Saint John Chrysostom - Homilies On Genesis 1-17

THE FATHERS
OF THE CHURCH
A NEW TRANSLATION
VOLUME 74
THE FATHERS
OF THE CHURCH
A NEW TRANSLATION
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Thomas P. Halton
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Hermigild Dressler, O.F.M. Robert D. Sider
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Hermigild Dressler, O.F.M.
Cindy Kahn
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SAINT JOHN
CHRYSOSTOM
HOMILIES ON GENESIS
I - 17
Translated by
ROBERT C. HILL
Catholic College of Education
Sydney
THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA PRESS

Washington, D.C.
NIHIL OBSTAT:
REV. MICHAEL SLUSSER
Censor Deputatus
IMPRIMATUR:
REV. MSGR. RAYMOND BOLAND

Vicar General for the Archdiocese of Washington
The Nihil obstat and Imprimatur are official declarations that a book or
pamphlet is free of doctrinal or moral error. No implication is contained
therein that those who have granted the Nihil obstat and Imprimatur
agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.
Copyright © 1986
THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSny OF AMERICA PRESS
All rights reserved

First short-run reprint 1999
Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 85-27988
ISBN 0-8132-0972-2
CONTENTS
Select Bibliography Vll
Abbreviations IX
Introduction
Chrysostom's Exegetical Works 2
The Homilist and His Congregation in Antioch 8
The Structure of the Homilies 9
Chrysostom and Scripture 13
Homily I 20
Homily 2 29
Homily 3 39
Homily 4 SI
Homily 5 66
Homily 6 77
Homily 7 91
Homily 8 lOS
Homily 9 117
Homily 10 127
Homily II 143
Homily 12 IS6
Homily 13 169
Homily 14 180
Homily IS 194
Homily 16 207
Homily 17 222
v
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
Texts and Translations:

Chrysostom's Genesis homilies are found in vols. 53 and 54 of Pa-
trologia Graeca of J. P. Migne (Paris, 1857-66, recently reproduced
by Brepols of Turnout 1978), being a reprint of an edition of the
1718-38 Paris publication of Chrysostom's works by B. De Mont-
faucon. There are no modern critical editions of the Genesis homi-
lies, nor any previous translations into English. For the conspectus of
manuscripts of Homilies on Genesis see the ongoing Codices Chry-
sostomici Graeci, 53, 21- 54, 580 and W. A. Markowicz, The Text Tradi-
tion of St. John Chrysostom's Homilies on Genesis and MSS. Michiganensis
139, 78 and Holkhamicus 61 (University of Michigan, 1953) DA Pub.
No. 4624.
Patrologies:
Altaner, B. Stuiber, A. Patrologie (Freiburg 19787).
Cayre, F. Patrologie et Histoire de la Theologie 1 (Paris 1953).
Geerard, M. (ed.) CPG II (Turnhout, 1978).
Quasten,J. Patrology III (Westminster, Md., 1960) 434.
- - . Patrologia II (Marietti 1973) 437 (for updated bibliography).
Von Campen hausen, H. The Greek Fathers, English Translation (Lon-
don 1963).
Patristic Studies:
Bardy, G. "Interpretation chez les peres," Dict. Bibl., SupPl.4 (Paris
1949) 569-91.
Carroll, T. K. (ed.) Preaching the Word, Message of the Fathers of the
Church 11 (Wilmington 1984).
Hanson, R. P. C. Allegory and Event: A Study of the Sources and Signifi-
cance of Origen's Interpretation of Scripture (London, 1959).
Hay, C. "Antiochene exegesis and Christology," Australian Biblical Re-
view 12 (1964) 10-23.
Kelly,J. N. D. Early Christian Doctrines (New York 19785).
Smalley, B. The Study of the Bible in the Middle Ages (Oxford 1962).
Vaccari, A. "La theoria nella scuola esegetica di Antiochia," Bibl 1
(1920) 3-36.
Vll
Vlll ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
Chrysostom Studies:
Asensio, F. "EI Cris6stomo y su visi6n de la escritura en la exposici6n
homiletica del Genesis," EB 32 (1973) 223-55, 329-56.
Baur, C. John Chrysostom and His Time, English translation (2 vols.,
London-Glasgow and Westminster, MD. 1959, 1960).
Chase, F. H. Chrysostom. A Study in the History of Biblical Interpretation
(Cambridge 1887).
Fabbi, F. "La 'condiscendenza' divina nell' ispirazione biblica secondo
S. Giovanni Crisostomo," Bibl. 14 (1933) 330-47.
Flanagan, M. H. StJohn Chrysostom's Doctrine of Condescension and Ac-
curacy in the Scriptures (Napier 1948).
Haidacher, S. Die Lehre des heiligen Johannes Chrysostomus uber die
Schriftinspiration (Salzburg 1897).
Hill, R., "Stjohn Chrysostom's teaching on inspiration in 'Six Homi-
lies on Isaiah'," VigC 22 (1968) 19-37.
- - - "St. John Chrysostom and the Incarnation of the Word in
Scripture," Compass Theology Review 14 (1980) 34-38.
- - - St. John Chrysostom's Teaching on Inspiration in his Old Testament
Homilies (Sydney 1981).
- - - "On looking again at sunkatabasis," Prudentia 13 (1981) 3-11.
- - - "Akribeia: a principle of Chrysostom's exegesis," Colloquium 14
(Oct. 1981) 32-36.
- - - "On giving up the horses for Lent," CleR 68 (March 1983)
105- 106.
- - "Christmas in the Book of Genesis," CleR 68 (1983) 445-447.
- - - "Chrysostom's terminology for the inspired Word," EB 41
(1983) 3 6 7-373.
Markowicz, W. A. "Chrysostom's sermons on Genesis: a problem," JTS
24 (1963) 65 2- 64.
Ryan, P. J. "Chrysostom-a derived stylist?", VigC 36 (1982) 5-14.
Vandenberghe, B. H. Saint Jean Chrysostome et la Parole de Dieu (Paris
1961 ).
Wallace-Hadrill, D. S. Christian Antioch. A Study of Early Christian
Thought in the East (Cambridge University Press, 1982).
Bible: Septuaginta ed. A. Rahlfs (2 vols., Stuttgart 1935)'
Biblia Hebraica 3rd ed. R. Kittel et al (Stuttgart 1937).
The Greek New Testament 3rd ed. K. Aland et al. (New York 1975).
Speiser, E. A. Genesis, Anchor Bible 1 (Garden City 1964).
Von Rad, G. Genesis, Alte Testament Deutsch 2-4, 9th ed., English
translation (London 1972).
ABBREVIATIONS
AAS Acta Apostolicae Sedis (Rome, 1909ff.)

. Bibl Biblica (Roma)
CCG Corpus Christianorum, Series Graeca
(Turnhout, 1974)
CleR Clergy Review
CPG M. Geerard, Clavis Patrum Graecorum, vo!' II
(Turnhout, 1974)
Diet. Bib!., Supp!. Dictionnaire de la Bible, Supplement ed. L. Pirot
(1928ff.)
EB Estudios Biblicos
JTS Journal of Theological Studies
ODCC 2 Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church ed. F. L. Cross
PG Migne, J. P., ed. Patrologiae cursus completus: Series graeca
161 vols. (Paris 1857-1866)
SC Sources Chretiennes, ed. H. de Lubac etJ. Danielou,
(Paris, 1942-)
SP Studia Patristica. International Conference on Patristic
Studies at Oxford (TU) (Berlin)
TRE Theologische Realenzyklopiidie
VigC Vigiliae Christianae (Amsterdam)
IX
INTRODUCTION
HIS IS THE FIRST of several volumes containing the se-

ries of 67 homilies composed by St John Chrysostom
on the entire book of Genesis. Before the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries, when those editions of the homilies
appeared on which our present text rests, the Genesis series
had been thought to contain only 61 homilies, but fortunately
the missing ones have been recovered.' This first volume, for
reasons of length, contains the first seventeen homilies, bring-
ing Chrysostom's commentary up to Gn chapter 3 verse 19,
a significant enough moment but so early in his text as to
suggest that, as often happens with preachers, he will have
to increase his pace to treat of the whole book, which is his
intention. Later volumes will complete the remaining three-
quarters of the series of homilies.
(2) In addition to this series of 67 homilies, there is extant
another small series of 9 sermons on Genesis by Chrysostom.
The first 8 of these comment likewise (though more gener-
ally) on the early chapters of Gn, and in places the resem-
blance is verbatim. The ninth seems somewhat different,
but because of its patriarchal material has been placed with
this short series. These sermons are not translated in the
present work.
I. B. De Montfaucon, whose text and introduction J. P. Migne reproduces

in his 1858-60 Paris edition, debates the testimony of Photius, ninth century
scholar and successor of Chrysostom in the see of Constantinople, to the
number 61; the internal evidence of the present Homily 33, which acknowl-
edges that an intermission had occurred after Holy Week till Pentecost, sug-
gests that Photius has lost five homilies when he claims that only 27 were de-
livered during Lent.
2 ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
CHRYSOSTOM'S EXEGETICAL WORKS
(3) The life of this great preacher of Antioch and Con-

stantinople of the late fourth century has been adequately
sketched in the previous volumes of the Fathers of the Church
series devoted to Chrysostom's work,2 not to mention Dom
Chrysostom Baur's monumental study.3 Only some especially
relevant features need highlighting here in view of the partic-
ular character of the Gn homilies and Chrysostom's role as
exegete/commentator/preacher. Firstly, Chrysostom stands
within the patristic school of Antioch-and stands high,
though perhaps not so influential a figure as Theodore of
Mopsuestia-and thus represents an exegetical tradition rest-
ing firmly on the literal sense of Scripture as opposed to the
Alexandrian school's relish for the allegorical sense" Sec-
ondly, Chrysostom's grounding in biblical studies was at the
hands of Diodore of Tarsus, who, though a distinguished
exegete now known from extant fragments of commentaries
on Genesis and Psalms (the OT books Chrysostom also devoted
most attention to),5 himself had no Hebrew and so could
not introduce Chrysostom to exegesis of the Hebrew text of
those books 6 _ a most significant fact for our present work, of
course. Thirdly, as I have outlined elsewhere,' the society
2. Homilies oj the Gospel oj St. John, translated by Sister Thomas Aquinas
Goggin (FOTC 33, 41; 1957, 1960); Discourses Against Judaizing Christians
translated by Paul W. Harkins (FOTC 68; 1979); St.John Chrysostom On the In-
comprehensible Nature oJGod, translated by Paul W. Harkins (FOTC, 72; 1984);
St. John Chrysostom Apologist, translated by Paul W. Harkins and Margaret
Shatkin (FOTC, 73; 1985).
3. D. C. Baur. John Chrysostom and His Time (I 1929, II 1930 (ET London-
Glasgow) 1959, 1960.
4. Cf. G. Bardy, "Interpretation chez les peres," Dict.Bibl.,Suppl. IV (Paris,
1949) 569-91; A. Vaccari, "La theoria nella scuola esegetica di Antiochia,"
Bibl. 1 (1920) 3-36. See also B. Drewery, "Antiochien" in TRE III 99-113.
5. Diodore's commentary on Psalms (PG 33.1587-1628) in CCG, VI Com-
mentarii in Psalmos I-L by Jean Marie Oliver (Turnhout, 1980).
6. As H. von Campenhausen points out in the Greek Fathers (1955) (ET
London, 1963) 143. "Chrysostom's own admission of his limitations here ap-
pears in Homily 4 in clarifying the significance of Hebrew "heaven(s)", where
he says, 'Those who know that language say ... '"
7. R. Hill, St. John Chrysostom's Teaching on Inspiration in his Old Testament
Homilies (Sydney, 1981) 27-44.
INTRODUCTION 3
of the Antioch of the day was swirling with many currents
and a prey to all sorts of cultural influences-pagan, Jewish,
heretical, sophist; as preacher with developing pastoral re-
sponsibility (though perhaps not yet ordained when he deliv-
ered the Gn homilies) Chrysostom is most anxious to alert
his congregation to the dangers to be encountered,S and
his polemical manner in this regard can arise from pastoral
conscientiousness (nevertheless earning Baur's label of "Die
Polemiker"). 9
(4) Chrysostom's extant works outnumber those of any
other Father of the East; in the West, Augustine alone is his
peer. Predictably for such a zealous preacher and pastor,
most of these works are oratorical, even if his treatises on
priesthood and other states of life in the Church are well
known and much translated. While the manuscript tradition
for these works is abundant, there is still much work to be
done in deciding on the authenticity of many other works at-
tributed to this illustrious figure. to The bulk of Chrysostom's
oratorical works are exegetical, over 600 pieces of exegesis/
commentary on books of Old and New Testaments, mostly de-
livered as homilies in Antioch from 385.
(5) Partly for linguistic reasons, partly by preference for au-
thors like Paul, for whom Chrysostom obviously had a warm
regard, the New Testament received most frequent attention,
though the Genesis series seems to have been the earliest-
perhaps out of deference to his master Diodore, himself like
Chrysostom the author of series of homilies on this part of the
Bible. The Old Testament homilies that we seem to be able to
accept as authentic number 150: a series of 9 on Genesis, our
8. Cf. Homily 2 (warning against Mani, Marcion, Valentinus, pagans, and

the logismoi of rationalists), Hom.8 (the Jews), Hom.17 (the Anthropomor-
phites). Cf. his commentary on Ps 110 (PC 53,264B) where he tilts at the Jews,
Paul of Samosata, Arius, Marcion, Mani-all for Christological errors.
9. Baur I, 330.
10. For the present state of the question, cf. M. Geerard, CPC II (Turn-
hout, 1974) Dubia et Spuria 4500-4713; ]. Quasten, Patrology III, 429f; ]. A.
de Almada, Repertorium pseudo-chrysostomicum (Paris, 1965) and S.]. Voicu,
"Le corpus pseudo-chrysostomiem Questiones preliminaires et etat des re-
cherches," SP XVII (1982) 1198-1205.
4 ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
series of 67 on Genesis, 5 on Anna, 3 on David and Saul, 58 on

Psalms, 6 on Isaiah ch.6 (sometimes known as 'in Oziam,' and
the first of Chrysostom's OT homilies to appear in a modern
critical edition), II and 2 entitled De Obscuritate Prophetiarum
(which are rather examples of treatises than exegesis, but they
do allow Chrysostom to articulate his thinking on the OT).
(6) There are thus two major series of homilies by Chry-
sostom on the Old Testament, one on Genesis, another on
Psalms. Quasten flatly declares the latter "by far the best,"
though admitting we probably don't have them in their origi-
nal form. A reader of both series, however, finds these much
less inspiring than the Genesis series, which could never be de-
scribed as "pedestrian, mechanical, desultory." 12 I am in no
doubt that the Gn series deserves translation for its impor-
tance in the history of exegesis. The Psalms series can come
later.
(7) In addition to the present series of 67 homilies on Gene-
sis, therefore, there is also that short series of 9 'sermons' on
the same book. The question immediately arises: why two se-
ries? why the difference in name between 'homily' and 'ser-
mon'? how did the occasional verbatim similarity arise? The
eighteenth century editor De Montfaucon gives to each of the
67 the heading homilia and to the 9 (as well as to the 5 on
Anna) logos, but Chrysostom in his text seems to use only the
latter term. F. Cayre distinguishes homilies-series of instruc-
tions on entire or almost entire books of Scripture-from ex-
egetical sermons on isolated passages of Scripture. 13 Quasten
refers to both as 'homiliae'. 14 Baur suggests that the 9 sermons
alone were actually delivered, whereas the 67 homilies are
only Chrysostom's text prepared for delivery but not actually
preached in their present form (though stylistic evidence
II. Homilies sur Ozias (SC 277), ed. and trans. by J. Dumortier (Paris, Ig81);
Commentaire sur Isaie (SC 304), ed. and trans. by J. Dumortier (Paris, 1983)
which, if authentic, may be only a dehomileticized form of the above.
12. Words used to describe a whole sequence of 18 homilies beginning with
Ps 120(llg) in my earlier study: R. Hill, St. John Chrysostom's Teaching on In-
spiration in his Old Testament Homilies (Sydney, Ig81) 16-20.
13. Patrologie et Histoire de La ThifoLogie I, Paris Ig53, 546-47.
14· PatroLogy III, 434·
INTRODUCTION 5
would not support this, I feel). Much of this discussion could
be said to be guesswork and perhaps of no moment any-
how. Quasten probably has the last word with this caution:
"Most of his voluminous Scriptural expositions do not pro-
vide enough clues to determine the time of composition or
delivery or even their exact order. Some of them might have
been published only in written form without having ever been
preached." 15 As to the close textual resemblance at times be-
tween sermons and homilies (cf. Sermon 2 and Homily 8, for
instance), one wonders if we have different versions of an ora-
tion delivered on one occasion, or a slight re-tailoring for dif-
ferent occasions. W. A. Markowicz has addressed the prob-
lem, considered various solutions, and settled for the obvious
one: "Partial repetitions triggered by similarity of circum-
stance are no surprise to any teacher-preacher of many
years." 16 My own conclusion would be that the two series dif-
fer in purpose if not in basic material, one occasional, the
other (the Homilies) progressively exegetical.
(8) Can we be sure when and where the 67 Homilies on
Genesis were delivered? Quasten, despite that caution of his
against a false search for precision, pinpoints them flatly: "at
Antioch during Lent 386." 17 This· somewhat contradicts the
internal evidence of Homily 33, which, as De Montfaucon's
careful argument demonstrates, admits a break in the series
after Homily 32 to allow for Easter ceremonies and other
sermons on Judas, the Resurrection and the Acts right up
to Pentecost, when the Genesis series resumes. With equally
microscopic examination of the text of the Genesis and Acts
homilies, De Montfaucon seizes on references to the Jews
(Homily 12 on Gn), to the name of a church in Antioch (Hom-
ily 2 on Acts), to the races (Homily 6 on Gn), and arrives at an
open verdict on a date, except to eliminate 386 (the year of 8
15. Ibid.
16. Markowicz, W. A. "Chrysostom's sermons on Genesis: a problem," JTS
24 (1963) 652-64, in which he refers to other cases of resemblance in Chry-
sostom's works.
17. Quasten, Patrology III, 434. Cayre, Patrologie, 546f, equally flatly as-
signs the homilies to 388, after the sermons in 386. AltanerlStuiber, Pa-
trologie, 324, agrees " ... wahrscheinlich 388 gehalten."
of the Sermons on Gn) and 387, but he is definite about Anti-

och as the place. So perhaps it is wisest to adopt Quasten's cau-
tion again more cautiously than he did himself, and conclude:
the Homilies on Genesis seem to have been delivered in Anti-
och, perhaps as early as the year 385, half just before and dur-
ing Lent, the remainder (from Homily 33 onwards) after Pen-
tecost. If that early date were established, they would have
been given by John the deacon, Chrysostom's ordination to
priesthood occurring only in 386, and would thus represent
his oratorical debut (not that they betray the tentative manner
of a beginner).
(9) With the exception of the Sources Chritiennes editions of
the 6 Isaiah homilies,18 there have been no modern critical edi-
tions of Chrysostom's Old Testament homilies. The Corpus
Christianorum of Turnhout has just begun its Series Graeca,
but at least the Belgians have continued to make available
through photographic reproduction Migne's Patrologia Graeca
of 1857-66, which itself re-edited the eighteenth century
edition of Chrysostom's works by the Benedictines under
Bernhard De Montfaucon. Since expert opinion differs as to
whether or not De Montfaucon's edition is to be preferred to
Henry Savile's Oxford edition of 1612 for accuracy,I9 we have
in the Migne reprint (thanks to Brepols) an adequate text for
translation (PG 53 and 54 containing the Genesis homilies),
and can with less impatience await from today's critical editors
the courage required to face the not inconsiderable challenge
of editing all Chrysostom's OT homilies.
(10) What, then, has prevented the translation of these
homilies into English? Presumably, for one thing, their bulk:
being the best represented Greek Father carries its own disad-
vantages. Yet bulk did not discourage the two great nine-
teenth century translation projects at Oxford (Library of the
Fathers) and in the United States (A Select Library of Nicene and
18. Cf. note 11 above.
19. Quasten, Patrology III, 430-31, and F. L. Cross, ODCC' (London,
1974 ') 286, opt for Savile; B. Altaner and A. Stuiber, Patrologie (Freiburg,
1978 7) 324, and G. W. H. Lampe, A Patristic Greek Lexicon (Oxford, 1961) ix,
xvii, for De Montfaucon (who admits dependence on Savile but claims to have
improved on him).
INTRODUCTION 7
Post-Nicene Fathers, happily available also in reprint today)
from attempting the triply daunting task offered by Chry-
sostom's New Testament homilies. The result is that there have
been to date no English translations of the Old Testament
homilies, though Fathers of the Church is now moving to adjust
that imbalance (unlike other modern translation series like
ACWand The Library of Christian Classics). There is surely some
value judgement operating here: clearly editors in recent times
have thought the golden-mouthed orator less weighty a com-
mentator on the more remote material of Genesis or Psalms
than on the Gospels or his beloved Paul. 20 This, I surmise, is
not due to Chrysostom's relative degree of acquaintance with
the language ofthe biblical text; rather, I am inclined to think
an estimate was made of the relative attractiveness of the ma-
terial and its relevance to theological themes judged most
typical of Chrysostom's thought, such as Christology and the
Sacraments. This is a pity: the Genesis homilies in particular
have much to tell of Chrysostom as exegete/commentator/
preacher/moralist/breaker of the bread of the Word gener-
ally, even if he has been judged not the most conspicuous rep-
resentative of his school. 21 And even if it is true that he is
"soucieux de tirer des ecritures les le<;ons de morale a l'usage
de ses auditeurs,"22 even if he can live up to Baur's label of
"Die Polemiker", he is also a profoundly theological commen-
tator on the text with that tremendous respect for Scripture
as the inspired Word of God that we associate with the Eastern
Church (as we will demonstrate below).23
20. Similarly, and perhaps consequent upon the relative availability of NT

and OT homilies in translation, the major studies of Chrysostom's exegetical
works to date (by Haidacher, Chase, Fabbi, Flanagan, Vandenberghe, etc.)
rely disproportionately on references to NT homilies.
21. Cf. Beryl Smalley, The Study of the Bible in the Middle Ages (Oxford, 1952)
18: "The homilies of St John Chrysostom in translation were also read and
appreciated (in the West). He was by far the best-known representative of
Antiochene principles in the West and, at the same time, the author who
could teach his readers least about Antiochene exegesis."
22. G. Bardy, "Interpretation," Dict.Bibl.,Suppl. 581.
23. Cf. R. Hill, "St John Chrysostom and the Incarnation of the Word in
Scripture," Compass Theology Review 14 (lg80) 34-38; R. E. Brown, The Criti-
cal Meaning of the Bible (London, Ig81) 22.
8 ST. JOHNCHRYSOSTOM
THE HOMILIST AND HIS CONGREGATION

IN ANTIOCH
(11) Presuming that the Genesis homilies were delivered in

Antioch before Chrysostom's elevation to the See of Con-
stantinople in 398, we can deduce from the text something of
the situation in which they were delivered and the congrega-
tion to whom they were addressed. If there is truth in the sug-
gestion that Chrysostom was in the habit of moving from
church to church to preach, this congregation nevertheless
remained the same recipient of the 67 homilies, of which 32
had been delivered on the weekdays of Lent by the time that
intermission for Easter came. From this fact, and from their
considerable length, we conclude the homilies were not a
minor component of an even longer daily liturgy. They com-
menced with the reading of the text of Scripture (from a vari-
ant of the Greek Septuagint version of the Hebrew OT, as we
shall see below), which Chrysostom then began to comment
on, verse by verse, word by word, even taking individual syl-
lables, as was his manner and was evidently acceptable to his
Antiochene congregation-except when he had something
else particular to say, such as the opening exhortation on fast-
ing (Homily 1) or that stinging rebuke of those who attended
horse racing (Homily 6).24 The members of the congregation
seemed a typical group of lay people, from family situations,
preoccupied with secular affairs, and yet prepared to as-
semble daily for a lengthy scriptural homily on a fairly empty
stomach in Lent. They are not ignorant people: Chrysostom
flatters them in Homily 19 with the ability to choose between
variant interpretations of the difficult verse 4.8. They are pre-
sumed to be readers of Scripture at home: "I recommend you
to have constant recourse to this remedy, and apply yourself
diligently to the reading of Sacred Scripture, not only when
you come along here, but at home, taking the sacred books
in your hands and earnestly absorbing the benefit of their
24. R. Hill, "On giving up the horses for Lent," CleR 68 (March 1983)
10 5- 106 .
INTRODUCTION 9
contents. The advantages stemming from this practice are
manifold: ... "25
So they are not, in Chrysostom's view and in keeping with
his notion of scriptural inspiration, passive recipients of a
one-way process. He sees inspiration affecting them and him-
self in various ways and in various situations: "If we have a
precise realization of this, we will be able while relaxing at
home, both before eating or after eating, to take the sacred
books in our hands and gain benefit from them and provide
spiritual nourishment for our soul. ... This, after all, is the
secret of our salvation, our spiritual riches, our security. If we
defend ourselves in this way day by day, through reading,
through listening, through spiritual discourse, we will be able
to keep ourselves unharmed and render the devil's wiles
ineffectual." 26
Their role is not only to listen, but also to read and engage
in spiritual discourse. He frequently envisages them leaving
the church after his sermon to go home with their neighbors,
and on the way reminiscing together on the day's theme, as-
sisting one another in their recollection of it,27 the better to
understand it themselves as well as to teach and admonish
others,28 even to engage in controversy 'with them,29 or per-
haps mediating the subject matter to those absent. 30 Bible
discussion groups at home are also part of their lifestyle. 31
Whatever of the turbulent religious currents of contempo-
rary Antioch, this congregation led a quite intensely scrip-
tural life. 32
THE STRUCTURE OF THE HOMILIES
(12) As a homilist Chrysostom was not in the business of

wasting the time of his listeners; they got good measure,
25. Homily 24; cf. 21. 26. Homily 10.

27. Homily 14· 28. Homily 14; 20.
29. Homily 8. 30. Homily 10.
31. Homily 6; 10.
32. For further detail, R. Hill, St. John Chrysostom's Teaching on Inspiration in
his Old Testament Homilies 108-21.
whether they liked it or not. Newman could wax poetic on his
oratorical style, others compare it to the Attic of Demos-
thenes; 33 certainly its flowing, meandering, even asyntactic
periods discourage the impression the homilies were com-
posed but never delivered. There was, however, little of the
original and spectacular in the structure of the homilies-not
surprising, in that there are 67 on the one book of the Bible.
Normally, there was the opening reading of the day's verse(s).
Cfirysostom would then link the day's sermon with the previ-
ous day'S, often through some such figure as the laying of a
table; this could occasionally develop into a lengthy moral!
dogmatic/polemical excursus unrelated to the Gn text and
supported from other Scriptural loci. Then-sometimes with
abruptness and difficulty after such a lengthy digression (dis-
proportionate enough to discourage again an impression of
perfect planning beforehand)-he would take up the day's
text for exegesis/commentary.34 Finally, after a substantial
time on the text, he would move to a pare netic conclusion,
quite perfunctorily done by way of "supplying you with the
customary paraklesis," 35 and not always arising naturally from
the exegetical material; by this stage patience might be wear-
ing thin, especially as the homilies tended to get longer and
longer, and he would feel the need to apologize (cf. Homilies
15,16,17,18,lg)-though thankfully it was some such occasion
that provided the beautiful rebuke about the lamplighter in
Sermon 4 on Gn: "We are explaining the Scriptures to you,
while you are turning your eyes away from us, and directing
them instead to the lamps and the man lighting them. Such
laziness! to turn away from us and attend to him. Here am I
lighting the fire of Scripture, and the lamp of its teaching is
enkindled on my lips ... "36
33· Cf. P. J. Ryan, "Chrysostom-a derived stylist?" VigC 36 (1982) 5-14.

34. Homily 11 omits reference to Cn to deal with imitation of the saints
and especially of Chrysostom's model, Paul, through extended commentary
on 2 Cor.
35· Homily 7; cf. 20.
36. In the Isaiah homilies (Hom.4 in Oziam: PC 56,121a) there is the
equally beautiful metaphor for the preaching on Scripture, where the con-
gregation is compared to a ship's company embarking en route for heaven on
INTRODUCTION 11
Finally and invariably, as became the pastor and theologian

that he patently was, came the brief prayer for congregation
and preacher, and the trinitarian doxology.
(13) To describe as exegetical homilies Chrysostom's treat-
ment of Genesis and the other parts of the Old Testament is to
stretch the definition somewhat; as his contemporary Julian
of Eclanum observed, his mediation of the Scriptures was
"rather by exhortation than by exposition" (PL 21,960). This
was partly due to a judgement about his pastoral role and the
needs of his congregation: they got what he thought they
needed, even if at times not in keeping with the stage of devel-
opment of the Genesis text-such as a lecture on the evils of
the race-course, or many reminders of the efficacy of fasting
during Lent. His advocacy of fasting does admit of distinc-
tion: those who cannot abstain from food can pray, give alms,
read the Bible;37 prompt response to the basic moral impera-
tive is pointed out as "real fasting" in case mere abstinence be
seen as a fetish 38-sound advice from a one-time addict. Be-
yond that, his moral exhortation centers on several well-worn
themes. Most prominent in this series on Genesis, perhaps
because of his diagnosis of the sin of Adam and Eve as rhathu-
mia, "indifference/ carelessness/ sloth," 39 is the Christian life as
a dialectic with indifference and enthusiasm (prothumia) as the
two opposites. 40 Other chestnuts include the dialectic between
truth and error/deception/the devil's wiles, and as a corollary
Chrysostom's warning about the limitations of human rea-
soning compared with the divine design. 4 ! The wealth of
a vessel (which is the homily) driven forward by the breath of the Spirit, with
Christ himself-the Word-leading the way; Chrysostom himself as preacher
has only to launch the boat and supply his tongue as sail to catch the breath of
the Spirit. FQr a translation see R. Hill, "St. John Chrysostom's teaching on
inspiration in 'Six Homilies on Isaiah' VigC 22 (1968) 30-31.
39. Homily 14;18;19;21. Indifference is also Lamech's flaw in 20.
40. "Binomials" is the name F. Asensio gives to these opposites that charac-
terize Chrysostom's thinking, in his article, "El Cris6stomo y su visi6n de
la escritura en la exposici6n homiletica del Genesis," EB 32 (1973) 223-55,
3 2 9-56.
41. Homily 12;15;21.
Scripture, "beyond all telling" yet hidden beneath the surface,

is a constant theme. In this series the Jews 42 and Judaizers 43
do not figure much, despite Baur's remarks about the threat
their influential position posed to the faith in Antioch at that
period!4
(14) Perhaps a word should be said about Chrysostom's sex-
ism, if only for the heavy strain it places on the modern trans-
lator. We are not surprised to find him using only the mas-
culine of his congregation in general or of the particular
examples he takes. Today's congregations, however, would be
less content to have a preacher talk about the wonderful
people of sacred history and refer only to men, as Chry-
sostom invariably does;45 in Homily 21 he even recommends
them to name their children generally after those holy andres.
Even when his LXX text reminds him that it is the human
being, anthropos, that is in question-as in the case of its crea-
tion 46_ he thinks in terms of the male, so that for him (de-
spite the text) anthropos and gyne become correlatives. His
commentary on the Fall in Homily 17 further leads him to
a somewhat unbalanced explanation of male superiority on
the basis of greater female guilt. Doubtless he is not alone
42. Homily 8 and the following: Wilken, R. L. ed. Aspects of Wisdom injuda-
ism and Early Christianity. (University of Notre Dame Press, 1975). - - . john
Chrysostom and the jews. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983). - -
- . judaism and the Early Mind: A Study of Cyril of Alexander's Exegesis and Theol-
ogy. (Yale University Press, 1971). - - and W. A. Meeks. jews and Christians
in Antioch in the First Four Centuries of the Common Era. (Scholars Press, 1978).
43. Homily 12.
44. Baur I, 331-33. An interesting detail of Chrysostom's thought that
strikes the reader when he reaches Gn 3.15 is that Chrysostom acknowledges
no Messianic or Marian echoes in the text, whether through personal convic-
tion or to discourage his congregation's looking for senses beyond the literal
(Homily 17).
45. Cf. Homily 12;21. Recent works on Chrysostom's sexism include:
Clark, Elizabeth A. jerome, Chrysostom and Friends: essays and translations. (New
York: E. Mellen Press, 1979)' Shore, Sally Ann. De Virginitate and De non ite-
rando coniugio: On Virginity and Against Remarriage with an Introduction by
Elizabeth A. Clark in Studies on Women and Religion, volume 9 (New York,
1983).
46. Cf. Homily 8; 10.
INTRODUCTION
amongst the Fathers with this usage and these attitudes, but
they do prove a particular reminder of the distance between
his time and our own.
CHRYSOSTOM AND SCRIPTURE
(15) More to the point in a study of Chrysostom as com-

mentator on Sacred Scripture is the scriptural text on which
he is commenting. We have seen that he has not the skills to go
beyond the Greek version of the Old Testament; the name
Septuagint for this translation has by Chrysostom's time come
to cover a whole family of variant forms, and footnotes to the
present translation document this diversity. It can therefore
not be readily presumed that the Gn text read to Chrysostom's
congregation and then commented on by him corresponds to
any current English version, the text of our best contempo-
rary Hebrew Bibles (like Kittel's) or Septuagint reconstruc-
tions (like Rahlfs'), or in the case of the New Testament to a
text like that of Aland, Black et al. Baur explains that Origen's
reconstruction of the LXX had been revised in Antioch by the
priest Lucian, who had also worked on the NT text, and that
it was probably Lucian's text that Chrysostom would have
used. Baur adds, however, a further caveat: "The exact deter-
mination of the text was made more difficult because of the
fact that Chrysostom, as well as other ecclesiastical writers of
older and newer times, often quoted Scripture texts freely
and diversely, from memory, and occasionally joined similar
quotations, so that it is very difficult to say how his actual text
read. For this reason there is lack of an absolutely reliable text
of the works of Chrysostom himself."·7 My procedure has ac-
cordingly been to translate each text of Chrysostom individu-
ally, noting where significant the degree of departure from
'received texts'. I have also thought it best to keep to a spelling
of proper names suggested by that text.
(16) The point has been made above that "exegetical" can
47. Baur I, 318.

ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
be applied to this and other series of Chrysostom's homilies
only 'secundum quid'. Whether through pastoral judgement
or by force of his own limitations, the great preacher is satis-
fied with commenting on the text without submitting it to the
rigorous processes of exegesis strictly so-called. We have seen
above critics like G. Bardy and Beryl Smalley 48 taking him to
task for his shortcomings-though they and other studies of
Antiochene exegesis like those by A. Vaccari,49 J. N. D. Kelly,50
and W. Kaiser 51 tend to concentrate on the narrower area of
hermeneutics. In that regard Chrysostom evidences the great
respect for the literal sense characteristic of his school, as we
shall see. As the complete exegete, however, he has many defi-
ciencies of the kind we would probably expect of someone of
his background and time. Occasionally he admits diversity in
his text tradition. 52 He can also allow different interpretations
of a difficult text, like Gn 4.8, and leave his listeners to make a
choice. 53 But he shows little critical awareness in his treatment
of Genesis material. Diversity of sources he knows nothing of:
in Homily 12 he passes from one creation narrative to the
next almost without reference to the duplication, just remark-
ing that Moses had repeated his "first account" in the interests
of that cardinal virtue, akribeia, precision. Likewise, as he be-
gins to treat of the Priestly Sethite genealogy at 5.1, he simply
remarks that the repetition is accounted for by the need of
moral instruction for the listenerslreaders. 54 He takes seri-
ously the "difficulty" he presumes his listeners find in tracing
the provenance of a wife for Cain if Scripture thus far has
made no mention of girls. 55 "The names Adam imposed on
48. Cf. notes 21, 22 above. 49. Cf. note 4 above.
50. Early Christian Doctrines (New York, 19785) 69-78.
5L Kaiser, W. Towards an Exegetical Theology (Grand Rapids, 1981) 57-58.
See also Schaublin, Christoph. Untersuchungen zu Methode und Herkunft der
antiochenischen Exegese (Kaln: P. Hanstein, 1974).
52. C. Hay, "Antiochene exegesis and Christology," Australian Biblical Re-
view 12 (1964) 10-23, compares Chrysostom unfavorably with Theodore of
Mopsuestia for his literary criticism.
53. Homily 19·
54. Homily 21. Just as Moses is responsible for all the Gn text, so "blessed
David" is for all the Psalms.
55. Homily 20.
INTRODUCTION
the animals remain up to the present time," he says smugly to

his audience. 56 He can draw a simplistic conclusion from his
text like that of male superiority referred to above in playing
up woman's part in the Fall. 57 We are not surprised to find that
he admits no distinction in character or origins between the
parable of the Sower and its allegorical interpretation. 58 He is
impatient with the LXX's linguistic nicety in preferring Zoe to
Eva at 3.20 in Homily 18, and while quoting the former in his
text he slips at once into the traditional name without explain-
ing the distinction. None of these niceties, evidently, are rele-
vant to his purpose; to quote Julian of Eclanum again, he
proceeded "rather by exhortation than by exposition"-or,
perhaps more accurately, his exposition was conducted only
to the depth that would serve exhortation.
(17) This moral purpose of his in the commentary on Gn is
certainly always to the fore, in addition even to the parenetic
conclusion to every homily. Not only do critical exegetical de-
tails go without mention, but the dogmatic force of the text
can yield to its moral content. For Chrysostom, the Fall is prin-
cipally an instance, if the grossest, of that recurring rhathumia,
"indifference, carelessness"; its reporting in the text is pri-
marily didactic in his view. Despite the New Testament, Adam
is ofless significance than Eve and Cain-both exemplars, the
one of that same rhathumia, the other of unprovoked malice.
Likewise, whereas contemporary literary critics like Von Rad
highlight the dogmatic significance of the Lamech incident,
Chrysostom in Homily 20 makes much of Lamech as a moral
figure (who, through a mistranslation by the LXX, becomes
not an agent but an object of vengeance). The genealogy that
opens Ch.S of Gn is not for Chrysostom an index of a differ-
ent narrative strand but clear proof that increasing sinfulness
has led the author to switch his focus. 59 To the service of this
moral purpose Chrysostom brings also considerable oratori-
cal artistry: the malice and the plight of these key moral fig-
ures is brought out by lengthy series of rhetorical questions in
56. Homily 16. 57. Homily 17·

Homilies 19 and 20 that must have made for considerable

dramatic effect-all for the moral betterment of the con-
gregation, whether or not this was the primary burden of
the text.
(18) The moral thrust in his exposition is evident also in his
reference to other books of the Bible. Chrysostom has the
Bible at his fingertips, and he expects his congregation to res-
onate to his wide-ranging scriptural references, which are not
always explicit. There would hardly be a homily which does
not move beyond the text of Gn to quote, especially in those
parenetic conclusions and introductions, the words of Christ
from Matthew's Gospel,60 the psalms of "blessed David", and
of course Chrysostom's soul-mate, Paul, "the world's teacher"
and his own model. 6L Though ranging widely over the OT
and NT canon of his time in the East, he finds this kind of
material grist to his mill to a greater extent than historical de-
tails, such as the life of Jesus or the historical books of the OT;
a glance at the scriptural quotations in this volume will show
these books conspicuous by their absence, as also Mark's Gos-
pel. Still, at other times Chrysostom can implicitly hold up
the historical personages of the Bible to his congregation as
models-again in the moral order. 62
(19) Whatever of his skills and approach as exegete and
commentator, Chrysostom is utterly scriptural in his preach-
ing to his congregation. It was obviously a predictable choice
for the preacher of Antioch to confine his attention solely to
Genesis and those other parts of the Bible; he refers his lis-
teners to no other literature, no other characters or events,
contemporary or historical, than those in the sacred books,
except for occasional tilting at notorious heretics whose views
contradict the true sense of Scripture. Thankfully, these po-
60. Cf. Beryl Smalley, The Study of the Bible in the Middle Ages (Oxford, 1962)
337: "The book which St. Thomas Aquinas preferred to the whole town of
Paris was St John Chrysostom on St. Matthew (translated by Burgundio of
twelfth century)."
61. Cf. the intense admiration that glows in his commentary on Paul's tribu-
lations in Homily 11. See also De Laudibus Sancti Pauli (SC 300) ed. and trans.
by A. Piedagnel (Paris, 1982).
62. Homily 12;21.
INTRODUCTION
lemical references are not so frequent as to obscure the real-

ization that Chrysostom's esteem for Scripture was not born of
the heat of controversy but was the fruit of personal medita-
tion on the Incarnation, a dogma dear to his Antioch school. 63
Whether he be a relatively less brilliant luminary of that school,
or less critical and no more original than his great Alexan-
drian predecessor, Origen, whose views he shared on such
matters as the authorship and unity of the Scriptures, verbal
inspiration and inerrancy,64 it is appropriate that recent pon-
tiffs and Vatican II have associated Chrysostom with the in car-
national aspect of the Scriptures and the great regard Chris-
tians have for them as the incarnate Word of God. 65
(20) In making this association, these magisterial texts high-
light Chrysostom's distinctive notion about the Scriptures, syn-
katabasis-while their English versions follow the regrettable
habit of mistranslating this key term as "condescension." In
Chrysostom, however, there is nothing of the patronizing sug-
gested by that word; instead, he has in mind God's gracious
acceptance of the limitations (astheneia-another key term,
also commonly mistranslated as "weakness") of the human
condition-eminently in the Incarnation, and derivatively in
that other incarnation of the Word in Scripture. 66 As F. H.
Chase said a century ago: "The great principle expressed by
the word synkatabasis is of deep and wide application. As in the
historical Incarnation the Eternal Word became flesh, so in
the Bible the glory of God veils itself in the fleshly garments of
human thought and human language." 67 For Chrysostom the
Scriptures exemplify God's gracious "considerateness" (not
63. For a complete treatment of Chrysostom's teaching on Scripture, see R.

Hill, St. John Chrysostom's Teaching on Inspiration in his Old Testament Homilies.
64. For Origen's teaching on Scripture, see R. P. C. Hanson, Allegory and
Event. A Study of the Sources and Significance of Origen's Interpretation of Scripture
(London, 1959)'
65. Cf. Divino Afflante Spiritu, AAS 35 (1943) 316; Dei Verbum 13; and
R. Hill, "St. John Chrysostom and the Incarnation of the Word in Scripture,"
Compass Theology Review 14 (1980) 34-38.
66. See R. Hill, "On looking again at sunkatabasis," Prudentia 13 (1981)
3- 1 1.
67. F. H. Chase, Chrysostom. A Study in the History of Biblical Interpretation,
(Cambridge, 1887) 42.
"condescension") because in them God speaks to human be-

ings in language, and primarily in speech. So many times in
the en homilies are we reminded that it is Moses speaking-
"or, rather, the Holy Spirit speaking by his tongue," or some
such phrase demonstrating his conviction of inspired author-
ship.68 Hence his great respect for his own role as commen-
tator on the text, an inspired activity as is that of his listeners,
and respect for the text in all its minute details: how often do
we hear him urging his congregation "not to pass heedlessly
by" any small detail, and how often does he heed his own ad-
vice by wrestling with some little particle (like the "but" in en
2.20).69 "Sacred Scripture says nothing idly or by chance;
every single sound and syllable has a treasure contained in it,"
he repeatedly urges them. 70
(21) Hence, of course, his and the Antiochene school's insis-
tence on the literal sense of Scripture and their unwillingness
to part company with it too readily in the direction of alle-
gorical interpretation. Belief in the extent of inspiration leads
Chrysostom to prize the akribeia, "precision", of Scripture
(again an oft-mistranslated term, rendered inadequately as
"accuracy"-an ironic fate for this champion of precision),
prompting in the exegete by way of response to God's consid-
erateness a like precision in exegesis. 71 More than a score of
times in the en homilies he exclaims in admiration, "Let
us admire the precision of Sacred Scripture," or some such
phrase. The corollary of this stance is his evident reluctance to
admit any other sense than the literal; occasionally in com-
menting on the Psalms he feels encouraged to recognize a
spiritual sense, very rarely an allegorical sense and then only
with the support of the New Testament. 72 He is content that
68. For details, see R. Hill, St. John Chrysostom's Teaching on Inspiration in his
Old Testament Homilies 84ff. and R. Hill, "Chrysostom's terminology for the in-
spired Word," EB 41 (1983) 367-373.
71. Cf. R. Hill, "Akribeia: a principle ofChrysostom's exegesis," Colloquium
14 (Oct. 1981 ) 32-36.
72. R. Hill, St. John Chrysostom's Teaching on Inspiration in his Old Testament
Homilies 144-49.
INTRODUCTION 19
Scripture, because inspired, teaches the truth, and that the
purpose of this truth is the welfare of the readerllistener-it
is a saving truth; but he is a disappointment to those moderns
whose inadequate notions of inspiration lead them to see in-
errancy as its principal effect and cause them to focus on this
to the exclusion of the saving effect of the Word 7 3 _ a distor-
tion that Chrysostom, who keeps his roots in the Incarnation,
could not be guilty of. "Let us learn, if you would, the force of
what has been read today from the words of blessed Moses.
Attend carefully, I ask you, to what is said by us; they are not
our words we are speaking, but what the love of God provides
for the sake of our salvation." 74 What more can be said of the
Scriptures, their nature, their origin and purpose? If his ora-
tory has been judged golden, Chrysostom's theology of the
Word is surely profound-something the Genesis homilies
eminently demonstrate.
73. Chrysostom has suffered in this way at the hands of students less en-
lightened than himself, like Haidacher (see Quasten III 466-67).
74. Homily 2.
HOMILY 1
Homily on the beginning of the holy season of Lent
AM PLEASED (21a) and delighted to see the church of

God adorned today with the throng of her own chil-
dren, and to see you all coming together with great
joy. I mean, whenever I look upon your beaming faces, I take
it as an infallible sign of the satisfaction you feel at heart. -As
the wise man said, "The face betrays the joy of the heart." 1 So
naturally I myself arose this morning with more than the
usual enthusiasm since I was to share with you this spiritual
happiness and I wanted to become a herald for you of the ap-
proach of Lent-the medicine, I might say, for your souls.
(21b) Like a loving father, you see, the Lord of us all, in his
desire that we be cleansed of the sins we have committed with
the passing of time, desired a remedy for us through holy
fasting.
(2) So let no one be gloomy, no one look sullen, but exult
and be glad, and glorify the guardian of our souls, who shows
us the best way, and welcome with great joy his approach. Let
the pagans be ashamed and the Jews dismayed to see the love
revealed by our welcoming the approach of this season with
such excitement, (21C) and let them learn through the experi-
ence of these things the extent of the difference between
them and us. Let them designate as their feasts and festivals
drunkenness and all other kinds of licencious and shameful
behavior, which it is typical of them to wallow in, but let the
Church of God, unlike them, identify feasts with fasting, ne-
I. Prv 15.13. Chrysostom's Old Testament text, as Introduction 15 ex-

plains, is a variant of the Septuagint (LXX), the Greek translation(s) of the
original.
20
HOMILY 1 21
glect of the appetite and all the virtues that accompany it.
This, in fact, is a true feast, where there is saving of souls,
where there is peace and harmony, where the harsh realities
of daily life are missing, (21d) without tumult and din and the
antics of good cooks and slaughter of brute beasts. Utter rest
and quiet, love and joy, peace and gentleness, and a thousand
other good things are the order of the day in place of that
other behavior.
(3) So come now, I beg you, let us discuss these things, my
dear people;2 let me urge you first of all to receive our words
with great enthusiasm so as to gain something worthwhile and
so return home. It is not, after all, idly and to no purpose that
we have come here, for one person to do the talking and the
other simply to applaud what is said, and so for us to go off
home. Instead, it is for me to utter something useful and rele-
vant to (22a) your salvation, and for you to profit from what is
said and so to leave here for home after gaining much benefit.
The church, you see, is a pharmacy of the spirit, and those
who come here ought acquire some appropriate remedies,
apply them to their own complaints, and go off the better for
it. I mean, blessed Paul confirms this, that mere listening with-
out showing practical response is of no value, when he says:
"It is not, after all, the listeners to the law who are at rights
with God, but doers of the law who are set at rights."3 Christ,
too, in his preaching said: "Not everyone saying to me, Lord,
Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does
the will of my Father in heaven."4 (22b) Accordingly, dearly
beloved, since we know that no benefit comes to us from lis-
tening unless it is brought to its completion in the good works
that follow, let us not be listeners only but doers, so that
2. Chrysostom refers to his congregation here as "your agape", a word that

moves in Christian tradition from its meaning of "love" to the love feast of the
Eucharist and then the Eucharistic assembly. Chrysostom's usage is at some
point along the line of this development, even though his Lenten gatherings
seem not to be for the Eucharist.
3. Rom. 2.13. Chrysostom's New Testament text is probably a locally re-
vised text, differing at times (like his OT) from modern reconstructed texts.
(Cf. Introduction 15)
4. Mt 7.21.
the works following the words may be for us grounds for
confidence.
(4) Accordingly, open up the recesses of your mind so as to
receive the sermon on fasting. To make a comparison with a
modest and demure bride: those with the task of introducing
her to the bridal chamber adorn it with drapes and cleanse
the whole house, giving no entrance to untidy servant girls,
and only then do they conduct the bride to her chamber. (22C)
I would like you to follow this model, purifying your thinking
and bidding adieu to indulgence and intemperance; then,
with the recesses of your mind open to receive them, welcome
the mother of every good, mistress of sobriety and every other
virtue-I mean fasting-so that you may enjoy greater plea-
sure and she may provide you with her own special healing.
To put it another way: when doctors intend to prescribe medi-
cine to patients anxious to get rid of putrid, harmful fluids,
they direct them to abstain from bodily food (22d) lest it be a
hindrance to the power of the medicine instead of its having
the effect of demonstrating its true properties. So much the
more should we, on the point of receiving that spiritual medi-
cine-the benefit of fasting-purify our thinking and render
our mind alert lest it be sodden with drink and find useless
and unprofitable what should be of benefit in the exercise.
(5) I know, of course, that what I say today will strike many
of you as novel. I beg you, however, not to let ourselves (23a)
heedlessly become the slaves of habit, but let us subject these
matters affecting ourselves to the process of reason. After all,
do you get any benefit from daily gluttony and extreme indul-
gence? Far from benefit, all you get is harm and intolerable
damage. You see, whenever reason becomes sodden through
drinking to excess, immediately the benefit gained from fast-
ing is wiped out without trace. I ask you: what could be more
distasteful, what more unseemly than people quaffing wine
right up till midnight, up to the dawning of the first rays of
the rising sun, reeking to high heaven from drinking all that
wine, a disagreeable spectacle to people they meet, an object
of contempt to their household, the laughing stock of all
who have some little idea of correct behavior and in the eyes
HOMILY 1 23
of everyone (23b) when they draw on themselves the displea-
sure of God through this extreme intemperance and ill-timed,
mindless indulgence. "Drunkards," Scripture says, "will not
inherit the kingdom of God."5 So what could be worse than
the plight of these people who are driven from the precincts
of the kingdom for a fleeting and pernicious satisfaction?
(6) God forbid that anyone of you gathered here should be
overcome by that weakness. May you instead celebrate each
day as it comes with restraint and sobriety, and be free of the
storms and tempests that indulgence is accustomed to cause,
and thus reach the harbor of your souls-I mean fasting-so
as to be in a position to gain its advantages in abundance. I
mean, just as indulgence proves to be cause and promoter of
countless evils for the human race, in like manner fasting and
neglect of appetite have invariably proved the cause of in-
numerable benefits to us. (23c) God, you remember, in form-
ing human beings in the beginning, knew that they had par-
ticular need of this remedy for the salvation of their souls,
and so from the outset he gave the first human creature this
command: "'From all the trees in the garden you are to eat
your fill, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
do not eat."'6 That text about eating and not eating refers
figuratively to fasting. Although man was obliged to keep that
command, he did not do so: overcome by intemperance and
guilty of disobedience, he incurred a sentence of death. When
the devil, as you remember, evil spirit and enemy of our
nature as he is, saw the first human being living in the garden,
how his life was carefree and how he lived on earth in bodily
form yet like an angel, (23d) he wanted to trip him up and
dislodge him with the hope of greater promises, and so he
cheated him of the possession of what he had. This is the ex-
tent of the evil of not keeping within proper limits but aspir-
ing to greater heights. A wise man has made this clear in the
words, "Through the devil's envy death entered the world." 7
Do you see, dearly "beloved, how from the beginning it was
5. 1 Cor 6.10. 6. Gn 2.16-17.

7. Wis 2.24·
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
from intemperance that death had its entry? Notice likewise

that later, too, Sacred Scripture repeatedly accuses indul-
gence, in one place saying, "The people sat down to eat and
drink, and rose up to entertain themselves,,,g in another, "He
ate and drank, grew fat and heavy, and for his love returned
him scorn." 9 The inhabitants of Sodom, too, brought that
implacable anger upon themselves from this sin, not to men-
tion their other faults; (24a) listen again to the words of the
prophet, "This was the sin of the Sodomites, indulgence amid
plenty." 10 In short, it crops up repeatedly like some fount or
source of every evil.
(7) Do you now recognize the harm caused by intemper-
ance? Look in turn at the instances of good behavior due to
fasting. The great Moses, after keeping his fast for forty
days," was able to get the tables of the Law; and when he
came down from the mountain and saw the people's sin, the
tablets which he had been successful in obtaining through
such intercession he threw down and smashed,12 thinking it
was preposterous that an indulgent and sinful people should
receive laws of the Lord's own making. Accordingly, that re-
markable prophet had again to undergo forty days of fasting
so as to be able to receive again tables like the ones he had
broken through the people's sin, and bring them down the
mountain. 13 (24b) The great Elijah, too, underwent a similar
period of fasting, 14 escaping the power of death and going up
as it were into heaven with a fiery chariot, and to this day he
has not experienced death. Likewise Daniel, passionate man
though he was,15 spent many days fasting and received as rec-
ompense an awesome vision so that he tamed the fury of the
lions and turned them into the mildest of sheep, not by
8. Ex 32.6.
9. Dt 32.15, where Heb. and LXX and Chrysostom's own variant of it all
diverge.
10. A precis of Ez 16.49.
II. Cf. Ex 24.18; 21.18. 12. Ex 32.19.
13. Ex 34.28. 14. Cf. I Kgs 19.8.
15. Chrysostom proceeds to construct his own midrash of chs 6 and 10
of Daniel to labor the point of fasting. The phrase he invariably applies to
Daniel, "man of passion", comes from Theodotion's version of the book.
HOMILY 1
changing their nature but by diverting their purpose without

loss of their ferocity. The Ninevites made use of this remedy,
too, and won from the Lord a reprieve, ensuring that animals
as well as human beings should apply the remedy and so ab-
stain each of them from evil practices; thus they won the favor
of the Lord of al1. 16 (24c) We could list many other examples
celebrated in both Old and New Testaments-but why refer
to servants when we should come to the case of the common
Lord of us all? Our Lord Jesus Christ, you know, himself
underwent fasting for forty days,17 and, thus prepared, he en-
tered his contest with the devil, giving us an example that
through fasting we should arm ourselves and by acquiring
strength from that exercise we should come to grips with that
formidable enemy.
(8) At this point, however, someone who looks critically at
things and keeps his faculties alert may perhaps pose the
question: why is the Lord seen to fast for the same number of
days as his subjects, and why did he not surpass that number?
It was not idly or to no purpose that this happened, but ac-
cording to the Lord's own wise purposes and his loving kind-
ness. (24d) I mean, in case it would appear that he had simply
come on earth without taking flesh and becoming a human
being except in appearance, he fasted for the very same num-
ber of days to make this point, not adding any days, so as to
curb the rivalry of people wanting to act unrestrainedly. 18 You
see, if there are still those rash enough to speak this way even
when the Lord acted as he did, what would they not have at-
tempted to say if he had not in his providence robbed them of
any pretext? So he resisted the temptation to fast for a longer
period of days than his subjects; thus he taught us a lesson,
that he has taken the human condition on himself and is not
living apart from our human situation.
(9) Since it is now clear to you from the example both of the
Lord and his subjects that the value of fasting is considerable,
l6. Cf.Jonah'l. l7. Mt4.2;Lk4.2.

l8. Chrysostom is a great exponent of the school of Antioch in its insis-
tence on the Incarnation and the humanity of Jesus.
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
and that great benefit accrues to the soul from it, I beg you,
my dear people, now that you know its (25a) benefit not to re-
sist its saving power through indifference [9 nor lose heart at
its approach, but rejoice and be glad, as blessed Paul says, "The
more our external selves are destroyed, the more the inner
person is renewed." 20 Fasting is nourishment for the soul, you
see, and just as bodily nourishment fattens the body, so fasting
invigorates the soul, provides it with nimble wings, lifts it on
high, enables it to contemplate things that are above, and
renders it superior to the pleasures and attractions of this
present life. And just as the lightest ships cross the seas more
rapidly whereas those weighed down with much cargo take on
water, in like manner fasting leaves the faculty of reason
nimble and enables it to negotiate the problems of life adroitly
and fly to heaven and the things of heaven, (25b) despising the
things of this life as being no less evanescent than shadows and
dreams. Indulgence and intemperance, on the other hand,
weigh down our reason, fatten the body, and shackle the spirit,
hemming it in on all sides; they deprive the judgement of rea-
son of any dependability, inducing it to follow dangerous
courses, and thus work in every way against our salvation.
(10) Let us not be careless, dearly beloved, in dealing with
matters concerning our salvation; recognizing instead the
troubles that could come from that evil source, let us avoid the
harm it produces. After all, we are warned against intem-
perance not only in the New dispensation by its greater atten-
tion to right thinking, its more frequent struggles and greater
effort, its many rewards and ineffable consolations. Not even
people living under the Old Law were permitted to indulge
themselves in that way, (25c) even though they were sitting in
the dark, dependent upon tapers, and brought forward grad-
ually into the light, like children being weaned off milk. Lest
19. Indifference, negligence, sloth is for Chrysostom, who is above all a

moral commentator, the capital sin, just as enthusiasm, zeal is the cardinal
virtue. These virtues and vices will predominate in his commentary of Gene-
sis, determining relative emphasis given to incidents and characters. This says
much of Chrysostom himself, whatever of its effect on his commentary.
20. 2 Cor 4.16.
HOMILY 1
you think I am idly finding fault with intemperance in what I

say, listen to what the prophet says: "Woe to those who fall
on evil days in sleeping on beds of ivory, luxuriating on their
couches, living on a diet of goats picked from the flocks and
suckling calves from the herds, and drinking strained wines,
anointed with precious unguents-like men treating this as a
lasting city, and not seeking one to come."21 Do you see the
heavy accusation the prophet levels against intemperance in
charging the Jews with these faults of stupidity, sensuality and
daily gluttony? I mean, note the accuracy of the words: (2Sd)
after attacking their gluttony and their drinking to excess, he
added, "like men treating this as a lasting city, and not seeking
one to come," all but stating that their satisfaction got as far as
lips and palate, and they went on to nothing better. Pleasure,
however, is brief and fleeting, whereas pain never lets up and
has no end. The truth of this comes from experience, the true
meaning of lasting realities-"like men treating this as a last-
ing city"-and fleeting things-"not seeking one to come"-
that is, not lasting for a moment.
(11) All human and carnal things, after all, are of this kind
like pleasures, human glory and power, like wealth and all the
prosperity of this present life; these things have nothing firm
about them, nothing steady, nothing fixed, but shift more
rapidly than the currents of a river, leaving naked and deso-
late (26a) those swept along in them. Spiritual things, on the
other hand, are not like that-quite the opposite, in fact: firm
and immovable, not subject to change, lasting forever. What
folly, then, would it be to exchange the immovable for the tot-
tering, the permanent for the passing, the enduring for the
fleeting, what promises to give joy in eternity for what offers
us terrible punishment there?
(12) Considering all this, therefore, dearly beloved, and
placing great store on our salvation, let us despise intem-
perance as mindless and harmful, let us embrace fasting, and
right attitudes along with it; let us display a renewed life-style,
and address ourselves daily to performance of good deeds. In
21. Am 6.3-6, somewhat re-arranged in Chrysostom's variant text.

ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
this way, having spent all the holy season of Lent (26b) dealing
in spiritual goods and amassing great wealth of virtue, we
would thus merit to arrive at the Day of the Lord and ap-
proach with confidence that awesome spiritual banquet, and
with conscience pure share in those ineffable and immortal
goods, being filled therefrom with grace and with the prayers
and intercessions of those well-pleasing to Christ our loving
God, to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory,
power and honor, now and forever, for ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILY 2
On the beginning of creation: "In the beginning

God created heaven and earth." I
ODAY, LOOKING AT your dear faces, I am filled with

great happiness. (26c) My happiness is not simply
that of doting parents who are pleased to have their
children milling around them and bringing them pleasure by
some other nice behavior or attention to them. My joy and sat-
isfaction now is keener than that, to see the way you have
come together here in a spiritual assembly with such pro-
priety, ardent in your desire to hear the divine sayings, spurn-
ing nourishment and longing for spiritual feasting, thus dem-
onstrating in deed that word of the Lord which reads: (26d)
"Human beings will not live on bread alone, but on every
word coming from the mouth of God."2
(2) So come now, let us imitate the farmers: when they see
the land scarified and cleared of the obstruction of weeds,
they sow the seed liberally. It should be the same with our-
selves. When by the grace of God the soil which is our spiri-
tual self is cleared of troublesome passions and is relieved of
intemperance, there are no storms or tempests at any stage of
its reasoning, but only peace and the great tranquillities of a
mind ready to fly aloft, you might say, right up to heaven, and
contemplate spiritual things in preference to carnal. (27a) So
l. Gn l.l. Chrysostom, of course, as Introduction 3 & 15 mentions, is com-
menting on his LXX text, and is unaware of the recommendation of some
modern commentators on the Heb. text to take V.l as a subordinate clause,
V.2 as parenthetical, and only v.3 as the principal assertion, lest God's creative
activity be seen to result at once in chaos (cf. Speiser, Genesis, 12-13). Others,
like Von Rad, join Chrysostom in maintaining the independence of V.l as an
important theological statement.
2. Mt 4.4; cf. Dt 8.3.
29
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
I would like to address a few points, dearly beloved, to you,

and today take up some of the finer details after proposing to
you the teachings of Sacred Scripture. I mean, if we don't at-
tempt this, now that fasting and neglect of appetite are in
force, and there is the serenity that arises from calm reason-
ing, when will we be able to propose it to you in your good-
ness? When you are beset by intemperance and gluttony and
utter idleness? Hardly. In that case we ourselves would be
powerless to do anything worthwhile, and you would be un-
able to accept anything said to you, being swept along by an
unruly flood of thought as though by some billowing fog.
(3) So now is the right time, if ever there was one, for teach-
ings of the kind I have in mind, when the maid no longer re-
sists her mistress, but is docile, responsive and obedient, re-
straining the impulses of nature (27b) and keeping within
proper limits. Fasting, after all, is our peace of soul, the charm
of old people, the instructor of the young, the model of the
prudent, adorning every age and disposition like a diadem.
Let there be no sign today of uproar or outcry, no chopping
of carcasses or antics of cooks; out with all this, and let our city
present the appearance of some proper lady, nice and charm-
ing. You see, when I take account of the transformation that
has occurred overnight from the perturbation I remember
from yesterday, I'm amazed and staggered at the efficacy of
fasting, how it can take over and alter everyone's attitude, pu-
rifying the minds not only of rulers but of ruled, not only
freemen but slaves, not only men (27c) but women, not only
rich but poor, not only those familiar with the Greek lan-
guage but also those who do not speak Greek. But why talk of
rulers and ruled? The wearer of the crown along with every-
one else has his attitude brought under obedience by fasting.
Today there is no difference to be seen between the rich man's
table and the poor man's; instead, there is simple living in
everyone's case, free of any luxury or show, with people com-
ing with greater relish to the simplicity of the meal today than
when they were provided with sumptuous fare and wine
unstinted.
(4) Do you see, dearly beloved, from these introductory
HOMILY 2
words the efficacy of fasting? Accordingly, I address myself to

you with greater enthusiasm today than before, (27d) in the
knowledge that I am casting seed upon rich and fertile soil,
capable of yielding to us in rapid time an abundant return of
what was sown. So let us learn, if you would, the force of what
has been read to you today from the words of blessed Moses.
Attend carefully, I ask you, to what is said by us; they are not
our words that we are uttering, after all, but what the love of
God provides for the sake of your salvation. What are they?
"In the beginning God made heaven and earth." It is in order
to pose the question here: why did this blessed author, born
many generations later, put this to us? Not idly or without
good reason. You see, when God formed human beings in the
beginning, he used to speak to them personally, in a way that
was possible for human beings to understand him.3 This was
the way, for example, that he came to Adam, the way he (28a)
upbraided Cain, the way he conversed with Noah, the way he
accepted Abraham's hospitality. And even when all human-
kind fell into evil ways, the creator of all did not abandon the
human race. Instead, when they then proved unworthy of his
converse with them, he wanted to renew his love for them; he
sent them letters as you do to people far away from you, and
this drew all humankind back again to him. It was God who
sent them letters, Moses who delivered them. What do the
letters say? "In the beginning God made heaven and earth."
(5) Notice this remarkable author, dearly beloved, and the
particular gift he had. I mean, while all the other inspired
authors told either what would happen after a long time or
what was going to take place immediately, this blessed au-
thor, being born many generations after the event, (28b) was
guided by the deity on high and judged worthy to narrate
what had been created by the Lord of all from the very begin-
ning. Accordingly, he began with these words: "In the begin-
ning God created heaven and earth." He well nigh bellows at
3. This is the beautiful theology of the Scriptural Word characteristic of

Chrysostom. Cf. Introduction 19- 2 i, St. John Chrysostom's Teaching on Inspira-
tion in his Old Testament Homilies and other works of mine on the subject cited
in the Bibliography.
us all and says, "Is it by human beings I am taught in uttering
these things? It is the one who brought being from nothing
who stirred my tongue in narrating them." Since we therefore
listen to these words not as the words of Moses but as the
words of the God of all things coming to us through the
tongue of Moses, so, I beg you, let us heed what is said and
part company with our own reasoning. Scripture, after all,
says: "The thoughts of mortals are deceptive, and their think-
ing unreliable."4 (28c) Let us accept what is said with much
gratitude, not overstepping the proper limit nor busying our-
selves with matters beyond us; this is the besetting weakness of
enemies of the truth, wishing as they do to assign every matter
to their own reasoning, and lacking the realization that it is
beyond the capacity of human nature to plumb God's creation.
(6) But why mention God's creation? Even human arts ger-
mane to them are beyond them. Tell me, for instance, how the
substance of gold takes shape through the art of mining? or
how the purity of glass comes from sand? You can't tell. So if
it's impossible to fathom what lies before your very eyes and
the things which human wisdom devises, thanks to God's
loving kindness, (28d) why busy yourself, mere mortal, about
the things created by God? What sort of excuse would you
manage to adduce? and what defense would you invent for
contemplating what lies beyond your natural powers? I mean,
to say that existing things came to be from underlying matter,
and not to admit that the Creator of all produced them from
non-existence, would be a mark of utter stupidity. Accord-
ingly, this blessed author, when he was on the point of begin-
ning the book, stopped the mouths of such idiots, by be-
ginning like this: "In the beginning God made heaven and
earth." When you hear "He made," concern yourself no fur-
ther, but with head bowed believe what is said. For God it
is who makes and transforms all things, and refashions all
things according to his will.
(7) See (2ga) the great extent of the considerateness 5 in this
statement; there is no mention of unseen powers, nor does it
4. Wis 9. 1 4.
5. Chrysostom's notion of the "considerateness" of God evidenced in the
HOMILY 2 33
say, In the beginning God made the angels, or the archangels.
It was not idly or without purpose 6 that he took this line in his
teaching. I mean, since he was talking to Jews, people quite
wrapped up in the world about them and incapable of form-
ing any spiritual notion, he led them along for the time being
from visible realities to the creator of all things, so that from
created things they might come to learn the architect of all
and adore their maker, not stopping short at creatures. You
see, despite the creation of the world they had not avoided the
error of making gods out of creatures, offering worship to the
vilest of brutes; so what madness would they not have fallen
into if such considerateness had not been shown them?
(8) Don't be surprised, dearly beloved, if Moses followed
this procedure (2gb) speaking as he was at the beginning in
the early stages to very down-to-earth Jews, when even Paul in
the age of grace, when proclamation of the good news had ad-
vanced so much, was able, in the speech he was on the point
of delivering to the Athenians, to base his teaching to them on
visible realities, in these words: "God made the world and
everything in it; being Lord and maker of heaven and earth,
he does not dwell in man-made temples, nor can human
hands pay him due worship." 7 I mean, he could see that kind
of approach suited them, so he followed that line; that is to
say, he was guided by the Spirit to direct his teaching to the
ones who would receive what he had to give them. To learn
that his basis for deciding this was the difference in his audi-
ence and the materialism of his listeners, listen to his words.
In addressing his letter to the people of Colossae (2gC) he did
not keep to that approach, but addressed them differently, in
these words: "In him were created all things-those in the
heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether
Scriptures is his most characteristic contribution to patristic thinking on the

Word. See Introduction 20.
6. This, too, is a characteristic phrase of Chrysostom's stressing the "preci-
sion" of Scripture and arising out of that "considerateness"; it occurs 39 times
in the Genesis homilies. See R. Hill, "Akribeia: a principle of Chrysostom's ex-
egesis," Colloquium '4 (Oct. 1981) 32-36.
7· Acts '7.24-25.
thrones, dominations, principalities, powers-all were created
by him and with him in mind." 8 John, the Son of Thunder, by
contrast shouted aloud, "Everything was made through him,
and without him no single thing was made."9
(g) Moses, however, did not speak like that, as you'd expect;
after all, it wasn't logical that those still requiring to be fed on
milk be given solid food instead. To take another example:
whereas teachers who have been entrusted by parents with
the education of their children give them the fundamentals of
learning, those who receive the children from them at the
next stage take them through more developed stages of learn-
ing. (2gd) This same pattern was followed by blessed Moses,
by the teacher of the Gentiles, and the son of thunder. When
Moses, remember, in the beginning took on the instruction of
the human race, he taught his listeners the elements, whereas
Paul and John, taking over from Moses, could at that later
stage transmit more developed notions.
(10) Hence we discover the reason for the considerateness
shown to date, namely, that under the guidance of the Spirit
he was speaking in a manner appropriate to his hearers as he
outlined everything. At the same time he uprooted all the
heresies springing up like weeds in the Church by his words,
"In the beginning God made heaven and earth." Even if Mani
accosts you saying matter preexisted, or Marcion, or Valen-
tinus, or pagans, to tell them directly: (30a) "In the beginning
God made heaven and earth." But what if the person does not
believe in the Scriptures? Leave him to his own devices, like an
utter madman; for what allowance can you make for a person
who does not believe the creator of all things, who treats the
truth as falsehood? People of that ilk sport false colors: while
wearing the appearance of sweet reasonableness, they are in
fact wolves in sheep's clothing. Don't you be taken in; on the
8. Col 1.16.
g. In 1.3·
10. Chrysostom is very much aware of the pluralism of theological opinion
of his day, and frequently takes issue with heterodox views, earning from his
great historian, Dom Baur, the label "Die Polemiker." Fortunately, the Genesis
homilies arise more from theological meditation and pastoral concern, and
are not overly punctuated with polemical asides.
HOMILY 2 35
contrary, spurn this behavior all the more for the reason that,
while they pretend an obsequiousness towards you though
simply your peer, towards God the Lord of all they wage open
warfare and do not perceive that they are running from salva-
tion. Let us, on the other hand, cling to the unshakeable rock
and keep coming back to the beginning, (30b) "In the begin-
ning God made heaven and earth."
(11) Notice how the divine nature shines out of the very
manner of creation, how he executes his creation in a way
contrary to human procedures, first stretching out the heav-
ens and then laying out the earth beneath, first the roof and
then the foundation. Who has ever seen the like? Who has
ever heard of it? No matter what human beings produce, this
could never have happened-whereas when God decides,
everything yields to his will and becomes possible. So don't pry
too closely with human reasoning into the works of God; in-
stead, let the works lead you to marvel at their maker. Scrip-
ture says, remember, "What the eye cannot see in him has
come into view from the creation of the world and are under-
stood through the things he has made." II (30c) If the enemies
of truth insist on saying it is impossible for something to be
produced from nothing, let us ask them. The first human
being-was he made from the earth, or did he come from
somewhere else? To a man they'll say from the earth, and
make no bones about it. So let them tell us how the substance
of flesh came into existence from the earth. I mean, from the
earth you get clay, and bricks, and pottery, and potsherds so
how would you get the substance of flesh? how would you get
bones and nerves and arteries, fat and skin, nails and hair,
and all the qualities of different substances from one under-
lying material? They wouldn't be able to open their mouth in
reply. Yet why do I confine my remarks to the body? Let them
tell us about the bread we eat daily, how it is changed into
blood, gall, bile, and various humors while being one in com-
position. (30d) Bread often has the color of grain, whereas
blood is red or black. So, if they can't tell about these things
11. Rom 1.20.

ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
that are before our eyes day in and day out, they would hardly
tell us about all the other things created by God. If, however,
despite such an embarrassment of proofs they want to insist
on reinforcing their own obstinacy, let us likewise keep throw-
ing back in their teeth the words, "In the beginning God
made heaven and earth." This single sentence, after all, is
enough to overthrow all the defenses of our adversaries,
and to tear up all their human reasonings, roots and all; and
should they ever want eventually to abjure their polemics, it
would be possible through this verse for them to be led to the
path of truth.
(12) The text proceeds: (31a) "The earth was invisible and
lacking all shape." 12 For what reason, tell me, did he create the
sky bright and finished, but let the earth appear formless?
This too was not done without purpose; his intention was that
you would learn about his craftsmanship from the better part
of creation, and so have no further doubts or think that it all
happened out of a lack of power. For a quite different pur-
pose he produced the earth in a formless condition. The
earth, you know, is our mother and provider; to it we owe our
beginning and our growth; this is homeland and grave for us
all alike; to the earth we come back in the end, and through it
we lay hold of countless benefits. So in case human beings
might through the pressure of necessity treat the earth with a
respect beyond its due, he shows it to you first formless and
imperfect (31b) so that you would not attribute the earth's
gifts to it but to the one who brought it into existence from
nothing. For this reason the text reads: "The earth was invis-
ible and lacking all shape."
(13) Perhaps our first reaction is to submit our minds imme-
diately to a whole range of intricate questions. So it's better to
conclude our sermon at this point, exhorting you in your
goodness to remember what has been said and keep it ever in
12. Gn 1.2. Modern translations render this verse, "The earth was a form-
less waste," or some such. Chrysostom's LXX text, however, seems to turn the
strange Heb. phrase into "invisible," aomtos-as if someone has read that
word mistakenly for aoristos, "formless." Chrysostom has no difficulty justify-
ing his text, however, as we shall see in Homily 4.
HOMILY 2 37
your mind; when you go home from here, layout witn your
meal a spiritual meal as well. The father of the family might
repeat something of what was said here; his wife could then
hear it, the children too could learn something, even the do-
mestics might be instructed. In short, the household might
become a church,13 so that the devil is driven off and that evil
spirit, (31C) the enemy of our salvation, takes to flight; the
grace of the Holy Spirit would rest there instead, and all peace
and harmony surround the inhabitants. After all, if you keep
in mind what has been said previously and more eagerly ac-
cept what is said later, we for our part will speak with greater
zeal and eloquence what God's grace has given us when we see
the harvest already following the sowing. When the farmer
sees the seeds sprouting, he tills the fields with greater eager-
ness and hastens willingly to make further sowings.
(14) So, to make us more enthusiastic, take good heed of
what has been said already, and with right teachings give
great attention to caring for your life. (31d) Scripture says,
"Let your light shine before men, so that they may see your
good works, and glorify your father in heaven," 14 in order
that your life may conform with your teachings, and your
teachings reveal your life. After all, "faith without works is
dead," 15 and works without faith are dead. For even if we have
sound teachings but fail in living, the teachings benefit us
nothing; likewise, if we take pains with life but are careless
about teaching, that will not be any good to us either. So it is
necessary to shore up this spiritual edifice of ours in both di-
rections as Scripture says, "Everyone listening to my words
and acting on them will be likened to a wise man." 16 Notice
how this person intends not merely to listen but to act, and to
demonstrate his listening by his actions; this is the one called
13. When Vatican Council II (LG 11) quotes this notion of the domestic
Church from Christian tradition, it might have acknowledged Chrysostom
at this and other places. [Ed. Note: But cf. Constitutionis Dogmaticae Lumen
Gentium Synopsis Historica. a cura di Giuseppe Alberigo. Franca Magistretti.
Bologna. 1975.32/305. which cites In Gen. h. 2.4. PG 53.31. and In Gen. s. 6.2.
PG 54.607.]
'4. Mt 5.16. 15.Jas 2.26.
16. Mt 7.24.
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
wise, the one (32a) giving evidence of deeds in the wake of

words, whereas the one who stopped short at words was called
a fool. And rightly so; after all, such a person built his house
on sand, and so it could not withstand the onset of winds but
quickly collapsed. 17 You see, such people are lazy, not standing
firm on the spiritual rock; the point of this parable is not a
house or building, but people, those being buffeted by the
onslaughts of some temptation. Under the name of wind, rain
and waters, the text is suggesting to us the onset of tempta-
tions. Of course, people who are firm and watchful and re-
strained are made even stronger by these assaults: the more
they are afflicted by adversity, the more their virtue is in-
creased. But with the lazy and fainthearted, if only a gentle
breeze of temptation touches them, immediately they shake
and collapse, (32b) not from the strength of the temptations
but from their own weakness of will.
(IS) So let us be sober and watchful, and prepared for
everything, so that we may be well disciplined in prosperity
and restrained under the onset of adversity, showing great
prudence and constantly rendering thanks to the loving God.
If we manage our lives this way, we shall enjoy much favor
from on high and thus be able to pass our life on earth se-
curely and have much confidence regarding the life to come.
May we all reach it, through the love and goodness of our
Lord Jesus Christ, to whom, with the Father and the Holy
Spirit, be glory, sovereignty and praise, now and forever, for
ages of ages. Amen.
17. Cf. Mt 7.26-27.

HOMILY 3
Further comment on the verse, "In the beginning God made heaven and
earth," I up to the verse, "Evening came and
morning came: one day."2
II..
EADING (32C) THE HOLY Scriptures is like a treasure. 3
With a treasure, you see, anyone able to find a tiny
nugget gains for himself great wealth; likewise in the
case of Sacred Scripture, you can get from a small phrase a
great wealth of thought and immense riches. The Word of
God is not only like a treasure, but is also like a spring gushing
with everflowing waters in a mighty flood; this we all per-
ceived from what we did yesterday. We began, remember, at
the opening of the book of Genesis on the words, "In the be-
ginning God made heaven and earth," and dealt completely
with all its contents, without however being able to grasp it
fully. You see, great is the yield of this treasure and the flow of
this spiritual fountain. Don't be surprised if we have experi-
enced this: (32d) our forebears drank from these waters to
the limit of their capacity, and those who come after us will
try to do likewise, without risk of exhausting them; instead
the flood will increase and the streams will be multiplied.
I. Gn 1.1.
2. Gn 1.5. Speiser notes: "In Semitic the normal ordinal series is 'one, sec-
ond, third,' etc., not 'first, second, third,' etc." (Genesis, 6)-something lost on
the LXX, evidently, and on Chrysostom.
3. Chrysostom employs a wide range of figures for the saving truth that is
Sacred Scripture: a rich table or feast (his favorite), a treasure (especially gold
and gems to be mined), food and drink, remedies for ailments, arms for war-
fare, an overflowing stream-figures that H. De Lubac parallels from the
Latin Fathers, so evidently the stock-in-trade of churchmen of the time (cf.
Exegese Medievale I (Paris 1959), 119- 20, and St. John Chrysostom's Teaching on
Inspiration in his Old Testament Homilies 160-69.
39
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
(2) Such, after all, is the nature of spiritual streams the
more earnestly anyone tries to draw the water, the more they
abound and the spiritual grace is increased. Hence Christ
said, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. If any-
one believes in me, as Scripture says, rivers of living water will
flow from his belly'" indicating to us the abundance of the
waters. So since this is the nature of spiritual waters, come, let
us all constantly bring the vessels of our minds to be filled,
and thus return home. For whenever the Spirit (33a) sees
an ardent desire and a watchful mind, he freely grants it
abundant grace. So step aside from your daily preoccupations
and from things that threaten to suffocate your thinking like
weeds, and let us give free rein to spiritual desires so that we
may gain great advantage from this consideration and receive
much benefit; then we can go home.
(3) But in order that the sermon may be clearer to you, let
us remind you in your goodness 5 of some details of what was
said yesterday so as to fit together, as into one whole, what is
to be said today with what was said yesterday. We showed you
yesterday, as you will recall, how blessed Moses explained to
us the creation of these visible elements in saying (33b) that
"in the beginning God made heaven and earth; the land was
invisible and lacking all shape." And we taught you why he
left the land unshaped and unpeopled, and I think you re-
member it all precisely, so today we must proceed to what fol-
lows in the text. You see, when he says, "The land was invisible
and lacking all shape," he teaches us precisely how it came to
be invisible and lacking all shape, adding, "Darkness was over
the deep, and the Spirit of God moved over the water."6 No-
tice in this case, I ask you, the economy of the blessed author,
how he does not describe all created things individually, but
teaches us which items were produced together by mention-
ing heaven and earth and passing over the rest. (33c) I mean,
he had made no mention of the creation of the waters, but
then said, "Darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God
4· In 7.37-3 8 . 5. Cf. Homily l, note 2 above.

6. Gn 1.2.
HOMILY 3
moved over the water" this, you see, was covering the face of
the earth, darkness I mean, and the depths of water. From
this we learned that all that could be seen was depths of water,
covered in darkness and having need of the wise creator to
remove all this shapelessness and bring everything to a condi-
tion of order.
(4) "Darkness," the text says, "was over the deep, and the
Spirit of God moved over the water." What is meant by that
part of the text, "The Spirit of God moved over the water"?
It seems to me to mean this, that some lifegiving force was pres-
ent in the waters: it wasn't simply water that was stationary
and immobile, but moving and possessed of some vital power.
(33d) I mean, what doesn't move is quite useless, whereas what
moves is capable of many things. So, to teach us that this
water, great and cumbersome as it was, had some vital power,
he says, "The Spirit of God moved over the water." It is not
without reason 7 that Sacred Scripture makes this early com-
ment. Instead, it intends later to describe to us that creatures
in these waters were produced by command of the creator of
all things, and so at this point it teaches the listener that water
was not idly formed, but was moving, and shifting, and flow-
ing over everything.
(5) So, when the shapeless mass of all that could be seen lay
about on all sides, God the mighty artificer issued his com-
mand and the shapeless mass took on form, the surpassing
beauty of this blinding light appeared and (34a) dissipated the
palpable gloom, illuminating everything. "God said," the text
reads, "'Let light be created,' and light was created."g He
spoke: it was created; he gave his command: darkness was
scattered and light produced. See his ineffable power? Yet
there are those who ignore the sequence of the text, caught
up as they are in their error, and who pay no heed to the
words of blessed Moses, "In the beginning God made heaven
and earth," and the following verse, "The land was invisible
and lacking all shape" on account of its being obscured by the
darkness and the waters, the Lord having decided (you see) to
7. Cf. Homily 2, note 6 above. 8. Gn 1.3.

create It m the beginning like this. These people say that

matter was the basis for creation, and that darkness preex-
isted. What could be worse than this madness? You heard that
"in the beginning God made heaven and earth," and that
from nothing things were created, and do you say that matter
was the basis for creation? Who in their right minds would
come up with such idiocy? (34b) Surely the creator is not
human, needing some basis for creation so as to reveal his ar-
tistry? God it is to whom all things respond as he creates them
by word and command. Remember how he merely spoke, and
light was created and darkness dissipated.
(6) "God separated light from darkness."9 What is meant by
"He separated"? He gave each its own place and defined its
appropriate time. And when this had been done, he then gave
each its proper name. The text goes on, you see: "God called
the light day, and the darkness night." 10 Do you see the excel-
lent distinction and the wonderful craftsmanship, surpassing
all comment, happening by a single word and command? Do
you see the degree of considerateness II employed by the
blessed author, or rather the loving God through the tongue
of the author, instructing the race of men to know the plan of
created things, (34c) and who was the creator of all, and how
each came into being?
(7) I mean, since mankind was yet untutored and could
not understand more elaborate matters, the Holy Spirit ac-
cordingly explained everything to us by moving the author's
tongue in such a way as to take account of the limitations of
the listeners. To be convinced that it was on account of the in-
completeness of our understanding that he employed such
considerateness in his explanation, compare the approach of
the Son of Thunder: when humankind had advanced along
g. Gn 1.4b. Chrysostom seems to have forgotten the first half of the verse,
"God saw that the light was good;" but he soon returns to labor the point.
10. Gn 1.5.
i1. Again (and again and again, as we shall see) Chrysostom invokes his
favorite principle of synkatabasis in reference to the Scriptures and their
authors divine and human; "considerateness," let it be noted-nothing of
the patronizing connotation of "condescension," despite the common mis-
translation.
HOMILY 3 43
the path to perfection, no longer did he have them move by
this lower way, but led his listeners to a loftier teaching. "In
the beginning was the Word," he said, you remember, "the
Word was with God, and the Word was God," [2 and added,
"He was the true Light, which enlightened everyone coming
into the world." [3 In other words,just as in our text this visible
light, produced by command of the Lord, (34d) removed the
darkness from our vision, in like manner the light coming to
our minds dissipated the darkness of error, and led those in
error to the truth.
(8) So let us receive the teachings of Sacred Scripture with
deep gratitude, not resisting the truth nor persisting in dark-
ness, but hastening towards the light and performing actions
proper to the light and the day. That is what Paul recom-
mends to us when he says, "Let us walk becomingly as the
light of day suggests" [4 and not perform actions proper to
the dark.
(9) The text goes on: "God called the light day, and he
called the darkness night." Now, a detail that almost escaped
us we need to pick up again. I mean, when it said, "'Let light
be created,' and light was created," it added, "God saw that
the light was good." [5 See there, dearly beloved, (35a) the ex-
tent of the considerateness in the language. What is the point
of the remark? Is it that before the light Comes into being he
does not know it is beautiful, whereas after its appearance the
sight of it shows its creator the beauty of what appears? What
sort of sense would that make? I mean, if a man works at some
piece of craftsmanship, and before he completes the thing he
is making and puts final touches to it he sees the use to which
he will put the thing he is making, how much more the cre-
ator of all, who by his word brings into being everything from
non-being, sees that the light is good before he creates it. So
why did he use this expression?
(10) This blessed author spoke this way out of consider-
ateness for the way human beings speak. And just as people
l2.JnLL l3· In 1.9·

l4· Rom l3.l3. lS. Gn L4a.
work on something with great care, and when they bring their
efforts to completion (35b) they parade what they have made
for scrutiny and commendation, so Sacred Scripture speaks
in that way, showing considerateness for the limitations of our
hearing when it said, "God saw that the light was good," and
added, "God separated light from darkness; he called the
light day, and he called the darkness night," allotting to each
its own particular area and establishing limits for each right
from the beginning so that they could keep to them perma-
nently without interference. Everyone in his right mind can
understand this, how from that time till this the light has not
surpassed its limits, nor has darkness exceeded its due order,
resulting in confusion and disruption. (35c) Really, this fact
alone should suffice to oblige people obdurate in their lack of
response to come to faith and obedience to the words of Sa-
cred Scripture so as to imitate the order in the elements, re-
specting as they do their course uninterruptedly, and not
overstep their own limitations but rather recognize the extent
of their own nature.
(11) Then, when he had assigned to each its own name, he
linked the two together in the words, "Evening came, and
morning came: one day." He made a point of speaking of the
end of the day and the end of the night as one, so as to grasp a
certain order and sequence in visible things and avoid any im-
pression of confusion.
(12) Now, we are in a position to learn from the Holy Spirit,
through the tongue of this blessed author, (35d) what things
were created on the first day and what things on the other
days. This itself is a mark of the considerateness of the loving
God. I mean, his all-powerful hand and boundless wisdom
were not at a loss even to create everything in one day. Why
say 'one day'? even in a brief moment. Yet it was not because of
its utility to him that he produced anything that exists, since
being self-sufficient he is in need of nothing. It was rather out
of his loving kindness and goodness that he created every-
thing; accordingly he created things in sequence and pro-
vided us with a clear instruction about created things through
the tongue of the blessed author, so that we might learn about
HOMILY 3 45
them precisely and not fall into the error of those led by
purely human reasoning. You see, if there are still those, de-
spite this manner of creation, who say that things get exis-
tence from themselves, (36a) what would these people not
have been rash enough to invent in their anxiety to say and do
everything against their own welfare, had not God employed
such considerateness and instruction?
(13) After all, what could be more pitiful and more stupid
than people coming up with arguments like this, claiming that
beings get existence of themselves, and withdrawing all crea-
tion from God's providence? How could you have the idea, I
ask you, that so many elements and such great arrangement
were being guided without anyone to supervise and control it
all? Surely no ship ever managed to navigate the waves of the
sea without a pilot, or soldier do brave deed with no general
in command, or house stand firm with no householder in
charge-whereas this immense universe (36b) and the design
of all these elements could happen simply by chance without
anyone present with the power to guide it all, controlling and
maintaining all things in existence from his innate wisdom is
this feasible?
(14) Yet why do we take further pains to demonstrate to
those people what is obvious even, as the proverb has it, to the
blind? StilI, let us not neglect to propose the teaching of Scrip-
ture to them, making every effort to deliver them from error
and lead them to truth. You see, even if they are caught up in
error, the fact is nonetheless that they are people like our-
selves, and it is proper for us to show every care for them,
never relenting, demonstrating instead with great zeal all we
have at our command, and providing them with an appropri-
ate remedy so that at least eventually they may come to a truly
healthy condition. (36c) Nothing, remember, is of such con-
cern to God as the saving of souls. Paul makes no secret of it
when he says, "He wants everybody to be saved and to come to
the knowledge of truth;" 16 and again God himself says, "I
16.1 Tm 2.4.
ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
have no wish for the death of the sinner-only for him to be
converted and live." [7
(15) The reason, you see, that he produced all created
things and formed us was not that we should perish nor to
consign us to punishment, but to save us, to free us from
error and reward us with the enjoyment of the kingdom.
This, after all, is what he prepared for us, not at this late stage
after our coming into existence, but before the foundation of
the world, as he himself says: "Come, you blessed of my Fa-
ther, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you before
the foundation of the world." [8 (36d) See the loving kind-
ness [9 of the Lord, how even before creation, even before he
produced human beings, he had prepared for them countless
good things, revealing the extent of his care for our race and
his wish for everyone to be saved.
(16) So, then, since we have such a Lord, so loving, so good,
so gentle, let us give heed both to our own salvation and to
that of our brethren. This, after all, will redound to our own
salvation; not simply care for ourselves, but assistance to our
neighbors as well, and conducting them to the way of truth.
To learn how good a thing it is to make it possible for another
to gain profit from our own welfare, listen to the biblical au-
thor speaking in the name of God: "The one who brings
something noble out of dishonor will be like my own mouth." 20
What does that mean? Whoever leads his neighbors from
error towards truth, (37a) it is saying, or guides them from
wickedness to virtue, imitates me as far as human nature can.
God himself, remember, despite his divinity, took to himself
our human flesh, and for no other reason than the salvation
of the human race became man. Why say, he took our human
flesh and endured every other human limitation, when the
17. Ez 18.23 in Chrysostom's somewhat abbreviated text.

18. Mt 25.34.
Ig. Another of Chrysostom's constant themes, the philanthropia of God; it
recurs in all the homilies, and the closing doxology invariably acknowledges
it. Its frequency says much for Chrysostom's own spirituality, which is never
allowed to obtrude directly into these scriptural homilies.
2o.Jer 15· 19·
HOMILY 3 47
full truth is he accepted the cross so as to free us in our sinful
bondage from the curse? This is what Paul is crying out about
when he says, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law
by becoming a curse for our sake."21 If, then, he, being God
and enjoying that ineffable nature, out of unspeakable love
accepted all that for us and for our salvation, what would we
not be justified in demonstrating in the case of our brethren,
members with us of the one body, (37b) so as to snatch them
from the jaws of the devil and guide them to the way of truth?
You see, as the soul is superior to the body, to the same degree
should its needs be ranked above assistance to those in need
of material things, and greater reward given when through
encouragement and constant instruction people lead the
slothful and the recalcitrant along the right path, showing
them the ugliness of evil and the beauty of a good life lived
for God.
(17) Accordingly, since we are familiar with all these mat-
ters, let us converse with our neighbors about saving their
soul ahead of all the other concerns of their life, and awaken
them to a care for that. I mean, it is highly desirable if by con-
stantly being reminded of this the soul can be rescued from
the abyss of wickedness in which our life is passed (37c) and
if we can curb the revolt of the passions which ceaselessly
war against it. For this reason we need great vigilance, since
our struggle is unending and a truce is out of the question.
Hence, in his letter to the Ephesians, Paul says, "Our contest is
not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities and
powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against
the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."22 Don't
think, he is saying, the contest at hand for us is accidental: the
struggle is not with our peers, nor are the conditions of battle
equally balanced for us. I mean, we with our bodies to hinder
us are engaged in combat with disembodied forces.
(18) Still, don't be frightened: you see, if the battle is un-
equal, great is the power of our arms. (37d) He reminded us
21. Gal 3.13.

22. Eph 6.12 with a slight textual variation in "darkness of this world."
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
of this as if to say: Since you know the nature of the foe, do

not fail in your resolve, nor lose heart for the contest; on the
contrary, "don the armor of God for the purpose of being
able to resist the wiles of the devil."23 His wiles, after all, are
many, that is to say, the ways by which he endeavours to trip
up the unwary; we should take care to recognize them so as to
avoid the attempts he makes and to allow him no inroads. In-
stead, we should keep our tongue in check, our eyes away
from danger and our mind pure, and be constantly at the
ready for battle, as though some wild beast were pressing
upon us and endeavouring to get the better of us.
(19) For this reason, that towering genius, the teacher of the
gentiles, the whole world's tongue, who (38a) spared no pains
when the salvation of his disciples was in question, has this to
say: "Don the armor of God," and adds, in words that are
meant for our protection from every quarter and that render
us invincible: "Stand firm, then, your loins girt with truth,
wearing the breastplate of faith, your feet shod in readiness to
proclaim the gospel of peace, above all else taking up the
shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the
burning shafts of the evil one; take also the helmet of salva-
tion, and the sword of the Spirit, God's word." 24 See how he
has armed every part of us? As if we were on the point of
going into battle, he has protected firstly our loins so that we
can run faster; then he put on the breastplate (38b) to prevent
our being hit with spears, protected our feet, and armed us at
all points with faith. Faith, he says, note faith will be able to
quench the burning shafts of the evil one. What are the devil's
shafts? Evil desires, unclean thoughts, deadly passions-lust,
envy,jealousy, pride, hatred, avarice, and every other form of
laxity. All these, he says, the sword of the Spirit can quell. Why
say quell? It can remove the very head of the enemy. Do you
see how he encouraged his disciples, how he rendered them
tougher than steel after being softer than wax? You see, since
our contest is not against flesh and blood but against incor-
23. Eph 6.11.

24. Eph 6.14-17, again with some textual individuality.
HOMILY 3 49
poreal powers, he has accordingly armed us with weapons not
of the flesh (38c) but of the spirit, burnished to such an extent
that the evil demon is powerless to resist their splendor.
(20) Armed therefore with these weapons, let us not tremble
at the contest, flee the onset of battle, or prove fainthearted.
After all, as long as we are on the alert, that evil demon would
never get the better of our weapons' strength, provided we
are intent on rendering his stratagems ineffectual. On the
other hand, should we relax our vigilance, it will be all to no
avail: the enemy of our salvation is ever on the watch and tries
everything against our salvation. So let us protect ourselves
from every quarter, exercising restraint in speech, refraining
from any behavior likely to harm us, and along with absti-
nence from food (38d) and every other virtue let us give an
example of generosity towards the poor in the knowledge of
the great reward laid up for us from our care for them. Scrip-
ture says, remember, "The person who takes pity on the poor
lodges a claim with God."25 Notice how this lending operates
in a strange way you would not expect: the one who takes the
loan is different from the one who makes himself liable for it.
Not only that, but also the fact that in this case of lending we
incur no resentment or any other disadvantage. That is to say,
he does not promise to give a hundred per cent on the loan, as
is customary with us, but a hundred times the amount lent.
Nor does he stop at that: this reward comes to us in this present
life, and life everlasting in the hereafter. In this life, if anyone
promised to return to us twice the amount lent, we would
willingly make available all our possessions, (39a) despite all
the resentment and all the wiles frequently encountered in
greedy people.
(21) You know that many people of quite exalted standing
renege on repayment of a loan, either resisting with bad grace
or being unable to pay because of poverty, as often happens.
But, in the case of the Lord of all, there is no room for think-
ing this; on the contrary, the loan is proof against loss, he
guarantees to return in good time one hundredfold what was
25· Pry 19.17.

deposited, and he keeps in reserve for us life everlasting here-

after. So what excuse will be left to us in future if we are negli-
gent and fail to gain a hundredfold in place of the little we
have, the future in place of the present, the eternal in place of
the temporal, heedlessly locking our money away behind
doors and barricades, preferring to leave it lying idle instead
of making it available to the needy now so as in the future to
count on support from them? Scripture says, remember,
(39b) "Make friends with ill-gotten gains so that, when you go
down in the world, they may welcome you into their eternal
dwellings." 26
(22) I know that many people are not heeding what I am
saying; instead, they take it as stuff and nonsense, and give no
attention to our words. For my part, I'm sorry about it and
regret that nothing can reach people like that-not even life's
experience, nor all that God promises, not even fear of what
lies ahead, nor the instruction they receive from me each day.
I will not desist from giving this kind of advice until I manage
to win them over to a better state of mind, drawing them from
their frenzied stupor which avarice brought upon them by
dulling their intellect. I am confident, you see, confident that,
with the grace of God, the persistence of our preaching (39c),
and the careful attention that is a fruit of fasting, can release
them even at this late hour from this crippling affliction and
return them to perfect health; thus they will be freed from
the punishment awaiting such people, and we can rid them of
their faintheartedness, returning the glory for everything to
the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit; now and forever, for
ages of ages. Amen.
26. Lk 16.9.
HOMILY 4
"God said, 'Let a firmament be made in the middle of the water, and let it
keep one body of water from the other.' This is what happened." 1
ITNESSING AS I DO, dearly beloved, your daily gather-

ing here with such enthusiasm, I am filled with deep
satisfaction, and I do not fail to praise the loving God
for your progress. I mean, just as hunger is a sign of bodily
health, (39d) so, too, interest in listening to the divine sayings
would be taken by anyone as a sure pointer to spiritual well-
being. Accordingly, our Lord Jesus Christ too, in the Beati-
tudes pronounced on the Mount, declared, "Blessed are those
who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will have
their fill."2 So who could adequately commend you, now that
you have already received this blessing from the Lord of all,
and are looking forward to so many more good things from
him? Our Lord, you see, is like that: when he sees a soul seek-
ing the things of the Spirit with great desire and earnest zeal,
he bestows on it his graces in abundance.
(2) Hence, with a view to your greater benefit, I, too, look
forward to being the occasion of an instructive sermon that
will lead to an increase (4oa) in your love. I mean, for you and
your improvement we undergo any effort so that you too may
climb more rapidly to the heights of virtue and become teach-
ers about life in God to all those who associate with you, and
that we may feel comfortable in more forthright speech seeing
that our effort was not in vain or to no purpose. On the con-
I. Gn 1.6. "Firmament" reflects the Greek and Latin versions' attempts to

grapple with a difficult original notion. Chrysostom in commenting later in
the homily on v.7 is unwilling to reach precision on its meaning.
2. Mt 5.6.
trary, this spiritual seed germinates day by day; what hap-

pened with the Sower in the Gospel has not happened in our
case. You remember that in the parable one lot survived and
three perished: the handful of seeds that were scattered along
the road did not germinate, those that fell among thorns were
strangled, and the others that were sown on stony ground and
stayed on the surface were unable to bear any fruit, (4ob)
whereas finally through God's love we look forward to a yield
from the seed that was sown on good ground-some a hun-
dredfold, some sixty, some thirty.3
(3) This increases our enthusiasm, this enlivens our under-
standing-to know that it is not idly or in vain that we are de-
livering our remarks, but that you welcome what we have to
say with attentive hearing and alert minds. In saying this I am
not flattering you, my dear people; I am simply gauging your
enthusiasm from what was said yesterday. I mean, I could see
you were all agog at the instruction given and made every
effort lest by chance any part of the sermon should pass un-
heeded; in particular, the flood of applause was eloquent tes-
timony of the favor my words found with you. When someone
listens to the spoken word willingly, obviously it is riveted in
his memory; he stores it up in the recesses of his mind and
makes sure it does not escape him. (4oc) So, too, who could
worthily praise you or bless us for preaching to willing ears?
Scripture says, remember, "Blessed is the one who preaches
to willing ears." 4 This is one of the fruits of fasting, this is a
remedy which works towards the salvation of our souls. And
if in the beginning, and from the introduction, this strength is
revealed, how much greater do you suppose the benefit will
be in the days to come? Just be sure, I beseech you, to "work
out your salvation with fear and trembling" 5 and allow the en-
emy no way of undermining your salvation. Remember that it
drives him to distraction to see the spiritual riches you now
have, and he prowls around like a roaring lion seeking some-
3. Cf. Mt 13.3-8.
4. Sir 25.9 in a variant of the LXX.
5. Phil 2.12.
HOMILY 4 53
one to devour. 6 But if you are careful, he will, with the grace
of God, wreak no harm.
(4) This is the kind of spiritual armor, after all, (40d) with
which the grace of the Spirit has clad us, as we taught you, my
dear people, yesterday. So if we are constantly protected in all
our limbs with this armor, none of the shafts aimed by the en-
emy will be able to strike us; instead, they will return to him
unsuccessful. The grace of God, you see, makes us stronger
than steel and quite invincible, if we want it so. So just as any-
one who strikes steel does the steel no harm but only impairs
his own strength, and anyone kicking out at spurs bloodies his
own feet, so too in our case will things turn out badly for the
enemy of our salvation, provided we protect ourselves con-
stantly with the armor supplied us from the grace of the
Spirit. I mean, such is its efficacy that the enemy could not re-
sist the brightness emanating from it; instead, his eyes would
be blinded (4la) by its brilliance. So let us arm ourselves com-
pletely, I beg you, with this armor, and in this guise go out in
public, mix with our friends, and engage in business. Why say
in public? Let us also bear this protection when coming to-
gether in church, returning home, sleeping and waking, and
never lay it aside throughout our whole life; after all, it travels
with us, and proves a great basis for our confidence wherever
we go. You see, it doesn't weigh our body down like material
armor; on the contrary, it brightens it, makes it nimble and
increases its strength-provided we keep it so clean day by
day that the shining beams of its radiance blind the eyes of the
evil demon (4lb) who stops at nothing to undermine our
salvation.
(5) Well, now, since we have armed you sufficiently, let us lay
before you the customary meal. Let us propose to you, dear
people, what follows the part commented on yesterday, and
have as our wonderful host again blessed Moses, great author
that he is and spokesman of this beautiful doctrine. So let us
see what it is he wants to teach us today and attend closely to
his words. After all, it is not by his own power he speaks; in-
6. Cf. 1 Pt 5.8.
stead, whatever the grace of the Spirit inspires in him, this he

utters with his own tongue for the instruction of humankind. 7
Having thus completed the account of the first day, and having
said after the creation of light, "Evening came, and morning
came: one day," he says further, (41C) "And God said 'Let a
firmament be made in the middle of the water, and let it keep
one body of water separate from the other.'" Notice here,
dearly beloved, the sequence of the teaching. What I mean
is that he first brought to our attention, after the creation
of heaven and earth, the fact that "the earth was invisible
and lacking all shape," and supplied the explanation for it-
namely, it was invisible because it was concealed by darkness
and water (you recall that everything consisted of darkness
and water, and nothing else).8 Then, at the command of the
Lord, light was created and a separation made between light
and darkness; one received the name day and the other night.
His intention once again is to teach us that just as by produc-
ing the light God could cleave the darkness and assigned to
each its appropriate name, so by his command he made a divi-
sion in the mass of water.
(6) (41d) Take note of such ineffable power, which sur-
passes all human imagining. I mean, he simply commands,
and one element comes into being while another gives way to
it. "God said, "'Let a firmament be made in the middle of the
water, and let it keep one body of water separate from the
other.'" What does that mean, '''Let a firmament be made"'?
As if someone were to say in human language, Let there be
some sort of barrier and division to come between them and
make a separation. And, so that you may learn the extraordi-
nary obedience of the elements and the exceeding power of
the Creator, he adds, "This is what happened." God had only
to speak, and the effect followed immediately.
7. Chrysostom is utterly convinced of the inspiration of Scripture and of

the role of its human and divine authors. This phrasing occurs over and over
again, together with the closing reference to the saving purpose of scriptural
inspiration. Cf. St. John Chrysostom's Teaching on Inspiration in his Old Testament
Homilies 84-94.
8. As was remarked on V.2 in Homily 2, Chrysostom is content with this
unlikely reading, "invisible," ignorant as he is of the Heb. text.
HOMILY 4 55
(7) The text goes on: "God made the firmament, and God
divided the water which was below the firmament from the
water which was above the firmament."9 That is to say, once
the firmament existed, he ordered some of the water (42a) to
go below the firmament, and some to be on top of the firma-
ment. Now, what would you say this means, the firmament?
Water that has congealed, or some air that has been com-
pressed, or some other substance? No sensible person would
be rash enough to make a decision on it. Instead, it is better to
be quite grateful and ready to accept what is told us and not
reach beyond the limits of our own nature by meddling in
matters beyond us, but rather to know only the simple fact
and keep it within us-namely, that by the Lord's command
the firmament was produced, causing division of the waters,
keeping some below and being able to carry the rest elevated
on top of it.
(8) "The Lord called the firmament heaven." 10 Notice how
Sacred Scripture here too employs the same sequence of
thought. Just as it said yesterday, "'Let there be light,'" (42b)
and after it was created added, "'Let there be separation be-
tween light'" and darkness, and thus the light was called day,
so too today it said, "Let a firmament be made in the middle
of the water." Then, as with the light, so too here it taught us
the use of the firmament, saying, "for the purpose of keeping
one body of water separate from the other." And when it
made its use clear to us, as it had imposed a name on the light,
so too it put a label on the firmament: "He called the firma-
ment heaven," as we saw. How is it, you will say, some people
want to claim many heavens were created? They don't get this
teaching from Sacred Scripture, but base it on their own rea-
soning. I mean, blessed Moses teaches us nothing more than
this; that is, he says, "In the beginning (42C) God made heaven
and earth;" then, having taught us the reason why the earth
happened to be invisible-that it was concealed by darkness
and the waters of the abyss-he employs a kind of order and
sequence by saying after the creation of light, "The Lord said,
9· Gn 1.7· 10. Gn 1.8.

