PL 38 · cols. 155–161

Augustine, Sermones 22-24 (Classis I, de Scripturis: de Psalmis)

Sermon XXIII

et hoc malum evasuri quod non transibit; aeterna sunt enim utraque. Non enim aliquid aeternum promisit suis, et aliquid temporale minatus est impiis. Quomodo vitam, beatitudinem, regnum, haereditatem sempiternam sine fine promisit sanctis; sic ignem aeternum minatus est impiis. Si quod promisit nondum amamus, saltem quod minatus est timeamus.

and we are going to escape this evil, which will not pass away; for both are eternal. For He did not promise something eternal to His own and threaten something temporal to the ungodly. Just as He promised life, blessedness, the kingdom, an everlasting inheritance without end to the saints, so He threatened eternal fire to the ungodly. If we do not yet love what He promised, let us at least fear what He threatened.

SERMO XXIII. De versu 24 Psalmi LXXII, Tenuisti manum dexterae meae: et de visione Dei. Habitus in basilica Fausti.

Sermon 23. On verse 24 of Psalm 72, Thou hast held the hand of my right [side]: and on the vision of God. Preached in the basilica of Faustus.

CAPUT PRIMUM. — 1. Doctorum officium periculosum, auditorum securior conditio. Quod cantavimus Domino, propositum nobis ad loquendum credamus: hinc vobis fiat sermo noster. Et cui diximus, Tenuisti manum dexterae meae, et in voluntate tua deduxisti me, et cum gloria assumpsisti me; ipse ad intellectum clariorem assumat corda nostra, et adjuvet misericordia et gratia sua me loquentem, vos judicantes. Quanquam propter commoditatem dep⟨r⟩omendae vocis altiore loco stare videamur; tamen in ipso altiore loco vos judicatis, et nos judicamur. Doctores dicimur, sed in multis doctorem quaerimus: nec volumus nos haberi magistros. Periculosum est enim et prohibitum, Domino ipso dicente, Ne velitis dici magistri; unus est magister vester ⟨C⟩hristus (Matth. XXIII, 10). Periculosum ergo magisterium; discipulatus securus est. Ideo Psalmus, Auditui meo, inquit, dabis gaudium et exsultationem (Psal. †L, 10). Securior est enim verbi auditor, quam verbi p⟨r⟩olator. Ideo ille securus stat, et audit eum, et gaudio gaudet propter vocem sponsi (Joan. III, 29).

Chapter I. — 1. The office of teachers is dangerous, the condition of hearers safer. Let us believe that what we have sung to the Lord has been set before us to speak on: from this let our sermon to you come. And may He to Whom we said, Thou hast held the hand of my right [side], and in Thy will Thou hast led me, and with glory Thou hast taken me up, Himself take up our hearts to a clearer understanding, and by His mercy and grace help me as I speak and you as you judge. Although, for the convenience of bringing forth the voice, we seem to stand in a higher place, yet in that very higher place it is you who judge, and we who are judged. We are called teachers, but in many things we seek a teacher; nor do we wish to be held to be masters. For it is dangerous and forbidden, as the Lord Himself says, Do not wish to be called masters; one is your master, Christ (Matt. 23:10). Mastership, then, is dangerous; discipleship is safe. Therefore the Psalm says, To my hearing Thou wilt give joy and exultation (Ps. 50:10). For the hearer of the word is safer than the utterer of the word. Therefore he stands safe, and hears Him, and rejoices with joy because of the bridegroom's voice (John 3:29).

CAPUT II. — 2. Condiscipuli omnes sub Christo magistro. Auditorum erga doctores officium. Et quia doctoris Apostolus susceperat necessitate personam, videte quid dicat: Cum timore et tremore multo fui apud vos (I Cor. II, 3). Tutius ergo est, ut et nos qui loquimur, et vos qui auditis, sub uno magistro condiscipulos nos esse noverimus. Omnino tutius est, et hoc expedit, ut nos non tanquam magistros, sed tanquam condiscipulos vestros audiatis. Videte enim quia sollicitudo nobis imposita est, ubi dicitur, Fratres, nolite plures magistri fieri; in multis enim offendimns omnes. Quis n⟨o⟩n contremiscat, cum Apostolus dicit, Omnes? Quid sequitur? Quisquis in verbo non offendit, hic perfectus est vir (Jacobi III, 1 et 2). Quis autem audeat dicere se esse perfectum? Qui ergo stat et audit, in verbo

Chapter II. — 2. All are fellow disciples under Christ the master. The duty of hearers towards teachers. And because the Apostle had taken on the role of teacher out of necessity, see what he says: With fear and much trembling I was among you (1 Cor. 2:3). It is safer, then, that both we who speak and you who hear should know that we are fellow disciples under one master. It is altogether safer, and this is expedient, that you should hear us not as masters but as your fellow disciples. For see how anxiety is laid upon us, where it is said, Brothers, do not become many masters; for in many things we all offend. Who would not tremble when the Apostle says, All? What follows? Whoever does not offend in word, this is a perfect man (Jas. 3:1–2). But who would dare to say that he is perfect? He therefore who stands and hears, in word

Editors' notes and page, col. 155

Footnotes

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Cisterciensis codex. [Non enim aliquid non aeternum promisit suis et aliquid temporale minatus est impiis.]

The Cistercian codex. [The earlier reading: "For He has not promised to His own something not eternal and threatened the ungodly with something temporal."]

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(2) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot image› · call in col 155

Sic Victorinus Ms. At editi, Etenim diximus : Tenuisti manum dexteram, etc. Certe Augustinus legere solet dexterae, non, dexteram.

So the Victorine manuscript. But the printed editions: "Etenim diximus: Tenuisti manum dexteram," etc. ("For we said: Thou hast held my right hand"). Augustine certainly is accustomed to read "dexterae", not "dexteram".

(printed under page 84)

(3) ‹anchor: depromendae vocis› · call in col 155

Ms. v., deprimendae vocis.

Manuscript v.: "deprimendae vocis" ("of lowering the voice").

