268 WORKS OF ST. CHRYSOSTOM. [HOMILY II. pening in divers places ; these earthquakes, these overthrows of cities? And yet were these things easier to believe than those ; those, I mean, which happened in the days of the ark. Whence is this evident? Because that the men of those times had no other example to look at, neither had they heard the Scriptures, but with us, on the other hand, are countless instances that have happened both in our own, and in former years. But whence arose the unbelief of these persons? From a softened soul ; they drank and ate, and therefore they believed not. For, what a man wishes, he thinks, and expects ; and they that gainsay him are a jest. But let it not be so with us ; for hereafter it will not be a flood ; nor the punishment till death only ; but death will be the beginning of punishment for persons who believe not that there is a Judgment. And doth any ask, who has come from thence, and said so? If now thou speakest thus in jest, not even so is it well ; for one ought not to jest in such matters ; and we jest, not where jesting is in place, but with peril ; but if what thou really feelest, and thou art of opinion that there is nothing hereafter, how is it that thou callest thyself a Christian? For I take not into account those who are without. Why receivest thou the Laver? Why dost thou set foot within the Church? Is it that we promise thee magistracies? All our hope is in the things to come. Why then comest thou, if thou believest not the Scrip tures? If thou dost not believe Christ, I can not call such an one a Christian ; God forbid ! but worse than even Greeks. In what respect? In this ; that when thou thinkest Christ is God, thou believest Him not as God. For in that other impiety there is at least consistency ; for he who thinks not that Christ is God, neces sarily will also not believe Him ; but this impiety has not even consistency; to confess Him to be God, and yet not to think Him worthy of belief in what He has said ; these are the words of drunkenness, of luxury, of riot. " Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." (i Cor. xv. 32.) Not to-morrow; but now ye are dead, when ye thus speak. Shall we then be in nothing different from swine and asses ? tell me. For if there be neither a judgment, nor a retribution, nor a tribunal, wherefore have we been honored with such a gift as reason, and have all things put under us ? Why do we rule, and are they ruled ? See how the devil is on every side urgent to persuade us to be ignorant of the Gift of God. He mixes together the slaves with their masters, like some man-stealer 1 and ungrateful servant ; he strives to degrade 1 avSpaTToSia-rris, one who steals freemen for slaves. [Literally, " enslaver" (i Tim. i. 10). J. A. B.j the free to the level of the criminal. And he seems indeed to be overthrowing the Judgment, but he is overthrowing the being of God. For such is ever the devil s way ; he puts for ward everything in a wily, and not in a straight forward manner, to put us on our guard. If there is no Judgment, God is not just (I speak as a man) : if God is not just, then there is no God at all : if there is no God, all things go on at haphazard, virtue is nought, vice nought. But he says nothing of this openly. Seest thou the drift of this satanical argument? how, instead of men, he wishes to make us brutes, or rather, wild beasts, or rather, demons? Let us then not be persuaded by him. For there is a Judg ment, O wretched and miserable man ! I know whence thou comest to use such words. Thou hast committed many sins, thou hast offended, thou hast no confidence, thou thinkest that the nature of things will even follow thy arguments. Meanwhile, saith he, I will not torment my soul with the expectation of hell, and, if there be a hell, I will persuade it that there is none ; meanwhile I will live here in luxury ! Why dost thou add sin to sin? If when thou hast sinned thou be lievest that there is a hell, thou wilt depart with the penalty of thy sins only to pay ; but if thou add this further impiety, thou wilt also for thine impiety, and for this thy thought, suffer the ut termost punishment ; and what was a cold and shortlived comfort to thee, will be a ground for thy being punished for ever. Thou hast sinned : be it so : why dost thou encourage others also to sin, by saying that there is no hell? Why didst thou mislead the simpler sort? Why unnerve the hands of the people ? So far as thou art concerned, everything is turned upside down ; neither will the good become better, but listless ; nor the wicked desist from their wicked ness. For, if we corrupt others, do we get al lowance for our sins ? Seest thou not the devil, how he attempted to bring down Adam ? And has there then been allowance for him ? Nay, surely it will be the occasion of a greater punish ment, that he may be punished not for his own sins only, but also for those of others. Let us not then suppose that to bring down others into the same destruction with ourselves will make the Judgment-seat more lenient to us. Surely this will make it more severe, W T hy thrust we ourselves on destruction? The whole of this cometh of Satan. O man, hast thou sinned ? Thou hast for thy Master One that loveth man. Entreat, implore, weep, groan ; and terrify others, and pray them that they fall not into the same. If in a house some servant, of those that had offended their master, says to his son, " My child, I have of fended the master, do thou be careful to please him, that thou be not as I " : tell me, will he