30. So, what then? Is it good to use power, to pursue honor? It is good if it is bestowed, not taken away. However, distinguish this very good itself. For one person is good in this age, another person is the use of perfect virtue; for it is good to be occupied with the study of divine things, impeded by no occupations. For although there are many good things, there is only one eternal life: And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent (John 17:3). And so the greatest fruit of eternal life, and the only God who rewards eternal life, is. Let us adore God alone, our Lord, and let us serve Him alone, so that He alone may reward us with the greatest fruit. Let us flee from all things that are subject to the power of the devil, so that he, like an evil tyrant, does not use the cruelty of his power against those whom he finds within his kingdom.
Therefore, power does not belong to the devil, but is nevertheless subject to the snares of the devil. However, the bad ordering of powers does not come from the fact that powers are subject to evil. It is good to seek God, but certain twists and errors can creep into one's search. For if an inquisitor turns to sacrilege through a harsh interpretation, the offense of the seeker is worsened, compared to if they had not sought at all. However, the blame lies not with the search, but with the seeker, and not with the search being subject to evil, but with the seeker's desires. But if he who seeks God is often tempted because of the fragility of the flesh and the narrowness of the mind, how much more so is he who seeks the world! And by this very factor, ambition is more pernicious, because it is a deceptive reconciler of dignities; and often it makes those who are not pleased by any vices, whom no luxury was able to move, no greed to overthrow, into criminals. For it has the charm of the courtroom, the wickedness of the household: and in order to dominate others, it first serves. He bends in compliance, in order to be honored; and while he desires to be higher, with feigned humility, he becomes lower and more lenient; for in power itself, what excels is foreign; for he rules by laws, but serves himself.
Someone may say that only the one who does evil is afraid; however, the one who sails the sea is more afraid. And, on the contrary, standing in a stationary position on land, one does not usually fear shipwreck; but if they board a moving element, they become more subject to frequent dangers. Therefore, flee from the sea of the world, and you will not fear shipwreck. And even if the blasts of winds whip the tops of trees frequently, as long as the roots are solid, there is no downfall. But in the raging winds of the sea, although it is not the shipwreck of all, it is the danger of all. For in this way, in the face of the spiritual winds of wickedness, no one is safe on land or at sea, and ships of Tharsis are often destroyed by violent winds. This has a moral significance.
33. Moreover, with regard to the mystical order, you see the bonds of ancient error released from their traces; so that firstly, the snare of gluttony, secondly, the snare of ease, and thirdly, the snare of ambition would be dissolved. For Adam was seduced by food: and by transgressing the command of the forbidden tree, he also incurred the crime of reckless ambition, while desiring to be like God. Therefore, the Lord first released the bonds of the old injustice; so that with the yoke of captivity cast off, we might learn to conquer sins with the help of Scripture.
34. But if the Lord Jesus did not desire his own possessions, why do you seek what is another's? If the creator of all things, by the virtue of embracing poverty, disregarded glory, why do you despise what you were born into and desire what is not owed to you? Why do you pursue things that cannot endure for your use but will endure for your punishment? Beware of snares, beware of deceit. And precisely because the cunning devil shakes the whole world by his deceit in order to overthrow man, let him engage in the allurements of the whole age, his flattery must be more guarded against by you. He had not inflected the grace of Eve or forsaken the commandments: but the alluring ambition of promised honor deceived him. If he had desired only to worship the Lord, he would not have sought inappropriate things. And therefore, the remedy is given so that you may blunt the weapon of ambition, let us serve only the Lord; for religious devotion lacks ambition.
(Vers. 13.)
(Verse 13) And when every temptation had been completed, the devil departed from him for a time.
