Migne Reading Room
PL 38 · cols. 196–206
Augustine, Sermones 26-33 (Classis I, de Scripturis: de Psalmis)
Sermon XXXII
manus et pedes, et projicite illum in tenebras exteriores? Age, quid postea? Tenebrae erunt, et dolor non erit? Forte palpabunt, sed non dolebunt? non videbunt, sed non cruciabuntur? Absit! Non solae tenebrae erunt, non eis sola tollitur species qua gaudebant, sed datur etiam quod in aeternum gemant. Ne contemneres enim tenebras, o quisquis es flagitiosus, qui soles propter tua mala facta, et propter lasciva adulteria non solum tenebras non horrere, sed quaerere, qui soles plus gaudere quando lucerna exstinguitur: non tales tenebras habebis ubi gaudeas, ubi laeteris, ubi te voluptatibus carnis oblectes, non sic erunt ipsae tenebrae. Sed quomodo erunt? Ibi erit fletus et stridor dentium (Matth. XXII, 13). Tortor sine defectu, tortus sine defectu. Nec qui torquet, fatigatur; nec qui torquetur, moritur. Erunt ergo aeternae lacrymae illis qui sic vixerunt, erunt aeterna gaudia sanctorum, quando venientes venient in exsultatione, portantes manipulos suos. Dicent enim tempore messis Domino suo: Domine, adjuvante te fecimus quod jussisti; redde quod promisisti.
hands and feet, and cast him into the outer darkness? Come, what then? Will there be darkness, and will there be no pain? Perhaps they will grope about, but will not feel pain? They will not see, but will they not be tormented? Far from it! Not darkness alone will there be; not only is the sight in which they used to rejoice taken from them, but there is given besides that over which they may groan for ever. For lest you should despise darkness, O whoever you are that are wicked, you who are accustomed, on account of your evil deeds and on account of wanton adulteries, not only not to dread darkness but to seek it, you who are accustomed to rejoice more when the lamp is put out: you will not have such darkness where you may rejoice, where you may be glad, where you may delight yourself with the pleasures of the flesh; that darkness itself will not be so. But how will it be? There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 22:13). A torturer without failing, one tortured without failing. Neither does he who tortures grow weary, nor does he who is tortured die. There will therefore be eternal tears for those who have lived thus; there will be eternal joys for the saints, when coming they shall come with exultation, carrying their sheaves. For at the time of harvest they will say to their Lord: Lord, with Thy help we have done what Thou didst command; render what Thou didst promise.
SERMO XXXII. In Psalmum CXLIII. De Golia et David, ac de contemptu mundi.
Sermon 32. On Psalm 143. On Goliath and David, and on contempt of the world.
CAPUT I. — 1. Medicamenta in Scripturis divinis. Deus et Dominus noster curans et sanans omnem animae languorem, multa medicamenta protulit de Scripturis sanctis, velut de quibusdam armariis suis, cum lectiones divinae legerentur; quae per ministerium nostrum adhibenda sunt vulneribus nostris. Non enim sic nos esse profitemur pueros medici, per quos alios sanare dignetur, ut nos ipsi jam non habeamus necessariam curationem. Si in illum intendamus, si ei nos toto corde praebeamus curandos, omnes sanabimur. Multa lecta sunt, et magna, et necessaria; quanquam ita sint omnia: sed tamen alia secretius in Scripturis absconduntur, ut quaerentes exerceant; alia vero in promptu et in manifestatione ponuntur, ut desiderantes curent. Psalmus hic magna quidem secreta continet, quae si omnia singillatim tractare voluerimus, vereor ne non ferat communis infirmitas; sive propter aestus temporales, sive propter corporis vires, sive propter intelligentiae tarditatem, sive etiam propter ipsam minus idoneam sufficientiam nostram. Pauca ergo inde delibabimus, quantum existimamus sufficere officio nostro, et intentioni charitatis vestrae.
Chapter I. — 1. Medicines in the divine Scriptures. Our God and Lord, Who cares for and heals every sickness of the soul, has brought forth many medicines from the holy Scriptures, as if from certain medicine-chests of His, while the divine readings were being read; and these are to be applied through our ministry to our wounds. For we do not profess ourselves to be the physician's boys in such a way, boys through whom He deigns to heal others, that we ourselves have no longer any need of cure. If we direct ourselves towards Him, if we offer ourselves to Him with our whole heart to be cured, we shall all be healed. Many things have been read, both great and necessary; though indeed all things are such: but nevertheless some things are hidden away more secretly in the Scriptures, that they may exercise those who seek; others, however, are set out openly and in plain view, that they may heal those who desire. This psalm indeed contains great secrets, and if we wished to treat them all one by one, I fear that our common weakness would not bear it; whether on account of the summer heat, or on account of the strength of the body, or on account of slowness of understanding, or even on account of our own less than adequate capacity. We shall therefore take a little from it, as much as we judge to be enough for our office and for the attention of your Charity.
CAPUT II. — 2. Titulus psalmi. Primo, titulus ejus est, Ad Goliam. Qui rudes non sunt in Scripturis divinis, qui amant frequentare istam scholam, qui non oderunt magistrum, sicut pueri desperati, et intentam aurem praebent in ecclesia Lectoribus, atque exceptorium cordis sui in fluenta Scripturae divinae patefaciunt; qui non intra istos parietes, domus suae curam gerunt et domesticis fabulis delectantur, ut
Chapter II. — 2. The title of the psalm. First, its title is, To Goliath. Those who are not untaught in the divine Scriptures, who love to frequent this school, who do not hate the master, as hopeless boys do, and who lend an attentive ear in church to the Readers, and open the receptacle of their heart to the streams of divine Scripture; who do not, within these walls, attend to the care of their house and delight in household gossip, so that
Editors' notes and page, col. 196
Footnotes
(2) ‹anchor: pueros medici› · call in col 196
Sic optimae notae Germanensis Ms. At editi, puros medicos.
So the Saint-Germain manuscript of the best mark. But the printed editions, "puros medicos" ("pure physicians").
(*) ‹anchor: not visible (at the sermon's title)› · call in col 196 (not visible) Collatus est cum duobus cl. cum cb. gr. rm. Am. Er. Ulim. Par. Lov.
It has been collated with two cl. manuscripts, with cb. gr. rm., Am. Er. Ulim. Par. Lov.
(printed under page 104)
(a) ‹anchor: not visible (at the sermon's title)› · call in col 196 (not visible)
Alias, 20 de Diversis, et 31 inter Homilias 50.
Elsewhere, [Sermon] 20 de Diversis, and 31 among the Fifty Homilies.
(printed under page 104)
(b) ‹anchor: mundi› · call in col 196
A Possidio notatur in Indiculi cap. 8.
It is recorded by Possidius in ch. 8 of the Indiculus.
(printed under page 104)
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ideo conveniant, ut inveniant cum quibus loquantur nugatoria, non cum quibus audiant utilia; qui non amant loqui de rebus alienis, cum defecerint in suis: qui ergo non ita conveniunt, et frequenter conveniunt, non sunt rudes in isto titulo Psalmi, quod scriptum est, Ad Goliam; norunt quis fuerit Golias. Tamen propter alios qui vel nunc intenti sunt, alio, autem tempore minus sunt intenti, vel fortasse spinis saecularibus, id est, negotiorum mundanorum curis, verbum in corde suo tanquam semen utile offocare consuerunt, narremus etiam ista pervetera, et usitata intentis et studiosis Litterarum divinarum.
they come together for this purpose, to find people with whom to talk trifles, not people with whom to hear useful things; who do not love to talk about other people's affairs, when they have run out of their own: those, then, who do not come together in that way, and who come together often, are not unacquainted with this title of the Psalm, in which it is written, To Goliath; they know who Goliath was. Yet for the sake of others, who are attentive now perhaps but at another time are less attentive, or who perhaps are accustomed to choke the word in their heart like useful seed with the thorns of the world, that is, with the cares of worldly business, let us tell these very old things too, things familiar to those who are attentive and devoted to the divine Scriptures.
CAPUT III. — 3. Goliae et Davidis descriptio. Golias unus fuit ex Allophylis, id est, ex alienigenis, qui bellum gerebant illo tempore adversus filios Israel. Eo autem tempore David sanctus, cujus est hoc Psalterium, imo per quem ministravit hoc Psalterium Spiritus sanctus, puer erat pascens oves patris sui, tenera aetate, vix dum adolescentulus. Fratres ejus jam juvenes militabant, et in exercitu regis erant. Attulit eis missus a parentibus aliquid de domo, usibus ipsorum. Ita illo tempore quo pugnabatur, in exercitu inventus est nondum miles, sed militum minister et frater. Exstitit tunc Golias iste, de quo mentio facta est, ingens statura corporis, armis instructus, viribus etiam exercitatus, elatus jactantia, qui superbe provocaret ad monomachiam adversarium populum: hoc est, ut unus inde electus ab ipsis procederet adversus eum, ut duobus pugnantibus examen totius belli in medio versaretur, pacto et placito addito, ut si quis duorum illorum vicisset, universae parti unde steterat tribueretur victoria. Rex ergo ille populi Judaeorum filiorum Israel Saül erat. Angebatur, aestuabat, quaerebat in universo exercitu parem illi: verum non inveniebat, nec forma corporis, nec audacia provocationis. Cum ergo aestuaret, ausus est puer iste David, non praesumens de viribus suis, sed in nomine Dei sui, procedere adversus eum. Nuntiatum est regi, non audacia pueritiae, sed fiducia pietatis: nec rex abnuit, non recusavit. Intellexit, cum videret audentem puerum, aliquid divinitatis in eo esse, nec illam teneram aetatem sine divino instinctu talia posse praesumere. Libenter accepit: processit adversus Goliam.
Chapter III. — 3. Description of Goliath and of David. Goliath was one of the Allophyli, that is, of the foreigners, who at that time were waging war against the children of Israel. At that time holy David, whose this Psalter is, or rather through whom the Holy Spirit supplied this Psalter, was a boy feeding his father's sheep, of tender age, scarcely yet a youth. His brothers, already young men, were serving as soldiers and were in the king's army. Sent by his parents, he brought them something from home for their needs. So at that time, when the fighting was going on, he was found in the army not yet a soldier, but the servant and brother of soldiers. Then this Goliath of whom mention has been made came forward, huge in stature of body, equipped with arms, trained also in strength, puffed up with boasting, to challenge the opposing people proudly to single combat: that is, that one man chosen by them from there should come out against him, so that with two fighting the decision of the whole war might be settled in the middle, a pact and agreement being added, that if either of those two conquered, the victory should be granted to the whole side on which he had stood. Now the king of the people of the Jews, the children of Israel, was Saul. He was distressed, he was in turmoil, he sought in the whole army one equal to him: but he did not find one, either in bodily form or in daring of challenge. While he was thus in turmoil, this boy David dared, not presuming on his own strength but in the name of his God, to go out against him. It was reported to the king, not as boyish daring but as the confidence of piety: and the king did not refuse, did not reject him. He understood, when he saw the daring boy, that there was something of the divine in him, and that such tender age could not presume such things without divine prompting. He accepted gladly: [David] went out against Goliath.
CAPUT IV. — 4. Davidis in Deo confidentia. In omnibus ergo, qui erant in ea parte, unde procedebat David, non erat praesumptio nisi de Deo: in illis autem tota spes in unius hominis viribus. Sed quid est homo, nisi quod in isto psalmo cecinit, Homo vanitati assimilatus est; dies ejus velut umbra praetereunt? Ergo spes illorum inanis, quae collocata est in umbra transeunte. Armatus est autem David, ut quoniam aetate et viribus impar erat, quasi armis par esset: sed arma vetera non adjuvabant, potius onerabant novam aetatem. Et ad hoc pertinet quod etiam apostolica lectio ante psalmi canticum praesignavit, dicens: Exuite vos veterem hominem, et induite novum (Coloss. III, 9, 10). Noluit David vetustatem armorum: abjecit; onerosa esse dixit, quia implicabant
Chapter IV. — 4. David's confidence in God. In all, then, who were on that side from which David was going out, there was no reliance except on God: but in those others all hope was in the strength of one man. But what is man, except what [the psalmist] sang in this psalm, Man is made like to vanity; his days pass away like a shadow? Therefore their hope was empty, being placed in a passing shadow. David, moreover, was armed, so that, since he was unequal in age and strength, he might as it were be equal in arms: but the old arms did not help; rather they weighed down his new age. And to this belongs what the apostolic reading before the singing of the psalm also foreshadowed, saying: Put off the old man, and put on the new (Col. 3:9–10). David would not have the oldness of the arms: he threw them off; he said they were burdensome, because they entangled
Editors' notes and page, col. 197
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- other: misprint kept as printed: "alio, autem tempore" (a stray comma after alio; read alio autem tempore) (listed by Q2b)
eum. Expeditissimus ille ad praelium procedere cupiebat; fortis non in se, sed in Domino; armatus non tam ferro, quam fide.
him. He, most ready for action, was eager to go forward to the battle; strong not in himself, but in the Lord; armed not so much with iron as with faith.
5. Quinque lapides David quid mysterii habeant. Tamen abjectis armis, elegit aliquid unde pugnaret: et hoc non sine sacramento. Nam videtis quasi duas quasdam vitas; unam in alienigenis veterem, alteram in Israelitis novam, adversus invicem dimicare. In illa parte corpus diaboli, in ista praefiguratio Domini Jesu Christi.
5. What mystery David's five stones hold. Yet, having cast away the arms, he chose something with which to fight: and this not without a sacrament. For you see, as it were, two lives of a sort, the one old in the foreigners, the other new in the Israelites, fighting against each other. On that side is the body of the devil, on this the prefiguring of the Lord Jesus Christ.
CAPUT V.—Tulit quinque lapides de torrente, de fluvio, et posuit in vase pastoris, quo lac mulgeri solet, et ita processit armatus (I Reg. XVII). Quinque lapides, Lex erat; continetur enim Lex quinque libris Moysi. Et in ipsa Lege decem praecepta sunt salutaria, quibus decem praeceptis caetera serviant. Praefiguratur ergo Lex et quinario et denario numero. Et ideo David pugnavit quinario, cecinit denario dicens: In psalterio decem chordarum psallam tibi. Neque omnes quinque lapides misit, sed unum tulit. Namque in numero lapidum, numerum librorum ostendit; in uno lapide, unitatem implentium Legem. Unitas enim ipsa implet Legem, id est, charitas. Ideo sublati sunt quinque illi lapides de fluvio. Fluvius quid significabat illo tempore?
Chapter V.—He took five stones from the torrent, from the river, and put them in a shepherd's vessel, into which milk is usually drawn, and so went forth armed (1 Sam. 17). The five stones were the Law; for the Law is contained in the five books of Moses. And in the Law itself there are ten salutary precepts, so that to these ten precepts all the rest should be subservient. The Law, therefore, is prefigured both by the number five and by the number ten. And for this reason David fought with five and sang with ten, saying: Upon a psaltery of ten strings I will sing to Thee. Nor did he cast all five stones, but took one. For in the number of the stones he shows the number of the books; in the one stone, the unity of those who fulfil the Law. For unity itself fulfils the Law, that is, charity. Therefore those five stones were taken up from the river. What did the river signify at that time?
CAPUT VI.—6. Regula ad intelligendas Scripturae allegorias. Non enim semper in Scripturis eadem significantur rebus certis. Et hoc nosse debet Sanctitas vestra, propter caeteras regulas, ut etiam dociles Lectorem audiatis. Ea quae ponuntur allegorice in Scripturis, non semper hoc significant. Non semper mons Dominum significat, non semper lapis Dominum significat, non semper leo Dominum significat, non semper bonum, non semper malum; sed pro locis Scripturarum, quo pertinent caetera circumstantia ipsius lectionis. Quemadmodum litterae in tot millibus verborum atque sermonum ipsae repetuntur, non augentur: verba infinita sunt, finitae sunt tamen litterae: verba numerare nemo potest; litteras quivis potest, unde multitudo verborum est. Cum una littera variis in locis ponitur, et pro loco valet, non unam rem valet. Quae tam diversae res, quam Deus et diabolus? Tamen in capite, D littera est, cum dicimus, Deus; et cum dicimus, Diabolus. Sicut ergo littera pro loco valet; errat autem, et nimis absurdus est, et intra puerile cor qui cum legerit, verbi gratia, D litteram in nomine Dei, timet illam ponere in nomine diaboli, ne quasi Deo faciat injuriam: sic etiam qui imperite audit divinas Scripturas, ut de isto ipso exemplo non recedamus, cum audit, verbi gratia, in allegoria positum fluvium, eo loco ubi dictum est, Fluminis impetus laetificant civitatem Dei (Psal. XLV, 5); dictum est autem de inundatione Spiritus sancti, de qua alio loco ait Propheta, Inebriabuntur ab ubertate domus tuae, et torrente voluptatis tuae potabis eos (Psal. XXXV, 9): cum ergo sic acceperit fluvium in bono, et laudaverit, et delectatus fuerit; quando pro loco dicitur ei quod fluvius significet homines fluentes, et temporalibus
Chapter VI.—6. A rule for understanding the allegories of Scripture. For in the Scriptures the same things are not always signified by fixed objects. And Your Holiness ought to know this, for the sake of the other rules, so that you may also listen to the Reader as ready learners. The things that are set down allegorically in the Scriptures do not always signify this. A mountain does not always signify the Lord, a stone does not always signify the Lord, a lion does not always signify the Lord, not always something good, not always something bad; but according to the places of the Scriptures, to which the rest of the context of the reading itself relates. Just as the same letters are repeated, not increased, in so many thousands of words and discourses: words are infinite, yet letters are finite: no one can count words; anyone can count letters, from which comes the multitude of words. When one letter is placed in various positions, it has value according to its position; it does not have the value of one thing. What things are so different as God and the devil? Yet at the beginning there is the letter D, when we say Deus, and when we say Diabolus. Just as, therefore, a letter has value according to its position; and he errs, and is very absurd, and has a childish heart within, who, when he has read, for example, the letter D in the name of God, fears to place it in the name of the devil, lest he should, as it were, do God an injury: so too he who hears the divine Scriptures unskilfully, so that we may not depart from this very example, when he hears, for example, a river set down in allegory, in that place where it is said, The rushings of the river make glad the city of God (Ps. 45:5); and it was said of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, of which the Prophet says in another place, They shall be inebriated with the plenty of Thy house, and Thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of Thy pleasure (Ps. 35:9): when, then, he has taken the river thus in a good sense, and has praised it, and has been delighted; when he is told, according to the place, that the river signifies men who flow away, and given
Editors' notes and page, col. 198
Footnotes
(a) ‹anchor: et intra› · call in col 198
Forte, gestat.
Perhaps, "gestat" ("carries").
(printed under page 105)
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deditos, cum transeuntium amore transeuntes, expavescit; quia in alio loco acceperat fluvium in bono significare aliquid, et perturbatur: ita fit in Scripturis mutus, quomodo in litteris mutus efficitur, si noluerit transferre ipsas litteras ad alia verba, sed in his solis verbis eas tenuerit, in quibus eas primo didicerit.
over to temporal things, passing away together with their love of passing things, he takes fright, because in another place he had taken the river to signify something in a good sense, and he is thrown into confusion: thus he becomes mute in the Scriptures, just as a man is made mute in letters if he refuses to transfer those very letters to other words, but holds them only in those words in which he first learned them.
CAPUT VII. — 7. De fluvio levati lapides et in pastorali vase positi quid significent. Si percepit hoc Sanctitas vestra, res vobis dicta est, quantum arbitramur, utilissima; et quae vos multum adjuvet, non solum ad audiendos tractatus nostros, sed etiam ad intelligendas ipsas Scripturas, de quibus vobis ista tractamus. Fluvius ergo, unde tulit tunc David quinque lapides, non bonum aliquid significavit illo tempore. Novi quidem posse quibusdam occurrere, et in bono significare illum fluvium: sicuti si quispiam velit Baptismum intelligere, ut lapides de Baptismo levati, id est, homines baptizati, fortissimi sint adversus diabolum, qui significabatur per Goliam. Tamen propter quinarium numerum constat nobis ratio, quia dixeramus Legem significari quinario numero, propter quinque libros Moysi. Quid significat quod de fluvio sunt ablati, et positi in vase pastoritio? Jam diximus, quia in adventu Domini nostri Jesu Christi, ut vere diabolus vinceretur, Lex transiit ad gratiam. Quid tam significans gratiam, quam lactis copia? Sublati sunt autem illi lapides de fluvio. Fluvius significabat populum fluxum, deditum temporalibus rebus, amantem transeuntia, et cupiditatis impetu in mare hujus saeculi decurrentem; qualis erat populus Judaeorum vetus. Acceperat Legem, sed calcabat Legem, et transibat super Legem, et ferebatur in mare, quomodo fluvius super illos lapides. Non enim lapides illi limitem fecerant fluvio, ut statuerent fluvium. Quod si ita essent, significarent coercitionem Legis, et eos qui cum fluere coeperint voluptatibus et cupiditatibus suis, venientes ad praecepta Legis consistunt, et refrenant impetus libidinum suarum. Non autem ita erant illi lapides; sed in fluvio, super quos transibat aqua, sicut super Legem transgressor populus transibat. Inde ergo Dominus tulit Legem ad gratiam: id est, de fluvio tulit, et in vase pastoris posuit.
Chapter VII. — 7. What the stones taken up from the river and placed in the shepherd's vessel signify. If Your Holiness has grasped this, something has been told you that is, as we judge, most useful, and that may help you greatly, not only for hearing our discourses, but also for understanding the Scriptures themselves, about which we treat these matters for you. The river, then, from which David at that time took five stones, signified nothing good at that time. I know indeed that it may occur to some to take that river in a good sense too: as if someone should wish to understand Baptism, so that the stones taken up from Baptism, that is, baptized men, are very strong against the devil, who was signified by Goliath. Yet because of the number five the reasoning holds good for us, since we had said that the Law is signified by the number five, on account of the five books of Moses. What does it signify that they were taken from the river and placed in a shepherd's vessel? We have already said that at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that the devil might truly be conquered, the Law passed over to grace. What signifies grace so well as an abundance of milk? Now those stones were taken up from the river. The river signified a people that was fluid, given over to temporal things, loving passing things, and running down with the rush of desire into the sea of this world; such was the old people of the Jews. It had received the Law, but it trampled on the Law, and passed over the Law, and was borne into the sea, just as the river passed over those stones. For those stones had not made a boundary for the river, so as to stop the river. If they had been so, they would signify the restraint of the Law, and those who, when they have begun to flow with their pleasures and desires, on coming to the precepts of the Law stand firm and rein in the rush of their lusts. But those stones were not so; rather they were in the river, and the water passed over them, just as the transgressing people passed over the Law. From there, then, the Lord took the Law to grace: that is, He took it from the river and placed it in the shepherd's vessel.
CAPUT VIII. — 8. Populus Judaeorum non implevit Legem; quia timebat, non amabat. Qui vult ergo implere Legem, gratiam cogitet. Ideo et illa decem praecepta psalterii decem chordarum, ipsa sunt quae erant in illo populo vetere: sed illum populum decem praecepta timore opprimebant. Non enim erat in illis charitas, quae est per gratiam; sed timor erat. Praecepta Domini poenalia erant illi populo; quia impleri non poterant amore. Conabantur, sed cupiditate superabantur. Cum ergo quisque ad gratiam transitum fecerit, non alia praecepta implet; sed ipsa quae hac impleri non poterant, hac implentur. Non est tamen vis praeceptorum, sed vis gratiae Dei. Nam si praeceptorum Legis hoc esset, et illa impleret. Qui transit
Chapter VIII. — 8. The people of the Jews did not fulfil the Law, because they feared and did not love. Whoever, then, wishes to fulfil the Law, let him think on grace. Therefore those ten precepts of the ten-stringed psaltery too are the very same that were among that old people: but the ten precepts oppressed that people with fear. For there was not in them charity, which is through grace; rather there was fear. The precepts of the Lord were penal for that people, because they could not be fulfilled by love. They tried, but were overcome by desire. When, therefore, anyone has made the passage to grace, he does not fulfil other precepts; but the very ones which could not be fulfilled in that way are fulfilled in this way. Yet it is not the power of the precepts, but the power of the grace of God. For if this belonged to the precepts of the Law, that too would have accomplished it. Whoever passes
Editors' notes and page, col. 199
Footnotes
(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 199 (not visible)
Sic Germanensis Ms. Editi vero, Baptismo lavati.
So the Saint-Germain manuscript. The printed editions, however, "Baptismo lavati" ("washed by Baptism").
(printed under page 106)
(2) ‹anchor: timore opprimebant› · call in col 199
Ita in Germanensi Ms. At in editis, praeceptorum timor opprimebat.
So in the Saint-Germain manuscript. But in the printed editions: "the fear of the precepts weighed down."
(printed under page 106)
(a) ‹anchor: poterant amore› · call in col 199
Forte, timore.
Perhaps, "timore" ("by fear").
(printed under page 106)
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ad Christum, transit a timore ad amorem, et inc⟨i⟩pit amore jam posse quod timore non poterat; et qui trepidabat in timore, non trepidat in amore. Ideo hanc in decem praeceptis, quia significat David hominem qui transit ad gratiam, cum dicit, In psalterio decem chordarum psallam tibi, jam cantare in praeceptis, hoc est hilariter praecepta complere.
to Christ, passes from fear to love, and begins through love now to be able to do what through fear he could not; and he who trembled in fear does not tremble in love. Therefore this [is] in the ten commandments, because David signifies the man who passes over to grace, when he says, On a psaltery of ten strings I will sing to Thee: now to sing in the commandments, that is, cheerfully to fulfil the commandments.
CAPUT IX.— 9. De suis viribus ne homo praesumat. Et ut noveritis, fratres, quia gratia hoc implet, nemo debet de viribus suis praesumere: hoc est enim praesumere de gratia Dei. Vocat enim te Deus, et jubet ut facias: sed ipse dat vires, ut quod jubet, impleri possit. Tibi autem capax fides adhibenda est, ut inundatione gratiae humilies te, supplices Deo, nihi⟨l⟩ de te praesumas; spolies te Golia, induas David. Ad hoc pertinet quod in eodem psalmo dicitur, quod jam commemorare coeperamus, Quid est homo? Hoc enim monet, ne de se praesumat homo. Nam videte quomodo incantat adversus Goliam, qui de se praesumebat; et commendat ibi David, qui infirmus in hominibus, in Deo firmissimus erat. Quid est homo? Et dicit quid sit homo: Quoniam innotuisti ei. Hoc est totus homo, si innotescat illi Deus: si autem non illi innotescat Deus, nihil est homo. Quid est homo, cui non innotuit Deus? Homo vanitati assimilatus est, dies ejus velut umbra praetereunt. Ergo, Quid est homo, quoniam innotuisti ei; et filius hominis, quoniam aestimas eum? Quid est, aestimas eum? Placuit tibi eligere illum, et constituere in aliquo superiore et eminentiore loco: misericordiae tuae est, non meritorum ipsius.
Chapter IX. 9. That man should not presume upon his own strength. And so that you may know, brethren, that grace fulfils this, no one ought to presume upon his own strength: for that is to presume upon the grace of God. For God calls you, and commands you to act: but He Himself gives the strength, so that what He commands can be fulfilled. But you must bring a capacious faith, so that by the flood of grace you may humble yourself, make supplication to God, presume nothing of yourself; that you may strip yourself of Goliath and put on David. To this pertains what is said in the same psalm, which we had already begun to call to mind, What is man? For this warns that man should not presume upon himself. For see how he sings against Goliath, who presumed upon himself; and commends there David, who, weak among men, was most firm in God. What is man? And he says what man is: Because Thou hast made Thyself known to him. This is the whole man, if God makes Himself known to him: but if God does not make Himself known to him, man is nothing. What is man, to whom God has not made Himself known? Man has been made like to vanity, his days pass by like a shadow. Therefore, What is man, that Thou hast made Thyself known to him; and the son of man, that Thou esteemest him? What is it, Thou esteemest him? It has pleased Thee to choose him, and to set him in some higher and more eminent place: it is of Thy mercy, not of his merits.
CAPUT X.— 10. Proprium hominis nihil nisi peccatum et mendacium. Quaere quid sit hominis proprium, peccatum invenies. Quaere quid sit hominis proprium, mendacium invenies. Tolle peccatum, et quidquid consideraveris in homine, Dei est. Non ergo amet homo quod proprium est. Etiam ad hoc potest pertinere illud quod dicit Apostolus: Nemo quod suum est, quaerat (I Cor. X, 24). Aliquando enim audiunt illud homines a Lectoribus, et aedificantur ad auferendas res alienas. Interest quis tibi dicat, Noli quaerere quod tuum est. Aliquando enim dicitur a malo suasore, aliquando autem dicitur a bono doctore. Deus bonus est doctor. Quando ergo audis a Deo, Noli quaerere quod tuum est; noli sic accipere, quomodo dici solet. Aliquid boni est, quod te monet Deus. Quod dicebamus, quaere quid sit tuum, invenies peccatum. Noli ergo quaerere peccatum, et non quaeris tuum: noli quaerere mendacium, et non quaeris tuum. Veritas enim a Deo est, mendacium abs te.
Chapter X. 10. Nothing is man's own except sin and falsehood. Seek what is man's own, you will find sin. Seek what is man's own, you will find falsehood. Take away sin, and whatever you consider in man is God's. Therefore let man not love what is his own. To this also can pertain what the Apostle says: Let no one seek what is his own (1 Cor. 10:24). For sometimes men hear this from the Readers, and are built up towards carrying off what belongs to others. It matters who says to you, Do not seek what is yours. For sometimes it is said by an evil persuader, but sometimes it is said by a good teacher. God is a good teacher. When therefore you hear from God, Do not seek what is yours, do not take it in the way it is commonly said. It is something good that God warns you of. As we were saying, seek what is yours, you will find sin. Do not therefore seek sin, and you do not seek what is yours: do not seek falsehood, and you do not seek what is yours. For truth is from God, falsehood from you.
CAPUT XI. — 11. Duae januae diabolo tentatori, cupiditas et timor. Et si diabolus aliquando aliquid suggerit, consentientem tenet, non cogit invitum. Non enim seducit ille aut trahit aliquem, nisi quem invenerit ex aliqua parte jam similem sibi. Invenit enim eum aliquid cupientem: et cupiditas aperit januam intranti suggestioni diaboli. Invenit illum aliquid timentem, monet ut fugiat, quod illum invenit timere; monet ut adipiscatur, quod illum invenit cupere: et per has duas januas cupiditatis et timoris
Chapter XI. 11. Two doors for the devil the tempter, desire and fear. And if the devil sometimes suggests something, he holds one who consents, he does not compel one unwilling. For he does not seduce or draw anyone, except one whom he has found already in some part like himself. For he finds him desiring something: and desire opens the door to the devil's suggestion as it enters. He finds him fearing something; he urges him to flee what he finds him fearing; he urges him to obtain what he finds him desiring: and through these two doors of desire and fear
Editors' notes and page, col. 200
Footnotes
(a) ‹anchor: nemo› · call in col 200
Forte, et nemo
Perhaps, "et nemo" ("and no one").
(printed under page 106)
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intrat. Claude illas, et imples Apostoli illud in hodierna lectione. Non detis locum diabolo (Ephes. IV, 27). Ibi enim voluit ostendere Apostolus, quia quamvis intret et possideat diabolus; homo illi tamen locum dedit, ut posset intrare.
enters. Close them, and you fulfil that saying of the Apostle in today's reading: Do not give place to the devil (Eph. 4:27). For there the Apostle wished to show that, although the devil enters and takes possession, man nevertheless gave him place, so that he could enter.
12. Reos omnes Christus invenit. Ergo quia nihil est homo cui non innotuit Deus et quem non aestimat Deus; dat illi gratiam suam, inveniens in illo quod damnet, et donans omnia confitenti, ut coronet credentem.
12. Christ found all men guilty. Therefore, since a man to whom God has not made Himself known, and whom God does not esteem, is nothing, He gives him His grace, finding in him what He might condemn, and forgiving all things to the one who confesses, so that He may crown the one who believes.
CAPUT XII. — Quid enim invenit Dominus in hominibus quando venit, nisi quod damnaret? Omnino, fratres, cogitate et videte; sive in illo populo Israelitarum, sive in Gentibus, non invenit nisi quod damnaret. Et ideo ad peccantes humilis voluit venire, non judex, cum parcit illis, ut primo praerogaret misericordiam donando peccata, et sic postea redderet severitatem puniendo peccata. Non abutamur, id est, non male utamur misericordia ejus, et non sentiemus severitatem ejus. Ergo hoc est homo totum, quod ei innotescit Deus, quod dat illi gratiam suam, unde praesumebat David: Golias autem de se, de viribus suis, superbus, elatus, inflatus, primo totam victoriam universae partis suae in se uno constituit. Et quia omnis superbia habet impudentiam frontis, in ipsam frontem lapide veniente dejectus est. Evacuata est frons quae habebat impudentiam superbiae suae; et vicit frons quae habebat humilitatem crucis Christi.
Chapter XII. — For what did the Lord find in men when He came, except what He might condemn? Altogether, brethren, consider and see: whether in that people of the Israelites or among the Gentiles, He found nothing but what He might condemn. And therefore He willed to come humble to sinners, not as judge, when He spares them, so that He might first bestow mercy beforehand by forgiving sins, and thus afterwards render severity by punishing sins. Let us not abuse, that is, let us not make ill use of His mercy, and we shall not feel His severity. Therefore this is the whole of man, that God makes Himself known to him, that He gives him His grace, from which David took his confidence: but Goliath, [confident] of himself, of his own strength, proud, elated, puffed up, from the outset placed the whole victory of his entire side in himself alone. And since all pride has a brazen forehead, he was struck down by a stone coming at that very forehead. Emptied was the forehead that had the brazenness of its pride; and the forehead that had the humility of the cross of Christ conquered.
CAPUT XIII. — 13. Crucis signum in fronte quid significet. Propterea et nos signum ipsum crucis in fronte portamus, qui illud intelligit. Hoc dico, fratres, quia multi illud faciunt, et intelligere nolunt. Factorem quaerit Deus signorum suorum, non pictorem. Si portas in fronte signum humilitatis Christi, porta in corde imitationem humilitatis Christi. Diximus autem, fratres, eum dare locum diabolo, qui illi aperit januas cupiditatis aut timoris: sed cupiditatis cujus, aut timoris cujus? Nam et regnum coelorum cupimus, et gehennam timemus. Sed quomodo illae januae, cupiditas rerum temporalium, et timor poenarum temporalium trahit plerumque ad nequitiam, et dat locum diabolo: sic cupiditas rerum aeternarum, et timor poenarum aeternarum facit locum in corde verbo Dei.
Chapter XIII. — 13. What the sign of the cross on the forehead signifies. For this reason we too carry that very sign of the cross on the forehead, he who understands it. I say this, brethren, because many make it and are unwilling to understand it. God seeks a doer of His signs, not a painter of them. If you carry on your forehead the sign of Christ's humility, carry in your heart the imitation of Christ's humility. Now we have said, brethren, that he gives place to the devil who opens to him the doors of desire or of fear: but desire of what, or fear of what? For we both desire the kingdom of heaven and fear Gehenna. But just as those doors, the desire of temporal things and the fear of temporal punishments, for the most part draw one to wickedness and give place to the devil, so the desire of eternal things and the fear of eternal punishments make place in the heart for the word of God.
CAPUT XIV. — 14. Cupiditatis tentatio. Breviter ergo, fratres, si volumus bene vivere, plus amemus quod promittit Deus, quam quod promittit hic mundus; et plus timeamus quod minatur Deus, quam quod minatur hic mundus. Numquid magnum aliquid aut longum est quod diximus? Venit tentatio tibi alicujus fraudis, vis facere fraudem, ut acquiras pecuniam: promittit Deus fraudem non facientibus sempiterna regna coelorum, vincit te cupiditas ad pecuniam. Nam quis est qui nolit regna coelorum? Sed plus velle terrena, hoc est peccare: plus velle quod praesens est, non credere quod futurum est; plus
Chapter XIV. — 14. The temptation of desire. Briefly then, brethren, if we wish to live well, let us love more what God promises than what this world promises; and let us fear more what God threatens than what this world threatens. Is what we have said anything great or long? A temptation to some fraud comes to you; you want to commit fraud in order to acquire money: God promises the everlasting kingdoms of heaven to those who do not commit fraud; desire for money overcomes you. For who is there who does not want the kingdoms of heaven? But to want earthly things more, this is to sin: to want more what is present, not to believe what is to come; more
Editors' notes and page, col. 201
Footnotes
(1) ‹anchor: not visible; the first quoted word is blotted, read as "pepercit"› · call in col 201 (not visible)
Forte, pepercit illis; sublato, cum, quod abest ab Ulim. et Par.
Perhaps, "pepercit illis" ("he spared them"); with "cum" removed, which is absent from the Ulimmerius and Paris editions.
(printed under page 107)
(2) ‹anchor: illud intelligit› · call in col 201
Sic Germanensis codex et editiones Ulim. et Par. At Lov., qui illud intelligimus.
So the Saint-Germain codex and the Ulimmerius and Paris editions. But the Louvain edition, "qui illud intelligimus" ("we who understand it").
(printed under page 107)
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velle quod videt homo, et non desiderare quod promittit Deus: cum id quod videt homo, etiam ab oculis potest auferri, etiam possessum potest amitti; id autem quod promittit Deus, nec oculo carnis videri interim potest; et cum quisque ad Dei promissa pervenerit, non timet ne amittat; quia nemo est potentior illo qui dedit. Itaque, fratres, haerete charitate promissis Dei; et non vos superabunt cupiditates saeculi.
to want what man sees, and not to desire what God promises: since what man sees can even be taken away from the eyes, and even when possessed can be lost; but what God promises cannot meanwhile be seen even with the eye of the flesh; and when anyone has arrived at the promises of God, he does not fear to lose them; because no one is more powerful than He Who gave. Therefore, brethren, cling with love to the promises of God; and the desires of the world will not overcome you.
CAPUT XV. — 15. Timoris tentatio. Rursum timoris tentatio advenit: dicit tibi quisque, Dic pro me falsum testimonium. Primo promittit: sed cum non deceperit, si forte praeponas promissa Dei pollicitationi hominum, non vincit cupiditas; per comminationem tentat, et incipit minari horribilia. Potens est forte in civitate, potens in saeculo, videtur posse facere quod minatur. Vincit te timor praesentis mali: quod et posset a te utique Deus avertere, si hoc illi videretur prodesse tibi; et si nollet avertere, intelligere deberes quia non tibi permitteret evenire, nisi et hoc sciret prodesse tibi. Avertit ignem a tribus pueris idem Deus. Numquid mutatus est Deus, quia non avertit gladium a martyribus? Idem ipse fuit Deus trium puerorum, qui fuit Machabaeorum. Illi de igne evaserunt (Dan. III), illi ignibus cruciati sunt (II Machab. VII): utrique tamen in Deo sempiterno vicerunt, Non enim aut illi vita ista temporali delectabantur, aut illi minis temporalibus frangebantur.
Chapter XV. — 15. The temptation of fear. Again the temptation of fear comes: someone says to you, Bear false witness for me. First he promises: but when he has not deceived [you], if perhaps you prefer the promises of God to the pledges of men, desire does not win; he tempts by threatening, and begins to threaten dreadful things. Perhaps he is powerful in the city, powerful in the world; he seems able to do what he threatens. Fear of the present evil overcomes you: which God could certainly avert from you, if it seemed to Him to profit you; and if He were unwilling to avert it, you ought to understand that He would not permit it to befall you, unless He knew that this too would profit you. The same God turned the fire away from the three boys. Was God changed, because He did not turn the sword away from the martyrs? The very same God was the God of the three boys Who was [the God] of the Maccabees. The ones escaped from the fire (Dan. 3), the others were tortured with fires (2 Macc. 7): yet both conquered in the eternal God. For neither did the ones take delight in this temporal life, nor were the others broken by temporal threats.
CAPUT XVI. — 16. Bono malus nihil vere nocet, sed prodest. Itaque noli timere hominem minantem tibi. Quid est enim homo? Vanitati assimilatus est; dies ejus sicut umbra praetereunt. Aut non tibi nocebit, et ante transibit illa umbra, quam ad te aculeus ejus transire potuerit; potens est enim Deus: aut si permissus fuerit nocere, ad tempus nocebit umbrae tuae, id est, rei transitoriae tuae, vitae temporali tuae, vitae veteri tuae. Usque enim ad ultimum mortis portamus aliquid veteris hominis. Temporalem vitam ille nocere potest, aeternam tibi vitam nemo potest auferre. Tollet tibi impedimenta, quibus hic teneris; et haerebis Deo, cui te jam praemissa spe, charitate colligaveras.
Chapter XVI. — 16. A bad man does a good man no real harm, but rather profits him. Therefore do not fear a man who threatens you. For what is man? He is made like to vanity; his days pass away like a shadow. Either he will not harm you, and that shadow will pass away before his sting can pass across to you; for God is powerful: or, if he is permitted to harm, he will harm for a time your shadow, that is, your transitory possession, your temporal life, your old life. For right up to the last [moment] of death we carry something of the old man. That man can harm the temporal life; the eternal life no one can take away from you. He will take away from you the encumbrances by which you are held here; and you will cling to God, to Whom you had already bound yourself by hope sent on ahead, by love.
CAPUT XVII. — 17. Homo malus novacula acuta. Propterea in Psalmis elegantissime dicitur de homine malo, Sicut novacula acuta fecisti dolum (Psal. LI, 4). Sic illi insultat Spiritus Dei. Quid attendit in novacula? Non quia occidi homines de novacula possunt: sed ad quam rem facta est novacula. Facta est autem ad radendos capillos. Quid tam superfluum in corpore, quam capilli? Quanta instantia, quanto studio, quanta cautela, quanta intentione acuitur, ut radat capillum? Sic et homo malus tollit se in partem, cogitat, recogitat, excogitat, ponit fraudem super fraudem, quaerit machinationem, ministros parat, falsos testes comparat, acuit novaculam. Quid facturus justo, nisi superflua rasurus?
Chapter XVII. — 17. The bad man a sharp razor. Therefore in the Psalms it is said most elegantly of the bad man, Like a sharp razor you have worked deceit (Ps. 51:4). Thus the Spirit of God mocks him. What does He have in view in the razor? Not that men can be killed with a razor: but for what purpose a razor is made. Now it is made for shaving off hair. What is so superfluous in the body as hair? With how much urgency, how much zeal, how much care, how much attention is it sharpened, that it may shave a hair? So too the bad man draws himself aside, thinks, thinks again, thinks out, piles fraud upon fraud, seeks a contrivance, prepares agents, procures false witnesses, sharpens the razor. What will he do to the just man, except shave off superfluous things?
CAPUT XVIII. — 18. Felicitas non in temporalibus
Chapter XVIII. — 18. Happiness [is] not in temporal things
Editors' notes and page, col. 202
Footnotes
(1) ‹anchor: sempiterno vicerunt› · call in col 202
Sic Ms. Germanensis Editi autem, cum Deo sempiterno vivunt.
So the Saint-Germain manuscript. The printed editions, however: "they live with the everlasting God."
(printed under page 107)
(2) ‹anchor: in partem› · call in col 202
Ms. Germanensis, tollit te in partem.
The Saint-Germain manuscript: "tollit te in partem" ("takes you aside").
(printed under page 107)
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ponenda. Itaque, fratres, si vultis parati esse ad sequendam voluntatem Dei, quod vobis dicimus, et nobis primum dicimus; imo omnibus dicit ille, qui securus dicit: si volumus parati esse ad sequendam voluntatem Dei, non amemus ista quae transeunt, non putemus ipsam esse felicitatem, quae dicitur in hoc saeculo. Hoc enim putabant illi alienigenae; totam felicitatem in rebus temporalibus, totam suavitatem in umbra ponebant, non in ipsa luce, non in ipsa veritate. Ideo in isto psalmo, qui ad Goliam est, attendite posteriora Psalmi: omnino lucidissimis verbis et enodatissimo sermone, qui non quaerat interpretem aut expositorem; sed misericordia Dei ita sunt posita, ut nemo dicat, Ecce hoc quomodo voluit dixit, et pro ingenio suo interpretatus est, sensit ut voluit: sic sunt posita, ut nemo se excuset. Posita sunt autem a David dicente, id est, a nova vita, Christi vita, vita quae per Christum nobis data est; insultans vitae veteri, felicitati veteri hominum, et illis qui in eam spem ponunt, et illis qui adipiscuntur eam, et in illa gaudent.
to be placed. Therefore, brothers, if you wish to be ready to follow the will of God, what we say to you we say first to ourselves; indeed he says it to all, he who speaks in security: if we wish to be ready to follow the will of God, let us not love these things that pass away, let us not think that to be happiness which is called happiness in this world. For this is what those foreigners thought; they placed all happiness in temporal things, all sweetness in the shadow, not in the light itself, not in the truth itself. Therefore in this psalm, which is against Goliath, attend to the later parts of the Psalm: they are set down in altogether most lucid words and in a most unknotted discourse, such as would seek no interpreter or expounder; but by the mercy of God they are so set down that no one may say, "Look, he said this as he wished, and interpreted it according to his own wit, understood it as he wished": they are so set down that no one may excuse himself. And they are set down by David speaking, that is, by the new life, the life of Christ, the life which has been given to us through Christ; mocking the old life, the old happiness of men, both those who place their hope in it and those who attain it and rejoice in it.
CAPUT XIX. — 19. Felicitas impiorum nonnullis scandalum. Superflua petens propitio Deo non exauditur. Videntur enim justi laborare in hoc saeculo, et injusti feliciter in hoc saeculo vivere: et quasi dormiat Deus, negligens res humanas, illi plerumque extolluntur impunitate, isti plerumque franguntur infirmitate, et putant sibi nihil prodesse quod bene vivunt, quia non habent ea quibus videntur abundare peccatores, scelerati et impii homines. Et quamdiu talia rogant a Deo, ut pro magno sibi praestentur, tamdiu errant; et cavendum est ne dentur in potestatem cupiditatis suae. Nam dictum est, Dedit illos Deus in concupiscentias cordis eorum (Psal. LXXX, 13). Et magis propitius est Deus, quando superflua et nugatoria petentem non exaudit ut det, sed exaudit ut sanet non dando. Etenim quare ista quaerant homines, quis non videt? Ut in luxuriis suis consumant, et in nugis, et in insanissimis spectaculis, a Deo quaerunt homines habere ista.
Chapter XIX. — 19. The happiness of the ungodly a stumbling-block to some. One who asks for superfluous things is not heard when God is gracious. For the just seem to toil in this world, and the unjust to live happily in this world: and as though God were asleep, neglecting human affairs, the latter are mostly exalted by impunity, the former mostly broken by weakness, and they think that it profits them nothing that they live well, because they do not have the things in which sinners, wicked and ungodly men, are seen to abound. And so long as they ask such things of God, that they may be granted to them as something great, so long do they go astray; and one must beware lest they be given over into the power of their own desire. For it has been said, God gave them up to the lusts of their heart (Ps. 80:13). And God is more gracious when He does not hear one who asks for superfluous and trifling things so as to give them, but hears him so as to heal him by not giving. For who does not see why men seek these things? That they may squander them in their luxuries, and in trifles, and in the most insane spectacles, men seek to have these things from God.
CAPUT XX. — 20. Divitiarum abusus. — Da mihi hominem de saeculo, petat a Deo divitias; dentur, et vide innumerabiles consequi laqueos mortis ejus. Opprimit inde pauperem, superbit homo mortalis super hominem parem sibi, quaerit honores ab hominibus vanos; ut autem adipiscatur, exhibet illis ludicra nequitiae, ludicra malae cupiditatis: ludos et ursos emit, donat res suas bestiariis, esuriente Christo in pauperibus. Quid opus est plura dicere, fratres? Vos ipsi cogitate quae nos tacemus, quanta mala faciant homines de superfluis rebus, quando illis acciderit proventus illarum. Nonne melius est, quando talis est homo, ut possit sic uti copia rerum praesentium, ut auferat illi eam Deus, non illi eam det? No⟨n⟩ne tunc est misericordia?
Chapter XX. — 20. The abuse of riches. — Give me a man of the world; let him ask riches of God; let them be given, and see the countless snares of his death that follow. From them he oppresses the poor man; a mortal man grows proud over a man his equal; he seeks vain honours from men; and to obtain them he puts on for them shows of wickedness, shows of evil desire: he buys games and bears, he gives his property to beast-fighters, while Christ is hungry in the poor. What need is there to say more, brothers? Think yourselves of what we leave unsaid, how many evils men do with superfluous things when an abundance of them has come their way. Is it not better, when a man is such that he could use the plenty of present things in this way, that God should take it away from him, not give it to him? Is it not then mercy?
CAPUT XXI. — 21. Cupiditas temporalium quomodo
Chapter XXI. — 21. How desire for temporal things
Editors' notes and page, col. 203
Footnotes
(1) ‹anchor: cupiditatis: ludos› · call in col 203
Quaedam editio, lupos. Libri alii, ludos; id est ludorum loca.
A certain edition, "lupos" ("wolves"). The other books, "ludos"; that is, places for the games.
(printed under page 108)
(a) ‹anchor: a Deo› · call in col 203
In B., ad marginem, ideo. M.
In B., in the margin, "ideo" ("therefore"). M[igne].
(printed under page 108)
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in proximum iniqua. Et dicet: Bene feci, et nihil alienum abstuli, et non me exaudisti: ex eo quod habeo do egenti, non tollo alicui; a te peto, tu da. Quasi vero det tibi villam, nisi alius perdat villam. Si dicatur tibi, Vendas villam tuam: tanquam maledictum exhorrescis, injuriam tibi factam putas; odium servas in pectore, quia hoc audisti ab homine, ut venderes villam: quasi emere possis, nisi alius vendat. Itaque quod valde cupis emere, et optas emere, si malum est vendere, alii malum quaeris. Bonum est invenire saccellum solidorum in via: quod cum inveneris, dicis, Deus mihi dedit; quasi possis invenire, nisi alius perdat. Quare ergo non optas illorum thesaurorum bona, quae tecum omnes sine angustia valeant possidere? Desideras aurum, desidera justitiam. Habere aurum non potes, nisi alius amittat: justitiam ambo complectimini, et ambo dilatamini.
is iniquitous towards one's neighbour. And he will say: I have done well, and I have taken away nothing belonging to another, and Thou hast not heard me: out of what I have I give to the needy, I take from no one; I ask of Thee, do Thou give. As if indeed He would give you an estate unless another lost an estate. If it is said to you, Sell your estate: you shudder at it as at a curse, you think an injury has been done to you; you keep hatred in your breast, because you heard this from a man, that you should sell your estate: as if you could buy unless another sells. And so, what you greatly long to buy and wish to buy, if it is an evil to sell, you are seeking an evil for another. It is a good thing to find a purse of solidi on the road: and when you have found it, you say, God gave it to me; as if you could find it unless another lost it. Why then do you not wish for the goods of those treasures which all can possess together with you without any straitness? You desire gold: desire justice. You cannot have gold unless another loses it: justice you both embrace, and you are both enlarged.
CAPUT XXII. — 22. De felicitate terrena aliter mali, aliter boni sentiunt. Redeamus ergo ad Psalmum, ut intelligat Charitas vestra eos esse alienigenas, qui totam felicitatem non putant nisi praesentem. Sed dignum te judicas cui et ista Deus det: quaere quomodo utaris. Si non dedit, scias quia prodest tibi quia non dat pater bonus. Quia et filius tuus quando plorat, ut des illi formosum cultellum manubrio deaurato; quantum vult ploret, non illi das unde laedatur. Domine, libera me de manu filiorum alienorum, quorum os locutum est vanitatem, et dextera eorum dextera iniquitatis. Et exponit quam dicat vanitatem et quam dexteram. Dexteram enim iniquitatis dicit felicitatem hujus saeculi: non quia non invenitur apud bonos, sed boni quando illam habent, in sinistra illam habent, non in dextera. Felicitatem perpetuam habent in dextera: felicitatem temporalem habent in sinistra. Cupiditas autem rerum aeternarum et felicitatis aeternae, non debet misceri cupiditati rerum temporalium, id est, felicitatis praesentis et temporalis. Et hoc est, Nesciat sinistra tua quid faciat dextera tua (Matth. VI, 3). Ergo, Dextera eorum dextera iniquitatis.
Chapter XXII. — 22. The wicked think one way about earthly happiness, the good another. Let us return, then, to the Psalm, so that your Charity may understand that those are the strangers who think that happiness is wholly nothing but the present. But you judge yourself worthy that God should give you these things too: seek how you are to use them. If He has not given them, know that it benefits you that the good Father does not give. For when your son too cries that you should give him a beautiful little knife with a gilded handle, let him cry as much as he likes, you do not give him that by which he may be hurt. Lord, deliver me from the hand of alien sons, whose mouth has spoken vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of iniquity. And he explains what he calls vanity and what he calls the right hand. For by the right hand of iniquity he means the happiness of this world: not because it is not found among the good, but the good, when they have it, have it in the left hand, not in the right. Everlasting happiness they have in the right hand: temporal happiness they have in the left. But the desire for eternal things and for eternal happiness ought not to be mixed with the desire for temporal things, that is, for present and temporal happiness. And this is: Let your left hand not know what your right hand does (Matt. 6:3). Therefore: Their right hand is a right hand of iniquity.
CAPUT XXIII. — 23. Verbi Dei fructus a non audiente etiam exigendus. Audite jam quomodo locuti sunt vanitatem, et quomodo dexteram habeant iniquitatis. Audiamus omnes, prodest vobis. Audiatis, ne dicatis non vos audisse: quia dictum est servo, Tu dares, et ego exigerem. Et diximus hesterno die, quia nos servi sumus dantes; alter est qui exigat. Sorores nostrae, nolentes audire, quasi nolunt pati exactorem. Sine causa, fratres mei, nemo sibi hinc blandiatur. Aliud est non accepisse, aliud accipere noluisse. Qui recusat donum Dei, ipsius recusationis reus tenetur. Quomodo enim dictum est servo dispensatori, Quare non dedisti (Luc. XIX, 23)? sic dicetur servo, cui ille positus est dispensare, Quare non accepisti? Si non fuit qui daret, excusabis te: si autem sonant Lectores, etiam quando tacent tractatores, et ubique verbum Dei praedicatur, et vere dictum est, ⟨I⟩n omnem terram exiit sonus illorum, et calor verbi Dei ubique diffunditur, nec est qui se abscondat a calore
Chapter XXIII. — 23. The fruit of the word of God is to be required even of one who does not hear. Hear now how they have spoken vanity, and how they have a right hand of iniquity. Let us all hear; it is profitable to you. Hear, lest you say that you did not hear: for it was said to the servant, You should have given, and I would have exacted. And we said yesterday that we are the servants who give; it is another who exacts. Our sisters, in being unwilling to hear, are as it were unwilling to endure the exactor. To no purpose, my brothers; let no one flatter himself on this account. It is one thing not to have received, another to have been unwilling to receive. He who refuses the gift of God is held guilty of that very refusal. For as it was said to the servant who dispensed, Why did you not give (Luke 19:23)? so it will be said to the servant to whom he was appointed to dispense, Why did you not receive? If there was no one who gave, you will excuse yourself: but if the Readers sound forth, even when the expounders are silent, and the word of God is preached everywhere, and it has truly been said, Into all the earth their sound has gone forth, and the heat of the word of God is spread abroad everywhere, and there is none who can hide himself from that heat of
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ejus (Psal. XVIII, 5, 7); non erit quid dicere in judicio Dei.
his (Ps. 18:5, 7); there will be nothing to say at the judgement of God.
CAPUT XXIV. — Fratres, audiamus, et faciamus; si volumus habere spem, non nos excusemus. Plerumque mendicus unum nummum petens, ad ostium tibi praecepta Dei cantat.
Chapter XXIV. — Brothers, let us hear, and let us do; if we wish to have hope, let us not excuse ourselves. Often a beggar asking for a single coin sings the commandments of God to you at your door.
24. Felicitas mundana; et quae licita videtur, contemnenda. Audiamus ergo: Quorum os locutum est vanitatem, et dextera eorum dextera iniquitatis. Videte felicitatem mundi, ubi illi spem ponebant qui locuti sunt vanitatem, et quorum dextera iniquitatis est. Nam sic incipit dicere: Quorum filii eorum sicut novellae constabilitae. Felicitas licita est. Non hic dixit fraudes, perjuria, rapinas, scelera: felicitatem dixit quasi innocentium. Et si ista contemnenda est; quemadmodum sunt plangendi illi, qui etiam rapinas faciunt, qui furta, qui sce⟨l⟩era, qui homicidia, qui adulteri⟨a⟩, et caetera quae etiam ipsa mundana felicitas damnat?
24. Worldly happiness, even that which seems lawful, is to be despised. Let us hear, then: Whose mouth has spoken vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of iniquity. See the happiness of the world, where they placed their hope who spoke vanity and whose right hand is of iniquity. For thus he begins to speak: Whose sons are like young plants firmly set. This is a lawful happiness. He did not speak here of frauds, perjuries, robberies, crimes: he spoke of a happiness as it were of the innocent. And if this is to be despised, how greatly are those to be lamented who even commit robberies, who commit thefts, who crimes, who murders, who adulteries, and the other things which even worldly happiness itself condemns?
CAPUT XXV. — 25. Felicitatem saeculi quisquis magni pendit, alienigena est. Videte qualem velit esse hominem de vita nova, qualem velit esse hominem ad vasa pastoralia pertinentem, et ad gratiam Dei, et ad lac quo nutrimur. Attendite jam: Quorum filii eorum sicut novellae constabilitae; filiae eorum ornatae sicut similitudo templi. Forte propterea sorores nolebant audire. Audiant ergo, velint, nolint, et discant venire ad Dominicum, non in superbia Goliae, sed in humilitate David. Numquid enim ista exponenda sunt? numquid obscura sunt? Loquuntur homines vanitatem, et dicuntur alienigenae: non pertinent ad haereditatem Christi, ad regnum ejus cui dicimus, Pater noster: alienigenae computantur. Et quam dicunt felicitatem? Filii eorum sicut novellae constabilitae: quasi propago propaginis. Habet multos filios, multos nepotes; securus est adversus casus mortis. Quasi non millia hominum plerumque unus casus absumat. Filii eorum sicut novellae constabilitae. Ecce puta sint filii sicut novellae constabilitae: nonne aliquando etiam novellas silvis vicinas silvarum ignis absumit? Filiae eorum ornatae sicut similitudo templi. Cito hinc transeamus: consulendum est pudori feminarum. Ipsae potius habendo cognoscant quid habeant, quod nos commemorando erubescimus. Filiae eorum ornatae sunt sicut similitudo templi. Cellaria eorum plena, eructantia ex hoc in hoc. Quomodo dicimus de abundantibus: Non habet ubi ponat, nescit quid habeat. Impletur unum cellarium, et redundant
Chapter XXV. — 25. Whoever sets great value on the happiness of this world is a foreigner. See what sort of man he would have be of the new life, what sort of man he would have belong to the pastoral vessels, and to the grace of God, and to the milk by which we are nourished. Attend now: Whose sons are like young plants firmly set; their daughters adorned like the likeness of the temple. Perhaps it was for this reason that the sisters did not wish to hear. Let them hear, then, willing or unwilling, and let them learn to come to the Lord's house, not in the pride of Goliath, but in the humility of David. For do these things need expounding? Are they obscure? Men speak vanity, and they are called foreigners: they do not belong to the inheritance of Christ, to the kingdom of Him to Whom we say, Our Father: they are counted foreigners. And what do they call happiness? Their sons are like young plants firmly set: a shoot, as it were, from a shoot. He has many sons, many grandsons; he is secure against the chances of death. As though a single disaster did not often carry off thousands of men. Their sons are like young plants firmly set. Look, suppose the sons are like young plants firmly set: does not a forest fire sometimes consume even young plants near the woods? Their daughters adorned like the likeness of the temple. Let us pass quickly from here: the modesty of women must be respected. Let them rather know by having it what they have, which we blush to mention. Their daughters are adorned like the likeness of the temple. Their storerooms full, overflowing from this into that. As we say of the wealthy: He has nowhere to put it, he does not know what he has. One storeroom is filled, and they overflow
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Footnotes
(a) ‹anchor: in judicio Dei› · call in col 205
Vid. in Psal. 32, serm. 2, n. 2.
See on Psalm 32, sermon 2, n. 2.
(printed under page 109)
(b) ‹anchor: venire ad Dominicum; the Greek is printed in Latin letters and is set so; "lib. 1 nunc" and "februarii 11" are faint and read with some doubt› · call in col 205
Erratum hic suspicabatur Ulimmerius, qui ad marginem in suo codice scripsit, « ad Dominum filii. » Sed verius editi, ut in optimae notae Germanensi Ms. « ad Dominicum. » Quo verbo aut Ecclesia significatur juxta Neocaesareensis concilii canonem 5, Katêcsoumenos eàn eisercomenos eis kuriacon: « Catechumenus si ingrediens in Dominicum: » pro quo Dionysius Exiguus et Isidorus Mercator interpretantur, « in Ecclesiam. » Eodemque sensu Cyprianus in lib. de Opere et eleemosyna: « In Dominicum sine sacrificio venis. » Aut certe intelligenda sacra coena, ut apud Cyprianum lib. 1 nunc citato: « Dominicum celebrare te credis. » Et apud Augustinum, in Breviculo Collat. cum Donatistis, 3 diei cap. 17: « Confitebantur in passionibus suis se collectam et Dominicum egisse. » In horum martyrum Gestis, quae Surius ad februarii 11 refert, vox « Dominicum » utroque significatu ponitur.
Ulimmerius suspected an error here, and wrote in the margin of his codex, "to the Lord, sons." But the printed editions are nearer the truth, as in the Saint-Germain manuscript of the best mark, "ad Dominicum." By this word either the church is meant, in accordance with canon 5 of the council of Neocaesarea, "a catechumen, if coming into the kyriakon": "A catechumen, if entering the Dominicum": for which Dionysius Exiguus and Isidore Mercator translate "into the church." And in the same sense Cyprian in the book On Works and Almsgiving: "You come into the Dominicum without a sacrifice." Or else the holy supper is to be understood, as in Cyprian, in the book just cited: "You believe that you celebrate the Dominicum." And in Augustine, in the Summary of the Conference with the Donatists, third day, ch. 17: "They confessed in their sufferings that they had held the assembly and the Dominicum." In the Acts of these martyrs, which Surius gives under 11 February, the word "Dominicum" is used in both senses.
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fructus: redundant possessiones, eructant cellaria ex hoc in hoc.
fruits: possessions overflow, the storehouses belch forth from this into that.
CAPUT XXVI. — 26. Goliae superbia ex terrena felicitate. — Oves eorum fecundae, multiplicantes in exitibus suis. Intrant paucae; pariunt, et exeunt multae: multiplicantes in exitibus suis. Anno priore tot erant, hoc anno tot sunt. Gaudetur et exsultatur; tumescit Golias, et ad certamen provocat superbus in ista felicitate: Quis mihi potest? quis mihi audet? Si non illud dicunt homines quibus haec abundant, si non quotidie unusquisque sentit in se. Habet aliquid amplius quam vicinus; nonne dicit, Quis mihi potest? aut vicinus iste si mihi fecerit injuriam non illi ostendo? Vide si non Golias est provocans ad certamen. Sed procedit David, nudus armis bellicis, armatus lapidibus paucis, prosternet omnem superbiam, id est, justus homo: sicut martyres fecerunt, prostraverunt injustos. Et eo tempore quo videbantur victores, ipsi vincebantur, quando in his dux ipsorum diabolus superabatur.
Chapter XXVI. — 26. The pride of Goliath from earthly prosperity. — Their sheep are fruitful, multiplying in their goings forth. Few go in; they bear young, and many go out: multiplying in their goings forth. Last year there were so many, this year there are so many. There is rejoicing and exulting; Goliath swells up, and, proud in this prosperity, he challenges to combat: Who can [prevail against] me? who dares [touch] me? As if men to whom these things abound did not say that, as if each one did not feel it daily in himself! He has something more than his neighbour; does he not say, Who can [prevail against] me? or, If this neighbour of mine does me an injury, shall I not show him? See whether this is not Goliath challenging to combat. But David comes forth, stripped of weapons of war, armed with a few stones; he will lay low all pride, that is, the just man will: as the martyrs did, they laid low the unjust. And at the time when they seemed to be victors, they themselves were being conquered, when in these men their leader the devil was being overcome.
CAPUT XXVII. — 27. In eos qui de felicitate terrena gaudent. Verum felicitatem illam attendite: Oves eorum multiplicantes in exitibus: boves eorum crassi. Non est ruina sepis. Sepis enim plerumque maceria esse solet. Non est ruina sepis, neque exitus: omnia integra, omnia perfecta, omnia plena. Neque clamor in plateis eorum; non lites, non tumultus. Videte qualem felicitatem quasi innocentium describat: ne dicat sibi quisque, Sed hoc dixit de illis qui rapiunt res alienas. Non est hinc dictum aliquid: alibi fit talium mentio. Nam manifestum est sceleratos esse puniendos. Et hinc debent intelligere quae poena eos exspe⟨c⟩tet, quando innocens quisque cum his superbe utitur et immoderate, reprobatur a Deo, et inter filios alienigenarum computatur. Non enim et dives ille alienos fructus quaerebat, cui successit regio in fructibus, et cum aestuaret, non habens quo congregaret fructus mundanos, et non videret pauperes in quibus sibi thesaurizaret in coelo: Destruam, inquit, apothecas meas et faciam novas ampliores, et replebo eas. Unde, nisi de fructibus suis? Et dicam animae meae: Habes multa bona, satiare. Dixit autem illi Deus: Stulte, hac nocte auferetur a te anima tua; quae praeparasti, cujus erunt (Luc. XII, 16-20)? Sicut ergo in Evangelio, fratres, insultatum est homini gaudenti de temporali felicitate, quamvis illi felicitas de agro proprio esset, non de rapinis alienis: sic et in isto psalmo temporali felicitati insultatur, ut discat anima innovata et regenerata per gratiam lactis, illam desiderare perpetuam et sempiternam beatitatem. Ideo vide quomodo connectat: Quorum filii eorum sicut novellae constabilitae; filiae eorum ornatae ut similitudo templi. Cellaria eorum plena, eructantia ex hoc in hoc. Oves eorum fecundae, multiplicantes in exitibus suis: boves eorum crassi. Non est ruina sepis, neque exitus, neque clamor in plateis eorum. Beatum dixerunt populum cui haec sunt. Sed qui dixerunt? Quorum os locutum est vanitatem. Superius enim descripti sunt.
Chapter XXVII. — 27. Against those who rejoice in earthly prosperity. But consider that prosperity: Their sheep multiplying in their goings forth: their oxen fat. There is no ruin of the hedge. For a hedge is often wont to be a wall. There is no ruin of the hedge, nor going out: all things whole, all things complete, all things full. Nor crying in their streets; no quarrels, no tumults. See what kind of prosperity he describes, of men as it were innocent: lest anyone say to himself, But he said this of those who seize other people's goods. Nothing is said here of that: elsewhere mention is made of such men. For it is manifest that the wicked are to be punished. And from this they ought to understand what penalty awaits them, when any innocent man who uses these things proudly and immoderately is rejected by God and counted among the sons of strangers. For that rich man too was not seeking other men's fruits, whose land prospered in its fruits, and when he was in a fever of anxiety, not having where to gather his worldly fruits, and did not see the poor in whom he might lay up treasure for himself in heaven: I will pull down, he said, my storehouses and make new and larger ones, and I will fill them. With what, if not with his own fruits? And I will say to my soul: You have many goods, be satisfied. But God said to him: Fool, this night your soul shall be taken from you; the things you have prepared, whose shall they be? (Luke 12:16–20). Just as, then, in the Gospel, brethren, a man rejoicing in temporal prosperity was mocked, although his prosperity came from his own field, not from plundering others: so too in this psalm temporal prosperity is mocked, that the soul renewed and regenerated through the grace of milk may learn to desire that perpetual and everlasting blessedness. Therefore see how he connects it: Whose sons are as young plants firmly established; their daughters adorned like the likeness of a temple. Their storehouses full, belching forth from this into that. Their sheep fruitful, multiplying in their goings forth: their oxen fat. There is no ruin of the hedge, nor going out, nor crying in their streets. They have called the people blessed that has these things. But who said so? They whose mouth has spoken vanity. For they were described above.
CAPUT XXVIII. — 28. Beatus populus quis. Tu autem quid dicis? Nam illi beatum dixerunt populum cui haec sunt. Ego quid dico? Beatus pop⟨u⟩lus cujus est
Chapter XXVIII. — 28. Which people is blessed. But what do you say? For they called the people blessed that has these things. What do I say? Blessed is the people whose is
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