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

Sermon X

operam quis sit melior : atque utinam non daretis quis sit pejor. Et dicitis : Christiani sumus. Ad favorem populi projicitis res vestras, contra jussa Christi tenetis res vestras. Ecce non jubet Christus, rogat Christus, eget Christus. Esurivi, dicit Christus, et non dedistis mihi manducare (Matth. XXV, 42). Egere voluit propter te, ut haberes ubi seminares terrena quae dedit, et meteres vitam aeternam. Nolite pigri esse et male securi. Mores emendate, peccata redimite. Et cum haec feceritis, Deo gratias agite, a quo accepistis bene vivere. Et sic ei gratias agite, ut non insultetis his qui nondum bene vivunt; sed eos ipsos moribus vestris hortemini. Haec faciendo, habetis perfectam, quantum in hac vita potest, justitiam. Conversantes in bonis operibus, in orationibus, in jejuniis, in eleemosynis propter minuta peccata, et abstinendo vos ab illis magnis peccatis, concordatis cum adversario : et securi dicitis in oratione, Dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris (Id. VI, 12). Habetis enim quod quotidie vobis dimittatur, qui habetis quod quotidie dimittatis. Sic ambulando securi in via non timebitis latrocinia diaboli : quia Christus viam et stratam magnam se ipsum fecit, per quam ducit ad patriam. Omnis ibi securitas, omnis quies : ubi et ipsa misericordiae opera cessabunt, quia nulla ibi erit indigentia miserorum. Erit ergo illic sabbatum sabbatorum; ut quod hic desideramus, ibi inveniamus. Amen.

effort as to who is better: and would that you did not give it as to who is worse. And you say: We are Christians. For the favour of the people you throw away your goods; against the commands of Christ you hold on to your goods. See, Christ does not command, Christ asks, Christ is in need. I was hungry, says Christ, and you did not give Me to eat (Matt. 25:42). He willed to be in need for your sake, so that you might have somewhere to sow the earthly things that He gave, and to reap eternal life. Do not be slothful and wrongly secure. Amend your ways, redeem your sins. And when you have done these things, give thanks to God, from Whom you have received the power to live well. And give Him thanks in such a way that you do not insult those who do not yet live well, but exhort those very people by your conduct. By doing these things you have justice as perfect as is possible in this life. Engaged in good works, in prayers, in fastings, in almsgivings on account of small sins, and by keeping yourselves from those great sins, you come to agreement with the adversary: and you say securely in prayer, Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors (ibid. 6:12). For you have something to be forgiven you daily, you who have something to forgive daily. Walking thus securely on the way, you will not fear the robberies of the devil: for Christ has made Himself the way and the great highway, by which He leads to the homeland. There is all security there, all rest: where even the works of mercy themselves will cease, because there will be no need of the wretched there. There, then, will be the sabbath of sabbaths; so that what we desire here, we may find there. Amen.

SERMO X. De judicio Salomonis inter duas mulieres meretrices.

Sermon 10. On the judgement of Solomon between two harlot women.

1. Rei gestae narratio. Inter duas mulieres certantes de parvulo filio mirabile judicium Salomonis praedicat Scriptura Regnorum. Scriptum est enim : Tunc apparuerunt duae mulieres meretrices regi Salomoni, et steterunt in conspectu ejus, et dixit mulier una : Animadverte, domine, ego et mulier haec habitabamus in domo una, et peperi in domo, et contigit die tertio postquam peperi, peperit etiam haec mulier filium; et eramus in uno, et non erat quisquam nobiscum praeter ambas nos in domo : et mortuus est filius mulieris hujus per noctem, mox dormivit super eum; et surrexit media nocte, et tulit filium meum ab ascellis meis, et collocavit in sinu suo, et filium suum mortuum in sinu meo, et surrexi mane dare lac filio meo, et ille erat mortuus : consideravi eum mane, et ecce non erat filius meus quem peperi. Et dixit mulier illa alia : Non, sed filius meus est qui vivit, filius autem tuus qui mortuus est. Et ipsa dixit : Non, filius tuus est ille mortuus, et meus filius est qui vivit. Et locutae sunt in conspectu Regis. Et dixit

1. Narration of the event. The Scripture of the Kingdoms proclaims the wonderful judgement of Solomon between two women contending over a little son. For it is written: Then there appeared two harlot women before King Solomon, and they stood in his sight, and one woman said: Take heed, lord, I and this woman were dwelling in one house, and I gave birth in the house, and it happened on the third day after I gave birth, this woman also gave birth to a son; and we were together, and there was no one with us apart from the two of us in the house: and this woman's son died in the night, as she soon slept upon him; and she rose in the middle of the night, and took my son from my arms, and laid him in her bosom, and her dead son in my bosom, and I rose in the morning to give milk to my son, and he was dead: I looked at him in the morning, and behold, he was not my son whom I bore. And that other woman said: No, but my son is the one who lives, and your son is the one who is dead. And she said: No, your son is that dead one, and my son is the one who lives. And they spoke in the sight of the King. And

Editors' notes and page, col. 91

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(1) ‹anchor: not visible; the call stands above the part of the column shown› · call in col 91

Plerique Mss. omittunt, Christi. Et quidam ejus loco habent, Dei.

