good cheer, did the rest of the company of prophets, or of apostles, employ? Were they not teachers? Was not the whole world entrusted to them? Are we not their successors? Does not the word wish us to be imitators of them and observant of their ways, as Paul teaches, when he says, "And considering the issue of their manner of life, imitate their faith"?
The Teaching of John the Baptist
What sort of honey-cakes had John the Baptist, the herald of repentance, in the wilderness; he who was so far from providing meals for those who came to him, that the bitterness of his reproofs actually offended his visitors' taste? His fierce looks, and even his appearance, shook their defiled consciences like an earthquake; much more did his words cut away the abscesses of their souls like knives. "Ye offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance," and do not rely upon baptism by itself, or upon your descent from Abraham.
The Teaching of the Apostle Paul
What of the teacher of the Gentiles, who abolished circumcision, to establish the circumcision of faith, the chosen vessel, Paul? Do we find him busying himself with a table? He was a debtor; but this was the last item of his debt. Does he owe it to the unbelieving Gentiles, first of all, to have table relations with them?
Again, what does he write to Timothy, Bishop of Ephesus? "Take heed unto"----the splendour of thy table? Or "Unto the reading, the exhortation, the doctrine "? These were just the duties in which the blessed John was diligent and strenuous. "Be instant out of season, in season," he continues. "Reprove, rebuke, exhort." No one raises the objection that two of these methods of address are bitter, and one pleasant; or suggests that he brings in the third with a touch of leniency. The exceedingly bitter "Reprove, rebuke," are coupled with "Exhort" (not "flatter"). Exhortation, given scientifically, is more bitter to lovers of pleasure and degenerates, than reproofs, though they may find these the more vexatious. For under the influence of some passion, the soul may perhaps set itself in opposition to reproof, and remain indifferent to what is said; but by exhortation, gently and gradually administered in kindly and truthful language, it is consciously devoured, so to speak, in a slow fire, and sawn in pieces. Now of what does he remind Timothy? Of drinking parties and festivities, or of the revered stories of his tribulations? "Thou hast fully known," he says, "my manner of life," how in my persecutions I set myself with purpose of heart to do all to the glory of God. Does he anywhere mention a table, when reproving error?
Again, let us see what he writes to Titus, Bishop of Crete. Does he discuss meat and drink, or reproofs and teaching? This is what he says: "For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou mightest set in order the things that are wanting, and persuade them not to teach a different doctrine, nor to give heed to tales and endless genealogies"; and he adds the kind of reproof needed: "The Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, idle gluttons." We may ask the belly-olaters, and table-giants, and women-preying hawks, who find fault with John's asceticism, to look through the Old and the New Testaments, and tell us when they find drinking commended, except perhaps in dealing with aliens, and that only as a pledge of peace, since barbarians, like wild beasts, are softened by table law?
The Mischief wrought by Excess
And when did drinking parties lead to anything but sin? When I say "sin," I ought perhaps rather to say, "more grievous idolatry, and fratricide"; as it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play." The play was the issue of drunkenness. "Come, let us make gods, who shall go before us." They were so much shaken by wine, that they looked for gods who could be moved, and departed from the God Who is unshaken, and fills all things without walking a step. And what says the prophet? "The priest's lips should meditate upon drinking parties, for they shall seek from him dinners and lunches"? Or that, "The priest's lips shall guard law, and they shall seek the word from his mouth"? "For he is a messenger of the Lord," and not a cook. Once more, when was it that the, tower was built in Chalane? Before wine, or after wine? Was it not with wine, when Noah had planted the vine-stock, and was the first to gather the fruit of reproach? This shows that it was not the result of drinking, or of planting, but of excess.
When was Joseph sold by his brethren? Was it when they were busy tending the sheep, or when they were killing and eating the best of the flock in idleness, and devising malicious schemes against him over their cups? When did they deliver the head of John the Baptist on a charger to the young harlot? In an assemblage of the wise, or at a drinking party of the lawless? Was it in drinking and eating that the blessed Paul continued his discourse until midnight, or in fasting and teaching, and leading to faith those who knew not God?
As for the Chief of shepherds, the Chief of teachers, the Chief of wise men, Jesus the Christ, the Corrector of human error, where do we find Him eating in a city, except at the Passover?----and this was the fulfilling of mysteries. And what do we find Him discussing with His disciples, when they were anxious? Food, or reading? "Labour," He says, "not for the meat which perisheth, but for that which endureth."
Chrysostom's Action Justified
So the good John may well say, with the Lord, My drinking-party is the teaching and distribution of the word, for which I was chosen, for the salvation of the people. For meat does not commend us to God, neither if we eat it, nor if we do not eat it. It is with the Gentiles that the custom prevails, of winning with tables those whom they seek to ensnare; as they cannot persuade them with words, they say, "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." The apostle launches upon them an unusually severe correction: "Be not deceived; evil communications corrupt good manners." By "evil communications" he means the whirl of talking which goes on over such things.
> CHAPTER XIII. A DEFENCE AGAINST THE CHARGE OF TYRANNICAL DEPOSITIONS
No Exception made for Bishops
Deac. You have delivered yourself with sincerity and learning; your contention is sound. "Woe unto him that calleth sweet bitter, and bitter sweet. Woe unto him that setteth darkness as light, and light as darkness." Still, some one will say, We do not assert, any more than you do; that John was given to such tables as these. It is true that extravagant ambition is at the bottom of the love of pleasure; excessive parsimony is equally a proof of slovenliness and pettiness of mind. He might have invited bishops only, especially the more devout bishops; if not bishops, at least his own clergy, after the example of the Lord when He ate with the twelve apostles.
