Слово 22. О терпении и великодушии.

If you wish, we will offer you, beloved, the valiant deeds of the righteous Job as an exhortation to patience. This same righteous man, who had acquired great glory for himself, was highly respected by everyone, whose name enjoyed great fame everywhere, suddenly falling into dishonor and general contempt, fought against poverty, and against illness, against the loss of children, against the attacks of enemies and the ingratitude of friends, against hunger and bodily suffering, against slander and slander; and what is most difficult of all is that these disasters befell him when he did not even think about them. Indeed, one who was born of poor parents and raised in a poor home can easily bear the burden of poverty, as a person already accustomed and accustomed to it; but whoever abounds in enormous means and owns great wealth, and then suddenly falls into poverty, it is not easy for him to endure such a change. Likewise, with the loss of children, even if someone has lost all of them, but not at the same time, he finds consolation in his grief for the dead in those who remain; and when grief for those who died earlier subsides, even if the death of other children happens after some time, grief is no longer felt with such acuteness: it falls not on a fresh wound, but on one that has already healed and healed; and this significantly reduces the pain. Meanwhile, this righteous man’s entire family was exterminated before his eyes in an instant, and in the most cruel way, during a feast, in a house open to strangers: the house became a coffin for them. Who can also depict that extraordinary and indescribable hunger, both voluntary and involuntary? Really, I don’t know what to call it. Voluntary? But he wanted to eat the food lying in front of him. Involuntary? But the food was in front of him, and no one interfered with him, and yet he abstained from the offered meal and, seeing the dishes in front of him, did not touch them. The stench emanating from the wounds covering the body destroyed desire and made food itself disgusting. “For I see the stench,” he says, “my trash” (“What my soul did not want to touch, that is my disgusting food”) (Job.6:7). The languishing hunger forced him to take up food, but the excessive stench emanating from the body overcame the power of hunger. How can I depict his suffering, sources of worms, streams of pus, reproaches of friends, contemptuous treatment of servants? My servants, he says, did not spare my face from spitting; and those whom I did not consider worthy of the dogs of my flocks now laugh at me, and outcast people give me instructions. Isn't all this difficult, apparently? And truly, hard and unbearable. And, nevertheless, when the Lover of Mankind deigned to reveal to him the reason for these battles, when he said precisely that all this was allowed so that he would turn out to be a righteous man, he perked up as if he had not suffered those disasters at all. Just as a wrestler in a competition has to endure sweat, and dust, and intense heat, and fatigue, and exhaustion, so the righteous person here must endure a lot, and endure everything courageously, if he wants to receive brilliant crowns in the future life. If we speak with praise of a body that can easily endure cold and heat, hunger and need, travel and other hardships, then we should much more please the soul, which can firmly and courageously endure all misfortunes and disasters, and always keep its mind unenslaved. Just as a soul that is in idleness and security is easily captivated by passions, so, on the contrary, one constantly practicing deeds of piety does not even have time to ever think about it, because concern for deeds distracts it from all this. Not only the one who does good deeds, but also the one who suffers evil receives great rewards; and proof of this is provided by Job, who became famous more for his sufferings than for his good deeds. Indeed, he was not as glorious at the time when he owned wealth, opened his house to the poor and distributed his property, as at the time when he heard that his house had collapsed, and did not complain; He was not as glorious when he clothed the naked from the flock of his sheep as he was glorious and praiseworthy at the time when, having heard that the fire had fallen and destroyed everything, he gave thanks to God. Then he was a lover of humanity, now he has become a lover of wisdom; Then he had compassion for the poor, now he thanks the Lord. And he did not say in his soul: “What is this? The herds from which thousands of poor people fed were destroyed”; did not say: “If I was unworthy to enjoy such wealth, then for the sake of at least the poor I should have spared.” He neither said nor thought anything like that, but he knew that God would arrange everything for good. And so that you know that he dealt a stronger blow to the devil at the end, when, being deprived of everything, he gave thanks, than at the time when, possessing wealth, he showed compassion, listen to the following. When he possessed wealth, the devil had at least some excuse to say: “Is Job fearing God for nothing?” ( Job 1:9 ). But when the devil took everything from him, deprived him of everything, and he retained the same respect for God, then his shameless lips were finally blocked and could no longer say anything, because the righteous man turned out to be even more glorious than before. Indeed, having lost everything, to endure the deprivation with courage and gratitude is a much more glorious thing than to give alms while living in wealth. To thank God when everything goes well is nothing worthy of surprise; but when a storm arises, and the boat is in danger of capsizing, then it is a great proof of patience and nobility of spirit. If people, aware of thousands of atrocities behind them, having lost even a little gold, and even then often obtained by robbery, consider their life worthless, then what kind of crowns was Job worthy of when he saw how his wealth, collected from righteous labors, was stolen without reason or reason, and after all this he suffered clouds of countless temptations, and yet he was not embarrassed by anything and gave due rewards for all this thanksgiving to the Lord? In fact, not to mention everything else, the wife’s words alone were enough to shake even a stone. If many who live in happiness and have not suffered anything bad are often persuaded by