Bad Habits

Peter:

“Although we are born neither good nor bad, we become one or the other; and having formed habits, we are with difficulty drawn from them.” – Peter, Clementine Homilies, Homily 8, chapter 16

Clement of Alexandria:

“For neither are we born by nature possessing virtue, nor after we are born does it grow naturally, as certain parts of the body; since then it would neither be voluntary nor praiseworthy. Nor is virtue, like speech, perfected by the practice that results from everyday occurrences (for this is very much the way in which vice originates).” – Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata, Book 7, chapter 3

But him, who from this has trained himself to the summit of knowledge and the elevated height of the perfect man, all things relating to time and place help on, now that he has made it his choice to live infallibly, and subjects himself to training in order to the attainment of the stability of knowledge on each side. But in the case of those in whom there is still a heavy corner, leaning downwards, even that part which has been elevated by faith is dragged down. In him, then, who by gnostic training has acquired virtue which cannot be lost, habit becomes nature. – Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata, Book 7, chapter 7

Cyprian:

“While I was still lying in darkness and gloomy night, wavering hither and there, tossed about on the foam of this boastful age, and uncertain of my wandering steps, knowing nothing of my real life, and remote from truth and light, I used to regard it as a difficult matter, and especially as difficult in respect of my character at that time, that a man should be capable of being born again — a truth which the divine mercy had announced for my salvation — and that a man quickened to a new life in the layer of saving water should be able to put off what he had previously been; and, although retaining all his bodily structure, should be himself changed in heart and soul. ‘How, said I, ‘is such a conversion possible, that there should be a sudden and rapid divestment of all which, either innate in us has hardened in the corruption of our material nature, or acquired by us has become inveterate by long accustomed use? These things have become deeply and radically engrained within us. When does he learn thrift who has been used to liberal banquets and sumptuous feasts? And he who has been glittering in gold and purple, and has been celebrated for his costly attire, when does he reduce himself to ordinary and simple clothing? One who has felt the charm of the fasces and of civic honours shrinks from becoming a mere private and inglorious citizen. The man who is attended by crowds of clients, and dignified by the numerous association of an officious train, regards it as a punishment when he is alone. It is inevitable, as it ever has been, that the love of wine should entice, pride inflate, anger inflame, covetousness disquiet, cruelty stimulate, ambition delight, lust hasten to ruin, with allurements that will not let go their hold.’” – Cyprian, Epistle 1.3

Ambrose of Milan:

 Indeed, those who are deeply rooted in error and eagerly cling to vices are said to sit, because they do not want to rise or listen to the one who says: Arise, after thou hast sat down (Ps. 126:2). Finally, this Prophet himself elsewhere says: ‘Princes sat and spoke against me’ (Psalm 119:23). Do we not know that such a powerful force is the long-standing habit of sinning, that it excludes nature, which although it is curable for salvation, is found to be incurable by the passage of time with unhealed wounds? Therefore, let us not remain in vice; but let each person, even if they were, leap away from sin, as it is written (Proverbs 5:3) about the woman of the streets. Do not fix your gaze on it, but leap away, do not delay; may they find you leaping when the years of youth pass by. But, what is more serious, many are not ashamed of indulging in bodily pleasure even in old age, and they have led a spotted life up to the age of senility. For the disease of lust is conceived in the innermost viscera, and with the passing of time it accumulates. Therefore, beware of the wicked counsels, do not let such thoughts penetrate your mind; lest it be said of you: Has anyone put fire into their bosom, and their clothes were not burned (Prov. VI, 2)? For surely he who once kindles the flame of a burning crime in the bosom of his mind will quickly set fire to the clothing of his own body. And just as a fire, leaping onto a pile of straw, clings and remains until it consumes everything it has seized, so too a tiny spark of sin, if it has been ignited by the fuel of vices, stirs up a great conflagration. Therefore, do not remain in sin. Finally, you have placed your foot above the abyss of guilt, quickly remove it; lest pollution rise above your sole and, being easily deceived by a fall, you remain in the mud. Therefore, vices must first be avoided, lest they then give way to more serious ones. For just as those who roll in mud, the more they roll, the more they become dirty; so too, those who once besmear themselves with the filth of wickedness, unless they quickly leap out, bring upon themselves a heavier cloud of disgrace with each passing day of their muddy conversation. And so, a foul odor from that land and a destructive whirlpool contracts a certain pestilence of souls, and with the breath of healthy thoughts corrupted, a pitiable plague of boiling passions rages. Hence a deadly virus infects the minds, hence sickness creeps upon the bodies, weakness upon the souls. For there is an evil weakness, the weakness of error, the weakness of greed, the weakness of insatiable desire. – Ambrose of Milan, Commentaries on the Twelve Davidic Psalms, On Psalm 1

Let anger be guarded against. If it cannot, however, be averted, let it be kept within bounds. For indignation is a terrible incentive to sin. It disorders the mind to such an extent as to leave no room for reason. The first thing, therefore, to aim at, if possible, is to make tranquillity of character our natural disposition by constant practice, by desire for better things, by fixed determination. But since passion is to a large extent implanted in our nature and character, so that it cannot be uprooted and avoided, it must be checked by reason, if, that is, it can be foreseen. – Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy, Book 1, chapter 21

Gregory of Nyssa:

Since, you who say you fear sin are a catechumen, what sort of life are you living? One that is blameless, or sinless, or one in sin? For if it is the sinless one, why do you dread baptism, seeing that you keep the prescribed exactness even before it? But if your life is impure and unguarded, delaying in lawlessness, and by long habit acquiring a disposition for evil, it is manifest that you are waiting for your last breath, so that your life may be completed with the baptism received at the final hour. – Gregory of Nyssa, On Those Who Put Off Baptism 

Basil the Great:

“…For a studious and prolonged dwelling in sin implants a certain habit in the soul that is hardly ever cast off. Indeed, the soul’s disease, once become chronic, is rarely cured—and a practice in evil, strengthened over time, truly cannot be healed at all if custom becomes nature, which often happens. It is to be wished, therefore, that one never touch evil at all. However, if one has fallen, a second recourse remains: after such experience, to flee from it as from the wound of a venomous beast—just as Solomon writes about the wicked woman, “Do not look upon her, but flee—do not linger.” I have known some who, having fallen into the sins of the flesh in their youth, persisted in them into old age due to the habit of evil. Just as pigs that wallow in filth are increasingly spattered with mud, so too these men each day further stamp shame upon themselves through their love of pleasure.” – Basil the Great, Commentary on Psalm 1, chapter 6 – PG 29

“…How great are the differences in the barks! Some of the plants have smooth bark, others rough bark; some of them have but one layer, others many layers. But, the marvel is that you may find in plants the characteristics closely resembling those of human youth and old age. Around the young and thriving plants the bark is stretched smooth, but around the old it is as if wrinkled and rough. Some plants, when cut, sprout again; others remain sterile, as if the stump were enduring a kind of death. Certain men have already observed that, if pines are cut down or burned, they are changed into oak forests. We know also that some trees are cured of their natural defects through the care given them by the farmers, for example, the sour pomegranate and the more bitter almond. The trunk of these trees is bored close to the root, and a rich wedge of pine is inserted in the center of the pith. This causes the bitter flavor of the juice to change to one pleasant to the taste. Let no one, therefore, who is living in vice despair of himself, knowing that, as agriculture changes the properties of plants, so the diligence of the soul in the pursuit of virtue can triumph over all sorts of infirmities.” – Basil the Great, Homily 5 on the Hexaemeron

