Слово 21. О начальстве, власти и славе.

They say that Blessed Constantine, when one day his statue was broken, and many incited him to take revenge and punish the offenders, saying that they had wounded his entire face with stones, touching his face with his hand and smiling slightly, said: “I don’t see any traces of blows anywhere on my face, on the contrary, my head is intact, and my whole face is unharmed,” and thus disgracing and shaming them, forced them to refuse such a thing. bad advice. If thanks to these words he received such glory among people, then what benefits will he receive from God, the Lover of Mankind? Truly is the king who rules over anger, over envy and pleasure, and subordinates everything to the laws of God, and, keeping his mind free, does not allow the power of pleasure to be established in the soul; I would gladly like to see such a person as the ruler of the earth and the sea, cities, peoples and armies. In fact, whoever put reason in charge over the passions of the soul would easily begin to rule over people according to the laws of God, so that he would be like a father to his subordinates, treating citizens with all meekness. The one who apparently rules over people, and is himself a slave to anger, lust for power and pleasure, firstly, it may seem ridiculous to his subordinates that he wears a golden crown adorned with precious stones, but is not crowned with prudence, that his whole body shines with purple, and his soul remains unadorned; and secondly, he will not know how to use power, because the one who is unable to control himself, how can he correct others with laws? Let us strive not to enjoy honors and power, but to remain in virtue and wisdom. Power and authority prompt one to do many things that are displeasing to God; and it takes a very courageous soul to properly take advantage of this honor, glory and power. One who is deprived of high dignity and involuntarily philosophizes; the one who uses it experiences something similar to what would happen if someone, living with a pretty and beautiful girl, made it a rule never to look at her with an immodest eye. This is the nature of power. That is why, even involuntarily, it encourages many to offend, ignites anger, removes the bridle from the tongue, opens the door to the lips, storming the soul, as if with the wind, and plunging the boat into the very depths of evil. The greatness of honor for people who do not try to live worthy of this honor serves to increase punishment. Fame and success among the people, the more famous a person becomes, the more dangers and worries they present, because such a person cannot even stop and sigh, having such a cruel and difficult master. What am I saying: stop and breathe? Even though such a person has thousands of good deeds, he has difficulty entering the Kingdom of Heaven, because nothing usually puffs up people like the glory of the crowd. To endure dishonor is a great and noble thing; but to possess glory, a courageous and very great soul is required, so that the one who enjoys fame does not become proud. If you want fame, reject fame; if you pursue glory, you will lose glory. This glory is a shadow of real glory. Seeing a picture of bread, no one will grab the image, no matter how hungry they are. So, those who say that they have received everything in the present are depriving themselves of absolutely everything in the future. So Adam, as a result of his hope for greater honor, lost even that which he had. And many, wanting more, often destroy what they have, and hoping to have all the blessings here, they are deprived of part of them. The higher and more brilliant success is in human affairs, the greater the fall it prepares for; and this happens not only with subordinates, but also with the kings themselves; and a private house is not filled with as many disasters as the royal palace is full of evils. Is it because, tell me, that you envy your neighbor because you see how he enjoys honor and great fame? Don’t you think about how fleeting they are, and how much evil is born from here? But what is even more difficult is that the disasters that result from them remain forever, while pleasure has not even had time to appear before it disappears. He has great power over the sovereign, ruins and plunders everything wherever he wants, oppresses enemies and benefits flatterers, can he do everything? But what harm can he do? Take away your dignity? But what's the point? If it is fair, then it even brings benefits, because nothing irritates God more than the undeserved use of honors; if it is unjust, then again the blame falls on him, and not on the offended: the one who suffers something unjustly and courageously endures the insult acquires through this greater boldness before God. He who submits to the authorities does not submit to the authorities, but obeys God, who established them; and whoever does not obey them resists God. “There is no authority,” it is said, “but from God” (Rom. 13:1). The fact that there are authorities, and some are in charge, others are subordinate, and everything does not go without order and analysis, and peoples do not rush about like disordered waves, is a matter of the wisdom of God. That is why God strictly punishes for neglecting them. If you do not obey them, He will subject you not to some insignificant