Bish. The objection you raise, most truth-loving of men, would be most valid, if only the clergy would have been content to have their meals with John, and get their food an hour, or a day, late; but they expected lavish hospitality, and great style, punctually to the minute. It would have been absurd to waste the food of the sick or the poor on feasting the healthy. Besides, what an idea it is, for the pupils to lay down the law for the teacher, or the patients for the doctor, or the passengers for the pilot. It is always the doctor who cures the sick, the teacher who instructs the pupils, the pilot who woos the welfare of the passengers. Moreover, the love of life makes those who take the advice of a doctor or a pilot willing to bear any pain or hardship, though they cannot guarantee success; the teacher of the higher life is entrusted with the duty of eradicating diseases and infirmities, and trained to overcome the fiercest waves of lust. Yet people do their utmost to oppose him with their unbridled tongues, and stir up all the mud with unwashed feet. And if John had surrendered himself, and given himself over to tables, how many of the important people could he have satisfied, living as he did in a great city, where every one wanted to dine with him, either to get a blessing, or because he was poor, or because he was greedy? And how could he have found time for religious meditation, the ministrations to his flock, the study of holy scripture, the care of the widows, the en couragement of the virgins, the nursing of the sick, the assistance of those in distress, the conversion of those in error, the anxious thought for the broken in heart, the visiting of the prisoners? How could he have escaped the reproachful curse of God, pronounced in Ezekiel? "Woe unto the shepherds who feed themselves, and feed not the flock! Ye did not bring again that which had wandered, that which was lost ye sought not, the weak ye visited not, that which was broken ye bound not up; the fatlings ye killed and ate." Of whom Paul writes, "Ye bear with a man, if he bringeth you into bondage, if he devoureth you, if he taketh you captive." "And ye clothe yourselves with the wool, but ye feed not the flock." And He says in Jeremiah of the idle shepherds, "Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard."
The Good Name of a Priest
Deac. In time, he might have paid his respects to these people, without neglecting ecclesiastical duties, so as not to get himself a bad name, when in everything else he was so eminent.
Bish. This is just what is wanted in a priest----not to get himself a bad name, so as to have full scope for his gifts of speech, his energy, his zeal, and all the other right dispositions of a priest. Do you not know, my most honoured Theodorus, that one of the beatitudes laid down by the Lord deals with unreasonable accusations? "Blessed are ye, when men shall reproach you, and say all manner of evil things against you. But woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you; for so did their fathers to the prophets." And how could lips trained in divine oracles, and an car accustomed to listen to divine precepts, endure the gossip of the table, when the Lord says, "No man can serve two masters," continuing, "Ye cannot serve God and mammon"? We had better find out what is mammon, or we may find ourselves not even serving the two masters, but mammon only. For in this passage He does not mean by "mammon" "the devil," but the vain industry of this world, from which the word of God bids His disciples to stand aloof.
True Priestly Work not in Earthly, but in Spiritual Things
Deac. I am quite satisfied with the light you have thrown upon this question of the table. Now, most holy father, come back to your narrative of events. And do not be vexed with me for raising objections; it is only because I wanted to learn more that I kept questioning your abundant learning at greater length than you liked.
Bish. Let me make this point still more clear to you, Theodorus, most earnest lover of learning. I was myself once one of those who are bent on pleasing the masses with the table; and I say that a bishop, especially the bishop of a large city, who leaves the ministry of the word, and has not in his hands by night and day the tables of the law, and performs his ministrations to the poor not in person, but by proxy, is quite a different person from those who said, "Lo, we have left all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?" He must be ranked with those who said, "Lord, did we not in thy name do this or that?" and like them, he will hear the answer, "Depart from me, ye cursed; I know you not whence ye are."
For the Word knows not wordless workers; His eye is too pure to look upon evil things. For many so-called bishops, anxious to get rid of the quite reasonable hatred in which they are held, owing to their own characters, and their indifference to spiritual things, do but exchange one evil affection for another----covetousness for vain-glory. While with one hand they do wrong without stint for the sake of unrighteous gain, with the other they set elaborate tables, and rear pillars for lofty buildings, so as to gain a reputation for being good and laborious workers, and win honour instead of dishonour. They forget the Ecclesiast, who built great buildings, and hated them; and clearly forbad such things, when he wrote, "I built me houses and gardens," etc., "and behold, all are vanity; and I hated all my labour, wherein I labour under the sun." He did not say, "Above the sun," or he would have brought spiritual toil into disrepute. In saying this, I do not include in my condemnation those who build reasonably, and of necessity, or beautify Church property; I am thinking of those who waste the money of the poor on hanging corridors, and water-cisterns raised into the air three storeys high, and disreputable baths, hidden from sight, for effeminate men; or spend their gifts of energy upon buildings, either as an excuse for collecting more money, or again, to win the esteem of popular favourites. That is simply to sacrifice everything to give pleasure to sinners. As for me, God forbid, famous Theodorus, that I should ever please bad people, for I shall never please them, except by methods which do not please Christ.
The Alleged Deposition of Sixteen Bishops
The deacon, much impressed by these remarks, here made a request to the bishop:----
Deac. Your observations are perfectly sound, and there is nothing to be said against them. Now, if you have any knowledge of the arrangements made by the holy John in Asia, as it is with him that our discussion is concerned, let me share it.
Bish. Certainly I have such knowledge.
Deac. From being personally present? Or did you gain your information from others?
Bish. No; I did not miss a word of the trial.
Deac. Then tell me in detail what followed, and how it ended, and how it began. I especially wish to know, because Theophilus said in his indictment, in his anxiety to dignify or to hide his own rash conduct, that the blessed John was so much influenced by the love of power, that he deposed sixteen bishops in a single day and ordained creatures of his own in their stead.
Bish. It was just what one would expect from the character of this wonderful person, to write, and to write falsehoods, against John. By the very steps which he took to hide his own shame, he made it the more conspicuous, and involuntarily established the innocence of John; just as it was in the case of Balaam. If he had succeeded in deposing him, there would have been no need of indictment, or of banishment, as the deposition is enough to disgrace a deposed person; but as our bishop stood firm in his virtue, against the attempts to depose him, and won victory in defeat, his opponent's malice is as fierce as ever, bearing the palm of defeat for its senseless victory. He swells like a bubble, chafing against himself, writing tracts and detractions. This is what Isaiah meant, when he cried woe upon him who seizes every opportunity of doing, and telling, and writing, lies; "Woe unto them," he says, "who write; for they write iniquity."
The Accusation brought by Eusebius against Antoninus
The number of the bishops whom John deposed in Asia was not sixteen, but six; I make the assertion as at God's judgment throne, not subtracting a single unit from the figures, nor adding a single qualification of his action. My statements are in exact accordance with the facts.
