16 Montfaucon goes with tedious minuteness into the chronology of these sermons. The twentieth was delivered ten days before Easter, the twenty-first on Easter, after the retorn of Flavian from Rome with the Emperor's pardon. The first sermon was preached shortly before the sedition and has nothing to do with it, but is alluded to in the second. It is a temperance sermon, based on Paul's advice to Timothy, 1Tim. v.23, where he emphasizes the word "little" and the "often infirmities."
17 Neander (vol. I.) gives large extracts from these ascetic treatise, with many judicious and discriminating observations.
18 Socrates (VI. 5) says that some justified this habit by his delicate stomach and weak digestion, others attributed it to his rigid abstinence. His enemies construed it as pride, and based upon it a serious accusation.
19 Schaff, Church History, III. 698 sqq. 1.
20 According to the report of Socrates, VI. 18, and Sozomenus, VIII. 20. A homily which begins with this exordium: pa/lin 9Hrwdi/aj mai/netai , pa/lin tara/soetai , pa/lin o0rxei=tai ,pa/lin e,pi\ mi/naki th\n keqalh=n tou= 0Iwa/nnou chtei= labei=n (comp. Mark vi. 25), is unworthy of his pen and rejected as spurions by Tillemont, Savile and Moutfaucon. But it is quite probable that Chrysostom made some allusion to Eudoxia which might be construed by his enemies in that way. See Neander, II. 177 sq.
21 See Tom. iii. of the Bened. ed. (in Migne, III. 529 sqq.)
22 Comp. on Olympias the M*moirs of Tillemont, XI. 416-440; Stephens, l.c., 280, 367-373; and Venables in Smith & Wace,IV. 73-75. The letters to Olympias and Innocent are also published in Lomler's selection (pp. 165-252).
23 Doxca tw\ qew\ pa/ntwn e#neken.
24 See the frontispiece in the edition of Fronto Duc'us, and in the monograph of Stephens.
25 Luther's intense aversion to monkery, although he himself passed through its discipline, must be taken into account in his unfavorable judgments of Chrysostom, Jerome and other Fathers except St. Augustin, whom he esteemed very highly. Of Chrysostom be must have read very little, or he could not have called him a "rhetorician full of words and empty of matter." He spoke well, however, of Theodoret's commentaries on the Pauline Epistles, which is an indirect testimony in favor of Chrysostom's exegesis. See Schaff, Church Hist. vol. VI. 536.
26 o0cugra/foi, Socrates, VI. 5. The term occurs also in the Septuagint (Ps. xlv. 2) and tn Philo. The Byzantine writers use the verb o0cugra/fe/w , to write fast, and the noun o0cugra/fi/a, the art of writing fast.
27 The liturgical references in Chrysostom's works are carefully collected by Bingham, in Bk. XV. of his Antiquities. Comp. Stephens, P.419 sqq.
28 Allegorical interpretation makes the writer say something else than what he meant, a#llo me\n a,goreu/ei, a!llo de /oe=i.
29 On the school of Antioch, see Schaff, Church Hist. II. 816-818 ; III.612, 707, 937; Neander, Chrysost. I.35 sqq.; Forster, Chrysostomus in seinem Verh,,ltniss zur Antioch. Schule (1869); Reuss, Geschichte des N. T., 6th ed. (1887), secs. 320,518,521; Farrar, History opf Interpretation (1886), pp.210 sqq. Reuss pays this tribute to Chrysostom (p.593): "The Christian people of ancient times never enjoyed richer instruction out of the Bible than from the golden mouth of a genuine and thoroughly equipped biblical preacher." Farrar calls Chrysostom "the ablest of Christian homilists and one of the best Christian men," and "the bright consummate flower of the school ol Antioch."
1 [That is events which occurred at Antioch during St. Chrysostom's sojourn in that city -ED.]
2 [And the Goths who were threatening the Danubian frontier.-Ed.]
3 [These low foreign adventurers were sometimes hired by actors to get up applause in the theatre, or by men of rank, not overpopular, to raise a cheer when they appeared in public.-ED.]
4 See Hors. XXI., where St. Chrysostom speaks of him as especially pained at this.
5 i. e., so far as the inference is concerned. His testimony is explicit to the fact that the tax was levied for that purpose, and he was on the spot.
6 See the opening of the oration of Libanius, written as if to be delivered by him there, and Hom. XVII. 6, and Hom. XXI. (2).
7 [See also Life of St. John Chrysostom, chapter xi. by Stephens, where the sedition at Antioch is described, and a summary of the Homilies on the Statues is given.-Ed.]