'Let a firmament be made.''' He then taught us in a precise
manner the purpose of the firmament in saying, "so as to
keep one body of water from the other," and next gave the
name heaven to this same firmament which caused division of
the waters. So after this kind of teaching who could take any
notice of the people who want to speak off the cuff from their
own imagining and be so bold as to propose many heavens
against the evidence of Sacred Scripture? But, they claim, see
how blessed David sang the praises of God in words like these:
"Praise him, heaven of heavens." II Don't worry, dearly be-
loved, don't think Sacred Scripture ever contradicts itself,
(42d) learn instead the truth of what it says, hold fast what
it teaches in truth, and close your ears to those who speak
against it.
(9) To grasp the point I'm trying to make, listen very care-
fully so as not to be easily upset by people prepared to say the
first thing that comes into their head. All the sacred books of
the Old Testament were originally composed in Hebrew;
everybody would agree with us on this. Not many years before
the coming of Christ, King Ptolemy, who was very keen on
collecting books and had collected many other ones of differ-
ent kinds, felt obliged to add the Old Testament books to his
collection as well. So he summoned some of the Jews living
in Jerusalem, and ordered them to translate the books into
Greek; this was in fact brought to completion for him.12 The
upshot of this work of divine providence was that (43a) the
benefit of the Old Testament was now available not only to
people who knew Hebrew but also to anyone living anywhere
in the world. What makes this remarkable and ironic is that
the initiative for this was taken not by people with belief in
Judaism but by a man devoted to idols and opposed in his be-
liefs to true religion. You see, everything turns out like this
Ps 148-4-
II.
In relaying the legend of the formation of the LXX, Chrysostom shows
12.
his uncritical attitude that emerges constantly-as well, perhaps, his judge-
ment that homilies were not the occasion for troubling his simple (?) con-
gregation with scholarly niceties. Cf. Introduction IS.
HOMILY 4 57
under the providence of our Lord: the principles of truth are
always vindicated by the people who oppose them.
(lO) It was not without purpose that I told this story to you;
rather, it was for you, dearly beloved, to know that the Old
Testament books were not composed in this language-ours,
I mean-but in Hebrew. Now, those with a precise knowledge
of that language tell us that among the Hebrews the word
'heaven' is used in the plural, (43b) and those who know the
language of the Syrians confirm this.13 In that language-that
is, the language they use-no one would say 'heaven', but 'the
heavens'. So it is logical that the words spoken by the blessed
David, "the heaven of heavens," have that form, not because
there are several heavens (the blessed Moses, remember,
taught us that) but because it is idiomatic in Hebrew to use the
name of a single thing in the plural; if there were several
heavens, the Holy Spirit would not have neglected to teach us
through the tongue of this blessed author about the creation
of the other ones. Keep a close grasp on these matters, I beg
you, so as to be able to curb those people wanting to come up
with objections against the Church, and be quite sure in your
knowledge of the efficacy of what is contained in the Sacred
Scriptures. (43c) That, after all, is the reason why you gather
here so regularly, and why we provide you with such abun-
dant instruction, so that you may be well prepared for anyone
seeking to indoctrinate you.
(11) But let us move on to what follows, if you don't mind.
"God called the firmament heaven," the text says; "and God
saw that it was good." Notice the extent of the considerateness
of the language to accommodate human limitations. That is
to say, just as at the creation of light the text said, "He saw it
was good," so too now in the case of heaven-that is, the fir-
mament-it says, "God saw it was good," teaching us in this
way its extraordinary beauty. I mean, who could fail to be
utterly amazed that the firmament in all this period has kept its
13. Chrysostom thus admits his ignorance of the original language of the
OT -significant for a commentator on Genesis. His own instructor in exe-
gesis, Diodore of Tarsus, was similarly handicapped. Cf. Introduction 3 & 15.
beauty unimpaired, and that the more time passes, so much
the more this beauty increases. (43d) After all, what could be
more beautiful than the thing that gains commendation from
the Creator? I mean, if we see a human being's work brought
to completion and marvel at its design, its position, its beauty,
its proportion, its symmetry, and everything else about it, how
could anyone adequately praise what God has produced, par-
ticularly when it has won the praise of the Lord himself? You
see, this is said out of considerateness for us, and you will no-
tice the same words used in the case of each created thing, re-
futing in anticipation the temerity of those who later will be
disposed to sharpen their tongue against God's creation and
raise the question, why did this and that come into being? So,
to check those people ahead of time in their endeavours to
voice that opinion, the text says, "God saw that it was good."
When you hear that God "saw" and God "praised", (44a) take
the word in a sense proper to God. That is to say, the Creator
knew the beauty of the created thing before he created it,
whereas we are human beings and encompassed with such
limitations that we cannot understand it in any other way; ac-
cordingly, he directed the tongue of the blessed author to
make use of the clumsiness of these words for the instruction
of the human race. [4
(12) So, whenever you raise your eyes and admire the beauty
of heaven, its immensity, its usefulness to us, then move from
there to its creator, as a wise man has said: "From the magni-
tude and beauty of creatures we can by comparison see the
creator." [5 See too the Lord's power, how great it is, even from
the creation of these elements. I mean, any right-minded per-
son who is prepared to scan visible things each day-but why
say created things each day? (44b) if you only consider care-
fully your own makeup, you will see through these details
God's ineffable power beyond all description. If these visible
14. Chrysostom thus sets out his profound understanding of the Scrip-
tures as exemplifying both divine considerateness (synkatabasis) for human
limitations (astheneia-not "weakness") and also divine transcendence. It is a
typically Eastern and specifically Antiochene understanding.
15· Wis 13·5·
HOMILY 4 59
things suffice to teach us the magnitude of the Creator's power,
and if you attain to the unseen powers, and raise your mind to
the hosts of the angels, the archangels, the powers above, the
thrones, the dominations, the principalities, the powers, the
cherubim, the seraphim-what understanding, what descrip-
tion is of any avail to unfold his greatness? Remember the
blessed author David: if in studying the order of visible things
he cried out, "How your works are magnified, 0 Lord; you
have made everything in wisdom" 16-David, a man endowed
so generously with the Spirit and deemed worthy to know the
obscure and hidden things of the Lord's wisdom-(44c) what
could we say, dust and ashes that we are, obliged constantly to
move with head bowed, and to gape at the unspeakable love
of the Lord of all? And why do I quote the psalmist? I mean,
blessed Paul, that spirit soaring to heaven, clad in a body yet
contending with disembodied powers, treading the earth yet
scouring the heavens in his enthusiasm, falling in with one
part of God's design (I mean that to do with Jews and Gentiles,
rejected by the former and taken possession of by the latter)-
Paul it was who cried out in utter bewilderment and stupor,
"0 the depth of the wealth of God's wisdom and knowledge:
how inscrutable his judgements and unsearchable his ways." 17
(13) Now, on this matter, I would address to those rash
enough to be inquisitive about the generation of the Son of
God (44d) and anxious to undermine the status of the Holy
Spirit the following mild enquiry: whence springs the vehe-
mence of your daring, I ask you? what drunken stupor leads
you to rush into such extreme folly? After all, if a man of such
ability and stature as Paul says God's judgements-that is, his
planning and government-are inscrutable (he did not say
incomprehensible, just inscrutable, so that no one could plot
them), and God's ways, in his words, are unsearchable, mean-
ing the same thing, referring to his dispositions and com-
16. Ps 104.24.
17. Rom 11.33. Even in a Genesis commentary, Chrysostom does not con-
ceal his great admiration and fellow-feeling for Paul. He sees him as "the
world's teacher" and in prophetic insight extols a man who can suffer for his
principles.
mands as ways, how is it that you are rash enough to be in-

quisitive about the very being of the Only-begotten and to
minimize as far as you can the status of the Holy Spirit? 18 Ob-
serve, dearly beloved, how wrong it is not to attend precisely
to the contents of Sacred Scripture. I mean, if these people
accepted the teachings from Sacred Scripture with the proper
dispositions and didn't invent their own from their own rea-
soning, (45a) they would never have been caught in such folly.
Let us then, on the contrary, use the same persistence in
making the teachings of Sacred Scripture ring in their ears,
while stopping our own ears to their baleful doctrines.
(14) Now, I have no idea how we came to be drawn from the
theme of our sermon into that distraction and lose the thread;
so we must pick up the sermon again by retracing our steps.
The text says: "God called the firmament heaven, and God
saw that it was good. Evening came and morning came: a sec-
ond day." After giving the firmament its name and commend-
ing what had been created, he brought the second day to a
close, and said, "Evening came and morning came, a second
day." See how he teaches us with precision, calling the end of
the light evening and the end of the night morning, (45b) and
naming the whole period day lest we be misled into thinking
the evening is the end of the day, instead of having a clear
understanding that one day comprises the duration of both
parts. Thus it would be correct to say that evening is the end
of the light; but daybreak, that is, the end of the night, is the
duration of a day. This, after all, is what Scripture wants to
indicate by saying, "Evening came and morning came: a sec-
ond day."
(15) Perhaps we have drawn out the point to great length,
no longer in control of the subject but swept along, you might
say, by the very sequence of the words as though by a wild tor-
18. Chrysostom's editors from De Montfaucon note his ready polemic

against trinitarian heretics of the day, especially the Anomians (Grk. anomios,
"unlike, unequal"). For a recent survey of contemporary movements, cf. Y.
Congar, I Believe in the Holy Spirit J, English translation (London 1983)
73- 84.
HOMILY 4 61
rent. You are responsible for this through your willing atten-
tion to what we say. I mean, nothing can so spur the preacher
and stimulate him to greater fertility of thought as the en-
thusiasm of his listeners. (45C) Just as listeners who are re-
calcitrant and listless reduce even an able speaker to lethargy,
so it happens that, by the grace of God and despite our being
dumber than stones, you have been enough to rouse our slug-
gish mind, dissipate our torpor, and drive us on to say some-
thing or other useful to you and directed to your edification.
Since, then, you have the good fortune to be taught by God,
and according to blessed Paul you are capable also of advising
others,19 come now, I beg you, especially at this period of fast-
ing give much attention to good living in God's designs, and
don't let our sermons leave you untouched if we preach to you
each day on the same topics; after all, to quote the blessed
Paul, repetition is no burden to me, and it is a precaution for
you. 20 Our soul, remember, is sluggish and needs constant re-
minders. (45d) Just as this body of ours requires each day its
bodily nourishment so as not to develop extreme weakness
and be unable to exert itself, so too our soul needs spiritual
nourishment and excellent regimen if it is to develop a certain
affinity with good and remain unvanquished in the struggle
against the wiles of the evil one.
(16) Accordingly, let us each day be concerned with the
value of this exercise, let us scrutinize our conduct and not
lose heart; let us render an account to ourselves both of what
comes in and of what goes out-what we utter that is of some
use and what words we pronounce to no effect, and again
what value there is to our soul in what we receive through
hearing and likewise what has the capacity to harm in what we
are responsible for. Let us impose some rules and regulations
on our tongue so as initially to keep a check (46a) on our
speech and only then deliver what we have to say. Let us train
our mind not to give vent to harmful thoughts; instead, should
something of that kind gain entry from outside, banish it as
19. Cf. Rom 15.14. 20. Phil 3.1.

ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
unnecessary and likely to cause harm, or if it rises inside us,

expel it rapidly with a pious thought, and let us not think that
fasting only till evening suffices for our salvation.
(17) After all, if the loving Lord said to the hardhearted
Jews through the prophet: "Behold those seventy years: surely
it was not for me that you kept that fast? And if you eat and
drink, is it not for yourselves that you eat and drink? This is
what the Lord, mighty ruler, says: Deliver just judgements,
show mercy and pity each of you to your neighbor, do not op-
press widow or orphan, sojourner or poor person, (46b) and
let none of you plot evil against your brother in your heart." 21
In other words, if those people sitting in darkness and caught
up in the shadow of error gained no benefit merely from fast-
ing without performing those other good works or expelling
from their heart evil intended against their neighbor, what
sort of excuse can we offer of whom more is required-not
simply commanded to abstain from that, but even obliged to
love our enemies and be kind to them? And why do I say 'be
kind'? Also to pray for them, and beseech the Lord and im-
plore his providence in their behalf. After all, this most of all
will be a recommendation for us on that fearful day, and our
best insurance against our sins, if we are disposed in this way
towards our enemies. (46c) I mean, even if the commandment
is exceedingly rigorous, provided you keep in mind the prize
laid up for those who do right, it will seem nothing at all, even
though it is in fact very rigorous. Why is that? Scripture says:
"If you do this, you will be like my father in heaven."22 To
make the point clearer to us, it added: "Because he makes his
sun rise on the evil and the good"; that is, it is saying, you are
imitating God as far as human beings can. I mean, just as he
makes the sun rise not only on the just but also on those who
do evil, and provides rain and seasonal storms not only to the
good but also to the evil, so you too, if you love not only those
who love you but also those badly disposed to you, are imitat-
ing your Lord as far as you can.
21. Zee 7.5,6,9,10. 22. Cf. Mt 5.45.

HOMILY 4
(18) (46d) Do you see how he has elevated to the highest
pinnacle the person capable of achieving this virtue? Don't,
however, think only of the difficulty of the matter, dearly be-
loved, but consider first of all in your heart the great dignity
you would stand to gain; and let the opportunity for dignity
make light for you of what is heavy and burdensome. Should
you not, after all, recognize the grace given you in finding an
opportunity through your kindness to your enemy of having
opened for you the doors to a confident approach to God and
of making atonement for your sins? Do you, perchance, on
the contrary, relish the prospect of taking vengeance on your
enemy and repaying in kind and even worse the one badly
disposed to you? What advantage will that be when you gain
no benefit from it and are liable to undergo punishment for it
in that dread tribunal for breaking its laws? Tell me: if some
(47a) earthly king made it a law to look after one's enemies
under punishment of death, would not everyone for fear of
this bodily death hasten to fulfil the law? So what a dreadful
accusation does that person deserve who, because of bodily
death (which in any event the necessity of nature brings us
without exception), is ready to do anything with death in
mind-hardly a source of encouragement-but thinks less of
the law made by the Lord of all.
(19) While speaking on this subject, however, I have forgot-
ten those who do not even show the same love to those who
love them. Who then will eventually snatch us from that pun-
ishment when we are not simply far from fulfilling that com-
mandment (47b) but don't do even what the publicans do?
Scripture says: "If you love those who love you, what great
deed is that? Do not even the publicans do that?" 23 Since
therefore this is not done by us, what prospect of salvation is
there for us? So, I beg you, let us not be lacking in compas-
sion, but let us instead subdue our thoughts, and first learn to
surpass our neighbor in love and, according to the blessed
Paul, to regard others as more eminent in dignity than our-
23. Mt 5.46 in Chrysostom's variant text.

ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
selves; 24 not to resist being diminished but wanting to over-
come; not to dominate but to provide a clearer and warmer
affection for those who love us. After all, this it is that espe-
cially sustains and reinforces our life, and in this we are distin-
guished from the brutes and beasts, namely, (47c) being able
if we wish to maintain the order appropriate to us and to
manifest a warm fellow-feeling towards our neighbors; next,
to restrain our thinking, and to crush the wild and unruly
creature-madness I call it-and remind it of the trial before
the dread tribunal and teach it that, should peace be made
with our enemies, we will win great reward, whereas if discord
still continues, we will undergo a severe judgement. In other
words, we should not squander the time idly and to no pur-
pose but, day by day, and hour by hour, keep before our eyes
the Lord's judgment, and the thought of what things are cal-
culated to produce great confidence in us and what will only
increase our punishment.
(20) Turning these things over (47d) in our mind like this,
let us get the better of our feelings, restrain the impulses of
the flesh, and mortify, as the blessed Paul puts it, "what is
earthly in you, immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire," an-
ger, covetousness, vainglory, slander. 25 If we render ourselves
dead to these desires, so that they cannot work in us, we
shall be able to receive the fruit of the Spirit, which is "love,
joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self control." 26 Let this be the difference between
the Christian and the unbeliever; let these be our talisman, let
us not simply bear the name like an ornament, nor boast only
of appearances; nay rather, even should we possess those vir-
tues (48a) we have enumerated, let us not then boast, but so
much the more humble ourselves. Scripture says, after all,
"When you have done all these things, say, We are unprofit-
able servants." 27 If it proves true that we have taken such care
and given thought to our salvation, we will be able to gain the
greatest benefit, rescue ourselves from eventual punishment,
24. Phil 2·3· 25. Cf. Col 3,5-8.

26. Gal 5.22-23. 27. Lk 17.10.
HOMILY 4
and become in the eyes of onlookers teachers of what works
for their good. So we will pass this present life with care and
be judged worthy of loving kindness in the life to come, which
it will hopefully be our lot to experience, and the grace and
mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with the Father be
glory, power and honor for ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILY 5
"God said: 'Let the water under heaven be gathered together into one mass,
and let dry land appear.'" 1
OME NOW, DEARLY BELOVED, (48b) today also let us set

before you the feast that comes from the words of
the blessed Moses, and observe carefully what was
created by the Lord on the third day. To begin with an ex-
ample: men digging in gold-bearing soil, when they spy some
seams of gold dust, don't stop until they have broken the
seams open, got right to the very bottom of it and taken from
the spot great wealth. 2 So much the more should we, who have
no intention of searching for gold dust but are expecting to
find ineffable treasure, seek it daily so as to gain great wealth
from the spiritual plenty to be found here, and so return
home. (48c) After all, in the former case material wealth often
brought dangers to the people gaining it, and provided only
brief enjoyment before it disappeared altogether and the dan-
gers set in, either from attacks by slanderers, or robbers, or
burglars, or house guards who turned to theft and absconded.
(2) In the present case, on the contrary, there is no fear of
anything like that; 1 mean, this spiritual treasure is proof
against theft: when it is stored in the recesses of our mind, it is
secure against every stratagem, provided we don't become
slothful and give entry to the one anxious to deprive us of it.
Our enemy, remember (I mean the wicked demon), when he
sees spiritual wealth accumulated, grinds his teeth, and rages,
and displays great vigilance so as to take advantage of the
1. Gn 1.9.
2. Cf. Homily 3, note 3 above for these traditional analogies of Chry-
sostom's.
66
HOMILY 5
right moment (48d) to steal something of what we have within

us. No such moment will suit his convenience provided we are
not guilty of sloth; it behoves us therefore to remain con-
stantly on the alert and to impede his every approach. If, in
fact, he sees us awake and displaying great vigilance and he
attacks us once or twice only to find his efforts are to no avail,
he will eventually be shamed into giving up in the knowledge
that there is nothing further he can do in the face of our resis-
tance. Accordingly, as we realize that we cannot avoid being at
war all our life here below, so let us arm ourselves, on the
understanding that we have the enemy always at our door, and
mount guard unremittingly so as not to give him opportunity
for assault by relaxing our vigilance a little once or twice.
(3) Have you noticed (4ga) how much provision people with
many possessions make for their protection when they expect
an enemy attack? Some lock them up behind doors and bars,
taking every precaution; others hide them underground so as
to escape all detection. We should in fact follow the same pro-
cedure in amassing the wealth of virtue: we'should guard it
with great care, not expose it to the gaze of all but conceal it in
the inmost recesses of our heart, and thus repel all the attacks
of the one anxious to despoil us of it; in this way we will keep
it intact and be able to leave this life with some resource for
the life hereafter. Think of people who happen to be living in
a foreign land: when they have in mind to return home, for a
long time beforehand they begin to develop an enthusiasm
and take pains to collect enough provisions (4gb) to enable
them to last the length of the journey so as not to fall victim to
hunger. It should be exactly like this in our case: forced to live
here below like people in a strange land (and in fact we are all
strangers and foreigners in that regard) we should really be
on the lookout for the resources that come from spiritual be-
havior and store them up for the journey, so that whenever
the Lord bids us set out for our true homeland, we may be
ready and may bring some of those resources with us and
have the rest sent on ahead. Such, after all, is the nature of
these resources: what we would wish to store up for ourselves
through the performance of these good deeds arrives there
before us and opens the doors of confidence for us with the
Lord, smoothing the entrance for us in advance so that we en-
ter with great peace of mind and encounter much goodwill
from the judge.
(4) To learn, dearly beloved, (49c) that this is the way these
things happen, consider, I ask you, that the person who prac-
tises almsgiving in generous measure and lives his life on
earth in the strength of a good conscience will find when he
passes on from here great kindness at the hands of the judge,
and will hear those blessed words among the rest, "Come, you
whom my Father has blessed, and inherit the kingdom pre-
pared for you from the foundation of the world, because I
was hungry and you gave me something to eat." 3 You would
find the very same to be true in the case of the other virtues. It
will prove to be true with the confession of sins, and with
prayers said in earnestness. You see, when in this present life
we are able to wipe away our offenses through confession and
find pardon from the Lord, we go from there cleansed of our
sins, and we find great (49d) confidence given us. By the same
token it is impossible for someone not cleansed of his sins in
this life to find consolation afterwards in the next. Scripture
says, remember, "In the underworld who will confess his faith
in yoU?"4 And rightly so; after all, this is the time of contests,
struggles and conflicts, whereas that will be the time for re-
wards, prizes and laurels. So let us strive while we are still en-
gaged in the arena so that, when it comes to the time that we
would be due to receive the laurels and the reward of effort,
we may be found not amongst the disgraced but amongst
those confidently receiving the crown upon their head.
(s) It is not idly or to no purpose that we propose these
matters to you in your goodness; instead, our intention is day
by day to bring to your mind good deeds so that you may be
found perfect and well prepared (soa) and conspicuous for
virtue in daily living. Thus you will be above reproach or con-
tamination as blameless children of God, and will "shine as
3· Mt 25·34-35· 4· Ps 6·5·
HOMILY S 69
lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, as our pride
and joy, as you await the day of the Lord," 5 so that merely by
your comportment you will benefit those with whom you asso-
ciate: by sharing in converse with you they will partake also of
the spiritual fragrance that accompanies you, and of your ex-
cellent way of life. After all, the company of rogues is bound
to affect those who mix with them, as the blessed Paul says,
"Evil association corrupts good manners;"6 and in just the
same way the company of good people benefits those who fre-
quent them.
(6) Accordingly, the loving Lord has allowed the good to
live amongst the wicked so that these latter may gain some-
thing from their company, and may not persist forever in
their evil-doing but may instead be brought to their senses by
the sight of good people and profit somewhat from their com-
pany. (sob) So great, you see, is the power of virtue that even
those who don't possess it revere it greatly and pay it great
tribute. By the same token, in fact, evil in its turn is constantly
under attack even by those who exemplify it themselves, so
plain and obvious is it to everyone, and you won't find anyone
quick to own up to it; instead, the remarkable thing is that the
evil things they strive to perpetrate in fact, these they often
condemn in word and prefer most people didn't know about.
This is a mark of God's loving kindness, which he has shown
in the case of humankind, that he has implanted in each of
us a conscience that is above distortion, able to distinguish
truly evil actions from those that aren't. This has the effect of
robbing us of any plea that we fell into sin through ignorance
instead of sloth of spirit and neglect of virtue. 7
(7) Let us hour by hour turn these thoughts over in our
mind (Soc) and keep our own salvation [to the] foremost in
our thinking, lest with the passage of time we forget ourselves
and fall into the greatest disaster.
5. Phil 2.15-16.
6. 1 Cor 15.33, where Paul, of course, is quoting the pagan dramatist
Menander.
7. Again rhathumia, "indifference, sloth," is the capital sin for Chrysostom.
Cf. Homily 1, note 18 above.
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
(8) But enough of such introductions; let us now listen, if

you don't mind, to what it is the grace of the Spirit wants to
teach us today as well through Moses' tongue. The text goes
on: "God said, 'Let the water under heaven be gathered to-
gether into one mass, and let dry land appear.' This is what
happened." Notice here, I ask you, dearly beloved, the order
and wonderful sequence. I mean, it said in the beginning that
"the earth was invisible and lacking all shape" for the reason
that it was concealed by the darkness and the waters; then
on the second day he ordered the firmament to be made, and
caused the separation of the waters, calling the firmament
heaven. Now he further teaches us that on the third day he
directed that the water under heaven (sod) that is, under the
firmament-should come together into one mass, should
make room, and the dry land should appear; that is what hap-
pened. In other words, since everything was filled with water,
he orders the immensity of waters to come together into one
mass, so that there would be a way for the dry land to appear.
(9) Note how he sets out for us in detail the orderly ar-
rangement and beauty of it all. "That is what happened," it
says. How? In the way the Lord directed. He simply spoke,
and the work followed. You see, this is God's way: created
things are governed by his will. "The water under heaven
was gathered together into its masses, and the dry land ap-
peared."8 Just as in the case of the light, when darkness was
everywhere, he ordered the creation of the light, and caused a
division between the light and the darkness, so as to assign
one to the day and the other to the night, and likewise in the
case of the waters he created the firmament, (Sla) and bade
one lot take the upper place and the other lot be below the
firmament, so too in this case he orders this second lot of
water which was under the firmament to run together into
one mass so that the dry land may appear and he may then
give it its own name, as with the light and the darkness. The
text says, remember, "The waters were gathered together into
8. The LXX, in adding this additional explanatory sentence, is departing

from most Heb. Mss.
HOMILY S
their masses, and the dry land appeared; God called the dry
land earth." Do you see, dearly beloved, how the earth, which
was previously invisible and lacking all shape through being
hidden by the waters as though under covers, he unveils, as it
were, and shows its face at long last, giving it its own name.
(10) The text goes on: "The masses of the waters he called
seas."9 Notice that the waters also got their own name. To
make a comparison: when a first-rate craftsman plans to fash-
ion a vessel from his own skill, he doesn't give it a name until
he has brought his creation to completion. (SIb) Just so, the
loving Lord does not give names to the elements until he as-
signs them to their own place through his own arrangement.
So after the earth received its own name and took its own
shape, the waters too being now gathered together were in
their turn ready to receive their own name. The text says, re-
member, "The masses of the waters he called seas," and then
added, "God saw that it was good." You see, since human
nature is limited and is not capable of adequately praising the
works of God, Sacred Scripture anticipates by telling us of the
praise given by the Creator himself. So, when you learn that
created things appeared good to the Creator himself, you
have further grounds for wonder without being able any bet-
ter to apply praise and eulogy. This, after all, is the kind of
Lord you have: he does the kinds of things that surpass the
bounds of praise by us. (SIC) I mean, how could human na-
ture adequately praise God's works or celebrate them at all?
(11) Recognize further, I ask you, in the evidence assembled
here the ineffable wisdom of God the artificer. That is to say,
after making visible to us the face of the earth, he further be-
stows upon it by his own design a pleasing aspect, beautifying
its face with a profusion of seeds. "God said," the text goes on,
'''Let the earth put forth a crop of vegetation, plants yielding
seed, each according to its kind and likeness, and fruit trees
bearing fruit with seed inside, each according to its kind upon
the earth.' This is what happened." 10 What does that mean,
9. Gn I. JOb. 10. Gn 1.1 I.

ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
"Thi& is what happened"? According to the text, the Lord

gave directions and at once the earth went into labor and
adorned itself with its own crop of seeds. "The earth brought
forth," the text goes on, "a crop of vegetation, plants yielding
seed, each according to its kind and likeness, (51d) and fruit
trees bearing fruit with seed inside, each according to its kind
upon the earth." II
(12) Consider here, I ask you, dearly beloved, how every-
thing came into being on the earth by the word of the Lord. I
mean, it was no man who was the cause, or plough, or help
from oxen, or effort towards it from any other source-
simply that everything heard the command, and at once
sprang from the earth into view. From this we learn that at
present likewise what provides us with the harvest of fruits is
not the effort of the farmers, or their toil, or the other labors
put into farming, but before all these it is the word of God,
the same as was directed to it from the beginning. For the par-
ticular purpose of correcting later human folly, Sacred Scrip-
ture gives us a precise description of everything according to
the order of creation so as to offset the absurdities of people
speaking idly from their own reasoning in an endeavor to as-
sert (52a) that the assistance of the sun is responsible for the
germination of the crops.
(13) There are some people who try to ascribe these things
to some of the stars. For this reason the Holy Spirit teaches us
that before the creation of these elements the earth heard his
word and command and brought forth the plants, with no
need of anything else by way of assistance. In other words, in
place of anything else the earth had need only of that word
that was spoken, "Let the earth put forth a crop of vegeta-
tion." So, taking our lead from Sacred Scripture, let us never
tolerate those who lightly propound contrary views. I mean,
even if human beings till the earth, even if they get assistance
from brute beasts, and bestow great attention on the earth,
II. In these verses, Gn I.ll-I2, Chrysostom follows closely the (rather

inconsistent) wording of the LXX, which is not that of the Heb. Masore-
tic text.
HOMILY S 73
even if the weather is kind, and everything goes according to
plan, it will be all to no avail unless the Lord wills; (S2b) all the
toil and trouble will be fruitless unless the hand from on high
takes part and brings to fruition these efforts. Who could fail
to be absolutely astonished at the thought of how the word
uttered by the Lord, "'Let the earth put forth a crop of vege-
tation,'" penetrated to the very bowels of the earth and, as
though with a veil, adorned the face of the earth with a variety
of flowers? In an instant you could see the earth, which just
before had been shapeless and unkempt, take on such beauty
as almost to defy comparison with heaven. I mean, just as
heaven would shortly be adorned with a variety of stars, so too
the earth was beautified with a range of flowers to such an ex-
tent that even the Creator was moved to commendation: "God
saw," the text says, remember, "that it was good."
(14) Does it occur to you how in the case of each of the
created realities the text shows (S2C) the Creator rendering
praise, with the result that later human beings learn from this
and pass from the creatures to the Creator? That is to say, if
created things are of such a kind that they overwhelm human
beings, and no one could adequately praise them, what could
anyone say about the Creator himself? The text says: "God
saw that it was good. Evening came, and morning came: a
third day." 12 Do you see how by the repetition of the teaching
it wants to impress on our understanding the force of the
words? "Evening came, and morning came: a third day." You
see, there was need to mention: A third day had passed. But
see how in the case of each day it speaks this way: "Evening
came, and morning came: a third day"-not idly or to no pur-
pose, but to prevent our confusing the order, and thinking
that with evening falling the day came to an end, instead of
realizing (S2d) that the evening is the end of the light and the
beginning of night, whereas the dawn is the end of the night
and the completion of the day. This in fact is what the blessed
Moses wants to teach us in saying, "Evening came, and morn-
12. Gn 1.13.
ing came: a third day." Don't be surprised, dearly beloved, if

Sacred Scripture repeats this over and over again. 13 After all,
even despite such insistence the Jews, who were already vic-
tims of error and hardened in heart, are bent on disputation
by considering that the evening is the beginning of the follow-
ing day; they deceive themselves and argue illogically, they
still sit in darkness despite the clarity of the truth to every-
body, they keep close to a lantern despite the fact that the sun
spreads its rays of justice everywhere-so who could have re-
sisted the obduracy of such idiots had there not been an ex-
position of teaching like this in great detail?
(IS) (S3a) But let them reap the reward of their own in-
sanity. We, for our part, who have been fortunate enough to
benefit from the rays of the sun, should obey the teaching of
Sacred Scripture; let us follow its canon, place its wholesome
doctrines within the recesses of our mind, and with protection
from it take good care of our own welfare, avoiding whatever
impairs the health of our soul and abstaining from all such
harmful notions in the same way as we would noxious drugs.
After all, the harm they inflict is much worse-worse, in fact,
to the degree that the soul is more important than the body.
You see, the death these drugs cause is for the body only,
whereas things that impair the health of the soul bring to us
a death that is eternal. What are these things that injure us?
They are many and varied, (S3b) but especially having regard
for human esteem and not knowing how to scorn it. I mean,
this proves a source of many evils for us: if we have any spiri-
tual riches, this exhausts them and makes us bereft of any
benefit from them. So what could be more harmful than this
injury? It has the effect of depriving us of whatever we seem
to have. Thus the pharisee in the Gospel turned out to be
inferior to the publican: instead of keeping control of his
13. Chrysostom is committed, as we have seen above (Homily 2, note 6), to

his principle of the precision of Scripture and to the fact that no detail of the
text, repetitious though it may seem, is without purpose and value. Though
this conviction is rooted in his belief in the inspiration of Scripture, and ulti-
mately in the Incarnation, at times he seems obliged to rationalize in order to
maintain his principle.
HOMILY 5 75
tongue, through it as through a door he poured out all his
wealth. 14 That's how bad vainglory is.
(16) Tell me, after all, why and for what reason do you have
regard for the praise of human beings? Don't you know that
their praise evaporates and disappears into thin air just like a
shadow or something even less substantial? (53c) Human be-
ings are extraordinarily unreliable and inconstant: they praise
you one day and revile you the next-something that would
never happen in the case of God's judgement of us. So let us
not make fools of ourselves, or deceive ourselves all to no pur-
pose. I mean, if we do something good, but do not strive for it
with a view simply to fulfilling the command of our Lord and
becoming a familiar of his alone, we go to trouble for nothing
and deprive ourselves of the fruit of the action. You see, the
person who does some good deed or other with a view to gain-
ing credit from human beings, whether or not he succeeds in
enjoying it-motivation of this kind after all, failing to gain its
object: whether he succeeds or falls short, he has got in this
life all the reward he is going to get, and will receive nothing
in the next life (53d) by way of recompense. Why? Because he
forfeited the possibility of enjoying the esteem of the judge by
preferring the present to the future and the esteem of human
beings to the favor of the just judge. If, on the contrary, we
perform some spiritual action for the sole purpose of pleasing
his unsleeping eye alone before whom everything lies open
and bare, the reward will be kept for us unharmed, the con-
tents of our prize will be intact, looking forward to it will do us
good and bring us great consolation in advance, the prize will
be protected for us in an unassailable treasury, and eventually
even the esteem of human beings will come our way. You see,
this esteem is something we enjoy in great abundance when
we scorn it, when we do not seek it, when we do not chase
after it.
(17) Why are you surprised if this happens in the case of
those pursuing spiritual philosophy, (54a) when in many cases
even men of the world have particular contempt and scorn for
14. Lk 18·9-14·
ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
thos~ bent on seeking people's good opinion? You will find

such people jeered on all sides for their attachment to empty
praise. So what could be more wretched than ourselves, with
our interest in spiritual things, if we, like them, are inclined to
sigh for people's good opinion instead of being content with
praise from God? As Paul says, "His praise comes not from
people but from God." [5 Aren't you aware, dearly beloved,
how at the races the horsemen are not diverted by the crowds
present there, or the countless cries of encouragement, nor
do they get satisfaction from the popular acclaim? Instead,
they have eyes only for one person, the emperor, seated in the
center, and, (S4b) in expectation of his favor, they scorn the
whole crowd, taking compliments to heart only when the em-
peror has awarded them the prize. In imitation of them, place
no great store by people's regard, and don't let that motivate
you to virtue; rather, await the verdict of the just Judge and
look for his nod. In this way dispose your whole life so that in
this world you may be constantly buoyed up by sound hopes
and in the next may enjoy everlasting blessings. May this be
the good fortune of us all, through the grace and loving kind-
ness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with the Father and
the Holy Spirit be glory, power and honor, now and forever,
for all ages of ages. Amen. (S4C)
IS. Rom 2.29·
HOMILY 6
"God said: 'Let lights be made in the firmament of heaven for

lighting up the earth, to separate day from night; let them
act as signs and indicate days, seasons and years. ,,"
WANT TO TAKE up the usual line of teaching, yet I hesi-

tate and hang back: a cloud of despair has settled
upon me, and has confused and upset my train of
thought-not simply despair but anger as well. I'm not sure
what I should do; uncertainty is paralyzing my brain. I mean,
when I consider that at the merest suggestion from the devil
you have put out of your mind all that unremitting teaching
of ours and the daily exhortations, and have all rushed off to
that diabolical concourse and been absorbed in horse racing,
what sort of zest can I bring to the task of teaching you any
more, when my former words have so lightly slipped away?
(54d) What especially aggravates my despair and brings my
anger to boiling point is the fact that despite all our exhorta-
tion you have put out of your mind the respect due to the holy
season of Lent and have thus cast yourself into the devil's net.
How could anyone, even with heart of stone, take that kind of
rejection unmoved? I'm ashamed of you, believe me, I'm mor-
tified to see the pointlessness of the trouble I've gone to, sow-
ing seed among stones.
(2) Still, whether you heed my words or reject them, the re-
ward coming to me will be unimpaired. After all, I did every-
1. Gn 1.14. Chrysostom's pastoral concern for his congregation, leading

him generally to adopt a moral style of commentary (cf. Introduction 13,
16,17), causes him in this 'homily' to depart from his text to berate his con-
gregation for their attendance at horse racing-an amusement that was not
altogether innocent in the Antioch of those days. See R. Hill, "On giving up
the horses for Lent," CleR 68 (March 1983) 105-106.
77
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
thing in my power: I went to some expense, I gave the proper

warning; my concern now, which is exercising me somewhat,
is that through these efforts I may be the cause of your being
held to account more severely. Scripture says: "That servant
who knew the will of his master and did not discharge it will
be severely punished."2 None of you, in other words, can
make a plea of ignorance, with us day by day sounding off
about the same things and showing up the devil's snares (ssa)
for what they are, as well as the great ease of virtuous living
for any of us wanting to stay on the alert. Don't you know that
people so unconcerned about their own salvation and vacil-
lating between attention to it and headlong course into the
devil's net are compared in Sacred Scripture to dogs? It says,
remember, "The person who turns away from his sin and
then goes back to it is like a dog returning to its vomit."3 Do
you see what it is they resemble who run off to that unlawful
spectacle? Haven't you heard Christ's words: "Everyone who
hears these words of mine and doesn't act on them can be
compared to a fool who built his house on sandy ground:
rivers came and winds blew; they struck that house, it col-
lapsed, and its collapse was terrible." 4 Those who have run off
to the races (SSb) have turned out worse than that. You see,
that fellow's house suffered a collapse only under pressure;
that is to say, Scripture made mention of rivers and winds to
indicate to us, not the volume of water and the force of wind,
but the severe onset of temptations; and its mention of the
collapse of the house was not for us to think about a house
that you can see. The story is really about the soul, which
collapses under the pressure of anxiety it cannot sustain: in
your case no gale blew nor rivers surged-simply a gentle
breath from the devil came your way and overwhelmed you
completely.
(3) What could be worse than this madness? What's the
good of fasting, tell me? what's the use of coming along here?
Who could fail to upbraid you and commiserate with us? To
2. Lk 12.47 somewhat abbreviated.

3· Cf. Prv 26.11. 4. Mt 7.26-27.
HOMILY 6 79
upbraid you, because everything you have amassed (Ssc)
you've squandered in one fell swoop, opening the doors of
your mind to the wicked demon to let him in and carry off all
your spiritual wealth with the greatest of ease. Likewise to
commiserate with us, because in this case we have been sound-
ing off to heedless ears and wasting so much effort, sowing
the seed day after day without possibility of getting any crop.
After all, surely our purpose in putting effort into our ser-
mons hasn't been simply to charm your ears or because we
were interested in winning your praise? Unless you stood to
gain something from the things we said, we would have done
better in the long run to have said nothing. I mean, I have no
wish to be the agent of your greater condemnation.
(4) A comparison can in fact be made with a merchant who
assembles all his merchandise and fills his vessel with all his
wealth, only to have a storm buffet it and through the force of
the winds (SSd) the ship sink with all hands, turning him into
a piteous spectacle for all to see, appearing suddenly devoid
of everything, reduced to utter indigence after all his incred-
ible wealth-that is exactly the treatment the devil has meted
out to you. I mean, finding your spiritual ship full of great
wealth, and seeing your incredible treasure which you have
been able to amass both from fasting and from the constant
teaching, he exposed you to that useless and harmful horse
race as though to a storm, and by means of that left you empty
and bare of all your resources.
(S) I am aware that my rebuke is forthright; I beg your par-
don for that-it is an index of the grief in my soul. These
words of mine come not from hostility but from concern and
heartfelt affection. So I am restraining my vehemence some-
what, having checked the spread of the cancer; (s6a) my wish
now, dear people, is to encourage sound hopes, lest you de-
spair and give up the struggle. You see, in the case of the soul
things don't happen in the way they do with the goods of the
senses; I mean, in the latter instance it is impossible to restore
the fortunes overnight of a person reduced to indigence from
all that wealth, whereas in our case through God's loving kind-
ness we can quickly return to our former prosperity, provided
only-we are prepared to condemn what we have done in the

past and here and now bridle our sloth. This, after all, is the
kind of Lord we have, so liberal and generous; he shouts it
out to us through the biblical author when he says, "I have no
wish for the death of the sinner-only that he be converted
and live." 5
(6) 1 know that, being right-minded people, you recognize
your faults. It is no small step on the way back to virtue to
know the magnitude of your sins. (S6b) By contrast, let no
one insinuate once again that diabolical deceit in words like,
"What's wrong, after all, with watching horses race?" Because,
if you are really prepared to honestly study all that goes on
there, you will find everything shot through with a satanic in-
spiration. 1 mean, it's not simply a matter of watching horses
race, but listening to shouting and swearing and all sorts of
improper speech, and watching whores parading around in
the open and young fellows behaving in women's ways. Do
these things strike you as having little influence for ensnaring
your soul? After all, if even unforeseen circumstances make
us lose our step and fall, and cast us into the very depths of
disaster when we're not on the lookout, what is likely to hap-
pen to people who attend those places of set purpose, feasting
their eyes on those forbidden sights and coming away utterly
debauched? (S6c) Our loving Lord, remember, who knows
the threat to our nature and the devil's cunning and manifold
wiles, has protected us from everything besetting us and wants
to make us proof against the devil's snares; hence he has im-
posed this law in the words, "The man who looks on a woman
with a view to lusting after her has already committed adul-
tery in his heart," 6 calling the gaze directed with curiosity con-
summated adultery.
(7) So don't say further to me: "What harm, after all, comes
from passing the time there?" Because that single factor of a
horse race is sufficient to cause the ruin of your soul. You see,
whenever we waste precious time on worthless things, which,
far from contributing anything to our soul, even harm it, and
5. Ez 18.23· 6. Mt 5.28.
HOMILY 6
when we squabble and pour out a flood of words good and
bad, what excuse do we have? what account can we give? To
draw a comparison: here in church if we tend to protract the
instruction, (S6d) many people become restive and impatient,
and allege bodily distress and weariness, although this won-
derful ceiling is sufficient to distract them from that; 7 there
are no grounds for complaint in cold, or rain, or force of
winds. There, on the contrary, where they are scourged by
heavy rain and fierce wind storms, or at other times the sun
sheds its burning rays, they are prepared to spend not an
hour or two but most of the day; the aged have no respect for
their own grey hair, while the young are not ashamed to pa-
tronize the haunts of the old; so great, however, is their self-
deception that it is with relish that they embrace that bane of
their soul, and no thought is given to the brevity and im-
permanence of the harmful pleasure, the eternity of the pain,
and the accusation of conscience.
(8) Even now I see the countenances of some people, and I
am wondering about their state of soul and how far repen-
tance has touched them by now. But in case you lapse into the
same fault again, (S7a) and, despite all our exhortation, run
back to those satanic gatherings, I must make my formal
denunciation. You see, it is not always proper to apply mild
remedies: instead, when the cancer responds slowly, one must
apply those that are sharp and likely to sting, so that the cure
may be faster. Accordingly, let all those open to these accusa-
tions learn that if they persist in their lax ways despite this fur-
ther exhortation of ours, we will not keep patience; instead,
we will invoke the laws of the Church and bring great vehe-
mence to our teaching lest they stray in that direction again
and give such a contemptuous hearing to the divine sayings.
I'm not saying this in regard to everyone gathered here, but to
7. Certainly Chrysostom's homilies are quite long, and tend to get longer,
so that he frequently alludes to the tedium experienced by his listeners and
apologizes for their protracted length; he also refers disparagingly to the
congregation's distraction-by the ceiling, in this case, and in a more cele-
brated instance (Sermon 4 on Genesis) by the lamplighter, who becomes an
occasion for a beautiful parallel to the scriptural homilist (Introduction 12).
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
those guilty of the behavior I've mentioned. While our ser-

mon reaches everybody without exception, if the cap fits wear
it, and apply the appropriate remedy. Let guilty persons put
away their sloth forthwith and proceed no further, (57b) but
rather shake themselves up with utter earnestness and set
about the correction of their faults. For their part, let the in-
nocent listeners take more care against deception in case they
ever become guilty.8
(9) However, dear people, to convince you that we have
been led to say this out of a heartfelt grief arising from affec-
tion and concern and through grave fear for your salvation-
come now, let us once more nourish ourselves on sound hopes
by proposing to you the customary instruction, so as to dem-
onstrate to you the fatherly regard we have for you. For your
part, I beg you, attend to what is said with close attention so as
to gain further good and thus return home. I feel the need,
dear people, to repeat these words we have read before: "God
said, 'Let lights be created in the firmament of heaven for
lighting up the earth, (57c) so as to separate day from night;
let them act as signs and indicate days, seasons and years. Let
them provide light in the firmament of heaven, to shine upon
the earth.' This is what happened." You see, since the blessed
Moses taught us yesterday how the Creator of all beautified
the shapelessness of the earth with vegetation, the variety of
flowers and the growth of crops, today he switches his de-
scription to the arrangement of heaven. In other words, just
as the earth was beautified by the things produced from it, in
like manner he caused heaven, which was already visible, to be
more conspicuous and bright by lending it the variety that
comes from a range of stars and from the creation of the two
huge lights, namely, the sun and the moon. "God made," the
text goes on, "the two huge lights, the greater light for gov-
erning the day, and the lesser light for governing the night
and the stars."9
8. Nowhere does Chrysostom become more labored in his admonition

than here; so the 'sport of kings', especially in Lent, ranked high in his scale
of misdemeanors.
g. Gn 1.16.
HOMILY 6
(10) Do you see the wisdom (57d) of the Creator? He merely
spoke, and this marvellous body came into being, namely, the
sun. You see, it calls this light great and says it was brought
into existence for governing the day. In other words, the sun
renders the day brighter, shedding its rays like flashing lights
and day by day revealing its own beauty in full bloom: as soon
as it appears at dawn, it awakes the whole human race to the
discharge of their respective duties. This beauty the blessed
author reveals when he says: "The sun beams, like a bride-
groom emerging from his chamber, like a giant in the run-
ning of his course; its span extends from one corner of heaven
right to the other corner of heaven." 10 Do you see how he
revealed to us both the sun's beauty and its speed of move-
ment? That is, in saying, "Its span extends from one corner of
heaven (58a) right to the other corner of heaven," it indicated
to us how in one moment of time it traverses the whole world
and scatters its rays from end to end, making its great re-
sources available: it not only supplies heat to the earth but also
dries it up, and not only dries it up but enkindles it, and sup-
plies us with many different resources, so marvellous a body is
it, quite beyond one's power to describe adequately.
(ll) I mention this to you and sing the praises of this heav-
enly body so that you may not stop short there, dearly be-
loved, but proceed further and transfer your admiration to
the creator of the heavenly body. After all, the greater the sun
is shown to be, so much the more marvellous is the revelation
of the Creator.
(12) Pagan peoples, however, in their wonder and stupor at
this heavenly body were unable to look beyond it to praise its
creator; instead, they sang its praises (58b) and treated it as a
deity. Hence the reason for the blessed Paul's saying, "They
worshipped and served the creature instead of its creator." II
What could be more stupid than people failing to recognize
the creator from the creature and being caught up in such er-
ror as to put creature and artefact on the same level as their
creator? So then, foreseeing the inclination of slothful people
10. Ps 19.5-6. II. Rom 1.25.

ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
to error, Sacred Scripture teaches us that the creation of this
heavenly body took place three days later, after the growth of
all the plants from the earth, after the earth's taking its own
form, so that afterwards no one could say that without this
force these things would not have been brought forth from
the earth. Hence it shows you everything completed before
the creation of this body lest you attribute the production of
the crops to it instead of to the Creator of all things, the one
who said from the beginning, (58c) "Let the earth bring forth
a crop of vegetation."
(13) But if they were to say that the sun's virtue also contrib-
utes to the ripening of the crops, I would not gainsay them.
After all, it's similar to the case of the farmer: in saying he con-
tributes to the processes of the soil, I don't ascribe everything
to him: even if thousands of farmers did their best, their ef-
forts would be fruitless unless the One initiating the process
through his own design from the beginning willed to put in
train the very creation of the crops. In exactly the same way, I
say, even if after the farmer's work there is assistance from the
work of the sun, and the moon and the mildness of the cli-
mate, this would likewise be to no effect unless the hand from
above did not play its part; once, however, this mighty hand is
ready, the work of the elements makes its most efficacious
contribution.
(14) Give close attention to this so as to bridle those still
intent on deceiving themselves, and have nothing to do with
assigning to creatures the honor due to the Creator. (58d)
Accordingly, Sacred Scripture not only shows us the sun's
beauty, and immensity and usefulness in the words, "It beams
like a bridegroom, like a giant in running its course," but also
its limitations and powerlessness: listen to what it says else-
where, "What could provide more light than the sun? Yet even
it fails." 12 Don't be deceived by appearances, it tells us: unless
the Creator willed so to direct, it would disappear as though it
had never existed. If pagan peoples had understood this, they
12. Sir 17.31.

HOMILY 6
would not have fallen victim to such deception, but would

properly have seen that from contemplation of created things
one should move on to the Creator. Accordingly, he created it
on the fourth day lest you think it is the cause of the day. In
other words, what we said about the plants we will say also
about the day, namely, that three days occurred before the
creation of the sun. The Lord wanted to make daylight more
brilliant by means of this heavenly body also-(sga) some-
thing we would say is true in the case of the lesser light as well,
by which I mean the moon; after all, three nights occurred
before its creation. Still, once created, the moon makes its
own contribution, banishing the gloom of the night and ac-
complishing (you could almost say) the same things the sun
does in other respects.
(15) I mean, the sun was designed "for governing the day,"
the moon "for governing the night." What is meant by "for
governing the day" and "for governing the night"? The text
implies the sun took control of the day and the moon of the
night, so that the sun should render the day brighter with its
rays, and the moon should dissipate the gloom and with its
light provide the human race with the possibility of discharg-
ing their duties. I mean, by this arrangement the traveller
travels the path in confidence, the sailor steers the boat and
navigates the seas, and everyone conducting personal affairs
can without any concern follow the dictates of individual
intuition.
(16) Then, after teaching us (5gb) the usefulness of these
lights, the text goes on: "And the stars: God placed them in
the firmament of heaven to shine on the earth for governing
the day and the night and to separate the light from the dark-
ness." 13 Notice how he made clear to us their usefulness also:
"He placed them in the firmament of heaven," it says. What is
the meaning of, "He placed"? As though to say "He fixed"?
By no means; after all, we often see them traverse a mighty
span in the twinkling of an eye, never standing still in one
13. Gn 1.17-18.
place but following their own course which they have been di-
rected to run by the Lord. So what does "He placed" mean? It
is equivalent to saying he directed them to be in heaven. You
can, in fact, see Scripture leading up to this when it says else-
where, "He placed Adam in paradise," 14 not because he had
fixed him in paradise (59C) but because he directed him to be
in paradise. By the same token, about the stars we would say
that he directed them to be in the firmament of heaven and
shed their light on the earth. I mean, dearly beloved, consider
this: would it not be more pleasing to see heaven studded with
stars at midnight than any number of fields and gardens, the
sky adorned with a range of stars as though with flowers, and
the stars themselves shedding light on the earth? This, after
all, is what they were designed for, shining on the earth and
governing the day and the night, which is generally true of
the great lights also. Remember, when it taught us the crea-
tion of the two lights and the stars, it used these words in com-
mon about them all: "For governing the day and the night,
and separating the light from the darkness." You see, just as
you can't spy the stars moving in the sky during the day (59d)
(the sun, of course, concealing their strength with its great
brilliance), so too during the night the sun would never be
visible, since the moon is sufficient with its light to dispel the
gloom of night; each of the heavenly bodies keeps to its own
boundaries and never oversteps its due measure, but rather
maintains the Lord's design and fulfils its proper purpose.
(17) Who could tell all the other advantages conferred on
the human race through the usefulness of these lights and the
stars? The text says, remember, '''Let them act as signs, and
indicate days, seasons and years.'" What is meant by 'act as
signs, and indicate days, seasons and years'? Sacred Scripture
wants to teach us that the movement of these bodies conveys
to us the knowledge of times, the changing of solstices, the
number of the days, and the course of the year, and from
these facts we can fathom (60a) everything. The navigator, for
14. A paraphrase of Gn 2.8.

HOMILY 6
example, with his eyes on the path of these bodies, gazing in-
tently at the sky and studying all these signs carefully, is thus
able to hold his course and cross the sea; though the night is
often black, he can steer by the sight of the stars, and through
his own skill bring safety to his company. The farmer, too,
knows how to learn from these signs when he must sow the
seed, till the soil, do the ploughing, and when sharpen the
sickle and set about harvesting the crops. Not a few aids for
our daily living are contributed to us by the knowledge of
times, the number of the days, and the cycle of the year; (60b)
and you would find many advantages for human existence
stemming from these created things, which it would be impos-
sible to enumerate fully in a precise manner. Hence the need
to learn from these few details how to estimate the usefulness
of the heavenly bodies, to marvel at their creation and adore
and praise their Creator, to be aghast at his ineffable love
shown to human beings; for humanity alone and for no other
reason did he create everything, intending a little later to
place them like some king or ruler over other things created
by him.
(18) The text goes on: "God saw that it was good." Do you
see how each day Sacred Scripture shows him satisfied with
his creatures so as to undercut a pretext of people daring to
find fault with the things created by him? (60c) I mean, for
the reason that Sacred Scripture with this purpose in mind
registers the same point in every case, it becomes clear by dint
of repetition. After all, it would have been enough following
all the acts of creation to say once that everything he had
made was very good; but knowing the extent of the limita-
tions of our reasoning, he repeats the process each time, to
teach us that everything was created with a certain inventive
wisdom and ineffable love. 15
15. Again Chrysostom's theology of the Word leads him to relate the preci-
sion of the text (in this case, repetition of detail) to human limitations, taken
account of in divine considerateness, itself a mark of love. It is a beautiful syn-
thesis, underlying Chrysostom's whole approach to Scripture. See R. Hill,
"On looking again at synkatabasis," Prudentia 13 (lg81) 3-11.
(19) "Evening came," the text goes on, "and morning came:
a fourth day." 16 In other words, when he had completed the
arrangement of heaven, beautifying it with the stars and creat-
ing those two great lights, he brought the day to a close: "Eve-
ning came, and morning: a fourth day," says Scripture. Notice
how it speaks in this way in the case of each day, wanting to
rivet the sacred truths in our mind by the repetition in the
teaching.
(20) Accordingly, let us carve these truths (60d) across our
heart and hold fast to them, let us shake off all sloth, let us
cling carefully to these salutary truths and with all forbear-
ance instruct people ensnared in pagan error not to confuse
this order by deserting the Creator to worship the creatures
that have been created for our welfare and utility. I mean,
even if pagans shout and scream a thousand times, I will pro-
claim it from the housetops that all these things were created
for the human race, since the Creator is sufficient of himself
and needed none of them; instead, it was to show his love for
us that he created them all, demonstrating the great regard
he has for the human race, and it was for us to move from
these creatures to bring to him a proper adoration.
(21) After all, how great would be the folly of stumbling
over the beauty of these creatures and (61a) remaining at
their level, instead of raising the eyes of our minds to their
Creator and believing the words of blessed Paul: "From the
creation of the world what is invisible to our eyes in God has
through created things become perceptible to our under-
standing." 17 What do you mean, 0 human being? Do you see
the sky and marvel at its beauty, at the variety of the stars, at
their utter brilliance? Don't stop there, but lead your mind on
to their Creator. Again, the sun's light astonishes you, and the
sight of the great usefulness it has stirs you to amazement,
and when you see its rays shining on your eyes, you marvel at
the beauty of this heavenly body. But don't stop there, either:
consider instead that if the creature is so wonderful and in-
credible, surpassing all human understanding, what on earth
16. Cn 1.19. 17. Rom 1.20.