In the thirteenth year of the sixth indiction some bishops from Asia came to Constantinople on business and stayed with us. Besides these, there were other bishops, including one from Scythia, Theotimus, one from Thrace, Ammon the Egyptian, and one from Galatia, Arabianus----all metropolitans, advanced in years; making a total of twenty-two bishops. A certain Eusebius, from the district known as Kilbia, Bishop of Valentinopolis, took the opportunity of these being assembled and holding communion together to come forward in the assembled synod, on the first day of the week, and lay memorials before it, against Antoninus, Bishop of Ephesus; to these charges, so as to be in order, he of course prefixed the name of John. The charges fell under seven heads; first, that he had melted down Church plate, and placed the proceeds to the account of his son; second, that he had carried away marble from the entrance of the baptistery, and used it for the improvement of his own bathroom; next, that he had set up pillars belonging to the Church, which had been in position for many years, in his own dining-room; fourth, that his servant had committed murder, and that he was still keeping him in his service, without bringing him to trial; fifth, that he had sold some land bequeathed to the Church by Basilina, the mother of King Julian, and kept the money; sixth, that after separating from his married wife, he had taken her again, and had had children born to him by her; seventh, that he regarded it as law, and dogma, to sell consecration to bishopricks at prices in proportion to the emoluments. He added that there were persons present who had paid such money, and been consecrated, as well as the man who had received it; and that he had proofs of his statements.
> CHAPTER XIV. THE TRIAL OF ANTONINUS----CHRYSOSTOM 'S VISIT TO EPHESUS
John's Moderation
Deac. Pray, father, cut your narrative short; for those who are here with us are grieved to hear of bishops making such assertions, to say nothing of bishops doing such things.
Bish. Woe is me, that I have lived to see these days, in which a sacred office----if under the circumstances it is a sacred office----is being sold for money. "I have become a fool" in giving my account of the doings of John's accusers, who have brought us to this pass. But be patient with me, and you will be surprised at the reasonableness which John showed in this matter, as in others. He restrained his indignation for the time, and said to Eusebius: "Brother Eusebius, as accusations made in a moment of vexation are often not easy to prove, I beg you not to bring a written charge against our brother Antoninus; we will set right the matters which have vexed you."
Eusebius' Persistence
At this Eusebius was very angry, and indulged in harsh language, raging with all his might against Antoninus, and persisting in his accusations. So John requested Paul of Heracleia, who seemed to be a warm supporter of Antoninus, to bring about a reconciliation between the two. Then he rose, and went into the church, as it was time for the sacrifice; gave the people the usual salutation, and took his seat with the other bishops. But Eusebius, the accuser, came in unobserved, and in the presence of all the people, and the bishops, presented another memorial, containing the same charges; conjuring John by terrible oaths, nothing less than "by the salvation of the king and queen." He made such a disturbance that the people took alarm at his audacity, and supposed that he was urging John to petition the king for reprieve from a death sentence. So John, struck by the man's persistence, and anxious to keep the people quiet, accepted the document, and after the reading of the divine oracles requested Pansophius, Bishop of Pisidia, to offer the gifts, while he himself retired with the rest of the bishops. For he always objected to offering the sacrifice with a disturbed mind, as the gospel requires: "When thou bringest thy gift," etc.
The Charges made Public
After the dismissal of the people, he carefully considered the situation, and taking his seat in the baptistery with the other bishops, called the accuser, and said to him in the presence of all, "I repeat what I said before, that people under the influence of vexation or anger, often say and write a great deal, while their proofs are feeble. If, then, you have certain knowledge of the charges which you wish to bring----for if you can maintain them we do not reject them, nor, if you cannot, do we invite them----before the memorial is read, decide what is best to be done; for after the charges are read, and reach the cars of the public, the proceedings will be on record, and you cannot then, as a bishop, ask for an annulment. However, Eusebius still persisted; so orders were given for the document to be read, and the seven counts which I detailed were read.
The Charge of Simony to be first Investigated
With the contents of the document thus brought to their ears, the senior bishops said to John, Without doubt, each single point of each single count is impious, and forbidden from every point of view by the sacred laws; but we must not appear to spend all our time upon the less weighty charges. The investigation therefore should begin with the most awful of the points; for if that be found to be true, there is no answer to be made upon the other counts, as that one count contains the root which bears fruit in every kind of evil, as the writer said, "The love of money is the root of all evils." For if a man has accepted bribes against the innocent, and thought fit to barter for money his powers of distributing the Holy Spirit, how is he likely to spare the plate, or the stones, or the property, of the Church?
Then John began the investigation, asking Antoninus, "What answer do you make to these charges, brother Antoninus?" He, of course, denied them; for how could he admit his disgrace at the very beginning? Those who had paid the money were questioned, and they, too, denied the charge. These stages of the carefully conducted investigation lasted till two in the afternoon, when the verdict began to take shape on the strength of certain points of evidence.
Absence of the Necessary Witnesses
At last, the result of the inquiry turned upon the question of witnesses, in whose presence the money had been given and accepted. These witnesses were not at hand, and their presence was necessary. In view of the trouble which their attendance would involve, John expressed his readiness to secure the purification of the church, and to save the witnesses inconvenience, by going to Asia in person, and completing the investigation there. Then Antoninus, conscious of his guilt, and observing the resolution and impartiality of John, went secretly to one of the officials, for whom he was looking after some estates in Asia, and begged him to arrange that John should be prevented from going to Asia, promising that he would himself see to the attendance of the witnesses. This man at once had a communication sent from the palace to Bishop John, to this effect: "It is out of the question for you, the bishop, the champion of our souls, to leave the city, when there is such grave expectation of disturbance, and commit yourself to a long absence in Asia, when the witnesses can easily be brought over." It was Gainas, the barbarian, who was expected to cause the disturbance.
The Delegation of Bishops to meet the Witnesses
Well, to make a long story short, he consented to stay in Constantinople, as he had to consider not only the burden placed upon the witnesses, but also the claims of justice. This postponement for the appearance of the witnesses was a godsend for the accused, as it was now possible to get rid of them by bribery or by pressure. This John foresaw; and accordingly deliberated with the assembled synod the question of sending to Asia some of the bishops present, to examine the witnesses.