8 Pascha is either Passover or Easter. St. Thos. Aquinas, in the Hymn Lauda Sion, appropriates it to the Christian Festival, calling the Jewish Phase vetus.
9 i. e., the actual days of them on the Jewish computation. This appears the true answer to the difficulty. The Jews kept the Passover this year earlier than the Christians viz. on the 14th day of the moon, or April 18. See l'Art de Verifier les Dates on the year. Thus the supposed difficulty becomes a confirmation of the date otherwise determined. Montfaucon understood it, "we must * if we follow the Judaizers." Tillemont is at a loss to explain the title of Homily III. against the Jews. Against those who would fast the first Passover It may mean either the originall, or that which then happened to be the earlier. The word fast is explained by taking it as their expression for keep. He thinks it necessary to tell them that the true Passover is not fasting, but the Holy Communion. Ben. t. i. p. 611, b. And this agrees with what he says is the common case, viz. that the Christian Easter is so much later, as is required to complete the week.
10 The second before Easter. It has lately become common to call the week immediately before Easter "Passion Week," but this name belongs to the week before it. The proper title of the last is the "Great" or "Holy" Week.
11 Feriam sextam Quadragesima. This looks like a reprint, as he is more definite.
12 As now in the Greek church. The Latins do not count the week in which Ash-Wednesday is, as not being a whole one.
13 It has been shewn, in a former note, that there is no reason for this doubt.
14 "accepi," it should be, as in Text, "exegi," "I demanded."
15 Lat. has only "the day before yesterday."
16 This must be a slip of the pen. [The sentences have clearly got transposed, and we should read "not only good when He confers favours, but also when He chastises."-ED.]
17 Both arguments may stand, as the common use of <\i>\prw=|<\|i>\ is undoubted.
18 By using the word <\i>\prw=|<\|i>\ . But this may be in anticipation of his reference to Hom. VII. But if this Homily were delivered on Monday, the first day of strict fasting, the scruples of the congregation would be accounted for. No difficulty remains but the use of <\i>\prw=|<\|i>\, in Hom. X., against which is <\i>\e0piou=san<\|i>\. Placing the trials, and Hom. XI.-XVIII. a week later throughout, seems less consistent.
19 See note at the beginning of that Homily and the preceding; it is almost certain from the whole character of Hom. XVII. that it was not delivered immediately after the events referred to. Probably many had returned, whom St. Chrysostom wished to inform of the events during their absence.
20 See Sir H. Nicolas, Chron. of History, p. 117. Gloss. of Dates, art. Hebdomad' Gr'c', observes, that the Greeks named the weeks as beginning on Monday, and taking in Sunday at the end. Still they count Monday the second day, etc. Thus the first Sunday would be the same as with the Latins, but the first week earlier. It seems probable that this was a week earlier than here stated, see Hom. XVIII.
21 And dependent on the erroneous notions, that Hom. XVII. was delivered immediately on the arrival of the commissioners.
22 It may be that, or the first in Lent, considered as the last on which he had preached.
24 He may exclude the <\i>\turoqa/goj<\|i>\, or cheese-week, as not one of the strictcst fasting. This appears to have been the case from Homily XVIII., which cannot well be placed anywhere but on the fourth Sunday, and which says that half the fast is over.
25 This is chiefly a reprint of this preface. Here nothing better is suggested than the supposition of a mistake in transcribing. The difficulty arises from the mistaken notion, that it was before the trials, whereas it was probably delivered a little before the return of a messenger from C'sarius. See Tabular View.
27 The Life adds, The rank of metropolis was transferred from Antioch to Laodicea, according to Theordoret, i. 5, c. 10.
28 In the Life, and in Pref. to vol.4, it is proved from Hom. I. de Ann_, that this Homily was actually delivered on that day. This being so, Flavian would be the "Leader" of the Festival.
30 So called, because situated in the more ancient part of the city of Antioch, near the river Orontes. It was also called the Apostolic Church, as being that founded by the Apostles.
This Homily was spoken a little before the breaking out of the sedition. It has, however, always been classed with the rest because alluded to in tho next Homily.
32 Gr., "unto your love," a title by which St. Chrysostom addresses his hearers as we say, "Your Grace," "Your Majesty."
33 The operation of roasting ore, in the Cornish mines, consists in placing it in a comminuted state in a furnace of a particular construction, where it is subjected to a strong heat, but not so strong as to smelt it; by which the arsenic, sulphur, and other impurities, are carried off in the form of vapor, leaving the heavier metallic substance behind.-Tr.