Church Fathers Commentary Luke 6

St. Ambrose of Milan: Not only in His words but in His very practice and actions, the Lord began to release man from the observance of the old law. Therefore, it is said, And it came to pass that he went through the grain fields...

The Venerable Bede: Because the crowds were so great, His disciples had no opportunity to eat and were understandably hungry. By plucking the ears of grain, they relieved their hunger, which shows a strict way of life—not seeking prepared meals, but only simple food.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Now He says, “on the second sabbath after the first,” because the Jews called every feast a sabbath, for “sabbath” means “rest.” Therefore, there was often feasting on the preparation day, which they called a sabbath because of the feast. And so, they gave the principal sabbath the name “second-first,” as it was the second sabbath in relation to the festival on the preceding day.

St. John Chrysostom: For there was a double feast: one on the principal sabbath, and another on the solemn day that followed, which was also called a sabbath.

Isidore of Pelusium: He says, “on the second-first,” because it was the second day of the Passover but the first day of unleavened bread. After the Passover was sacrificed, they kept the feast of unleavened bread on the very next day. It is clear this was the case from the fact that the Apostles plucked ears of grain and ate them, for at that time of year the grain is heavy on the stalk.

St. Epiphanius of Salamis: On the Sabbath day, then, they were seen passing through the grain fields and eating the grain, showing that the bonds of the sabbath were loosened when the great Sabbath came in Christ, who gives us rest from the working of our iniquities.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: But the Pharisees and Scribes, not knowing the Holy Scriptures, found fault with Christ’s disciples, as it follows: And certain of the Pharisees said to them, Why do you... Tell me, when a table is set before you on the Sabbath, do you not break bread? Why then do you blame others?

The Venerable Bede: Some say that these objections were made to our Lord Himself. Indeed, they might have been made by different people to both our Lord and His disciples, but regardless of who received the objection, it primarily refers to Him.

St. Ambrose of Milan: But the Lord proves that the defenders of the law are ignorant of the law itself, using the example of David, as it follows: And Jesus answering said to them, Have you not read so much as this...

St. Cyril of Alexandria: It is as if He said, “Since the law of Moses expressly says, Give a righteous judgment and you shall not show partiality in judgment, how can you now blame My disciples? You still extol David as a saint and prophet to this day, even though he did not keep the commandment of Moses.”

St. John Chrysostom: And notice that whenever the Lord speaks on behalf of His servants (that is, His disciples), He brings forward other servants as examples, such as David and the priests. But when He speaks for Himself, He introduces His Father, as in that passage: My Father works until now, and I work.

Theophylact of Ohrid: But He reproves them in another way, as it is added: The Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. It is as if He said, “I am the Lord of the sabbath, since I am the One who ordained it, and as the Lawgiver, I have the power to dissolve the sabbath. For Christ was called the Son of Man because, though He is the Son of God, He condescended in a miraculous way to be made and called the Son of Man for humanity’s sake.”

St. John Chrysostom: But Mark declares that He said this about our common human nature, for He said, The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. It is therefore more fitting for the sabbath to be subject to man than for man to bow his neck to the sabbath.

St. Ambrose of Milan: But in this there is a great mystery. For the field is the whole world, the grain is the abundant harvest of the saints from the seed of the human race, and the ears of grain are the fruits of the Church. The Apostles, by their works, shook these fruits free and fed upon them, nourishing themselves with our growth. By their mighty miracles, they plucked the fruits of the mind out from their bodily husks, as it were, bringing them into the light of faith.

The Venerable Bede: For they rub the ears of grain in their hands. This is because when they wish to bring others into the body of Christ, they put to death their old nature with its deeds, drawing them away from worldly thoughts.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Now the Jews thought this was unlawful on the Sabbath, but Christ, by the gift of new grace, represented through this act the rest from the law, which is the work of grace.

He wonderfully called it the “second-first” sabbath, not the “first-second.” This is because the sabbath that was first under the law was set aside, and this one, which was ordained second, is now made first. Therefore, it is called the second sabbath according to its sequence, but the first according to grace, for a sabbath with no penalty is better than one where a penalty is prescribed. Or perhaps this sabbath was first in the foreknowledge of wisdom, and second in its legal establishment.

In David escaping with his companions, there was a foreshadowing of Christ under the law, who with His Apostles escaped the prince of this world.

But how could David, the Observer and Defender of the law, both eat the bread and give it to those with him—bread which no one but the priests was allowed to eat? It could only be to show by this figure that the priests’ bread was to become available for the people’s use. This also shows that we ought to imitate the priests’ life, or that all the children of the Church are priests, for we are anointed into a holy priesthood, offering ourselves as a spiritual sacrifice to God.

And if the sabbath was made for man, and man’s benefit required that someone who was hungry should set aside the abstinence of the old fast, then the law is surely not broken but fulfilled.

St. Ambrose of Milan: The Lord now proceeds to another work. For he who had determined to make the whole person well was able to heal every part of the body. Therefore, the scripture says, And it came to pass also on another sabbath, that he entered into the synagogue and taught.

The Venerable Bede: He chiefly heals and teaches on the sabbaths, not only to convey the meaning of a spiritual sabbath, but also because of the larger gathering of the people.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: But he taught things far beyond their comprehension and opened to his hearers the way to future salvation through him. Then, after first teaching them, he suddenly showed his divine power, as the text continues, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered.

The Venerable Bede: But since the Master had excused with an undeniable example the breach of the sabbath with which they charged his disciples, their goal now was to watch him in order to bring a false accusation against the Master himself. As the text continues, And the Scribes and Pharisees watched him, if he would heal on the sabbath; they did this so that if he did not, they might accuse him of cruelty or impotence, and if he did, of violating the sabbath. Therefore, the text adds, that they might find an accusation against him.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: For this is the way of the envious person: he feeds his own pangs of grief with the praises of others. But the Lord knew all things and searches the heart.

As the text continues, But he knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, Rise up, and stand. And he arose, and stood forth. He did this so that perhaps he might stir the cruel Pharisees to pity and calm the flames of their passion.

The Venerable Bede: But the Lord, anticipating the false charge they were preparing against him, reproves those who, by wrongly interpreting the law, thought that they must rest on the sabbath even from good works. The law commands us to abstain from servile work—that is, from evil—on the sabbath, not from good. Therefore, Jesus says to them, I ask you, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath? and so on.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: This is a very useful question. If it is lawful to do good on the sabbath, and there is no reason why those who do good should not obtain mercy from God, then stop gathering accusations against Christ. But if it is not lawful to do good on the sabbath, and the law prohibits saving a life, then you have become the accuser of the law itself.

For if we examine the institution of the sabbath, we will find it was introduced for the purpose of mercy. God commanded the sabbath to be kept holy so that your man-servant and your maid-servant may rest, and all your cattle. But if God has mercy on an ox and other livestock, how much more will he have mercy on a person troubled with a severe disease?

St. Ambrose of Milan: But the law, through present realities, prefigured the form of future things. Among these, the coming days of rest are surely to be a rest from evil works, not from good ones. For although we may cease from secular work, it is a good work, and not idleness, to rest in the praise of God.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Although our Lord was healing the body, he asked this question: “Is it lawful to save a soul or to lose it?” He did this either because he performed his miracles on account of faith, in which lies the salvation of the soul, or because the healing of the right hand signified that salvation.

A soul that ceases to do good works seems, in a way, to have a withered right hand. In this sense, he used the word “soul” to mean the whole person, just as people are accustomed to say, “So many souls were there.”

But it may be questioned how Matthew could say that they asked the Lord whether it was lawful to heal on the sabbath, when Luke states here that, on the contrary, they were the ones asked by the Lord.

We must therefore believe that they first asked the Lord. Then he, understanding from their thoughts that they were seeking an opportunity to accuse him, placed the man he was about to heal in the middle of the group and asked the question that Mark and Luke record him asking. The text continues, And looking round about upon them all.

Titus of Bostra: When the eyes of all were, so to speak, riveted on him, and their minds were also fixed on the matter, he said to the man, “Stretch forth your hand.” I, who created man, command you. The man with the withered hand heard and was made whole, as the text continues, And he stretched it, and it was restored.