their wives, then think how courageous the soul was that repelled her with such a weapon. When the speaker was a wife, and she spoke plaintive words, and had as her assistants time, and ulcers, and wounds, and thousands of overwhelming thoughts, then who does not recognize in all justice a soul that suffered nothing from such a storm, harder than any adamant? I can boldly tell you that this blessed one was, if not more, then no less than the apostles themselves. For the latter, it was a consolation that they endured disasters for the sake of Christ; and he was deprived of this consolation; and what is even more important, he endured all this, being brought up in great luxury, belonging not to the number of fishermen, publicans, people of low class, but as a person who enjoyed great honor. And what seems the most difficult in the reasoning of the apostles, he suffered, being subjected precisely to reproach and hatred not from his enemies, but from his friends, servants and those who had benefited from him. And that this is so, let us compare virtues and suffering, so that you can clearly know that not only for virtues, but also for suffering there are rewards, and very great rewards, no less than for virtues. And if you wish, let us present as an example the same great ascetic of patience - Job, who shone with both virtues and sufferings, and compare when he was more glorious, then, when he opened his home to everyone who came, or when he did not utter a single bitter word about its destruction, but gave praise to God? When he shone brighter, tell me, was it when he made sacrifices for the children and encouraged them to agree with each other, or when they were covered with earth and ended their lives in the most unfortunate way, and he endured this misfortune with great wisdom? When did he shine more, was it when the waves of his sheep warmed the naked shoulders, or when he, having heard that fire had fallen from the sky and devoured the flocks along with the shepherds, was not embarrassed and did not fall into despondency, but calmly endured the misfortune? When was he greater, was it when he used the health of his body to protect the offended, crushing the teeth of the wicked and tearing out their prey from the very teeth, or when he saw this very body, the weapon of the offended, devoured by worms and, sitting on the rot, he himself scraped it with a shard? “I douse,” he says, “my chest with earth, pus-like shavings” (“My body is dressed with worms and dusty scabs; my skin bursts and festeres”) (Job 7:5). Although all these were virtues, and these were sufferings, the latter made him more glorious than the former. When he had only virtues, the devil, although with extreme shamelessness and impudence, still reproached him, saying: “Does Job fear God for nothing?” ( Job 1:9 ). When these misfortunes happened, he fled in shame, not daring to throw even a shadow of any shameless reproach. Therefore, when you see that some righteous man is distinguished by great virtues and suffers countless disasters, do not be surprised: on the contrary, you would be surprised if the devil, receiving many blows, began to remain silent and calmly endure the wounds. There is nothing to be surprised if a snake, subjected to constant injections, becomes enraged and rushes at the one who is stabbing it. And a warrior returning from victory and battle inevitably has to be covered in blood, and often even have wounds. So, when you see a person who gives alms and performs thousands of other good deeds, and thus crushes the power of the devil, and then is exposed to temptations and dangers, do not be embarrassed by this: that is why he is exposed to temptations because he deals too much of a blow to the devil. But how, you say, does God allow this? In order for the righteous to become even more famous, so that the devil receives an even stronger blow. It is, of course, a great thing even under favorable circumstances to give alms and devotedly serve virtue; but a much greater thing is to strive selflessly and with complete zeal for virtue while enduring adversity. Just as sinners who have not suffered any calamity here are subject to greater punishment there, so the righteous who have suffered many calamities here will receive a greater reward there. And just as of two sinners, if one is punished here and the other is not, the one who was punished is more blessed than the one who was not punished, so of two righteous people, if one suffers more sorrows and the other less, the blessed one is the one who suffers more. Those who do not endure God’s admonition with gratitude, but indulge in murmuring, besides the fact that they do not receive any benefit from it, also expose themselves to extreme disasters. But do you live in poverty, in hunger, and endless dangers? So learn from the poor to thank the Lord: these spend their whole lives asking for alms, and do not blaspheme (God), are not indignant, do not murmur, but bear their lot with thanksgiving. Really, what have you suffered like a beggar? Lost an eye? And he did both. Experiencing a long-term illness? And he is not even healed. Lost your children? And he even cares about his own health. Suffered a big loss? However, he has not yet reached the point where he needs the help of others. But is this not enough? Remember Job, that indestructible pillar of patience. Who can compare with him in poverty, when he was poorer even than those huddling near public baths and sleeping on stove ashes, in a word, poorer than all people? These at least have torn clothes, but he sat naked, and the only clothes that he had by nature, the garment of flesh, and the devil damaged that with terrible pus. The beggars are at least under the roof of the vestibule in the baths, at least they take refuge under thatch, but he spent his nights in the open air, without the consolation of even the lightest roof; and what is even more important, they are at least aware of numerous atrocities (and the knowledge that one is justly suffering punishment is a considerable consolation in misfortune), but he was deprived of this consolation, as a person who showed a life full of virtues, but suffered what is characteristic of the lowest villains. Moreover, from the first years of life they become accustomed to their misfortune, while he was subjected to unexpected poverty, suddenly deprived of wealth. Do you see that he has reached the most extreme