“Vain then is the labour of the righteous man, and free from blame is the way of the sinner, if a change befall, and the former turn from the better to the worse, and the latter from the worse to the better. So we hear from Ezekiel teaching as it were in the name of the Lord, when he says, “if the righteous turns away and commits iniquity, I will not remember the righteousness which he committed before; in his sin he shall die,” and so too about the sinner; if he turn away from his wickedness, and do that which is right, he shall live. Where were all the labours of God’s servant Moses, when the gainsaying of one moment shut him out from entering into the promised land? What became of the companionship of Gehazi with Elissæus, when he brought leprosy on himself by his covetousness? What availed all Solomon’s vast wisdom, and his previous regard for God, when afterwards from his mad love of women he fell into idolatry? Not even the blessed David was blameless, when his thoughts went astray and he sinned against the wife of Uriah. One example were surely enough for keeping safe one who is living a godly life, the fall from the better to the worse of Judas, who, after being so long Christ’s disciple, for a mean gain sold his Master and got a halter for himself. Learn then, brother, that it is not he who begins well who is perfect. It is he who ends well who is approved in God’s sight. For, behold, you are passing through the midst of snares; you are treading on the top of a high wall whence a fall is perilous to the faller; wherefore do not straightway attempt extreme discipline; above all things beware of confidence in yourself, lest you fall from a height of discipline through want of training. It is better to advance a little at a time. Withdraw then by degrees from the pleasures of life, gradually destroying all your wonted habits, lest you bring on yourself a crowd of temptations by irritating all your passions at once. When you have mastered one passion, then begin to wage war against another, and in this manner you will in good time get the better of all. Indulgence, so far as the name goes, is one, but its practical workings are diverse. First then, brother, meet every temptation with patient endurance. And by what various temptations the faithful man is proved; by worldly loss, by accusations, by lies, by opposition, by calumny, by persecution! These and the like are the tests of the faithful. Further, be quiet, not rash in speech, not quarrelsome, not disputatious, not covetous of vain glory, not more anxious to get than to give knowledge, not a man of many words, but always more ready to learn than to teach. Do not trouble yourself about worldly life; from it no good can come to you. It is said, That my mouth speak not the works of men. The man who is fond of talking about sinners’ doings, soon rouses the desire for self indulgence; much better busy yourself about the lives of good men for so you will get some profit for yourself.” – Basil the Great, Letter 42, chapter 2

John Chrysostom:

For this reason also the wicked one dragged Judas out of this world lest he should make a fair beginning, and so return by means of repentance to the point from which he fell. For although it may seem a strange thing to say, I will not admit even that sin to be too great for the succour which is brought to us from repentance. Wherefore I pray and beseech you to banish all this Satanic mode of thinking from your soul, and to return to this state of salvation. For if indeed I were commanding you to ascend to your former altitude all at once, you would naturally complain of there being much difficulty in doing this: but if all which I now ask you to do is to get up and return thence in the opposite direction, why do you hesitate, and shrink, and make a retrograde movement? Have you not seen those who have died in the midst of luxury and drunkenness, and sport and all the other folly of this life? ……. And just as madmen, when once they have fallen out of a sound condition, are neither afraid nor ashamed of anything, but fearlessly dare all manner of things, even if they have to fall into fire, or deep water, or down a precipice; so they who have been seized by the frenzy of despair are hence forward unmanageable, rushing into vice in every direction, and if death does not come to put a stop to this madness, and vehemence, they do themselves infinite mischief. Therefore I entreat you, before you are deeply steeped in this drunkenness, recover your senses and rouse yourself up, and shake off this Satanic fit, doing it gently and gradually if it be not possible to effect it all at once. For to me indeed the easier course seems to be to wrench yourself once for all out of all the cords which hold you down, and transfer yourself to the school of repentance. But if this seems to you a difficult thing, that you should be willing to enter on the path which leads to better things, simply enter upon it, and lay hold on eternal life. – John Chrysostom, Exhortation to Theodore After His Fall, Letter 1, chapter 9, 16

“But if you should reply, “Habit has a wonderful power to beguile even those who are very much in earnest:” this I likewise acknowledge; however, there is another thing which I say with it; that as it is powerful to beguile, so also is it easy to be corrected. For if you will set over yourself at home many to watch you, such as your servant, your wife, your friend, you will easily break off from the bad habits, being hard pressed and closely restrained by all. If you succeed in doing this for ten days only, you will after that no longer need any further time, but all will be secured to you, rooted anew in the firmness of the most excellent habit. When therefore you are beginning to correct this, though you should transgress your law a first, a second, a third, a twentieth time, do not despair, but rise up again, and resume the same diligence, and you will surely prevail.“ – John Chrysostom Homily 17 on Matthew

[How to avoid swearing:] “How then, and in what way, can we escape this sin? For it is not enough to show that the crime is grievous; we must also give counsel on how to be free from it. Do you have a wife, a servant, children, a friend, a relative, a neighbor? Entrust all of them with the task of keeping watch over you in this matter. Habit is powerful, difficult to overthrow, hard to guard against, and often causes us to stumble unwillingly and without realizing it. Therefore, the more you know the power of habit, the more earnestly you must strive to free yourself from the evil habit and transfer yourself to another — the more beneficial one. For just as now, even while you are striving, guarding yourself, being careful and watchful, that habit has often tripped you up, so also, if you transfer yourself to the good habit — the habit of not swearing — you will never again stumble into oaths, not even unwillingly or carelessly. For habit is truly a great force and has the strength of nature itself. Therefore, so that we are not constantly laboring against it, let us transfer ourselves into a different habit, and ask each of those with whom you associate and spend time to grant you this favor — that they counsel and exhort you to flee from oaths, and rebuke you if they catch you falling into them. For the watchfulness that others exercise over you becomes advice and exhortation for their own success as well. For the one who reproves another concerning oaths will not easily fall into that pit himself — for the pit of habitual swearing is no small one, not only when it is about trivial matters, but even when it concerns the greatest things. Yet we, when buying vegetables or quarreling over two coins, or when angry with servants and threatening them, everywhere call upon God as our witness. You would not dare, in a marketplace dispute over such things, to summon as a witness a mere man of some slight dignity — and if you attempted it, you would be punished for such insolence. But you drag into witness the King of heaven, the Lord of the angels, even when speaking about purchases, money, and trivial matters — how can this be tolerated? How then shall we be freed from this wicked habit? By surrounding ourselves with the guards I have spoken of, setting for ourselves a fixed period for correction, and imposing a penalty on ourselves if, when that time has passed, we have not succeeded in overcoming it. How much time will suffice for this? I do not think that those who are truly sober, fully awake, and watchful for their salvation will need more than ten days to be entirely freed from the evil habit of swearing oaths. And if, after ten days, we are found swearing again, let us impose a penalty upon ourselves, let us determine a severe punishment and sentence for the transgression. And what is that sentence? I will not prescribe it for you — I leave it to you to decide and judge for yourselves. In this way let us govern ourselves — not only regarding oaths, but also with respect to our other faults — setting for ourselves a time and determining the severest penalties should we fall into them, so that we may depart cleansed to meet our Master, be delivered from the fire of Gehenna (Mark 9:43), and stand with boldness before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10).” — John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions 9.42-46

“For this reason I said before, and I say again now, and I will not cease saying it: if anyone has not corrected the flaws of their character and has not prepared themselves to make virtue easy, let them not be baptized. The font is indeed able to forgive past sins — but there is great fear and not a small danger lest we return again to them, and the medicine become for us a wound. For the greater the grace has been, the greater will be the punishment for those who sin after receiving it. Therefore, in order that we may not return again to our former vomit, let us begin even now to discipline ourselves. For that we must first repent and turn away from our former evils before approaching grace — listen to what John says, and what the chief of the apostles says to those who are about to be baptized. The former says, “Produce fruit worthy of repentance, and do not begin to say within yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’” (Luke 3:8). And the latter, when they asked him, would say, “Repent, and let each one of you be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 2:38). But the one who truly repents no longer clings to the same deeds over which he repented; for this reason, we are also commanded to say, “I renounce you, Satan,” so that we may never again return to him. Just as it happens with painters, so let it be now. For they, when they set up their panels, draw outlines in white, and sketch royal portraits, before they apply the final and true coloring, are entirely free to erase and redraw, to correct what is wrong and rearrange what is misplaced. But once they have laid on the paint, they are no longer free to erase or repaint, because they would be marring the beauty of the image — and that becomes a fault. Do the same, then. Consider your soul to be an image. Before the true coloring of the Spirit is applied, erase the habits that have been badly impressed upon you — whether swearing, lying, insulting, speaking shamefully, jesting, or any other such practice that is not fitting. Remove the habit, so that you do not return to it again after baptism. The font wipes away sins — but you must correct the habit — so that, once the colors have been applied and the royal image has shone forth, you do not erase it again and inflict wounds and scars upon the beauty that God has given you.” – John Chrysostom, Baptismal Instructions 12.21-24

““And how shall I return?” someone says. Only put a beginning to the matter, and the whole is already done. Stop in your wickedness; go no farther into it, and you have already laid hold of the whole. For just as for those who are sick, simply not getting worse can become a beginning of getting better, so also in the case of vice: go no further, and then your works of wickedness will come to an end. And if you do this for two days, on the third you will keep away more easily; and after three you will add ten, then twenty, then a hundred, then your whole life. For the further you go on, the more easily you will see the way, and you will stand upon its very summit, and will at once enjoy many good things.” – John Chrysostom, Homily 10 on Romans

“For it is no hard labor to get the better of the habit of swearing, if we are willing to bring even a little diligence to it—reminding one another, warning one another, watching over one another, and demanding an account from those who forget.” – John Chrysostom, Homily 4 on the Statues, chapter 11 – PG 49:68

“I know that these words irritate your ears, but pardon me for that. I say this in my zeal for your salvation and my wish that by being a little irritated here you will escape everlasting punishment rather than be somewhat beguiled and suffer unremitting penalty. In other words, if you can put up with my talking and dispel the lethargy that had seized you previously, especially now that this short period of the holy season of Lent remains, you will be able to wipe away your sins and win much loving kindness from God. After all, the Lord has no need of many days or a long time: as long as we are willing, we will even in these two weeks achieve considerable correction of our faults. I mean, if he considered the Ninevites, when they had given evidence of a penance of three days, worthy of such loving kindness, so much the more will he be prepared not to overlook us—provided only that we give evidence of true repentance, give up evil and follow the way leading to virtue. After all, about them—I mean the Ninevites—Sacred Scripture testifies in these words: “God saw that each of them had turned from his evil way” (Jonah 3:10). Accordingly, if he sees us also changing course for virtue, turning away from evil and showing zeal for the performance of good works, he will accept our change of direction, rid us of the burden of our sins and lavish upon us gifts of his own. I mean, we are not so anxious for release from our sins or so long after our salvation as he shows enthusiasm for it and hastens to grant us release from them and to bring us to enjoyment of salvation. Hence, I beseech you, let us stir up our thinking, and let each person be his own examiner as to whether he has anything further to his credit in the time that has passed, whether he gained anything of advantage from this constant instruction, whether he reaped any benefit for strengthening his neighbor, whether he corrected any of his own faults, whether he gained any encouragement to philosophy from our daily exhortation. Let the good person direct attention to improving his good behavior and never relax this commendable performance. If, on the contrary, someone sees himself addicted to the same faults under the influence of a habit that rules his life, let him exert all his powers of reasoning, give an account of his sloth, and not hang back from making progress, but rather arrest the force of the evil habit at this point, stem its tide, put the spur to his powers of thought, apply himself to meditating on that dread day, imagine partaking of that fearful table, the brightness of the flame blazing from it, its searing intensity, the kind of attitude required of the guest, purified of every stain, of every defilement, and avoiding the onset of improper thoughts. Thus we may make ourselves ready in these intervening days and be able to purify ourselves as far as possible, partake of enjoyment there and be judged worthy of those ineffable goods promised to those who love him, thanks to the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, power and honor, now and forever, for ages of ages. Amen.” – John Chrysostom, Homily 24 on Genesis

“When some chronic and stubborn inflammation has become hardened in the body, much time and pain are needed, and much skill from remedies, in order for its swelling to be safely loosened. The same thing may be seen in the soul as well. For when someone wants to tear up by the roots a passion that has become deeply rooted and has long made its dwelling in the soul, an exhortation of one day or two is not enough for this correction, but it is necessary to speak often and over many days about this subject, if indeed we mean to speak not for display and pleasure, but for gain and benefit. For this reason, then, just as we did in the matter of oaths, speaking to you on many successive days about the same subject, let us do the same also with anger, and let us, according to our ability, make our counsel concerning it continual. For this too seems to me to be the best method of teaching: not to stop giving counsel on any matter until we see that the counsel has passed into practice. For the man who today speaks about almsgiving, tomorrow about prayer, after that about gentleness, and then again about humility, will not be able to establish any one of these in his hearers, continually leaping from this to that, and then again from that to something else. Rather, the one who means to bring about what is being spoken in those who hear must not stop exhorting and counseling about the same things, nor jump away to something else, until he sees that the earlier exhortation has been well rooted in them. This is what teachers also do: they do not lead children on to syllables before they see that the knowledge of the letters has been firmly established in them. A few days ago, then, when we read to you the parable of the hundred denarii and the ten thousand talents, we showed how great an evil it is to bear a grudge. For the man whom the ten thousand talents did not destroy, a hundred denarii drowned; and he had the forgiveness that was given him called back, and thrust away the gift, and after being freed from his debts he was brought again into court, and from there cast into prison, and so was handed over to an immortal punishment. But today we shall guide the discourse to another subject. For indeed, if what was fitting had come to pass, the one speaking about gentleness and meekness ought to furnish from his own life and from himself examples of this noble philosophy, so as both to teach by his words and to train by his deeds. But since we ourselves fall far short of this virtue, let us bring one of the saints into the midst, and set him before your eyes, and so make our exhortation clear and powerful for you, urging both you and ourselves to imitate the virtue of the righteous man as though it were some original image.” – John Chrysostom, Homily 1 on David and Saul, PG  54.675-77

