PL 38 · cols. 326–332

Augustine, Sermones 48-50 (Classis I, de Scripturis: de Michaea et Aggaeo)

Sermon L

pro se, et ait : Domine Jesu, accipe spiritum meum. Deinde positis genibus pro lapidatoribus orans : Domine, inquit, ne statuas illis hoc peccatum. Hoc dicto obdormivit (Act. VII, 51-59). O felix somnus, et requies vera ! Ecce quid est requiescere, pro inimicis orare. Sed paululum, quaeso te, sancte Stephane, expone mihi hoc, nescio quid, quare pro te stans orasti, et pro inimicis genu fixisti ? Respondet fortasse quod intelligimus : Pro me stans oravi, quia pro me qui recte Deo servivi oravi, orando et impetrando non laboravi. Qui pro justo orat, non laborat : ideo stans pro se oravit. Ventum est ut oraret pro Judaeis, pro interfectoribus Christi, pro interfectoribus sanctorum, pro lapidatoribus suis, attendit nimiam et magnam esse impietatem ipsorum, quae difficile donari posset, et genu fixit. Fige genu in hac vinea, o fortis operarie : fige, inquam, genu in opere hujus vineae, fortissime operarie. Magnum opus tuum, egregium et laudandum multum. Multum altum fodisti, qui odium inimicorum de corde exuisti. Conversi ad Dominum, etc.

for himself, and said: Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Then, having knelt down, praying for those who were stoning him, he said: Lord, do not lay this sin against them. And having said this he fell asleep (Acts 7:51–59). O happy sleep, and true rest! Behold what it is to rest: to pray for one's enemies. But for a little while, I beg you, holy Stephen, explain to me this something or other: why did you pray standing for yourself, and kneel for your enemies? He perhaps answers what we understand: I prayed standing for myself because, having served God rightly, I did not labour in praying for myself, in praying and obtaining. He who prays for a just man does not labour: therefore he prayed standing for himself. When it came to his praying for the Jews, for the slayers of Christ, for the slayers of the saints, for those who were stoning him, he considered their impiety to be excessive and great, such as could hardly be forgiven, and he knelt. Kneel in this vineyard, O strong labourer: kneel, I say, in the work of this vineyard, most strong labourer. Great is your work, excellent and much to be praised. Very deep have you dug, you who have stripped the hatred of enemies out of your heart. Turning to the Lord, etc.

SERMO L. De eo quod scriptum est in Aggaeo propheta, cap. II, ℣. 9, Meum est aurum, et meum est argentum. Contra Manichaeos.

Sermon 50. On what is written in the prophet Haggai, chapter 2, verse 9: Mine is the gold, and Mine is the silver. Against the Manichaeans.

CAPUT PRIMUM. — 1. Manichaeorum in veteres scripturas calumnia. De Aggaeo propheta Manichaei calumniantur, invidiose accusantes quod dixerit ex persona Dei loquentis, Meum est aurum, et meum est argentum : et quia Evangelium veteri Legi student pugnaciter comparare, ut sibi utraeque Scripturae velut adversariae contrariaeque videantur, ita proponunt quaestionem : In Aggaeo, inquiunt, propheta scriptum est, Meum est aurum, et meum est argentum ; in Evangelio autem, Salvator noster mammona hujusmodi iniquitatis speciem appellavit (Luc. XVI, 9). De cujus usu beatus Apostolus ad Timotheum scribens : Radix autem omnium malorum, inquit, est avaritia : quam quidam appetentes, aversi sunt a fide, et inseruerunt se doloribus multis (I Tim. VI, 10). Haec ipsorum est propositio quaestionis; vel potius veterum Scripturarum, per quas Evangelium praenuntiatum est, ex ipso Evangelio quod per eas praenuntiatum est, accusatio. Nam si quaestionem proponerent, forsitan quaererent : si autem quaererent, forsitan invenirent.

Chapter I. — 1. The calumny of the Manichaeans against the old Scriptures. The Manichaeans slander the prophet Haggai, invidiously accusing him because he said, in the person of God speaking, Mine is the gold, and Mine is the silver: and since they are eager to set the Gospel pugnaciously against the old Law, so that the two Scriptures may seem to them as it were adverse and contrary to each other, they propose the question thus: In the prophet Haggai, they say, it is written, Mine is the gold, and Mine is the silver; but in the Gospel our Saviour called a thing of this kind the mammon of iniquity (Luke 16:9). Concerning the use of which the blessed Apostle, writing to Timothy, says: For the root of all evils is avarice: which some coveting have turned away from the faith, and have entangled themselves in many sorrows (1 Tim. 6:10). This is their proposal of the question; or rather an accusation of the old Scriptures, through which the Gospel was foretold, drawn from the very Gospel that was foretold through them. For if they were proposing a question, perhaps they would seek: and if they sought, perhaps they would find.

2. Aurum et argentum res est non hominis sed Dei. Cur non autem miseri intelligunt, quod apud Aggaeum loquens Dominus, propterea dixerit, Meum est aurum, et meum est argentum, ut et ille qui non vult cum indigentibus communicare quod habet, cum audit praecepta faciendae misericordiae, intelligat Deum non de re illius cui jubet, sed de re sua jubere donari ; et ille qui aliquid porrigit pauperi, non se arbitretur de suo facere, ne forte non tam confirmetur misericordiae nomine, quam infletur superbiae vanitate?