poverty, worse than which it is impossible to find? Indeed, what could be poorer than the naked, who does not even have a roof and does not even use the earth itself? – he was not sitting on the ground, but on a rotting pile. So, when you find yourself in poverty, remember what happened to this righteous man, and you will immediately perk up and give up every thought of despondency. If you want to hear about the battle that nature itself waged with excessive cruelty against this valiant man, listen to what I say. He lost ten children, ten children suddenly, in the prime of life, ten children who discovered great virtue, and not even according to the general law of nature, but from a violent and pity-worthy death. Who can portray such misfortune? What kind of iron man, what kind of adamantium will endure so many disasters? No one, no one truly. If each of them is unbearable in itself, then think what kind of confusion they caused when they all came together? When, therefore, you lose your son and daughter at the same time, flow to this righteous man, and you will undoubtedly find great consolation for yourself; remember his words spoken regarding the misfortune with the children, words that crowned this holy head better than countless crowns; think about the enormity of the misfortune, about this unprecedented crash, about this unheard-of and extraordinary tragedy. In fact, you may have lost one, or two, three children; and he lost so many sons and so many daughters, and from having many children suddenly became childless; and the offspring of his womb were not gradually destroyed, but the entire fetus was stolen suddenly, and moreover, when he himself was not near them, so that, at least hearing their last words, he could have some consolation in such a sad death; everything happened contrary to all hope, and one grief outweighed the other. The misfortune consisted not only in their premature death, but also in the fact that they were all in the prime of life, were virtuous and friendly, that they all died together, sons and daughters, that they did not die according to the general law of nature, that this happened after the loss of all their property, and finally, that he suffered this, not realizing anything bad about himself or them. Each of these misfortunes in itself is already enough to confuse the soul; when they all flock together, then imagine what the height of the waves is, how strong the storm and bad weather are. All this is amazing if you just hear it; if you examine this carefully, then you will see the miracle even more. In fact, think: the devil did not take half, but left half; he did not take most of it, but left the lesser part, but he plucked all the fruit, but did not knock down the tree; covered the whole sea with waves, but did not sink the boat; he exhausted all his strength, but did not shake the stronghold: struck from all sides, it stood and remained unshakable; clouds of arrows rushed and did not hit her, or, more accurately, they were launched, and yet did not wound her. Think about what it's like to lose so many children? What was it that could not tear your heart apart? Shouldn’t it have been torn by the fact that all the children were kidnapped by death, that they all died unexpectedly and on the same day, that they died in the prime of life, that they were distinguished by great virtue and ended their lives with such a heavy execution, that this final blow was dealt after so many blows, that, finally, he was a tenderly loving father, and those who departed were desired for him? When someone is deprived of vicious children, although he experiences suffering, it is not with such intensity, because the wickedness of the dead does not allow grief to intensify; but when children are virtuous, the wound eats deep, because the feeling of pity is determined not only by nature, but also by their piety. Likewise, when death snatches children away gradually, there is some consolation in misfortune, because those who remain somewhat moderate their grief for the dead; but when every one of them dies, then to whom will the father turn his gaze, who had many children and suddenly remained childless? If women and all relatives, when someone dies in three to five days, most of all grieve that the deceased was so quickly and suddenly stolen from their eyes, then the one who lost everything not in three or two days, not even in one day, but in one hour, should grieve much more. A disaster, when it is foreseen long in advance, even if it was extremely serious, as a result of anticipation it can become quite light; but when it happens suddenly and contrary to hope, then, even though it was essentially easy, it becomes unbearable due to the fact that it happens suddenly and contrary to expectation. When a disaster is grave in itself, and is made even stronger by the fact that it happens contrary to expectation, then think how unbearable it becomes and beyond any description. He didn’t even see them on their bed at their last breath, but found them all buried under the ruins of the house. Think about what it was like for him to dig up this grave mound, extracting now a stone, now some member of a child, seeing now a hand still holding the phial, now another leaning on the table, what it was like for him to look at the mutilated appearance of the body, to see a broken nose, a broken head, missing eyes, fallen out brains, in a word - the whole appearance disfigured, covered with so many wounds that the father could not even recognize the features of his beloved faces? Are you moved and crying hearing this? Imagine what it was like for him to see this. If, even after so much time, we cannot hear about this sad story without tears, and, moreover, hearing about someone else’s misfortune, then what kind of adamant was he who saw it with his own eyes and waxed wise not in other people’s, but in his own misfortunes? He did not complain, did not say: “What is this? Is this a reward for my friendliness? Was it for this reason that I opened my house to strangers, so that I could see how it would become a coffin for children? Was it why I cared about them in every possible way so that they would suffer such a death? He neither said nor thought anything like that, but he endured everything courageously, even having lost them after such worries. But was this only the extent of his misfortunes? And the abandonment and betrayal of friends, and