punishment, but to a very serious one; and nothing will save you if you begin to contradict, but you will suffer the most severe punishment among people, and you will anger God beyond measure. Just as if you remove the helmsman from a ship, you will sink the ship, or if you take away the leader from the army, you will deliver the warriors into the hands of enemies, so exactly, if you destroy the leaders in the cities, we will lead our lives more disorderly than foolish beasts. As the connections of beams are in houses, so are the leaders in states. When the boss is impeccable in everything, then he can punish and pardon all his subordinates as he pleases, because not punishing the guilty and pardoning those who have committed a crime that does not deserve any leniency is characteristic of only one person - another, and especially when the king is insulted. It is easy to subjugate citizens through fear; but to make everyone your adherents and force them to be sincerely disposed to power is a difficult matter; and no matter how much money someone spends, no matter how many troops he raises, no matter what he does, etc., he cannot easily attract the favor of so many people. Nothing shows the good side of a boss better than caring for his subordinates. And it is not only one birth that makes a father, but also love after birth. If, where there is nature, love is required, then much more (it is required) where there is good disposition. Truly, the power of the priesthood is greater than the power of the king, and is greater insofar as the king is entrusted with bodies, and the priest with souls. One resolves monetary debts, the other resolves sin debts; the first acts by coercion, the second by exhortation: the first wields sensual weapons, the second - spiritual; the first wages war against barbarians, the second against demons. That is why in the Old Testament priests anointed kings, and now God bows their head under the hands of the priest, teaching us that the latter has more power than the king, since “the lesser is blessed by the greater” (Heb. 7:7). Once upon a time, King Uzziah entered the church of the Lord, wanting to burn incense; after him Azariah the priest entered in order to expel him from here not as a king, but as a runaway and ungrateful slave; rushed after him with all his courage, like a brave dog rushing at an unclean beast in order to drive him out of the house of the Lord. He did not look at all the greatness of power, did not hear Solomon saying: “The wrath of a king is like the roar of a lion” (Proverbs 19:12), but turning his gaze to the true King of Heaven and strengthened by His fear, he attacked the tyrant. However, if you wish, we too will go in to see what he says to the king. “It is not for you,” Uzziah says, “to burn incense to the Lord” (2 Chronicles 26:18). He did not call him king, since he had already deprived himself of this dignity; since he who commits sin is a slave, even if he had a thousand crowns on his head; the one who creates the truth, even if he were the lowest of people, and the king himself is more royal. And listen to what I say. There was no time to install a king for the Jews, since the former one turned out to be unworthy of the kingdom. And so Samuel is sent to Jesse and says: “God has sent me to make one of your sons king.” Having heard about the king, Jesse brings his first son, considering him capable of receiving this dignity. “Take him away,” says Samuel, “God has not chosen him.” - Brings the second; and not this one. Brings a third; and not this one. Brings the fourth, fifth, sixth; and these are not the same ones. The face of the children ran out, but what they were looking for was not found. “Do you have,” Samuel tells him, “another son”? The father was ashamed. “There is,” he says, “another, small, not worthy of attention, shepherd.” What then? Do you want to install a king and consider the smaller to be better than the better? Man humiliates man, but God crowns: “I do not look as man looks; For man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). Are we looking for physical prowess? We wish for nobility of soul. But why didn’t God definitely say: “Go and anoint Me David as king,” but: “one of the sons of Jesse”? So that David would not suffer the same thing that happened to Joseph. Just as the latter’s brothers, having learned that he was destined to be king, plotted evil against him, so it was precisely to be feared that David’s brothers would not do the same. Thus, uncertainty became the mother of security for David. So, David comes, is anointed with oil, and leaves, invested with royal power, being protected not by armor, not by shield and spear, but by the favor of God, the most powerful of all. And so, prompted by the war, he went to watch the battle and found a foreigner who challenged him to single combat, and no one dared to come out and fight him. Then he stood and said: “For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should so revile the army of the living God” (1 Samuel 17:26)? And they say to him: where did you get such arrogance? No,” he answers, “I am armed not with arrogance, but with faith, not with armor, but with piety; I look not at his height, but at his poverty of mind; I look not at how big the ship is, but at the fact that he has no helmsman. What about brothers? Again anger, again envy. “For whom did he leave a few sheep”? We know “your arrogance and your evil heart; you have come to see the battle” (1 Samuel 17:28). He, cutting off the abscess, moved away from them and, moving to another place of the battle, said: what will happen to the person who takes his head off? They bring him to the king. Seeing the despondent king in front of him, overwhelmed with fear and trembling, David says to him: “Why was my master’s face sad?” And thus, in a timely manner, he announces his slavish devotion. Who is this? Or will I not go and take his head off? What about the king? “How,” he says, “can you fight him when you are still a small boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth?” The king does not believe; David is forced to talk about his exploits. “I,” he says, “was a little boy tending his father’s sheep, “and when a lion or a bear came and carried away a sheep from my flock, then I chased after him and... took him out of his mouth; and he smote... the lion and the bear... and this uncircumcised Philistine shall do the same as with them, because thus he defies the army of the living God... And Saul said to David, Go, and may the Lord be with you” (1 Sam. 17:34-37). The king gave him his weapon, but he could not carry it. Why? God did not allow this, so that a share of the victorious feat would not be attributed to the weapon, so that the king would not say: “my weapon won.” So David throws down his weapon and puts on faith; throws a stone, and the foreigner falls. It was not by the strength of his body, but by the strength of his spirit that he won victory. Then he ran up, took his sword and cut off his head. And the word of Scripture was fulfilled: “The wicked is caught in the works of his hands” (Ps. 9:17). So, if you love glory and honor, then try to decorate not your house, not your horse, but your soul, whereas now there can be nothing more despicable than you, when your soul is empty, and you display the beauty of a house or a horse; but would you say that I have both? What are you saying? Are you really not afraid to utter such words and put Christ along with horses and stones? Or don’t you know that He created the body, and gave the soul, and gave the whole world to you? And you don’t give Him even a little gratitude for this? If you rent out even a small house, then you demand payment with all severity; meanwhile, taking advantage of all His creation and living in such a well-ordered world, don’t you want to repay with even a little gratitude? Can you deserve any apology? Just as a person throwing a stone upward can neither cut the vault of heaven nor reach its height, but receives the blow with his own head, since the stone falls back on the thrower, so similarly, one who blasphemes the blessed Being of God will never cause Him any harm, since He is much greater and higher than suffering any harm, but sharpens the sword on His own head, turning out to be ungrateful to His Benefactor. Let those who, with excessive curiosity, examine the blissful essence of the Divine and assert that this incomprehensible nature is comprehensible, hear, so as to know that it is impossible for a person to see even the being of an Angel without danger. The holy prophet Daniel, a friend of God, who had great boldness before God, fasted for three weeks of days, did not eat the desired bread, meat and wine did not enter his mouth, and did not anoint himself with ointments; and when his soul, having become lighter and more spiritual thanks to fasting, became more capable of perceiving such a vision, then he saw the Angel and said: “From this vision my insides turned within me... and my breath froze within me; ...there was no strength left in me, and the appearance of my face changed enormously, there was no vigor in me” (Dan. 10:16–17, 8). Since he was a handsome young man, and the fear of the Angel’s presence made him look like a dying man, spreading a terrible pallor across his face, destroying the blush of youth and completely destroying the healthy complexion, he says: “I have lost my vigor.” So the Angel lifted him up, and he stood up trembling; but when the Angel began to speak to him, he fell to the ground again. And just as those struck by fear, after they come out of their stupor, come to their senses and wake up while we are still holding them and sprinkling their faces with cold water, they often die in our very hands, so the prophet experienced something similar. His soul, struck by fear, unable to bear the spectacle of the presence of his fellow servant, and unable to bear this light, was in confusion, hastening to free himself, as if from some chains, from the bonds of the flesh; but he held her back. If Daniel, before whom the lions lowered their gaze, Daniel, who in a human body could perform superhuman deeds, who was glorified by wisdom, righteousness and many other virtues, could not bear the presence of his fellow servant, but fell lifeless, then what will those endure who, being so far from the virtue of this righteous man, are overly curious about the Lord of the Angels, dreaming of knowing with all accuracy His very Being, this highest and the first Being who produced myriads of those Angels, one of whom Daniel was not able to see? Just as a blind person does not know the inaccessible rays of the sun as much as someone with sight, so we do not know the incomprehensible nature of God as well as the angelic powers, since they are purer, wiser and more insightful than human nature. As different as a blind person is from a sighted person, so are we from them. Therefore, when you hear a prophet who says: “I saw the Lord” (Is. 6:1), then understand not that he saw the very essence, but some kind of condescension, and, moreover, in a more hidden way than the powers on high. This is clearly seen from the example of the apostles. “Jesus went up...,” they say, “to the mountain, and was transfigured before them” (Luke 9:28; Matt. 17:2). What does “transformed” mean? He opened the Divinity a little and showed them the God who dwells in Him. “And His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became white as light.” The Evangelist wanted to show His radiance, and says: “transformed.” How did you “transform”? Quite strongly. But how, tell me? "Like the sun". “Like the sun,” you say? Yes! Why? Because I don’t know another luminary so bright and clear. He was bright and white as snow; I don’t know any other, whiter substance. And that He did not shine so brightly can be seen from what follows. “The disciples fell” to the ground (Matthew 17:6). If He had shone like the sun, the disciples would not have fallen to the ground, because they saw the sun every day and did not fall; but since He shone brighter than the sun and brighter than the light, then, unable to bear such radiance, they fell on their faces. But what should I do? I am a man and I talk to people; I speak clay. I ask the Lord’s forgiveness, since I use such words not out of impudence, but out of the poverty and weakness of our language. Be merciful, Lord, since I pronounce these words not out of pride, but I have no others, and, moreover, I do not dwell on the baseness of words, but soar high on the wings of thought. This is why we said this, just as we reported the story of blessed Daniel, and talked for a long time about how he became numb, trembled, and was in a position no better than those who were dying, when the soul sought to free itself from the bonds of the flesh, so that you, who recognize God as comprehensible, would know with complete clarity that it is impossible to bear not only the vision of God, but even of an Angel. Just as a meek tame pigeon living in a cage, when it feels some kind of fear, flies to the top in fear and looks for some way out through the doors, wanting to be freed from fear, so exactly the soul of this blessed one was then in a hurry to leave the body and was eager to get out. And she would have gone out and flown away and completely left the body if the Angel had not hastened to immediately free her from fear and return her again to her abode. If this righteous man, who had such boldness, could not bear the vision of the Angel, then what will happen to those who, yielding so far to him, are overly curious not even about the Angel, but about the Lord of the Angels Himself? He has tamed the fury of the lions, but we cannot overcome the foxes; he crushed the dragon himself, and we are afraid of simple snakes. And if such a great and valiant man, seeing the Angel who appeared to him, fell into a grave state of insanity, then what excuse will those who try to penetrate into the very blissful nature of the Divine have? That is why Paul said in amazement: “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His destinies and His ways unsearchable!” (Rom.11:33). He didn’t say: “incomprehensible,” but: “untested.” If they cannot be experienced, then it is even more impossible to comprehend them. “And His ways are unsearchable.” His ways are unsearchable, but He Himself, tell me, is comprehensible? What are you saying? His destinies are inscrutable, His ways are unsearchable, the blessings that He has prepared for those who love Him have not entered the heart of man, His greatness is limitless, His mind has no number, everything is incomprehensible, and only He Himself is comprehensible? Is this not extreme madness? And who will not weep for you in view of such madness and extreme madness? Let us try, beloved, to the best of our ability to reject him from ourselves, always presenting before our eyes Paul, exclaiming in amazement: “How untried are His destinies and unsearchable His ways!” . To him be glory forever. Amen. Ἐκλογαί άπό διαφόρων λόγων . Under this name are known collections of conversations compiled by various persons after the death of Chrysostom on certain topics, from those related to the topics and especially liked by the compilers of the works of the saint. The passages are given partly in a literal presentation, partly in a free retelling and are borrowed both from the original works of Chrysostom, and from works only attributed to Chrysostom, which have not only survived to this day, but have also been lost. These Eclogues (selections) were widespread and were used by both private individuals and kings. Known, for example, is the luxurious collection of Eclogues, owned by the Byzantine emperor Nikephoros Botaniatus (1078–1081), registered among the codices of the Koalene Library under No. LXXIX. The paragraphs in the text were arranged by us. – Editorial staff of “ABC of Faith” The exact translation is “untested” - approx. ed. You might be interested in: