CONVERSATION 9

On the following words, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness," and against those who say, "What are the beasts made for, and what is the use of making them"; also that from this the honor bestowed upon man and the ineffable love of God for mankind are especially revealed.

Lent is the most convenient time to delve into the truths of the Divine Scriptures. — A brief recapitulation of the preceding discourses and the solution of perplexity regarding the power of man over animals. — The likeness of God and the possibility for man to achieve this. "As a consequence of which man is then deprived of a certain part of his power over animals, and for what purpose?" — The wisdom and goodness revealed in the fate of the primordial, as well as of each of the people, are God's, and the beneficial influence of contemplation of this on the moral life of man.

1. Industrious farmers, as soon as they see that the land is rich and fertile, throw abundant seeds into it, apply great and constant diligence to it, and see every day that nothing harmful to the seeds appears and turns into nothing the labor they have undertaken. In the same way, seeing your spiritual disposition and great zeal for listening, we try every day to sow in your minds thoughts from the Divine Scriptures, showing you also what can harm this spiritual sowing, so that you will not be carried away, and the sound teaching of dogmas will not be distorted by the pernicious teaching of those who dare to introduce their own thoughts into the dogmas of the Church. It will be your business to carefully preserve what has been entrusted to you and keep it firmly in your memory, so that you can easily follow the future. And if we also do not descend to the greatest depth of thought (of the Scriptures), and you do not strain your minds now, when the time of fasting, when our limbs are easy to swim, and the eye of the mind is sharper, not darkened by the evil influence of voluptuousness, and the spirit is more capable of not losing cheerfulness, then when will we be able to do this? Is it then, when the time of amusement comes, and drunkenness, and gluttony, and the vices that they engender? Do you not see that those who wish to find (precious) stones in the sea seek them, not sitting on the shore and counting the waves, but descend into the very depths and descend, so to speak, into the very depths of the abyss, and thus find what they seek? Meanwhile, what important benefit does finding such stones bring to our lives? It would be good if it did not cause important damage and great harm! For from this, from mad love and addiction to money, innumerable evils are born. And yet, in spite of such harm from them, those who love them are not weary of anything, but expose themselves to great dangers, undertake hard labors, just to find what they seek. And as for the divine Scriptures, these spiritual and precious stones, there is no danger to be suspected, and the labor is not great, and the benefit is unspeakable, if only we diligently do what is required of us. Grace (of God) is ready, and seeks someone who would receive it with diligence. Such is our Lord: when He sees a cheerful soul and a burning desire, then, in His generosity, He bestows His riches abundantly, above supplication.

2. Knowing this, beloved, purify your mind from the affairs of this world, and, having broadened the horizons of your mind, receive with great diligence what has been given by the Spirit, so that you, like a rich and fruitful land, may multiply what you have sown and bring forth fruit, some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty. Ye have heard in the days before of the ineffable wisdom of Him Who created all things visible, and how He brought about all things with one word and will; He said, "Let it be," and "It is so," and immediately all the elements appeared; the word was sufficient for the production of things, not because it was the word in general, but because it was the word of God. Remember that at that time (the word) was directed against those who say that what exists came from ready-made matter, and who introduce their idle talk into the dogmas of the Church. You have learned why He created the heavens perfect, and the earth ugly and formless. At that time we proved two reasons: one was that, having come to know the power of the Lord in the better element, we should not be shaken by the thought that this was due to a lack of power; and the other is that the earth is our mother and nourisher, from which we receive food and everything else, to it and return again; It is both our homeland and our grave. And so, in order that such a necessary benefit may not dispose us to think highly of it, God first makes it ugly, so that from the very works we may learn to attribute all that has been said before, not to the nature of the earth, but to the power of the Creator. You have also learned how He divided the waters, commanding this visible firmament to appear; they saw how animate animals appeared both from the waters and from the earth. I am now compelled to remember and repeat this to your love, not in vain, but in order that those who heard (the previous discourses) might have the opportunity to impress them still more firmly on their minds, and those who were not then sufficiently instructed and would not suffer any harm because they were not. And the child-loving father saves the remnants of the meal for the absent children, so that when they come, they will find in the preservation of these remnants the consolation of their absence. Wherefore we, too, taking care of all those who gather here as our members, and considering your prosperity to be a praise unto us, desire that all of you may appear perfect to the glory of God, to the praise of the Church, and to our honor. And if it is not painful for you, here we will briefly remind your love of what was said yesterday. You have seen the difference between the creation of (other) creatures and the education of man; we have heard what honor (God) has bestowed upon our ancestor, and how, in creating him, He pointed out the dignity of what is created by the very words and expressiveness of speech, saying: "Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness." You have learned what is meant by "in the image," i.e., that it does not mean the dignity of nature, but the likeness of dominion, and that the word "image" is not attributed by God to the species (of the outward man), but to dominion; Wherefore he added: "And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."

3. But here the Greeks rise up against us and say that this word is not true, because we do not possess the beasts, as (the word) promises, but they possess you. This, however, is completely unfair. Wherever a man appears, the beasts immediately turn to flight. And if sometimes, when they are hungry or irritated, we happen to suffer harm from them, this is no longer because they have power over us, but because of our guilt. Thus, if even when robbers attack us, we do not remain idle, but arm ourselves, this does not mean our power over them, but concern for our salvation. But let us hear, in the meantime, what has been said. "Let us make," says God, "man in our image, after our likeness." Just as He called the image of dominion, so it is "likeness" that we, as far as is possible for man, should become like God in meekness, humility, and virtue in general, according to the word of Christ: "Ye shall be children of your Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 5:45). As in this vast and vast land some animals are more meek, others more ferocious, so in your soul some thoughts are foolish and bestial, others are brutal and savage; they must be conquered, overcome, and subjugated to the power of reason. But how, you say, can one overcome a brutal thought? What do you say, man? We conquer the lions and pacify their souls, and you doubt whether it is possible for you to change your bestial thoughts to a gentle one? Meanwhile, in the beast, cruelty is by nature, and meekness is against nature; but in you, on the contrary, meekness is by nature, and brutality and cruelty are against nature. Are you, then, who destroy in the beast that which is in it by nature, and impart to it that which is contrary to nature, not yourself able to observe that which is in you by nature? What condemnation this deserves! But what is even more surprising and strange: in the nature of lions, in addition to this, there are other uncomfortable properties. These beasts have no intelligence, and yet we often see meek lions being led through the squares. And many of those who sit in the shops give the owner (the lion) money as a reward for the skill and skill with which he tamed the beast. And in your soul there is reason, and the fear of God, and various aids: so do not present excuses and excuses. You can, if you wish, be meek, quiet and submissive. "Let us make," it is said, "man in our image, after our likeness."

4. But let us return to the subject question. From what has been said, it is clear that man in the beginning had complete power over the animals, since it is said: "Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." And that now we are afraid and frightened of the beasts, and have no power over them, I do not deny; only this does not make God's promises false. At first it was not so, but the beasts were afraid and trembled, and they obeyed their master. When he lost his boldness through disobedience, then his power also diminished. That all animals were subject to man, listen to how the Scripture says: "He brought to man (Adam) (beasts and all the dumb ones), that he might see what he would call them" (Gen. 2:19). And he, seeing the beasts near him, did not run away, but as a master gives names to his servants, so he gave names to all the animals. "And that as man (Adam) shall call every living creature, so shall his name be" – this is already a sign of authority. Wherefore God, desiring and thereby showing him the dignity of his power, commissioned him to give names to the animals. This, then, would be enough to prove that the beasts were not feared by man in the beginning. But there is another proof, no less powerful and even clearer. What is it? Conversation of the serpent with his wife. If the beasts were frightening to man, then when the woman saw the serpent, she would not stop, would not take advice, would not speak to him with such fearlessness, but would immediately be horrified at the sight of him and depart. But she is talking, and is not afraid; There was no fear then. When sin entered, both honor and power were taken away. And just as among slaves the most serviceable are feared by their comrades, and the defective are afraid of their comrades, so it is with man. As long as he had boldness before God, until then he was feared even by the beasts; and when he fell, he himself began to fear even the last of his fellow servants. But if you do not accept our words, then prove to me that the beasts were terrible to man before the fall. But you can't prove it. And if this fear subsequently appeared, then this also serves as the most important proof of God's love for mankind. If, even after a man transgressed the commandment, the honor bestowed upon him remained inviolable, it would not be easy for him to rise from the fall. When disobedient people enjoy the same honor as obedient people, then they are more likely to become accustomed to evil and do not easily lag behind it. If even now, when there is fear, punishment, and torment, people do not preserve their wisdom, then what would they be if they did not suffer any grave consequences for their crimes? This means that God has taken away our power according to His care and providence for us.

