PL 194 · cols. 1849–1852

Isaac of Stella, Sermons

Sermon XLVII

et parturit usque ad revelationem gloriae filiorum Dei. Mulier quidem cum parit, tristitiam habet; cum autem peperit gaudio gaudet (Joan. XVI), et in nativitate talis pueri multi gaudebunt. Gaudebunt interioris et exterioris hominis simul omnia: congloriabuntur et conglorificabuntur. Interim ex parte cognoscit, et ex parte prophetat Zacharias; cum autem venerit quod perfectum est, tunc cognoscet, sicut et cognitus est; solveturque vinculum linguae, et replebitur os ejus jubilo, ad benedicendum Deum pro gratia, quae nunc occulte agit in natura: quae tunc manifesta erit et cognita. Omnes enim a minimo usque ad maximum cognoscent gratiam et veritatem Dei in die illa pleni gratia et veritate, exsultatione et laude. Quod in nobis adimplere dignetur ipsa Dei gratia, ut in manifestatione ejus gaudeamus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

and is in labour until the revelation of the glory of the sons of God. A woman indeed, when she is giving birth, has sorrow; but when she has brought forth, she rejoices with joy (John 16:21), and at the birth of such a child many will rejoice. All the things of the inner and of the outer man will rejoice together: they will share in the glory and be glorified together. Meanwhile Zachary knows in part and prophesies in part; but when that which is perfect has come, then he will know, even as he is known; and the bond of his tongue will be loosed, and his mouth will be filled with jubilation, to bless God for the grace which now works hiddenly in nature, and which will then be manifest and known. For all, from the least to the greatest, will know the grace and truth of God in that day, being full of grace and truth, of exultation and praise. May the very grace of God deign to fulfil this in us, that in its manifestation we may rejoice through all ages of ages. Amen.

SERMO XLVII. IN EODEM FESTO II.

SERMON XLVII. ON THE SAME FEAST II.

Qui habet sponsam sponsus est, amicus autem sponsi stat, et audit, et gaudio gaudet, propter vocem sponsi (Joan. III). Aliorum, dilectissimi, sanctorum aut abstinentiae, aut sollicitudines, aut opera misericordiae, aut virtutes signorum, aut hujusmodi, quae ad faciem sunt, sanctimoniae, eorum testimonio valent; in nonnullos autem Domini et Salvatoris promulgatur auctoritas: qualiter de beato Petro apostolo dicitur: Beatus es, Simon Bar-Jona, quia caro et sanguis non revelavit tibi; sed Pater meus, qui est in coelis. Et ego dico tibi, quia tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam (Matth. XVI). De coapostolo quoque ejus Paulo: Vas electionis est mihi iste, ut portet nomen meum coram gentibus, et regibus et filiis Israel (Act. IX). In beatum vero Joannem plurima et prophetarum oracula, et ipsius per seipsam Veritatis testimonia coacervantur. Beatus etenim propheta Isaias de eo sic ait: Vox clamantis in deserto, Parate viam Domini, etc. (Isai. XL). Cui beatus evangelista Marcus in Evangelii sui exordio concinit. Jeremias quoque: Priusquam te formarem in utero, novi te; et antequam exires de ventre sanctificavi te; et prophetam in gentibus dedi te (Jer. I). Sed nec hoc beatus evangelista Lucas praetermisit. Ipsa autem veritas, quae nec fallere, nec falli potuit, de eo sic ait: Inter natos mulierum non surrexit major Joanne Baptista (Matth. XI). Et alibi: Quid existis in desertum videre? Prophetam? Etiam dico vobis, et plusquam prophetam. Hic est enim, de quo scriptum est: Ecce mitto angelum meum ante faciem tuam, etc. (ibid.). Alias quoque: Ipse erat lucerna ardens, et lucens (Joan. V). Unde et David: Paravi lucernam Christo meo (Psal. CXXXI). Beatum itaque Joannem nascendi miraculum, et vitae singularitas, et qualitas mortis, Prophetarum quoque, ut diximus, oracula, ac ipsius veritatis testimonia, Ecclesiae Christi commendarunt.

