HOMILY X.] HOMILIES ON EPHESIANS. 99 HOMILY X. EPHESIANS iv. 4. " There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling." WHEN the blessed Paul exhorts us to anything of special importance, so truly wise and spiritual as he is, he grounds his exhortation upon things in Heaven : this itself being a lesson he had learned from the Lord. Thus he saith also else where, " Walk in love, even as Christ also hath loved us." (ch. v. 2.) And again, "Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,who being in the form of God, counted it not a prize to be on an equality with God." (Phil. ii. 5, 6.) This is what he is doing here also, for whenever the examples he is setting before us are great, he is intense in his zeal and feeling. What then does he say, now he is inciting us to unity? " There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling : " Ver. 5. "One Lord, one faith, one baptism." Now what is this one body? The faithful throughout the whole world, both which are, and which have been, and which shall be. And again, they that before Christ s coming pleased God, are "one body." How so? Because they also knew Christ. Whence does this appear? "Your father Abraham," saith He, "rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it, and was glad." (John viii. 56.) And again, "If ye had be lieved Moses," He saith, " ye would have be lieved Me, for he wrote of Me." (John v. 46.) And the prophets too would not have written of One, of whom they knew not what they said ; whereas they both knew Him, and wor shiped Him. Thus then were they also "one body." The body is not disjoined from the spirit, for then would it not be a body. Thus it is cus tomary also with us, touching things which are united, and which have any great consistency or coherence, to say, they are one body. And thus again, touching union, we take that to be a body which is under one head. If there be one head, then is there one body. The body is composed of members both honorable and dishonorable. Only the greater is not to rise up even against the meanest, nor this latter to envy the other. They do not all indeed contribute the same share, but severally according to the proportion of need. And forasmuch as all are formed for necessary and for different purposes, all are of equal honor. Some indeed there are, which are more especially principal members, others less so : for example, the head is more a principal member than all the rest of the body, as con taining within itself all the senses, and the gov erning principle of the soul. And to live without the head is impossible ; whereas many persons have lived for a long time with their feet cut off. So that it is better than they, not only by its position, but also by its very vital energy and its function. Now why am I saying this? There are great numbers in the Church ; there are those who, like the head, are raised up to a height ; who, like the eyes that are in the head, survey heav enly things, who stand far aloof from the earth, and have nothing in common with it, whilst others occupy the rank of feet, and tread upon the earth ; of healthy feet indeed, for to tread upon the earth is no crime in feet, but to run to evil. " Their feet," saith the Prophet, " run to evil." (Isa. lix. 7.) Neither then let these, the head, saith he, be high-minded against the feet, nor the feet look with evil eye at them. For thus the peculiar beauty of each is destroyed, and the perfectness of its function impeded. And naturally enough ; inasmuch as he who lays snares for his neighbor will be laying snares first of all for himself. And should the feet therefore not choose to convey the head anywhere upon its necessary journey, they will at the same time be injuring themselves by their inactivity and sloth. Or again, should the head not choose to take any care of the feet, itself will be the first to sustain the damage. However, those mem bers do not rise up one against the other ; it is not likely, for it has been so ordered by nature that they should not. But with man, how is it possible for him not to rise up against man? No one, we know, ever rises up against Angels ; since neither do they rise against the Archangels. Nor, on the other hand, can the irrational crea tures proudly exalt themselves overus ; but where the nature is equal in dignity, and the gift one, and where one has no more than another, how shall this be prevented? And yet surely these are the very reasons why thou oughtest not to rise up against thy neigh bors. For if all things are common, and one has nothing more than another, whence this mad folly? We partake of the same nature, partake alike of soul and body, we breathe the same air, we use the same food. Whence this rebellious rising of one against another? And yet truly the being able by one s virtue to overcome the