Homilies on Second Corinthians

⁴ And what says she? “Give me here in a charger the head of John the Baptist.” Whither do you rush over precipices, wretched and miserable one? What? Is the accuser before you? Is he in sight and troubles you? Others said, “He is grievous unto us even to behold;” but to her, as I said, he was grievous to even hear of. Wherefore she says, “Give me here in a charger the head of John.” And yet because of you he inhabits a prison, and is laden with chains, and you are free to wanton over your love and to say, 'So completely have I subdued the king, that though publicly reproached he yielded not, nor desisted from his passion, nor tore asunder his adulterous connection with me, but even put him that reproached him in bonds.' Why are you mad and rabid, when even after that reproof of his sin you retain your paramour? Why do you seek a table of furies, and preparest a banquet of avenging demons? Do you see how nothing-worth, how cowardly, how unmanly, is vice; how when it shall most succeed, it then becomes more feeble? For this woman was not so much disturbed before she had cast John into prison, as she is troubled after he is bound, and she is urgent, saying, “Give me here in a charger the head of John.” And wherefore so? 'I fear,' she says, 'lest there be any hushing up of his murder, lest any should rescue him from his peril.' And wherefore do you not require the whole corpse, but the head? 'The tongue,' she says, 'that pained me, that I long to see silent.' But the contrary will happen, as indeed it also has done, thou wretched and miserable one! It will cry louder afterwards, when it is cut out. For then indeed it cried in Judæa only, but now it will reach to the ends of the world; and wheresoever you enter into a church, whether it be among the Moors, or among the Persians, or even unto the British isles themselves, you hear John crying, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother Phillip's wife.” But she, unknowing to reason in any such way, urges and presses, and thrusts on the senseless tyrant to the murder, fearing lest he change his mind. But from this too learn thou again the power of virtue. Not even when he was shut up and bound and silent, does she bear the righteous man. Do you see how weak a thing vice is? How unclean? For in the place of meats it brings in a human head upon a charger. What is more polluted, what more accursed, what more immodest, than that damsel? What a voice she uttered in that theatre of the devil, in that banquet of demons! Do you see this tongue and that; the one bringing healthful medicines, the other one with poison on it, and made the purveyor to a devilish banquet. But wherefore did she not command him to be murdered within there, at the feast, when her pleasure would have been greater? She feared lest if he should come there and be seen, he should change them all by his look, by his boldness. Therefore surely it is that she demands his head, wishing to set up a bright trophy of fornication; and give it to her mother. Do you see the wages of dancing, do you see the spoils of that devilish plot? I mean not the head of John, but her paramour himself. For if one examine it carefully, against the king that trophy was set up, and the victress was vanquished, and the beheaded was crowned, and proclaimed victor, even after his death shaking more vehemently the hearts of the offenders. And that what I have said is no [mere] boast, ask of Herod himself; who, when he heard of the miracles of Christ, said, “This is John, he is risen from the dead: and therefore do these powers work in him.” So lively was the fear, so abiding the agony he retained; and none had power to cast down the terror of his conscience, but that incorruptible Judge continued to take him by the throat, and day by day to demand of him satisfaction for the murder. Knowing, then, these things, let us not fear to suffer evil, but to do evil; for that indeed is victory, but this defeat.

Wherefore also Paul said, “Why not rather take wrong, why not rather be defrauded. Nay, you yourselves do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.” For by the suffering evil [come] those crowns, those prizes, that proclamation [of victory]. And this may be seen in all the saints. Since then they all were thus crowned, thus proclaimed, let us too travel this road, and let us pray indeed that we enter not into temptation; but if it should come, let us make stand with much manliness and display the proper readiness of mind, that we may obtain the good things to come, through the grace and love towards men of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom to the Father, together with the Holy Ghost, be glory, might, honor, now and for ever, and world without end. Amen.