160 Virtue best learned by degrees, and at Home.

MATT. children's diligence in these matters. For so they first learn III. 10. the form of the letters, after that they practise themselves in

distinguishing them put out of shape, and then at last in their reading they proceed orderly by means of them. Just so let us also do; let us divide virtue, and learn first not to swear, nor to forswear ourselves, nor to speak evil; then proceeding Irixo to another row1, not to envy, not to lust, not to be gluttonous, not to be drunken, not fierce, not slothful: so that from these we may pass on again to the things of the Spirit, and practise continence, and neglect of the belly, temperance, righteousness, to be above glory, and gentle and contrite in mind; and let us join these one with another, and write them upon

our soul.

[10.] And all these let us practise at home, with our own friends, with our wife, with our children. And, for the present, let us begin with the things that come first, and are easier; as for instance, with not swearing; and let us practise this one letter continually at home. For, in truth, there are many at home to hinder this our practice; sometimes a man's servant provoking him, sometimes his wife annoying and angering him, sometimes an indocile and disorderly child urges him on to threatening and swearing. If now at home, when thus continually galled, thou shouldest attain not to be tempted into swearing, thou wilt in the market-place also have power with ease to abide unconquered.

Yea, and in like sort, thou will attain to keep thyself from insulting any, by not insulting thy wife, nor thy servants, nor any one else among those in thy house. For a man's wife too not seldom, praising this or that person, or bemoaning herself, stirs him up to speak evil of that other. But do not thou let thyself be constrained to speak evil of him that is praised, but bear it all nobly. And if thou shouldest perceive thy servants praising other masters, be not perturbed, but stand nobly. Let thy home be a sort of lists, a place of exercise for virtue, that having trained thyself well there, thou mayest with entire skill encounter all abroad.

Do this with respect to vain-glory also. For if thou train thyself not to be vain-glorious in company of thy wife and thy servants, thou wilt not ever afterwards be easily

How to form Habits by daily home Discipline.

161

III. 12.

caught by this passion with regard to any one else. For MATT. though this malady be in every case grievous and tyrannical, yet is it so especially when a woman is present. If we therefore in that instance put down its power, we shall easily master it in the other cases also.

And with respect to the other passions too, let us do this self-same thing, exercising ourselves against them at home, and anointing ourselves every day.

And that our exercise may be easier, let us further enact a penalty for ourselves, upon our transgressing any of our purposes. And let the very penalty again be such as brings with it not loss, but reward,-such as procures some very great gain. And this is so, if we sentence ourselves to intenser fastings, and to sleeping often on the bare ground, and to other like austerity. For in this way will much profit come unto us from every quarter; we shall both live the sweet life of virtue here, and we shall attain unto the good things to come, and be perpetually friends of God.

But in order that the same may not happen again,that ye may not, having here admired what is said, go your way, and cast aside at random, wherever it may chance, the tablet of your mind, and so allow the Devil to blot out these things;-let each one, on returning home, call his own wife, and tell her these things, and take her to help him; and from this day let him enter into that noble school of exercise, using for oil the supply of the Spirit. And though thou fall once, twice, many times in thy training, despair not, but stand again, and wrestle; and do not give up until thou hast bound on thee the glorious crown of triumph over the Devil, and hast for the time to come stored up the riches of virtue in an inviolable treasure-house.

For if thou shouldest establish thyself in the habits of this noble self-restraint, then not even when remiss, wilt thou be able to transgress any of the commandments, habit imitating the solidity of nature. Yea, as to sleep is easy, and to eat, and to drink, and to breathe, so also will the deeds of virtue be easy to us, and we shall reap to ourselves that pure pleasure, resting in a harbour without a wave, and enjoying continual calm, and with a great freight bringing our vessel

M

XI. 10.

HOMIL. into haven, in That City, on That Day; and we shall attain unto the undecaying crowns: unto which may we all attain, by the grace and love towards man of our Lord Jesus Christ, to Whom be all glory and might, now and always, and world without end. Amen.

Account of our Lord's Humiliation in His Baptism. 163

HOMILY XII.

MATT. iii. 13.

Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan.

III. 13.

WITH the servants the Lord, with the criminals the Judge, MATT. cometh to be baptized. But be not thou troubled; for in these humiliations His exaltation doth most shine forth. For He who vouchsafed to be borne so long in a Virgin's womb, and to come forth thence with our nature, and to be smitten with rods, and crucified, and to suffer all the rest which He suffered;-why marvellest thou if He vouchsafed also to be baptized, and to come with the rest to His servant? For the amazement lay in that one thing, that being God, He would be made Man; but the rest after this all follows in course of reason.

:

For this cause, let me add, John also by way of anticipation said all that he had said before, that he was not worthy to unloose the latchet of His shoe; and all the rest, as for instance, that He is Judge, and rewards every man according to his desert, and that He will bestow His SPIRIT abundantly on all in order that when thou shouldest see Him coming to the Baptism, thou mightest not suspect any thing mean. Therefore he forbids Him, even when He was come, saying, I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to v. 14. For, because the baptism was of repentance, and led men to accuse themselves for their offences: lest any one should suppose that He too cometh to Jordan in this sort of mind, John sets it right beforehand, by calling Him both Lamb, and Redeemer from all the sin that is in the world.

me.

XII.

164 St. John's Resistance. Reason of the Baptism.

men,

HOMIL. Since He that was able to take away the sins of the whole 1, 2. race of much more was He Himself without sin. For this cause then he said not, "Behold, He that is without sin," but what was much more, He that beareth the sin of the world, in order that together with this truth thou mightest receive that other with all assurance, and having received it mightest perceive, that in the conduct of some further economy He cometh to the Baptism. Wherefore also he said to Him when He came, I have need to be baptized of Thee, and comest Thou to me?

And he said not, " And art Thou baptized of me?" nay, for this he feared to say; but what? And comest Thou to me? What then doth Christ? What He did afterwards with respect to Peter, this did He then also. For so he too would have forbidden Him to wash his feet, but when he had heard, What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know here1 John after, and thou hast no part with Me1, he speedily withdrew 13, 7.8. from his determination, and went over to the contrary. And this man again in like manner, when he had heard, Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness, straightway obeyed. For they were not unduly contentious, but they manifested both love and obedience, and made it their study to be ruled by their Lord in all things.

v. 15.

And mark how He urges him on that very ground which chiefly caused him to look doubtfully on what was taking place; in that He did not say, "thus it is just," but thus it becometh. For, inasmuch as the point unworthy of Him was in his mind chiefly this, His being baptized by His servant, He stated this rather than any thing else, which is directly opposed to that impression: as though He had said, "Is it not as unbecoming that thou avoidest and forbiddest this? nay, for this self-same cause I bid thee suffer it, that it is becoming, and that in the highest degree."

66

And He did not merely say, suffer, but He added, now. For it will not be so for ever," saith He, "but thou shalt see Me such as thou desirest; for the present, however, endure this." Next He shews also how this becometh Him. How then doth it so? "In that We fulfil the whole law;" and to express this He said, all righteousness. For righteousness is the fulfilling of the commandments. "Since then We have