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Augustine, Sermones 52-58 (Classis I, de Scripturis: de Evangelio Matthaei)

Sermon LIII

Aliquid cogitantibus relinquamus, aliquid et silentio largiamur. Redi ad te, et ab omni strepitu tolle te. Intra te vide, si habes illic aliquod secretarium dulce conscientiae tuae, ubi non perstrepas, ubi non litiges, aut lites pares, ubi non dissensiones et pervicaciam mediteris. Esto mansuetus ad audiendum verbum, ut intelligas. Forte dicturus es, Auditui meo dabis exsultationem et laetitiam, et exsultabunt ossa, sed humiliata (Psal. L, 10), non elata.

Let us leave something to those who reflect, and let us also grant something to silence. Return to yourself, and take yourself away from all din. Look within yourself, whether you have there some sweet inner chamber of your conscience, where you make no clamour, where you do not quarrel or stir up quarrels, where you do not ponder dissensions and obstinacy. Be meek to hear the word, that you may understand. Perhaps you are going to say, To my hearing Thou wilt give exultation and gladness, and the bones shall exult, but humbled ones (Ps. 50:10), not exalted ones.

CAPUT X. — 23. Hinc satis intelligitur Trinitatis personas posse et separabiliter demonstrari et inseparabiliter operari. Sufficit ergo quia ostendimus tria quaedam separabiliter demonstrari, inseparabiliter operari. Si hoc in te invenisti, si hoc in homine, si hoc in quadam persona in terra ambulante, corpus fragile, quod aggravat animam, portante; crede Patrem et Filium et Spiritum sanctum per singula quaedam visibilia, per species quasdam assumptae creaturae posse et separabiliter demonstrari, et inseparabiliter operari. Sufficit hoc. Non dico, Pater memoria est, Filius intellectus est, Spiritus voluntas est: non dico, quomodo libet intelligatur, non audeo. Servemus majora capientibus, infirmis infirmi quod possumus. Non dico ista illi Trinitati velut aequanda, quasi ad analogiam, id est, ad rationem quamdam comparationis dirigenda: non hoc dico. Sed quid dico? Ecce in te inveni tria separabiliter demonstrata, inseparabiliter operata; et eorum trium unumquodque nomen a tribus factum, quod tamen non ad tria, sed ad trium horum unum aliquid pertineret. Crede jam ibi quod non potes videre, si hic audisti et vidisti et tenuisti. In te enim quod est, potes nosse: in eo qui te fecit quod est, quidquid est, quando potes nosse? Et si poteris, nondum potes. Et tamen cum poteris, numquid sic poteris nosse Deum tu, quomodo se novit Deus? Sufficiat ergo Charitati vestrae: quod potuimus, diximus; exigentibus promissa reddidimus: caetera quae addenda sunt, ut proficiant sensus vestri, a Domino quaerite.

Chapter X. — 23. Hence it is sufficiently understood that the persons of the Trinity can both be shown separably and work inseparably. It suffices, then, that we have shown certain three things to be shown separably and to work inseparably. If you have found this in yourself, if in a man, if in a certain person walking on the earth and bearing a fragile body which weighs down the soul, believe that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit can, through certain individual visible things, through certain forms of assumed creation, both be shown separably and work inseparably. This suffices. I do not say, The Father is memory, the Son is understanding, the Spirit is will: I do not say it, however it might be understood; I do not dare. Let us reserve greater things for those who can grasp them; [let us convey,] weak to the weak, what we can. I do not say that these things are to be equated with that Trinity, as though they were to be directed to an analogy, that is, to some rational principle of comparison: I do not say this. But what do I say? Behold, I have found in you three things shown separably, working inseparably; and each single name of those three made by the three, which nevertheless pertained not to the three, but to some one of these three. Believe, then, there what you cannot see, if here you have heard and seen and held. For what is in yourself you can know: what is in Him Who made you, whatever it is, when can you know? And if you will be able, you are not yet able. And yet when you are able, will you be able to know God in the way that God knows Himself? Let this, then, suffice for your Charity: what we could, we have said; we have paid back what was promised to those who demanded it: the rest that is to be added, so that your understanding may advance, seek from the Lord.

SERMO LIII. De verbis Evangelii Matthaei, Beati pauperes spiritu, etc. sed de hoc maxime quod dictum est, Beati mundicordes, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt. Cap. V, ℣. 3-8.

Sermon LIII. On the words of the Gospel of Matthew, Blessed are the poor in spirit, etc., but chiefly on that which was said, Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God. Chap. 5:3-8.

CAPUT PRIMUM. — 1. Omnes volunt esse beati Pauper spiritu quis. Solemnitate sanctae virginis, quae testimonium dixit de Christo, et testimonium meruit a Christo, palam occisae, occulte coronatae, admonemur Charitati vestrae de illa exhortatione loqui, quam modo Dominus ex Evangelio proferebat, dicens multas causas beatae vitae, quam nemo

Chapter One. — 1. All wish to be blessed. Who is poor in spirit. On the solemnity of the holy virgin, who bore witness concerning Christ and merited witness from Christ, slain openly, crowned secretly, we are admonished to speak to your Charity about that exhortation which the Lord was just now bringing forth from the Gospel, telling many causes of the blessed life, which there is no one

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(*) ‹anchor: SERMO LIII› · call in col 364 Ad cb. fl. Par. et Lov. recognitus.

Revised against cb. fl. Par. and Lov.

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(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 364

Supple, insinuamus.

Supply: "we convey."

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(b) ‹anchor: SERMO LIII› · call in col 364

Alias, 14 inter additos a Parisiensibus.

Formerly, 14 among those added by the Paris editors.

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In Possidii Indiculo duo in istud Evangelii capitulum sermones notantur: alter cap. 8, «De octo sententiis beatitudinum;» alter cap. 9 inscriptus, «de beatitudinibus,» qui titulus magis congruit subsequenti sermoni, sex tantum priores beatitudines attingenti. Hujus porro excerptum in Flori collectione ad Ephes. III, reperitur sub isto titulo, «Ex sermone in basilica Tricillarum:» quae videlicet basilica erat Carthagine.

In Possidius's Indiculus two sermons on this chapter of the Gospel are recorded: one in ch. 8, "On the eight sayings of the beatitudes;" the other in ch. 9, headed "on the beatitudes," a title that better suits the sermon following, which touches only the first six beatitudes. An excerpt of the present one, moreover, is found in Florus's collection on Ephesians 3 under this title, "From the sermon in the basilica of the Tricillae:" which basilica, namely, was at Carthage.

