What
can blind us to the light of truth?
.
by
Theodoret of Cyrus, Syria (393-457 AD)
The light allows the eye to distinguish, for example, gold
from silver, copper from iron and tin. Moreover, it allows us to note the
difference between colors and shapes, between the plants and between the
animals. But only for those who have sound eyesight. The blind gain no
advantage from the rays of the sun: they do not even see the brightness
of the light!
There are people who do not want to open their eyes to the light of
truth but are quite happy to live in darkness. They are like the blind.
They are like the birds that fly by night and take their name from it,
night-jars, or like bats.
It would be stupid to be angry with these animals. Nature has assigned
them that destiny. But human beings who purposely choose the mirky gloom,
what reason can they give to justify themselves?
What prevents them removing the mist from their eyes is arrogance. They
fancy they know the truth better than others because they have studied
a lot. But they are like fish in the sea: they live in salt water, but,
nevertheless, once they have been caught they still need to be salted.
- The Cure of Pagan Diseases, 2, I ff. (SCS7,
P.I36)
Some people abandon the teachings of the church and fail to
understand how a simple and devout person can have more worth than a philosopher
who blasphemes without restraint.
Heretics are like that.
Heretics are always wanting to find something more true than the truth.
They are always choosing new and unreliable ways. But like the blind led
by the blind, they will fall into the abyss of ignorance by their own fault.
The church is like paradise on earth. “You may eat freely of the fruit
of every tree in the garden,” says the Spirit of God. In our case he means:
Feed on the whole of Scripture, but do not do it with intellectual pride,
and do not swallow the opinions of the heretics. They pretend to possess
the knowledge of good and evil, but they are impiously elevating their
own intelligence above their Creator.
Beware! By devouring the ideas of the heretics we banish ourselves from
the paradise of life.
- Against Heresies,
5, 20 (Harvey II, P.379)
Knowledge
is no good without charity
by
Maximus the Confessor, Constantinople (580-662 AD)
If you have received from God the gift of knowledge,
however limited, beware of neglecting charity and temperance. They are
virtues which radically purify the soul from passions and so open the way
of knowledge continually.
The way of spiritual knowledge passes through
inner freedom and humility. Without them we shall never see the Lord.
“Knowledge puffs up whereas charity builds up”
(1 Corinthians 8:1). Therefore unite knowledge with charity and by being
cleansed from pride you will become a true spiritual builder. You will
build up yourself and all those who are your neighbors.
Charity takes its power to build up from the fact
that it is never envious nor unkind. It is natural for knowledge to bring
with it, at the beginning anyway, some measure of presumption and envy.
But charity overcomes these defects: presumption because "it is not
puffed up" and envy because "it is patient and kind" (1 Corinthians 13:4).
Anyone who has knowledge, therefore, ought also
to have charity, because charity can save his spirit from injury.
If someone is judged worthy to receive the gift
of knowledge but allows his heart to be full of bitterness or rancor or
aversion to another, it is as if he had been struck in the eye by a thornbush.
That is why knowledge is no good without charity.
- Centuries
on Charity, 4, 5'7 ff. (SC9, PP.I64ff.)
How
can we satisfy our need to know?
.
by
Diadochus of Photica (5th century AD)
True knowledge is the light whereby we can infallibly distinguish good
from evil.
That limitless light illumines the way of righteousness which leads
the mind towards the Sun himself. In that light the mind strives with all
its energy after divine charity.
Our longing for true knowledge is satisfied by spiritual discourse,
provided it comes from God through the exercise of charity.
The intellect ceases to be tormented as it concentrates upon the Word
of God.
Whereas previously it was troubled and made wretched by its worries,
now the exercise of love expands the compass of its reflections.
- Spiritual
Works, 6, 7 (SCSb, PP.S7ff.)
[Translation
by Paul Drake. For more readings see Drinking from the Hidden Fountain:
A Patristic Breviary, by Thomas Spidlik, Cistercian Publications, 1994.]
