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ORATION 35

ORATION 35 On the Holy Martyrs and against the Arians.1 hat words can express all that the eyes can see? What sermon do justice to the blessings before us? Look! There lies before our eyes an incredible sight, the object, so often, of our prayers. Our yearning has been answered , and to spare. Once again, in this place, we honor the martyrs with rites too long in abeyance; once again God’s priests assemble; once again there are choirs and spiritual celebrations . A great throng has gathered, eager, not to take up arms but to hold festival. The wonder of it! They have flung their weapons from their hands; they have broken their ranks; war is abandoned. No longer does the din of battle-cry fill the air; instead , glad celebrations and the exuberance of peace ring the entire city, which from of old was the mother of the martyrs but has been in the interim deprived of her children’s honors. But now, in the words of the Apostle, she has received full payment, and more.2 Hail, martyrs! This victorious struggle belongs to you as well; it is you who put an end to the terrible war, there can be no doubt. These hard-won successes of yours stand, moreover, in a class by themselves. It was you who raised the trophy to peace; you who drew the priests of God to your side; it is thanks to you that the devotees of the Holy Spirit preside over this gathering. What a tragic loss has been suffered by those who did not live to see this day, that they too might enjoy the blessings of peace after so much misery and sadness! 2. The deceit of heresy has vanished and gone, lifted like a fog by the Holy Spirit; and the bright day of peace has dawned clear, and in it the stars of the city sparkle resplendent in the 1. PG 36.257A–61D. The authenticity of this homily is doubtful. 2. Phil 4.18. 216 bright light of truth, no minions of dark night they, but shining all by day, aglow with the true light of righteousness. And now that, in the words of the Apostle, the night is far gone,3 or rather, is completely over, the world is made bright by the light of the day; gone are the night-ranging beasts, driven to seek the refuge of their caves and thickets; gone the shrieking bats of heresy, blinded by the light of truth, stealing into their holes in the rocks to hang upside down one on the head of another.4 Thanks to this day, the inebriate bands have left off their revelry . Robbers, burglars, thieves, and all the other works of night are blotted out by the bright dawn of peace. What horrors took place in the course of that night that enveloped everything in the dark slough of error? They should be consigned to deep silence and oblivion so that memories so unpleasant do not spoil the joy of the present occasion. What words could one use to recite the evils of that time? And yet, how could one keep silent? Does any drama portray such misery? Any myth conjure up misfortunes like these? What playwright ever made his stage resound with such affliction? The calamity beggars description; the suffering exceeds the power of its narrators. 3. The Devil’s choir formed the base of operations. Here he set up his camp and ensconced his henchmen. Here he stationed the forces of falsehood, the champions of deceit, his demon host, his legions of unclean spirits, and, if I may use a heathen expression as well, it was from here that the dread army of Erinyes5 swooped down upon the Church (this is what I am moved to call the women who, contrary to nature and for malicious purpose, took to playing the man). One such in the days of Elijah was Jezebel. Her homicidal plots against the prophets of the Lord are held up for condemnation in the Scriptures6 so that, in my opinion, all subsequent generations may profit from the lesson of the shameless hussy. This time large numbers of women like the notorious Jezebel sprouted like hemlock all at ORATION 35 217 3. Rom 13.12. 4. Homer, Odyssey 24.6–8. 5. The Erinyes or Furies were goddesses of vengeance noted for their relentlessness and loathsome appearance. 6. 1 Kgs 19.1–2. [18.222...