ridicule and slander, and desecration and mockery, and general contempt - is all this bearable and can it be consoled? This is unbearable to hear, much less to actually endure. Not so, because misfortunes themselves usually torment our soul, like those mocking us in misfortunes. But look now and here at the meekness and fear of God of this valiant and adamantine soul. Despite the fact that he saw himself, who had fulfilled every virtue, in extreme adversity, and the wicked and depraved people in prosperity, he did not say anything that weaker people would probably have said: was it for this reason that I raised and taught my children with all care, for this reason I opened my home to those who came, so that after so much care and trouble for the needy, for the naked, for orphans, to receive such a reward? On the contrary, instead he uttered words that are superior to any sacrifice: “The Lord gave, and the Lord has also taken away” (Job 1:21). If he tore his clothes and shaved his head, then do not be surprised: he was a father, and a tenderly loving father, and had to show both the compassion inherent in nature and the wisdom of the soul; if he had not done this, then others might consider such philosophy a consequence of insensibility. So you too, when you lose your money, and do not grumble, but bravely endure it and thank God, speaking in the words of Job: “The Lord gave, the Lord has also taken away,” then you will turn the loss to your advantage. How, you say, “The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away”? The thief stole; how can I say: “The Lord took it”? Don't be surprised; after all, Job, regarding what the devil stole from him, said: “The Lord took it”; Why then, regarding what the thief stole, don’t you say: “The Lord took it”? Don’t say, “I don’t owe this to myself; It was not my will; the robber took it without my knowledge or desire; What will I be rewarded for? And this happened to Job without his knowledge or desire. So what? However, although he did not give alms then, he is in no way inferior to those who gave. If you are persuaded to go to some soothsayer, and you, knowing that this is forbidden, out of fear of God, would rather not receive your money than disobey God, then you will receive the same reward as the one who distributed it to the poor, because, having lost it, he thanked God, and, although he could go to the soothsayers, he decided it was better not to receive it than to receive it in this way. In fact, just as he spent them on the poor out of fear of God, so you, when thieves stole them, did not receive them back out of fear of God. Did a thief steal your money? Do not deprive yourself of salvation, because by grieving over the disasters that you have suffered from others, you expose yourself to even greater disasters. He may have plunged you into poverty, and you are villainously inflicting mortal harm on yourself; he has deprived you of external benefits, which will go away over time and against your desire, and you are depriving yourself of eternal wealth. Has the devil upset you by depriving you of your money? Make him sad, too, by giving thanks to God, and do not bring him joy. If you go to the soothsayers, you will bring him joy; if you thank God, you will deal him a mortal blow. And look what happens. If you go to the soothsayers, you still won’t find your money, because it’s not in their power to know; if they somehow say successfully, then you will destroy your soul, and you will be ridiculed by your brothers, and again you will lose them in an unfortunate way. If the demon sees that you cannot stand the loss of money, and because of it you renounce your God, then he will give it to you again in order to have a reason to seduce you again and distract you from God. Just as we try to do to our enemies the same thing that makes us sad, and when we see that they are not upset, we stop doing this, no longer finding an opportunity to sadden them, so the devil, if he sees that you are laughing and looking with contempt at his intentions, will abandon this path and will no longer approach you. So, by patiently enduring the loss of money, you can receive exactly the same reward as if you had voluntarily given it up. And we are rightly more surprised by the one who endures trials with gratitude than by the one who voluntarily gives money. Why exactly? Because the latter finds support for himself in praise and in his conscience, has good hopes and renounces money after he has already courageously endured deprivation of it, while the former is deprived of it while still attached to it. Meanwhile, it doesn’t matter whether you decide in advance to renounce money, give it away, or lose it while still loving it; It makes no difference, again, whether over a long period of time one learns to despise money or endures an unexpected loss. He who is already prepared for disasters can easily endure them when they come; but whoever has given himself over to carelessness and abandoned all thought about worries, if something similar to the previous one happens to him again, he is doubly embarrassed and becomes easy to catch - both due to the unexpectedness and due to the fact that all jealousy and preparedness for disasters have disappeared from him. Meanwhile, in the discussion of sorrows, it is not only important, but even the most unbearable, that circumstance is when a person, having already decided that he has freed himself from sorrows and reached the very end of them, and therefore putting aside all care and concern, again finds a new source of disasters. Why didn't the devil destroy Job and his wife along with his children? Because he knew that she would provide very great assistance to his machinations against the latter. If through my wife, he thought, I expelled Adam from Paradise, then all the more I can bring Job to the point of falling to rot. And look at the villainy: he puts this invention into action not when the oxen, donkeys and camels died, not when the house was destroyed and the children died under its ruins - he is still silent and waits, watching the ascetic - but when the source of worms clogged, the rotting skin began to fall off, and the decomposing body began to secrete pus full of a terrible stench, when the hand of the devil tortured him more painfully hot frying pans and any flame, worse than any beast, she gnawed from all sides and devoured his body, when a lot of time had