PL 38 · cols. 372–376

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

Sermons LIV–LV

supernorum exspectatio. Ubi profundum, nisi in ea parte quae terrae defixa est? Occulta est enim gratia, et in abdito latet. Non videtur, sed inde eminet quod videtur. Post haec si comprehenderis haec omnia, non solum intelligendo, verum etiam agendo (intellectus enim bonus omnibus qui faciunt eum [Psal. CX, 10]); tunc jam extende te, si potes, ad agnoscendam agnitionem charitatis Christi supereminentem scientiae. Cum perveneris, impleberis in omnem plenitudinem Dei. Tunc erit illud facie ad faciem. Impleberis autem in omnem plenitudinem Dei, non ut tui plenus sit Deus, sed ut tu sis plenus Deo. Quaere ibi, si potes, faciem corporalem. Jam tollantur nugae a mentis aspectu. Abjiciat puer parvulus ludicra, discat tractare majora. Et nos in multis parvuli sumus: et cum plus quam sumus essemus, a majoribus tolerati sumus. Pacem sectamini cum omnibus, et sanctificationem, sine qua nemo poterit videre Deum (Hebr. XII, 14). Hac enim et cor mundatur: quia ibi est fides quae per dilectionem operatur. Hinc, Beati mundicordes, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt.

expectation of things above. Where is the depth, if not in that part which is fixed in the earth? For grace is hidden, and lies concealed in a secret place. It is not seen, but from there rises up what is seen. After this, if you have grasped all these things, not only by understanding but also by doing (for good is the understanding to all who do it [Ps. 110:10]); then stretch yourself out now, if you can, to come to know the knowledge of the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge. When you have attained it, you will be filled unto all the fullness of God. Then that will be face to face. But you will be filled unto all the fullness of God, not so that God may be full of you, but so that you may be full of God. Seek there, if you can, a bodily face. Now let trifles be taken away from the gaze of the mind. Let the little boy throw away his toys, let him learn to handle greater things. We too are little ones in many things: and when we were so even more than we are, we were borne with by our elders. Follow peace with all, and holiness, without which no one will be able to see God (Heb. 12:14). For by this also the heart is cleansed: because there is the faith which works through love. Hence, Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.

SERMO LIV. De eo quod scriptum est in Evangelio Matthaei, cap. V, 16. Sic luceat lumen vestrum coram hominibus, ut videant bona opera vestra, et glorificent Patrem vestrum qui in coelis est: et contra, cap. VI, 1, Attendite ne justitiam vestram faciatis coram homibus, ut videamini ab eis.

Sermon LIV. On what is written in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5, verse 16: So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father Who is in heaven; and, on the contrary, chapter 6, verse 1: Take heed that you do not do your justice before men, in order to be seen by them.

CAPUT PRIMUM. — 1. Praecepta in speciem contraria. Solet multos movere, charissimi, quod Dominus noster Jesus Christus in Sermone evangelico, cum prius dixisset, Luceat lumen vestrum coram hominibus, ut videant bona opera vestra, et glorificent Patrem vestrum, qui in coelis est, postea dixit, Attendite ne justitiam vestram faciatis coram hominibus, ut videamini ab eis. Turbatur enim mens parum intelligentis, et praecepto utique obaudire cupientis, et per diversa et adversa distenditur. Tam enim nemo potest quamvis uni domino obtemperare repugnantia jubenti, quam nemo potest etiam duobus dominis servire: quod eodem sermone Salvator ipse testatus est (Matth. VI, 24). Quid ergo faciet animus nutans, cum se obtemperare non posse existimat, et non obtemperare formidat? Si enim bona opera sua in luce posuerit hominibus intuenda, ut faciat quod praeceptum est, Sic luceat lumen vestrum coram hominibus, ut videant bona opera vestra, et glorificent Patrem vestrum, qui in coelis est; reum se teneri arbitrabitur, quia contra praeceptum fecit, ubi dicitur, Attendite ne justitiam vestram faciatis coram hominibus, ut videamini ab eis. Rursusque si hoc timens et cavens, ea quae bene facit

Chapter I. — 1. Precepts contrary in appearance. It commonly troubles many, dearly beloved, that our Lord Jesus Christ in the Sermon of the Gospel, when He had first said, Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father, Who is in heaven, afterwards said, Take heed that you do not do your justice before men, in order to be seen by them. For the mind of one who understands little, and who is certainly eager to obey the precept, is disturbed, and is pulled apart in different and opposite directions. For no one can obey even a single master who commands contradictory things, just as no one can serve two masters either: which the Saviour Himself testified in the same sermon (Matt. 6:24). What then will a wavering soul do, when it thinks it cannot obey, and dreads not obeying? For if it places its good works in the light to be looked upon by men, in order to do what is commanded, So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father, Who is in heaven; it will judge itself held guilty, because it has acted against the precept where it is said, Take heed that you do not do your justice before men, in order to be seen by them. And again, if, fearing and guarding against this, the things which it does well

Editors' notes and page, col. 372

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Florus, non ut tu sis plenus Deus, sed ut sis plenus Deo. Sic etiam Corbeiensis codex, sed (nisi fallunt oculi) a secunda manu.

Florus: "not that you may be a full God, but that you may be full of God." So also the Corbie codex, but (unless the eyes deceive) by a second hand.

(printed under page 192) (*) ‹anchor: SERMO LIV› · call in col 372 Sermones 54 et 55 emendati sunt ad codices eosdem cum sermone 52.

Sermons 54 and 55 were corrected against the same codices as sermon 52.

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(a) ‹anchor: SERMO LIV› · call in col 372

Alias, de Verbis Domini 2.

Formerly, on the Words of the Lord 2.

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(b) ‹anchor: videamini ab eis› · call in col 372

Citat Florus ad II Cor. IV. Et a Possidio in capite 8 Indiculi hic ipse forte sermo notatur istis verbis, «De placendo et non placendo hominibus.» Eamdem difficultatem tractavit Augustinus supra, in serm. 47, nn. 12, 13.

Florus cites it on 2 Cor. 4. And in chapter 8 of the Indiculus this very sermon is perhaps recorded by Possidius in these words, "On pleasing and not pleasing men." Augustine treated the same difficulty above, in sermon 47, nos. 12, 13.

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absconderit, non se putabit servire imperanti et dicenti, Luceat lumen vestrum coram hominibus, ut videant bona opera vestra.

it hides, it will not think that it is serving Him Who commands and says, Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works.

CAPUT II. — 2. Utrumque praeceptum implet Apostolus. Qui recte autem intelligit, utrumque implet, et serviet universissimo Domino, qui servum pigrum non damnaret, si ea quae fieri nullo modo poterant, imperaret. Audite enim Paulum servum Christi Jesu, vocatum Apostolum, segregatum in Evangelium Dei, utrumque et facientem et docentem. Videte quemadmodum luceat lumen ejus coram hominibus, ut videant bona opera ejus. Commendamus, inquit, nosmetipsos ad omnem conscientiam hominum in conspectu Dei (II Cor. IV, 2): et iterum, Providemus enim bona, non solum coram Deo, sed etiam coram hominibus (Id. VIII, 21): et iterum, Placete omnibus per omnia, sicut et ego omnibus per omnia placeo (I Cor. X, 33). Videte rursus quemadmodum attendat, ne faciat justitiam suam coram hominibus, ut videatur ab eis. Opus autem suum probet, inquit, unusquisque; et tunc in semetipso habebit gloriam, et non in altero (Galat. VI, 4): et iterum, Nam gloria nostra haec est, testimonium conscientiae nostrae (II Cor. I, 12): et illud quod nihil est manifestius, Si adhuc, inquit, hominibus placerem, Christi servus non essem (Galat. I, 10). Sed ne quisquam eorum qui de praeceptis quasi repugnantibus ipsius Domini moventur, multo magis Apostolo ejus ingerat quaestionem, et dicat, Quomodo tu dicis, Placete omnibus per omnia, sicut et ego omnibus per omnia placeo: et tu idem dicis, Si adhuc hominibus placerem, Christi servus non essem? Adsit ipse Dominus, qui etiam in servo suo et Apostolo loquebatur, et aperiat nobis voluntatem suam, et tribuat obediendi facultatem.

Chapter II. — 2. The Apostle fulfils each precept. But he who understands rightly fulfils both, and will serve the most universal Lord, Who would not condemn a lazy servant if He commanded things that could in no way be done. For hear Paul, servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the Gospel of God, both doing and teaching each of the two. See how his light shines before men, that they may see his good works. We commend, he says, ourselves to every conscience of men in the sight of God (2 Cor. 4:2): and again, For we provide good things, not only before God, but also before men (2 Cor. 8:21): and again, Please all men in all things, as I also please all men in all things (1 Cor. 10:33). See again how he takes care not to do his righteousness before men, in order to be seen by them. But let each one, he says, prove his own work; and then he will have glory in himself, and not in another (Gal. 6:4): and again, For this is our glory, the testimony of our conscience (2 Cor. 1:12): and that than which nothing is plainer, If I were still pleasing men, he says, I would not be the servant of Christ (Gal. 1:10). But lest any of those who are troubled by the seemingly conflicting precepts of the Lord Himself should press the question much more upon His Apostle, and say, How is it that you say, Please all men in all things, as I also please all men in all things: and you likewise say, If I were still pleasing men, I would not be the servant of Christ? May the Lord Himself be present, Who spoke also in His servant and Apostle, and may He open to us His will, and grant us the ability to obey.