2. Gold and silver are a possession not of man but of God. But why do the wretched not understand that the Lord, speaking through Haggai, said Mine is the gold, and Mine is the silver, for this reason: that he too who does not wish to share what he has with the needy, when he hears the precepts of showing mercy, may understand that God commands a gift to be made not out of the property of the one to whom He gives the command, but out of His own property; and that he who holds out something to a poor man may not think that he does so from what is his own, lest perhaps he be not so much strengthened by the name of mercy as puffed up by pride's vanity?

Editors' notes and page, col. 326

Footnotes

(*) ‹anchor: SERMO L› · call in col 326 Collatus est ad duos cl. ad duos gr. ad rm. v. Am. Er. Ulim. Par. et Lov.

Collated with two cl. manuscripts, with two gr., with rm. and v., and with the editions Am. Er. Ulim. Par. and Lov.

(printed under page 169)

(a) ‹anchor: SERMO L› · call in col 326

Alias, de Diversis 15, necnon 30 inter Homilias 50.

Elsewhere, de Diversis 15, and also 30 among the Fifty Homilies. [The numeral "15" is read from a small, slightly blurred figure.]

(printed under page 169)

(b) ‹anchor: Contra Manichaeos› · call in col 326

Recensetur a Possidio in Indiculi capite 2.

It is listed by Possidius in chapter 2 of the Indiculus.

(printed under page 169)

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Meum est, inquit, aurum, et meum est argentum, non vestrum, o divites terrae. Quid ergo dubitatis pauperi dare de meo, aut quid extollimini cum datis de meo?

Mine, He says, is the gold, and Mine is the silver, not yours, O rich of the earth. Why then do you hesitate to give to the poor from what is Mine, or why are you puffed up when you give from what is Mine?

CAPUT II. — 3. Quia id Deus non modo condidit, sed pro nutu administrat aliis ad subsidium et probationem, aliis ad supplicium. Et vis videre, quam justi judicis res est aurum et argentum? Avarus inde torquetur, unde misericors adjuvatur. Rem suam divina distribuente justitia, et recte facta inde manifestantur, et peccata inde puniuntur. Namque aurum et argentum atque omnis terrena possessio et exercitatio humanitatis est, et supplicium cupiditatis. Cum talia Deus bonis hominibus tribuit, ostendit in eis quanta contemnat animus, cujus divitiae sunt ipse qui tribuit. Non enim potest quisque apparere contemptor, nisi ejus rei cujus possessor effectus est. Nam et qui non habent, possunt ista contemnere: sed utrum fingant, an vere contemnant, Deus videt qui cordis inspector est; hominibus autem, ut imitari possint, cogitatio contemnentis nonnisi in manibus erogantis inspicitur. Cum autem malis hominibus Deus ista concedit, ostendit in eis quomodo et in ipsis bonis quae Deus largitur, crucietur animus, cui viluit qui tanta largitur. Bonis enim subministrat occasiones beneficiorum: malos torquet timore damnorum. Et ideo si amittant utrique aurum et argentum, isti coelestes divitias laeto corde retinebunt; illis autem et bonis temporalibus inanis domus, et bonis aeternis inanior conscientia remanebit.

Chapter II. — 3. Because God not only created it, but also administers it at His will, to some for help and testing, to others for punishment. And do you wish to see how truly gold and silver are the property of a just Judge? The avaricious man is tormented by the very thing by which the merciful man is helped. With divine justice distributing its own property, both right deeds are made manifest by it, and sins are punished by it. For gold and silver and every earthly possession are both an exercise of humanity and a punishment of cupidity. When God bestows such things on good men, He shows in them how much the soul despises whose riches are He Himself Who bestows them. For no one can appear a despiser except of that thing of which he has become the possessor. For those also who do not have them can despise these things; but whether they feign or truly despise, God sees, Who is the inspector of the heart; to men, however, so that they may be able to imitate, the mind of one who despises is seen only in the hands of one who gives out. But when God grants these things to evil men, He shows in them how, even amid the very goods which God bestows, the soul is tormented to which He Who bestows such great things has become cheap. For to the good He supplies occasions for good deeds; the evil He torments with fear of losses. And therefore, if both lose gold and silver, the former will keep heavenly riches with a joyful heart; but for the latter there will remain a house empty of temporal goods, and a conscience emptier still of eternal goods.

4. Aurum ejus proprie est, qui illo bene utitur, adeoque verius est Dei. Illius est ergo aurum et argentum, qui novit uti auro et argento. Nam etiam inter ipsos homines, tunc quisque habere aliquid dicendus est, quando bene utitur. Nam quod juste non tractat, jure non tenet. Quod autem jure non tenet, si suum esse dixerit, non erit vox justi possessoris, sed impudentis incubatoris improbitas.

4. Gold properly belongs to him who uses it well, and so more truly is God's. To him, therefore, belong gold and silver who knows how to use gold and silver. For even among men themselves, a person is to be said to have something only when he uses it well. For what he does not handle justly, he does not hold rightfully. And what he does not hold rightfully, if he says it is his own, that will not be the voice of a just possessor, but the wickedness of a shameless squatter.