“Let us not, then, neglect our own life, but let us be zealous and do everything so that we may stand at the Holy Table without enemies. For nothing, nothing in God’s commandments, will be difficult if we give heed; and this is clear from those who have already set things right. How many used to be robbed by the habit of swearing, and thought the matter impossible to overcome! And yet, by the grace of God, since you showed a little zeal, you have washed away the greater part of it. For this reason I exhort you also to cast away what remains, and to become teachers of others. But to those who have not yet succeeded, and who keep putting before us the long time during which they used to swear, and who say that it is impossible in a short time to pull up what has been rooted in many years, I would say this: whenever there is need to accomplish anything commanded by God, there is no need of time, nor of a multitude of days, nor of a span of years, but only of fear and of a soul possessing reverence (εὐλάβειαν), and we shall certainly prevail, even in a short time. And so that you may not think I am saying these things idly, hand over to me the man whom you consider to be given to many oaths and swearing more than speaking, and if within only ten days I do not remove the whole habit in those few days, then condemn (κατάγνωτε) me with the severest condemnation (κατάγνωσιν). And that these words are no empty boast will be clear to you from things that have already happened. What was more irrational (ἀλογώτερον) than the Ninevites? What more senseless (ἀνοητότερον)? And yet these barbarians and fools, who had never heard anyone discoursing on wisdom, who had never received such commandments, when they heard the prophet saying, “Yet three days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4), in three days cast off every evil habit. The fornicator became chaste, the reckless man [became] gentle, the greedy and grasping man [became] moderate and kind, the slothful man [became] earnest. For it was not one or two or three or four passions that were healed, but they corrected all their wickedness. And from where is this clear, he says? From the words of the prophet. For the very one who accused them, and said that “the cry of their wickedness has gone up to heaven,” the same one again bore witness to the opposite on their behalf, saying, “God saw that each one had turned away from his evil ways” (Jonah 3:10). He did not say, from fornication or adultery or theft, but, from their evil ways. And how did they turn away? As God knew, not as man judged. Shall we not then be ashamed or blush, if barbarian men cast off all wickedness in only three days, while we, after so many days of hearing and being taught, cannot overcome even one evil habit? And yet those men too had previously advanced to the furthest point of wickedness. For when you hear that “the cry of their wickedness has gone up to Me,” think of nothing else than the excess of their evil. And yet they were strong enough in three days to transfer themselves to complete virtue. For where the fear of God is, there is no need of days or any length of time, just as where there is fearlessness, days are of no benefit at all. For just as with vessels that have become rusted, the man who merely scrubs them with water, even if he spends much time, will not free them from all that corruption, whereas the man who throws them into a furnace will in a brief moment make them brighter at once than newly made vessels, so too with a soul dyed by the rust of sin: if it merely wipes itself off casually and at random, and repents day by day, it will gain nothing more; but if, as into a furnace, it casts itself into the fear of God, in a brief moment of time it will wash away the whole stain. Let us not, then, put things off until tomorrow, “for we do not know what the coming day will bring” (Proverbs 27:1), nor let us say, We shall overcome the habit little by little; for this little by little never comes to an end. Therefore, leaving that aside, let us say this instead: If we do not conquer the oath today, we will not give up first—not even if ten thousand troubles press us, not even if we must die, not even if we must be punished, not even if we must lose everything. We will not give the devil the power that comes from slackness, nor the excuse of delay.  If God sees your soul set on fire and your zeal awakened, He Himself will also join you in your correction. Yes, I beg and implore you, let us be earnest, lest we too hear that “the men of Nineveh will rise up and condemn this generation” (Matthew 12:41), because they, after hearing only once, set things right, whereas we, even after hearing many times, have not turned back; they attained to complete virtue, whereas we not even to a part of virtue; they feared when they heard that their city would be overthrown, whereas we do not fear even when we hear of Gehenna; they had no share in prophecies, whereas we enjoy continual teaching and abundant grace. I say these things now not by bringing charges against your own sins, but against the sins of others that concern you. For as to you, I know well, just as I said before, that this law concerning swearing has been set right. But this is not enough for our salvation unless, after teaching others, we also correct them; since even the man who brought back that talent there, returning the whole deposit intact, was punished because what had been given him had not increased. Let us not, then, be satisfied with considering only whether we ourselves have been freed from sin, but let us not stop until we have freed others also; and let each man set ten friends in order and bring them to God, or if you have servants, or disciples, then them. But do you have neither disciples nor servants? Yet you have friends—set these right. And do not tell me, “We have driven away the greater number of oaths, and now are caught only rarely.” Remove even this rare occasion. If you were to lose a single gold coin, would you not go all around searching and seeking until you found it? Do this also with regard to oaths. If you see that one oath has escaped you, mourn, groan, as though all your substance had been lost. Again I say what I said before: shut yourself up in your house, make it an exercise and training together with your wife, with your children, and with those who live with you. Say first to yourself: I will touch neither private matters nor public ones until I have corrected my own soul. If you train your own sons, they too will teach their own, and so the commandment, advancing in this way until the consummation and coming of Christ, will bring all this reward to those who first supplied the root. If your son learns to say, Swear not, he will not be able to go up to the theater, nor enter a tavern, nor spend time with dice; for this saying, lying upon his mouth like a bridle, will make him blush and feel shame even against his will, if ever he should be found in those places, and will quickly force him to spring away. But they laugh, you say. Yet you, for your part, weep for their lawlessness. Many once laughed at Noah too, when he was building the ark; but when the flood came, he laughed at them—or rather, the righteous man never laughed at them at all, but mourned and groaned. So when you see people laughing, reflect that those who laugh now will then endure the bitterest weeping and gnashing of teeth, and on that day, grinding and groaning, they will remember this laughter. Then you will remember this laughter. How greatly the rich man laughed at Lazarus! But afterward, when he saw him in Abraham’s bosom, he then lamented himself. Therefore, keeping all these things in mind, press everyone quickly toward the fulfillment of the commandment. And do not tell me, little by little, nor put it off until tomorrow; for tomorrow never comes to an end. Forty days have now passed. If, then, the holy Pascha passes, I will no longer excuse anyone, nor will I offer mere exhortation, but command and an uncompromising severity that cannot be despised. For this defense from habit is not a strong one. Why does the thief not plead habit and so escape punishment? Why does the murderer and the adulterer not do the same? Therefore I forewarn and solemnly testify to all that if, after meeting with you privately and making trial of you—and I certainly will make trial—I find some who have not corrected this defect, I will exact punishment by ordering them to remain outside the Holy Mysteries, not so that they may remain outside, but so that, after correcting themselves, they may then enter and partake of the Holy Table with a pure conscience; for this is what it is to share in Communion.” – John Chrysostom, Homily 20 on the Statues, Migne PG 49.208-12

