In Praise of the Holy Martyrs · §4 · Hesychius of Jerusalem

Pursue all virtues together

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The preacher is closing his address to the congregation, urging them to pursue all the virtues he has just discussed so that they may be counted worthy of the kingdom of heaven.

So then, beloved, let us be eager to pursue these virtues, so that we may be counted worthy of the kingdom of heaven. Do not be zealous about faith, beloved, yet more sluggish about zeal itself; do not be hardworking about the Scriptures, yet unphilosophical about your character. For you must be rich in good works, in word, in wisdom, in self-control, in righteousness, in courage, in piety, in prudence, and in holiness. For just as wickedness punishes those who pursue it even before hell, so virtue makes those who work at it feast in delight even before the kingdom.

Greek

Σπουδάσωμεν οὖν, ἀγαπητοί, τὰς ἀρετὰς ταύτας μετελθεῖν, ἵνα

τῆς τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείας καταξιωθῶμεν. Μὴ ἴσθι, ἀγαπητέ, περὶ μὲν τὴν πίστιν σπουδαῖος, περὶ δὲ τὴν σπουδὴν ὀκνηρότερος, μὴ περὶ μὲν τὰς γραφὰς φιλόπονος, περὶ δὲ τὰ ἤθη ἀφιλόσοφος· πλουτεῖν γὰρ δεῖ ἐν ἔργοις ἀγαθοῖς, ἐν λόγῳ, ἐν σοφίᾳ, ἐν σωφροσύνῃ, ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ, ἐν ἀνδρείᾳ, ἐν εὐσεβείᾳ, ἐν φρονήσει καὶ ὁσιότητι· ὥσπερ γὰρ ἡ κακία καὶ πρὸ τῆς γεέννης κολάζει τοὺς μετιόντας αὐτήν, οὕτως ἡ ἀρετὴ τοὺς ἐργαζομένους αὐτὴν καὶ πρὸ τῆς βασιλείας παρασκευάζει τρυφᾶν. 1

About this text

A short sermon urging hearers to gather every virtue, not one, since fasting needs prayer, prayer needs almsgiving, and faith needs love.

This homily is attributed to Hesychius of Jerusalem (fl. c. 412–450), a priest and preacher known for his biblical commentaries and festal addresses. The text as it survives is a fragment, and the attribution is not certain, but it fits the kind of encomium on martyrs that Hesychius was known to deliver. It is addressed to a congregation as brothers and fathers, and its purpose is to urge them toward a complete life of virtue rather than a partial one.

The speaker calls the hearers into the Spirit's garden and tells them to gather not one virtue but all of them, because virtues depend on one another like stones in a tower or steps in a ladder. He argues that each virtue is incomplete without another: fasting needs prayer, prayer needs almsgiving, almsgiving needs faith, gentleness needs humility, and faith needs love.

A reader will meet Cornelius, whose prayers and alms were remembered before God, and will hear words from Jesus and from an angel speaking to Cornelius, as well as from an unnamed scriptural speaker. The key terms are virtue, fasting, prayer, almsgiving, faith, gentleness, humility, love, crown, and kingdom of heaven.

Printed text used

Translated from PG 93 (Greek)

This work has passed this project's source check. This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.