Слово 32. О мужестве и храбрости.

The lack of enlightenment makes the soul cowardly and timid—not through nature, but through free will. When I see that a man who was once courageous has now become a coward, I do not say that this is a vice of nature, because what is natural is unchangeable. When then I see that the cowards of today suddenly become bold, I again come to the same decision: so the disciples were very timid before they were taught what they should have, and before they were awarded the gift of the Spirit; later they became braver than lions. And Peter, unable to withstand the girl’s threats, was executed by crucifixion, endured scourging and did not remain silent, exposed to a thousand dangers. Of course, one should not shy away from the fight, but one should not ask for it either; then victory will be more glorious for us, and defeat more humiliating for the devil. So we must stand bravely if we are involved in a struggle; if we are not called, we should remain quiet and wait for the time of struggle, in order to show both contempt for glory and courage. Being brave without recklessness is often a characteristic of ordinary people. But in order to use circumstances for business, at a convenient time, with appropriate restraint and prudence, this requires a great and amazing soul. Only he is brave who has strength within himself - he is brave, even if he was defeated on his bed, - just as without this strength I would not say that he is stronger than a girl and a pitiful old woman, even if with his bodily strength he lifted a mountain from its foundation. This is because he is fighting incorporeal evil, which this one does not even dare to look at. Do you want to learn that no strength can overcome the one who is protected by the highest help, and there is no one weaker than the one who is deprived of it, even if he is surrounded by thousands of troops? David, being very young, and remaining in his father’s house due to his youth, goes with his father to visit his brothers. He came to visit them already at the time when the war began - the foreigner Goliath began it - and all the people, along with the king, trembled. Meanwhile, David wanted to be a spectator, and so he went to see a new and amazing thing for him, that one man stood against several myriads. He says: “Who is this... foreigner, who so reviles the army of the living God?.. What... will happen to the man who kills him?” (1 Samuel 17:26–27). Saul, having learned about this, sends for the young man, who knew nothing but shepherd work; but, seeing his age, he treated him with inattention. Then, having learned from him how he dealt with bears when they attacked the herd, Saul wanted to arm him with his own weapons. But having put it on, he could not wear it. This happened so that the power of God acting through him would appear in purity, and so that what happened would not be attributed to weapons. Since he felt uneasy with his weapon, he took it off and, taking the shepherd's bag with stones, went with this to the stronghold of flesh. When Goliath saw that he was coming at him with only a shepherd’s bag and stones, he turned to him with approximately the following words: “Don’t you think that you are leading a herd, as you once did, and driving dogs? And isn’t that why you came out to fight me with such weapons, as if you wanted to chase some kind of dog? But experience will teach you that it is not for you to fight with the first person you meet.” After these boastful words, he began to run, picking up his heavy weapons and shaking his weapon. But he began the fight believing in the power of his weapons; having protected himself with faith and supreme help, he first humiliated the stranger’s vanity with words, saying to him: “You are coming against me... with a shield... and a spear... and you think to win with your own strength, but I am coming... in the name of the Lord... God” (1 Samuel 17:45). After these words, David took a stone from the shepherd’s bag, as if he wanted to drive away a dog that had approached the herd, and, using a sling, struck the stranger directly in the forehead, knocked him down; then, hastily running up to him and snatching his sword, he cut off his head with it, brought it to the king, and thus put an end to the war. The king received salvation through him, and all the people perked up. And it was given to see an amazing and unexpected thing: the one armed with full weapons was defeated by the unarmed, and the experienced in war - by those who knew nothing but shepherd business. What is this for and why? Because one was protected by the highest help accompanying him; the other, deprived of it, was delivered into his hands. Of course, it is high and wonderful not to allow the desire that arises in us, but, by avoiding it, to extinguish it. But if we cannot do this, we will at least fight and detain him in every possible way. Here the situation is not the same as with athletes. Among the latter, if you do not overthrow, you have not achieved victory; here, if you were not defeated, you defeated and defeated the enemy. And this is understandable. There they fight for victory: if one is defeated, the other receives a reward; This is not the case here, but the devil seeks our enslavement. So when I put an end to what he's trying to do, I've won. He directs his efforts not to overthrow, but to overthrow along with himself. And his victory is not in reward, but in common death. Even if you often suffer defeats, do not shy away from the fight because of this. Not getting wounded is the lot of those who do not fight; those who go to war with great enthusiasm, they receive wounds and suffer defeats. No one, seeing a soldier returning from war wounded, would reproach him for this; It is dishonest, on the contrary, to throw down arms and run away from the war. As long as someone stands with arms in his hands, there will not be a person so unjust in military affairs who would blame him for suffering defeats and retreating for a short time. If someone does not want to injure himself, another will not be able to do it. After all, neither the weapons nor the machines of external enemies are often able to take the strongholds of cities; the betrayal of one or two people living inside easily puts them into the power of the enemy. If your inner thoughts do not betray you, the evil spirit will not do anything to you, even if it uses thousands of means. What can we say about the mother of the Maccabees, this noble woman? Wasn't she a woman? And did she not give her seven children to the host of saints? Didn't she see how they suffered? Didn’t she herself suffer torment with each one separately? When they were tortured, and she took the blows - because she was a mother. Think how she prepared them for the fight, how she built seven churches for God. The tyrant stood and retreated, defeated by one woman. He besieged with weapons, she won with jealousy; he kindled the smelting furnace, and she inflamed her spirit even more; he prepared the army, and she entrusted herself to the Angels. She saw the tyrant of the underworld and thought about the King reigning from above; I saw the torments of hell and counted the heavenly rewards; I saw the present torment and thought about future immortality. What about Esau? Was he not greater than Jacob? Isn't he the firstborn? Isn't this his father's beloved son? But, having betrayed himself through sin, he lost his birthright and was forced to serve the lesser. It is said that the Lord said to Rebekah through the priest: “Two tribes are in your womb, and two different nations will come from your womb; one nation will become stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger” (Gen. 25:23). Look at the prophecy, which clearly told her everything that would happen. Babies fighting and playing in the womb have already predicted everything with accuracy. And finally, the wife learned not only that she would bear children, but also that they would spread among the nations, and the younger would be master over the older. “And the time came for her to give birth: and behold, twins were in her womb. The first one came out red, all over like leather, shaggy... Then his brother came out, holding Esau’s heel with his hand; and his name was called Jacob” (Gen. 25:24-26) - so that almost from the beginning God indicated that the smaller, as it is said, will rule over the greater. He held, it is said, Esau’s heel with his hand: this was a sign that he would surpass the one who seemed strong. But it’s time to turn to His Beatitude Paul. I am burning with love for this husband and therefore will not tire of constantly turning to him. Let no one be embarrassed by this decision of mine. If we were surrounded by barbarians all around, and if the enemies caused us countless difficulties in the ranks; if then a barbarian commander, who would have at his disposal countless siege engines, would throw everything into confusion, fill us with confusion and great fear, threaten to destroy and set fire to the city itself, and turn us all into slavery; If he, having suddenly been captured by our king, had been brought captive to the city, wouldn’t we all have come running together with our wives and children to see this spectacle? Now the war has come for us. While the Jews fill everyone with confusion and fear and are plotting many tricks against the safety of the Church, the head of the enemies Paul, who tried more than anyone about this, preached and filled everyone with confusion and fear, and it was our Lord Jesus Christ, our King, who bound and brought captive - will we not all come out to this spectacle to see him led captive? And the Angels in Heaven, seeing him bound and led, rejoiced - not because they saw him bound, but because they imagined how many people he would free from shackles; not because they saw him led by the hand, but because they thought about how many he had to lead from earth to Heaven; not because they saw him blinded, but because they thought about those whom he had brought out of the darkness. Therefore, leaving everyone else, I hasten to turn to Paul. Paul and the love for Paul compels us to take this leap. Is there anything more ardent than the heart of a man who has traveled the entire universe, endured violence, stoning, chains - and all this in order to free the bound and attract them to himself? And he did not perform his feats as a fighter; but, as if moving towards a ready and certain victory, he erected victory monuments, tearing down, devastating, destroying to the ground the fortifications of the devil and all the barriers of the demons; he did not stop, rushing forward from these to those and from those to these, and, like an excellent commander, every day, or better yet, every hour, erected victorious monuments. Having penetrated the enemy lines in his clothes, he took the enemy cities along with their people. Paul's tongue was bow, spear, arrows and everything. He uttered only a sound, and his words, striking enemies stronger than any fire, drove out demons, and returned people who had lost power over themselves. When he cast out the evil demon, countless spellcasters burned their magic books and turned to the truth; and just as in war, after a tower has fallen or a tyrant has been overthrown, everyone who was with him, throwing down their weapons, runs to the commander, so it was then: when the demon was overthrown, all the vanquished, throwing away their books, or rather destroying them, rushed to the feet of Paul. And he, turning the whole world, as it were, into one camp, did not stop anywhere, but did everything as if he had wings: he restored the lame, then raised the dead, then blinded another - I’m talking about the magician. Even imprisoned, he did not calm down, but even there he brought the guard to his senses, completing this wonderful captivity. They are surprised at David for defeating Goliath with just one stone. But if they had inherited the deeds of Paul, they would have seen that it was a childish matter, and that as much as a shepherd and a general differ from each other, there is as much difference between this and that, because he destroyed the mental Goliath, and without throwing a stone, but with one word destroyed the entire horde of the devil. Like a lion roaring and breathing with its fiery mouth, so he was terrible for everyone when he came. He constantly appeared everywhere: he came to these, went to those, returned to these, went again to others - appearing faster than the wind and ruling the entire universe, like one house or ship, pulling out the drowning, saving those shrouded in darkness, giving orders to the sailors, sitting at the stern oar, watching the bow, pulling the ropes, taking up the oars, raising the sails, looking at the sky, being himself everything - both the sailor and the helmsman, and in charge of the bow of the ship, and the sail, and the vessel, enduring everything in order to destroy the evil of others. And like an athlete, fighting, running, entering into battle, or a soldier, breaking walls, fighting on land and sea - so he participated in all types of struggle, incited jealousy and, single-handedly taking possession of the universe and defeating everyone with one word, he himself was unapproachable for everyone. The sounds of many trumpets, falling on the walls of the city of Jericho, did not destroy them, as the loud voice of Paul razed the devil’s fortifications to the ground and attracted enemies to his side. He was lowered through the window from the wall to lift the defeated to the ground. Like a soldier, if, while fighting with the whole world, he had fallen into the very middle of the enemy troops and not suffered at all, so Paul, appearing alone among the barbarians and Hellenes, everywhere on land, everywhere at sea, remained unharmed. And just as a spark, falling into straw and hay, changes the combustible material in accordance with its nature, so he, coming to everyone, attracted everyone to the truth. What, tell me, is more glorious in the glory of this world than Nero, which is higher? What, on the contrary, is more insignificant or more dishonorable than Paul? He was a tyrant, accomplished many brilliant deeds, erected many glorious victorious monuments, had enormous wealth everywhere, a countless army, most of the universe was subordinate to him, he had a royal city at his disposal, the entire synclite bowed before him; in the royal chambers he wore shiny clothes; if it was necessary to take up arms, he appeared in golden weapons decorated with precious stones; if he had to go out in peacetime, he dressed in purple; He was followed by many bodyguards and many squires; he was considered the master of land and sea, he was an autocrat, Augustus, Caesar, a king, he lacked nothing, which constitutes glory, but the wise, the powerful, and the kings trembled and feared him. In addition, there was also a rumor about him that he was cruel and shameless; he wanted to be a god, despised all idols and God Himself; he was revered as a god. But let us contrast him, if permitted, with Paul. He was a Cilician, engaged in tanning, was poor, ignorant of external sciences, knew only Hebrew - a language that many mocked - he often lived from hand to mouth and went to bed hungry; undressed, he had nothing to cover himself with. And not only that, but he was thrown into prison along with robbers, sorcerers, grave robbers, murderers; by order of the same Nero, he was scourged as a criminal. So which of them is more glorious? Isn’t it true that the majority do not even know the name of this one, and this is glorified every day by the Hellenes, the barbarians, the Scythians, and those who live at the very limits of the universe? Who is more honorable? The one who conquers while in chains, or the one who is conquered, clothed in purple? Standing below and striking, or sitting above and being struck? The one who commands, but whose orders are not obeyed, or the one who receives orders, but does not attach any importance to them? Who is alone, but wins, or the one who suffers defeats with countless troops? If it is more glorious to conquer than to be defeated, then Paul is generally more glorious. And it’s not only amazing that he won, but that he won such a thing, and having such a look. “Who can declare the power of the Lord” (Ps. 105:2), that You did not allow Paul to be in the dark, that You showed such a man to the universe? All the Angels praised You with one accord when You created the stars and the sun; but not like when You revealed Paul to the whole universe. The earth became lighter than the sky, because it is brighter than the light of the sun. This sun gives way to night, and he defeated the devil. It, descending from above, sends its rays down; he, ascending from below, filled with light not only the space between heaven and earth, but as soon as he opened his lips, he filled even the Angels with great joy. And if there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents—and in his very first sermon he caught countless men—then with what joy did he fill the powers above? What am I saying? It is enough for Paul to begin to say how the heavens play and rejoice. So, if Paul, adorned with so many exploits and appearing like an angel on earth, tried every day to make an acquisition, to expose himself to dangers for the truth, to accumulate spiritual wealth for himself and never stop, then what excuse will we have, not only completely deprived of glorious deeds, but also subject to so many vices, of which even one inherent in us is sufficient to plunge us into the abyss of destruction - we who make no effort to correct these vices and be involved in acts of virtue? Didn't that blessed one have the same nature as us? I burn with love for this husband and therefore will not stop turning to him. Looking at his soul as a kind of example, I reflect on the vanity of passions, on the superiority of courage, on the burning love of God. And I am amazed how one person, having wished, fulfilled the whole host of virtues; each of us does not want to fulfill even the simplest of them. Who will deliver us from inevitable punishment, when Paul, who shared with us by nature, given over to the power of the same passions, who was in such difficult circumstances and daily, so to speak, tormented, tormented, dragged publicly by those who were hostile to his preaching, despite all this, showed such greatness of virtue? And in order for you not to hear from our lips about his glorious exploits and about the courage that he showed daily for the sake of preaching piety, it is necessary to listen to his own words: “And if anyone dares to boast about anything, then (I say foolishly) I dare too” (2 Cor. 11:21). Observe the God-loving soul. He calls the matter not only courage, but even madness, teaching us, if there were anyone among us who did something good, not to expose our deeds without any need, when no one forces us to do so. “Are they Jews? and I. Israelis? and I. Abraham's seed? and I" (2 Cor. 11:22). Isn’t this, he says, what they are proud of? Let them not think that we are inferior to them, because we are also participants in the same thing. Then he adds: “Servants of Christ? (in madness I say:) I am greater" (2 Cor. 11:23). Look here at the virtue of the soul of this blessed man. After he called the incident courage and madness, he, forced into necessity, however, did not stop at what he said; but when he wanted to show that he was superior to them in many ways, so that they would not think that he was speaking out of pride, he again called what he said madness, saying approximately the following: Do I really not know that I am doing something that will be unpleasant to many and which is indecent for me? But the necessity that led me to this compels me. Therefore, forgive me, he says, for speaking the words of madness. Let us imitate at least a shadow of it, we, who are burdened with such a burden of sins and often, even if we do some worthy deed, do not store it in the treasuries of the mind, but, chasing glory before people, put it on display and with this immeasurable idle talk we deprive ourselves of reward from God. And he, the blessed one, did not allow anything like that, but saying: “I am greater,” then he lists his exploits and says: “in labor and in exhaustion, often in vigil, in hunger and thirst, often in fasting, in cold and nakedness. Apart from extraneous adventures...” (2 Cor. 11:23, 27–28). Now look at another sea of ​​temptation that is opening up for us. By saying: “except for extraneous adventures,” he implies that what was omitted is perhaps more than what he said. But he didn’t stop there either, but again points us to the disturbance and crowds of people, saying this: “I have daily crowds of people, caring for all the churches” (2 Cor. 11:28). Here is another feat, sufficient, even if there were only one, to elevate him to the very pinnacle of virtue. Care, he says, “for all churches”: care not for one, or two, or three, but for all the churches throughout the universe that the sun passes through, sending its rays to the earth. The blessed apostle had such care and concern. Look at the breadth of soul! Look at the greatness of thought! And what is given in succession then, so to speak, covers everything that has been said: “Who is faint, with whom would I not faint? Who is tempted, for whom would I not be inflamed?” (2 Cor. 11:29). This is the kind of tender love this husband has! What wakefulness! What care! What mother's heart is tormented like this when her son, sick with a fever, lies on his bed, like that blessed husband, who for those who were exhausted in every place himself was even more exhausted, and for those who were tempted was even more inflamed? Look also at the expressiveness of the words. He did not say: “Who is tempted, for whom would I not be grieved?”, but: “Who is tempted, for whom would I not be grieved?” - he says, showing us the intensity of grief and declaring that he is like on fire, burning internally for those who are tempted. I realize that I have stretched my words too long. But I don’t know how it happened that when I touched on the exploits of the holy man, I was carried away by the swiftness of the language, like some stream of quickly rushing waters. Therefore, stopping my word here, I beg your love to constantly keep him in your memory and without ceasing to reflect on the fact that he was part of us by nature and was subject to the same passions as us. Engaged in an insignificant and dishonorable craft, sewing leather and working in a workshop, after he decided and wanted to devote himself to the labors of virtue and show himself worthy of receiving the Holy Spirit, he received the greatest mercy from above. May we all be worthy to receive it by the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power with the Father and the Holy Spirit, now and ever, and unto ages of ages. 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” You might be interested in: