PL 35 · cols. 1977–1987

Augustine, Ten Homilies on the First Epistle of John

Tractate I

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S. AURELII AUGUSTINI HIPPONENSIS EPISCOPI IN EPISTOLAM JOANNIS AD PARTHOS TRACTATUS DECEM (a).

OF ST AURELIUS AUGUSTINE, BISHOP OF HIPPO, TEN TRACTATES ON THE EPISTLE OF JOHN TO THE PARTHIANS.

Prologus.

Prologue.

Meminit Sanctitas vestra Evangelium secundum Joannem ex ordine lectionum nos solere tractare: sed quia nunc interposita est solemnitas sanctorum dierum, quibus certas ex Evangelio lectiones oportet in Ecclesia recitari, quae ita sunt annuae, ut aliae esse non possint; ordo ille quem susceperamus, necessitate paululum intermissus est, non amissus. Cum autem cogitarem quid secundum hilaritatem praesentium dierum per hanc hebdomadam vobiscum de Scripturis agerem, quantum Dominus donare dignatur, quod posset in istis septem vel octo diebus finiri, occurrit mihi Epistola beati Joannis: ut cujus Evangelium paululum intermisimus, ejus Epistolam tractando ab eo non recedamus; praesertim quia in ipsa Epistola satis dulci omnibus quibus sanum est palatum cordis, ubi sapiat panis Dei, et satis memorabili in sancta Ecclesia Dei, maxime Charitas commendatur. Locutus est multa, et prope omnia de Charitate. Qui habet in se unde audiat, necesse est gaudeat ad quod audit. Sic enim illi erit lectio ista, tanquam oleum in flamma; si est ibi quod nutriatur, nutritur, et crescit, et permanet. Item quibusdam sic esse debet, tanquam flamma ad fomitem; ut si non ardebat, accedente sermone accendatur. In quibusdam enim nutritur quod est, in quibusdam accenditur si deest; ut omnes in una charitate gaudeamus. Ubi autem charitas, ibi pax; et ubi humilitas,

Your Holiness remembers that we are accustomed to treat the Gospel according to John in the order of the readings; but because the solemnity of the holy days has now intervened, on which certain readings from the Gospel must be recited in the Church, readings so fixed for each year that there can be no others, the order which we had taken up has been interrupted for a little by necessity, not abandoned. Now as I was considering what I might take up with you from the Scriptures during this week, in keeping with the gladness of the present days, so far as the Lord deigns to grant, something that could be finished in these seven or eight days, the Epistle of blessed John came to my mind: so that, by treating the Epistle of him whose Gospel we have interrupted for a little, we may not depart from him; especially because in that very Epistle, which is sweet enough to all whose palate of the heart is sound, so that the bread of God has savour for it, and memorable enough in the holy Church of God, Charity above all is commended. He has said many things, and almost all of them about Charity. Whoever has in himself that with which to hear must rejoice at what he hears. For to him this reading will be like oil on a flame: if there is something there to be fed, it is fed, and grows, and endures. Again, to some it ought to be like a flame put to kindling: so that if it was not burning, it may be kindled as the discourse comes near. For in some what is there is fed, in others it is kindled if it is lacking; so that we may all rejoice in one charity. But where there is charity, there is peace; and where there is humility,

Editors' notes and page, col. 1977

Footnotes

(a) ‹anchor: not visible (call above the rendered foot, presumably in the title)› · call in col 1977

Scripti circiter Christi annum 416.

Written about the year of Christ 416.

(printed under page 337)

(b) ‹anchor: non possint› · call in col 1977

Id nempe etiam in Sermone 232, n. 1, et 239, n. 1, de Tempore, testatur usu receptum fuisse, ut Paschali solemnitate per septem vel octo dies historia Dominicae resurrectionis recitaretur secundum omnes Evangelistas: nec eodem semper ordine, sed ita ut Lucae Marcus nonnunquam postponeretur. Et vero Tractatus hic secundus, quem secundae feriae Paschae assignat vetustissimus codex Theodericensis, ex ipsius initio intelligitur habitus ea die qua Lucas de illa duobus discipulis Emmaus euntibus Christi apparitione lectus fuerat. Pascha autem in 2 Aprilis incidebat anno illo 416, cui non temere adscribas hosce Tractatus: quippe quos coepta jam ante in Joannis Evangelium Tractatione, eademque paulisper intermissa, pronuntiatos a se dicit Augustinus in Prologo. De his nulla mentio in Retractationum opere, quo nimirum solos ex opusculis suis libros recensuit, sperans aliud a se edendum opus in Epistolas et Tractatus populares, uti ad Quodvultdeum, Epist. 224, scribit. At in Possidii Indiculo, cap. 9, notantur his verbis: « De « Epistola Joannis ad Parthos Sermones decem. » In omnibus Mss. tribuuntur Augustino; sed in paucioribus Tractatus, in aliis Sermones, aut Homiliae inscribuntur, addito in nonnullis titulo, De Charitate. In Mss. denique Prologus pars est primi Tractatus, nec ab ipso nota ulla vel tituli, ut in Excusis, interpositione disjungitur.

He testifies to this also in Sermons 232, n. 1, and 239, n. 1, de Tempore: that it had been received by custom that at the Paschal solemnity, for seven or eight days, the history of the Lord's resurrection was read according to all the Evangelists, and not always in the same order, but so that Mark was sometimes put after Luke. And indeed this second Tractate, which the very old Theodericensis codex assigns to the Monday of Easter, is understood from its very opening to have been delivered on the day on which Luke had been read on Christ's appearing to those two disciples going to Emmaus. Easter fell on 2 April in that year 416, to which you may not unreasonably assign these Tractates, since Augustine says in the Prologue that he delivered them when his treatment of John's Gospel had already been begun and had for a little while been interrupted. Of these there is no mention in the work of the Retractations, in which, namely, he reviewed only the books among his works, hoping to publish another work on his Letters and popular Tractates, as he writes to Quodvultdeus, Ep. 224. But in Possidius's Indiculus, ch. 9, they are noted in these words: "On the Epistle of John to the Parthians, ten Sermons." In all the manuscripts they are attributed to Augustine; but in a few they are entitled Tractates, in others Sermons or Homilies, with the title "On Charity" added in some. In the manuscripts, finally, the Prologue is part of the first Tractate, and is not separated from it by any mark or by the insertion of a title, as in the printed editions.

(printed under page 337)

Editors' prose

ADMONITIO PP. BENEDICTINORUM.

NOTICE OF THE BENEDICTINE FATHERS.

His Tractatibus castigandis subsidio fuerunt codices Mss., e Bigotiana bibliotheca duo, ex Michaelina et Germanensi totidem, ex Remigiana tres, unus ex Theodericensi vetustissimus et optimae notae, item unus ex Benigniana, Vindocinensi, Floriacensi, Vincentiana, unus Ecclesiae Laudunensis, unus Abbatiae S. Quintini Bellovacensis; alius Bellovacensis Ecclesiae, qui ad calcem notatur scriptus anno Clotharii Regis duodecimo: tum etiam variantes lectiones, quas ex quinque Belgicis Mss. excerpserunt Lovanienses Doctores. Perlectae demum fuerunt editiones Am. Bad. Er. et Lov.

In correcting these Tractates we were helped by manuscript codices: two from the Bigot library, as many from the Michaeline and the Germanensis, three from the Remigian, one very old and of the best quality from the Theodericensis, likewise one each from the Benignian, the Vendôme, the Fleury and the Vincentian, one of the Church of Laon, one of the Abbey of Saint-Quentin at Beauvais; another of the Church of Beauvais, which is noted at its end as written in the twelfth year of King Clothar; and also the variant readings which the Louvain Doctors excerpted from five Belgian manuscripts. Finally the editions Am., Bad., Er. and Lov. [Amerbach, Badius, Erasmus and Louvain] were read through.

Comparavimus praeterea eas omnes editiones initio Retr. et Confess. t. 1, memoratas. M.

We have moreover compared all the editions mentioned at the beginning of the Retractations and Confessions, vol. 1. M.

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ibi charitas. Jam ipsum audiamus; et ad ejus verba, quae Dominus suggerit, etiam vobis ut bene intelligatis, loquamur.

there is charity. Let us now hear John himself; and on his words let us speak the things which the Lord suggests, to you also, that you may understand them well.

TRACTATUS I.

TRACTATE I.

De eo quod Joannes scribit, Quod erat ab initio, quod audivimus, et quod vidimus, etc., usque ad id, Quoniam tenebrae excaecaverunt oculos ejus. Cap. I, et cap. II, ŷ. 1-11.

On that which John writes, "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, and which we have seen," etc., up to this, "Because the darkness has blinded his eyes." Chapter I, and chapter II, verses 1–11.

1. Quod erat ab initio, quod audivimus, et quod vidimus oculis nostris, et manus nostrae tractaverunt de Verbo vitae. Quis est qui manibus tractat Verbum, nisi quia Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis? Hoc autem Verbum quod caro factum est, ut manibus tractaretur, coepit esse caro ex virgine Maria: sed non tunc coepit Verbum, quia quod erat ab initio dixit. Videte si non attestatur Epistola sua Evangelio suo, ubi modo audistis, In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum (Joan. I, 14, 1). Forte de Verbo vitae sic quisque accipiat quasi locutionem quamdam de Christo, non ipsum corpus Christi quod manibus tractatum est. Videte quid sequatur: Et ipsa vita manifestata est. Christus ergo Verbum vitae. Et unde manifestata est? Erat enim ab initio; sed non erat manifestata hominibus: manifestata autem erat Angelis videntibus, et tanquam pane suo cibantibus. Sed quid ait Scriptura? Panem Angelorum manducavit

1. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, and which we have seen with our eyes, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life. Who is it that handles the Word with hands, unless because the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us? Now this Word which was made flesh, that it might be handled with hands, began to be flesh from the virgin Mary: but the Word did not then begin, for he said, that which was from the beginning. See whether his Epistle does not bear witness to his Gospel, where you heard just now, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God (John 1:14, 1). Perhaps someone might take of the Word of life thus, as it were a certain speaking about Christ, not the very body of Christ which was handled with hands. See what follows: And the life itself was manifested. Christ therefore is the Word of life. And whence was it manifested? For it was from the beginning; but it had not been manifested to men: it had, however, been manifested to Angels, who saw it and fed on it as on their own bread. But what does Scripture say? Man ate the bread

Editors' notes and page, col. 1978

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homo (Psal. LXXVII, 25). Ergo manifestata est ipsa vita in carne; quia in manifestatione posita est, ut res quae solo corde videri potest, videretur et oculis, ut corda sanaret. Solo enim corde videtur Verbum: caro autem et oculis corporalibus videtur. Erat unde videremus carnem, sed non erat unde videremus Verbum: factum est Verbum caro, quam videre possemus, ut sanaretur in nobis unde Verbum videremus.

of Angels (Ps. 77:25). The life itself, therefore, was manifested in the flesh; because it was set in manifestation, that a thing which can be seen by the heart alone might be seen also by the eyes, that it might heal hearts. For by the heart alone is the Word seen: but flesh is seen also by the bodily eyes. We had that whereby we might see flesh, but we had not that whereby we might see the Word: the Word was made flesh, which we could see, that there might be healed in us that whereby we might see the Word.

2. Et vidimus, et testes sumus. Forte aliqui fratrum nesciunt, qui graece non n⟨o⟩runt, quid sint testes graece: et usitatum nomen est omnibus et religiosum; quos enim testes latine dicimus, graece martyres sunt. Quis autem non audivit martyres, aut in cujus christiani ore non quotidie habitat nomen martyrum? Atque utinam sic habitet et in corde, ut passiones martyrum imitemur, non eos calcibus persequamur! Ergo hoc dixit, Vidimus, et testes sumus: Vidimus, et martyres sumus. Testimonium enim dicendo ex eo quod viderunt, et testimonium dicendo ex eo quod audierunt ab his qui viderunt, cum displiceret ipsum testimonium hominibus adversus quos dicebatur, passi sunt omnia quae passi sunt martyres. Testes Dei sunt martyres. Deus testes habere voluit homines, ut et homines habeant testem Deum. Vidimus, inquit, et testes sumus. Ubi viderunt? In manifestatione. Quid est, in manifestatione? In sole, id est in hac luce. Unde autem potuit videri in sole qui fecit solem, nisi quia in sole posuit tabernaculum suum, et ipse tanquam sponsus procedens de thalamo suo, exsultavit ut gigas ad currendam viam (Psal. XVIII, 6)? Ille ante solem qui fecit solem, ille ante luciferum, ante omnia sidera, ante omnes Angelos, verus creator (quia omnia per ipsum facta sunt, et sine ipso factum est nihil [Joan. I, 3]), ut videretur oculis carneis qui solem vident; ipsum tabernaculum suum in sole posuit, id est carnem suam in manifestatione hujus lucis ostendit: et illius sponsi thalamus fuit uterus Virginis, quia in illo utero virginali conjuncti sunt duo, sponsus et sponsa, sponsus Verbum et sponsa caro; quia scriptum est, Et erunt duo in carne una (Gen. II, 24); et Dominus dicit in Evangelio, Igitur jam non duo, sed una caro (Matth. XIX, 6). Et Isaias optime meminit unum esse ipsos duos: loquitur enim ex persona Christi, et dicit, Sicut sponso imposuit mihi mitram, et sicut sponsam ornavit me ornamento (Isai. LXI, 10). Unus videtur loqui, et sponsum se fecit et sponsam se fecit; quia non duo, sed una caro: quia Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis. Illi carni adjungitur Ecclesia, et fit Christus totus, caput et corpus.

2. And we have seen, and are witnesses. Perhaps some of the brethren who do not know Greek do not know what witnesses are called in Greek: and it is a name in common use among all, and a sacred one; for those whom in Latin we call witnesses are in Greek martyrs. And who has not heard of martyrs, or in the mouth of what Christian does the name of martyrs not dwell daily? And would that it dwelt so in the heart as well, that we might imitate the sufferings of the martyrs, and not pursue them with our heels! So he said this, We have seen, and are witnesses: that is, We have seen, and are martyrs. For by bearing witness to what they had seen, and bearing witness to what they had heard from those who had seen, since that very witness displeased the men against whom it was borne, they suffered all that the martyrs suffered. The martyrs are God's witnesses. God willed to have men as His witnesses, so that men too might have God as their witness. We have seen, he says, and are witnesses. Where did they see? In the manifestation. What is, in the manifestation? In the sun, that is, in this light. But how could He who made the sun be seen in the sun, unless because He set His tabernacle in the sun, and He Himself, as a bridegroom coming forth from His bride-chamber, rejoiced as a giant to run the way (Ps. 18:6)? He who made the sun is before the sun, He is before the day-star, before all the stars, before all the Angels, the true Creator (for all things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made [John 1:3]); that He might be seen by eyes of flesh which see the sun, He set His very tabernacle in the sun, that is, He showed His flesh in the manifestation of this light: and the bride-chamber of that Bridegroom was the womb of the Virgin, because in that virginal womb two were joined, the Bridegroom and the bride, the Bridegroom the Word and the bride the flesh; for it is written, And they shall be two in one flesh (Gen. 2:24); and the Lord says in the Gospel, Therefore now they are not two, but one flesh (Matt. 19:6). And Isaiah very well remembered that these two are one: for he speaks in the person of Christ, and says, As on a bridegroom He has set a mitre on me, and as a bride He has adorned me with an ornament (Isa. 61:10). One is seen to speak, and He made Himself the bridegroom and made Himself the bride; because they are not two, but one flesh: because the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. To that flesh the Church is joined, and the whole Christ comes to be, head and body.

3. Et testes, inquit, sumus; et annuntiamus vobis vitam aeternam, quae erat apud Patrem, et manifestata est in nobis: hoc est, manifestata est inter nos; quod apertius diceretur, manifestata est nobis. Quae ergo vidimus et audivimus, nuntiamus vobis. Intendat Charitas vestra: Quae ergo vidimus et audivimus, nuntiamus vobis. Illi viderunt ipsum Dominum praesentem in

3. And we are witnesses, he says; and we announce to you the eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested in us: that is, was manifested among us; which would be said more openly, was manifested to us. What therefore we have seen and heard, we declare to you. Let your Charity attend: What therefore we have seen and heard, we declare to you. They saw the Lord Himself present in

Editors' notes and page, col. 1979

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: qui fecit solem› · call in col 1979

Tres Mss.: Ille autem sol qui fecit solem. Alii duo: Jam autem ille sol qui fecit solem.

Three manuscripts: "But he, the sun who made the sun." Two others: "But now he, the sun who made the sun."

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carne, et audierunt verba ex ore Domini, et annuntiaverunt nobis. Et nos ergo audivimus, sed non vidimus. Minus ergo sumus felices quam illi qui viderunt et audierunt? Et quomodo adjungit, Ut et vos societatem habeatis nobiscum? Illi viderunt, nos non vidimus, et tamen socii sumus; quia fidem communem tenemus. Nam et quidam videndo non credidit, et palpare voluit, et sic credere, et ait: Non credam nisi digitos meos misero in locum clavorum, et cicatrices ejus tetigero. Et praebuit se ex tempore palpandum manibus hominum, qui semper se praebet videndum aspectibus Angelorum: et palpavit ille discipulus et exclamavit, Dominus meus et Deus meus. Quia tetigit hominem, confessus est Deum. Et Dominus consolans nos qui ipsum jam in coelo sedentem manu contrectare non possumus, sed fide contingere, ait illi: Quia vidisti, credidisti; beati qui non vident et credunt (Joan. XX, 25-29). Nos descripti sumus, nos designati sumus. Fiat ergo in nobis beatitudo quam Dominus praedixit futuram: firme teneamus quod non videmus; quia illi nuntiant qui viderunt. Ut et vos, inquit, societatem habeatis nobiscum. Et quid magnum societatem habere cum hominibus? Noli contemnere; vide quid addat: Et societas nostra sit cum Deo Patre, et Jesu Christo Filio ejus. Et haec, inquit, scribimus vobis, ut gaudium vestrum sit plenum. Plenum gaudium dicit in ipsa societate, in ipsa charitate, in ipsa unitate.

the flesh, and heard words from the mouth of the Lord, and announced them to us. We too, then, have heard, but have not seen. Are we then less happy than they who saw and heard? And how does he add, That you also may have fellowship with us? They saw, we have not seen, and yet we are fellows; because we hold a common faith. For a certain one, too, did not believe by seeing, and wished to handle, and so to believe, and said: I will not believe unless I put my fingers into the place of the nails, and touch His scars. And He offered Himself for the time to be handled by the hands of men, who always offers Himself to be seen by the gaze of Angels: and that disciple handled Him and cried out, My Lord and my God. Because he touched the man, he confessed God. And the Lord, consoling us, who cannot touch Him with the hand now that He is seated in heaven, but can reach Him by faith, said to him: Because you have seen, you have believed; blessed are they who do not see and believe (John 20:25–29). We have been described, we have been designated. Let there be fulfilled in us, then, the blessedness which the Lord foretold would be: let us hold firmly what we do not see; because those who saw announce it. That you also, he says, may have fellowship with us. And what great thing is it to have fellowship with men? Do not despise it; see what he adds: And that our fellowship may be with God the Father, and with Jesus Christ His Son. And these things, he says, we write to you, that your joy may be full. Full joy he speaks of in that very fellowship, in that very charity, in that very unity.

4. Et haec est annuntiatio quam audivimus ab eo, et annuntiamus vobis. Quid est hoc? Ipsi viderunt, contrectaverunt manibus Verbum vitae: ab initio erat, ad tempus visibilis et palpabilis factus est unicus Filius Dei. Ad quam rem venit, vel quid nobis novum nuntiavit? Quid docere voluit? Quare fecit hoc quod fecit, ut Verbum caro fieret, ut Deus super omnia indigna ab hominibus pateretur, ut alapas eorum sustineret de manibus quas ipse formavit? Quid voluit docere? quid voluit ostendere? quid voluit annuntiare? Audiamus: nam sine fructu praecepti, auditio rei gestae, quia natus est Christus, et quia passus est Christus, avocamentum mentis est, non firmamentum. Quid magnum audis? quo fructu audis, vide. Quid voluit docere? quid annuntiare? Audi: Quia Deus lux est, inquit, et tenebrae in eo non sunt ullae. Adhuc lucem quidem nominavit, sed obscura sunt verba: bonum est nobis ut ipsa lux quam nominavit, illustret corda nostra, et videamus quid dixit. Hoc est quod annuntiamus, quia Deus lux est, et tenebrae in eo non sunt ullae. Quis enim auderet dicere quia in Deo sunt tenebrae? Aut quid est ipsa lux? aut quid sunt tenebrae? ne forte talia dicat, quae ad oculos istos nostros pertineant. Deus lux est: ait nescio quis, Et sol lux est, et luna lux est, et lucerna lux est. Aliquid debet esse longe his majus, longe praestantius, longeque supereminentius. Quantum Deus a creatura, quantum conditor a conditione, quantum sapientia ab eo quod factum est per sapientiam, longe

4. And this is the message which we have heard from Him, and declare to you. What is this? They saw, they handled with their hands the Word of life: He was from the beginning; for a time the only Son of God was made visible and palpable. For what purpose did He come, or what new thing did He announce to us? What did He wish to teach? Why did He do what He did, that the Word should become flesh, that God, who is over all, should suffer unworthy things from men, that He should bear their blows from the hands which He Himself had formed? What did He wish to teach? what did He wish to show? what did He wish to announce? Let us hear: for without the fruit of the precept, the hearing of the thing done, that Christ was born and that Christ suffered, is a diversion of the mind, not a strengthening of it. What great thing do you hear? see with what fruit you hear. What did He wish to teach? what to announce? Hear: That God is light, he says, and in Him there is no darkness at all. So far he has indeed named light, but the words are obscure: it is good for us that the very light which he named should enlighten our hearts, and that we should see what he has said. This is what we announce, that God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. For who would dare to say that there is darkness in God? Or what is that light itself? or what is darkness? lest perhaps he should speak of such things as belong to these eyes of ours. God is light: someone or other says, The sun too is light, and the moon is light, and a lamp is light. It must be something far greater than these, far more excellent, and far more surpassing. As far as God is from the creature, as far as the Maker from what He made, as far as Wisdom from that which was made through Wisdom, far

Editors' notes and page, col. 1980

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: quo fructu audis› · call in col 1980

Lov., audias. Er.: Quid magnum audis, quo fructu audias? Vide quid. Lugd.: Quid magnum audis, quo fructu audias? Vide, etc. Ven.: Quid magnum audis? quo fructu audias, vide, quid voluit docere? M.

Lov. [Louvain edition], "audias". Er. [Erasmus]: "What great thing do you hear, with what fruit should you hear? See what." Lugd. [Lyons edition]: "What great thing do you hear, with what fruit should you hear? See, etc." Ven. [Venice edition]: "What great thing do you hear? With what fruit should you hear, see: what did he wish to teach?" M.

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ultra omnia debet esse lux ista. Et forte vicini ei erimus, si quae sit lux ista cognoverimus, et ad eam nos applicaverimus, ut ex ipsa illuminemur; quia in nobis tenebrae sumus, et ab illa illuminati possumus esse lux, et non confundi de illa, quia de nobis confundimur. Quis est qui de se confunditur? Qui se cognoscit peccatorem. Quis de illa non confunditur? Qui ab illa illuminatur. Quid est ab illa illuminari? Qui jam videt se peccatis tenebrari, et cupit ab illa illuminari, accedit ad illam: unde dicit Psalmus, Accedite ad eum, et illuminamini; et vultus vestri non erubescent (Psal. XXXIII, 6). Sed non erubesces de illa, si, quando tibi te foedum ostenderit, displiceat tibi foeditas tua, ut percipias pulchritudinem illius. Hoc est quod vult docere.

this light must be beyond all things. And perhaps we shall be near to it if we come to know what this light is, and apply ourselves to it, so as to be illumined by it; for in ourselves we are darkness, and illumined by it we can be light, and not be put to shame by it, because we are put to shame by ourselves. Who is it that is put to shame by himself? He who knows himself a sinner. Who is not put to shame by it? He who is illumined by it. What is it to be illumined by it? He who already sees himself darkened by sins, and longs to be illumined by it, approaches it: whence the Psalm says, Approach Him, and be illumined; and your faces shall not blush (Ps. 33:6). But you will not blush because of it if, when it has shown you to yourself as foul, your foulness displeases you, so that you may perceive its beauty. This is what he wishes to teach.

5. Et fortasse praepropere illud nos dicimus? Ipse hoc manifestet in consequentibus. Mementote in principio sermonis nostri, quia Epistola ista charitatem commendat: Deus lux est, inquit, et tenebrae in eo non sunt ullae. Et quid superius dixerat? Ut societatem habeatis nobiscum, et societas nostra sit cum Deo Patre et Filio ejus Jesu Christo. Porro si Deus lux est, et tenebrae in eo non sunt ullae, et societatem cum illo habere debemus; et a nobis pellendae sunt tenebrae, ut fiat in nobis lux; nam tenebrae cum luce societatem habere non possunt: ideo vide quid sequatur: Quod si dixerimus quia societatem habemus cum eo, et in tenebris ambulamus, mentimur. Habes et apostolum Paulum dicentem, Aut quae societas luci ad tenebras (II Cor. VI, 14)? Dicis te societatem habere cum Deo, et in tenebris ambulas; et Deus lux est, et tenebrae in eo non sunt ullae: quomodo ergo est societas luci et tenebris? Jam ergo dicat sibi homo, Quid faciam? unde ero lux? In peccatis et in iniquitatibus vivo. Quasi subrepit quaedam desperatio et tristitia. Salus nulla est, nisi in societate Dei. Deus lux est, et tenebrae in eo non sunt ullae. Peccata autem tenebrae sunt, sicut dicit Apostolus diabolum et angelos ejus rectores tenebrarum harum esse (Ephes. VI, 12). Non diceret rectores tenebrarum, nisi rectores peccatorum, dominatores iniquorum. Quid ergo facimus, fratres mei? Societas cum Deo habenda est, alia spes vitae aeternae nulla est; Deus autem lux est, et tenebrae in eo sunt nullae: iniquitates autem tenebrae sunt; iniquitatibus premimur, ne societatem cum Deo habere possimus: quae ergo spes? Nonne promiseram me aliquid locuturum istis diebus quod gaudium faciat? Quod si non exhibeo, tristitia est ista. Deus lux est, et tenebrae in eo non sunt ullae; peccata tenebrae sunt: quid erit nobis? Audiamus ne forte consoletur, erigat, det spem, ne deficiamus in via. Currimus enim, et ad patriam currimus; et si nos perventuros desperamus, ipsa desperatione deficimus. Ille autem qui nos vult pervenire, ut conservet in patria, pascit in via. Audiamus ergo: Quod si dixerimus quia societatem habemus cum eo, et in tenebris ambulamus; mentimur, et non facimus veritatem. Non dicamus quia

5. And perhaps we are saying this too hastily? Let him make it plain in what follows. Remember that at the beginning of our discourse I said that this Epistle commends charity: God is light, he says, and in Him there is no darkness at all. And what had he said above? That you may have fellowship with us, and that our fellowship may be with God the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. Now if God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all, and we ought to have fellowship with Him, then darkness must also be driven out of us, so that light may come to be in us; for darkness cannot have fellowship with light. Therefore see what follows: But if we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie. You have the apostle Paul too, saying, Or what fellowship has light with darkness? (II Cor. 6:14). You say that you have fellowship with God, and you walk in darkness; and God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all: how then is there fellowship between light and darkness? So now let a man say to himself, What shall I do? How shall I be light? I live in sins and in iniquities. A kind of despair and sadness creeps in, as it were. There is no salvation except in fellowship with God. God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. But sins are darkness, as the Apostle says that the devil and his angels are the rulers of this darkness (Eph. 6:12). He would not call them rulers of darkness unless they were rulers of sins, lords of the wicked. What then are we to do, my brothers? Fellowship with God must be had; there is no other hope of eternal life. But God is light, and in Him there is no darkness: yet iniquities are darkness; we are weighed down by iniquities, so that we cannot have fellowship with God: what hope, then? Had I not promised that I would say something in these days to bring joy? If I do not deliver it, this is sadness. God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all; sins are darkness: what will become of us? Let us listen, in case he may console us, lift us up, give us hope, so that we do not faint on the way. For we are running, and running to our homeland; and if we despair of arriving, by that very despair we faint. But He Who wills us to arrive, in order to keep us safe in the homeland, feeds us on the way. Let us listen, then: But if we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not do the truth. Let us not say that

Editors' notes and page, col. 1981

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: erubesces de illa› · call in col 1981

Lov.: Sed erubescis de illa. At plures Mss., suffragante editione Bad.: Sed non erubesces.

Lov. [Louvain edition]: "But you blush at it." But several manuscripts, with the support of the edition Bad. [Badius]: "But you will not blush."

(printed under page 339)

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societatem cum illo habemus, si in tenebris ambulamus. Quod si in lumine ambulamus, sicut et ipse est in lumine; societatem habemus cum invicem. In lumine ambulemus, sicut et ipse est in lumine, ut possimus societatem habere cum illo. Et quid facimus de peccatis? Audi quid sequitur: Et sanguis Jesu Christi Filii ejus purgabit nos ab omni delicto. Magnam securitatem dedit Deus. Merito Pascha celebramus, ubi fusus est sanguis Domini, quo purgamur ab omni delicto. Simus securi: cautionem contra nos servitutis diabolus tenebat, sed sanguine Christi deleta est. Sanguis, inquit, Filii ejus purgabit nos ab omni delicto. Quid est, ab omni delicto? Attendite: ecce jam in nomine Christi per sanguinem ejus, quem nunc confessi sunt isti qui appellantur infantes, mundata sunt omnia peccata ipsorum. Veteres intraverunt, novi exierunt. Quid est, veteres intraverunt, novi exierunt? Senes intraverunt, infantes exierunt. Senectus enim veternosa, vetusta vita: infantia autem regenerationis, nova vita. Sed quid facimus? Praeterita peccata donata sunt, non tantum ipsis, sed et nobis; et post donationem et abolitionem omnium peccatorum vivendo in hoc saeculo inter tentationes, quaedam forte contracta sunt. Ideo quod potest homo faciat; ipse confiteatur quod est, ut ab illo curetur qui semper est quod est: ipse enim semper erat et est; nos non eramus et sumus.

we have fellowship with Him if we walk in darkness. But if we walk in the light, as He also is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. Let us walk in the light, as He also is in the light, so that we may have fellowship with Him. And what are we to do about our sins? Hear what follows: And the blood of Jesus Christ His Son will cleanse us from every offence. God has given great security. Rightly do we celebrate the Pasch, where the blood of the Lord was shed, by which we are cleansed from every offence. Let us be secure: the devil held a bond of servitude against us, but it has been blotted out by the blood of Christ. The blood, he says, of His Son will cleanse us from every offence. What is, from every offence? Pay attention: see, now, in the name of Christ, through His blood, which these who are called infants have now confessed, all their sins have been cleansed away. They went in old, they came out new. What is, they went in old, they came out new? They went in old men, they came out infants. For old age is torpid, an antiquated life; but the infancy of regeneration is a new life. But what are we to do? Past sins have been forgiven, not only to them but to us also; and after the forgiveness and abolition of all sins, by living in this world among temptations, some sins have perhaps been contracted. Therefore let man do what he can: let him confess what he is, so that he may be healed by Him Who always is what He is: for He always was and is; we were not, and are.

6. Vide enim quid dicat: Quod si dixerimus quia peccatum non habemus, nosmetipsos seducimus, et veritas in nobis non est. Ergo si te confessus fueris peccatorem, est in te veritas: nam ipsa veritas lux est. Nondum perfecte splenduit vita tua, quia insunt peccata; sed tamen jam illuminari coepisti, quia inest confessio peccatorum. Vide enim quid sequatur: Quod si confessi fuerimus delicta nostra, fidelis est et justus, ut dimittat nobis delicta nostra, et purget nos ex omni iniquitate. Non tantum praeterita, sed et si qua forte contraximus ex hac vita; quia non potest homo quamdiu carnem portat, nisi habere vel levia peccata. Sed ista levia quae dicimus, noli contemnere. Si contemnis, quando appendis; expavesce, quando numeras. Levia multa faciunt unum grande: multae guttae implent flumen; multa grana faciunt massam. Et quae spes est? Ante omnia confessio: ne quisquam se justum putet, et ante oculos Dei qui videt quod est, erigat cervicem homo qui non erat et est. Ante omnia ergo confessio, deinde dilectio: quia de charitate quid dictum est? Charitas cooperit multitudinem peccatorum (I Petr. IV, 8). Jam videamus si ipsam charitatem commendat, propter subrepentia delicta: quia sola charitas exstinguit delicta. Superbia exstinguit charitatem: humilitas ergo roborat charitatem; charitas exstinguit delicta. Humilitas pertinet ad confessionem, qua confitemur nos peccatores esse: ipsa est humilitas, non ut dicamus illud lingua; quasi

6. For see what he says: But if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. So if you confess yourself a sinner, the truth is in you: for the truth itself is light. Your life has not yet shone perfectly, because sins are in it; but still you have already begun to be illumined, because the confession of sins is in it. For see what follows: But if we confess our offences, He is faithful and just, to forgive us our offences, and to cleanse us from all iniquity. Not only past ones, but also any we may perhaps have contracted from this life; for a man cannot, as long as he bears the flesh, but have at least light sins. But these that we call light, do not despise. If you despise them when you weigh them, be terrified when you count them. Many light things make one great one: many drops fill a river; many grains make a heap. And what hope is there? Before all things, confession: let no one think himself just, and before the eyes of God, Who sees what is, let not man, who was not and is, lift up his neck. Before all things, then, confession; then love: for what has been said of charity? Charity covers a multitude of sins (I Pet. 4:8). Now let us see whether he commends charity itself, on account of the offences that creep in: for charity alone extinguishes offences. Pride extinguishes charity: therefore humility strengthens charity; charity extinguishes offences. Humility belongs to confession, by which we confess that we are sinners: this is humility, not that we say it with the tongue, as if

Editors' notes and page, col. 1982

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1982

Editi, per sanguinem crucis Domini, quem nunc confessi. Nos cum aliquot Mss., per sanguinem ejus, quem, etc.

The printed editions: "through the blood of the Lord's cross, which now having confessed." We, with some manuscripts: "through his blood, which," etc.

(printed under page 339)

(2) ‹anchor: semper erat et est› · call in col 1982

Apud Lov., ipse enim est et est. In caeteris libris, ipse enim semper erat et est.

In Lov. [the Louvain edition], "for he is and is." In the other books, "for he always was and is."

(printed under page 339)

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propter arrogantiam ne displiceamus hominibus, si nos justos esse dixerimus. Faciunt hoc impii et insani: Scio quidem quia justus sum, sed quid dicturus sum ante homines? si me justum dixero, quis ferat, quis toleret? apud Deum nota sit justitia mea: ego tamen dicam me peccatorem; non quia sum, sed ne arrogantia odiosus inveniar. Dic hominibus quod es, dic Deo quod es. Quia si non dixeris Deo quod es, damnat Deus quod in te inveniet. Non vis ut ille damnet? tu damna. Vis ut ille ignoscat? tu agnosce, ut possis Deo dicere, Averte faciem tuam a peccatis meis. Dic illi etiam illa verba in ipso Psalmo, Quoniam iniquitatem meam ego agnosco (Psal. L, 11, 5). Quod si confessi fuerimus delicta nostra, fidelis est et justus, qui dimittat nobis delicta nostra, et purget nos ex omni iniquitate. Quod si dixerimus quia non peccavimus, mendacem facimus eum, et verbum ejus non est in nobis. Si dixeris, Non peccavi; illum facis mendacem, cum te vis facere veracem. Unde fieri potest ut Deus mendax sit, et homo verax; cum contradicat Scriptura: Omnis homo mendax, Deus solus verax (Rom. III, 4)? Ergo Deus per seipsum verax, tu per Deum verax; nam per te mendax.

lest, through arrogance, we displease men if we say that we are just. The impious and the senseless do this: I know indeed that I am just, but what am I to say before men? If I call myself just, who would bear it, who would tolerate it? Let my justice be known before God: yet I will call myself a sinner; not because I am one, but lest I be found odious for arrogance. Tell men what you are, tell God what you are. For if you do not tell God what you are, God condemns what He will find in you. Do you not want Him to condemn? Condemn yourself. Do you want Him to pardon? Acknowledge, so that you may be able to say to God, Turn away Thy face from my sins. Say to Him also those words in the same Psalm, For I acknowledge my iniquity (Ps. 50:11, 5). But if we confess our offences, He is faithful and just, Who forgives us our offences, and cleanses us from all iniquity. But if we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. If you say, I have not sinned, you make Him a liar while you want to make yourself truthful. How can it be that God is a liar and man truthful, when Scripture contradicts it: Every man is a liar, God alone is truthful (Rom. 3:4)? So God is truthful by Himself, you are truthful through God; for by yourself you are a liar.

7. Et ne forte impunitatem videretur dedisse peccatis, quia dixit, Fidelis est et justus, qui mundet nos ab omni iniquitate; et dicerent jam sibi homines, Peccemus, securi faciamus quod volumus, purgat nos Christus, fidelis est et justus, purgat nos ab omni iniquitate: tollit tibi malam securitatem, et inserit utilem timorem. Male vis esse securus, sollicitus esto. Fidelis enim est et justus, ut dimittat nobis delicta nostra, si semper tibi displiceas, et muteris donec perficiaris. Ideo quid sequitur? Filioli mei, haec scribo vobis, ut non peccetis. Sed forte subrepit de vita humana peccatum: quid ergo fiet? Quid? jam desperatio erit? Audi: Et si quis, inquit, peccaverit, advocatum habemus ad Patrem, Jesum Christum justum; et ipse propitiator est peccatorum nostrorum. Ille est ergo advocatus; da operam tu ne pecces: si de infirmitate vitae subrepserit peccatum, continuo vide, continuo displiceat, continuo damna; et cum damnaveris, securus ad judicem venies. Ibi habes advocatum; noli timere ne perdas causam confessionis tuae. Si enim aliquando in hac vita committit se homo disertae linguae, et non perit; committis te Verbo, et periturus es? Clama, Advocatum habemus ad Patrem.

7. And lest he should perhaps seem to have granted impunity to sins, because he said, He is faithful and just, Who cleanses us from all iniquity; and men should now say to themselves, Let us sin, let us do what we like without care, Christ cleanses us, He is faithful and just, He cleanses us from all iniquity: he takes from you an evil security and plants a useful fear. You wish wrongly to be secure; be anxious. For He is faithful and just to forgive us our offences, if you are always displeasing to yourself, and are changed until you are made perfect. So what follows? My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin. But perhaps sin creeps in from human life: what then will happen? What? Will there now be despair? Hear: And if anyone, he says, has sinned, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the just; and He is the propitiation for our sins. He, then, is the advocate; do your best not to sin: if from the weakness of life sin has crept in, see it at once, let it displease you at once, condemn it at once; and when you have condemned it, you will come secure to the judge. There you have an advocate; do not fear that you will lose the case of your confession. For if sometimes in this life a man entrusts himself to an eloquent tongue and does not perish, do you entrust yourself to the Word and are you going to perish? Cry out, We have an advocate with the Father.

8. Videte ipsum Joannem servantem humilitatem. Certe vir justus erat et magnus, qui de pectore Domini mysteriorum secreta bibebat; ille, ille qui bibendo de pectore Domini divinitatem ructavit, In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum (Joan. I, 1): ille talis vir non dixit, Advocatum habetis apud Patrem; sed, Si quis peccaverit, advocatum, inquit, habemus. Non dixit, habetis; nec, me habetis, dixit; nec, ipsum Christum habetis, dixit: sed et Christum posuit, non se; et habemus dixit, non, habetis. Maluit se ponere in numero peccatorum, ut haberet advocatum Christum, quam ponere se pro

8. See John himself keeping humility. Certainly he was a just man and a great one, who drank the secrets of the mysteries from the breast of the Lord; he, he who by drinking from the breast of the Lord poured forth the divinity, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God (John 1:1): such a man as that did not say, You have an advocate with the Father; but, If anyone has sinned, we have, he says, an advocate. He did not say, you have; nor did he say, you have me; nor did he say, you have Christ Himself: but he both put forward Christ, not himself, and said we have, not, you have. He preferred to place himself among the number of sinners, so as to have Christ as advocate, rather than to place himself in place of

Editors' notes and page, col. 1983

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Christo advocatum, et inveniri inter damnandos superbos. Fratres, Jesum Christum justum, ipsum habemus advocatum ad Patrem; ipse propitiatio est peccatorum nostrorum. Hoc qui tenuit, haeresim non fecit; hoc qui tenuit, schisma non fecit. Unde enim facta sunt schismata? Cum dicunt homines, Nos justi sumus; cum dicunt homines, Nos sanctificamus immundos, nos justificamus impios, nos petimus, nos impetramus. Joannes autem quid dixit? Et si quis peccaverit, advocatum habemus ad Patrem, Jesum Christum justum. Sed dicet aliquis: Ergo sancti non petunt pro nobis? ergo episcopi et praepositi non petunt pro populo? Sed attendite Scripturas, et videte quia et praepositi commendant se populo. Nam Apostolus dicit plebi, Orantes simul et pro nobis (Coloss. IV, 3). Orat Apostolus pro plebe, orat plebs pro Apostolo. Oramus pro vobis, fratres: sed et vos orate pro nobis. Invicem pro se omnia membra orent, caput pro omnibus interpellet. Propterea non mirum quia sequitur hic, et claudit ora dividentibus Ecclesiam Dei. Qui enim dixit, Jesum Christum habemus justum, et ipse propitiatio est peccatorum nostrorum: propter illos qui se divisuri erant, et dicturi, Ecce hic est Christus, ecce illic (Matth. XXIV, 23); et vellent ostendere eum in parte qui emit totum, et possidet totum; continuo secutus est, Non tantum nostrorum, sed et totius mundi. Quid est hoc, fratres? Certe invenimus eam in campis saltuum (Psal. CXXXI, 6), invenimus Ecclesiam in omnibus gentibus. Ecce Christus propitiatio est peccatorum nostrorum; non tantum nostrorum, sed et totius mundi. Ecce habes Ecclesiam per totum mundum; noli sequi falsos justificatores, et veros praecisores. In illo monte esto qui implevit orbem terrarum (Dan. II, 35): quia Christus propitiatio est peccatorum nostrorum; non tantum nostrorum, sed et totius mundi, quem suo sanguine comparavit.

to be an advocate for Christ, and to be found among the proud who are to be condemned. Brothers, Jesus Christ the just, Him we have as advocate with the Father; He is the propitiation for our sins. Whoever has held to this has made no heresy; whoever has held to this has made no schism. For whence have schisms come about? When men say, We are the just; when men say, We sanctify the unclean, we justify the impious, we ask, we obtain. But what did John say? And if anyone has sinned, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the just. But someone will say: Then do the saints not ask for us? Then do bishops and those set over the people not ask for the people? But attend to the Scriptures, and see that those set over the people also commend themselves to the people. For the Apostle says to the people, Praying at the same time for us also (Col. 4:3). The Apostle prays for the people, the people pray for the Apostle. We pray for you, brothers: but you also pray for us. Let all the members pray for one another, let the Head intercede for all. Therefore it is no wonder that what follows here also shuts the mouths of those who divide the Church of God. For he who said, We have Jesus Christ the just, and He is the propitiation for our sins, on account of those who were going to divide themselves and say, Look, here is the Christ, look, there (Matt. 24:23), and who would wish to show Him in a part, Who bought the whole and possesses the whole, went straight on, Not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world. What is this, brothers? Surely we found her in the fields of the woods (Ps. 131:6); we found the Church in all nations. See, Christ is the propitiation for our sins; not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world. See, you have the Church through the whole world; do not follow false justifiers and true cutters-off. Be on that mountain which has filled the whole earth (Dan. 2:35): for Christ is the propitiation for our sins; not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world, which He purchased with His own blood.

9. Et in hoc, inquit, cognoscimus eum, si mandata ejus servaverimus. Quae mandata? Qui dicit quia cognovit eum, et mandata ejus non servat; mendax est, et in hoc veritas non est. Sed adhuc quaeris, Quae mandata? Qui autem, inquit, servaverit verbum ejus, vere in hoc perfecta est dilectio Dei. Videamus ne ipsum mandatum dilectio vocetur. Quaerebamus enim, quae mandata, et ait, Qui autem servaverit verbum ejus, vere in hoc perfecta est dilectio Dei. Attende Evangelium, si non est hoc mandatum: Mandatum, inquit, novum do vobis, ut vos invicem diligatis (Joan. XIII, 34). In hoc cognoscimus quia in ipso sumus, si in ipso perfecti fuerimus. Perfectos in dilectione vocat: quae est perfectio dilectionis? Et inimicos diligere, et ad hoc diligere, ut sint fratres. Non enim dilectio nostra carnalis esse debet. Optare alicui salutem temporalem, bonum est; sed et si desit, anima tuta sit. Optas alicui amico tuo vitam? bene facis. Gaudes de morte

9. And in this, he says, we know Him, if we keep His commandments. Which commandments? He who says that he has known Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But you still ask, Which commandments? But whoever, he says, keeps His word, truly in him the love of God is perfected. Let us see whether the commandment itself is not called love. For we were asking which commandments, and he says, But whoever keeps His word, truly in him the love of God is perfected. Attend to the Gospel, whether this is not the commandment: A new commandment, He says, I give you, that you love one another (John 13:34). In this we know that we are in Him, if we are perfected in Him. He calls them perfected in love: what is the perfection of love? Both to love enemies, and to love them to this end, that they may be brothers. For our love ought not to be carnal. To wish someone temporal health is good; but even if that is lacking, let the soul be safe. Do you wish life to some friend of yours? You do well. Do you rejoice at the death

Editors' notes and page, col. 1984

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1984

Er. Lugd. Ven. Lov., quia dixit. M.

Er., Lugd., Ven., Lov. [the editions of Erasmus, Lyons, Venice, Louvain]: "because he said." M.

(printed under page 340)

(2) ‹anchor: in campis› · call in col 1984

Quatuor Mss.: Quid est hoc? Psalmum attende, Invenimus eam in campis.

Four manuscripts: "What is this? Attend to the Psalm: We found it in the fields."

(printed under page 340)

(3) ‹anchor: veros praecisores› · call in col 1984

Editi, praecipitatores. Mss., vero, praecisores.

The printed editions: "praecipitatores" [those who cast headlong]. The manuscripts, however: "praecisores" [those who cut off].

(printed under page 340)

(4) ‹anchor: in ipso perfecti fuerimus› · call in col 1984

Istud, si in ipso perfecti fuerimus, habetur hic in omnibus codicibus; sed abest a sacris Bibliis.

This phrase, "if we are perfect in him", is found here in all the codices; but it is absent from the sacred Bibles.

(printed under page 340)

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inimici tui? male facis. Sed forte et amico tuo vita illa quam optas inutilis est, et inimico tuo mors de qua gaudes utilis fuit. Incertum est utrum alicui sit utilis vita ista, an inutilis; vita vero quae est apud Deum, sine dubio utilis est. Sic dilige inimicos tuos, ut fratres optes; sic dilige inimicos tuos, ut in societatem tuam vocentur. Sic enim dilexit ille qui in cruce pendens ait: Pater, ignosce illis, quia nesciunt quid faciunt (Luc. XXIII, 34). Neque enim dixit, Pater, vivant isti multo tempore; me quidem occidunt, sed ipsi vivant. Sed quid ait? Ignosce illis, quia nesciunt quid faciunt. Mortem sempiternam ab eis expellebat, prece misericordissima, et potentia praestantissima. Multi ex eis crediderunt, et dimissus est eis fusus sanguis Christi. Primo fuderunt cum saevirent, nunc biberunt cum crederent. In hoc cognoscimus quia in ipso sumus, si in ipso perfecti fuerimus. De ipsa perfectione diligendorum inimicorum Dominus admonens ait: Estote ergo vos perfecti, sicut et Pater vester coelestis perfectus est (Matth. V, 48). Qui ergo dicit se in ipso manere, debet sicut ipse ambulavit et ipse ambulare. Quomodo, fratres? Quid nos monet? Qui dicit se in ipso manere, id est in Christo, debet sicut ille ambulavit et ipse ambulare. Forte hoc nos monet, ut ambulemus in mari? Absit. Hoc ergo, ut ambulemus in via justitiae. In qua via? Jam commemoravi. Fixus in cruce erat, et in ipsa via ambulabat: ipsa est via charitatis, Pater, ignosce illis, quia nesciunt quid faciunt. Sic ergo, si didiceris orare pro inimico tuo, ambulas viam Domini.

of your enemy? You do ill. But perhaps that life which you wish for your friend is useless to him, and the death at which you rejoice has been useful to your enemy. It is uncertain whether this life is useful to someone or useless; but the life which is with God is without doubt useful. So love your enemies that you wish them to be brothers; so love your enemies that they may be called into your fellowship. For so did He love Who, hanging on the cross, said: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do (Luke 23:34). For He did not say, Father, let these men live a long time; they are killing Me, but let them live. But what does He say? Forgive them, for they do not know what they do. He was driving everlasting death away from them, by a most merciful prayer and a most surpassing power. Many of them believed, and the blood of Christ which they had shed was forgiven them. First they shed it when they raged; now they drank it when they believed. In this we know that we are in Him, if we are perfected in Him. Admonishing us about this very perfection of loving our enemies, the Lord says: Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect (Matt. 5:48). He therefore who says that he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. How, brothers? What does he admonish us? He who says that he abides in Him, that is, in Christ, ought himself also to walk just as He walked. Does he perhaps admonish us to walk on the sea? Far from it. This, then: that we walk in the way of justice. In which way? I have already called it to mind. He was fixed on the cross, and on that very way He was walking: this is the way of charity, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do. So then, if you have learned to pray for your enemy, you walk the way of the Lord.

10. Dilectissimi, non mandatum novum scribo vobis, sed mandatum vetus quod habebatis ab initio. Quod mandatum vetus dixit? Quod habebatis, inquit, ab initio. Ideo ergo vetus, quia jam illud audistis: alioquin contrarius erit Domino, ubi ait, Mandatum novum do vobis, ut vos invicem diligatis. Sed mandatum vetus quare? Non quia ad veterem hominem pertinet. Sed quare? Quod habebatis ab initio. Mandatum vetus, est verbum quod audistis. Ideo ergo vetus, quia jam audistis. Et idipsum novum ostendit dicens, Iterum mandatum novum scribo vobis. Non alterum, sed idem ipsum quod dixit vetus, idem est et novum. Quare? Quod est verum in ipso et in vobis. Jam quare vetus, audistis; quia jam illud noveratis. Quare autem novum? Quia tenebrae transierunt, et lux vera jam lucet. Ecce unde novum: quia tenebrae ad veterem hominem, lux vero ad novum pertinet. Quid dicit apostolus Paulus? Exuite vos veterem hominem, et induite novum (Coloss. III, 9, 10). Et iterum quid dicit? Fuistis aliquando tenebrae; nunc autem lux in Domino (Ephes. V, 8).

10. Dearly beloved, I do not write to you a new commandment, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. What old commandment did he mean? Which you had, he says, from the beginning. It is old, then, for this reason, that you have already heard it: otherwise he will be contrary to the Lord, where He says, A new commandment I give you, that you love one another. But why an old commandment? Not because it belongs to the old man. But why? Which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you have heard. It is old, then, for this reason, that you have already heard it. And he shows that very same thing to be new, saying, Again, a new commandment I write to you. Not another, but the very same that he called old is also new. Why? Which is true in Him and in you. Why it is old you have already heard: because you knew it already. But why new? Because the darkness has passed, and the true light now shines. See whence it is new: because darkness belongs to the old man, but light to the new. What does the apostle Paul say? Put off the old man, and put on the new (Col. 3:9, 10). And again what does he say? You were once darkness; but now light in the Lord (Eph. 5:8).

11. Qui dicit se esse in lumine; modo manifestat totum quod dixit: Qui dicit se esse in lumine, et fratrem suum odit, in tenebris est usque adhuc. Eia, fratres mei, quamdiu dicemus vobis, Diligite inimicos (Matth. V, 44)? Videte, quod pejus est, ne adhuc fratres oderitis. Si fratres solum amaretis, nondum essetis

11. He who says that he is in the light; now he makes plain the whole of what he has said: He who says that he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness even until now. Come, my brothers, how long shall we say to you, Love your enemies (Matt. 5:44)? See to it, which is worse, that you do not still hate your brothers. If you loved only your brothers, you would not yet be

Editors' notes and page, col. 1985

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: via charitatis› · call in col 1985

In quatuor Mss., ipsa via est charitas

In four manuscripts: "the very way is charity"

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perfecti: si autem fratres oditis, quid estis? ubi estis? Respiciat unusquisque cor suum: non teneat odium contra fratrem pro aliquo verbo duro; pro contentione terrae, ne fiat terra. Quisquis enim odit fratrem suum, non dicat quia in lumine ambulat. Quid dixi? non dicat quia in Christo ambulat. Qui dicit se esse in luce, et odit fratrem suum, in tenebris est usque adhuc. Nescio quis enim ex pagano factus est christianus; intendite: ecce in tenebris erat, quando paganus erat; modo jam christianus factus est; Deo gratias, omnes gratulantur: recitatur Apostolus gratulans. Fuistis enim aliquando tenebrae; nunc autem lux in Domino. Adorabat idola, adorat Deum; adorabat quae fecit, adorat qui eum fecit. Mutatus est; Deo gratias, omnes gratulantur Christiani. Quare? Quia jam adorator Patris et Filii et Spiritus sancti, et detestator daemoniorum et idolorum est. Adhuc de isto Joannes sollicitus est, multis gratulantibus adhuc suspectus est. Fratres, maternam sollicitudinem libenter amplectamur. Non sine causa mater sollicita est de nobis, cum alii gaudent: matrem dico charitatem; ipsa enim habitabat in corde Joannis, cum ista diceret. Quare, nisi quia aliquid timet in nobis, et cum jam nobis homines gratulantur? Quid est quod timet? Qui dicit se esse in lumine. Quid est hoc? Qui jam dicit se esse christianum: et fratrem suum odit, in tenebris est usque adhuc. Quod exponere non est; sed quod gaudere si non fiat, aut quod plangere si fiat.

perfect: but if you hate your brothers, what are you? Where are you? Let each one look back into his own heart: let him not hold hatred against a brother for some harsh word; in a contention about earth, let him not become earth. For whoever hates his brother, let him not say that he walks in the light. What did I say? Let him not say that he walks in Christ. He who says that he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness even until now. For someone or other has been made a Christian from a pagan; pay attention: see, he was in darkness when he was a pagan; now he has been made a Christian; thanks be to God, all congratulate him: the Apostle is read out, congratulating: For you were once darkness; but now light in the Lord. He used to adore idols, he adores God; he used to adore what he made, he adores Him Who made him. He has been changed; thanks be to God, all Christians congratulate him. Why? Because he is now a worshipper of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and a detester of demons and idols. John is still anxious about this man; while many congratulate him, he is still suspect to him. Brothers, let us gladly embrace a mother's anxiety. Not without cause is the mother anxious about us while others rejoice: I mean the mother, charity; for she dwelt in the heart of John when he said these things. Why, unless because she fears something in us, even when men are already congratulating us? What is it that she fears? He who says that he is in the light. What is this? He who now says that he is a Christian: and hates his brother, is in darkness even until now. This is not a matter for expounding; but for rejoicing if it does not happen, or for lamenting if it does.

12. Qui diligit fratrem suum, in lumine manet, et scandalum in eo non est. Obsecro per Christum; pascit nos Deus, refecturi sumus corpora in nomine Christi, et aliquantum refecta sunt, et reficienda sunt; mens nostra pascatur. Non quia diu dicturus sum, dico; nam ecce jam finitur lectio: sed ne forte ex taedio minus attente audiamus quod maxime necessarium est. Qui diligit fratrem suum, in lumine manet, et scandalum in eo non est. Qui sunt qui patiuntur scandalum, aut faciunt? Qui scandalizantur in Christo et in Ecclesia. Qui in Christo scandalizantur, tanquam a sole uruntur; qui in Ecclesia, tanquam a luna. Dicit autem Psalmus. Per diem sol non uret te, neque luna per noctem (Psal. CXX, 6): id est, Si tenueris charitatem, nec in Christo scandalum patieris, nec in Ecclesia; nec Christum relinques, nec Ecclesiam. Qui enim Ecclesiam relinquit, quomodo est in Christo, qui in membris Christi non est? quomodo est in Christo, qui in corpore Christi non est? Illi ergo patiuntur scandalum, qui relinquunt aut Christum aut Ecclesiam. Unde intelligimus quia inde dixit Psalmus, Per diem sol non uret te, neque luna per noctem, quia ipsam ustionem scandalum vult intelligi? Primo ipsam similitudinem attende. Quomodo qui uritur dicit, Non tolero, non fero, et subducit se: sic qui quaedam non ferunt in Ecclesia, et subtrahunt se vel nomini Christi vel Ecclesiae, scandalum

12. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no stumbling-block in him. I beseech you through Christ; God is feeding us, we are about to refresh our bodies in the name of Christ, and they have been refreshed somewhat, and are still to be refreshed; let our mind be fed. I do not say this because I am going to speak for a long time; for see, the reading is already ending: but lest perhaps from weariness we listen less attentively to what is most necessary. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no stumbling-block in him. Who are they who suffer a stumbling-block, or make one? Those who are scandalized in Christ and in the Church. Those who are scandalized in Christ are, as it were, burned by the sun; those in the Church, as it were by the moon. But the Psalm says, The sun shall not burn you by day, nor the moon by night (Ps. 120:6): that is, If you hold fast to charity, you will suffer no stumbling-block either in Christ or in the Church; you will forsake neither Christ nor the Church. For he who forsakes the Church, how is he in Christ, when he is not in the members of Christ? How is he in Christ, when he is not in the body of Christ? Those, then, suffer a stumbling-block who forsake either Christ or the Church. Whence do we understand that the Psalm said, The sun shall not burn you by day, nor the moon by night, because it wants the burning itself to be understood as a stumbling-block? First attend to the likeness itself. As one who is being burned says, I cannot stand it, I cannot bear it, and takes himself away: so those who cannot bear certain things in the Church, and withdraw themselves either from the name of Christ or from the Church, suffer a

Editors' notes and page, col. 1986

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1986

Editi hic et in variis locis tractatuum, nunc oditis, nunc oderitis ferunt. Er., hic, oditis. Lov., oderitis, sed quatuor apud ipsos Mss., oditis, et unus Ms., odistis. Lugd. et Ven. si autem auditis. M.

The printed editions, here and in various places of the tractates, give now "oditis" [you hate], now "oderitis" [you may hate]. Er. [Erasmus], here, "oditis". Lov. [Louvain], "oderitis", but four manuscripts cited by them, "oditis", and one manuscript, "odistis" [you have hated]. Lugd. and Ven. [Lyons and Venice]: "but if you hear." M.

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patiuntur. Videte enim quomodo passi sunt scandalum tanquam a sole illi carnales, quibus praedicabat carnem suam Christus, et dicebat: Qui non manducaverit carnem Filii hominis, et biberit ejus sanguinem, non habebit in se vitam. Septuaginta ferme homines dixerunt, Durus est hic sermo; et recesserunt ab eo: et remanserunt duodecim. Omnes illos ussit sol, et recesserunt, non valentes ferre vim verbi. Remanserunt ergo duodecim. Et ne forte putarent homines quia ipsi praestant Christo credendo in Christum, et non ab ipso illis praestatur beneficium; cum duodecim remansissent, ait illis Dominus: Numquid et vos vultis ire? Ut noveritis quia vobis necessarius ego sum, non vos mihi. Illi autem quos non usserat sol, responderunt ex voce Petri: Domine, verbum vitae aeternae habes; quo ibimus (Joan. VI, 54-69)? Quos autem urit Ecclesia tanquam luna per noctem? Qui schismata fecerunt. Audi ipsum verbum positum in Apostolo: Quis infirmatur, et ego non infirmor? quis scandalizatur, et ego non uror (II Cor. XI, 29)? Quomodo ergo non est scandalum in eo qui diligit fratrem? Quia qui diligit fratrem, tolerat omnia propter unitatem; quia in unitate charitatis est fraterna dilectio. Offendit te nescio quis, sive malus, sive ut tu putas malus, sive ut tu fingis malus, et deseris tot bonos? Qualis dilectio fraterna est, qualis apparuit in istis? Cum accusant Afros, deseruerunt orbem terrarum. Numquid in orbe terrarum sancti non erant? Aut inauditi a vobis damnari potuerunt? Sed o si diligeretis fratres, scandalum in vobis non esset. Audi Psalmum, quid dicat: Pax multa diligentibus legem tuam, et non est eis scandalum (Psal. CXVIII, 165). Pacem multam dixit eis qui diligunt legem Dei, et ideo non eis esse scandalum. Illi ergo qui scandalum patiuntur, pacem perdunt. Et quos dixit non pati scandalum, aut non facere? Diligentes legem Dei. Ergo in charitate positi sunt. Sed dicit aliquis, Legem Dei dixit diligentibus, non fratres. Audi quid Dominus dicat: Mandatum novum do vobis, ut vos invicem diligatis. Quid est lex, nisi mandatum? Quomodo autem non patiuntur scandalum, nisi dum sufferunt invicem? Sicut Paulus dicit, Sufferentes invicem in dilectione, studentes servare unitatem spiritus in vinculo pacis (Ephes. IV, 2, 3). Et quia ipsa est lex Christi, eumdem audi apostolum commendantem ipsam legem: Invicem, inquit, onera vestra portate, et sic adimplebitis legem Christi (Galat. VI, 2).

suffer. For see how those carnal men suffered offence as if from the sun, to whom Christ was preaching His flesh, and was saying: He who shall not have eaten the flesh of the Son of man, and drunk His blood, shall not have life in himself. About seventy men said, This is a hard saying; and they went back from Him: and twelve remained. The sun burned all those, and they went back, not able to bear the force of the word. So twelve remained. And lest perhaps men should think that they themselves confer something on Christ by believing in Christ, and that benefit is not conferred on them by Him, when the twelve had remained the Lord said to them: Will you also go? That you may know that I am necessary to you, not you to Me. But those whom the sun had not burned answered by the voice of Peter: Lord, Thou hast the word of eternal life; whither shall we go (John 6:54–69)? And whom does the Church burn like the moon by night? Those who have made schisms. Hear the very word set down in the Apostle: Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I do not burn (2 Cor. 11:29)? How then is there no offence in him who loves his brother? Because he who loves his brother bears all things for the sake of unity; for brotherly love is in the unity of charity. Someone or other offends you, whether a bad man, or bad as you think, or bad as you pretend, and do you desert so many good men? What sort of brotherly love is it, what sort has appeared in these men? While they accuse the Africans, they have deserted the whole world. Were there no saints in the whole world? Or could they be condemned by you unheard? But oh, if you loved the brethren, there would be no offence in you. Hear the Psalm, what it says: Much peace to those who love Thy law, and there is no offence to them (Ps. 118:165). He said much peace to those who love the law of God, and that therefore there is no offence to them. Those, then, who suffer offence lose peace. And whom did he say neither to suffer offence nor to give it? Those who love the law of God. Therefore they are set in charity. But someone says, He said those who love the law of God, not the brethren. Hear what the Lord says: A new commandment I give you, that you love one another. What is the law, if not a commandment? And how do they not suffer offence, unless while they bear with one another? As Paul says, Bearing with one another in love, striving to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:2, 3). And because that is the law of Christ, hear the same apostle commending that very law: Bear, he says, one another's burdens, and so you will fulfil the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2).

13. Nam qui odit fratrem suum, in tenebris est, et in tenebris ambulat, et nescit quo eat. Magna res, fratres; attendite, rogamus vos. Qui odit fratrem suum, in tenebris ambulat, et nescit quo eat; quoniam tenebrae excaecaverunt oculos ejus. Quid tam caecum, quam isti qui oderunt fratres? Nam ut noveritis quia caeci sunt, in montem offenderunt. Eadem dico, ne vobis excidant. Nonne lapis iste qui praecisus est de monte sine manibus, Christus est de regno Judaeorum sine opere maritali? Nonne ille lapis confregit omnia regna terrarum, id est, omnes dominationes idolorum et daemoniorum

13. For he who hates his brother is in darkness, and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going. A great matter, brethren; attend, we beg you. He who hates his brother walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going; because the darkness has blinded his eyes. What is so blind as these who hate the brethren? For that you may know that they are blind, they have stumbled against a mountain. I say the same things, lest they slip from you. Is not that stone which was cut from the mountain without hands Christ, [come] from the kingdom of the Jews without the work of a husband? Did not that stone break in pieces all the kingdoms of the earth, that is, all the dominations of idols and demons

Editors' notes and page, col. 1987

Footnotes

(a) ‹anchor: in istis› · call in col 1987

Donatistis.

[That is,] in the Donatists.

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