“…For that what was said was not hypocrisy becomes clear when he [Paul] is compelled by no necessity to do or say anything of the sort, but wishes only to show his own disposition and boldness. Hear him saying: “Neither life nor death, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38–39). Do you see a love hotter than fire? So let us also love Christ in this way; for indeed it is easy, if we are willing. For neither was he such by nature. That is why his earlier deeds, the very opposite of these, were also written down, so that we might learn that this is the work of choice, and that all things are easy for those who are willing. Let us not, then, despair; but even if you are abusive, or greedy, or whatever you may be, consider that Paul was a blasphemer and a persecutor and an insolent man, and the chief of sinners, and yet suddenly he ascended to the very summit of virtue, and his former life became no hindrance to him at all. And yet no one has ever clung to wickedness with such madness as he clung to the war against the Church. For at that time he had surrendered even his own soul to the cause, and he was grieved that he did not have ten thousand hands, so that with them all he might hurl stones at Stephen. Yet even so he found a way to strike him with more hands—the hands of the false witnesses, whose garments he was guarding. And when he entered into the houses, he rushed in like a wild beast, dragging men and women away, tearing through everything, filling all with uproar and confusion and ten thousand conflicts. So fearful indeed was he that even after his most noble change the apostles still did not yet dare to join themselves to him. And yet after all those things he became what he became; for there is no need to say anything more. Where then are those who build up the necessity of fate against the freedom of choice? Let them hear these things and be silenced. For nothing can hinder the man who is willing to become good, even if before this he was among the very worst. And indeed we are the more fitted for this because virtue is according to nature for us, while wickedness is contrary to nature, just as sickness and health are. For God gave us eyes not so that we might look in a licentious way, but so that, marveling at His works, we might worship the One who made them. And that this is the proper use of the eyes is clear from the things we see. For we behold the beauty of the sun and of heaven from an immense distance; but the beauty of a woman no one could make out from so far away. Do you see that the eye has been made more for that purpose? Again, He made the hearing not so that we might receive blasphemous words, but saving doctrines. For this reason, whenever it receives something harsh, both the soul and even the body itself are numbed. “The talk of a man given to many oaths makes the hair stand upright,” he says (Sirach 27:5). And if we hear something savage or cruel, again we shudder; but if we hear something harmonious and humane, we are gladdened and rejoice. And our mouth too, when it utters shameful things, makes us feel ashamed and want to hide ourselves; but if it speaks grave and honorable things, it sends them forth with boldness and complete freedom. For no one is ashamed of what is according to nature, but of what is contrary to nature. And when hands seize by force, they hide themselves and look for excuses; but if they give alms, they even take pride in themselves. So then, if we are willing, we have from every side a strong inclination toward virtue. And if you speak to me of the pleasure that comes from wickedness, consider that even this we reap more abundantly from virtue. For to have a good conscience, and to be admired by all, and to await good hopes—these are sweeter than all things to one who has considered the nature of pleasure; just as the opposite things are more painful than all to one who knows the nature of grief: to be reproached by all, to be condemned by those at home, to tremble and be afraid both of the things to come and of the things present.” – John Chrysostom, Homily 22 on 1 Corinthians, Migne PG 61.185-186

“If you should say in your heart—for you will no longer have authority even to utter a sound—“Can the Ethiopian change his skin?” (Jeremiah 13:23). Then for what reason do you accuse? For what reason do you send prophets? For what reason do you say, “You were not willing to listen to Me”? If wickedness belongs to nature, why do you blame them? Do you see the absurdity? But the absurdity comes from our own foolishness. For what he means to say is this: You have almost turned wickedness born of choice into a fixed habit. For learning is not a matter of nature. The man who learns was formerly in ignorance, and then he learns. Therefore he is not wicked by nature; for what belongs to nature has no need of learning. We do not learn that we must sleep, nor that we must see the light. For these things are natural, and we do not wait for a teacher, but they come upon us whether we will or not. But where it is possible both to learn and not to know, there learning comes out of ignorance. What then does he mean? He speaks in an exaggerated way, just as we also say, “This boy cannot be set right; he has a bad nature,” so that even in this way, once ashamed, they may change.” – John Chrysostom, Fragments on Jeremiah, Migne PG 64.889-92

“To the man who wants always to be idle and asleep, even to partake of food and drink certainly seems burdensome; but those who are awake and sober do not shrink even from things that are truly astonishing and hard to accomplish, but with greater boldness dare them more readily than slack and drowsy men face things that are very easy. For nothing, nothing is so easy that great laziness does not make it seem to us very heavy and oppressive, just as diligence and zeal make even what is laborious and difficult exceedingly easy. For tell me, what was harder than every day to face dangers threatening death? And yet the blessed Paul called even this light, saying thus: “For the momentary lightness of affliction is working for us, beyond measure unto measure, an eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17). For even if the thing is heavy by nature, yet by the hope of the things to come it becomes light; and this very thing he himself also gave as the reason when he said: “while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen” (2 Corinthians 4:18).” – John Chrysostom, To Demetrius on Repentance I, chapter 5, Migne PG 47.402

“Let us not deceive ourselves, beloved, by saying that it is impossible for someone now to become like Paul. As for grace and signs, there will no longer be another Paul after this; but as for exactness of life, each one who is willing could become such a man. And if they are not, it is only because they are unwilling. But indeed I do not know how I have fallen into such folly, seeking among the men of the present time some who are like Paul, when I am not able even to see men like the third or fourth after him. For these things it is right to mourn and weep and lament, not for one day only, nor for a second, but for one’s whole life. For if a man should establish himself in this habit, he will scarcely sin any longer. And if you do not trust my word, examine those who are mourning—I mean worldly mourning—not one of the common sort, who already lives a hard life, but one of those soft and luxurious people who know nothing except living in pleasure. For these very men, these who make it their practice to get drunk and to pamper their belly, who carry their midday meals on until evening and stretch their dinners into the middle of the night, who seize what belongs to others and spare neither widow nor poor man nor weak man, who show great cruelty—if ever they are overtaken by a grievous mourning strong enough to overturn and shake the soul from below, then, after casting out all those foolish and lawless desires, they are transferred into the life of philosophers, showing austerity, wakefulness, sleeping on the ground, endurance, fasting, silence, gentleness, humility, and great love for mankind.” – John Chrysostom, To Demetrius on Repentance I, chapter 9, Migne PG 47.408

“For better were it to be defiled with unclean mud than with sins; for he who is defiled with the one, washes it off in a little time, and becomes like one who had never from the first fallen into that slough; but he who has fallen into the deep pit of sin has contracted a defilement that is not cleansed by water, but needs long time, and strict repentance, and tears and lamentations, and more wailing, and that more fervent, than we show over the dearest friends. For this defilement attaches to us from without, wherefore we also speedily put it away; but the other is generated from within, wherefore also we wash it off with difficulty, and cleanse ourselves from it. For from the heart (it is said) proceed evil thoughts, fornications, adulteries, thefts, false witnesses. Matthew 15:19 Wherefore also the Prophet said, Create in me a clean heart, O God. Psalm 51:10 And another, Wash your heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem. Jeremiah 4:14 (You see that it is both our [work] and God’s.) And again, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8 Let us become clean to the utmost of our power. Let us wipe away our sins. And how to wipe them away, the prophet teaches, saying, Wash you, make you clean, put away your wickedness from your souls, before My eyes. Isaiah 1:16 What is before My eyes? Because some seem to be free from wickedness, but only to men, while to God they are manifest as being whited sepulchers. Therefore He says, so put them away as I see. Learn to do well, seek judgment, do justice for the poor and lowly. Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord: and though your sins be as scarlet, I will make you white as snow, and if they be as crimson, I will make you white as wool. Isaiah 1:17-18 You see that we must first cleanse ourselves, and then God cleanses us. For having said first, Wash you, make you clean, He then added I will make you white. Let no one then, [even] of those who have come to the extremest wickedness, despair of himself. For (He says) even if you have passed into the habit, yea and almost into the nature of wickedness itself, be not afraid. Therefore taking [the instance of] colors that are not superficial but almost of the substance of the materials, He said that He would bring them into the opposite state. For He did not simply say that He would wash us, but that He would make us white, as snow and as wool, in order to hold out good hopes before us. Great then is the power of repentance, at least if it makes us as snow, and whitens us as wool, even if sin have first got possession and dyed our souls. Let us labor earnestly then to become clean; He has enjoined nothing burdensome. Judge the fatherless, and do justice for the widow. Isaiah 1:17 You see everywhere how great account God makes of mercy, and of standing forward in behalf of those that are wronged.” – John Chrysostom, Homily 12 on Hebrews

“…But easier than all these, if we have the will, is virtue, and the going up into Heaven. For here it is only necessary to have the will, and all [the rest] follows. For we may not say, I am unable, neither accuse the Creator. For if He made us unable, and then commands, it is an accusation against Himself. In everything then, wishing alone is not sufficient, but work must also be added; and when you wish to mount up to heaven, do you merely say, “I wish”? How then (he says) did you say that willing is sufficient? [I meant] willing joined with deeds, the laying hold on the thing itself, the laboring. For we have God working with us, and acting with us. Only let us make our choice, only let us apply ourselves to the matter as to work, only let us think earnestly about it, only let us lay it to heart, and all follows. But if we sleep on, and as we snore expect to enter into heaven, how shall we be able to obtain the heavenly inheritance? Let us therefore be willing, I exhort you, let us be willing. Why do we carry on all our traffic with reference to the present life, which tomorrow we shall leave? Let us choose then that Virtue which will suffice us through all eternity: wherein we shall be continually, and shall enjoy the everlasting good things” – John Chrysostom, Homily 16 on Hebrews

“For worldly things are a winter, and than winter more lowering. For not frost is engendered thence nor rain, neither does it produce mire and deep swamps; but, things than all these more grievous, it forms hell and the miseries of hell. And as in severe frost all the limbs are stiffened and are dead, so truly the soul shuddering in the winter of sins also, performs none of its proper functions, stiffened, as it were, by a frost, as to conscience. For what cold is to the body, that an evil conscience is to the soul, whence also comes cowardice. For nothing is more cowardly than the man that is riveted to worldly things; for such an one lives the life of Cain, trembling every day. And why do I mention deaths, and losses, and offenses, and flatteries, and services? For even without these he is in fear of ten thousand vicissitudes. And his coffers indeed are full of gold, but his soul is not freed from the fear of poverty. And very reasonably. For he is moored as it were on rotten and swiftly shifting things, and even though in his own case he experienced not the reverse, yet is he undone by seeing it happen in others; and great is his cowardice, great his unmanliness. For not only is such an one spiritless as to danger, but also as to all other things. And if desire of wealth assail him, he does not like a free man beat off the assault; but like a bought slave, does all [it bids], serving the love of money as it were a severe mistress. If again he have beheld some comely damsel, down he crouches at once made captive, and follows like a raging dog, though it behooves to do the opposite. For when you have beheld a beautiful woman, consider not how you may enjoy your lust, but how be delivered from your lust. ‘And how is this possible,’ says one? ‘for loving is not my own doing.’ Whose then? Tell me. It is from the Devil’s malice. You are quite convinced that that which plots against you is a devil; wrestle then and fight with a distemper. But I cannot, he says. Come then, let us first teach you this, that what happens is from your own listlessness, and that you at the first gave entrance to the Devil, and now if you have a mind, with much ease may drive him off. They that commit adultery, is it from lust they commit it, or simply from desire of dangers? Plainly from lust. Do they then therefore obtain forgiveness? Certainly not. Why not? Because the sin is their own.  ‘But,’ says one, ‘why, pray, string syllogisms? For my conscience bears me witness that I wish to repel the passion; and cannot, but it keeps close, presses me sore, and afflicts me grievously.’ O man, thou dost wish to repel it, but thou dost not the things repellers should do; but it is with you just as with a man in a fever, who drinking of cold streams to the fill, should say, ‘How many things I devise with the wish to quench this fever, and I cannot; but they stir up my flame the more.’ Let us see then whether at all you too do the things that inflame, yet think you are devising such as quench. ‘I do not,’ he says. Tell me then, what have you ever essayed to do in order to quench the passion? And what is it, in fine, that will increase the passion? For even supposing we be not all of us obnoxious to these particular charges; (for more may be found who are captivated by the love of money than of beauty;) still the remedy to be proposed will be common to all, both to these and to those. For both that is an unreasonable passion, and this, is keener and fiercer than that. When then we have proved victorious over the greater, it is very plain that we shall easily subdue the less also. ‘And how is it,’ says one, ‘that if this be keener, all persons are not made captive by the vice, but a greater number are mad after money?’ Because in the first place this last desire appears to be unattended with danger: next, although that of beauty be even fiercer, yet it is more speedily extinguished; for were it to continue like that of money, it would wholly destroy its captive.

