vER.19—21. ST. LUKE. 561 fleetingshadow. AMBROSE. But not allpoverty is holy,or allrichescriminal,but as luxury disgracesriches,so does holinesscommend poverty. Itfollows,And he was clothedin purple and fine linen.bysso. BEDE.Purple, the colour of the royal rohe, is obtained fromsea shells,which are scraped with a knife. Byssus isa kind of white and veryfinelinen. GREG. Now if the Greg. wearingof fine and preciousrobes were not a fault,the in°^ wordof God would never have so carefullyexpressedthis. For no one seeks costly garments except for vainglory, thathe may seem more honourable than others; for no onewishes to be clothedwith such, where he cannot be seenby others. CHRYS. Ashes, dust,and earth he coveredChrys. withpurple,and silk; or ashes,dust,and earth bore upon utsup' them purple and silk. As his garments were,so was also hisfood. Thereforewith us also as our food is,such let ourclothingbe. Hence itfollows,And hefared sumptuously everyday. GREO. And here we must narrowly watch our-Greg.selves,seeingthatbanquetscan scarcelybe celebratedblame- i°n' lessly,for almost always luxury accompanies feasting;and when the body is swallowedup in the delightof refreshing itself,the heartrelaxesto empty joys. Itfollows,And therewas a certainbeggarnamed Lazarus. AMBROSE. This seems rather a narrativethan a parable, sincethe name is alsoexpressed. CHRYS. But a parableisChry«. thatin which an example is given, while the names areutsup' omitted. Lazarus is interpreted,"one who was assisted." For he was poor,and the Lord helpedhim. CYRIL. Or else; Thisdiscourseconcerning the rich man and Lazarus was writtenafterthe manner of a comparison in a parable,to declarethat they who abound in earthlyriches,unlessthey willrelievethe necessitiesof the poor, shallmeet with a heavycondemnation. But the traditionof the Jews relates thattherewas at that time in Jerusalem a certainLazarus who was afflictedwith extreme povertyand sickness,whom our Lord remembering, introduceshim intothe example for the sakeofadding greaterpointto His words. GREG. We must observealso,thatamong the heathen the Gne- names ofpoor men aremore likelyto be known than ofrich.c.g. Now our Lord mentions the name of the poor, but not VOL.in. 2 o