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est qui non velit. Nemo quippe inveni⟨r⟩i potest, qui beatus esse nolit. Sed, o si homines quomodo desiderant mercedem, sic opus mercedis non recusarent! quis non alacriter currat, cum ei dicitur, Beatus eris? Libenter audiat et cum dicitur, Si hoc feceris. Non recusetur certamen, si diligitur praemium; et accendatur animus ad alacritatem operis commendatio⟨n⟩e mercedis. Quod volumus, quod desideramus, q⟨u⟩od petimus, post erit: quod autem jubemur ut faciam⟨u⟩s, propter illud quod post erit, modo sit. Ecce incipe ⟨d⟩ivina dicta recolere, et ipsa evangelica praecepta v⟨e⟩l munera. Beati pauperes spiritu, quoniam ipsorum est regnum coelorum. Postea erit tuum regnum coelorum, modo esto pauper spiritu. Vis ut postea regnum coelorum tuum sit? Vide modo tu ipse cujus sis. Esto pauper spiritu. Quaeris a me fortasse quid sit esse pauperem spiritu. Omnis inflatus non est pauper spiritu: ergo humilis pauper est spiritu. Altum est regnum coelorum: sed, Qui se humiliat, exaltabitur (Luc. XIV, 11).

who does not want. For no one can be found who does not wish to be blessed. But oh, if only people, just as they desire the reward, did not refuse the work that earns the reward! Who would not run eagerly when told, You will be blessed? Let him also listen gladly when told, If you do this. Let the contest not be refused if the prize is loved; and let the mind be kindled to eagerness for the work by the commending of the reward. What we want, what we desire, what we ask for, will come afterwards; but what we are commanded to do for the sake of what will come afterwards, let it be now. See, begin to recall the divine sayings, the very precepts or gifts of the Gospel. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Afterwards the kingdom of heaven will be yours; for now, be poor in spirit. Do you want the kingdom of heaven to be yours afterwards? Look now to whose you yourself are. Be poor in spirit. Perhaps you ask me what it is to be poor in spirit. No one who is puffed up is poor in spirit; therefore the humble man is poor in spirit. The kingdom of heaven is lofty: but, He who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 14:11).

CAPUT II. — 2. Mitis quis. Attende quod sequitur: Beati, inquit, ⟨m⟩ites, quoniam ipsi haereditate possidebunt terram. Jam vis possidere terram: vide ne possidearis a terra. Possidebis mitis, possideberis immitis. Nec cum audis praemium propositum, ut possideas terram, extendas avaritiae sinum, qua vis possidere modo terram, excluso etiam utcumque vicino tuo: non te ista fallat opinio. Tunc vere possidebis terram, quando inhaeseris ei qui fecit coelum et terram. Hoc enim est esse mitem, non resistere Deo tuo: ut in eo quod bene facis, ipse tibi placeat, non tu tibi; in co quod mala juste pateris, ipse tibi non displiceat, sed tu tibi. Neque enim parum est quia placebis ei, displicens tibi; displicebis autem ei, placens tibi.

Chapter II. — 2. Who is meek. Attend to what follows: Blessed, He says, are the meek, for they shall possess the earth by inheritance. You already want to possess the earth: see that you are not possessed by the earth. If meek, you will possess it; if not meek, you will be possessed. And when you hear the reward set before you, that you may possess the earth, do not open wide the lap of avarice, by which you want to possess the earth now, even shutting out your neighbour by whatever means: do not let that notion deceive you. You will truly possess the earth when you cleave to Him Who made heaven and earth. For this is to be meek: not to resist your God; so that in the good you do, He pleases you, not you yourself; in the evils you justly suffer, He does not displease you, but you yourself do. For it is no small thing that you will please Him by displeasing yourself; but you will displease Him by pleasing yourself.

CAPUT III. — 3. Lugentes. Attende tertium: Beati l⟨u⟩gentes, quoniam ipsi consolabuntur. In luctu opus est, in consolatione merces est. Nam qui lugent carnaliter, quas consolationes habent? Molestas, metuendas. Ibi consolatur lugens, ubi timet rursus ne lugeat. Verbi gratia, contristat filius elatus, laetificat natus: illum extulit, hunc suscepit; in illo tristitia, in isto timor: in nullo ergo consolatio. Ergo illa erit vera consolatio, qua dabitur quod non amittatur; ut illi se postea gaudeant consolari, qui modo se lugent peregrinari.

Chapter III. — 3. Those who mourn. Attend to the third: Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. In the mourning is the work, in the comfort is the reward. For those who mourn in a carnal way, what comforts do they have? Troublesome ones, ones to be feared. The mourner is comforted in a place where he fears he may mourn again. For example, a son carried out to burial brings sorrow, a son born brings joy: the one he has buried, the other he has taken up; in the one there is sadness, in the other fear: in neither, then, is there comfort. Therefore that will be true comfort in which will be given what cannot be lost; so that those may afterwards rejoice to be comforted who now mourn that they are pilgrims.

CAPUT IV. — 4. Esurientes. Accedat quartum et opus et munus: Beati qui esuriunt et sitiunt justitiam, quoniam ipsi saturabuntur. Saturari vis. Unde? Si caro saturitatem concupiscit, digesta saturitate, famem iterum patieris. Et qui biberit, inquit, ex hac aqua, sitiet iterum (Joan. IV, 13). Medicamentum quod ad vulnus ponitur, si sanaverit, jam non dolet: quod autem ponitur contra famem, hoc est, esca, ita ponitur ut ad modicum relevet. Transacta enim saturitate, redit fames. Accedit quidem quotidie remedium saturitatis, sed non est sanatum vulnus infirmitatis. Esuriamus ergo sitiamusque justitiam, ut ipsa justitia

Chapter IV. — 4. Those who hunger. Let the fourth, both work and gift, come forward: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. You want to be filled. With what? If the flesh desires fullness, once the fullness is digested you will suffer hunger again. And whoever drinks, He says, of this water will thirst again (John 4:13). A medicine applied to a wound, if it has healed it, no longer causes pain; but what is applied against hunger, that is, food, is applied so as to relieve for a little while. For when the fullness has passed, hunger returns. The remedy of fullness is indeed applied daily, but the wound of weakness is not healed. Let us therefore hunger and thirst for righteousness, so that with that very righteousness

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(1) ‹anchor: Molestas, metuendas› · call in col 365

Sic Corbeiensis Ms. Editi vero, quas consolationes habebunt? Molestias metuendas.

So the Corbie manuscript. The printed editions, however: "what consolations will they have? Troubles to be feared."

