HOMILY XIV.] HOMILIES ON EPHESIANS. 119 enemy, and that for him we are doing wrong to our own members. Wouldest thou be revenge ful and be at enmity? Be at enmity, but be so with the devil, and not with a member of thine own. For this purpose it is that God hath armed us with anger, not that we should thrust the sword against our own bodies, but that we should baptize l the whole blade in the devil s breast. There bury the sword up to the hilt ; yea, if thou wilt, hilt and all, and never draw it out again, but add yet another and another. And this actually comes to pass when we are merciful to those of our own spiritual family and peaceably disposed one towards another. Perish money, perish glory and reputation ; mine own member is dearer to me than they all. Thus let us say to ourselves ; let us not do violence to our own nature to gain wealth, to obtain glory. Ver. 28. "Let him that stole," 2 saith he. " steal no more." Seest thou what are the members of the old man ? Falsehood, revenge, theft. Why said he not, " Let him that stole " be punished, be tor tured, be racked ; but, " let him steal no more " ? " But rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing that is good, that he may have whereof to give to him that hath need." Where are they which are called pure ; 3 they that are full of all defilement, and yet dare to give themselves a name like this? For it is possible, very possible, to put off the reproach, not only by ceasing from the sin, but by working some good thing also. Perceive ye howwe ought to get quit of the sin ? " They stole." This is the sin. "They steal no more." This is not to do away the sin. But how shall they ? If they labor, and charitably communicate to others, thus will TT)V 2 [" The stealer (6 TO TOV 6l<l|36AoU is to steal no more. The present participle does not stand for the past, but is used substantively (like o crireipujc, Matt. xiii. 3). As there were in the apostolic church for- nicators (i Cor. v. i), so there were also stealers, and the attempts to tone down the word are arbitrary and superfluous." Meyer. G. A.] 3 Ka.6a.poi. The Cathari, or pure, was the title which the Nova- tians indirectly assumed, by maintaining thatnone were inGod s favor but those who had not sinned after baptism, orwho were pure as bap tism made them, and by separating from the Church for granting absolution to penitents. The schism originated at Rome in the mid dle of the third century. Accordingly St. Chrysostom in the text says, that whereas all men need pardon continually, they who af fected to be clean or pure without securing it were, as being without it, of all men most unclean. [And he strongly asserts, as against the Novatians, that it is possible to put away the guilt of sins com mitted after baptism, by ceasing from the practice of them and working that which is good. This view, however, differs from the Protestant view, that the putting away the guilt of sin is at first and always through God s mercy and grace in Jesus Christ. G. A.J In the sixth of eleven new Homilies edited by the Benedictines, t. xii. p. 355, he says that we may as well talk of the sea being clear ofwaves as any soul pure from daily sins, though not from transgressing express commandment, yet from vainglory, willfulness, impure thoughts, coveting, lying, resentment, envy, &c., and he mentionsas means of washing away sins, coming to Church, grieving for them, confessing them, doing alms, praying, helping the injured, and for giving injuries. " Let us provide ourselves with these," he proceeds, " every day, washing, wiping ourselves clean, and withal confessing ourselves unprofitable," unlike the Pharisee. " Thus ordering our selves, we shall be able to find mercy and pardon in that fearful day, &c." This homilv was delivered at Constantinople. [On the Nova tians, see Schaff, Church History, II., pp. 196, 197. G. A.] they do away the sin. He does not simply de sire that we should work, but so " work " as to " labor," so as that we may " communicate " to others. For the thief indeed works, but it is that which is evil. Ver. 29. " Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth." What is "corrupt speech"? That which is said elsewhere to be also " idle, backbiting, filthy communication, jesting, foolish talking." See ye how he is cutting up the very roots of anger? Lying, theft, unseasonable conversation. The words, however, " Let him steal no more," he does not say so much excusing them, as to pacify the injured parties, and to recommend them to be content, if they never suffer the like again. And well too does he give advice con cerning conversation ; 4 inasmuch as we shall pay the penalty, not for our deeds only, but also for our words. " But such as is good," he proceeds, " for edi fying, as the need may be, that it may give grace to them that hear." That is to say, What edifies thy neighbor, that only speak, not a word more. For to this end God gave thee a mouth and a tongue, that thou mightest give thanks to Him, that thou mightest build up thy neighbor. So that if thou destroy that building, better were it to be silent, and never to speak at all. For indeed the hands of the workmen, if instead of raising the walls, they should learn to pull them down, would justly deserve to be cut off. For so also saith the Psalmist; "The Lord shall cut off all flat tering lips." (Ps. xii. 3.) The mouth, this is the cause of all evil ; or rather not the mouth, but they that make an evil use of it. From thence proceed insults, revilings, blasphemies, incentives to lusts, murders, adulteries, thefts, all have their origin from this. And how, you will say, do murders ? Because from insult thou wilt go on to anger, from anger to blows, from blows to murder. And how, again, adultery? "Such a woman," one will say, "loves thee, she said something nice about thee." This at once unstrings thy firmness, and thus are thy pas sions kindled within thee. Therefore Paul said, "such as is good." Since then there is so vast a flow of words, he with good reason speaks indefinitely, charging us to use expressions of that kind, and giving us a pattern of communication. What then is this? By saying, " for edifying," either he means this, that he who hears thee may be grateful to thee : as, for instance, a brother has committed forni- * [The clause, " And well does he give instruction concerning vytir words also " (/coAoK Se xal irtpi Aoyw" 5iSa<ri), is omitted in the text of Field, but is well attested (three MSS., Sav. text), and almost indispensable to the sense of the passage. Compare note, p. 82, on Field s text in general. G. A.]