But those who should have been astonished by the miracle only increased in their malice, as it says next: But they were filled with madness, and communed one with another what they should do to Jesus.

St. John Chrysostom: And as Matthew relates, they go out to take counsel, that they should kill him.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: You see, O Pharisee, a divine Worker, and him who delivers the sick by his heavenly power, yet out of envy you breathe forth death.

The Venerable Bede: The man represents the human race, withered by the unfruitfulness of good works because of the hand of our first parent stretched out to take the apple. This hand was healed by the innocent hand stretched out on the cross. And the withered hand was rightly in the synagogue, because where the gift of knowledge is greater, the transgressor bears the greater blame.

St. Ambrose of Milan: You have heard, then, the words of him who says, “Stretch forth your hand.” This is a frequent and common healing. You who think your hand is whole, beware that it is not contracted by greed or sacrilege.

Stretch it out more often to help your neighbor, to protect the widow, and to save from injury someone you see being unjustly attacked. Stretch it out to the poor person who begs from you. Stretch it out to the Lord to ask for pardon for your sins. For as the hand is stretched out, so it is healed.

Glossa Ordinaria: When adversaries rose up against the miracles and teaching of Christ, He chose Apostles as defenders and witnesses of the truth, and prefaced their election with prayer, as it is said, And it came to pass...

St. Ambrose of Milan: Do not be deceived into thinking that the Son of God prays out of weakness to obtain what He could not otherwise accomplish. For as the very Author of power and Master of obedience, He leads us by His own example to the precepts of virtue.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Let us then examine Jesus's actions to see how He teaches us to be persistent in prayer to God: by going apart by ourselves and in secret where no one can see us, setting aside our worldly cares so that the mind may be raised to the height of divine contemplation. We see this in the fact that Jesus went up on a mountain by Himself to pray.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Everywhere He also prays alone, for human desires cannot comprehend the wisdom of God, and no one can be a partaker in the secrets of Christ. But not everyone who prays ascends a mountain—only the one who, in praying, is advancing from earthly things to higher things and is not anxious for the world's riches or honors. All whose minds are raised above the world ascend the mountain.

In the Gospel, therefore, you will find that the disciples alone ascend the mountain with the Lord. But you, O Christian, now have the pattern given, the form prescribed for you to imitate, as it follows: And he continued all night in prayer to God. For what should you do for your salvation, when Christ continues all night in prayer for you?

St. John Chrysostom: Rise, then, you also at nighttime. The soul is purer then; the very darkness and great silence are enough in themselves to lead us to sorrow for our sins. But if you look upon the heavens, studded with stars like innumerable eyes, and consider that those who live wantonly and unjustly by day are then no different from the dead, you will loathe all human undertakings. All these things serve to elevate the mind.

Vain-glory does not disturb you then, and no tumult of passion has mastery. Fire does not destroy the rust of iron as effectively as nightly prayer destroys the blight of sin. He whom the sun's heat has fevered by day is refreshed by the dew; nightly tears are better than any dew and are a defense against desire and fear. But if a person is not nourished by this dew we speak of, they wither in the day. Therefore, even if you do not pray much at night, pray once with watchfulness, and it is enough. Show that the night belongs not only to the body but also to the soul.

St. Ambrose of Milan: But what should you do when you are about to begin any work of piety, when Christ, before sending out His disciples, first prayed? For it follows, And when it was day, he called his disciples... whom He truly destined to be the means of spreading humanity's salvation throughout the world. Turn your eyes also to this heavenly council. He did not choose the wise, the rich, or the noble, but chose to send out fishermen and tax collectors, so that they might not seem to turn people to their grace by wealth or the influence of power and rank, and so that the force of truth, not the charms of oratory, might prevail.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: But mark the great care of the Evangelist. He not only says that the holy Apostles were chosen, but he lists them by name, so that no one would dare to insert any others into the list: Simon, whom he also named Peter, and Andrew his brother.

The Venerable Bede: He not only gave him the surname Peter first, but long before this, when he was brought by Andrew, it is said, You shall be called Cephas (which is translated, a stone). But Luke, in listing the names of the disciples, since it was necessary to call him Peter, wanted to briefly imply that this was not his original name, but that the Lord had given it to him.

