The Secret of Our Faith. (Homilies on First Epistle to Corinthians, Iii., Vol. Ii., P. 27.)
Show me, if you can, whether Peter and Paul were scholars. But you cannot; for they were ordinary men and unlettered.7 Just as Christ, when He sent His disciples out into the world, showed His power first to them in Palestine, saying, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, did you want anything? Afterwards He charged them to have a scrip and a purse, and so He did in this case. For that which was aimed at was to show the power of Christ, not that the lack of external accomplishments should cause those who approached to be rejected from the faith. Now, whenever heathens accuse the disciples of being unlearned, let us be even louder than they in our accusations. Let no one say that Paul was skilful, but praising great men amongst them for their skill, and those remarkable for their clever speeches, let us say that all of ours are unlearned. We shall not a little overthrow them on this side too, so brilliant will be the victory. I have said these things because I once heard a Christian making himself ridiculous in discussion with a heathen, and each in their fight against the other destroying his own side. That which the Christian should have said the heathen said, and that which it would have been natural for the heathen to say the Christian put forward. For, Paul and Plato forming the subject of dispute, the heathen, on the one hand, tried to show that Paul was uneducated and unlearned, and, on the other, the Christian, out of simplicity, was all eager to prove that Paul was a better reasoner than Plato. Thus the heathen gained the victory, as this consideration prevailed. For, if Paul had been a better dialectician than Plato, many would naturally have used the argument that he succeeded through his skilful speech rather than by grace. So the Christian’s argument told for the heathen, and the heathen’s for the Christian. For if Paul was untaught and still conquered Plato, as I have said, it was a triumphant victory. The unlearned Paul, taking Plato’s disciples, convinced them and drew them to himself. Hence, it is evident that the Gospel was not preached by human wisdom, but by the grace of God. In order, then, that we may not encounter the same defeat, nor make ourselves ridiculous when we are thus in discussion with heathens, let us condemn the Apostles as unlearned: this very condemnation is praise. And when they tell us that the Apostles were rustic, let us admit and confess that they were untaught, and unlearned, and poor, and needy, and unintelligent, and obscure. This is no blasphemy of the Apostles, but their glory, that, being what they were, they appeared more famous than the whole world. Those very unlearned, rustic, untaught men beat down men wise in their conceits, powerful men, tyrants, men who were enjoying riches and glory and all outward goods, as if they had not been men at all. Whence it is clear that the power of the Cross was great, and that it was not through human strength that these things took place. They do not, indeed, come from nature at all, but that which was accomplished was above nature. Whenever something takes place which is above nature, and very much above it, and is also opportune and good, it is evident that it happens by a certain divine power and co-operation. For, consider—a fisherman, a tent-maker, a publican, an unlearned man, and an untaught man, coming from their outlandish province of Palestine, drove out from their own stronghold philosophers, and orators, and rhetoricians, and overcame them in a short time in the midst of many dangers, peoples and kings resisting them, nature itself being adverse: inveterate custom, force of habit, fighting them to the teeth: evil spirits armed against them: the devil in agitation setting all things in motion—monarchies, and rulers, and democracies, and nations, and cities, barbarians, heathens, philosophers, orators, sophists, lawmakers, laws, tribunals, every sort of chastisement, and manifold deaths. And yet all these things were overcome, and gave way at the voice of fishermen, just as a little dust which is unable to resist the force of strong winds. Let us learn, therefore, so to speak with the heathens as not to be like a herd of sheep or cattle, but let us be prepared to prove the hope which is in us. And, meanwhile, let us insist on the chief point, which is no small one, and say to them, How was it that the weak circumvented the strong, that twelve men conquered the world, not in the strength of their own weapons, but in their nakedness fighting armed men? For, say, if twelve men, inexperienced in war, breaking in upon a huge array of armed warriors, not only weaponless themselves, but feeble in body, were to suffer nothing at their hands, and were to escape scatheless from a thousand missiles, and, standing in their midst with unprotected bodies, were to put them all to flight, not using weapons, but fighting with their hands, slaying some and taking others into captivity, and not receiving a scratch themselves, nor reached by a thousand blows aimed at them—who would ascribe this to man alone? Yet the victory of the Apostles was far more wonderful than this. For it is much more stupendous that an unlearned man, an untaught man, and a fisherman should circumvent so much cleverness, than that an unarmed man should come scatheless out of the fight: that they should be held back neither by their small numbers nor their poverty, nor by dangers, nor by force of habit, nor by the difficulty of the enterprise which they had undertaken, nor by death looking them daily in the face, nor by the multitude of those deceived, nor by the fame of deceivers.
In like manner, then, let us overthrow them, and fight against them, and let us strike them down rather by our life than by arguments. For this is the great strife, and the most unanswerable argument is that of works, since we may philosophise with our tongues in a thousand ways, and yet if we show not forth a better life than theirs, we gain nothing whatever. They do not give heed to our reasonings, but take note of what we do, and they say, ‘First yield obedience to your own words, and then advise others. If you speak of the innumerable goods of the next world, and yet seem to be given up to present ones, as if those others did not exist, your deeds are more convincing to me than your words. For when I see you seizing others’ property, grieving inordinately over the dead, committing many other sins, how can I believe you when you tell me that there is a resurrection?’ Even if they do not put this into words, they think it, and bear it in their minds. And this it is which prevents infidels from becoming Christians. Let us, then, lead them by our life. Many illiterate men have thus struck down the mind of philosophers, by showing them the philosophy of works, sending forth a voice louder than a trumpet through their own manner of life and conduct: this voice is indeed much more powerful than the tongue. Whenever I say that it is not lawful to bear malice to anyone, and then injure a heathen in a thousand ways, how shall I be able to persuade him by my words since I frighten him away by my deeds? Let us, therefore, catch them by our daily life, and build up the Church through these souls, and collect this wealth. Nothing whatsoever is of so much worth as a soul, not even the whole world. If you should give thousands of pounds to the poor, you do nothing in comparison to the one who converts a soul. He who makes an honourable man out of a worthless one shall be as My mouth, God says. Compassion for the poor is also a great good, but it is nothing compared to withdrawing a soul from error; the man who does this becomes like Peter and Paul. For we may point out the Gospel which they preached; not that we be imperilled as they were, and have hunger and pestilence and other evils to endure, for this is a time of peace, but so that we may show forth the zeal of a willing spirit. This fishing may, indeed, be carried out by those who sit at home. If any man have a friend, or relation, or servant, this let him do and say, and he will become like Peter and Paul. And why do I say Peter and Paul? He will be the mouth of Christ. For he who makes an honourable man out of a worthless one shall be as My mouth, He says. If you should not persuade to-day, you will to-morrow, and, even if you never persuade at all, you will have the full reward. And if you cannot persuade all, you can persuade a few out of many, since the Apostles themselves did not convince all the men of their day; but still they conversed with them all, and have the reward for all. For God is wont to bestow His crowns, not according to what is accomplished by good deeds, but according to the intention of those who do them. If you put down only two mites He receives them, and He will do for those who teach what He did for the widow. Therefore, because you are not able to save the world, do not despise the few, nor turn away from small things in your desire for great things. If you cannot give a hundred, look after the ten; and if you cannot give ten, do not despise the five; and if five are beyond you, do not overlook the one; and if you cannot even give the one, do not lose courage, and do not neglect your part.