The loss of the Lord irreparable.

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25, 26.

cible, and more formidable to the enemy; although we MATT. know that after death the king, in behalf of whom he takes his station, is not able to raise him up again: much more in these wars, when there are such hopes of resurrection besides, will he who exposes his own life unto death, find it; in one sense, because he will not be quickly taken; in a second, because even though he fall, God will lead his life on to a higher life.

[4.] Then, because he had said, He who will save shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose shall save it, and on that side had set salvation and destruction, and on this salvation and destruction; to prevent any one's imagining the one destruction and salvation to be all the same with the other, and to teach thee plainly that the difference between this salvation and that is as great as between destruction and salvation; from the contraries also He makes an inference once for all to establish these points. For what is a man profited, saith He, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

Seest thou how the wrongful preservation of it is destruction, and worse than all destruction, as being even past remedy, from the want of any thing any more to redeem it? For "tell me not this," saith He, "that he that hath escaped such dangers hath saved his life; but together with his life put also the whole world, yet what profit hath he thereby, if the soul perish?"

For tell me, shouldest thou see thy servants in luxury, and thyself in extreme calamity, wilt thou indeed profit aught by being master? By no means. Make this reckoning then with regard to thy soul also, when the flesh is in luxury and wealth, and she awaiting the destruction to come.

What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Again, He dwells upon the same point. What? hast thou another soul to give for this soul? saith He. Why, shouldest thou lose money, thou wilt be able to give money; or be it house, or slaves, or any other kind of possession; but for thy soul, if thou lose it, thou wilt have no other soul to give: yea, though thou hadst the world, though thou wast king of the whole earth, thou wouldest not be able, by paying down all earthly goods, with the earth itself, to redeem but one soul.

HOMIL.

LV.

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How Labour may be lost and gained.

And what marvel, if it be so with the soul?

4-6. the body one may see that so it turns out.

v. 27.

Since even in

Though thou wear ten thousand diadems, but have a body sickly by nature, and incurable, thou wilt not be able, not by giving all thy kingdom, to recover this body, not though thou add innumerable persons, and cities, and goods.

Now thus I bid thee reason with regard to thy soul also; or rather even much more with regard to the soul; and do thou, forsaking all besides, spend all thy care upon it. Do not then while taking thought about the things of others, neglect thyself and thine own things; which now all men do, resembling them that work in the mines. For neither do these receive any profit from this labour, nor from the wealth; but rather great harm, both because they incur fruitless peril, and incur it for other men, reaping no benefit from such their toils and deaths. These even now are objects of imitation to many, who are digging up wealth for others; or rather we are more wretched even than this, inasmuch as hell itself awaits us after these our labours. For they indeed are staid from those toils by death, but to us death proves a beginning of innumerable evils.

But if thou say, thou hast in thy wealth the fruit of thy toils: shew me thy soul gladdened, and then I am persuaded. For of all things in us the soul is chief. And if the body be fattened, while she is pining away, this prosperity is nothing to thee; (even as when the handmaiden is glad, the happiness of the maidservant is nothing to her mistress perishing, nor is the fair robe any thing compared with the weak flesh;) but Christ will say unto thee again, What shall a man give in exchange for his soul? on every hand commanding thee to be busied about that, and to take account of it only.

[5.] Having alarmed them therefore hereby, He comforts them also by His good things.

For the Son of Man shall come, saith He, in the glory of His Father with His holy Angels, and then He shall reward every man according to his works.

Seest thou how the glory of the Father and of the Son is all one? But if the glory be one, it is quite evident that the substance also is one. For if in one substance there be a difference of glory; (for there is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars;

Fear of the last Day. Grace sung in Convents. 749

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for one star differeth from another star in glory'; although MATT. the substance be one,) how may the Substance of those differ, 27. whereof the glory is one? For He said not at all, 66 In 1 Cor. glory such as the Father's," whereby thou mightest suppose 15, 41. again some variation; but implying entire perfection, “In that same glory," saith He, "will He come;" for it to be deemed one and the same.

"Now, why fear, O Peter," (so He speaks,)" on being told of death? Why, then shalt thou see Me in the glory of the Father. And if I am in glory, so are ye; your interests are no wise limited to the present life, but another sort of portion will take you up, a better one." Nevertheless, when He had spoken of the good things, He stayed not at this, but mingled the fearful things also, bringing forward that judgment-seat, and the inexorable account, and the inflexible sentence, and the judgment that cannot be deceived.

He suffered not however His discourse to appear only dismal, but tempered it also with good hopes. For neither did He say," then shall He punish them that sinned," but, He shall reward every man according to his doings. And this He said, reminding not only the sinners of punishment, but also them that have done well of prizes and crowns.