(printed under page 84) (*) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot image (title of Sermo XXIII)› · call in col 155 Correctus ad fl. v. Lov.

Corrected according to fl. v. Lov. [Florus, the Victorine manuscript, the Louvain edition].

(printed under page 84)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot image (title of Sermo XXIII)› · call in col 155

Alias, de Diversis 122.

Elsewhere, de Diversis 122.

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(b) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot image› · call in col 155

Florus ad Ephes. 1, et ad Hebr. 12, sermonem hunc citat, appellans, « de Visione Dei. »

Florus, on Ephesians 1 and on Hebrews 12, cites this sermon, calling it "On the Vision of God."

(printed under page 84)

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running head: 155 S. AUGUSTINI EPISC[OPI] (cut off at image edge)
marginal letters: (none)
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misprints kept as printed: offendimns (for offendimus; in the quotation of James, §2) — listed by QA read Q3

PL 38:156

non offendit. Qui autem loquitur, etsi (quod diffici⟨l⟩e est) non offendit, patitur tamen et timet ne offendat. Oportet ergo vos esse non solum loquentium auditores, sed et timentium miseratores: ut in eo quod verum dicimus, quoniam omne verum a veritate est, non nos, sed ipsum laudetis; ubi autem sicut homines offendimus, eumdem ipsum pro nobis oretis.

does not give offence. But he who speaks, even if (which is difficult) he does not give offence, nevertheless suffers and fears lest he give offence. You ought therefore to be not only hearers of those who speak, but also pitiers of those who fear: so that in what we say truly, since every truth is from the Truth, you may praise not us but Him; and where, as men, we give offence, you may pray to that same One for us.

CAPUT III. — 3. Scripturae sanctae ad infirmi⟨t⟩atem parvulorum aptatae. Scripturae sanctae sunt, ver⟨a⟩ces sunt, inculpatae sunt. Omnis Scriptura divinitus inspirata utilis est ad docendum, ad arguendum, ad exhortationem, ad doctrinam (II Tim. III, 16). Nihil est ergo quod Scripturam accusemus, si nos forte, illa non intellecta, in aliquo deviemus. Cum ipsam intelligimus, recti sumus: cum autem ea non intellecta pravi sumus, ipsam rectam dimittimus: non enim eam depravati depravamus; sed illa stat recta, ut ad illam corrigendi redeamus. Verumtamen ut nos exerceat eadem Scriptura, in multis locis velut carnaliter loquitur, cum semper spiritualis sit. Lex enim, ut ait Apostolus, spiritualis est; ego autem carnalis sum (Rom. VII, 14). Cum sit ergo illa spiritualis, tamen saepe cum carnalibus quasi carnaliter ambulat. Sed non eos vult remanere carnales. Quia et mater parvulum amat nutrire, sed eum non amat parvulum remanere. In sinu tenet, manibus fovet, blanditiis consolatur, lacte nutrit: omnia parvulo facit; sed optat ut crescat, ne semper talia faciat. Videte Apostolum: melius enim ipsum intuemur, qui se etiam matrem non dedignatus est dicere, ubi ait, Factus sum parvulus in medio vestrum, tanquam nutrix fovens filios suos (I Thess. II, 7). Apostolus vero, germano et pio charitatis affectu et nutricis personam suscepit, dicendo, fovet; et matris, addendo, filios suos. Sunt enim nutrices foventes quidem, sed non filios suos: item sunt matres nutricibus dantes, non foventes filios suos. Idem ergo nutritor et fotor alio loco dicit, quod paulo ante commemoravi, Cum timore et tremore multo fui apu⟨d⟩ vos.

Chapter III. — 3. The holy Scriptures adapted to the weakness of little ones. The Scriptures are holy, they are truthful, they are blameless. All Scripture divinely inspired is useful for teaching, for reproving, for exhortation, for instruction (2 Tim. 3:16). There is therefore no reason for us to accuse Scripture, if perhaps, not having understood it, we go astray in some respect. When we understand it, we are upright: but when, not having understood it, we are crooked, we abandon it in its uprightness: for we who are perverted do not pervert it; rather it stands upright, so that we may return to it to be corrected. Yet, so that the same Scripture may exercise us, in many places it speaks as it were carnally, although it is always spiritual. For the Law, as the Apostle says, is spiritual; but I am carnal (Rom. 7:14). Though it is therefore spiritual, yet it often walks as if carnally with the carnal. But it does not want them to remain carnal. For a mother too loves to nourish her little one, but does not love that he should remain little. She holds him in her bosom, cherishes him with her hands, comforts him with caresses, nourishes him with milk: she does everything for the little one; but she desires that he grow, so that she may not always be doing such things. Look at the Apostle: for we see it better in him, who did not disdain even to call himself a mother, where he says, I became a little one in your midst, as a nurse cherishing her own children (1 Thess. 2:7). The Apostle indeed, with a genuine and dutiful affection of charity, took on both the person of a nurse, by saying cherishes, and that of a mother, by adding her own children. For there are nurses who cherish, but not their own children; likewise there are mothers who give [their children] to nurses, and do not cherish their own children. So the same nourisher and cherisher says in another place what I recalled a little earlier, I was among you in fear and in much trembling.

CAPUT IV. — 4. Auditores quinam carnales, quinam spirituales. Sed dicis: Quales illi erant, ut ille cum timore et tremore multo esset apud illos? Tanquam parvulis, inquit, in Christo lac vobis potum dedi, non escam; neque enim poteratis: sed nec nunc quidem adhuc potestis; estis enim adhuc carnales (I Cor. III, 1, 2). Quos carnales dicit, parvulos tamen in Christo dicit; sic arguit, ut non abdicet. Et carnales, et parvuli in Christo: non vult tamen eos esse carnales, quos dicit esse parvulos in Christo: optat esse spirituales, omnia dijudicantes, et qui a nemine dijudicentur. Animalis enim homo, sicut ipse dicit,

Chapter IV. — 4. Which hearers are carnal, which spiritual. But you say: What sort of people were they, that he should be among them in fear and much trembling? As to little ones in Christ, he says, I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not able: but not even now are you yet able; for you are still carnal (1 Cor. 3:1–2). Those whom he calls carnal, he nevertheless calls little ones in Christ; he so reproves as not to disown. Both carnal and little ones in Christ: yet he does not want those to be carnal whom he says are little ones in Christ: he desires them to be spiritual, judging all things, and such as are judged by no one. For the animal man, as he himself says,

Editors' notes and page, col. 156

Footnotes

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Idem Ms. v., Sicut Scripturae sanctae sunt.

