The second homily on Saint Pelagia has traditionally circulated under the name of Saint John Chrysostom and was regarded by Montfaucon as probably genuine. For a long time, however, that judgment rested largely upon a Latin translation, which is itself somewhat free and occasionally inaccurate. The Greek original remained unknown to Montfaucon and was published only later by Franchi de’ Cavalieri from Vaticanus graecus 2033, the manuscript that preserves the text. Franchi undertook a detailed examination of the homily precisely because the Greek original made possible a much more serious judgment about its authorship.
Franchi begins by acknowledging that there are substantial reasons for associating the work with Chrysostom. The homily is brief but well organized, with a clear exordium, narrative, and peroration, and its subject matter and rhetorical manner resemble the first homily on Pelagia. Several expressions, images, and turns of phrase also have close parallels in Chrysostom's unquestionably genuine works. The description of Pelagia as combining the innocence of the dove with the prudence of the serpent, the imagery of the net and the escaped prey, the contrast between the martyr's body and the bodiless devil, the dramatic apostrophe to the devil after Pelagia's leap, and several of the exhortations at the conclusion all have recognizable Chrysostomian parallels
Yet, in Franchi's judgment, these similarities are outweighed by a series of linguistic and stylistic difficulties. The author repeatedly employs words and constructions that are possible in Greek and sometimes even occur individually in Chrysostom, but which are unusual enough to raise serious doubts when they occur together in so short a work. Among the more significant examples are ἀντάξιος used in the sense of “worthy,” μεταδιώκω in an unusual construction, τρόπαιον ἀνελεῖσθαι, and especially the verb ἀνακινεῖν in the sense of mentally turning something over within oneself. Franchi argues that the cumulative effect is unlike the linguistic precision normally characteristic of Chrysostom
The same problem appears in the homily's syntax and rhetorical structure. Franchi points to the unusually short, highly cadenced sentences, which follow one another with such regularity that the prose begins to resemble verse. Although Chrysostom certainly uses rhythmic clausulae, his genuine compositions generally move through broader, more varied and flexible periods. The monotonous succession of short, carefully balanced phrases in this homily strikes Franchi as a significant departure from his normal style. He also notes several expressions that appear linguistically strained or difficult to reconcile with Chrysostom's established usage.
Several individual passages intensify the problem. The description of Pelagia throwing herself from “the wing of the roof” appears to reflect the language of Matthew 4:5 and Luke 4:9 rather than the terminology normally used by Chrysostom for an Antiochene rooftop. More seriously, the transmitted reading νεκραί γὰρ κἂν παροινῶσιν, οὐκ εἴσομαι is grammatically problematic, and Franchi considers it very unlikely to have been written in this form by so careful a writer. He similarly questions καθ’ ὅλων γὰρ σου κυβιστήσει τῶν ἄντρων, arguing that “caves” does not suit the context and that κέντρων, referring to the devil's weapons or “goads,” may underlie the corrupt reading.
The final exhortation provides another particularly striking difficulty. The phrase δικαστὴν ἐκ πειρασμῶν μεταλλεύωμεν, literally “let us mine a judge from temptations,” employs a mining metaphor in a manner Franchi finds foreign to Chrysostom's normal usage. More significantly, the homilist alters Paul's wording in Philippians 3:21, replacing μετασχηματίσει with μεταχωνεύσει, “will recast” or “will remelt.” Although Chrysostom elsewhere makes use of the imagery of a furnace and the melting of metal, Franchi regards the substitution here as difficult to attribute to him, particularly in a direct citation of Scripture.
Franchi therefore concludes that the second homily should be excluded from the genuine works of Saint John Chrysostom and attributed instead to an educated but considerably inferior imitator who knew Chrysostom's writings and rhetorical manner well. At the same time, his conclusion rests not upon a single decisive defect but upon the cumulative weight of vocabulary, syntax, rhetorical construction, imagery, and textual difficulties. The homily is consequently of particular interest precisely because it stands so close to the Chrysostomian tradition while revealing, under closer examination, characteristics that distinguish it from the work of the Antiochene orator himself.
Editorial note: In the translation that follows, the Greek text has been rendered as transmitted in Vaticanus graecus 2033, including readings that Franchi regarded as corrupt or doubtful; such readings are identified in the notes rather than silently emended. This allows the reader to distinguish between the manuscript text and the conjectures proposed by the modern editor.
A greater theater was indeed fitting for Pelagia, for great are the contests of the maiden and worthy of an audience of many people. Yet Christ is sufficient in place of the whole world, being present at the festival of the virgin; for where Christ is present, there is the choir of all the angels.
Thus every martyr, through swords and tortures, shows the body eager for combat, preparing a great spectacle for the devil, conquering the bodiless one through the body and contending against iron through flesh. But when I see even a maiden laboring toward death for the sake of the Crucified One, I laugh even more broadly at the devil’s audacity, who, fabricating countless prophecies, as though foretelling the future through them, did not foretell his own mockery today, which is worthy of very great laughter. For what could anyone find more laughable than the mockery that the devil has suffered today? For having a virgin in a net, he has fallen from his prey, and having laid hold of the maiden, he did not capture her, having grasped, as it were, a shadow rather than herself.
For the maiden, combining both the innocence of the dove and the prudence of the serpent,[1] was caught as an innocent dove, but, as a prudent one, eluded the serpent. For, having been captured, she did not despair of victory, nor was her understanding held captive along with the flesh; rather, she devised a stratagem that would answer the audacity of those who had seized her. What then? She pretends repentance, and, shipwrecked in so great a storm, puts cheerfulness upon her face. And they, deceived by the pretense and captivated by the maiden’s cheerfulness, were moved by a certain human feeling toward her and, when she asked permission to put on bridal attire, granted it, thinking that they would not only do a favor to the virgin, but also appear superior to the judge if they were to lead away a maiden adorned.
Having mastered her stratagem, she immediately put on the true adornment; for having girded herself with boldness and clothed herself with the hopes of the resurrection, she ran to the pinnacle of the roof and from there threw herself down, and she prevails in the very contest that the devil had once dared to propose to the Lord as a great one, saying, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down.”[2]
Even before considering her faith, I marvel at the maiden’s boldness. For who would not have been inwardly shaken? “I commit myself to a forced fall, fearing to be prostituted. Good is the purpose, if the fall should be made certain by death; for once dead, even if they outrage me, I shall not know it.[3] But if, indeed, having struck the earth, I should shatter the vital parts of my body, and my soul should remain in my limbs, mourning the injury to my body, I shall suffer what I fear when brought before the judge. For having shattered the body and handed it over to prostitution, they will release it dishonored, so that my misfortune may be twofold, both because the use of my body has been impaired by the fall and because my virginity has been stolen from me.” Such things would have terrified another maiden; but she, trusting in faith as the surety of her end, rushed boldly toward the fall of her body.
You have been captured by a maiden, O devil; you have been defeated by the boldness of a virgin. For the things that you proposed to your own Master, some maiden, His servant, challenges you to these very things, and, running to the pinnacle of the roof, hurls herself down from there. She does not obey you when called before a judge; she does not accept the battle you set before her. For she knows the intent of your cunning. You often call virgins before judges as though for scourging, and without a battle you cast out those whom you have conquered in battle, even more bitterly. But if you truly summon her to battle, or send the maiden to the arena, grapple with her as she throws herself from the roof; await her as she falls from there. Stand and test the wrestling; sharpen whatever cunning you wish. You have the earth instead of an arena; drive the sword of death into it, lay out a man-killing counterstroke beneath her, prepare crushing for her descent; for she will dive headlong against all your caves,[4] as though they were softer pools.
And what is more, even what is written does not require God to command the angels concerning her, lest her body strike against a stone, but rather to command the soul, after the fall of the flesh, to depart.[5] O you who were created as female, yet were shown to be male in disposition. O you who are much contended for by companies of virgins and choirs of martyrs. O you who did not grant even the pleasure of seeing you to an unchaste judge.
Let us therefore also pursue the maiden’s self-control; let us win trophies against pleasures; let us shatter the licentiousness that assails us; let us gird ourselves with piety rather than the soul;[6] let us mine a judge from temptations;[7] let us display boldness at the proper time; let us put to death our members that are upon the earth,[8] so that the Lord may also transform the body of our humiliation, so that it may become conformed to His body,[9] to whom be the glory and the dominion unto the ages. Amen.
[1] Matthew 10:16: “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: therefore be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” The Greek here deliberately combines the innocence of the dove with the prudence of the serpent.
[2] Matthew 4:6.
[3] The Greek reads νεκραί γὰρ κἂν παροινῶσιν, οὐκ εἴσομαι, a grammatically problematic reading. Franchi de’ Cavalieri retains the transmitted text while noting that a corruption is likely and discussing possible alternatives, including νέκραν and ἐμπαροινῶσιν. The translation follows the apparent sense without altering the Greek.
[4] The Greek reads καθ’ ὅλων γὰρ σου κυβιστήσει τῶν ἄντρων, literally “for she will dive headlong against all your caves.” Franchi de’ Cavalieri considers τῶν ἄντρων probably corrupt and discusses τῶν κέντρων as a possible emendation. The transmitted reading is retained here.
[5] Matthew 4:6; Luke 4:10–11.
[6] The preposition πρό in πρὸ τῆς ψυχῆς τὴν εὐσέβειαν σφίγγωμεν is interpreted by Franchi de’ Cavalieri in the comparative sense, “rather than,” as it can be used elsewhere in Chrysostomian Greek. Because the expression is unusual, the translation retains its unusual form rather than replacing it with a freer paraphrase.
[7] Μεταλλεύω means literally “to mine.” The expression δικαστὴν ἐκ πειρασμῶν μεταλλεύωμεν, “let us mine a judge from temptations,” is an unusually extended metaphor. Franchi de’ Cavalieri considers the construction strained and unlike Chrysostom’s normal usage, but the metaphor has been retained in translation rather than replaced with a smoother expression.
[8] Colossians 3:5.
[9] Philippians 3:21.
Source: Pio Franchi de’ Cavalieri, “La ‘Homilia II in S. Pelagiam’ è veramente di S. Giovanni Crisostomo?” in Note agiografiche, Fascicolo 8° (= Studi e Testi 65), Città del Vaticano: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1935, pp. 281–303. The Greek text of the homily, published from Vaticanus graecus 2033, appears on pp. 301–303. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.
Ἔδει μὲν μείζονος τῇ Πελαγίᾳ θεάτρου· μεγάλα γὰρ τῆς κόρης τὰ σκάμματα καὶ πολυανθρώπου θεωρίας ἀντάξια. ἀρκεῖ δὲ ὅμως ἀντὶ τοῦ κόσμου παντὸς ὁ Χριστός, τῇ τῆς παρθένου πανηγύρει παρών· ὅπου γὰρ Χριστὸς ὁ παρών, ἐκεῖ πάντων ὁ χορὸς τῶν ἀγγέλων.
ἅπας μὲν οὖν μάρτυς ξιφῶν καὶ βασάνων δείκνυε τὸ σῶμα φιλονεικότερον, μέγαν τῷ διαβόλῳ κατασκευάζει θεατρισμόν, τὸν ἀσώματον νικῶν διὰ σώματος καὶ πρὸς σίδηρον ἐρίζων διὰ σαρκός. ὅταν δὲ ἴδω καὶ κόρας τὴν ὑπὲρ τοῦ Σταυρωθέντος τελευτὴν ὠδινούσας, πλατύτερον γελῶ τοῦ διαβόλου τὸ θράσος, ὃς μαντεία πλαττόμενος πάμπολλα, ὡς δὴ τὸ μέλλον δι’ αὐτῶν προμηνύων, τὴν οἰκείαν σήμερον οὐκ ἐμάντευσεν χλεύην, πολλοῦ τινος οὖσαν ἀντάξιον γέλωτος. τί γὰρ ἂν γελοιότερον εὕροι τις ἧς ὑπέμεινε σήμερον ὁ διάβολος χλεύης; ἔχων γὰρ ἐν δικτύῳ παρθένον, ἐκπέπτωκε τῆς θήρας, καὶ λαβόμενος τῆς παιδὸς οὐκ ἐλάβετο, καθάπερ σκιάς, οὐκ αὐτῆς δεδραγμένος.
ἡ γὰρ κόρη καὶ τῷ τῆς περιστερᾶς ἀκεραίῳ καὶ τῷ τοῦ ὄφεως κεκραμένη φρονίμῳ, ὡς μὲν ἀκέραιος περιστερὰ συνελήφθη, ὡς δὲ φρόνιμος ὑπεξέκλινεν ὄφις. οὐ γὰρ ἀπέγνω συλληφθεῖσα τὴν νίκην, οὐδὲ συγκατεσχέθη τῇ σαρκὶ καὶ τὴν σύνεσιν· ἀλλ’ ἐσκόπειτο μηχανήν, τὸ τῶν συλλαβόντων ἀντεκλήττουσαν θράσος. τί οὖν; μεταμέλειαν ὑποκρίνεται, καὶ χειμῶνι ναυαγοῦσα τοσούτῳ, παραγγέλλει τῷ προσώπῳ φαιδρότητα. οἱ δὲ δελεασθέντες τῷ πλάσματι καὶ τῇ τῆς κόρης ἱλαρότητι κλαπέντες, ἔπαθόν τι πρὸς αὐτὴν καὶ φιλάνθρωπον καὶ σχῆμα περιθέσθαι νυμφικὸν αἰτησάσῃ διδόασιν ἄδειαν, ὡς οὔ τῇ παρθένῳ χαριούμενοι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ δικαστῇ φανούμενοι κρείττους, εἰ κεκαλλωπισμένην ἀπαγάγοιεν κόρην.
ἡ δὲ τυχοῦσα τῆς τέχνης, τὸν ὄντως εὐθὺς ἠμφίεννυτο κόσμον· ζωσαμένη γὰρ τόλμαν καὶ τὰς τῆς ἀναστάσεως ἐλπίδας ἐνδυσαμένη, πρὸς τὸ τοῦ στέγους πτερύγιον δραμοῦσα, ἐκεῖθεν καθίησιν ἑαυτήν, καὶ νικᾷ πάλης ἰδέαν, ἣν ὡς μεγάλην ποτέ τῷ Κυρίῳ τετολμήκει προτεῖναι <ὁ> διάβολος, Εἰ υἱὸς εἶ τοῦ Θεοῦ, λέγων, βάλε σεαυτὸν κάτω.
πρὸ τῆς πίστεως τὴν εὐτολμίαν τῆς κόρης ἐκπλήττομαι· τίς γὰρ οὐκ ἂν καθ’ ἑαυτὴν ἀνεκίνησεν; Ἐκδίδωμι ἐμαυτὴν πρὸς κατάπτωσιν βεβιασμένην, φοβούμενη πορνεύειν· καλὸς ὁ σκοπός, εἰ θανάτῳ βεβαιωθείη τὸ πτῶμα· νεκραί γὰρ κἂν παροινῶσιν, οὐκ εἴσομαι· ἂν δὲ δὴ προσραγεῖσα τῇ γῇ, θραύσω μὲν τὰ τοῦ σώματος καίρια, ἡ ψυχὴ δὲ ἐμμένῃ τοῖς μέλεσιν, ὀδυρομένη τὴν τοῦ σώματος λώβην, ἃ δέδοικα πείσομαι τῷ δικαστῇ προσαχθεῖσα. τεθραυσμένον γὰρ τὸ σῶμα καὶ πορνείᾳ παραδόντες, ἀπολύσουσιν ἄτιμον, ὥς εἶναί μοι τὴν δυσπραγίαν διττήν, καὶ τῆς τοῦ σώματος χρείας βλαβείσης τῷ πτώματι καὶ τῆς παρθενίας παρ’ ἐμοῦ συληθείσης. ταῦτα ἂν ἄλλην παρετάραξε κόρην· ἡ δὲ ὥσπερ ἐγγυητῇ τοῦ τέλους τῇ πίστει θαρρήσασα, πρὸς τὴν τοῦ πτώματος εὐτολμίαν ἐξώρμα.
ἑάλως ὑπὸ κόρης, διάβολε, νενίκησαι παρθένου τολμήματι· ἃ γὰρ τῷ σαυτοῦ Δεσπότῃ προέτεινας, ἐπὶ ταῦτα δούλη τίς ἐκείνου προκαλεῖταί σε κόρη, καὶ πρὸς τὸ τοῦ στέγους πτερύγιον δραμοῦσα, ἐκεῖθεν ἑαυτὴν ἀκοντίζει. οὐχ ὑπακούει σου διὰ δικαστοῦ καλουμένη, οὐ δέχεται τὴν παρένθετον μάχην· γνωρίζει γὰρ σου τῆς πανουργίας τὴν ἔννοιαν· καλεῖς πολλάκις παρθένους πρὸς δικαστὰς ὡς εἰς μάστιγας, καὶ ἄνευ μάχης τῶν ἐκ μάχης ἐκβάλλεις κεκρατημένας πικρότερον. εἰ δὲ ὄντως καλεῖς πρὸς παράταξιν, ἢ πρὸς σκάμματα μεταστέλλῃ τὴν κόρην, ἐκ τοῦ στέγους ἐμβαλλούσῃ συμπλέκου, ἐκεῖθεν ἐκπεσουμένην ὑπόμεινον. στῆθι καὶ πειρῶ τοῦ παλαίσματος, ἀκόνησον πανουργίαν ἣν βούλει· ἔχεις τὴν γῆν ἀντὶ σκάμματος, κατάπηξον ἐν αὐτῇ τοῦ θανάτου τὸ ξίφος, ἀνθρωποκτόνον ἀντιτυπίαν ὑπόστρωσον, ἐτοίμασον συντριβὴν κατιούσῃ· καθ’ ὅλων γὰρ σου κυβιστήσει τῶν ἄκρων, ὥς κολυμβήθρας ἁπαλωτέρων.
καὶ τὸ δὴ μεῖζον, οὐδὲ τὸ γεγραμμένον ἀπαιτεῖ τὸν Θεὸν τοῖς ἀγγέλοις ἐντείλασθαι περὶ αὐτῆς, μήποτε προσκόψῃ πρὸς λίθον τὸ σῶμα αὐτῆς· ἀλλ’ ἐντείλασθαι τῇ ψυχῇ μετὰ τὸ πτῶμα τῆς σαρκός ἐκδημῆσαι. ὦ κτισθεῖσα μὲν εἰς τὸ τοῦ θήλεος γένος, ἄρρεν δὲ δειχθεῖσα φρονήματι. ὦ παρθένων ἀγέλαις καὶ μαρτύρων χοροῖς περιμάχητε. ὦ μηδὲ μέχρις ὄψεως ἀπόλαυσιν ἀκολάστῳ δικαστῇ παρασχοῦσα.
τὸ τῆς κόρης τοίνυν καὶ αὐτοὶ μεταδιώξωμεν σῶφρον, τὰ κατὰ τῶν ἡδονῶν ἀνελώμεθα τρόπαια, ἀκολασίαν ἐπιοῦσαν ῥήγνυμεν, πρὸ τῆς ψυχῆς τὴν εὐσέβειαν σφίγγωμεν, δικαστὴν ἐκ πειρασμῶν μεταλλεύωμεν, εὐκαίρως ἐπιδειξώμεθα τόλμας, νεκρώσωμεν τὰ μέλη ἡμῶν τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ἵνα καὶ ὁ Κύριος μετασχηματίσῃ τὸ σῶμα τῆς ταπεινώσεως ἡμῶν εἰς τὸ γενέσθαι αὐτὸ σύμμορφον τοῦ σώματος αὐτοῦ, ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. ἀμήν.
Note: The text is transcribed from Pio Franchi de’ Cavalieri’s edition of Vat. gr. 2033 (pp. 301–303). Orthographic and grammatical irregularities of the manuscript have been retained, and no conjectural emendations have been introduced. I have paragraphized the continuous printed text for readability, but I have not introduced conjectural corrections into the Greek. The edition explicitly identifies the text as taken from Vat. gr. 2033, fols. 83–84v.
