PL 38 · cols. 111–115

Augustine, Sermones 1-18 (Classis I, de Scripturis: de Vetere Testamento)

Sermon XIV

judex terrae, et ama terrere, sed dilige. Si superbis, superbi in peccata, non in hominem. In illud saevi quod tibi displicet et in te; non in eum qui factus est sicut tu. De una officina existis, unum artificem habuistis, unus limus est vestra materies. Quid perdis non amando quem judicas? Quoniam justitiam perdis, perdis non amando quem judicas. Adhibeantur poenae, non recuso, non interdico; sed animo amantis, animo diligentis, animo corrigentis.

judge of the earth, and love to inspire fear, but cherish. If you are proud, be proud against sins, not against a man. Rage against that which displeases you also in yourself; not against him who was made as you were. You came forth from one workshop, you had one craftsman, one clay is your material. What do you lose by not loving the one you judge? Since you lose justice, you lose it by not loving the one you judge. Let punishments be applied, I do not refuse, I do not forbid; but with the mind of one who loves, with the mind of one who cherishes, with the mind of one who corrects.

CAPUT VIII. — 9. Disciplina et correctio non negligenda. Feriens, pius; parcens, crudelis. Non enim filium tuum non erudis. Et prius agis, ut, si fieri potest, pudore et liberalitate erudiatur, erubescat patrem offendere, non tanquam severum judicem timeat; gaudes ad talem filium: sed si fuerit forte ista contemnens, adhibes et verbera; incutis poenam, ingeris dolorem, sed quaeris salutem. Multi amore, multi timore correcti sunt: sed per tremorem timoris ad amorem pervenerunt. Erudimini, qui judicatis terram. Diligite et judicate. Non enim sic quaeritur innocentia, ut pereat disciplina. Scriptum est, Disciplinam qui abjicit, infelix est (Sap. III, 11). Bene potest addi ad istam sententiam, Sicut disciplinam qui abjicit, infelix est: sic disciplinam qui negat, crudelis est. Ausus sum aliquid dicere, fratres mei, quod vobis aliquanto plenius exponere ipsius rei obscuritate compellor. Repeto quod dixi, Disciplinam qui abjicit, infelix est: hoc manifestum est. Disciplinam qui non dat, crudelis est: teneo prorsus, teneo et ostendo feriendo pium, parcendo crudelem; exemplum ante oculos pono. Ubi invenio feriendo pium? Non eo ad alios, ad patrem et filium eo: pater et quando ferit, amat; et non vult puer caedi: contemnit voluntatem, consulit ad utilitatem. Quare? Quia pater est, quia haereditatem parat, quia successorem nutrit. Ecce feriendo pius est pater, feriendo misericors est. Da mihi hominem parcendo crudelem. Non recedo a personis, eos ipsos ante oculos pono. Sed puer impunitus et indisciplinatus si sic vivat, ut pereat, et pater dissimulet; pater parcat, pater perditum filium disciplinae asperitate offendere timeat, nonne parcendo crudelis est? Erudimini ergo, omnes qui judicatis terram: et bene judicando non a terra praemium, sed ab illo exspectate qui fecit coelum et terram.

Chapter VIII. — 9. Discipline and correction are not to be neglected. Striking, he is dutiful; sparing, he is cruel. For you do not fail to instruct your son. And first you act so that, if it can be done, he is instructed by shame and by generous treatment, so that he blushes to offend his father, not so that he fears him as a severe judge; you rejoice in such a son: but if he should perhaps be contemptuous, you apply blows as well; you inflict punishment, you impose pain, but you seek his welfare. Many have been corrected by love, many by fear: but through the trembling of fear they have arrived at love. Be instructed, you who judge the earth. Love and judge. For innocence is not sought in such a way that discipline perishes. It is written, He who casts off discipline is unhappy (Wis. 3:11). One may well add to this sentence: As he who casts off discipline is unhappy, so he who withholds discipline is cruel. I have dared to say something, my brothers, which the obscurity of the matter itself compels me to explain to you somewhat more fully. I repeat what I said: He who casts off discipline is unhappy: this is plain. He who does not give discipline is cruel: I hold this firmly, I hold it and I show one who is dutiful by striking and cruel by sparing; I put an example before your eyes. Where do I find one dutiful by striking? I do not go to others, I go to a father and a son: a father, even when he strikes, loves; and the boy does not want to be beaten: the father disregards his wish, he looks to his benefit. Why? Because he is a father, because he is preparing an inheritance, because he is raising a successor. See, by striking the father is dutiful, by striking he is merciful. Give me a man cruel by sparing. I do not depart from these persons; I put the very same before your eyes. But if the boy, unpunished and undisciplined, lives in such a way that he perishes, and the father pretends not to see; if the father spares, if the father fears to offend his ruined son with the harshness of discipline, is he not cruel by sparing? Be instructed therefore, all you who judge the earth: and by judging well expect a reward not from the earth, but from Him who made heaven and earth.

SERMO XIV. De versu 14 Psalmi IX, Tibi derelictus est pauper, pupillo tu eris adjutor. Habitus Carthagine in basilica Novarum, die dominico.

Sermon 14. On verse 14 of Psalm 9, To Thee the poor man is left; Thou wilt be the helper of the orphan. Preached at Carthage in the Basilica of the Novae, on a Sunday.

CAPUT PRIMUM. — 1. Pauper verus quinam sit. — Cantavimus Domino, et diximus, Tibi derelictus est pauper, pupillo tu eris adjutor. Quaeramus pauperem, quaeramus pupillum. Nec mirum sit quod admoneo

Chapter I. — 1. Who the true poor man is. — We have sung to the Lord, and we have said, To Thee the poor man is left; Thou wilt be the helper of the orphan. Let us seek the poor man, let us seek the orphan. And let it not seem strange that I urge

Editors' notes and page, col. 111

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 111

Sic Ulim. et Ms. Germanensis. At Am. Er. et Lov., et ama non currere, sed diligere.

So Ulim. and the Saint-Germain manuscript. But Am., Er. and Lov.: et ama non currere, sed diligere ["and love not to run, but to cherish"].

(printed under page 62)

(2) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 111

Verbum, perdis, apud Am. Er. et Ms. Germanensem non reperitur.

The word perdis ["you destroy"] is not found in Am., Er. and the Saint-Germain manuscript.

(printed under page 62)

(3) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 111

In codice cs., ad amorem pervenerunt Salvatoris.

In the codex cs.: ad amorem pervenerunt Salvatoris ["they came through to the love of the Saviour"].

(printed under page 62)

(4) ‹anchor: Sed puer impunitus› · call in col 111

Am. Er. Ulim. et Ms. Germanensis, imperitus.

Am., Er., Ulim. and the Saint-Germain manuscript: imperitus ["untaught"].

(*) ‹anchor: SERMO XIV› · call in col 111 Emendatus est ad cs. cl. gr. s. Am. Er. Ulim. Par. Lov.

Corrected against cs. cl. gr. s. Am. Er. Ulim. Par. Lov. [sigla of manuscripts and editions, kept as printed].

(printed under page 62)

(a) ‹anchor: SERMO XIV› · call in col 111

Alias, de Tempore 110.

Formerly, de Tempore 110.

(printed under page 62)

Page

running head: 111 S. AUGUSTINI EPISC[...] (cut off at the image edge)
marginal letters: (none)
old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 38:112

ut quaeramus, quos sic abundare cernimus et sentimus. Nonne pauperibus plena omnia? nonne pupillis plena sunt omnia? Tamen inter omnia quaero pauperem, quaero pupillum. Ac prius ostendendum est Charitati vestrae, id quod putamus, non hoc esse quod quaerimus. Qui enim dicuntur pauperes et sunt, in quos a Deo mandatae eleemosynae fiunt, de quibus fatemur scriptum, Include eleemosynam in corde pauperis, et ipsa exorabit pro te Dominum (Eccli. XXIX, 15): abundat quidem hoc genus hominum; sed altius intelligendus est iste pauper. De illo genere est iste pauper, de quo dictum est, Beati pauperes spiritu, quoniam ipsorum est regnum coelorum (Matth. V, 3). Sunt pauperes non habentes pecuniam, victum quotidianum vix invenientes, alienis opibus, misericordia sic indigentes, ut etiam mendicare non erubescant: si de his dictum est, Tibi derelictus est pauper; nos quid facimus, qui hoc non sumus? Ergo nos qui christiani sumus, non sumus Deo derelicti? Et quae alia nobis spes est, si non sumus illi derelicti, qui nos non derelinquit?

that we should seek, whom we see and feel to abound so. Are not all places full of the poor? Are not all places full of orphans? Yet among them all I seek a poor man, I seek an orphan. And first it must be shown to your Charity that what we suppose is not what we are seeking. For those who are called poor and are so, towards whom the alms commanded by God are given, of whom we acknowledge it is written, Shut up alms in the heart of the poor man, and it will entreat the Lord for you (Sir. 29:15): this kind of people indeed abounds; but this poor man must be understood more deeply. Of that kind is this poor man of whom it was said, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:3). There are poor people who have no money, who scarcely find their daily food, who so need the means of others, [their] mercy, that they are not ashamed even to beg: if it was of these that it was said, To Thee the poor man has been left, what do we do, who are not this? Are we then, who are Christians, not left to God? And what other hope have we, if we are not left to Him Who does not forsake us?

2. Divitibus cavenda superbia. Discite ergo esse pauperes et Deo relinqui, o compauperes mei. Dives est, superbus est. Nam et in divitiis istis, quae vulgo appellantur divitiae, quibus est contraria vulgaris ista paupertas; in divitiis ergo istis nihil est sic cavendum, quam superbiae morbus. Qui enim non habet pecuniam, non habet amplissimas facultates; non habet unde se extollat. Si ergo qui non habet unde se extollat, non laudatur pro eo quod non se extollit: qui habet, laudetur, si se non extollit. Quid ergo laudo humilem pauperem, qui unde superbiat, non habet? Quis autem ferat et inopem et superbum?

2. The rich must beware of pride. Learn therefore to be poor and to be left to God, O my fellow-poor. A man is rich, he is proud. For indeed in these riches which are commonly called riches, to which this common poverty is contrary; in these riches, then, nothing is so to be guarded against as the disease of pride. For he who has no money has no very ample means; he has nothing whereby to exalt himself. If then he who has nothing whereby to exalt himself is not praised for not exalting himself, let him who has be praised, if he does not exalt himself. Why then do I praise the humble poor man, who has nothing to be proud of? But who would bear a man both needy and proud?

CAPUT II. — Lauda divitem humilem, lauda divitem pauperem. Tales vult apostolus Paulus, qui scribens ad Timotheum dicit: Praecipe divitibus hujus saeculi, non superbe sapere (I Tim. VI, 17). Novi quid dicam: hoc illis praecipe. Habent enim divitias intrinsecus superbiam persuadentes, habent divitias in quibus laborant esse humiles. Da mihi Zacchaeum habentem magnas divitias, principem publicanorum, confessorem peccatorum, statura brevem, animo breviorem, ascendentem lignum, ut transeuntem videret qui pro illo pendebat in ligno. Da mihi dicentem, Dimidium rerum mearum do pauperibus. Sed multum dives es, o Zacchaee, multum dives es. Ecce dimidium dabis: dimidium quare reservabis? Quia si cui aliquid abstuli, quadruplum reddo (Luc. XIX, 2-8).

Chapter II. — Praise the humble rich man, praise the poor rich man. Such men the apostle Paul wants, who, writing to Timothy, says: Command the rich of this world not to be high-minded (1 Tim. 6:17). I know what I am saying: command this to them. For they have riches that urge them inwardly to pride, they have riches amid which they toil to be humble. Give me Zacchaeus, possessing great riches, chief of the tax-collectors, confessor of his sins, short in stature, shorter still in spirit, climbing a tree so as to see, passing by, Him Who for him was hanging on the tree. Give me him saying, Half of my goods I give to the poor. But you are very rich, O Zacchaeus, very rich you are. See, you will give half: why will you keep back half? Because if I have taken anything from anyone, I restore fourfold (Luke 19:2–8).

3. Pauperes de Lazari sorte non extollantur. Sed ait mihi quisque mendicus, debilitate fessus, pannis obsitus, fame languidus; respondet mihi, et dicit: Mihi debetur regnum coelorum; ego enim similis sum illi Lazaro, qui jacebat ulcerosus ante divitis domum, cujus canes lingebant ulcera, et quaerebat saturari de micis, quae cadebant de mensa divitis: ego illi similior sum, inquit. Nostrum genus est, cui debetur regnum coelorum; non illi generi

3. Let the poor not exalt themselves on account of the lot of Lazarus. But some beggar says to me, worn out with infirmity, clothed in rags, faint with hunger; he answers me and says: The kingdom of heaven is owed to me; for I am like that Lazarus who lay full of sores before the rich man's house, whose sores the dogs licked, and who sought to be filled with the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table: I am more like him, he says. It is our kind to which the kingdom of heaven is owed; not to that kind

Editors' notes and page, col. 112

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: alienis opibus› · call in col 112

Sic Ms. Germanensis. At omnes editi, alienis operibus Et ex his duo Ulim. et Lov. addunt, insidiantes.

So the Saint-Germain manuscript. But all the printed editions: alienis operibus ["for the works of others"]. And of these, two, Ulim. and Lov., add insidiantes ["lying in wait"].

(printed under page 62)

Page

running head: [...]GUSTINI EPISCOPI 112 (beginning cut off at the left edge of the image)
marginal letters: (none)
old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 38:113

qui induuntur purpura et bysso, et epulantur quotidie splendide. Talis enim erat ille, ante cujus domum jacebat pauper ulcerosus: et videte exitus amborum. Contigit enim mori inopem illum, et auferri ab Angelis in sinum Abrahae. Mortuus est autem dives, et sepultus est. Nam pauper forte nec sepultus. Et quid postea? Cum apud inferos dives ille in tormentis esset, levavit oculos suos, vidit pauperem quem contempserat, in Abrahae gremio quiescentem: desideravit guttam, a quo ille micam; et quoniam dilexit opulentiam, non invenit misericordiam. Voluit subveniri fratribus suis, semper vecors, sero misericors: nihil omnino quod postulavit, accepit (Luc. XVI, 19-31).

who are clothed in purple and fine linen, and feast splendidly every day. For such was that man before whose house the poor man full of sores lay: and see the end of them both. For it came to pass that that needy man died and was carried away by the Angels into the bosom of Abraham. But the rich man died too, and was buried. For the poor man perhaps was not even buried. And what then? When that rich man was in torments among those below, he lifted up his eyes and saw the poor man whom he had despised, resting in Abraham's lap: he desired a drop from him from whom that man [had desired] a crumb; and since he had loved opulence, he did not find mercy. He wanted his brothers to be helped, always senseless, merciful too late: he received nothing at all of what he asked for (Luke 16:19–31).

CAPUT III. — 4. Pauper et dives in eadem sorte felicitatis, si uterque humilis. Sinus Abrahae. Discernamus ergo, inquit mihi, pauperes et divites: quid me ad alia intelligenda exhortaris? Aperti sunt pauperes, aperti sunt divites. Audi ergo me de hoc quod proposuisti, domne pauper. Cum enim illum sanctum ulcerosum te esse dicis, timeo ne superbiendo non sis quod dicis. Noli contemnere divites misericordes, divites humiles; et ut citius dicam, quod paulo ante dixi, divites pauperes noli contemnere. O pauper, esto et tu pauper; pauper, id est, humilis. Si enim dives factus est humilis, quanto magis pauper esse debet humilis? Pauper non habet unde infletur, dives habet cum quo luctetur. Audi ergo me. Esto verus pauper, esto pius, esto humilis. Nam si de ista pannosa et ulcerosa paupertate gloriaris, quia talis fuit ille qui ante domum divitis inops jacebat; attendis quia pauper fuit, et aliud non attendis. Quid, inquis, attendo? Lege Scripturas, et invenies quod dico. Lazarus pauper fuit: in cujus sinum levatus est, dives fuit. Contigit, inquit, mori inopem illum, et auferri ab angelis. Quo? In sinum Abrahae, id est, in secretum, ubi erat Abraham. Nolite enim carnaliter intelligere, quod velut in sinum tunicae Abrahae levatus sit pauper. Sinus erat, quia secretum erat. Unde dicitur, Redde vicinis nostris in sinum eorum (Psal. LXXVIII, 12). Quid est, in sinum eorum? In secreta eorum. Quid est, Redde in sinum eorum? Torque conscientiam eorum. Lege, aut si legere non potes, audi cum legitur, et vide Abraham opulentissimum fuisse in terra, auro, argento, familia, pecore, possessione (Gen. XIII): et tamen dives iste pauper fuit, quia humilis fuit; Credidit enim Abraham Deo, et deputatum est illi ad justitiam (Id. XV, 6). Justificatus est gratia Dei, non propria praesumptione. Fidelis erat, bene operabatur. Filium jussus est immolare; neque cunctatus est ei offerre quod acceperat, a quo acceperat (Id. XXII). Probatus est Deo, constitutus est exemplum fidei. Jam Deo notus erat: sed nobis monstrandus erat. Non est inflatus quasi in bonis operibus suis; quia pauper erat dives iste. Et ut scias quia non est inflatus tanquam in bonis operibus suis (sciebat enim quia quidquid habebat, a Deo habebat; et non in se ipso, sed in Domino gloriabatur), audi Paulum

Chapter III. — 4. The poor man and the rich man share the same lot of happiness, if each is humble. The bosom of Abraham. "Let us distinguish, then," someone says to me, "the poor and the rich: why do you urge me to understand other things? The poor are plain to see, the rich are plain to see." Hear me, then, on this which you have put forward, my lord poor man. For when you say that you are that holy man full of sores, I fear that through pride you may not be what you say. Do not despise the merciful rich, the humble rich; and to put it more quickly, as I said a little before, do not despise the poor rich. O poor man, be poor yourself too; poor, that is, humble. For if a rich man has become humble, how much more ought a poor man to be humble? The poor man has nothing to be puffed up by; the rich man has something to wrestle with. Hear me, then. Be truly poor, be devout, be humble. For if you glory in that ragged and sore-covered poverty, because such was the man who lay needy before the rich man's house, you attend to the fact that he was poor, and you do not attend to anything else. "What," you say, "am I to attend to?" Read the Scriptures, and you will find what I am saying. Lazarus was poor: he into whose bosom he was raised up was rich. It came to pass, it says, that that needy man died and was carried away by angels. Where? Into the bosom of Abraham, that is, into the hidden place where Abraham was. For do not understand it carnally, as if the poor man were raised up into the fold of Abraham's tunic. It was a bosom because it was a hidden place. Hence it is said, Render to our neighbours into their bosom (Ps. 78:12). What is into their bosom? Into their hidden places. What is Render into their bosom? Torment their conscience. Read, or if you cannot read, listen when it is read, and see that Abraham was most wealthy on earth, in gold, in silver, in household, in cattle, in possessions (Gen. 13): and yet this rich man was poor, because he was humble; for Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness (Gen. 15:6). He was justified by the grace of God, not by his own presumption. He was faithful, he did good works. He was commanded to sacrifice his son; and he did not hesitate to offer what he had received to Him from Whom he had received it (Gen. 22). He was proved by God, he was established as an example of faith. He was already known to God: but he had to be shown to us. He was not puffed up as though in his own good works, because this rich man was poor. And so that you may know that he was not puffed up as though in his own good works (for he knew that whatever he had, he had from God; and he gloried not in himself but in the Lord), hear Paul

Editors' notes and page, col. 113

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 113

Am Er. Ulim. et Par., domine. At Mss. cum Lov., domne.

Am., Er., Ulim. and Par.: domine ["lord"]. But the manuscripts, with Lov.: domne ["sir"].

(printed under page 63)

Page

running head: 113 SERMO XIV.
marginal letters: (none)
old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 38:114

apostolum: Si enim Abraham ex operibus justificatus est, habet gloriam, sed non ad Deum (Rom. IV, 2).

apostle: For if Abraham was justified by works, he has glory, but not before God (Rom. 4:2).

CAPUT IV. — 5. Verus pauper in pauperum turba vix invenitur. Videtis, quia cum abundent pauperes recte quaerimus pauperem: in turba quaerimus, et vix invenimus. Occurrit mihi pauper, et quaero pauperem. Interim tu manum porrige pauperi quem invenis. Corde quaeris, quem quaeris. Tu dicis, Pauper sum sicut Lazarus: dives iste meus humilis non dicit, Dives sum sicut Abraham. Ergo tu te extollis, ille se humiliat. Quid inflaris, et non imitaris. Ego, inquit, pauper levor in sinum Abrahae. Non vides quia pauperem dives excepit? Non vides quia dives susceptor est pauperis? Si enim superbis contra eos qui habent pecuniam, et negas eos ad regnum coelorum pertinere; cum in eis fortasse inveniatur humilitas, quae in te non invenitur: non times ne tibi, cum mortuus fueris, dicat Abraham, Recede a me, quia blasphemasti me?

Chapter IV. — 5. The true poor man is scarcely found in the crowd of the poor. You see that, although the poor abound, we rightly seek a poor man: we seek in a crowd, and scarcely find. A poor man meets me, and I seek a poor man. Meanwhile, stretch out your hand to the poor man whom you find. It is with the heart that you seek the one whom you seek. You say, I am poor like Lazarus: this humble rich man of mine does not say, I am rich like Abraham. So you exalt yourself, he humbles himself. Why are you puffed up, and do not imitate. I, he says, a poor man, am lifted into the bosom of Abraham. Do you not see that a rich man received the poor man? Do you not see that a rich man is the receiver of the poor man? For if you are proud against those who have money, and deny that they belong to the kingdom of heaven, when perhaps humility is found in them which is not found in you, do you not fear that, when you have died, Abraham may say to you, Depart from me, because you have blasphemed me?

6. Divitiae plenae periculorum et periturae. Admoneamus ergo divites nostros, quod Apostolus admonuit. Non superbe sapere, neque sperare in incerto divitiarum (I Tim. VI, 17), admoniti sumus. Divitiae illae, quas putatis plenas esse deliciarum, pleniores sunt periculorum. Pauper erat, et securior dormiebat: somnus facilius accedebat ad duram terram, quam ad lectum inargentatum. Attendite curas divitum, et comparate securitati pauperum. Sed audiat dives iste, ut non superbe sapiat, neque speret in incerto divitiarum. Utatur mundo, tanquam non utens. Sciat se viam ambulare, et in has divitias tanquam in stabulum intrasse. Reficiat, viator est: reficiat se, et transeat; non secum tollit quod in stabulo invenit. Alius viator erit, et ipse habebit, sed non auferet.

6. Riches full of dangers and destined to perish. Let us therefore admonish our rich, as the Apostle admonished. Not to be high-minded, nor to hope in the uncertainty of riches (1 Tim. 6:17): so we have been admonished. Those riches which you think full of delights are fuller of dangers. He was poor, and slept more securely: sleep came more easily to the hard ground than to a silver-plated bed. Consider the cares of the rich, and compare them with the security of the poor. But let this rich man hear, so that he may not be high-minded, nor hope in the uncertainty of riches. Let him use the world as though not using it. Let him know that he is walking a road, and that he has entered into these riches as into an inn. Let him refresh himself, he is a traveller: let him refresh himself, and pass on; he does not take with him what he found in the inn. There will be another traveller, and he too will have it, but he will not carry it away.

CAPUT V. — Omnes hic relicturi sunt quod hic acquisierunt. Nudus, inquit, exii de utero matris meae; nudus revertar in terram, Dominus dedit, Dominus abstulit (Job I, 21). Non abstulit, quia tibi derelictus est pauper. Nudus exii de utero matris meae; nudus revertar in terram.

Chapter V. — All are going to leave here what they have acquired here. Naked, he says, I came out of my mother's womb; naked I shall return to the earth; the Lord gave, the Lord has taken away (Job 1:21). He did not take away, because to Thee the poor man is left. Naked I came out of my mother's womb; naked I shall return to the earth.

7. Pauper cupiditatibus divite pejor. Audi alium pauperem. Nihil intulimus in hunc mundum; sed nec auferre aliquid possumus: victum et tegumentum habentes, his contenti simus. Nam qui volunt divites fieri, incidunt in tentationem et desideria multa, stulta et noxia, quae mergunt homines in interitum et perditionem. Radix est enim omnium malorum avaritia: quam quidam appetentes, a fide pererraverunt, et inseruerunt se doloribus multis (I Tim. VI, 7-10). Qui sunt isti qui a fide pererraverunt, et inseruerunt se doloribus multis? Qui volunt divites fieri. Modo mihi respondeat ille pannosus. Videamus, si non vult dives fieri; videamus, interrogemus eum, si non vult dives fieri: respondeat, non mentiatur. Audio linguam, sed interrogo conscientiam. Dicat si non vult dives fieri. Si autem vult; jam incidit in tentationem et desideria

7. A poor man worse than a rich man through his desires. Hear another poor man. We brought nothing into this world; but neither can we carry anything away: having food and covering, let us be content with these. For those who want to become rich fall into temptation and many desires, foolish and harmful, which plunge men into ruin and perdition. For the root of all evils is avarice: which some, coveting, have strayed from the faith, and have entangled themselves in many sorrows (1 Tim. 6:7–10). Who are these who have strayed from the faith, and have entangled themselves in many sorrows? Those who want to become rich. Now let that ragged man answer me. Let us see whether he does not want to become rich; let us see, let us ask him whether he does not want to become rich: let him answer, let him not lie. I hear the tongue, but I question the conscience. Let him say whether he does not want to become rich. But if he does want it, he has already fallen into temptation and de-

Editors' notes and page, col. 114

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: Non abstulit› · call in col 114

Videtur legendum, non se abstulit. Sic versus finem sermonis 21 : « Dominus abstulit : numquid se abstulit ? Quod dedit abstulit, qui dedit se obtulit. » Codex cs. : Sed num abstulit; quod nostram confirmat conjecturam.

It seems one should read non se abstulit ["he has not taken himself away"]. So towards the end of sermon 21: "The Lord has taken away: has he taken himself away? He has taken away what he gave; he who gave has offered himself." The codex cs.: Sed num abstulit ["But has he taken away?"]; which confirms our conjecture.

(printed under page 63)

Page

running head: SERMO XIV. 114
marginal letters: (none)
old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 38:115

multa, stulta et noxia. Non enim opes dico, sed desideria. Unde? Quia vult dives fieri. Quid inde? Desideria multa et stulta et noxia, quae mergunt homines in interitum et perditionem. Vides ubi sis? Quid mihi ostentas nullas facultates, cum ego convincam tantas cupiditates? Ecce jam compara duos. Iste dives est, ille pauper est: sed iste dives, jam est, non vult fieri. Iste dives est, aut de parentibus, aut de donis et haereditatibus. Ponamus, faciamus: dives est etiam de iniquitatibus. Jam non vult addere, imposuit modum, fixit limitem cupiditati, jam corde militat pietati.

many desires, foolish and harmful. For I am not speaking of riches, but of desires. From where? Because he wants to become rich. What follows from that? Many desires, both foolish and harmful, which plunge men into ruin and perdition. Do you see where you are? Why do you show me that you have no means, when I convict you of such great cupidities? See now, compare two men. This one is rich, that one is poor: but this rich man already is rich, he does not want to become so. This one is rich, either from his parents, or from gifts and inheritances. Let us suppose, let us grant: he is rich even from iniquities. Now he does not want to add more, he has set a measure, he has fixed a limit to his cupidity, now in his heart he serves as a soldier of piety.

CAPUT VI. — 8 Rursum pauper cum divite comparatur. Dives est, inquis. Respondeo, Dives est. Iterum tu accusator respondes et dicis, De iniquitate dives est. Quid, si facit amicos de mammona iniquitatis? Dominus noverat quod dicebat: utique non errabat, quando praecipiebat, Facite vobis amicos de mammona iniquitatis, ut et ipsi recipiant vos in tabernacula aeterna (Luc. XVI, 9). Quid si hoc facit iste dives? Jam finit cupiditatem, exercet pietatem. Tu nihil habes, sed dives vis fieri; incides in tentationem. Sed forte inde factus es pauperrimus et egentissimus, quia nescio quid habebas paternum, quod te sustentaret, et calumnia aliqua competitoris abstulit. Gemis, audio, tempora accusas: quod gemis, si posses, faceres. Annon videmus? annon quotidianis exemplis plena sunt omnia? Heri gemebat, quia perdebat sua; hodie pertinens ad majorem, rapit aliena.

Chapter VI. — 8 The poor man again compared with the rich. He is rich, you say. I reply, He is rich. Again you, the accuser, reply and say, He is rich from iniquity. What if he makes friends of the mammon of iniquity? The Lord knew what He was saying: He was certainly not mistaken when He commanded, Make for yourselves friends of the mammon of iniquity, that they too may receive you into the eternal tabernacles (Luke 16:9). What if this rich man does this? Now he puts an end to cupidity, he practises piety. You have nothing, but you want to become rich; you will fall into temptation. But perhaps you have been made very poor and very needy by this: you had something or other from your father which would support you, and some false accusation of a rival took it away. You groan, I hear, you blame the times: what you groan at, you would do if you could. Do we not see it? Are not all things full of daily examples? Yesterday he was groaning because he was losing his own; today, belonging to a greater man, he seizes what belongs to others.

9. Verus pauper. Christus pauper et dives. Invenimus verum pauperem, invenimus pium humilem, non de se fidentem, pauperem verum, membrum pauperis qui propter nos pauper factus est, cum dives esset (II Cor. VIII, 9). Vide divitem nostrum, qui propter nos pauper factus est, cum dives esset; vide illum divitem: Omnia per ipsum facta sunt, et sine ipso factum est nihil. Plus est aurum facere, quam habere. Dives es auro, argento, pecore, familia, fundis, fructibus; tibi ista creare non potuisti. Vide illum divitem: Omnia per ipsum facta sunt. Vide illum pauperem: Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis (Joan. I, 3-14). Quis digne cogitet divitias ejus? Quomodo faciat qui non fit, quomodo creet non creatus, formet non formatus, mutabilia manens, temporalia sempiternus? Quis digne cogitet divitias ejus?

9. The true poor man. Christ poor and rich. We have found the true poor man, we have found the pious, humble man, not trusting in himself, a true poor man, a member of the Poor One Who for our sake became poor, though He was rich (2 Cor. 8:9). See our Rich One, Who for our sake became poor, though He was rich; see that Rich One: All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made. It is more to make gold than to have it. You are rich in gold, silver, cattle, household, estates, crops; you could not create these things for yourself. See that Rich One: All things were made through Him. See that Poor One: The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (John 1:3–14). Who could worthily ponder His riches? How He makes Who is not made, how He creates uncreated, forms unformed, [makes] mutable things while abiding, temporal things while eternal? Who could worthily ponder His riches?

CAPUT VII. — Paupertas Christi. Paupertatem cogitemus, ne forte pauperes vel ipsam capiamus. Concipitur utero feminae virginali, includitur visceribus matris. O paupertas! In angusto diversorio nascitur, involutus infantilibus tegumentis in praesepio ponitur, fit cibaria jumentis pauperibus; deinde coeli et terrae Dominus creator Angelorum, omnium visibilium et invisibilium effector et conditor sugit, vagit, nutritur, crescit, tolerat aetatem, occultat majestatem: postea tenetur, contemnitur, flagellatur, illuditur, conspuitur, colaphizatur, spinis coronatur, ligno suspenditur, lancea

Chapter VII. — The poverty of Christ. Let us ponder His poverty, in case perhaps we, being poor, may at least grasp that. He is conceived in a virgin woman's womb, He is enclosed in a mother's bowels. O poverty! He is born in a narrow lodging, wrapped in infant's coverings He is laid in a manger, He becomes fodder for poor beasts of burden; then the Lord of heaven and earth, the Creator of the Angels, the maker and founder of all things visible and invisible, sucks, wails, is nourished, grows, endures [the stages of] age, hides His majesty: afterwards He is seized, despised, scourged, mocked, spat upon, buffeted, crowned with thorns, hung upon the wood,

Editors' notes and page, col. 115

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 115

Ms. Germanensis : Dives, inquis, de iniquitate, dives est; omissis verbis, Respondeo, dives est. Iterum tu, etc.

The Saint-Germain manuscript: Dives, inquis, de iniquitate, dives est ["Rich, you say, from iniquity, he is rich"]; with the words Respondeo, dives est. Iterum tu ["I answer, he is rich. Again you"], etc., left out.

(printed under page 64)

(2) ‹anchor: pertinens ad majorem› · call in col 115

Editi, pergens ad majorem. Castigatur ad Mss. Sorbonicum et Germ.

The printed editions: pergens ad majorem ["going on to a greater"]. It is corrected by the Sorbonne and Saint-Germain manuscripts.

(printed under page 64)