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saturemur, quam nunc esurimus et sitimus. Inde enim saturabimur, quod esurimus et sitimus. Interior homo noster esuriat et sitiat: habet enim cibum suum, habet potum suum. Ego sum, inquit, panis qui de coelo descendi (Joan. VI, 41). Habes panem esurientis, desidera et potum sitientis; Quoniam apud te est fons vitae (Psal. XXXV, 10).

we may be filled, which we now hunger and thirst for. For we shall be filled from that for which we hunger and thirst. Let our inner man hunger and thirst: for he has his own food, he has his own drink. I am, He says, the bread that came down from heaven (John 6:41). You have the bread of the hungering; desire also the drink of the thirsting: For with Thee is the fountain of life (Ps. 35:10).

CAPUT V. — 5. Misericordes. Attende quod sequitur: Beati misericordes, quoniam ipsorum miserebitur Deus. Fac, et fiet: fac cum altero, ut fiat tecum. Quia abundas et eges: abundas temporalibus, eges aeternis. Mendicum hominem audis, mendicus ipse Dei es. Petitur a te, et petis. Quod egeris cum petitore tuo, hoc aget Deus cum suo. Et plenus et inanis es: imple inanem de plenitudine tua, ut de Dei plenitudine impleatur inanitas tua.

Chapter V. — 5. The merciful. Attend to what follows: Blessed are the merciful, for God will have mercy on them. Do it, and it will be done: do it with another, so that it may be done with you. For you both abound and lack: you abound in temporal things, you lack eternal ones. You hear a man begging, and you yourself are God's beggar. You are asked, and you ask. What you have done with the one who asks of you, this God will do with the one who asks of Him. You are both full and empty: fill the empty man from your fullness, so that your emptiness may be filled from God's fullness.

CAPUT VI. — 6. Mundicordes. Attende quod sequitur: Beati mundicordes, hoc est, qui mundi corde sunt; quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt. Hic est finis amoris nostri; finis quo perficiamur, non quo consumamur. Finitur cibus, finitur vestis: cibus, quia consumitur edendo; vestis, quia perficitur texendo. Et illud finitur, et illud: sed finis iste pertinet ad consumptionem, ille ad perfectionem. Quidquid agimus, quidquid bene agimus, quidquid nitimur, quidquid laudabiliter aestuamus, quidquid inculpabiliter desideramus, ad Dei visionem cum venerit, plus non requiremus. Quid enim quaerat, cui adest Deus? aut quid sufficiat ei, cui non sufficit Deus? Videre Deum volumus, videre Deum quaerimus, videre Deum inardescimus. Quis non? Sed vide quid dictum est: Beati mundicordes, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt. Hoc para, unde videas. Ut enim secundum carnem loquar, quid desideras ortum solis cum oculis lippis? Sani sint oculi, et erit lux illa gaudium: non sint oculi sani, erit lux illa tormentum. Non enim corde non mundo videre permitteris, quod non videtur nisi corde mundo. Repelleris, aufereris, non videbis. Beati enim mundicordes, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt. Quoties beatos jam numeravit? quas beatitudinis causas, quae opera, quae munera, quae merita, quae praemia? Nusquam dictum est, Ipsi Deum videbunt. Beati pauperes spiritu, quoniam ipsorum est regnum coelorum. Beati mites: ipsi haereditate possidebunt terram. Beati lugentes: ipsi consolabuntur. Beati esurientes et sitientes justitiam: ipsi saturabuntur. Beati misericordes: ipsi misericordiam consequentur. Nusquam dictum est, Ipsi Deum videbunt. Ventum est ad mundicordes, ibi visio Dei promissa est. Non sine causa, nisi quia ibi sunt oculi, unde videtur Deus. De his oculis Paulus apostolus loquens ait: Illuminatos oculos cordis vestri (Ephes. I, 18). Modo ergo oculi isti pro sua infirmitate illuminantur fide: postea pro sua firmitate illuminabuntur specie. Quamdiu enim sumus in corpore, peregrinamur a Domino. Per fidem enim ambulamus, non per speciem (II Cor. V, 6 et 7). Quamdiu autem in hac fide sumus, quid de nobis dicitur? Videmus nunc per speculum in aenigmate; tunc autem facie ad faciem (I Cor. XIII, 12).

Chapter VI. — 6. The clean of heart. Attend to what follows: Blessed are the clean of heart, that is, those who are clean in heart; for they shall see God. This is the end of our love; an end by which we are to be perfected, not by which we are to be consumed. Food is ended, clothing is ended: food, because it is consumed by eating; clothing, because it is perfected by weaving. Both the one is ended and the other: but the former end pertains to consumption, the latter to perfection. Whatever we do, whatever we do well, whatever we strive for, whatever we burn for in a praiseworthy way, whatever we desire blamelessly, when it has come to the vision of God, we shall seek no further. For what should he seek to whom God is present? Or what should suffice him for whom God does not suffice? We wish to see God, we seek to see God, we burn to see God. Who does not? But see what has been said: Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God. Prepare this, by which you may see. For, to speak according to the flesh, why do you desire the rising of the sun with bleary eyes? Let the eyes be healthy, and that light will be a joy: let the eyes not be healthy, and that light will be a torment. For you will not be permitted to see with a heart not clean what is not seen except with a clean heart. You will be driven back, you will be taken away, you will not see. For blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God. How many times has He already numbered the blessed? What causes of blessedness, what works, what gifts, what merits, what rewards? Nowhere has it been said, They shall see God. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek: they shall possess the earth by inheritance. Blessed are those who mourn: they shall be comforted. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice: they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful: they shall obtain mercy. Nowhere has it been said, They shall see God. One has come to the clean of heart; there the vision of God has been promised. Not without cause, except that there are the eyes by which God is seen. Speaking of these eyes the apostle Paul says: The eyes of your heart enlightened (Eph. 1:18). Now, then, these eyes, in accordance with their weakness, are enlightened by faith: afterwards, in accordance with their strength, they will be enlightened by sight. For as long as we are in the body, we are journeying abroad from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:6–7). But as long as we are in this faith, what is said of us? We see now through a mirror in an enigma; but then face to face (1 Cor. 13:12).

