Sav. adds, "and those who have not." ↩

euchais ton ?gion pat?ron. See on Rom. xvi. 24, Hom. XXXII., where the translation perhaps ought to be, "These imitators of Paul. Only let us yield ourselves worthy of such intercession." This rendering is confirmed by its agreement with Hom. XLIV. on Gen. xix. 29; Ben. iv. 448, 449. But there is a difficulty in it owing to the reference to St. Paul's departure. This may be explained as a turn of rhetoric. The passage on Gen. xix. does not define whether saints on earth or above are spoken of; but from others it is probable he means the latter. The close of the Homily on St. Meletius, Ben. ii. 522, A. speaks of such intercession, and that of Hom. in SS. Bernicen and Prosd. Ben. ii. 645, D. of invoking it. The Homily quoted above, on the intercession of Abraham, warns men against trusting to prayers of saints so as to neglect their own life. An expression like that in the text occurs in a Homily de Sp. Sancto, attributed to St. Chrys. by Photius, Ben. iii. 799, C.; Origen on Cant. ii. 5, asserts the intercession of the saints, proving it from 2 Mac. xv. 14, and on Numb. xxxii., Hom. XXVI. 6, he asks, who doubts it? Hom. I. 7, on Ezekiel, he invokes an angel, as holding that angels are present, though in a rhetorical way. Lib. 2, in Job (fin.) sometimes cited as his, is spurious, and the Com. on Lament. doubtful, and the manner of invocation looks as if of later date. St. Cyprian, Ep. 57, ad Cornel. fin. desires that whoever dies first may pray for the other; and de Hab. Virg. fin. makes a similar request: and so Theodosia in Euseb. de Mart. Pal. c. 7. In the fourth century, the invocation of departed saints, or prayer to God for their prayers, becomes common. So Eusebius, on Ps. lxxviii. (79) takes verse 11, Preserve Thou the sons of the slain (Heb. of death), i.e., of the martyrs. At the close of his Com. on Isaiah, he prays just as St. Chrys. in the text. St. Athanas. ad Marcellin. 31, t. i. p. 1001, says we should sing the Psalms exactly, "that the inspired writers may know their own words, and pray with us, or rather, that the Holy Spirit who spoke in them, hearing the words He dictated to them, may take our part" (sunantil?betai, Comp. Rom. viii. 26). A direct address to the Blessed Virgin....."Queen, and Mother of God, intercede for us!" is quoted as his (Serm. in Annunt. t. ii. p. 401), but is spurious, as is there stated. St. James, of Nisibis, Ser. 4, p. 72, seems to speak of an angel presenting our prayers, which his editor connects with Tertullian's Angelus Orationis, de Or. xii. and Tob. xii. 12. St. Hilary, on Ps. cxxiv. (125) 2, takes the hills (as others constantly elsewhere), for the saints and angels. On Matt. xxv. p. 736, he says, "none shall be helped by another's works and merits, because every one must buy oil for his own lamp." This seems to imply the existence of the same tendency which St. Chrysostom reproves, as quoted above on Gen. xix. The Martyr Justina, early in this century, is said by St. Greg. Naz. Or. xviii. p. 279 (Ben. Or. xxiv. 11, p. 443 d.), to have implored the aid of the Virgin Mary. In the latter part of the century, instances are more frequent. St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Cat. Myst. v. (6), says, "Then we commemorate also those who have fallen asleep before us, first, patriachs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, that at their prayers and intervention God would receive our petition." St. Basil, Hom. on the Forty Martyrs, c. 8, t. 2, p. 155, speaks strongly of the value of their intercession, and recommends asking it. "Here is found a pious woman praying for her children, the return of her husband, his recovery when sick: let your prayers be made with the martyrs!" To Julian the Apostate, Ep. 360, al. 205, Ben. iii. 462. "I also receive the holy apostles, prophets, and martyrs, and call on them to supplication unto God, that through them, that is, through their mediation, the merciful God may become propitious to me, and a ransom of my sins may be made and granted." To St. Ambrose, Ep. 197, al. 55, Ben. iii. 288, he speaks of the relics of a martyr as protection to those who kept them. St. Ephraim, in Martyres, t. iii. Gr. Lat. p. 251, has, "Victorious Martyrs, willing sufferers for the love of your God and Saviour, ye that have boldness of speech toward the Lord Himself; intreat, holy as ye are, for us that are worthless, and sinners, and full of listlessness, that the grace of Christ may come upon us." Some prayers to the Blessed Virgin, calling her the only hope of sinners, and giving her the titles of our Lord, are ascribed to him. Such would stand alone in this age, and long after. But one which has been long known in Latin (ed. Voss, p. 543), has been generally thought spurious. The last Roman Edition contains more, but even the mss. from which they are taken seem to ascribe them but doubtfully to him ("Prayers collected from Holy Scripture, but most of them from St. Ephraim," &c.), especially as others precede these. He, however, used invocation freely, though some allowance must be made for his rich imagination, and his fondness for apostrophe. Thus he apostrophises Faith, adv. Scrut. Ser. vi. Gr. Lat. iii. 160, 161. "O Faith! I pray Thee adapt Thy vastness to our littleness! for while we may not see and measure thee, love can neither rest nor be silent!" "Come hither, O Faith, Gift of God to the Holy Church, and rest in this bosom!" Several spurious passages, as from the Christus Patiens attributed to St. Greg. Naz. l. 2582 (but rejected and objected to by the Ben. editor), are examined by Mr. Palmer, Letter v. to Dr. Wiseman. The real practice of St. Greg. Naz. appears in his funeral oration on St. Basil, Or. xx. fin. p. 373 (Ben. xliii. 82, p. 831). "But do thou, O divine and sacred head, look on us from above, and either remove by the intercessions the thorn in the flesh that chastises us, or persuade us to bear it with fortitude," &c. Or. vi. ad Greg. Nyss. p. 140 (Ben. xi. 5, p. 245), he says, that martyrs are "Mediators for attaining a divine state" (th?osis). St. Chrysostom is of the same date. St. Greg. Nyss. on St. Theodorus, speaks repeatedly of asking his intercession. "To touch his relics, if any chance give one the opportunity...Then, shedding on them the tear of piety and affection, as though to the martyr, appearing in full presence, they present their entreaty for intercession; beseeching him, as an attendant upon God, and invoking him as one who obtains favors at will," t. iii. p. 580, and so in other parts of the oration; and in p. 586, he begs him, if need be, to call his brother-martyrs to his aid. And in the close of his life of St. Ephraim, he both invokes him, "Remember us all, asking remission for our sins;" and speaks of a person having invoked his help, in circumstances of danger, with success. St. Ambrose, de Vid. c. 9, says, "The angels are to be entreated for us, who are given us for our guard; the martyrs are to be entreated, whose patronage we may in a manner claim by the pledge of their bodies. They can pray for our sins, who have washed in their own blood their own sins, if such they had." These are most of the authors alleged down to the end of the fourth century, but in most of the later of them other passages of the same kind appear. Thus the practice of direct invocation seems to have come in by degrees, and that chiefly in the course of this century. Some passages relating merely to the intercession of the saints have been passed over, as they would rather confuse the view of the subject of seeking it. Bellarmine, De Sanctis, l. i. c. 19, and Coccius, Thesaur. l. v., art. 4, give collections of passages. See on Fleury, Book 19, c. 31, Tr. p. 202, note k. doruphoro. A term which shows that an allusion to an earthly court is intended.  ↩