He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom stands and hears, and rejoices with joy because of the bridegroom's voice (John 3:29). Of other saints, dearly beloved, it is their abstinence, or their cares, or their works of mercy, or their miracles of power, or such things of holiness as lie open to view, that have weight by their testimony; but over some the authority of the Lord and Saviour Himself is proclaimed: as is said of the blessed apostle Peter: Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona, because flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but My Father, who is in heaven. And I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church (Matt. 16:17–18). So also of his fellow apostle Paul: This man is to Me a vessel of election, to carry My name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the sons of Israel (Acts 9:15). But upon blessed John are heaped up very many oracles of the prophets and testimonies of the Truth Himself in His own person. For the blessed prophet Isaiah speaks thus of him: The voice of one crying in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord, etc. (Isa. 40:3). With him the blessed evangelist Mark sings in accord at the beginning of his Gospel. Jeremiah also: Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; and before you came forth from the belly I sanctified you; and I gave you as a prophet among the nations (Jer. 1:5). Nor did the blessed evangelist Luke pass this over. But the Truth Himself, who could neither deceive nor be deceived, speaks thus of him: Among those born of women there has not arisen a greater than John the Baptist (Matt. 11:11). And elsewhere: What did you go out into the desert to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. For this is he of whom it is written: Behold, I send My angel before your face, etc. (ibid. 11:9–10). And again: He was a burning and a shining lamp (John 5:35). Whence David too says: I have prepared a lamp for My Christ (Ps. 131:17). Thus the miracle of his birth, the singularity of his life, and the manner of his death, and also, as we have said, the oracles of the prophets and the testimonies of the Truth Himself, have commended blessed John to the Church of Christ.

Mecum ergo reputans, et conferens in corde meo haec et his similia, de beato Joanne sublimium

Considering, then, within myself, and pondering in my heart these and similar things, of blessed John's sublime

Editors' notes and page, col. 1849

Page

running head: 1849 SERMONES. — SERMO XLVII. IN NA[…] (right part of the head cut off by the image crop)
marginal letters: A ‹et parturit usque ad revelationem›; B ‹plere dignetur ipsa Dei gratia›; C ‹quia tu es Petrus, et super hanc›; D ‹tuit, de eo sic ait›
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column ends mid-phrase at "sublimium"; English of that fragment is provisional. The scripture reference "(Isai. XL)" is faintly printed; read as xl. "(Matth. XI)" damaged in type, read as xi.

PL 194:1850

testimonia sublimia, et ipsius de seipso responsa humilia, liquido colligo quod virtus in infirmitate perficitur; et eo quisque maximus a veritate appellatur, quo a semetipso minimus aestimatur. Quanto, ait Sapientia, magnus es, humilia te in omnibus (Eccli. III); et utique quanto humiliaveris te, tanto major eris in omnibus. O bona humilitas! Excelsus quidem Dominus, sed humilia respicit. O humilitas Deo amabilis! Respexit, inquit, humilitatem ancillae suae (Luc. I). Spiritus quoque sanctus non requiescit, nisi super humilem et mansuetum et trementem verba Dei. Ideo beatus iste Joannes est, ac eo beatior, quo humilior: eoque humilior, quo beatior. Cum tanti ab hominibus pro verbo doctrinae, et districtione vitae haberetur, ut Christus putaretur, elegit, ut beatus ait Gregorius, per humilitatem solide subsistere in se, quam per vanitatem opinionis vanae inaniter rapi super se. Non enim sicut pulvis erat, quem projicit ventus a facie terrae. Quamvis autem vanitantium vento in coelum usque raperetur, humilis tamen et gravis terrae adhaerebat; illius sententiae memor: Terra es, et in terram ibis (Gen. III). Ubi sunt, qui de nihilo inflantur, et de modico multum tument, eo vaniores, quo inaniores? Quid habes, in comparatione Joannis, qui plus Joanne gloriaris? aut si habes, quid habes, quod non accepisti? Aut quod accepisti, quare per inanem gloriam inflando, temetipsum evacuasti? Non enim qui inflatus est, plenus veraciter, sed inaniter tumidus est. Ergo Joannem audiamus, quanto majorem, tanto humiliora loquentem. Non sum, inquit, Christus, non sum Elias, non sum propheta. Praeco sum: Vox clamantis sum in deserto; Parate viam Domino. Venit fortior me post me: cujus non sum dignus, procumbens solvere corrigiam calceamenti. Et cum multum augeretur ab instantibus, in spiritu veritatis, et cordis puritate exsultans, quod supra posuimus, ait:

lofty testimonies [of lofty ones], and his own humble answers about himself, I clearly gather that power is made perfect in weakness; and that each is called greatest by the Truth in the measure that he is reckoned least by himself. The greater you are, says Wisdom, humble yourself in all things (Sir. 3:20); and surely, the more you humble yourself, the greater you will be in all things. O good humility! The Lord indeed is on high, yet He looks upon lowly things. O humility, lovable to God! He has regarded, she says, the lowliness of His handmaid (Luke 1:48). The Holy Spirit too does not rest except upon the humble and meek and one who trembles at the words of God. Therefore this John is blessed, and the more blessed as he is the more humble, and the more humble as he is the more blessed. When he was held in such esteem by men for the word of his teaching and the strictness of his life that he was thought to be the Christ, he chose, as blessed Gregory says, to stand firmly within himself through humility rather than to be carried emptily above himself through the vanity of an empty opinion. For he was not like the dust which the wind drives from the face of the earth. Although he was carried up to heaven itself by the wind of vain talkers, yet, humble and weighty, he clung to the earth, mindful of that sentence: Earth you are, and into earth you shall go (Gen. 3:19). Where are they who are puffed up over nothing, and swell greatly over little, the more vain as they are the more empty? What do you have, compared with John, you who glory more than John? Or if you have something, what do you have that you have not received? Or what you have received, why have you emptied yourself by puffing it up through vainglory? For he who is puffed up is not truly full, but emptily swollen. Let us therefore hear John, speaking the more humbly the greater he is. I am not, he says, the Christ; I am not Elijah; I am not the prophet. I am a herald: I am the voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare the way for the Lord. There comes after me one mightier than I, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy, bowing down, to loose. And when he was greatly exalted by those who pressed upon him, exulting in the spirit of truth and in purity of heart, he said what we set out above:

Qui habet sponsam, sponsus est. Ac si diceret: Nec sponsam habeo, nec sponsus dici debeo. Amicus autem sponsi stat, et gaudio gaudet propter vocem sponsi. Hoc etenim, si scire vultis, sum; et hoc facio: et ideo sum, quia facio, et ideo facio, quia sum. Sponsus, ut scitis, Christus est, sponsa Christi Ecclesia. Sponsus Verbum Dei est, sponsa anima fidelis. Sponsa igitur, sicut habet adolescentulas et amicas, sic et sponsus paranymphos et amicos: de quibus ad sponsam loquens, ait: Fac nos audire vocem tuam; amici auscultant (Cant. VIII). Amicus ergo stat, et auscultat, et audit vocem, non solum sponsi, sed et sponsae. Non enim potest sponsam contemnere, qui sponsum voluerit audire; aut utrumque audiet, aut utrumque contemnet. Nemo potest alteri sine altero amicus existere. Quod Deus conjunxit, homo non separet (Matth. XIX). Qui vos, inquit, audit, me audit: et qui vos spernit, me spernit. Qui vero me audit, audit eum qui misit me (Luc. X). Ecce per Christum quomodo juncti sumus Deo: caput mulieris vir,

He who has the bride is the bridegroom. As if he were saying: I neither have the bride, nor ought I to be called the bridegroom. But the friend of the bridegroom stands, and rejoices with joy because of the bridegroom's voice. For this, if you wish to know, is what I am; and this is what I do: and I am this because I do it, and I do it because I am this. The bridegroom, as you know, is Christ; the bride of Christ is the Church. The bridegroom is the Word of God; the bride is the faithful soul. So, as the bride has maidens and friends, so the bridegroom too has groomsmen and friends: speaking of whom to the bride he says: Let us hear your voice; the friends are listening (Song 8:13). The friend, then, stands, and listens, and hears the voice not only of the bridegroom but also of the bride. For he who would hear the bridegroom cannot despise the bride; either he will hear both, or he will despise both. No one can be a friend to the one without the other. What God has joined together, let no man put asunder (Matt. 19:6). He who hears you, He says, hears Me; and he who despises you, despises Me. And he who hears Me, hears Him who sent Me (Luke 10:16). See how through Christ we are joined to God: the head of the woman is the man,

Editors' notes and page, col. 1850

Page

running head: SERMONES. — SERMO XLVII. IN NATIVIT. S. JOAN. BAPT. 1850 (head runs across the page; left half on col. 1849)
marginal letters: A ‹testimonia sublimia, et ipsius›; B ‹ut Christus putaretur, elegit›; C ‹Joannem audiamus, quanto majorem›; D ‹Christi Ecclesia. Sponsus Verbum›
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: column opens mid-sentence, continuing "de beato Joanne sublimium" from col. 1849. "separet" and "ut beatus ait Gregorius" read through worn type. Column ends mid-sentence at "caput mulieris vir,".

