I.

lium.

10

The inner Word made known in Act.

HOMIL, rearing some vast edifice on the earth: here is the idea already born into existence, and the work not yet finished: thou seest what thou art about to make; but another does not admire thy work, until thou have made and reared the pile, and brought the work to its last shape and finish: then men take note of the admirable workmanship, and admire the idea of the workmaster; they marvel at what they see, and are delighted with what they do not see: who is there that can see an idea ?-If then from some great work of art praise is given to an idea of man, wouldest thou see what an consi- Idea of God is the Lord Jesus Christ, that is, the Word of God? Look at this fabric of the world. See what has been made by the Word, and then thou wilt understand what the Word is. Look at these two bodies of the world, the heavens and the earth. What words can express the glorious array of the heavens? What words express the prolific fruitfulness of the earth? Who can duly extol the succession of the seasons? Who can duly extol the inherent life of seeds? You see what things I pass over without mention, that I may not in my lengthened enumeration say less perhaps than would occur to your own minds. Well then, from this fabric of the world, mark what that Word is by which the world was made; and not the world only. These things are all seen, because they come within the ken of our bodily senses. By that Word Angels also were made; by that Word Archsee Col. angels also were made, Powers, Thrones, Dominions, Princi1, 16. palities, by that Word all things were made. From all this bethink you what the WORD must be.

10. But here, perhaps, some one or other makes answer; "And who doth so conceive of this Word?" Do not then form some mean conception with thyself at hearing of the Word; nor imagine it to be one of those words which thou hearest every day: as e. g. "Such were the words he spake?"" such were the words he said;" such are the words you tell me." For by continual use of the expression "Words," they have as it were lost their value. And indeed when thou hearest the sentence, In the beginning was the Word, lest thou shouldest suppose it to mean ought so valueless as thou hast used thyself to associate with the customary mention of man's "words," hear what meaning thou must associate with this Word: The Word was God.

11. Now let some unbelieving Arian stand forth, and say; JOHN "The Word of God was made." How could the Word of L. 1—5. God be made, when, by the Word, God made all things? If the Word of God was Itself also made, by what other Word was It made? If thou meanest this; that there is the Word of the Word; then this Word by which that was made, the same I call the only-begotten Son of God. But if thou dost not mean the Word of the Word, then, acknowledge that the Word by Which all things were made was not Itself made. For That, by Which all things were made, could not be made by Itself. Believe then the Evangelist. For he might have said, "In the beginning God made the Word;" just as Moses said, In the beginning God made the heavens and the earth; and then recounts all on this wise; God said, Let it be made, and it was made. If said: who said? God. And what was made? Some creature. Between God speaking, and the creature made, what intervened, by which the work was made, except the Word? For God said, Let it be made, and it was made. This Word is unchangeable. Although things liable to change are made by the Word, yet the Word Itself is unchangeable.

12. Believe not then, that He, by Whom all things were made, was Himself made, lest thou be not made new by the Word, by Whom all things are made new. Thou hast already been made by the Word; but, it behoves thee to be new made by the Word. If, however, thy faith concerning the Word be unsound, it is impossible that thou shouldest be new made by the Word. And if it has been thy lot to be made by the Word, even though thou hast been made by Him, still thou hast been unmade by thyself. If thou hast been unmade by thyself, let Him make thee anew Who made thee at the first. If by thyself thou hast been made worse than thou wast originally, let Him create thee anew, Who created thee at the first. But how can He create thee anew by the Word, if thou thinkest ought amiss concerning the Word? The Evangelist says, In the beginning was the Word; and thou sayest, " In the beginning was made. the Word." The Evangelist says, All things were made by Him; and thou sayest, "The Word Himself likewise was made." The Evangelist might have said, "In the beginning was made the Word." But what does he say?

I.

HOMIL. In the beginning was the Word. If was, then He was not made, that all these things might be made by Him, and that there might be nothing made without Him. If then the Word was in the beginning, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God; if thou canst not conceive what this is, wait till thou art grown. This is strong meat; take milk for thy nourishment, to the end that thou mayest become able to bear strong meat.

v. 3.

1 Cor.

8, 4.

13. Of a truth you must beware, brethren, lest you so understand those next words: All things were made by Him, and without Him was nothing made; as if nothing is something. Many misunderstand the words, Without Him was nothing made, and think that there is some such thing as nothing. Sin indeed was not made by the Word, and it is plain that sin is nothing, and that men become nothing when they sin. An idol too was not made by the Word. It bears indeed, in some sort, the form of man: but it was man himself who was made by the Word. The form of man which an idol has was not made by the Word; and it is written, We know that an idol is nothing. These then were not made by the Word. But, whatsoever has been made in the natural way, whatsoever belongs to the order of creatures, all things whatever which are fixed in the firmament, which shine above our heads, which traverse the skies, which move in the whole universe, in a word, every created thing whatever: I will speak more plainly, will speak, brethren, that you may understand me, from an angel to a worm. What created being more excellent than an angel? What lower than a worm? Yet He Who made the angel, the very same made the worm also. The angel is fit for heaven, the worm for earth. He Who created, ordered all things. Had He placed the worm in heaven, thou mightest have found fault therewith: had He willed that angels should be produced from corruptible flesh, thou mightest have found fault therewith. Yet God all but does this; and still He is not to be found fault with. All men who are born of flesh, what are they but worms? And of worms God makes angels. Ps.22,6. For if the Lord Himself says, I am a worm, and no man ;

who can hesitate to say, what is written in the Book of Job, Job 25, How much more is man rottenness, and the son of man a worm. Man is first called rottenness, and afterwards

6.

J. 1–5.

the son of man is called a worm. For since worms are JOHN produced from rottenness, therefore is man rottenness, and the son of man a worm. Behold what He, of Whom it is written, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, chose of His own accord to become for thy sake! Why did He thus stoop for thy sake? That thou mightest be fed with milk, seeing thou wast not able to masticate solid food. Universally then, brethren, in this sense take ye those words, All things were made by Him, and without Him was nothing made. For every creature in the universe was made by Him; the greater and the lesser; by Him were made things above, beneath; corporeal, incorporeal; by Him were they made. No form, no structure, no harmony of parts, no substance whatsoever, that is capable of being weighed, or numbered, or measured, exists but by and from that Creator Word to Whom it is said, Thou hast Wisd. ordered all things, in measure, and number, and weight.

14. Let not then any one beguile you, should you perchance be teased by the flies. There have been whom the devil has mocked and caught with flies. He has made use of flies to deceive them, just as fowlers put flies in a trap to deceive birds that are in quest of food. A person was once suffering from the annoyance I have mentioned; the flies were teasing him. In this plight a Manichee finds him. The man began to protest that they were an intolerable nuisance, and that he hated them. with all his heart. The Manichee immediately put the question, "Who made them?" The man, annoyed as he was, and out of all patience with his tormentors, did not like to say (though he was a Catholic) God made them. If God did not make them, continued the other, who did? Truly, replied the man, I believe the devil made them. The Manichee, without a moment's pause, If the fly be the workmanship of the devil, as your good sense, I see, leads you to acknowledge, who made the bee, which is a trifle larger? The Catholic durst not say, "God made the bee, and did not make the fly;" for the one joined hard upon the other. Well, from the bee he brought him to the locust, from the locust to the lizard, from the lizard to the bird, from the bird to the sheep, thence to the cow, thence to the

11, 20.

14

The Manichean trap, how to be avoided.

HOMIL. elephant, and last of all to man: and persuaded him that I. man was not made by God. Thus the poor wretch, being tormented by the flies, became himself a fly, and so the property of the devil; for Beelzebub, it is said, means Lord of flies. And it is written of these, Dying flies mar the sweetness of the ointment.

3.4.

15. Well, brethren, what was my object in saying these things? Close the ears of your hearts against the wiles of the enemy. Understand that God made all things, and assigned to each its own order. But why then do we suffer so many evils from a creature of God? Because we offend God? Are angels subject to these annoyances? We too, perhaps, should have none of them to fear in that blessed life. When thou art punished, blame thy sin, not thy judge. It was because of pride, that God ordained this small and contemptible creature to torment us; that whereas man was proud and boasted himself against God; whereas he was mortal, and yet brow-beat his fellow mortals; whereas he was man, and yet would not acknowledge his fellow-man; he might, when he exalted himself, be subdued and humbled by gnats. O pride of man, why puffest thou thyself? Some one has used a reproachful word, and thou art swollen with rage. Drive away the gnats, that thou mayest sleep. Learn who thou art. For, that you may know, brethren, that for the humbling of our pride, those annoying creatures were made, God might have humbled the proud people of Pharaoh by means of bears, lions, serpents; He sent flies and frogs upon them, that by things most despicable their pride might be humbled.

16. All things therefore, brethren, all things whatever were made by Him, and without Him was nothing made. But John 1, how were all things made by Him? That, which was made, in Him is life. It might be read: "That, which was made in Him, is life:" consequently, if we should so read, every thing is life. For what is there that was not made in Him? For He is the Wisdom of God; and it is said in the Psalms, In Wisdom hast Thou made all things. If then Christ is Ps. 104, the Wisdom of God, and the Psalmist says, In wisdom hast Thou made all things, as all things were made by Him, so

24.

Muscæ morituræ (aliter morientes,) exterminant oleum suavitatis.

The

Vulgate has "musca morientes perdunt suavitatem unguenti."