oin himself some penance for every oath which
should escape him, as the loss of a meal. "Hunger and thirst," says the
saint, "will put you in mind always to watch over yourself, and you will
stand in need of no other exhortation." In the sixth, he shows that
death is desirable to a Christian, who, by a penitential life, in
imitation of the holy anchorets, is dead to the world and himself. {261}
In the fourteenth, he describes the dreadful consternation with which
the whole city was filled at the sight of new troops, and of a tribunal
erected; and, to awake sinners to a sincere repentance, he sets before
their eyes the terrors of the last judgment. In the twentieth, he
exhorts them to redouble their fervor in preparing their souls for the
Paschal communion, the nearer that time approached; especially by
forgiving all injuries. In the twenty-first, which was spoken on
Easter-day, after the return of the patriarch, he recites great part of
Flavian's speech, and the emperor's gracious answer, whose clemency he
elegantly extols, with a pathetic exhortation to the people never to
forget the divine mercy. From the mention he makes of Flavian's speech,
(Hom. 3, p. 35,) it appears that our saint had concerted it with him. He
preached every day this Lent; but only these twenty-one have reached us:
and only two catechetical discourses, out of many others which he made
about Easter that year to the catechumens. In the first he censures
those who defer baptism, and explains the names and fruits of that great
sacrament; in the second, he exhorts them always to bear in mind, and to
repeat to themselves, on every occasion, those solemn words, "I renounce
thee, Satan;" and to make it the study of their whole lives to be ever
faithful to this most sacred engagement. He next puts them in mind, that
they ought to pray without intermission, and always to have God before
their eyes, at work, in the shop, abroad, sitting, or whatever else they
were doing.

About the year 392, Diodorus, bishop of Tarsus, formerly St.
Chrysostom's master, happened to preach at Antioch, and in his sermon
highly commended our saint, whom he called John the Baptist, the voice
of the church, and the rod of Moses. The people, by loud acclamations,
testified how agreeable these encomiums of their preacher were to them:
only St. Chrysostom heard them with grief and confusion, and ascribed
them to the fondness of a good master, and the charity of the people.
Afterwards