Chicanery and Delay
Three bishops were at once appointed to go-----Syncletius, metropolitan of Trajanopolis, Hesychius, Bishop of Parius, and Palladius, Bishop of Helenopolis; a resolution of the synod being entered upon the minutes, that if either of the litigants did not within two months appear, and stand by his pleas, in Hypoepi, a city of Asia (chosen as at a convenient distance both for the accused persons, and for the other bishops who had to take part with Syncletius and his companions in, the trial), he should be excommunicated. Two of the bishops nominated, Syncletms and Palladius, went down to Smyrna; for Hesychius, who was a friend of Antoninus, pretended that he had fallen ill. They at once notified both parties, by letter, of their arrival, bidding them to go together without delay to the city designated in the resolution, and carry out their promises. Instead of this, they came to terms with one another, thanks to bribery on one side, met by an oath on the other, and before the judges arrived, had become friends. Then they made a great show of hastening to the district of Hypoepi, and calculated to fool the judges by putting off the appearance of witnesses again, on the ground that they were away from home for various unavoidable reasons. Upon this, the judges asked the accuser: "Within how many days will you produce the witnesses? We will wait for them for so long." As he expected that they would soon leave the place, owing to the oppressive weather ----it was the hottest period of summer----he promised in writing that within forty days he would either produce the witnesses, or submit to the penalties prescribed by the canons. He was accordingly set free to look for his witnesses; but he did nothing of the sort, but came down to Constantinople, and there remained in hiding.
Death of Antoninus
The judges duly waited for the forty days, and as he did not appear, they sent word to all the bishops of Asia, declaring him to be excommunicate, either as a shirker or as a false accuser. Then they held out for thirty days more, and as he still did not appear, they departed, and came to Constantinople, where they fell in with him, and reproved him for his contemptuous action. He again pleaded the excuse of ill health, and promised to produce the witnesses. Thus matters dragged on, until Antoninus, the defendant in Eusebius' suit, died.
The Invitation from Ephesus
At this juncture John received a resolution forwarded from Asia, on the part of the clergy of the Ephesian Church, on the one hand, and of the bishops on the other, making requirement of him, with an awful adjuration, as follows: "Whereas for years past the laws of the Church, and we ourselves, have been in a sad state of confusion for want of good shepherds, we beg your honour to come and lay down an order issued of God for the Church of Ephesus, so long oppressed, on the one hand, by persons holding the views of Arius, on the other, by those who make a great show of professing the views we hold, to secure advantage and domination for themselves; especially as there are many who are lurking like savage wolves, eager to seize the episcopal throne with the help of money."
Chrysostom' s Visit to Ephesus
Now John was seriously ill, and it was the stormy season of winter; but he dismissed every difficulty from consideration, and thought only of the settlement of the troubles from which the whole province of Asia was suffering through the inexperience, or lack, of shepherds. Strengthened by his zeal, he embarked and left the city. A violent storm from the north came on, and the sailors were afraid of being cast upon the Proconnesus, so they set the prow to windward, and ran under Mount Trito, where they cast the anchors, and rode, waiting for the south wind to enable them to reach Apameia. For two whole days they lay without food, the ship rolling heavily, but on the third they arrived at Apameia, where Bishops Paul, Cyrinus, and Palladius were waiting for them; for John had appointed them to be his companions on his visit.
They accomplished the journey to Ephesus on foot, and on their arrival gathered together the bishops of Lydia, Asia, and Caria, making in all seventy persons. Thus they held the ordination, the majority meeting them in the most friendly spirit, especially the Phrygian bishops; so much did they appreciate the wisdom which fell from his mouth, as it is written, "Wisdom is praised in the streets"----that is, in those that speak; "in the broad places she uttereth her voice with outspokenness," that is, in the hearts that have been enlarged through manifold distresses, as the scripture saith, "In distress thou didst enlarge me." For wisdom is straitened in those that cultivate tares, and choke the word.
> CHAPTER XV. SIX BISHOPS DEPOSED----CHRYSOSTOM'S WORK UNDONE
Eusebius' Request for Immediate Procedure
This was the state of things when the man who caused us all this long story, Eusebius, the accuser of the six other bishops, presented himself to the whole body of bishops, claiming to be admitted to communion with them. Some of the bishops objected, maintaining that as a false accuser he ought not to be admitted. Upon this he played the suppliant, saying, "As the main part of the case has been under investigation for two years, and the adjournment was made to enable the witnesses to be examined, I beseech your love of God, to let me produce the witnesses this very day. For although Bishop Antoninus, who accepted the money, and performed the act of ordination, is dead, there yet remain those who gave the money, and received ordination."
Confession of the Accused Bishops
The assembled synod resolved that the inquiry should be held, and the proceedings began with the reading of the minutes of the previous transactions. Then the witnesses were introduced, and also six of those who had given bribes and received ordination. At first they denied the charge; but the witnesses, some of whom were laymen, others priests, in whom they had evidently trusted, others again women, held to their assertions, and stated the nature of the pledges exchanged, the places, the dates, and the amount. At last, their consciences so much troubled them, that with very little pressure they confessed of their own free will. "We have given bribes," they said; "the thing is admitted, and we have been made bishops, in the expectation that we should be regarded as exempt from civil duties. And now we beg to be allowed to continue in the ministry of this Church, if there is no impiety in our doing so; or, if that is impossible, that we may receive back the money we have paid. For some of us have given furniture belonging to our wives."
The Sentence
John in answer promised the synod, that with the help of God he would present a petition to the king, and get them freed from civil duties; and bade them order the accused to recover what they had paid from the heirs of Antoninus. So the synod ordered, that they should recover from the heirs of Antoninus, and should communicate within the sanctuary, but not be reckoned as priests, for fear that if their doings were condoned, a custom might arise worthy of Jews or Egyptians, of selling and buying the priesthood. They say that the pestilential patriarch of the Jews, whose acts belied his title, used to change the rulers of the synagogues every year, or every other year, as a means of raising money; and that the Patriarch of Egypt emulated him by doing the same, that the word of prophecy might be fulfilled, "Her priests made answer for gifts, and her prophets divined for money."
Re-introduction of the Condemned Bishops
The minutes of all those proceedings, and the names of the judges, are on record. Further, the investigation was not a matter of a single day, as Theophilus falsely asserted, but of two years. Moreover, those who were deposed acquiesced, thankful to be delivered from the judgment to come; indeed, one of them was appointed solicitor for dealing with public affairs. In their places six others were instituted, unmarried men, adorned by graces both of life and speech. And the noble and quarrelsome gentlemen, after John had been exiled, got what they did get (for their villainy has no name, any more than it has a substantial existence), and brought back into the Churches those who had four years before been expelled, while those who had been enthroned with due order they thrust out, scattering the sheep of Christ.
A Vile Person enthroned at Ephesus
Yet the most ridiculous thing of all, though it calls for lamentation rather than laughter, Theodorus, best friend of learning, is yet to follow. As the prophet says, "Both thine ears shall tingle," if you hear it, but as a lover of God you will mourn for the bishops who are behaving as madmen, and with darkened hands outraging the gifts of Christ. The ordinations which Peter and John and their brethren administered with fasting and prayer, and with careful testing by lot, and fear, they administered with revelry and drunkenness, and lamentable bribes, to abortions of men, not worthy to be set with pigs or dogs, creatures without reason; as Job prophesied, impersonating the Saviour, "Whom I thought not worthy of the dogs of my flocks, who lived beneath the nettles."
