Coptic homilies in the dialect of Upper Egypt/Introduction
INTRODUCTION
DESCRIPTION OF THE MANUSCRIPT AND ITS BINDING.
The MS. Oriental No. 5001, now in the Department of Oriental Printed Books and MSS., was found in the year 1896 by some peasants under the ruins of the church of an ancient Coptic monastery in Upper Egypt. The men were digging out the dust between the walls and the foundations when one of them uncovered with his spade the upper surface of a slab of stone. An examination shewed that this slab formed the cover of a sort of stone box, or coffer, which had been constructed, like many Muhammadan graves, with stones taken from ancient Egyptian buildings. The bottom of the box was covered with a very thick layer of yellow sand, and upon this lay a parcel wrapped up in a piece of coarse Akhmim linen, and round this was fastened, by means of leather thongs, a whole, dressed goat's skin, about 2 ft. 5 in. in length, and about 2 ft. 2 in. wide at its widest part. The parcel consisted of two large papyrus volumes, bound in stout leather-covered papyrus boards. One volume contained a complete copy of the ' Book of Psalms ', including the apocryphal 151st Psalm, and the other ten Coptic Homilies, which are attributed to Chrysostom, Theophilus, Proclus, Basil, and other Fathers, and are printed in this book.
No graves were found near the stone box, and it is quite clear that the books were not buried with any member of the monastery. The box was carefully constructed, the joints were filled up with lime, and the stone slab which served for the cover was carefully hewn and fitted for the purpose. The appearance of the box suggests that it had been specially constructed to serve as a hiding-place for books or other property of the monastery during troubled times or periods of persecution. The good state of preservation of the volumes was due to the deep layer of sand in it, which prevented moisture from rising, and to the sealing of the cover with lime, and to the position of the box, which rested upon several layers of hard, sun-dried bricks. The general appearance of the leather-covered boards of the books and of the skin which was tied round them, suggested that the volumes had lain in the box for several centuries, but how many it was impossible to say. It was clear that they had not been thrust into the box hurriedly as the result of panic, and that he who hid them did so with care and some deliberation, for the volumes are of a unique character, and must have been highly prized.
We are probably right in assuming that they were hidden during one of the many persecutions of the Copts in Egypt which took place during the tenth and eleventh centuries of our era. The most serious of these was the result of the Edict issued by the Khalifah Hakim in 1005, which ordered the destruction of all the Coptic churches of Egypt, and the confiscation of their lands and property. This Edict was zealously carried out by the Muslims, who waxed rich as the result of their labour of plunder. Large numbers of Copts having no churches to go to, and deprived often of the bare necessaries, abjured the Christian Religion, and having repeated the formula attesting the Unity of God, and their devotion to the Prophet, and fulfilled the necessary obligations, became Muhammadans. In 1050 Al-Yazuri, the Wazir of the Khalifah Al-Mustansir (1036-1094), robbed the Copts piti- lessly, and closed all their churches, and threw the Patriarch and his bishops into prison ; and the directors of such monasteries as had amassed wealth or books would be driven to hide or bury their possessions. Further serious persecutions of the Copts took place in the thirteenth century, but by this time the monasteries probably had very little left to lose or to hide.
When the volumes reached England the bindings were so stiff that they could only be opened with difficulty, and the leaves were so dry and brittle that the ink of some of the letters, and small flakes of papyrus, peeled off the leaves. It was necessary therefore to unbind the volumes, and this having been done, each leaf was mounted carefully between two sheets of plate glass edged with leather, and numbered. The papyrus-boards which formed the covers are preserved separately in boxes in the British Museum, with the leather in which the volumes were wrapped.
The MS. Oriental No. 5001 contains 175 leaves measuring from 11 in. to 12 in. in height, and from 8 in. to 9 in. in width; fol. 175 measures 11 in. in height, and 8 in. in width. The leaves were sewn together by the backs with flax thread in from 8 to 17 holes. The leather-covered papyrus boards which formed the covers are about the size of the largest leaves, and are fully f in. thick. The front cover is stamped with a panel of rectilinear designs, ornamented with annules ©©© and XXXX (see Plate III). Above and below it are stamped ornaments representing bunches of grapes and some small animal, arranged alternately. All the above are enclosed within multilinear borders which cross at the corners. The panel of the back cover is stamped with linear designs which interlace and form a diamond pattern, and are ornamented with annules, &c. Along the edge are stamped twelve figures of a horned animal and a small branch in circular bosses, and in the centre is a figure of the common Egyptian dove; round this are stamped four figures of a bird in the attitude of a pelican plucking itself, in circular bosses (see Plate IV). Above and below this panel are stamped bunches of grapes and small animals as in the front panel. The outer border is similar to that on the other cover. The back is stamped with a linear diamond pattern ornamented with annules, XXXX work, &c; in the centre is a figure of a dove, and in each of the two half -diamonds is a pelican plucking itself as before (see Plate V). A series of line bands top and bottom completes the decoration of the back. The upper parts of both covers have suffered greatly from use, and some rough patching with coarse cloth and plain unstamped leather was done to them in ancient days ; many of the leather stitches are still visible, and are in a good state of preservation. The plaited leather cord which is attached to the front cover was, when complete, probably the means employed for keeping the book closed when not in use. Its end may have been fastened round a leather button attached to the back cover, such as are seen on old books in Egypt at the present day. When this book was new it must have been provided with a leather thong attached to each cover at the top to prevent the reader from opening the book too wide, and so breaking the back. The lower portion of the back cover is much damaged, and the leather and much of the papyrus board have disappeared. This damage was caused by the reader who gripped the top of the book in his hands, and rested the lower part of it on some kind of desk, the raised edge of which rubbed away both leather and papyrus. The leather appears to be goat skin, and it was probably stained red, or a reddish brown. The ornaments, i. e. the dove, the pelican, the bunches of grapes, &c, resemble those which are sculptured on some of the Coptic sepulchral stelae in the British Museum. The binding appears to belong to a period later than the book itself, and the decorations suggest the ninth or tenth century. The finger-marks on the outer margins of the leaves prove that the book was much read, and the marks of wear show that it must have been read for many, many years. The Homilies in it were, no doubt, read to the monks evening by evening, [ Palladius, or the writer of the Asketikon, says that Pachomius used to gather together the brethren every evening in a duly appointed place in the monastery, to hear his doctrine, and the base of his discourses must have been such works as the Homilies printed herein. ] and they formed a standard Guide to Christian doctrine, theoretical and practical. As the first page is numbered 181, we must conclude that the volume was the continuation of a Corpus of Homilies which was bound in one or two volumes. In any case, some of the leaves became cracked and several pages badly rubbed, and then, probably, the 175 leaves now extant were bound in the covers which have been described above. At this time, too, the leaves were retouched, and the cracked leaves patched. At a still later period the binding was mended, and the volume was used until the time came when it was necessary to bury it.