CAPUT III. — Quapropter si homo non importune dicit aliquid suum, non quod iniqua et stulta cupiditate occupaverit, sed quod prudentissima potestate et justissima moderatione tractaverit; quanto magis Deus vere ac proprie suum esse dicit aurum et argentum, quod et largissima bonitate condidit, et justissimo administrat imperio; ut sine ipsius nutu atque dominatu, nec mali ad avaritiae supplicium, nec boni ad usum misericordiae possint habere aurum et argentum? Quod tamen et instituere ut sit, et ut alteri adsit, alteri desit, distribuere atque ordinare, non possunt.

Chapter III. — Wherefore, if a man not unfittingly calls something his own, not what he has seized by wicked and foolish cupidity, but what he has handled with most prudent power and most just moderation, how much more truly and properly does God say that gold and silver are His own, which He both created with most bountiful goodness and administers with most just rule, so that without His will and dominion neither the evil, for the punishment of avarice, nor the good, for the exercise of mercy, could have gold and silver? Yet they can neither establish that it should exist, nor distribute and order it so that it is present to one and lacking to another.

5. Aurum bonis et malis cur datur. Si autem solis malis in potestatem daretur aurum et argentum, recte putaretur malum; si solis bonis, recte putaretur magnum aliquod bonum. Rursus si solis malis deesset, videretur magna poena paupertas: si autem solis bonis deesset, videretur summa beatitudo paupertas. Nunc vero si scire vis aurum posse bene haberi, habent

5. Why gold is given to the good and the evil. Now, if gold and silver were given into the power of the evil alone, it would rightly be thought evil; if of the good alone, it would rightly be thought some great good. Again, if it were lacking to the evil alone, poverty would seem a great penalty; but if it were lacking to the good alone, poverty would seem the highest blessedness. But now, if you wish to know that gold can be possessed well,

Editors' notes and page, col. 327

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: aliquid dicendus est› · call in col 327

Sic Mss. necnon Am. et Er. in trigesima inter Homilias 50. At Ulim. Par. et Lov., dignus est.

So the manuscripts, and also Am. and Er. in the thirtieth of the Fifty Homilies. But Ulim., Par. and Lov. have dignus est (is worthy).

(printed under page 170)

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et boni: si scire vis non eos per aurum bonos esse, habent et mali. Item si scire vis quam non sit miseria paupertas, sunt quidam pauperes beati: si scire vis quam non sit beatitudo paupertas, sunt quidam pauperes miseri. Ita ergo aurum et argentum distribuit hominibus conditor rerum et administrator Deus, ut ipsum per se natura et genere suo bonum sit, quamvis non summum et magnum bonum, et pro gradu sui ordinis laudabilem Conditorem universitatis ostendat; copia vero ejus non extollat bonos, nec elidat inopia; malos autem et cum offertur excaecet, et cum aufertur excruciet.

the good have it too: if you wish to know that it is not through gold that they are good, the wicked have it too. Likewise, if you wish to know how far poverty is from being misery, there are some poor who are blessed: if you wish to know how far poverty is from being blessedness, there are some poor who are miserable. Thus, then, God, the founder and administrator of things, has distributed gold and silver to men, so that in itself, by its nature and kind, it is a good, although not a supreme and great good, and according to the rank of its own order it shows the Founder of the universe to be praiseworthy; but its abundance should not exalt the good, nor its want crush them; whereas the wicked it both blinds when it is offered and torments when it is taken away.

CAPUT IV. — 6. Aurum non recte vituperari posse. Mammona iniquitatis. Divitiae aliae verae, aliae falsae. Res ergo condita et ad Conditoris laudem, et ad bonorum probationem, malorumque supplicium, recte vituperari nullo modo potest: et eam verissime Deus dicit suam, quam non solum condidit affluentissima bonitate, sed etiam providentissima moderatione dispensat. Cum autem hoc genus rerum Dominus in Evangelio mammona iniquitatis appellat, significat esse alterum mammona, id est, alias divitias, quas nisi justi et boni possidere non pos⟨s⟩unt, ut ideo mammona iniquitatis vocetur, quia iniquitas eas vocat divitias. Justitia vero novit esse alias divitias, quibus homo adornatur interior: sicut beatus Petrus dicit, Qui est ante Deum dives (I Petr. III, 4). Illae justae dicuntur divitiae, quia bonis meritis justisque tribuuntur. Illae verae dicuntur divitiae, quia quisquis eas habuerit non egebit. Istae vero injustae divitiae, non quia injustum est aurum et argentum; sed quia injustum est eas putare divitias, quae non auferunt egestatem. Tanto enim magis quisque ardebit egestate, quanto magis eas diligens majores habuerit. Quomodo ergo sunt divitiae, quibus crescentibus crescit inopia: quae amatoribus suis quanto fuerint ampliores, non afferunt satietatem, sed inflammant cupiditatem? Divitem tu putas, qui minus egeret, si minus haberet? Nam videmus quosdam, cum haberent parvam pecuniam, parvis lucris fuisse laetatos: sed posteaquam coepit eis abundare, verum quidem corpus auri et argenti, sed tamen falsae divitiae, cum parva obtuleris, jam recusant. Credis eos jam esse satiatos: sed falsum est. Nam major pecunia fauces avaritiae non claudit, sed extendit; non irrigat, sed accendit. Poculum respuunt, quia fluvium sitiunt. Utrum ergo ditior, an egentior dicendus est, qui cum ideo voluit habere aliquid ne indigeret, ideo plus habet ne minus indigeat?