35. These three types of vices are shown to be the sources of almost all crimes. For Scripture would not have called every temptation complete unless all the matter of sins was included in these three, the seeds of which must be avoided at their very origin. Therefore, the end of temptations is the end of desires; for the causes of temptations are the causes of desires. And the causes of desires are pleasure of the flesh, the appearance of glory, and the yearning for power. How religious it seems not to refuse the company of Christian women! But there is frequent temptation from it. If the devil sees you attentive to God, he suggests deceiving you: but even if you presume with good intentions, beware of temptation, knowing human nature. These three, if you remember, Paul also prescribes to be avoided, identifying them as three kinds of sins, from which the book of righteousness expects a crown. For we were not, he says, in a word of flattery, nor in occasion of covetousness, God is witness, nor seeking glory from men (I Thess. II, 5 and 6); and therefore he conquered the devil, and sought the crown.
You see, therefore, that the devil himself is not obstinate in his resistance, but usually gives way to true virtue. And even if he does not cease to envy, he still fears to persist; because he more often avoids being defeated. Therefore, having heard the name of God, he withdrew, saying, 'For now, but I will come back later, not to tempt, but to openly fight.'
Therefore, divine Scripture teaches you that your struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces. You see the magnificence of the Christian man who fights against the rulers of the world: although he is on earth, he prevails against the spiritual wickedness in heavenly places with the strength of his soul. For we do not strive for earthly things in order to fight on earth; rather, spiritual obstacles must first be overcome in pursuit of the spiritual rewards of the Kingdom of God and the inheritance of Christ. The crown is proposed, the battles must be undertaken. No one can be crowned unless they have won: no one can win unless they have fought before. The greater the labor, the greater the fruit of the crown itself: For the way that leads to life is narrow and difficult . . . but the way that leads to death is broad and spacious (Matthew 7:14 and 13). Therefore, we should by no means fear temptation; for it is the cause of victory and the material of triumphs.
38. That wealthy person, who did not experience temptation in this world, is in hell: that poor person Lazarus, who was afflicted and worn down by poverty and sickness, to the point that his sores were licked by dogs, in the misery of this life sought the crown of eternal glory. Many are the tribulations, not of just anyone, but of the righteous. Indeed, those whom the Lord loves, he often chastises. Peter was tempted to deny: he denied, so that he might weep (Luke 22:57 et seq.). And what shall I say about the others? Indeed, Job was tested by God: but although he was tested, he was not victorious (Job 1:12 and 2:6). Devotion was proven; however, it did not have the reward of virtue. And therefore, he is offered to be tempted, so that he might be made more glorious.
39. It also matters with respect to that contest that you should look at the steps. The devil does not have just one weapon, he frequents arrows; in order to conquer either by reward or by weariness. At first he wounds with desire, second with piety, third with health; for he fights both the mind and body with sores. Moreover, the very diversity of temptations is according to the diversity of those contending. The rich man is pressed by the loss of covetousness, the father by the expenditure of his children, the man by sorrows, the body by sores. How great these weapons are! From where the Lord did not want to have what he would lose; and therefore the poor man came here, so that the devil would not have what he would take away. Do you want to know how true this is? Listen to the Lord himself saying: The prince of this world comes, and he found nothing in me (John 14:30). He also did not want to be the father of a few, so that he would be the father of all. But in vain he was afflicted with the ulcers of the body, who despised all the sufferings of the body: at the same time to show us that victory, once the enemy of the body was driven away, would belong to him. But that one, as if a man, is tempted by his own, while this one by public things: to the former, his patrimony is taken away, to the latter, the kingdom of the world is offered. Nor is the whole devil without deceit, who fears to provoke the Son of God: he tempts him with insults, this one with rewards. The former, as if a servant, says: The Lord gave, the Lord took away (Job 1:21): the latter, aware of his own nature and disposition, laughs to see himself offered to himself. And to return to that, one message comes after another (Ibid., 14 and following): wounds are repeated; yet the strong athlete is not disturbed in mind. The snare of the first deception is applied by a woman: this one, being born of a virgin not subject to error, did not have. Friends are applied who oppress the reluctant with wicked advice. But in all that happened to him, Job did not sin with his lips in the sight of God.
40. For what he cursed the day, saying: Let that day perish wherein I was born (Job 3:3); and further: And let him curse that day who curses the day, who has the power to crush the great sea monster (Ibid., 3:8). This pertains to prophecy; because our Lord Jesus Christ, like a mighty sea monster of this tempestuous age, has crushed the devil, and desires the day of his carnal generation to perish, so that his day may be counted in regeneration. Let the secular day perish, he says, so that the spiritual day may arise. Therefore, in temptation, the holy Job spoke of mysteries; for he who conquers the world, sees Christ.
So let us not fear temptations, but rather let us glory in temptations, saying: When we are weak, then we are strong; for then the crown of righteousness is bestowed (II Cor. XII, 10). But that may perhaps be more applicable to Paul; however, we, because there are many crowns, should hope for whichever one. In this world, the laurel is a crown, the shield is a crown. But for you, the crown of delights is set before you: For the crown of delights shall overshadow you (Prov. IV, 9). And elsewhere: He will surround you with the shield of his good will (Psalm 5:13). Glory and honor also the Lord, whom he loved, he has crowned (Psalm 8:6). Therefore, whoever wants to give a crown, suggests temptations. And if ever you are tempted, know that a crown is prepared. Take away the struggles of the martyrs, you have borne the crowns; take away the tortures, you have borne the beatitudes.
42. Is not the temptation of Joseph the consecration of his virtue? Is not the injustice of the prison the crown of his chastity? How could he have attained a share in the kingdom of Egypt unless he had been sold by his brothers? This was done by God's appointment, that he might show himself just, as he said: \"This is how it shall happen today, that a great people shall be fed\" (Genesis 50:20). Therefore, we ought not to fear the temptations of the world as evils, since they are compared to good rewards; but rather we should pray, considering the nature of human condition, that we may undergo those temptations which we are able to bear.
(Vers. 14.)
(Verse 14) And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee.
43. This prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled in this place, saying: The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, along with the people who dwell by the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles— the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light (Isaiah 9:1-2). For who is the great light but Christ, who enlightens every person coming into the world?
44. (Verse 17.) Then he took the book, in order to show that he himself is the one who spoke in the Prophets: and to remove the sacrileges of the faithless, who say that there is one God of the Old Testament and another of the New; or who say that the beginning of Christ is from a virgin: for how could he begin from a virgin, he who spoke before the virgin?
(Vers. 18.)
(Verse 18) The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.
45. You see the Trinity coeternal and perfect. The Scripture speaks of Jesus as both God and man, complete in both aspects: it speaks of God as the Father and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is shown to be a cooperator when, in the form of a dove, he descended upon Christ; when the Son of God was baptized in the river, the Father spoke from heaven. Therefore, what greater testimony do we seek than the fact that the one who spoke in the Prophets, signed it with his own voice? He is anointed with spiritual oil and heavenly power, so that he may water the poverty of human condition with the treasure of resurrection, turn away the captivity of the mind, enlighten the blindness of souls, proclaim the year of the Lord spread through eternal times, which does not know how to return to the cycle of labor, and grant mankind the continuation of fruits and tranquility. And he so humbled himself to all obeisances, that he did not even despise the duty of the reader: but we, the impious ones, who denied the faith of divinity to be collected by the contemplation of his body's miracles.
(Vers. 24.)
(Verse 24.) Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country.
46. It is betrayed not insignificantly by envy, which, forgetting civic charity, bends the causes of love into bitter hatred. At the same time, by this example and also by a divine oracle, it is declared that in vain you expect the help of heavenly mercy if you envy the fruits of another's virtue; for the Lord despises the envious, and he turns away the miracles of his power from those who pursue divine benefits in others. Indeed, the actions of the Lord's Sunday flesh are an example of divinity: and through them the invisible things of him are demonstrated to us through visible things.