HOMILY I.] HOMILIES ON TIMOTHY. 477 were in those quarters, he took and circumcised him." Thus, as these mixtures of Jews and Gentiles took place, the Law began gradually to be dissolved. And mark in how many ways he shows that he did not despise him. " I serve God," he says, " I have a true conscience " for my part, and thou hast thy " tears," and not thy tears only, but for " thy faith," because thou art a laborer for the Truth, because there is no deceit in thee. As therefore thou showest thy self worthy of love, being so affectionate, so genuine a disciple of Christ ; and as I am not one of those who are devoid of affection, but of those who earnestly pursue the Truth ; what hindered me from coming to thee? " And I am persuaded that in thee also." From the beginning, he means, thou hast had this excellency. Thou receivedst from thy fore fathers the faith unfeigned. For the praises of our ancestors, when we share in them, redound also to us. Otherwise they avail nothing, but rather condemn us ; wherefore he has said, " I am persuaded that in thee also." It is not a conjecture, he means, it is my persuasion ; I am fully assured of it. If therefore from no human motive thou hast embraced it, nothing will be able to shake thy faith. Ver. 6. " Wherefore I put thee in remem brance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on ofmy hands." You see how greatly dispirited and dejected he considers him to be. He almost says, "Think not that I despise thee, but be assured that I do not condemn thee, nor have I forgotten thee. Consider, at any rate, thy mother and thy grand mother. It is because I know that thou hast unfeigned faith that I put thee in remembrance." For it requires much zeal to stir up the gift of God. As fire requires fuel, so grace requires our alacrity, that it may be ever fervent. " I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, that is in thee by the putting on of my hands," that is, the grace of the Spirit, which thou hast received, for presiding over the Church, for the working of miracles, and for every service. For this grace it is in ourpower to kindle or to extinguish ; wherefore he elsewhere says," Quench not the Spirit." (i Thess.v. 19.) For by sloth and carelessness it is quenched, and by watchfulness and diligence it is kept alive. For it is in thee indeed, but do thou render it more vehement, that is, fill it with confidence, with joy and delight. Stand manfully. Ver. 7. " For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." That is, we did not receive the Spirit, that we should shrink from exertion, but that we may speak with boldness. For to many He gives a spirit of fear, as we read in the wars of the Kings. "A spirit of fear fell upon them." (Ex. xv. 16?) That is, he infused terror into them. But to thee He has given, on the contrary, a spirit of power, and of love toward Himself. This, then, is of grace, and yet not merely of grace, but when we have first performed our own parts. For the Spirit that maketh us cry, "Abba, Father," inspires us with love both towards Him, and towards our neighbor, that we may love one another. For love arises from power, and from not fearing. For nothing is so apt to dissolve love as fear, and a suspicion of treachery. " For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" : J he calls a healthy state of the soul a sound mind, or it may mean sobriety of mind, or else a sobering of the mind, that we may be sober-minded, and that if any evil befall us, it may sober us, and cut off superfluities. MORAL. Let us then not be distressed at the evils that happen to us. This is sobriety of mind. " In the season of temptation," he says, "make not haste." (Ecclus. ii. 2.) Many have their several griefs at home, and we share in each other s sorrows, though not in their sources. For one is unhappy on account of his wife, an other on account of his child, or his domestic, another of his friend, another of his enemy, an other of his neighbor, another from some loss. And various are the causes of sorrow, so that we can find no one free from trouble and un- happiness of some kind or other, but some have greater sorrows and some less. Let us not there fore be impatient, nor think ourselves only to be unhappy. For there is no such thing in this mortal life as being exempt from sorrow. If not to-day, yet to-morrow ; if not to-morrow, yet some later day trouble comes. For as one cannot sail, I mean, over a long sea, and not feel dis quietude, so it is not possible to pass through this life, without experience of sorrow, yea though you name a rich man ; for in that he is rich, he hath many occasions of inordinate de sires, 2 yea, though the king himself, since he too is ruled by many, and cannot do all that he would. Many favors he grants contrary to his wishes, and more than all men is obliged to do what he would not. How so ? Because he has many about him who wish to receive his gifts. And just think how 3 great is his chagrin, when he is desirous to effect something, but is unable, either from fear or suspicion, or hindered by enemies or by friends. Often when he has suc ceeded in achieving some end, he loses all the pleasure of it, from many becoming at enmity .. 2 B. and Sav. Mar. d.f>niuf, " of dejections." Edd. ivi 3 Sav. Tr. " and how great."