HOMILY 6 89
can he be like who creates this merely by a word of command?
(6lb) Consider the very same in the case of the earth too:
when you see the earth adorned with flowers like some multi-
colored garment, the foliage of plants enveloping it all over,
don't think this is due spontaneously to the earth's power, or to
the energy of the sun, or the moon; realize instead, as wisdom
suggests, that for the creation of these things he simply spoke
the word, '''Let the earth put forth a crop of vegetation,'" and
forthwith the whole face of the earth was brilliant color.
(22) If we daily turn these thoughts over in our minds, we
will both be right-minded ourselves and also refer to the Lord
the praise that is (if not adequate) at least all our abilities can
manage. Let us praise him not simply for that reason, but also
by means of a life lived in the best way possible-by resisting
the temptation to relapse into past sins, by bidding (6lC) fare-
well to those diabolical errors, by learning from the past and
showing great zeal, and thus by earnest confession winning
favor from above. You see, in his great love for us he finds it
sufficient that we desist from evil; if we make this decision, we
will readily come to the practice of good deeds. Let me no
longer catch sight of any of you attending race courses, I beg
you, nor spending the best part of the day in unsavory gather-
ings; and don't give your time to dice throwing and the shout-
ing generated by it and the ensuing brawls. I mean, what's the
good of fasting if, on the one hand, you pass the day without
food and, on the other, you abandon yourself to the dice and
to brainless nonsense, and often waste the whole day in swear-
ing and blaspheming? Don't, I beg you, let us be so slothful as
to neglect our salvation; instead, let our conversation be con-
stantly on spiritual topics; (6ld) a divine book in our hands,
let each of us invite our neighbors to join us and refresh our
minds and theirs with the divine words,18 so that in this way we
18. We noted above (Homily 2, note 13) the roots in Chrysostom's theology
of Vatican II's notion of the domestic Church; that Council's teaching on the
extent of inspiration, whereby the reader enjoys the same Spirit as the scrip-
tural composer (Dei Verbum 12), is suggested here in Chrysostom's recommen-
dation of home Bible groups, as elsewhere in the homilies. (Cf. Introduc-
tion II)
go ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
may be able to escape the snares of the evil one, reap great
bene'fits from our fasting, and enjoy the love of God, the
grace and mercy of his only-begotten Son, to whom with the
Father and the Spirit be glory, power and honor, now and for-
ever, for ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILY 7
"God said: 'Let the waters produce reptiles with living souls,
and on the earth winged creatures flying across the firmament of heaven.'
This is what happened. God made the huge sea monsters, and every single
living reptile of various kinds produced by the waters." I
Y WE sufficiently upbraided those who de-

serted us for the horse racing. We showed them how
great was the harm they suffered, and how in one fell
swoop they had squandered the spiritual riches accruing to
them from fasting, and (62a) how from great wealth they had
at one stroke cast themselves into utter indigence. Come now,
then, today let us make use of a milder remedy, and bind up
the wounds of their souls just as if they were our own limbs,
because even yesterday when we applied harsher remedies, it
was not simply to cause them pain and aggravate their suffer-
ing, but rather that we might be able to reach the cancer by
drastic measures. After all, this is what is done by doctors and
parents: the former initially apply the more potent medica-
tions, and when they break open the ulcer, then they call into
play remedies more likely to relieve the pain; and when par-
ents see their children kicking over the traces, they first ad-
minister rebuke of a severer type, and afterwards admonition
and encouragement. We too will follow the same procedure:
if yesterday we used our words with severity, (62b) today on
the contrary we will phrase our speech in a milder fashion,
and show the same care as for our own limbs. You see, your
progress encourages in us greater confidence, and this is a
source of spiritual riches for us-to see you devoting your-
selves to spiritual interests, being distinguished for virtue and
I. Gn 1.20-21.
shunning risk of harm. So by the same token, when we see

you stumbling and ensnared in the deceits of the devil, we
are filled with disappointment, and a certain shame, so to say,
spreads over our soul. The blessed Paul says, remember, "This
is what keeps us alive, to see you standing firm in the Lord."2
(2) So as mature people filled with understanding, forget
what lies behind and press on to what is ahead; renew the
covenant you have made with Christ, (62C) keep it firm for the
future, and with sober reasoning shut off every entrance to
the devil's wiles. Use every endeavor at this late stage to ex-
punge the stigma of sloth attached to you, affected as you are
by this demeaning and harmful habit; ponder the fact that
not only is this habit bad enough in bringing great harm to
those who attend those places, but they become cause of scan-
dal to many others. I mean, when pagans and Jews see the
person who daily frequents the church and is a beneficiary of
constant teaching all of a sudden turning up there, how can
they fail to conclude that what we do is a fraud, and entertain
the same suspicion about everything to do with us? Don't you
hear the blessed Paul counselling us in strident tones and urg-
ing us, "Give no scandal"3? (62d) Then, lest you think his
warning is given only in regard to his own community, he con-
tinued, "to either Jews or Gentiles," and then added, "or to
the Church of God." You see, nothing so harms and damages
our religion as much as scandal given to unbelievers. So when
they see amongst us people who are conspicuous for virtue
and who display a disregard for things of this life, some of
them are enraged by it but others are often overwhelmed with
wonder at the fact that, while having the same human nature
as theirs, they do not share the same values. Of course, when
they see someone affected by a slight degree of indifference,
at once they turn their tongue against us all without excep-
tion, and from one person's indifference condemn the whole
community of Christians alike. Nor do they stop there: at
once they direct their words against the head of the commu-
nity, because of the negligence of the members, (63a) and do
2. I Thes 3.8. 3. I Cor 10.32.

HOMILY 7 93
not refrain from blaspheming against the Lord of them all.
They think the indifference of these Christians masks the
very errors to which they themselves are subject.
(3) For proof that this brings greatest risk to those who pro-
vide others with an occasion of blasphemy, let us listen to the
prophet's cry when he speaks as God's mouthpiece: "Alas for
you: it is your fault that my name is blasphemed amongst the
Gentiles."4 That's a fearful statement, fraught with terror.
That is to say, "Alas" is like the cry of someone lamenting the
fate of people heading for that inescapable punishment. In
other words, just as this kind of retribution awaits those who
through their own indifference bear the responsibility for
blasphemy, likewise, on the other hand, there are grounds for
awarding a thousand laurels to those who show a care for vir-
tue. This is the very lesson Christ gave us in saying, "Let your
light shine in people's presence so that they may see your good
works (63b) and praise your Father in heaven."5 That is, just
as people are scandalized by the indifference of some of
us and direct the edge of their tongue against our Lord, so
[Christ is saying] when you practice virtue and people see you,
they do not stop at praise of you; instead, when they see your
good deeds shining and lighting up your face, they are moved
to praise of your Father in heaven. When this happens in their
case, we in our turn are amply rewarded, and over and above
their praise the Lord bestows on us countless good things:
"Those giving glory to me I myself will glorify," 6 he says.
(4) Accordingly, dearly beloved, let us do everything for the
purpose of giving glory to our Lord, and let us not be an oc-
casion of scandal to anybody. This, after all, is the unfailing
lesson given us by the whole world's teacher, blessed Paul,
(63c) as for example when he says, "If food is a source of scan-
dal to my brother, let me never till the end of time touch meat
again;" and again, "By sinning against your brothers in this
way through bruising your tender conscience, you sin against
Christ." 7 A stern admonition that, entailing a heavy condem-
4· Is 52.5'
5. Mt 5.16. 6. 1 Sm 2·30.
7. 1 Cor 8.12-13, with the order reversed.
nation. In other words, he is saying, don't think the harm will
be inflicted solely on one person: it passes on to Christ him-
self, who for that person was crucified. So if the Lord was not
swayed from being crucified for him, would you not make
every effort to avoid giving him any occasion for scandal? You
will find Paul giving this advice everywhere to his disciples; it
is, after all, the factor that keeps our life together. Hence he
uses these words in writing in another letter: "Let each of you
consider not your own concerns but the concerns of others;" 8
and again in another place: (63d) "Everything is lawful for
me, but not everything edifies others."9 Do you see the apos-
tolic attitude? Even if it is lawful for me to behave in a certain
way, he is saying, without fear of repercussion for myself on
that account, yet to avoid interfering with my neighbor's spiri-
tual progress I would not presume to behave like that. Do you
see the soul full of loving concern-how he has no eye at all
for his own interests, but shows us in every way that the great-
est virtue consists in taking great care for our neighbor'S spiri-
tual progress.
(5) Recognizing all this, let us be on our guard, I beg you,
and steer clear of the things able to undermine the wealth of
our virtue, and let us do nothing likely to bring harm to our
neighbor. This, after all, adds a further dimension to our sin,
and brings upon us severer punishment. Let us not look down
on an ordinary person and utter those chilling words, "What
concern is it of mine if such a person is scandalized?" What
are you saying, tell (64a) me? What concern is it of yours?
Christ charged you to so let your light shine that not only
would you excite the wonder of the onlookers, but your Lord
would be praised-whereas you regard it of no account to
be doing the opposite and being responsible for blasphemy
instead of praise directed to him? Where in this attitude is
there a trace of a circumspect soul carefully respecting the
laws of God?
(6) If, however, there is someone who used to speak in quite
the same manner as that under the influence of habit, now, I
8. Phil 2.4. 9. 1 Cor 10.23·

HOMILY 7 95
beg you, let him accept this advice and desist from those im-
proper remarks; let him show such zeal in all his actions as
never to fall under the condemnation of that unsleeping eye,
nor be reproached by his own conscience, nor provoke the
blasphemy of the Lord from those who observe him. (64b)
You see, if we manage our affairs with such caution, we shall
enjoy great love on the Lord's part and dispel as well the wiles
of the devil. After all, when he sees us living soberly and
watchfully, the devil will think he is facing a useless task and
will take himself from our sight.
(7) But so much by way of introduction. lo Come now, let us
spread a spiritual table before you by laying out before you,
dear people, what has been read, and let us see if we can learn
what it is today, too, the blessed Moses wants to teach us-or
rather the Holy Spirit through his tongue. So what does the
text say? "God said, 'Let the waters produce reptiles with liv-
ing souls, and on the earth winged creatures flying across the
firmament of heaven.' This is what happened." See the Lord's
loving kindness, how by a certain order and sequence he
teaches us about every created thing. (64c) First he taught
us how at his command he awakened the earth to produce
fruits; then he taught us about the creation of the two lights;
he added also the range of stars, through which the beauty of
heaven was made more brilliant.
(8) Today finally he switches to the waters and shows us
from them living beings coming at his word and command.
The text says, remember, '''Let the waters produce reptiles
with living souls, and on the earth winged creatures flying
across the firmament of heaven.'" What words, tell us, can do
justice to that marvel? What tongue can measure up to the
praise of the Creator? He simply said, "'Let the earth put
forth,'" and immediately he awakened it to birth pangs; now
he says, '''Let the waters produce.''' See how his directions
correspond: in one case, the text says, '''Let it put forth,'" in
10. By this stage Chrysostom's congregation would have been wondering if

they were going to be given a commentary on the Gn verses read at the out-
set-such was the length to which Chrysostom's introduction extended. Cf.
Introduction 11.
this case, '''Let the waters produce reptiles with living souls.'"
(64d) You see, just as in the case of the earth he simply said,
'''Let it put forth,'" and there appeared a wide-ranging vari-
ety of flowers and plants and seeds, all created by one word,
so too in this case he said, "'Let the waters produce reptiles
with living souls,''' and there were created on the earth
winged creatures flying across the firmament of heaven (and
all of a sudden such kinds of reptiles and such variety of birds
as to beggar counting.)
(9) While it was one word, and a short one, the kinds of liv-
ing things were many and varied. But don't be astonished,
dearly beloved; after all, it was God's word, and his word en-
dowed those creatures with life. Do you see how he brings
everything from non-being to being? Did you see the preci-
sion of the teaching? Did you see the considerateness of the
Lord, and how far he demonstrates it in regard to our human
race? I mean, how would we have been able to know these
things precisely had not he in his really unspeakable love
deemed it proper (6sa) to teach humanity through the ton-
gue of the biblical author, so that we might know the order of
created things and the power of the Creator, and how his
word took effect, and his utterance endowed creatures with
life and the way to existence?
(10) Yet there are some stupid people who, despite this kind
of teaching, are rash enough to withhold belief, and do not
admit that these visible things have a creator. Some of them
hold they came into existence by themselves, others that they
were formed from some underlying matter. See the extent of
the devil's wiles, how he exploits the facile thinking of people
in the thrall of error. For that reason the blessed Moses, in-
spired by the divine Spirit, teaches us with great precision, lest
we fall victim to the same things as they, instead of being able
to know clearly (6Sb) both the sequence of created things and
how each thing was created. You see, if God in his care for our
salvation II had not directed the tongue of the biblical author
II. This passage is another conspicuous instance of the synthesis of Chry-
sostom's basic principles on Scripture-inspiration, love, considerateness,
precision-and all "for our salvation," as he repeats over and over again.
HOMILY 7 97
in this way, it would have been sufficient to say that God made
heaven and earth, the sea and living things, and not add the
order of the days, nor what was created first and what later.
But, lest he leave any grounds for excuse to those bent on
folly, he explains in this way both the order of created things
and the number of the days, and he teaches us everything
with great considerateness so that we may learn the whole
truth and not turn our minds to the error of those uttering all
these ideas from their own reasoning. But we are able to know
the ineffable power of our creator.
(11) "This is what happened," the text says. He said: '''Let
the waters produce reptiles with living souls, (65c) and on
the earth winged creatures flying across the firmament of
heaven,'" and the elements obeyed, and carried out what was
commanded. "It happened," the text goes on, 'just as the
Lord commanded. God made the huge sea monsters and
every single living reptile which the waters produced in a
range of kinds, and every winged creature according to kind.
God saw that they were good, and God blessed them in these
words: 'Increase and multiply and fill the waters in the seas,
and let birds multiply on the earth.'" 12 Notice here again, I ask
you, the extent of the Spirit's wisdom. I mean, the blessed
Moses, after saying, "This is what happened," teaches us by
adding one detail at a time in the words, "God made the huge
sea monsters, and every single living reptile which the waters
produced in a range of kinds, and every winged creature ac-
cording to kind. God saw that they were good." (65d) Here
once more he takes the ground from under those rash enough
to speak always heedlessly. That is, lest anyone be able to say,
Why did he make the sea monsters? What good are they to
us? What is the advantage of their creation? Of set purpose he
first said, "God made the huge sea monsters, and every singh>
living reptile, and the birds," and immediately added, "God
saw that they were good." In other words, he is saying, al-
though you stand in ignorance of the reason for the created
things, don't presume to find fault with their creation. Having
12. Gn 1.20-22.
heard the Lord give his approval and declare them good, how
can you be so demented as to dare to ask, Why were they
made? Are you scorning their creation as pointless? I mean, if
you were well disposed you would be able from the creation of
these things to get an insight into the power of your Lord and
his ineffable love-his power, for the reason that he caused
living beings like this to be created from the waters by his
word and command, and his love, for the reason that in creat-
ing them he gave each of them a particular place, and (66a)
assigned them a boundless area of the sea so that they might
not hinder one another but dwell in the waters and provide
an example to teach us the Creator's extraordinary power and
cause no harm to the human race.
(12) Do you think that it is an insignificant mark oflove that
a twofold benefit comes to you from these creatures? They do,
after all, lead those of us willing to think aright, to the knowl-
edge of God and cause us to be amazed at the greatness of his
loving kindness in freeing the human race from the harm
brought on itself. You see, it was not simply for our use that
everything was created by him, but on account of his great
prodigality: while some things were created for our use,
others had this purpose-that the power of their Creator
might be proclaimed. (66b) So, when you hear that "God saw
that it was good," presume no longer to contradict Sacred
Scripture, nor bury your head in idle speculation with ques-
tions why this or that was made. "God blessed them," the text
says, "and said, 'Increase and multiply and fill the waters in
the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth.'" This is the
blessing, that they should grow to a great number. You see,
since the creatures he made had life in them, he wanted their
life to be lasting. Hence the text added: "God blessed them
and said, 'Increase and multiply.'" That word, you know, in-
fluences them right up to the present, and has spanned such
an extent of time (66c) without one of those species being
diminished. 13 After all, God's blessing and the form of
13. It is not surprising, all things considered, if Chrysostom strikes us at

times in his commentary as uncritical, even fundamentalist. We have, how-
HOMILY 7 99
words, '''Increase and multiply,'" bestowed on them life and
permanence.
(13) "Evening came and morning came: a fifth day." 14 Do
you see how Sacred Scripture taught us also the living things
created on the fifth day? Well, just wait a while and you will
see once again the loving kindness of your Lord. I mean, he
not merely quickened the waters to birth of living things, but
also directed land creatures in their turn to be produced from
the earth. In other words, today it is hardly inappropriate to
arrive at the things made on the sixth day as well. The text
says: "God said: 'Let the earth bring forth living things in
their various kinds, four-footed creatures, reptiles, wild beasts
on the earth, (66d) cattle and all the reptiles of the earth in
their various kinds.'" 15 And it was so done. See the earth also
for a second time producing twofold fruit, and doing the
Lord's bidding. On the first occasion, remember, it brought
forth a crop of seeds, but on this occasion living beings, four-
footed creatures, reptiles, wild beasts and cattle. Notice that
this instance demonstrates what I told you in advance, that it
wasn't simply for our use that he produced all these things;
instead, it was also for our benefit 16 in the sense that we might
see the overflowing abundance of his creatures and be over-
whelmed at the Creator's power, and be in a position to know
that all these things were produced by a certain wisdom and
ineffable love out of regard for the human being that was des-
tined to come into being.
(14) (67a) "God made the wild beasts of the earth in their
various kinds," the text says, "cattle in their various kinds, and
all the reptiles in their various kinds. God saw that they were
good." 17 Where now are those people rash enough to ask,
ever, commented above on his tendency to rationalize when in doubt, and

like preachers the world over he is not inclined to underplay a point.
14. Gn 1.23.
15. Gn 1.24, Chrysostom's text being lengthier than both LXX and Heb.,
themselves not in agreement.
16. The distinction being made here between "use" (chreia) and "benefit"
(opheleia) seems delicate yet meaningful-despite editors' attempts to alter
the text.
17. Gn 1.25.
What's the point of wild beasts? of reptiles? Let them listen

to the words of Sacred Scripture: "God saw that they were
good." Tell me, the Creator himself commends the created
things, and do you dare to call them in question? Would this
attitude stop short at any madness? Admittedly, in the case of
the seeds and the plants the earth has produced not only
fruitbearing trees but also those giving no fruit, and brings
forth not only crops that are profitless but also some that are
strange to us and ones that are in many cases harmful. But no
one will presume to find fault with their creation on that ac-
count; after all, they have not been produced without rhyme
or reason. I mean, they would not have received commenda-
tion from the Lord (67b) had they not been created to serve
some need. So the comparison is clear: in the case of the trees
not all are fruitbearing; many bear no fruit and yet even they
provide no less a remarkable service to us and contribute to
our well-being; we make our houses from them and gain
many other advantages contributing to our well-being. So, by
and large, there is nothing which has been created without
some reason, even if human nature is incapable of knowing
precisely the reason for them all.
(15) In like manner, therefore, as with the trees, so too with
the wild beasts: some are useful for our food, others for serv-
ing us. The species of wild beasts and reptiles, too, are of no
little help to us, and if somebody is prepared to study them in
a right mind, he will find even now, when control over them
has been wrested from us owing to the disobedience of the
first human creature, (67c) that the benefit is great that comes
to us from them. I mean, physicians get from them many
things which they employ as medications capable of promot-
ing the health of our bodies. Otherwise, what great harm
would have come from the creation of the wild beasts at a time
when they, like domestic animals, were intended to come
under the control of the creature soon to be created. In fact, it
is time I spoke about this.
(16) Now, with a view to your learning the surpassing love of
the Lord of all displayed in regard to our human race, con-
sider the way he stretched out heaven, unfolded the earth,
HOMILY 7 101
created the firmament like a dividing wall making a separa-

tion in the waters, then directed the joining of the waters to
happen, called one part seas and the dry part earth, next he
beautified the latter with the proliferation of seeds (67d) and
later with crops. Further, he went on to the creation of the
two great lights and the variety of stars through which he
added to the beauty of heaven. Then he produced from the
waters the living beings and on the earth winged creatures fly-
ing across the firmament of heaven; and after completing the
number of five days, since it was necessary for living beings
to be created from the earth, he directed these to be brought
forth, some suitable for food, others useful for our service, as
well as wild beasts and reptiles. Then finally, after arranging
everything in order, by imposing an appropriate order and
design on all visible things, preparing a lavish table filled with
rich and varied viands, laden with wealth and abundance, and
making what might be called kingdoms above (68a) and be-
low, conspicuous from all points and gleaming with variety-
then finally he creates the being meant to enjoy all these
things, giving this creature power over all these visible things.
And as a demonstration of the degree to which this creature
about to be fashioned is more elevated than all the other crea-
tures, he bids everything he has made come under this crea-
ture's authority and supervision.
(17) Lest, however, we draw out the sermon to a great
length, let us be content with what we have said and postpone
to the next occasion what has to do with the fashioning of this
wonderful being graced with reason and spirit-I mean, the
human being. Now we will address to you the customary ex-
hortation I" so as to preserve the remembrance of the things
said, and also, through all the things seen, to stir ourselves to
praise of the Lord. The fact that we do not attain this, nor
manage to grasp the meaning of created things, (68b) should
not become for us grounds for unbelief but rather an occa-
sion of praise. You see, when reasoning fails and the intellect
18. The style of the homily's conclusion is as perfunctory as its introduc-

tion-predictably so, quite obviously, for Chrysostom's congregation.
proves inadequate, call to your mind the greatness of the

Lord, especially from the fact that his power is such that
we fail to understand precisely the meaning of the things
made by him. This is the attitude of sensible minds and sober
hearts.
(IS) When the pagans in this regard fell into error by en-
trusting everything to their own reasoning and refusing to ac-
knowledge the limitations of their own nature, they let their
imagination run riot, exceeded the measure of their own ca-
pabilities, and lost the sense of the status they could lay claim
to. In other words, though they were elevated by the gift of
reason and received such a pre-eminence from the Lord, out-
ranking all other visible creatures in esteem, these people
were cast into such stupidity as (6Sc) to worship dogs, mon-
keys, crocodiles and lowlier animals than these. Why mention
brute beasts? Many of them fell into such folly and stupidity
as to worship even onions and more worthless things than
that. Hence the biblical author had these people in mind
when he said: "He was likened to the brute beasts and re-
sembled them." 19 The one who was dignified with the gift of
reason, it means, and endowed with such great wisdom has
become like the brutes, and even worse. That is to say, those
beasts, being without the gift of reason, are not liable to pun-
ishment, whereas the creature dignified with reason and yet
taking on their condition of irrationality will properly incur
heavy penalties for being ungrateful for such liberality. Fol-
lowing this extreme they went on to call sticks and stones
gods, and divinized all the visible elements; once, you see,
they strayed from the right path, (6Sd) they fell headlong and
were cast into the very depths of wickedness.
(19) Let us, however, not give up hope of their salvation; on
the contrary, let us bring to the fore what we have to offer and
converse with them in a spirit of great zeal and long-suffering,
showing them also the absurdity of their behavior and the
enormity of its harmfulness. Let us never despair of their sal-
19. Ps 49.20 in the version of the LXX, different from and lengthier than
the Heb.
HOMILY 7
vation. In fact, it is likely that with the passage of time they
will be convinced, especially if we live in such a way as to offer
them no scandal. I mean, when many of them see some of our
associates, who bear the name of Christian and lay claim to it,
playing the robber like themselves, being guilty of avarice and
envy, plotting and scheming, committing all sorts of crimes,
victims ofluxury and gluttony, no longer do they heed the ad-
vice from our lips: they consider all we have to offer is decep-
tion, (6ga) and that everyone is guilty of the same faults. So
think carefully, I beg you, of the severity of the punishments
such people have become liable to in not only heaping burn-
ing coals on their own heads but also being responsible for the
fact that others are stuck fast in error and block their ears
to instruction in virtue, as well as putting in the devil's way
people in quest of virtue, and-what is worse than every-
thing-being responsible for blasphemy against the Lord by
these people. Do you see the extent of the harm caused by this
evil? Do you see how people render themselves liable not to
normal punishment but to extreme severity, especially as they
are fated to bear the guilt of all, not only for their own dam-
nation, but for the scandal caused to those in error, the con-
demnation of people bent on virtue, and the blasphemies di-
rected against God?
(20) So then, let us keep all this in mind and not neglect
(6gb) our own salvation; let us give careful attention to living a
life of God's wanting, in the knowledge that on the basis of
this most of all will we be either condemned or judged worthy
ofloving kindness at his hands. Accordingly, let us so perform
every action as to pass our lives with a good conscience and
lead towards the truth by means of our godly life-style those
people still in error. Then all the others associated with us
may because of us enjoy a good name, our Lord may be glori-
fied above all and may take closer care of us. You see, when, at
the sight of us, people are edified and give praise to God, we
enjoy greater favor in his sight. After all, what could be more
blessed than the person who lives in such a fashion that all
who witness it are amazed and declare, (6gc) "Glory to you, 0
God! what marvellous people Christians are! what wonderful
10 4 ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
philosophy they give evidence of! how low their esteem for
the things of this world! how insubstantial all things are con-
sidered to be by them-like shadows and dreams-and how
little attached they are to anything in this visible world, treat-
ing everything like people living in exile, longing each day
for release from this world!" What great recompense do you
think these words bring to people living in this fashion, even
here and now from God? Actually, the really remarkable
thing is that even those who have this opinion of us will desist
from their error and come back to the truth. It is quite clear
how much encouragement this provides for the kind of
people in that situation.
(21) Accordingly, knowing as we do that we are responsible
both for the salvation of our neighbors and their loss, let us
so regulate our life as not only to be sufficient for ourselves
(6gd) but also to prove an occasion of instruction to others, so
that we may draw down on us here and now favor from God,
and may in the future enjoy God's loving kindness in gen-
erous measure, thanks to the grace and mercy of his only-
begotten Son, to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be
glory, power and honor, now and forever, for ages of ages.
Amen.
HOMILY 8
"God said: 'Let us make a human being in our image and likeness.
Let them have control of the fish of the sea and the birds of heaven,
the cattle and the wild beasts, all the earth and all
the reptiles creeping upon the earth. ">I
OME NOW. Yesterday you listened with great enthu-

siasm to the words we had for you. So today, too, let
us propose for your consideration (7oa), my dear
people, the text just read, first exhorting you to attend care-
fully to what is said, and to place within the recesses of your
mind what was said before, lest we go to all this trouble idly
and to no purpose. This, after all, is the object of our earnest
effort, that you would know precisely the power of the Scrip-
tures so as not merely to understand them yourselves but also
to become teachers of them to others, and so be in a position,
according to blessed Paul, to edify one another. 2 I mean, if
you advance in the Lord, and manifest some progress in the
teaching of spiritual things, you will also bring great joy to our
hearts. For us, you see, this is complete success and the height
of festivity. Scripture says, remember: "What is our hope, our
joy, the crown of our boasting? Is it not yourselves" 3 and your
progress in God's eyes?
(2) Every teacher, on seeing the disciples taking care to rivet
in their mind the memory of the earliest lessons and (70b)
showing something for it in practice, more readily entrusts
them with the knowledge of the following lessons. Just so in
our case: the more we see your minds stimulated, your inter-
est on the increase, and your reasoning taking flight, the more
I. Gn 1.26, Chrysostom's text including the wild beasts, not found in other
LXX texts.
2. Cf. 1 Thes 5.11. 3. 1 Thes 2.19.
do we wax enthusiastic for lavishing upon you more generous
instruction. That is to say, the more we pour upon you these
spiritual streams, the greater the influx upon us for the sake
of your edification, for the salvation of your soul. You see, in
this case things don't happen the way they do with money. In
that case, you know, the man paying money to his neighbor
reduces his own wealth: the more he pays, the more his for-
tune diminishes. It is quite the opposite with spiritual things:
here our resources grow greater, the extent of this spiritual
wealth is expanded when (70c) we lavishly pour out the flood
of our teaching to those anxious to draw from it.
(3) Since, therefore, this exercise proves an occasion of
greater wealth and abundance for us, and you are insatiable
in regard to this spiritual nourishment, come now, let us see
what it is today also blessed Moses is teaching us through the
text we've read, or rather what the grace of the Spirit has to
say to us all through his tongue. "God said," the text goes on,
'''Let us make a human being in our image and likeness.'" Let
us not rush idly by what is said, dearly beloved; instead, let us
investigate each expression, get right to the depth of its mean-
ing, and divine the force concealed in these brief phrases. I
mean, although the words may be few, immense is the trea-
sure concealed in them; we must remain alert and vigilant
and not stop short at the surface. Likewise with people en-
deavoring to dig up this material treasure: 4 they don't simply
(70d) dig around on the ground or study the surface; instead,
they go right to the bottom and penetrate to the bowels of the
earth, and thus separate the gold from the soil through their
own skill, and despite much toil and sweat manage to find just
a few nuggets. In our case it is nothing like that: the effort is
small, the yield beyond telling. Such, you see, are all spiritual
realities.
(4) Accordingly, let us not be found wanting by comparison
with those who get excited about material things; let us in our
turn search diligently for this spiritual treasure stored up in
4. One of Chrysostom's most frequently employed figures for the salutary

effect of the inspired Word, as was mentioned above (Homily 3, note 3).
HOMILY 8
these words. Let us see first what is the new and surprising
element in the words, and why the blessed author employed
such a novel turn of phrase-or rather the loving God through
the speech of the author. The text says: '''Let us make a hu-
man being (7Ia) in our image and likeness.'" A little time be-
fore, remember, we heard him saying, after the creation of
heaven and earth, '''Let light be made'" and '''Let a firma-
ment be made in the middle of the water;'" and again, "'Let
the water be gathered together into one mass, and let the dry
land appear,'" and '''Let lights be made,'" and '''Let the waters
produce reptiles with living souls.'" Did you see the whole of
creation made in those five days merely by word and com-
mand? Notice today how great the difference in the words.
That is, no longer does it say, Let a human being be created.
Instead, what? "'Let us make a human being in our image
and likeness.'" What is new in this? What is strange? Who on
earth is this creature now being made whose making required
in the Creator such planning and care? Don't be surprised,
dearly beloved. I mean, (7Ib) the human being is the creature
more important than all the other visible beings, and for this
creature all the others have been produced-sky, earth, sea,
sun, moon, stars, the reptiles, the cattle, all the brute beasts.
(5) Why is it, you ask, that if this creature is more important
than all these, it is brought forth after them? A good question.
Let me draw a comparison with a king on the point of enter-
ing a city on a visit: his bodyguard has to be sent on ahead to
have the palace in readiness, and thus the king may enter his
palace. Well now, in just the same way in this case the Creator,
as though on the point of installing some king and ruler over
everything on earth, first erected the whole of this scenery,
and then brought forth the one destined to preside over it,
showing us through the created things themselves what im-
portance he gave to this creature.
(6) But let us put a question to aJew, and see what he says to
that (7IC) verse, '''Let us make a human being in our image.'"
The words, after all, are from Moses, whom they claim to be-
lieve, but in fact do not believe. As Christ says, '''If you be-
lieved Moses, you would believe me."'5 While, however, the

words remain with them, their true meaning remains with
us. 6 So to whom is the phrase addressed, '''Let us make a hu-
man being,'" and to whom does the Lord propose this plan?
Not because he has need of plan and consideration-perish
the thought; instead, he intends through the pretext of words
to indicate the surpassing importance which he demonstrates
in regard to the human creature. What then do they say, these
people who still have a veil lying over their hearts 7 and refuse
to understand what is contained in these words?
(7) 0 what stupidity! what idiocy! What reason do you have
for (71d) saying, human being that you are, that an angel is
party to the counsels of the Lord, creatures sharing the Cre-
ator's thought? Not for angels is it to be party to the counsels
of the Lord, but to stand in waiting and fulfil sacred ministry.
To grasp this, listen to Isaiah, most articulate of the prophets,
when he says about the angelic powers above that "I saw the
Cherubim and the Seraphim standing at God's right hand;
they kept covering their faces and feet with their wings." 8
From which it is obvious that they could not bear the radiance
beaming from that source, but stood in great fear and trem-
bling. To stand in waiting before the Lord is, after all, proper
5· Jn 5.4 6 .
6. This lengthy commentary on Genesis, as also that on the Psalms, shows
Chrysostom's esteem for the Old Testament, even if his commentaries on the
New Testament are more numerous. He outlines most fully his thinking on
the relationship between the testaments in the two homilies De Obscuritate
Prophetiarum. His concern that the Jews should arrive at a true appreciation of
the OT by finding Christ there appears also in his Homily on Ps CIX:
"I say this, not to set up the Old Testament in opposition to the New-
perish the thought-but from a wish to put paid to the Jews' obtuseness.
You see, what is contained in either testament is given to us by God and
owes its origin to him; I only want to demonstrate the fact that the Jew who
disallows the biblical references to Christ distorts the greater part of the
inspired writings, nor could he clearly show the nobility of the Old Testa-
ment if he refused to admit the New." (PG 55,267)
7. Cf. 2 Cor 3.15.
8. A precis of Is 6.1-2. Chrysostom has a series of six homilies on the
opening verses of ch.6 of Isaiah, which he finds such a fertile field for a study
of the inspiration of Scripture. See R. Hill, "St. John Chrysostom's teaching
on inspiration in 'Six homilies on Isaiah,'" VigC 22 (1968) 19-37.
HOMILY 8 109
to creatures. These people, however, who understand nothing
of what is contained in the words, idly say the first thing that
comes into their head. Hence it falls to us (72a) to refute their
stupidity and teach the children of the Church the truth of
the words.
(8) So who is this to whom he says, "'Let us make a human
being"'? 9 Who else is it than the Angel of Great Counsel,
Wonderful Counsellor, Figure of Authority, Prince of Peace,
Father of the age to come,1O Only-begotten Son of God, like
the Father in being, through whom all things were created?
To him is said, "'Let us make a human being in our image and
likeness.'" This text also deals a mortal blow to those enter-
taining the position of Arius. I mean, he did not say by way of
command, Make such a creature, as though to a subordinate
or to one inferior in being, but "'Let us make'" with great def-
erence to an equal. And what follows shows us further the
equality in being; it says, you see, "'Let us make a human
being in our image and likeness.'" Here again, however, other
heretics arise (72b) assailing the dogmas of the Church; they
say, Look: he said, "'In our image"'-and from these words
they want to speak of the divine in human terms, which is the
ultimate example of error, namely, to cast in human form him
who is without shape, without appearance, without change,
and to attribute limbs and forms to the one who has no body.
What could match this madness, people not simply refusing
to derive any profit from the teaching of the inspired II Scrip-
tures, but even incurring severe harm from them? I mean,
they are in a similar predicament to people who are ill and
suffering impairment of their bodily vision: just as the latter
have a revulsion for the sunlight on account of their weakness
of vision and invalids turn away from the healthier foods, so
9. This is still a challenging question for Jewish commentators like Speiser,

who translates the Heb. text of 1.26 as "I will make;" see also his note on the
verse (Genesis 4-7).
10. Is 9.6.
II. Theopneustos is the adjective Chrysostom employs of the Scriptures here
and elsewhere as "inspired"; his commonest verb for the charism is en-echo.
See greater detail in R. Hill, "Chrysostom's terminology for the inspired
Word," EB 41 (1983) 367-373.
too those ailing in spirit and handicapped in their mind's vi-
sion (72C) have lost the power to look directly at the light of
truth.
(9) So let us do for them what lies in our power and offer
them a helping hand, conversing with them in a spirit of great
kindness. Blessed Paul, after all, encouraged us to do this
when he said, "Instruct your adversaries with gentleness, in
the hope that God will grant them a change of heart leading
to knowledge of truth, and they may return to a sober mind
and escape from the snare of the devil, by whom they were
held as captives at his pleasure." 12 Do you see how he declared
in the words he chose that they were overcome, as it were, by
some drunken stupor? To say, "return to a sober mind," after
all, suggested they were in a state of intoxication. Likewise he
says, "held captive by the devil," as though to say they are en-
snared in traps. What is required of us is much kindness and
tolerance so as to be able to rescue them (72d) and lead them
out of the devil's snares. So let us say to them, Make your es-
cape slowly but surely, look towards the light of righteousness,
study the precision of the words. You see, in saying, '''Let us
make a human being in our image and likeness,'" he did not
stop there, but through the following verse made clear to us
what was the reason for choosing the word "image." What in
fact does the text go on to say? "'Let them have control of the
fish of the sea, the birds of heaven, and all the reptiles creep-
ing on the earth.'" So "image" refers to the matter of control,
not anything else,13 in other words, God created the human
being as having control of everything on earth, and nothing
on earth is greater than the human being, under whose au-
thority everything falls.
(10) Yet if, despite such great precision in terms, there are
12.2 Tm 2.25-26.
13. A perennial puzzle for Gn commentators, the meaning of "image and
likeness," generally approached by them (as by Chrysostom here) through
the sequence of ideas in the text. Only in recent years has the discovery of the
Ebla tablets deciphered the notion of demuth, "likeness," in ancient Heb. as a
deputy deity, with responsibility (in this case) for all creation. No wonder the
text is so pregnant for conservationists, and "image" is so rich a term for Paul
in his Christology.
HOMILY 8 III
still those spoiling for a fight who wO'lld want to say "image" is
used in terms (73a) of form, we will say to them: that means
he is not only man but also woman, for both have the same
form. But this would make no sense. I mean, listen to Paul's
words: "It is not proper for a man to cover his head, being
image and glory of God, whereas the woman is man's glory." 14
One is in command, the other is subordinate, just as God had
also said to woman from the beginning, "your yearning will be
for your husband, and he will be your master." 15 You see,
since it is on the basis of command that the image was re-
ceived and not on the basis of form, man commands every-
thing whereas woman is subservient 16-hence Paul's words
about man, that he is constituted God's image and glory,
whereas woman is man's glory. If, however, he had been speak-
ing about form, he would not have distinguished between
them, man and woman being identical in type, after all.
(11) Do you see the full truth of it, (73b) how he left us no
grounds for defense on the part of those bent on being bra-
zen? All the same, even if this is the situation, let us not desist
from our patience in dealing with these people, "in the hope
that God will grant them a change of heart leading to knowl-
edge of truth." So let us not slacken in our efforts to show
great kindness, in the expectation of being able to wrest them
from the devil's deceit; and let us, if we think fit, propose to
them blessed Paul's words addressed to the citizens of Athens:
"We ought not think the deity is like gold, silver, or stone, or
carving from man's skill or imagination." 17 Do you notice the
wise teacher, with how much precision he disposes of every
error of theirs? I mean, he says not only that the deity is to be
distinguished from bodily figure but that human imagining
could not shape anything of the kind.
14. 1 Cor 11.7.

15. Gn 3.16.
16. Chrysostom's sexism, commented on in Introduction 14, seems particu-
larly perverse here; he seems to be invoking Paul's (cultural) distinction be-
tween man (aner, male) and woman (gune) to make a case that Gn 1.26, in
speaking of the human being (anthropos), means "man" only in the sense of
"male."
17. Acts 17.29.
(12) Argue (73c) the point with them constantly on these
matters and don't desist from bringing them to their attention
in the hope that they may yield, in the hope that they may
agree to look at the full face of truth. And while not desisting
from debate with them in a spirit of great kindness and cer-
tainty, hold fast yourselves, I urge you, to the dogmas of the
Church with close attention, without confusing the drift of
the expression. Instead, argue the point in friendly exchange
with Jews, on the one hand, showing them the words have ref-
erence not to some one of the ministering powers but to the
only-begotten Son of God himself; to those holding Arian
views, on the other hand, prove from this text the Son's equal-
ity with the Father; and to those imagining the deity has hu-
man form bring into play the words of blessed Paul. (73d)
Root out those noxious ailments springing up like weeds
among the dogmas of the Church,18 and at the same time see
to it that religious teachings are strengthened in them.
(13) You see, I wish and pray that you would all hold fast to
right order as teachers, that you would not simply be listeners
to what is said by us but also transmit it to others, casting your
net for those still in error so as to bring them to the way of
truth-as Paul says, "Edify one another," 19 and, "With fear
and trembling work out your own salvation." 20 In this way we
will have the satisfaction of seeing the Church grow in num-
bers, and you will enjoy more abundant favor from above
through the great care you show for your members. God, you
know, does not wish Christians to be concerned only for them-
selves but also to edify others, not simply through their teach-
ing but also through their lifestyle and the way they live it;
after all, nothing is such an attraction to the way of truth as
probity of life-in other words, (74a) people pay less atten-
tion to what we say than to what we do. As proof that this is
18. "The dogmas of the Church" is not a frequent phrase in Chrysostom's

mouth; his appeal to authority is normally an appeal to the Scriptures. In this
case of Trinitarian and Christo logical dogmas, however, we must remember
Chrysostom is living in the wake of the Councils of Nicaea (325) and Con-
stantinople (381).
Ig. I Thes 5.11. 20. Phil 2.12.
HOMILY 8
the case-I mean, even if we debate the issue thousands of

times and argue about forgiveness but do nothing to demon-
strate it in practice, the good our words do will not match the
harm done by our behavior; whereas if we give demonstration
of it in practice before our talking and after our talking, we
will be shown to be trustworthy in preaching what we practice,
since Christ also has declared such people blessed in the words,
"Blessed is the one who does and teaches" 21_as proof, then,
consider how he put doing before teaching. You see, provided
practice comes first, even if teaching doesn't follow, the actions
themselves suffice to teach more conspicuously than words
the people observing us.
(14) Let us, therefore, in all cases give attention to teaching
in action first and later in words, (74b) lest we too hear from
Paul, "You teach others, but don't you teach yourself?" 22 And
whenever we intend to advise someone to bring their conduct
into line in the important things in life, let us be careful to
bring ourselves into line in these matters so as to lend greater
conviction to our teaching; let our every care be for the salva-
tion of souls, and for ways of curbing the motions of the flesh
and demonstrating a real fast. Abstinence from food, after
all, is undertaken for this purpose, to curb the exuberance of
the flesh and bring the beast under control. The person fast-
ing ought most of all keep anger in check, learn the lesson of
mildness and kindness, have a contrite heart, banish the flood
of unworthy passions, (74C) keep before one's eyes that un-
sleeping eye and that incorruptible tribunal, avoid becoming
enthralled by money, be lavish in almsgiving, drive all ill-will
to one's neighbor from the soul. This is real fasting, as Isaiah
says when speaking as God's mouthpiece: "I did not choose
this fast, says the Lord-not to bend your neck like a dog col-
lar, nor to make your bed of dust and ashes, not to call a fast
of this kind acceptable, says the Lord." So what kind, pray?
"Loose the bonds of crippling contracts," he says, "share your
bread with the hungry, welcome the homeless poor into your
home." And if you do these things, he says, "then your Light
21. A precis of Mt 5.19. 22. Rom 2.21.

ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
will burst forth like the dawn, and your healing (74d) will
quickly emerge." 23
(15) Do you see, dearly beloved, what true fasting really is?
Let us perform this kind, and not entertain the facile notion
held by many that the essence of fasting lies in going without
food till evening. This is not the end in view, but that we
should demonstrate, along with abstinence from food, absti-
nence also from whatever is harmful, and should give close
attention to spiritual duties. The person fasting ought be re-
served, peaceful, meek, humble, indifferent to the esteem of
this world. You see, just as one has neglected the soul, so it is
necessary to neglect empty esteem as well, and to have regard
only for him who examines our inmost being,24 and with great
care to direct prayers and confessions (7Sa) to God, and pro-
vide for oneself according to one's ability the help that comes
from almsgiving.
(16) This precept, after all, this most of all is able to cancel
all our sins and snatch us from the fire of Gehenna, provided
we perform it with generosity and don't do it to show off to
people. Why do I say not to show off? You see, if we are right-
minded, we ought to perform this action solely for the reason
that it is the right thing to do and a mark of solidarity with our
fellows, not for the rewards promised from the Lord. But
when we are unable to conjure up any inspiring motive, let us
seek to perform the deed for the right reason, never angling
after the good opinion of people, lest we have the bad for-
tune to lose the reward while at the same time outlaying the
expense.
(17) This precaution applies not only to almsgiving; instead,
let us in the case of every spiritual good deed take care (7Sb)
and do nothing with a view to people's esteem, since nothing
will be of any benefit to us, whether we fast or pray, whether
we show mercy or do anything else, unless it is done solely for
him who knows both what escapes people's attention and what
lies hidden in the depths of our heart. If, after all, you have an
eye to rewards from him, human being that you are, why wish
24· Cf Ps 7 ·9·
HOMILY 8
to be commended by your fellow human being? Why say com-

mended? frequently such a person, instead of commending
you, belittles you. There are plenty of people, you know, who
deep down are so miserable as to misrepresent even our finer
achievements. So why, tell me, put a premium on their dis-
torted judgment? You see, there is no single thing done by us
that escapes the notice of that un sleeping eye, so we should
keep that in mind (75c) and manage our life with scrupulous
care like people due before long to render an account of our
words, our deeds and our very thoughts.
(18) Accordingly, let us not neglect our own salvation. You
see, dearly beloved, nothing is as important as virtue; virtue it
is, after all, that snatches us from Gehenna in the world to
come and bestows on us the enjoyment of the kingdom of
heaven, and in this world renders us superior to all those
spending their efforts in idle and vain schemes-not simply
human beings, but the very demons as well-and makes us
stronger than the enemy of our salvation (I mean the devil).
So what could be more important than virtue when it makes
those striving for it superior not only to scheming human be-
ings but also the demons? Virtue it is to scorn all human af-
fairs, (75d) to keep the mind on future realities at each hour
of the day, to seek no present good but to know that every-
thing human is a shadow and a dream or even worse. Virtue it
is to adopt the attitude of a corpse in regard to the affairs of
this life and like a corpse take no active interest in what threat-
ens the soul's salvation, but only in regard to spiritual things to
be alive and take active interest, as Paul also said. "I am alive,
though it is no longer me but Christ alive in me." 25
(19) Accordingly, dearly beloved, let us do everything as
people who have put on Christ, and not grieve the Holy Spirit.
So whenever we are disquieted by passion, or untimely desire,
or anger, or rage, or envy, let us think of him who dwells
within us, let us drive far away every such inclination. Let our
regard be (76a) for the pre-eminence of grace showered on us
by God and let us curb all the passions of the flesh, so that
25. Gal 2.20.

after we have striven lawfully in this brief and transient exis-

tence we may be rewarded with that marvellous crown in the
time to come-a fearful time for sinners but a time to be
longed for by those clad in virtue-and that we may be found
worthy of those unspeakable goods, thanks to the grace and
love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with the Father and
for ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILY 9
On what follows the verse, '''Let us make a human being in our image,'"
and against those who ask, Why were the wild beasts created?
and, What good comes from their being made?
And to prove that this most of all shows regard for the human being
and God's unspeakable love.
o BEGIN (76b) BY AN analogy with hardworking farm-

ers. Whenever they see a rich pasture with great
depth of soil, they sow the seed liberally and give it
their constant and undivided attention, surveying the scene
each day in case somewhere some useless thing capable of
damaging the seeds should thwart the efforts they have put
into it. Now, in exactly the same way we too have seen your
spiritual hunger and your great readiness to listen, and each
day we have been exerting ourselves to have the thinking of
the Holy Scriptures enter your mind; we have also shown to
you what can harm this spiritual seed, lest you be caught out
and the sound teaching of the dogmas be undermined by the
assaults of people endeavouring to infiltrate the Church's dog-
mas with notions from their own reasoning. (76c) To you falls
the task of scrupulously safeguarding what has been en-
trusted to you and preserving the memory of it intact so that
you can follow with ease the sequel. You see, if the present op-
portunity is not taken for us to go rather deeply into the
meaning, and for you to develop your understanding, now
that it is the season of Lent, now that our limbs are more
nimble for swimming and our mental vision sharper, without
the hindrance of the evil current of luxury, but with our spirit
strengthened against drowning, when on earth will it be pos-
sible for us to achieve it? When luxury, drunkenness and glut-
tony are rampant, and the evils they spawn?
117
ll8 ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
(2) Don't you see that people wanting to find the gems that
come from the sea don't make the discovery just by sitting
down at the water's edge and counting the waves, but cast
themselves into deep water, descend into the very bosom of
the deep, (76d) as you might say, and in this fashion chance
upon the things they're looking for? Yet what great benefit
would the discovery of these gems bring to your life? Hope-
fully they would bring no great harm or injury. From this
source, after all, spring a multitude of troubles, from the de-
sire for money and the frenzy these things cause. Still, despite
the great harm arising from them, people obsessed with these
things stop at nothing: they expose themselves to danger and
undergo great effort so as to be able to find what they're look-
ing for. In the case of the Holy Scriptures, on the contrary,
and these spiritual gems of great value, there is no cause for
suspecting danger, the effort is not great whereas the gain is
beyond telling, provided we enthusiastically put into it what
lies in our power. Grace, you see, is always active, seeking
those (77a) that welcome it with readiness. Such, after all, is
our Lord: when he sees an alert soul and fervent desire, out
of his own prodigality he lavishes upon it riches of his that
surpass the request being made.
(3) Accordingly, dearly beloved, knowing this as you do, pu-
rify your thinking of the affairs of this life, open wide the
horizons of your mind, welcome with great enthusiasm what
the Spirit furnishes us with, so that like rich and fruitful soil
you may produce a crop in excess of what is sown-in one
case a hundredfold, in another sixty fold , in another thirty-
fold. You heard on the previous days of the ineffable wisdom
of the artificer of all visible realities, and how he produced
everything solely by his word and desire. He said, remember,
"'Let it be made,'" and it was made, and immediately all the
elements were produced; (77b) his word sufficed for the sus-
tenance of all created things, not simply because it was a word
but because it was God's word.
(4) You recall the arguments we brought to bear against
those saying that existing things came into being from under-
lying matter and substituting their own folly for the dogmas
HOMILY 9 119
of the Church. You learnt why, on the one hand, he produced
the sky in finished form, but left the earth shapeless and in-
complete. We gave you, remember, at that point two reasons
for this: firstly, so that you might learn the power of the Lord
from the more complete thing and not waver in your reason-
ing with the thought that it was created out of lack of power;
and secondly, since the earth has been created as mother and
nurse for us, and from it we are nourished and enjoy all other
things, and to it we return in the end, being as it is for us all
both homeland and tomb, (77c) he shows it to us shapeless
from the beginning in case the very pressure of necessity, if
nothing else, should lead us to conjure up some grandiose
ideas about it, instead of learning even through these very
things that all the above-mentioned advantages are to be at-
tributed no longer to the nature of the earth but to the power
of the Creator. Again, you learnt how he effected the separa-
tion of the waters by providing for the creation of this visible
firmament; you saw the living beings arising both from the
waters and from the earth.
(5) We now feel the need to rehearse these details and re-
peat them for you, brethren, not idly and to no purpose, but
that the listeners may have a stronger basis of belief and the
details may be riveted more surely in your mind; thus the in-
struction may be adequate also for those not present on the
first occasion, and they may not suffer any handicap from
their absence. The reason is that a loving father keeps the
leftovers from the table for his absent children so that when
they come (77d) they may find the leftovers kept for them as a
consolation for their absence. Accordingly, we too have as
much care for everyone of you coming along here as for our
own limbs, and we make your progress our own pride and
glory, wanting you all to be shown to be perfect and mature
for the glory of God, the credit of the Church and our boast.
(6) And at the risk of seeming to be a nuisance, come now, I
would like briefly to refresh your memory of what was said to
you yesterday. You saw the difference between the shaping
of the human being and the creation of the other things; you
heard the degree of importance he imparted to that founder
of our race, and how in the course of that very shaping he
manifested by the down-to-earth quality of the words and ex-
pressions I the esteem he had for the being about to be created
when he said, "'Let us make a human being in (78a) our im-
age and likeness.'" You learnt what is the meaning of "in our
image," that it is not in the order of being but a similarity of
command, that he spoke not in terms of a formal image but in
terms of command-hence the postscript, '''Let them have
control of the fish of the sea and the birds of heaven, the wild
beasts and the reptiles of the earth.'"
(7) Now, on this matter pagans make a rejoinder to us with
the claim that the truth of the sentence is not confirmed in
practice; we do not, in fact, control the wild beasts, as was
promised, but they control us. But this isn't true, either: when-
ever a human being comes on the scene, at once the wild ani-
mals take to flight. On the other hand, if at some time we are
harmed by them when they're under the pressure of starva-
tion or we attack them, this evidently happens not because of
their control over us but from some fault of ours. Likewise
when brigands attack us and find us not slothful (78b) but
armed to the teeth, it's not an example of their power but of
our care for our own welfare. Meantime let us listen to the
words of the text; it says, "'Let us make a human being in our
image and likeness.'" As the word "image" indicated a simili-
tude of command, so too "likeness," with the result that we
become like God to the extent of our human power 2 -that is
to say, we resemble him in our gentleness and mildness and in
regard to virtue, as Christ also says, "Be like your Father in
heaven."3 You see, just as on this wide and spacious earth
1. This is another favorite term of Chrysostom's, basic to his thinking on