5. And you, beloved, also see in this the ineffable love of God for mankind, that Adam completely violated the commandment and transgressed the law, and God, who loves mankind and conquers our sins by goodness, did not take away (from him) all honor (from him) and did not completely deprive him of dominion, but only those animals that were not particularly useful to him for life, and those who are necessary and useful and contribute much to our well-being, left in subjection and obedience. Thus He left the herds of oxen, that we might drag the plough, plough the earth, and sow seed; He also forsook the species of the enraged, that they might help us in our labors in bearing burdens; He left the flocks of sheep, that we might have sufficient means of clothing; He also left other kinds of animals, which are of great benefit to us. Since He, determining the punishment for disobedience to man, said: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread" (Gen. 3:19), so that this toil and sweat would not be unbearable, (God) eased its burden and burdensomeness with a multitude of dumb ones who help us in our work and work. He acted exactly like the merciful and caring master who, after punishing his slave, applies medicine to the wounds. In the same way, God, having punished the sinner, wants to alleviate this punishment in every possible way: He condemned us to constant labor and sweat, but in order to ease the work He gave us a multitude of dumb people. This means that the fact that He gave honor, and the fact that He again took it away from us, and the fact that He brought fear of the beasts upon us, and all the rest, if only carefully and conscientiously considered, testifies to the great wisdom, to the great solicitude, to the great love of God. Let us thank Him for all this and let us be grateful to Him Who has so blessed us. He does not require of us anything heavy and difficult, but only that we confess such good deeds of His and give thanks to Him for them, not because He needs them — He has need of nothing — but that we may thereby learn to attract the Giver of good things to ourselves and not be ungrateful but they showed virtue worthy of His blessings and His care for us. By this we will dispose Him to take even greater care of us. I urge you, let us not be careless, but let each one of you every hour, if possible, reflect not only on the general blessings, but also on the special ones that have been shown to him (by God), not only about those known and revealed to all, but also about those known to him alone and unknown to others: through this he will be able to offer unceasing thanksgiving to the Lord. This is the greatest sacrifice, this is the perfect offering; this will be for us the basis of boldness before God, in what way, I will explain. Whoever constantly keeps this in his mind, fully aware of his insignificance, and on the other hand thinking of God's ineffable and immeasurable love for mankind, of how He arranges our affairs, looking not at what our sins deserve, but at His goodness, moderates his mind, crushes his thoughts, tames all pride and arrogance, learns to behave modestly, to despise the glory of the present life, not to value everything visible, to think about future blessings, about immortal and infinite life. Whoever disposes the soul in this way offers God a true and pleasant sacrifice, as the prophet says: "Sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; Thou shalt not despise a contrite and humble heart, O God" (Psalm 50:19). Well-meaning slaves are corrected not so much by punishment and torment, as by good deeds and the consciousness that they have suffered a lesser punishment than they deserved for their sins.

6. And so, I pray, let us crush our spirits, let us humble our minds, and especially now, when the time of fasting gives us a great help in this. If we put ourselves in such a disposition, then we will be able to pray with great cheerfulness, and to obtain great grace from above by confessing our sins. And in order to be convinced that such souls are pleasing to the Lord, listen to how He Himself says: "On whom will I look: on him who is humble and contrite in spirit, and on him who trembles at My word" (Isaiah 66:2). That is why Christ, speaking (to His disciples), said: "Learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matt. 11:29). Whoever truly humbles himself will never allow himself to be irritated, will never become angry with his neighbor, because his soul is humbled and occupied with what concerns itself. What can be more blessed than a soul so attuned! Such a person always sits in the harbor, safe from any storm and enjoying the silence of thoughts. That is why Christ said: "And you will find rest for your souls."

Therefore, one must be awake, sober, and have unceasing and vigilant care for the salvation of the soul. A Christian should always fight against the passions of the flesh, vividly remember the commandments given to us by the Lord in common, guard against them and make proper use of His great patience towards us, not wait for what will be accomplished by the deed itself, and then humble himself, so that it would not be said of us: "When He killed them, they sought Him" (Psalm 77:34). And so, beloved, having for ourselves a helper in the present time of fasting, let us all hasten to the confession of sins, let us shun all evil and do every virtue. This is what the blessed prophet teaches David, saying: "Turn away from evil, and do good" (Psalm 36:27). If we arrange ourselves in this way, and combine abstinence from evil with abstinence from food, then we will receive greater boldness and be vouchsafed the most abundant mercies from God, both in this life and on that terrible day, through the prayers and intercession of those who pleased Him, through the grace and love of mankind of our Lord Jesus Christ, with Whom to the Father, with the Holy Spirit, be glory, dominion, honor, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

DISCOURSE 10

An exhortation to those who are ashamed to come to the evening service after dinner, and a continuation of the explanation on the words: "Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness"; also the explanation of the words: "God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female He created them" (Gen. 1:27).