passed in such misfortune, and as a result, as he saw, the righteous man longed for liberation and wished for himself death, not being able to take a breath (if I could, he says, lay hands on myself or ask another to do this to me), then he brings her and says: “How long will you endure saying: Behold, I will wait for a short time, waiting for the hope of salvation mine." (“And his wife said to him: You still stand in your integrity! Blaspheme God and die”). ( Job 2:9 ) Comforting and encouraging her with unrealistic hopes, when she bothered him, he constantly told her: wait a little longer, and soon everything will be over. Therefore, she reproachfully says to him: are you really going to say the same thing now? After all, a lot of time has passed, and there is no end in sight. “The earth will require your memory, your sons and your daughters, the pains and labors of my womb, in which we labored in vain with diseases, ... and I who wander and serve, place from place... and house from house... pass away” (Job 2:9). I not only beg, but also wander, and experience a new and extraordinary slavery, wandering everywhere and carrying with me signs of misfortune, and flaunting my misfortunes to everyone, and, what is most regrettable, “waiting for the sun to set, so that I may rest from my labors and... the illnesses that oppress me, even if they now support me. But say a certain word to the Lord, and die.” What is this blessed and hardest adamant man? Looking at her sternly, - oh, chaste and dispassionate soul! – before words, he already reflected her insidious plans with his gaze. She thought of causing streams of tears, but he, having become stronger than the lion and filled with anger and indignation, says to her: “You speak like one of the madmen: will we really accept good from God, and not accept evil?” ( Job 2:10 ). In fact, why did God give them to us, and for what did He give them a reward? No way; solely out of goodness and philanthropy. “Naked,” he says, “I came from my mother’s womb, and naked will I return” (Job 1:21). So, imagine this ascetic, imagine that you see this pus, and on this pus he sits, a golden statue, decorated with precious stones, and I don’t know what to call him, because I can’t find such a precious object with which this blood-stained body could be compared - before that, this flesh turned out to be many times more brilliant than any jewel, and brighter than the sun’s rays of its wound. Indeed, they shine for the bodily eyes, and these enlighten our spiritual eyes. Who has heard or seen such amazing wrestling competitions? In ordinary battles, when fighters cut open the head of their opponents, they are victorious and receive crowns; and this one, when he struck the body of the righteous man, was defeated and retreated. What happened, devil? Why are you retreating? Didn't everything you wished for come true? Have you not destroyed herds of sheep and oxen, herds of horses and mules? Didn’t he destroy all the children and smite the whole body? Why did you retreat? Therefore, he says that although everything that I desired was fulfilled, what I desired most of all, and for the sake of which I did all this, was not achieved: he did not utter blasphemy against God. For this reason, he says, I did all this, to achieve this; and since this has not been achieved, there is no longer any benefit for me from the deprivation of property, the death of children and the destruction of the body; it even turned out completely opposite to what I wanted: I only made the enemy even more glorious, made the enemy even more praiseworthy. Have you now found out how much benefit came from suffering? Beautiful, of course, and full of health was the body of the righteous; but it became much more venerable after it was cut off by these ulcers. Likewise, woolen fabrics, although good before dyeing, when they turn purple, acquire extraordinary beauty and splendor. If the devil had not exposed him, he would never have known the beautiful state of this conqueror’s body; if he had not pierced his body with wounds, his rays would not have shone from within; If I had not put him on rot, we would not have recognized his wealth. Truly, the king sitting on the throne is not as glorious as this righteous man was then, sitting on the rot; after the royal throne - death, and after this rot - the Kingdom of Heaven. The devil did not deprive him of his property in order to make him poor, but in order to force him to spew out some kind of blasphemy against God; in the same way, he did not strike the body in order to expose it to illness, but in order to shake the virtue of the soul. And despite all the evil tricks put into play by the devil, despite the fact that he turned a righteous man from a rich man into a poor man - and this seems to all of us the most terrible disaster - and from a man with many children into a childless man, despite the fact that he tormented his whole body worse than the executioners in the courts (indeed, the hooks of the latter do not tear the sides of those who fall into their hands, as the mouths of worms tormented his body), not only expelled him from the city and home, and would have driven him to another city, did not make him a rotten city and a home - despite all this, not only did he not cause him any harm with his machinations, but even made him even more glorious. So you too, if someone takes your money, and you bravely endure the loss, you will receive the same reward as those who squandered their property on the poor. Just as when we make efforts on our part, we receive benefit from those who offend us, so, on the contrary, when we are careless and from those who do us good, we do not become better. If Job, having suffered so many calamities, did not receive any harm, and, moreover, suffered not from a person, but from the most evil of all evil people, a demon, then will any of those who say: “So-and-so offended me and caused harm” have an excuse? In fact, if the devil, filled with such great malice, put into action all his weapons, fired all his arrows and poured out on the house and body of this righteous man in abundance all the calamities that exist among people, did not cause him any harm, and even brought benefit, then how can anyone blame these or other people, as if he suffered harm from them, and not from himself? Are you surprised at the three youths? I am also amazed that they trampled the cave and