Scripture and the "considerateness" it exemplifies: pachutes, the solid, mate-
rial, down-to-earth, incarnational character of biblical language, employed
by divine and human authors in view of our "limitations." It is clearly an
Antiochene notion, not likely to receive much attention in Alexandrian
speculation.
2. Chrysostom astutely divines the sense of "image," as modern archeologi-
cal discoveries have confirmed (cf. Homily 8, note 13 above)-and then typi-
cally gives a moral twist to his exegesis.
3· Mt 5·45·
HOMILY 9 121
some animals are tamer and others more ferocious, so too in

the wide spaces of our soul some of our ideas are more le-
thargic and resemble brute beasts, others more ferocious and
savage. So there is need to control (78c) and tame them and
submit them to the rule of reason. How do you get control
of the wildness of thought, you ask? What are you saying,
human being that you are? We subdue lions and tame their
spirit, and do you doubt if you're able to transform the fero-
city of your thinking into mildness? Further, ferocity is natu-
rally proper to wild beasts and mildness unnatural, whereas
the opposite is true in your case: mildness is natural, ferocity
and savagery unnatural. Are you, then, who expel the natural
and induce the unnatural in wild animals, unable yourself
to maintain what is natural? What great condemnation this
brings against you! Something in fact that is more remarkable
and surprising still is this: Although in a lion's nature there is
the added difficulty that the lion is a wild beast deprived of
reason, we still often see lions led meekly through the market
place, (78d) and many people often throw money from their
shops to the person getting some reward for skill and cunn-
ing in taming the wild beast. However, in a person reason is
present, and the fear of God, and many other advantages
from other sources-so don't adduce excuses and pretexts. It
is, after all, quite within your capabilities to be meek and mild
and gentle, if you have the good will. The text says, "'Let us
make a human being in our image and likeness.'"
(8) But let us return to the question proposed before. It
emerges, you know, from what we've said that the human
being from the very beginning had complete control of the
wild beasts; the text says, remember, "'Let them have control
of the fish of the sea and the birds of heaven, the wild beasts
and the reptiles of the earth.'" The fact that now we have fear
and dread of the wild animals and have lost control of them, I
personally don't dispute; but this doesn't (79a) betray a false
promise on God's part. From the beginning, you see, things
weren't like this; instead, the wild beasts were in fear and
trembling, and responded to direction. But when through
disobedience human beings forfeited their position of trust,
their control was also lost. As evidence, after all, that every-
thing was placed under the human being's control, listen to
Scripture saying, "He brought the wild animals and all the
brute beasts to Adam to see what he would call them."4 And
seeing the animals near him, he didn't shrink back, but like a
master giving names to slaves in his service, he gave them all
names; the text says, "They each bore the name Adam gave
them," this being a symbol of his dominion. Hence God was
wanting to teach him through this the dignity of his authority,
so he entrusted to him the giving of names.
(g) So this instance (7gb) suffices to demonstrate the fact
that from the beginning the wild beasts were not an object of
terror to the human being; yet there is another instance no
less significant and much clearer. Namely? The serpent's con-
versation with the woman. You see, had the animals been
frightening to human beings, the woman at sight of the ser-
pent would not have stood her ground, would not have taken
its advice, would not have conversed with it so comfortably;
instead, she would have been terrified by its appearance and
taken flight. In fact, however, she both converses with it and
shows no fear; this fear, after all, is not yet to the fore.
(10) But once sin came on the scene, there was evidently loss
both of esteem and of authority. Just as in the case of servants
those that enjoy a good name are held in fear by their fel-
low servants whereas those that have given offence fear the
others, so too in the case of the human being: while they en-
joyed God's trust (7gc) they were an object of fear even to the
animals, but when they fell they eventually had to fear even
the least of their fellow slaves. If you don't hold with what
we've said, show me that before sin the beasts were an object
of fear to the human being. But you couldn't. If, however,
fear came on the scene afterwards, this is also an extraordi-
nary token of God's loving kindness. I mean, if after the com-
4. A paraphrase of Gn 2.19. Chrysostom, of course, is unlikely to draw to

his congregation's attention that he is here switching from one creation nar-
rative (Ch.l) to another (ch.2)-if only because he is unaware of it himself. See
Introduction 16 for his relatively uncritical scholarship, which emerges also
in his general line of argumentation here and elsewhere.
HOMILY 9 12 3
mandment had been broken by the human beings the esteem

accorded them had remained unimpaired, they would not
easily have risen from their fall. You see, when obedient and
disobedient people enjoy the same esteem, they are more in-
clined to evil and don't quickly recover from evil. After all, if
under the pressure of fear, retribution and punishment they
do not come to their senses, what condition would they be in if
they suffered nothing for the terrible mistakes they made?
(79d) So it is out of his providential care for us that he has
removed us from our position of control.
(11) Consider now, I ask you, dearly beloved, in this in-
stance God's ineffable love as well, how, on the one hand,
Adam infringed the whole commandment and completely
broke the law, while, on the other hand, God in his loving
kindness proved his goodness superior to our transgressions
and did not cancel all our esteem nor remove the human
being from all control. Instead, he withdrew from their con-
trol only those beings that did not have the greatest contribu-
tion to make to their livelihood, whereas the most necessary
and useful creatures which performed great service to our liv-
ing he allowed to remain in subjection and servitude. He left
at any rate herds of cattle to draw the plough, to till the soil, to
sow the seed; he left the beasts of burden to assist our efforts
in transporting heavy loads; he left the flocks of sheep (80a)
so that we might have sufficient supply of garments for
clothing; and he left other kinds of animals to supply us with
plenty of resources. You see, though in punishing the human
being for disobedience he said "'In the sweat of your brow
may you eat your bread,'" 5 he took care, lest this sweat and toil
be unbearable, to lighten the pressure and burden of work
with the multitude of beasts sharing with us the labor and dis-
tress. He acted in precisely the way a loving and caring master
would in punishing his servant, following the punishing with
some healing; in just this way God brings condemnation to
the sinner and then wants to render this condemnation lighter
in every way, condemning us to ceaseless toil and sweat, on the
5· Gn 3. 1 9.
one hand, and providing many kinds of brute beasts to share
the labor with us on the other. (Sob) The result is that you
have the bestowal of esteem, and its being taken back, the
implanting of fear of wild beasts-all done, if you study it
precisely and in a spirit of gratitude, with an abundance of
wisdom, of care, of love.
(12) Now, let us give thanks to him for all these favors and
be grateful to him for doing us all these kindnesses. He is,
after all, not looking for anything heavy and burdensome
from us-simply acknowledgement of such favors and thanks-
giving to him for them. Not that he needs it, being self-
sufficient as he is, but for us to learn to win over the supplier
of good things, and not to be ungrateful, but to give evidence
of virtue that is worthy of these kindnesses and such great
care. This is the way, after all, for us to prompt him to even
greater care of us. So let us not grow slack, I beseech you; in-
stead, let each of us, as each hour passes and to the extent of
our capabilities, (Soc) take stock within himself of the favors
done to us, not only those shared with others but also per-
sonal ones, not only those acknowledged and obvious to all,
but also individual ones that have escaped most people's no-
tice, such being the way to render unceasing thanks to the
Lord. This is the highest form of sacrifice, this is a perfect
offering, this will prove the basis of confidence for us-just
how, I will tell you.
(13) You see, people who constantly rehearse these things in
their own mind come to gain a precious knowledge of their
own unworthiness, on the one hand, and on the other to real-
ize God's unspeakable and surpassing love, as well as to focus
not on what their sins deserve but on his goodness. They then
conduct their affairs in the following way: they form a humble
opinion of themselves, keep a tight control on their reason-
ing, suppress any conceit or arrogance, learn to stay within
limits, to rise above worldly opinion, to set all visible realities
at nought, (Sod) to ponder future goods and the life that has
neither limit nor end. The person so disposed in soul offers to
God a true and acceptable sacrifice, as the biblical author says:
"A sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit; a contrite and humble
HOMILY 9 12 5
heart God does not despise." 6 It is not, after all, sanctions and
punishments that win over right-minded servants so much as
acts of kindness and the knowledge that they have not been
punished according to their deserts.
(14) Let us accordingly keep a tight control on our reason-
ing, I beseech you, and form a humble opinion of ourselves,
especially at this time when the season of fasting provides as-
sistance to that end. You see, if we have this disposition, we will
be able both to pray with mind unfettered and win grace from
above by confessing our sins. To learn that (81a) the Lord is
pleased with such souls, listen to his words: '''On whom shall I
look with favor if not on the person of meekness and peace
and the one who trembles at my words?'" 7 Hence Christ had
this to say as well: "Learn from me that I am meek and humble
of heart, and you will find rest for your soul."8 After all,
people of humble disposition could never be swept into a rage
or become angry with their neighbor, since their spirit is so
much at peace and occupied only with its own concerns. What
could be more blessed than a soul disposed like this? Such
a person rests continually in the shelter of harbor far from
every storm, revelling in the calm of reason. Hence Christ also
said: "You will find rest for your soul." Just as therefore the
person who has reduced to calm all these passions enjoys
much rest, so slothful and diffident people, unable (81 b) to
keep in due control the passions rising within them, are ex-
posed to continual storms, have war on their hands at the
home front, can be thrown into disarray without anyone
needing to be present, and have to endure much buffeting
from tempests; hence, with the impact of the billows and the
onset of the hurricane of evil blasts, they often go under, as
their craft sinks under them from the helmsman's ineptitude.
(15) So, we ought stay alert and clear-headed, and pay con-
stant and unremitting attention to the salvation of our soul.
The Christian, you see, must be ever equipped to deal with
the passions of the flesh, keep fresh in mind the laws given us
6. PS 51. 1 7· 7. Is 66.2.
8. Mt 11.29.
ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
by the common Lord of all and shelter behind the protection

they give, take advantage of his long-suffering in our regard
no more than is necessary, and not postpone humbling our-
selves till harsh experience comes, lest it be said about us also,
(SIC) "When he brought them to the point of death, then they
turned to him."9 Having fasting as our ally, therefore, dearly
beloved, let us all hasten to the confession of our sins, refrain
from all wickedness, and practice every virtue. This, after all,
is what the blessed author David teaches when he says, "Turn
from evil and do good." 10 Provided we conduct ourselves in
this way, and demonstrate along with abstinence from food
likewise abstinence from evil, we will ourselves be able to en-
joy greater confidence and be found worthy of a more gener-
ous share of loving kindness from God both in this life and on
that fearful day yet to come, thanks to the prayers and inter-
cession of those acceptable to him and the (SId) grace and
love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with the Father and
for ages of ages. Amen.
10. Ps 37.27.
HOMILY 10
An exhortation to those ashamed to attend the evening

congregation after eating; and from the verse, "'Let us make a human
being in our image and likeness,'" up to the verse, "God made the human
being; in God's image he made them; male and female he made them." I
UR CONGREGATION today is smaller, and the partici-

pants in the action less numerous. Why is this, and
what is responsible for it? Perhaps some people are
ashamed to attend this spiritual banquet after their material
repast, and this is responsible for their absence. Let them,
however, heed the words of the wise man: "Shame it is that
leads to sin, and shame it is that is glory and grace." 2 It is not
cause for shame for a person to have partaken of (82a) a ma-
terial repast and then come to spiritual food. You see, spiritual
affairs are not divided into distinct times like human affairs;
in other words, discourse on spiritual topics is suited to any
time of the day. Why do I say time of the day? Even if night
falls, that is no obstacle to spiritual teaching. Hence Paul said
in writing to Timothy, "Press on whether the time is ripe or
not: argue, censure, cajole."3 Listen further to blessed Luke
when he says that "as Paul was due to leave Troas the next day,
he began talking to them and prolonged his discourse to mid-
night." 4 Was time a problem for him, I ask you, or did it inter-
rupt the thread of his teaching? No. The alert listener, (82b)
even after dining, would be in a suitable condition for this
spiritual gathering, just as by the same token the slothful 5 and
I. Gn 1.27. 2. Sir 4.21.

3· 2 Tm 4·2. 4. Acts 20·7·
5. Again it is rhathumia-indifference, sloth, negligence, carelessness-
that Chrysostom sees as the besetting weakness of the Christian.
12 7
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
dilatory person even on an empty stomach would get no bene-
fit from it.
(2) I'm not making this point to undermine the importance
of fasting-God forbid: on the contrary, I'm all in favor of it.
Instead, my intention is to teach you to take an active part in
spiritual matters with alert mind, not just follow along out of
habit. The shameful thing, you see, is not attendance at this
spiritual teaching after partaking of food, but attendance
with an attitude of sloth, addiction to passion, and failure to
control the movements of the flesh. There is nothing wrong
with eating-God forbid; the harmful thing is gluttony, stuff-
ing yourself with food in excess of need, and ruining your
stomach-something, after all, that destroys even the pleasure
that comes from food. (82C) SO, too, in like manner, there is
nothing wrong with drinking in moderation, but rather with
surrendering to drunkenness and losing control of your rea-
soning through excess. If, however, dearly beloved, you are
unable to go a whole day without food because of physical
weakness, no right-minded person could find fault with you
in this. We have, you see, a gentle and loving Lord who de-
mands nothing of us beyond our capabilities. In other words,
it is not arbitrarily that he looks for fasting and abstinence
from food to be performed by us, nor simply for the sake of
our remaining without food, but rather that we may be de-
tached from things of this life and devote all our spare time to
spiritual matters. If we conduct our lives with sober mind, use
all our spare time in spiritual matters, eat only for nourish-
ment (82d) and spend our whole life in good practices, we
would have no need of the help that comes from fasting. But
since human nature is lazy and is given rather to indulgence
and luxury, the loving Lord accordingly like a kindly father
devised for us the healing that comes from fasting so that the
effects of luxury might be cut out of us and we might replace
worldly concerns with performance of spiritual exercises.
(3) So, if there are some of the congregation here who be-
cause of bodily weakness are prevented from going without
food and incapable of doing so, I advise them both to come to
terms with their bodily weakness, and not to deprive them-
HOMILY 10 12 9
selves of this spiritual instruction (83a) but rather to show

greater zeal for it. There are, after all, better ways than absti-
nence from food to open for us the doors of a confident ap-
proach to God. 6 Accordingly, let the person who partakes of
food and is unable to fast give evidence of more generous
almsgiving, fervent prayers, and a heightened enthusiasm for
listening to the divine sayings; let such a person be reconciled
with enemies and eradicate from the soul all vindictiveness. If
that is the intention, then such a person has practiced real
fasting, and the kind the Lord requires most of all. Since he
bids abstinence from food to be practiced (83b) for the sake of
checking the movements of the flesh, let us render it ame-
nable to the performance of the commandments. If, on the
contrary, we are unlikely on account of bodily weakness to
bring on ourselves the help that comes from fasting and yet
give evidence of greater sloth, we unconsciously do ourselves
the greatest harm. You see, if it is true that despite fasting
omission of the aforementioned good deeds brings us no
benefit, so much the more will this be true in the case of those
who, being unable to take advantage of the remedy of fasting,
still give evidence of greater sloth.
(4) Now, then, that you have learnt this from us, I beg you,
those of you able to fast, develop in yourselves as far as pos-
sible this excellent and commendable enthusiasm. After all,
"To the extent that our external self is diminished, the inte-
rior self is renewed." 7 Fasting, in other words, holds the body
under restraint, checks its unruly movements, (83c) and, on
the other hand, renders the soul transparent, gives it wings,
makes it light and raises it on high. But as for those of our
brethren unable to fast on account of bodily weakness, urge
them not to desist from this spiritual diet; teach them and
show them, as they have had communicated to them from us
also, that it is not the person who eats and drinks in modera-
6. His biographers tell us that Chrysostom could speak from personal ex-
perience on the dangers of excessive zeal in fasting, having impaired his
health while living the life of a solitary early in his career. Cf. Donald Att-
water, Stjohn Chrysostom (London 1959) 31.
7.2 Cor 4.16, somewhat embellished to support Chrysostom's point.
ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
tion that is unworthy of this audience but the lax and dis-
solute. Address to them also the apostolic dictum, that "the
one who eats eats in the Lord, and the one who abstains ab-
stains in the Lord, and gives thanks to God." 8 So the person
fasting gives thanks to God for having the power to be able to
withstand the rigors of fasting; and likewise the person who
eats gives thanks to God that no harm can come from this for
the soul's salvation, if that is God's will. (83d) The loving God,
you see, has marked out for us such ways as it is impossible to
mention, through which we can, if we wish, share in the ut-
most confidence.
(5) May our words therefore be sufficient on that subject for
those who have been discouraged from attending; may we
have removed the grounds for their shame by showing that
they have no need to be ashamed on that account, as it is after
all not eating that promotes shame but doing something evil.
Sin is a great shame: if we commit it, not only ought we be
ashamed of it but also conceal it and beat our breasts like
people who have fallen-or rather, instead of allowing our-
selves to give up in despair, we should hasten to confession
and change of heart. Such is the Lord we have, you see, that
he looks for nothing more from us (84a) after our committing
sin, if perchance we are ensnared through sloth, than the con-
fession of our faults and stopping short, not falling back into
the same errors. If, on the other hand, we partake of nourish-
ment in moderation, let us not at all be ashamed; it is the
Lord, after all, who has fitted us with a body of such a kind
that could not otherwise be sustained without partaking of
that food, provided there is no going to excess. In fact, this
moderate consumption contributes most of all to good health
and condition. Don't you daily observe thousands of disorders
stemming from laden tables and immoderate eating? What is
the cause of gout? of migraine? of the flood of noxious hu-
mors? of countless other ailments? Do they not spring from
intemperance and from pouring ourselves more wine than
we should? I mean, just as a ship that becomes waterlogged
8. Rom 14.6.
HOMILY 10
quickly sinks (84b) and slips below the water level, so, too, a
person who is given over to gluttony and drunkenness goes
head over heels, brings reason down to a low level, and lies for
all intents and purposes like a corpse, quite capable, on the
one hand, of frequently doing evil, but, on the other hand, in
a condition no better than corpses for doing anything good.
(6) Hence I urge you, in the words of blessed Paul, "don't
direct care for your body in the direction of desire" 9 but to-
wards subsistence and the ability to give evidence of much
zeal in the performance of spiritual things with great enthusi-
asm. So, then, put all these considerations to these brethren
of ours, and encourage them never to withdraw themselves
from this spiritual fare; instead, even if they have eaten, let
them come with great enthusiasm so as to receive instruction
here and be able to withstand valiantly the devil's wiles. As for
you yourselves, come now, let us at this stage lay before you
the customary table, (84c) and reward you, dear people, for
your zealous attention in listening and discharge the debt we
owe you.
(7) You are quite well aware, of course, and recall to mind
that we began to talk about the shaping of the human being,
but were pressed for time and could not complete the whole
lecture; instead we finished the instruction to do with the ac-
count of the wild beasts, showing that at first the human being
had control over them and then lost it through the sin of dis-
obedience. Hence today we want to complete the balance for
you, and thus send you off. For the purpose of making the
story clear to you, however, you need to recall where it was we
broke off our teaching, so that we can begin from that point
and thus complete the rest. So where did we interrupt our
sermon? We were speaking on the verse, "'Let us make a hu-
man being in our image and likeness, and let them have con-
trol over the fish of the sea (84d) and the birds of heaven;'"
the sermon developed into great length and a vast sea of
thoughts arose before us, so that it was possible for us to
proceed no further, but we stopped short at that point and
g. Rom 13.14.
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
reached onto none of what follows. Sacred Scripture, in any
case, directly added the following: "God made the human
being; in God's image he made them; male and female he
made them. God blessed them with the words, 'Increase and
multiply, fill the earth and gain dominion over it; have control
of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven and all the cattle, the
whole earth and all the reptiles creeping on the earth.'" 10 The
words are brief, but the treasure concealed (8sa) in the brief
words is great. You see, speaking through the Spirit this blessed
author wants at this point to teach us something kept from
human hearing. When he said, remember, '''Let us make a
human being,'" the Creator of all applied his will, as it were,
and his thought in demonstrating through this shape the im-
portance given to the creature in process of formation, some-
thing he began to teach us before the process began. He also
demonstrated the greatness of the control he was entrusting
to the being in process of creation; hence, to his words, '''Let
us make a human being in our image and likeness,'" he
added, "'Let them have control of the fish of the sea.'" See
how he reveals to us from the beginning the treasure hidden
there. I mean, the biblical author, speaking through the di-
vine Spirit, sees as subsisting and brought into being things
not yet subsisting. So why, tell me, after his words, (8Sb) '''Let
us make a human being,'" does he now say, '''Let them have
control"'? Evidently he is already revealing to us at this point
some mystery lying hidden. Who are to have control? Quite
clearly he has spoken this way to hint at the formation of
woman. Do you see how there is nothing in Sacred Scripture
which is contained there idly or to no purpose? 11 Instead,
even the chance word has treasure stored up in it.
(8) Don't be surprised, dearly beloved, at what I've said.
Such, after all, is the way with all the biblical authors, to speak
of things not yet created as though already created. You see,
10. Gn 1.27-28, where the Heb. makes no reference to the cattle.

11. Over and over again Chrysostom poses this reminder to his congrega-
tion of the "precision" of Sacred Scripture, providing him with the recipe for
his exegesis/commentary, in which no detail of the text can be passed over.
See Introduction 11,21.
HOMILY 10 133
since they perceive with the eyes of the spirit things due to
happen after a great number of years, and accordingly view
things as though already laid out in front of their very eyes,
they describe everything in this way. To gain a clear under-
standing of this, listen to the words of blessed David prophe-
sying in loud tones the events of Christ's crucifixion so many
generations before the event: (8sc) "They pierced my hands
and my feet," and again, "They divided up my garments
among themselves." 12 Do you see how ahead of time he an-
nounces, as though already happened, things due to take
place much later? In this way, too, our blessed author gives us
a hint about the formation of woman when he says cryptically,
'''Let them have control of the fish of the sea.'" Then, going
on, he says further in a clearer way, "God made the human
made them." Notice how much precision he employs, saying
the same thing once and again so that the words could be
riveted in the minds of the listeners. You see, if this had not
been an object of concern for him, it would have been enough
to say, "God made the human being;" but he adds as well, "In
God's image he made them." In other words, after teaching us
through the previous verses what was the meaning of (8Sd)
"in God's image," accordingly again at this point he repeats
the very same notion by saying, "In God's image he made
them." Lest he should leave some brazen pretext of contro-
versy to those intent on contesting the Church's dogmas, he
presses on a little further and teaches the same things again,
that God employed the word "image" in the sense of control-
ling and having all creatures under subjection. Finally let us
see what he is saying in this verse, " God made the human
made them." What he hinted at above when saying, "'Let
them have control,'" here he says more clearly, though he still
teaches us this cryptically, since after all he has not yet taught
us about the manner of formation or told us where woman
comes from. He says, "Male and female he made them." (86a)
12. Ps 22.16,18.
Do you see how he describes what is not yet created as though

already created? That's the way, you see, with the eyes of the
spirit; I mean, these bodily eyes cannot see visible things in
the same way that the eyes of the spirit can see things that are
not visible and things that have no subsistence.
(9) So, after saying, "Male and female he made them" as
though to bestow a blessing on each of them, he goes on,
"God blessed them in the words, 'Increase and multiply, fill
the earth and gain dominion over it, and have control of the
fish of the sea.'" Behold the remarkable character of the bless-
ing! I mean, those words, '''Increase and multiply and fill the
earth,'" anyone could see are said of the brute beasts and the
reptiles alike, whereas '''Gain dominion and have control'"
are directed to the man and woman. See the Lord's loving
kindness: even before creating her he makes her sharer in
this control and bestows on her the blessing. '''Have control,'"
the text says, "'of the fish of the (86b) sea, the birds of heaven
and all the cattle, the whole earth and all the reptiles creeping
on the earth.''' Did you notice the ineffable authority? Did you
notice all created things placed under this being's control? No
longer entertain casual impressions of this rational being, but
rather realize the extent of the esteem and the Lord's benig-
nity towards it, and be amazed at his love beyond all telling.
(10) "God said: 'Lo, I have given you every crop upon all the
earth bearing seed fit for sowing, and every tree containing
fruit with seed fit for sowing; they are for your food. And for
all the beasts of the earth, all the birds of heaven and every
reptile creeping on the earth-whatever has a spirit of life in
it-I have given every green crop for food.' This is what hap-
pened." 13 See, I ask you, dearly beloved, the precision of the
words and the Lord's ineffable love, (86c) and do not pass
heedlessly by anything of what is said. "God said," the text
reads, "'Lo, I have given you every crop for sowing,'" as though
the remark-even this one-is addressed to two people, de-
spite the fact the woman is not yet produced. Then, in order
that you may learn his surpassing goodness, see how the signs
i3· Gn 1.29-30.
HOMILY 10 135
of his love do not stop short at the man and the woman still to
be produced but reach to the very beasts: after saying to the
human beings, '''They are for your food,'" he added, '''And
for all the beasts of the earth.'"
(11) See again further depths of his loving kindness: he
showed concern not only for the tame beasts that meet our
needs for food and service but also for the wild beasts. Who
could adequately arrive at the extent of this boundless good-
ness? '''They are for your food,'" the text says. '''And for all
the beasts of the earth, (86d) all the birds of heaven and every
reptile creeping on the earth-whatever has a spirit of life in
it-I have given every green crop for food.'" The Lord's care
for the human being created by him emerges in all its fulness.
I mean, after producing him and entrusting him with com-
plete control of creation, the good Lord took steps to prevent
his being distressed at once from the outset by the sight of the
vast number of beasts through a feeling of being powerless to
provide adequately for the nourishment of so many animals:
before any such thought came to him about this, the Lord
comforted him, so to say, by showing him that he along with
all the brute beasts had plenty to eat, as the earth provided for
their nourishment thanks to the Lord's direction. So, after
saying, '''They are for your food,'" he immediately added,
"'And for all the beasts of the earth, all the birds of heaven
and every reptile creeping on the earth-whatever has a spirit
of life in it (87a) I have given every green crop for food.' This
is what happened."
(12) Whatever the Lord commanded, the text says, took
effect, and he established everything in proper order-hence
he immediately added, "God saw everything he had made,
and behold, It was very good." 14 Who could adequately extol
the precision of Sacred Scripture? I mean, behold here, too,
how by speaking one phrase, "God saw everything he had
made," it curbed the tongue of all those endeavoring, despite
all this evidence, to gainsay it. "God saw everything he had
made," the text says, "and behold, it was very good." You see,
ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
after saying in the case of each of the created things, "God saw
that it was good," at this point when everything was completed,
and the works of the sixth day had reached finality, and the
being destined (87b) to enjoy all the created things had been
brought forth in their midst, the text says: "God saw every-
thing he had made, and behold, it was very good." Notice
how by gathering all the created things together under this
one word, "everything," it confers commendation on each of
them. I mean, it didn't just say "everything" and stop there,
but added "that he had made;" nor did it conclude at that
point, but said, "And behold it was good," even "very good"-
that is to say, "completely good." So when the Lord, the one
bringing things from non-being to being, declares creatures
to be good and completely good, who would dare, even if
bursting with arrogant folly, to open his mouth and gainsay
the words uttered by God? After all, amongst the visible crea-
tures it was not only light that was created but also darkness in
opposition to light, and not only day but also night (87c) in
opposition to day. Amongst the growth springing up from the
earth it was not only plants that are useful but also those that
are harmful, and not only trees that bear fruit but also those
that bear none; and not only tame animals but also wild and
unruly ones. Amongst the creatures emerging from the wa-
ters it was not only fish but also sea monsters and other fierce
creatures. It was not only inhabited land but also the un-
peopled; not only level plains but also mountains and woods.
Amongst birds it was not only tame ones and those suitable
for our food but also wild and unclean ones, hawks and vul-
tures and many others of that kind. Amongst the creatures
produced from the earth it was not only tame animals but also
snakes, vipers, serpents, lions and leopards. In the sky it was
not only showers and kindly breezes but also hail and snow.
And (87d) if anyone had a mind to examine the list in detail,
you would find in each case not only things considered not
useful to us but even harmful, so that no one would be free
after this to survey created things and find fault with their ori-
gins, saying, What's the purpose of this one? What's the use of
this one? This one's well made, but this other one not so.
HOMILY 10 137
Hence, Sacred Scripture checks those people endeavoring to

show ingratitude, you might say, by adding after the creation
of everything on the sixth day, "God saw everything he had
made, and behold, it was very good."
(13) What could match this for reliable comment, when the
Creator of all gives the verdict in person and says that every-
thing created is good, and even very good? So, whenever you
see someone moved by his own reasoning (88a) and intent on
gainsaying Sacred Scripture, shun him like a lunatic; or bet-
ter, don't shun him, but out of pity for his ignorance quote the
words from Sacred Scripture and say that "God saw every-
thing he had made" and said '''behold, it is very good,''' and
perhaps you will be able to check his unruly tongue. (After all,
take the case of human affairs. When we see people of good
reputation giving their opinion of things that happen, we
don't contradict them, but rather fall in with their opinion and
often prefer their opinion to our own. So much the more in
the case of the God of all things, the Creator of everything we
can see, should we do likewise: we should learn his judgement
on things, subdue our own reasonings, and instead of pre-
suming further we should be content with the knowledge that
everything has been produced by a word coming from him
and by his loving kindness, (88b) and that nothing has been
created idly or to no purpose. Even if, through the limitations
of our own reasoning, we should be in ignorance of created
things, he himself in his own wisdom and thoughtful love pro-
duced all things.
(14) "Evening came," the text goes on, "and morning came:
a sixth day." At the close of the sixth day he also brought to
a close all his creating-hence the addition of the words,
"Heaven and earth and all their array were completed." 15 No-
tice the character of Sacred Scripture, no~hing superflu-
ous, nothing idle. Having mentioned the elements that were
brought forth together, it goes into no further detail in men-
tioning the rest but simply says, "Heaven and earth and all
15. Gn 2.1. Chrysostom, like the LXX translators before him, is not dis-
tracted from the unity of the account by the medieval division of the material
into chapters.
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
their array were completed," referring by this means to every-
thing on earth and in heaven.
(15) The earth's array, you see, is what is produced from it,
the growth of plants, (88c) the harvest of fruits, the fruits of
the trees, and all other things with which the Creator arrayed
it; likewise the heaven's array is sun, moon, the variety of the
stars, and everything else created in its midst. Hence, Sacred
Scripture in mentioning heaven and earth included the whole
of creation under those elements. "God completed on the
sixth day," the text says, "the works he had done." 16 Notice
how it says the same thing twice over so that we might learn all
the works of creation were done up to the sixth day. The text
says, remember, "He completed on the sixth day the works he
had done, and on the seventh day he rested from all the works
he had done."
(16) What is the meaning of that verse, "On the seventh day
he rested from all the works he had done"? Notice how Sacred
Scripture narrates everything in human fashion even out of
considerateness to us. (88d) I mean, it would not have been
possible for us in any other way to understand anything of
what was said had not such considerateness been thought fit-
ting. The text says, remember, "On the seventh day God
rested from all the works he had done." It says he stopped
creating and bringing from non-being into being; he had
produced everything he had to, after all, and had created the
being destined to enjoy it. "God blessed the seventh day and
sanctified it for the reason that on that day he rested from all
the works God had begun to do." 17 You see, when he stopped
creating, he had out of his own loving kindness brought forth
at his own command everything he had intended, and had
brought creation to a close on the sixth day; there was nothing
else he intended to produce on the seventh day for the reason
that everything he intended had been fulfilled.
(17) Hence, in order that this day too might have some dis-
16. Gn 2.2. The Heb., in fact, strangely reads "seventh" here; but later ver-
sions, including the LXX, regarded it as an error.
17· Gn 2·3·
HOMILY 10 139
tinction and not seem to bear some inferiority (Sga) through
the fact that nothing was created then, he conferred a bless~
ing on it. "God blessed the seventh day," the text says, "and
sanctified it." So what does that mean-the rest were not
blessed? Of course they were, the text says, but for them it
was enough, instead of any blessing, to have created things
brought forth each time; hence, whereas in their case it did
not say, "He blessed them," in the case of the seventh alone it
did say so and added, "and sanctified it." What is the meaning
of "He sanctified it"? He set it apart. Then, to teach us the
reason for saying "He sanctified it," Sacred Scripture added,
"for the reason that on that day he rested from all the works
God had begun to do." Already at this point from the outset
God provides us with instruction in a cryptic manner, teach-
ing us that he set aside (Sgb) the whole of one day in the cycle
of the week and marked it off for the performance of spiritual
works.
(IS) In other words, this is the reason why the Lord, after
completing all the works of creation in six days, bestowed
blessing on the seventh and consecrated it-for the reason of
his resting on that day from his works which he had begun to
do. But once again at this stage I detect a mighty swell of ideas
overwhelming you, and I have no wish to pass them by
thoughtlessly. Instead, I want to make you too sharers in these
spiritual riches. What, then, is the question that arises for us
at this point? While Sacred Scripture in this passage says that
God rested from his works, in the Gospels Christ says, "My
father is at work up until now and I am at work." 18 Does there
not seem from the sequence of the expressions to be some
contradiction in what is said? Perish the thought: there is
nothing contradictory (Sgc) in the contents of Sacred Scrip-
ture. You see, in saying at this point that God rested from his
works, Scripture teaches us that he ceased creating and bring-
ing from non-being into being on the seventh day, whereas
Christ, in saying that "my father is at work up until now and I
am at work," reveals his unceasing care for us: he calls "work"
18.Jn 5.17.
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
the maintenance of created things, bestowal of permanence
on them, and governance of them through all time. If this
wasn't so, after all, how would everything have subsisted, with-
out the guiding hand above directing all visible things and the
human race as well? If anyone in a spirit of great gratitude
has a mind to survey everything, detail by detail, done for our
benefit each day by the Creator of all things, you would find
an abyss of loving kindness. (8gd) I mean, what reasoning or
what imagination would arrive at the unspeakable goodness
which he displays for the race of human beings, making the
sun rise on the evil and the good, sending rain upon just and
unjust,19 and bestowing every other kind of good?
(1g) Perhaps we have prolonged the sermon more than is
necessary; this has not been done idly or to no purpose but (so
that) those absent may learn through you how much loss they
have incurred by depriving themselves of spiritual teaching
on account of bodily nourishment. Lest, however, their des-
pondency be aggravated, demonstrate your fraternal benevo-
lence in their regard by conveying to them what has been said
by us; this will, after all, be a sign of your genuine love. I
mean, if people who do this in the case of material food (goa)
by keeping tidbits from the table for their friends thus display
a great sign of love, how much more does this behavior in the
case of spiritual things win us great commendation, resulting
as it does, after all, in our benefit as well. You see, the man
who shows concern for teaching his neighbor does not so
much do him a favor as reap a reward for himself; he gains a
double benefit, enjoying a greater reward at God's hands and
also, through the teaching he endeavors to give his brother,
being reminded of it himself and renewing in his own mind
the memory of what was said in the sermon. Accordingly, with
an eye to your own profit, don't begrudge your brethren; in-
stead, in this case let them learn from you what has been told
you by us. But in case they come to rely on your charity in
future to be taught these things, lead them to us and persuade
them that partaking of bodily nourishment is no obstacle to
19· Cf. Mt 5.45.

HOMILY 10
spiritual teaching; (gob) on the contrary, any time must be

considered suitable for discourse on spiritual topics.
(20) If we have a precise realization of this, we will be able
while relaxing at home, both before eating and after eating,
to take the Scriptures in our hands and gain benefit from
them and provide spiritual nourishment for our souuo You
see, as the body has need of material nourishment, likewise,
too, the soul needs daily reminders and spiritual nourishment
so that it may be strengthened and thus able to resist the
rebellion of the flesh and the constant battle waged within us
to reduce our soul to servitude if we are disposed to drop our
guard even for a short space of time. Hence the inspired au-
thor David called that person blessed who gave time to the law
of the Lord day and night,21 and blessed Moses (goc) in his
instruction of the Jewish people taught them in these words:
"When you have eaten and drunk, and taken your fill, give
your mind to the Lord your God." 22 Do you see how it is espe-
cially appropriate after the enjoyment of food to set a spiri-
tual meal for yourselflest the soul, after satiety of bodily food,
should lose its zest and fall into some disaster and make way
for the wiles of the devil, who is always looking for an oppor-
tunity and anxious to deliver us a blow at the critical moment?
Again, in another place this same author said: "Whether
sleeping or rising be mindful of the Lord your God." 23 Do you
see how it never becomes us to drive this awareness from our
soul, but rather to have it engraven on our conscience; we
should be constantly on the alert and never allow ourselves re-
spite, but rather remain sober and watchful in the knowledge
of the fury of the one bearing hostility against us; we should
repel his attacks (god) and never neglect our spiritual nour-
ishment. This, after all, is the secret of our salvation, our spiri-
tual riches, our security. If we defend ourselves in this way day
20. Whatever the level of sophistication of Chrysostom's congregation, he

has high expectations of their religious spirit and the temper of the "domestic
Church," as we have noted above at Homily 6, note 18 in reference to Bible
study groups. See also Introduction 11.
21. Ps 1.2. 22. A paraphrase of Dt 8.10-14.
23. Cf. Dt 6·7·
ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
by day, through reading, through listening, through spiritual
discourse,24 we will be able to keep ourselves unharmed and
render the devil's wiles ineffectual, and thus have the good
fortune to reach the kingdom of heaven, thanks to the grace
and loving kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with
the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, power and honor,
now and forever, for ages of ages. Amen.
24. This, in a nutshell, is Chrysostom's formulation of the ways in which

the Spirit touches the Christian-"through reading, through listening,
through spiritual discourse."
HOMILY 11
On the theme that it is necessary to place great store by

virtue and to imitate the saints, who while being of the same nature
as ourselves live up to its precise obligations; and that sloth
on our part will have no excuse.
AM AWARE THAT in these past days I have challenged

your thinking with some quite profound notions,
(gla) hence today I intend to put to you a simpler in-
struction. You see, just as the body wasted by fasting needs a
slight respite so that once more to the same degree it may gird
itself for the rigors of fasting at the prompting of a renewed
enthusiasm, so too the soul needs to stop and rest. After all,
you can't always be straining or always resting; instead, you
must do one at this time, the other at that time, and in this
fashion regulate the condition of the soul and the impulses of
the body. I mean, just as unremitting tension leads to wearing
out through effort and to collapse, so, too, constant resting
brings on sloth. You could see this happening in the case both
of the soul and of the body. Accordingly, moderation in all
things is excellent. I
(2) This very thing the God of all teaches us, even through
the very creatures he produced for our sustenance. (glb) To
help you grasp this, let us take the example of the day and the
night-I mean light and darkness. You see, when he deter-
mined the day for the labor of the human race, on the one
hand, and, on the other, the dark of night for their rest and
pause from toil, he set measures and limits to each, with the
result that we all enjoy the benefit from this arrangement. As
1. A lesson learnt by bitter experience in Chrysostom's case, as we have

seen (cf. Homily 10, note 6).
143
proof that the light is, after all, the appropriate time for the
day's labor, listen to David's words: "People will go off to their
work and their labor until evening."2 He well said "until eve-
ning," since with the onset of evening light disappears: dark-
ness falls to put the human race to sleep, gives rest to the
weary body and repose to all its senses, and, just like an excel-
lent nurse, refreshes all the faculties (gIC) from labor and
effort by the care it provides. But when the period of night is
completed, the arrival of the sun takes effect and awakens us:
it provides our refreshed senses with an encounter with the
sun's rays and leads us to embrace our customary employment
with fresh and vital enthusiasm.
(3) You can see this happening also in the seasons of the
year: spring takes over from winter, and in the same way au-
tumn succeeds the passing of summer, so that our bodies may
find relief with the alternation of the mingling of the air,
without, on the one hand, perishing through being frozen
with ice beyond the normal, or, on the other hand, melting
with excessive heat under the ferocity of summer. Accord-
ingly, he ensures that we are adjusted to winter by the coming
of autumn, and to summer by spring.
(4) And if you had a mind to survey everything else with a
right mind, you would find (gld) in all created things a certain
order and reason, nothing being done idly or to no purpose.
Likewise in the case of the plants springing from the earth
you would notice it: the earth doesn't produce them all at
once, nor is the one time suited to tending the plants grow-
ing from it; instead, the farmer knows the appropriate time,
having learnt it from God's evident design, and he realizes
when he must sow the seed, when plant the trees and the vine
in the earth's bosom, when sharpen the sickle for harvesting,
when pick the fruit of the vine and cut the bunches of grapes,
and at what time pick the fruit of the olive trees. (g2a) And if
you wanted to study everything in detail, you would find great
wisdom also in people tilling the soil. And this can be seen not
only on land but also at sea, where it is in fact possible to ob-
HOMILY 11
serve in turn a remarkable wisdom of another kind: the pilot

knows when he must launch the ship, sail it out of harbor, and
cross the sea. Most of all in these men of the sea you can ob-
serve the great understanding which the wisdom of God con-
ferred on the human race: people travelling the highways
have no such precise knowledge of directions as these sailors
who make their way safely on the waters. Hence Scripture too
is amazed at God's surpassing wisdom and says of him, "The
one who provides a path in the sea and a way through the rag-
ing billows."3 What human reasoning is able to achieve this
level of perception? (g2b) Likewise in the matter of consump-
tion of human food you would find things arranged on the
same pattern: the Lord regales us with different food accord-
ing to each time and each season of the year; and like a per-
fect nurse the earth presents us with these things from her-
self, in obedience to the Creator's command.
(5) Lest, however, I prolong this point further, you can
summarize all the rest for yourself in your good sense. Scrip-
ture says, remember, "Give wise people but an opportunity,
and they will become wiser."4 I mean, this point can be seen
not only in the matter of our food but also in regard to that of
the brute beasts. And you could, if you wanted, from a study
of many other things learn the unspeakable wisdom of God
the master craftsman, and his surpassing goodness, and how
by a definite design he produced each thing created. (g2C) Ac-
cordingly, at this holy season of Lent, too, you will find the
very same design now made for us. I mean, just as on the
highways there are stopping places and lodgings, enabling
travellers to rest from their weariness, recover from their dis-
tress and thus resume their journey, at sea, too, there are
coasts and shores and harbors, enabling there also the sea-
farers to find a little respite after running before great billows
and taking the brunt of the gales and thus resume their voy-
age. Now too in just the same way, at the holy season of Lent,
those who have undertaken the course of fasting are granted
by the Lord a short rest of these two days in the week, like
3· Wis 14·3· 4· Pry 9·9·

ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
resting places and lodgings, or coasts and shores and harbors,
so that we should rest the body a little from the rigors of fast-
ing and comfort the soul, (g2d) and once more after the pas-
sage of these two days resume the same way with enthusiasm,
making a journey that is pleasant and advantageous. s
(6) So come now, since today is a day of rest, let us too en-
courage you, dearly beloved, to protect carefully the gains you
have made from fasting, so that after resting a little you may
add further to your earlier gains and thus little by little store
up for yourselves great resources; in this way you will present
yourselves at the day of the Lord and bring safely to the har-
bor of the holy festival your rich spiritual cargo. You see, just
as everything created by the Lord has been created by a cer-
tain design (as the Word reveals and the proof of experience
teaches us) and fulfils a necessary purpose, so too it is proper
that what is done by us not be done idly or to no purpose but
for the benefit and (93a) advantage of our salvation.
(7) After all, if people engaged in secular affairs never risk
beginning an enterprise without first giving careful thought
to the gain likely to accrue from it, much more is it proper for
us to follow that procedure, not passing heedlessly by the days
of fasting, but examining our conscience, scrutinizing our
thinking, and considering what we have done right on this
day and what on that day, what interest we have acquired for
the future, and how much improvement we have achieved ,in
our passions. You see, if we were unlikely to manage our af-
fairs in this way and take this kind of care of our soul, there
would be no advantage to us from the fasting and abstinence
we undergo, especially if we suffer by comparison with people
showing so much zeal for making money. (93b) I mean, each
of them you would find letting no single day pass without
adding something to what they already possess and never
reaching satiety; instead, the more their possessions grow, so
much the more is their zeal and enthusiasm heightened. So, if
5. Evidently in the church of Antioch (as generally in the ancient East,

Chrysostom's editors note) the Lenten fast was relaxed on two days of the
week, Perhaps the fact that this sermon was delivered on one such day ac-
counts for its complete departure from the Gn text,
HOMILY II 147
in the case where zeal is fruitless and concern for possessions
often causes great harm to the salvation of our soul there is
evidence of so much attention, how much more ought we not
exert ourselves where great advantage stems from zeal, the
gain beyond telling, and the yield infinite? In the former case,
after all, great uncertainty accompanies all those gains, money-
making being a risky business, not simply because at the mo-
ment of death whatever remains here below brings no advan-
tage to the one amassing it, but also because, while the money
remains here, (93c) one must go to face a very rigid account-
ing for it. It also frequently happens that even before death,
despite all those efforts and struggles and difficulties, which
dealing in money brings upon one like a storm, the person
possessing great wealth of possessions suddenly becomes
poorer than the poorest of the poor. This you can see hap-
pening daily, whereas in the matter of spiritual resources
there is never anything like that to be feared: they are certain
and free of risk, and the more we gain of them, the greater
the reason for confidence we are given by them.
(8) I beg you, therefore, while we have time, let us bring
zeal to the task of gaining spiritual resources, at least equal to
that of those other people, (93d) and let us never cease giv-
ing our attention to that task, by doing some good deed, or by
putting to flight through great vigilance some troublesome
passion, so that we may have the security of a good conscience
and enjoy the immense satisfaction which that brings. After
all, we must not seek simply to be present here day after day,
listen continually to the same matters and go fasting for the
whole of Lent. I mean, if we were unlikely to gain anything
from regular attendance here and the daily instruction,6 and
to carry off something useful for the soul from the period of
fasting, this would not simply be of no benefit to us but would
6. It seems from such remarks that Chrysostom's congregation attended

these Homilies daily (with two exceptions, cf. nt. 5) during Lent, perhaps be-
fore Lent, and (to judge from Homily 33» well after Lent. They seem to
function separately from the Eucharist, and just as well: the homilies are not
brief, and they tend to get lengthier as Chrysostom goes on. See Introduction
8,11.
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
prove an occasion of heavier condemnation for remaining the
same though enjoying such care and attention: the angry
person not becoming meek and mild, the ill-tempered not
changed into someone gentle, (94a) the envious not making
themselves well-disposed, the miser not rescued from that
passion to turn towards almsgiving and the relief of the poor,
the unbridled not becoming temperate, the seeker after empty
glory not learning to despise it and look for true glory, nor the
one slow to love the neighbor undergoing a change of heart
so as to learn not simply to be no worse than the tax collectors
("If you love those who love you," Scripture says, remember,
"what improvement are you making? Don't even the tax col-
lectors do that?" 7) but to correct one's thinking, look kindly on
one's enemies and show much love for them.
(9) If we don't get the better of those passions and the
others rising within us while attending here daily, enjoying
constant instructions, (94b) taking advantage of such teaching
and getting help from fasting, what excuse is there for us?
What defense can we make? After all, tell me, I beg you: if
you saw your child going each day to school and gaining
nothing from it in all that period of time, surely you wouldn't
take that lying down? Wouldn't you take the rod to the child
and blame the teacher as well? If you then learnt that every-
thing had been done by the teacher for his part and nothing
omitted, whereas the child's sloth was established as the cause
of everything, wouldn't you transfer all your displeasure to
the child and acquit the teacher of any guilt? Well, that's ex-
actly what is the situation here: by an arrangement, as it were,
of God's grace, we summon you daily like spiritual children to
this school (94c) and present to you salutary teaching. We
preach not the things that come from our own mind but the
teachings vouchsafed us by the Lord through the Holy Scrip-
tures, proclaiming them publicly and making them resound
constantly. So if, despite our display of utter zeal and vigi-
lance, and our conduct of you each day along the way of vir-
7. A collation of Mt 5.46-47, either from Chrysostom·s own NT text or for

making his point more directly.
HOMILY 11 149
tue, you persist in the same faults, think how great our shame
will be and your condemnation, not to put too fine a point on
it. You see, even if we are proved guiltless on the score of ne-
glecting nothing to do with your edification, yet because we
are concerned for your salvation we cannot accept this situa-
tion unfeelingly. The teacher, too, when he notices his stu-
dent reaping no benefit from all his efforts, not infrequently
laments and regrets it (94d) to see his labors gone for nought.
(10) I am saying this now, not to grieve you, dearly beloved,
but to awaken you and put you on the alert so that it won't be
all to no purpose that you torment the body with fasting, or
fruitlessly and in vain that you pass the days of the holy season
of Lent. Why mention the days of Lent when, to be sure, we
ought not let slip by one single day in the whole of our life, if
at all possible, without storing up for ourselves spiritual gain,
either through prayer, or confession, or almsgiving, or some
other spiritual practice? I mean, if a man of such quality and
stature as Paul, who heard those ineffable words which no one
to this day has knowledge of, cried out at the top of his voice,
"Daily I die-yes, for the pride I take in you," 8 to teach us that
he kept exposing himself to danger for that good cause in
such a way as (9sa) to come close to death each day, and that
what nature could not sustain (all of us, after all, being liable
to death without exception) his utter singleness of purpose
achieved for him, especially as the loving God further kept a
watchful eye on him for the salvation of others-if, then, that
man, distinguished for such feats, with the appearance of an
angel on earth, as it were, daily exerted himself to achieve
some gain, to take issue with the dangers of fighting for the
truth, and to amass for himself spiritual resources without let-
ting up, what excuse would we have to offer for not simply
being strangers to right-doing but also being subject to defi-
ciencies of such a kind that one alone would suffice to cast us
into the very depths of ruin, and for showing no zeal at all, at
least for setting all this to rights? But when the same person is
frequently discovered guilty not simply of one weakness (9Sb)
8. I Cor 15.31.
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
but many, being ill-tempered, or intemperate, or greedy, or

envious, or hot-headed, with no intention of reforming or of
turning to deeds of virtue, what hope of salvation is there in
the final analysis?
(11) I say this to you, and will not cease telling you, so that
each of my listeners may adopt the appropriate remedy from
what I have been saying, may quickly become anxious to be
cured of those troublesome passions and return to health, as
well as to render themselves accustomed to the practice of vir-
tue. To draw a comparison with people suffering bodily ail-
ments: if the patient were reluctant, despite the doctor's ad-
ministering the drugs innumerable times, to let the healing
power of the drugs take effect but instead often proved to be
unco-operative after the doctor's attentions, showed no capac-
ity for pain, rejected the treatment and got no benefit from it,
no right-minded person would blame the doctor, (9Sc) who
had done everything possible. Well, in exactly the same way in
our case, too, have we for our part taken pains to administer
the medicine coming from spiritual teaching, while your re-
sponse has evidently been to put up with the distress, to bene-
fit from the treatment, to be cured of the disease and return
to true health. In this way, you know, you will gain a keen
awareness of your own well-being, while we get no little boost
to our confidence, seeing how people formerly ill have re-
turned so rapidly to good health.
(12) So, I beg you, let each of you show interest now at least,
even if not in the past, to excise from the soul whatever blem-
ish you have perceived to be troubling you more than other
passions, and by recourse to pious thinking as though by
some spiritual sword rid yourself of that passion. God, you
see, has given us the power of thinking that is adequate and
capable, if we were prepared (9Sd) to ponder a little, of sub-
duing each of the passions rising within us. For this reason the
grace of the Spirit has left written for us in the pages of the
sacred writings the lives and conduct of all holy people so that
we might learn all the deeds of virtue they performed, people
of the same nature as ourselves, and that we might not be lazy
in the practice of virtue. Was not blessed Paul of the same
HOMILY 11
nature as ourselves? I mean, for this man I have an intense

regard, and hence I do not cease bringing him constantly to
mind; 9 fixing my eyes on his soul as though on some exem-
plary model, I marvel at his control of passion, the eminence
of his manly spirit, the ardor of his love for God; and the real-
ization comes to me that one man set his mind on achieving in
his person all that multitude of virtues, whereas each of us
perhaps hasn't even the inclination, let alone the achievement.
So who (g6a) will snatch us from inescapable punishment in
view of the fact that someone sharing our nature, subject to
the same passions and beset with such periods of difficulty-
daily man-handled, so to say, tortured and swept off by public
consent at the hands of opponents of his preaching, people
who often thought him to be dead and thus eventually, as
though translating thought into action, left him for dead-
which of us will be found to give evidence of such a degree of
virtue, being, as we are, so full of faults and to such an extent
victims of such indifference?
(13) In case, however, you hear only from my lips the
achievements of this blessed man and his manly spirit which
he daily demonstrated in the cause of his preaching about re-
ligion, you ought to listen to his own words. (g6b) You remem-
ber when he felt compelled, on account of the deceit of the
false 'apostles,' to give an account of himself; it was so worry-
ing and repulsive a thing for him that he shrank back and had
no wish to publicize these details-in fact, he was even led to
refer to himself as a blasphemer and a persecutor. Since,
however, he recognized the great need, for the sake of stop-
ping the mouths of the imposters, to give some little encour-
agement to his disciples, he took the following line after
saying many other things: "Whatever anyone else was bold
enough to do-I'm stupid to say so-I was bold enough,
g. How true this is, the text of almost every homily makes clear. Biog-
raphers of Chrysostom could easily relate the fellow-feeling Chrysostom had
for Paul to a mutual impatience with half measures and (eventually) an expe-
rience of the affiictions that apostleship brings. A glance at the Scriptural
quotati<;>ns in this volume will reveal Chrysostom's fondness for quoting the
Pauline letters, matched only by Matthew's Gospel and the Psalms. See Intro-
duction 18.
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
too." 10 Do you notice the attitude of this religious man, how
he refers to that action not simply as boldness but as stupid-
ity, thus teaching us never to parade what we've done idly
and without need, if no one is pressing us-should there by
chance be any of us found responsible for some good deed.
"Whatever anyone else was bold enough to do-I'm stupid to
say so-I was bold enough, too"-that is to say, when 1 see a
case of great need, (g6c) I have it in mind to be bold and to be
guilty of an instance of stupidity. "They are Hebrews? so am I;
they are Israelites? so am I; they are the seed of Abraham? so
am I." II On the basis of these claims, he says, they have a great
opinion of themselves; let them not think we lag behind,
being after all party to the same claims ourselves. Then he
added, "They are ministers of Christ? (I speak like a fool) I
am more than that." 12
(14) See in this case, I ask you, dearly beloved, the virtue of
this blessed man's soul: since he called what was done by him
boldness and stupidity as well, despite his being forced into
the need to do it, he did not stop short at the above words.
Instead, since he was on the point of showing that he sur-
passed those people by a great margin lest anyone think he
was saying all this out of conceit, he once more calls what was
done by him stupidity, as though to say: It is not lost on me
(g6d) that the thing I'm doing gives offense to many people,
and that doesn't become me; but extreme need forces me into
doing it-so forgive me (he says) the words of folly I'm speak-
ing. Let us measure up even to a shadow of this great man,
carrying as we do such a load of sins to weigh us down. Often,
if we manage to achieve some tiny good deed, we prove inca-
pable of keeping it in the recesses of our mind, but from a
desire to chase after people's good opinion we strut about and
parade it before them, depriving ourselves of the reward due
from God all because of this untimely vanity. This blessed
man, on the contrary, wasn't guilty of anything of that sort.
What was true in his case? He said, "They are ministers of
10. 2 Cor 11.21. II. Ib.22.

