Twenty-first HOMILY. "This is the number of the seed of Adam; around that God: created man, God made him in his likeness; He created them male and female, and he gave them the name of Adam in the day that he created them. (Gen. V, 1, 2.)

ANALYSIS.

1. Although there are only proper names in this verse, it is nonetheless fertile in useful teachings. - 2. The descendants of Cain becoming worse and worse, Moses stops their story at Lamech, and passes to the more virtuous seed of Seth. - 3. The name of Seth, expression of the recognition of Eve. Enos, son of Seth, bears a name that means trust in God. 4. Scripture says twice that Enoch was pleasing to God after begetting Mathusala. St. Chrysostom concludes against some heretics that marriage. is pleasing to God. By the removal of Enoch, God tacitly revoked the sentence against Adam. - 5. Explanation of the name of Noah, it means rest. His virtue will be a rest for the world in the midst of general corruption. - 6. Exhortation.

Do you understand all that corruption has to do with all that virtue has? Do you understand how even malice, which attacks and triumphs, is struck with death and vanishes? how does virtue, attacked, persecuted in combats without number, acquire for this reason even more brilliancy and more glory? Other similar events could be drawn from the same teaching for you, my beloved ones, but do not stray from our subject; let us take again the words which you have heard: Here is the enumeration of the posterity of Adam. In the day that God created man, God made him in his likeness; he created them male and female, and he gave them the name of Adam in the day he created them. See how, by this way of recounting the story from the beginning of the world, divine Scripture reminds us of the insignificant honor that man has received from his Creator. In the day, says the Scripture, that God created man, God made him in his likeness, that is to say, put him at the head of all visible creatures; in fact, this expression, in its resemblance, must be understood as domination and command; for just as God commands all creatures, both visible and invisible; since it is he who created everything, who did everything; likewise, when he formed the animal which has the privilege of reason, he wished to confer upon him the honor of commanding all visible creatures. As a result he gave him the substance of the soul, wanting him also to possess immortality, perpetuity. And now, when the man was broken by his fault, when he had transgressed the commandment that had been done to him, even then, God did not turn away completely from him. Always merciful, he undoubtedly took away immortality, but he maintained in the same honor the one who was condemned to die. Later, when the son of the first man was carried away with such fury, when Cain first showed the world the face of death, murder in all its violence, and, joining in the murder lies, had All perversity was manifested by God, by a long punishment, to correct him, not only so that he might gain his advantage from what was happening to himself, but also so that the following generations could know the extent the crime, the excess, the infamy of the crime. Now, when these cowardly, corrupted generations fell imperceptibly into still more vicious vices, God willing, so to speak, consoled Adam, who was not only saddened by his fault, but plunged, by the crime of Cain, into a unbearable mourning. He had seen, with his own eyes, the body of Abel massacred; he did not know beforehand what was the aspect of death, although the sentence of death had been brought. Adam, therefore, suffered a double and triple cause of mourning, for it was for the first time that death was introduced into life, violent death, the work of a son against a brother, born of the same father, and of the same mother, and this brother had done no harm to his murderer. God willing therefore, in his goodness, to give the first father a consolation equal to his pains; give him another son; you know his name, Seth; and after having sent him this sufficient consolation, he draws from this son the beginning of the new posterity. This is why the blessed prophet begins with these words: This is the number of the seed of Adam. Then, as he has promised to tell the next generation of mankind, see the succession he expounds: Adam, having lived a hundred and thirty years, begot a son in his image and likeness, and he named him Seth; After Adam had begot Seth, he lived seven hundred years, and begot sons and daughters; and all the time of Adam's life being nine hundred and thirty years, he died. (Gen. V, 3, 4, 5.)