Most manuscripts omit "of Christ." And some have in its place "of God."

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(a) ‹anchor: SERMO X› · call in col 91

Nunc primum prodit ex Mss. Regio, Colbertino et Victorino. In eamdem rem censentur in Possidii Indiculo Sermones duo: alter in cap. 8, sub ipso titulo, « De Judicio Salomonis, » etc., alter in cap. 3, hac inscriptus ratione, « De duabus mulieribus de parvulo disceptantibus, contra supra scriptos, » id est, contra Donatistas: quos quidem schismaticos spectabit historiae hic propositae posterior allegoria.

It now comes out for the first time, from the Royal, Colbert and St. Victor manuscripts. On the same subject two Sermons are reckoned in Possidius's Indiculus: one in ch. 8, under this very title, "On the Judgement of Solomon," etc.; the other in ch. 3, entitled in this manner, "On the two women disputing over the little child, against those written above," that is, against the Donatists: and it is to those schismatics that the later allegory of the story here set forth will look.

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eis Rex : Tu dicis, Hic est filius meus qui vivit, et filius ejus mortuus est; et tu dicis, Non, sed filius meus vivit, et filius ejus mortuus est. Et ait Rex : Afferte mihi machaeram. Et obtulerunt ei machaeram in conspectu Regis. Et dixit Rex : Dividite puerum qui vivit, in duas partes, et date dimidium ejus huic, et dimidium ejus huic. Et respondit mulier cujus erat filius qui vivebat, et dixit ad Regem, quoniam conturbata est vulva ejus super filio suo; et dixit : Animadvertite, domine, date ei puerum, et nolite eum morte afficere. Et haec dixit : Neque mihi, neque huic sit, sed dividite illum. Et respondit Rex, et dixit ei mulieri quae dixit, Date eum illi, et morte nolite eum afficere; Quia haec est mater ejus (III Reg. III, 16, 27). Prudentia quidem Regis divino munere concessa in hoc judicio mirabilis eminet. Non enim decuit, aut oportuit aliam judicare esse matrem pueri, nisi eam quae illum iterum quodam modo concepit, cum cognovit ablatum; et iterum parturivit, dum a falsa matre defendit; et iterum peperit, dum non permisit occidi. Verumtamen sicut solent divini veteres Libri, non solum rei gestae fidem, sed etiam futurae insinuare mysterium; consideranda est ista Scriptura, utrum nobis in duabus istis mulieribus significatum aliquid figuratumque demonstret.

the King to them: You say, This is my son who lives, and her son is dead; and you say, No, but my son lives, and her son is dead. And the King said: Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the King. And the King said: Divide the child who lives into two parts, and give half of him to this one, and half of him to that one. And the woman whose son was the living one answered and said to the King, because her womb was troubled over her son; and she said: Take heed, my lord, give her the child, and do not put him to death. And this one said: Let him be neither mine nor hers, but divide him. And the King answered and said to that woman who had said, Give him to her, and do not put him to death: Because this is his mother (1 Kgs. 3:16, 27). The prudence of the King, granted by divine gift, stands out wonderfully in this judgement. For it was neither fitting nor proper to judge any other woman to be the mother of the child than her who in a certain manner conceived him again when she learned that he had been taken away; and travailed with him again while she defended him from the false mother; and bore him again when she did not allow him to be killed. Yet, as the ancient divine Books are wont to convey not only the truth of the thing done but also the mystery of what is to come, this Scripture must be considered, whether it shows us something signified and figured in these two women.

