PL 38 · cols. 235–240

Augustine, Sermones 35-45 (Classis I, de Scripturis: de Proverbiis, Ecclesiastico, Isaia)

Sermon XXXVIII

fortis ad tolerandum, constans ad perseverandum: laboribus finitis, Date illi de fructibus manuum suarum. Fecit, fecit: digna est recipere. Date illi de fructibus manuum suarum, Quid date? Venite, benedicti Patris mei. Date illi de fructibus manuum ejus. Quid date? Percipite regnum quod vobis paratum est ab origine mundi. Ecce quid date. De quibus fructibus manuum ejus? Esurivi enim, et dedistis mihi manducare (Matth. XXV, 34, 35). Date illi de fructibus manuum ejus.

-specting, brave for enduring, constant for persevering: when her labours are finished, Give her of the fruits of her hands. She has done it, she has done it: she is worthy to receive. Give her of the fruits of her hands, What are you to give? Come, you blessed of My Father. Give her of the fruits of her hands. What are you to give? Receive the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the beginning of the world. See what you are to give. Of which fruits of her hands? For I was hungry, and you gave Me to eat (Matt. 25:34–35). Give her of the fruits of her hands.

CAPUT XX. — 30. Et quod illi deinde negotium erit, finitis laboribus? Et laudetur in portis vir ejus. Ipse erit portus laborum nostrorum, videre Deum, et laudare Deum. Non ibi dicetur: Surge, labora, vesti servos, vesti te ipsam, ornare purpura, da escas famulis, attende ne lucerna exstinguatur, sollicita esto, surge de noctibus, aperi pauperi manum, trajice de colo in fusum. Non erunt opera necessitatis, ubi nulla necessitas. Non erunt opera misericordiae, ubi nulla miseria. Non frangis panem pauperi, ubi nemo mendicat. Non suscipis peregrinum, ubi omnes in patria sua vivunt. Non visitas aegrum, ubi omnes perpetuo sani sunt. Non vestis nudum, ubi omnes aeterna luce vestiti sunt. Non sepelis mortuum, ubi omnes sine termino vivunt. Nec tamen ista non agens, nihil agis: videbis enim quem desiderasti, et sine defectu laudabis. Istum accipies fructum. Tunc erit una illa quam petisti: Unam petii a Domino, hanc requiram, ut inhabitem in domo Domini per omnes dies vitae meae. Et quid ibi facies? Ut contempler delectationem Domini (Psal. XXVI, 4). Et laudetur in portis vir ejus. Beati qui habitant in domo tua; in saecula saeculorum laudabunt te (Psal. LXXXIII, 5).

Chapter XX. — 30. And what will be her business after that, when her labours are finished? And let her husband be praised in the gates. That will be the harbour of our labours: to see God and to praise God. There it will not be said: Rise, labour, clothe the servants, clothe yourself, be adorned with purple, give food to the household, take care that the lamp is not put out, be watchful, rise in the night, open your hand to the poor, pass [the wool] from the distaff to the spindle. There will be no works of necessity where there is no necessity. There will be no works of mercy where there is no misery. You do not break bread for the poor where no one begs. You do not take in the stranger where all live in their own homeland. You do not visit the sick where all are perpetually healthy. You do not clothe the naked where all are clothed with eternal light. You do not bury the dead where all live without end. And yet, though not doing these things, you are not doing nothing: for you will see Him Whom you have desired, and you will praise without failing. This is the fruit you will receive. Then there will be that one thing which you asked for: One thing have I asked of the Lord, this will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. And what will you do there? That I may behold the delight of the Lord (Ps. 26:4). And let her husband be praised in the gates. Blessed are they who dwell in Thy house; for ages of ages they will praise Thee (Ps. 83:5).

SERMO XXXVIII. De verbis Ecclesiastici II, 1-5, Fili, accedens ad servitutem Dei, etc. Et de verbis Psalmi XXXVIII, 7, Quanquam in imagine ambulat homo, etc. De continentia et sustinentia.

Sermon 38. On the words of Ecclesiasticus 2:1-5, Son, coming to the service of God, etc. And on the words of Psalm 38:7, Although man walks in an image, etc. On continence and endurance.

CAPUT PRIMUM. — 1. Duae virtutes hujus vitae. Duo sunt quae in hac vita veluti laboriosa nobis praecipiuntur, continere et sustinere. Jubemur enim continere ab his quae in hoc mundo dicuntur bona, et sustinere ea quae in hoc mundo abundant mala. Illa continentia, ista sustinentia vocatur: duae virtutes quae mundant animam, et capacem faciunt divinitatis. In frenandis libidinibus et coercendis voluptatibus, ne seducat quod male blanditur, et enervet quod prosperum dicitur, continentia nobis opus est: non credere felicitati terrenae, et usque ad finem quaerere felicitatem, quae non habet finem. Ut autem est continentiae, felicitati mundi non credere: ita sustinentiae est, infelicitati mundi non cedere. Sive ergo in affluentia

Chapter One. — 1. The two virtues of this life. There are two things which are enjoined on us in this life as laborious, namely to contain ourselves and to endure. For we are commanded to contain ourselves from those things which in this world are called good, and to endure those evils with which this world abounds. The former is called continence, the latter endurance: two virtues which cleanse the soul and make it capable of the divinity. In bridling lusts and restraining pleasures, so that what flatters wickedly may not seduce us, and what is called prosperous may not enervate us, we have need of continence: not to trust in earthly happiness, and to seek right to the end the happiness which has no end. And as it belongs to continence not to trust in the happiness of the world, so it belongs to endurance not to yield to the unhappiness of the world. Whether, then, in affluence

Editors' notes and page, col. 235

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 235

Sic legendum ex auctoritate codicis cl. [laboribus finitis. Date illi de fructibus manuum suarum. Quid date, etc.]

It is to be read thus on the authority of codex cl.: [laboribus finitis. Date illi de fructibus manuum suarum. Quid date, etc.] ("her labours ended. Give her of the fruits of her hands. What does 'give' mean," etc.).

(printed under page 124)

(2) ‹anchor: mundi non cedere› · call in col 235

Editi, iniquitati mundi non cedere. At Mss., infelicitati. Et ex his Victorinus loco, cedere, habet, credere.

The printed editions: iniquitati mundi non cedere ("not to yield to the world's iniquity"). But the manuscripts: infelicitati ("misfortune"). And among these the Saint-Victor manuscript has credere in place of cedere.

(*) ‹anchor: SERMO XXXVIII› · call in col 235 Ad Mss. Petavianum et Victorinum, et ad Am. Er. Par. Lov. emendatus.

Corrected against the Petau and Saint-Victor manuscripts, and against Amerbach, Erasmus, the Paris edition and the Louvain edition.

(printed under page 124)

(a) ‹anchor: SERMO XXXVIII› · call in col 235

Alias, de Tempore 245.

Formerly, de Tempore 245.

(printed under page 124)

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rerum simus, sive in angustia, exspectandus est Dominus, qui et quod vere bonum et suave est det, et quod vere malum est avertat a nobis.

of things we may be, or in straits, the Lord is to be waited for, Who may both give what is truly good and pleasant, and turn away from us what is truly evil.

2. Bona et mala bonis et malis communia. Scandalum de felicitate malorum. Bona Dei quae promittit justis, in fine servantur: et mala quae minatur impiis, in fine servantur. Bona et mala quae versantur et miscentur in saeculo, nec boni soli habent, nec soli mali. Quidquid boni in hoc mundo dixeris, habent boni, habent et mali: veluti salutem ipsam corporis, et boni habent et mali. Divitias et apud bonos invenies, et apud malos. Successum filiorum, et bonorum et malorum donum videmus esse commune. Vitam longam diu vivunt boni quidam, diu vivunt et mali quidam. Et quaecumque alia numerare volueris in hoc saeculo bona, permixte invenis apud bonos et malos. Rursum quaecumque aspera, quaecumque tristia, et boni patiuntur et mali; famem, morbos, dolores, et damna, oppressiones, orbitates: communis haec est omnium materies lacrymarum. Facile est ergo hoc videre, et bona saeculi apud bonos et malos esse, et mala saeculi bonos malosque perferre. Et ideo quorumdam pedes in via Dei titubant, et exorbitare conantur. Multi enim deviant et exorbitant, cum instituerint et proposuerint animo, propterea servire Deo, ut bonis terrenis abundent, et malis careant, eaque devitent. Cum enim sibi hoc proposuerint, et hanc mercedem constituerint pietatis et religionis suae; quando viderint se laborare, et florere iniquos, quasi perdiderint mercedem, quasi eos fefellerit qui vocavit, quasi frustra opus indixerit qui in mercede decepit, renuntiant Deo. Et quo se miseri convertunt, avertentes se ab illo a quo facti sunt, et inhaerentes illis quae facta sunt? Cum coeperit perire quod factum est, ubi erit amator temporis, qui perdidit aeternitatem?

2. Good things and evil things common to the good and the wicked. The scandal of the prosperity of the wicked. The good things of God which He promises to the just are kept for the end; and the evils which He threatens against the ungodly are kept for the end. The good things and evils which go about and are mingled together in this world, neither the good alone have, nor the wicked alone. Whatever good in this world you may name, the good have it, and the wicked have it too: for instance bodily health itself, both the good have and the wicked. Riches you will find both among the good and among the wicked. Success of children we see to be a gift common to both good and wicked. Some good men live a long life, and some wicked men also live long. And whatever other goods of this world you may wish to count up, you find them mixed together among the good and the wicked. Again, whatever things are harsh, whatever are sorrowful, both the good and the wicked suffer them: hunger, diseases, pains and losses, oppressions, bereavements: this is the common matter of the tears of all. It is easy therefore to see this, both that the goods of the world are among the good and the wicked, and that the good and the wicked alike endure the evils of the world. And so the feet of some stumble on the way of God, and they try to leave the track. For many go astray and leave the track, when they have resolved and set it in their mind to serve God for this reason, that they may abound in earthly goods and be without evils, and avoid them. For when they have set this before themselves, and fixed this as the reward of their piety and religion, when they see themselves toiling and the wicked flourishing, as though they had lost their reward, as though He Who called them had deceived them, as though He Who cheated them over the reward had enjoined the work in vain, they renounce God. And whither do the wretches turn, turning themselves away from Him by Whom they were made, and cleaving to the things that were made? When that which was made begins to perish, where will the lover of time be, who has lost eternity?

CAPUT II. — 3. Fides hic necessaria. Tempus fidei et tempus speciei. Proinde propter illa bona, quae non dabit Deus nisi bonis, et propter illa mala, quae non inferentur nisi malis, quia in fine apparebunt utraque, credi sibi vult Deus. Quae enim merces fidei, aut quod om⟨n⟩ino vel nomen fidei, si modo vis videre quod teneas? Non debes ergo videre quod credas; sed credere quod videas; credere quamdiu non vides, ne cum videris erubescas. Ergo credamus, dum tempus est fidei, antequam sit tempus speciei. Sic enim dicit Apostolus, Quamdiu sumus in hoc corpore, peregrinamur a Domino: per fidem enim ambulamus (II Cor. V, 6, 7). Ergo per fidem ambulamus, quamdiu credimus quod non videmus: tenebimus autem speciem, cum viderimus facie ad faciem, sicuti est. Tempus fidei et tempus speciei Joannes etiam apostolus in Epistola sua distinguit, dicens: Dilectissimi, nunc filii Dei sumus, et nondum apparuit quid erimus. Hoc tempus est fidei: videte tempus speciei. Scimus,

Chapter II. — 3. Faith is necessary here. The time of faith and the time of sight. Therefore, on account of those good things which God will give only to the good, and on account of those evils which will be inflicted only on the wicked, since both will appear at the end, God wills to be believed. For what reward is there for faith, or what name of faith at all, if you wish to see now what you hold? You ought not, then, to see what you believe, but to believe what you are to see; to believe so long as you do not see, lest when you see you be put to shame. Let us therefore believe, while it is the time of faith, before it is the time of sight. For thus says the Apostle: So long as we are in this body, we are pilgrims away from the Lord; for we walk by faith (2 Cor. 5:6–7). Therefore we walk by faith, so long as we believe what we do not see; but we shall hold the sight, when we see face to face, as He is. The time of faith and the time of sight John the apostle also distinguishes in his Epistle, saying: Dearly beloved, now we are sons of God, and it has not yet appeared what we shall be. This is the time of faith: see the time of sight. We know,

Editors' notes and page, col. 236

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 236

Hoc loco verba quaedam in ante editis praetermissa, necnon infra plures passim versus restituuntur auctoritate manuscriptorum.

At this place certain words passed over in the earlier editions, and likewise below a number of lines here and there, are restored on the authority of the manuscripts.

(printed under page 124)

(2) ‹anchor: perdiderint mercedem› · call in col 236

Sic Victorinus Ms. Editi vero, perdiderint spem.

So the Saint-Victor manuscript. The printed editions, however: perdiderint spem ("they had lost hope").

(printed under page 124)

(3) ‹anchor: Ergo credamus› · call in col 236

Mss., credimus.

The manuscripts: credimus.

(printed under page 124)

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inquit, quoniam cum apparuerit, similes ei erimus, quoniam videbimus eum sicuti est (I Joan. III, 2).

he says, because when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2).

4. Tempus fidei laboriosum. Laboriosum est fidei t⟨e⟩mpus: quis negat? Laboriosum est, sed hoc est opus cujus illa merces est. Noli piger esse in opere, cujus mercedem desideras. Si quem enim et tu ipse mercenarium conduxisses, non ante mercedem numerares, quam in opere exerceres. Diceres ei, Fac, et accipe: non tibi diceret, Da, et facio. Sic ergo et Deus. Tu non fallis mercenarium tuum timens Deum; te ipse Deus fallet, qui jubet ne fallas mercenarium? Tamen tu quod promiseris potes et non dare; et si non est in corde tuo dolus falsitatis, est tamen in fragilitate humana inopia difficultatis. Quid de Deo timeamus, qui nec fallere potest, quia veritas est, et abundat omnibus, quia fecit omnia?

4. The time of faith is laborious. The time of faith is laborious: who denies it? It is laborious, but this is the work of which that is the wage. Do not be lazy in the work whose wage you desire. For if you yourself had also hired someone as a labourer, you would not count out his wage before you had kept him busy at the work. You would say to him, Do it, and receive; he would not say to you, Give, and I do it. So then it is with God too. You, fearing God, do not cheat your hired labourer; will God Himself cheat you, He Who commands that you not cheat your hired labourer? Yet you are able also not to give what you have promised; and if there is no deceit of falsehood in your heart, there is nevertheless in human frailty the want that comes from hardship. What should we fear concerning God, Who can neither deceive, because He is truth, and abounds in all things, because He made all things?

CAPUT III. — 5. Fides primum praeceptum. Vita hominis crescendo decrescit. Credamus ergo Deo, fratres. Hoc est primum praeceptum, hoc est initium religionis et vitae nostrae, fixum habere cor in fide, et figendo cor in fide vivere bene, abstinere ab omnibus seductoriis, sustinere mala temporalia; et quamdiu illa blandiuntur et illa minantur, adversum utrumque inconcussum habere cor, ne in illa defluas, ne in illa frangaris. Habendo ergo continentiam, habendo etiam sustinentiam, cum bona temporalia transierint, et mala quae inferantur non erunt; habebis omne bonum, habebis nullum malum. Ideo in lectione quid nobis dictum est? Fili, accedens ad servitutem Dei, sta in justitia et timore, et praepara animam tuam ad tentationem. Deprime cor tuum, et sustine; ut crescat in novissimis vita tua. Non ut modo, sed ut in novissimis vita tua crescat: ut crescat in novissimis vita tua. Quantum, putamus, crescit? Ut fiat aeterna. Modo enim vita humana, quamdiu producitur et videtur produci, decrescit potius quam crescit. Attendite et videte, ratiocinamini et videte quia decrescit. Natus est homo: verbi gratia, constituit illi Deus vitae suae septuaginta annos: Accedit illi vita, dicimus, crescendo. Accedit, an decedit? Ecce de septuaginta annis vixit sexaginta, remanserunt decem: diminutum est quod erat propositum; et quanto plus vivit, tanto minus illi restat. Ideoque vivendo hic decrescit vita, non crescit. Tene quod tibi promisit Deus, ut crescat in novissimis vita tua.

Chapter III. — 5. Faith is the first precept. The life of man decreases by increasing. Let us therefore believe God, brothers. This is the first precept, this is the beginning of our religion and of our life: to have the heart fixed in faith, and by fixing the heart in faith to live well, to abstain from all seductive things, to endure temporal evils; and as long as the former flatter and the latter threaten, to have a heart unshaken against both, so that you neither melt away into the former nor are broken by the latter. Having therefore continence, and having also endurance, when temporal goods have passed away, and the evils that are inflicted will be no more, you will have every good, you will have no evil. Therefore what was said to us in the reading? Son, coming to the service of God, stand in justice and fear, and prepare your soul for temptation. Press down your heart, and endure, that your life may increase in the last things. Not as now, but that in the last things your life may increase: that your life may increase in the last things. How much, do we think, does it increase? So that it becomes eternal. For now human life, as long as it is prolonged and seems to be prolonged, decreases rather than increases. Pay attention and see, reason it out and see that it decreases. A man is born: let us say God has appointed for him seventy years of his life. Life is being added to him, we say, as he grows. Is it being added, or is it departing? See, of the seventy years he has lived sixty, ten remain: what was set before him has been diminished; and the more he lives, the less remains to him. And therefore by living here life decreases, it does not increase. Hold fast to what God has promised you, that your life may increase in the last things.

CAPUT IV. — 6. Laborant pro cupiditatibus suis, laborare nolunt pro Dei promissis. Deinde sequitur quod lectum non est: Omne quod tibi applicitum fuerit accipe, et in dolore sustine, et in humilitate tua patientiam habe. Quoniam in igne probatur aurum et argentum, homines vero acceptabiles in camino humiliationis (Eccli. II, 1-5). Durum videtur, defecisti. Nonne illud quod non deficit perdidisti? Multi multa patiuntur propter pecuniam perituram, et tu non vis pati propter vitam mansuram? Sic recusas laborare pro Dei promissis, quasi non labores pro cupiditatibus tuis. Quanta patiuntur

Chapter IV. — 6. They labour for their own desires; they refuse to labour for God's promises. Then follows what was not read: Everything that is laid upon you, accept, and in pain endure, and in your humiliation have patience. For in fire gold and silver are tested, but acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation (Sir. 2:1–5). It seems hard, and you have given up. Have you not lost that which does not give out? Many suffer many things for the sake of money that will perish, and you are unwilling to suffer for the sake of life that will remain? Thus you refuse to labour for God's promises, as if you did not labour for your own desires. How many things do

Editors' notes and page, col. 237

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: vitae nostrae› · call in col 237

Am. et Victorinus Ms., et viae nostrae.

Amerbach and the Saint-Victor manuscript: et viae nostrae ("and of our way").

(printed under page 125)

(2) ‹anchor: inconcussum habere cor› · call in col 237

Sic Victorinus Ms. At editi, in hoc habere cor.

So the Saint-Victor manuscript. But the printed editions: in hoc habere cor ("to have the heart in this").

(printed under page 125)

(3) ‹anchor: lectum non› · call in col 237

Abest, non, a Victorino. Ms.

The word non is absent from the Saint-Victor manuscript.

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other: the word patiuntur was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 238

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pro sua iniquitate latrones? quanta patiuntur pro suis sceleribus perditi, pro sua nequitia luxuriosi, pro sua avaritia negotiatores mare transmeantes, ventis tempestatibusque corpus et animam committentes, sua relinquentes, ad ignota currentes? Judex si pronuntiat exsilium, poena est: avaritia jubet exsilium, et laetitia est? Quid ergo magnum tibi imperat sapientia, quod non posset imperare avaritia? Et tamen cum imperat avaritia, facis. Et cum feceris quod imperat avaritia, quid habebis? Plenam domum auro et argento. Non legisti, Quanquam in imagine ambulat homo, tamen vane conturbatur; thesaurizat, et nescit cui ea colligat? Quare ergo cantasti et dixisti Deo, Auribus percipe lacrymas meas (Psal. XXVIII, 7. 13)? Quare tu non percipis auribus verba ejus, a quo vis percipi lacrymas tuas? Si accusaveris avaritiam tuam, invitabit ad sapientiam suam. Sed cum susceperis jugum sapientiae, laboriosa erit? Laboriosa plane: sed vide quo fine, qua mercede. Numquid quae per sapientiam colligis, nescis cui colligas ea? Tibi colligis. Expergiscere, evigila, habeto cor formicae (Prov. VI, 6). Aestatis tempus est, collige quod tibi ad hiemem prosit. Quando tibi bene est, tunc disce unde sustenteris quando tibi male est. Bene tibi, aestas est: noli esse piger, collige grana de area dominica, verba Dei de Ecclesia Dei, et reconde intus in corde. Nunc tibi quidem bene est: veniet et quando sit male. Omni bomini veniet tribulatio: etsi omnia terrena sunt ei, certe cum coeperit mori, per tribulationem transit ad aliam vitam. Quis enim est qui dicat, Bene mihi erit, et non moriar?

robbers suffer for their iniquity? how much do the lost suffer for their crimes, the dissolute for their wickedness, merchants crossing the sea for their avarice, committing body and soul to winds and storms, leaving their own things, running to unknown places? If a judge pronounces exile, it is a punishment: avarice orders exile, and it is a joy? What great thing, then, does wisdom command of you which avarice could not command? And yet when avarice commands, you do it. And when you have done what avarice commands, what will you have? A house full of gold and silver. Have you not read, Although man walks in an image, yet he is disquieted in vain; he heaps up treasure, and does not know for whom he gathers it? Why then did you sing and say to God, Perceive my tears with Thy ears (Ps. 38:7, 13)? Why do you not perceive with your ears the words of Him by Whom you wish your tears to be perceived? If you accuse your avarice, He will invite [you] to His wisdom. But when you have taken up the yoke of wisdom, will it be laborious? Laborious indeed: but see with what end, with what reward. Do you not know for whom you gather the things you gather through wisdom? You gather for yourself. Wake up, keep watch, have the heart of the ant (Prov. 6:6). It is summertime: gather what may profit you for the winter. When it is well with you, then learn whence you may be sustained when it is ill with you. It is well with you, it is summer: do not be idle, gather grain from the Lord's threshing floor, the words of God from the Church of God, and store them away within, in your heart. Now indeed it is well with you: there will come also [a time] when it is ill. Tribulation will come to every man: even if all earthly things are his, surely when he begins to die, he passes through tribulation to another life. For who is there who can say, It will be well with me, and I shall not die?

CAPUT V. — 7. Timor mortis diviti homini est continua tribulatio. Quamvis, si amas vitam, et mortem times, ipse timor mortis, hiems quotidiana est. Et tunc maxime pungit tim⟨o⟩r mortis, quando nobis bene est. Nam quando male est nobis, non timemus mortem. Quando nobis bene est, tunc magis timemus mortem. Ideo ille dives, quem delectabant multum divitiae suae (habebat enim magnas divitias et magnas possessiones), credo quod interpellabatur timore mortis, et inter delicias contabescebat. Cogitabat enim se illa bona relicturum; congregaverat, et nesciebat cui: et aliquid cupiebat aeternum, et venit ad Dominum, et ait illi, Magister bone, quid boni faciam, ut vitam aeternam consequár? Bene est mihi, sed labitur quod teneo; bene est mihi, sed subito non erit quod habeo: dic mihi unde habeam quod semper erit; dic mihi quomodo perveniam ad id quod non perdam. Et Dominus illi: Si vis ad vitam ingredi, serva mandata. Quaesivit quae mandata. Audivit. Respondit se a sua juventute omnia servasse. Ait illi Dominus consiliarius vitae aeternae: Unum tibi deest;

Chapter V. — 7. The fear of death is a continual tribulation for a rich man. Although, if you love life and fear death, the very fear of death is a daily winter. And the fear of death pricks most sharply then, when it is well with us. For when it is ill with us, we do not fear death. When it is well with us, then we fear death more. That is why that rich man, whom his riches greatly delighted (for he had great riches and great possessions), was, I believe, assailed by the fear of death, and was wasting away amid his delights. For he was thinking that he would leave those good things behind; he had gathered, and did not know for whom: and he desired something eternal, and he came to the Lord and said to Him, Good Master, what good shall I do, that I may obtain eternal life? It is well with me, but what I hold is slipping away; it is well with me, but what I have will suddenly be no more: tell me whence I may have what will always be; tell me how I may come to that which I shall not lose. And the Lord to him: If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments. He asked which commandments. He heard. He answered that he had kept them all from his youth. The Lord, the counsellor of eternal life, said to him: One thing is lacking to you;

Editors' notes and page, col. 238

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 238

Sic Victorinus Ms. At editi, ignota quaerentes. Judex si pronuntiet exsilium, tremor est: Deus mortem minatur, et laetitia est!

So the Saint-Victor manuscript. But the printed editions: ignota quaerentes. Judex si pronuntiet exsilium, tremor est: Deus mortem minatur, et laetitia est! ("seeking things unknown. If a judge pronounces exile, there is trembling: God threatens death, and there is gladness!").

(printed under page 125)

(2) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 238

Editi, in imagine Dei. Abest, Dei, a Victorino Ms.

The printed editions: in imagine Dei. The word Dei is absent from the Saint-Victor manuscript.

(printed under page 125)

(3) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 238

In Victorino Ms., et dixisti Deo, Inaurire lacrymarum mearum; id est, Auribus percipe, etc.

In the Saint-Victor manuscript: et dixisti Deo, Inaurire lacrymarum mearum; id est, Auribus percipe, etc. ("and you said to God, Give ear to my tears; that is, Perceive with your ears," etc.).

(printed under page 125)

(4) ‹anchor: mortem times› · call in col 238

Sic Victorinus Ms. At editi, Quamvis amat vitam, mortem timet.

So the Saint-Victor manuscript. But the printed editions: Quamvis amat vitam, mortem timet ("Although he loves life, he fears death").

(printed under page 125)

Page

running head: [S]ERMO XXXVIII. 238 (initial S cut off at image edge)
marginal letters: (none)
old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 38:239

si vis perfectus esse, vade, vende omnia quae habes, et da pauperibus, et habebis thesaurum in caelo. Non enim dixit, Perde; sed, vende et veni, sequere me (Matth. XIX, 16-22). Ille qui delectabatur divitiis suis, et propterea quaerebat a Domino quid boni faceret, ut vi⟨t⟩am aeternam consequeretur, quia a deliciis ad delicias migrare cupiebat, et has quibus delectabatur relinquere formidabat, abscessit tristis ad thesauros suos terrenos. Noluit credere Domino quia potest servare in coelo, quod periturum est in terra. Noluit esse verus amator thesauri sui. Male tenendo, perdidit: multum diligendo, amisit. Nam si bene illum diligeret, in coelum migraret, quo ipse postea sequeretur. Domum illi Deus o⟨s⟩tendit ubi migraret, non locum ubi perderet: secutus enim ait, Ubi enim fuerit thesaurus tuus, illic erit et cor tuum (Id. VI, 21).

if you wish to be perfect, go, sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. For He did not say, Lose it; but, sell and come, follow Me (Matt. 19:16–22). That man who delighted in his riches, and therefore asked of the Lord what good he should do in order to attain eternal life, because he desired to pass from delights to delights and dreaded to leave those in which he delighted, went away sorrowful to his earthly treasures. He would not believe the Lord that He can keep in heaven what is going to perish on earth. He would not be a true lover of his treasure. By holding it badly, he lost it; by loving it much, he let it go. For if he had loved it well, it would have moved to heaven, where he himself would afterwards follow. God showed him a home to which it might move, not a place where he would lose it: for, going on, He says, For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Ibid. 6:21).

CAPUT VI. — 8. Divitiae in tuto ponuntur, dum erogantur. Eleemosyna pium fenus Deo. Sed videre volunt homines divitias suas? Fac quod in terra thesaurizent, numquid non timent videri divitias suas? Effodiunt et obstruunt et cooperiunt eas: et cum obstruxerint et cooperuerint, numquid vident quod habent? Nec ipse videt: optat ut lateat, timet ne pateat. Esse vult dives in opinione, non in veritate. Quasi sufficit habere in conscientia, quod servat in terra? O quanto major tibi et melior conscientia erit, si servaveris in coelo! Hic cum obrueris in terra, times ne sciat servus tuus et auferat et fugiat: hic times ne auferat tibi servus tuus; ibi non times, quia bene tibi servat Dominus tuus. Sed habeo, inquis, servum fidelem, qui et noverit, et non prodat, et non tollat. Compara illum Domino tuo. Si fidelem servum invenisti, Dominus tuus quando te fefellit? Etsi non potest servus tuus tollere, potest tamen perdere: Dominus tuus nec tollere nec perdere potest, nec perire permittit. Servat tibi, manet tibi; liberat te, manentem te facit; nec perdet te, nec perdet quod ei commendaveris. Veni, inquit, accipe quod apud me posuisti. Absit. Non hoc tibi dicit Deus. Ego, inquit tibi, qui te prohibui fenerare, feneratus sum a te. Volebas enim fenore crescere, et dabas homini ut tibi plus redderet, quando accipiebat gaudens, et quando reddebat plorans. Hoc volebas, et ego prohibebam: dixi enim, Qui pecuniam suam non dedit ad usuram (Psal. XIV, 5). Prohibebam te a fenore: jubeo tibi fenus, me fenera. Hoc tibi dicit Dominus tuus: Pauca vis dare, et plura accipere: relinque hominem, qui plangit, quando exigis; me inveni, qui gaudeo, quando reddo. Ecce adsum: da, et sume; tempore redditionis reddam tibi. Et quid reddam? Pauca dedisti, plura sume: terrena dedisti, coelestia sume: temporalia

Chapter VI. — 8. Riches are placed in safety when they are paid out. Almsgiving is a godly loan at interest to God. But do men wish to see their riches? Suppose that they lay up treasure on earth: do they not fear that their riches may be seen? They dig and block up and cover them over: and when they have blocked them up and covered them over, do they see what they have? Not even the man himself sees it: he wishes it to lie hidden, he fears that it may come to light. He wishes to be rich in men's opinion, not in truth. As if it were enough to have in one's awareness what one keeps in the earth? O how much greater and better will your awareness be, if you keep it in heaven! Here, when you have buried it in the earth, you fear lest your slave know of it and carry it off and flee: here you fear lest your slave carry it off from you; there you do not fear, because your Lord keeps it well for you. But, you say, I have a faithful slave, who would both know of it and not betray it, and not take it. Compare him with your Lord. If you have found a faithful slave, when has your Lord deceived you? Even if your slave cannot take it, yet he can lose it: your Lord can neither take it nor lose it, nor does He allow it to perish. He keeps it for you, it remains for you; He sets you free, He makes you abiding; He will neither lose you nor lose what you have entrusted to Him. Come, He says, take what you deposited with Me. Far from it. God does not say this to you. I, He says to you, who forbade you to lend at interest, have borrowed at interest from you. For you wished to grow by interest, and you gave to a man so that he might repay you more, when he received rejoicing and when he repaid weeping. This you wished, and I forbade it: for I said, Who has not given his money at usury (Ps. 14:5). I forbade you interest: I bid you take interest; lend at interest to Me. This your Lord says to you: You wish to give little and to receive more: leave man, who laments when you demand payment; find Me, who rejoice when I repay. Behold, I am here: give, and take; at the time of repayment I will repay you. And what will I repay? You gave little, take more: you gave earthly things, take heavenly things: temporal things

Editors' notes and page, col. 239

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 239

Sic Victorinus Ms. At editi, sed serva, et veni.

So the Saint-Victor manuscript. But the printed editions: sed serva, et veni ("but keep, and come").

(printed under page 126)

(2) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 239

Sic Mss. At Lov., videri nolunt. Caeteri editi, videre nolunt.

So the manuscripts. But the Louvain edition: videri nolunt ("they do not wish to be seen"). The other printed editions: videre nolunt ("they do not wish to see").

(printed under page 126)

(3) ‹anchor: …teat (word cut off at the top of the image)› · call in col 239

Sic Mss. At editi, ne pereat.

So the manuscripts. But the printed editions: ne pereat ("lest it perish").

(printed under page 126)

(4) ‹anchor: servat in terra› · call in col 239

Mss., habere conscientiam quia servat, etc.

The manuscripts: habere conscientiam quia servat, etc.

(printed under page 126)

(5) ‹anchor: et non prodat› · call in col 239

Victorinus Ms., et non perdat.

The Saint-Victor manuscript: et non perdat ("and does not lose it").

(printed under page 126)

(6) ‹anchor: tibi dicit Deus› · call in col 239

Victorinus Ms., Nam hoc dicit Deus.

The Saint-Victor manuscript: Nam hoc dicit Deus ("For this is what God says").

(printed under page 126)

(7) ‹anchor: me fenera› · call in col 239

In editis omissum fuerat, jubeo tibi fenus, me fenera; quod hic ex manuscriptis restituitur.

In the printed editions there had been omitted jubeo tibi fenus, me fenera ("I command you a loan: lend to me"), which is restored here from the manuscripts.

(printed under page 126)

Page

running head: 239 S. AUGUSTINI EPISC[O...] (cut off at image edge)
marginal letters: (none)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: ligature doubt raised by the check (text not changed): thesaurum in caelo | thesaurum in coelo

PL 38:240

dedisti, aeterna sume: mea dedisti, me ipsum sume. Quid enim dedisti, nisi ex eo quod a me accepisti? Quod dederis non reddo, qui unde dares dedi? qui te ipsum qui dares dedi; qui tibi Christum cui dares dedi, qui tibi diceret, Quando uni ex minimis meis fecisti, mihi fecisti (Matth. XXV, 40). Ecce cui das, pascit et esurit propter te: donat, et eget. Quando donat, vis accipere: quando eget, non vis dare. Eget Christus, quando eget pauper: qui omnibus suis vitam aeternam paratus est dare, in unoquoque paupere temporaliter dignatus est accipere.

you have given, take eternal things: you have given what is Mine, take Myself. For what have you given, except out of that which you received from Me? Do I not repay what you have given, I Who gave you the means to give? I Who gave you your very self to be the giver; I Who gave you Christ to give to, Who would say to you, When you did it to one of the least of Mine, you did it to Me (Matt. 25:40). See, the One to whom you give feeds you and hungers for your sake: He gives, and He is in need. When He gives, you want to receive: when He is in need, you do not want to give. Christ is in need when a poor man is in need: He Who is ready to give eternal life to all His own has deigned to receive in time in each and every poor man.

CAPUT VII. — 9. Divitiae in coelum praemittendae, Pauperes, laturarii. Et consilium dat quo migres: dedit enim consilium quo migrare debeas. Migra de terra in coelum, ne perdas. Quam multi enim quod servabant perdiderunt, et nec sic correcti in coelo ponere didicerunt. Si forte tibi aliquis diceret, Mig⟨r⟩a divitias tuas ab Occidente in Orientem, si non vis ut pereant; aestuares, laborares, satageres, attenderes quanta essent quae haberes, videres te multiplicitate rerum tuarum facile in longinqua migrare non posse: et forte fleres, quia ire cogereris, et quomodo tecum tolleres quod collegeras non invenires. In longinquiora te migrare jussit, qui non ait, Migra ab Occidente in Orientem; sed, Migra de terra in coelum. Aestuas, quasi difficultatem majorem tibi videris pati, et dicis tibi: Si non inveniebam jumenta et naves, quibus ab Occidente migrarem ad Orientem; quomodo inveniam scalas, quibus a terra migrem in coelum? Noli, inquit, tibi Deus, laborare, noli laborare: qui te divitem feci, qui tibi quod dares dedi, laturarios tibi pauperes feci. Si, verbi gratia, invenires aliquem inopem de trans mare, aut quo ire velles, invenires inde civem aliquem necessitatem patientem, diceres tibi: Civis iste inde est quo ego volo ire; eget hic, do illi quod ibi mihi reddat. Ecce eget hic pauper, civis est regni coelorum: quid dubitas facere trajectitium? Si enim dant qui hoc faciunt, ut plura accipiant, cum ad ea loca venerint, unde est ille qui accepit: faciamus et nos.

Chapter VII. — 9. Riches to be sent ahead into heaven; the poor, our porters. He also gives advice on where you should move: for He has given advice on where you ought to move. Move from earth into heaven, so that you do not lose. For how many have lost what they were keeping, and not even when so corrected have they learned to store it in heaven. If perhaps someone were to say to you, Move your riches from the West to the East, if you do not want them to perish; you would be in a fever, you would toil, you would bustle about, you would consider how great were the things you had, you would see that with the multitude of your possessions you could not easily move to faraway parts: and perhaps you would weep, because you were being forced to go, and you would not find how to take with you what you had gathered. He has bidden you move to parts farther away, He Who does not say, Move from the West to the East; but, Move from earth into heaven. You are in a fever, as though you seem to yourself to suffer a greater difficulty, and you say to yourself: If I could not find beasts of burden and ships by which to move from the West to the East, how shall I find ladders by which to move from earth into heaven? Do not toil, God says to you, do not toil: I Who made you rich, I Who gave you something to give, have made the poor your porters. If, for example, you were to find some needy man from across the sea, or from where you wished to go, if you were to find a citizen from there suffering need, you would say to yourself: This citizen is from where I want to go; he is in need here, I give him something he may repay me there. See, here is a poor man in need, he is a citizen of the kingdom of heaven: why do you hesitate to make a transfer? For if those who do this give so as to receive more when they come to those places from which the one who received comes, let us do so too.

CAPUT VIII. — 10. Fides in corde, quasi Christus in navi dormiens, excitanda. Hoc fit, si credamus, si fidem excitemus. Nam vane conturbamur. Quare vane conturbamur? Quia dormiente Christo in navi, pene naufragaverunt discipuli. Dormiebat Jesus, et turbabantur discipuli. Venti saeviebant, fluctus excitabantur, navis mergebatur (Matth. VIII, 23-27). Quare? Quia Jesus dormiebat. Sic et tu, quando tempestates tentationum saeviunt in isto saeculo, turbatur cor tuum, tanquam navis tua. Quare, nisi quia dormit fides tua? Sic enim Paulus apostolus dicit, quia habitat Christus per fidem in cordibus nostris (Ephes. III, 17). Excita ergo Christum in corde tuo, vigilet fides tua, tranquilletur conscientia tua, et liberatur navis tua. Senti, quoniam qui promisit verax est. Nondum ostendit; quia nondum est tempus ut ostendat.

Chapter VIII. — 10. Faith in the heart, like Christ asleep in the ship, is to be roused. This happens if we believe, if we rouse our faith. For we are troubled in vain. Why are we troubled in vain? Because while Christ was asleep in the ship, the disciples were almost shipwrecked. Jesus was sleeping, and the disciples were troubled. The winds were raging, the waves were rising, the ship was sinking (Matt. 8:23–27). Why? Because Jesus was sleeping. So you too, when the storms of temptations rage in this world, your heart is troubled, like your ship. Why, unless because your faith is asleep? For so the apostle Paul says, that Christ dwells through faith in our hearts (Eph. 3:17). Rouse Christ, then, in your heart, let your faith keep watch, let your conscience be calmed, and your ship is set free. Perceive that He Who promised is truthful. He has not yet shown it; because it is not yet the time for Him to

Editors' notes and page, col. 240

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 240

Apud Er. Lugd. Ven. et Lov., ergone quod dederis. M.

In Erasmus, the Lyons, the Venice and the Louvain editions: ergone quod dederis ("is it then what you have given"). M.

(printed under page 126)

(2) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 240

Sic Mss. Editi vero, ut des pascit.

So the manuscripts. The printed editions, however: ut des pascit.

(printed under page 126)

(3) ‹anchor: do illi› · call in col 240

Victorinus Ms., ego do illi.

The Saint-Victor manuscript: ego do illi ("I give to him").

(printed under page 126)