XVII.

316 Most real praise gained by declining praise.

God, even when

HOMIL. thou mayest gratify them, even without their command thou doest all. What hell then should we not deserve, for giving the wicked pleasure, and courting their service before they give orders, while we will not hearken to He every day commands and exhorts us. And yet if thou art covetous of glory and praise, avoid the praise that cometh of men, and then thou wilt attain to glory. Turn aside from fair speeches, and then thou wilt obtain praises both from God and from men. For there is no one we are used to give so much glory to, as the man who looks down upon glory, or to praise and respect so much as the man who thinks scorn of getting respected and praised. And if we do so, much more will the God of the universe. And when He glorifieth thee and praiseth thee, what man can be more justly pronounced blessed? For there is not a greater difference between glory and disgrace, than between the glory from above and that of men. Or rather, there is a much greater, aye an infinite difference. For if this, even when it does not get put beside any other, is but a base and uncomely one, when we come to scrutinize it by the other's side, just consider how great its baseness will be found to be? For as a prostitute stands at her place", and lets herself out to any one, so are they that be slaves of vanity. Or rather, these be more base than she. For that sort of women do in many instances treat those enamoured of them with scorn. But you prostitute yourself to every body, whether runaway slaves, or thieves, or cut-purses, (for it is of these and such as these that the play-houses that applaud you consist,) and those whom as individuals you hold to be nothing worth, when in a body, you honour more than your own salvation, and shew yourself less worthy of honour than any of them. For how can you be else than less worthy, when you stand in Mar. need of their1 good word, and fancy that you have not enough others' by yourself, unless you receive the glory that cometh of

and Ms.

others? Do you not perceive, pray, beside what I have said, that as you are an object of notice, and known to every body, if you should commit a fault, you will have accusers unnumbered? But if unknown, you will remain in security? Yes,

m Vide ad J. Polluc. vii. 201.

Vanity most hurtful in spiritual matters.

317

2.

a man may say, but then if I do well I shall have admirers Roм. 10,11-13 unnumbered. Now the fearful thing is, that it is not only when you sin, but even when you do aright, that the disorder of vanity does you mischief, in the former case subverting thousands, in the present bereaving thee entirely of thy reward. It is then a sad thing, and replete with disgrace of every kind, to be in love with glory even in civil matters. But when even in spiritual you are in the same plight, what excuse is there left remaining for you, when you are not minded to yield God even as much honour as you have yourself from your servants? For even the slave looketh to Ps. 123, the eyes of his master, and the hireling to his employer, who is to pay him wages, and the disciple to his master. But you do just the contrary. Having left the God that hired thee, even thy Master, thou lookest to thy fellow-servants; and this knowing that God remembers thy welldoings even after this life, but man only for the present. And when thou hast spectators assembled in Heaven, thou art gathering together spectators upon earth. And where the wrestler struggles, there he would be honoured; but thou, while thy wrestling is above, art anxious to gain thee a crown below. And what can be worse than madness like this? But let us look, if it seem proper, at the crowns also. one is formed by haughtiness, and a second by grudging against another, and a third by dissimulation and flattery, another again by wealth, and another by servile obsequious

ness.

For

And like as children at their childish play put crowns of grass upon one another, and many a time laugh at him that is crowned behind his back; thus now also they that pass their praises upon thee, many a time joke by themselves at their putting the grass upon us. And would it were grass only! But now the crown is laden with much mischief, and ruins all our well-doings. Taking then the vileness of it into consideration, flee from the damage entailed. For how many would you have to praise you? A hundred? or twice, or thrice, or four times as many? Or rather, if you please, put them at ten times or twenty times as many, and let there be two or four thousands, or if you will even ten thousand to applaud you. Still these be no better than so many daws cawing from above. Or rather taking the assemblage of the

14.

3.

