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God rewards His own Work in us:

XVI. 14.

HOMIL. a debtor to himself, for good deeds both small and great. Do not then allege to me labours and sweats; for not by the hope only of the things to come, but in another way also, God hath made virtue easy, assisting us every where, and putting His Hand to our work. And if thou wilt only contribute a little zeal, every thing else follows. For to this end He will have thee too to labour a little, even that the victory may be thine also. And just as a king would have his own son present indeed in the array; he would have him shoot with the bow, and shew himself, that the trophy may be reckoned his, while he achieves it all himself: even so doth God in our war against the Devil: He requires of thee one thing alone, that thou shew forth a sincere hatred against that foe. And if thou contribute this to Him, He by Himself brings all the war to an end. Though thou burn with anger, with desire of riches, with any tyrannical passion whatever; if He see thee only stripping thyself and prepared against it, He comes quickly to thee, and makes all things easy, and sets thee above the flame, as He did those children of old in the Babylonian furnace: for they too carried in with them nought but their good will.

In order then that we also may extinguish all the furnace of disordered pleasure here, and so escape the hell that is there, let these each day be our counsels, our cares, and our practices, drawing towards us the favour of God, both by our full purpose concerning good works, and by our frequent prayers. For thus even those things which appear insupportable now, will be most easy, and light, and lovely. Because, so long as we are in our passions, we think virtue rugged and morose and arduous, vice desirable and most pleasing; but if we would stand off from these but a little, then both vice will appear abominable and unsightly, and virtue easy, mild, and much to be desired. And this you may learn plainly from those who have done well. Hear, for instance, how of those passions Paul is ashamed, even after his deliverance from them, saying, For what fruit had ye then in those things,

1 Rom. whereof ye are now ashamed1? But virtue, even after his labour, he affirms to be light, calling" the laboriousness of

6, 21.

m 2 Cor. 4, 17. Ib. 12, 10. Rom. 5, 3. Gal. 6, 17. Col. 1, 24.

that we may persevere and go on.

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our affliction momentary and "light," and rejoicing in his MATT. sufferings, and glorying in his tribulations, and taking a pride in the marks wherewith he had been branded for Christ's sake.

In order then that we too may establish ourselves in this habit, let us order ourselves each day by what hath been said, and forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, let us press on towards the prize of the high calling1: unto which Phil.3, God grant that we may all attain, by the grace and love 13. 14. towards man of our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.

HOMIL.

1, 2.

Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery; but I say unto you, that every one who looketh upon a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

HAVING now finished the former commandment, and XVII. having extended it unto the height of self-denial, He, advancing in course and order, proceeds accordingly unto the second, herein too obeying the law.

1 Deut. 6, 4.

"And yet," it may be said, "this is not the second, but the third; for neither is the first, Thou shalt not kill, but The Lord thy God is one Lord'.

Wherefore it is worth enquiring too, why He did not begin with that. Why was it then? Because, had He begun from thence, He must have enlarged it also, and have brought in Himself together with His Father. But it was not as yet time to teach any such thing about Himself.

And besides, He was for a while practising His moral doctrine only, being minded from this first, and from His miracles, to convince the hearers that He was the Son of God. Now, if He had said at once, before He had spoken or done any thing, "Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, I am the Lord thy God, and there is none other but Me, but I say unto you, Worship Me even as Him;" this would have made all regard Him as a madman. For if, even after His teaching, and His so great miracles, while not even

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Why with the Sixth and Seventh Commands. yet was He saying this openly, they called Him possessed MATT. with a devil'; had He before all these attempted to say any such thing, what would they not have said? what would 8, 48. they not have thought?

But by keeping back at the proper season His teaching on these subjects, He was causing that the doctrine should be acceptable to the many. Wherefore now He passed it by quickly, but when He had every where established it by His miracles, and by His most excellent teaching, He afterwards unveiled it in words also.

For the present, however, by the manifestation of His miracles, and by the very manner of His teaching, He unfolds it on occasion, gradually and quietly. For His enacting such laws, and such corrections of laws, with authority, would lead on the attentive and understanding hearer, by little and little, unto the word of His doctrine. For it is said, they were astonished at Him, because He taught not as their Scribes2.

[2.] For beginning from those passions, which most belong to our whole race, anger, I mean, and desire; (for it is these chiefly that bear absolute sway within us, and are more natural than the rest;) He with great authority, even such as became a legislator, both corrected them, and reduced them to order with all strictness. For He said not that the adulterer merely is punished; but what He had done with respect to the murderer, this He doth here also, punishing even the unchaste look: to teach thee wherein lies what He had more than the Scribes. Accordingly, He saith, He that looketh upon a woman to lust after her hath already committed adultery with her: that is, he who makes it his business to be curious about bright forms, and to hunt for elegant features, and to feast his soul with the sight, and to fasten his eyes on fair countenances.

For He came to set free from all evil deeds not the body only, but the soul too before the body. Thus, because in the heart we receive the Grace of the Spirit, He cleanses it out first.

"And how," one may say, "is it possible to be freed from desire?" I answer, first, if we were willing, even this might be deadened, and remain inactive.

1 John

2Matt.7, 28. 29.

XVII.

2.

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Excuses for unchaste looking answered.

HOMIL. In the next place, He doth not here take away desire absolutely, but that desire which springs up in men from sight. For he that is curious to behold fair countenances, is himself chiefly the enkindler of the furnace of that passion, and makes his own soul a captive, and soon proceeds also to the act.

Thus we see why He said not, "whosoever shall lust to commit adultery," but, "whosoever shall look to lust." And in the case of anger He laid down a certain distinction, saying, without a cause, and "for nought;" but here not so; rather once for all He took away the desire. Yet surely both are naturally implanted, and both are set in us for our profit; both anger, and desire: the one that we may chastise the evil, and correct those who walk disorderly; the other that we may have children, and that our race may be recruited by such successions.

Why then did He not make a distinction here also? Nay, very great is the distinction which, if thou attend, thou wilt see here also included. For He said not simply," whosoever shall desire," since it is possible for one to desire even when sitting in the mountains; but, Whosoever shall look on her to lust; that is to say, he who gathers in lust unto himself; he who, when nothing compels him, brings in the wild beast upon his thoughts when they are calm. For this comes no longer of nature, but of self-indulgence. This even the ancient Scripture corrects from the first, saying, Contemplate Ecclus. not beauty which is another's'." And then, lest any one should 9, 8. say, "What then, if I contemplate, and be not taken captive, He punishes the look, lest confiding in this security thou shouldest some time fall into sin. "What then," one may say, 66 if I should look, and desire indeed, but do no evil?" Even so thou art set among the adulterers. For the lawgiver hath pronounced it, and thou must not ask any more questions. For thus looking once, twice, or thrice, thou wilt perhaps have power to refrain; but if thou art continually doing this, and kindling the furnace, thou wilt assuredly be taken; for thy station is not beyond that nature which is common to men. As we then, if we see a child holding a knife, though we do not see him hurt, beat him, and forbid his ever holding it; so God likewise takes away the unchaste look even before