7. Come then, let us discourse to you on this, the love of beauty, and let us see whereby the mischief is increased; for so we shall know whether the fault be ours, or not ours. And if ours, let us do everything to get the better of it; whereas if not ours, why do we afflict ourselves for nought? And why do we not pardon, but find fault, with those who are made captive by it? Whence then is this love engendered? ‘From comeliness of feature,’ says one, ‘when she that wounds one is beautiful and of fair countenance.’ It is said idly and in vain. For if it were beauty that attracted lovers, then would the maiden who is such have all men for her lovers; but if she has not all, this thing comes not of nature nor from beauty, but from unchaste eyes. For it was when by eyeing too curiously , you admired and become enamored, that you received the shaft. ‘And who,’ says one, ‘when he sees a beautiful woman, can refrain from commending her he sees? If then admiring such things comes not of deliberate choice, it follows that love depends not on ourselves.’ Stop, O man! Why do you crowd all things together, running round and round on every side, and not choosing to see the root of the evil? For I see numbers admiring and commending, who yet are not enamored. ‘And how is it possible to admire and not be enamored?’ Clamor not, (for this I am coming to speak of,) but wait, and you shall hear Moses admiring the son of Jacob, and saying, “And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favored exceedingly.” Genesis 39:6, Septuagint Was he then enamored who speaks this? By no means. ‘For,’ says he, ‘he did not even see him whom he commended.’ We are affected, however, somewhat similarly towards beauties also which are described to us, not only which are beheld. But that thou cavil not with us on this point:— David, was he not comely exceedingly, and ruddy with beauty of eyes? So 1 Samuel 16:12 and 17:42, Septuagint and indeed this beauty of the eyes, is even especially, a component of beauteousness of more despotic power than any. Was then any one enamored of him? By no means. Then to be also enamored comes not [necessarily] with admiring. For many too have had mothers blooming exceedingly in beauty of person. What then? Were their children enamored of them? Away with the thought! But they admire what they see, yet fall not into a shameful love. ‘No, for again this good provision is Nature’s.’ How Nature’s? Tell me. ‘Because they are mothers,’ he says. Then do you not hear that Persians, and that without any compulsion, have intercourse with their own mothers, and that not one or two individuals, but a whole nation? But independent of these, it is hence also evident that this distemper comes not from bloom of person nor from beauty merely, but from a listless and wandering soul. Many at least it is certain, oftentimes, having passed over thousands of well-favored women, have given themselves to such as were plainer. Whence it is evident that love depends not on beauty: for otherwise, surely, those would have caught such as fell into it, before these. What then is its cause? ‘For,’ says he, ‘if it be not beauty that causes love, whence has it its beginning and its root? From a wicked Demon?’ It has it indeed, thence also, but this is not what we are inquiring about, but whether we ourselves too be not the cause. For the plot is not theirs only, but along with them our own too in the first place. For from no other source is this wicked distemper so engendered as from habit, and flattering words, and leisure, and idleness, and having nothing to do. For great, great is the tyranny of habit, even so great as to be moulded into a necessity of nature. Now if it be habit’s to gender it, it is very evident that it is also [habit’s] to extinguish it. Certain it is at least that many have in this way ceased to be enamored, from not seeing those they were enamored of. Now this for a little while indeed appears to be a bitter thing and exceedingly unpleasant; but in time it becomes pleasant, and even were they to wish it, they could not afterwards resume the passion.

8. How then, when without habit one is taken captive at first sight? Here also it is indolence of body, or self-indulgence, and not attending to one’s duties, nor being occupied in necessary business. For such an one, wandering about like some vagabond, is transfixed by any wickedness; and like a child let loose, any one that likes makes such a soul his slave. For since it is its wont to be at work, when you stop its workings in what is good, seeing it cannot be unemployed, it is compelled to engender what is otherwise. For just as the earth, when it is not sown nor planted, sends up simply weeds; so also the soul, when it has nought of necessary things to do, being desirous by all means to be doing, gives herself unto wicked deeds. And as the eye never ceases from seeing, and therefore will see wicked things, when goodthings are not set before it; so also does the thought, when it secludes itself from necessary things, busy itself thereafter about such as are unprofitable. For that even the first assault occupation and thought are able to beat off, is evident from many things. When then you have looked on a beautiful woman, and were moved towards her, look no more, and you are delivered. ‘And how shall I be able to look no more,’ says he, ‘when drawn by that desire?’ Give yourself to other things which may distract the soul, to books, to necessary cares, to protecting others, to assisting the injured, to prayers, to the wisdom which considers the things to come: with such things as these bind down your soul. By these means, not only shall you cure a recent wound, but shall wear away a confirmed and inveterate one easily. For if an insult according to the proverb prevails with the lover to give over his love, how shall not these spiritual charms much rather be victorious over the evil, if only we have a mindto stand aloof. But if we are always conversing and associating with those who shoot such arrows at us, and talking with them and hearing what they say, we cherish the distemper. How then do you expect the fire to be quenched, when day by day you stir up the flame? And let this that we have said about habit be our speech unto the young; since to those who are men and taught in heavenly wisdom, stronger than all is the fear of God, the remembrance of hell, the desire of the kingdom of heaven; for these are able to quench the fire. And along with these take that thought also, that what you see is nothing else than rheum, and blood, and juices of decomposed food. ‘Yet a gladsome thing is the bloom of the features,’ says one. But nothing is more gladsome than the blossoms of the earth, and these too rot and wither. Do not then in this either give heed to the bloom, but pass on further inward in your thought, and stripping off that beauteous skin in your thought, scan curiously what lies beneath it. For even the bodies of the dropsical shine brightly, and the surface has nothing offensive; but still, shocked with the thought of the humor stored within we cannot love such persons.” – John Chrysostom, Homily 7 on 2 Corinthians

“Convinced then of this, let us hold fast to virtue, and pass our lives safely, taking care to avoid the slightest appearance of sin in word or deed. In this way, you see, we will never fall into the worst of sins if we avoid small ones; and with the passage of time we will be able under the influence of help from on high to attain the pinnacle of virtue, escape any future punishment, and gain eternal reward, through the grace and loving kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ.” – John Chrysostom, Homily 13 on Genesis

“Accordingly, let no one blame somebody else and impute the guilt to others, but attribute it all to his own negligence. Why do I say to others? Let no one think the devil himself is sufficient to bar the way leading to virtue: he deceives and undoes the negligent, but he really can’t impede or coerce. Experience itself makes clear that, provided we are prepared to be on the alert, we can display such resolution that despite numerous efforts to impel us down the way of wickedness we will resist their evil design, prove stronger than any steel and block our ears against the inducements of those counseling knavery. Whenever, on the contrary, we become negligent, no matter if there is no one to counsel or undo us, we would be impelled by our own impulse to lay at anchor in wickedness. You see, if responsibility did not rest in our choice and in our control over our attitudes, and if the loving God had not made our nature independent, it would have been inevitable for everyone sharing our nature and affected by the same passions to be all evil or all virtuous. When, however, we see our peers, even those handicapped by the same passions, not afflicted with the same weaknesses as ourselves but ordering nature with steady judgement, surviving wild impulses, reining in desire, suppressing rage, shunning envy, uprooting jealousy, spurning the pangs of greed, thinking little of reputation, mocking all the favor of this world, and setting their heart on true glory and prizing God’s approval above all visible goods, is it not patent that in the wake of heavenly grace they are able to achieve these noble feats by their own efforts while we fall victim to our own negligence, betray our salvation and leave ourselves bereft of favor from above? Hence, I beg you, let us consider these matters, constantly meditate on them, and never blame the devil but rather our own negligent attitude. I say this, not out of a desire to discharge him of any condemnation-perish the thought: he goes about like a lion to seize his prey, roaring and stalking a victim to devour. (1 Peter 5:8) Rather, my intention is to put us more on the alert lest we think ourselves above reproach, advance readily in this way towards wickedness and utter those frivolous words, Why did God let such a wicked creature loose to ensnare and overthrow us? These words, after all, would be a mark of deepest ingratitude. Instead, take this thought to heart, that the particular reason that he turned him loose was that under the pressure of fear and on the lookout for the enemy’s assault we might display great alertness and constant watchfulness, and in the hope of reward and as guarantee of those ineffable eternal blessings we might make light of the difficulties of virtue. Why are you amazed if that was the reason he let the devil loose, caring as he does for our salvation, anxious to stir us from our indifference, and providing us with some title to reward? His purpose in preparing hell itself was that the fear of punishment and the unbearable character of its torments might impel us towards the kingdom. Do you see the Lord’s inventive love? how he does everything and adopts stratagems not only to save those created by him but also to regale them with ineffable blessings? For this reason, too, he endowed us with free will, and implanted in our nature and our conscience the knowledge of evil and of virtue, gave the devil free rein and threatened us with hell so that we might not have experience of hell but have the good fortune to reach the kingdom.” – John Chrysostom, Homily 23 on Genesis