12. Ib.23.
HOMILY 11
Christ? (I speak like a fool) I am more than that;" then and

only then he brings forward the achievements to which the
false 'apostles' had nothing to show in response. How could
they, being, as they were, opponents of the truth, (97a) guilty
of everything possible to impede the preaching of religion,
and upsetting the minds of those settled in the faith?
(15) So, after saying, "I am more than that," he falls to enu-
merating the achievements of his manly spirit, and says: "In
difficulties to an extraordinary degree, under blows beyond
measure, facing death not infrequently." What is this you say?
Remarkable and beyond belief is what you have to say. I mean,
can you face death more than once? Yes, he says, even if it is
not so much actual experience as in the mind-to teach us
that he exposed himself unceasingly to such dangers threat-
ening him with death on account of his preaching, but the
grace of God protected the athlete in the very midst of these
dangers so that great benefit came to his disciples from him.
"Facing death not infrequently," he says; "at the hands of Jews
I five times received forty lashes bar one, thrice was I scourged
with rods, once stoned, (97b) thrice was I shipwrecked, I spent
a day and a night in the depths of the sea, in journeyings
often, at risk from rivers, at risk from brigands, at risk from
fellow Jews, at risk from pagans, at risk from false brethren, at
risk in cities, at risk in the wide open spaces, at risk at sea." 13
Let us not, dearly beloved, pass these words by heedlessly:
each of them taken singly gives us a clue to a vast ocean of
experiences. I mean, he didn't just casually say one journey-
ing but "In journeyings often," not a single risk from rivers
"many different risks"-and all he endured with great brav-
ery. After all this he goes on to say: "Suffering trials and tribu-
lations, sleepless nights more often than not, hunger and
thirst, frequent lack of food, cold and nakedness, not to men-
tion other problems." 14
(16) Notice further another vast ocean of difficulties opened
13. Ib.25-26, with a logical rearrangement of our accepted NT text, pro-

moting false brethren in the order.
14. Ib.27-28.
up to us. In saying, "Not to mention other problems," he
hinted that those (97c) omitted were probably more numer-
ous than those mentioned. Nor did he stop at that: instead, he
goes on to teach us the troubles and disturbances he endured
when he says, "What brought me trouble every day-the care
of all the churches." 15 Notice as well this further achievement
sufficient of itself, had it happened to be his only achieve-
ment, to lead him to the very pinnacle of virtue: "the care of
all the churches," not one, or two, or three, but all the churches
throughout the world. In other words, whatever parts of the
earth the sun traverses in spreading its rays, this blessed man
had that as his care and responsibility. See his breadth of soul?
see his greatness of mind? Moreover, all this is implied by that
phrase he takes as read, as you might say; he simply goes on,
"Who suffers weakness without my suffering it too? Who is
scandalized without my being inflamed too?" 16 Goodness me,
what loving concern this man shows! (97d) how much sleep-
less anxiety, how much care! What mother endures as much
anguish when her child is plagued with fever, lying on a bed
of pain, as this blessed man suffered in greater degree for
those suffering weakness in whatever place, and was upset
about those being scandalized? I mean, consider, if you would,
the significance of the expression. He did not say, Who is
scandalized without my being sorry too, but, my being in-
flamed, suggesting to us the intensity of the pain, as though
revealing himself set alight by that incident and burning over
the thought of those people enduring scandal.
(17) I know I have prolonged the instruction to great length,
despite my promise to be brief today so that you might get a
little respite from the rigors of fasting. But somehow when I
come face to face with the wealth of achievement of this holy
man, I lose control of my tongue as though swept away by an
irresistible flood. (gSa) So, I'll finish the sermon at this point,
and urge you, my dear people, to be constantly mindful of this
15. In quoting Paul on his "trouble," Chrysostom is reading episustasis for

the epistasis of our accepted text.
16. Ib.2g.
HOMILY 11 155
man and consider unremittingly that, while sharing the same

nature as ourselves, subject to the same passions, practicing
the lowly and poorly paid trade of tentmaker, turning up to
work out of an intention and desire to devote himself to the
labors virtue involves and make himself worthy to entertain
the Holy Spirit, he enjoyed to a remarkable degree favor from
on high. We therefore will meet no obstacle to the enjoyment
of these same rewards provided we resolve to demonstrate
these qualities ourselves. The Lord, after all, is generous, and
"wishes all people to be saved and come to knowledge of
truth." 17 So let us render ourselves worthy, (g8b) and with
lively enthusiasm set our sights on virtue if only at this late
stage; let us give evidence of disciplining the passions within
us, and so render ourselves suited for receiving the gift of the
Spirit. May it be the good fortune of us all to be judged
worthy of this gift, thanks to the grace and love of our Lord
Jesus Christ, to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be
glory, power and honor, now and forever, for ages of ages.
Amen.
17.1 Tm 2.4.
HOMILY 12
On the sequel to creation: "This is the book about the origins

of heaven and earth when they were created, on the day God made
heaven and earth." I
OME NOW, TODAY let us fulfil our promise and move on

to the accustomed instruction, connecting what we
are about to say with the thread of the sermons given
so far. (g8c) You remember, of course, that when we were all
set on one or two occasions and quite intent on following that
course, concern for our brethren changed the direction of
our speech towards encouragement of them. You see, some-
times those of the brethren who are ailing, who habitually ab-
sent themselves from this spiritual gathering, and who spoil
the joy coming to them from this holy festival, we persuade by
much encouragement and advice not to cut themselves off for
long from Christ's flock nor be misled beyond this spiritual
fold by, on the one hand, associating with us in word and
name while, on the other hand, following in fact the Jews,
those seated in darkness and attracted to a lantern despite the
illumination of the sun of justice. 2 (g8d) At other times we
have urged the uninitiated members of this congregation 3 to
respond to their spiritual calling by shaking off all drowsiness
and all sloth, calling on a lively desire and heightened enthusi-
1. Gn 2.4.
2. Chrysostom has often been charged with anti-semitism, and he does
warn his congregation against Jewish positions. His biographers defend him
by highlighting the influence held in Antioch by Jews at the time. Doubtless
also his regard for Paul would encourage him to comparisons of this type de-
riving from 2 Cor 3.
3. The catechumens, preparing during Lent for baptism, are thus warned
against rhathumia, "indifference."
HOMILY 12 157
asm to make themselves ready for receiving the royal gift and
to long for the one bringing them the gift of forgiveness of
their sins and providing them with countless good things in
abundance.
(2) So, now that we have displayed the care that becomes us
in regard to those who are mistaken about the feast of Easter,
and who bring great harm to themselves by the little attention
they think it deserves, and now that we have applied an ap-
propriate remedy to their wound and have delivered the due
admonition to the uninitiated, it would be in order at long last
to spread before all of you alike, today, the spiritual banquet,
since we have taken issue with the most urgent of the ailments
and have dealt adequately with them. You can appreciate the
comparison: if before (gga) attending to our brethren we had
continued on from where we left off, forsaking the task of en-
couraging them and overlooking their difficulties, in all like-
lihood someone would have reproached us for passing up an
opportunity; so, as things are now, since nothing has been
omitted that lay within our power but on the contrary we have
delivered words of instruction, we have gone to some ex-
pense, we have sown the seed in this spiritual soil, it is in order
once again to open up for your consideration the reading
from blessed Moses so that you may reap some benefit from it
and thus make your way home. So, to find out what it is, let us
listen carefully.
(3) The text says: "This is the book about the origins of
heaven and earth when they were created, on the day God
made heaven and earth, before any grass of the field ap-
peared on the earth or any crop of the field sprouted. (ggb)
God, you see, had not sent rain on the earth, and there was no
human being to till the soil; a spring used to flow out of the
ground and water the whole face of the earth." 4 Notice again,
I ask you, the insight of this remarkable author, or rather the
teaching of the Holy Spirit. I mean, after narrating to us de-
tail by detail all the items of creation and going through the
4. Gn 2.4-6.
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
works of the six days, the creation of human beings and the
authority granted them over all visible things, now he sums
them all up in the words, "This is the book about the origins
of heaven and earth when they were created." It is worth en-
quiring at this point why it is he calls it the book of heaven and
earth in view of the fact that the book contains many other
things and teaches us about a greater number of matters-
about the virtue of good people, about God's loving kindness
and the considerateness he demonstrated in regard both
(ggc) to the first-formed human being and to the whole hu-
man race, and about a lot of other things it would be impos-
sible to list right now. Don't be surprised, dearly beloved; after
all, it is the custom with Holy Scripture not to describe every-
thing to us in detail in every case but rather to begin with a
summary of related items and to leave further detail to be con-
sidered by right-minded listeners as they take in what is said.
(4) So that you may learn this is the case, I will make it clear
from the very verses just now read. What I refer to is this: no-
tice Sacred Scripture taught us in detail in the preceding
verses the creation of everything, but now, instead of men-
tioning them all, it says: "This is the book about the origins of
heaven and earth when they were created, on the day God
made heaven and earth," and so on. Do you see how it con-
fines the whole account to heaven and earth, leaving us to get
from them a sweeping view of all the other things? (ggd) I
mean, when it said heaven and earth, it included everything
together in those words, both things on earth and things in
heaven. So, just as in its account of created things it doesn't
mention them all one by one but gives a summary of related
items and makes no further attempt to describe them to us, so
too it called the whole book the book about the origins of
heaven and earth, even though it contains many other things,
evidently leaving us to work out from the reference to these
two that all visible things are of necessity contained in this
book, both those in heaven and those on earth.
(5) "On the day God made heaven and earth," the text goes
on, "before any grass of the field appeared on the earth or
any crop of the field sprouted, since God, you see, had not
HOMILY 12 159
sent rain on the earth, and there was no human being to till
the soil; a spring (lOoa) used to flow out of the ground and
water the whole face of the earth." Great is the treasure con-
cealed in these brief words-hence the need for us to unfold
the meaning of the text with great sagacity, under the guid-
ance of God's grace, and to lead you to share in this spiritual
wealth. The Holy Spirit, after all, in his foreknowledge of fu-
ture events wishes to prevent anyone's being able to engage in
controversy later on, and in opposition to Sacred Scripture to
set notions from their own reasoning against the dogmas of
the Church; so now again, after teaching us the order of cre-
ated things-what was created first and what second-and the
fact that from the earth in compliance with the Lord's word
and direction the earth produced plants and was stirred into
pangs of fertility, without depending on the sun for assistance
(how could it, after all, the sun not yet being created?) nor on
the moisture from showers, nor on human labor (lOob) (hu-
man beings, after all, not having been brought forth), accord-
ingly once again he makes mention of all the items one by one
so as to stop the unbridled tongue of people spoiling to make
a show of their shamelessness. 5
(6) What in fact does he say? "On the day God made heaven
and earth before any grass of the field appeared on the earth
or any crop of the field sprouted. God, you see, had not sent
rain on the earth, and there was no human being to till the
soil; a spring used to flow out of the ground and water the
whole face of the earth." He intends to convey the fact that by
his word and direction things not existing previously were
brought into existence, and what had not been, came into
5. Comment has already been made on Chrysostom's relatively uncritical

style of commentary (see Introduction 16); and, all things considered, we are
not surprised that he is in some difficulty at this point accounting for a second
creation narrative, not having the advantage of a later age's source criticism.
His task is made the more difficult by the apparent rationalizing of the two
accounts by the LXX version, which has evidently ignored the change of
name of God to Yahweh in the Hebrew and a further significant alteration of
order from creation of "heaven and earth" (1.1) to making of "earth and
heaven" ( 2.4b)-items that receive much notice in modern commentaries on
the Heb. text as evidence of different narrative strands.
view all of a sudden. "Crop" means what springs from the
soil: when it says "crop" it means plants of all kinds. And in
teaching us about showers, again Sacred Scripture added,
"God, you see, had not sent rain on the earth" -that is to say,
no showers had so far been sent from on high. (woe) And
after this it finally shows us that there was no dependence on
human labor either: "There was no human being," it says, re-
'member, "to till the soil"-as if to shout aloud and tell every-
one coming later: Listen to this and learn how everything
springing from the earth was produced, and don't think it was
all due to the care of people working the soil, nor attribute its
birth pangs of fertility to them but to the word and direction
given it from the beginning by the Creator. All this happens
that you may learn that there was no dependence on the assis-
tance of the other elements for the growth of its plants; in-
stead, what was required was the direction of the Creator.
(7) What is really remarkable and surprising is that the one
who now by his own word awakens the earth to germination
of so many plants and demonstrates his own power surpass-
ing human reasoning, this same earth, heavy as it is (lOod)
and supporting such a huge universe on its back, he rested on
the waters as foundation, as the inspired author says, "He who
rests the earth on the waters as foundation."6 What human
reasoning could arrive at this design? I mean, when people
build their houses and have in mind to sink foundations, they
first dig a hole: if on reaching some depth they see a trace of
dampness, they take every step to remove it all and only then
sink the foundations. By comparison with this the Creator of
all creates everything in a way contrary to humankind so that
you may learn even from this his ineffable power and the fact
that, when he wishes, the very elements can be seen to per-
form in a way contrary to their own abilities in compliance
with the Creator's wishes.
(8) To make this subject clearer to you (lOla) let us make
you familiar with the preceding point and then pass on to the
6. Ps 136.6, in Chrysostom's individual text that reinforces his point better

than Heb. or LXX.
HOMILY 12 161
next. You see, it is contrary to the nature of the waters to carry

a heavy body in this way; and, again, it is foreign to the earth
to take its position on such a foundation. Why do you marvel
at this? After all, if you take it into your head to study each
created thing, you will encounter the infinite power of the
Creator and the fact that by his own will he governs all visible
things. This, in fact, can be seen happening also in the case of
fire: though it has the capacity to burn up, and it prevails over
everything, consuming all material of stone, wood, iron and
other bodies with ease, yet when the Creator so directed, it
left untouched delicate and perishable bodies and, in fact,
kept the children unharmed in the middle of the furnace. 7
Don't be surprised if it left these bodies untouched and if, in
fact, this irrational element demonstrated (lOlb) the kind of
restraint that cannot be described. You see, it did not so much
as harm their hair; instead, it formed a circle around them
and kept them inside it; the substance of the fire, as it were,
responded in obedience, and in compliance with the Lord's di-
rection it kept those excellent children safe and sound, so that
they moved about in the furnace with such ease as though
strolling through a meadow or garden. And, lest anyone think
that what they saw was not a fire at work, the loving Lord for
that purpose did not hamper its efficacy; instead, he allowed
its burning qualities to remain active, rendering his servants
proof against its harmful effect but ensuring that those who
thrust them in might learn the extent of the power of the
Lord of all: the fire showed its force against them, burning
and consuming them as they stood outside the furnace while
at the same time encircling the children inside.
(9) Do you see how, whenever the Lord wishes, (lOlC) each
of the elements changes its properties into the very opposite?
The Lord, you see, is also Creator, and he governs everything
according to his own will. Do you want to see this very thing
happening also in the case of the waters? Well, just as in the
present case the fire refrained from harming the people right
inside it, on the one hand, neglecting to exercise its own
7· Dn 3·
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
power, while, on the other hand, it exercised that power in
the case of those who happened to be outside it, in like man-
ner we will see the waters drowning some but giving way be-
fore others so that they crossed over in safety. Remember in
this connection, I ask you, Pharaoh and the Egyptians, and
the people of the Hebrews, how the latter by the Lord's com-
mand and under the leadership of the great Moses crossed
the Red Sea in this way as though across dry land, whereas the
Egyptians with Pharaoh wanted to go the same way as the He-
brews, (lOld) but were submerged and drowned. s Thus even
the elements know how to respect the Lord's servants and to
keep in check their own impulse.
(10) Let us hear an account of the number of times we have
betrayed our own salvation through being hot-tempered, and
angry, and a prey to the other passions through our indif-
ference, and let us imitate the great obedience of these ele-
ments, irrational though they are, while we are endowed with
the gift of reason. After all, if fire, which has such capacity to
burn, which is so fierce, left untouched in that fashion deli-
cate and perishable bodies, what allowance can be made for
human beings not prepared to check their own rage despite
the Lord's command and eliminate resentment against their
neighbor? What is even worse is the fact that fire, while having
this property-I mean, to burn-did not demonstrate this ca-
pacity, whereas the human being, a creature gentle, and ra-
tional, and mild, behaves in a manner contrary to its nature
and through indifference (102a) casts itself in the mold of the
wild beasts. Hence even Sacred Scripture, with these sorts of
disturbing passions in mind, in many places applies the names
of brutes and of wild beasts to those gifted with reason: some-
times it calls them dogs on account of their shameful and
headstrong behavior-"Dumb dogs are they," it says, remem-
ber, "unable even to bark"9-at other times horses on ac-
count of their unbridled appetites-"They turned into rut-
ting horses, each neighing after his neighbor'S wife" lO-at
8. Ex 14. 9. Is 56 . 10.
1O.Jer 5.8.
HOMILY 12
other times asses for their folly and stupidity-"He has re-
sembled the monsters that lack all intelligence," it says, re-
member, "and has become like them" II_at other times lions
and leopards on account of their greed and rapacity, at other
times serpents because of their deceit-"Poison of serpents,"
it says, "on their lips" 12-whereas at other times it called them
snakes and vipers on account of their venom and malice, as
blessed John cried aloud in these words: "Snakes, brood of
vipers, who has shown you how to flee from the wrath to
come?"13 (102b) And it adds other names appropriate to the
various passions in the hope that eventually they may feel
ashamed of this behavior and turn back to their true nobility,
coming to terms with their true nature and giving the laws
of God pride of place before their own passions to which
through sloth they have given themselves up.
(ll) But I don't know how I strayed from the thread of the
sermon on to these matters. Come now, let us return at this
late stage to the preceding point, and let us see what else this
blessed author wants to teach us today. You see, after saying,
"This is the book about the origins of heaven and earth," he
presses on and describes further for us with great detail the
creation of the human being. Since he had briefly said above,
"God made the human being; in God's image he made them,"
he now says, "God shaped the human being from the dust of
the earth, (102C) and breathed into him a breath of life; the
human being became alive." 14 A mighty saying, giving rise to
great wonderment, and beyond the limits of human under-
standing: "God shaped the human being," it says, "taking dust
from the earth." Just as in the case of all the visible creatures I
kept saying that the Creator of all performs everything in a
manner contrary to human nature so as to demonstrate his
ineffable power through this as well, so too in the case of the
formation of the human being we will find this taking place. I
mean, notice how he rested the earth on the waters, some-
11. Ps 49.13 in the LXX version, substantially different from the Heb.
12. Ps 140.3. 13. Mt 3.7, embellished for effect.
14· Gn 2.7.
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
thing human reasoning does not without faith succeed in ac-
cepting, and that whenever he wishes he succeeds in convert-
ing the properties of all things to their opposite, as we have
shown. Well, this very same thing Sacred Scripture now re-
veals to us happening in the case of the formation of the hu-
man being as well: "God shaped (102d) the human being," it
says, "taking dust from the earth."
(12) What is that you say? Taking dust from the earth he
shaped the human being? Yes, it says; it did not simply say
"earth" but "dust," something more lowly and substantial
even than earth, so to say. You think the saying amazing and
incredible; but if you recall who is the creator in this case, you
will no longer withhold faith in the event but marvel at the
Creator's power and bow your knee to it. If, on the other
hand, you chanced to put your mind to these matters in light
of the limitations of your powers of reason, you would likely
get this strange idea into your head, namely, that a body could
never be made from earth-a brick or a pot, yes, but never
could such a body be made. Do you see that unless we take
into account the Creator's power and suppress our own rea-
soning which betrays such limitations, we will be unable to ac-
cept the sublimity of the message? After all, the words require
the eyes of faith, spoken as they are (103a) with such great
considerateness and with our limitations in mind. You see, that
very remark, "God shaped the human being, and breathed," is
properly inapplicable to God; yet because of us and our limi-
tations Sacred Scripture expresses it in that way, showing con-
siderateness to us, so that, having been thought worthy of the
considerateness, we might be enabled to arrive at that sublime
level of thought. 15
(13) "God shaped the human being," it says, "taking dust
from the earth." Finally, from these words spring no little in-
struction in humility, as long as we are prepared to be alert to
15. Anthropomorphisms in the scriptural text represent for Chrysostom

an eminent example of considerateness, synkatabasis, in view of our limita-
tions, astheneia-while, on the other hand, they must not be allowed to under-
mine that correlative notion of his, divine transcendence. They are given to
us to elevate our thinking and heighten our reverence, not lower it.
HOMILY 12
it. I mean, whenever we consider where our nature derived

the beginning of its subsistence, even if we put our brains to it
thousands of times, we are humbled and chastened, and in
our efforts to plumb our being we learn to respect proper lim-
its. For this reason, God, caring for our salvation, thus di-
rected the tongue of the sacred writer for our instruction.
(103b) You see, when Sacred Scripture said in its previous
statement, "God made the human being; in God's image he
made them," he gave him complete control of visible things
lest out of ignorance of the composition of his own being he
might conjure up inflated notions of his own importance and
transgress the limits proper to him.
(14) Hence, when Scripture comes back to the point it
teaches us also the manner of our composition and the begin-
ning of our creation, and whence the first human being was
produced and how it was produced. After all, into what
depths of madness would we not have tumbled if, despite this
teaching and despite the knowledge that the human being
takes the beginning of its composition from the earth as do
the plants and the irrational beings (though its formation and
the bodiless being of the soul has given it a marked superi-
ority, thanks to God's loving kindness, (103c) this constituting
after all the basis of its rationality and its endowment with
control over all creation),-if then with this knowledge this
creature shaped from the earth had conjured up the notion
of its equality with God owing to the serpent's deceit, and if
the blessed author had been content with his first account and
had not repeated himself in teaching us everything with pre-
cision,16 into what depths of madness would we not have
tumbled?
(15) The result is that we gain the greatest possible degree
of instruction in philosophy from learning whence we derive
the composition of our being from the very outset. "God
shaped the human being," the text says, "taking dust from the
earth, and breathed into him a breath of life." Since it was ex-
16. See note 5 above. To Chrysostom's mind, Moses gives a second creation
account for that great scriptural virtue, "precision."
plaining to human beings who were unable to understand in
any way other than we ourselves can understand, it employs
this kind of concreteness of expression, I7 and intends also to
teach us that the Lord's loving kindness intended that this
creature shaped from the earth (103d) should have also a ra-
tional being by reason of a soul, by means of which this living
thing emerged complete and perfect. "He breathed into him
a breath of life," the text says; the creature shaped from the
earth, it means, was endowed with this breath as a vital force,
and this became the origin of the soul's being. At any rate, the
text added: "The human being became alive." That shaped
thing, that creature from the dust, received the breathing of
the breath of life, and "it became alive," the text says. What is
the meaning of "became alive"? Enjoying vital force, having
limbs to its body that respond to this vital force and obey
its will.
(16) But I have no idea how we upset that arrangement, and
how such an onset of evil occurred as to oblige it to follow the
bidding of the flesh, (104a) so that what should in the manner
of a queen have presided and exercised rule we have unseated
from her throne and forced to obey the pleasures of the flesh,
ignorant as we are of its nobility and the degree of pre-
eminence it has the good fortune to be accorded. I mean,
think of the order of its formation, I ask you, and consider
what this shaped thing was before the Lord's breathing which
meant a breath of life for it and resulted in its becoming alive.
Simply a lifeless shell, without vital force, and useful for
nothing, so that its total make-up and its succession to such
great esteem all stems from that action of breathing made
upon it by God. Lest you think this happened from things al-
ready created at that time instead of from something that
happens each day at the present time, consider, I ask you,
how after the departure of the soul this body appears odious
and unpleasant? (104b) How repulsive, how much reeking
with stench, how marked by complete deformity this creature
17. See Homily 9, note 1 above for comment on Chrysostom's thinking on

the concreteness, pachutes, of biblical language.
HOMILY 12
that previously when it had the soul to conduct it was bright,

graceful, marked by beauty of form, abounding with intelli-
gence, enjoying great aptitude for the performance of good
deeds.
(17) So, with this in mind, and realizing the nobility of our
soul, let us be guilty of no behavior unworthy of it nor defile it
with unfitting actions, subjecting it to the thrall of the flesh
and showing so little appreciation and regard for what is
so noble and endowed with such pre-eminence. After all,
because of the soul's being, we who are intertwined with a
body can, if we wish (104c) and under the influence of God's
grace, strive against disembodied powers, can walk on earth
as though coursing across heaven, and pass our lives in this
manner, suffering no inferiority. How that can be, I will tell
you. You see, when people prove, despite entanglement with a
mortal body, to live the same life as those supernal powers,
how will they not be deemed worthy of grace from God for
keeping untarnished the soul's nobility, though subject to the
body's necessities.
(18) Who could possibly prove, someone says, to be of such
character? Quite likely this thing is thought unlikely by us be-
cause of the extreme paucity of our virtue. But if you are pre-
pared to learn that this is not out of the question, consider, I
ask you, those who have been pleasing to the Lord from the
beginning up to the present time (104d) the mighty John, son
of infertility, citizen of the desert; Paul, the world's teacher;
and the whole series of saints, who happened to have the
same nature as ourselves, subject to the same necessities of the
body-and no longer consider the thing to be impossible, nor
be apathetic where virtue is concerned, but accept such op-
portunities as the Lord leaves for laying hold of virtue with
ease. Our loving Lord, you see, knowing the weakness of our
purpose and our tendency to fall, has left us great remedies
in the reading of the Scriptures so that we might constantly
apply them to ourselves and recall the lives of those great and
wonderful men. Thus we may be led to imitation and not ne-
glect virtue, but (lOsa) rather avoid evil and do everything so
as not to prove ourselves unworthy of those unspeakably good
people. May this be the good fortune of all of us, thanks to the
grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with the Fa-
ther and the Holy Spirit be glory, power and honor, now and
forever, for ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILY 13
"The Lord God planted a garden in Eden in the east, and placed in it the
human creature he had formed." I
SEE YOUR INSATIABLE interest, your great enthusiasm

and eager attention, and the way you are all coming
to spiritual teaching expectant and impatient. On the
other hand, I am conscious of my own great inadequacy.
(lOSb) Still, I am anxious to lay before you this mean and pal-
try table frequently, and in fact daily, trusting that you will
readily receive what is said, stimulated as you are with your
own enthusiasm. One can see this happening in the case of
material nourishment: whenever guests come to dinner with
keen appetite, they eat with great relish whatever is placed be-
fore them, no matter if the meal happens to be paltry and the
host ungenerous-whereas when the diners have indifferent
appetite, no matter if the meal is sumptuous and the menu
varied, it is wasted on them since they can't do justice to the
good things provided. Here today, however, your enthusiasm
has in fact been enlivened through God's grace and the repast
is a spiritual one; so we, too, are enthusiastic in speaking to
you, knowing that we bring these divine teachings to attentive
listeners.
(2) The farmer (lOSC) is like this, too: he gives the soil all the
attention he is capable of-digging the furrows, hauling the
plough, rooting out thorns-so when he finds the pasture
rich and fertile, he sows the seed lavishly; buoyed up already
with high hopes he counts the days to the sprouting of the
crop, recalling the productivity of the land and expecting a
harvest far in excess of the sowing. That is the way we behave,
I. Go 2.8.
16 9
ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
too: we see your enthusiasm increasing day by day, your in-

terest blossoming, and your zeal bearing fruit. We have high
hopes of you, and with greater enthusiasm and zeal ourselves
we strive as far as we are able to contribute to the building up
of your love, to God's glory and the pride of God's church.
(3) (lOSd) So come now, if you please, let us recall the few
things said yesterday, and move on in turn to today's reading.
We need to say what it was we were discussing yesterday, how
far we got, and where we stopped. "God formed the human
being, taking dust from the earth, and he breathed into him a
breath of life; the human being became alive."2 What I was
saying before I will say now, and will not cease saying con-
tinually, that great and unspeakable is the kindness of the
Lord of all creatures towards us men. He displayed great con-
siderateness for the sake of our welfare, and bestowed great
honor on this creature-namely, the human person-and
made plain in words and deeds that he exhibits greater care
of human beings than of other visible things. (106a) There is
no reason why I should not presume on your goodness to ex-
plore the same theme today, too. For,just as with grains of in-
cense, the more they are moved about with your fingers, the
greater fragrance they give out, so it is with the Scriptures in
our experience: the more you devote yourself to studying
them, the more you are able to discover the treasure hidden
in them, and thereby gain great and unspeakable wealth. 3
(4) "God," it says, "formed the human being, taking dust
from the earth. Do you notice straightway the difference in
the way the sentence opens? In the case of all the other crea-
tures blessed Moses taught us the manner of creation, saying,
"God said, Let there be light, and there was light ;" "Let the
firmament be made;" "Let the water be gathered together;"
"Let the stars be made;" (106b) "Let the earth put forth a crop
2. Gn 2.7.
3. Reference has been made above (Homily 3, note 3) to the figures
Chrysostom employs for the Scriptures and homilies upon them; and while
patristic commentators like H. De Lubac have established there is little origi-
nal in these figures, Chrysostom has obviously worked hard at his task to
produce the series of them that introduce this homily.
HOMILY 13
of vegetation;" "Let the waters bring forth reptiles with living

souls;" and "Let the earth bring forth a living thing." Do you
see how they were all created by a word? Let us notice instead
what it says in the case of the creation of human beings. "God
formed the human being." Do you see how, by the consider-
ateness shown in the words he uses on account of our limita-
tions, it teaches us both the manner of the creation and the
difference, and all but shows us (so to speak in human fash-
ion) man being shaped by God's hands-as another author
says, "Your hands made me, and formed me."4
(5) You see, if he had simply ordered that the human per-
son spring out of the earth, then the object of the order would
merely have been produced, would it not? Instead, for the
purpose of communicating to us lasting teaching through the
manner of creation (106c) to avoid an impression false to real-
ity, everything is explained precisely in this way, and the text
reads, "God formed the human being, taking dust from the
earth." 5
(6) Even in this detail notice the regard for us. I mean, he
does not simply take some soil, but dust, the finest grains of
soil, so to say, and this very dust of the earth by his own design
he changed into the human kind of body. You see, just as he
brought into being the very substance of the soil when it did
not exist, so now, at will, he changed the dust from soil into
body. At this it is good to exclaim what was said by blessed
David, "Who will speak of the wonders of the Lord, and bring
to our ears all his praises?"6-namely, that from dust he pro-
duced such a creature and elevated it to such eminence, and
that he displays such marks of regard for it right from the
outset, revealing in all this his own loving kindness. (106d)
4· Job 10.8.
5. Again (and again) Chrysostom's commentary on details of the text re-
lates its precision to divine considerateness for human limitations for the sake
of our salvation-his own synthesis and a beautiful theology of the Word.
A modern commentator, interestingly, by contrast with Chrysostom and with
a knowledge of Hebrew but perhaps not Chrysostom's theological depth,
would rather comment on the play on words at this point between 'adam,
"man," and 'adama, "soil."
6. Ps 106.2.
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
The text says, "He breathed into him a breath of life; the hu-
man being became alive."
(7) In this regard some senseless people, moved by their
own reasoning, and having no regard for what is proper to
God nor any appreciation of the considerateness revealed in
the words, try to say that the soul comes from the substance of
God. Such madness, such stupidity! What false paths has the
devil prepared for those bent on following him! To realize it,
consider how these paths lead in quite different directions.
Some seize on a reading of the text, "He breathed," to say that
souls come from the substance of God, whereas others on the
contrary say they change into the substance of the worst of
brute beasts. What could be worse than such folly? Since their
reasoning is dulled, and (107a) they miss the true meaning of
Scripture, they are like men blinded in the eyes of their mind,
stumbling in various directions down cliffs: some accord the
soul excessive esteem, others depress it unduly. Because if
they wanted to assign a mouth to God on the score of Scrip-
ture's saying, "He breathed into him," they would have to
equip him with hands too, since it says, "He formed the hu-
man being."
(8) Anyhow, in case by wanting to make a display of these
people's stupidity we, too, find ourselves induced to utter un-
seemly remarks, let's have done with their folly and turn aside
from such idiocy; let us follow the direction of Sacred Scrip-
ture in the interpretation it gives of itself, 7 provided we don't
get completely absorbed in the concreteness of the words, but
realize that our limitations are the reason for the concreteness
of the language. (107b) Human senses, you see, would never
be able to grasp what is said if they had not the benefit of such
great considerateness.
7. Another sound hermeneutical principle of Chrysostom's, which he re-

peats shortly after in this homily. It is not confined to his thinking; a commen-
tator, J.-M. Leroux, remarks: "Le principe n'est pas nouveau; il fait me me
partie des lois fonda mentales de l'exegese patristique, et on peut Ie recontrer
en des termes presque identiques dans les ecrits d'Origene et d'Augustin"
("Relativite et transcendance du texte biblique d'apres Jean Chrysostome," La
Bible et Les Peres: Colloque de Strasbourg I969 [Paris 1971172).
HOMILY 13
(9) So recognizing our limitations, and the fact that what is
said refers to God, let us accept the words as equivalent to
speaking about God; let us not reduce the divine to the shape
of bodies and the structure oflimbs, but understand the whole
narrative in a manner appropriate to God. For the deity is
simple, free of parts and shape; should we form an impres-
sion from ourselves and want to ascribe an arrangement of
limbs to God, we would be in danger of falling into the irre-
verence pagans are guilty of. So when you hear Scripture say-
ing, "God formed the human being," think of the same power
as was responsible for "Let it be made;" likewise when you
hear the sentence, "He breathed into him a breath of life,"
reason this way too, that just as he created the incorporeal
beings, (107c) so he decided this body made from the dust
should have a rational soul and be able to use a body's limbs.
You see, this body created in the Lord's design was like an in-
strument needing someone to activate it, rather like a lyre
that needs someone who can by his own skill and artistry raise
a fitting hymn to the Lord through his own limbs, as though
by the strings of the lyre. The text says: "He breathed into
him a breath of life, and the human being became alive."
What is the sense of that, "He breathed a breath of life"? The
body made this way, it is saying, he wanted to have a living
force and he so directed; this became for the creature a living
soul-in other words, full of movement, with the ability to
display its own skill through the movement of its limbs.
(10) Notice, too, in this account the difference between this
wonderful creature of reason (107d) and the creation of the
brute beasts. Regarding them, remember, it says, "Let the
waters produce reptiles with living souls," and at once the liv-
ing beings emerged from the waters; likewise in the case of
the earth in the same terms: "Let the earth produce a living
being." Not so, however, in the case of the human person: first
its body is created from the dust, and afterwards the power of
life is given to it, and this is the being of the soul. Accordingly
Moses said about the beasts, "Its blood is its life."8 But in the
8. Lv 17.11.
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
case of the human person its being is incorporeal and immor-

tal, and has a great superiority over the body, to the same ex-
tent as incorporeal form surpasses the corporeal.
(ll) Perhaps, however, someone may say: Why is it that, if
the soul is more important than the body, the lesser is created
first, and then the greater afterwards? Don't you see, dearly
beloved, that even in the process of creation this very se-
quence is followed? (108a) That is to say, just as heaven and
earth, the sun and moon, and everything else is created, in-
cluding the brute beasts, and after all these the human per-
son, the one destined to enjoy control of all of them, in the
very same way in the actual creation of the human person the
body is produced first and then the soul, greater though
its importance is. The procedure is the same with the brute
beasts: though they are destined to be useful in the service of
human beings, they are created before them so that the ones
intended to enjoy the use of these beasts will find them ready
for service. So, too, the body is created before the soul, so that
when the soul is produced according to God's ineffable wis-
dom, it will be able to display its own vital forces through the
movement of its body.
(12) The text goes on: "The Lord God planted a garden in
Eden in the east, and placed in it the human being he had
formed." When the Lord of all had demonstrated his charac-
teristic loving kindness (108b) in creating the one for whom
everything had been provided, and setting him in its midst,
immediately he began to bestow on this human person deeds
of kindness. "God," it says, "planted a garden in Eden in the
east." Notice here, dearly beloved, that unless we take the
words in a manner appropriate to God, we will inevitably be
trapped in a deep pitfall. I mean, what would be likely to be
said about this sentence, too, by those rash enough to in-
terpret in human fashion everything said about God? "God
planted a garden," it says. What does that mean, pray? did he
have need of tools, and gardening, and every other skill to
beautify the garden? Not at all. Rather, in this case too, we
need to understand the word "planted" in this sense-namely,
that he commanded a garden to be created on the earth so
HOMILY 13 175
that the human being he had produced should live in the gar-
den. I mean, to prove that he created the garden for human
beings, listen to Scripture itself saying, "God planted a garden
in Eden (lOSC) in the east, and placed in it the human being
he had formed."
(13) The reason blessed Moses inserted the name of the
place in the text was that it would not be possible for those
inclined to take things lightly to deceive the ears of the simple
and say the garden was not on earth but in heaven, and dream
up wild theories of that kind. You see, despite the use of such
precision by Sacred Scripture, some people have not ques-
tioned the glib words of arrogant commentators and far-
fetched philosophy, even to the extent of denying Holy Writ
and saying the garden was not on earth, giving contrary views
on many other passages, taking a direction opposed to a lit-
eral understanding of the text, and thinking that what is said
on the question of things on earth has to do with things in
heaven. And, if blessed Moses had not used such simplicity of
expression and such considerateness, the Holy Spirit (lOSd)
directing his tongue, where would we not have come to grief?
Sacred Scripture, though, whenever it wants to teach us some-
thing like this, gives its own interpretation, and doesn't let the
listener go astray. On the other hand, since the majority of lis-
teners apply their ears to the narrative, not for the sake of
gaining some profit but for enjoyment, they are at pains to
take note of things able to bring enjoyment rather than those
that bring profit. So, I beg you, block your ears against all dis-
tractions of that kind, and let us follow the norm of Sacred
Scripture. 9 And when, dearly beloved, you hear that "God
planted a garden in Eden in the east," take the word "planted"
in a sense appropriate to God, namely, that he commanded
this happen; and, about the next phrase, believe that a garden
came into being, and in that place that Scripture indicated.
Not to believe in the contents (lOga) of Sacred Scripture, and
introduce instead other views from one's own reasoning, is in
g. Again the exhortation to follow the norm (canon in Chrysostom's terms)

of Scripture itself (cf. note 7 above).
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
my opinion to bring great peril to those rash enough to at-

tempt it.
(14) "He placed in it," the text says, "the human being he
had formed." Notice at once the regard he shows towards
him. Having created him outside the garden, he immediately
brought him in so as to provide him with an experience of his
kindness through the things in the garden; he was introduced
into the garden so that he might know the regard God had
for him through the actions done there. "He placed in it the
human being he had formed." The word "placed" let us inter-
pret this way: he ordered him to live there in order that what
he saw and his way of life should give him much pleasure, and
should awaken him to an expression of thanks in considera-
tion of all the kindness he had received without ever doing
anything to deserve it. (10gb) So don't let the reading "placed"
disturb you; it is, after all, the unfailing custom of Scripture to
employ human ways of speaking for our sake and for our
benefit. To be convinced of this, notice how previously, in the
case of creation of the stars, it used the same term in saying,
"He placed them in the firmament of heaven," not that we
should think of them fixed in heaven (for each of them pur-
sues its own path moving from place to place), but to teach us
that he commanded them to be in heaven just as he com-
manded the human being to live in the garden. "God also
produced from the earth every tree beautiful to behold and
good to eat, the tree of life in the middle of the garden, and
the tree for knowing good and evil." IO Behold still another
form of kindness out of regard for this creature. (lOgC) You
see, since he wanted him to live in the garden, he ordered
various trees to come forth from the earth, that could both
delight him with their appearance and be pleasing to the
taste. "Every tree," it says, "beautiful to behold" -that is, in
appearance-"and good to eat;" in short, they had the ability
to please him through their appearance and to provide much
pleasure through their taste, and by their great abundance
offered considerable good cheer to the one in a position to en-
10. Gn 2.9.
HOMILY 13
joy them. You see, it says, "Every tree," whatever name you
give it, he made come forth. Do you recognize here a life free
of any care? Do you see a wonderful existence? Like some an-
gel, in fact, man lived this way on earth, wearing a body, yet
being fortunately rid of any bodily needs; like a king adorned
with sceptre and crown and wearing his purple robe, (lOgd)
he revelled in this life of freedom and great affiuence in the
garden.
(15) "The tree of life in the middle of the garden," the text
goes on to say, "and the tree for knowing good and evil." After
teaching us that, according to the Lord's command, the earth
produced every tree, lovely to behold and good to taste, it says
next: "The tree of life in the middle of the garden and the
tree for knowing good and evil." The good Lord, you see,
knowing as creator the harm that would in due time be likely
to arise from this condition of great freedom, brought forth
the tree of life in the middle of the garden, and the tree for
knowing good and evil, since before long he would be impos-
ing on him abstinence from the tree so that man might realize
that he owed enjoyment of them to divine love and goodness,
and that God was Lord (11 oa) and creator of his nature as of
all visible things. Beforehand, therefore, he made mention of
the tree, and next he tells us the names of the rivers and their
division, so to say, and that from that source, which irrigated
the garden, others led off in four directions and thus marked
out the regions of the earth. Perhaps, however, those people
who like to talk from their own wisdom do not concede again
that these rivers are rivers, or these waters really waters, but
propound some different interpretation to people ready to
lend them their ears.11
(16) Let us, however, I beg you, not be convinced by them,
but block our ears against them; let us instead place our cre-
11. There is something strange about this rapid movement to a close of the
homily in place of Chrysostom's usual lengthy parenetic conclusion. In place
of it we have the barest exegesis of the tree for knowing good and evil-an
obvious gem for Chrysostom with his moral style of commentary-and the
briefest of references to the four rivers of VV.1O-14. Something has hap-
pened to the homilist or the text of the homily.
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
dence in Sacred Scripture and heed what is told us there; let it

be our concern to lay its sound teachings in our soul and be
scrupulously careful about them and about our life, (llob) so
that our life may witness to the teachings and the teachings
may declare the integrity of our life. After all, it will be of no
avail for us to get teachings right if we neglect life; nor will we
be able to gain any value for our salvation if we have life but
neglect right teachings. It is necessary, you see, if we would
wish to avoid hell and reach heaven, to be distinguished for
both-correctness of doctrine and attention to life. What
good, after all, tell me, is a tree reaching to the sky and bear-
ing leaves aplenty if it is devoid of fruit? So, too, with the
Christian: correct doctrine is of no benefit unless one attends
to the business of living. Accordingly Christ declared such
people blessed: "Blessed is the one who does and teaches." 12 I
mean, far more dependable and trustworthy than the teach-
ing of words is teaching in action.
(17) Such persons, (llOC) in fact, even without uttering a
word, or else without being seen, can teach others, in the one
case by the silent witness of their appearance and in the other
through the sense of hearing; they will enjoy God's goodwill in
great measure, promoting as they do the glory of their Lord,
not only through their own efforts but also through those
who notice them. Such persons raise thanks and praise to the
God of all on a thousand tongues and in many mouths; for it
is not only those who know them, the witnesses of their life,
that will admire them and their Lord, but strangers who hear
about it from others, people living far away and distant for-
eigners, not only friends but foes as well, who will respect the
eminence of their virtue. Such is its efficacy, you see, that it
stops the mouths of adversaries and bridles their tongue. And
just as people with poor sight (llOd) flinch from looking at
the sun's rays, likewise evil will never be able to confront vir-
tue, but will yield ground, turn away, and admit defeat.
(18) Convinced then of this, let us hold fast to virtue, and
pass our lives safely, taking care to avoid the slightest appear-
12. A precis ofMt 5.19.

HOMILY 13 179
ance of sin in word or deed. In this way, you see, we will never
fall into the worst of sins if we avoid small ones; and with the
passage of time we will be able under the influence of help
from on high to attain the pinnacle of virtue, escape any fu-
ture punishment, and gain eternal reward, through the grace
and loving kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with
the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, power and honor,
now and forever, for ages of ages. Amen. (lIla)
HOMILY 14
''The Lord God took the human being that he had formed and placed him
in the garden of delights to till it and watch over it." I
ODAY AGAIN, IF you don't mind, we will continue in the

direction of yesterday's sermon, and apply ourselves
to the task of drawing out from there the thread of
spiritual teaching for your benefit. There is, you see, great
force concealed in the words read just now; we need to go into
them at great depth and study them all with precision so as
to reap the benefit they offer. To make a comparison with
people trying to discover gems in the sea: they submit to such
toil and trouble and expose themselves to the buffeting of the
waves in order to light upon the object of their search. Conse-
quently, we should apply our minds much more diligently to
the task of discovering what lies concealed below the surface
of the words, and thus lay hold of these valuable gems.
(2) Don't be concerned, dearly beloved, (illb) to hear refer-
ence to depths. In this case, you see, there is no unruly surge
of waves; instead, there is the grace of the Spirit shining upon
our minds, making possible for us an effortless discovery of
what we seek and rendering every difficulty light. So whereas,
on the one hand, the discovery of those other gems brings to
one who chances upon them a benefit that is not extraordi-
nary, on the other hand, it often results in injury and proves
to be the cause of countless shipwrecks: the searcher does not
gain joy from the discovery to the same extent as he is afflicted
by unpleasantness in his discovery on account of the glances
I. Gn 2.15, Chrysostom's variant of the LXX mentioning a garden "of de-

lights" continued in the Vulgate.
180
HOMILY 14
he attracts to himself from envious onlookers, exciting the
greedy to enmity against him. To this extent the discovery of
that type of stone, far from simply bringing no advantage to
one's life, also proves the occasion of numerous contests. It
lays the groundwork for greed, you see, it stokes the furnace
of cupidity and lays siege to the soul of those caught up in it.
(llIC) In the case of these spiritual stones of great value, on
the contrary, no such problem is to be feared; instead, the
wealth to be won from them is beyond telling, the pleasure
from them is proof against defect and surpasses by a great
margin all joy accruing to human beings from that other
source.
(3) Listen to David's words on the subject: "Your sayings are
more to be desired than gold and much precious metal." 2 Do
you see how he made open reference to those materials con-
sidered more valuable than others yet was not only dissatisfied
with this comparison but added the word "much" and thence
he clarified for us at that point the superiority involved:
"More than gold," the text says, "and much precious metal."
The reason that he made reference to these substances was
not for the reason that the divine sayings are to be desired to
that extent alone but because he recognized that only these
substances enjoy the utmost pre-eminence in human estima-
tion-hence by referring to them (illd) he demonstrated the
superiority intended and the ardor of the desire felt for the
sayings of the Spirit. So that you may learn that it is the unfail-
ing practice of Sacred Scripture to compare the benefit that
comes from it with perceptible realities and thus demonstrate
the superiority of the former, listen also to what follows. He
went on, at any rate, to add: "And sweeter than honey and a
honeycomb." In this case, too, the reference is not for the rea-
son that they are sweeter only to that extent, or can provide
only that kind of sweetness, but because he had nothing else
among material things to compare to the sweetness of the di-
vine sayings-hence by referring to them he showed again
2. Ps 19.10.
ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
their superiority and declared the sweetness of the spiritual
teachings to be greater.
(4) You will find Christ, too, applying the same norm in the
Gospels. When he was speaking to the disciples, remember,
they were anxious to learn the meaning of the parable of
the man (112a) sowing good seed in the field and his enemy
throwing weeds in among the grain, so he explained to them
the whole parable in detail, asking who was the man sowing
the good seed, what was the field, what were the weeds and
who scattered them, who were the harvesters and what was
the harvest. When he had clarified all that for them, he then
said, "Good people will be as brilliant as the sun in the king-
dom of their Father"3-not for the reason that good people
will have only that kind of brilliance, but to show that they will
have much greater brilliance; he mentioned that kind because
it is impossible to find a stronger image than that from among
visible things. So when we hear something like that, let us not
stop short at the literal level; instead, let us reason from the
perceptible and visible realities to the superiority of spiritual
realities in particular. Accordingly, if it is possible to discover
the keener desire (112b) and the more heightened sweetness
in this case (these sayings being, after all, divine and spiritual,
and thus capable of prompting in the soul great spiritual joy),
let us with great yearning and strong desire apply our ears to
the words so that we may gain from them for ourselves true
wealth and welcome many seeds that will germinate into right
thinking about God, and thus make our way home.
(5) Let us, therefore, listen to what has been read today.
Keep your mind ever attentive, however, I ask you, shake off
all sloth and concerns for things of this life, and thus heed the
words spoken. They are, after all, divine laws brought down
from heaven for our salvation. To make a comparison: when
letters are read out from our emperor, there is complete si-
lence, all din and tumult hushed, everyone standing with
eager attention and desire to hear (1l2C) what it is the impe-
rial letters convey; anyone making the slightest noise or inter-
3· Mt 13·43·
HOMILY 14
rupting the flow of the reading runs the greatest risk. 4 Much
more in this present case is there need to stand in fear and
trembling, maintain utter silence, and rid yourselves of confu-
sion in your thinking so that you may be able to understand
what is said, while the King of heaven may accept your re-
sponsiveness and deem you worthy of greater favors.
(6) Accordingly, let us see what blessed Moses teaches us to-
day also, telling us this as he does, not only by his own tongue
but under the inspiration of the grace of the Spirit. He says:
"The Lord God took the human being that he had formed."
Right from the outset he has nicely put the two terms to-
gether: he didn't just say, "The Lord," and stop there, but
added, "God," teaching us something that had escaped our
notice and lain concealed in the text, (llzd) so that we might
realize that whether we hear "Lord" or "God" there is no dif-
ference in the names. 5 This point, however, I am not making
without reason: my purpose is that when you hear Paul say-
ing, "There is one God the Father, from whom all things
come, and one Lord Jesus Christ, for whom all things exist," 6
you won't think there is a difference in the expressions, one
referring to a greater and the other to a lesser. Hence Scrip-
ture employs these names interchangeably so that people in-
clined to controversy may have no encouragement to assail or-
thodoxy with a figment of their own imagination. That you
may learn that Sacred Scripture says none of these things with
distinction and discrimination in mind, notice precisely what
emerges from this very sentence under consideration. "The
Lord God took," it says. To whom does the heretic want this
to refer? The Father alone? Very well, then. Listen to Paul's
words: (113a) "There is one God the Father, from whom all
things come, and one Lord Jesus Christ, for whom all things
4. This is another of the more celebrated figures Chrysostom employs for

Sacred Scripture, akin to that of the letters sent by God and delivered by
Moses that is elaborated in Homily 2.
5. For Chrysostom there are no traces of different sources for the names
employed in his text; but perhaps we are still surprised to find him asserting
their complete equivalence, something an acquaintance with the Hebrew lan-
guage 'and mentality would have discouraged in him.
6. I Cor 8.6.
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
exist." Do you see how he applies the word "Lord" to the Son?
So would they say the word "Lord" is greater than "God"? See
how anomalous this is, and the extent of the blasphemy it pro-
vides a basis for. You see, whenever people are unwilling to
take the consequences of following the norm of Sacred Scrip-
ture/ wishing to make room for the vagaries of private rea-
soning, they upset their sense of balance and undermine
the solid orthodoxy of dogmas with endless disputes and
questioning.
(7) "The Lord God took the human being that he had
formed," the text says, "and placed him in the garden of de-
lights to till it and watch over it." See the extent of the pro-
vidence he employs in regard to the human being he has cre-
ated. I mean, after blessed Moses taught us yesterday that, to
quote him, (1l3b) "God planted the garden and placed in it
the human creature"-in other words, he wanted him to have
his dwelling place there and pass his days in enjoyment of the
garden-today he goes on to show us God's unspeakable love
manifested in his regard. Taking up this theme he says: "The
Lord God took the human being he had formed and placed
him in the garden of delights." He did not simply say, "In the
garden," but added, "of delights," so as to reveal to us the ex-
ceeding pleasure he enjoyed from living there. And after say-
ing, "He placed him in the garden of delights," he said, "to till
it and watch over it." A mark, this, of great solicitude.
(8) I mean, since life there was filled with every delight, was
a pleasure to behold (113c) and a thrill to enjoy, he arranged
accordingly that the human being should till the garden and
watch over it lest he be unsettled by the exceeding indulgence
("Idleness," Scripture says, remember, "has been the teacher
of every evil"8). Well, why, do you ask, did the garden require
attention by him? I'm not telling you that, but in fact God
wanted him for a while to take some slight care that was ap-
propriate in both watching and tilling. If, after all, he had
7. Again Chrysostom's insistence on following the norm, caniin, of Scrip-

ture itself in interpreting it, as he insisted even more strongly in Homily 13.
8. Sir. 33.28.
HOMILY 14
been relieved of all need to work, he would have fallen a vic-
tim to great indulgence and at once have slipped into sloth;
whereas in fact by performing some work that was painless
and without difficulty he would be brought to a better frame
of mind.
(9) That phrase, "to watch over it," is not added idly: it is an
instance of considerateness in expression to the effect that he
might be fully aware that he was subject to a master who had
regaled him with such enjoyment, and along with that enjoy-
ment entrusted him with its protection. (1l3d) God, you see,
creates everything and arranges it for our salvation, and as
well as that presents us with enjoyment and relaxation. If on
account of his exceeding love he prepared those ineffable
goods before creating us-as he himself says, "Come, you
blessed of my Father, take possession of the kingdom pre-
pared for you before the foundation of the world"9-much
more will he provide us with everything in this world in gen-
erous measure.
(10) So he conferred such favors on this creature, first
bringing him from non-being to being, then deeming it proper
to shape his body from dust, and after that as the supreme
gesture bestowing on him his incorporeal soul through the ac-
tion of breathing, then bidding the garden be created and di-
recting him to spend his life there, later, like a (1l4a) loving
father who prevents his young child from being unsettled by
great relaxation and freedom from care by devising some
slight responsibility appropriate to the situation, the Lord
God in like manner ordered the task of tilling and guarding
for Adam so that along with all those delights, relaxation and
freedom from care he might have, by way of a stabilizing in-
fluence, those two tasks to prevent him from overstepping the
limit. So these things had already happened to the newly cre-
ated being, whereas what happened in addition makes clear
to us again the great and unsurpassed love for him, as well as
the considerateness he displays on account of his own good-
9· Mt 25·34·
ness. What in fact does Scripture say? "The Lord God in-
structed Adam." 10
(ll) In this case also notice him once more following the
same habit so that we might receive a precise statement of the
teaching through the repetition of the terms, and no longer
tolerate those people presuming to make distinctions in as-
signing the names ascribing one to the Father and the other to
the Son. In fact, since (114b) both have the one essence, logi-
cally Sacred Scripture can be found applying the same name
interchangeably to the Father in one place and to the Son in
another. The text says, "The Lord God instructed Adam in
these words." At this we very properly are astonished at God's
loving kindness beyond all telling, which he reveals to us
through this brief sentence. "He instructed," it says. Notice
from the outset how much esteem he evidences for the hu-
man being. I mean, it didn't say, He commanded, or He
ordered, but "He instructed." Just as one friend is said to in-
struct another about some pressing needs, God, too, in like
manner conducts his relationship with Adam, just as if he
wants to win him over through this attitude of esteem to obe-
dience to his instructions. "The Lord God instructed Adam in
these words: 'From all the trees in the garden you are to
eat your fill, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil do not eat. (114c) On the day that you eat from it you will
truly die.'" 11
(12) No great difficulty in this instruction. Yet, dearly be-
loved, sloth is a terrible fault: 12 just as it makes easy things
seem hard to us, so enthusiasm and alertness render even
hard things easy for us. I mean, what, I ask you, could be
simpler than this instruction? What could be greater than the
esteem shown here? Provision had been made for his spend-
10. Gn 2.16. Chrysostom finds "Adam" in his LXX text, which is probably
misreading the Heb. for "the man," whereas the naming of Adam comes
later, in ch.S-though in a consonantal Heb. text the two forms are indis-
tinguishable when preceded by a preposition as here. (See Speiser's remarks
on Gn 2.22, Genesis IS.)
II. Gn 2.16-17.
12. So Chrysostom's pet aversion, rhathumia, "sloth, indifference" (cf. Hom-
ily 10, note S above and earlier references), now becomes the original sin.
HOMILY 14
ing life in the garden, for enjoying the beauty of visible things,
for gladdening the eye from that experience, and gaining
much pleasure from that enjoyment. Consider, after all, how
great a thrill it was to see the trees groaning under the weight
of their fruit, to see the variety of the flowers, the different
kinds of plants, the leaves on the branches, and all the other
things you would be likely to chance upon in a garden, espe-
cially a garden planted by God. On that account, you see, Sac
cred Scripture had said previously that "he produced from
the earth every tree fair to behold and good to eat," 13 so that
we might know that, (114d) despite his enjoyment of such
plenty, the human being trampled underfoot the instruction
given him, out of his great intemperance and sloth. I mean,
consider, I ask you, dearly beloved, the high degree of esteem
he had lavished upon him, laying for him in the garden a
table set apart for him to suit his tastes, in case you might
think the same food was supplied for him as for the brute
beasts: instead, passing his time in that garden like a king he
could revel in its enjoyment, and like a master he had no occa-
sion to mix with those ministering to him but had a life all to
himself.
(13) "The Lord God instructed Adam in these words: 'From
every tree in the garden you are to eat your fill; but from the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil do not eat. On the day
you eat from it you will truly die'" -as if to say to him, Surely
it's not something harsh and burdensome I'm demanding of
you? While entrusting you with enjoyment of everything,
(lIsa) only this one thing I'm instructing you not to touch;
but I also decree a severe penalty so that fear of it may help
you keep your balance and you may observe the direction
given you by me. He did this in the manner of a kindly master
entrusting his huge residence to someone and prescribing
some humble coin to be given by him as a pledge for keeping
the ownership intact for himself. Well, in quite the same way
our loving Lord lavished on the human being the enjoyment
of everything in the garden, and bade him abstain from one
l3· Gn 2·9·
tree only so as to be in a position to know that he is subject to
the Lord, whom he should obey and to whose commands he
should submit.
(14) Who could adequately admire the generosity of the
common Lord of all? With what great kindness he regales the
creature who has not yet anything to show for himself? I
mean, he did not (1l5b) confine to half the garden the enjoy-
ment he permitted, nor bid him abstain from most things and
retain the enjoyment of the remainder. Instead, he wanted
him to partake of everything in the garden and ordered him
to abstain from the one tree only, showing through these
things he had no other purpose in his actions than that he
should be able to recognize the one responsible for such acts
of kindness. Notice in this case as well as others God's good-
ness, how much regard he demonstrates also for the woman
due to be formed from man. I mean, though she is yet to be
created he gives instruction as though to two people in the
words, "'Do not eat from it,'" and, "'On the day ye eat from it
you will truly die,'" showing right from the outset that man
and woman are one, as Paul also says, "The man is head of the
woman." 14 So he speaks as though to two people for this rea-
son, (1l5c) that when later he has formed the woman from
man, he may provide the latter with an excuse for acquainting
her with God's instructions.
(15) I am aware that this question about the tree is com-
monly debated, and that many people inclined to speak in-
cautiously endeavor to shift the blame from human beings to
God, presuming to ask, Why on earth did he give him the in-
struction in the knowledge that he would infringe it? and
again, Why did he order the tree to be in the garden? and
many other such queries. In case, however, at this stage be-
fore the right time for discussion of the Fall we should seem to
be rushing into exegesis about such matters, we ought wait for
blessed Moses' account so as to reach that passage by this
means at the appropriate stage and raise with you in that re-
gard whatever matters God's grace has communicated, and
14· Eph 5.23.

HOMILY 14 18 9
thus teach you, dear people, the true mind of Scripture. Thus,
(llSd) in your knowledge of the truth of the sacred writings
you may both offer to the Lord due praise and also escape at
the hands of the guiltless God a share in the sinner's guilt
through neglect of him.
(16) The moment has arrived at long last, however, it would
seem, for us to proceed with the theme of the reading. "The
Lord God said," the text goes on, '''It is I:tOt good for the hu-
man being to be alone.'" See how once again it said in the
same way as previously, "The Lord God," so that we should
rivet the words on our minds and not think the fruit of our
human reasoning to be superior to Sacred Scripture. "The
Lord God said," it says, "'It is not good for the human being
to be alone.'" 15 Notice how the good God does not stop short,
but adds kindness to kindness, and, in an abundance of riches,
wants to clothe this rational being in every degree of esteem,
and along with this esteem to regale him with a life of ease.
The text says, remember, "The Lord God said, 'It is not good
for (1l6a) the human being to be alone. Let us make him a
helpmate like himself.'" Notice here again the expression,
"'Let us make.'" In other words, just as he said at the begin-
ning in the case of the formation of the human being, "'Let us
make a human being in our image and likeness,'" so now, too,
on the point of forming woman he employs the same expres-
sion, saying, "'Let us make.'" To whom does he address it? Not
to any created power, but to the One begotten of him, Won-
derful Counsellor, Figure of Authority, Prince of Peace, his
only-begotten Son. 16 So that Adam may learn that the being in
process of being formed is meant to enjoy equality of esteem
with him, accordingly just as he said in the man's case, "'Let us
make,'" so he now says also, "'Let us make him a helpmate
like himself.'" Both expressions, helpmate and like himself
have much significance. (1l6b)
(17) I do not want him to be alone, Scripture is saying, but
to have some support from company, and not this only but
a helpmate suited to him should be produced, hinting at
15. Gn 2.18. 16. Cf. Is 9.6.

woman. Hence he said, "'Let us make him a helpmate,'" and
added, '''like himself,'" so that when shortly you saw wild
beasts produced and all the birds of heaven, you would not
think reference was made to them. I mean, even if many
of the brute beasts helped him in his labors, there was still
nothing equivalent to a woman, possessed as she was of rea-
son. Hence he said, '''a helpmate like himself,'" and added,
"Further, God formed from the earth all the wild beasts of
the field and all the birds of heaven; he led them to Adam to
see what he would call them, and each name Adam gave a liv-
ing being, that was its name." 17
(18) It is not idly and to no (1l6c) purpose that this hap-
pens, but on account of what was due to take place shortly af-
terwards. In his foreknowledge of it, God shows us the great
intelligence with which he endowed the being created by him,
so that when the event occurs of the transgression of the in-
struction given by God, you won't think the human being
sinned through ignorance but will be in a position to know
that it was a sin of sloth. I mean, the fact of his being lavishly
endowed with intelligence, learn from what happens now.
The text says: "He led them to Adam to see what he would call
them." He does this out of a desire to provide us with a dem-
onstration of Adam's great intelligence. And further, "The
name Adam gave," the text says, "was its name."
(19) This happens, not that we may merely learn of his in-
telligence but that a symbol of his dominion may be provided
through the imposition of the names. You see, (116d) with hu-
man beings also this normally constitutes a symbol of domin-
ion-when they buy slaves, to change their names. Hence
God provides that Adam, too, as their master should give
names to the brute beasts. I mean, dearly beloved, don't pass
the expression idly by; consider, instead, I ask you, the extent
of his intelligence demonstrated by his giving names to such
species of winged creatures, reptiles, wild beasts, beasts of bur-
den and the other brute beasts, the tame and the wild, those
that inhabit the deeps, those that spring from the earth-
17· Gn 2.19.
HOMILY 14
to all these he gave names that indicated his dominion and
that were appropriate to each species-as the text says, "Each
name Adam gave was its name." Do you see the unrivalled au-
thority? Do you see his lordly dominance? Consider in addi-
tion to other factors this event, that lions, panthers, snakes,
scorpions, serpents, and (11 7a) all the other animals fiercer
than those, came in complete subjection to him as to a master
and accepted the names, while Adam had no fear of these
wild beasts.
(20) So let no one call in question what is created by the
Lord nor sharpen the tongue against the Creator-or, rather,
against his own head-and say those stupid words, Why were
the wild beasts produced? I mean, the imposition of names
shows us precisely that all animals, tame included, acknowl-
edged their servitude and the human dominion; after all,
those names that he imposed on them remain up to the pres-
ent time. IS In this way God determined that we might retain a
constant reminder of the esteem which the human being
from the outset received from the Lord of all and might at-
tribute responsibility for its removal to the person who (117b)
by sin put an abrupt end to his authority.
(21) "Adam gave names to all the cattle," the text goes on,
"all the birds of heaven, and all the beasts of the earth." 19 No-
tice already in this case, I ask you, dearly beloved, his inde-
pendence of decision and the eminence of his understanding,
and don't say he didn't know right from wrong. I mean, the
being that has the ability to put the right names on cattle, and
birds, and beasts without getting the sequence mixed up, not
giving to wild beasts the names suited to the tame ones nor
allotting to the tame animals what belonged to the wild ones,
but giving them all their right names-how could he not be
full of intelligence and understanding? Consider finally from
this passage how great the force of that breathing, and the in-
telligence of that incorporeal soul (117c) which the Lord had
18. Said with tongue in cheek? or just an occasional reminder of Chrysos-

tom's lack of sophistication as a commentator for all his theological profundity?
19. Gn 2.20.
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
granted him in constituting such a remarkable rational being
of two elements, and intertwining the incorporeal element of
the soul with the body, like an excellent craftsman related to
his instrument. So, whenever you ponder the extent of this
being's intelligence, marvel at the Creator's power. After all, if
the visible beauty of heaven prompts a well-disposed onlooker
to praise of its Creator, much more readily will this rational
being, the human person, be able to reason from the manner
of its own formation, the eminence of esteem and greatness
of gifts accorded it, and thus come to celebrate unceasingly
the provider of such ineffable kindnesses and give praise to
the Lord for his power.
(22) I had in mind to go on to what follows in the text; but
in case (117d) we should impair the recollection of what has
been said already by an excess of words, it behoves us to con-
clude the flow of instruction at this point. After all, it is not
simply the object of our concern to say a lot of things heed-
lessly; rather, we speak with this aim in view, that you will
keep them constantly riveted in your mind so as not merely to
have knowledge yourselves of the contents of the Holy Scrip-
tures, but also become teachers of others, capable of admon-
ishing them. So let each of you, I beseech you, go away from
here, in the company of your neighbor reawaken the memory
of what has been said, offer him what comes from your own
heart and listen to what has been remembered by him. So, re-
calling everything spoken here, and keeping it in your mem-
ory in this way, make your way home, ruminating on these di-
vine teachings; hence you may give all your attention to these
matters and occupy your mind with them, and so be able
to overcome with ease troublesome passions and escape the
devil's wiles. 20 You see, (ll8a) whenever that evil spirit spies
a soul wrapt in the things of God, constantly contemplating
them and going over them in mind, he doesn't dare approach;
20. A further reminder that to Chrysostom's mind his congregation were

not mere passive recipients of his scriptural instructions but activated to con-
tinued meditation on the message and (as we have seen above) students of it
in the Bible discussions within the domestic Church.
HOMILY 14 193
instead, he makes off at speed, repelled by the force of the
Spirit as though by some fire.
(23) So, in order that we may gain the fullest benefit our-
selves, may be able to overcome that creature and win grace
from God more abundantly, let us occupy our minds with
these matters. In this way, you see, everything in our charge
will be simplified for us, difficult things will become easy,
what seemed threatening will reach a useful conclusion, and
nothing on this earth will be able to distress us. I mean, if we
concern ourselves with the things of God, he will concern
himself with ours, and in complete safety we will navigate the
ocean of this life, (llSb) and under the guidance of that
mighty pilot, the God of all, put into the harbor of his love, to
whom be glory and power, now and forever, for unending
ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILY 15
"For Adam, however, there proved to be no helpmate of his kind. God caused
a drowsiness to come upon Adam, and he fell asleep. God took one of
Adam's ribs and closed up the flesh in its place. The Lord God fashioned the
rib that he had taken from Adam into a woman." I
AM VERY GRATIFIED by you for the fact that yesterday

you received with great enthusiasm the exhortation
we gave and, far from being upset at the length of
the discourse, you followed it to the very end (llSC) in such a
way that your desire for listening reached great heights and
continued at that level. Hence the sound hopes communi-
cated to us that you would translate our advice into practice. I
mean, the person who listens with such relish would dearly be
prepared for practice of good works; and in a particular way
your attendance today would provide a proof of your health
of soul. You see, just as hunger is a sign of bodily well-being,
so love for divine sayings proves to be the surest sign of the
soul's health.
(2) So, when the fruit of your zeal shows the outcome of
your attention, well then, let us in turn pay to you, dear people,
the reward we promised yesterday-I mean the reward of this
spiritual teaching, which has the capacity both to increase my
own resources while I am paying it and to render you its re-
cipients wealthy. (llSd) All spiritual goods are like this, after
all-something that can't be said for material things. In the
latter case, in other words, the one who pays reduces his own
substance and makes the recipient better off, whereas in the
former case, on the contrary, things are different: the one
J. Gn 2.20-22. Cf. Homily 14, note \0 above on the LXX (and Chrysos-
tom's) reading "Adam" in these verses.
194
HOMILY 15 Ig5
who pays increases his own wealth by so doing and the re-
sources of the recipients become greater.
(3) So, since we are well disposed for kindness and you are
ready to receive this spiritual wealth, keep the recesses of your
mind in a state of readiness. Come now, let us filfil our prom-
ise; let us take up again the thread of the reading from blessed
Moses, and discharge our debt to you at this point. We need,
therefore, to give an open explanation of the words read
yesterday with a view to exploring precisely the richness of
thought concealed in the words and (llga) proposing it to
you, my dear people. In other words, listen now to the words
of Sacred Scripture: "For Adam, however, there proved to
be no helpmate of his kind." What is the force of this brief
phrase, "For Adam, however"? Why did he add the particle? 2
I mean, would it not have been enough to say, For Adam? Let
us not be heedless in our anxiety to explore these matters, act-
ing out of great curiosity; instead, let us act so as to interpret
everything precisely and instruct you not to pass by even a
brief phrase or a single syllable contained in the Holy Scrip-
tures. After all, they are not simply words, but words of the
Holy Spirit, and hence the treasure to be found in even a
single syllable is great. So attend carefully, I beseech you: let
everyone give an alert attention, I ask you, no one sluggish, no
one drowsy; (11gb) let no one be distracted in thinking of out-
side concerns, or bring here the worries of daily life and stay
wrapt in them. Instead, consider the dignity of this spiritual
gathering and the fact that we are listening to God speaking
to us through the tongue of the inspired authors. Give your
attention in this way and keep your mind alert lest any of
the seeds sown by us will fall on rock, or by the roadside, or
among thistles; instead, let the whole batch of seeds be sown
2. A classic instance of Chrysostom's interest in the precision, akribeia, of

the text, to which he brings (and urges his audience to bring) a like precision
to the task of interpretation. And as an index that it is no dry pedantry that
lies behind his own precision, there follows his insistence that such textual
details are saving gifts of the Spirit who inspires the author. See my article,
"Akribeia: a principle of Chrysostom's exegesis," Colloquium 14 (Oct. Ig81)
32-36 for other examples from Chrysostom's works.
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
on good ground-I mean the field of your mind-and thus
be in a position to yield you a generous crop and multiply the
amount sown by us.
(4) Let us see, now at long last, what is the conjunctive force
of this particle. "For Adam, however," the text says, "there
proved to be no helpmate of his kind." Notice, I remind you,
the precision of Sacred Scripture. After saying, "For Adam,
however, there proved to be no helpmate," it did not stop
there but added, "of his kind," (llgC) clarifying for us by the
addition the reason why it formed the conjunction with the
particle. I would think the sharper ones among you would
probably by now be in a position to apply yourselves to pre-
dicting what is about to be said. Since, however, we must keep
our instruction addressed to you all alike and make our words
clear to everybody, come now, let us teach you why he spoke in
that way. But wait just a moment: you remember in what was
mentioned before that after Sacred Scripture said, "'Let us
make him a helpmate like himself,'" it immediately taught us
about the creation of wild beasts, reptiles and all the irrational
animals, saying as it did, "Further, God formed from the earth
all the wild beasts of the field and all the birds of heaven; he led
them to Adam to see what he would call them." Like their
master he imposed names on them (llgd) and to each species
he assigned its own name, wild beasts, birds, and all irrational
animals according to the intelligence granted him, so that we
at this stage might be in a position to know that all those crea-
tures, despite the ministering role they play and the assistance
they give human beings in their labors, are nonetheless irra-
tional and in great measure inferior to them-just in case we
might think it was about them God said, "'Let us make a help-
mate for him.'" You see, although they are helpful and make a
very useful contribution to the service of human beings, they
are nonetheless irrational.
(5) The fact that they are helpful, after all, emerges from
experience. I mean, some are suited to bearing loads for us,
while others to working the soil: an ox draws the plough, cuts
furrows, and provides for us much other assistance in farm-
ing; likewise an ass makes itself very useful in bearing loads;
HOMILY 15 197
and many other of the irrational animals (120a) service our
bodily needs. Sheep, after all, meet our needs from their wool
for making clothes, and again in similar fashion goats provide
a service for us from their coat, their milk and other things
related to our living. So in case you think it was in reference to
them it was said above, '''Let us make him a helpmate,'" it now
begins its statement with the words, "For Adam, however,
there proved to be no helpmate of his kind," as if blessed
Moses were teaching us in saying these words that, while all
these animals were created and received from Adam the as-
signment of names, nevertheless none of them proved to be
adequate for helping him. Accordingly he wants to teach us
about the formation of the being about to be brought forth
and the fact that this being due for creation is the one he was
speaking about. '''Let us make him a helpmate like himself,'''
meaning of his kind, with the same properties as himself,
(120b) of equal esteem, in no way inferior to him. Hence his
words, "For Adam, however, there proved to be no helpmate
of his kind," by which this blessed author shows us that what-
ever usefulness these irrational animals bring to our service,
the help provided for Adam by woman is different and im-
measurably superior.
(6) So, now that all the animals were created and had re-
ceived their names from the first man, the loving Lord made
it his concern to create a helpmate for him of his kind; having
arranged everything with this creature of his in mind and for
his sake brought forth all this visible creation, after all the
other beings he creates also woman. Notice how he teaches us
precisely the process of her creation too. I mean, after teach-
ing us that he wanted to produce for man a helpmate like him
by saying previously, '''Let us make him a helpmate like him-
self,'" (120C) and then adding, "There proved to be no help-
mate of his own kind," accordingly he set about the formation
of this creature of similar properties to him, and the text says,
"God caused drowsiness to come upon Adam, and he slept.
God took one of Adam's ribs and closed up the flesh in its
place. The Lord God fashioned the rib he had taken from
Adam into a woman and brought her to Adam." There is
ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
great force in these words, surpassing all human reasoning. I

mean, it is not possible to comprehend their grandeur in any
other way than by viewing everything with the eyes of faith.
"God caused drowsiness to come upon Adam," the text says,
"and he slept."
(7) Notice the precision of the teaching. This blessed author
has stipulated both things, or rather the Holy Spirit through
his tongue, teaching us the sequence of what happened. "God
caused drowsiness to come upon Adam," the text says, "and
he slept." (120d) It wasn't simply drowsiness that came upon
him nor normal sleep; instead, the wise and skilful Creator of
our nature was about to remove one of Adam's ribs. Lest the
experience cause him pain and afterwards he be badly dis-
posed towards the creature formed him from his rib, and
through memory of the pain bear a grudge against this being
at its formation, God induced in him this kind of sleep:
He caused a drowsiness to come upon him and bid him be
weighed down as though by some heavy weight. His purpose
was that, far from allowing man to suffer any sense of what
was happening, he should, like some excellent craftsman, do
away with mere appearances, supply for any deficiencies and
in his own loving kindness create what had thus been taken
from man. The text says, remember, "God caused drowsiness
to come upon Adam, and he slept. God took one of Adam's
ribs and closed up the flesh in its place" so that after the re-
lease of sleep he could not feel the loss he was suffering. You
see, even if (121a) he was unaware at the time of the removal,
nevertheless afterwards he would be likely to realize what had
happened. So lest he cause him pain in removing it, or the loss
of it cause him any distress later, he thus provided for both
eventualities by making the removal painless and supplying
for the loss without letting him feel anything of what had hap-
pened. So, the text says, the Lord God took the rib and fash-
ioned it into a woman. A remarkable expression, defying our
reasoning with its extraordinary boldness. After all, every-
thing done by the Lord has this character: forming the hu-
man being from dust is no less remarkable than this.
(8) Notice the considerateness of Sacred Scripture in the
HOMILY 15 199
words employed with our limitations in mind: "God took one
of his ribs," the text says. Don't take the words in human fash-
ion; rather, (121b) interpret the concreteness of the expres-
sions from the viewpoint of human limitations. You see, if he
had not used these words, how would we have been able to
gain knowledge of these mysteries which defy description?
Let us therefore not remain at the level of the words alone,
but let us understand everything in a manner proper to God
because applied to God. That phrase, "He took," after all, and
other such are spoken with our limitations in mind.
(9) Now consider how here again he follows the same prac-
tice as in the case of Adam. I mean, just as in that case he said
once, a second time and in fact frequently, "The Lord God
took the human being that he had formed," and again, "The
Lord God instructed Adam," and further, "The Lord God
said, 'Let us make him a helpmate like himself,'" so here too it
says, "The Lord God fashioned the rib he had taken from
Adam into a woman," and previously, "The Lord God caused
drowsiness to come upon Adam," (121C) so that you might
know that there is no difference between Father and Son in
these expressions; instead, on account of both of them having
the one essence, Sacred Scripture applies the names indis-
criminately. See at any rate how, in the case of the formation
of woman as well, it followed the same practice, saying, "The
Lord God fashioned the rib he had taken from Adam into a
woman."
(10) What would be said in this case by those heretics who
are always intent on calling everything into question and who
hold the opinion that the origin of the Creator of all has been
comprehended? What words can express the full sense of
this? What kind of mind can grasp it? He took one rib, the
text says-and how from this single rib did he fashion the
complete being? Yet why do I say, how from this single thing
did he fashion the being? Tell me, how did the removal hap-
pen? How was it he felt nothing of the removal? You can tell
me none of these things; (121d) only the one who did the
creating knows. So if we don't comprehend these things we
are familiar with and what has to do with the formation of the
being of the same race as ourselves, how much madness and

folly does it betray to meddle in what concerns the Creator
and to allege that those matters have been comprehended
which not even incorporeal and divine powers have knowl-
edge of, but rather continue without ceasing to praise in fear
and trembling?
(11) "The Lord God," the text says, "fashioned the rib he
had taken from Adam into a woman." See the precision of
Scripture. I mean, it no longer said, He formed, but "He fash-
ioned," since he took part of what was already formed and, so
to say, made up for what was lacking. Hence it says, "He fash-
ioned:" he didn't perform further shaping, (I22a) but took
some small part of the shaping already done, fashioned this
part and made a complete being. How great the power of
God, the master craftsman, making a likeness of those limbs
from that tiny part, creating such wonderful senses, and pre-
paring a creature complete, entire and perfect, capable both
of speaking and of providing much comfort to man by a shar-
ing of her being. For it was for the consolation of this man
that this woman was created. Hence Paul also said, "Man was
not created for woman, but woman for man." 3 Do you see
how everything is made for him? I mean, after the act of crea-
tion, after the brute beasts were brought forth, some suited
for eating and some capable of assisting with man's service,
(I22b) the human being that had been formed stood in need
of someone to talk to and able to offer him much comfort by a
sharing of her being. So, from man's rib God creates this ra-
tional being, and in his inventive wisdom he makes it com-
plete and perfect, like man in every detail-rational, capable
of rendering him what would be of assistance in times of need
and the pressing necessities of life. It was God, you see, who
was arranging everything in his wisdom and creative power.
After all, we for our part, even though unable with the limita-
tions of our reasoning to comprehend the way things happen,
nevertheless believe that everything yields to his will and that
whatever he directs is in fact brought forth. "The Lord God,"
3. I Cor 11·9·
HOMILY 15 201
the text says, "fashioned the rib he had taken from Adam into
a woman, and led her (122C) to Adam," showing that it was for
him that he had made her. He led her to Adam, it says. That
is, since among all the other creatures there proved to be no
helpmate of his kind (so the text says), 10, the promise I made
(having guaranteed as I did to provide you with a helpmate of
your kind) I kept by giving you one.
(12) "He led her to Adam," the text says, remember. '''Now
there is someone, bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh."'4
Notice here, I ask you, dearly beloved, how along with this in-
effable intelligence bestowed on him by God, which he dem-
onstrated to us by the imposition of names he gave to all those
species of brute beasts, he was endowed also with the pro-
phetic grace. I mean, the reason why this blessed author
taught us in the preceding passages that Adam was overcome
by drowsiness and sleep (122d) so as to have no sense at all of
what happened was that when you come to know that on see-
ing the woman he describes her creation precisely, you may
have no doubt that he is saying this under the influence of the
prophetic grace and the inspiration of instruction by the Holy
Spirit. You see, when God led her to him, he said, without
knowledge of anything that had happened, "'Now there is
someone bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.'"
(13) Yet some other translatorS renders it "This once" in-
stead of "Now", to indicate that this happened only on this oc-
casion, and there will be no repetition of the formation of
woman. Now, it is saying, woman has been made from man
whereas later it will not be like this; instead, man will come
from woman-or rather, not from woman but from the co-
operation of the two, as Paul also says, "Man is not from
woman, but woman from man; and man was not created (12 3a)
for woman, but woman for man."6 True, he is saying, but
4. Gn 2.23·
5. De Mofttfaucon notes that in fact both Symmachus and Theodotion,
second century translators/adaptors, rendered the words thus-an unusually
critical comment from Chrysostom, suggesting again the level of sophistica-
tion with which he credits his congregation. (See Rahlfs' introduction to his
Septuaginta I.)
6. 1 Cor 1l.S-g.
these words indicate that woman was made from man. Still,
wait a while and you will see his precise teaching in what fol-
lows. He goes on, in fact: "Yet man is not independent of
woman nor woman of man," 7 teaching us that in the course of
things the human being's composition will derive from both
man and woman through their intercourse. Hence Adam,
too, said, "'Now there is someone, bone of my bones, and
flesh of my flesh.'"
(14) Then, in order that you may come to realize the preci-
sion of his prophecy, and how what he had said has been con-
spicuous for its brilliance up to the present time and to its
fulfilment, listen also to what follows: '''She shall be called
woman,'" it says, '''because she was taken from her husband.'
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother, (123b)
and will cling to his wife and the two will come to be one
flesh."8 Do you see how he opened everything up to us, clari-
fying each detail precisely for us through his own prophecy:
"'She shall be called woman,'" it says, '''because she was taken
from her husband.'" Again he hints to us of the removal of his
rib; then, to indicate what was about to happen, the text says,
"For this reason a man will leave his father and his mother,
and will cling to his wife and the two will come to be one
flesh." Where, tell me, did these things come from for him to
utter? From what source did he gain knowledge of future
events and the fact that the race of human beings should grow
into a vast number? Whence, after all, did he come to know
that there would be intercourse between man and woman? I
mean, the consummation of that intercourse occurred after
the Fall; up till that time (123c) they were living like angels in
paradise and so they were not burning with desire, not as-
7. Ib.1!. As we have had occasion to note already in Introduction 14 and

Homily 8, note 16, Chrysostom's egalitarianism here regarding the sexes is
not altogether typical or sustained.
8. Gn 2.23-24. Chrysostom's Grk text, like the LXX generally, cannot
transmit the play upon words ishshah ... ish that survives better in English
"woman ... man." On the other hand, the Grk translators tended to intro-
duce an unnecessary future tense to verbs where the present more accurately
renders the Heb. (cf. M. Zerwick, Biblical Greek, 4th ed., English translation
(Rome 1963) ## 279-81).
HOMILY 15
saulted by other passions, not subject to the needs of nature,
but on the contrary were created incorruptible and immortal,
and on that account at any rate they had no need to wear
clothes. "They were both naked," the text says, remember,
"and were not ashamed." You see, while sin and disobedience
had not yet come on the scene, they were clad in that glory
from above which caused them no shame; but after the break-
ing of the law, then entered the scene both shame and aware-
ness of their nakedness. So, from what source, tell me, did
these things come for him to utter? Surely it's obvious that be-
fore his disobedience he had a share in prophetic grace and
saw everything through the eyes of the Spirit.
(15) These matters, however, I am bringing to your atten-
tion not without purpose; my intention instead is that even in
this early instance you may grasp God's surpassing love (123d)
displayed in regard to human kind in granting them from the
outset an angelic way of life, bestowing countless benefits on
them and regaling them with prophetic grace along with all
other goods. Then, when by contrast you see mankind's lack
of response despite such works of kindness, you may no longer
lay responsibility at God's door but recognize it completely as
man's. It is He, after all, who became responsible for all the
troubles that befell him, to such an extent that in future you
may learn both about the loss of such advantages and the con-
demnation he incurred for his disobedience. You see, when-
ever I consider the way of life God had granted him, showing
him to such a degree generous marks of kindness-firstly, the
fact that before his formation he had produced the whole of
the created universe for him, and then at that stage created
him so that he might come into existence and enjoy (124a) all
visible things; next he ordered the garden be created and in-
tended man should pass his life there, marking him off from
all the brute beasts and giving him authority over them, and
he bade him give them all names in the manner of a master
with his slaves; then, when he was alone and needed some
helpmate to share with him the same being, far from over-
looking this, God brought forth the woman and committed
her to the man in the manner he wanted, and after all these
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
he bestowed on him also the dignity of prophecy. In the wake

of these ineffable kindnesses he regaled him with the crown
of them all, liberating him from all the concerns of the body,
forestalling even the need for wearing clothes or any other ne-
cessity. On the contrary, as I said before, he intended man
should pass his days on earth like some terrestrial angel. Ac-
cordingly, whenever I consider all these things, (124b) I am
amazed by the Lord's loving kindness for our race and by
man's lack of response, as well as the devil's envy; the evil
spirit, after all, could not bear to see an angelic way of life in a
human body.
(16) In case, however, we prolong our sermon to a great
length, we will, if you like, keep for later the account of the
evil spirit's plotting and bring the sermon to a close at this
point, urging you in your goodness to remember with preci-
sion what has been said and meditate on it all so as to have it
firmly lodged in your mind. You see, if you constantly have in
mind God's kindnesses which he has conferred on our race,
we will ourselves be grateful and as well this habit will prove
the greatest encouragement to us along the way of virtue.
After all, the person who is mindful of God's kindnesses will
clearly make the effort not to appear unworthy of them but to
demonstrate such zeal and (124C) gratitude as to be deemed
worthy even of further marks of kindness. Our Lord, you see,
is prodigal with his favors, and when he sees us behaving
gratefully for what has already come to us from him, he lav-
ishes abundant grace on us and deems us worthy of even fur-
ther gifts, provided we make our salvation a matter of con-
cern and do not let the time slip away idly nor watch half of
the holy season of Lent slipping away before our eyes; in-
stead, our concern should be to see to some good conduct in
all this season and to correction of the passions that assail us.
You see, if it proved to be the case that we remained exactly as
we were despite the daily advantage we enjoy of spiritual in-
struction, and did not devote ourselves to virtue, nor elimi-
nate from our soul the various forms of wickedness, not only
would we have gained no advantage but we would have in-
curred greater harm. I mean, whenever anyone who has the
HOMILY IS 20S
advantage of such attention gains nothing from it, the greater
the fire of Gehenna heaped up for them.
(17) Accordingly, (124d) I beseech you to make proper use
of the time remaining in Lent and bring yourselves under
close scrutiny each week, or rather each day; rid your soul of
deficiencies and lay secure hold on practices of virtue, as the
inspired author recommended,9 desisting from evil and adopt-
ing virtue in its place-such, after all, is true fasting. Let the
irascible person rid the soul of this passion that inhibits pious
thinking, and turn instead to mildness and reasonableness.
Let the slothful and unmortified person, whose fancy is titil-
lated by bodily graces, discipline his thinking and engrave on
the texture of his mind the law of the Lord which says, "The
man who gazes on a woman so as to lust after her has already
committed sin with her in his heart;" iO let him banish the pas-
sion of incontinence and practice sobriety. (12 sa) Likewise, let
the person who is rash in speech and an idle commentator on
events imitate the blessed author and say, "Place a guard on
my mouth, Lord, and a heavy door about my lips;" II let him
never give vent to words idly and by chance, but listen instead
to Paul's warning: "Let all shouting, rage, blasphemy, foul lan-
guage and ribald jesting be far from you, along with all other
forms of wickedness," 12 and in another place, "May there be
some good speech for edification and profit, so as to bring
grace on the listeners." 13 By all means avoid oaths, in response
to Christ's condemnation in the words, "It was said to people
of old, Do not perjure yourself; but I tell you, take no oaths at
all." 14 So don't tell me, I take no oath in ajust cause: there is no
call for swearing in just cause or unjust. (12Sb) Accordingly,
keep your mouth clean of any oath, and ward off all such
from your tongue, your lips, and your mind so that no evil
thoughts arise within you or pass beyond your lips. Close your
ears securely so as to admit no idle report, as blessed Moses
g. Cf. Ps 37.27.
10. Mt 5.28. 11. Ps 141.3.
12. Eph 4.31, where Chrysostom's list varies somewhat from our received
text.
13. Ib.2g. 14· Mt 5.33-34 abbreviated.
bade us in the words, "Admit no idle report," 15 and as blessed

David likewise said, "I kept far from me the man maligning his
neighbor behind his back." 16
(18) Do you see, dearly beloved, how much vigilance we
need, how much effort on our way to virtue? how even some
slight neglect brings on us the risk of complete disaster?
Hence in another place as well blessed David shouts aloud his
accusation against the person guilty of this: "You sit down and
slander your brother, (125c) against your mother's son you
spread scandal." 17 If we protect all parts of our body in this
way, we will be able both to be spurred on to works of virtue
and to occupy our tongue in glory and praise of the God of
all-our hearing in listening to the divine sayings and learn-
ing them, our minds in comprehension of spiritual teachings,
our hands in almsgiving and the practice of good deeds rather
than in theft and greed, and our feet in entering the church,
houses of prayer and the shrines of the holy martyrs rather
than theatres, race courses and harmful spectacles, so that we
may benefit from the holy discourse in the former and snatch
ourselves unharmed (12Sd) from the devil's wiles. If this is the
way we devote our care and attention to our own salvation, we
will be able to reap benefit from fasting, escape the snares of
the Evil one, and win abundant favor from above. May it be
the good fortune of us all to enjoy this, thanks to the grace
and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with the Father
and the Holy Spirit be glory, power and honor, now and for-
ever, for ages of ages. Amen.
15. Ex 23.1 according to the LXX.

16. Ps 101.5, the future sense of the Heb. imperfect in this case (by contrast
with instances referred to in note 8 above) escaping the LXX.
17. Ps 50.20.
HOMILY 16
On the Fall of the first human beings.

"They were both naked, Adam and his wife, without feeling shame." I
WOULD LIKE TODAY, dearly beloved, to open up for

you spiritual treasure, which though distributed is
never fully exhausted, (126a) which though bringing
riches to everyone is in no way diminished but even increased.
You see, just as in the case of material treasure people able to
collect even a tiny nugget acquire for themselves great wealth,
so too in the case of Sacred Scripture you can find in even a
brief phrase great power of thought and wealth beyond tell-
ing. Such, after all, is the nature of this treasure: it enriches
those receiving it without itself ever failing, rising as it does
from the source which is the Holy Spirit. It remains for you,
however, to keep careful guard on what is entrusted to you
and preserve the memory of it untarnished so that you may
with ease follow what is said, provided we make our contribu-
tion zealously. Grace, you see, is ready at hand and looks only
for people welcoming it with generosity. (126b) Let us listen
today also to what is read so that we may come to know of
God's unspeakable love for humanity and the extent of the
considerateness he employs with our salvation in mind.
(2) "They were both naked, Adam and his wife, without
feeling shame." Consider, I ask you, the transcendence of
their blessed condition, how they were superior to all bodily
concerns, how they lived on earth as if they were in heaven,
and though in fact possessing a body they did not feel the limi-
tations of their bodies. After all, they had no need of shelter
or habitation, clothing or anything of that kind. It was not idly
1. Gn 2.25.
or to no purpose that Sacred Scripture indicated this to us; it

was that we might learn of this carefree condition of theirs,
their trouble-free life and angelic condition, as you might say,
and that (126c) we might attribute it completely to their indif-
ference when later we see them bereft of all these advantages
and, as it were, reduced to the utmost indigence after the
great abundance of their wealth.
(3) We must, however, listen to the words that have been
read. Blessed Moses, remember, told us that they were naked
without feeling shame (for they did not know, after all, that
they were naked, clad as they were in ineffable glory, which
adorned them better than any clothing), and added: "But the
serpent was the wiliest of all the beasts upon the earth made
by the Lord. The serpent said to the woman: 'Why is it that
God said, Do not eat of any tree of the garden?'" 2 See the evil
spirit's envy and devious scheming. I mean, he saw that the
human being, creature though he was, had the good fortune
to enjoy the highest esteem and was scarcely inferior in any
respect to the angels, as blessed David also says, "You have
placed him on a level scarcely lower than (126d) the angels,"3
and even this "scarcely lower" was the result of disobedience,
the inspired author, after all, uttering this after the disobe-
dience. The author of evil, accordingly, seeing an angel who
happened to live on earth, was consumed by envy, since he
himself had once enjoyed a place among the powers above but
had been cast down from that pinnacle on account of his de-
pravity of will and excess of wickedness. So he employed con-
siderable skill so as to pluck the human being from God's
favor, render him ungrateful and divest him of all those goods
provided for him through God's loving kindness. What did he
do? He discovered this wild animal, namely, the serpent, over-
coming the other animals by his cunning, as blessed Moses
also testified in the words, "The serpent was the wiliest of all
the beasts on the earth (127a) made by the Lord God." He
made use of this creature like some instrument and through it
inveigled that naive and weaker vessel, namely, woman, into
2. Gn 3.1. 3. Ps 8·5·
HOMILY 16
his deception by means of conversation. "The serpent spoke

to the woman," the text says.
(4) Consider from this, dearly beloved, how in the begin-
ning none of the wild beasts then existing caused fear either
to the man or to the woman; on the contrary, they recognized
human direction and dominion, and as with tame animals
these days, so then even the wild and savage ones proved to be
subdued. But perhaps in this case some may raise a difficulty
and seek to find out if the wild animals also shared the power
of speech. Not so-perish the thought; rather, people, follow-
ing Scripture, need to consider the fact that the words came
from the devil, who was spurred on to this deception by his
own ill-will, while this wild animal he employed like some con-
venient instrument (127b) so as to be able to set the bait for his
own deception and thus upset the woman first of all, being
ever more readily susceptible of deception,4 and then, through
her, man the first-formed. So he employs this irrational ani-
mal for laying his plan, and by means of it he speaks to the
woman in these words: "'Why is it that God said, Do not eat of
any tree of the garden?'" Notice in this case the extreme
subtlety of his malice: in the unfolding of his planning and
inquiry he introduces words not spoken by God and acts as
though motivated by care for them. This, in fact, is what
emerges from his words, "'Why is it that God said, Do not eat
of any tree in the garden?'" As if the evil demon were saying,
Why did he deprive you of such enjoyment? Why does he not
allow you to share in the good things in the garden instead of
granting you the pleasure of looking at them while not per-
mitting you to possess them and (127c) thus gain the greater
enjoyment? "'Why is it that God said?'" What, he is saying, is
the reason for this? What is the advantage of life in the gar-
4. Chrysostom's sexism, which is something of a problem for the translator

throughout the homilies and is a feature of this second creation story in par-
ticular, we have noted in Introduction l4. This present disparaging remark
(not supported by the scriptural text, needless to say) begins a trend in the
narrative, and betrays also Chrysostom's moralizing tendency that will place
Eve at center stage in the account of the Fall. With this, Chrysostom's soul-
mate, Paul, for all his bad reputation would not have been pleased.
den when you aren't free to enjoy the things in it, but are even
worse off in incurring the more intense pain of having sight
of things but missing out on the enjoyment that comes from
possessing them?
(5) Do you see how he uses the words like a bait to inject his
poison? The woman should have been able from his very ap-
proach to recognize the extremity of his frenzy and the fact
that he deliberately said what was not the case and made a
pretence of care for them as part of his plan so as to be in a
position to find out the instructions they had been given by
God, and thus lead them to their downfall. So he did not want
her to be able to recognize his trickery immediately and thus
abandon converse with him as being idle speech and so avoid
being dragged down to a low level. After all, there was no
need for her (127d) to get involved in conversation with him
in the first place; she should rather have conversed with the
person for whose sake she came into being, with whom she
shared everything on equal terms, and whose helpmate she
had been made.
(6) But acting impetuously-how, I know not-she got in-
volved in conversation with the serpent and through him as
through an instrument she took in the devil's deadly words; so
it ensued that she learnt from the devil's speech the very op-
posite to the words' real sense, and that whereas the Creator
gave one set of directions, the devil said the opposite to the
Creator about avoiding him, quitting further conversation
with him and having only abhorrence for the creature pre-
suming to sharpen his tongue against the direction given to
them. In fact, through her grave negligence she not only
failed to turn away but revealed the whole secret of the Lord's
direction, thus casting pearls before swine and (12Sa) fulfill-
ing what was said by Christ: "Don't cast your pearls before
swine, lest they trample them underfoot, turn on you and tear
you to pieces," 5 as in fact happened in this case. I mean, she
exposed to swine, to that evil beast, that is, to the demon act-
ing through it, the divine pearls; he not only trampled on
5. Mt 7.6.
HOMILY 16 211
them and opposed them with his words, but turned and led
into the rupture of disobedience not only her but also the
first-formed man with her. Such is the evil of idly and casually
exposing to all and sundry the divine mysteries. Let those give
heed who idly and indiscriminately open their mouths to
everyone.
(7) Christ, after all, is not talking about real swine in that
verse, but referring to people who behave like swine and, in
the manner of animals, roll in the mire of sin; (12Sb) he thus
teaches us to recognize differences in people and look to the
propriety of their life style whenever it is necessary to keep
secret any of the divine sayings, lest we bring harm on them
and ourselves. Such people, after all, not only reap no benefit
from what is said, but oftentimes even drag down into the
same depths of ruin as themselves those who incautiously of-
fer them these beautiful pearls. Hence we must guard them
scrupulously lest we suffer the same fate as those who are de-
ceived in this regard. You see, if in the present instance also
the woman had decided not to offer pearls to swine, she would
not have fallen into the abyss herself nor dragged her hus-
band down with her.
(S) Let us, however, listen to what she says to him in reply.
That is, when he said, "'Why is it that God said, Do not eat of
any tree of the garden?'" (12SC) the woman replied to the ser-
pent, "'We do eat of every tree of the garden; but of the fruit
of the tree in the middle of the garden God said, Do not eat or
even touch it in case you die."'6 Do you see his malice? He said
what was not the case so as to entice her into conversation with
him and thus learn what was the case. The woman, you see, is
evidently encouraged as though he were kindly disposed to
her, and she reveals the whole of the instruction, tells him all
in detail, and by her reply deprives herself of any excuse.
I mean, what could you say in your defense, woman? '''God
said, Do not eat of any tree in the garden.'" You ought to have
turned away from the speaker and said to him, Be off, you are
a cheat, you do not know the force of the direction given us,
6. Gn 3.2-3.
nor the extent of the enjoyment we have, nor the abundance
of good things given us. For your part you said God (12Sd) has
told us to taste nothing of any tree, whereas out of his great
goodness the Lord and Creator has permitted us enjoyment
and control of them all, bidding us keep away only from one,
and this likewise out of great care for us lest we taste it and
die. You should, had you been in your right mind, have ad-
dressed these words to him, turned away from him utterly,
and have had nothing to do with him nor listened to anything
said by him.
(g) Instead, however, she revealed the secret of the instruc-
tion and told him what God had said to them, and thus re-
ceived from him a different kind of advice, bringing ruin and
death. That is to say, when the woman said, "'We do eat of
every tree of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree in the
middle of the garden God said, Do not eat or even touch it,'"
that evil creature, enemy of our (12ga) salvation, in his turn
offered advice at odds with that of the Lord. You see, whereas
the loving God had forbidden their tasting that fruit on ac-
count of his great care for them lest they be subject to death
for their disobedience, that evil creature said to the woman,
'''You will not truly die.'" 7 What kind of excuse could anyone
find appropriate to the woman for being prepared to give her
complete attention to the creature that spoke with such te-
merity? I mean, after God said, '''Do not touch it lest you
die,'" he said, "'You will not truly die.'" Then, not being satis-
fied with contradicting the words of God, he goes on to mis-
represent the Creator as jealous so as to be in a position to
introduce deceit by this means, get the better of the woman
and carry out his own purpose. '''You will not truly die,'" he
said. "'God, you see, knows that on the day that you eat of it,
your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing
good and evil."'8 (12gb) See all the bait he offered: he filled
the cup with a harmful drug and gave it to the woman, who
did not want to recognize its deadly character. She could have
known this from the outset, had she wanted; instead, she lis-
7· Gn 3-4- 8. Gn 3.5.
HOMILY 16 21 3
tened to his word, that God forbade their tasting the fruit for
that reason-'''He knows that your eyes will be opened and
you will be like gods, knowing good from evil"'-puffed up as
she was with the hope of being equal to God and evidently
dreaming of greatness.
(10) Such, after all, are the stratagems of the enemy: when-
ever he lures someone to a great height through deceit, at that
very point he casts them down into a deep abyss. The woman,
you see, had dreams of equality with God and hastened to taste
the fruit; she had evidently set her mind and her thinking on
that goal, and she thought of nothing else than how to drink
the cup prepared for her by the wicked demon. That is to say,
listen to the account Scripture gives so as to learn that she was
bent on this course after receiving that deadly poison through
the serpent's advice. (12gC) "The woman saw that the tree was
good for eating, pleasing for the eyes to behold, and attractive
to contemplate. She took some of its fruit and ate it."9 True it
is that "evil converse corrupts good behavior." lO Why was it,
after all, that before that wicked demon's advice she enter-
tained no such idea, had no eyes for the tree, nor noticed its
attractiveness? Because she feared God's direction and the
punishment likely to follow from tasting the fruit; now, how-
ever, when she was deceived by this evil creature into thinking
that not only would they not come to any harm from this but
would even be equal to God, then evidently hope of gaining
the promised reward drove her to taste it. Not content to re-
main within her own proper limits, but considering the en-
emy and foe of her salvation (12gd) to be more trustworthy
than God's words, she learned shortly afterwards through her
own experience the lethal effect of such advice and the disas-
ter brought on them from tasting the fruit. The text says, re-
member, "She saw the tree was good for eating, pleasing for
the eyes to behold and attractive to contemplate," and she rea-
soned with herself, probably from the devil's deceit which he
g. Gn 3.6, where the LXX's "attractive to contemplate, ripe for contempla-

tion" departs somewhat from a difficult Hebrew phrase.
10. Paul's quotation of Menander's Thais at 1 Cor l5.33.
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
proposed to her through the serpent: If the tree is good for

eating, can so delight the eyes and has some indefinable at-
tractiveness about it, while tasting it provides us with the high-
est esteem, and we will have honor equal to the Creator, why
should we not taste it?
(11) Do you see how the devilled her captive, handicapped
her reasoning, and caused her to set her thoughts on goals be-
yond her real capabilities, in order that she might be puffed
up with empty hopes (130a) and lose her hold on the advan-
tages already accorded her? "She took some of its fruit," the
text says, "and ate it; she gave it to her husband also, and they
both ate it. Their eyes were opened, and they realized they
were naked." II 0 woman, what have you done? You have not
only followed that deadly counsel literally and trampled on
the law imposed on you by God, spurning his instruction and
treating it with such displeasure as to be discontented with
such great enjoyment, but you have also presumed to take
fruit from the one tree which the Lord bade you not to lay
hold of, you put faith in the words of the serpent, you re-
garded its advice worthy of greater heed than the instruction
given you by the Creator, and have been ensnared in such
awful deception as to be incapable of any claim to excuse.
Surely you're not, after all, of the same nature as the one who
offered you the advice? He happened in fact to be one of
those under your control, (130b) one of the servants placed by
providence under your authority. Such being the case, why
did you disgrace yourself, departing from the one for whom
you were created, as whose helpmate you were made, in
whose dignity you had equal share, one with him in being and
one in language-why then did you agree to enter into con-
verse with the serpent, and by means of this creature accept
the advice of the devil, which was plainly at variance with the
Creator's injunction, without being turned aside from such
evil intent, but rather presuming to taste the fruit through
hope of what had been promised?
I I . Gn 3.6-7 in the LXX rendering, which has both men and women eat-
ing together, not man on his own-perhaps accounting for the following di-
atribe against the woman alone.
HOMILY 16 21 5
(12) Well and good, then: so you cast yourself into such an
abyss and robbed yourself of your pre-eminent dignity. Why
did you make your husband a partner in this grievous disas-
ter, why prove to be the temptress of the person whose help-
mate you were intended to be, and why for a tiny morsel
alienate him along with yourself from the favor of God? What
excess of folly (13oc) led you to such heights of presumption?
Wasn't it sufficient for you to pass your life without care or
concern, clad in a body yet free of any bodily needs? to enjoy
everything in the garden except for one tree? to have all visible
things under your own authority and to exercise control over
them all? Did you instead, deceived as you were by vain hopes,
set your heart on reaching the very pinnacle of power? On
that account you will discover through experience itself that
not only will you fail to achieve that goal but you will rob your-
self and your husband of everything already given you, you
will fall into such depths of remorse that you will regret your
failed intentions while that wicked demon, responsible for
concocting that deadly plan, will mock and insult you for fall-
ing victim to him and incurring the same fate as he. I mean,
just as he had ideas above his station, (130d) was carried away
to a degree beyond what was granted him, and so fell from
heaven to earth, in just the same way did you have in mind to
proceed, and by your transgression of the command were
brought to the punishment of death, giving free rein to your
own envy, as some sage has said: "By the devil's envy death
entered the world." 12
(13) Our text says, "She gave it to her husband also, and
they both ate it. Their eyes were opened." Great was the man's
indifference, too: even though like him she was human and
his wife as well, still he should have kept God's law intact and
given it preference before her improper greed, and not joined
her as a partner in her fall nor deprived himself of such bene-
fits on account of a brief pleasure, offending his benefactor
who had also shown him so much loving kindness and had
(131a) regaled him with a life so free of pain and relieved of
12. Wis 2.24.

all distress. After all, were you not free to enjoy everything
else in the garden in generous measure? Why did you not
choose for yourself to keep the command that was so easy?
Instead, you probably listened to the promise contained in the
deadly advice coming from your wife, and buoyed up in your
turn with hope you readily shared in the food. As a result you
incur the penalty from each other, and experience teaches
you not to place greater importance on the wicked demon's
advice than on God. 13
(14) "She gave it to her husband also, and they both ate it.
Their eyes were opened, and they realized they were naked."
At this point an important question arises, which I promised
you, my dear people, yesterday to deal with. What I mean is
(131b) that someone could ask what particular quality was it
which that tree had that resulted in the opening of their eyes
from eating it, and why is it called the knowledge of good and
evil. Wait a while, if you don't mind: I want to discuss this, too,
with you for a moment and teach you, dear people, that, if we
wanted to welcome the contents of Sacred Scripture with
grateful hearts, nothing of what is said there would seem diffi-
cult. What I mean is that it wasn't the eating from the tree
that opened their eyes: they could see even before eating. In-
stead, the eating from this tree was the symptom of their dis-
obedience and the breaking of the command given by God;
and through their guilt they consequently divested themselves
of the glory surrounding them, rendering themselves un-
worthy of such wonderful esteem. Hence Scripture takes up
the point in its customary way with the words, (131C) "They
both ate. Their eyes were opened, and they realized they were
naked;" because of the Fall, they were stripped of grace from
above, and they felt the sense of their obvious nakedness so
that through the shame that overcame them they might know
precisely what peril they had been led into by breaking the
Lord's command. You see, before this they had enjoyed such
13. Is it chauvinism alone, or Chrysostom's moral purpose so obsessed with