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caput viri Christus, caput Christi Deus. Itaque si sponsi cupimus esse amici, per ipsum Dei audiamus sponsam, et obaudiamus his, per quos loquitur ac jubet sponsa, id est praelatis et praepositis nostris. Nos enim qui subjecti sumus eis, tanquam mulier simpliciter sumus: ordo autem praelatorum quasi vir noster, qui nos regere, instruere, pascere, fecundare, ac in omnibus et ad omnia disponere debet. Caput quoque nostrum est, et ipsius Christus, et ipsius Deus. Unde per praepositos nostros subditi sumus, adhaerentesque Christo ac Deo. Amicus ergo sponsi stat et audit; sponsus vero sedet ac docet. Magistrorum est siquidem loqui et jubere, audire autem et obedire discipulis convenit, et cum hilaritate, quoniam hilarem datorem diligit Deus (II Cor. IX), et cum gaudio, sicut hic amicus sponsi audit, et gaudet; et hoc propter vocem sponsi. Multi ad multa quae audiunt gaudent, sed non propter vocem sponsi. Multi ad multa quae jubentur libenter obediunt; et non propter vocem sponsi. Cum enim quod volunt audiunt, gaudent propter seipsos, et in hoc jam receperunt mercedem suam. Et cum jubentur quod desiderabant, libenter obediunt, sed propriis concupiscentiis; nec habent quid a sponso exspectent. Quod enim propter ipsum non fit, ab ipso remunerabile non erit. Itaque vox sponsae omnis est institutio ecclesiastica; quam qui dijudicat aut contemnit, amicus sponsae esse non poterit. Vox sponsae sermo est et praecepta Praepositorum: quae qui contemnit aut negligit, ad inimicitias erumpit; aut si tepide, tarde, cum rancore cordis et oris murmure perficit, necdum ad amicitias pervenit; nec enim gaudet propter vocem sponsae. Sponsus Verbum Dei est; vox ejus omnis eventus. Quidquid enim in tempore fit, ab aeterno simul in Dei Verbo fuit. Nobis vero liber, ubi angeli cernunt et legunt, clausus est: et solum in exteriori legimus et discimus, quae in interiori continentur. Quod enim foris contigisse cernimus, intus dispositum fuisse cognoscimus. Omnia enim sic fiunt, ut facit aut permittit, sine cujus dispositione nihil fit. Eventus ergo rei foris est vox Verbi: ad quam non murmurat, qui quod intus dispositum est, amat. Omnia vero quae contingunt, a bono disposita sunt, ac suo modo bene fiunt, ac propterea a bonis amanda sunt.

the head of the man is Christ, the head of Christ is God. So if we desire to be friends of the bridegroom, let us through the Bridegroom of God Himself hear the bride, and obey those through whom the bride speaks and commands, that is, our prelates and superiors. For we who are subject to them are simply as the woman; but the order of prelates is as our husband, who must rule, instruct, feed and make us fruitful, and order us in all things and for all things. Our head too is Christ, and his head is God. Hence through our superiors we are made subject, and cleave to Christ and to God. The friend of the bridegroom, then, stands and hears; but the bridegroom sits and teaches. For it belongs to masters to speak and command, and it befits disciples to hear and obey, and with cheerfulness, since God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7), and with joy, as this friend of the bridegroom hears and rejoices; and that because of the bridegroom's voice. Many rejoice at many things that they hear, but not because of the bridegroom's voice. Many willingly obey in many things that are commanded them, and not because of the bridegroom's voice. For when they hear what they want, they rejoice for their own sakes, and in this they have already received their reward. And when they are commanded what they were longing for, they obey willingly, but to their own desires; and they have nothing to expect from the bridegroom. For what is not done for His sake will not be rewardable by Him. So every ordinance of the Church is the voice of the bride; whoever sits in judgement on it or despises it will not be able to be a friend of the bride. The voice of the bride is the word and the precepts of superiors: whoever despises or neglects them breaks out into enmity; or if he carries them out tepidly, slowly, with rancour of heart and murmuring of mouth, he has not yet come to friendship; for he does not rejoice because of the bride's voice. The bridegroom is the Word of God; His voice is every event. For whatever happens in time was, from eternity, all at once in the Word of God. But for us the book in which the angels see and read is closed; and we read and learn only in the outward what is contained in the inward. For what we see to have happened outwardly, we know to have been ordered inwardly. For all things come about as He does or permits, without whose ordering nothing happens. The outward event of a thing, then, is the voice of the Word: and he does not murmur at it who loves what has been ordered within. And all things that happen have been ordered by One who is good, and in their own way are done well, and therefore are to be loved by the good.

Summa ergo omnis religionis et obedientiae est amare quod amat Deus, quia id amat Deus; odisse quod odit Deus, quia id odit Deus; velle quod vult Deus, quia id vult Deus, nolle quod non vult Deus. Haec autem omnia cum in rebus foris addiscimus, quasi per vocem Dei voluntatem audimus; et si amici sponsi esse volumus, etiamsi propter aliud in aliquibus dolemus, tamen propter vocem quae nobis loquitur voluntatem sponsi, gaudeamus. Bonus est, inquit amicus quidam Sponsi, etiam de temporali incommodo suo, sermo Domini. Dominus est; quod bonum est in oculis suis faciat. Utique cum malo mali servi bonus est sermo boni Domini,

The sum, then, of all religion and obedience is to love what God loves, because God loves it; to hate what God hates, because God hates it; to will what God wills, because God wills it; to refuse what God does not will. And when we learn all these things in outward affairs, it is as though through the voice of God we hear His will; and if we wish to be friends of the bridegroom, then even if for some other reason we grieve in some things, yet let us rejoice because of the voice which speaks to us the will of the bridegroom. Good, says a certain friend of the Bridegroom, even concerning his own temporal misfortune, is the word of the Lord. It is the Lord; let Him do what is good in His eyes. Surely, even with the harm of a bad servant, the word of the good Lord is good,

Editors' notes and page, col. 1851

Page

running head: 1851 ISAAC DE STELL[…] (right part of the head cut off by the image crop)
marginal letters: A ‹caput viri Christus, caput Christi›; B ‹Cor. IX), et cum gaudio›; C ‹pta Praepositorum: quae qui contemnit›; D ‹disposita sunt, ac suo modo›
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: "per ipsum Dei" read as printed (sense: through the very [Bridegroom/Son] of God); English supplies "Bridegroom" without brackets — UNSURE, could be rendered "through Him who is of God". "hilaritate" and "perficit" read through worn type. Column ends mid-sentence.

PL 194:1852

Si malum male perdit, justus est; et omne justum bonum est: et quicunque non amat justitiam, malus est, et hoc ipsum etiam bonum est. Si malo pie parcit, pius est, et omne pium bonum est; et qui pietatem non amat impius est: et hoc ipsum etiam pium est. Si bonum bene remunerat, justus est; si probat, et castigat, benignus est: et qui utrumque non amat, malignus est, et hoc ipsum juste benignum est, ac benigne justum est. Hae sunt omnes viae Domini, misericordia videlicet et veritas, per quas inter filios hominum graditur, occidendo et vivificando, percutiendo ac sanando, elevando ac deprimendo, dando et auferendo, terrendo ac blandiendo; nihilque fortuitu, aut ipso ignorante, aut nolente, aut non curante contingit: sed omnia bene per tempus regit, sicut ante tempora bene omnia disposuit: et in omnibus propter ejus dispositionem ac voluntatem gaudio gaudet, qui ab eo in nullo dissidet. Ea demum amicitia vera est, cum amico propter amicum idem velle, et idem nolle.

If He destroys the wicked man wickedly [i.e. with evil], He is just; and everything just is good: and whoever does not love justice is wicked, and this very thing too is good. If He spares the wicked man in mercy, He is merciful, and everything merciful is good; and he who does not love mercy is impious: and this very thing too is merciful. If He rewards the good man well, He is just; if He proves and chastises him, He is kind: and he who loves neither is malign, and this very thing is justly kind and kindly just. These are all the ways of the Lord, namely mercy and truth, by which He walks among the sons of men, killing and making alive, striking and healing, raising up and casting down, giving and taking away, terrifying and caressing; and nothing happens by chance, or without His knowing, or against His will, or without His care: but He rules all things well through time, just as before all times He ordered all things well: and in all things he rejoices with joy because of His ordering and will, who dissents from Him in nothing. That alone is true friendship, to will the same and to refuse the same with a friend, for the friend's sake.

Amicus ergo sponsi assistit sponso, ac audit, obedire paratus ad omnia; et gaudio gaudet in omnibus, propter vocem sponsi, quamvis propter aliud contristetur in plurimis. Hoc enim etiam habet vox sponsi; nam ipse sponsus aliquando irascitur, contristatur, lacrymatur, ac dolet: in quibus tamen omnibus propter eum cujus est Verbum gaudet, qui cum gaudio propositum sibi certamen currit. Ubi sunt, qui contra rerum eventum murmurant, ac in Deum blasphemant: qui ipsius ordinationem non amant? Nonne si a Deo est, bene est, et si bene est, quid murmuras? Non possum, inquit, damnum meum, aut amici mei amare jacturam. Sed neque Dei debes odire justitiam, aut disciplinam. Utique nec Deus cujusquam diligit jacturam. Charitas enim non gaudet super iniquitate, sed suam amat veritatem, et tuam punit iniquitatem. Charitas autem congaudet veritati, cui si non congaudes, sine charitate es: ac per hoc sine Deo, et cum diabolo, qui odit justitiam, quae ipsius condemnat malitiam. Hoc etenim est perpetuum ejus peccatum, quod perpetuum meretur supplicium. Itaque in bonis quae agit Deus, diligamus, dilectissimi, ipsum opus totum, quoniam a bono bonum est, ac bene fit et ad bonum. In malis autem, quae permittit bonus, etiam bene, et ad bonum diligamus, non malitiam quam odit Deus, sed causam quare permittit Deus. Permissio siquidem Creatoris est, malitia creaturae. Haec est, charissimi, pax bona, et tranquillitas cordis, stare in aequanimitate, et audire cum reverentia omnia quae fiunt sub coelo, ac in omnibus benedicere omnia disponenti, nolle mutari quae bene fiunt, ac decori universitatis concinunt, salva in omnibus charitate quae ut dictum est, non gaudet super iniquitate, congaudet autem veritati. Quod in nobis operari dignetur, qui vivit et regnat Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

The friend of the bridegroom, then, stands by the bridegroom and hears, ready to obey in all things; and he rejoices with joy in all things because of the bridegroom's voice, although for some other reason he is saddened in very many. For the bridegroom's voice has this too; for the bridegroom himself is sometimes angry, is saddened, weeps and grieves: yet in all these he rejoices because of Him whose Word He is, he who runs with joy the contest set before him. Where are they who murmur against the course of events and blaspheme against God: who do not love His ordering? If it is from God, is it not well? And if it is well, why do you murmur? I cannot, he says, love my own loss, or my friend's ruin. But neither ought you to hate God's justice, or His discipline. Surely God too does not love anyone's ruin. For charity does not rejoice over iniquity, but loves its own truth, and punishes your iniquity. But charity rejoices with the truth; and if you do not rejoice with it, you are without charity, and therefore without God, and with the devil, who hates justice, because it condemns his malice. For this is his perpetual sin, which merits perpetual punishment. So in the good things that God does, dearly beloved, let us love the whole work itself, since it is good from One who is good, and is done well and for good. But in the evil things which the Good One permits, let us also love, well and for good, not the malice which God hates, but the reason why God permits it. For the permission is the Creator's, the malice the creature's. This, dearest brethren, is good peace and tranquillity of heart: to stand firm in equanimity, and to hear with reverence all things that are done under heaven, and in all things to bless Him who orders all things; not to wish changed what is done well and sounds in harmony with the beauty of the universe, charity being kept safe in all things, which, as has been said, does not rejoice over iniquity, but rejoices with the truth. May God, who lives and reigns through all ages of ages, deign to work this in us. Amen.

Editors' notes and page, col. 1852