3. Was not I right in saying that nothing is left to chance, that every word contains thoughts in Holy Scripture? See again here the diligent care of the blessed prophet: Adam, he said, begot such things in his image and likeness, and he called him Seth. When he spoke of his first son, of Cain, he said nothing of the sort, already sensing the inclination to evil, and the prophet was right; for he did not preserve the manners which characterized his father, but he quickly let himself be carried away to evil. Here, on the contrary, he says: In his image and likeness, which means: having the same customs as the one who had begotten him, retaining the same qualities of virtue, destined to reproduce by his works the image of his father, to repair, by his peculiar virtue, the fault of his elder brother. Indeed, Scripture does not speak here of the features of the body, when it says: In his image and likeness, but qualities of the soul, so that we understand that it will not look like Cain. So (129) the mother of Seth, giving a name to her son, gives thanksgiving; and it is not with nature, nor with childbirth, that she attributes her new son, but to the virtue of God. It is, indeed, this virtue which has made it fruitful; she names it by the name of Seth, saying: God has made another seed in me in place of Abel whom Cain has killed. (Gen. IV, 25.) See the choice of the expression! she does not say: God has given me, but, God has made us reborn. Pay attention, see how the text shows here, in words covered, the preludes of the resurrection; it seems to say: In the place of the one who has fallen, God has revived in me this one. Abel, struck by the hand of her brother, has fallen, she says: he is dead, but the virtue of God, instead of the one who died, has aroused this one. Since it was not yet the time of the resurrection, he did not remind the one who fell, but he revived another in his place, which is why she said: God has made us reborn. me another seed instead of Abel that Cain killed. Did you understand the recognition of the woman? Have you understood the goodness of God, his readiness to send them consolation? Let's imitate our mother, all of us; let us always recognize grace from above; Whatever nature does, it does not operate, however, by its own virtue, but by the order of the One who created it. He commands, she obeys. And that women never engage in pain, to have no children; let them take refuge in an affection full of gratitude, near the Creator of nature. What they ask, that they go and claim it from the Master and Lord of nature, that they do not attribute to their husbands, for whatever reason, the birth of their children, but to the Creator of all beings, to him who has produced nature from nothing, to him who can correct the failings of nature. The first woman found, even in her grief, a motive for glorifying God; it is to the Lord that she attributes everything: God has raised another seed in me in place of Abel whom Cain killed. See, not only does she not complain, she utters no bitter words (the Holy Scripture would have brought back any such word she could have uttered), but, on the contrary, she bravely endures what happened ; she consoles herself quickly; it manifests a more vivid gratitude; she celebrates the blessing of the Lord. See how kindly the Lord does, on his side, that depends on him; he does not content himself with giving him another son, but he indicates in advance the virtue that will be in him. In fact, says the Scripture, Adam begot a son in his image and likeness. And to make us understand, at once, the virtue of this son, see how Adam himself shows, by the name he gives to his son, the piety of his soul: He was born also a son to Seth qu he called Enos; he began to invoke the name of the Lord God. (Gen. IV, 26.) Do you see that name more beautiful than a diadem, brighter than purple? who could be happier than one who makes an adornment of the invocation of the Lord and who carries it in his name?

Do you see, what I said at the beginning, that we find in names, in simple names, rich treasures? Here, indeed, is shown not only the piety of the parents, but their attention, their diligence for their children. Here we see how immediately from the beginning they instructed their newly born children; as they warned them, by the names they had given them, to practice virtue. It was not then, as today, at random, and the first name come that was given; the child, it is said today, will be called as his grandfather or grandfather; formerly, we proceeded differently; all the care was taken to give the children names which excited virtue, not only those who had received these names, but also all other men, even in the ages to come: these names were all a teaching of wisdom. The rest of this speech will make it clear to us. Consequently, we, too, do not give the children the first names to come, the names of ancestors, grandfathers, names which mark an illustrious birth; give them the names of the saints, of those whose virtues have shone, of those who owe their glory to their confidence, to their strength in the Lord; or rather, that these names do not base the trust, neither of the parents, nor of the children who carry them. Indeed, what is the use of a word, empty of virtue itself? What is necessary for each one of us is to wait for his salvation, by operating it by virtue; wisdom does not reside in names, in kinship with the saints, in some external title, but in the confidence (130) that one draws from one's own works. Let's say better: our blankets must not exaggerate the feeling we have of ourselves; on the contrary, let us be humble, be modest, even more so when we can pile up treasures of virtues; it is by this, in fact, that we will put in safety, that it will be given us to preserve the acquired wealth, and to reconcile us the benevolence of God. This is why Christ said to his disciples: When you have accomplished all that is commanded to you, say we are useless servants (Luke, XVII, 10), repressing by all means the pride of confidence, persuading modesty, preventing the presumption that would result from good works, showing them that the first of all virtues is wisdom in good works, which keeps the measure.

4. Let us now return to our subject, let us see the succession of succeeding generations. It is probable that by advancing step by step we will find a greater treasure of abundant and ineffable riches. And, says the Scripture, Enos, son of Seth, having lived a hundred and ninety-five arts, begat Cainan; and Cainan begot Malaleel; andMalaléelengendra Jared; and .Iared begot Enoch. Enoch lived one hundred and sixty-five years and begat Mathusala. Now, says the Scripture, Enoch was pleasing to God, and lived, after begetting Mathusala, two hundred years, and he begotten. sons and daughters. And all the days of Enoch's life were three hundred and sixty-five years old. Enoch was pleasing to God, and he no longer appeared because God took him away. (Gen. V, 7, 24.) Was not I right in saying that in advancing step by step, we would find in these names a spiritual treasure, ineffable? Consider here, my beloved, and the virtue of the righteous man, and the excess of the goodness of God, and the diligent care of the Holy Scripture. Enoch, says the text, lived a hundred and sixty-five years and begat Mathusala, and, says the Scripture, Enoch was pleasing to God, after begetting Mathusala.

Let all listen, and men and women, that all learn the virtue of the righteous man, and let no one imagine that marriage is an impediment to those who wish to make themselves agreeable to God; for Divine Scripture proposes to instruct us here when it tells us on two occasions: Begot Matlausala, and then was agreeable when it takes up this detail and says to us: And it was agreeable to God after having begotten him. It is so that no one sees marriage as an obstacle to virtue. If we have temperance, nor the education of children, nor marriage, nor anything, will be an obstacle to becoming pleasing to God. See, indeed, this man of the same nature as us; he had not received the law, he had not been instructed by Scripture, he had no guide to lead him to wisdom. Well ! he has found in himself, in the resources of his will, what to make himself agreeable to God, so that he is alive, still alive today, that he has never experienced death. If marriage, my beloved, or the education of children was an impediment to virtue, the Creator of all things would not have made marriage one of the states of our life, to injure us in our first interests, to to make us lose what is most necessary to us; but, not only does marriage not oppose any obstacle to the wisdom which God commands, not only does it not hinder us in anything if we wish to practice temperance; but, on the contrary, it is a great consolation, it is a brake which represses the insensate ardor of nature, which prevents like the turbidity of the waves which torment us, it is a means for us to happily sail our boat. to the port, and that is why divine grace has given men this consolation, This just, of which we speak to you, shows the truth of our words; after Enoch, Scripture says, had begotten Mathusala, Enoch was pleasing to the Lord. And he did not practice virtue for a few days; he lived, says the Scripture, two hundred years. After the transgression of Adam, there was a man capable of rising to the highest peak of virtue, of repairing the fault of our first father, by the special favor he enjoyed with God. See here as the divine goodness overflows! As soon as God found a man who could repair the sin of Adam, God, to show by the reality that he did not want to strike the human race with death, because of the disobedience of the past, when he condemned this disobedience, take Enoch and remove him alive. Enoch, Scripture says, was pleasing to God, and he did not appear, because God took him away. Do you see the wisdom of the Lord? he removes it alive, (131) it does not give it immortality, for fear of weakening the fear of sin; but he leaves in the midst of men this fear in all his strength. It is for this reason that he revokes, so to speak, in an obscure and latent manner, the sentence against Adam. He does not do it visibly, because fear must serve to correct us. That's why, as Enoch was quite nice to him, he took it off. Now, if curiosity dares to ask questions: And where did he remove it? is he still alive today? I answer the curiosity that this complacency for human thought is unsuitable, that one must not explore so curiously the actions of God, that one must believe in the word. When God pronounces, there must be no contradiction; what God reveals by his words deserves, though invisible, more faith than all the objects subject to our gaze; Scripture says that God took him away, that God lifted him alive, that he did not suffer death, that, by the particular favor he enjoyed with God, he became superior to the decree against all men. Where did God remove him? what is Enoch doing today? Scripture did not say it.

You see the goodness of God: he finds a man of perfect virtue, and he does not rob him of the dignity he had given to the first man before his disobedience. God shows us that if the seduction of the devil had not prevailed in Adam against obedience, he would have honored him with an equal dignity, superior perhaps. Mathusala, having lived a hundred and eighty-seven years, begat Lamech; Lamech, having lived a hundred and eighty years, begot a son whom he called Noah, saying that He will make us rest from our labors, and from the fatigues of our hands, and will comfort us in the land which the Lord has cursed. (Gen. V, 25-29.) Now see in the name of the son of Lamech a new proof of the greatness of the mysteries, of the excellence of the prophecy, of the ineffable goodness of God. God, in his foreknowledge, foresaw things to come; when he saw that the malice of men was increasing day by day, he predicted, in the name of this child, the evils which were to melt down all the race of men, so that, corrected by terror, they might renounce their vices and embrace virtue; and see the patience of the Lord, who takes care that the prophecy precedes the event long beforehand, to show his mercy and to deprive of any excuse those who were reserved, in the future, for punishment.

But perhaps I will be told: where did Lamech receive such power of prophecy? Does Scripture tell us that his virtue was sublime, admirable? Stop being astonished, my beloved; in His wisdom, in His power, Our Lord often employs unworthy beings in the prediction of astonishing wonders, and this is what we see, not only in the Old Testament, but also in the New. Listen to the Evangelist, speaking of Caiaphas, the high priest of the Jews: but he did not say this of himself; but, being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus Christ should die for the nation of the Jews, and not only for that nation, but also to gather and reunite the nations that were scattered. (John, XI, 51.) You will find an example of the same kind about Balaam. Indeed, called to curse the people, not only does he not curse him, but he also predicts many amazing things, not only concerning the people, but also on the advent of our Savior. (Numbers XXIV.) Stop, then, from astonishing the name that Lamech gave to his child, but bring it all to the wisdom of God, who disposes all things. And he called her Noah. This name means: rest. So this universal destruction, which must come after so much. of years, it is called rest; This is how Job says: Death is a rest for man. (Job, III, 23.) Corruption is fatigue, work, excess of punishment; and that which stops it, and that which cuts it off, the disaster which was to make it disappear, is called repose; and he called her, says the text, the name of Noah. Then follows the explanation of the name: This one will make us rest from our labors, that is to say, will turn us away from our iniquity, and from the fatigues of our hands; it is the same thought: we will turn away, means the text, from our evil works. The Scripture, in fact, does not mean the actual pains of the hands, but the bad works, the criminal actions which increased the pains; and will comfort us in the land that the Lord has cursed, that is, free us from all the evils that press us, from the hardships and miseries that we endure in cultivating the land that has incurred (132) the curse, because of the disobedience of the first man. . Make a remark here, my beloved; this little child grows up little by little, and he is, for all those who see him, an opportunity to educate himself, for soon each of those who inquired about the name of the child must have known, on hearing the explanation from this name, the universal destruction that was to happen. Suppose that an inspired man had only announced it in advance, the prediction would have been soon forgotten, all would not have known the terrible punishment; but behold, he whom every eye can see, announces in due course, and well before the time, the anger of the indignant God. And now that we know exactly how long, by the name alone, the son who bore this name continued to warn all men to renounce sin and to embrace virtue, To escape from wrath, Scripture says: Noah, being five hundred years old, begot three sons. (Gen. V, 32.) You see again another righteous with a wife and sons; who has surrendered, by doing good, quite agreeable to God; who, doing the opposite of all others, has chosen the path of virtue; and neither marriage nor the education of children have been an obstacle to him. And now what must be admired is the ineffable patience of God and the prodigious corruption of the men of this time. This is, indeed, for five hundred years, a screaming righteous, whose only name proclaims the universal flood, which will come to punish the excess of human malice, and, despite this warning, they have not given up their iniquities. However, the God of mercy, even after such an eloquent prophecy, after so many years, does not yet send punishment; he adds to his patience, he adds a few more years to his sweetness that supports evil. It is because he did not create the human race to punish him, but, on the contrary, to fill him with innumerable goods, which he would see us enjoy. This is why you see God everywhere hesitating, adding delays to delays, delaying punishment. But we do not want, under the multitude of our words, to overwhelm your memory; we will stop here, postponing until tomorrow the other explanations.

6. Let us not just hear these words, my beloved ones; but let us apply ourselves to practice virtue, to consider it a great good to make ourselves agreeable to God; do not make the government of our house, or the anxieties we conceive for our women, or the care we owe our children, or any other motive, an excuse, an excuse, sufficient for us, that we are forgiven for our negligence and laziness; let us not repeat these words, without bearing, without reason: I am of the world, I have a wife, I take care of my children; what we are accustomed to say to ourselves when we ask that we apply ourselves to the labors of virtue, let us ardently read the Scripture. It's not my business, I'm told; did you give up the world? Am I a monk? What do you say, O man? Is it only for the monks to be agreeable to God? It is all men he wants to save, that he wants to see come to the knowledge of the truth (I Tim II, 4), practicing all the virtues. Hear it, saying to us through the Prophet, I do not want the sinner's death, but to convert and live. (Ezekiel, XVIII, 23.) Come on, answer me, did this righteous find an obs. tackle in the union that tied him to his. wife, or in the care he took of his children? So, I beg you, let's not be the first to deceive ourselves. The more worried we are, the more we must be eager for the remedies provided by the reading of Holy Scripture. Is it not true, then, that these righteous were men like us, and had not, as much as we, any help for virtue? What will be our excuse for us, who enjoy such a doctrine, who have obtained so many graces, who are strengthened from above, who have received the promise of these ineffable goods, if we did not go further? than men of old in virtue! If we want to practice wisdom, it is enough for the words heard today to excite in us the love of good, to show us that there is no obstacle between good and us. If the men who lived before the law could, by the light of nature alone, attain to a virtue so high, what can we say, we, who, after so much care that we have for ourselves, after the advent of Christ, after so many miracles without number, are still so far from virtue? So, I conjure you, (133) do not just become just to see what is in Holy Scripture; be attentive; let us read it so that it may be useful to us, to withdraw as late as you like, to extract some day, some virtue dear to God, and which we will conquer. For if it is necessary that every day we announce to you this spiritual doctrine, while you remain in the same inertia, what will serve you this continual teaching? What will be the consolation for us, to see that so many efforts we make are useless, and that we gain nothing with all our zeal? Come, talk to me; are we not composed of two substances, I say of a soul and a body? Well! So, why do not we also spend our care for both? How is it that we look after our bodies in every way, that we bring in the doctors, that we personally treat them with the greatest diligence, we cover them with precious stuffs, we take food more than do we want it to be in a state of continual prosperity, that no evil ever come to torment him? If, sometimes, some disturbance disturbs him, we put everything in motion to remove what is uncomfortable. And what I say, I say of this body which is only the second of our substances; for finally, let's see: what is the most noble? Is it the soul or the body? If it is necessary to show the difference in your eyes, notice that your body is nothing, since the soul has separated from it. Well ! you, who take for this body so great a concern, by what motive, in view of what, do you despise so much your soul, to the point of not giving him his share of food? By that I mean the warnings of Holy Scripture. To the wounds, to the ulcers which enervate his forces, which destroy his confidence, you do not bring the proper remedies; you leave it, this despised soul, to dry out by hunger, to rot in its ulcers; give me the word, throw it at the dogs, at the evil thoughts, at the criminal thoughts, which tear it apart, break down, ruin all its energy.

We take care of the body that we have before our eyes: why do not we also care for the soul, intangible, invisible, and that, when the care it requires, not only is it kind and easy, but still not claim neither expenses nor fatigue? When the body is sick, it takes money and money, either for doctors or for other necessities, necessities of clothing, food. I do not want to mention here spending beyond the necessary, luxury spending. The soul, on the contrary, has no such need. If you want, since every day you supply the body with food, since you spend for the body, money, if you like, so that your soul does not die of hunger, if you consent to give it the good food, you are well acquainted with the text of Scripture, the spiritual warning: Man does not live by bread alone, says the Lord, but from every word that comes out of the mouth of God (Matt IV, 4) take the wisest course, take care of the substance which is ours. Well, then! as you provide the body with various clothes, you take into account the diversity of the seasons in the diversity of your clothes, do the same for the soul, do not neglect it, do not let it come and go naked, devoid of good works ; put on the clothes that go with her, and immediately you will comfort her, you will restore her health that suits her nature. What are the clothes of the soul? Almsgiving, the money lavished on the poor; this is the most beautiful garment of the soul; that's what makes him a splendid coat. And now, if you want not only to give him clothes, but, moreover, to adorn her, embellish her, as you make a body, add to it the help that comes from prayers, the confession of sins; do not stop washing the face of your soul in the tears of penance. Every day you wash your face with complete solicitude, lest some stain disfigure your face, apply to your soul a care of the same kind; cleanse it every day with your burning tears. This removes the stains of the soul, and restores its purity and glory.

And since the indolent vanity of a large number of women despises this precept of the Apostle: Let them not be likened to curly hair, nor ornaments of gold, nor pearls, nor sumptuous garments (I Tim II, 9), since they display great luxury in the violation of this precept; and since (134) not only women, but also all that are indolent and soft men, fall back to the state of femmelettes, and that we see them, rings fingered, covered, loaded of precious stones, of which they should blush, which they ought to conceal; I say that these men, I say that these women, if our speeches were heard, instead of looking for these adornments, fatal to men, fatal to women, it would be better to use these ornaments to embellish their souls. Applied to a body, even when this body has beauty in sharing, these ornaments make it ugly; applied to the soul, even to an ugly soul, these ornaments communicate to it all the splendor of beauty. And how, shall I be told, on the soul, gold ornaments? Again, tie them by the hand of the poor. It is they who, in receiving them, compose this beauty. Put your gold ornaments in their hands, give them food, and, in exchange, they will give to your soul that radiance of beauty which will draw near it its true fiance, with its thousand and one thousand treasures . When you have by your beauty forced your Lord to come near you, then you hold, you possess all the goods in a crowd; you are rich in the depths of ineffable abundance; therefore, if we wish to become the beloved of the Lord, let us stop admiring with astonishment the artificial beauty of the body; think no more every day than the beauty of the soul, to reconcile the benevolence of the God of goodness, to enter into the division of goods which no expression can render, by the grace and kindness of God. Our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom belongs, as well as to the Father and the Holy Spirit, glory, power, honor, and now, and always, and forever and ever. So be it.