So these companions of actors and Jews are entrusted by our clever friends with the secrets of the priesthood, as if they were friends of the Saviour, and in consequence the orthodox laity avoid the houses of prayer. For this new and most contemptible form of audacity has actually spread from the Church of Ephesus as far as to us; and it is not to be wondered at, as Ephesus stands upon the sea, and exports its news as easily as its cargoes. For in the place of----no, I will say, in the place of John, the author of the gospel, the loyal disciple who leaned upon the bosom of wisdom, called in Scripture the disciple whom Jesus loved; who was succeeded by Timothy, the disciple of Paul, to whom are addressed the two epistles of the apostle----there succeeds an abomination of desolation. For they consecrated and enthroned the eunuch Victor the tribune, and cast into prison, where he is still languishing, the bishop enthroned by seventy bishops; a man who had lived a solitary life in the desert, trained in every branch of learning, possessed of a profound knowledge of Holy Scripture, and with three years of service as deacon to his record. Would that the eunuch who was consecrated had been trained by a holy life, for then the evil would have been halved; but as it is, we have a worm of earth, a slave of the belly, lustful, fierce, drunken, profligate, venal, illiberal, covetous, a jail-bird from his birth, a sexless creature, neither man nor woman, raging mad; a man who (so I have often been told) carried theatre girls upon his shoulders at drinking parties lit for satyrs, his head garlanded with ivy, and a bowl clasped in his hand, playing the rôle of Dionysus in the fable, as master of libations. All this he did, not before his initiation into the mysteries of Christ, but after his baptism; from which it is a plain inference, that he does not even believe in the resurrection. For how can a man believe in the resurrection, who has made rotten the foundation of the resurrection? As the apostle says, "How shall they preach, unless they believe?" He is moral, thanks to the knife, as to deeds which bring no reward; but he is mad upon unfruitful works, from his natural depravity.
Now I have answered your inquiry as to events in Asia, which arose from the statement in Theophilus' letter that John had deposed sixteen bishops. You may be quite sure that the number is six. We have the records preserved, with the signatures of the twenty-two bishops who heard the case from the beginning, and the seventy who effected the deposition, and brought the trial to a conclusion.
> CHAPTER XVI. PORPHYRIUS
The Deacon's Inquiry
Deac. Pardon me, father; such deeds overpass drunkenness, and madness, and youthful folly. Madmen, drunkards, and young men, when they are sober again, or have digested their food, or when they have come to years of discretion, as the case may be, are ashamed of their disgraceful or disorderly doings or sayings, and renounce them; these people, after all they have done in mature age and apparently in a sober frame of mind, so far from repenting of their deeds, hope and pray that their wickedness may be permanent and undisturbed. When men have not shrunk from placing the gospel on a polluted head, upon which coarse women have danced; with whom are they fit to be ranked, but with those who put the crown of thorns about the head of the Son of God? However, if you have personal knowledge of the circumstances of the consecration of Porphyrius to the bishopric of Antioch, or of those who performed the act of consecration, or of the previous life of the man, whether it was distinguished or not, and of his teaching, whether it be true or false, tell us what you know; especially as he has sent a letter to the Church of Rome, and was not considered worthy of an answer.
A Protestation of Veracity
Bish. My words shall again be the words of truth, for I will not forget the voice of the Master, which says, "For every idle word shall men give account in the day of judgment." Let me venture to add a clause, and say, "For every idle hearing." Do you then guard yourself; if you find me not speaking the truth, do not let my grey hair weigh with you, but only the veracity of my statements. For what profit shall I have from what I have said to-day, or yesterday, if I have told lies, when I am put to shame for ever before the unerring judgment throne? And how shall I bear the mill-stone of slander cast about the neck of my mind, when I am cast down into the pit of hell for the souls who have been caused to offend by my lies?
Porphyrius' Career Well, this Porphyrius had long been in the Church, and held office both as deacon and as priest in the presbytery; but his character was quite out of keeping with his long tenure of office, and he was never of the slightest spiritual benefit to the Church. He was always in opposition to the devout bishops in his neighbourhood, and used his position as bishop of the most important city, with the magistrates under his jurisdiction, to make ordination a matter of barter; he exerted his ingenuity to prevent seemly ordinations, and by his uncanny abilities wormed himself into friendship with the bishops in office for the moment, as one may call them, even dragging them down with him against their will, to hold ordinations blasted by the wind. Flattery, coupled with an evil disposition, is a terrible thing; as the comic poet Menander says, "It is hard, Pamphile, for an honest woman to fight with an harlot."
Porphyrius' Character
The more such a man knows the more harm he does. He is ashamed of no one, but the worse a man is, the more he flatters him. As the wise Solomon says, "The words of flatterers are soft; they smite upon the innermost chambers of the belly." He is as much a stranger, or rather an enemy, to self-control in the pleasures of the flesh, as the vulture is to scent; indeed, common report credits him with the unnatural wickedness of Sodom. Nature imposes upon our pleasures laws, and limits, and barriers; if what they say is true, he has trodden down the barrier, burst the limit, and made despite of the law, until he has produced the impression that he takes the chair and joins in the convivial gatherings of jugglers, and jockeys, and actors who represent incidents of ancient times with improper posturings and distortions of the leg. He had the hardihood to enter into contests of skill with jugglers, and have friendly intercourse with them; indeed, charges of so doing are entered in the records of several of the magistrates. Pie has not read the gnomic poet's words, "What thou ought-est not to do, do not even think." [Thanks to him the Mediator was slain with blows, and "he who found was exiled, and the juggler was put to flight."]
They say that besides all this wickedness, he was guilty, after his ordination, of melting down (Church) plate, and lavishing the proceeds upon the magistrates, to produce the appearance of having the authority, not of a spiritual guide, but of a tyrant, over those who unhappily fell into his power.
