Do you not shudder when you hear this? Let us see if the lovers of money do not suffer more severely. Truly, their guardian is also more cruel, i.e. the love of money, the more cruel because together with the body he binds their soul; and their darkness is more terrible than that darkness, because it is not sensual, but is hidden within, and wherever they go, they carry it with them everywhere, because their spiritual eye is darkened. That is why Christ, expressing their extreme misery, says: "For if the light that is in you is darkness, what kind of darkness is it?" (Matthew 6:23). They have at least the light of the lampada; but these (lovers of money) are deprived of even such light, and therefore daily fall into thousands of abysses. Moreover, the condemned calm down at nightfall, reaching the rest common to all the unfortunates, i.e. night; and for the lovers of money this harbor is barred by covetousness; they are burdened with heavy cares at night, and with all diligence they exhaust themselves, without any external compulsion. It's happening to them here; And what is there, what word can express? There are unbearable furnaces, fiery rivers, gnashing teeth, insoluble bonds, poisonous worms, impenetrable darkness, endless torment. Let us be afraid, beloved, let us fear the source of such torments, the insatiable passion, the destruction of our salvation. It is impossible to love both silver and soul together. Let us know that money is earth and ashes, that it will leave us when we depart from here, or, better, often leave us even before our departure, causing us harm both in the future and in the present life. Even before Gehenna and the torments there, they stir up thousands of strife, produce discord and strife among us and here. In fact, nothing causes such a battle as the love of money; nothing causes poverty more than it, whether it is for the rich or for the poor, because this grievous disease is born in the souls of the poor, and increases their poverty. If the poor man turns out to be covetous, then he will be tormented not by money, but by hunger; he will not quietly use his small possessions, but will exhaust his stomach with hunger, exhaust his whole body with nakedness and cold, appear everywhere more untidy and filthy than prisoners, constantly weep and weep, as if he were the most miserable of all, although there are thousands poorer than he; if he goes to the marketplace, he will return from there with many wounds; whether he goes to the bathhouse or to the spectacle, he will receive even more wounds, not only from the spectators, but also from those acting on the stage, seeing many dissolute women shining with gold; if he sails on the sea, seeing merchants there again, ships laden with a multitude of goods, and innumerable benefits, he will hate his own life; if he goes by land, seeing the fields, dachas, hotels, baths, and imagining the income received from them, he will honor his life not with his life; if he is imprisoned at home, and there, aggravated by the wounds received in the market, he will be tormented by the soul, so that for him there remains only consolation from the sufferings that oppress him – death and the cessation of life. Not only the poor, but also the rich who have fallen into this disease can be subjected to the same thing, and all the more so in comparison with the poor, the stronger the passion in him and the greater the blindness; he will consider himself the poorest of all, and indeed he is the poorest of all. It is not by the measure of possessions, but by the disposition of the soul that riches and poverty must be judged; The poorest of all is the one who always desires more and can never stop his evil desire. And so, let us flee from the love of money, this author of poverty, the destroyer of the soul, the friend of hell, the enemy of the kingdom of heaven, the source of all evil in general; let us despise possessions, that we may make better use of possessions, and together with possessions we may receive the blessings promised to us, which may we all be vouchsafed (by 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.

[1] In Synod. These words are omitted

CONVERSATION 24

"Ye have come upon no other temptation than that of men; and God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but when you are tempted he will also give you relief, so that you may be able to endure" (1 Corinthians 10:13).

1. (The Apostle) sufficiently aroused fear in them (the Corinthians) by pointing to ancient examples and apprehension with the words: "Whosoever thinks that he stands, take heed lest he fall" (v. 12): but since they had already endured many temptations and were often subjected to them: "I was with you," he says, "in weakness, and in fear, and in great trembling" (2:3), lest they should say: "Why dost thou frighten us and warn us? We are not ignorant of calamities, we have been persecuted and persecuted, we have been subjected to manifold and frequent dangers" – he again humbles their pride and says: "No other temptation has befallen you than that of man," i.e. small, brief, moderate. He uses the human instead of the small, as for example in the words: "I speak according to the reasoning of men, because of the weakness of your flesh" (Romans 6:19). Do not be arrogant, he says, as if you have withstood the storm; you have not yet seen the danger that threatens death, and the temptation that can destroy. He says the same to the Jews: "Ye have not yet fought unto blood, fighting against sin" (Hebrews 12:4). Having frightened and inspired humility, then see how he again encourages them: "And God is faithful," he says, "who will not suffer you to be tempted beyond what you are able to do." This means that there are temptations that cannot be endured. What are they? We can say everything, because the ability to endure them depends on God's help, which we acquire through our own disposition. Therefore, in order that you may be fully convinced that not only (temptations) that exceed our strength, but also human ones, we cannot endure without help from above, he adds: "But in temptation he will also give relief, so that you may be able to endure." Even moderate (temptations) we cannot, as I have said, endure by our own strength, but even in this case we have need of help (of God) in order to overcome them, and before we overcome them, to endure them. God gives both patience and speedy deliverance, so that temptation becomes bearable. This is what the Apostle means when he says: "He will also give relief, so that they may be able to endure"; he ascribes everything to Him. "Therefore, my brethren, flee from idolatry" (v. 14). Again he expresses his affection for them, calling them by their kindred name, and urges them to abandon sin as soon as possible; He did not simply say, "Leave it alone," but, "Run; and he calls the work idolatry, so that they should abandon it, not only because it causes harm to their neighbor, but also because it is in itself very disastrous. "I say unto you as prudent; judge for yourselves what I say" (v. 15). Since he has said many things and intensified the reproof, calling it idolatry, so that it may not seem that he speaks to them too harshly and reproachfully, he commits it to their judgment, and after praising them, he makes them judges: "I say to you," he says, "as prudent." One must be absolutely sure of one's own rightness in order to appoint the accused himself as a judge of the case. This also greatly encourages the hearers, when someone converses with them, not as a ruler or a lawgiver, but as a counsellor awaiting their own judgment. With the Jews, who were foolish and childishly feeble-minded, God did not converse in this way, nor did He reveal to them everywhere the reasons for the commandments, but only commanded; But here, since we are vouchsafed great freedom and are able to participate in the council, (the Apostle) converses as with friends, and says: I do not require other judges, you yourselves pronounce this judgment, I take you as judges. "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a communion of the blood of Christ?" (v. 16). What say thou, blessed Paul? Do you wish to shame the listener and remind him of the terrible mysteries, but do you call this terrible and formidable chalice the chalice of the 6lagoslovo? Yes, he says, what has been said is not unimportant; when I say: blessing, I remember all the treasure of God's blessings and great gifts. Truly, approaching the chalice and communing, we remember the unspeakable blessings of God and all that we have received, and we thank that He has delivered the human race from error, that He has brought closer those who were far away, that He has made those who had no hope and atheists in the world His brethren and co-heirs. For this and all the like we thank Him, and thus we come on. And you, Corinthians, says, do you not do the opposite, when, blessing God that He has delivered you from idols, you again resort to their meals? "Is not the cup of blessing which we bless, a communion of the Blood of Christ?" and the meaning of his words is this: "That which is in the cup is that which proceeded from the side of the Lord: of this we partake." He called it the cup of blessing because we, holding it in our hands, glorify Him, marvel and marvel at the ineffable gift, blessing that He poured it out to deliver us from error, and not only shed it, but also gave it to all of us. Therefore, he says, if you desire blood, do not make the altar of idols scarlet with the shedding of dumb blood, but My altar with my blood. What, tell me, is more terrible than this? What is more loving?

2. This is what lovers do: when they see that those who love them desire what is not their own, and are alien to their own, they give them what is theirs, in order to distract them from what is not theirs. However, lovers show such generosity in money, in clothes, in possessions, but in blood no one ever does; but Christ also proved His solicitude and ardent love for us. In the Old Testament, when people were imperfect, He was pleased to receive the same blood that (the pagans) brought to idols, in order to turn away from idols, which also proved His ineffable love; and now He gave a more terrible and perfect sacred action, changing the sacrifice, commanding that instead of slaughtering the dumb they should offer Himself Himself. "The bread which we break, is not the communion of the Body of Christ?" Because he wanted to express something more, to show a great unity. By communing we not only become partakers and accomplices, but we are united with Christ. As the body (of Christ) is united to Christ, so we are united to Him through this bread. And why did He add: "Which we break"? Because this is done in the Eucharist; but this was not the case on the cross, but there was even the opposite: "A bone," says the Scriptures, "let it not be broken" (John 19:36). What He did not endure on the cross, He endures in an offering for you, and He causes Himself to be broken, that He may fulfill all. Further, he said: "communion of the Body": since the communicant is different from that which he partakes, he also destroys this apparently small difference. Namely, having said: "communion of the Body," he wants to express an even closer closeness and says: "There is one bread, and we many are one body" (1 Corinthians 10:17). What do I say: communion? – he continues, – we constitute His very Body. What is this bread? The Body of Christ. What do those who partake of Communion do? The Body of Christ, not many bodies, but one body. As bread, being composed of many grains, becomes one, so that although there are grains in it, they are not visible, and their difference is imperceptible because of their union, so we are united to one another and to Christ. We do not feed on one and another on another, but all on one and the same body. That is why he adds: "For we all partake of the one bread." But if we are nourished by one and all become one, why do we not show the same love, why do we not become one in this respect as well? In ancient times it was precisely so among our ancestors: "And the multitude of those who believed," says (the Scriptures), "had one heart and one soul" (Acts 4:32). And now it is not so, but quite the opposite: among all there are many different kinds of strife: we, the members, are disposed to each other worse than wild beasts. Christ has united you to Himself, who have separated yourself from Him so much; but you do not even want to be properly united with your brother, but you separate yourself from him, having been vouchsafed such love and life from the Lord. He did not merely give His body, but instead of the former flesh, which, by its nature proceeding from the earth, was mortified by sin and deprived of life, He brought, so to speak, another composition and another leaven, His flesh, which, although by nature the same, is alien to sin and full of life, and He gave it to all, so that, feeding on it and laying aside the former dead (flesh), We have prepared ourselves by means of this table for immortal life. "Look unto Israel according to the flesh: are they that eat the sacrifices, are they not partakers of the altar?" (1 Corinthians 10:18). And this is proved again from the Old Testament. And since the greatness of what was said far exceeded their conceptions, he convinces them by former and ordinary examples. And he says well, "According to the flesh," because they are according to the Spirit. And the meaning of his words is this: Learn from the crudest (examples) that those who eat of the sacrifices become partakers of the sacrifice. Do you see how he proves that those who are supposed to be perfect do not have perfect knowledge, if they do not even know that from such intercourse many people have a certain friendship with the demons, when they gradually acquire the habit of doing so? If for people the communion of salt and meals is an occasion and a sign of friendship, then the same can be true in relation to demons. Notice how he did not say of the Jews that they were partakers of God, but, "partakers of the altar," because what was offered was burned; but not so about the body of Christ, but how? The communion of the Lord's body exists, because we become partakers not of the altar, but of Christ Himself. Having said, "Partakers of the altar," and fearing that no one should think that he is speaking of idols, as if they had some power and could do harm, see how he further rejects this idea and says: "What then do I say? Is it that an idol is something, or that sacrificed to idols means something?" (v. 19).

3. I say this, he continues, and I turn you away from idols, not because they can do any harm or have any power; they are nothing; but I want you to despise them. But if he wants us to despise them, why does he turn us away from them with such effort? Because (their sacrifices) are not offered to your Lord. "But that the Gentiles, when they offer sacrifices," he says, "offer to demons, and not to God" (v. 20). Do not turn to that which is repugnant (to God). If you were a king's son, and while participating in your father's meal, you wanted to leave it and take part in the meal of criminals and prison prisoners, would your father allow it? On the contrary, he would strictly forbid it, not because this table could harm you, but because it dishonors your nobility and the royal table. In the same way, these (those who sacrifice to idols) are base slaves, criminal and condemned prisoners, kept for severe punishment and worthy of a thousand punishments. How is it that you are not ashamed, like glutton and slaves, to seek the table offered by these criminals, and to participate in what is offered? That's why I'm turning you away from it! The purpose of the sacrificers and the quality of the receivers make what is offered unclean. "But I don't want you to have fellowship with devils." Do you see the love of a caring father? Do you see how his very words express great benevolence? I do not want, he says, that you should have any fellowship with them (unbelievers). And since he spoke in the form of advice, so that one of the most stubborn should not disobey and consider himself entitled (not to do this), after the words: "But I will not: judge for yourselves," he then pronounces a decisive decision and says: "You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; ye cannot be partakers of the table of the Lord, nor of the table of devils" (v. 21). These expressions alone are sufficient for admonition. Then he says reproachfully: "Will we [dare to] provoke the Lord to anger? Are we stronger than Him?" (v. 22). That is, do we dare to tempt Him, can He punish us, and provoke Him, going over to the side of His adversaries and standing alongside His enemies? Here he reminds us of the events of the Old Testament and the iniquities of the ancestors; therefore he also uses the same expression that Moses once used, denouncing the Jews in idolatry on behalf of God: "They," he said, "did not provoke Me to anger with God, but grieved Me with their vain things" (Deuteronomy 32:21). Do you see how strongly, how terribly he strikes them, shaking their very nerves, reducing their judgments to absurdity, and thus bringing down their pride? But why, you will say, did he not say this at the beginning, in order to reject them more quickly? Such is his custom: to confirm his teaching with many arguments, believing the strongest at the end, and thus to conquer perfectly. Thus (here) too, beginning with the lesser, he came to the most important; the latter could be accepted much more quickly after the soul of the hearers had been softened by the former arguments. "All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable; all things are lawful to me, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own, but each one for another" (1 Corinthians 10:23-24). Do you see his great wisdom? Since one of them could say: I am perfect, I have power over myself, I eat what is offered without harm to myself, he says: Let us suppose that you are perfect and have power over yourself; but do not look at this, but at whether your behavior does not cause any harm or any disorder. Both he expressed in the words: "Not all things are profitable, not all things edify," meaning the first about himself, and the second about his brother; The expression "not profitable" indicates his own destruction, and "does not edify" indicates the temptation of his brother. Wherefore he adds, "Let no man seek his own." This he reveals throughout the Epistle, as well as in the Epistle to the Romans, when he says: "For even Christ did not please Himself" (Romans 15:3); and again: "In the same way as I also please all in all things, seeking not my own benefit" (1 Corinthians 10:33). Nor does he elaborate on this here. Above he proved and proved at length that he never sought his own benefit, was for the Jews as a Jew, for those who had no law, as without law, he did not simply use his very freedom and power, but (sought) the benefit of all, serving all; wherefore here he is content with a few words, and ceases to speak, reminding them with these few words of all that has been said before. Knowing this, beloved, let us also take care of the brethren and observe unity with them. That great, terrible, and terrible Sacrifice urges us to do this, commanding us to approach it with perfect unanimity and ardent love, to take wings like eagles, and thus soar to heaven itself. "For where the carcass is," says the Lord, "there will the eagles be gathered" (Matt. 24:28). He calls the dead Body a corpse, because if He had not died, we would not have been resurrected; and He calls those who approach this Body eagles, and inspires them that they must be exalted, have nothing to do with the earth, not remain in the valley, and not grovel, but constantly fly up to the mountain, strive to the Sun of righteousness, and have a sharp eye of the soul. After all, this is a meal of eagles, not jackdaws. Those who worthily partake of Communion now will then meet (the Lord) coming from heaven; but (those who partake of Communion) will be unworthily subjected to destruction.

4. If no one accepts just a king, why do I say, a king? – if no one simply dares to touch the king's garment with unclean hands, even in a secret place, even in private, even if there is no one else, while the garment is nothing but the fabric of worms, and the dye with which you marvel is the blood of a dead fish, and yet no one dares to take it with unclean hands; If, I say, no one dares to touch human clothing simply, then how can we dare to receive with disrespect the Body of all God, the Body immaculate, pure, united to the divine nature, by which we exist and live, by which the gates of death are broken and the vaults of heaven are opened? No, I beseech you, let us not destroy ourselves with shamelessness, but let us approach Him with trembling and with all purity. When you see Him offered, then say to yourself: through this Body I am no longer earth and ashes, no longer a prisoner, but free; through it I hope to reach heaven and the blessings prepared there – immortal life, the lot of angels, union with Christ; death did not stand when this Body was nailed and wounded; the sun hid its rays, seeing this Body crucified; at that time the veil was torn, the stones were torn asunder, the whole earth was shaken; it is the same Body that was bloodied, pierced with a spear, and poured out the salvific fountains of blood and water to the whole universe. Do you still want to see his power? Ask the bleeding woman who did not touch it, but the garment in which it was clothed, and not even the whole garment, but the edge of it; ask the sea that carried him on its back; Ask the devil himself and say to him: Where did you get your incurable wound? "Why do you no longer have any power?" "How did you get captured?" – By whom are you restrained, when you gave yourself up to flight? – and he will point you to nothing else but the Body crucified. By him his sting has been blunted, by him his head has been broken, by him his principalities and powers have been put to shame: he has stripped away principalities and powers, thou hast brought them to shame with boldness, overcoming them in thyself (Col. 2:15). Ask also death, and say, With what hath thy sting been destroyed? - What ruined your victory? "What is your strength crushed by?" "Why hast thou become the laughingstock of maidens and youths, when before thou wast feared by all rulers, and even by the righteous?" – and it will point to the same Body. When it was crucified, then the dead arose, then that prison was destroyed, the brazen gates were broken, and the dead were raised, and all the guards of hell were terrified. If it were one of many, then the opposite would have to happen: death would prevail; but it did not happen, because it was not one of many; therefore it (death) was conquered. As those who partake of food which they cannot keep within themselves, cast out with it also that which they had taken before, so it was with death: having taken on a body which it could not crush, it also threw out that which it had in itself; having received him, she experienced the pains of childbirth and was tormented until she brought him back. That is why the Apostle says: "Having broken the bonds[1] of death" (Acts 2:24). Not a single woman who gives birth to a child suffers as she was tormented and tormented, having received the Body of the Lord into herself. What happened to the Babylonian serpent, which, having eaten its own food, was torn to pieces (Dan. 14:27), so it is with it. Christ did not come back through the mouth of death, but having torn open and torn to pieces the very belly of this serpent, He thus came out of its intestines with great glory, shedding rays not only to heaven, but to the very throne on high, where He carried His Body with Him. This Body He gave us to possess and eat, by which He showed us strong love; After all, whom we love very much, we often remorse. Thus Job, expressing the love of his servants for him, said that they often said out of great love for him: "Who would let us be satisfied with his flesh" (Job 31:31)? In the same way, Christ gave us to be satisfied with His flesh, in order to arouse in us a strong love.

5. Let us, therefore, approach it with ardent love, so that we may not be punished, for the more we are favored, the more we will be punished if we prove unworthy of beneficence. This body was honored by the Magi when it lay in a manger. People who did not know the true God and foreigners, leaving home and homeland, undertook a long journey, and when they came, they bowed down to him with great fear and trembling. Let us, the citizens of heaven, at least imitate these strangers. And when they saw Him in the hut and in the manger, and saw nothing of the things which thou now seeest, they approached with great trembling; but you see him not in a manger, but on an altar, you see not a woman holding a woman, but a priest standing before him, and the Spirit overshadowing what is offered with great generosity; and not only do you see this Body as they did, but you also know His power and all the economy, you know all that has been accomplished through Him, being carefully taught all the mysteries. Therefore, let us approach with trembling and show more reverence than those strangers, lest, approaching Him simply and inattentively, we will not gather fire on our heads. However, I say this not so that we do not approach, but that we do not approach unworthily, because just as it is dangerous to approach without reasoning, so not to partake of this mysterious supper is hunger and death. This meal is strength for our soul, strength for our heart, the foundation of hope, hope, salvation, light, life. Having departed there with this sacrifice, we will enter with great boldness into the holy abodes, as if fenced on all sides with golden weapons. But what do I say about the future? This mystery here also makes the earth heaven for you. Open the gates of heaven and see, or rather, the gates not of heaven, but of the heaven of heavens, and then you will see what has been said. What is most precious there, I will show you the same on earth. Just as in the king's palaces the most important thing is not the walls or the golden roof, but the body of the king sitting on the throne, so in heaven is the body of the King. But you can see the same thing now on earth, not angels and archangels, not heaven and heaven of heavens, but the Lord of all this himself. Is it not true that you see on earth that which is most important, that you not only see but also touch, not only touch but also taste, and when you have tasted, you go back to your house? Purify your soul, prepare your heart for the reception of these mysteries. If you were entrusted with holding in your arms the royal son in all the splendor of the purple and diadem, then you would undoubtedly reject everything else earthly. And now you accept not the son of the king of men, but the Only-begotten Son of God Himself, and how can you not tremble, tell me, how do you not abandon your addiction to all worldly things, and instead of admiring this one jewel, you bow to the earth, give yourself over to the passion for money and love for gold? Can you have any excuse, any excuse? Or do you not know that your Lord turns away from all worldly splendor? – why did He deign to recline in a manger after His birth, and chose the poor Mother? – that is why He answered: "The Son of Man hath not where to lay His head" (Matt. 8:20)? And what about His disciples? Did they not observe the same commandment, stopping to live in the houses of poor people, one with a tanner, the other with a skin-maker and porphyry seller? They were not looking for noble houses, but for virtuous souls. Let us also compete with them: let us not admire the beauty of columns and marbles, but strive for the heavenly abodes, despise all this splendor and addiction to money, and exalt ourselves in our thoughts to grief. If we judge sensibly, then this world itself is not worthy of us, not only porticoes and galleries. Therefore I exhort you, let us adorn our souls, build this house, which we will take with us when we move from here, so that we may be vouchsafed eternal blessings, grace and love for mankind (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.

[1] Gr. ωδινας – pangs of childbirth

DISCOURSE 25

"Whatever is sold in the market, eat without any examination, for peace of conscience" (1 Corinthians 10:25).

1. Having said that it is impossible to drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons together, having inspired perfect abstinence from those (demonic) meals by the example of the Jews, by human considerations, by pointing out the terrible mysteries and what is done in the temples, and having aroused (in the Corinthians) a great fear, – furthermore, lest by this fear they should lead them to the other extreme, lest they should be overly cautious in fearing such defilement in any way without their knowledge, for example, in a marketplace, or in some other way, (the Apostle) relieves them of such fear and says: "Everything that is sold at the market, eat without any examination." If, he says, you eat without knowing or hearing (that it is sacrificed to idols), then you are not subject to punishment, since this is a matter of ignorance, and not of intemperance. And not only does He deliver them from this fear, but also from another, granting them great independence and freedom: He does not even allow them to doubt, i.e. to investigate and investigate whether it is sacrificed to idols or not; but commands simply to eat everything that is in the marketplace, without asking what is offered. Consequently, he who eats (things sacrificed to idols) out of ignorance remains innocent. Things sacrificed to idols are not evil by their nature, but defile according to the disposition of the eater. That is why he says: "without any investigation." "For the earth is the Lord's, and what fills it" (v. 26), not demons. But if His earth, and fruit, and all dumb animals, then there is nothing unclean; but something is made unclean because of a person's disposition and disobedience. Wherefore he not only gave permission, but added, "If any of the unbelievers call you, and you wish to go, all that is offered to you, eat without any examination, for the peace of conscience" (v. 27). Notice again his condescension: he does not command or prescribe to walk, but he does not forbid either; but He delivers those who are walking from all suspicion. For what? Lest excessive caution appear to be an act of fear and apprehension, for he who investigates does it out of fear, and he who refrains after he has learned the matter refrains from dislike, contempt, and disgust. Wherefore Paul, desiring to arrange both, says, "Whatever is set before you, eat." "But if anyone says to you, 'This is sacrificed to idols,' you shall not eat for the sake of him who has declared it to you" (v. 28). He commands to abstain (from sacrifices to idols), not as having power, but as from those worthy of abhorrence. Avoid (things sacrificed to idols), he says, not because they can cause harm, for they have no power. However, on the ground that it has no power, do not eat it indifferently, since it is the table of enemies and the wicked. Wherefore he adds, Ye shall not eat for the sake of him who hath declared unto you, and for the sake of conscience. For the earth is the Lord's, and what fills it." Do you see how he, both allowing to eat and commanding abstinence, gives the same proof? Not because he says, I forbid it, as if it were an alien thing, for the earth is the Lord's, but, as it is said, for conscience, that is, so as not to do harm. Therefore, it is necessary to reconnoitre? No, he says, I do not mean your conscience, but another's; for I had said beforehand, "For the sake of him who declared"; And again: "But I do not understand my own conscience, but that of another" (v. 29)

But perhaps someone will say: You justly spare your brethren, and do not allow us to eat things sacrificed to idols for them, lest "his conscience, as a weak man, dispose him to eat things sacrificed to idols" (1 Corinthians 8:10); And why do you care for a heathen? Did you not say: "For why should I judge even those who are outside" (1 Corinthians 5:12)? Why do you care for them? It is not for them, he says, that I care, but here, too, for you. For this reason he adds: "For why should my freedom be judged by another's conscience?" this is the freedom that is alien to Jewish slavery. And the meaning of his words is as follows: God created me free and set me above all harm: but the pagan does not know how to judge my wisdom, nor to understand the generosity of my Lord, but will condemn me and say to himself: the teaching of the Christians is a fable: they shun idols, avoid demons, but do not refuse what is offered to them; great is their gluttony. What harm, you will say, is there for us, and that he will judge so unjustly? But is it not much better not to give him a reason to condemn him at all? If you abstain, he will not say this either. How do you say he won't tell you? Seeing that I use everything without scrutiny, both in the marketplace and at the feast, how can he not say and condemn me that I use everything indifferently? Exactly, no, because you use it not as something sacrificed to idols, but as pure; By not scouting, you show that you are not afraid of what is offered. Therefore, whether you enter the house of a heathen, or come to the marketplace, I do not allow you to investigate, lest you be restless and cowardly, and incur unnecessary care. "If I eat with thanksgiving, why blame me for what I give thanks?" (v. 30). What, tell me, do you receive with gratitude? God's gifts. His grace is such that it makes my soul pure and places it above all impurity. Just as the sun, touching all impurities with its rays, makes them pure again, so can we, too, circulating in the midst of the world, remain pure if we wish, and all the more so the greater the power we have.