The leaves of papyrus which form the volume vary considerably in quality and colour. In some quires the texture of the papyrus is close and uniform, and of a rich brown colour ; in others the texture is coarse and the colour resembles that of straw. The quires are signed with letters and are twenty-two in number, ife-^Vii; each contains eight leaves, with the exceptions of Tic and \&, which contain seven leaves apiece. The quire-numeration and pagination seem to prove that the MS. is the second section of a single volume, for, as just stated, the quire numbers begin with i&, i.e., 12, and the page numbers with pn&., i.e., 181. There is little doubt that our MS. originally formed part of a large volume, for if it were a second volume a fresh numeration would certainly have been begun. The page numbers run from pn^ to pne (189), when we have cTS (211), as if ten leaves had been omitted. Then we have the series c.Hk (21l)-cpUH (348), with occasional mistakes and omissions, and, on fol. 77, a new series of numbers begins with S, and runs on, with mistakes, to the last page of the volume; the number on this leaf is wanting, but it should be presumably pJxbi (141). Each page contains two columns of writing, the number of lines in each varying from 22 to 29. Col. 1 of the reverse is frequently longer than col. 2. Fol. 69 a cols. 1 and 2 contain 22 and 23 lines respectively ; b cols. 1 and 2 contain 23 and 22 lines respectively. has 27 lines; fol. 124 5 col. 2, 26 lines ; fol. 72 a col. 1, 24 lines ; fol. 73 a col. 1, 25 lines ; and fol. 162 a col. 2, 29 lines.
Throughout the volume are marks of several erasures, e.g., foil. 2, 33, 41, 92, 120, and in a few places a single letter has flaked off. On fol. 29 the word AJL&.pe is written in a differently coloured ink ; on fol. 55 a JiHOVTe is added in black ink by a later hand above the line, and on fol. 565 tic also. On fol. 58 a the original scribe has added tt&.piOKcr on the margin, and there are many indications that the text was carefully revised. Many leaves are badly rubbed, e.g., foil. 25, 32, 41, 64, 71-73, 80, 81, 92, &c, and it is clear from the retouching of the writing on foil. 55, 56, 84, and 89 that the text was almost illegible in ancient days. On fol. 32 b the text is faulty, and an attempt to amend it was made by the scribe ; some words are still wanting. Many leaves are carefully patched, e.g., foil. 16, 17, 21, 22, 27-29, 61, 67, 69, 72, 88, and 104, and the outer portion of foil. 104 and 130 appears to have been broken off in ancient days. A few of the quires were strengthened for binding with strips of vellum ; these have been removed, and are preserved in the British Museum separately. On fol. 162 is a portion of a leather tab or edging, and it is probable that all the important divisions of the book were marked in the same way. The few ornaments which appear on the leaves are of unusual character and are interesting (see pp. xviii, xix), for they are in many details unique. The uniformity in spelling certain words throughout the volume suggests that the book was copied by one scribe. The writing is bold and good, and is very much better in some places than others.
On fol. 1 a are five lines of text formed of letters about 1 in. in height ; these form the Protocol (see Frontispiece), which is probably a sort of official 'mark' or 'docket' having, perhaps, reference to the making of the papyrus, and perhaps containing the name of a high official and a date. The decipherment of these protocols has not yet been effected, and expert palaeographers are not agreed as to the language in which many of them are written. Those in Greek and Arabic contain the well-known Muslim formula, 'In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Gracious. There is no god but the One God. Muhammad the Apostle of God ' ; this is followed by the Khalifah's name. Obviously this formula could not be in use before the conquest of Egypt by the Arabs in 641. The other language in which protocols are written was declared by Prof. v. Karabacek to be Latin. This view was opposed by Prof. C. H. Becker, and Karabacek's readings were disputed by him. Prof. Karabacek's theories have been carefully tested by Mr. H. I. Bell, of the Department of Manuscripts in the British Museum, who has recently published his results. He finds that his examination of the materials throws ' grave doubts on every one of Karabacek's readings ', and disproves some of them, and he thinks that these decorations bear a certain resemblance to the tail pieces of Books in the { Codex Alexandrinus ', a MS. of the sixth century which is supposed to have been written in Egypt.
The safest way for the present is to reject the Latin theory. The fact that we find the same characters occurring in Byzantine as in Arab protocols suggests that the difficult formulae descend from pre-Arab times.'
To date the MS. Oriental 5001 is very difficult, for our knowledge of Coptic palaeography of the period to which it probably belongs is not exact, and we have no fixed points in the shape of dated MSS. to guide us. If we compare the writing in it with that of the Clarendon Press MS. No. 57 (see Hyvernat, Album de Paleographie Copte, plate 2) it is clear that the forms of several letters in each are identical. On the other hand, the marginal decoration of the Borgian MS. No. 246 (see Hyvernat, plate 3) more closely resembles that of Oriental 5001 than does the marginal decoration of the Clarendon Press MS. Now Prof. Hyvernat attributes the Clarendon Press MS. to the seventh century, and he assigns the Borgian MS. to the sixth or seventh century. There is so much general similarity between the writings of these MSS. and the writing of Oriental 5001 that we are probably justified in assigning the last-named to the seventh century. In the preface to the edition of the text of the great Coptic Psalter (Oriental 5000) I said that the handwriting suggested to me the work of the eighth century, but it seems to me now that the older date is the more probable. It is greatly to be hoped that the protocol will one day be deciphered, and that it may be found to contain a date, or the name of some official by which the period when the volume was written may be ascertained. In out-of-the-way places in Egypt handwriting of the kind might easily become traditional, and remain unchanged for generations ; it is, however, difficult to assign a date to the papyrus volume later than the eighth century.
The contents of the MS. are as follows : -
1. A Protocol, or long title, at present illegible, in five lines, written in characters varying in height from 1 1/4 in. to 1 3/4 in.
2. Homily on Repentance and Continence by Apa John, Archbishop of Constantinople.
3. Homily on Susanna by Apa John, Archbishop of Constantinople.
4. Homily on Mercy and Judgement by Athanasius, Archbishop of Rakote.
5. Homily on Repentance and Continence, and the need for a man to repent before the last times come upon him, by Theophilus the Archbishop.
6. Homily on the parable of the rich man and his vineyard, and the labourers in it, by Athanasius, Archbishop of Rakote.
7. Homily preached by Proclus, Bishop of Cyzicus, when he was installed in the church of Anthemius in Constantinople.
8. Homily on the contemptible dogma of Nestorius by Proclus, Bishop of Cyzicus, in the great church in Constantinople.
9. Homily on the end of the world by Apa Basil, Bishop of Caesarea of Cappadocia.
10. Homily on the Soul and Body by Apa Athanasius, Archbishop of Rakote.
11. Homily on the Canaanitish woman by Apa Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea of Cappadocia.
THE CONTENTS OF THE MANUSCRIPT
I. The Homily on Repentance and Continence by Apa John, Archbishop of Constantinople.
This Homily was a great favourite in monastic institutions in Egypt and Syria, and at a comparatively early period it was widely known. It was originally written in Greek, and was generally attributed to St. John Chrysostom, among whose works it was first printed, but it is now generally agreed that the Homily was written by John the Faster (Jejunator), the thirty-third Bishop of Constantinople, who was Patriarch from April 11, 582, to Sept. 2, 595. He died in 596. The first three of his works are printed by Migne in Patrologiae Curms, Ser. Graec., torn. 88, col. 1889 ff. The third work, on Repentance and Continence and Virginity, was translated into Syriac and Coptic, and probably also into other Oriental languages, for, if it was as popular among monks in the twelfth century as it was in the eighth, versions of it in Arabic and Ethiopic would certainly be made.
