548 WORKS OF ST. CHRYSOSTOM. [HOMILY I. Church, be not displeased that thy slave is saluted with thee. " For in Christ Jesus there is neither bond nor free." (Gal. iii. 28.) " Grace to you, and peace." By mentioning "grace," he brings his own sins to his remembrance. Consider, he says, how great things God has pardoned in thee, how by grace thou art saved. Imitate thy Lord. And he prays for " peace " to him ; and natu rally : for it comes then when we imitate Him, then grace abides. Since even that servant who was unmerciful to his fellow-servants, until he demanded the hundred pence, had the grace of his master abiding on him. But when he made that demand, it was taken from him, and he was delivered to the tormentors. MORAL. Considering these things, then, let us also be merciful and forgiving towards those who have trespassed against us. The offenses against us here are a hundred pence, but those from us against God are ten thousand talents. But you know that offenses are also judged by the quality of the persons : for instance, he who has insulted a private person has done wrong, but not so much as he who has insulted a mag istrate, and he who has offended a greater mag istrate offends in a higher degree, and he who offends an inferior one in a lower degree ; but he who insults the king offends much more. The injury indeed is the same, but it becomes greater by the excellence of the person. And if he who insults a king receives intolerable punishment, on account of the superiority l of the person ; for how many talents will he be answerable who insults God ? so that even if we should commit the same offenses against God, that we do against men, even so it is not an equal thing : but as great as is the difference between God and men, so great is that between the offenses against Him and them. But now I find also that the offenses exceed, not only in that they become great by the emi nence of the person, but by their very nature. And it is a horrible saying that I am about to utter, and truly awful, but it is necessary to be said, that it may even so shake our minds and strike them with terror, showing that we fear men much more than God, and we honor men much more than God. For consider, he that commits adultery knows that God sees him, yet he disregards Him ; but if a man see him, he restrains his lust. Does not such a one not only honor men above God, not only insult God, but, which is even much more dreadful, whilst he fears them, despise Him ? For if he sees them, he restrains the flame of lust, but rather what flame ? it is not a flame, but a willfulness. For 1 Edd. of tojri<jTia.v, literally, " worthiness of credit," but in ater Greek " of consideration." Sav. mar. B. and Ven. have if indeed it was not lawful to have intercourse with a woman, the matter perhaps would be a flame, but now 2 it is insult and wantonness. For if he should see men, he desists from his mad passion, but for the longsuffering of God he has less regard. Again, another who steals, is conscious that he is committing robbery, and endeavors to deceive men, and defends himself against those who accuse him, and clothes his apology with a fair show ; but though he cannot thus prevail with God, he does not regard Him, nor stand in awe of Him, nor honor Him. And if the king indeed commands us to abstain from other men s goods, or even to give away our own, all readily contribute, but when God com mands not to rob, nor to gather other men s goods, we do not forbear. Do you see then that we honor men more than God? It is a sad and grievous saying, a heavy charge. But show that it is grievous ; flee from the fact ! But if you fear not the fact, how can I believe you when you say. We fear your words, you lay a burden on us ! It is you that by the deed lay a burden on yourselves, and not our words. And if I but name the words of which you do the deeds, you are offended. And is not this absurd ? May the thing spoken by me prove false ! I would rather myself in That Day bear the im putation of ill language, as having vainly and causelessly reproached you, than see you accused of such things. But not only do you honor men more than God, but you compel others to do so likewise. Many have thus compelled their domestics and slaves. Some have drawn them into marriage against their will, and others have forced them to minister to disgraceful services, to infamous love, to acts of rapine, and fraud, and violence : so that the accusation is twofold, and neither can they obtain pardon upon the plea of neces sity. For if you yourself do wrong things un willingly, and on account of the command of the ruler, not even so is it by any means a suffi cient excuse : but the offense becomes heavier, when you compel them also to fall into the same sins. For what pardon can there be any more for such an one ? These things I have said, not from a wish to condemn you, but to show in how many things we are debtors to God. For if by honoring men even equally with God, we insult God, how much more, when we honor men.above Him ? But if those offenses that are committed against men are shown to be much greater against God ; how much more when the actual offense is greater and more grievous in its own quality. Let any one examine himself, and he will see 2 Sav. mar. B. and Ven. " but now, with most men,what is lawful is despised," and, " but what is forbidden made much of, it is all," &c.