Constantius desired as Bishop
Now the death of Flavianus, Bishop of Antioch, coincided with the exile of John to Armenia. Porphyrius observed that the whole population, men and women alike, hung upon the neck of Constantius the priest, longing to have him (as bishop). He had been the servant of the Church from his earliest childhood; an ambidextrous man, to use a term from the book of Judges. What is generally considered the left hand, was in him stronger than the right of other men. He had first rendered service by writing letters, and been found blameless in regard to unrighteous gain and bribes; next he had been promoted to be reader and deacon, and without an effort had mastered the sexual delights which reign among men. As the author of Proverbs says, "The hand of the elect shall easily prevail." For possibly even the vilest of men can master pleasure; either through fear of consequences, or from shame, they may by great exertion restrain their bodily impulses. But it is only those that love God, who through love of the higher can rise superior to the lower----those whom the scripture calls "elect," in the text, "The hand of the elect shall easily prevail." If ever a man was gentle, it was he; or if ever a man was self-disciplined, penetrating of vision, sharp of comprehension, slow to punish, thoughtful, able to draw inferences by reflection, merciful, generous, just in judgment, long-suffering under insults, of ability to win men, oft continuing fasting until evening, so as to relieve the oppressed, of dignified appearance, stern of look, swift of step, celibate, as a bishop should be, ever wearing upon his face, even in sickness, the blossom of a smile.
Porphyrius' Private Ordination as Bishop
Such a man it was whose banishment Porphyrius set himself to bring about by means of bribery; and his method was this. He sent to the capital a message addressed to the officials in authority over the bishops, and procured his exile to Oasis by royal edict, as a seditious agitator. Constantius, however, at once heard of this, and with the help of his friends escaped to Cyprus. But Porphyrius himself had Cyriacus and Diophantus, priests, and other clergy, put under arrest; and then, keeping by his side in hiding the party of Acacius, Severianus, and Antiochus, he waited for the occasion when the whole city went abroad to the suburbs on one of the great pagan festivals, observed every four years in honour of the labours of Hercules, called Olympia, upon which flocks of women stream out with the crowds to Daphne, to see the sports. Bursting into the church, with the bishops I mentioned, and a few clergy, he was privately ordained, with closed doors, and in such haste, through fear of discovery, that they did not give themselves time to finish the prayer. Such is adultery, its offspring and its deeds ever bastard.
Porphyrius' Acts of Violence
Severianus and his friends took their bribe-money, and fled through mountains and pathless wastes; they escaped the terror of man, but were pierced through by the terror of God, which they had ignored. Now when the public theatre emptied, and the crowds re-entered the city, they were told what had been done to Porphyrius, and of the drama that Acacius had played. That evening the people forbore, like men flogged for adultery; but next day they rose, and poured through the streets in a great throng, with fire and faggots, determined to destroy Porphyrius with his house. Porphyrius, however, quite aware of the hatred in which he was held, deserted God, and fled to the officer in command of the camp, put money in his hands; and so diverting him from the war with the Isaurians, opened a campaign against the disciples of the Saviour. So the marauding Isaurian savages ravaged Rhosus and Seleucia, while Porphyrius and Valentinus the governor pillaged the Church of the orthodox with an armed force; trampling with their own feet upon the most awful sign of the Cross, which they (the orthodox) bore upon their shoulders to be their teacher, while they offered litanies upon the desolated land.
The Indignation of the People
A few days afterwards, Porphyrius sent to the capital in great haste, and urged upon the magistrates, who were such men as himself, that a certain creature of their own, old but active, and of an evil disposition and a twisted mind, should be appointed night-prefect, that he might so make himself master of the city by bringing false charges against the good citizens without fear of consequences. It was a fine imitation of the ways of Nero the fighter against God. It is not in him to win men by reason, but to vex them with unreason and cruelty; since he does not make it his aim to please God by leading to Him wandering souls, but to fill his serpent-like belly that crawls upon its chest. So a certain number of the laity, in fear of rough treatment, unwillingly assembled in the church, for the sake of appearances, but in reality, they vituperated the lives of the men, and awaited succour from God.
Cruelty Preferred to Flattery
At this point Theodorus said, in amazement----Deac. I note something contrary to natural order in these events, father. As a general rule, vainglorious persons are men-pleasers, and prove to be flatterers, and provide sumptuous tables, to get themselves liked and well spoken of. Often they will even let people spit upon them. So I cannot see how Porphyrius, or any one else, can have practised methods of threats, and punishment, and banishment.
Bish. Yes, this is the extraordinary thing, Theodorus, that they reached such a pitch of wickedness, that so far from being anxious to please men, they did not even give a thought to the disgraceful character of their doings; for wickedness outdoes wickedness in wickedness. Wickedness casts the net of vainglory, when it hopes to catch simple folks by means of flattery; but when the quarry proves to be superior to flattery and the pleasures of the table, it brings up threats and torments, to terrify by cruelty and fear those whom it could not seduce by the pleasures of the table or by flattery. We have seen this in the case of the martyrs. Both methods were employed against them; the snare constructed of bribes and honours, which caught those who had their mouths open for worthless reputation, and also the threat of punishment, which provided the roasting iron, the rack, and the wild beasts, and every kind of horrible torture, and revealed the courageous and the lovers of God. But to return to my story. The leading clergy of Antioch met in secret, without even going near the walls of the church, and all the leading women, for whose sake more particularly the covetous prelates have gone out of their wits. I need not tell you what happened in Constantinople, or what numbers of people, as I told you before, left the church, and gathered in the open air, so that not even our rulers in ecclesiastical affairs had so many auditors----of their silence, for they never tried to speak.
Olympias and Theophilus
Deac. You have relieved the doubts which were in my mind, father, by your presentation of the facts to my eyes. The consistency of your narrative, and your ingenuous explanation, convinces me that these events really happened; for a fictitious narrative cannot be consistent with itself. If it will not burden you, please tell us about Olympias, if you know anything of her.
Bish. Which Olympias? There are several ladies of that name.
Deac. The deaconess of Constantinople, who was the wife of Nevridius the ex-prefect.
Bish. I know her very well.
Deac. What sort of a woman is she?
Bish. Do not say woman, but manly creature; she is a man in everything but body.
Deac. How so?
Bish. In life, and in work, and in knowledge, and in her patience under afflictions.
Deac. Why then did Theophilus revile her?
Bish. Which Theophilus?
Deac. The Bishop of Alexandria.
Bish. You appear to me, Theodorus, to have buried in oblivion oceans of words.
Deac. How so?
