Three Homilies on the Power of Satan

Remember these things. With these stop the mouths of the indolent, the dissolute, the slothful, the indisposed towards the labours of virtue, those who accuse their common Master. “You have sinned” he saith “be still.” “Do not add a second more grievous sin.” It is not so grievous to sin, as after the sin to accuse the Master. Take knowledge of the cause of the sin, and you will find that it is none other than yourself who hast sinned. Everywhere there is a need of a good intention. I have shown you this not from simple reasoning only, but from the case of fellow-servants living in the world itself. Do thou also use this proof. Thus too our common master will judge us. Learn this method of proof, and no one will be able to reason with you. Is any a fornicator? Show him another who is self-restrained. Is any covetous and rapacious? Show him one who gives alms. Does he live in jealousy and envy? Show him one clean from passion. Is he overcome by anger? Bring into the midst one who is living in wisdom, for we must not only have recourse to ancient example, but take our models from present times. For even today by the grace of God, good deeds are done not less than of old. Is a man incredulous? And does he think that the scriptures are false? Does he not believe that Job was such as he was? Show him another man, emulating the life of that righteous person. Thus will the Master also judge us: He places fellow servants with fellow-servants, nor does he give sentence according to his own judgment, in order that no one may begin to say again, as that servant said, who was entrusted with the talent, and who instead of a talent brought the accusation. “You are an austere man.” For he <!--<spank2class="pb">193</span>-->ought to mourn, because he did not double the talent, but rendered his sin the more grievous, by adding to his own idleness, his accusation against the Master. For what says he? “I knew you that you are an austere man.” O miserable, and wretched, ungrateful and lazy man! You ought to have accused your own idleness, and to have taken away somewhat from your former sin. But thou in bringing an account against the master hast doubled your sin instead of doubling your talent.

3. On this account God places together servants and servants in order that the one set may judge the other, and that some being judged by the others may not be able for the future to accuse the master. On this account, he saith “The Son of Man comes in the glory of his Father.” See the equality of the glory: he does not say in glory like to the glory of the Father, but in the glory of the Father, and will gather together all the nations. Terrible is the tribunal: terrible to the sinful, and the accountable. Since to those who are conscious to themselves of good works, it is desirable and mild. “And he will place the sheep on his right hand, and the kids on his left.” Both these and those are men. For what reason then are those indeed sheep but these kids? Not that you may learn a difference in their nature, but the difference in their purpose. But for what reason are they who did not show compassion kids? Because that animal is unfruitful and is not able to contribute services, either by its milk, or by progeny, or by its hair, to those who possess it, being on all sides destitute of such a contribution as this, on account of the immaturity of its age. On this account he has called those who bear no fruit, by comparison, kids, but those on the right hand sheep. For from these the offering is great, both of their natural wool, their progeny, and their milk. What then does he say to them? “You saw me hungering and ye fed me, naked and ye clothed me, a stranger and ye took me in.” Again to those he says the contrary. And yet both these and those were alike men, both these and those received the same promises, the same rewards were assigned to both on doing right. The same person came both to these and to those, with the same nakedness: and to these and to those with the same hunger, and in the same way and a stranger. All things were alike to those and to these.