260 WORKS OF ST. CHRYSOSTOM. [HOMILY I.
ence, not in heart." (i Thess. ii. 17.) And
here indeed [in the world], when a father hath
been insulted, he withdraws his love ; not so
however there, but he went to those who stoned
him, seeking to do them good. For nothing,
nothing is so strong as the bond of the Spirit.
For he who became a friend from receiving
benefits, will, should these be discontinued, be
come an enemy ; he whom habitual intercourse
made inseparable, will, when the habit is broken
through, let his friendship become extinct. A
wife again, should a broil have taken place, will
leave her husband, and withdraw affection ; the
son, when he sees his father living to a great
age, is dissatisfied. But in case of spiritual love
there is nothing of this. For by none of these
things can it be dissolved ; seeing it is not com
posed out of them. Neither time, nor length
of journey, nor ill usage, nor being evil spoken
of, nor anger, nor insult, nor any other thing,
make inroads upon it, nor have the power of
dissolving it. And that thou mayest know this ;
Moses was stoned, and yet he made entreaty
for them. (Ex. xvii. 4.) What father would
have done this for one that stoned him, and
would not rather have stoned him too to death?
Let us then follow after these friendships
which are of the Spirit, for they are strong, and
hard to be dissolved, and not those which arise
from the table, for these we are forbidclen to
carry in Thither. For hear Christ saying in the
Gospel, Call not thy friends nor thy neighbors,
if thou makest a feast, but the lame, the maimed.
(Luke xiv. 12.) With reason: for great is the
recompense for these. But thou canst not, nor
endurest to feast with lame and blind, but think-
est it grievous and offensive, and refusest. Now
it were indeed best that thou shouldest not re
fuse, however it is not necessary to do it. If
thou seatest them not with thee, send to them
of the dishes on thy own table. And he that
inviteth his friends, hath done no great thing :
for he hath received his recompense here. But
he that called the maimed, and poor, hath God
for his Debtor. Let us then not repine when
we receive not a reward here, butwhen we do re
ceive ; forwe shall have nothing more to receive
There. In like manner, if man recompense,
God recompenseth not ; if man recompense not,
then God will recompense. Let us then not
seek those out for our benefits, who have it in
their power to requite us again, nor bestow our
favors on them with such an expectation : this
were a cold thought. If thou invite a friend,
the gratitude lasts till evening ; and therefore the
friendship for the nonce is spent more quickly
than the expenses are paid. But if thou call
the poor and the maimed, never shall the grati
tude perish, for God, who remembereth ever,
and never forgetteth, thou hast even Him for
thy Debtor. What squeamishness is this, pray,
that thou canst not sit down in company with
the poor? What sayest thou? He is unclean
and filthy? Then wash him, and lead him up
to thy table. But he hath filthy garments?
Then change them, and give him clean apparel.
Seest thou not how great the gain is ? Christ
cometh unto thee through him, and dost thou
make petty calculations of such things? When
thou art inviting the King to thy table, dost
thou fear because of such things as these ?
Let us suppose two tables, and let one be
filled with those, and have the blind, the halt,
the maimed in hand or leg, the barefoot, those
clad with but one scanty garment, and that
worn out : but let the other have grandees, gen
erals, governors, great officers, arrayed in costly
robes, and fine lawn, belted with golden gir
dles. Again, here at the table of the poor let
there be neither silver, nor store of wine, but
just enough to refresh and gladden, and let the
drinking cups and the rest of the vessels be
made from glass only ; but there, at the table
of the rich, let all the vessels be of silver and
gold, and the semicircular table,
1
not such as
one person can lift, but as two young men can
with difficulty move, and the wine-jars lie in
order, glittering far beyond the silver with gold,
and let the semicircle
2
be smoothly laid all over
with soft drapery. Here, again, let there be
many servants, in garments not less ornamented
than those of the guests, and bravely appareled,
and wearing loose trowsers, men beauteous to
look upon, in the very flower of life, plump, and
well conditioned ; but there let there be only
two servants disdaining all that proud vanity.
And let those have costly meats, but these only
enough to appease hunger and inspire cheerful
ness. Have I said enough? and are both
tables laid out with sufficient minuteness? Is
anything wanting? I think not. For I have
gone over the guests, and the costliness both
of the vessels, and of the linen,3 and the meats.4
However, if we should have omitted aught, we
shall discover it as we proceed with the dis
course.
1
j[So Field, after several MSS. But
"
the semicircular
"
(no sub
stantive, see a few lines below) was an obscure word in such a
connection, and the idea of one man lifting a table seemed strange.
So, as the preceding and following portions treat of vessels, several
other MSS. substitute for this whole statement (down to "move")
the following :
"
and let there be a gilded bowl of half a talent weight,
so that two young men can with difficulty move it," the last clause
being the same as in the other text. Montfaucon admitted both into
his edition, thus making a conflate reading. J. A. B.] Montfaucon
in a note mentions William the Conqueror being represented sitting
at such a table, sometimes called a sigma, from the form C. He refers
to his AntiquM Expliquee, T. iii. p. in. [That the three tables
arranged as a hollow square (triclinium) should be sometimes con
verted into a semicircle would be a natural piece of luxury, but not
likely to become common, because really less convenient. J. A. B.]
2
Here, the couch which belongs to the table. Such is the stiba-
dium described in the accounts of Pompeii.
3
<7Tpu>naTu)i/, carpets, cushions, coverings for the tables, &c., &c.
4 [This labored exuberance of descriptive detail is a grave fault of
Chrysostom s style, but was highly acceptable to his contemporaries.
-J. A.B.]