Eve's moral behavior, that accounts for Adam's light rebuke? In this case
Chrysostom is not at one with Paul, author of Rom 5 and a writer of primarily
dogmatic concerns.
HOMILY 16 21 7
confidence and were not aware that they happened to be
naked (actually, they were not really naked: the glory from
above garbed them better than any garment), whereas after
eating-that is, after transgression of what had been com-
manded-they fell into such baseness that they then looked
for some covering through not being able to bear their shame.
You see, transgression of the command entered the scene and
snatched away that novel and remarkable garment-I mean
the glory and favor from above (131d) enveloping them-and
it both lent them an awareness of their nakedness and also
clad them in unspeakable shame.
(15) "They stitched together fig leaves," the text goes on,
"and made themselves skirts." [4 Consider, I ask you, dearly
beloved, what height they had fallen from and how the devil's
advice had cast them into a deep abyss. Whereas, you see, they
had been clothed in such glory, now they stitch together fig
leaves and make themselves skirts. This is the advantage to be
gained from the devil's deceit, this is the scope of his advice-
not merely to fail to provide greater benefits but to render us
naked and devoid of those we have. Since therefore such a
pretext of eating led to disobedience, Scripture accordingly
says, "They ate, and their eyes were opened," referring not to
the eyes of the senses but to their mental awareness. You see,
once they disobeyed (132a) what had been commanded, they
were now made to become aware of things that previously
they had no awareness of on account of the benevolence of
the Lord shown to them. So when you hear that "Their eyes
were opened," understand it in the sense that he saw to it that
they would now experience their nakedness and the loss of
the glory they enjoyed before eating. To be sure that this is the
way with Scripture, listen to what it says elsewhere as well:
when Sarah's maid ran away from service and got lost, she
flung her child down next to a log and from a distance she
thought about his approaching demise in these words, "God
opened the eyes" [5 of Hagar, not because she could not see
before then but because he awakened her mind. Do you see
[4· Gn 3·7· [s·Gn21.[g.

that the word "opened" refers not to our bodily eyes but to
mental awareness?
(16) We would (132b) make the same point in regard to the
other question that arises at this stage. That is, they ask, Why
was it called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?
There are, you see, many people bent on controversy who en-
deavor to maintain that after eating from the tree Adam had
knowledge to discriminate between good and evil-an opin-
ion of the utmost absurdity. I mean, in view of this and fore-
seeing it earlier, we dealt with many aspects of the intelligence
granted the human being by God, demonstrating it from the
imposition of names which he gave to all the animals, the
birds and the brute beasts, and the fact that he was endowed
with prophetic grace along with this ineffable intelligence lest
anyone come up with such an opinion. This person, there-
fore, who both imposed names and gave vent to that so re-
markable prophecy about the woman, as we have already
mentioned-how could he have been ignorant of what is
good (132C) and what is evil? I mean, if we admitted that (God
forbid), once again would blasphemous references be di-.
rected to the Creator. How, after all, could an ignorant per-
son be commanded that transgression is wrong? This, how-
ever, is not the case-perish the thought; on the contrary, he
knew quite well. It was, after all, on that account that God
from the outset equipped this creature with independence: if
this had not been the case, he ought not have been punished
when he broke the command nor considered worthy of praise
for keeping it. You see, the fact that he fell under death's sway
on account of the fall is clear both from the command itself
and from what happened later. Listen, in fact, to the woman
in person speaking to the serpent: "'From fruit of the tree in
the middle of the garden,'" God said, "'You are not to eat, lest
you die.'" It follows that before eating they were in fact not
subject to death; if this were not the case, he would not have
imposed death on them by way of a penalty after the eating.
(17) Who therefore (132d) could bear with those people
who insist on saying that the human being had knowledge of
good and evil after eating from the tree, that creature who be-
HOMILY 16 21 9
fore such eating was liberally endowed with intelligence, and

along with intelligence had been granted also the prophetic
gift? How do these two things make sense-on the one hand,
knowing goats and sheep and all the species of brute beasts,
what vegetation was suitable for food and what was harmful,
which types to keep away from sedulously and which ones to
approach; and, on the other hand, the idea that the human
being, this rational creature, should be unaware of what is
good and what is evil? But behold, they say, it was Scripture
that called it the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I
know that, too: but if you are prepared to learn the character-
istics of Sacred Scripture, you will know why it gave this name
to the tree. You see, it wasn't because it supplied knowledge
that it is called that, but because (133a) the transgression of
the command happened to concern the tree, and from that
event knowledge of sin then entered the scene, and shame as
well-that was why the name was given. It is, after all, the way
with Sacred Scripture to name places from the things that
happen, wherever it is they happen. So on this basis Sacred
Scripture also named the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil since transgression and observance of the command con-
cerned the tree.
(18) The loving Lord, you see, instructing the human being
in the beginning and from the very outset, and wanting to
teach him that he has a creator and craftsman who produces
all visible realities and shapes him as well, wished to reveal to
him his own dominion through this slight command. To make
a comparison with a generous master who provides a great
home full of wonders for someone's enjoyment: (133b) he is
prepared to take not the due price but some small part so as
in his own interests to protect his title of dominion and to en-
sure that the person may have precise understanding that he
is not owner of the property but enjoys its use out of his grace
and beneficence. In just the same way does our Lord entrust
everything to the human being, providing him with a way of
life in the garden and enjoyment of everything in it; lest he be
gradually perverted in his thinking and come to regard visible
things as self-sufficient and get inflated ideas of his own im-
portance, he bids him stay away from the one tree, setting a
severe penalty for transgression so that he may be aware he is
under his dominion and along with everything else is a par-
taker of his generosity. Since, however, he was guilty of great
inadvertence and together with his wife (133c) fell into this
disaster through transgression of the command given him
by tasting of the tree, accordingly it called it the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil-not because he was ignorant of
good and evil before this (he was, after all, not so ignorant,
since his wife in conversation with the serpent said, "'God
said, Do not eat of it lest you die,'" so that he knew death was
the penalty for breaking the command), but because after eat-
ing it they were divested of the glory from above and also had
experience of their obvious nakedness. This was the reason it
called it the knowledge of good and evil, since in connection
with it there took place the contest, as you might say, between
obedience and disobedience.
(19) Have you discovered why it said, "Their eyes were
opened, and they realized they were naked"? Do you know
why (133d) the tree is called the knowledge of good and evil?
Consider, after all, how much shame they were eventually
seized with after eating it and thus breaking the Lord's com-
mand: "They stitched fig leaves together, and made them-
selves skirts." See the depths of indignity into which they fell
from a condition of such great glory. Those who previously
passed their life like angels on earth contrive covering for
themselves out of fig leaves. Such is the evil that sin is: not
only does it deprive us of grace from above, but it also casts us
into deep shame and abjection, strips us of goods already be-
longing to us, and deprives us of all confidence.
(20) But in case we make this sermon completely melan-
choly by going on and on about this sin that consisted of eat-
ing of the tree and of the disobedience overwhelming the hu-
man being, come now, if you don't mind, (134a) let us change
the topic from the tree to that other one, from this tree to the
tree of the Cross, and let us see what harm the former caused
and what good the latter introduced. Rather, it was not the
tree that caused the harm, but slothful will and contempt dis-
HOMILY 16 221
played for God's command. The former tree brought death,

death entering the scene after the Fall, remember, whereas
the latter endowed us with immortality; one drove us from
paradise, the other led us up to heaven; the former rendered
Adam liable to such a terrible penalty for one transgression,
whereas the latter freed us from the countless burdens of our
sins and restored to us confidence in the Lord's sight. I6 Do you
see the difference between the one tree and the other? do you
see the devil's malice, man's indifference, and the Lord's loving
kindness? Accordingly, let us arm ourselves, I beg you, dear
people, with the armor of this lifegiving tree, (134b) and in its
power let us do to death deadly passions, as the Apostle also
instructs us in these words: "Those who are Christ's have cru-
cified the flesh with its passions and lusts." 17 What he means is
this: people giving themselves completely to Christ have cru-
cified every improper desire affecting the flesh and risking
impairment to the soul's whole vitality. Let us too imitate these
people and put our bodies on the alert against the tyranny im-
posed on us by the devil's activity so that even in this present
life we may cross this rough and dangerous ocean serenely,
put in to the calm haven of God's love, and be deemed worthy
to attain the good things promised to those who love him,
in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom with the Father and the
Holy Spirit be glory, now and forever, for ages of ages.
Amen. (134c)
16. It is precisely this sort of dogmatic study of the Fall, dear to Paul, that is
conspicuously missing from Chrysostom's moral treatment; so after a few sen-
tences he lapses again into moral consideration.
17· Gal 5.24.
HOMILY 17
"They heard the sound of the Lord God as he strolled

in the garden in the evening.'"
E HAVE SAID ENOUGH, I would think, as far as our abili-

ties lie, in giving our explanation lately of the tree, to
teach you, dearly beloved, what was the reason why
Sacred Scripture called it the knowledge of good and evil. So
today I want to proceed to what follows, so that you may learn
God's unspeakable love and the degree of considerateness he
employs in his care for our race. Everything, you see, he made
and arranged so that this rational being created by him had
the good fortune to be of the greatest importance, and far
from being in any way inferior to the life of the angels, en-
joyed in the body their immunity from suffering.
(2) When, however, he saw them both through negligence
transgress the commands he had given them, despite the
warnings he had conveyed by threatening them (134d) and
putting them more on the alert, he did not stop loving them
at that point. Instead, faithful to his own goodness, he is like a
loving father who sees his own son through negligence com-
mitting things unworthy of his upbringing and being reduced
from his eminent position to the utmost depravity: he is
stirred to the depths of his being as a father, yet, far from
ceasing to care for him, he displays further concern for him in
his desire to extricate him gradually from his abasement and
return him to his previous position of dignity. Well, in just the
same way does the good God, too, have pity on man for the
plot to which he fell victim with his wife after being deceived
and accepting the devil's advice through the serpent. Like a
1. Gn 3.8.
222
HOMILY 17 223
doctor treating a sick and suffering patient confined to bed,

who needs much healing and the doctor's attention, he goes
immediately to his side.
(3) In order, however, that you may learn (13Sa) God's in-
effable considerateness, from the words themselves you must
listen to the reading. "They heard the sound of the Lord
God," the text says, "as he strolled in the garden in the eve-
ning; both Adam and his wife hid from the Lord's presence
amongst the trees of the garden." Let us not, dearly beloved,
pass heedlessly by the words from Sacred Scripture, nor re-
main at the level of their expression, but consider that the or-
dinariness of their expression occurs with our limitations in
mind and that everything is done in a manner befitting God
for the sake of our salvation. 2 I mean, tell me this: were we
prepared to follow the drift of the words without taking what
is said in a sense befitting God, how could many absurdities be
avoided? See now, let us consider this from the very beginning
of the reading: "They heard the sound (13Sb) of the Lord
God," the text says, "as he strolled in the garden in the eve-
ning, and they hid." What are you saying-God strolls? Are
we assigning feet to him? Have we no exalted conception of
him? No, God doesn't stroll-perish the thought: how could
he, present as he is everywhere and filling everything with his
presence? Can he, for whom heaven is his throne and earth
his footstool, be confined to the garden? What right-minded
person could say this?
(4) So what is the meaning of this statement, "They heard
the sound of the Lord God as he strolled in the garden in the
evening"? He wanted to provide them with such an experi-
ence as would induce in them a state of anguish, which in fact
happened: they had so striking an experience that they tried
to hide from the presence of God. Sin, you see, appeared and
2. For an Antiochene like Chrysostom, anthropomorphisms represented a
particular challenge to the delicate balance of the two correlatives to his theol-
ogy of the Word-divine transcendence and considerateness for human lim-
itations. This particularly striking example of anthropomorphism of Gn 3.8
illustrated the latter eminently, but Chrysostom urges his congregation not to
take it so simplistically as to impugn that other factor, the transcendence of
the divine author.
transgression, and they were covered in confusion. After all,

that incorruptible judge-conscience, I mean-in taking a
stand against the accused (13Sc) cried out in unmistakable
tones, levelled its accusation, brought forward evidence, and
as if before their very eyes wrote down details of their sins in
all their magnitude. For this reason, you see, the loving Lord
from on high, in forming human beings right from the be-
ginning, implanted conscience in them as a tireless accuser,
proof against dissuasion and deception at any time.
(S) Even if someone were able to escape the notice of all hu-
man beings in committing sin and perpetrating improper
conduct, he could not escape that accuser; he would go his
wicked way with this accuser ever present within him to
trouble him, tear at him and flay him, never resting, be it in
public, in company, at table, sleeping or rising, demanding
justice for felonies committed, bringing into focus the im-
propriety of sin (13Sd) and the punishment due to it. Like a
skilful physician it does not cease from applying its remedies;
and should it find itself rebuffed, it does not take no for
an answer but continues its ministrations unremittingly. This,
after all, is its role, to make memory proof against dissuasion
and not permit us to lay our sins to rest but keep them in
focus so that even by this means it may make us reluctant to
fall into the same ones again. You see, if we find an ally in con-
science and get assistance from it as the forthright accuser in-
nate within us, our scourge, tearing at our vitals, bringing
more weight to bear on us than a public executioner, and yet
in many cases we still fall victims to our indifference, to what
extremes would we not be taken if we were deprived of such
assistance?
(6) This, then, is the reason why (136a) in the present case
the first-formed human being immediately hides on receiving
this impression and realizing the presence of the Lord. Why
so, tell me? Because he saw that stern accuser-conscience, I
mean-taking his position against him. He had no one else as
prosecutor and witness of his felonies with the sole exception
of the one that he carried around within him. They were,
however, taught through their nakedness the magnitude of
HOMILY 17 225
the sins they had committed by the removal of the glory that
had previously draped them like a garment, as well as by the
accusation of conscience. So since they were covered in confu-
sion after that grievous sin, they tried to hide. "They heard
the sound of the Lord God," the text says, "as he strolled in
the garden in the evening; both Adam and his wife hid from
the Lord's presence in the middle of the garden."
(7) Nothing is worse than sin, dearly beloved: once it ap-
pears (136b) it not merely fills us with shame but also robs of
their senses people previously sensible and full of great intelli-
gence. I mean, consider, I ask you, the depth of folly now dis-
played by this person previously endowed with intelligence,
who had demonstrated the intelligence granted him in the ac-
tions he performed, and who had given vent to such inspired
utterances. "Hearing the sound of the Lord God," the text
says, "as he strolled in the garden in the evening, he and his
wife hid from the Lord's presence amongst the trees of the
garden." What depths of folly does this not reveal-for this
man to endeavor to hide from the God who is present every-
where, the Creator who brings all things from non-being into
being, who knows things that lie hidden, who alone fashions
people's hearts and understands all their works,3 who tests
hearts and minds,4 who understands the movements of our
heart? 5 (136c) But do not wonder, dearly beloved. For that is
the nature of sinners. Even if they are not able to hide, they
try earnestly to hide. That you may know that they did this
because they had been denuded of their glory, unable to en-
dure the shame which enveloped them after their sin, con-
sider where they hid themselves: In the midst of paradise.
Just like heedless slaves and ones due for a whipping, when
they are unable to hide from their master, try to run hither
and thither into the corners of the house when their minds
are shaking with fear, likewise these two ran around in that
abode, that is in Paradise, but without finding any escape.
(8) It is not without purpose, however, that the time is speci-
3· Ps 33. 1 5. 4· Ps 7·9·
5· Cf. Ps 43.22.
ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
fied: "They heard the sound of the Lord God," the text says,
remember, "as he strolled in the garden in the evening." The
purpose was for you to learn the Lord's loving kindness, that
he didn't postpone action in the slightest; instead, once he saw
what had happened and sized up the gravity of the ulcer, he
at once set in motion the healing process (136d) lest the ulcer
spread and open up an incurable wound. So he moved to
catch it at an early stage and at once took action against the
spread of the ulcer, not for a moment leaving the victim de-
prived of his prompt attention, out of fidelity to his own good-
ness. What I mean is that the enemy of our salvation had dis-
played such rage in his unfailing envy of our advantages that
he concocted his plot from the very beginning and, through
his disastrous advice, he robbed those two of their wonder-
ful way of life. But God, ever anxious to try something new,
watching over our affairs in his wisdom, saw, on the one hand,
the malice practiced by the devil and, on the other hand, the
man's negligence, which was the means of covering him in
such shame once he had been prevailed on by his wife; so God
takes his position as a gentle and lovingjudge presiding over a
tribunal that causes fear and trembling, and conducts his ex-
amination in detail-teaching us through this approach not
(137a) to condemn our fellows before we have conducted a
detailed examination.
(9) So let us listen, if you don't mind, to the questions the
judge asks, what replies the accused make, the severity of the
sentence they receive, and the extent of the condemnation
judged appropriate for the one who delivered such dreadful
advice to them. Keep your mind alert, I beg you, and with
great trepidation heed what is said. After all, we watch an
earthly judge seated on his lofty tribunal summoning the ac-
cused into the court, flailing them and inflicting other punish-
ments on them, and in much trembling we insist on standing
by to hear what the judge says and the accused in his turn re-
plies. So much the more in this case is it proper that we should
do this, watching the Creator of our race doing justice to
those created by him. If, however, (137b) you attend with pre-
cision, you will see how great is the difference between God's
HOMILY 17 227
loving kindness and human beings' severity towards their
fellows.
(10) "The Lord God called Adam and said to him, 'Adam,
where are yoU?'''6 From the very enquiry it behooves us to
marvel at God's surpassing love, not so much that he called
him, but that he personally called him-something human
beings would never stoop to in the case of their fellows who
share the same nature with themselves. I mean, you know that
when they take their seat on the lofty tribunal and do justice
to those guilty of felonies, they don't consider the accused
worthy of having a reply made in their own person; conse-
quently, they let them see how much disrepute they have in-
curred through committing these crimes. While the judge
makes his response somebody else stands up and relays the
words of the judge to the accused, and in turn reports his
words to the judge. (I37c) Such you would see to be the prac-
tice of judges the world over. With God, however, this is not
the case. Instead? He calls personally: "The Lord God called
Adam," the text says, "and said to him, 'Adam, where are
you?'"
(11) See how much force lies concealed in this brief expres-
sion. You see, the very act of calling is a mark of great love
beyond all telling, as it is a mark of great goodness to give an
opportunity of reply to the accused in his shame, who dares
not open his mouth or loosen his tongue. Yet, along with this
loving kindness, the question, '''Where are you?'" is also very
telling. In other words, it is as if he hinted to him in these
words, What has happened? I left you in one condition,
whereas now I find you in another; I left you clad in glory,
whereas now I find you in nakedness.
(12) '''Where are you?'" How did this happen to you? Who
has brought you to this changed condition? (I37d) What kind
of robber and brigand has robbed you like this in an instant of
all the substance of your wealth and cast you into such indi-
gence? Whence has come the nakedness you are experienc-
ing? Who is responsible for depriving you of that wonderful
6. Gn 3.9.
ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
garment you had the good fortune to wear? What is this sud-
den transformation? What tempest has all at once in this way
sunk all your precious cargo? What has happened to make
you try to hide yourself from the one who has been so kind to
you and placed you in a position of such importance? Who is
it you are now endeavoring to avoid through fear? Surely,
after all, no one has cause to accuse you? Surely, after all, no
witnesses are testifying against you? Whence comes the fear
and dread that overwhelms you? '''I heard the sound,'" the
text says, "'as you walked in the garden, 1 was afraid because 1
am naked, and 1 hid.'" 7 Whence comes the knowledge of your
nakedness? Tell me: what is new and surprising? Who could
ever have told you of this, (138a) unless you have become the
guilty cause of your own shame, unless you have eaten from
that one tree 1 told you not to eat from?
(13) See the Lord's loving kindness and the surpassing de-
gree of his long-suffering. 1 mean, though being in a position
to begrudge such a great sinner the right of reply and rather
than to consign him at once to the punishment he had deter-
mined on in anticipation of his transgressing, he shows pa-
tience and withholds action: he asks a question, receives a re-
ply, and questions him further as if inviting him to excuse
himself so that he might seize the opportunity to display his
characteristic love in regard to the sinner even despite his fall.
He thus teaches us through this instance as well when we
judge the guilty not to berate them harshly or display the sav-
agery of wild beasts in their regard, but rather employ much
long-suffering and mercy inasmuch as we are dispensing jus-
tice to our own members, and out of a sense of kinship we
should temper justice with love. (138b) After all, it is not with-
out purpose that Sacred Scripture employs such great consid-
erateness; instead, through the concreteness of the expres-
sions it both teaches us God's loving kindness and promotes
our emulation so that we may imitate as far as human capacity
allows the goodness of the Lord. "He said to him, 'Who told
you that you are naked-unless you have eaten from that one
7· Gn 3. 10.
HOMILY 17 229
tree I told you not to eat from?"'8 Where could you have got
the knowledge of this, he says, and be covered in such confu-
sion, unless you have been so intemperate as to despise my
command?
(14) Notice, dearly beloved, the excess of God's goodness,
how, in this manner of one friend communing with another
and remonstrating with him over transgression of his instruc-
tions, he enters into dialog with Adam. "'Who told you that
you are naked-unless you have eaten from that one tree I
told you not to eat from?'" (138c) Even the phrase, "that one
tree," bears a slight nuance: Surely I didn't inhibit your enjoy-
ment? it is saying. Did I not relieve you of every need, give you
authority over everything in the garden, and only instruct you
to keep away from that one thing so that you might be in a
position to know that you are subject to direction and re-
quired to show some obedience? So what kind of terrible in-
difference is this that, despite your having such great enjoy-
ment, you could not bear to keep away from that one thing
but rather hastened in that manner to violate the command
given you by me and envelop yourself in so many excesses?
(IS) What good was that to you? Hadn't I warned you of
that in advance? Wasn't it my intention to check you be-
forehand with fear of punishment and so make you more
cautious? Didn't I tell you what would be likely to happen?
Didn't I for that reason forbid your eating that fruit so that
you wouldn't fall victim to those faults? Who could consider
you deserving of excuse now that you've proved to be so un-
responsive despite so many directions? (138d) Didn't I thus
instruct you in every detail, like a father to his own dear
son, and teach you to keep away from this tree while being
free to taste all the others lest it wreak havoc with all your
endowments?
(16) Perhaps, however, you have thought advice from an-
other quarter acceptable and to be preferred to my com-
mand, and followed it in the expectation of gaining greater
8. Gn 3.II-with some slight anacoluthon smoothed over in other LXX

manuscripts.
ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
advantages, and out of scorn for my command you were bold
enough to eat from the tree. See what you suffered through
that experiment: you discovered the disastrous effect of that
advice. Do you see the loving kindness of the judge? Do you
see his mildness and long-suffering? Do you see his consider-
ateness stretching beyond all thought and imagination? Do
you see how through his question and the words, "'Who told
you that you are naked-unless you have eaten from that one
tree I told you not to eat from?'" he wanted to open to you the
doors to excuse so that even in regard to such a sinful person
(13ga) he might show his characteristic love? So let us listen to
the accused as well, and hear what he has to say in reply to this
question.
(17) "Adam said," the text goes on, "'The woman you gave
me as my companion gave me fruit from the tree and I ate
it.''' 9 Pitiable words and full of much pity, and capable of mov-
ing the Lord to clemency, He who is so gentle, overcoming
our sins by his goodness. For when he had shaken his disposi-
tion by a great display of tolerance and had shown him the
magnitude of his sin, Adam all but preparing his own de-
fense, said to Him, "'the woman you gave me as my compan-
ion.'" (13gb) In other words, how could I have ever expected
that I would have been so covered in confusion through the
one you created with the very purpose of bringing me conso-
lation from her person? You gave her to me, you led her to
meet me. She-I know not under what impulse-in her turn
gave me fruit from the tree and I ate it.
(18) While this explanation seems to offer some excuse, it is
in fact devoid of all defense. I mean, what defense can you lay
claim to, he says, for forgetting my commands and judging
the bauble given by your wife more important than words
spoken by me? After all, even if your wife did give it to you,
still my command and the fear of punishment were sufficient
to dispose you to avoid tasting. I mean, surely you were not
ignorant? Surely you weren't unaware? With this in mind, out
9. Gn 3. 12 .
HOMILY 17
of care for you, I spoke up with the aim of preventing your

falling victim to these faults; and so, even if your wife pre-
pared the way for your transgressing my command, neverthe-
less you were not without guilt: you should have regarded
(139c) my command as more worthy oftrust, and, beyond dis-
suading yourself alone from eating, you should have demon-
strated the gravity of the sin to your wife as well. After all, you
are head of your wife,1O and she has been created for your
sake; but you have inverted the proper order: not only have
you failed to keep her on the straight and narrow but you
have been dragged down with her, and whereas the rest of
the body should follow the head, the contrary has in fact oc-
curred, the head following the rest of the body, turning things
upside down. Hence, since you have reversed the proper
order completely, you now find yourself in that desperate situ-
ation after being clad previously in such wonderful splendor.
So who could adequately lament the loss you have sustained
of such great benefits?
(19) But, all the same, even if all these things have befallen
you, put the blame on no one else but yourself and your own
neglect; after all, if you had not been willing, your wife would
have been unable to bring you to this disastrous state. I mean,
surely she didn't urge you? Surely she didn't inveigle you?
Surely she didn't deceive you? She merely gave (139d) you the
fruit, and in an instant with such ease you were prevailed
upon to taste it, without a thought to my command; instead,
you thought you had been taken in by me and had not been
permitted this food for this reason, lest you happen upon
greater blessings. What grounds would you have for thinking
you were deceived by me, the donor of such acts of kindness
to you? What great kindness did this indicate, to take early
precautions and clearly outline what you must abstain from so
as not to fall into the excesses in which you have now im-
mersed yourself? All these warnings, however, you gave no
heed to, and so, behold, you have found out for yourself by
10. Cf. 1 Cor 11.3.

ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
experience the seriousness of these sins; so at this point don't

lay the blame on your wife alone, but on your own indif-
ference as well.
(20) Accordingly, when he had addressed himself at suffi-
cient length to Adam, and the latter made excuses for his sins
by transferring, as he thought, the guilt to his wife, behold
(140a) the good Lord, how much considerateness he employs
again and deems her also worthy of a response from him:
"God said to the woman," the text goes on, "'What is this you
have done?'" II You heard your husband, he says, transferring
the responsibility to you and putting all the blame on you,
given to him though you were as his helpmate and created for
the purpose of providing him with comfort from your person
inasmuch as you have the same being as he and share in the
same nature. So why did you do this, 0 woman? For what rea-
son did you become the cause of such dreadful shame to your-
self and your husband? What advantage did you gain from
such intemperance? What benefit came to you from the de-
ception which you willingly embraced and made your hus-
band sharer in? So what did the woman reply? '''The serpent
deceived me, and I ate.''' See her overcome by great fear and
making excuses for her sins: (14ob) just as her husband
seemed to transfer the blame to his wife in the words, "'My
wife brought it and gave it to me and I ate it,'" so she too, find-
ing no way out admits what happened and says, "'The serpent
deceived me, and I ate.'" That evil creature, she says, brought
that disaster upon us, his baleful advice led us to that shame,
he deceived me and I ate.
(21) Don't pass these words by heedlessly, dearly beloved;
instead, let us study them precisely and gain much benefit
from them. I mean, a tribunal is a fearful thing, capable of
arousing terrbr, and we must listen carefully to everything
and lay up in our minds the great treasure to be gained from
what is said. That is to say, notice the man also saying, "'The
woman you gave me as my companion gave it to me, and I ate
it.''' No evidence of force, no evidence of pressure-only
11. Gn 3.13.
HOMILY 17 233
choice and decision: (140c) simply "gave," not "forced" or

"pressured." She in turn in making her excuse didn't say, The
serpent forced me and I ate. Instead, what? "'The serpent de-
ceived me.'" She had the choice of being deceived or not
being deceived. "'The serpent deceived me,'" she said. In
other words, the enemy of our salvation, working through
that evil creature, brought forward his advice and deceived
her-not forcing or pressuring but through his deadly advice
putting his deception into effect after finding the woman
easily disposed to embrace the deception and thus deprived
of any excuse.
(22) '''The serpent deceived me, and I ate.'" Notice, more-
over, the good Lord is satisfied with their words and doesn't
oblige them to say any more. You see, since he was not un-
aware of the truth when he asked them, but rather knew, and
knew very well, (140d) he shows considerateness for their limi-
tations so as to demonstrate his own loving kindness, and he
invites them to make admission of their faults. Hence he asks
them nothing further. After all, of course, it was necessary to
unmask the kind of deception; but to show us that his ques-
tioning did not arise from ignorance, he is satisfied with their
words. The woman, remember, in saying, '''The serpent de-
ceived me and I ate,'" hinted at that deadly advice which she
had accepted from the devil, namely, You will be like gods
after eating it. Did you notice how precisely Adam was ques-
tioned? With how much long-suffering the woman also was
brought before the tribunal? How each of them made their
excuse? Now, then, consider in this passage the surpassing de-
gree of the Judge'S ineffable love: when the woman said,
"'The serpent deceived me and I ate,'" he doesn't then grant
the serpent a reply, nor (141a) give it opportunity for excuse,
nor question it as he did the man and woman; instead, he ac-
cepts the excuses from them and turns on that creature as the
guilty party in all the evils.12 Since, from his being God, and
12. The risk of Antiochene accent on the literal becoming literalist and
failing to acknowledge the figurative character of passages such as these
seems to be realized in Chrysostom's commentary on these verses. See Intro-
duction 16.
therefore knowing secret things, he was aware that the ser-
pent was the means of achieving the devil's advice and his
envy shown in regard to human beings, his purpose was for
you to discover his goodness in the way he addressed himself
in their case (despite his knowledge of the facts), to Adam, on
the one hand, in the words, '''Where are you? Who told you
you are naked?'" and, on the other hand, to the woman in the
words, "'Why did you do it?'" whereas in the case of this evil
creature he did nothing of the sort. What did he say to him?
"The Lord God said to the serpent, 'Because you have done
this.'" Do you see the difference? While he said to the woman,
'''Why have you done it?''', to the serpent he said, '''Because
you have done it.'" Because you have perpetrated this wicked-
ness, he says, because you have adduced this deadly advice,
because you have ministered to such envy, because you have
whetted your hatred (141b) for this creature of mine, '''Ac-
cursed are you beyond all the beasts and all the wild animals
of the earth. Upon your belly shall you grovel and slide, and
eat dirt all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you
and the woman, and between your seed and her seed. He
shall watch for your head, and you shall watch for his heel.'" [3
(23) Notice in this passage, I ask you, the order and se-
quence illustrating God's loving kindness. I mean, he began
directing his enquiries to the man, and then turned his atten-
tion to the woman. When she mentioned who was the cause of
her fall, he turned to the serpent: not deeming him worth
a reply, he sentenced him to his punishment and extended it
for all time; in the person of the serpent a lasting instruction
was provided for everyone in future never again to accept
that deadly (141C) advice nor be deceived by stratagems de-
vised by him.
(24) Perhaps, however, someone may say: if the devil worked
13. Gn 3.14-15. The precise nature of the curse in V.14 emerges not so
much from the vocabulary and syntax (which in the Heb. leads Speiser to
suggest a translation "banned from" rather than "accursed beyond," and in
Chrysostom's LXX is still no clearer) as from the physical effects mentioned
in the second half of the verse, as Chrysostom himself comments on below
(Migne 142B), where the LXX somewhat embroiders the Heb.
HOMILY 17 235
through the serpent to deliver his advice, why was such pun-
ishment inflicted on that reptile? This happened as an ex-
ample of God's loving kindness beyond all telling: just as a lov-
ing father punishes the man who killed his own son, and
destroys the sword and dagger by which he committed the
murder, smashing them into many pieces, in just the same
way the good God, too, sentenced this creature to an eternal
punishment, when like some sword, he served the purpose of
the devil's villainy so that we might reason from this evident
and visible punishment to the depths of dishonor in which the
devil also found himself. After all, if this creature who played
the part of an instrument suffered such frustration, what
kind of punishment is it likely that the devil received?
(25) To be more accurate, however, we have already been
instructed in this (141d) by Christ when he spoke through the
holy Gospels to those standing at his left hand: "Depart from
me, you cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil
and his angels." 14 In other words, this fate has been prepared
for him from ages past, and that unquenchable fire awaits
him. So what could be more pitiful than the fate of those
people who on account of neglect of their own salvation make
themselves liable to that punishment prepared for that de-
mon? You see, for proof that the kingdom has been prepared
for us if we are willing to give evidence of virtue and fol-
low the laws laid down by Christ, listen further to his words:
"Come, blessed of my Father: inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world." 15 Do you see the
unquenchable fire prepared for the demon, on the one hand,
and for us, on the other hand, the kingdom, provided our re-
solve does not fail?
(26) Accordingly, let us keep these things in mind and give
heed to our way of living, (142a) avoiding evil and never fall-
ing victim to the devil's wiles. On the contrary, with good will
and no slackening of effort let us keep before our eyes the
punishment inflicted on the serpent so that we may hasten to-
wards the goal of our judgment and see the greatness of God's
14. Mt 25·41.
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
loving kindness. To draw a comparison: it often happens that

when people notice ajudge exercising his duties and sentenc-
ing the accused, they stay there for the whole day and don't
leave until they see the judge rise. Much more should we in
this instance watch the good God with greater enthusiasm to
see how he imposes that severe penalty on the serpent, on the
one hand, for the purpose of providing us, by the means of
this corporeal creature which that wicked demon had used
like some instrument, with an impression of the punishment
the demon was due to receive; and how, on the other hand, in
his clemency he imposes a due penalty on the woman and the
man (142b)-or an admonition rather than a punishment-
with the purpose of our observing everything precisely and
marvelling at the concern of the loving God shown in regard
to our nature.
(27) So what does the text say? "The Lord God said to the
serpent, 'Because you have done this, accursed are you be-
yond all the beasts and all the wild animals of the earth. Upon
your belly shall you grovel and slide, and eat dirt all the days
of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her seed. He shall watch for your
head, and you shall watch for his heel.'" His anger is pro-
found and intense, since profound also was the excess of the
deception which the evil demon brought into play through
that creature. "The Lord God said to the serpent, (142C) 'Be-
cause you have done this.'" Because you were the means of
such villainy, he is saying, and put the deception into effect in
this way by adducing the deadly advice and mixing the lethal
potion; because you did this and intended to expel from my
favor those creatures of mine, ministering to the purpose of
that evil demon who had been cast down from heaven to earth
for his envy and overweening arrogance-hence, because he
used you as his instrument in these exploits, I inflict unremit-
ting punishment on you, so that from what has befallen you
he, too, may be in a position to know the extent of the punish-
ment awaiting him, and that human beings to come may be
instructed never to fall victim to his counsels nor give rein to
his deceit lest they incur the same penalties. On this account
HOMILY 17 237
you are accursed beyond all the wild animals since you did not
employ your cunning as you ought, (142d) instead, the supe-
riority over all the other animals that you enjoyed proved to
be the cause of all these evils for you. "The serpent," the text
says, remember, "was the most cunning of all the beasts and
wild animals of the earth." 16 Hence you have become accursed
beyond all the beasts and the wild animals of the earth.
(28) Since, however, the curse was not perceptible to the
senses nor visible to the naked eye, he accordingly inflicts on
him a visible punishment so that we may have continually be-
fore our eyes reminders of his punishment to contemplate.
'''Upon your belly shall you grovel and slide, and eat dirt all
the days of your life,'" because you took advantage of your
physical form improperly, he is saying, even presuming to en-
ter into conversation with the being I had created as rational.
So just as the devil who worked through you, employing you
as his instrument, had been cast down from heaven for setting
his ambitions above his station, well, (143a) in just the same
way I direct that you too assume a different physical shape,
slide upon the earth and have that diet, so that in future you
won't be able to look upwards; instead, it will be your lot ever
to be in this lowly position, and unlike all the other animals
eat dirt. And not only this, but "'I will put enmity between you
and the woman, and between your seed and her seed.'" I'm
not even content with this, that you slide on the earth: I will
make the woman your implacable enemy, and not simply her,
but her seed as well I will cause to be perpetually at odds with
your seed. "'He will watch for your head, and you will watch
for his heel.'" That is to say, I will supply him with such force
that he will constantly threaten your head, whereas you will be
trodden under his feet.
(29) See, dearly beloved, (143b) by means of the punish-
ment against this creature, the extent of the care he reveals to
us that he has for the human race. So much is evident even in
regard to the serpent perceptible to our senses; yet it is also
possible to anyone interested to study the sequel to this in
16. Cn 3.1.
ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
what is written, and to know that if this is the story of the ser-
pent that is visible, much more should the words be under-
stood to refer also to the serpent perceptible only to the mind.
1 mean, this, latter he also humbled and put under our feet,
and caused us to trample on his head. Does he not indicate
this to us in the words, "Walk on serpents and scorpions" 17?
Then, lest we think these words refer to material serpents, he
added, "and on all the power of the Enemy." Do you observe
from the punishment inflicted on the devil's instrument God's
exceeding love?
(30) Let us turn again, if you don't mind, to the woman. You
see, since (143c) it was the serpent that was the cause of the
deception, accordingly he was the first to incur punishment;
and since he deceived her first, and she then dragged her hus-
band down with her, she is punished first, receiving that pun-
ishment which carries with it lengthy admonition: "He said to
the woman: 'I will greatly aggravate the pain of your labor, in
pain you will bear children; your yearning will be for your
husband, and he will be your master.'" 18 See the Lord's good-
ness, how much mildness he employs despite such a terrible
fall. "'I will greatly aggravate the pain of your labor.'" My in-
tention had been, he is saying, for you to have a life free of
trouble and distress, rid of all pain and grief, filled with every
pleasure and with no sense of bodily needs despite your
bodily condition. But since you misused such indulgence,
(143d) and the abundance of good things led you into such
ingratitude, accordingly 1 impose this curb on you to prevent
your further running riot, and 1 sentence you to painful la-
bor. "'I will greatly aggravate the pain of your labor, in pain
you will bear children.'"
(31) 1 will ensure, he is saying, that the generation of chil-
dren, a reason for great satisfaction, for you will begin with
pain so that each time without fail you will personally have a
reminder, through the distress and the pain of each birth, of
the magnitude of this sin of disobedience, and may not in the
17. Lk 10.19. 18. Gn 3.16.

HOMILY 17 239
course of time allow the event to slip into oblivion, but may be
enabled to realize that the deception was the cause of these
ills. Hence" 'I will greatly aggravate the pain of your labor, in
pain you will bear children.'" In this passage he refers to the
pangs of labor and in that great distress there is no avoiding
(144a) carrying the child all those months like some load, feel-
ing each twinge of pain that is caused by that, the twitching of
its limbs, and the unbearable pangs known only to those who
go through the experience.
(32) Nevertheless, however, the loving God offered comfort
with the pain, so that the satisfaction of bearing the child
equally matched those pangs that tortured the womb all those
months. I mean, women who are subjected to such distress,
are so tormented by the bouts of pain, and, so to say, even de-
spair of life itself, enjoy after the birth satisfaction even in
their distress: as though forgetting all that has happened,
they give themselves again to the bearing of children, accord-
ing to the loving God's providence for the maintenance of hu-
man beings' welfare. You see, the expectation of future bene-
fits (144b) makes us always bear the distress of the present
time with ease.
(33) You would see this trial affecting travellers as well, as
they cross the mighty oceans and put up with shipwreck and
pirates; despite those many dangers and the disappointment
of their hopes they in no way give up, but rather press on to-
wards the same goal. The same thing can be said also of farm-
ers: when they dig deep furrows, till the earth with great care
and sow the seed liberally, there frequently occurs drought or
flooding, or at the conclusion of the harvesting rust descends
on the crop and they lose hope; yet they still don't give up
at this point, but when better times come they resume their
farming. (144C) And you would find this happening in the
case of every occupation.
(34) Well, in just the same way, woman too, in her turn, de-
spite all those months, despite the unspeakable pains, despite
the sleepless nights, despite the twitching oflimbs, or through
some slight accident she gives birth prematurely to the child
ST.JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
in an undeveloped state and unrecognizable, or if fully devel-

oped yet handicapped, or unhealthy, or even in many cases
stillborn, scarcely escaping risk to her own life-yet despite all
this she puts up with the same trouble again, as though obliv-
ious of all these pangs, and she undergoes the same process
again. Why do I say the same process? Often it happens that
the woman dies with the child, yet this event does not worry
other women or induce them to avoid the experience-such
being the pleasure and satisfaction God has combined to-
gether with the pains. 19
(35) Hence he said, '''I will greatly aggravate the pain of
your labor, in pain you will bear children.'" This is what
Christ also talked about with his disciples, showing them the
intensity of the pain and the great degree of satisfaction,
when he said, "A woman in labor suffers for the reason that
her time has come;" (144d) then, wanting to bring home to us
how the element of suffering is suddenly removed whereas its
place is taken by joy and happiness, he said, "But when she
has given birth to the child, she no longer remembers the
distress for joy that a human being has been born into the
world."20 Do you see the exceeding care? Do you see punish-
ment accompanied by admonition? '''In pain you will bear
children;'" then, '''Your yearning will be for your husband,
and he will be your master.'"
(36) As if to explain his reasons to the woman, the loving
God said this, meaning, In the beginning I created you equal
in esteem to your husband, and my intention was that in
everything you would share with him as an equal, and as I en-
trusted control of everything to your husband, so did I to you;
but you abused your equality of status. Hence I subject you to
your husband: '''Your yearning will be for your husband, and
he will be your master.'" Because you abandoned your equal,
who was sharer with you in the same nature (145a) and for
whom you were created, and you chose to enter into conversa-
19. For all Chrysostom's sexism, he is not insensitive to the female condi-
tion and can write feelingly of it.
2o.Jn 16.21.
HOMILY 17
tion with that evil creature the serpent, and to take the advice
he had to give, accordingly I now subject you to him in future
and designate him as your master for you to recognize his
lordship, and since you did not know how to rule, learn well
how to be ruled. "'Your yearning will be for your husband,
and he will be your master.'" It is better that you be subject to
him and fall under his lordship than that enjoying freedom
and authority, you would be cast into the abyss. It would be
more useful also for a horse to carry the bit and travel under
direction than without this to fall down a cliff. Accordingly,
considering what is advantageous, I want you to have yearn-
ing for him and, like a body being directed by its head, to rec-
ognize his lordship pleasurably.
(37) I know that you are wearied by (145b) the excess of
words, but stir yourselves a little, I beseech you, lest we leave
the sentence incomplete and depart while the judge is still sit-
ting. We are in fact close to the end now. So let us see what he
says to the man after the woman, and what kind of punish-
ment he inflicts on him. "Whereas to Adam he said: 'Because
you listened to your wife's words and ate from this one tree I
told you not to eat from, accursed shall be the soil as you till it.
In pain may you eat from it all the days of your life. Thorns
and thistles let it yield you, and you are to eat the grass of the
field. In the sweat of your brow may you eat your bread until
you return to the soil whence you were taken; for dust you are
and to dust you are to return.'''21 Great is the (145c) Lord's
care and beyond all telling displayed here for the human
being-but let us listen precisely to each word spoken.
"Whereas to Adam he said: 'Because you listened to your
wife's words and ate from this one tree I told you not to eat
from.'" Since you listened to your wife, he is saying, and ate
from the tree, and put the advice from her ahead of my com-
mand and weren't prepared to keep away from this one single
tree which I told you not to eat from (surely, after all, I didn't
bid you keep away from many? one only, and yet you couldn't
21. Gn 3.17-19, with a particular nuance-or misreading-by the LXX in

"as you till it," which Chrysostom naturally retains.
keep away from that, but forgot my commands and were
overborne by your wife). Hence you are to learn through your
very labors how much evil you have committed.
(38) Let men give good heed, let women give good heed-
the former, that they may have nothing to do with those
people advising evil actions, and the latter, that they may ad-
vise nothing of the sort. (14Sd) I mean, if Adam shifted the
blame on to his wife and was still considered incapable of any
excuse, what kind of defense could anyone offer in the claim,
"It was on account of my wife that I sinned in this way and
that, and committed this sin and that"? After all, the reason
that she came under your dominion and you were declared
her master was that she should follow your lead, not for the
head to follow the feet. Frequently, however, it is possible to
see the opposite occurring, that the one who is supposed to be
in the position of head doesn't even keep to the position of the
feet, whereas she who is in the position of the feet is installed
in the position of head. Hence also blessed Paul, the world's
teacher, foresaw all this and cried out, "How, after all, can
you be sure, wife, whether you will save your husband? And
how can you be sure, husband, whether you will save your
wife?" 22 Still, let a husband be very much on his guard so as to
resist his wife's inducement to harmful behavior, and let a wife
(146a) keep fresh in mind the punishment Eve received for
plying her husband with harmful advice, and not presume to
offer such advice nor imitate Eve, but rather bring him to his
senses by her example and encourage him to that kind of be-
havior that will discharge herself and her husband of any
punishment or penalty.
(39) But let us return to the text before us. "Whereas to
Adam he said: 'Because you listened to your wife's words and
ate from this one tree I told you not to eat from.'" Because, he
is saying, you displayed such indifference about keeping the
command given by me, and neither fear nor my intervening
to decree the punishment liable to happen to you for eating
the fruit was of any benefit, but in fact you ran headlong into
22. 1 Cor 7.16.

HOMILY 17 243
such terrible wickedness that you were unable to keep away

from that single tree despite such great enjoyment, accord-
ingly '''accursed shall be the soil (146b) as you till it.'" See the
Lord's loving kindness, how he punishes the serpent one way
and this rational being a different way: to the former he says,
'''Accursed are you beyond the earth,'" whereas in this case he
doesn't speak in that way. What, then? '''Accursed shall be the
soil as you till it.'" Appropriately, too. You see, since the soil
had been produced for the sake of the human being so that
he might thus be able to enjoy what sprang from it, accord-
ingly in turn he places a curse on it on account of the human
being's sin; because the curse on it impairs in turn the human
being's relaxation and tranquillity, he says, "'Accursed shall be
the soil as you till it.'"
(40) Then, so that you may learn what "accursed" means,
he added, "'In pain may you eat from it all the days of your
life.'" See how each punishment is extended for a lifetime, so
that not only may they personally be the better off for it, but
that those destined to follow in future may learn from these
very events whence the source of this punishment (146c) de-
rived in their case: '''In pain,'" he says, '''may you eat from it
all the days of your life.''' Then, to teach us more precisely the
kind of curse and the cause of the pain, he added, "'Thorns
and thistles let it yield you.'" Behold the reminders of the
curse: thorns it will bring forth, he says, and thistles so as to
give rise to great labor and discomfort, and I will ensure you
pass the whole time with pain so that this experience may
prove a brake on your getting ideas above your station and
you may instead have a thought to your own make-up and
never again bear to be deceived in these matters.
(41) "'You are to eat of the grass of the field. In the sweat of
your brow may you eat your bread.'" See how after his disobe-
dience everything is imposed on him in an opposite way to his
former life style: My intention in bringing you into the world,
he is saying, was that you should live your life without pain or
toil, difficuJty or sweat, (146d) and that you should be in a
state of enjoyment and prosperity, and not be subject to the
needs of the body but be free from all such and have the good
fortune to experience complete freedom. Since, however,

such indulgence was of no benefit to you, accordingly I curse
the ground so that it will not in future yield its harvest as be-
fore without tilling and ploughing; instead, I invest you with
great labor, toil and difficulty, and with unremitting pain and
despair, and I am ensuring that everything you do is achieved
only by sweat so that under pressure from these you may have
continual guidance in keeping to limits and recognizing your
own make-up. Nor will this continue for a short period or a
brief space of time: it will last all your life. "'In the sweat of
your brow may you eat your bread until you return to the soil
whence you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you are
to return.'" (147a) You will endure this as long as the span of
your life is extended and you decompose into the material
you were formed from. You see, even though in my loving
kindness I endowed you with a bodily nature, yet your body
being from the earth will in turn revert to the earth. "'For
dust you are, and to dust you are to return.'" After all, to pre-
vent this happening I said, "'Do not touch the tree,'" explain-
ing that" 'on the day you eat of it you will truly die.'" You see,
this was not my intention; on the contrary, everything on my
part was carried through, but you appropriated it for your-
self-so don't attribute the blame to anyone else, but put it
down to your own indifference.
(42) At this point, however, a further question arises for us,
which, if you don't mind, we'll dispose of immediately at this
stage and bring the sermon to a close. God said, the text tells
us, "'On the day you eat from it you will truly die;'" (147b) yet
they are shown living for a great number of years after the
disobedience and tasting the food. This seems to pose a prob-
lem for those who read the subject matter superficially; if
however you give your attention to it in the proper spirit, the
verse is clear and offers no problem to the student. You see,
even if they lived a long time, nevertheless from the time they
heard the words, "'Dust you are, and to dust you are to re-
turn,'" and received the sentence of death, they became liable
to death and you would say from that moment they were
dead. So this is what Scripture is also implying when it says
HOMILY 17 245
that" 'on the day you eat, you will truly die'" -that is to say,
receive the sentence of being mortal from now on. I mean,
just as in the case of human tribunals, when someone receives
the sentence of beheading and is cast into prison, (147c) even
if he stays there a long time his life is no better than that of
dead people and corpses, being already dead by reason of his
sentence, in just the same way they, too, from the day they re-
ceived the sentence of mortality were dead by reason of their
sentence, even if they lasted a long time.
(43) I know that our words have been numerous and the
thread of our teaching has been drawn out to great length.
Hence, since by the grace of God and to the extent of our abil-
ity we have proposed everything to you and brought to a con-
clusion the subject matter we read about, let us at this point
close the sermon. It would, in fact, have been possible for us
to propose other matters, illustrating further that the imposi-
tion of that very punishment and their being made liable to
death was a mark of great depths of loving kindness. But in
case we smother your thinking with a great surfeit of words,
come now, let us encourage you as you leave here (I47d) not
to give your time to brainless gatherings or to improper gos-
siping; instead, reflect privately and rehearse with one an-
other what has been said, reminding yourselves of what the
judge said in reply, what defense the guilty made, how the
man shifted the blame on to the woman and she shifted it to
the serpent, how God punished that creature and the fact that
he inflicted on it the punishment that would be constant and
lasting for all time, that in its regard he delivered a severe
denunciation and thus demonstrated his care for those de-
ceived. You see, from the fact that he punished their deceiver
it is clear that he had practiced his deception on people very
dear to God. Next recall from this text the sentence on the
woman, and the punishment inflicted on her, or rather the
admonition, and thus recall the words addressed to Adam,
(148a) remembering the sentence, '''Dust you are, and to dust
you are to return;'" find cause for wonder in this at God's inef-
fable love, that we, though coming from dust and decompos-
ing into it, are deemed worthy, should we wish to embrace vir-
ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM
tue and shun evil, of those unspeakable good things prepared

for those who love him, "which eye has not seen nor ear
heard, nor have they entered man's heart." 23
(44) Consequently, we ought to pay the Lord abundant
thanks for his so generous favors and never consign them to
oblivion; instead, through good works and careful avoidance
of foul deeds let us win his approval and render him well dis-
posed to us. I mean, how could we avoid the appearance of
ingratitude if, while he who is God and immortal does not de-
cline to take on himself our mortal nature and earthly charac-
ter, (148b) free us from the ancient curse of death, lead us to
highest heaven, honor us with his ancestral home and deem
us worthy of being honored by all the heavenly host, whereas
we are not ashamed to requite him in just the opposite way,
glueing our immortal soul (so to say) on to our body and thus
ensuring that it becomes earthly, perishable and impotent?
Let us not, I beseech you, be so ungrateful to such a constant
benefactor of ours; let us rather keep his laws and perform
what he has decided and is well-pleasing to him, so that he
may declare us worthy also of eternal goods. May we all be
judged deserving of such goods, thanks to the grace and love
of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with the Father and the
Holy Spirit be glory, power and honor, now and forever for
ages of ages. Amen.

Saint John Chrysostom - Homilies On Genesis 1-17

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What is the subject matter of the homilies?

What is the subject matter of the homilies?

What points does Chrysostom emphasize in his teachings?

What points does Chrysostom emphasize in his teachings?

THE FATHERS

FORMER EDITORIAL DIRECTORS

Ludwig Schopp, Roy J. Deferrari, Bernard M. Peebles,

THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA PRESS

REV. MSGR. RAYMOND BOLAND

THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSny OF AMERICA PRESS

All rights reserved

Texts and Translations:

AAS Acta Apostolicae Sedis (Rome, 1909ff.)

HIS IS THE FIRST of several volumes containing the se-

I. B. De Montfaucon, whose text and introduction J. P. Migne reproduces

CHRYSOSTOM'S EXEGETICAL WORKS

(3) The life of this great preacher of Antioch and Con-

8. Cf. Homily 2 (warning against Mani, Marcion, Valentinus, pagans, and

series of 67 on Genesis, 5 on Anna, 3 on David and Saul, 58 on

of the Sermons on Gn) and 387, but he is definite about Anti-

20. Similarly, and perhaps consequent upon the relative availability of NT

THE HOMILIST AND HIS CONGREGATION

(11) Presuming that the Genesis homilies were delivered in

THE STRUCTURE OF THE HOMILIES

(12) As a homilist Chrysostom was not in the business of

25. Homily 24; cf. 21. 26. Homily 10.

33· Cf. P. J. Ryan, "Chrysostom-a derived stylist?" VigC 36 (1982) 5-14.

Finally and invariably, as became the pastor and theologian

Scripture, "beyond all telling" yet hidden beneath the surface,

CHRYSOSTOM AND SCRIPTURE

(15) More to the point in a study of Chrysostom as com-

47. Baur I, 318.

the animals remain up to the present time," he says smugly to

56. Homily 16. 57. Homily 17·

Homilies 19 and 20 that must have made for considerable

lemical references are not so frequent as to obscure the real-

63. For a complete treatment of Chrysostom's teaching on Scripture, see R.

"condescension") because in them God speaks to human be-

Homily on the beginning of the holy season of Lent

AM PLEASED (21a) and delighted to see the church of

I. Prv 15.13. Chrysostom's Old Testament text, as Introduction 15 ex-

2. Chrysostom refers to his congregation here as "your agape", a word that

5. 1 Cor 6.10. 6. Gn 2.16-17.

from intemperance that death had its entry? Notice likewise

changing their nature but by diverting their purpose without

l6. Cf.Jonah'l. l7. Mt4.2;Lk4.2.

19. Indifference, negligence, sloth is for Chrysostom, who is above all a

you think I am idly finding fault with intemperance in what I

21. Am 6.3-6, somewhat re-arranged in Chrysostom's variant text.

On the beginning of creation: "In the beginning

ODAY, LOOKING AT your dear faces, I am filled with

I would like to address a few points, dearly beloved, to you,

words the efficacy of fasting? Accordingly, I address myself to

3. This is the beautiful theology of the Scriptural Word characteristic of

Scriptures is his most characteristic contribution to patristic thinking on the

11. Rom 1.20.

wise, the one (32a) giving evidence of deeds in the wake of

17. Cf. Mt 7.26-27.

4· In 7.37-3 8 . 5. Cf. Homily l, note 2 above.