318 Illustration. Examples of St. John, and of St. Stephen,

1

HOMIL. angels into consideration, these will seem more vile than even XVII. worms, and their good word of not so much solidity as a cobweb, or a smoke, or a dream. Hear then how Paul, who saw through these things thoroughly, is so far from seeking after Gal. 6, them, that he even deprecates them, in the words, But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of Christ. This glory then be thou also emulous of, that thou mayest not provoke the Master, because in so doing thou art insulting God, and not thyself alone. For if thou even wert a painter, and hadst some pupil, and he were to omit shewing thee his practice of 1 Ms. the art, but set forth his painting publicly just to any body προυτίθει that chanced to observe it", thou wouldest not take it quietly. But if this even with fellow-servants were an insult, how much more with the Master! But if you have a mind to learn on other grounds to feel scorn for the thing, be of a lofty mind, laugh at appearances, increase thy love of real glory, be filled with a spiritual temper, say to thy soul as Paul 1 Cor. 6, did, Knowest thou not that we shall judge the angels? and having by this roused it up, go on to rebuke it, and say, Thou that judgest the angels, wilt thou let thyself be judge of off-scourings, and be praised with dancers, and mimics, and gladiators, and horse-drivers ? For these men do follow after applauses of this sort. But do thou poise thy wing high above the din of these, and emulate that citizen of the wilderness, John, and learn how he was above regarding the multitude, and did not turn him to look at flatterers, but when he saw all the dwellers in Palestine poured forth about him, and wondering, and astonished at him, he was not puffed up with such honour as this, but rose up against them, and discoursing to his great concourse as if to one youth, he thus rebuked them, Matt. 3, and said, Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers! Yet it was for him that they had run together, and left the cities, in order to see that holy personage, and still none of these things unnerved him. For he was far above glory, and free from all vanity. So also Stephen, when he saw the same people again, not honouring him, but mad upon him, and gnashing their teeth, being lifted above their wrath, said, Acts 7, Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart. Thus also

7.

51.

n So Sav. in mar. ' to pass by Ms. ، to be there, agouan

and of Elijah. Thought of true Glory the cure of vanity. 319

10,11-13

LXX.

Elias, when those armies were present, and the king, and Rom. all the people, said, How long halt ye upon both your 1 Kings hips? But we flatter all, court all, with this servile obse-18, 21. quiousness buying their honour. Wherefore all things are (true turned upside down, and we have fallen from this grace, sense of halt) and the business of Christianity is treacherously given up, and every thing neglected for the opinion of the generality. Let us then banish this passion, and then we shall have a right notion of liberty, and of the haven, and the calm. For the vain man is ever like persons in a storm, trembling, and fearing, and serving a thousand masters. But he that is clear of this thraldom, is like men in havens, enjoying a liberty untainted. Not so that person, but as many acquaintances as he has, so many masters has he, and he is forced to be a slave to all of them. How then are we to get free from this hard bondage? It is by growing enamoured of another glory, which is really glory. For as with those that are enamoured of persons, the sight of some handsomer one doth by its being seen take them off from the first; so with those that court the glory which cometh from us men, the glory from heaven, if it gleameth on them, has power to lead them off from this. Let us then look to this, and become thoroughly acquainted with it, that by feeling admiration of its beauty, we may shun the hideousness of the other, and have the benefit of much pleasure by enjoying this continually. Which may we all attain to by the grace and love toward man, &c.

• iğırícoμev xaì added after xúgiros in Ms. Bodl. and in Ben. fm. Mss.

HOMILY XVIII.

HOMIL. XVIII.

ROM. x. 14, 15.

How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be

sent.

For since He

HERE again he takes from them all excuse. had said, I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge, and that being ignorant of God's righteousness, they submitted not themselves to it: he next shews, that for this ignorance itself they were punishable before God. This he does not say indeed so, but he makes it good by carrying on his discourse in the way of question, and so convicting them more clearly, by framing the whole passage out of objections and answers. But consider. Above, he means, the Prophet says, Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved. Now somebody might say perhaps, But how could they call upon Him whom they had not believed? Then there is a question from him after the objection; And why did they not believe? Then an objection again. A person certainly may say, and how could they believe, since they had not heard? Yet hear they did, he re-implies. Then another objection again. And how could they hear without a preacher? Then an answer again. Yet preach they did, and there were many sent forth for this very purpose. And whence does it

appear