Origen of Alexandria

In his own words on Sirach

• Sirach 1:26

  "I stretched out my words, and you did not listen." It is reasonable that he said he stretched out words in his heart because … God granted him a large heart. For one who can explain what is briefly said in mysteries in conjunction with the larger teachings asserted in Scripture has an enlarged heart. Therefore, it is necessary, in agreement with the teaching of the wise Solomon, for the person who desires to know wisdom to begin with moral training and to understand what is written: "You have desired wisdom; keep the commandments, and it will be given to you by God."

  COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS, PREFACE

• Sirach 2:12

  When we come to the grace of baptism, renouncing all the other gods and masters, we confess one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But confessing this, if "we do not love the Lord our God with all our heart and all our soul" and do not adhere to him "with all our strength," we have not become the Lord's portion. Rather, like those who sit on the fence, on the one side we allow to continue the very offenses we were fleeing to remain in our lives, while on the other we do not appease the Lord to whom we fled because we do not love him with a complete and honest heart. The prophet cries over us because of this, because he sees a similar fickleness in our fluctuating when he says, "Woe to the double-minded," and again: "How long will you limp on both of your knees?" But the apostle James also says, "The double-minded person is inconsistent in all his ways." So, we who do not follow our Lord with an upright and perfect soul and who are removed from foreign gods stand, as it were, on the fence. On the one hand, we are treated like deserters by those foreign gods who cut us down, on the other, we are not defended by our Lord because we are unstable and hesitant.

  HOMILIES ON EXODUS 8:4

• Sirach 3:18

  Very often the priestly order and the Levitical office are a cause of pride to one who forgets that he holds such dignity in the bosom of the church. How many priests, placed at the head, have forgotten to be humble! As if their ordination has given them a dispensation from humility! On the contrary, they should observe humility precisely because they have been invested with such great dignity, according to the words of Scripture: "The greater you are, the humbler." The assembly chooses you: bow your head even more humbly. They have elected you as a leader of others: do not feel as though you are exalted. Be among them as one of them. You must be humble and modest. Flee from pride, the source of all evil.

  HOMILIES ON EZEKIEL 9:2

• Sirach 4:28

  If the ancient use of the sacrifices is clear to you, we see what they furthermore contain according to the mystic sense. You have heard that there are two sanctuaries, one visible and open to the priests, the other invisible and inaccessible—except for the one high priest, all the rest of whom remain outside. I think that this first sanctuary could be understood as this sanctuary we now occupy, which is our flesh: in this the priests serve at the altar of burnt offerings on which that fire is lit of which Jesus has said, "I have come to cast the fire on the earth, and I wish that it were already kindled." Do not marvel that this sanctuary is open only to priests since all those who have been united with the ointment of the holy chrism have become priests, as Peter also says to the entire church: "You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation." You are therefore of priestly descent, and thus you have access to the sanctuary. Furthermore, each one of us has in him his burnt offering and lights the altar with his sacrifice, so that it always burns. If I renounce all that I possess, I take up my cross and follow Christ, I offer a burnt offering at the altar of God; or "if I give my body to be burnt, having charity" and if I obtain the glory of martyrdom, I offer myself in a burnt offering at the altar of God. If I love my brothers, up to "giving my life for my brothers," if "I fight until death for justice, for the truth," I offer a burnt offering at the altar of God. If I let my limbs die at each temptation of the flesh, if "the world is crucified for me and I for the world," I offer a burnt offering at the altar of God, and I myself become the priest of my victim.

  HOMILIES ON LEVITICUS 11

• Sirach 8:5

  There is a person full of faith who comes forward in the assembly and accuses himself, making everyone aware of some sin he has committed. And yet, those who themselves have no fear of God's future judgment, on hearing his words, instead of suffering with him who suffers, instead of burning with him who is offended, instead of falling with him who is fallen, say, Get away from me and don't come near me because I am pure! Then they begin to curse this person whom they previously admired and withdraw their friendship from this person who did not want to conceal his crime. Conveniently they say of those who make the confession, "My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague, and my kin stand afar off." It is not the case, however, that he ought to be afraid of the behavior of others when, after having committed a sin, he desires to save himself, nor should he fear the reproaches of those who do not think about their own sins or recall the words of the divine Scriptures: "Do not insult a person converted from sin, remember that we all deserve punishment." Do not worry about such things. Instead, worry about your soul, and pray to God that he may hear you and raise you after you fall so that you will be able to say also that which follows: "I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin."

  HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS, PSALM 37, HOMILY 2:1

• Sirach 9:13

  "Know that you are walking in the midst of snares and that you are going about on the city battlements." Everything is full of nets; the devil has filled up everything with snares. But if the Word of God comes to you and begins to appear through the nets, you will say, "Our soul has been freed like a sparrow from the snare of the hunters; the snare has been broken, and we have been freed. We are blessed by the Lord who has made heaven and earth." The bridegroom "appears" then "through the nets." Jesus has prepared the way for you. He descended to earth and submitted himself to the nets of the world. Seeing the great flock of humanity imprisoned in the nets and seeing that only he could tear them, he came to the nets and assumed a human body and subjected it to the snares of the powerful enemy and tore them apart for you. Thus, you can say, "See. He is at the back, behind our wall, watching through the windows, appearing through the nets."

  HOMILIES ON THE SONG OF SONGS 2:12

• Sirach 10:9

  Pride, haughtiness and arrogance are the sins of the devil, and for these faults you must leave heaven for earth. Thus, "God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble." And "How can he make dust and ashes proud?" so that one becomes arrogant, forgetting what he will become, in which fragile casing he is contained, in which excrements he drowns and which garbage he continuously emits from his flesh? What do the Scriptures say? "How can he make dust and ashes proud?" And again: "During life, one ruins one's own entrails." Pride is the greatest of all sins and the principal fault of the devil. When sometimes the Scriptures list the sins of the devil, you will discover that these come forth from the source of pride. Indeed, it says, "I will act in strength, and in the wisdom of my understanding I will remove the boundaries of nations and will spoil their strength. And I will shake the inhabited cities: and I will take with my hand all the world as a nest: and I will even take them as eggs that have been left." Observe how arrogant and haughty his words are and how he does not take anything into account. So are all those who are puffed up by boasting and by pride. Wealth, prestige and earthly glory are bait for pride.

  HOMILIES ON EZEKIEL 9:2

• Sirach 13:2

  All in the church who are sinners, who "have tasted the word of God" and transgress it, justly merit punishment, but each will be tormented according to his position. A leader of the church who sins will undergo greater punishment. Does not the faithful catechumen deserve more indulgence than a leader? Is not the lay person more worthy of pardon than a deacon, and the latter, in turn, more worthy of understanding than a priest? And even if I do not describe them, you know the other scenarios. Fearing God's judgment, then, and with my gaze always fixed on that series of judgments contained in the Scriptures, the phrase comes to mind, "Do not take on yourself a burden beyond your strength." And the other, "Do not seek to be a judge if you are not capable of rooting out injustice." What good would it be for me to sit on the cathedra, my head lifted high, receiving the homage of the great, but being unable to perform actions that are fully worthy of my charge? Would I not be afflicted by an even greater suffering because the honor due the just is given to me by all, though I am a sinner?

  HOMILIES ON EZEKIEL 5:4

• Sirach 13:26

  He also says, "And your face is beautiful." If it refers to that face of which Paul says, "We shall all then with unveiled face," and again, "But then face to face," then you will understand whether it is this or the face of the soul that is praised by the Word of God and is said to be beautiful. It is, without a doubt, the face that every day renews itself in the image of the one who created it, the one who in itself finds no spot or wrinkle but is holy and immaculate, which Christ has presented to himself as the church, that is, the souls who have come to perfection who altogether form the body of the church. Such a body will appear beautiful if the souls who compose it remain in every grace of perfection. In fact, just as an angry soul distorts the face of the body and disturbs it but when it is found in a state of tranquility and peace renders a countenance that is peaceful and mild, so also the face of the church in relation to the attitudes and the feelings of believers is defined as graceful or ugly, according to what we read written: "A cheerful countenance is the token of a heart that is in prosperity," and again, "The face of the light hearted is filled with laughter, but it is morose if the heart is found in sadness." Therefore the heart is happy when it has the Spirit of God in itself, whose firstfruit is love and whose second is joy. Thus I believe that some sages of this world have formed the opinion that only the sage is beautiful, while all the fools are only ugly.