7. Dei facies et manus et pedes quid. Non hic corporea

7. What the face and hands and feet of God are. Here let no bodily

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facies cogitetur. Nam si accensus desiderio videndi Deum, faciem tuam praeparaveris corporalem ad videndum; talem faciem desiderabis et Dei. Si autem jam saltem spiritualiter de Deo sapis, ut Deum non cogites esse corporeum (unde diutius heri egimus, si tamen aliquid peregimus); si in corde vestro, tanquam in templo Dei, formae humanae fregimus simulacrum; si jam vobis bene venit in mentem, et viscera vestra interiora possedit, ubi detestatur Apostolus eos qui dicentes se esse sapientes, stulti facti sunt; et immutaverunt gloriam incorruptibilis Dei et similitudinem imaginis corruptibilis hominis (Rom. I, 22, 23).

face be thought of. For if, kindled with desire to see God, you have prepared your bodily face for seeing, you will desire such a face in God too. But if you now at least think spiritually about God, so that you do not imagine God to be corporeal (on which we dealt at some length yesterday, if indeed we accomplished anything); if in your heart, as in the temple of God, we have broken the image of human form; if it has now come well into your mind and taken possession of your inner parts, where the Apostle condemns those who, saying that they were wise, became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of the image of corruptible man (Rom. 1:22–23).

CAPUT VII.—Si jam tale malum detestamini, si adversamini, si Creatori mundatjs templum suum, si vultis ut veniat et mansionem apud vos faciat: Sentite de Domino in bonitate, et in simplicitate cordis quaerite illum (Sap. I, 1). Videte cui dicatis, si tamen dicitis, si vere dicitis: Tibi dixit cor meum, Quaeram faciem tuam. Dicat et cor tuum, et adde, Vultum tuum, Domine, requiram (Psal. XXVI, 8). Bene enim requiris, quia corde requiris. Dicitur Dei vultus, dicitur Dei brachium, dicitur Dei manus, dicuntur Dei pedes, dicitur Dei sedes, dicitur scabellum pedum ejus: sed noli membra humana cogitare. Si vis esse templum veritatis, frange idolum falsitatis. Manus Dei, potentia Dei. Facies Dei, notitia Dei. Pedes Dei, praesentia Dei. Sedes Dei, si vis, tu es. An forte negare audebis Deum esse Christum? Non, inquis. Concedis et hoc, Christum Dei virtutem et Dei sapientiam (I Cor. I, 24)? Concedo, inquis. Audi: Anima justi sedes est sapientiae (Sap. I). Ubi enim sedem habet Deus, nisi ubi habitat? Ubi autem habitat, nisi in templo suo? Templum enim Dei sanctum est, quod estis vos (I Cor. III, 17). Vide ergo quomodo excipias Deum. Spiritus est Deus; in spiritu et veritate oportet adorare Deum (Joan. IV, 24). Jam in cor tuum, si placet, intret arca testamenti, et ruat Dagon (I Reg. V, 3). Audi ergo nunc, et disce Deum desiderare, disce unde Deum videre possis praeparare. Beati, inquit, Mundicordes, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt.

Chapter VII. If you now detest such an evil, if you oppose it, if you are cleansing His temple for the Creator, if you wish that He should come and make His dwelling with you: Think of the Lord in goodness, and in simplicity of heart seek Him (Wis. 1:1). See to Whom you say it, if indeed you say it, if you truly say it: My heart has said to Thee, I will seek Thy face. Let your heart say it too, and add, Thy countenance, O Lord, will I seek (Ps. 26:8). For you seek well, because you seek with the heart. God's countenance is spoken of, God's arm is spoken of, God's hand is spoken of, God's feet are spoken of, God's seat is spoken of, the footstool of His feet is spoken of: but do not think of human members. If you wish to be a temple of truth, break the idol of falsehood. The hand of God is the power of God. The face of God is the knowledge of God. The feet of God are the presence of God. The seat of God, if you will, you are. Or will you perhaps dare to deny that Christ is God? No, you say. Do you grant this too, that Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:24)? I grant it, you say. Hear: The soul of the just man is the seat of wisdom (Wis. 1). For where does God have His seat, if not where He dwells? And where does He dwell, if not in His temple? For the temple of God is holy, which you are (1 Cor. 3:17). See, then, how you receive God. God is spirit; in spirit and truth must God be worshipped (John 4:24). Now let the ark of the covenant, if you please, enter your heart, and let Dagon fall (1 Sam. 5:3). Hear, then, now, and learn to desire God, learn to prepare that whereby you may see God. Blessed, He says, are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.

CAPUT VIII. — Quid praeparas oculos corporis? Si sic videbitur, in loco erit quod videbitur. Non est in loco qui ubique totus est. Munda unde videatur.

Chapter VIII. Why do you prepare the eyes of the body? If He is to be seen thus, what will be seen will be in a place. He is not in a place Who is everywhere whole. Cleanse that whereby He may be seen.

8. Praemia operibus congrua in sententiis beatitudinum. Audi, et intellige, si ipso juvante potero explicare: adjuvet nos ad intelligendum omnia supradicta opera et munera, quemadmodum congruentibus apposita sint. Ubi enim dictum est de praemio, quod non congrueret operi, quod non consonaret? Quia humiles quasi a regno videntur alieni: Beati, inquit, pauperes spiritu, quia ipsorum est regnum coelorum. Quia mites homines facile excluduntur de terra sua: Beati, inquit, mites, quoniam ipsi haereditate possidebunt terram. Jam caetera aperta sunt, clara, sua sponte cognoscuntur: disputatore non egent, commemoratore opus habent. Beati qui lugent. Quis lugens

8. Rewards fitting the works in the sentences of the beatitudes. Hear, and understand, if with His help I shall be able to explain it: may He help us to understand how all the works and gifts mentioned above have been set beside things befitting them. For where has anything been said of a reward that would not befit the work, that would not accord with it? Because the humble seem, as it were, strangers to a kingdom: Blessed, He says, are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. Because meek men are easily shut out of their own land: Blessed, He says, are the meek, for they shall possess the land by inheritance. The rest are now open, clear, recognized of their own accord: they need no disputant, they have need of one who recalls them. Blessed are those who mourn. Who, mourning,

Editors' notes and page, col. 367

Footnotes

(a) ‹anchor: heri egimus› · call in col 367

Indicat, opinamur, sermonem 23, de versiculo Psalmi 72, seu de visione Dei, qui etiam Carthagine habitus in Mss. notatur, in basilica Fausti.

He points, we think, to sermon 23, on a verse of Psalm 72, or on the vision of God, which is likewise recorded in the manuscripts as preached at Carthage, in the basilica of Faustus.

(printed under page 190)

(b) ‹anchor: si adversamini› · call in col 367

Forte, aversamini.

Perhaps: "you turn away from."

(printed under page 190)

Page

running head: 367 S. AUGUSTINI EPIS[COPI] (cut off at image edge)
marginal letters: (none)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: "mundatjs" (CAPUT VII) printed with j for i, kept as misprint (Q3: could be a scan speck under the i, unsure); "Dei et similitudinem" (Rom. I, 23) printed with et where the sense requires in, kept as misprint, the English renders in (Q3: reading of et/in unsure at this resolution)

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non consolationem desiderat? Ipsi, inquit, consolabuntur. Beati qui esuriunt et sitiunt justitiam. Quis esuriens et sitiens non satietatem requirit? Et ipsi, inquit, saturabuntur. Beati misericordes. Quis misericors, nisi qui optat ex ipso opere reddi sibi a Deo vicem, ut circa se fiat, quod circa pauperem facit? Beati, inquit, misericordes, quoniam ipsorum miserebitur Deus. Quomodo per ipsa singula singulis propria apposita sunt, et nihil adhibitum est in praemio, quod non congrueret praecepto? praeceptum est enim ut sis pauper spiritu: praemium est ut habeas regnum coelorum. Praeceptum est ut sis mitis: praemium est ut possideas terram. Praeceptum est ut sis lugens: praemium, ut consoleris. Praeceptum est ut esurias et sitias justitiam: praemium, ut satureris. Praeceptum est ut sis misericors: praemium, ut misericordiam consequaris. Sic praeceptum est ut mundes cor: praemium, ut videas Deum.

does not desire consolation? They, He says, shall be consoled. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for justice. Who that hungers and thirsts does not seek satiety? And they, He says, shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful. Who is merciful, except one who wishes that from that very work a return be rendered to him by God, that there be done towards him what he does towards the poor man? Blessed, He says, are the merciful, for God will have mercy on them. How through these individual things their own proper [rewards] have been assigned to each, and nothing has been applied in the reward which would not fit the precept! For the precept is that you be poor in spirit: the reward is that you have the kingdom of heaven. The precept is that you be meek: the reward is that you possess the earth. The precept is that you be mourning: the reward, that you be consoled. The precept is that you hunger and thirst for justice: the reward, that you be satisfied. The precept is that you be merciful: the reward, that you obtain mercy. So the precept is that you cleanse your heart: the reward, that you see God.

CAPUT IX. — 9. Visio Dei quomodo mundicordibus specialim promissa. Non ergo ita sapias in his praeceptis et praemiis, ut cum audis, Beati mundicordes, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt, putes pauperes spiritu non visuros, aut non visuros mites, non visuros lugentes, non visuros esurientes et sitientes justitiam, non visuros misericordes. Non arbitreris eos tantum quasi visuros qui mundo sunt corde, illis a visione separatis. Omnia enim haec iidem ipsi sunt. Ipsi videbunt, et non ideo videbunt, quia pauperes spiritu sunt, quia mites sunt, quia lugentes, quia esurientes sitientesque justitiam, quia misericordes: sed quia mundi sunt corde. Quemadmodum si corporalia opera membris corporalibus coaptarentur, ac diceret, verbi gratia, quisquam: Beati qui pedes habent, quia ipsi ambulabunt: beati qui manus habent, quia ipsi operabuntur: beati qui vocem habent, quoniam ipsi clamabunt: beati qui os et linguam habent, quoniam ipsi loquentur: beati qui oculos habent, ipsi enim videbunt. Sic tanquam spiritualia membra componens, docuit quid ad quid pertineat. Apta est humilitas ad habendum regnum coelorum; apta mansuetudo ad possidendam terram; aptus luctus ad consolationem; apta fames et sitis justitiae ad saturitatem; apta misericordia ad impetrandam misericordiam; aptum mundum cor ad videndum Deum.

Chapter IX. — 9. How the vision of God is specially promised to the clean of heart. Do not, then, so understand these precepts and rewards that, when you hear, Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God, you think that the poor in spirit will not see, or that the meek will not see, that those who mourn will not see, that those who hunger and thirst for justice will not see, that the merciful will not see. Do not suppose that only those who are clean of heart will, as it were, see, the others being separated from the vision. For all these are the very same people. They will see, and they will not see because they are poor in spirit, because they are meek, because they mourn, because they hunger and thirst for justice, because they are merciful: but because they are clean of heart. Just as if bodily works were fitted to bodily members, and someone were to say, for example: Blessed are they who have feet, for they shall walk; blessed are they who have hands, for they shall work; blessed are they who have a voice, for they shall cry out; blessed are they who have a mouth and tongue, for they shall speak; blessed are they who have eyes, for they shall see. So, as though arranging spiritual members, He taught what pertains to what. Humility is fitted to having the kingdom of heaven; meekness is fitted to possessing the earth; mourning is fitted to consolation; hunger and thirst for justice are fitted to satiety; mercy is fitted to obtaining mercy; a clean heart is fitted to seeing God.

CAPUT X. — 10. Fide cor mundatur ad videndum Deum. Si ergo desideramus videre Deum, oculus iste unde mundabitur? Quis enim non curet, quis non quaerat unde mundet, quo videre possit quem toto affectu desiderat? Expressit hoc divina testatio: Fide, inquit, mundans corda eorum (Act. XV, 9). Mundat cor fides Dei, mundum cor videt Deum. Sed quia ipsa fides aliquando ab hominibus, qui se ipsos fallunt, talis determinatur, quasi sufficiat tantummodo credere (promittunt enim sibi quidam etiam conspectum Dei regnumque coelorum credentes et male viventes); contra hos succensus et spirituali charitate quodammodo stomachans Jacobus apostolus in Epistola sua dicit, Tu credis quoniam unus est Deus. Plaudis tibi de fide: attendis enim multos impios

Chapter X. — 10. By faith the heart is cleansed for seeing God. If, then, we desire to see God, whence shall this eye be cleansed? For who would not take care, who would not seek whence he may cleanse it, so that he may be able to see Him Whom he desires with his whole affection? The divine testimony has expressed this: Cleansing, it says, their hearts by faith (Acts 15:9). Faith in God cleanses the heart, the clean heart sees God. But because this faith is sometimes defined by men who deceive themselves as being such that it would suffice merely to believe (for certain people promise themselves even the sight of God and the kingdom of heaven while believing and living badly); against these the apostle James, incensed and in a certain way indignant with spiritual charity, says in his Epistle, You believe that God is one. You applaud yourself for your faith: for you notice many impious

Editors' notes and page, col. 368

Page

running head: …UGUSTINI EPISCOPI (left part cut off); column number at right blurred, reads like 366/368
marginal letters: (none visible)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: the word impios was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 369
other (QA Q1a): the English of this column now ends with the whole word ("impious"; it ended with the fragment "im-"). The English of col 369 still opens with the leftover fragment "-pious", which must be dropped there; that file was not written by this read.
other (QA Q1a): misprint kept as printed and now listed: "specialim" for "speciatim" in the italic summary of § 9 (the sixth letter stands tall like l in the scan; a damaged t cannot be wholly excluded). The English translates the intended word.

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aestimare multos esse deos, et tu tibi gaudes credendo quia unus est Deus. Bene facis. Et daemones credunt, et contremiscunt (Jacobi II, 19). Numquid et ii Deum videbunt? Videbunt qui mundo sunt corde. Quis autem mundicordes dicat spiritus immundos? Et tamen credunt, et contremiscunt.

men suppose that there are many gods, and you congratulate yourself on believing that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe, and tremble (Jas. 2:19). Will they too, then, see God? Those will see Him who are pure in heart. But who would call unclean spirits pure of heart? And yet they believe, and tremble.

11. Fides Christianorum discernenda a fide daemonum. Fidei comites spes et charitas. Discernenda est fides nostra a fide daemonum. Fides enim nostra mundat cor: fides autem illorum reos facit. Male quippe operantur, et ideo Domino dicunt: Quid nobis et tibi est? Cum audis hoc daemones dicere, putas eos non agnoscere? Scimus, inquiunt, qui sis. Tu es Filius Dei (Luc. IV, 34). Dicit hoc Petrus, et laudatur (Matth. XVI, 16, 17): dicit hoc daemon, et damnatur. Unde hoc, nisi quia vox par, et cor impar? Discernamus ergo fidem nostram, nec credere sufficiat. Non est talis fides quae mundat cor. Fide, inquit, mundans corda eorum. Sed qua fide, quali fide, nisi quam definit Paulus apostolus, ubi ait: Fides quae per dilectionem operatur (Galat. V, 6)? Ista fides discernit a fide daemonum, discernit ab hominum flagitiosis ac perditis moribus. Fides, inquit. Quae fides? Quae per dilectionem operatur, sperat quod Deus pollicetur. Nihil ista definitione perpensius, nihil perfectius. Ergo tria sunt illa. Necesse est ut in quo est fides, quae per dilectionem operatur, speret quod Deus pollicetur. Comes est ergo fidei spes. Necessaria quippe spes est, quamdiu non videmus quod credimus; ne forte non videndo et desperando deficiamus. Contristat nos, quia non videmus: sed consolatur nos, quia visuros nos speramus. Adest ergo spes, et est comes fidei. Deinde et charitas, qua desideramus, qua pertingere conamur, qua inardescimus, qua esurimus et sitimus. Adhibetur ergo et haec: et erit fides, spes et charitas. Quomodo enim non erit ibi charitas, cum nihil sit aliud charitas quam dilectio? Ipsa autem fides definita est, quae per dilectionem operatur. Tolle fidem, perit quod credis; tolle charitatem, perit quod agis. Fidei enim pertinet ut credas; charitati, ut agas. Si enim credis, et non amas, non te moves ad bonum opus: et si moves, ut servus moves, non ut filius: timendo poenam, non amando justitiam. Illa ergo, inquam, fides mundat cor, quae per dilectionem operatur.

11. The faith of Christians is to be distinguished from the faith of demons. The companions of faith are hope and charity. Our faith is to be distinguished from the faith of demons. For our faith cleanses the heart, but theirs makes them guilty. For they work evil, and therefore they say to the Lord: What have we to do with Thee? When you hear the demons say this, do you think that they do not recognize Him? We know, they say, who Thou art. Thou art the Son of God (Luke 4:34). Peter says this, and is praised (Matt. 16:16–17); the demon says this, and is condemned. Why so, except that the voice is the same and the heart is not the same? Let us therefore distinguish our faith, and let believing not suffice. Such is not the faith that cleanses the heart. Cleansing their hearts, it says, by faith. But by what faith, by faith of what kind, if not that which Paul the apostle defines, where he says: Faith which works through love (Gal. 5:6)? That faith distinguishes [us] from the faith of demons; it distinguishes [us] from the shameful and depraved ways of men. Faith, he says. Which faith? That which works through love, and hopes for what God promises. Nothing is more carefully weighed than this definition, nothing more complete. These, then, are three. It is necessary that he in whom there is faith which works through love should hope for what God promises. Hope, therefore, is the companion of faith. For hope is necessary so long as we do not see what we believe, lest perhaps, by not seeing and by despairing, we fail. It saddens us that we do not see; but it consoles us that we hope that we shall see. Hope, then, is present, and is the companion of faith. Then there is charity also, by which we desire, by which we strive to attain, by which we burn, by which we hunger and thirst. This too, therefore, is added; and there will be faith, hope and charity. For how will charity not be there, when charity is nothing other than love? But faith itself has been defined as that which works through love. Take away faith, and what you believe perishes; take away charity, and what you do perishes. For it belongs to faith that you believe; to charity, that you act. For if you believe and do not love, you do not move yourself to good work; and if you do move yourself, you move yourself as a slave, not as a son: by fearing punishment, not by loving justice. That faith, then, I say, cleanses the heart which works through love.

CAPUT XI. — 12. Deus non cogitandus ut corpus. Et modo ipsa fides quid agit? Tantis testimoniis Scripturarum, tam multiplici lectione, tam varia copiosaque exhortatione quid agit, nisi ut videamus nunc per speculum in aenigmate, postea facie ad faciem? Sed non iterum tu redeas ad istam faciem tuam. Faciem cordis cogita. Coge cor tuum cogitare divina, compelle, urge. Quidquid simile corporis cogitanti occurrerit, abjice. Nondum potes dicere, Hoc est: saltem dic, Non est hoc. Quando enim dices, Hoc est Deus? Nec cum videbis: quia ineffabile est quod videbis. Raptum se dicit Apostolus in tertium

Chapter XI. — 12. God is not to be thought of as a body. And now, what does faith itself do? By so many testimonies of the Scriptures, by such manifold reading, by such varied and abundant exhortation, what does it do, except that we may see now through a mirror in an enigma, afterwards face to face? But do not go back again to this face of yours. Think of the face of the heart. Force your heart to think on divine things; compel it, press it. Whatever likeness of a body occurs to you as you think, cast it away. You cannot yet say, It is this; at least say, It is not this. For when will you say, This is God? Not even when you see: because what you will see is ineffable. The Apostle says that he was caught up into the third

Editors' notes and page, col. 369

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: istam faciem tuam› · call in col 369

Corbeiensis Ms., Sed non ita iterum ut redeas tu ad faciem tuam.

The Corbie manuscript: "But not so that you again return to your own face."

(printed under page 191)

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marginal letters: (none)
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coelum, et audisse ineffabilia verba (II Cor. XII, 2 et 4). Si sunt ineffabilia verba, quid est cujus sunt verba? Cogitanti ergo tibi de Deo, occurrit aliqua fortasse in humana specie mira et amplissima magnitudo: constituisti eam in conspectu cogitationis tuae, tanquam magnum aliquid, amplissimum, grande, ingentissima mole diffusum. Finisti alicubi. Si finisti, Deus non est. Si non finisti, facies ubi est? Cogitas molem, et ut membra distinguas, definis molem. Aliter enim membra distinguere non potes, nisi moli dederis finem. Quid agis, stulta et carnalis cogitatio? Grandem molem fecisti; et tanto grandiorem, quanto te putasti Deum amplius honorare. Addit alius unum cubitum, et facit majorem.

heaven, and to have heard ineffable words (2 Cor. 12:2, 4). If the words are ineffable, what is He whose words they are? So when you think about God, there perhaps presents itself to you some wonderful and very vast magnitude in human form: you have set it up in the sight of your thought, as something great, very vast, large, spread out in an enormous bulk. You have set a limit to it somewhere. If you have set a limit, it is not God. If you have not set a limit, where is the face? You think of a bulk, and in order to distinguish the limbs, you set bounds to the bulk. For otherwise you cannot distinguish limbs unless you have given the bulk a limit. What are you doing, foolish and carnal thought? You have made a great bulk; and all the greater, the more you thought you were honouring God. Another adds one cubit, and makes it bigger.

CAPUT XII. — 13. Locus Isaiae in speciem contrarius. Sed legi, inquis. Quid legisti, qui nihil intellexisti? Et tamen dic, quid legisti? Non repellamus parvulum corde ludentem. Dic quid legisti? Coelum mihi thronus est, terra autem scabellum pedum meorum (Isai. LXVI, 6). Aio, Legi et ego: sed tu forte potiorem te putas, quia legisti et credidisti. Credo et ego quod dixisti. Simul credamus. Quid dico? Simul quaeramus. Ecce tene quod legisti, et credidisti: Coelum mihi thronus est, id est, sedes; thronus enim graece, latine sedes est: terra autem scabellum pedum meorum. Non legisti et illud: Quis palmo mensus est coelum (Isai. XL, 12)? Puto te legisse: cognoscis, et te credere confiteris. Ibi enim utrumque legimus, utrumque credimus. Modo jam cogita, et doce me: adhibeo te doctorem, et me parvulum facio. Doce me, obsecro te. Quis est qui sedet in palmo suo?

Chapter XII. — 13. A passage of Isaiah contrary in appearance. But I have read, you say. What have you read, you who have understood nothing? And yet tell me, what have you read? Let us not drive away a little one playing in heart. Tell me what you have read. Heaven is My throne, but the earth the footstool of My feet (Isa. 66:6). I say, I too have read it: but perhaps you think yourself superior because you have read and believed. I too believe what you have said. Let us believe together. What am I saying? Let us seek together. See, hold to what you have read and believed: Heaven is My throne, that is, seat; for thronus in Greek is sedes in Latin: but the earth the footstool of My feet. Have you not also read this: Who has measured heaven with his palm (Isa. 40:12)? I think you have read it: you recognize it, and you confess that you believe it. For there we read both, we believe both. Now then, think, and teach me: I take you as teacher, and make myself a little one. Teach me, I beg you. Who is it that sits in his own palm?

CAPUT XIII. — 14. Excutitur locus allatus. Coelum, sancti. Terra, terreni. Sursum cor. Ecce figuras et lineamenta membrorum Dei a corpore humano duxisti. Sed forte subrepsit tibi, ut secundum corpus putares nos factos ad imaginem Dei. Interim accipio considerandum, discutiendum, requirendum, disputando excutiendum. Si placet, audi me: quia in eo quod tibi placuit, audivi te. Sedet Deus in coelo, et palmo metitur coelum. Idem coelum fit latum, cum sedet; et angustum, cum metitur? An ipse Deus tantus est in sedendo, quantus in palmo? Si hoc ita est, non ad similitudinem suam nos fecit Deus: nos enim palmum angustiorem valde habemus, quam partem corporis qua sedemus. Ille autem si tam latus est in palmo suo, quam latus in sessione sua, disparia membra nobis fecit. Non est ista similitudo. Erubescat ergo tale idolum in corde christiano. Proinde coelum accipe pro omnibus sanctis. Quia et terra dicitur pro omnibus qui sunt in terra: Omnis terra adoret te (Psal. LXV, 4). Si bene dicimus secundum eos qui habitant in terra, Omnis terra adoret te: bene dicimus etiam secundum eos qui habitant in coelo, Omne coelum portet te. Nam et sancti ipsi qui in terra habitant, carne terram calcant, corde in coelo habitant. Non enim frustra admonentur sursum habere cor, et cum admoniti fuerint, ita esse respondent: aut frustra

Chapter XIII. — 14. The passage cited is examined. Heaven, the saints. Earth, the earthly. The heart on high. See, you have drawn shapes and outlines of the limbs of God from the human body. But perhaps it has crept upon you to think that we were made in the image of God according to the body. For the moment I accept it as something to be considered, discussed, inquired into, examined by argument. If you please, listen to me: for in what pleased you, I have listened to you. God sits in heaven, and measures heaven with His palm. Does the same heaven become broad when He sits, and narrow when He measures? Or is God Himself as great in sitting as in His palm? If this is so, God did not make us after His likeness: for we have a palm far narrower than the part of the body with which we sit. But if He is as broad in His palm as He is broad in His sitting, He has made our limbs unequal. This is no likeness. Let such an idol, then, blush in a Christian heart. Accordingly, take heaven to stand for all the saints. For earth too is said to stand for all who are on earth: Let all the earth worship Thee (Ps. 65:4). If we rightly say with regard to those who dwell on earth, Let all the earth worship Thee: we rightly say also with regard to those who dwell in heaven, Let all heaven carry Thee. For the saints themselves, who dwell on earth, tread the earth with the flesh, dwell in heaven with the heart. For not in vain are they admonished to have the heart on high, and when they have been admonished, they answer that it is so: or in vain

Editors' notes and page, col. 370

Footnotes

(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 370

Forte, audio.

Perhaps: "I hear."

(printed under page 191)

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running head: SERMO LIII.
marginal letters: (none)
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sursum versus ad caput eminet: et ea significatur dicitur, Si consurrexistis cum Christo, quae sursum sunt quaerite, ubi Christus est in dextera Dei sedens; quae sursum sunt sapite, non quae super terram (Coloss. III, 1 et 2). In quantum ergo ibi conversantur, et ipsi Deum portant, et coelum sunt; quia Dei sedes sunt; et cum annuntiant verba Dei, Coeli enarrant gloriam Dei (Psal. XVIII, 2).

is it said, If you have risen together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God; savour the things that are above, not those upon the earth (Col. 3:1–2). Inasmuch therefore as they dwell there, they themselves also carry God, and are heaven; because they are the seat of God; and when they announce the words of God, The heavens tell forth the glory of God (Ps. 18:2).

CAPUT XIV. — 15. Latitudo, longitudo, altitudo et profundum. Redi ergo mecum ad faciem cordis: ipsam praepara. Intus est cui loquitur Deus. Aures, oculi, caetera membra visibilia, interioris cujusdam vel habitaculum vel organum sunt. Interior est homo ubi habitat Christus interim per fidem: ibi habitaturus praesentia divinitatis suae, cum cognoverimus quae sit latitudo, longitudo, altitudo, profundum; cognoverimus etiam supereminentem scientiae charitatem Christi, ut impleamur in omnem plenitudinem Dei (Ephes. III, 17-19). Nunc ergo si tibi intellectus hic non displicet, advoca te comprehendere latitudinem, longitudinem, altitudinem, profundum. Non discurras imaginatione cogitationis per spatia mundana, et per molis hujus tam magnae comprehensibilem granditatem. In te attende quod dico. Latitudo est in bonis operibus; longitudo est in longanimitate et perseverantia bonorum operum; altitudo est in supernorum exspectatione praemiorum; propter quam altitudinem tibi dicitur ut sursum cor habeas. Bene operare, et in bonis operibus persevera, propter beneficia Dei. Terrena pro nihilo aestimes, ne cum tibi aliquo sapientis illius flagello terra ista fuerit perturbata, dicas te sine causa Deum coluisse, sine causa bona opera fecisse, sine causa in bonis operibus perseverasse. Faciendo enim bona opera, quasi habuisti latitudinem: perseverando in eis, quasi habuisti longitudinem: sed terrena conquirendo, non habuisti altitudinem. Attende profundum: gratia Dei est in occulto voluntatis ejus. Quis enim cognovit sensum Domini? aut quis consiliarius ejus fuit (Rom. XI, 34)? Et, Judicia tua sicut multa abyssus (Psal. XXXV, 7).

Chapter XIV. — 15. Breadth, length, height and depth. Return, then, with me to the face of the heart: make it ready. Within is the one to whom God speaks. Ears, eyes, the other visible members, are either the dwelling or the instrument of someone interior. The interior man is where Christ dwells meanwhile through faith: there He will dwell by the presence of His divinity, when we have come to know what is the breadth, the length, the height, the depth; when we have come to know also the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that we may be filled unto all the fullness of God (Eph. 3:17–19). Now therefore, if this understanding does not displease you, summon yourself to comprehend the breadth, the length, the height, the depth. Do not run about with the imagination of your thought through the spaces of the world, and through the comprehensible vastness of this so great mass. Attend within yourself to what I say. Breadth is in good works; length is in long-suffering and perseverance in good works; height is in the expectation of heavenly rewards; on account of which height it is said to you that you should have your heart lifted up. Work well, and persevere in good works, on account of the benefits of God. Count earthly things as nothing, lest, when this earth of yours has been thrown into disorder by some scourge of that Wise One, you say that you worshipped God without cause, did good works without cause, persevered in good works without cause. For by doing good works you had, as it were, breadth: by persevering in them, you had, as it were, length: but by seeking to acquire earthly things, you did not have height. Attend to the depth: the grace of God is in the hidden place of His will. For who has known the mind of the Lord? or who has been His counsellor (Rom. 11:34)? And, Thy judgements are like a great abyss (Ps. 35:7).

CAPUT XV. — 16. Crucis quatuor dimensiones. Hanc conversationem bene operandi, in ea perseverandi, superna exspectandi, gratiam Dei occulte dandi, sapientia, non stultitia; nec reprehendendi quare alius sic, alius autem sic; non enim est iniquitas apud Deum (II Par. XIX, 7, et Rom. IX, 14): hanc ergo conversationem, si placet, coapta etiam cruci Domini tui. Non enim frustra talem mortem elegit, in cujus potestate erat vel mori vel non mori. Si in potestate erat mori et non mori, quare non in potestate sic vel sic mori? Non frustra ergo crucem elegit, ubi te huic mundo crucifigeret. Nam latitudo est in cruce transversum lignum, ubi figuntur manus: propter bonorum operum significationem. Longitudo est in ea parte ligni, quae ab ipso transverso ad terram tendit. Ibi enim corpus crucifigitur, et quodam modo stat: et ipsa statio perseverantiam significat. Altitudo autem in illo ligno est, quod ab eodem transverso

Chapter XV. — 16. The four dimensions of the Cross. This manner of life, of working well, of persevering in it, of awaiting heavenly things, of [holding] God's grace to be given in a hidden way, by wisdom, not by folly; and of not finding fault why one [is] thus and another thus; for there is no iniquity with God (2 Chr. 19:7, and Rom. 9:14): this manner of life, then, if you please, fit also to the cross of your Lord. For not in vain did He choose such a death, He in Whose power it was either to die or not to die. If it was in His power to die and not to die, why was it not in His power to die in this way or in that? Not in vain, therefore, did He choose the cross, whereon He would crucify you to this world. For breadth is, in the cross, the transverse beam, where the hands are fixed: on account of the signification of good works. Length is in that part of the wood which reaches from the transverse beam itself to the earth. For there the body is crucified, and in a certain manner stands: and this very standing signifies perseverance. Height, however, is in that [part of the] wood which from the same transverse beam stands out upwards towards the head: and by it is signified the

Editors' notes and page, col. 371

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: comprehensibilem› · call in col 371

Ita Corbeiensis Ms. Editi vero, incomprehensibilem.

So the Corbie manuscript. The printed editions, however: "incomprehensible."

(printed under page 192)

Page

running head: 371 S. AUGUSTINI EPIS[COPI] (cut off at image edge)
marginal letters: (none)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other (QA Q2): misprint kept as printed (displaced line): the first printed line of the column, "sursum versus ad caput eminet: et ea significatur", does not belong at its head. It belongs after the column's last line ("quod ab eodem transverso") and before the first line of col 372 ("supernorum exspectatio"). The text of col 370 ("aut frustra") runs on at the second printed line ("dicitur, Si consurrexistis"). The source stands as printed. The English is set in the order of the sense, so that it reads whole across both column breaks: the displaced line is translated at the end of the column's last paragraph, not at the head of the first. UNSURE whether the settle step wants the English kept in this order or the line moved in the source as well.
other (QA Q2): the call of note (1) stands after "comprehensibilem" in § 15 (visible in the column image); the anchor is now set.