Eusebius of Caesarea: The next two are James and John, as it follows: James and John, who were both sons of Zebedee and also fishermen. After them, he mentions Philip and Bartholomew. John says Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Bartholomew was a simple man, devoid of all worldly knowledge and guile. But Matthew was called from among the tax collectors, about whom he adds, Matthew and Thomas.

The Venerable Bede: Matthew places himself after his fellow disciple Thomas out of humility, whereas the other Evangelists place him before Thomas. It follows, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot.

Glossa Ordinaria: This is because he was from Cana in Galilee, a name which is interpreted as "zeal," and this detail is added to distinguish him from Simon Peter. It follows, Judas the brother of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

St. Augustine of Hippo: Regarding the name of Judas the brother of James, Luke seems to differ from Matthew, who calls him Thaddaeus. But what would prevent a man from being called by two or three names? Judas the traitor is chosen, not unwittingly but knowingly, for Christ had indeed taken upon Himself human weakness and therefore did not refuse even this share of human infirmity. He was willing to be betrayed by His own Apostle so that you, when betrayed by your friend, may calmly bear your mistaken judgment and your wasted kindness.

The Venerable Bede: But in a mystical sense, the mountain on which our Lord chose His disciples represents the loftiness of justice in which they were to be instructed and which they were to preach to others. In the same way, the Law was also given on a mountain.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: But if we are to learn the interpretation of the Apostles’ names, know that Peter means "loosening" or "knowing"; Andrew, "glorious power" or "answering"; James, "apostle of grief"; John, "the grace of the Lord"; Matthew, "given"; Philip, "large mouth" or "the opening of a torch"; Bartholomew, "the son of him who lets down water"; Thomas, "deep" or "twin"; James the son of Alphaeus, "supplanter of the step of life"; Judas, "confession"; and Simon, "obedience."

St. Cyril of Alexandria: After the Apostles were ordained and large crowds had gathered from the region of Judea and the coastal areas of Tyre and Sidon (who were idolaters), He commissioned the Apostles to be teachers for the whole world. Their purpose was to call the Jews back from the bondage of the law, and the worshipers of demons from their Gentile errors to the knowledge of the truth. Hence it is said, And he came down with them, and stood in the plain, and a great multitude from Judea, and the sea coast...

The Venerable Bede: By “the sea coast,” he does not refer to the nearby Sea of Galilee, because this would not be considered remarkable. Instead, it refers to the great sea, which would also include Tyre and Sidon, as the text continues, of Tyre and Sidon.

These Gentile regions are intentionally named here to indicate how great the Savior's fame and power were, which had brought even the citizens of the coast to receive His healing and teaching. Hence the text adds, who came to hear him.

Theophylact of Ohrid: That is, they came for the healing of their souls; and the phrase that they might be healed of their diseases refers to the healing of their bodies.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: After the High Priest had publicly announced His choice of the Apostles, He performed many great miracles. He did this so that the Jews and Gentiles who had gathered would know that these men had been invested by Christ with the dignity of the apostleship, and that He Himself was not like any other man, but was instead God, being the Incarnate Word.

Hence the text continues, And the whole multitude sought to touch him, for there went virtue out of him. For Christ did not receive virtue from others; rather, since He is God by nature, He sent out His own virtue upon the sick and healed them all.

St. Ambrose of Milan: But observe everything carefully. Notice how He both ascends with His Apostles and descends to the multitude, for how could the multitude see Christ except in a humble place? The crowd does not follow Him to the high places; it does not ascend the heights. Finally, when He descends, He finds the sick, for in the high places there can be no one who is sick.

The Venerable Bede: You will scarcely find anywhere that the crowds follow our Lord to the higher places, or that a sick person is healed on a mountain. Instead, after quenching the fever of lust and lighting the torch of knowledge, each person gradually approaches the height of the virtues.

But the crowds that were able to touch the Lord are healed by the virtue of that touch, just as the leper was formerly cleansed when our Lord touched him. The touch of the Savior, then, is the work of salvation. To touch Him is to believe in Him; to be touched by Him is to be healed by His precious gifts.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: After the ordination of the Apostles, the Savior directed His disciples to the newness of the evangelical life.

St. Ambrose of Milan: But as He was about to speak His divine oracles, He began to rise higher. Although He stood in a lowly place, it is said that He lifted up His eyes. What is it to lift up the eyes, but to reveal a more hidden light?

The Venerable Bede: And although He speaks in a general way to all, He lifts up His eyes more especially toward His disciples. For it follows, "on his disciples," so that to those who received the word, listening attentively with their hearts, He might more fully reveal the light of its deep meaning.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Now, Luke mentions only four blessings, while Matthew mentions eight. However, these four are contained in those eight, and those eight are in these four. For one has embraced, as it were, the four cardinal virtues, while the other has revealed the mystical number in the eight. For just as the eighth day signifies the fulfillment of our hope, so the eighth blessing signifies the completion of the virtues.

Each Evangelist has placed the blessing of poverty first, for it is first in order and the purest of the virtues. For he who has despised the world will reap an eternal reward. Can anyone obtain the reward of the heavenly kingdom who, overcome by the desires of this world, has no power to escape them? Hence, it follows that He said, Blessed are the poor.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: In the Gospel according to St. Matthew, it is said, Blessed are the poor in spirit, so that we understand the "poor in spirit" to be one with a modest and humbled mind. Hence our Savior says, Learn from me, for I am meek and lowly of heart. But Luke says, Blessed are the poor, without adding "in spirit," calling those poor who despise riches. For it was fitting for those who were to preach the doctrines of the saving Gospel to have no covetousness, but to have their affections set on higher things.

St. Basil the Great: But not everyone oppressed with poverty is blessed; only he who has preferred the commandment of Christ to worldly riches. For many are poor in their possessions yet most covetous in their disposition. These are not saved by their poverty but are condemned by their desires. Nothing involuntary deserves a blessing, because all virtue is defined by free will. Blessed, then, is the poor man for being a disciple of Christ, who endured poverty for us. For the Lord Himself has fulfilled every work that leads to happiness, leaving Himself as an example for us to follow.

Eusebius of Caesarea: When the celestial kingdom is considered in its many levels of blessing, the first step belongs to those who, by divine instinct, embrace poverty. He made His first disciples to be such people. Therefore, He says on their behalf, For yours is the kingdom of heaven, directly addressing those who were present, upon whom He also lifted up His eyes.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: After commanding them to embrace poverty, He then crowns with honor the things that follow from it. Those who embrace poverty often find themselves in want of the necessities of life, scarcely able to get food. He does not permit His disciples to be fainthearted on this account, but says, Blessed are you who hunger now.

The Venerable Bede: That is, blessed are you who chasten your body and subject it to bondage, who in hunger and thirst pay attention to the word, for then you will receive the fullness of heavenly joys.

St. Gregory of Nazianzus: But in a deeper sense, just as those who eat bodily food have different appetites according to the nature of the food, so it is with the food of the soul. Some desire what depends on the opinion of men, while others desire that which is essentially and by its own nature good. Hence, according to Matthew, blessed are those who consider righteousness as food and drink. By righteousness, I mean not a particular virtue but a universal one, and he who hungers for it is said to be blessed.

The Venerable Bede: He plainly instructs us that we ought never to consider ourselves sufficiently righteous, but should always desire a daily increase in righteousness. The Psalmist shows us that we cannot attain its perfect fullness in this life, but only in the world to come: I shall be satisfied when your glory shall be made manifest. Hence it follows, For you shall be filled.

Gregory of Nyssa: To those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, He promises an abundance of the things they desire. For none of the pleasures sought in this life can satisfy those who pursue them. But the pursuit of virtue alone is followed by that reward, which implants a joy in the soul that never fails.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Poverty is followed not only by a lack of things that bring delight, but also by sorrow and a dejected look. Hence it follows, Blessed are you that weep. He blesses those who weep—not those who merely shed tears from their eyes (for this is common to believers and unbelievers when sorrow befalls them), but rather He calls those blessed who shun a careless life, entangled with sin and devoted to carnal pleasures, and who, out of hatred for all worldly things, refuse such enjoyments, almost to the point of weeping.

St. John Chrysostom: Godly sorrow is a great thing, and it produces a repentance that leads to salvation. Hence St. Paul, when he had no failings of his own to weep for, mourned for the failings of others. Such grief is the source of gladness, as it follows, For you shall laugh. For even if we do no good to those for whom we weep, we do good to ourselves.

He who weeps for the sins of others will not fail to weep for his own; and what is more, he will not easily fall into sin. Let us not constantly relax in this short life, so that we do not sigh in the life that is eternal. Let us not seek pleasures that lead to lamentation and great sorrow, but let us embrace the sorrow that brings forth pardon. We often find the Lord sorrowing, but never laughing.

St. Basil the Great: But He promises laughter to those who weep—not the sound of laughter from the mouth, but a gladness that is pure and unmixed with anything of sorrow.

The Venerable Bede: He, then, who for the sake of the riches of Christ's inheritance, for the bread of eternal life, and for the hope of heavenly joys, desires to suffer weeping, hunger, and poverty, is blessed. But much more blessed is he who does not shrink from maintaining these virtues in adversity. Hence it follows, Blessed are you when men shall hate you.

For although men may hate, their wicked hearts cannot injure the heart that is beloved by Christ. It follows, And when they shall separate you. Let them separate and expel you from the synagogue; Christ will find you and strengthen you.

It follows, And shall reproach you. Let them reproach the name of the Crucified; He Himself raises up, together with Himself, those who have died with Him and makes them sit in heavenly places. It follows, And cast out your name as evil.

Here he means the name of Christian, which Jews and Gentiles, as much as they could, frequently tried to erase from memory and cast out, when there was no cause for hatred except for the Son of Man. For in truth, those who believed in the name of Christ wished to be called after His name. Therefore, He teaches that they are to be persecuted by men but are to be blessed beyond men. As it follows, Rejoice you in that day, and weep for joy, for behold your reward is great in heaven.

St. John Chrysostom: "Great" and "little" are measured by the dignity of the speaker. Let us then inquire who promised this great reward. If it were a prophet or an apostle, what he considered great would have been little. But now it is the Lord, in whose hands are eternal treasures and riches surpassing human imagination, who has promised a great reward.

St. Basil the Great: Again, "great" sometimes has an absolute meaning, as "the heaven is great" and "the earth is great." But sometimes it has a relative meaning, as in "a great ox" or "a great horse," when comparing two things of a like nature. I think, then, that a great reward will be stored up for those who suffer reproach for Christ’s sake—not great in comparison to things within our power, but great in itself because it is given by God.

St. John of Damascus: Those things which can be measured or numbered are described with definite terms, but that which, due to its unique excellence, surpasses all measure and number, we call "great" and "much" indefinitely, as when we say that great is the long-suffering of God.

Eusebius of Caesarea: He then fortifies His disciples against the attacks of their adversaries, which they would suffer as they preached throughout the whole world, adding, For in like manner did their fathers to the prophets.

St. Ambrose of Milan: For the Jews persecuted the prophets even to death.

The Venerable Bede: Those who speak the truth often suffer persecution, yet the ancient prophets did not, for that reason, turn away from preaching the truth out of fear.

St. Ambrose of Milan: In that He says, Blessed are the poor, you have temperance, which abstains from sin, tramples upon the world, and does not seek empty pleasures. In Blessed are they that hunger, you have righteousness, for he who hungers suffers with the hungry, and by suffering with him, he gives to him; by giving, he becomes righteous, and his righteousness endures forever. In Blessed are they that weep now, you have prudence, which is to weep for temporal things and to seek those which are eternal. In Blessed are you when men hate you, you have fortitude—not a fortitude that deserves hatred for a crime, but one that suffers persecution for the faith.

For in this way you will attain the crown of suffering if you disregard the favor of men and seek that which is from God.

Temperance, therefore, brings with it a pure heart; righteousness, mercy; prudence, peace; fortitude, meekness. The virtues are so joined and linked to one another that he who has one seems to have many. The Saints each have their particular virtues, but the virtue that is most abundant receives the richest reward.

What hospitality in Abraham, what humility! But because he excelled in faith, he gained preeminence above all others. For every person, there are many rewards because there are many incentives to virtue, but the virtue that is most prominent in a good action receives the most exceptional reward.