Bish. The man who did not spare the truth, but trod it underfoot, as my narrative has established, and did not respect the Church universal, for whose sake the Only-begotten, as we proclaim, was done to death, that He might make it one, but disgraced it by his behaviour----has he it in him to spare a widow woman, who spends her life in prayer? Look all round, and see if he ever reviled a bad man; he always has hated devoutness. Why do you not gather from his very letters, how contrary they are one to another? He vituperated Epiphanius, the blessed Bishop of Constantia in Cyprus, who for thirty-six years ruled the Church there, as a heretic, or a paltry schismatic, in the time of Damas us or of the blessed Sericius; but afterwards, in his letter to Pope Innocent, in which he reviled the blessed John, we find him calling Epiphanius a most holy saint. How often do you suppose he kissed Olympias' knees, when he hoped to get money from her, the woman whom he now reviles; while she threw herself upon the ground in vexation, and shed tears at such things being done by a bishop. However, what were the grounds on which he reviled her?
Olympias' Reception of the Monks
Deac. He said that she had received into her house the monks whom he had expelled.
Bish. Well, is it right or fitting for a bishop to expel any disciple whatever; to say nothing of a monk?
Deac. Yes, if they have offended him, or slandered him.
Bish. Even if they did, ought he to have satisfied his personal indignation? How then shall Theophilus look for the insults which Christ endured, when he is always thinking of his own reputation? Why did he never imitate the teacher who said, "Being reviled, we bless"?
Deac. Then what was he to do, if the monks were unorthodox?
Bish. Whatever they were, he ought to have corrected them and convinced them, not to have expelled them.
Deac. But what if he did this, and they were so contentious, that they refused to be convinced?
Bish. He ought to have carried out the apostle's precept, "The man that is an heretic after one or two admonitions refuse, knowing that such an one is perverted." He does not say, expel him, and rob him, and drive him from his native land, under threat of magistrate's sentence.
Deac. You tell me of rules for a perfect man, a lover of God, enduring of evil.
Bish. And yet it is not a matter for great praise, to bear with an inferior. But if a man is not perfect, so far as is possible, how can he be a bishop? The imperfect will never have consideration for the imperfect. And how can he be called Theophilus, if he does not love God, for Whose sake he ought readily to have borne the insults of men? And if he does not love God, clearly he does not love himself either; and how shall he who is his own enemy love others? So it is not at all strange, that he blamed Olympias for receiving the monks.
Deac. I admit that Theophilus was carried away by his temper when he expelled them, whether they were orthodox or heretical; still, the deaconess ought not to have received them.
The Rightfulness of Olympias' Action
Bish. Well, what did you think of it? That she did right or wrong?
Deac. I said, that she did wrong.
Bish. And doing good is sometimes judged?
Deac. Most certainly, when good is done to bad people, and people who ought not to be treated well.
Bish. Then what were the five thousand, whom the Saviour fed with five barley loaves----good or bad?
Deac. As they were fed by the Saviour, clearly they were good.
Bish. If they were good, why did he feed them with loaves of barley?
Deac. Perhaps because wheaten loaves were scarce, and they were hungry.
Bish. Then how is it that they are reproved for want of faith; as good, or as bad men?
Deac. If they are reproved, clearly they were bad.
Bish. Well, can the same man be both good and bad?
Deac. Certainly.
Bish. How?
Deac. They can be good in comparison with the worse, and bad in comparison with the better.
Bish. Splendid. According to this, the monks were both good and bad. And the most faithful deaconess provided hospitality for them, as good men, but our wonderful bishop expelled them, as bad. He ought not to have done so.
Deac. But he will say to you, "You received my enemies, to my hurt."
Bish. I object. It was wrong for him to call them enemies at all. As an imitator of Christ he ought to endure insults.
Deac. One moment; where are the five thousand reproved, as you said they were, by the Saviour? There is no record of reproof of them in scripture.
Bish. When they assembled and came to Jesus the second time, and were told, "Ye seek me, not because ye saw signs and wonders, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled."
That is very clear, said Theodorus.
Bish. If a man is blamed, he is so far bad.
Deac. Very true.
Bish. Then were those whom the Saviour fed bad, or good?
Deac. I admit that they were bad; for "they that are whole have no need of a physician, but they that are sick."
Bish. Well then; did Olympias do wrong in imitating her Lord, who "maketh his own sun to rise, and sendeth rain, upon righteous and unrighteous"? Even though the Pharisees reproach Him, and say to the disciples, "Your master eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners."
Deac. It appears that, contrary to the general instincts of mankind, noble actions are being condemned, and disgraceful actions approved.
Bish. What makes you say that, Theodorus, most truth-loving of men?
Deac. I mean that, if you had not made the matter clear to me, by your logical explanation, I should have been led astray to hold the same senseless opinion as other people; the babblings of Theophilus caught my attention more than the ideal of truth.
Bish. Then conversely, if these holy men are proved not only to be not bad men, but men who have turned many from vice to virtue, clearly their persecutor deserves not to be persecuted in his turn, but to be pitied, as one who is always oppressing the good, and receiving the bad.
Deac. Just so. Even if they cannot be proved to be wise and holy men, as most people say they are; by the lines of reasoning we have been following, Olympias must be freed from blame, as she put into practice the imitation of the Saviour.
Bish. And which testimony to the value of actions do you regard as strongest; that of the gospels, or that of Theophilus?
Deac. Hush, I beg you; I admit that he expelled the men through ill temper and love of domination, and that he reviled Olympias through superstition and enmity, making the monks his excuse. The fact is, that when he found his servile flatteries fail in getting anything out of her beyond food and hospitality, he turned and reviled her; this is his way with every one.
> CHAPTER XVII. THE VIRTUES OF THE MONKS, AND OF OLYMPIAS
Hierax and Ammonius
Bish. Listen, then, best of deacons. [You are worth the trouble], for I see that you will do much good in the world; your youthful zeal is a pledge of an honourable old age.
These men from their earliest childhood, brought up by Christian parents, submitted themselves to God, and when quite young refused to be the slaves of vanity, and to associate with the multitude, but found a desolate spot far out of the world, in the south, where they set up huts, to shield them from the fierce heat of the sun, and the dew from the air. Here they lived, spending their time in prayer and reading, producing by manual labour enough fruit of their toil to provide for their frugal nourishment; thinking it better to herd with deer and sparrows and buffaloes, than to feast with people who knew not God. The eldest of them, who was called Hierax, and is still generally known by that name, once an associate of the blessed Antonius, had attained the age of ninety years, or thereabouts; another was Ammonius, sixty years old, and there were besides two anchorite brethren, and one bishop, who were put in pillory and banished under Valens, as all Alexandria knows. Such masters of learning were they, that not a single point of difficulty which men generally find in the scriptures escaped them. Two of them fell asleep, ending their days in Constantinople; Ammonius, as Aurelius and Sisinnius related, had prophesied of his decease, that there would first be a great persecution and schism among the Churches, but that the originators of it would come to a most disgraceful end, and that so the Churches should be made one. This shall come to pass, as it has already come to pass in part.