Chapter IV. — 6. That gold cannot rightly be found fault with. The mammon of iniquity. Some riches are true, others false. A thing, then, that was created both for the praise of the Creator, and for the testing of the good and the punishment of the wicked, can in no way rightly be found fault with: and God most truly calls it His, since He not only created it with most abundant goodness, but also dispenses it with most provident moderation. But when the Lord in the Gospel calls this kind of things the mammon of iniquity, He signifies that there is another mammon, that is, other riches, which none but the just and good can possess, so that this is called the mammon of iniquity for this reason, that iniquity calls these things riches. But justice knows that there are other riches, with which the inner man is adorned: as blessed Peter says, Who is rich before God (1 Pet. 3:4). Those are called just riches, because they are bestowed for good and just merits. Those are called true riches, because whoever has them will not be in want. But these are unjust riches, not because gold and silver are unjust, but because it is unjust to think those things riches which do not take away need. For each man will burn with need all the more, the greater the riches he has through loving them. How then are those riches, with whose increase want increases: which, the more ample they have become for their lovers, bring not satiety, but inflame cupidity? Do you think a man rich who would be in want less if he had less? For we see certain people who, when they had a little money, were glad of small gains: but after it began to abound for them, a real body of gold and silver indeed, but nevertheless false riches, if you offer them small things, they now refuse them. You believe they are now satisfied: but it is false. For more money does not close the jaws of avarice, but stretches them wider; it does not water, but kindles. They spit out the cup, because they thirst for the river. Is he then to be called richer or needier, who, although he wished to have something for this reason, that he might not be in need, has more for this reason, that he may be no less in need?

CAPUT V. — 7. Divitiarum pius usus. Dementia est

Chapter V. — 7. The pious use of riches. It is madness

Editors' notes and page, col. 328

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 328

Sic Am. Er. et omnes Mss. At Ulim. Par. et Lov., et pro gradus sui ordine.

So Am., Er. and all the manuscripts. But Ulim., Par. and Lov. have, and according to the order of his rank.

(printed under page 170)

(2) ‹anchor: ardebit egestate› · call in col 328

In trigesima ex Homiliis 50, Am. Er. et Mss., egestate avaritia.

In the thirtieth of the Fifty Homilies, Am., Er. and the manuscripts have, egestate avaritia (with want, [with] avarice).

(printed under page 170)

(3) ‹anchor: jam recusant› · call in col 328

Apud Er. Lugd. et Ven. legitur: Sed postea, cum coepit abundare verum quidem copiis auri et argenti, sed tamen falsae divitiae; cum parva obtuleris, jam recusant; cum hac adnotatione marginali: « Legendum arbitror: Sed postea, cum coeperit abundare veris quidem copiis auri et argenti, sed tamen falsis divitiis; cum parva obtuleris, jam recusant. » M.

In Er., Lugd. and Ven. the reading is: But afterwards, when there has begun to abound — true indeed in stores of gold and silver, yet false riches — when you offer small things, they now refuse them; with this marginal note: "I judge it should be read: But afterwards, when he has begun to abound in stores of gold and silver that are true indeed, yet in riches that are false; when you offer small things, they now refuse them." M. [The first quotation is ungrammatical as printed; the closing siglum is faint and read as "M."]

(printed under page 170)

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crimen male utentium in res ipsas transferre. Sed non est haec auri culpa et argenti. Fac enim misericordem aliquem invenisse thesaurum: nonne operante misericordia praebetur hospitalitas peregrinis, aluntur famelici, nudi vestiuntur, inopes adjuvantur, captivi redimuntur, construuntur ecclesiae, reficiuntur lassi, pacantur litigiosi, reparantur naufragi, curantur aegroti, corporales opes dispertiuntur in terra, spirituales reconduntur in coelo? Quis haec facit? Misericors et bonus. Unde facit? De auro et argento. Cui serviens haec facit? Ei qui dixit, Meum est aurum, et meum est argentum. Videtis jam, ut arbitror, fratres, quam magno errore magnaque dementia in res ipsas quibus homines male utuntur, crimen male utentium transferatur. Nam si propterea vituperatur aurum et argentum, quia homines avaritia depravati, neglectis praeceptis omnipotentissimi Creatoris, in ea quae condidit detestabili cupiditate rapiuntur; vituperetur etiam omnis Dei creatura, quia, sicut Apostolus dicit, perversi quidam homines coluerunt et servierunt creaturae potius quam Creatori, qui est benedictus in saecula (Rom. I, 25). Vituperetur etiam iste sol: quem certe iidem Manichaei, quoniam non intelligunt esse creaturam, tanquam ipsum Creatorem, vel tanquam ejus aliquam partem colere atque adorare non desinunt. Cur ergo ipsum non vituperant, cum plerumque homines de usu solis et luminis in aedificiis suis lites injustissimas concitant; et ut fenestris suis radii liberiores aliquanto largius infundantur, domos alienas dejicere saepe moliuntur; et eos qui contradixerint, etiamsi jure certissimo contradicant, inimicitiis acerbissimis insectantur? Si quem igitur infirmorum potentior aliquis injuste ac nefarie propter usum solis oppresserit, diripuerit, in exsilium etiam mortemve compulerit, solis est crimen, quo ille abundantius uti desiderat, an potius male utentis iniquitas, qui dum cupit corporis oculis temporale lumen largius acquirere, cubiculum cordis luci non aperit aequitatis?

to transfer the guilt of those who use things badly onto the things themselves. But this is not the fault of gold and silver. For suppose that some merciful man has found a treasure: is it not by the working of mercy that hospitality is offered to strangers, the hungry are fed, the naked are clothed, the needy are helped, captives are ransomed, churches are built, the weary are refreshed, the quarrelsome are reconciled, the shipwrecked are restored, the sick are cared for, bodily riches are distributed on earth, spiritual ones are stored up in heaven? Who does these things? The merciful and good man. From what does he do them? From gold and silver. In serving whom does he do them? Him Who said, Mine is the gold, and mine is the silver. You see now, I think, brothers, with what great error and great madness the guilt of those who use things badly is transferred onto the very things which men use badly. For if gold and silver are reproached for this reason, that men depraved by avarice, having neglected the precepts of the almighty Creator, are carried away with detestable greed towards the things He has made, then let every creature of God be reproached too, since, as the Apostle says, certain perverse men worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, Who is blessed for ever (Rom. 1:25). Let this sun also be reproached: which these same Manichaeans assuredly, since they do not understand it to be a creature, never cease to worship and adore as though it were the Creator Himself, or as though it were some part of Him. Why then do they not reproach it, since men often stir up most unjust lawsuits about the use of the sun and of light in their buildings; and so that the rays may pour somewhat more freely and abundantly into their windows, they often contrive to pull down other people's houses; and those who have opposed them, even if they oppose them by the most certain right, they pursue with the bitterest enmities? If, then, some more powerful man has unjustly and wickedly oppressed one of the weaker on account of the use of the sun, plundered him, driven him even into exile or to death, is it the crime of the sun, which he desires to enjoy more abundantly, or rather the wickedness of the man who uses it badly, who, while he longs to acquire more abundantly the temporal light for the eyes of the body, does not open the chamber of his heart to the light of equity?

CAPUT VI. — 8. Aurum a Manichaeis injuria accusari. Auri cupiditas damnatur, rectus usus a Domino commendatur. Ex quo isti, si possunt, intelligant, aut aurum et argentum se accusare non oportere, quamvis de auro et argento saepe homines cupidissimi dimicent; aut accusationes suas de terra in coelum, et de metallis fulgentibus in sidera, atque in ipsum solem se debere transferre; quando iniqui homines inexpiabili saepe discordia de possidenda solis luce confligunt. Simul etiam discant quid intersit inter hanc lucem visibilem, lucemque justitiae. Siquidem fieri potest ut quanto majori aviditate frui qu⟨i⟩sque hac luce voluerit, tanto majori caecitate a justitiae luce deficiat. Nulla enim creatura homo justificari potest: sed ut creaturis omnibus juste uti possit, a Creatore justificandus est. Itaque ipse Dominus, quamvis avaritiam sicut justus judex ubique condemnet; usum tamen copiarum terrenarum tanquam verus magister ostendit, in eo ipso loco, quem isti tanquam contrarium Prophetae objicere voluerunt.

Chapter VI. — 8. Gold is wrongly accused by the Manichaeans. The greed for gold is condemned; its right use is commended by the Lord. From this let these men understand, if they can, either that they ought not to accuse gold and silver, although very greedy men often fight over gold and silver; or that they ought to transfer their accusations from earth to heaven, and from the gleaming metals to the stars, and to the sun itself; since wicked men often clash in implacable discord over possessing the light of the sun. At the same time let them also learn what difference there is between this visible light and the light of righteousness. For it can happen that the greater the eagerness with which anyone wishes to enjoy this light, the greater the blindness with which he falls away from the light of righteousness. For man cannot be justified by any creature: but in order that he may use all creatures justly, he must be justified by the Creator. Therefore the Lord Himself, although as a just judge He condemns avarice everywhere, nevertheless as a true master shows the use of earthly resources, in that very passage which these men wished to object as contrary to the Prophet.

Editors' notes and page, col. 329

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Ait enim, Facite vobis amicos de mammona iniquitatis, hoc est dicere, Quae mammona iniquitatis est, vestra mammona esse non debet. Tunc enim juste poteritis uti rerum copia terrenarum, et amicos inde facere, qui vos recipiant in tabernacula aeterna, si mammona vobis ista non fuerit, id est, si non ex ea vos divites fieri putaveritis. Quoniam divitiae vestrae, quae sunt verae divitiae, quae ab omni vos indigentia liberabunt, non sunt terrenis facultatibus comparandae. Sed ut illis frui merito possitis, prius istis bene utendum est, quae non sunt divitiae verae, nec vestrae: quia injuste dicuntur divitiae; non enim auferunt egestatem, et eas divitias iniqui putant. Istis enim se ab indigentia liberari arbitrantur: vos autem alias, id est veras et vestras debetis desiderare divitias. Sed si in injusto mammona fideles non fuistis, verum quis dabit vobis? Et si in alieno fideles non fuistis, vestrum quis dabit vobis (Luc. XVI, 9-12)?

For He says, Make for yourselves friends of the mammon of iniquity; that is to say, what is the mammon of iniquity ought not to be your mammon. For then you will be able justly to use an abundance of earthly things, and to make friends from it, who may receive you into the eternal tabernacles, if that is not mammon to you, that is, if you have not supposed that you are made rich by it. For your riches, which are the true riches, which will free you from all want, are not to be compared with earthly resources. But so that you may deservedly enjoy those, you must first make good use of these, which are not true riches, nor yours: because they are unjustly called riches; for they do not take away need, and the unjust think them riches. For by these they suppose that they are freed from want: but you ought to desire other riches, that is, true riches and your own. But if you have not been faithful in the unjust mammon, who will give you what is true? And if you have not been faithful in what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own (Luke 16:9–12)?

9. Manichaei Prophetarum calumniatores. Quanquam Manichaeos proprio more propheticis dictis calumniari manifestum sit. Quisquis enim ejusdem Scripturae circumstantiam vel mediocriter inspexerit, inveniet non de hoc argento vel auro, quo avaritia imprudenter insanit, dixisse Prophetam; sed de illo potius, cujus etiam Apostolus meminit, dicens, Si quis autem aedificat supra fundamentum, aurum et argentum, lapides pretiosos (I Cor. III, 12). Quo auro et argento dives est ille thesaurus, quem in agro ipse Dominus inventum, et a quodam mirabiliter laudabiliterque avaro venditis omnibus suis emptum esse testatur (Matth. XIII, 44). Nam ipsum Dominum praenuntians, et novi saeculi, hoc est, Ecclesiae tempora figurate, ut solet, designans Propheta, sic dicit: Adhuc unum modicum est, et ego commovebo coelum et terram, et mare et aridam, et movebo omnes gentes: et veniet Desideratus cunctis gentibus, et implebo domum istam gloria, dicit Dominus exercituum. Meum est aurum, et meum est argentum, dicit Dominus exercituum. Magna erit gloria domus istius novissimae plus quam primae, dicit Dominus exercituum; et in loco isto dabo pacem, dicit Dominus exercituum (Aggaei II, 710).

9. The Manichaeans slanderers of the Prophets. Although it is manifest that the Manichaeans, after their own manner, slander the prophetic sayings. For whoever has examined even moderately the context of that same Scripture will find that the Prophet spoke not of this silver or gold, for which avarice imprudently runs mad, but rather of that which the Apostle also mentions, saying, Now if anyone builds upon the foundation gold and silver, precious stones (1 Cor. 3:12). With this gold and silver that treasure is rich which the Lord Himself testifies was found in a field and bought by a certain wonderfully and laudably avaricious man, who sold all that he had (Matt. 13:44). For foretelling the Lord Himself, and designating figuratively, as he is accustomed, the times of the new age, that is, of the Church, the Prophet speaks thus: Yet a little while it is, and I will shake heaven and earth, and the sea and the dry land, and I will move all nations: and the Desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. Mine is the gold, and mine is the silver, says the Lord of hosts. Great will be the glory of this last house, more than of the first, says the Lord of hosts; and in this place I will give peace, says the Lord of hosts (Hag. 2:7–10).

CAPUT VII. — 10. Aggaei locus vindicatur. Si vellent isti non esse canes et porci, quibus sanctum dare et margaritas projicere prohibemur; sed petentes accipere, et quaerentes invenire, et pulsantes aperiri sibi desiderarent (Matth. VII, 6-8); quam possent fortasse etiam sine ullo interprete, duce ipso sancto Spiritu sentire quae dicta sunt, ad novi populi, hoc est, ad christiani populi, cujus sacerdos magnus est Jesus Filius Dei; sine ulla caligine pertinere: certe vel eo loco ubi dictum est, Adhuc unum modicum est, et ego commovebo coelum et terram, et mare et aridam, et movebo omnes gentes; et veniet Desideratus cunctis gentibus. De novissimo enim Domini, id est, secundo adventu, quo in claritate venturus est, versus iste prolatus est, cum ait Propheta, Et veniet Desideratus cunctis gentibus. Quando enim primo in carne mortali

Chapter VII. — 10. The passage of Haggai vindicated. If these men were willing not to be dogs and swine, to whom we are forbidden to give what is holy and to cast pearls, but desired, by asking, to receive, and by seeking, to find, and by knocking, to have it opened to them (Matt. 7:6–8); how readily they could perhaps, even without any interpreter, with the Holy Spirit Himself as guide, perceive that the things which were said pertain, without any obscurity, to the new people, that is, to the Christian people, whose high priest is Jesus the Son of God: certainly at least in that place where it is said, Yet a little while it is, and I will shake heaven and earth, and the sea and the dry land, and I will move all nations; and the Desired of all nations will come. For this verse was uttered concerning the last, that is, the second coming of the Lord, in which He is to come in brightness, when the Prophet says, And the Desired of all nations will come. For when first in mortal flesh

Editors' notes and page, col. 330

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: injuste dicuntur divitiae› · call in col 330

Editi, quia injustae dicuntur divitiae. At Germanensis alter vetustissimus codex, quia injuste dicuntur divitiae.

The printed editions have, because they are called unjust riches. But the second, very ancient codex of Saint-Germain has, because they are unjustly called riches. [The note's small type is badly broken in the scan; its closing point looks like a comma, but nothing runs over to the next page.]

(printed under page 171)

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other: signatures at the foot of the page: PATROL. XXXVIII. under col 329 and (Onze.) under col 330

PL 38:331

per Mariam virginem venit, nondum desiderabatur a cunctis gentibus; quia nondum crediderant. Disseminato autem Evangelio per omnes gentes, in omnibus gentibus desiderium ejus accenditur. Per omnes enim gentes et sunt, et erunt electi ejus, qui toto corde in oratione dicant, Adveniat regnum tuum (Matth. VI, 10). Sed primus adventus misericordiam praeseminavit judicio: in quo judicio secundi adventus claritas eminebit. Prius ergo oportebat moveri coelum, cum cum Angelus concepturae Virgini nuntiavit, cum Magos ad eum adorandum stella perduxit, cum rursus Angeli natum pastoribus indicarunt: moveri terram, cum ejus miraculis turbaretur: moveri mare, cum iste mundus persecutionibus fremeret: moveri aridam, cum in eum credentes esurirent sitirentque justitiam: moveri denique omnes gentes, cum Evangelium ejus usquequaque discurreret. Tunc deinde veniret Desideratus omnibus gentibus, sicut Propheta pronuntiante, venturus est. Et implebitur domus ista gloria, id est, Ecclesia.

came through the Virgin Mary, He was not yet desired by all nations, because they had not yet believed. But once the Gospel had been spread through all nations, desire for Him is kindled in all nations. For throughout all nations there both are and will be His elect, who say with their whole heart in prayer, Thy kingdom come (Matt. 6:10). But the first coming sowed mercy in advance of judgement, in which judgement the splendour of the second coming will stand out. First, therefore, the heaven had to be moved, when an angel brought word to the Virgin that she would conceive, when a star led the Magi to worship Him, when again angels made known to the shepherds that He had been born; the earth had to be moved, when it was troubled by His miracles; the sea had to be moved, when this world raged with persecutions; the dry land had to be moved, when those who believed in Him hungered and thirsted for justice; finally all nations had to be moved, when His Gospel ran everywhere. Then next would come the One Desired by all nations, as He is to come, the Prophet proclaiming it. And this house will be filled with glory, that is, the Church.

CAPUT VIII. — 11. Aurum et argentum allegorice. Consequenter itaque subjecit, Meum est aurum, et meum est argentum. Omnis enim sapientia quae nomine auri figurate significatur, et eloquia Domini eloquia casta, argentum igne probatum terrae, purgatum septuplum (Psal. XI, 7): omne ergo tale argentum et aurum non est hominum, sed Domini; ut quoniam implebitur domus gloria, qui gloriatur, in Domino glorietur (II Cor. X, 17). Quia enim sacerdos ille magnus, domus hujus inhabitator, Dominus noster Jesus Christus, propter reditum hominis, qui per superbiam de paradiso exierat, se ipsum exemplum humilitatis praebere dignatus est; quod testatur in Evangelio clamans, Discite a me quoniam mitis sum, et humilis corde (Matth. XI, 29): ne quis forte in domo ejus, id est, in Ecclesia, si quid sapienter potuerit vel sentire vel dicere, quasi sua propria videri volens extollatur; videte quanta medicina ei dicitur a Domino Deo, Meum est aurum, et meum est argentum. Sic enim fiet quod sequitur, ut magna sit gloria domus istius novissimae plus quam primae. Prima enim domus, id est, cives terrenae Jerusalem, sicut Apostolus dicit, ignorantes Dei justitiam, et suam justitiam quaerentes constituere, justitiae Dei non sunt subjecti (Rom. X, 3). Videte si non isti dum suum esse dicunt aurum et argentum, non potuerunt ad aeternam gloriam domus novissimae pervenire. Tamen cum dicit Propheta, Magna erit gloria domus istius novissimae plus quam primae, nec ipsam primam sine aliqua gloria fuisse demonstrat. Nam de illa loquebatur etiam Apostolus, cum diceret: Si enim quod evacuatur, per gloriam est, multo magis quod manet, in gloria erit (II Cor. III, 11).

Chapter VIII. — 11. Gold and silver allegorically. Accordingly, then, he added, Mine is the gold, and mine is the silver. For all wisdom, which is figuratively signified by the name of gold, and the words of the Lord, chaste words, silver tried by fire, of earth, purified sevenfold (Ps. 11:7): all such silver and gold, therefore, is not men's, but the Lord's; so that, since the house will be filled with glory, he who glories may glory in the Lord (2 Cor. 10:17). For since that great Priest, the inhabitant of this house, our Lord Jesus Christ, for the sake of the return of man, who had gone out of paradise through pride, deigned to offer Himself as an example of humility, as He testifies in the Gospel, crying out, Learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of heart (Matt. 11:29): lest perhaps anyone in His house, that is, in the Church, if he has been able to think or to say anything wisely, should be lifted up, wishing it to seem as if it were his own, see what a great medicine is spoken to him by the Lord God: Mine is the gold, and mine is the silver. For thus will come about what follows, that great shall be the glory of this latest house, more than of the first. For the first house, that is, the citizens of the earthly Jerusalem, as the Apostle says, being ignorant of the justice of God, and seeking to establish their own justice, have not been subject to the justice of God (Rom. 10:3). See whether these, while they say that the gold and silver are their own, were not unable to attain to the eternal glory of the latest house. Yet when the Prophet says, Great shall be the glory of this latest house, more than of the first, he shows that the first itself was not without some glory. For of it the Apostle too was speaking, when he said: For if that which is done away is through glory, much more that which remains will be in glory (2 Cor. 3:11).

CAPUT IX. — 12. Pax promissa post resurrectionem. Versus autem ultimus, quo iste Prophetae sermo concluditur, Et in loco isto, inquit, dabo pacem,

Chapter IX. — 12. Peace promised after the resurrection. But the last verse, with which this discourse of the Prophet is concluded, And in this place, he says, I will give peace,

Editors' notes and page, col. 331

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: electi ejus› · call in col 331

Editi, Per omnes enim gentes erunt electi ejus; omisso, et sunt, et, quod ex Germanensi Ms. restituimus.

The printed editions have, For through all the nations His elect will be; with both are, and omitted, which we have restored from the Saint-Germain manuscript.

(printed under page 172)

(2) ‹anchor: fiet quod sequitur› · call in col 331

Sic Germanensis Ms. Editi autem, videte quanta medicina ei detur a Domino. Meum est, etc. Sic enim consequitur. Ut magna sit gloria, etc.

So the Saint-Germain manuscript. But the printed editions have, see how great a medicine is given him by the Lord. Mine is, etc. For so it follows. That great may be the glory, etc.

(printed under page 172)

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other: misprint kept as printed: cum cum (the word is printed twice, at the end of one line and the head of the next: moveri coelum, cum cum Angelus); the English renders it once (set back as printed by Q2b)

PL 38:332

dicit Dominus exercituum. Quid est, in loco isto, nisi terrenum forte aliquid tanquam digito ostendit? Quid enim potest contineri loco, nisi corpus? Non absurde ergo ultimam resurrectionem corporis intelligimus, qua beatitudo perfectissima terminatur, quando jam non concupiscit caro adversus spiritum, nec spiritus adversus carnem. Hoc enim corruptibile induet incorruptionem, et mortale hoc induet immortalitatem (I Cor. XV, 53). Non erit alia lex in membris repugnans legi mentis: quia in loco isto dabo pacem, dicit Dominus exercituum.

says the Lord of hosts. What is "in this place", unless He perhaps points out something earthly, as it were with a finger? For what can be contained in a place, except a body? Not absurdly, therefore, do we understand the last resurrection of the body, by which the most perfect blessedness is brought to completion, when the flesh no longer lusts against the spirit, nor the spirit against the flesh. For this corruptible will put on incorruption, and this mortal will put on immortality (1 Cor. 15:53). There will be no other law in the members fighting against the law of the mind: for "in this place I will give peace, says the Lord of hosts."

13. Auri contemptus in propheticis litteris commendatus. Nam de contemptu terreni auri et argenti quae Prophetae dicant, quis adversus divinas voces tam surdus est, ut ignoret? Sic enim illi ad decipiendos homines de Apostolo proferunt quod ait, Radix est autem omnium malorum avaritia: quam quidam sectantes, a fide pererraverunt, et inseruerunt se doloribus multis (I Tim. VI, 10), quasi facile invenias aliquem librum veterum Scripturarum, ubi non culpetur avaritia, et digna exsecratione damnetur. Sed quia de auro et argento nunc quaestio est, cur non audiunt prophetam dicentem, Sed et argentum eorum et aurum eorum non poterit liberare eos in die irae Domini (Ezech. VII, 19)? Hoc solum si quisquam sitiens audiat, et animae suae medullis infundat, nonne se totum a blandimentis falsae felicitatis alienans, in amplexum Dei, vetere homine exutus ut se immortalitate cooperiat, advocabit? Sed quid jam diutius de hac quaestione tractemus? Credo esse manifestum Charitati vestrae, Manichaeorum sectam non veritate, sed fraude agere, cum imperitis, ut Scripturas non tota⟨s⟩ totis, novas veteribus praeferant; sed sententias excerpendo, quas velut adversas sibi esse conantur ostendere, ut decipiant imperitos. Nulla est autem de ipso Novo Testamento vel Apostoli Epistola, vel etiam liber Evangelii, de quo non possint ista fieri; ut quibusdam sententiis ipse unus liber sibi videatur esse contrarius, nisi ejus tota contextio diligentissima lectoris intentione tractetur.

13. The contempt of gold commended in the prophetic writings. For as to what the Prophets say about the contempt of earthly gold and silver, who is so deaf to the divine voices as not to know it? For thus those men, in order to deceive people, bring forward from the Apostle what he says: But the root of all evils is avarice: which some following, have strayed from the faith, and have entangled themselves in many sorrows (1 Tim. 6:10), as if you could easily find any book of the old Scriptures in which avarice is not blamed and condemned with fitting execration. But since the question now concerns gold and silver, why do they not hear the prophet saying, But even their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord (Ezek. 7:19)? If anyone thirsting were to hear this alone, and pour it into the marrow of his soul, would he not, estranging himself wholly from the allurements of false happiness, call himself into the embrace of God, having put off the old man so that he may clothe himself with immortality? But why should we treat this question any longer? I believe it is plain to your Charity that the sect of the Manichaeans deals with the unlearned not by truth but by fraud, in that they prefer the new Scriptures to the old not as whole to whole, but by extracting sentences which they try to show to be as it were opposed to one another, so as to deceive the unlearned. Yet there is no Epistle of the Apostle from the New Testament itself, nor even a book of the Gospel, with which this could not be done, so that by certain sentences one and the same book would seem to be contrary to itself, unless its whole context is handled with the most diligent attention of the reader.

Editors' notes and page, col. 332

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: non totas totis› · call in col 332

Sic Germanensis Ms. At editi, ut Scripturas totas non totis, etc.

So the Saint-Germain manuscript. But the printed editions have, ut Scripturas totas non totis (so that [they prefer] the Scriptures, whole ones not to whole ones), etc. [The anchor words are partly illegible in the scan.]

(printed under page 172)