resisted the tyrant, saying: “We will not serve your gods, nor will we worship the golden image that you have set up” (Dan. 3:18). But for them the greatest consolation was that they clearly realized that they endured all suffering for the sake of God. Meanwhile, this righteous man did not know that his sufferings were feats of struggle and competition; otherwise, if he had known this, he would not even have felt what happened to him. In fact, when he heard: “Do you want to overthrow My judgment, accuse Me in order to justify yourself?” (Job.40:3) - think how he immediately perked up in spirit from just one word, how he humbled himself, how he counted all the suffering he had suffered as nothing, saying: why am I still condemned, being admonished and convicted by the Lord when I hear such words - I, who am nothing? Let us each imitate the piety of this saint, knowing how many benefits grow from patience. As if this blessed and valiant man stands before the whole universe, and through the suffering that befell him, he convinces everyone to courageously endure whatever happens, and not to lose heart in the face of any disasters that befall us. No, truly there is not a single human suffering for which consolation cannot be derived from here; whatever sufferings were scattered throughout the universe, they all collectively fell on one body of this righteous man. What excuse will there be for someone who cannot gratefully endure even part of the disasters brought upon Job, who, as we see, endured not just any part, but the entirety of the disasters of all mankind? But such and such, you say, who did so many deeds of alms, lost everything; another lost everything from a fire; others were shipwrecked and fell into poverty; some, again, were exposed to misfortune and illness, and received no help from anyone. So what? Remember the disasters that befell Job, and thank the Lord, Who could have prevented this and did not. But do you spend your life in poverty, hunger and countless misfortunes? Remember Lazarus, who struggled with poverty, loneliness and countless other adversities; remember the apostles who spent their lives in hunger, thirst and nakedness; remember the prophets, the righteous, and you will find that they were all poor people, who did not spend their lives in pleasure, but were poor, suffering sorrows and disasters. Having collected all this in your mind, thank God for giving you such a lot, not out of hatred, but, on the contrary, out of strong love for you; just as he allowed everyone to suffer so many disasters not because of hatred, but on the contrary, precisely because he loved them very much and made them more glorious through these disasters. In fact, if people do not allow those who work for them to leave without reward and payment, then God will much more not want to deprive so many who have worked for His reward for their labors. It is therefore necessary that there should be some other time after death when they will receive reward for the labors incurred here. I have heard many say: such and such a modest and humble person is dragged to court every day by some criminal and villain; another dies, having been unjustly slandered; the third was sunk; the fourth is thrown into the abyss - and God allows it all. For what? For this reason, God allows them to endure disasters, so that, in view of the greatness of miracles and feats of virtue, they do not quickly fall into pride; so that others do not assume in them anything of a higher human nature and do not consider them gods and not people; so that the power of God may be victorious, overcome and multiply the preaching through those who are weak and bound in chains; in order for their patience to be more revealed, as people who serve God not for reward, but are imbued with such a feeling of love for Him that even after so many disasters they reveal their devotion to Him; so that all those exposed to misfortunes can have sufficient consolation and encouragement, looking at them and bringing to mind the disasters that have happened to them; so that when we persuade you to follow their virtues and say to each of you: “imitate Paul, compete with Peter,” in view of the excessive height of their virtues, do not think that they had a different nature, and do not refuse to imitate; so that, finally, when we need to please or mourn someone, we know who should be considered happy and who should be considered unhappy and worthy of pity. If you want to know that it is not the one who does evil who is stronger, but the one who patiently endures the evil inflicted on him, then look at how much evil Jacob suffered from Laban, and who turned out to be stronger: the latter, who captured him in his hands, but in fear and trembling did not dare to touch him, or the first, without weapons and troops, who turned out to be more terrible for him than a thousand kings? Isn't this the one? Just as one who steps on fire burns himself, or one who strikes an adamant causes pain to oneself, or one who hits needles bleeds oneself, so one who tries to cause offense to another offends himself and becomes worthless than any clay. Blessed David once fled from his fatherland, was in danger of losing his freedom and his very life, and when the army went over to the side of a dissolute youth - a stealer of power and a parricide, he wandered in the desert, and yet was not indignant, did not grumble at God, and did not say: “What is this? Did God allow the son to rebel against his father? Even if he could rightly accuse me of something, even then this should not have happened; Meanwhile, he, having suffered no slight or great insult from me, looks for me everywhere, wanting to defile his hand with his father’s blood; and God calmly looks at this?” He didn't say anything like that. And what is even more surprising, when he, wandering in the desert and having lost everything, was attacked by a certain Shimei, a vicious and criminal man, calling him a murderer and a lawless one and reproaching him for countless crimes, he did not get irritated even then, and even when the commander of the army asked him for permission to go and remove Semei’s head, he not only did not allow this, but also said with a feeling of indignation: “What do I and ... you, son of Saruin? Let him slander... perhaps the Lord will look upon my humiliation, and the Lord will reward me with goodness for his current slander” (2 Samuel 16:10-12). Do you see how this righteous man knew that courageously enduring slander is a reason for greater glory? And indeed it is. When we, subjected to reproach and countless disasters, calmly treat those who reproach us, we attract much greater favor from God. Moses also wanted to help one offended person, and because of this he was exposed to extreme danger and lost his fatherland. And God allowed this so that you would recognize the patience of the saints. If we embarked on spiritual endeavors, knowing in advance that we would not tolerate anything bad, this would not represent anything great on our part. This and the three youths said: “Our God, whom we serve, is able to save us from the fiery furnace, and will deliver us from your hand, O king. If this does not happen, then let it be known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden image that you have set up” (Dan. 3:17-18). So you, when you think of doing something pleasing to God, foresee many dangers, many hardships, many deaths, and when they happen, do not be surprised and do not be embarrassed. “My son,” says (the Wise), “if you begin to serve the Lord God, then prepare your soul for temptation” (Sir.2:1). No one, deciding to go into battle, expects to receive a crown without wounds. When, therefore, you yourself do something good and receive the opposite, or you see that the same thing happened to someone else, then rejoice and rejoice, because this is all the more beneficial. So, do not weaken in your zeal, do not become more lazy, but, on the contrary, get to work with even greater zeal; and even if the devil interrupts you a thousand times, never lag behind. So the apostles, when they preached while being scourged and constantly living in prison, not only after being freed from danger, but even during the danger itself, proclaimed the preaching of the truth with even greater zeal. So, for example, Paul, in the very prison, in the very bonds, announced and performed the Sacraments, just as he did the same in the judgment seat. And look at what this holy soul boasts about: bonds, suffering, chains, wounds. “At the attraction of the Spirit,” he says, “I go to Jerusalem, not knowing what will meet me there; only the Holy Spirit bears witness in all the cities, saying that bonds and tribulations await me” (Acts 20:22–23). Why are you going if bonds and sorrows await you? It is for this very reason that I go, to be bound for the sake of Christ, to die for His sake: I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die for the name of my Lord. What is this? Aren't you ashamed, aren't you afraid to go through the universe as a prisoner? Aren’t you afraid that someone will accuse your God of being powerless, that because of this someone will not come to you? These are not, he says, my bonds: I know how to shine even in the royal palaces: “So my bonds...,” he says, “became known to the whole praetorium and to everyone else, and most of the brothers in the Lord, encouraged by my bonds, began to preach the word of God with greater boldness, fearlessly” (Phil. 1:13-14). Do you see the power of bonds rather than of raising the dead? He was imprisoned in Rome, and attracted even more numerous followers; He was imprisoned in Jerusalem, and, preaching in chains, he struck the king and brought the ruler into fear, because he “came into fear” and released him (Acts 24:25). He sailed in bonds, and delivered from the wreck, and held back the storm; while in chains he was attacked by a terrible beast (Acts 28:3) and fell without causing him any harm. And look how the same thing happened everywhere and in other cases. He was subjected to scourging, and severe scourging: “give... “, - they say, “he had many blows”, and was tied up, and also very tightly: “threw him,” they say, “into the inner prison” (Acts 16:23-24), - and with special precautions; and being in this position, around midnight, when even the most awake people are asleep, he sang and praised God. What could be stronger than this soul? He recalled that the youths also sang in the fiery furnace. Perhaps he thought that he himself had not suffered anything like this. But, by the way, our speech led us again to other bonds, to another prison. What should I do? I want to remain silent, but I can’t: I found another prison, much more wondrous and amazing than that one. I want to interrupt the speech, but she does not allow it; I can’t stop, I can’t keep quiet. Too many things come to my mind; I don’t know what to say first, what to say next. Please, therefore, do not demand order from me, because the objects are very close to each other. Paul's bonds were long, and that is why they detained us. But that’s why I won’t remain silent. If he was not silent in prison and amid the scourgings, then how can I sit silently when it is day and I can speak with complete calm? Is this common sense? So, many of Paul’s miracles are recorded in different places, but they are not as desirable as his plagues; and he does not rejoice in the Scriptures as much by performing miracles as by enduring suffering, being scourged, being dragged, stoned, - “they stoned him,” it says, “and dragged him out of the city” (Acts 14:19), and also: having beaten him and “gave him ... many blows, they threw him into prison” (Acts 16:23). What a praise, what a pleasure, what an honor, what a glory to know that one is bound in bonds for Christ's sake. But look at the miracle. And the prison of the bound Paul was shaken, they say, and “everyone’s bonds were loosened” (Acts 16:26). Do you see how the nature of bonds loosens bonds? “The prison guard, waking up and seeing that the doors of the prison were open, drew a sword and wanted to kill himself.” What about Pavel? “He cried with a loud voice, saying, Do yourself no harm, for we are all here” (Acts 16:27–28). Do you see his lack of vanity, pride, and abundance of love? He did not say: “for our sake this happened,” but as one of the prisoners says: “for we are all here.” If he had remained silent and had not held back the guard’s hands with a loud voice, the latter would have thrust a knife into his throat; he cried out because he was imprisoned in the inner prison. You, he says, made it worse for yourself by putting in the very depths of the prison those who were supposed to save you from danger. Do you see Paul's love for mankind and concern for his neighbor? He preferred to remain in chains and be exposed to danger rather