  COMMENTARY ON THE SONG OF SONGS 2:13-14

• Sirach 14:22

  The last story that is related in the book of Numbers is the one in which the Lord commands Moses "to give orders to the children of Israel," that when "they have entered the holy land" they may know how to take possession of its inheritance and that they should observe the boundaries of their limits in these things. And after this, with the Lord now describing this, it is said, "toward Africa," that is, toward the west, the boundary of that place should be observed, and of that place toward the east, and thus the Lord indicates through the four regions of the sky certain names that the people of God ought to keep in that earthly Judea.Thus one of the more simple hearers will say that here there are things that are necessary and useful even according to the letter, in that no one should go beyond the borders that have been appointed through the Lord's command and one tribe should not dare to violate the boundaries of another. And what will we do when no possibility remains for the Jews, not merely to invade the borders of another nation in these lands but even of possessing them at all? For they have been banished from that land, they are exiles and refugees, and those who now possess and guard the boundaries are not those whom the divine law appointed but those whom they have entrusted the rights of victors. What, I ask, will we do, who read these things in the church? If we read them according to the sense of the Jews, they will seem superfluous to us and pointless. But I am one who reads what is written about Wisdom: "I went out after her as a tracker." I want to go out after her, and since I do not find her in the physical realities, I desire to pursue her tracks and investigate where she is going and to see into which rooms she leads my understanding. For I think that if I am able to follow her with care and to investigate her ways, she will give me some opportunities from the Scriptures to understand how it is, even in these passages we need to explain, if we believe what Paul says in a mystery, that those who serve through the law are serving "the shadow and image of heavenly things." And if, no less in accordance with the judgment of that man, the law, of which this reading that we have in hand is a portion, "contains a shadow of the good things to come," it seems logical and necessary that everything that is described in the law, as it were concerning earthly things, is a shadow of the good things of heaven; and the whole inheritance of that land, which is called the "holy land" and the "good land," is an image of the good things of heaven. These things, as we have said, that are mentioned as good things on earth contain a shadow and an image of these.

  HOMILIES ON NUMBERS 28:1.1-2

• Sirach 15:17

  "He must reign until all things are placed under his feet," until "the last enemy to be destroyed will be death." Once this is destroyed, there will be only the Life in which we believe. And while death is present among people, those whom it holds prisoner do not believe in Life. But once death is done away with, then all will believe in Life. In the Law, however, you will find both the words, "I have placed before you life and death," and, "You will live in constant suspense. You will never be sure of your life."

  COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 15:23

• Sirach 16:4

  Take the whole number of the human race and pick out those who are faithful from all the nations: doubtless they will be fewer than the whole. Then select the better ones from the number of the faithful: it is certain that the number will be far lower. And again, from those whom you have chosen, select the more perfect ones: you will find even fewer. And the more you continue to make choices, the more you will find them to be scanty and very few, until you finally come to a certain one who confidently says, "I labored more than all of them."Thus, "those who are more" will receive more land and more of a physical inheritance, but the "few" will attain to a small amount of land, since they have more in the Lord; but some will receive no earthly inheritance, if they become worthy to be priests and ministers of God; for "of these" the Lord will be their whole inheritance. And who is so blessed that among the few he receives either a small amount of land or that among the chosen priests and ministers he merits in the allotment of his inheritance to have room for the Lord alone? For granted they receive some land on account of their beasts of burden, yet it is from that land that borders on cities and is attached to cities. Yet these words that say that the inheritance is multiplied to those who are more can be understood in still another way as well. For one just person is considered as "more" in accordance with the fact that "he is accepted by God." After all, it is even written, "Through one wise person a city will be considered, but the tribes of the unjust will be desolated." And one just person is reckoned for the whole world, but the unjust, even if they are many, are considered by God as scanty and as nothing. So there is a praiseworthy multitude, as we see was said to Abraham as well, when "he led him outside and said to him: look at the sky if you are able to number the stars; thus will be your seed." Consider here how the just person is interior and always abides in what is interior, since it is "inside" that "he prays to the Father in secret," and "all the glory of the king's daughter," that is, of the royal soul, "is within." Nevertheless, God "leads him outside," when circumstances demand it and the rational order of visible things demands it. Therefore, even in this way, to the many who are "as the stars of heaven in multitude," an inheritance is multiplied; and to the scanty few, namely, those who, even if they are many in number, nevertheless are considered scanty due to the unworthiness and commonness of their life, a scanty inheritance is appointed.

  HOMILIES ON NUMBERS 21:2.2-3

• Sirach 16:21

  "And I will send hunger on them and will cause people and beast to die." How can I proclaim publicly such profound truths? From where will I receive help that I might make you understand how the earth is touched by hunger and fruitfulness, by abundance and poverty? "O the depths of the riches, the wisdom and the knowledge of God!" Hunger perhaps comes because of people and because of the wickedness of souls. Or perhaps it is the fault of the angels to whom the things of the earth were entrusted that the things we see happen take place, if they commit sin. If some are set up as instruments of heavenly providence, but they themselves become interested in the fruits, then the earth's sterility is probably also due to them. "The greater part of his works are hidden." We cannot speak of the greatness of wisdom. "Who has counted the sands of the sea, the raindrops, the days of the ages? The height of the heavens, the wideness of the earth, the depths of the wisdom of God."

  HOMILIES ON EZEKIEL 4:2

• Sirach 18:7

  In the three [Synoptic] Gospels, John the Baptist says he is not sufficient, while in the Gospel of John he says he is not worthy. But it may be that the one who formerly declared that he was not sufficient became sufficient later, even though perhaps he was not worthy. Or it may have been that while he was saying he was not worthy, and was in fact not worthy, he came to be worthy—unless one would say that human nature can never arrive at performing this loosing or this bearing in a worthy manner and that John, therefore, speaks the truth when he says that he never became sufficient to loose the thongs of our Savior's sandals, nor was he worthy of doing so either. No matter how much we try to understand, there are still things left that we do not understand. This is what we read in the Wisdom of Jesus, Son of Sirach: "When a person has finished, he is just beginning, and when he stops, he will be at a loss."

  COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 6:20

• Sirach 19:22

  In the book that among us is usually considered to be among the books of Solomon and is called Ecclesiasticus but among the Greeks is called the Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach, it is written: "All wisdom is from God." Possibly we could interpret this to mean that even that wisdom of this world, which is said to be destined for destruction, is from God, and that of the rulers of this world, and if there is any other through which false wisdom is commended. However, in the same little book it was said later on: "For the wisdom of evil is not instruction." By this he surely shows that all instruction that asserts anything false, even if it seems vigorous and truthful and the kind that could scarcely be undermined, nevertheless we should by no means attach the name of wisdom to knowledge of this sort. Well then, what is the meaning of the statement "All wisdom is from God"?To me the following sense seems apparent: we may designate as wisdom given by the Lord either every skill that is considered necessary for human use in a craft or the knowledge of any matter may be called wisdom given by the Lord. After all, in Job it is written, "Who has given women the wisdom to weave and the knowledge of embroidery?"

  HOMILIES ON NUMBERS 18:3.2

• Sirach 21:27

  Some may find it difficult or think it is a fable when we say there are many demons to take care of each particular sinner. Let them return to the authority of the Gospel and find that man who lived in the tombs, possessed by the demons. When the Savior asks it, "What is your name?" it answers, "Legion, for we are many." Why therefore does it seem strange to attribute a demon to a particular kind of sin, since it is written that in a single man an entire legion of demons was found? But I remember saying similar things when we were expounding that verse in the psalms where it says, "In the mornings I wiped out all the sinners on the earth in order to disperse from the city of the Lord all those who do iniquity." Thus it is also said that "in the hand of the just there are swords that cut in two," undoubtedly in order for them to destroy opposing powers. But I believe that, in order to bring even more force to these affirmations, we can cite the word of the apostle Paul: "May the God of peace swiftly grind Satan under your feet." If, in fact, Satan is alone, can he be subjected under the feet of the servants of God and then take action again? If he has been subjected, and subjected by God, he surely can act no longer. Perhaps it will be necessary then to think that there are as many satans as there are those who complete his works. It seems to me that this is also what is indicated in the book of Wisdom where it is said, "The impious who curse Satan are cursing their own soul." But we also find this kind of thinking in a booklet not even contained in the canon, entitled The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, that individual satans ought to be recognized in individual sinners. The same idea seems to be expressed in a still more illuminating way when looking at the meaning of its name, according to the instruction of erudite Hebrews: Satan means "adversary." All those, therefore, who oppose the will of God can be called satans.

  HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 15:6

• Sirach 22:19

  Let us try to do what Wisdom admonishes us, saying, "Drink the waters from your own springs and pools, and let your spring be your own." Make sure, O hearer, that you have your own well and spring, so that you, when you take in hand the book of the Scriptures, may also begin to express from your own learning some understanding of the text, and, in agreement with what you have learned in church, you too may also attempt to drink from the source of your own spirit. Within you is the source of living water, perennial veins and abundant currents flowing with rational understanding if they have not been obstructed by earth and detritus. But get busy so that you can dig out your earth and purify it from the filth, that is, in order to remove laziness from your soul and throw out the inactivity of your heart. For listen to what the Scripture says: "Sting the eye, and it will bring forth a tear; sting the heart, and it will bring forth understanding." Therefore you too should purify your spirit so that you may drink from your own living springs and may draw living water from your wells. For, in fact, if you have received in yourself the Word of God, if you have received living water from Jesus and have received it with faith, it will become in you a "fountain of water that springs up to eternal life."

  HOMILIES ON GENESIS 12:5

• Sirach 22:19

  Since the blessed apostle orders us to be imitators of this grace, that is, the gift of prophecy, although it is imperfect and in our power, saying, "Be zealous for the greater gifts, above all the gift of prophecy," let us also try to have a zeal for those good gifts and, so far as we are able, to ask for them and then await the fullness of the gift from the Lord. For this, in fact, is what the Lord says by means of the prophet: "Open your mouth, and I will fill it up." This is also why another Scripture says, "Sting the eye, and it will bring forth a tear; sting the heart, and it will bring forth understanding."

  HOMILIES ON EXODUS 4:5

• Sirach 23:2

  It is said with regard to sinners, "You whipped them, but they did not suffer." The perceived whips of this world, inflicted on living bodies, whether those whipped want them or not, produce pain. But God's whips are of a kind that to some of those who are whipped they cause pain but for others who are whipped, they do not. Let us see if we can explain what it means to suffer from the whips of God and what it means not to suffer: why those with evil natures do not suffer from the whips of God while those who do suffer from the whips of God are blessed. Wisdom says, "Who will apply whips to my thoughts and seals of prudence to my lips so that they would not spare me in my errors and so that my sins will not lead me to perdition?" Pay attention to the words "who will apply whips to my thoughts." There are, therefore, whips that whip the thought. They are the whips of God that whip thought because the Word, joining itself to the soul and guiding it to the knowledge of its sins, whips it. It whips the blessed soul so that it suffers under its whips because the Word comes and penetrates the soul at its core, but it does not drive away the one who is reproved. But if someone is found to be insensitive to this whip, so to speak, it will be said of him, "You have whipped them, but they did not suffer." Although the same word of accusation is pronounced in order to penetrate the mind of the one who has a spotted conscience from some sin, if one of the listeners suffers for this word to the point where it can be said of him, "You have seen that such a person was moved deeply" while another who hears does not suffer but remains insensitive to the one who is accusing him, surely of the insenstive one it will be said, "You have whipped them, but they have not suffered."

  HOMILIES ON JEREMIAH 6:2

• Sirach 24:12

  Here we must inquire separately as to the field and the treasure hidden in it, and in what sense the person who has found this hidden treasure goes away with joy and sells all that he has in order to buy that field. … I believe, based on the context, that the field is the Scripture planted with what appears in the historical witnesses, the law and the prophets, and the rest of the thoughts. For the planting of the words in the whole of Scripture is great and varied. "The treasure hidden in the field," however, is the thoughts concealed and lying under that which is obvious, "of wisdom hidden in a mystery," "even Christ, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden."

  COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 10:5

• Sirach 25:2

  Each of us, however small, however insignificant, even if he possesses no standing in the world, can be afflicted by the vice of pride. And nothing is as base and detestable, as Scripture says, as a proud poor person or a mendacious rich person. Sometimes this sickness of pride penetrates not only among the poor but assails even the very order of priests and Levites. At times we find it even among us, who are put forth as examples of humility and gathered around the altar as a mirror for those who watch, and yet among whom the vice of arrogance sends its stench. Thus it happens that from the altar of the Lord, which should burn with the sweet aroma of incense, emanates the pestilent odor of pride and self-importance.

  HOMILIES ON THE BOOK OF JUDGES 3:2

• Sirach 25:9

  "And I said, Perhaps they are poor since they have lost the capability, since they have not known the way of the Lord and the judgment of God. I will go to the strong, and I will speak to them." Those who are strong in soul are objects of praise. This comes close to what the Greeks call the strength and the greatness of the rational soul. Thus, when anyone does something great and has worthwhile plans and always considers what is right and what must happen in order for him to live according to reason, without wanting to know anything abject and small, such a person has in the soul strength and greatness. But those others that the word disparaged at first since they were poor did not listen, the prophet says, they did not hear because they are poor, "I will go to the strong and I will speak to them," and if it is true that the blessed are meant when it says "the ears of those who listen," one is also blessed if he ever meets a strong and great listener. Therefore, after such things had been said in this way, knowing that with those who speak the damage is minor in comparison with those who although they listen do not receive admonition, seeing also that Jeremiah accused them of poverty of spirit and thoughts, let us ask to receive from God power and greatness as the word grows in us so that we are able to hear the sacred and holy words.

  HOMILIES ON JEREMIAH 6:3

• Sirach 27:11

  Epilepsy attacks the sufferers at considerable intervals, during which he who suffers from it seems in no way different from the person in good health, at the season when the epilepsy is not working on him. Similar disorders you may find in certain souls that are often supposed to be healthy in point of temperance and the other virtues—but then, sometimes, as if they were seized with a kind of epilepsy arising from their passions, they fall down from the position in which they seemed to stand and are drawn away by the deceit of this world and other lusts. Perhaps, therefore, you would not be in error if you said that such persons, so to speak, are epileptic spiritually, having been cast down by "the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places." They are often ill at the time when the passions attack their soul; at one time falling into the fire of burnings, when, according to what is said in Hosea, they become adulterers, like a pan heated for the cooking from the burning flame; and, at another time, into the water, when the king of all the dragons in the waters casts them down from the sphere where they appeared to breathe freely, so that they come into the depths of the waves of the sea of human life. This interpretation of ours in regard to the lunatic will be supported by him who says in the book of Wisdom with reference to the even temperament of the just person, "The discourse of a pious person is always wisdom," but, in regard to what we have said, "the fool changes as the moon."

  COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 13:4

• Sirach 27:25

  Those who handed Jesus over were forsaken. The high priests ceased to exist, with no others coming after them. The scribes who condemned Jesus to death, their intelligence darkened and their minds blinded, were no longer able to see the meaning of the sacred text. All those who condemned Jesus to death were handed over to Christ's enemy, death. Those who mocked him in turn became the object of mockery when "Jerusalem was surrounded by armies" and its desolation drew near. Those who scourged Jesus were themselves scourged and continue to be so, until "the fullness of the nations has come in." In fact, "one who throws a rock in the air hits himself on the head." And all of this happened so that God's vigilance over them would cease and would be transferred to those who have been saved from among the nations, along with the "chosen remnant." Indeed, "if the Lord of hosts had not left a remnant," they would already be "like Sodom," and they would have become like Gomorrah.

  COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 16:3

• Sirach 28:18

  If a wound is inflicted on the body or a bone is broken or a nerve center ruptured, wounds of this sort usually happen to bodies in the space of one hour and then are barely healed with great pain and suffering over a long period of time. For how much swelling and what great agony arises from the wounded spot? But now, if it happens that someone is repeatedly wounded in the same place or the same bone is broken more than once, by what tremendous pain and agony can this be healed and cured? And by what length of time is this brought to healing, if indeed it is even possible? And scarcely ever will one be cured in such a way that he avoids a physical infirmity or a nasty scar.Pass now from the example of the body to the wounds of the soul. However often the soul sins, just that often it is wounded. And lest you be in doubt that it is wounded by sins, as if by arrows and swords, listen to the apostle when he admonishes us to take up "the shield of faith by which," he says, "you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." So you see that sins are the "arrows of the evil one," which are aimed at the soul. But not only does the soul suffer the wounds of arrows, but it also experiences fractures of its feet when "snares are prepared for its feet" and when its "steps are made to trip." So, by what length of time do you think that these wounds and others like them can be cured? O, if we could only see how with each sin our inner person is wounded, how bad words inflict a wound! Have you not read, they say, that "swords inflict wounds, but not as much as the tongue." The soul is wounded, then, even by the tongue; it is also wounded by evil thoughts and desires; but it is fractured and shattered by the works of sin. If we could see all this and feel the scars of a soul that has been wounded, we would certainly resist sin to death. But now, just as those who are filled with a demon or the mentally insane do not perceive it when they are wounded, because they lack natural senses, so is it with us. Since we have become crazed by the desires of the world or intoxicated with vices, we cannot feel the extent of the wounds or the extent of the grief we are bringing on our soul by sinning. And therefore it is perfectly consistent that the reckoning of the punishment, that is, of the medical treatment and cure, is extended over time and that for each wound the length of healing be prolonged as well, according to the nature of the wound. So then, the justice and kindness of God will also become evident in those very penalties of the soul. Let the one who hears this and has committed sin come to his senses and sin no more. For conversion in the present life and a penance having been carried out fruitfully will bring swift medicine to wounds of this sort, since penance not only heals a past wound, but it does not allow the soul to be wounded further by sin.

  HOMILIES ON NUMBERS 8:1.6-8

• Sirach 28:25

  We are clearly taught by the Savior that when we read in Leviticus and in Deuteronomy concerning the precepts about clean and unclean meat—the carnal Jews and the Ebionites, who differ little from them, accuse us of disobeying these precepts—we are not to think that the scope of the Scripture is to be found in any superficial material understanding of them. If, in fact, it is not what enters the mouth that renders one unclean but what comes out of the mouth, especially when the Savior in the Gospel of Mark said that "he makes all food clean," it is clear that we do not contaminate ourselves if we eat things that the Jews, wanting to be enslaved by the letter of the Law, say are impure. But it is clear that we do contaminate ourselves when, although our lips should be bound with intelligence and we ought to make for them what we call a balance and weight, we speak whatever comes to mind and talk about things that we should not discuss, which then become the source of sins.

  COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 11:12

• Sirach 32:1

  Joshua gave the inheritance to all of the children of Judah. He who gave it to Ephraim and to the half-tribe of Manasseh. He gave the inheritance to the glorious Caleb, son of Jephunneh, having sent three men from each tribe to go through the country and describe it in a book and return to show it to them. He himself drew the lots for all and reserved the last place for himself. Why do you think he wanted to be last? Certainly to be the first of all. He did not take this part of himself but received it from the people, who gave the inheritance to the one from whom they had received it. In fact, it is written, "The children of Israel gave the part to Joshua, son of Nun." "But this happened to them as a sign," that it might be proposed as a model for us and that we in turn might observe the precept he practiced, which says, "The greater you are, the more humble you will be, and thus you will find grace with the Lord," and also that which is written, "If they have made you the head, do not exalt yourself but be among them as one of them."

  HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 24:2

• Sirach 32:19

  "Because the Lord loves judgment and will not abandon his holy ones." In what sense does the Lord love judgment? Because nothing in him is not weighed thoroughly, nothing happens without a reason. Consequently you also, knowing that the Lord loves judgment, do everything with an honest and truthful judgment. Thus you will listen to the admonition of him who says, "Do everything sensibly, drink wine with prudence."

  HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 4:7 (PSALM 36)

• Sirach 35:17

  The soul should attend not only to the hearing of the words but to the understanding of the realities. Recall the past, understand the present, attend to the future. Compare events in their succession, and contemplate the magnificence of the divine powers. Earlier, six hundred thousand armed sons of Israel advanced against Midian, and they were all defeated because of the sin that was in them. Now, however, the victorious Midianites, who had routed six hundred thousand men, are beaten by twelve thousand, so that you would know that Israel does not win by the multitude or number of its soldiers but by the justice and piety that are in them. Thus also in their blessings it is said that if they observe the law of the Lord, one of them will pursue a thousand, and two will cause ten thousand to flee. See, then, that a single saint who prays is worth much more than innumerable sinners in battle. "The prayer of the Holy One pierces heaven." How will it not also defeat earthly enemies? For this reason, in every way you must make an effort to "seek" first and to preserve "the righteousness of God." If you attain it and keep it, it will subject all of your enemies to you: if, as the apostle says, you are "clothed with the breastplate of righteousness and the belt of truth, if you take up the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit" and, above all, the "shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the evil one." Equipped with these weapons, you will put to flight all of the camps of the devil and his whole army, and you will faithfully sing, "If they encamp against me, my heart will not fear. If they raise a battle against me, even then will I hope."

  HOMILIES ON NUMBERS 25:2.1-2

• Sirach 40:28

  The beggar begs because he lacks what is necessary and because he finds it impossible to procure these things in a dignified way. You might find in such a condition those who, so to speak, beg for saving remedies from the Greeks or from the barbarians who promise truth; they lack a dignified means, suitable for a being endowed with logos, of procuring without danger the abundant contemplation of the truth. But the Logos forbids this manner of seeking, saying somewhere, "Do not lead the life of a beggar. It is better to die than to beg." The unfaithful administrator in the Gospel was ashamed to beg, and therefore he says to the one who owes a hundred measures of wheat, "Take your note and write fifty," and to the one who owes a hundred barrels of oil, "Take your note and write eighty," preferring to decrease what is owed to his master than to shamefully beg, and for this he is praised. Jesus, therefore, not only freed the blind man of the blindness that had afflicted him from birth but also from begging, because together with his sight he also gave him the possibility of finding a way to procure for himself what was necessary for the salvation of his soul. In this case, the reason for begging was blindness, whereas in the Acts it was being lame: 6 one who is freed from these things will no longer beg.

  COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, FRAGMENT 64

• Sirach 43:20

  We have been commanded to be fervent in spirit, and this shows that the Word of God is a blazing fire. And Jeremiah hears from the one who gave him oracles, "Look, I have put my words in your mouth, a fire." Therefore, since God is fire, the angels are flames of fire, and the saints should be fervent in the spirit of God. They have without a doubt cooled in their love for him and have become cold. Indeed, the Lord says that "increasing iniquity, the love of many will grow cold." And all those beings that symbolize the contrary power in sacred Scripture are always cold. The devil, in fact, is called a serpent and a dragon: what is colder than these? It is said that the dragon rules in the waters, and this is also said of one of the evil spirits that the prophet says dwells in the sea. And elsewhere the prophet says, "He will strike with the holy sword the serpent dragon that flees—the dragon, the perverse serpent—and he will kill him." And in another passage, "Even if they depart from before my eyes and flee into the depths of the sea, I will command the dragon, and he will bite them." And in Job this creature is called king of all the beings that are in the water. The prophet announces that evils come from the north, and especially those that inhabit the earth. And the north wind is indicated as cold in the Scriptures, as is written in Wisdom, "icy north wind." Without question, we must refer this to the devil.

  ON FIRST PRINCIPLES 2:8.3

• Sirach 47:19

  If you reread what is written of Solomon, you will find that he, though being extremely wise, "drew near to many women," whereas the law of God says, "Do not have many wives, that they might make you commit fornication against your God." Even he, though extremely wise and of great merit before God, was nonetheless deceived, because he gave himself to many women. I think that the many women refer to the many dogmas and the various philosophies of the peoples: wanting to know and investigate them, as a man rich in knowledge and wisdom, he could not keep himself within the rule of the divine law. He was seduced by the philosophy of Moab, which persuaded him to sacrifice to the idol of Moab, and likewise to that of the Ammonites and of the other peoples. It is said that he received many women, building temples and sacrificing to their idols. Therefore: it is a great thing and truly a work of God to mix with many dogmas as with women and nevertheless to not deviate from the rule of truth but to say firmly, "There are sixty queens, and eighty concubines and young maidens without number, but one alone is my dove, my perfect one, the only daughter of her mother, the only daughter of the one who bore her."

  HOMILIES ON NUMBERS 20:3.3

• Sirach 48:1

  If we understand what it means to be subject to Christ, especially in light of the passage, "And when everything is subject, he also, the Son, will subject himself to him who made everything subject to him," then we will understand the lamb of God who takes on himself the sin of the world in a way worthy of the goodness of the God of the universe. And yet the lamb does not take on himself the sins of all, if they do not suffer and experience torment until their sins are taken from them. There are in fact thorns that are not merely loose but firmly stuck in the hands of whoever is so drunk with vice as to even forget the state of sobriety, as it says in Proverbs, "Thorns are hidden in the hands of a drunkard." Must we spend words describing what troubles such implanted evils cause to the one who accepts them in the body of his soul? One who has accepted moral evil so deeply in his soul as to become a land that produces thorns needs to be deeply cut by the living Logos of God, which is "effective and sharper than any two-edged sword," hotter than any fire. Into a soul reduced to this state, that fire must be sent that is capable of finding the thorns and getting at them in virtue of its divinity, without setting fire to the stems and ears of the fields. Many are the ways in which the Lamb of God takes away the sins of the world, in the first place through the sacrifice of himself. Some of these ways can be shown to the many, while others are hidden to them and known only to those considered worthy of the divine wisdom.

  COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 6:57-58

• Sirach 50:16

  When our Lord Jesus comes (his coming was prefigured by the ancient son of Nun) he sends his priests, the apostles, who carry trumpets hammered out of metal, that is, the magnificent, heavenly teaching of their preaching. Matthew, in his Gospel, first sounded the priestly trumpet. Mark, Luke and John also each blew their priestly trumpets. Peter also makes the trumpets resound in his two epistles, as do James and Jude. John continues to sound the trumpet in his epistles, as does Luke when he describes the deeds of the apostles. And finally the one arrives who says, "I believe that God has placed us, the apostles, in the last place," and hurling lightning bolts with the trumpets of his fourteen epistles, he makes the walls of Jericho—the contrivances of idolatry and the opinions of philosophers—collapse on their foundations.

  HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 7:1