“Let no one say to me: “I am so ashamed. I have a conscience filled with sins. I am carrying the heaviest of burdens.” The period of five days is time enough to cut away the multitude of your sins if you are sober and watchful and if you pray. Do not look to the shortness of the time but consider the loving-kindness of the master. The people of Nineveh drove off God’s great wrath in three days. The narrow span of time did not deter them, but after their eager souls won for them the master’s loving-kindness, they were able to accomplish the whole task.” – John Chrysostom, On the Incomprehensible Nature of God 6.30

Didymus the Blind:

“ Next, it is written that Elymas the magician, the son of the devil, who lived a life of wickedness and malice, was full of all deceit and wickedness. Satan his father practically instilled this will in him and it became by habit like second nature. And so, when the Apostle Paul exposed and rebuked him, he said: You are full of all deceit and all iniquity, you son of the devil! [Acts 13.10]. … ” – Didymus the Blind, On the Holy Spirit, section 261

Augustine:

I acknowledge and embrace the testimonies of the divine Scriptures, and I will briefly explain, as God may deign to grant, how they agree with my faith. I say that free choice of the will existed in that man who was first formed. He was so made that absolutely nothing would resist his will, if he wished to keep the commandments of God. But after he himself sinned by free will, we who descend from his stock were cast down into necessity. Yet each one of us can, by moderate reflection, discover that what I say is true. For today, in our actions, before we become entangled by any habit, we have free choice either to do something or not to do it. But when by that freedom we have done something, and the harmful sweetness and pleasure of the deed has taken hold of the soul, by that very habit it becomes so entangled that afterward it cannot overcome what it has fashioned for itself by sinning. We see many who do not want to swear; but because habit has already taken hold of their tongue, they are unable to restrain themselves, so that those things come out of their mouth which we cannot say do not belong to the offspring of evil. So that I may speak to you in words drawn from your own usage—would that they were understood in the heart just as they do not depart from your mouth—you swear “by the Paraclete.” If therefore you want to test whether what I say is true, make it your rule not to swear. You will see that habit being carried where it is accustomed to go. And this is what fights against the soul: habit formed in the flesh. This indeed is the mind of the flesh, which, so long as it cannot be subject to the law of God, is the mind of the flesh; but once the soul has been enlightened, it ceases to be the mind of the flesh. For it was said that the mind of the flesh cannot be subject to the law of God (Romans 8:7), in the same way as if one were to say that icy snow cannot be warm. For by no means can it be warm so long as it is snow. But just as that snow is melted by heat and ceases to be snow, so that it can become warm, so too that mind of the flesh—that is, habit formed together with the flesh—when our mind has been enlightened, and God has subjected the whole man to the rule of the divine law, then for that evil habit of the soul it makes a good habit. From this it was most truly said by the Lord concerning those two trees, the good tree and the evil tree, which you mentioned, that they have their own fruits; that is, neither can the good one bear evil fruits, nor the evil one good fruits, but only so long as it is evil. Let us take two men, a good man and an evil man. So long as the good man is good, he cannot bear evil fruits; so long as the evil man is evil, he cannot bear good fruits. But so that you may understand that these two trees were set forth by the Lord in such a way as to signify freewill—that these two trees are not two natures, but our wills—He Himself says in the Gospel: “Either make the tree good, or make the tree bad” (Matthew 12:33). Who is there that can make a nature? If therefore we are commanded to make the tree either good or bad, it belongs to us to choose what we will. Therefore concerning this sin of man, and concerning this habit of the soul formed together with the flesh, the Apostle says: “Let no one deceive you” (Ephesians 5:6). “Every creature of God is good” (1 Timothy 4:4). The same Apostle whom you yourself mentioned says: “Just as through the disobedience of one man many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of One many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19). “For since death came through a man, through a man also came the resurrection of the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:21). Therefore, so long as we bear “the image of the earthly man” (1 Corinthians 15:49), that is, so long as we live according to the flesh, which is also called the old man, we have the necessity of our habit, so that we do not do what we will. But when the grace of God has inspired in us divine love, and has made us subject to His will—to us of whom it was said, “You were called into freedom” (Galatians 5:13), and, “The grace of God has set me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2)—for the law of sin is this: that whoever sins shall die. We are set free from that law when we begin to be righteous. The law of death is that by which it was said to man: “You are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). For from him we are all born in this condition, because we are dust, and we shall go into the dust because of the guilt of the first man’s sin. But through the grace of God, which sets us free from the law of sin and death, once turned to righteousness we are set free, so that afterward that same flesh which tormented us with punishments while we remained in sins may in the resurrection be subjected to us, and may shake us by no opposition so as to hinder us from keeping the law of God and the divine commandments. Therefore, since I have answered your points, do you now deign to answer the thing I desire: how can it be that, if there is a nature contrary to God, sin is imputed to us, seeing that we were sent into that nature not by our own will, but by God Himself, to whom nothing could be harmed? – Augustine, Acts or Disputation Against Fortunatus the Manichæan, chapter 22, PL 42.124-26

“There is within us, isn’t there, a certain power which moves itself and its other servant functions [i.e. freewill]. The one who controls only has to be good himself, and he can overcome any bad habit at all with the help of grace.” – Augustine, Sermon 16A, chapter 3

Caesarius of Arles:

We, too, who are seen to be some sort of spiritual doctors, though unworthy ones, must not always prescribe what is flattering and tender, but, sometimes, what is harsh and severe for those who appear sick in soul. Now, just as harmful fluids are eliminated by an exceedingly bitter potion, so the worst habits of sin are diminished by harsh reproof. — Caesarius of Arles, Sermon 5

Gregory the Great:

“If you regard yourself as a sinner, it is only right that you not drive God away from you! But those who see that they are weak, and are for this reason unwilling to improve their habits or way of life, are like people admitting that they are sinners, and at the same time banishing God. They flee him whom they ought to hallow in themselves; even in the agony of death they do not know where to turn and cling to life.” – Gregory the Great, Homily 18 (Forty Gospel Homilies)