John the Faster was born in Constantinople probably about the middle of the sixth century. Of his father and mother little is known, but they appear to have belonged to the working classes. John is said to have learned the trade of a sculptor, and it may be noted that on p. 178 he refers to the condition of the statues of the Emperors, how some are beautiful, and others are black, and others are decayed, and how others have become objects of derision, and then go« on to point out that our good and evil deeds will appear thus in the Other World. The circumstances under which he became a monk are not known, but he lived a blameless life of great austerity, and his fastings were so long and numerous that his contemporaries gave him the name of the Faster '. He is said to have possessed little education. Modern scholars have criticized his literary style unfavourably, and, chiefly because of the abruptness and roughness which appear in it throughout, have concluded that the Homily on Fasting could not have been written by Chrysostom. The earnestness and sincerity of its writer, however, appealed to the monks in Egypt, who lost little time in translating it into Syriac. This is proved conclusively by the MS. Add. 14,605, which is dated a. gr. 964, i. e., a. d. 653, and was obtained from the Nitrian Valley. Another MS., Add. 14,546, is attributed by Prof. "Wright to the seventh century, and a note in it tells us that it belonged to the famous convent of St. Mary Deipara. Thus it is clear that within sixty years of the death of John the Faster Syriac versions of his Homily on Fasting existed in two great monasteries of Egypt. It is only reasonable to assume that the purely Egyptian monasteries at Akhmim, Suhak, Thebes, Edfu, and Aswan also possessed Coptic translations of the Homily. In the ninth century a copy of the Syriac translation was made at Harran in Mesopotamia, and three other copies of the same period are preserved ; and in the tenth and twelfth centuries there still existed a demand for Syriac copies of the work.
The Coptic version of the Homily printed in this book was made from a Greek original, but by whom is not known. Judging by the Greek text printed by Migne, 6 the greater portion of the Coptic version, in which many sections are misplaced, is a paraphrase. This is probably due to the order of the leaves of the MS. from which the present Coptic text was copied ; that it must have been in a mutilated, or at least disordered state, is proved by the following facts. The Coptic text follows the Greek in fairly correct order so far.
The Coptic text then continues but we do not find the Greek equivalent of the passage until we reach col. 1948, last line, in Migne's edition, that is to say, the Coptic scribe omitted the equivalent of nearly three and a half columns of Greek text. When we come to the Copti words (), to find the Greek equivalent we must turn back to Migne, col. 1941 C. The next section of the Coptic text begins and continues to the end of the Homily both in Coptic and Greek. From the above it is clear that the group of leaves which contained the second section of the Homily in the MS. from which the Coptic scribe worked became accidentally placed after those which contained the third section. How the confusion happened matters little ; but it is important to note that the scribe, or the monk who read out the text, or both, understood very little of the text which was being copied. A comparison of the Coptic text with the Greek texts available proves that the Coptic translator understood the original Greek very imperfectly. He shortened several paragraphs considerably, missed many points in the arguments, and omitted several Scriptural quotations and the passages which they illustrated.
That the order of the text as given by the Greek is the correct one is proved by the Syriac version, which, as we have seen, is as old as the middle of the seventh century, and in no copy of the Syriac version does the order of the text agree with that found in the Coptic.
The argument of the Homily is as follows : - If Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles, who was filled with spiritual excellences of every kind, and was remarkable for his fastings and labours, feared that he might become a castaway, what are miserable sinners like ourselves to do, who cannot cultivate successfully one spiritual excellence? We must fast and pray for the riches of heaven, and keep the soul carefully at all times. Spiritual pride is to be avoided at all costs, for no man can be worthy of the sufferings which Christ endured. Above all things we must weep, and wash away our defilement by tears ; the eyes have caused us to sin, the tears of the eyes must wash away our sins. Avoid the habit of sin, pray fervently, and bring forth good fruit according to your strength. If you can not bring forth an hundredfold, bring forth sixtyfold ; and if this is too hard, bring forth thirty fold. Because you can not be a vessel of gold or silver, do not become a log of wood which is only fit for fuel. your works will take form and stand up like solid statues at the Day of Judgement, when you will have to face the Judge without an advocate, without witnesses, and without proofs. No repentance will be possible then ; therefore weep here beforehand, not merely a few tears, but floods of tears, as did David, so that the sins of our eyes may be done away through our tears.
We see the wound, and we know what will heal it. Let us guard our eyes, and ears, and mouth, for by these does the Evil One enter into us. The Psalms must be in our mouths, and the heart must meditate on the Scriptures ; we must shut our senses against the Adversary and open them to God. Keep the remembrance of God in your heart at all times, keep His face before you, and He will always be at your right band. God must be glorified by deeds as well as by words, and even if hindered from glorifying God by sickness, or poverty, a man must not despair. Remember the Awful Day in which we will have to stand before the Holy Throne, and in the presence of every one be obliged to defend every deed which we have committed. Before that Throne is the river of fire, and there are the worm which is deathless, and the fire of Gehenna which can never be quenched. Let us hear beforehand the sound of the trumpets, and the awful voice of the Judge, and let us see beforehand how the angels of doom will tie up those who are condemned into bundles, like garden waste, and cast them into the furnace of fire. Others will be bound hand and foot and cast into outer darkness, others will be delivered over to the worm which sleeps not, and to the gnashing of teeth.
Many of our members are double, two eyes, two ears, two hands, and two feet, so that if one fails the fellow carries on the work of the body ; but we have only one soul, and if we destroy this carelessly how will we live? It will be useless to plead at the Last Day that the possessions of the world cheated us, and Eve gained no benefit when she said, 'The serpent beguiled me.' Sin is followed by punishment and suffering. How can we escape from these penalties? Bodily purity is not all that is necessary, but we must return good for evil, we must prove by our good lives that the accusations made against us are false, and when men curse us we must bless them in return. Abstinence from sin is the only true abstinence. At the Last Day no one and no thing can help us except our own good deeds, and tears, and sorrow, and repentance. Not even Noah, or Daniel, or Job could help a man when he stands in judgement before God's throne. This is proved by the cases of the man who had not on him the wedding garment, and tin- man to whom the talent was given, and the five virgins; none interceded for them, and none saved them from their doom. And even Abraham was unable to relieve the tortures of thirst which the rich man suffered in hell. It is better for our tongue to be parched with thirst in this world than to long for water to be sprinkled on it in the next, where no water will be given to us. Let us by means of a few sufferings in this world free ourselves from torture in the next, where we will, if condemned, be punished for endless ages. We are horrified, and quake with fear, at the punishments inflicted by judges and governors in this world, which, after all, are only temporary ; what will we think then of the tortures of hell which endure for ever? It will help us in our endeavours if we remember that the things of this world are like dreams : the body perishes, its appetites fail, and all things are as fleeting as the web of the spider.
We must be vigilant and fight, for no man who slumbers receives the prize, and we must give no slumber to our eyes, and must watch against the Crafty One, who seeks to devour the soul. We reap what we have sown, for the husbandman obtains no crop unless, with toil and the sweat of his brow, he has first ploughed the land and planted the seed. We must watch at all times for the coming of the Bridegroom. In this world we wage war continually. The devils draw their bows and shoot their arrows into our ears, and eyes, and tongues, and belly, and hands, and feet, that they may make us to be slanderers, revilers of men, gluttons, evil-livers, and robbers. We must put on the whole armour of God, and the helmet of the Spirit, and we must gird up our loins, and serve our Saviour loyally. The Devil is a coward, and retreats before those who resist him ; therefore we must resist him, and he will flee from us.
We are travellers, and we must go forth out of our present abodes. Therefore let us provide ourselves with suitable provisions, and be careful about the road which we have to travel. Our dress for the journey must be goodness, mercy, and humility; in the next world fruit and not green leaves will be demanded from us, and deeds and not words. Not every one who cries, ' Lord, Lord will enter heaven, therefore let us not deceive ourselves. The rewards and punishments of the Other World are endless, and sinners will rise up in an undestroyed form, in order to receive the punishments which are their due. If we cannot bear an over-heated bath here, what will we do when we are cast into the river of fire which flows before the Throne of Christ? We weep over the bodies of the dead, but we ought rather to weep over their souls if they have died in sin.
Let us not delay to repent. The day has declined, evening comes on, and the Judge is at the door; let us rise up out of the slumber of dreams, and repent. Length of time is unnecessary for repentance, for the martyrs received their crowns in return for the repentance of a short time. Because we have sinned deeply we need not despair, for we have with us always the medicine of salvation, that is to say, tears. We take great trouble about a sick member of the body, but are careless as to our souls. The Good Shepherd stands ready to snatch our souls from the jaws of the lion, and all He asks in return for His salvation is repentance. No mortal lover ever loved his beloved as He loves the soul which repents, and however many times a man falls He stretches out His hands saying, ' Turn you to Me, and I will save you.' If an earthly physician treats the sick man tenderly, how much more will the Good Physician minister to our souls, and tend them till they are healed? The fire of Gehenna was made not for us, but for the Devil and his angels : let us not make a hell-fire for ourselves by flouting the Physician and refusing His treatment. Our Physician can heal every one.
You might perhaps say, ' I can never be perfect.' If you can not be the sun, be a star, or at all events devote yourself to heavenly things. It is better to do a few good works than to do nothing at all, and a little labour will give us everlasting life. What matter that the Devil has cast us down ; let us rise up quickly. To reach an earthly kingdom we would undertake a difficult journey and toils innumerable ; how much more ought we to endure for the heavenly kingdom? The medicines for the soul are many, sorrow, mercy, fasting, tears, and faith ; let us choose our medicines, and heal our souls of their sicknesses. If we earnestly desire healing He will heal us, but we must show Him our wounds, and say, ' Have mercy on my body, and on my soul.' If we have not money wherewith to buy the kingdom of heaven, let us buy it with innocence of soul, and fastings, and tears.
"We must not be proud of our fasting, and in any case we must search ourselves and find out what spiritual benefit has accrued to us through our fasting ; if it leads not to the suppression of passion and other vices our fasting from bread is vain. And as concerning our prayers. We treat our friends with respect and deference, and address them suitably, according to their rank and station; but in our prayers to God we are careless, and though our knees are bent, our minds are set upon the affairs of the world. If God were to judge us according to our misdeeds, evil indeed would be our case. We hear of the goodness of God, and are careless, but He whets His sword, and stretches His bow, and it is foolish to presume overmuch on His character for mercy. Let us beseech the Merciful God not to deliver us over into the hands of the demons who, together with the Devil, will accuse us in the Day of Judgement. Who has ever loved us as God the Father has loved us?
Let us long to see God, even as did David, and let us keep watch. If we ask Him to keep us as the apple of His eye, we must keep His commandments as the apples of our own eyes. Having set our hands to the plough let us not turn back, but let us make our members creatures of sacrifice, and see that our consciences do not condemn us before the Judgement.
Guard your tongue with all diligence, keep your heart in heaven, and have care for the things of heaven only. Subdue the flesh by fasting, and pray and have faith. Pray seven times a day, pray always. The soul which is in earnest needs not a long time for repentance. The thief on the Cross gained Paradise, and the martyrs inherited the kingdom of heaven through a speedy repentance. Let us offer to God a life of self-denial. We complain if we have to sleep upon the bare ground, but the martyrs lay upon coals of fire; the martyrs gave their blood, let us give our tears. Fight the good fight with perfect faith, and you will enjoy everlasting happiness.
From the above summary of the argument of this Homily it will be seen that, according to John the Faster, the surest means of reaching heaven were fasting, prayers, and weeping. There is nothing in his teaching with which the monks of Egypt were not familiar, for the ' Questions and Answers of the Fathers' which are often attributed to Palladius, Bishop of Hellenopolis, are full of exhortations to watch, and pray, and fast, and weep. The Homily contains many allusions to the Last Judgement, and the punishments of the wicked, and it seems that the views held by John the Faster on these subjects resembled those with which the earliest Christians in Egypt were familiar through the traditions handed down to them from their pagan ancestors. The river, or lake, of fire is well known from the hieroglyphic texts, and in the Book f Am fuat ' (Section V, Ament) we see the heads of the wicked appearing out of Netu, ^ amma, the stream of liquid fire in the Other World. In the ' Book of Gates ' (Section III) mention is made of the Lake of Serser, which is filled with ' waters of fire'; these have so horrible a stench that the birds of heaven f fly away when they see them'. The 'worm which dies not' had its prototypes in the monster serpent Kheti which consumed the souls and bodies of the enemies of Osiris by the fire that it poured out through its jaws ceaselessly, and in Apep im. , the monster who ' snatched
away souls, and ate hearts', and was the warden of Darkness {Book of the Lead, chap, xvii, 1. 113). The belief in these fiery, poisonous serpents of hell existed in the Predynastic Period, and so far back as 3500 B.C. the formulae to protect the bodies and souls of the dead from them were cut on the tombs of kings. The Book of the Bead of the Theban Period is also full of allusions to the serpents which devoured the dead, and chap. i. B supplies the deceased with the names of the Nine great serpents, so that he may use them as words of power. So late as the Ptolemaic Period a service was performed daily in the great temple of Amen-Ra, at Thebes to prevent Apep from swallowing up the sun as he swallowed the dead.
The e outer darkness' which terrified the Egyptian Christian terrified his pagan ancestor, and in the Book of the Bead chap, clxxv, the place where it exists is said to be ' without water, without air, unfathomably deep, black as the blackest night'. The Book c Am-Tuat ' also speaks of part of a part of Ament where the darkness was ' solid ' ^ lr y H , and close by it were the pits of fire in which the ' souls, heads, and shadows' of the damned were consumed. This solid darkness, or concrete night, filled that portion of the Other World which was outside the kingdom of Osiris.
The Homily mentions that the throne of the Judge is situated on the river of fire, a view which also was current under the Vlth Dynasty among the pagan Egyptians. According to the text of King Unas (1. 393), the throne of Osiris was set upon the { Island of Fire ' where he put 'right in the place of wrong', and was surrounded by the blessed. The books which the Homily says will be opened at the Last Day have their equivalent in the
Book of the god ' ) , in which the divine scribe Thoth 2
kept a record of the words and deeds of men. As each soul was brought into the presence of the god, the ' book ' was consulted, Osiris ' weighed the words ', and rewarded the righteous and condemned the guilty according to the evidence of his book. The sentences of doom were carried out by the headsman of Osiris, Shesmu oeh v\ >g\ j?k and his assistants. Everlasting life and happiness were given to the blessed - all the texts agree on this point - and the wicked were punished, for a time according to some texts, and for eternity according to others. The view taken by the Homilies in this book is that the punishment of the wicked was everlasting.
I-II. The Explanation of Apa John, Archbishop of Constantinople, concerning the blessed woman Susanna.
The title of this Homily suggests that it was composed by Chrysostom, and many editors of his works have included it among them as a genuine work of the great theologian. It is now not generally regarded as genuine, and is classed among the Spuria by Montfaucon (torn, vi, p. 717 ff.) and by Migne (torn, lvi, p. 589). The writer, whoever he was, wrote the story of Susanna intending it to serve as a guide to women, just as the story of Joseph served as a guide to men. With the exception of the introduction and the soliloquies of Susanna, 1 the narrative of the trial of Susanna's chastity is substantially that which is found in the LXX and Vulgate, but the Coptic text 2 is of very considerable value, for it appears to be older than any known MS. of the LXX. The story can hardly be regarded as historical, at all events the latter part of it ; for it gives to the young man Daniel an impossible position of power and importance. It is difficult to account for its appearance among a collection of Homilies which were intended to be read to monks, and we can only assume that the editor included this as a specimen of the historical romance which tended to moral edification.
III. A Discourse by Athanasius, Archbishop of Rakote, on Mercy and Judgement.
Saint Athanasius, to whom this Homily is attributed, was born in Alexandria about 296 ; he was made Archbishop of Rakote in 326, and died about 373. The little village of Rakote J was situated to the north-east of Lake Mareotis, and owed its importance to its harbour, which was much frequented by Greek merchant seamen and others. Alexander the Great, perceiving the importance of the site for commercial purposes, and realizing the possibility of turning the harbour into a naval base, determined to build his city Alexandria there. The name ' Rakote ' is derived from the ancient Egyptian name of the village, ' Ra-qetit ', which means something like 'the edifice of Ra '. The Egyptian Christians preserved it and by this appellation Alexandria was known for centuries by the Copts.
The argument of the Homily is as follows : - The world which does not remember God is governed by injustice and inhumanity. The Law itself contains many harsh precepts, but, on the other hand, there are in it many commands which inculcate mercy and charity. To carry out the precepts of mercy we must give to God of the fruits of our own labours, and not those which are obtained from unrighteous dealings, or plunder, or theft. Gifts to Him must be pure. With mercy we must mingle justice, and we must treat our servants with strict justice, and though we have the power to defraud them we must not do so. We must be merciful, and kind, and generous, and not consider that our duty is done when we have discharged our strict obligations. You have the right to reap your field a second time, and to gather grapes and olives from your vineyards and gardens a second time, but it would be a terrible thing to do so, for the gleanings of every kind belong to the poor. The Law ordered kindness in this matter, but what does Christian charity demand? Kindness shewn to the saints is, in reality, worship of Christ, and the man who is tender and merciful is a minister of Christ, and a fellow-worker with God. Feed the soldiers of Christ, and feed with them. We honour ourselves when we honour Him and them, and by giving to the poor the things which are temporal, we secure an invitation to share things eternal. Let us make use of our opportunities of doing good, and not waste our time, and let us watch and wait for the glorious rest of Christ.
IV. The Discourse of Apa Theophilus the Archbishop, which he preached on repentance and continence, and on the necessity for repentance before the last times come.
The see of the Theophilus to whom this Homily is attributed is not mentioned in the title, but he was probably the Archbishop of Alexandria who sat from 385 to 412, when he died.
The Homily opens with an exhortation to fast and to mortify our bodies, by vigils and tears, so that the Angel of Repentance may come to us, and root up the plants which have been planted in our hearts by the Devil. When these plants, that is, pride, anger, wrath, and wickedness, have been removed, love, joy, peace, gentleness of heart, and purity will take their places. Let us adorn this Angel with fastings, and anoint her with prayers, and crown her with tears, and then she will make our wings to spread out and bear us into heaven. Repentance gives us many gifts ; she is the food of the hungry, drink of the thirsty, and the consoler of those who keep vigil. When she called to the men of Nineveh, they and the sheep and cattle put on sackcloth, and wept. If we repent to our utmost the saints will be fellow penitents with us. Let us not allow ourselves to be east into Gehenna, and let us remember that no repentance is possible in the Other World. If we arrive in Gehenna none of the saints will intercede for us. None will carry our tears to the throne of mercy, no kinsman can help us, and none of our possessions will effect our release. The blackest darkness will enshroud us, our hearts will quake, and we will be terrified beyond measure at the forms of the angels of wrath who will be deputed to punish us. The noises which they will utter, their awful faces, the gnashings of their teeth, their rapid motions, their threatening aspect, and the variety and inexpressible horror of their terrifying shapes, and their flashing eyes as they come to devour us, will reduce us to a state of most helpless misery. From them there will be no escape. Repentance on earth is the only thing which can save us from everlasting doom, and we should have with us at the Last Day humility and charity to act as intercessors for us. Monks and ascetics who have apostatized will suffer awful punishment and disgrace, and they will become the subjects of the jibes and mockery of sinners. Weep and repent, and the Holy Spirit will come to you ; tears can only come after true conversion. Remember the Nails, the Cross, His Side, the spear, the reed, the vinegar and gall, and the servant who spat in His Face. We must watch day and night against the Devil, who comes to us in all manner of cunning disguises and forms. He is always lying in wait for us, and we can only defeat him by putting on the armour of righteousness, that is, prayer, fasting, purity, peace, love, humility, charity, brotherly love, and courteous conversation with men. To inherit the abode of the sons of light we must cast from us the works of darkness, and put on the armour of light.
V. The Discourse of Saint Athanasius, Archbishop of Rakote, on the passage in Saint Matthew's Gospel 'The Kingdom of Heaven', &c. (See St. Matthew, 20:1-16.)
This Homily is in reality a commentary on the parable of the rich man who came out in the morning' to hire labourers for his vineyard. According- to the writer, the Master of the vineyard is God the Father, the House of Israel is the vineyard, and the men of Judah are the new plant. The labourers whom the Master hired at daybreak were Moses, Aaron, and Joshua, the son of Nun; Moses received as wages the rank of prophet, and Aaron the office of high-priest. The labourers hired at the third hour were the Judges, and the labourers hired at the sixth and ninth hours were Samuel, David, and the other Prophets. The labourers hired at the eleventh hour were the Apostles, whom the Master found idle the whole day. Why were they idle? Because the Devil found that he could not hire them, for they would not do evil ; John the Baptist would not eat and drink, Peter would not be an unbeliever, and Andrew would not marry. They had no wages on earth, for their reward was in heaven. Christ is the Vine in the Master's vineyard. At the close of the day when the steward gave to each a stater, some murmured, because the labourers for one hour were paid the same amount as those who had laboured a whole day. Who were these? The Pharisees. In the same category was Judas, the Betrayer, who pretended to care for the poor, but in reality begrudged his Master the unguent which was worth three hundred staters. Judas was cruel, merciless, a grumbler, a thief, wholly shameless, and without right perception ; chosen by Christ as a man, he became a devil. Judas over-estimated his own value, therefore he became the portion of the Devil and accepted death for himself, in the place of his Apostleship. Cain, Saul, Pharaoh, Balaam, Korah, Achan, Absalom, Ahitophel, Shimei, Joab, Gehazi, Jeroboam, all were great sinners, but Judas who betrayed God was the greatest sinner of all. Judas went to his doom, and Matthias took his place.
Now, O man, embark in the ship of salvation. Its steering oars are the Old and the New Testaments; its mast, i.e., the Cross and rudder, are the hands stretched out in prayer. Its soul is the Power of God, its steering pole is the Bishop, its Helmsman is Jesus, its sailors are the clergy, its cargo are the Christian peoples, and its haven is the heavenly Jerusalem. Let us ascribe thanks to the Logos Who has given us the subject of our discourse, and has enabled us to discuss it rightly, and filled our mouths with suitable words, to the benefit of ourselves and of our hearers.
VI. A Discourse pronounced by Proclus, Bishop of Cyzicus, in the Church op Anthemius in Constantinople, on the Sunday before Easter, when he was installed in the Archiepiscopal Seat, and Nestorius the Heretic was present.
Proclus, the author of this Homily, was ordained a ' reader ' when very young, and he became the disciple of John Chrysostom ; Sisinnius, Patriarch of Constantinople, consecrated him Bishop of Cyzicus, but as the Christians of that city refused to acknowledge him as such he continued to live in Constantinople. On the death of Sisinnius in 427 some of his friends wished him to become the new Patriarch, but ultimately the royal choice fell upon Nestorius, who was consecrated in 428. In 429 Proclus preached his famous sermon on the Incarnation, in which he refuted the views of Nestorius to the satisfaction of many. In 431 the doctrine of Nestorius was discussed at the Third Council of Ephesus, and a copy of the sermon of Proclus was prefixed to the official acts of the Council. Soon afterwards, with the approval of the Emperor Theodosius II, Nestorius was deposed. Maximinianus, not Proclus, then became Patriarch, but when the former died in 434 Proclus succeeded him on the archiepiscopal throne. In 438 Proclus brought the remains of his master Chrysostom from Comana, and interred them with great pomp and ceremony in the Church of the Holy Apostles. [ The Church of the Holy Apostles was built by Constantine, and contained the bodies of the Byzantine Emperors, which rested in sarcophagi of porphyry, granite, &c. It was destroyed in 1464 by Sultan Muhammad II, who built on the site the mosque which now bears his name. ] Proclus died about 446.
Nestorius, whose doctrines are refuted by Proclus in this Homily, was originally a monk in the Monastery of St. Euprepius near Antioch. Having been elected Patriarch in 428, he began to preach his doctrine that Christ possessed two Natures, the one human and the other divine, and that each was separate and distinct from the other. He declared that a man ought to call Mary the Virgin not ' the mother of God ', theotokos, but the 'mother of Christ.' As a result of this preaching he was deposed, and he returned to the Monastery of Euprepius, where he lived as a monk for four years. In 435 the Emperor Theodosius decreed his banishment, first to Petra, and then to one of the Egyptian Oases, and his writings were ordered to be burnt. He is said to have lived in banishment for a period of sixteen years, 2 and to have died about 451 or 452.
The title of this Homily states that it was preached in the Church of St. Anthemius in Constantinople ; this church can be no other than the famous cathedral of Constantinople, Aya Sofia, or, Santa Sophia. The first church dedicated to ' Eternal Wisdom ' was built by Constantine, about 325, and was burnt down by Chrysostom's adherents in 404. The church was rebuilt by Theodosius II in 415, and in the fifth year of the reign of Justinian (532) it also was burnt. Once again the church was rebuilt, and Justinian completed the work in 538. The architects of the third church were Anthemius and Isidore the Milesian, 1 but it is clear that the former cannot have been the Anthemius referred to in the title of the Homily. And as Proclus preached the Homily in 434, the church must have been the second building raised in honour of Eternal Wisdom by Theodosius II. The regent of Constantinople during the greater part of the minority of Theodosius II was Anthemius the ' wall-builder '% who built the wall which still extends from the Sea of Marmora to the so-called ' palace of Belisarius'. He was prefect of the East from 405-417, and during his period of office he turned Constantinople into an impregnable citadel.
The title of the Homily also states that when Proclus preached it the heretic Nestorius was present. Here there is a difficulty, for in 434, the year in which the Homily was preached, Nestorius was at Antioch, where he remained until 435. It is, of course, possible that Nestorius visited Constantinople for some reason in 434, but it is unlikely that the degraded Patriarch, then wholly without friends and supporters, would return to the city where his enemies were so many and so powerful. It is possible that some copyist of the Homily thought that Proclus succeeded Nestorius immediately, or some tradition that Nestorius was present when the Homily was preached may have been current among the monks of Egypt.
The argument is as follows : The like of the miracle which is the subject of our discourse this day has never been heard of before ; understanding and mind fail to grasp its greatness, human speech cannot describe it. The sun never before looked on such a sight as the Crucifixion. Never before was the redemption of the world sold for thirty pieces of silver. Never before did passion and death exist without sin, never before did the tomb receive the body of One Who could not die, never before did Hades quake, never before did a natural man pass three days and nights in the earth, and rise on the third day, never before was the Resurrection made manifest through the birth-pangs of the Virgin. His flesh was life and His blood redemption. Indeed old things have passed away, and new things have come into being. The new worship is the worship by faith, and the glorification of One Substance in Three Persons. I will not argue with you, heretic, the manner in which God made Himself manifest on earth. Had God appeared without the veil of the flesh mortal eye could not have borne the sight of Him. Moreover, the Devil could not have fought against Him, Death and Hades could have had no power over Him, and the Seraphim could not have looked upon Him. God needed a covering, and not such as Moses had, not such as that which was over the Mercy-seat. In answer to the ' new Jew '(i.e., Nestorius), who says that God could not appear in the form of a man, and who refuses to hear the words of the Law and the Prophets, and the Evangelists and Apostles, I appeal to the behaviour of the Four Elements at the time of the Crucifixion in support of my statement that God took upon Himself the flesh of mortal man. All creation was horrified at the indignity offered to God. Heaven declares that He was God ; the sun says, 'Jesus Christ was my Lord'; earth says, 'He Whom they crucified was the Creator in human flesh ' ; the Sea says, ' He was not my fellow-servant ' ; the Temple says, c He Who was crucified was God Who was worshipped in me from the beginning ' ; Hades says, ' He Who came into my domain was the Almighty.' And the Angels, and Archangels, and all the Hosts of heaven say, f He Who was crucified is the King of Glory.
VII. The Discourse pronounced by Proclus, Bishop of Cyzicus, in the Great Church op Constantinople, on the contemptible Doctrine of Nestorius, when the heretic was present.
This Homily is to all intents and purposes a continuation of the preceding, but it defines more distinctly the doctrine of the Incarnation which was held and preached by Proclus. It must have represented the views current in the monasteries of Egypt, and those held by Egyptian Christians generally, for we find that all the essential portions of it were translated into Syriac for the use of such monks as did not read Coptic. The original Greek text, from which both the Coptic and Syriac translations were made, is lost. The Syriac translation is found in Cod. Syr. Vat. 369, foil. 47 #-48 b, and has been published by Chabot, 2 who assigns the MS. to the eighth century. Latin translations of the Syriac text will be found in Mai, Spicilegium Romanum, torn, iv, p. 88 ff., and in Migne, Vatrologiae, Ser. Graec, torn, lxv, col. 941 ff., and an English version will be found on pp. 381-386 of this volume. This and other Homilies of Proclus dealing with the Incarnation must have been translated into Arabic, and from Arabic into Ethiopic. On pp. 387-405 is given the Ethiopic text, edited from two MSS. 3 in the British Museum, with an English rendering of a Homily preached by Proclus on the Festival of the Nativity. 4 The arguments in it are identical with those in his other Homilies, though, owing to the Arabic translation through which they passed, they are not always clear. None of the Ethiopic copies of the Homily on the Nativity are older than the seventeenth or eighteenth century, but they must have represented the views of the Abyssinian Church then as in earlier centuries, or they would not have been made.
In the Coptic version of the Homily on the contemptible dogma of Nestorius, Proclus begins his sermon by pointing out to his hearers the benefit of trafficking in the market of the Church, and by urging his readers to search the Scriptures ; he enumerates to them the benefits which the Lord has conferred upon man from the beginning, and describes His dealings with the Patriarchs, Judges, and Prophets. Coming to the subject of the Trinity Uncreate, he says that to investigate it by means of the power of reasoning in the human mind is impossible. The intellect cannot discover the means whereby God became man, and how He took upon Himself flesh. The Nature of God is uncreate, but His human Nature is like ours. These Natures form One Person, and proceed from Divinity and manhood, and become one of one with Him. As the result of this oneness He becomes the Only-begotten Son. This view the heretics think mad, the Jews cannot comprehend it, and the Greeks withdraw from Christians because of it. Son and Father are inseparable : God's Nature cannot be divided. The Son is man and God the Word, He is the wisdom of the Father, and His strength, and the Truth, and His Image, and Light, and Justice, and Holiness, and Salvation, and Resurrection. As God He worked miracles, as man He suffered death. This He did in pity for us. He took flesh from a woman without the aid of man. He is the High Priest Who offered up Himself. Having compared the miracles which were wrought in connexion with the Birth and Resurrection of Christ, and those which He wrought whilst He was upon earth, with the miracles recorded in the Old Testament, Proclus calls upon the imaginary Jew with whom he debates the matter to 'vomit his error ', and admit that Christ, born of a virgin-mother, is God. It will be noticed that Proclus does not discuss the term ©coto'ko? in any way.
VIII. The Discourse of Apa Basil, Bishop of Caesarea, which he pronounced on the end of the world, the Temple of Solomon, and the Departure of the Soul from the Body.
The author of this Homily is, presumably, Basil the Great, who was born at Caesarea in 329, and was consecrated Bishop of that city in 370, and died in 379. The creation of the world took place during absolute silence, and there was neither voice nor disturbance when the universe was formed. None knew beforehand that it was to be created except God and His Son, Jesus Christ. The destruction of the world will not take place in silence, but there will be earthquakes and tribulations, and lightnings and thunders, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. In that day the wicked will be separated from the good, and all will stand before the throne of the Son. The building of Solomon's temple was carried out in silence, for it was dedicated to God, Who loves quietness. Now, since God made the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and all that is therein, why will they all be destroyed? And why, since no man knows except the Father, will all things be dissolved suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye? The cause of this overthrow is man's sin and disobedience in Paradise. These have changed the world, and have also changed God into a Being of wrath. The cause of sin and disobedience is the Devil, who brought about the Deluge, and made men to build the Tower of Babel, and hardened Pharaoh's heart, and caused the deaths of six hundred thousand Israelites in the desert through fire, and sword, and serpents. Solomon built his temple in absolute silence, both to please God and to enable him to dispense judgement daily in Jerusalem without being disturbed by the sound of even the worker in gold ; and since God gave peace in his time the work was uninterrupted during the twenty years which he spent in building it. After the death of Solomon the people committed sin, and because of this sin the temple of the Hebrews was destroyed by the Chaldeans. About two hundred and twenty thousand men were occupied for twenty years in building Solomon's temple, but in one year the Chaldeans destroyed all the result of their work ; the labour of twenty years was wasted. What was builded in silence wag destroyed amidst noise and confusion j what Solomon built in wisdom Zedekiah destroyed by his lawlessness, and the sound of the axes and hammers of the Chaldeans shook all Jerusalem. God dwells not in a temple made with hands, but with men, and this indeed took place, for Christ put on a human body, and came and dwelt with us. Mary the Virgin is the temple of the True God, and is more honourable than the temple of Solomon.
IX. The Discourse which Apa Athanasius, Archbishop of Rakote, pronounced concerning the Soul and Body.
This Homily was, according to the above title, composed by Athanasius, but the Syriac version of several extracts from it which are found in a Syriac MS. in the British Museum (Add. 17,192) attributes it to Alexander, his predecessor on the archiepiscopal throne of Alexandria (313-326). This is a very remarkable Homily, and is one of the most interesting of the series in this book, and the fact that portions of it were translated into Syriac proves that it possessed interest for monks other than Egyptian. After an exhortation to his hearers to purify themselves from envy and unbelief, which war against righteousness, he reminds them that whereas created things in general were made by the word of God's mouth, He made man both by word and act. Not content with saying, 'Let us make man.' He took a piece of earth, and fashioned it in His own image and likeness, and breathed into it the breath of life. Through sin, the body, which originated in Adam, came close to death, and it needed to be fashioned a second time by the hand of God before it could receive salvation.
When a man's body dies, the soul which God put in it leaves it, and goes to a region of darkness called 'Hades' ; death divides soul and body, the latter being dissolved in the earth, and the former being fettered in Hades. The soul is a strong thing, but is powerless in the bonds of Hades, and the body is a weak thing; but both are equally powerless. The soul cannot steer the body, and is carried off by the Devil, who prevents it from helping its body ; it is bound hand and foot, not only with the fetters of Hades, but with its sins, which act as cords tied about it. The soul is tortured in Hades, and is made the footstool of death, and it weeps and sighs saying, 'Where is my good body wherein I sang hymns, and prayed, and walked with my friends, and made merry? When in the body I had a name, but now I am no longer a man, but a soul.'
The reference to the name as belonging to or being a part of the mortal body is very interesting, and shews that the author of the Homily held the ordinary Egyptian view about the name forming an integral part of the human economy. In describing the state of bliss in which King Pepi I lived in the Other World, the ancient writer under the sixth dynasty said : 'His tunic is on him, his staff and whip are in the palm of his hand, he is sound with his flesh, he is happy with his name, 1 he lives with his ka' (or, double). 2 The soul without a name could not be invited to partake of offerings; hence the prayer: 'Let my name be called out, let it be found on the tablet of offerings, let offerings be given unto me in the presence [of Osiris], as unto the followers of Horus.' 3 To f make to live the name ' of a father was the duty of every pious son, for it ensured him a supply of celestial meat and drink, and the commemorations of the names of the dead by the living on earth brought the souls to whom they belonged under the notice of the divine ministrants who presented to the Great God the souls whose names were known to them. The knowledge of the name of a god, or devil, gave a man power over him, and the utterance of the ' mighty names ' of celestial beings was believed to produce magical results. The preservation of the name was all-important, and on some tombs the names of those for whom they were made are repeated hundreds of times.
According to the Homily, the body when the soul has left it is like a dumb musical instrument. When the body has perished no one can tell from its dust what its features were like, and when the bones of the dead are scattered no man can say which of them belonged to such and such a body. Only one man, Adam, was made from the earth, and yet the dead are everywhere in the earth ; and Hades is filled with their souls. Man inherited death through his sins and disobedience, and his sins are fellow-workers with Death to bring him to the dust. Since man's expulsion from Paradise no period of his life has in it joy. His birth is accompanied by risk to himself, his early years are full of tears, his early manhood is vexed with passion, his married life is full of anxiety, his old age is full of misery and the expectation of death. Death spares none. When God saw man's misery, He visited him, and took upon Himself the body of a man from the Virgin. Death boasted, c I will conquer man,' and he separated bodies from souls, and cast the souls into Hades. Christ gathered together souls and bodies, and rejoined each soul to its own body. He went into Hades and set free the souls which were therein, and gave them to their bodies. He was under no obligation to Death, and was not bound to die like man ; therefore He thrust aside the power of Death, and released the souls which were in his bonds. He gave Man for man, and His death for our death. He begot man a second time through the suffering of His own death. Who brought death upon Him? Man whom He came to save. Think of the insolent daringness of the Jews who hung on a tree Him that had hung out the heavens ! He Who raised the dead did they bury in the earth ! Whilst Christ hung on the Cross Hades was rent asunder, and the souls were set free, and the dead were raised. When He died He abolished Death, and conquered him. Death saw Life on the Cross, and fell down at His feet. The Angels were stupefied, the Elements were horror-stricken, the mountains quaked, the waves of the sea stood up, and the abyss opened its mouth to swallow up everything. An Angel came forth with a sword to slay the men who had hung Christ on a tree, but His mercy prevented him.
Then the Lord went down into Hades, not in the flesh, but in the spirit; He despoiled Hades and made Himself its Master. His Blood shed on the earth protected all the earth, and all in it ; His Body raised the dead, and benefited the Elements; His Spirit saved the souls in Hades and set them free, and gave them to their bodies which He raised up out of the earth. He rose from the dead at dawn on the First Day of the Week ; had He not died man could not have been saved. Death fell down at Christ's feet, and was conquered ; the Devil, the tyrant and rebel, became a captive.
Earth cried out, Spare me, O Lord, and free me from the curse which is on me, and from the wickedness of the Devil, for your Body was buried in me. You have sought for the members of men whom You madest. Take You, then, man, Your deposit. Take You Your image which You didst commit to me as a pledge. Take You Adam. Christ took man into heaven as a gift to His Father, man, His own image. And Christ sits above the Cherubim and is the Captain of all His creation.
X. The Discourse which Apa Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea of Cappadocia, pronounced concerning the Canaanitish Woman.
This Homily is of considerable interest as illustrating the method followed by famous divines in expounding the Scriptures to monks in monasteries. According to the title its author was Eusebius of Caesarea, but Prof. G. Mercati has pointed out that its commencement and contents agree exactly with the Homily of St. John Chrysostom printed in Migne, Patrologiae, Ser. Graec, torn, lii, coll. 449-460. This is another proof that the Coptic scribe was as careless in assigning authorship to the works he was copying as the translator was in making his Coptic paraphrases of the Greek text. The argument of the writer is as follows: The Church will never be without enemies, and though men may plot against her, and the waves of persecution break over her, she will never be overcome, for she is built on the "Rock Who said that the gates of Hades should not prevail against her." Trial is good for a man, and he should not fear temptation, for tribulation does no harm to the man of fortitude. Let us prepare a table. Yesterday Paul, the tent-maker, provided the table; today the table is that of Matthew. Let no man despair concerning his salvation. If you art a tax-gatherer you can become an Evangelist; if a thief you can enter Paradise. Confess your sins ; justify yourself. When Jesus came to the border of Tyre and Sidon, a woman came to Him. A woman, the strongest weapon of the Devil, the mother of sin, the beginning of all wickedness I The Jews fled from Him, but she fled to Him, and cried for mercy. She did not ask the Apostles to take her to Him, but appealed to Him direct. Consider her wisdom. She did not go to the necromancers, or the exorcists, or the magicians, or the Devil-worshippers, but to Christ. At first in answer to her appeal He was dumb, and she bore patiently His rebuke, and permitted herself to compare herself to the dogs. Be you like the Canaanitish woman, and pray in whatsoever place you art; God does not require tens of thousands of strings of words, but pure and simple prayer. He will hear you whensoever you callest, and at once. Cry 1 Have mercy on me ', and He will come immediately. And whether you go into the church of the Persians, or the Cutheans, or the Hindoos (?), and the Moors, you will hear Christ saying, 'O you woman, great is your faith.' As God said, Let things be, and they came into being, so Christ says, Let things be, and they come into being. By Him the Devil was driven out of the daughter of the Canaanitish woman, and by Him we ourselves will be healed, for He is in the Father, and the Father is in Him.