HOMILY X.] HOMILIES ON TIMOTHY. 5*7 "shall be bound in Heaven." (Matt, xviii. 18.) And greater power than His own did He give them. And that I lie not, appears from His own words. " He that believeth in Me, greater works shall he do than these which I do." (John xiv. 12.) Why so? Because this honor is reflected upon the Master. 1 As in our own affairs, if the servant has great power, the master is the more admired, for if the servant is so powerful, much more is he who commands him. But if any man, neglecting his master s service thinks only of his wife, his son, or his servant, and seeks to be rich, and to lay up treasure there, by stealing and robbing his master of his possessions, he is presently mined, and his wealth perishes with him. Wherefore having these examples, I beseech you, let us not regard our possessions, that we may regard ourselves : nay, let us despise them, that we may obtain them. Ifwe despise them, He will take care of them ; ifwe take care of them, God will despise them. Let us labor in the concerns of God, not in our own, or rather really in our own, for His are our own. I speak not of heaven, 2 nor of earth, nor of the things of this world : these are unworthy of Him. And they belong alike to the faithful and the unbe lievers. What then do I speak of as His? His glory and His kingdom. These are His, and ours for His sake. How? "If we be dead with Him," He says, " we shall also live with Him. If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him." (2 Tim. ii. u.) We are become "joint heirs," and are called His " brethren." Why do we sink below, when He is drawing us upward towards Himself? How long shall we be poor, and beggarly ? Heaven is set before us ; and do we linger on earth? Is His kingdom opened to us, and do we choose such poverty as is here ? Is life immortal offered us, and do we spend ourselves for lands, for wood and stones ? Be truly rich. I would wish thee to be so. Be covetous and rapacious, I blame thee not for it. Here it is a fault not to be covetous, here it is blameworthy not to be grasping. What then is this ? " The kingdom of Heaven suffereth vio lence, and the violent take it by force." (Matt. xi. 12.) There be thou violent ! be grasping! It is not diminished by being seized upon. For neither is virtue divided, nor piety lessened, nor the kingdom of Heaven. Virtue is increased when thou seizest upon it, whilst temporal goods are lessened when they are seized upon. And this appears from hence : Let there be ten thousand men in a city ; if all seize on virtue, it is multiplied, for they become righteous in ten 1 See Acts iv. 12, 13; v. 4. The power of our Lord, after He had received His kingdom, was exercised through them. 2 i.e. the material heaven. thousand things. 3 If no one seizes upon it, it is diminished, for it is nowhere to be found. Thou seest then that good things are multi plied on being possessed by many, but earthly goods are rather diminished by seizing. Let us not therefore sit down content with poverty, but let us choose riches. God is then rich, when those who enjoy His kingdom are many. " For He is rich," it is said, " unto all that call upon Him." (Rom. x. 12.) Increase then His sub stance ; and thou wilt increase it by taking pos session of it, by being covetous of it, by violently seizing it. And truly there is need of violence. Wherefore? Because there are so many im pediments, as wives and children, cares and worldly business ; besides those demons, and him who is the ruler of them, the devil. There is need then of violence, there is need of forti tude. He who takes by violence is exposed to toils. How? He endures all things, he con tends against necessities. How? He almost attempts impossibilities. If such are those who take by violence, and we shrink from attempting even what is possible, how shall we ever win? or when shall we enjoy the things for which we strive? "The violent," it is said, "take" the kingdom of heaven " by force." Violence and rapacity are needed. For it is not simply set before us, and ready to our hands. He who seizes by violence, is ever sober and watchful, he is anxious and thoughtful, that he may make his seizure at a seasonable time. Dost thou not see that in war he who is about to make a seizure keeps watch and is under arms the whole night? If then they who aim at seizing upon worldly goods, watch and are armed all the night long, should we, who wish to seize upon spiritual things, sleep and snore in the day, and continue always naked and unarmed? For he who is engaged in sin is unarmed ; as he who practices righteousness is armed. We do not fortify our selves with almsgiving. We do not prepare for ourselves lamps that are burning, we do not fence ourselves in spiritual armor. We do not learn the way that leads thither. We are not sober and watchful, and therefore we can seize no spoil. If a man wishes to make an attempt on a kingdom, does he not set death before him in a thousand shapes? Is he not armed at all points, does he not practice the art of war, does he not do everything with this view, and so rash on to the attack ? But we do not act thus. We wish to take the spoil while we are sleeping, and therefore we come off with empty hands. Dost thou not see plunderers, how they flee, how 3 Lit. "they become righteous in ten thousand"; but the true reading is perhaps ev yap TOI? fivpiois ytVerat &utaioi<;, " for it is formed in ten thousand righteous men," as has been conjectured from an Old Lat.