[6.] And He indeed spake it, in part to refresh the good, but I ever shudder at hearing it, for I am not of them that are crowned, and I suppose that others also share with us in our fear and anxiety. For whom is this saying not enough to startle, when he hath entered into his own conscience; and to make him shudder, and convince him that we have need of sackcloth, and of prolonged fasting, more than the people of the Ninevites? For not for an overthrow of a city, and the common end, are we concerned, but for eternal punishment, and the fire that is never quenched.

Wherefore also I praise and admire the monks that have occupied the desert places, as for the rest, so for this saying. For they after having made their dinners, or rather after supper, (for dinner they know not at any time, because they know that the present time is one of mourning and fasting ;) after supper then, in saying certain hymns of thanksgiving unto God, they make mention of this expression also. And if ye would hear the very hymns themselves, that ye too may

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Mention of the Judgment in the daily Grace.

HOMIL. Say them continually, I will rehearse to you the whole of that LV. sacred song. The words of it then stand as follows: "Blessed God, Who feedest me from my youth up, Who givest food to all flesh; fill our hearts with joy and gladness, that always having all sufficiency we may abound unto every good work in Christ Jesus our Lord; with Whom be unto Thee glory, honour, and might, with the Holy Spirit, for ever. Amen. Glory to Thee, O Lord, Glory to Thee, O Holy One, Glory to Thee, O King, that Thou hast given us meat to make us glad. Fill us with the Holy Ghost, that we may be found well-pleasing before Thee, not being ashamed, when Thou renderest to every man according to his works."

Now this hymn is in all parts worthy of admiration, but especially the above ending of it. That is, because meals and food are wont to dissipate and weigh down, they put this saying as a kind of bridle upon the soul, at the time of indulgence reminding it of the time of judgment. For they have learnt what befel Israel through a costly table. For My 1 Deut. beloved, saith He, ate, and waxed fat, and kicked1. Where32, 15. fore also Moses said, When thou shalt have eaten and drunk 2 Deut. and art full, remember the Lord thy God.

6,11.12.

For after that feast, then they ventured on those acts of lawless daring.

Do thou therefore also look to it, lest something like it befal thee. For though thou sacrifice not to stone nor to gold, either sheep or bullocks, see lest to wrath thou sacrifice thine own soul, lest to whoredom or other like passions, thou sacrifice thine own salvation. Yea-on this account, you see, they being afraid of these downfalls, when they have enjoyed their meal, or rather their fasting, (for their meal is in fact fasting,) remind themselves of the terrible judgment-seat, and of that day. And if they who correct themselves both with fasting, and with nights spent on the ground, with watchings, and with sackcloth, and with ten thousand means, do yet require also this reminding, when will it be possible for us to live virtuously; who set forth tables loaded with innumerable wrecks, and do not so much as pray at all, neither in the beginning nor the end?

[7.] Wherefore to put an end to these shipwrecks, let us bring before us that hymn and unfold it all, that seeing the

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Force which it had to encourage certain Virtues. 751 profit thereof, we too may chant it constantly over our table, MATT. and quell the rude motions of the belly, introducing both the 27. manners and laws of those angels into our houses. For you ought indeed to go there and reap these fruits; but since ye are not willing, at least through our words, hear this spiritual melody, and let every one after his meal say these words, beginning thus.

1 Colos.

"Blessed God." For the Apostolic law they straightway fulfil, that commands, Whatsoever we do in word or in deed, that we do it in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him1. Next, the thanksgiving takes place not for that one day 3, 17. only, but for all their life. For, "Who feedest me," it is said, “ from my youth up." And a lesson of self-command is drawn thence, that when God feeds, we must not take thought. For if upon a king's promising thee to furnish thy daily food out of his own stores, thou wouldest be of good hope for the future; much more, when God gives, and all things pour upon thee as out of fountains, shouldest thou be freed from all anxiety. Yea, and to this very intent they so speak, that they may persuade both themselves, and those that are made disciples by them, to put off all worldly care.

Then, not to have thee suppose that for themselves only they offer up this thanksgiving, they further say, Who givest food to all flesh, giving thanks in behalf of all the world; and as fathers of the whole earth, so do they offer up their praises for all, and train themselves to a sincere brotherly love. For it is not even possible they should hate them, in behalf of whom they thank God, that they are fed.

Seest thou both charity introduced by their thanksgiving, and worldly care cast out, both by the preceding words, and by these? For if He feed all flesh, much more them that are devoted to him; if them that are entangled in worldly cares, much more them that are freed from the same.

do

ye

To establish this, Christ Himself said, How many sparrows exceed in value?? And He said it, teaching them not 2 Luke to put their confidence in wealth and land and seeds; for 12, 7. it is not these that feed us, but the word of God3.

3 Deut. 8, 3.

Hereby they stop the mouths, both of the Manichæans, Matt. 4, and of them of Valentinus, and of all that are diseased in 4.