The Divine Punishment of the Persecutors
For presently certain of the bishops, and of the lay people as well, were attacked by disease, which rent them with sufferings of various kinds, burning their vitals with slow fever, and setting up such intolerable itchings, that they excoriated with their nails the whole surface of their bodies, and by continual intestinal pains. One man had livid dropsical swellings in the feet; another found the fingers which had written the unrighteous signature shaking with discharges, now hot, now cold, which ran from his four limbs. The abdomen was inflamed, and putrefaction in one member exhaled a far-reaching stench, and bred worms. Other symptoms were asthma, and difficulty of breathing, and tensions of all the limbs; nightmares of ravening dogs changing to savages brandishing swords and yelling in strange tongues like the roaring of the sea, made their sleep to be no sleep. One had his right leg broken like a cabbage stalk, by a fall from his horse, and died immediately from the shock; another entirely lost the use of his voice, and for eight months suffered torments upon his bed, unable to lift his hand to his mouth. Another's legs were almost eaten away as far as the knees, apparently by aggravated erysipelas; the tongue of another swelled so terribly, they say, with raging fever, that it pressed against his teeth, and blocked the [main channel of] the body. As there was no room for his tongue in the space naturally appointed for it, he wrote a confession of his sins upon a tablet.
One could see the divine wrath carrying out its punitive operations by various forms of vengeance. For as they had provoked the Physician who brings relief to souls, and had driven His mouth-piece from the workshop of salvation, they were delivered over for torture to physicians of the body, who administered pains by the drugs usually prescribed as remedies, and wrought no salvation. For who shall heal him who is being punished by God? As the prophet says, "Shall physicians rise, and praise thee?" Thus perished all who work against the peace of Thy Church, O Lord.
More of the Monks
On the other hand, it is said that the tomb of the monk Ammonius expels the shivering fever; he was buried in the shrine of the apostles, beyond the sea. Bishop Dioscorus, they say, had made it his special petition, that he might see either the peace of the Church, or his own death; as the world was not worthy of peace, he was granted death, and was buried in the martyr's shrine facing the gate of the city, with the result that most of the women gave up taking oaths by the martyr, and now swear by the prayers of Dioscorus. As for the rest of the anchorites, the telling of the tale would take many words; and perhaps you cannot spare the time, famous sir.
Deac. Nay, who is so sorely pressed, that he must refuse a hearing to tales of heroism? Speak, I pray you, and by every fair word at your command draw away my mind from earthly thoughts.
Bish. Well, there is another Hierax; though he bears a Greek name, his life is adorned by the beauty of his character. On first embracing the life of solitary retirement, he withdrew to Mount Porphyrites, quite outside the boundaries of Egypt and Thebais, free from the breath of men; where he lived for four years of strict devotion, finding the virtues of the life themselves sufficient for his comfort. Then he spent twenty-five years in Nitria, with the fathers I have mentioned. He was assailed by demons, as he told us himself, who were transformed into angels of light, and tried to shake him from the hope set before him, by promising him a long life. "You have fifty years to live," they said; "how shall you endure, here in the desert?" But he with the intelligence of faith replied, "You distress me when you tell me of a period shorter than my purpose; I had prepared myself for two hundred years in the desert." Hearing this they vanished howling. Such was the man, whom demons could not shake by the invention of a vast space of time to bring him to accidie, whom Pope Theophilus drove from his home by an edict, and brought to such distress, that he made his way to the capital; a man who now has again, since the falling asleep of Ammonius, returned to the sheer desert, in fearful remembrance of the parable of the plough.
Another, a priest called Isaac, a disciple of Macarius the disciple of Antonius, a man who loved the desert to a fault, fifty years of age, who had the whole scripture by heart, and took up horned snakes in his hands unharmed, a virgin from his mother's womb, who at seven years of age had taken to the desert, after forty years was sifted out by Pope Theophilus, with the aforesaid monks.
Another priest Isaac, also the disciple of a disciple of Antonius, the priest Cronius, whom he succeeded, extraordinarily learned, like the first Isaac, in the scriptures, hospitable if ever man was----so much so, that in his extraordinary love of his fellow-men, he established a hostel in the sheer desert for the refreshment of sick monks, and of strangers who visited the district to see the blessed fathers----a stranger, they say, to anger, who had lived for thirty years in retirement, was cruelly treated along with the others. The first of these Isaacs had a hundred and fifty ascetics under him; Theophilus, while he was really a Theophilus, appointed disciples of his, to the number of seven or eight, as bishops. The other had two hundred and ten, and many of his disciples, too, are on the roll of bishops.
These are the men of whom I told you two days ago; how they were driven by Pope Theophilus from the desert, on account of Isidore the priest. Those are the men, whom priests and Levites passed by, and whom to the shame of men a manly woman received, and to the condemnation of bishops a deaconess hospitably entertained; a woman whose praise dwells in the Churches for many reasons. She followed the example of the famous Samaritan, whoever he was, who found the man maltreated by the robbers half dead in the descent to Jericho, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to the inn, and mingled the oil of love for his fellow-men with the astringent wine, and so healed his swelling wounds.
The Life of Olympias
Now I must leave the monks, to speak of her. What wealth of money or of goods she distributed to the needy it is not for me to say, but for those who benefited by her generosity; as I lived elsewhere, I had no need to be a burden to her. But listen while I tell of greater virtue yet. She was an orphan, and married; but she was not allowed by the foreknowing God, Who sees the issues of men's lives before they come to pass, to be the slave of the pleasure of the flesh which claims the obedience of all, even for twenty months; her husband being speedily called to pay the debt of nature. It is reported by common rumour that she is still a virgin; while she might have yielded to the apostolic rule, "I will that the younger widows marry, keep the house," she could not bring herself to do so, although she had all the advantages of noble birth, and wealth, and an expensive education, as well as personal beauty and the grace of blossoming womanhood----but leapt free as a gazelle over the snare of second marriage. "For the law is not laid down for a righteous man, but for lawless persons, profane," insatiate for destruction.