2. Mulieres duae coram Salomone litigantes de filio, Synagoga et Ecclesia. Sacramentorum vita, Christus. Et duae quidem feminae Synagoga et Ecclesia in prima facie considerationis occurrunt : Synagoga enim filium suum Christum ex Judaeis secundum carnem natum occidisse convincitur dormiens, id est praesentis vitae sequendo lucem, manifestationemque veritatis in verbis Domini non intelligens : verum etiam scriptum est, Surge, qui dormis, et exsurge a mortuis, et illuminabit te Christus (Ephes. V, 14). Quod vero et duae et solae in una domo inhabitabant, non absurde illud significat, quod praeter circumcisionem et praeputium, nullum in hoc mundo religionis genus inventum est : ut in persona unius mulieris unum genus circumcisorum hominum constituas sub unius Dei et cultu et lege comprehensum; in alterius vero mulieris persona universam praeputiorum Gentilitatem idolorum cultui deditam intelligas. Meretrices autem ambae fuerunt : dicit enim Apostolus Judaeos et Graecos omnes sub peccato esse (Rom. III, 23). Omnis enim anima quae deserta aeternitate veritatis, terrenis sordibus delectatur, fornicatur a Domino. Et de gentili quidem fornicatione veniens Ecclesia manifestum est quod non occiderit Christum : sed quomodo mater Christi etiam ipsa sit, cogitandum est. Attende Evangelium, et audi Dominum dicentem, Qui fecerit voluntatem Patris mei, hic mater mea, et frater, et soror est (Matth. XII, 50). Ubi ergo dormivit haec, non ut somno praefocaret, sed tamen ut posset ei mortuus supponi, et vivus auferri? An forte hoc est, quod ipsum sacramentum circumcisionis, quod apud Judaeos jam mortuum remanserat, quia totum de illo carnaliter sentiebant : hoc ergo sacramentum

2. The two women contending before Solomon about a son: the Synagogue and the Church. The life of the sacraments: Christ. And indeed at the first look of consideration the two women, the Synagogue and the Church, present themselves: for the Synagogue is convicted of having, while sleeping, killed her son Christ, born of the Jews according to the flesh, that is, by following the light of the present life and not understanding the manifestation of the truth in the words of the Lord; but it is also written, Arise, you who sleep, and rise up from the dead, and Christ shall enlighten you (Eph. 5:14). And that the two, and they alone, dwelt in one house signifies, not absurdly, this: that besides circumcision and the foreskin no kind of religion has been found in this world; so that in the person of the one woman you may set the one kind of circumcised men, comprehended under both the worship and the law of the one God, but in the person of the other woman you may understand the whole Gentile world of the uncircumcised, given over to the worship of idols. Now both were harlots: for the Apostle says that Jews and Greeks are all under sin (Rom. 3:23). For every soul that, having deserted the eternity of truth, delights in earthly filth, commits fornication away from the Lord. And indeed it is manifest that the Church, coming from Gentile fornication, did not kill Christ; but how she too is the mother of Christ must be considered. Attend to the Gospel, and hear the Lord saying, Whoever does the will of My Father, he is My mother, and brother, and sister (Matt. 12:50). Where then did this one sleep, not so as to smother [him] in sleep, yet so that a dead one could be put under her and the living one taken away? Or perhaps it is this, that the very sacrament of circumcision, which among the Jews had already remained dead because they understood everything about it carnally: this sacrament therefore

Editors' notes and page, col. 92

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(1) ‹anchor: divini veteres Libri› · call in col 92

Victorinus Ms., dici veteres Libri.

The St. Victor manuscript: "the ancient Books [are wont] to be said" ("dici" in place of "divini"). [The last word is broken in the print and is read with some doubt.]

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circumcisionis, quod apud Judaeos non vivebat, qui occiderant Christum, qui omnium sacramentorum vita est; quoniam in illo vitaliter intelligitur, quod apud Judaeos visibiliter celebratur: hoc itaque sacramentum circumcisionis tanquam exanime corpus quidam Judaei volebant persuadere Gentilibus, qui Christo crediderant, sicut in Actibus Apostolorum scriptum est, dicentes non posse eos esse salvos, nisi fierent circumcisi (Act. XV, 1)? Persuadebant autem hoc ignorantibus Legem, tanquam in tenebris noctis filium mortuum supponentes. Nec tamen potuit aliquid valere illa persuasio, nisi cum Ecclesiae Gentium ex aliqua parte stultitiae somnus obrepsit. Quam videtur quasi dormientem Apostolus excitare, clamans, O stulti Galatae, quis vos fascinavit? et paulo post, Sic stulti estis, inquit, ut cum spiritu coeperitis, nunc carne consummemini (Galat. III, 1, 3). Tanquam si diceret: Sic stulti estis, ut cum prius habueritis spirituale opus vivum, hoc amisso postea mortuum accipiatis alienum. Ipse quippe Apostolus alibi dicit, Spiritus vita est propter justitiam; et alibi, Sapere autem secundum carnem, mors est (Rom. VIII, 10, 6). His autem atque hujusmodi vocibus illa mater evigilat; et fit ei mane, cum verbo Dei, hoc est, cum Christo, qui oriebatur, hoc est, loquebatur in Paulo, Legis illuminatur obscuritas. Hanc enim illuminavit, cum ait, Dici⟨t⟩e mihi sub Lege volentes esse, Legem non audistis? Scriptum est enim quia Abraham duos filios habuit; unum de ancilla, et unum de libera: sed is qui de ancilla, secundum carnem natus est; qui autem de libera, per repromissionem; quae sunt in allegoria. Haec enim sunt duo Testamenta; unum quidem a monte Sina, in servitutem generans, quod est Agar. Sina enim mons est in Arabia, quae conjuncta est huic, quae nunc est Jerusalem: servit enim cum filiis suis. Quae autem sursum est Jerusalem, libera est (Galat. IV, 21-26). Non ergo mirum, si propter mortua opera, ad eam quae deor⟨s⟩um est, mortuus; et propter spiritualia, vivus pertinet ad eam quae sursum est Jerusalem. Quia et inferi deorsum sunt, quo pertinent mortui: superi autem sursum, quo pertinent vivi. Hac illuminatione, tanquam mane facto, intelligit Ecclesia gratiam spiritualem; repellens a se carnale opus Legis, tanquam mortuum alienum; et sibi vindicans vivam fidem, quoniam justus ex fide vivit (Rom. I, 17): quam in Patris et Filii et Spiritus sancti nomine consecuta est; et ideo tanquam triduanum filium certa cognoscit, nec eum sibi eripi patitur.

of circumcision, which was not living among the Jews, who had killed Christ, Who is the life of all the sacraments; since in Him is understood in a living way what among the Jews is celebrated visibly: this sacrament of circumcision, then, like a lifeless body, certain Jews wished to press upon the Gentiles who had believed in Christ, as it is written in the Acts of the Apostles, saying that they could not be saved unless they were circumcised (Acts 15:1)? And they pressed this upon those ignorant of the Law, as if in the darkness of night substituting a dead son. Yet that persuasion could not have had any force, except when the sleep of folly crept in some measure upon the Church of the Gentiles. The Apostle seems to rouse her, as if sleeping, crying out, O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? and a little after, Are you so foolish, he says, that having begun in the spirit, you are now being made perfect in the flesh? (Gal. 3:1, 3). As if he were saying: Are you so foolish that, though you formerly had the living spiritual work, having lost this you afterwards take up a dead one belonging to another? For the Apostle himself says elsewhere, The spirit is life because of righteousness; and elsewhere, But to be wise according to the flesh is death (Rom. 8:10, 6). By these and such like words that mother awakes; and morning comes for her, when by the Word of God, that is, by Christ, Who was rising, that is, was speaking in Paul, the obscurity of the Law is illuminated. For he illuminated it when he said, Tell me, you who wish to be under the Law, have you not heard the Law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons; one from the slave-woman, and one from the free woman: but he who was from the slave-woman was born according to the flesh; while he who was from the free woman, through the promise; which things are in allegory. For these are the two Testaments; the one indeed from Mount Sinai, bearing children into slavery, which is Hagar. For Sinai is a mountain in Arabia, which is joined to this one which is now Jerusalem: for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem which is above is free (Gal. 4:21–26). It is no wonder, then, if because of dead works the dead one belongs to her who is below, and because of spiritual works the living one belongs to her who is the Jerusalem above. For the lower regions are below, where the dead belong; but the upper regions are above, where the living belong. By this illumination, as if morning had come, the Church understands spiritual grace; repelling from herself the carnal work of the Law as a dead [son] belonging to another; and claiming for herself living faith, since the just man lives by faith (Rom. 1:17): which she obtained in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; and therefore she recognizes with certainty, as it were, her three-day-old son, and does not allow him to be snatched from her.

3. Judaei gratiam christianam sibi debitam falso jactantes. Nunc clamet illa suum esse Evangelium, tanquam sibi debitum, et per se generatum. Nam hoc dicebant Gentibus in ipsa contentione, qui ex Judaeis carnaliter sentientes Christianos se dicere audebant. Tanquam debitum enim justitiae suae dicebant venisse Evangelium. Sed non erat eorum, quod spiritualiter non noverant. Quod ergo Christiani vocabantur, alieno nomine gloriantes, tanquam illa de filio quem

3. The Jews falsely boasting that Christian grace was owed to them. Now let that woman cry out that the Gospel is hers, as if owed to her and begotten by her. For this is what those from among the Jews, thinking carnally, who dared to call themselves Christians, were saying to the Gentiles in that very dispute. For they were saying that the Gospel had come as something owed to their righteousness. But that which they did not know spiritually was not theirs. As for their being called Christians, then, they were glorying in a name belonging to another, just as that woman concerning the son whom

Editors' notes and page, col. 93

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Duo Mss., qui spiritualiter tenere non noverant.

Two manuscripts: "who did not know how to hold it spiritually."

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non ipsa pepererat, etiam contendere audebant; cum ipsi ex operibus Legis excluso intellectu spirituali tanquam de corpore operis sui animam ejecerant, et exstinguentes prophetiae spiritum vivum, ad carnalia opera sine vita, hoc est, sine intellectu spirituali remanserant; quae Gentibus etiam supponere cupiebant, et ab eis tanquam vivum filium, nomen auferre Christianum. Quos ita refellit Apostolus, ut tanto minus ad eos pertinere dicat gratiam christianam, quanto magis eam sibi tanquam debitam vindicant, et quasi jure operum suam esse gloriantur. Ei enim qui operatur, inquit, merces non imputatur secundum gratiam, sed secundum debitum. Ei vero qui non operatur, credenti autem in eum qui justificat impium, deputatur fides ad justitiam (Rom. IV, 4, 5). Et ideo illos etiam ab eorum numero excludit, qui ex Judaeis recte crediderant, et vivam spiritualemque gratiam retinebant. Quas reliquias dicit populi Judaeorum salvas factas, cum multitudo isset in perditionem? Sic ergo et in hoc tempore, inquit, reliquiae per electionem gratiae salvae factae sunt. Si autem gratia, jam non ex operibus: alioquin gratia jam non est gratia (Id. XI, 5, 6). Ut illi excludantur a gratia, qui tanquam suum proprium, id est, operibus suis debitum et datum Evangelii praemium vindicant: quasi clamante Synagoga, Meus est Filius. Sed mentiebatur; acceperat enim eum et ipsa: sed super eum dormiens, id est, superbe sapiens necaverat. Vigilabat autem jam ista mater, et intelligebat, non meritis suis, quia meretrix erat, sed gratia Dei sibi filium esse concessum, opus videlicet evangelicae fidei, quod in sinu cordis nutrire cupiebat. Itaque illa gloriam hominum quaerebat in alieno filio: haec affectum dilectionis servabat in suo.

she had not herself borne, they even dared to contend; since they themselves, by shutting out spiritual understanding from the works of the Law, had cast out the soul, as it were, from the body of their own work, and, extinguishing the living spirit of prophecy, had remained with carnal works without life, that is, without spiritual understanding; and these they wished to lay upon the Gentiles as well, and to take from them, as if it were the living son, the Christian name. These the Apostle refutes in such a way as to say that Christian grace belongs to them all the less, the more they claim it for themselves as owed, and boast that it is theirs as if by right of works. For to him who works, he says, the reward is not reckoned according to grace, but according to debt. But to him who does not work, yet believes in Him Who justifies the ungodly, faith is reckoned for righteousness (Rom. 4:4–5). And therefore he also excludes them from the number of those who from among the Jews had rightly believed and were retaining living and spiritual grace. What remnant of the people of the Jews does he say was saved, when the multitude had gone into perdition? So therefore at this present time also, he says, a remnant has been saved through the election of grace. But if by grace, then no longer from works: otherwise grace is no longer grace (Rom. 11:5–6). So that those are excluded from grace who claim the reward of the Gospel as their very own, that is, as owed and given to their works: as though the Synagogue were crying out, The Son is mine. But she was lying; for she too had received Him, but sleeping upon Him, that is, being proudly wise, she had killed Him. But this mother was now awake, and understood that it was not by her own merits, since she was a harlot, but by the grace of God that a son had been granted to her, namely the work of evangelical faith, which she longed to nourish in the bosom of her heart. Thus the one sought the glory of men in another's son; the other preserved the affection of love in her own.

4. Adversus hypocrisim sic certandum, ut caveatur periculum schismatis. Illud autem inter ambas regale judicium nihil aliud nos admonet, nisi ut pro veritate certemus, et expellamus hypocrisim tanquam falsam matrem, a spirituali Ecclesiae dono tanquam ab alieno vivo filio; nec patiamur eam dominari concessae aliis gratiae, quae suam custodire non potuit. Sed hoc faciamus defendentes atque certantes non usque ad periculum divisionis. Illa enim sententia judicis, cum jussit parvulum dividi, non est unitatis praecisio, sed probatio charitatis. Salomonis enim nomen, sicut Latini interpretantur, Pacificum est. Rex vero pacificus non dilacerat membra, quae unitate atque concordia vitalem spiritum continent: sed minando invenit matrem veram, et judicando separat falsam. Si ergo ad hujusmodi tentationem ventum fuerit, ne unitas christianae gratiae dividatur, docemur dicere, Date illi puerum, tantum vivat. Non enim honorem matris, sed salutem filii, quae mater vera est quaerit. Ubicumque ille fuerit, plus eum possidebit sincera dilectio matris, quam falsae usurpatio.

4. Against hypocrisy one must contend in such a way that the danger of schism is avoided. That royal judgement between the two women admonishes us of nothing else than that we should contend for the truth, and drive out hypocrisy, as the false mother, from the spiritual gift of the Church, as from another's living son; and that we should not allow her to lord it over the grace granted to others, she who could not keep her own. But let us do this, defending and contending, not to the point of the danger of division. For that sentence of the judge, when he ordered the little child to be divided, is not a cutting off of unity, but a testing of charity. For the name of Solomon, as the Latins interpret it, is Peaceable. And a peaceable king does not tear apart limbs which hold the vital spirit by unity and concord: but by threatening he finds the true mother, and by judging he separates the false. If therefore it should come to a trial of this kind, lest the unity of Christian grace be divided, we are taught to say, Give her the child, only let him live. For she who is the true mother seeks not the honour of the mother, but the safety of the son. Wherever he may be, the sincere love of the mother will possess him more than the usurpation of the false one.

5. Altera duarum mulierum significatio. Item video significare istas duas mulieres in una domo, duo genera hominum in una Ecclesia: unum eorum in quibus

5. Another signification of the two women. Again, I see that these two women in one house signify two kinds of men in one Church: one of them in whom

Editors' notes and page, col. 94

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible; the call stands above the part of the column shown› · call in col 94

Colbertinus Ms., audebat.

The Colbert manuscript: "dared" [singular].

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PL 38:95

vera charitas regnat, alterum eorum in quibus simulatio dominatur. Ut ista duo omnino tanquam duas mulieres intueamur, dilectionem et simulationem. Dilectionem quippe simulatio fallaciter imitatur. Et ideo istam cavet Apostolus, cum dicit: Dilectio sine simulatione (Rom. XII, 9). Quamvis enim habitent in una domo quamdiu reticulum illud evangelicum in mari est, simulque bonos et malos pisces, donec ad littus p⟨e⟩rducatur, includit (Matth. XIII, 47, 48); tamen sua o⟨p⟩era singulae faciunt. Meretrices autem fuerunt ambae; quia omnes ex cupiditate saeculi convertuntur ad gratiam Dei, nec de prioribus justitiae meritis vere p⟨o⟩te⟨s⟩t quisquam gloriari. Meretrix autem quod fornicatur, ipsius est: quod habet filium, Dei est. Omnes enim homines ab uno Deo creatore formantur. Nec mirandum est, quod etiam in peccatis hominum Deus bene operatur. Nam etiam de scelere Judae traditoris Dominus noster salutem humani generis operatus est. Sed hoc interest, quod de cujusque peccato cum aliquid boni Deus fecerit, plerumque id nollet ille peccator: non solum quia cum peccat, non eo peccat animo, qua providentia Deus de peccato ejus operatur justitiam (non enim hoc animo Judas tradidit Christum, quo animo Christus se tradi passus est); sed etiam quia peccati sui eventum, cum in aliquid melius, quod ipse nollet, pervenire cognoverit, dolet potius quam laetatur. Tanquam si venenum aliquis inimico aegrotanti dare cupiens fallatur in specie medicamenti, et aliud pro alio salutare aliquid offerat; fiat et aeger sanus Dei beneficio, qui facinus inimici ejus convertere voluit in salutem: quod tamen cum malus ille cognoverit, de sanitate hominis, quae per manus ejus gesta est, cruciatur. Si autem meretrix conceptum filium libenter habeat, nec libidine, nec avaritia turpis mercedis impulsa abortionis poculo de visceribus ejiciat quod conceperat, ne peccanti foecunditas contradicat; cupiditas illa, quae defluebat in plurimos, ad unum Dei donum conversa, non jam cupiditas, sed dilectio nominabitur. Meretricis ergo filius recte intelligitur gratia peccatricis. Ex vetere autem turpitudine novus homo natus indulgentia peccatorum est.

which true charity reigns, the other of those in whom pretence holds sway. So let us look upon these two altogether as two women, love and pretence. For pretence deceitfully imitates love. And therefore the Apostle guards against it when he says: Love without pretence (Rom. 12:9). For although they dwell in one house as long as that net of the Gospel is in the sea, and encloses at once good and bad fish until it is drawn to the shore (Matt. 13:47–48), yet each of the two does her own works. Now both were harlots; because all are converted from the covetousness of the world to the grace of God, nor can anyone truly glory in prior merits of righteousness. But that the harlot commits fornication is her own doing; that she has a son is God's. For all men are formed by the one God, the Creator. Nor is it to be wondered at that God works well even in the sins of men. For even out of the crime of Judas the traitor our Lord wrought the salvation of the human race. But there is this difference, that when God has made something good out of anyone's sin, for the most part that sinner would not have wished it: not only because, when he sins, he does not sin with that intention with which God by His providence works righteousness out of his sin (for Judas did not betray Christ with that intention with which Christ allowed Himself to be betrayed); but also because, when he learns that the outcome of his sin has turned to something better, which he himself did not wish, he grieves rather than rejoices. As if someone, wishing to give poison to a sick enemy, were deceived by the appearance of a medicine, and offered one thing in place of another, something wholesome; and the sick man were made well by the kindness of God, Who willed to turn his enemy's crime to his health: yet when that wicked man learns of it, he is tormented by the man's recovery, which was brought about by his hands. If, however, the harlot gladly keeps the son she has conceived, and, driven neither by lust nor by greed for a shameful hire, does not cast out from her womb by a draught of abortion what she had conceived, lest fruitfulness stand in the way of her sinning; then that desire which was flowing out upon very many, turned to the one gift of God, will be called no longer desire but love. Therefore the harlot's son is rightly understood as the grace given to the sinful woman. And out of the old foulness the new man that is born is the forgiveness of sins.

6. Simulatores in Ecclesia bonis operariis posteriores. Dominus ergo et in ipso numero discipulorum, quamvis ex peccatoribus omnes elegerit, priores tamen elegit perseveraturos in dilectione, quam Judam simulatorem. Non est quidem scriptum quo ordine electus sit; sed tamen notum est ante illum electos bonos; et non frustra ultimus numeratur (Id. X, 1-4). Et post Domini ascensionem omnibus qui erant uno in loco Spiritus sanctus, secundum pollicitationem Domini desuper missus, infusus est: a quibus coepit Ecclesia, boni erant, et sine simulatione diligebant. Postea ergo simulatio coepit operari in Ecclesia: et ideo dilectio prior peperit. Triduo autem major est fructus dilectionis, ut j⟨a⟩m possit agnosci continentia, et justitia, et ex⟨s⟩pectatio f⟨u⟩turorum. Simulatio vero

6. Pretenders in the Church come after the good workers. So the Lord, even in the very number of the disciples, although He chose them all from among sinners, nevertheless chose first those who would persevere in love, rather than Judas the pretender. It is not indeed written in what order he was chosen; but yet it is known that the good were chosen before him; and not without reason is he counted last (ibid. 10:1–4). And after the Lord's ascension the Holy Spirit, sent from above according to the Lord's promise, was poured out upon all who were together in one place: those with whom the Church began were good, and loved without pretence. Afterwards, then, pretence began to work in the Church: and therefore love gave birth first. Now the fruit of love is greater by three days, so that continence, and righteousness, and the expectation of things to come can already be recognized. But pretence

Editors' notes and page, col. 95

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: unum Dei donum› · call in col 95

Forte, dono.

Perhaps: "dono" [by the gift].

(printed under page 52)

(2) ‹anchor: indulgentia peccatorum est› · call in col 95

Victorinus Ms., intelligentia peccatorum est.

The St. Victor manuscript: "is the understanding of sins."

(printed under page 52)

Page

running head: S. AUGUSTINI EPISC[...] (cut off at image edge), page number 95 at left
marginal letters: (none)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: ligature doubt raised by the check (text not changed): foecunditas | fecunditas

PL 38:96

etsi pepererit, id est, etiamsi ad exiguum tempus peccatorum remissione laetata fuerit, tanquam somno saecularis cupiditatis oppressa, cum de spe coelestium dejecta praemiorum in terrenam requiem gravato corde reliditur, quasi dormiens effocat indulgentiam, quam credendo meruerat. Tales autem homines malunt justitiae nomine, quam veritate gaudere; bonumque opus alienum per obscuras fallacias, quasi per noctem vivum filium, mentiendo ad se transferre conantur. Nec solum aliorum bona opera sibi usurpant, sed aliis etiam objiciunt scelera sua, quasi mortuum filium supponentes.

even if she has given birth, that is, even if for a short time she has rejoiced in the remission of sins, then, as if overwhelmed by the sleep of worldly desire, when, cast down from the hope of heavenly rewards, she is dashed back with a heavy heart into earthly rest, she smothers, as though sleeping, the pardon which she had earned by believing. Such people, however, prefer to rejoice in the name of righteousness rather than in its truth; and by obscure deceits, as though by night, they try by lying to transfer to themselves another's good work, as if it were the living son. Nor do they only usurp for themselves the good works of others, but they also lay their own crimes upon others, as if substituting the dead son.

7. Simulatorum fraus in bonos operarios. Quando autem simulationi tantum licebit, ut falso justitiae nomine, nullo prohibente, glorietur, et spirituale vivum opus, quod ipsa non genuit, et quod in se aliquando genuerat, pondere crudelissimi soporis exstinxit, ad fallacem jactantiam materni nominis applicet sibi, et scelera sua bonis atque innocentibus objiciendo supponat? Quando ergo simulatio ita regnabit, nisi cum abundabit iniquitas, id est, tenebrae peccatorum quasi caeca nocte praevalebunt; et refrigescet charitas multorum (Matth. XXIV, 12), id est, operis spiritualis tanquam vivi pueri mater obdormiet? Tamen quia ita refrigescet charitas, ut negligentius ferveat; non enim dictum est, Penitus exstinguetur, ut omnino non sit: sic dormivit haec mater, ut non occideret filium; sed tamen fraudibus simulationis dederit locum. Sed expergefacta, cum impietatem, quam ipsa non fecit, ab eis qui faciunt sibi objici viderit, et spirituali opere gratiae, quam custodivit, cernit simulationem audere gloriari, se iniquitatis operatricem, simulationem vero matrem boni operis nominari, pacifici Judicis implorat auxilium. Nam Salomon Pacificus interpretatur. Quem videmus duas protulisse sententias: primam tanquam ignorantis; ultimam vero cum manifesta cognitione judicantis. Certamen pietatis prima proponit; dat praemium secunda victori: in prima probatur mater, in ultima laetatur: in prima flens mittit semen suum, in secunda cum exsultatione reportat manipulos suos (Psal. CXXV, 6). Quod pertinet ad duo tempora Ecclesiae, quae Dominus Christus judex pacificus moderatur; unum quod nunc est, alterum quod futurum est: in isto probamur, in illo coronamur.

7. The fraud of pretenders against good workers. But when will pretence be permitted so much that it boasts under a false name of righteousness, with no one forbidding it, and claims for itself, for the deceitful vaunting of a mother's name, the living spiritual work which it did not itself bear, and which, though it had once borne it within itself, it extinguished by the weight of a most cruel sleep, and, by charging its own crimes upon the good and innocent, substitutes them? When, then, will pretence reign thus, unless when iniquity abounds, that is, when the darkness of sins prevails as in a blind night; and the charity of many grows cold (Matt. 24:12), that is, when the mother of spiritual work, as of a living child, falls asleep? Yet because charity will grow cold in such a way that it glows more negligently (for it was not said, It will be utterly extinguished, so that it does not exist at all), this mother slept in such a way that she did not kill her son; but nevertheless she gave room to the frauds of pretence. But having been awakened, when she sees the impiety which she herself did not commit being charged against her by those who commit it, and perceives pretence daring to boast in the spiritual work of grace which she guarded, and herself being named the doer of iniquity, while pretence is named the mother of the good work, she implores the help of the peaceable Judge. For Solomon is interpreted 'Peaceable'. We see that he pronounced two sentences: the first as of one not knowing; but the last as of one judging with manifest knowledge. The first sets forth the contest of devotion; the second gives the prize to the victor: in the first the mother is tested, in the last she rejoices: in the first, weeping, she sows her seed; in the second, with exultation, she brings back her sheaves (Ps. 125:6). This pertains to the two times of the Church, which the Lord Christ, the peaceable Judge, governs; the one which is now, the other which is to come: in this we are tested, in that we are crowned.

8. Honor proprius contemnatur ut Ecclesiae unitas servetur. Sed nulla major est in Christi Ecclesia probatio charitatis, quam cum etiam honor ipse, qui apud homines videtur esse, contemnitur, ne membra parvuli dividantur, et unitatis discidio christiana dilanietur infirmitas. Dicit enim Apostolus tanquam matrem se exhibuisse parvulis, in quibus bonum opus

8. Let one's own honour be despised so that the unity of the Church may be preserved. But there is no greater proof of charity in the Church of Christ than when even honour itself, which seems to be something among men, is despised, lest the limbs of the little child be divided, and Christian weakness be torn apart by the rupture of unity. For the Apostle says that he showed himself as a mother to the little ones, in whom a good work

Editors' notes and page, col. 96

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible; the call stands above the part of the column shown› · call in col 96

Duo Mss., invenerat.

Two manuscripts: "had found."

(printed under page 52)

(2) ‹anchor: in Christi Ecclesia› · call in col 96

Forte, Ecclesiam.

Perhaps: "Ecclesiam" [accusative].

(printed under page 52)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible; the call stands above the part of the column shown› · call in col 96

Quadrant haec maxime in Donatistas, ad quos Augustinus in Epist. 76, n. 2, scribit: « Majores enim vestri, in quorum sacrilega praecisione perseveratis, quidam Gestis municipalibus codices sanctos et instrumenta Ecclesiae persecutoribus tradiderunt, etc. De crimine traditionis, de quo ipsi inter se jam consenserant, inauditos damnaverunt. » Vide Epist. 105, n. 2, et Enarr. in Psal. 10, n. 4.

These words fit the Donatists above all, to whom Augustine writes in Letter 76, n. 2: "For your forefathers, in whose sacrilegious severance you persist — some of them, as the municipal Acts show, handed over the holy books and the Church's goods to the persecutors," etc. "On the charge of handing over, about which they had themselves already come to terms with one another, they condemned men unheard." See Letter 105, n. 2, and the Enarration on Psalm 10, n. 4. [The word read "consenserant" is broken in the print and is read with some doubt.]

(printed under page 52)

(b) ‹anchor: dilanietur infirmitas› · call in col 96

Sic ipsi quidem Catholici episcopi, honorem suum pro (continues)

So indeed the Catholic bishops themselves, [ready to lay down] their own honour for (continues)

(printed under page 52)