The same manuscript v.: "Sicut Scripturae sanctae sunt" ("As the Scriptures are holy").

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Editi, cum Lex. Vox, Lex, abest a Victorino exemplari.

The printed editions: "cum Lex" ("when the Law"). The word "Lex" is absent from the Victorine copy.

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(3) ‹anchor: germano et pio› · call in col 156

Victorinum exemplar, pingui.

The Victorine copy: "pingui" ("rich").

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PP. Benedictini suspicantur forte legendum, paret, pro, patitur. Morel, Elem. Critic. p. 171, praefert, quatitur. Quae posterior lectio textui certe proximior est. M.

The Benedictine Fathers suspect that one should perhaps read "paret" ("obeys") for "patitur" ("suffers"). Morel, Elements of Criticism, p. 171, prefers "quatitur" ("is shaken"). This latter reading is certainly closer to the text. M.

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PL 38:157

non percipit quae sunt Spiritus Dei: stultitia enim est i⟨l⟩li, et non scire potest, quoniam spiritualiter dijudicatur. Spiritualis dijndicat omnia; ipse autem a nemine dijudicatur. Idem ipse dicit: Sapientiam loquimur inter perfectos. Utquid ergo loqueris, si inter perfectos (I Cor. II, 14, 15, 6)? Quid enim opus est te loqui homini perfecto? Sed quaere in quo perfectus sit. Forte enim non invenio perfectum cognitorem, sed jam invenio perfectum auditorem. Est ergo perfectus et auditor, mente jam capax, cui solidus cibus nullam faciat perturbationem, nullam ingerat cruditatem. Quis est hic, et laudabimus eum? Nec dubito tamen esse aliquos spirituales, bene audientes, bene dijudicantes: apud istos non laboro Aut enim carnalis invenior, et misericorditer mecum agit: aut capit quod dico, et congratulatur mihi.

does not perceive the things which are of the Spirit of God: for it is foolishness to him, and he cannot know, because it is judged spiritually. The spiritual man judges all things; but he himself is judged by no one. The same man himself says: We speak wisdom among the perfect. Why then do you speak, if among the perfect (1 Cor. 2:14, 15, 6)? For what need is there for you to speak to a perfect man? But ask in what he is perfect. For perhaps I do not find a perfect knower, but I do already find a perfect hearer. There is therefore also a perfect hearer, already capable in mind, to whom solid food causes no disturbance, brings on no indigestion. Who is this, and we will praise him? And yet I do not doubt that there are some spiritual people, hearing well, judging well: with these I do not labour. For either I am found carnal, and he deals with me mercifully; or he grasps what I say, and rejoices with me.

CAPUT V. — 5. Intelligere non est nisi verum sentientis. De Deo falli, periculosum; mentiri, exitiosum. Ecce nunc suscepi verba psalmi quem modo cantavimus: Tenuisti manum dexterae meae. Da carnalem auditorem; quid putabit, nisi quia Deus apparuit in forma humana, apprehendit illi manum dexteram, non sinistram, et deduxit in suam voluntatem, et quo voluit assumpsit? Si hoc intellexerit, imo si hoc putaverit, nunquam intelligit. Qui enim intelligit, verum intelligit. Qui autem putat falsum, non intelligit. Ergo si hoc putaverit homo carnalis, quia Dei natura atque substantia distincta membris est, determinata forma, circumscripta quantitate manens loco, quid cum illo facio? Si dixero, Non est ita Deus: non capit. Si dixero, Ita est: ille quasi capit; sed ego decipio. Non possum dicere, Ita est: ne mentiar; et non undecumque, sed de Deo meo, de Salvatore et Redemptore meo, de spe mea, de illo ad quem extendo manum meam, desiderium meum. Non est res levis de tali mentiri. De tali falli molestum est et periculosum est: de tali autem mentiri exitiosum est et perniciosum. Non omnis qui mentitur, fallitur. Si autem ipse putat esse verum, quod verum non est, fallitur: et si hoc dicit quod verum putat, non mentitur, sed tamen fallitur. Deus donet illi non falli, qui noluit mentiri.

Chapter V. — 5. To understand belongs only to one who perceives what is true. To be deceived about God is dangerous; to lie about Him is ruinous. See, I have now taken up the words of the psalm which we have just sung: Thou hast held the hand of my right [side]. Give me a carnal hearer; what will he think, except that God appeared in human form, took hold of his right hand, not his left, and led him into His own will, and took him up where He willed? If he has understood this, nay rather, if he has thought this, he never understands. For he who understands, understands what is true. But he who thinks what is false does not understand. Therefore if the carnal man has thought this, that the nature and substance of God is marked out with limbs, abiding in a place with a determinate form and a circumscribed quantity, what am I to do with him? If I say, God is not so: he does not grasp it. If I say, It is so: he in a manner grasps it; but I deceive. I cannot say, It is so, lest I lie; and not about just anything, but about my God, about my Saviour and Redeemer, about my hope, about Him towards Whom I stretch out my hand, my desire. It is no light matter to lie about such a One. To be deceived about such a One is grievous and dangerous: but to lie about such a One is ruinous and pernicious. Not everyone who lies is deceived. But if he himself thinks that to be true which is not true, he is deceived: and if he says what he thinks true, he does not lie, but yet he is deceived. May God grant to him who did not wish to lie not to be deceived.

CAPUT VI. — 6. Carnalis de Deo cogitatio. Si ergo, ut dixi, parvulus ille noster talem crediderit Deum, habentem certis corporis sui locis membra disposita, circumscriptum figura, terminatum forma, localiter manentem, localiter se moventem, juxta id quod dicitur, Quo ibo a spiritu tuo? et quo a facie tua fugiam? Si ascendero in coelum, tu illic es; si descendero in infernum, ades (Psal. CXXXVIII, 7, 8): si in coelo ipse, si in terra ipse, si in inferno adest; quid facit modo ille parvulus? Si audit, quaerat cum Samaritana montes et templa quo vult ire ad Deum, ad Jerusalem, ad montem Samariae (Joan. IV, 20): non ad templum visibile, non festinet, non quaerat aliquod templum quo veniat ad Deum. Ipse sit templum, et ad illum veniet Deus. Non contemnit, non

Chapter VI. — 6. A carnal thought about God. If then, as I have said, that little one of ours should believe God to be such, having limbs arranged in fixed places of His body, circumscribed by a figure, bounded by a form, abiding locally, moving Himself locally, according to that which is said, Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? and whither shall I flee from Thy face? If I ascend into heaven, Thou art there; if I descend into hell, Thou art present (Ps. 138:7–8): if He Himself is in heaven, if He Himself is on earth, if He is present in hell; what does that little one do now? If he hears, let him seek with the Samaritan woman mountains and temples by which he wishes to go to God, to Jerusalem, to the mountain of Samaria (John 4:20): not to a visible temple, let him not hurry, let him not seek some temple by which he may come to God. Let him himself be the temple, and God will come to him. He does not despise, does not

Editors' notes and page, col. 157

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Codex v., carnalis non invenior.

Codex v.: "carnalis non invenior" ("I am not found carnal").

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(2) ‹anchor: mecum agit› · call in col 157

Sic Victorinus Ms. Editi vero mecum contingit.

So the Victorine manuscript. But the printed editions: "mecum contingit" ("happens with me").

(printed under page 85)

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other: "dijndicat" (turned u, for dijudicat, in "Spiritualis dijndicat omnia") is set as printed; no full stop is printed after "non laboro" before "Aut enim", set as printed; "i⟨l⟩li" has a damaged l; the calls of notes 1 and 2 are visible in the column image, after "invenior" and after "agit"; the notes 1 and 2 under the right half of the page are called in col 158 and are not set here; the column ends mid-sentence at "Non contemnit, non"; QA Q1: "undecumque" is read with m on the page (the file had undecunque), with some residual doubt between m and n at this resolution

PL 38:158

refugit, non dedignatur: imo dignatur. Si non dedignatur, audi pollicentem: audi interim promittendo d⟨i⟩gnantem, non minando dedignantem. Veniemus, inquit, ad eum, ego et Pater. Ad eum quem supra dixit dilectorem suum, obeditorem praeceptorum suorum, cu⟨s⟩todem mandati sui, amatorem Dei, amatorem proximi sui. Veniemus, inquit, ad eum, et mansionem apud eum faciemus (Joan. XIV, 23).

flee, He does not disdain; rather, He deigns. If He does not disdain, hear Him promising: hear Him meanwhile deigning by promising, not disdaining by threatening. "We will come," He says, "to him, I and the Father." To him whom He called above the one who loves Him, the one who obeys His precepts, the keeper of His commandment, the lover of God, the lover of his neighbour. "We will come," He says, "to him, and will make Our abode with him" (John 14:23).

CAPUT VII. — 7. Cor fidelis templum non angustum Deo. Timor habet angustias, amor latitudinem. Non est angustum cor fidelis, cui angustum fuit templum Salomonis. Nam et ipse cum fabricaret hoc, dixit: Si coelum coeli non sufficit tibi (II Par. VI, 18). Et certe templum Dei sanctum est, quod estis vos (I Cor. III, 17). Nos enim, ait alio loco, templum Dei vivi sumus. Et hoc unde probas, tanquam ei diceretur? Sicut scriptum est, inquit, Habitabo in eis. Si tibi aliquis magnus patronus diceret, Habitabo apud te, quid faceres? Cum angusta domus esset, procul dubio turbareris, omnino terrereris, optares ne fieret. Nolles enim esse in angustiis recipiens magnum, cujus adventui domus tua paupercula non sufficeret. Noli timere adventum Dei tui, noli timere affectum Dei tui: non te angustat, cum venerit; imo veniendo dilatabit te. Nam nt scias, quoniam dilatabit te, non solum adventum suum promisit, Habitabo in eis: sed ipsam etiam latitudinem, addendo, Et deambulabo (II Cor. VI, 16). Latitudinem istam, si diligis, vides. Timor tormentum habet, ergo angustias habet: ac per hoc amor latitudinem habet. Vide latitudinem charitatis: Quoniam charitas Dei diffusa est, inquit, in cordibus nostris (Rom. V, 5).

Chapter VII. — 7. The heart of the faithful is not a narrow temple for God. Fear has narrownesses, love has breadth. The heart of the faithful man is not narrow for Him for Whom the temple of Solomon was narrow. For he himself, when he was building it, said: "If the heaven of heaven does not suffice Thee" (2 Chr. 6:18). And surely "the temple of God is holy, which you are" (1 Cor. 3:17). "For we," he says in another place, "are the temple of the living God." And whence do you prove this, as if it were said to him? "As it is written," he says, "I will dwell in them." If some great patron said to you, "I will dwell with you," what would you do? Since your house is narrow, without doubt you would be troubled, you would be altogether terrified, you would wish that it might not happen. For you would not want to be in straits receiving a great man, for whose coming your poor little house would not suffice. Do not fear the coming of your God, do not fear the affection of your God: He does not straiten you when He comes; rather, by coming He will enlarge you. For that you may know that He will enlarge you, He promised not only His coming, "I will dwell in them," but also breadth itself, by adding, "And I will walk about" (2 Cor. 6:16). This breadth, if you love, you see. Fear has torment, therefore it has narrownesses; and accordingly love has breadth. See the breadth of charity: "Because the charity of God," he says, "is poured forth in our hearts" (Rom. 5:5).

CAPUT VIII. — 8. Dilatatio cordis ex charitate, quae et arrha dicitur et pignus. Arrha et pignus quo differant. Sed tu ei quaerebas locum. Ipse inhabitator dilatet: Diffusa est enim charitas in cordibus nostris, non tamen ex nobis, sed per Spiritum sanctum qui datus est nobis. Si diffusa est charitas in cordibus nostris, et Deus charitas est (I Joan. IV, 8); ecce jam ex quantulocumque pignore deambulat Deus in nobis. Pignus enim accepimus. Quid illud est, cujus pignus tale est? Quanquam melius habent codices, qui habent arrham, quam qui habent pignus. Eamdem quippe rem interpretes dicere voluerunt. Interest tamen aliquid in loquendi usu inter arrham et pignus. Pignus enim quando datur, cum datum fuerit propter quod pignus datum est, pignus aufertur. Jam multos vestrum intellexisse non dubito. Non video, sed ex collocutione, quia loquimini ad alterutrum, sentio eos qui intellexerunt, velle exponere iis qui nondum intellexerunt. Ergo planius aliquanto dicam, ut ad omnes perveniat. Accipis, verbi gratia, codicem ab amico tuo; ut tibi det, das aliquod pignus: cum reddideris quod accepisti, propter quod pignus posuisti, ille quod reddideris habebit, tu pignus recipies: non enim habebit ambas res.

Chapter VIII. — 8. The enlarging of the heart comes from charity, which is called both an earnest and a pledge. How an earnest and a pledge differ. But you were seeking a place for Him. Let the Indweller Himself enlarge it: for "charity is poured forth in our hearts," yet not from ourselves, but "through the Holy Spirit, Who has been given to us." If charity is poured forth in our hearts, and "God is charity" (1 John 4:8), see, already from however small a pledge God walks about in us. For we have received a pledge. What is that thing, of which the pledge is such? Although those manuscripts are better which have "earnest" than those which have "pledge." For the translators wished to say the same thing. Yet there is some difference in the usage of speech between an earnest and a pledge. For when a pledge is given, once that has been given on account of which the pledge was given, the pledge is taken away. I do not doubt that many of you have already understood. I do not see it, but from the talking, because you are speaking to one another, I perceive that those who have understood want to explain to those who have not yet understood. So I shall say it somewhat more plainly, that it may reach everyone. You receive, for example, a book from your friend; so that he may give it to you, you give some pledge: when you have returned what you received, on account of which you deposited the pledge, he will have what you returned, you will receive back the pledge: for he will not have both things.

Editors' notes and page, col. 158

Footnotes

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Codex v., Non contemnit si refugit.

Codex v.: "Non contemnit si refugit" ("He does not despise if he draws back").

(printed under page 85)

(2) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot image› · call in col 158

Editi omittunt, imo dignatur. Id additum hic ex Victorino codice qui sic prosequitur, Si non dignatur, audi pollicentem.

The printed editions omit "imo dignatur" ("nay, He deigns"). It has been added here from the Victorine codex, which continues thus: "Si non dignatur, audi pollicentem" ("If He does not deign, hear Him promising").

(printed under page 85)

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CAP⟨U⟩T IX. — 9. Charitas verius arrha quam pignus dicitur. Quid ergo, fratres? Si charitatem modo Deus tanquam pignus dedit per Spiritum sanctum suum, cum rem ipsam reddiderit, qua promissa pignus dedit, auferendum est nobis pignus? Absit! Sed quod dedit, hoc implebit. Ergo melius arrha quam pignus. Aliquando enim pretium, verbi gratia, praeparas dare pro ea re quam tenes bonae fidei contractu, de ipso pretio das aliquid; et erit arrha, non pignus; quod sit complendum, non quod auferendum. Jam ergo intellige. Si invenio dilectorem, habet arrham, et ex arrha desiderat plenitudinem. Arrham ipsam consideret: hoc enim complebitur, unde arrha data est. Ipsam cogitet, ipsam apud se discutiat, ipsam inspiciat, ipsam de plenitudine illa quam non videt, interroget: ne forte aliud in plenitudine desideret, quam est in eo quod accepit. Forte Deus aurum daturus est, auri plenitudinem completurus, et de auro arrham dedit. Metuendum est ne tu pro auro plumbum desideres. Aspice ergo arrham; si tibi potuero suadere ut aspicias: Deus charitas est.

Chapter IX. — 9. Charity is more truly called an earnest than a pledge. What then, brethren? If God has now given charity as a pledge through His Holy Spirit, when He has rendered the thing itself, for which, when it was promised, He gave the pledge, is the pledge to be taken away from us? Far from it! But what He has given, this He will fill up. Therefore it is better [called] an earnest than a pledge. For sometimes, for example, you prepare to give a price for a thing which you hold by a contract of good faith, [and] out of that very price you give something; and it will be an earnest, not a pledge; something that is to be completed, not something that is to be taken away. Now therefore understand. If I find a lover, he has the earnest, and from the earnest he desires the fullness. Let him consider the earnest itself: for that will be completed of which the earnest was given. Let him think on it, let him examine it within himself, let him look into it, let him question it about that fullness which he does not see: lest perhaps he desire something else in the fullness than what is in that which he has received. Perhaps God is going to give gold, about to complete the fullness of gold, and has given an earnest out of gold. It is to be feared that you may desire lead instead of gold. Look therefore at the earnest; if I can persuade you to look at it: God is charity.

CAPUT X. — 10. Fons charitatis summum bonum. Inde habemus aliquid, inde adspersi sumus, inde irrorati. Cujus ros talis est, qualis fons? Rore isto aspersus, sed flagrans in fontem, dic Deo tuo: Quoniam apud te est fons vitae. In rore isto natum est desiderium, in fonte satiaberis. Ibi est quod sufficit nobis. Filii autem hominum in tegmine alarum tuarum sperabunt. Quid desideramus pro magno ea Dei beneficia, quae donat et bestiis? Beneficia quidem ipsius sunt, quis dubitat? A quo salus vel minima, nisi ab illo de quo dictum est, Domini est salus (Psal. III, 9).

Chapter X. — 10. The fountain of charity is the highest good. From there we have something, from there we have been sprinkled, from there bedewed. If its dew is such, what is the fountain like? Sprinkled with this dew, but burning towards the fountain, say to your God: For with Thee is the fountain of life. In this dew desire was born; at the fountain you will be satisfied. There is what suffices for us. But the sons of men shall hope under the covering of Thy wings. Why do we desire as something great those benefits of God which He gives even to beasts? They are indeed His benefits, who doubts it? From whom is even the least salvation, if not from Him of whom it was said, Salvation is the Lord's (Ps. 3:9).

CAPUT XI. — 11. Bona piis propria. Sed ait idem ipse psalmus, Homines et jumenta salvos facies, Domine, sicut multiplicata est misericordia tua, Deus (Psal. XXXV, 10, 8, 7). Tam multiplicem misericordiam habes, ut non tantum ad homines, verum etiam ad jumenta perveniat. Tanta praevales misericordia, ut facias solem tuum oriri super bonos et malos, et pluas super justos et injustos (Matth. V, 45). Nihilne peculiare a te sancti tui, nihil proprium pius accipit, quod impius non accipiat? Plane accipit: audi quod sequitur. Jam enim dixerat, Homines et jumenta salvos facies, Domine, sicut multiplicata est misericordia tua, Deus: adjunxit et ait, Filii autem hominum. Quid ergo paulo ante dixisti? Homines non erant filii hominum? Homines, inquit, et jumenta salvos facies, Domine: filii autem hominum. Quid ergo? filii hominum sub tegmine alarum tuarum sperabunt. Hoc non cum jumentis. Quare ergo isti et illi homines? Annon etiam homines filii hominum? Profecto et homines fi⟨l⟩ii hominum. Unde igitur ista distinctio, nisi quia est homo qui non erat filius hominis? Homo non filius hominis, Adam: homo filius hominis, Christus. Sicut in Adam omnes moriuntur, sic in Christo omnes vivificabuntur

Chapter XI. — 11. Good things proper to the godly. But the same psalm says, Men and beasts Thou wilt save, O Lord, as Thy mercy has been multiplied, O God (Ps. 35:10, 8, 7). So manifold a mercy hast Thou, that it reaches not only to men, but even to beasts. So greatly dost Thou prevail in mercy, that Thou makest Thy sun rise upon the good and the evil, and rainest upon the just and the unjust (Matt. 5:45). Do Thy saints receive nothing peculiar from Thee, does the godly man receive nothing of his own which the ungodly man does not receive? Plainly he does receive: hear what follows. For he had already said, Men and beasts Thou wilt save, O Lord, as Thy mercy has been multiplied, O God: he added and says, But the sons of men. What then did you say a little before? Were men not sons of men? Men, he says, and beasts Thou wilt save, O Lord: but the sons of men. What then? The sons of men shall hope under the covering of Thy wings. This is not with the beasts. Why then are both these and those men? Are not men also sons of men? Certainly men are also sons of men. Whence then this distinction, unless because there is a man who was not a son of man? A man not a son of man, Adam: a man the son of man, Christ. As in Adam all die, so in Christ all shall be

Editors' notes and page, col. 159

Footnotes

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Ita in exemplari Victorino et in Flori collectione. At in editis, quia pro ipsa pignus dedit.

So in the Victorine copy and in Florus's collection. But in the printed editions: "quia pro ipsa pignus dedit" ("because He gave a pledge for it").

(printed under page 86)

(2) ‹anchor: misericordiam habes› · call in col 159

Sic Victorinus Ms. At editi, quanquam misericors Deus, tamen multiplicem misericordiam, etc.

So the Victorine manuscript. But the printed editions: "quanquam misericors Deus, tamen multiplicem misericordiam," etc. ("although, merciful God, yet manifold mercy," etc.).

(printed under page 86)

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(I Cor. XV, 22). Quaerunt salutem cum jumentis qui moriuntur, et non victuri moriuntur: et non quaerunt salutem cum filiis hominum, ut nunquam moriantur?

made alive (1 Cor. 15:22). They seek salvation together with the beasts of burden, which die, and die never to live again: and do they not seek salvation together with the sons of men, so as never to die?

CAPUT XII. — Eliquata est ista distinctio. Illi pertinent ad homines, isti filii hominum ad Filium nominis.

Chapter XII. — This distinction has been made clear. Those belong to men, these sons of men to the Son of Man.

12. Homines et filii hominum unde distincti. Quid ergo sequitur? Filii autem hominum sub tegmine alarum tuarum sperabunt. Ecce spero, ecce spes: sed quae videtur, non est spes (Rom. VIII, 24). Futura ergo quae promittuntur, inebriabunt. Inebriabuntur ab ubertate domus tuae. Timeo ne forte quemadmodum paulo ante membra corporis quaerebat in Deo, sic in ejus ebrietate cogitet satietatem, non ineffabilium bonorum, sed crapulam carnalium conviviorum. Dicamus tamen, cogitet quod potest, si majora non potest, non recedat de sinu, tamen crescat. Sequamur, et qui possumus, quantum possumus, spiritualiter delectemur. Inebriabuntur, inquit, ab ubertate domus tuae, et torrente voluptatis tuae potabis eos. Quo vino? quo musto? qua unda? quo melle? quo nectare? Quaeris quo? Quoniam apud te est fons vitae (Psa. XXXV, 7-10). Bibe, si potes, vitam. Conscientiam para, non gulam; mentem, non ventrem. Si audisti, si intellexisti; si dilexisti, quantum potuisti, jam inde bibisti.

12. Whence men and sons of men are distinguished. What then follows? But the sons of men shall hope under the shelter of Thy wings. Behold, I hope; behold, hope: but hope that is seen is not hope (Rom. 8:24). Therefore the things to come which are promised will inebriate. They shall be inebriated with the abundance of Thy house. I fear that perhaps, just as a little before he was looking for the members of a body in God, so in its inebriation he may think of satiety, not of ineffable goods, but the surfeit of carnal banquets. Let us say nevertheless: let him think what he can, if he cannot think greater things; let him not withdraw from the bosom, yet let him grow. Let us follow, and let those of us who can, as far as we can, take delight spiritually. They shall be inebriated, he says, with the abundance of Thy house, and with the torrent of Thy pleasure Thou wilt give them drink. With what wine? with what new wine? with what water? with what honey? with what nectar? Do you ask with what? For with Thee is the fountain of life (Ps. 35:7–10). Drink life, if you can. Prepare your conscience, not your gullet; your mind, not your belly. If you have heard, if you have understood; if you have loved as much as you could, you have already drunk from it.

CAPUT XIII. — 13. Charitas amatur, nec tamen sentitur. Attende quid biberis. Charitatem bibisti. Si nosti illam, Deus charitas est (I Joan. IV, 8). Si ergo charitatem bibisti, dic mihi in quo loco bibisti. Si nosti illam, si vidisti illam, si amas, unde amas? Quidquid enim bene amas, charitate amas. Quomodo autem charitate? Aut quid amas, qui charitatem amas? Ergo si amas, unde amas? Venit ad te, et nosti eam, et vides eam: et non in loco videtur, nec corporalibus oculis quaeritur, ut vehementius ametur; nec auditur affatu; et quando ad te venit, non sentiebatur incessu. Numquid deambulantis in corde tuo aliquando plantas sensisti charitatis? Quid ergo est? Cujus hoc est, quod jam est in te, et non capitur a te? Sic disce amare Deum.

Chapter XIII. — 13. Charity is loved, and yet it is not perceived by the senses. Consider what you have drunk. You have drunk charity. If you know it, God is charity (1 John 4:8). If then you have drunk charity, tell me in what place you drank it. If you know it, if you have seen it, if you love, whence do you love? For whatever you love well, you love by charity. But how by charity? Or what do you love, you who love charity? Therefore if you love, whence do you love? It has come to you, and you know it, and you see it: and it is not seen in a place, nor sought with bodily eyes, that it may be loved more ardently; nor is it heard by speech; and when it came to you, its approach was not perceived. Have you ever felt the footsteps of charity walking about in your heart? What then is it? Whose is this, which is already in you, and is not grasped by you? Learn thus to love God.

CAPUT XIV. — 14. Deus quomodo hic Moysi apparuit. Sed deambulavit in paradiso (Gen. III, 8), sed visus est ad ilicem Mambre (Ib. XVIII, 1), sed locutus est cum Moyse in monte Sina os ad os. Et quid inde? Ecce qui videtur in loco, non sentitur incessu. Vis audire ipsum Moysen, ne mihi quamvis nutrire cupienti inquietus infans taedium facias? Visne ergo audire ipsum Moysen? Certe loquebatur et Deo os ad os. Cui ergo dicebat, nisi ipsi cum quo loquebatur, Si inveni gratiam ante te, ostende mihi te ipsum (Exod. XXXIII, 11, 13)? Loquitur cum ipso os ad os, sicut quis loquitur ad amicum suum, et dicit ei, Si inveni

Chapter XIV. — 14. How God appeared here to Moses. But He walked in paradise (Gen. 3:8), but He was seen at the oak of Mamre (Gen. 18:1), but He spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai mouth to mouth. And what follows from that? Behold, He who is seen in a place is not perceived in His approach. Do you wish to hear Moses himself, so that you, a restless infant, may not weary me, though I desire to nourish you? Do you wish then to hear Moses himself? Certainly he spoke even with God mouth to mouth. To whom then was he saying, if not to Him with Whom he was speaking, If I have found grace before Thee, show me Thyself (Exod. 33:11, 13)? He speaks with Him mouth to mouth, as one speaks to his friend, and says to him, If I have found

Editors' notes and page, col. 160

Footnotes

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Victorinus Ms., cum crescit.

The Victorine manuscript: "cum crescit" ("when it grows").

(printed under page 86)

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Sic Victorinus Ms. At Lov., et qua possumus, et quantum possumus.

So the Victorine manuscript. But the Louvain edition: "et qua possumus, et quantum possumus" ("both in the way we can and as much as we can").

(printed under page 86)

(3) ‹anchor: jam inde bibisti› · call in col 160

In Victorino Ms., Si jam inde bibisti ; attende, etc.

In the Victorine manuscript: "Si jam inde bibisti; attende," etc. ("If you have already drunk from it, attend," etc.).

(printed under page 86)

(4) ‹anchor: qui charitatem amas› · call in col 160

Victorinus Ms., Quomodo autem charitate aliquid amas, qui charitatem non amas ?

The Victorine manuscript: "Quomodo autem charitate aliquid amas, qui charitatem non amas?" ("But how do you love anything by charity, you who do not love charity?").

(printed under page 86)

(5) ‹anchor: unde amas› · call in col 160

Victorinus Ms., Ergo si amas, bene amas.

The Victorine manuscript: "Ergo si amas, bene amas" ("Therefore if you love, you love well").

(printed under page 86)

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gratiam ante te, ostende mihi te ipsum manifeste. Quid videbat, et quid sciebat? Si non erat ipse, quomodo ei dicitur, Ostende mihi te ipsum? Non possumus dicere quod non erat ipse. Si non esset ipse, hoc ei diceret, Ostende mihi Deum. Cum dicit ergo, Ostende mihi te ipsum, manifestat quod ipse erat, quem sibi volebat ostendi. Loquebatur et cum eo os ad os, sicut quis loquitur ad amicum suum. Vis ergo audire? Si capis, Deus Moysi apparebat latens. Si enim non appareret, non esset cum quo os ad os loquens diceret, Ostende mihi temetipsum. Si autem non lateret, non adhuc quaereret videre eumdem ipsum. Si ergo capis, si intelligis, potest hic Deus simul apparere et latere; apparere specie, latere natura.

favour before Thee, show me Thyself plainly. What was he seeing, and what did he know? If it was not He Himself, how is it said to Him, Show me Thyself? We cannot say that it was not He Himself. If it were not He Himself, he would say this to Him: Show me God. When, therefore, he says, Show me Thyself, he makes plain that it was He Himself whom he wished to be shown to him. He was even speaking with Him mouth to mouth, as one speaks to his friend. Do you wish, then, to hear? If you grasp it, God was appearing to Moses while hidden. For if He did not appear, there would be no one with whom, speaking mouth to mouth, he could say, Show me Thyself. But if He were not hidden, he would not still be seeking to see the very same One. If, then, you grasp it, if you understand, God can here at once appear and be hidden: appear in form, be hidden in nature.

CAPUT XV. — 15. Deus absque sui mutatione apparuit ea specie qua voluit. Hoc si, ut potuisti, intellexisti; vide ne subintret tibi, quod Deus ut appareat, in quam vult speciem naturam suam convertit. Incommutabilis est Deus, non tantum Pater, sed Pater et Filius et Spiritus sanctus. In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum (Joan. I, 1). Ipsum Verbum Deus incommutabilis est, sicut Deus apud quem est Deus. Nihil in ulla persona cogites detrimenti, nihil commutationis. Deus enim pater luminum, apud quem non est commutatio, nec momenti obumbratio (Jacobi I, 17). Si ergo incommutabilis est, inquis, quid est illa species, in qua ut voluit, cui voluit, apparuit, deambulando, sonando, vel se etiam ipsis carnalibus oculis exhibendo? Quaeris a me quid sit, unde faciat Deus praesentiam sui; quasi jam explicare possim unde fecerit mundum, unde fecerit coelum, unde fecerit terram, unde fecerit te. Jam video, respondes, De limo. Ecce te de limo: unde limum? Respondes, De terra. Sed, puto, non de illa terra quam alter fecit; sed de illa terra quam fecit qui fecit coelum et terram. Unde ergo et ipsa terra? Dixit, et facta sunt (Psal. CXLVIII, 5). Bene, optime respondes, agnoscis: Dixit, et facta sunt: nihil plus quaero. Sed quomodo cum tu dicis, Dixit, et facta sunt; ego nihil plus quaero: sic nec tu plus quaeras, cum dico, Voluit, et apparuit.

Chapter XV. — 15. God appeared without change of Himself in the form in which He willed. If you have understood this, as far as you were able, see that it does not creep into you that God, in order to appear, turns His nature into whatever form He wills. God is unchangeable, not only the Father, but the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). The Word Himself, God, is unchangeable, just as God, with Whom God is. Think of no loss in any Person, no change. For God is the father of lights, with Whom there is no change, nor shadow of a moment (Jas. 1:17). If, then, He is unchangeable, you say, what is that form in which He appeared as He willed, to whom He willed, by walking about, by sounding, or even by showing Himself to the very eyes of flesh? You ask me what it is, from what God makes His presence; as if I could already explain from what He made the world, from what He made heaven, from what He made earth, from what He made you. Now I see, you answer: From clay. There you are from clay: from what the clay? You answer: From earth. But, I think, not from that earth which another made, but from that earth which He made Who made heaven and earth. From what, then, the earth itself? He spoke, and they were made (Ps. 148:5). Well, very well you answer, you acknowledge it: He spoke, and they were made: I ask nothing more. But just as, when you say, He spoke, and they were made, I ask nothing more, so do you also ask no more when I say, He willed, and He appeared.

CAPUT XVI. — 16. Deus a filiis videbitur sicuti est. Apparuit, sicut congruum judicabat; latuit, sicut erat. Verus affectus non videtur, non videtur amor, non videtur dilectio. De illo pignore in id aestuet, in quod aestuabat et Moyses, qui ei quem videbat, dicebat, Ostende mihi temetipsum. Si hoc ergo quaerimus, filii ipsius sumus. Filii enim Dei sumus, et nondum apparuit quid erimus. Scimus quia cum apparuerit, similes ei erimus, quoniam videbimus eum sicuti est (I Joan. III, 2). Non sicut visus est ad ilicem Mambre, non sicut visus est Moysi, ut adhuc ei dicamus, Ostende nobis temetipsum: sed videbimus eum sicuti est. Quo merito? Quia filii Dei sumus. Et hoc non ex nostris meritis, sed gratia illius misericordiae. Pluviam enim voluntariam segregans, Deus, haereditati tuae: et infirmata est, non de se praesumendo videre quod non videt, sed

Chapter XVI. — 16. God will be seen by His sons as He is. He appeared as He judged fitting; He was hidden as He was. True affection is not seen, love is not seen, charity is not seen. From that pledge let it burn towards that for which Moses too was burning, who said to Him Whom he was seeing, Show me Thyself. If, then, we seek this, we are His sons. For we are sons of God, and it has not yet appeared what we shall be. We know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2). Not as He was seen at the oak of Mamre, not as He was seen by Moses, so that we should still say to Him, Show us Thyself; but we shall see Him as He is. By what merit? Because we are sons of God. And this not from our merits, but by the grace of His mercy. For setting apart a voluntary rain, O God, for Thy inheritance: and it was weakened, not by presuming of itself to see what it does not see, but

Editors' notes and page, col. 161

Footnotes

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Victorinus Ms., Quid videbat et quid faciebat ?

The Victorine manuscript: "Quid videbat et quid faciebat?" ("What did he see and what was he doing?").

(printed under page 87)

(2) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot image› · call in col 161

Sic in Victorino Ms. At apud Lov., Nihil in illa persona

So in the Victorine manuscript. But in the Louvain edition: "Nihil in illa persona" ("Nothing in that person").

(printed under page 87)

(3) ‹anchor: in id aestuet› · call in col 161

Victorinus Ms., Verus affectus, noster amor, nostra dilectio in illo pignore, in id aestuet.

The Victorine manuscript: "Verus affectus, noster amor, nostra dilectio in illo pignore, in id aestuet" ("Let true affection, our love, our charity in that pledge, burn towards this").

(printed under page 87)