Homilies on Second Corinthians

“As the truth of Christ is in me.” 'Do not think that I therefore have spoken, that I may receive, that I may the rather draw you on: for,' says he, as the truth is in me,

“No man shall stop me of this glorying in the regions of Achaia.” For that none should think again that he is grieved at this, or that he speaks these things in anger, he even calls the thing a “glorying.” And in his former Epistle too he dressed it out in like terms. For so that he may not wound them there either, he says, “What then is my reward?” “That when I preach the Gospel, I may make the Gospel of Christ without charge.” And as he there calls it “reward,” so does he here “glorying,” that they may not be excessively ashamed at what he said, as if he were asking and they gave not to him. 'For, what, if even ye would give?' says he, 'Yet I do not accept it.' And the expression, “shall not stop me,” is a metaphor taken from rivers, or from the report, as if running every where, of his receiving nothing. 'You stop not with your giving this my freedom of speech.' But he said not, 'ye stop not,' which would have been too cutting, but it “no man shall stop me in the regions of Achaia.” This again was like giving them a fatal blow, and exceedingly apt to deject and pain them, since they were the only persons he refused [to take from]. 'For if he made that his boast, it were meet to make it so every where: but if he only does so among us, perchance this is owing to our weakness.' Lest therefore they should so reason and be dejected, see how he corrects this.