than allow himself to die. Who would not be amazed by the strength of the bonds that bound him? She brought those who were bound to the feet of the bound one and made them submissive to him. “The jailer fell,” it says, “to Paul” (Acts 16:29): free from the bonds he was at the feet of the prisoner, and the one who bound him begged the bound man to free him from fear. Didn't you tie him up, tell me? Was it not you who cast him into the inner prison? Wasn't it you who hammered his legs into the block? Why are you trembling? Why are you embarrassed? Why are you crying? Why did you draw the sword? I didn’t know, he says, that the power of the prisoners of Christ is so great. What are you saying? He received the power to open the heavens, but could not open the prisons? He freed those bound by demons, and iron could hold him? The one who freed souls from bonds, couldn’t he free his body? The one who with his clothes freed others from spiritual bonds and freed them from demons, would he not have freed himself? For this reason he was first bound, and after that he freed those bound, so that you might know that the servants of Christ, even being in chains, have much greater power than those free from bonds. So, after all, the power of a saint is revealed much more brilliantly when he, even the bound one, defeats those freed from bonds. So, when he, being bound, frees not only himself, but also other prisoners, then what is the use of the walls, why was it necessary to imprison him in the inner prison, if he also opened the outer one? But let us listen to how he himself boasts of these very bonds: “I beseech you,” he says, “I am a prisoner in the Lord” (Eph. 4:1). And truly, it is a great and lofty dignity, superior to the kingdom, and the patrimony, and all dignity, to be a prisoner for the sake of Christ. Truly, there is nothing so glorious as a prisoner for Christ's sake, like the chains that surround these holy hands. This is much more glorious and honorable than being an apostle, being a teacher, being an evangelist. Anyone who loves Christ knows what I am saying. He who is inspired and burning with love for the Lord knows the power of bonds: he would rather be a prisoner for Christ's sake than to dwell in heaven. This is perhaps even more glorious than sitting at His right hand; this is more honorable and blessed than sitting on twelve thrones. If someone had offered me the whole heaven or the chain with which Paul's hands were tied, I would have preferred the latter; if I had been placed with the angels on high or bound with Paul, I would have chosen prison; if I were offered to be with those forces that surround the Throne of God, or were made the same prisoner, I would rather become such a prisoner - because there is nothing better than to endure some kind of suffering for the sake of Christ. If someone gave me the power to resurrect the dead now, I would choose not it, but bonds, because there is nothing more blessed than these bonds. I would now like to be in those places where these bonds are kept, and to see the chains that the demons fear and tremble, and the Angels honor. If I were free from church concerns and were healthy in body, I would not refuse to make such a journey in order to see only those bonds and that prison where Paul was imprisoned. O blessed bonds! Oh, blessed hands that adorned those fetters placed on Paul! His hands were not so precious in raising up the lame in Lystra as in carrying the bonds on himself. If I had lived in those times, I would have hugged them as best I could and cherished them like the apple of my eye; I would not stop kissing the hands that were worthy to receive bonds for my Lord. I do not please him so much for the fact that he was caught up into the third heaven and into Paradise, as for the fact that he was thrown into prison; I do not please him as much for the fact that he heard unspeakable verbs as for the fact that he suffered bonds - because the latter is much greater than the first. It is more desirable for me to suffer for Christ than to receive honor from Christ. Paul probably had similar thoughts. If Christ, he said, having become a slave for my sake and exhausted his glory, did not honor Himself in glory (when he was with the Father) as when he was crucified for me, then what should I not endure? Listen, in fact, to how He says: “Glorify Me, O Father” (John 17:5). What are you saying? You are being led to the cross along with robbers and grave robbers in order to suffer the death of the damned people. You are about to be spat on and strangled, and you call this glory? Yes, he says; I endure these sufferings for my beloved, and rightly count them as glory. So, if my Lord, having loved the unfortunate and burdened, calls this glory, and prefers this to glory on the Father’s Throne, then all the more should I consider this glory. All people are amazed at Job for his patience, for the purity of his life, for God’s testimony about him, for his courageous struggle, for the wondrous victory that completed this struggle; but what adamantine soul can show Paul's patience? Indeed, he spent not many months, but many years in such exploits; not pouring the earth over the chest, “pussy shavings” (“My body is dressed with worms and dusty scabs; my skin bursts and festeres”) (Job.7:5), but constantly falling into the very mental mouth of a lion, struggling with countless temptations, enduring reproach, spitting and reproach not from three or four friends, but from all unbelievers, enduring clouds of temptations, then subjected to scourging, then stoning, and being exhausted by constant hunger and cold. But how great is Job’s generosity? We will not object either; but we find it as much lower than Pavlov’s generosity as the soul is lower than the body. The same thing that the former did in relation to those suffering from physical injury, the latter did in relation to those suffering from mental vice; Moreover, the former did this, having an uncountable number of sheep and oxen, while the latter, having nothing but his body, helped those in need from this very body: “These hands have served my needs and the needs of those who were with me,” he exclaims, “(Acts 20:34). Let us all compete and imitate them in order to receive the same praises and rewards as them, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom 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” You might be interested in: