Migne Reading Room
PL 38 · cols. 132–137
Augustine, Sermo 19 (De uerbis Psalmi 50)
Sermon XIX
SERMO XIX. De eo quod scriptum est in Psalmo L, 5: Quoniam iniquitatem meam ego agnosco: et in Psalmo LXXII, 1: Quam bonus Deus Israel rectis corde! Habitus in basilica Restituta, in die Munerum.
Sermon 19. On what is written in Psalm 50:5, For I acknowledge my iniquity: and in Psalm 72:1, How good is God to Israel, to those who are upright in heart! Preached in the Basilica Restituta, on the Day of the Games.
1. Rogandus Deus, ut faciem non a nobis avertat, sed a peccatis nostris. Cantantes Dominum rogavimus, ut avertat faciem suam a peccatis nostris, et omnia facinora nostra deleat. Sed animadvertere potestis, fratres, quod in eodem psalmo audierimus, Quoniam iniquitatem meam ego agnosco, et peccatum meum ante me est semper. Dicitur autem Deo alibi, Ne avertas faciem tuam a me (Psal. XXVI, 9): cui diximus, Averte faciem tuam a peccatis meis. Cum sit ergo persona una homo et peccator, homo dicit, Ne avertas faciem tuam a me: peccator dicit, Averte faciem tuam a peccatis meis. Hoc ergo dicitur: Ne avertas faciem tuam ab eo quem fecisti; averte faciem tuam ab eo quod feci. Oculus tuus, inquit, utrumque distinguat, ne propter vitium natura dispereat. Fecisti tu aliquid, feci et ego aliquid: quod tu fecisti, natura dicitur; quod ego feci, vitium vocatur: vitium sanetur, ut natura servetur.
1. God is to be asked not to turn His face away from us, but from our sins. Singing, we have asked the Lord to turn His face away from our sins, and to blot out all our misdeeds. But you can observe, brothers, that in the same psalm we heard, For I acknowledge my iniquity, and my sin is ever before me. Yet elsewhere it is said to God, Turn not Thy face away from me (Ps. 26:9): to whom we have said, Turn Thy face away from my sins. Since, then, the person is one — man and sinner — the man says, Turn not Thy face away from me; the sinner says, Turn Thy face away from my sins. This, then, is what is meant: turn not Thy face away from him whom Thou hast made; turn Thy face away from what I have made. Let Thine eye, he says, distinguish between the two, lest, on account of the fault, the nature perish. Thou hast made something, and I too have made something: what Thou madest is called nature; what I made is called fault. Let the fault be healed, that the nature may be preserved.
2. Poenitentis est peccata propria et agnoscere et punire. — Facinus, inquit, meum ego agnosco. Si ego agnosco, ergo tu ignosce. Bene vivamus, et bene viventes sine peccato nos esse minime praesumamus: sic vita laudetur, ut venia postuletur. Desperati autem homines, quanto minus intenti sunt in peccata sua, tanto curiosiores sunt in aliena. Quaerunt enim non quid corrigant, sed quid mordeant: et cum se non possint excusare, parati sunt alios accusare. Non sic iste nobis orandi et satis Deo faciendi demonstravit exemplum, dicens: Quoniam facinus meum ego agnosco, et peccatum meum ante me est semper. Non
2. It belongs to the penitent both to acknowledge and to punish his own sins. — My crime, he says, I acknowledge. If I acknowledge it, then do Thou pardon it. Let us live well, and, living well, let us by no means presume that we are without sin: let life be so praised that pardon is asked for. But men without hope, the less attentive they are to their own sins, the more curious they are about those of others. For they seek not what they may correct, but what they may bite: and when they cannot excuse themselves, they are ready to accuse others. Not so did this man show us the example of praying and of making satisfaction to God, saying: For I acknowledge my crime, and my sin is always before me. Not
Editors' notes and page, col. 132
Footnotes
(*) ‹anchor: SERMO XIX› · call in col 132 (call mark faint in the column image; placed by its position at the title) Recognitus in Pithoeano libro et editione Sirmondi.
Revised against the Pithou manuscript and Sirmond's edition.
(printed under page 72)
(a) ‹anchor: SERMO XIX› · call in col 132
Alias, 4 ex Sirmondianis.
Formerly the 4th of the Sirmondian sermons.
(printed under page 72)
(b) ‹anchor: basilica Restituta› · call in col 132
Eadem est quae basilica major Carthagine, in qua corpora sanctarum martyrum Perpetuae et Felicitatis sepulta scribit Victor in lib. 1 de Persecutione Vandalica. Haec ipsa in Concilio Carthaginensi II duplici nomine appellatur basilica Perpetua Restituta: in caeteris deinceps Conciliis, quae ibidem celebrata leguntur, Restituta simpliciter, ut in hoc loco. Sic dictam aliquis credidit a Restituta martyre Neapolitana apud Carthaginem passa. Vindingus vero, not. in Serm. de Diversis 102 (nunc 277), a Restituto episcopo Carthaginensi, in cujus depositione sermonem ab Augustino habitum testatur Possidius. Baronius denique ad an. 397 hoc nomen sortitam putat, quod possessa diu a Donatistis, fuerit restituta Catholicis. Sic enim in Uzalensi urbe, ecclesia « quae primitus, » uti narrat Evodius de miraculis S. Stephani lib. 1, cap. 7, « a Donatistarum divisione usurpata, postea unitati catholicae est restituta, inde etiam vocabulum sumpsit, et ecclesia Restituta appellari meruit. »
It is the same as the greater basilica at Carthage, in which Victor, in book 1 of On the Vandal Persecution, writes that the bodies of the holy martyrs Perpetua and Felicity were buried. This very church is called by a double name in the Second Council of Carthage, the basilica Perpetua Restituta; in the other Councils thereafter that are recorded as held there, simply Restituta, as in this place. Someone has believed it was so called from Restituta, a martyr of Naples who suffered at Carthage. Vindingus, however, in his note on Sermon 102 de Diversis (now 277), derives it from Restitutus, bishop of Carthage, at whose burial Possidius attests that a sermon was preached by Augustine. Baronius, finally, at the year 397, thinks it got this name because, long held by the Donatists, it was restored to the Catholics. For so in the city of Uzalis a church "which at first," as Evodius relates in On the Miracles of St. Stephen, book 1, ch. 7, "was seized by the Donatists' schism, and afterwards restored to Catholic unity, took its name also from that, and earned the title of the church Restituta."
(printed under page 72)
(c) ‹anchor: in die Munerum› · call in col 132
Gladiatoria spectacula Munerum nomine intelligit Sirmondus, cujus nota in hunc titulum sic habet: « Vetus exemplar in fine Sermonis, » Explicit sermo die Munerum « spectaculorum. » De gladiatorum itaque spectaculo accipiendum, quod proprie Munus appellabatur: unde gladiatorum Munus Cod. Theod. De gladiatoribus L. 2. Et in Calendario Romano Constantinianorum temporum, mense decembri, quando committi gladiatores solebant, crebra Muneris est mentio ex A. D. IV nonas, quo die initium Muneris annotatur, usque in A. D. IX calendas januarias, quo cruenta, kai scutrôpa haec spectacula desinebant, ut Julianus quoque Caesar docet extrema oratione sua in Solem » Praeterea videsis Sueton. in Caes. cap. 39; et Augustin. in lib. 1 contra Academ., n. 2, et in Psal. 39, n. 8-10, et in Psal. 147, n. 7.
By the name of Munera Sirmond understands the gladiatorial shows; his note on this title runs thus: "The old copy has at the end of the Sermon, 'Here ends the sermon on the day of the Munera of the shows.' It is therefore to be taken of the gladiators' show, which was properly called a Munus: hence 'the gladiators' Munus' in the Theodosian Code, On gladiators, law 2. And in the Roman Calendar of Constantinian times, in the month of December, when gladiators were customarily matched, there is frequent mention of the Munus from the fourth day before the Nones, on which day the beginning of the Munus is marked, down to the ninth day before the Kalends of January, on which these bloody and grim shows ended, as Julian Caesar also teaches at the end of his oration To the Sun." See besides Suetonius, in Caesar, ch. 39; and Augustine in book 1 Against the Academics, n. 2, and on Psalm 39, nn. 8-10, and on Psalm 147, n. 7.
(printed under page 72)
erat iste intentus in aliena peccata: advocabat se ad se; nec se palpabat, sed penetrabat, et in se ipsum altius descendebat. Sibi non parcebat: et ideo ut sibi parceretur non impudenter rogabat. Peccatum enim, fratres, impunitum esse non potest: si peccatum impunitum remaneat, injustum est: ergo sine dubitatione puniendum. Hoc tibi dicit Deus tuus: Puniendum est peccatum aut a te, aut a me. Punitur ergo peccatum, aut ab homine poenitente, aut a Deo judicante. Punitur ergo aut a te sine te, aut a Deo tecum. Quid est enim poenitentia, nisi sua in se ipsum iracundia? Qui poenitet, irascitur sibi. Nam si non ficte fiat, unde est et pectoris tunsio? Quid feris, si non irasceris? Quando ergo tundis pectus, irasceris cordi tuo, ut satisfacias Domino tuo. Potest enim etiam sic intelligi quod scriptum est, Irascimini, et nolite peccare (Psal. IV, 5). Irascere quia peccasti, et puniens te ipsum noli peccare. Exsuscita cor poenitendo, et hoc erit sacrificium Deo.
was this man intent upon the sins of others: he summoned himself to himself; nor did he flatter himself, but he probed himself, and went down more deeply into his very self. He did not spare himself: and therefore it was not shamelessly that he asked to be spared. For sin, brethren, cannot be unpunished: if sin should remain unpunished, it is unjust: therefore without doubt it must be punished. This your God says to you: Sin must be punished either by you, or by me. Sin therefore is punished, either by man repenting, or by God judging. It is punished therefore either by you without you, or by God with you. For what is penitence, but one's own anger against oneself? He who repents is angry with himself. For if it be done not feignedly, whence else is the beating of the breast? Why do you strike, if you are not angry? When therefore you beat the breast, you are angry with your heart, that you may make satisfaction to your Lord. For what is written can be understood thus also, Be angry, and do not sin (Ps. 4:5). Be angry because you have sinned, and by punishing yourself do not sin. Rouse up the heart by repenting, and this will be a sacrifice to God.
3. Sacrificio contriti cordis placandus Deus. Fides antiquorum in Christum. Placari Deo vis? Nosce quid agas tecum, ut Deus placetur tibi. In eodem psalmo adverte: ibi enim legitur, Quoniam si voluisses sacrificium, dedissem utique; holocaustis non delectaberis. Ergo sine sacrificio eris? nihil oblaturus, de nulla oblatione Deum placaturus? Quid dixisti? Si voluisses sacrificium, dedissem utique; holocaustis non delectaberis. Sequere, et audi, et dic, Sacrificium Deo spiritus contribulatus; cor contritum et humiliatum Deus non spernit (Psal. L, 5, 11, 18, 19). Abjectis quae offerebas, invenisti quod offeras. Offerebas enim apud Patres victimas pecorum, et sacrificia vocabantur. Si voluisses sacrificium, dedissem utique. Illa ergo non quaeris, et tamen sacrificium quaeris. Populus tuus dicit tibi: Quid offeram, qui quod offerebam non offero? Ipse enim populus, aliis decedentibus, aliisque nascentibus, idem est populus. Sacramenta sunt mutata, non fides. Signa mutata sunt quibus aliquid significabatur, non res quae significabatur. Pro Christo aries, pro Christo agnus, pro Christo vitulus, pro Christo hircus, totum Christus. Aries, quia ducit gregem: ipse est inventus in vepribus, quando pater Abraham filio jussus est parcere, nec tamen sine oblato sacrificio inde discedere. Et Isaac Christus erat, et aries Christus erat. Isaac sibi ligna portabat: Christus crucem propriam bajulabat. Pro Isaac aries, non tamen pro Christo Christus. Sed in Isaac et aries et Christus. Tenebatur cornibus in vepre aries (Gen. XXII): interroga Judaeos, unde tunc Dominum coronaverint. Agnus est: Ecce Agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccata mundi (Joan. I, 29). Taurus est: attende cornua crucis. Hircus est, propter similitudinem carnis peccati. Velata sunt ista, donec aspiraret dies, et removerentur umbrae (Cant. II, 17). In eumdem ergo Dominum Christum, non solum quod Verbum, sed etiam quod mediator est Dei et hominum homo Christus Jesus
3. God is to be appeased by the sacrifice of a contrite heart. The faith of the ancients in Christ. Do you wish to be reconciled to God? Know what you should do with yourself, that God may be appeased towards you. Attend in the same psalm: for there it is read, For if Thou hadst wished sacrifice, I would surely have given it; in holocausts Thou wilt not delight. Will you then be without sacrifice? about to offer nothing, about to appease God with no oblation? What did you say? If Thou hadst wished sacrifice, I would surely have given it; in holocausts Thou wilt not delight. Go on, and hear, and say, A sacrifice to God is a troubled spirit; a contrite and humbled heart God does not despise (Ps. 50:5, 11, 18, 19). Having cast away what you used to offer, you have found what you may offer. For among the Fathers you used to offer victims of cattle, and they were called sacrifices. If Thou hadst wished sacrifice, I would surely have given it. Those, then, Thou dost not seek, and yet Thou seekest sacrifice. Thy people says to Thee: What shall I offer, who do not offer what I used to offer? For the people itself, some departing and others being born, is the same people. The sacraments have been changed, not the faith. The signs have been changed by which something was signified, not the thing which was signified. For Christ a ram, for Christ a lamb, for Christ a calf, for Christ a goat: Christ is all. A ram, because He leads the flock: He it is Who was found in the thorn-bushes, when father Abraham was bidden to spare his son, and yet not to depart thence without a sacrifice offered. Both Isaac was Christ, and the ram was Christ. Isaac was carrying the wood for himself: Christ was bearing His own cross. For Isaac a ram, but not for Christ a Christ. But in Isaac were both the ram and Christ. The ram was held by its horns in a thorn-bush (Gen. 22): ask the Jews, whence they then crowned the Lord. He is a lamb: Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him Who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). He is a bull: attend to the horns of the cross. He is a goat, on account of the likeness of the flesh of sin. These things were veiled, until the day should breathe, and the shadows be removed (Song 2:17). In the same Lord Christ, therefore, not only in that He is the Word, but also in that He is the mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus
Editors' notes and page, col. 133
Footnotes
(a) ‹anchor: sacrificium Deo› · call in col 133
Vid. infra, serm. 20, n. 2, et serm. 29, n. 6.
See below, sermon 20, n. 2, and sermon 29, n. 6. [the last numeral is faint in the scan; read as 6]
(printed under page 73)
(b) ‹anchor: aries et Christus› · call in col 133
Morel, Elem. Critic. pag. 184, legit: Sed in Isaac et ariete Christus; et melior quidem videtur haec lectio, si argumenti seriem sequaris M.
Morel, Elementa Critica, p. 184, reads: "But in Isaac and in the ram, Christ"; and this reading does indeed seem the better, if you follow the course of the argument. M.
(printed under page 73)
(I Tim. II, 5), et Patres antiqui crediderunt, et ad nos eamdem fidem praedicando et prophetando transmiserunt. Unde dicit Apostolus, Habentes eumdem spiritum fidei, propter quod scriptum est, Credidi, propter quod locutus sum. Eumdem habentes, quem habuerunt et illi qui scripserunt, Credidi, propter quod locutus sum. Habentes ergo eumdem, inquit, spiritum fidei, propter quod scriptum est ab antiquis, Credidi, propter quod locutus sum; et nos credimus, propter quod et loquimur (II Cor. IV, 13). Quando ergo David sanctus ita dicebat, Quoniam si voluisses sacrificium, dedissem utique; holocaustis non delectaberis, tunc illa sacrificia offerebantur Deo, quae modo non offeruntur. Ergo quando cantabat, prophetabat, et praesentia spernebat, et futura praevidebat. Holocaustis, inquit, non delectaberis. Quando ergo holocaustis non delectaberis, sine sacrificio remanebis? Absit. Sacrificium Deo spiritus contribulatus; cor contritum et humiliatum, Deus, non spernis. Habes quod offeras. Non gregem circumspicias, non navigia praepares, et permees ad extremas provincias, unde aromata deferas: quaere in corde tuo quod gratum sit Deo. Cor conterendum est. Quid times ne contritum pereat? Ibi habes, Cor mundum crea in me, Deus. Ut ergo creetur mundum cor, conteratur immundum.
(1 Tim. 2:5), the ancient Fathers also believed, and by preaching and prophesying they handed down the same faith to us. Whence the Apostle says, Having the same spirit of faith, according to that which is written, I believed, on account of which I have spoken. Having the same [spirit] which they also had who wrote, I believed, on account of which I have spoken. Having therefore the same spirit of faith, he says, according to that which was written by the ancients, I believed, on account of which I have spoken; we too believe, on account of which we also speak (2 Cor. 4:13). When therefore holy David was saying thus, For if Thou hadst wished sacrifice, I would surely have given it; in holocausts Thou wilt not delight, then those sacrifices were being offered to God which now are not offered. Therefore when he was singing, he was prophesying, and he was both spurning things present and foreseeing things to come. In holocausts, he says, Thou wilt not delight. Since then Thou wilt not delight in holocausts, will you remain without sacrifice? Far be it. A sacrifice to God is a troubled spirit; a contrite and humbled heart, O God, Thou dost not despise. You have what you may offer. Do not look about for a flock, do not make ready ships, and travel through to the farthest provinces, whence you may bring back spices: seek in your heart what may be pleasing to God. The heart must be crushed. Why do you fear lest, crushed, it perish? There you have, Create a clean heart in me, O God. That a clean heart, then, may be created, let the unclean be crushed.
4. Homini displicere debet quod Deo displicet, et contra. Felicitas hic non quaerenda. Auditorum acclamatio. Scandalum de felicitate malorum. Displiceamus nobis quando peccamus, quia peccata displicent Deo. Et quia sine peccato non sumus, vel in hoc Deo similes simus, quia hoc nobis displicet, quod illi. Ex aliqua parte conjungeris voluntati Dei, quia hoc tibi displicet in te, quod odit et ille qui fecit te. Artifex tuus ipse est: sed vide te ipsum, et dele in te ipso quod non est ex ipsius officina. Deus enim, sicut scriptum est, creavit hominem rectum (Eccle. VII, 30). Quam bonus Deus Israel rectis corde! Si ergo sis rectus corde, non tibi displicebit Deus, bonus tibi erit Deus, laudabis Deum. Omnino, et in eo quod praestat, et in eo quod castigat, laudabis Deum. Ille enim qui dixit, Quam bonus Deus Israel rectis corde! se ipsum inspexerat, qui aliquando non erat rectus corde, et displicebat ei Deus: postea vero resipuit, et vidit non esse Deum perversum, sed se fuisse non rectum: et recordatus tempora pravitatis suae, et praesens correctionis suae, ait: Quam bonus Deus Israel! sed quibus? Rectis corde. Quid enim tu? Mei autem, inquit, pene commoti sunt pedes, paulo minus effusi sunt gressus mei, id est, pene lapsus sum. Unde hoc? Quia zelavi in peccatoribus, pacem peccatorum intuens. Unde ergo commoti fuerint pedes hujus et pene lapsi sint gressus, quoniam non tacuit, cavendum monuit. Exspectabat a Deo, secundum Vetus Testamentum, ignorans ibi esse signa futurorum; exspectabat ergo a Deo praesentis vitae felicitatem, et in hac terra quaerebat quod suis Deus in coelo servabat. Felix volebat esse hic, cum felicitas non sit hic. Res enim bona et magna est felicitas; sed habet regionem suam. De regione felicitatis Christus venit, et hic eam nec ipse invenit. Irrisus est, exprobratus est, apprehensus est, flagellatus
4. What displeases God ought to displease man, and conversely. Happiness is not to be sought here. The listeners' acclamation. Scandal at the happiness of the wicked. Let us displease ourselves when we sin, because our sins displease God. And since we are not without sin, let us at least be like God in this: that what displeases Him displeases us too. In some measure you are joined to the will of God, in that what He Who made you hates, displeases you too in yourself. He Himself is your maker: but look at yourself, and blot out in yourself what does not come from His workshop. For God, as it is written, made man upright (Eccl. 7:30). How good is God to Israel, to the upright in heart! If, then, you are upright in heart, God will not displease you; God will be good to you, you will praise God. Altogether, both in what He grants and in what He chastises, you will praise God. For he who said, How good is God to Israel, to the upright in heart! had looked into himself — he who was once not upright in heart, and to whom God was displeasing: but afterward he came to his senses, and saw that it was not God Who was perverse, but that he himself had not been upright; and remembering the time of his own depravity, and the present state of his correction, he says: How good is God to Israel! — but to whom? To the upright in heart. What of you, then? But as for me, he says, my feet had well nigh moved, my steps had almost slipped, that is, I had almost fallen. Whence this? Because I was envious at the wicked, beholding the peace of sinners [Ps. 72:2–3]. What it was, then, that moved this man's feet and made his steps almost slip, he has warned us to guard against, since he did not keep silent about it. He was expecting from God, according to the Old Testament — not knowing that what was there were signs of things to come — he was expecting, then, from God the happiness of the present life, and on this earth he was seeking what God was keeping in heaven for His own. He wished to be happy here, though happiness is not here. For happiness is a good and great thing; but it has its own region. From the region of happiness Christ came, and here even He Himself did not find it. He was mocked, He was reproached, He was seized, He was scourged,
est, vinctus est, palmis caesus est, affectus contumelia sputorum, spinis coronatus est, ligno suspensus: ad extremum, Domini exitus mortis. In Psalmo scriptum est (hi acclamaverunt qui cognoverunt), Et Domini exitus mortis (Psal. LXVII, 21). Quid hic ergo, serve, felicitatem requiris, ubi et Domini exitus mortis? Cum ergo in regione non sua felicitatem requireret ille, de quo loqui coeperam, et propter illam in hac vita adipiscendam cohiberet Deo, eique serviret, et ejus praecepta, ut poterat, faceret; vidit hoc magnum, vel pro magno, quod quaerebat a Deo, et propter quod Deo serviebat, esse apud eos qui Deo non serviebant, sed daemonia colebant, et verum Deum blasphemabant. Vidit, et commotus est, quasi perdidisset fructum laboris sui. Hoc est quod zelavit in peccatoribus, pacem peccatorum intuens. Denique habes ibi, Ecce ipsi peccatores et abundantes in saeculo obtinuerunt divitias. Numquid sine causa justificavi cor meum, aut lavi inter innocentes manus meas, et fui flagellatus tota die? Colo Deum, blasphemant Deum: illis felicitas, mihi calamitas; ubi aequitas? Inde moti pedes, inde pene effusi gressus, inde propinquus interitus. Nam ad quod periculum venerit, videte: ibi ait, Et dixi, Quomodo scit Deus, et si est scientia in Altissimo? Videte ad quod periculum venerit quaerendo a Deo pro magno praemio terrenam felicitatem. Discite ergo, charissimi, eam si habetis, contemnere, nec dicere in cordibus vestris, Ego quia colo Deum, ideo bene est mihi. Videbis enim, quo modo tibi putas bene, et illis qui non colunt Deum esse bene; et movebuntur gressus tui. Aut enim habes illam, colens Deum, et videbis quod habeat talia non colens Deum; et ideo putabis frustra te colere Deum, quia et ille habet felicitatem qui non colit Deum: aut non illam habes, et multo amplius Deum accusabis, qui dat eam blasphematoribus suis, et negat cultoribus suis. Discite ergo tenera contemnere, si vultis Deo fideli corde servire. Habes illam? noli putare inde te esse bonum; sed fac te inde bonum. Non habes? noli putare inde te esse malum; sed cave malum, quo non venit bonus.
He was bound, He was struck with blows, He suffered the insult of spittings, He was crowned with thorns, He was hung on the wood: at the last, the Lord's own departure was by death. In the Psalm it is written (those who recognized it cried this out), And the Lord's own departure was by death (Ps. 67:21 [68:20]). Why, then, servant, do you look for happiness here, where even the Lord's own departure was by death? Since, then, that man of whom I began to speak was seeking happiness in a region not its own, and, in order to obtain it in this life, held himself to God, and served Him, and did His commandments as he was able, he saw that this great thing — or what he took for a great thing — which he was seeking from God, and for which he was serving God, was in the possession of those who did not serve God, but worshipped demons, and blasphemed the true God. He saw this, and was moved, as though he had lost the fruit of his labour. This is the meaning of, I was envious at the wicked, beholding the peace of sinners. Indeed you have it there: Behold, these are the sinners, and they that prosper in the world have obtained riches. Have I then in vain justified my heart, and washed my hands among the innocent, and been scourged all the day? I worship God, they blaspheme God: to them happiness, to me calamity; where is the fairness in that? From this my feet were moved, from this my steps were well nigh poured out, from this destruction drew near. For see to what danger he came: there he says, And I said, How does God know, and is there knowledge in the Most High? See to what danger he came by seeking from God earthly happiness as a great reward. Learn, then, beloved, to despise it if you have it, and not to say in your hearts, Because I worship God, therefore it is well with me. For you will see that, in the very way you think it is well with you, it is well also with those who do not worship God; and your steps will be shaken. For either you have it while worshipping God, and you will see that one who does not worship God has the same things; and so you will think that you worship God in vain, since he too has happiness who does not worship God: or you do not have it, and you will accuse God all the more, for giving it to those who blaspheme Him and denying it to those who worship Him. Learn, then, to despise these tender things, if you wish to serve God with a faithful heart. Do you have it? Do not think that this makes you good; but make yourself good by it. Do you not have it? Do not think that this makes you bad; but beware of the evil to which the good man does not come.
5. Felicitas et merces a Deo quaenam exspectanda. Etenim iste resipiscens, et reprehendens se ipsum, quod male coeperat de Deo sentire, anhelans peccator, et pacem intuens peccatorum; reprehendens ergo se ipsum, ait: Quid enim mihi est in coelo, et a te quid volui super terram (Psal. LXXII, 1-25)? Jam resipiscens, jam correcto corde, agnovit quantum valeat cultus Dei: quem Dei cultum vilissimo pretio addixerat, quando pro illo terrenam felicitatem quaerebat. Agnovit quid debeatur sursum cultoribus Dei, ubi jubemur habere cor et respondemus ibi nos habere: quod et utinam non mentiamur, saltem ipsa hora, saltem ipso momento, saltem ipso temporis puncto, quando respondemus. Respiciens ergo ille, et cor corrigens, reprehendit se quaesisse aliquando in terra felicitatem terrenam, quasi mercedem cultus Dei. Sed reprehendens se ait: Quid enim mihi est in coelo? Quid est ibi mihi? Vita aeterna, incorruptio, regnum
5. What happiness and reward are to be expected from God. For that man, coming to himself, and rebuking himself because he had begun to think ill of God, a sinner panting, and beholding the peace of sinners; rebuking himself, then, he says: For what have I in heaven, and what have I desired from Thee upon earth (Ps. 72:1–25 [73:1–25])? Now come to himself, now with a corrected heart, he acknowledged how much the worship of God is worth — he who had put the worship of God up for the vilest price, when he sought earthly happiness in return for it. He acknowledged what is owed on high to the worshippers of God, where we are bidden to have the heart, and we answer that we have it there: if only, indeed, we did not lie, at least at that hour, at least at that moment, at least at that point of time, when we make our answer. That man, then, looking back and correcting his heart, rebuked himself for having once sought earthly happiness on earth, as though it were the wage of the worship of God. But rebuking himself he says: For what have I in heaven? What is there for me? Eternal life, incorruption, a kingdom
Editors' notes and page, col. 135
Footnotes
(a) ‹anchor: cohiberet› · call in col 135
Forte, cohaereret, Vel, obediret.
Perhaps "cohaereret" (should cleave), or "obediret" (should obey). [UNSURE: the note is badly printed in the scan; the second word is partly illegible and read as "obediret"]
(printed under page 74)
cum Christo, societas Angelorum; ubi nulla perturbatio, nulla ignorantia, nullum periculum, nulla tentatio; vera, certa, fixa securitas. Ecce quid mihi est in coelo. Et a te quid volui super terram? A te quid volui super terram? quid volui? Divitias fluxas, caducas, volaticas. Quid volui? Aurum, pallorem terrae; argentum, livorem terrae; honorem, temporis fumum. Ecce quid a te volui super terram. Et quia vidi hoc in peccatoribus, commoti sunt pedes mei, et paulo minus effusi sunt gressus mei. O quam bonus est rectis corde! Quid ergo quaeris, Propheta fidelis? Aurum, et argentum, et divitias terrenas? Ergo tanti valet fides matronae fidelis, quod habet et meretrix? Tanti ergo valet fides viri fidelis, quod habet et mimus, auriga, venator, latro? Absit, fratres mei, absit ut tanti valeat fides vestra. Avertat Deus hoc a cordibus vestris. Nam quanti valet, vultis nosse? Pro ea Christus mortuus est. Quid ergo terrenam mercedem quaeris, auro et nummis addictus? Injuriam facis fidei, pro qua mortuus est Christus. Et quid est, inquit? quanti valet? Illum attende, qui ait: Quid enim mihi est in coelo? Non enim expressit quid erit illud. Sic ait: Et a te quid volui super terram? Illud laudando, hoc abjiciendo, utrumque tamen dixit. Quid est illud? Quod oculus non vidit. Quid est hoc? Quod fidelis oculus non sitit. Quid est illud? Quod invenit Lazarus ulcerosus. Quid est hoc? Quod habuit dives inflatus. Quid est illud? Quod perire non potest. Quid est hoc? Quod teneri non potest. Quid est illud? Ubi non erit labor. Quid est hoc? Quod non deserit timor. Quid enim mihi est in coelo? Quid? Ipse qui fecit coelum; pretium fidei tuae Deus tuus est; ipsum habebis, se ipsum praeparat praemium cultoribus suis. Considerate, charissimi, universam creaturam, coelum, terram, mare, quae in coelo, quae in terra, quae in mari, quam pulchra, quam mira, quam digne ordinateque disposita. Movent vos ista? Movent plane. Quare? Quia pulchra sunt. Quid est qui fecit? Puto rehebesceretis, si videretis pulchritudinem Angelorum. Quid est ergo creator Angelorum? Ipse est praemium fidei vestrae. Avari, quid vobis sufficit, si Deus ipse non vobis sufficit?
with Christ, the fellowship of angels; where there is no disturbance, no ignorance, no danger, no temptation; a true, sure, fixed security. Behold what I have in heaven. And what have I desired from Thee upon earth? What have I desired from Thee upon earth? What did I desire? Riches that flow away, that perish, that fly off. What did I desire? Gold, the pallor of earth; silver, the livid hue of earth; honour, the smoke of a season. Behold what I desired from Thee upon earth. And because I saw this in sinners, my feet were moved, and my steps were almost poured out. O how good He is to the upright in heart! What, then, do you seek, faithful Prophet? Gold, and silver, and earthly riches? Is the faith of a faithful matron, then, worth as much as what a harlot has? Is the faith of a faithful man, then, worth as much as what an actor has, a charioteer, a huntsman, a robber? Far be it, my brothers, far be it, that your faith should be worth so little! May God turn this away from your hearts. For how much is it worth, do you wish to know? Christ died for it. Why, then, do you seek an earthly reward, bound to gold and coin? You do an injury to the faith for which Christ died. And what is it, he says? How much is it worth? Attend to him who says: For what have I in heaven? He did not express what that would be. Thus he says: And what have I desired from Thee upon earth? Praising the one, casting aside the other, yet he named both. What is that? What eye has not seen. What is this? What the faithful eye does not thirst for. What is that? What the ulcerous Lazarus found. What is this? What the bloated rich man had. What is that? What cannot perish. What is this? What cannot be held. What is that? Where there will be no labour. What is this? What fear does not forsake. For what have I in heaven? What? He Himself Who made heaven; the price of your faith is your God Himself; you will have Him Himself — He Himself prepares Himself as the reward for His worshippers. Consider, beloved, the whole of creation — heaven, earth, sea, the things in heaven, the things on earth, the things in the sea — how beautiful, how wonderful, how worthily and fittingly ordered. Do these things move you? They move us indeed. Why? Because they are beautiful. What is He Who made them? I think you would be dazed, if you were to see the beauty of the angels. What, then, is the creator of the angels? He Himself is the reward of your faith. You covetous ones, what is enough for you, if God Himself is not enough for you?
6. Ad bene vivendum quotidianis periculis commovemur. Bene ergo vivamus, et ut hoc possimus, eum qui hoc praecepit, invocemus. Neque bonae vitae nostrae terrenam mercedem a Domino requiramus. Ad illa quae promittuntur, intentionem nostram extendamus. Cor nostrum ibi ponamus, ubi putrescere non potest saecularibus curis. Transeunt ista quae occupant homines, volant ista; vapor est vita humana super terram. Accedunt etiam ipsius fragilis vitae tanta et tam quotidiana pericula. Terrae motus magni de Orientalibus nuntiantur; nonnullae magnae repentinis collapsae sunt civitates. Territi apud Jerosolymam qui inerant, Judaei, Pagani, catechumeni, omnes sunt baptizati. Dicuntur fortasse baptizati septem millia hominum. Signum Christi in vestibus Judaeorum baptizatorum apparuit. Relatu fratrum fidelium constantissimo
6. We are stirred to live well by the dangers of everyday life. Let us, then, live well, and, that we may be able to do this, let us call upon Him Who commanded it. Let us not ask from the Lord an earthly reward for our good life. Let us stretch our purpose towards the things that are promised. Let us set our heart there, where it cannot rot away amid worldly cares. These things that occupy men pass away, they fly off; human life upon earth is a vapour. There press in, besides, the many and daily dangers of this fragile life itself. Great earthquakes are reported from the East; some great cities have suddenly collapsed. Those who were at Jerusalem, terrified — Jews, pagans, catechumens — were all baptized. It is said that perhaps seven thousand men were baptized. The sign of Christ appeared on the garments of the baptized Jews. By the most constant report of faithful brethren, these things are related.
Editors' notes and page, col. 136
Footnotes
(a) ‹anchor: repentinis collapsae› · call in col 136
Forte addendum, ruinis.
Perhaps "ruinis" (in ruins / by collapses) should be added.
(printed under page 74)
ista nuntiantur. Sitifensis etiam civitas gravissimo terrae motu concussa est, ut omnes forte quinque diebus in agris manerent, et ibi baptizata dicuntur fere duo millia hominum. Undique Deus terret, quia non vult invenire quo damnet. Nonnihil agitur in isto torculari. Mundus est torcular; abundant pressurae ejus: oleum estote, non amurca. Convertatur quisque ad Deum, et mutet vitam. Occultum habet iter oleum; ad secreta sua tendit. Alius subsannat, irridet, blasphemat, clamat per plateas; amurca defluit. Dominus tamen torcularis per operarios suos, per sanctos Angelos suos non quiescit operari. Novit oleum suum, novit quid recipiat, quo pondere pressurae eliquetur. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt ejus. Oleum estote, amurcam fugite; recedant ab iniquitate omnes qui nominant nomen Domini (II Tim. II, 19). Odia autem nolite concipere, aut cito finite. Non enim illa metuenda sunt. Times terrae motum? times coeli fremitum? times bella? Time et febrem: subito, cum illa magna metuuntur, ipsa non veniunt, et de transverso una febricula aufert hominem. Et si talem invenit ille judex, qualem non novit, qualibus dicturus est, Nescio vos, recedite a me (Luc. XIII, 27); quid fiet postea? quo itur? per quem ambitur? unde vita reparanda redimitur? Quis iterum vivere, et quod male fecit emendare permittitur? Finitum est. Pauci quidem convenistis: sed si bene audistis, abundatis. Non vos fallat, qui fallit: quia non vos decipit, qui non fallit.
The city of Sitifis, too, was shaken by a most severe earthquake, so that everyone stayed out in the fields for perhaps five days, and there, it is said, about two thousand men were baptized. On every side God strikes terror, because He does not wish to find grounds on which to condemn. Something is being done in this press. The world is a press; its pressures abound: be oil, not dregs. Let each one turn to God, and change his life. The oil has a hidden way; it makes for its own hidden place. Another sneers, mocks, blasphemes, cries out through the streets: the dregs run off. Yet the Lord of the press does not cease to work, through His own labourers, through His holy angels. He knows His own oil, He knows what He will receive, by what weight of pressing it will be strained out. For the Lord knows them that are His. Be oil, flee the dregs; let everyone that names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity (2 Tim. 2:19). But do not conceive hatreds, or end them quickly. For those things are not to be feared. Do you fear an earthquake? Do you fear a roaring of the sky? Do you fear wars? Fear a fever too: suddenly, when those great things are feared, they do not come, and from an unexpected quarter a slight fever carries a man off. And if that judge should find such a one as He does not know, such as those to whom He is about to say, I know you not, depart from me (Luke 13:27) — what will become of him afterwards? Where does he go? Through whom is favour sought? From where is life bought back and restored? Who is allowed to live again, and to amend what he did wrong? It is finished. Few indeed of you have come together: but if you have listened well, you are full. Let him not deceive you who deceives: for He does not mislead you Who does not deceive.
Editors' notes and page, col. 137
Footnotes
(a) ‹anchor: ista nuntiantur› · call in col 137
De his Marcellinus comes in Chronico, Monaxio et Plinta Coss. anno Christi CDXIX: « Multae Palaestinae civitates villaeque terrae motu collapsae. Multae tunc utriusque sexus vicinarum gentium nationes, tam visu quam auditu perterritae, atque credulae, sacro Christi fonte ablutae sunt: omniumque baptizatorum in tunicis crux Christi Salvatoris divinitatis nutu extemplo impressa refulsit. » Idatius quoque noster in Chronico: « Durante episcopo quo supra, » id est Joanne, « gravissimo terrae motu sancta in Jerusalem loca quassantur, » etc. Et in Fastis Monaxio et Plinta: « His Consulibus S. Joannes epistolam dirigit per Ecclesias orbis terrarum, quae habetur, de Signis terroribusque divinitus perpetratis. » SIRMOND.
On these events Count Marcellinus in his Chronicle, under the consuls Monaxius and Plinta, in the year of Christ 419: "Many cities and villages of Palestine collapsed in an earthquake. Many peoples of the neighbouring nations, of both sexes, terrified as much by what they saw as by what they heard, and believing, were then washed in the sacred font of Christ; and on the tunics of all the baptized the cross of Christ the Saviour, at the nod of the Godhead, at once shone out imprinted." Our Idatius too in his Chronicle: "While the bishop named above was still in office," that is, John, "the holy places in Jerusalem are shaken by a very severe earthquake," etc. And in the Fasti under Monaxius and Plinta: "In this consulship St. John sends through the Churches of the whole world a letter, which is extant, on the signs and terrors divinely wrought." SIRMOND.
(printed under page 75)
(b) ‹anchor: duo millia hominum› · call in col 137
Sitifis, quae provinciae in Africa nomen dedit, id est Mauritaniae Sitifensi. De hoc ejus civitatis terrae motu an meminerint alii, non habeo compertum. Episcopum sane Sitifitum fuisse constat Novatum, qui et hoc ipso anno interfuit, subscripsitque Concilio Carthaginensi post Consulatum XII Honorii, et paucis ante annis Collationi quoque Donatistarum adfuerat. SIRMOND.
Sitifis, which gave its name to a province in Africa, that is, to Mauretania Sitifensis. Whether others have mentioned this earthquake in that city, I have not ascertained. It is certain, at any rate, that the bishop of the people of Sitifis was Novatus, who in this very year was present at and subscribed the Council of Carthage held after the twelfth consulship of Honorius, and a few years earlier had also attended the Conference with the Donatists. SIRMOND.
(printed under page 75)
(c) ‹anchor: invenire quo› · call in col 137
Forte, quos.
Perhaps "quos."
(printed under page 75)
(d) ‹anchor: Pauci quidem convenistis› · call in col 137
Ideo pauci ad Ecclesiam, quia plurimi ad spectaculum confluxerant. Sic Enarr. in Psal. 147, n. 7: « Propterea hodie non venerunt, quia Munus est, » etc. Vide Chrysostomum in exordio Sermonis de Consubstantiali et Asterium episcopum de Festo calendarum.
Few came to the Church for this reason, that most had flocked to the show. So the Enarration on Psalm 147, n. 7: "They have not come today for this reason, that there is a Munus," etc. See Chrysostom at the opening of the Sermon on the Consubstantial, and Bishop Asterius on the Feast of the Kalends. [some letters of the last two names are broken in the scan]
(printed under page 75)
Page
- (foot notes (*) and (e) under page 75 are called at the title of SERMO XX, the next sermon; pointer only, not set in this unit)