Homilies 17.1–17.20

On the next day, then, Peter, being about to dispute with Simon, woke earlier than usual and prayed; and just as he finished, Zacchaeus came in, saying: “Simon is sitting outside, talking with about thirty of his own people.” And Peter said: “Let him talk until a crowd gathers, and then let us begin the dispute, so that, having heard what he says, we may fit our answer to it and go out and discuss.” And so it was. Zacchaeus went out, and coming back in not long after, he reported to Peter the words Simon had spoken against him.

He said: “He accuses you, Peter, of being a servant of wickedness, very powerful in magic, and of filling people's souls with fantasies worse than idolatry. That you are a magician he thought he could prove in this way, saying: ‘I am aware that, of the arguments I think over by myself, I remember not one when I come to dispute with him. For while he is speaking and I am busying my mind with recalling what I had planned to say when I came to him, I hear nothing at all of what he says. Since, then, I suffer nothing like this with anyone else, but with him alone, how am I not bewitched by him? And that what he teaches is worse than idolatry will be clear to anyone with sense once I have shown it. For there is no other benefit than for the soul to become free of images of every kind. For when it pictures a form it is bound by fear, and, anxious about how it will fare, it wastes away and is altered, or becomes demon-possessed; and when it is demon-possessed, it seems to most people to be in its right mind.’”

“‘This is what Peter offers you under the promise of making you sound-minded. For under the pretext of one God he seems to free you from many lifeless idols, which do little harm to their worshipers, since they are seen with their own eyes to be stone or bronze or gold or some other lifeless material. So, knowing that what is seen is nothing, the soul cannot be seized by fear of the visible in the same way. But when, through a deceiving teaching, it looks to a fearful God, it is thrown off its natural foundations. I say this not to urge you to worship idols, but because Peter, while seeming to free your souls from fearful images, fills each of your minds with a more fearful image, introducing God in a form—and a supremely just one at that—on which fear follows, and dread for the soul that contemplates it, dread that can loosen even the sinews of right reasoning. For a mind caught in such a storm has its clearness troubled, like the deep by a violent wind. Therefore, if he comes for your benefit, let him not, while seeming to dispel the mild fears that arise from lifeless forms, bring in instead a fearful form of God. But does God have a form? If he has, he is in a shape. And if he is in a shape, how is he not circumscribed? And if circumscribed, he is in a place. And if he is in a place, he is less than the place that contains him. And if he is less than something, how is he greater than all, or highest? So much for that.’”

“‘That he does not truly believe even what his teacher said is plain, for he preaches the opposite. When his teacher said to someone, as I learn, “Do not call me good, for the good is one,” in saying “good” he no longer means that just one whom the Scriptures proclaim, who kills and makes alive—kills those who sin, and makes alive those who live according to his will. That he really did not call the Creator good is clear to anyone able to reflect. For although the Creator was known to Adam, whom he formed, and to Enoch, who pleased him, and to Noah, whom he saw to be righteous, and likewise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and also to Moses and the people and the whole world, Jesus, this Peter's teacher, came and said: “No one knew the Father except the Son, as no one knows the Son except the Father, and those to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” If, then, the one who was present was himself the Son, from his coming he revealed to whom he wished the one who was unknown to all. And so the Father was unknown to all before him, and so was not the one known to all.’”

“‘And in saying this Jesus does not even agree with himself. For sometimes, in other sayings taken from the Scriptures, he presents God as fearful and just, saying: “Do not be afraid of the one who kills the body but can do nothing to the soul; fear him who can cast both body and soul into the Gehenna of fire. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” And that he really meant that this one is to be feared as a just God—the one to whom, he says, those who are wronged cry out—he shows by telling a parable on this point and adding its interpretation: “If, then, the judge of unrighteousness acted thus because he was entreated again and again, how much more will the Father avenge those who cry to him day and night? Or do you think that, because he is patient with them, he will not do it? I tell you, he will do it, and quickly.” Now one who speaks of God as avenging and rewarding presents him as just by nature, and not good. Further, he gives thanks to the Lord of heaven and earth. If he is Lord of heaven and earth, he is acknowledged to be the Creator; and being Creator, he is just. Calling him sometimes good and sometimes just, he does not agree with himself even so. Thirdly, his wise disciple insisted yesterday that direct sight is more trustworthy than an apparition, not knowing that direct sight can be merely human, while an apparition is acknowledged to come from the divinity.’”

“By saying these things and the like, Peter, as he stands outside speaking to the crowds, Simon seems to me to be unsettling most of them. So go out at once and undo his false arguments by the power of truth.” When Zacchaeus had said this, Peter prayed as usual and went out; and standing in the same place as the day before and greeting the crowds after the custom of godliness, he began to speak thus: “Our Lord Jesus, being a true prophet—as I will fully convince you about this too at the proper time—made brief pronouncements on matters that bear on the truth, for these two reasons. First, because he was speaking to godly people, who knew how to believe what he declared by bare pronouncement; for what was said was not foreign to their customs. Second, because, having a set time for preaching, he did not use the method of proof, so as not to spend the whole of the set time on arguments; otherwise it would have happened that, busy with solving a few arguments that the soul can understand by its own labor, he would not have brought forward more of the words that bear on the truth. For he declared what he wished as to a people able to understand—and we were among them. And whenever, rarely, we did not understand something he had said, we asked him privately, so that nothing he said should be beyond our understanding.”

“Knowing, then, that we knew all he had said and were able to supply the proofs, when he sent us to the ignorant nations to baptize them for the forgiveness of sins, he commanded us first to teach them. Of these commandments this is the first and great one: to fear the Lord God and to serve him alone. And he said we should fear that God whose angels—the angels of the least of the faithful among us—stand in heaven, always beholding the face of the Father. For he has a form, for the sake of his first and only beauty, and all limbs, not for use. For he does not have eyes in order to see with them, since he sees on every side, being in body incomparably more brilliant than the seeing spirit in us, and more resplendent than any light, so that in comparison with him the light of the sun would be reckoned darkness. Nor does he have ears in order to hear, for he hears on every side; he thinks, moves, acts, makes. He has the most beautiful form for man's sake, so that the pure in heart may be able to see him, and rejoice for all they have endured. For with his own form, as with the greatest seal, he molded man, so that man might rule and be lord over all, and all things might serve him. Therefore, since he judged that he himself is the All, and man his image—he himself being invisible, while his image, man, is visible—whoever wishes to worship him honors his visible image, which is man. Whatever, then, anyone does to a human being, whether good or bad, passes to him. That is why the judgment that comes from him will go forth, allotting to each according to his desert: for he avenges his own form.”

“But someone will say: ‘If he has a form, he also has a shape and is in a place; and if he is in a place and contained by it, as being less, how is he great above all? And how can he be everywhere, if he is in a shape?’ To one who says this, the first thing to say is that the Scriptures persuade us to think and believe such things about him, and we know that those passages are true which are attested by our Lord Jesus Christ, at whose command we must give you the proofs that it is so. First I will speak about place. The place of God is the nonexistent, while God is the existent; and the nonexistent is not compared with the existent. For how can place be something existent? Unless it is a second space, such as heaven, earth, water, air, and any other body there may be that fills its void—which is called void for this reason, that it is nothing. For ‘nothing’ is a more fitting name for it. What is called void is, as it were, a vessel holding nothing, except that the vessel itself is empty, if indeed it is a vessel. For it is altogether necessary that what exists be in what is nothing. By this nonexistent I mean what some call place, which is nothing. And being nothing, how is it compared with the existent, except among opposites—so that the existent is not, and the nonexistent is called place? But even if it is something, though many examples press to come forth from me as proof, I will use only one, to show that the container is not always superior to what it contains. The sun is a round shape and is wholly surrounded by air; yet it brightens the air, warms it, cuts through it; if it is absent, the air is wrapped in darkness, and whatever part of it the sun leaves grows cold as if it were dying; but by the sun's rising it is lit again, and wherever it is warmed by it, it is adorned with greater beauty. And the sun does these things by imparting itself, though it has a circumscribed substance. What, then, prevents God—the Creator and Lord of this and of all things—while himself being in shape and form and beauty, from having what he imparts from himself extended without limit?”

“There is, then, one who is truly God, who presides in a superior form, being twice over the heart of what is above and below, and pouring forth from himself, as from a center, the life-giving and incorporeal power. All things—with the stars and regions of heaven, air, water, earth, fire, and whatever else there is—are shown to be a substance infinite in height, boundless in depth, immeasurable in breadth, extending threefold into infinity the life-giving and wise nature that comes from him. This infinity, then, going out from him on every side, must have as its heart him who truly is above all, in a shape; and wherever he is, he is as it were in the middle of the infinite, being the boundary of the universe. Beginning from him, then, the extensions have their nature from the boundless. One of them, taking its beginning from him, extends upward in height, another downward in depth, another to the right, another to the left, another forward, another backward; and looking to these as to a number equal on every side, he completes the world in six intervals of time, being himself the rest, and having the boundless age to come as his image, being beginning and end. For in him the six infinites end, and from him they take their extension into the infinite.”

“This is the mystery of the seventh. For he is the rest of all things, and to those who in small measure imitate his greatness he grants himself as their rest. He alone is, in one respect, comprehensible, having his extensions reaching from him into the infinite. For he is comprehensible and incomprehensible, near and far, here and there, being the only one; and through the sharing of his mind, infinite on every side, by which the souls of all breathe, they have life. And if they are separated from the body and are found to have longing for him, they are borne into his bosom, immortal, as in wintertime the mists of the mountains, drawn by the rays of the sun, are borne up to it. What love, then, can we conceive, if we contemplate his beauty of form with the mind! Otherwise it is impossible. For it is impossible for there to be beauty without form, or for it to draw anyone to love of itself, or for anyone even to think he sees God if God has no appearance.”

“But some, being strangers to the truth and allies of wickedness, say under a pretext of glorifying him that he has no shape, so that, being formless and without appearance, he may be visible to no one, so that he may not be longed for. For a mind that does not see the form of God is empty of him. And how can anyone pray, having no one to flee to, no one to lean on? For having nothing to meet him, he is thrown off his foundation into the void. ‘Yes,’ he says, ‘one ought not to fear God, but to love him.’ I say so too. But a good conscience from each good deed will provide this love; and good deeds come from fearing. ‘But fear,’ he says, ‘strikes the soul with terror.’ But I say that it does not strike it with terror, but wakens it and turns it back. Perhaps it would rightly be said that one ought not to fear God, if we human beings did not fear many other things—I mean plots from our fellows, and further wild beasts, reptiles, diseases, sufferings, demons, and countless other things. Let him, then, who requires us not to fear God rescue us from these, so that we may not fear them either. But if he cannot, why does he begrudge us being freed from countless fears by one fear, the fear of the Just One; being able, by a little faith in him, to remove countless sufferings, our own and others'; while also expecting a reward of good things, and, through fear of God who sees all, doing no evil and so continuing in peace even in the present?”

“Thus a grateful service toward the true Master sets one free from all others. If, then, it is possible for anyone not to sin without fearing God, let him not fear; for he may, out of love for him, refrain from doing what does not please him. For it is written that we should fear, and it is also commanded that we should love, so that each may use the remedy suited to his own temperament. It is right, then, to fear him, because he is just. So whether you fear or love, do not sin. Would that one who fears were able to master lawless pleasures, not to desire what belongs to another, to practice kindness, to be self-controlled, to act justly! For I see some who, imperfect in their fear of him, sin a great deal. Let us fear God, then, and not only because he is just; for in pitying those who are wronged he punishes those who have done the wrong. As water quenches fire, so fear takes away the desire for evil. One who teaches fearlessness is himself without fear; and one who does not fear does not even believe there will be a judgment: he increases his desires, practices magic, and slanders others for what he himself does.”

Hearing this, Simon interrupted and said: “I know whom you are aiming at with these words. But so that I may not spend my time on what I do not wish by saying the same things myself in refuting you, answer on the points we agreed. You declared that you had understood your teacher's teachings adequately because you saw and heard him present, by direct sight, and that it is not possible for anyone else to have the like by a vision or an apparition. That this is false I will show. One who hears someone by direct sight is not at all fully assured of what is said. For his mind can reason whether what appears is perhaps lying, being a man. But an apparition, in the very act of being seen, gives the seer confidence that it is divine. Answer me this first.”

And Peter said: “You proposed to speak to one point and answered on another. For you proposed that one could understand more by hearing from an apparition than from direct sight; but as you went on, you tried to persuade us that one who hears through an apparition is surer than one who hears by direct sight. Indeed, it was on this ground that you claimed to know the things of Jesus better than I, as having heard his word through an apparition. But I will answer what was proposed at the start. The prophet, having first given full assurance that he is a prophet, is believed with certainty in what he says directly, since he has already been recognized as true; and, questioned and examined as the learner wishes, he answers. But one who trusts an apparition, or a vision and a dream, is on unsafe ground; for he does not know whom he is trusting. It may be an evil demon or a deceiving spirit, pretending in what it says to be what it is not. And if one should wish to ask who it is that appeared, it can say of itself whatever it likes. And so, like an evil thing, it flashes out, stays as long as it wishes, and is extinguished, not staying with the inquirer for questioning as long as he wished. And one who sees by dreams cannot even ask about what he wishes; for the reasoning of a sleeper is not under his own control. So it is that we, who long to learn about many things, in our dreams ask about other things, or without asking hear about things that do not concern us, and on waking we are disheartened because we neither heard nor examined what we desired to learn.”

And Simon said: “Even if you say that apparitions are not always truthful, yet visions and dreams, being sent by God, do not lie about whatever they may wish to say.” And Peter said: “You said rightly that, being sent by God, they do not lie. But it is uncertain whether the one who saw has seen a God-sent dream.” And Simon: “If the one who has seen is righteous, what he has seen is true.” And Peter: “You said rightly. But who is righteous, if he needs a vision to learn what he must learn and to do what he must do?” And Simon: “Grant me this, that only the righteous can see a true vision, and I will answer you on that point. For I hold that an ungodly man does not see a true dream.” And Peter: “He does; and on this I can give proof both from reasoning and from Scripture, though I do not promise to persuade you. For one who has inclined to the love of a wicked woman does not turn his mind to another, good in every way, for a lawful life together; sometimes, though they know the better one well, being already captured, they love the worse. You too are suffering something like this without knowing it.” And Simon said: “Leave this aside and speak to what you promised. For it seems to me impossible that ungodly people should be given dreams by God in any way at all.”

And Peter said: “I remember that I promised to show it, and to give the proof of this both from reasoning and from Scripture. Now hear me as I speak. We know many people—if you are fair-minded (for I have those standing by as judges)—who worship idols, commit adultery, and sin in every way, yet see visions and true dreams, and some also apparitions of demons. For I say that the fleshless form of the Father or of the Son cannot be seen, because the eyes of mortals are dazzled by the exceeding light. So it is not because God begrudges it that he is not seen by man, who has been turned into flesh, but because he spares him. For one who sees him cannot live. For the excess of light dissolves the flesh of the one who sees, unless by the ineffable power of God the flesh is changed into the nature of light, so that it can see light, or the substance of light is changed into flesh, so that it can be seen by flesh. For to see the Father without being changed belongs to the Son alone. It is not so for the righteous: in the resurrection of the dead, when their bodies have been changed into light and they have become like the angels, then they will be able to see him. Indeed, even if one of the angels is sent to be seen by a human being, he is changed into flesh, so that he can be seen by flesh. For no one can see the fleshless power not only of the Son, but even of an angel. And if anyone sees an apparition, let him understand that it comes from an evil demon.”

“But that the ungodly too see true visions and dreams is plain, and I can prove it from Scripture. In the law it is written that Abimelech, who was ungodly and wished to defile the wife of righteous Abraham by lying with her, heard from God in his sleep, as the Scripture says, that he was not to touch her, because she was living with a husband. And Pharaoh too, an ungodly man, saw a dream about the plenty and the failure of the wheat, and Joseph, interpreting it, said that the dream had come from God. And Nebuchadnezzar, who worshiped idols and ordered those who worshiped God to be thrown into fire, sees a dream of the whole length of the age. And let no one say: ‘But none of the ungodly sees a vision while awake.’ That is false. For Nebuchadnezzar himself, having ordered three men to be thrown into fire, looked into the furnace and said of a fourth: ‘I see the fourth like a son of God.’ And yet, though they saw apparitions and visions and true dreams, they were ungodly. So it does not at all follow that one who sees visions and dreams and apparitions is godly. For in the godly person the truth wells up in his innate and pure mind—not striven for by a dream, but given to the good through understanding.”

“For in this way the Son was revealed to me by the Father. So I know what the power of revelation is, having learned it from my own case. For as soon as the Lord asked who people said he was, and I had heard others saying one thing and another about him, it came up into my heart—and I do not know how—and I said: ‘You are the Son of the living God.’ And he, calling me blessed, told me that it was the Father who had revealed it; and from then on I learned that to learn without being taught, without apparition and dreams, is revelation. And truly it is so. For in the soul placed in us by God all the truth is present as a seed; but it is covered and uncovered by the hand of God, who works knowing what each deserves. But for something to be made known from outside, through apparitions and dreams, is plainly a sign not of revelation but of wrath. Indeed it is written in the law that God, angry with Aaron and Miriam, said: ‘If a prophet arises from among you, I will make myself known to him through visions and dreams, but not so as to Moses my servant; for I will speak to him in plain appearance and not through dreams, as one speaks to his own friend.’ You see how the words of wrath come through visions and dreams, but those to a friend mouth to mouth, in plain appearance, and not through riddles and visions and dreams, as to an enemy.”

“If, then, our Jesus appeared to you too in a vision, made himself known, and spoke with you, it was as one angry with an adversary; that is why he spoke through visions and dreams, or through revelations that come from outside. But can anyone be made wise enough to teach through an apparition? And if you say, ‘It is possible,’ why did the teacher remain and converse for a whole year with people who were awake? And how shall we believe you even in this, that he appeared to you? And how did he appear to you, when you hold views contrary to his teaching? But if you became an apostle by being seen by him and taught for a single hour, proclaim his sayings, interpret his teachings, love his apostles, and do not fight with me, who was with him. For you have stood against me as an opponent—against me, the firm rock, the foundation of the church. If you were not an adversary, you would not be slandering me and reviling the preaching given through me, so that I may not be believed when I tell what I myself heard from the Lord when I was with him—as though, plainly, I were condemned and you approved. Or if you say that I am condemned, you are accusing God, who revealed the Christ to me, and you are attacking him who called me blessed because of that revelation. But if you truly wish to work together with the truth, first learn from us what we learned from him, and, having become a disciple of the truth, become our fellow worker.”

Hearing this, Simon said: “Far be it from me to become a disciple either of him or of you! For I am not ignorant of what one needs to know. What I asked as though I were learning, I asked in order to find out whether you can show that an apparition is less clear than direct sight. But you said what you pleased; you did not show it. And now, tomorrow I will come to you for the discussion about God, whom you insist is the Creator, and I will show that he is not the highest good; and I will prove that your teacher said the same things as I, and that you did not understand him.” Having said this he went out, not wishing to hear a reply to what he had put forward.