3. Conciliantur duo illa praecepta. Ipsa quippe verba evangelica secum portant expositiones suas; nec intercludunt ora esurientium, quia pascunt corda pulsantium. Intentio quippe cordis humani quo dirigatur, et quo spectet, intuendum est. Si enim qui vult videri ab hominibus bona opera sua, gloriam et utilitatem suam ponit ante homines, et hanc in conspectu hominum quaerit; nihil eorum, quae de hac re Dominus praecepit, implevit: quia et attendit facere justitiam suam coram hominibus, ut videretur ab eis; et non sic eluxit lumen ejus coram hominibus, ut ad hoc viderent bona opera ejus, ut glorificarent Patrem qui in coelis est. Se quippe voluit glorificari, non Deum; et suam quaesivit utilitatem, non dilexit Domini voluntatem. De qualibus dicit Apostolus: Omnes enim quae sua sunt quaerunt, non quae Jesu Christi (Philipp. II, 21). Itaque non illic sententia terminata est, ubi ait, Sic luceat lumen vestrum coram hominibus, ut videant bona opera vestra: sed continuo subjunxit cur faciendum sit, ut glorificent, inquit, Patrem vestrum, qui in coelis est: ut homo cum bene faciens videtur ab hominibus, intentionem boni facti habeat in conscientia sua, intentionem vero innotescendi non

3. Those two precepts are reconciled. For the very words of the Gospel carry their explanations with them; nor do they shut the mouths of the hungry, since they feed the hearts of those who knock. For it must be considered whither the intention of the human heart is directed, and at what it aims. For if he who wishes his good works to be seen by men sets his own glory and advantage before men, and seeks this in the sight of men, he has fulfilled none of the things which the Lord commanded on this matter: because he both took care to do his righteousness before men, in order to be seen by them; and his light did not so shine before men that they should see his good works for this purpose, that they might glorify the Father Who is in heaven. For he wished himself to be glorified, not God; and he sought his own advantage, he did not love the Lord's will. Of such men the Apostle says: For all seek the things that are their own, not the things that are Jesus Christ's (Phil. 2:21). Accordingly the sentence did not end at the point where He says, So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works: but He at once added why it must be done, that they may glorify, He says, your Father Who is in heaven: so that a man, when in doing good he is seen by men, may have the intention of the good deed in his conscience, but the intention of becoming known he may not

Editors' notes and page, col. 373

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(1) ‹anchor: quo spectet› · call in col 373

Mss., et quid exspectet.

The manuscripts: "and what it looks for."

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habeat nisi in laudibus Dei, propter eorum quibus innotescit utilitatem; quibus hoc prodest, ut Deus placeat, qui hoc praestitit homini; atque ita non desperent, etiam sibi si voluerint hoc posse praestari. Itaque aliam sententiam, ubi ait, Attendite ne justitiam vestram faciatis coram hominibus, non alibi terminavit, quam ubi dixit, ut videamini ab eis: nec addidit, Et glorificent Patrem vestrum qui in coelis est; sed potius addidit, Alioquin mercedem non habebitis apud Patrem vestrum qui in coelis est. Hinc enim ostendit eos qui tales sunt, quales fideles suos esse non vult, in eo ipso mercedem quaerere, quod videntur ab hominibus, ibi constituere bonum suum; ibi oblectare vanitatem cordis sui, ibi exinaniri et inflari, ibi tumescere et contabescere. Cur enim non sufficit, ut diceret, Attendite ne faciatis justitiam vestram coram hominibus; sed addidit, ut videamini ab eis: nisi quia sunt quidam, qui sic faciunt justitiam suam coram hominibus, non ut videantur ab eis, sed ut ipsa opera videantur, et glorificetur Pater qui est in coelis, qui ea justificatis impiis donare dignatus est?

have except in the praises of God, for the sake of the benefit of those to whom it becomes known; to whom this is profitable, that God, Who granted this to man, may be pleasing [to them]; and that so they may not despair that this can be granted to themselves too, if they wish. Accordingly, the other saying, where He says, Take heed that you do not do your righteousness before men, He ended nowhere else than where He said, in order to be seen by them; nor did He add, And that they may glorify your Father Who is in heaven; but rather He added, Otherwise you will not have a reward with your Father Who is in heaven. For by this He shows that those who are such as He does not wish His faithful to be seek their reward in that very thing, that they are seen by men, and set their good there; there they delight the vanity of their heart, there they are emptied and puffed up, there they swell and waste away. For why was it not enough for Him to say, Take heed that you do not do your righteousness before men, but He added, in order to be seen by them, unless because there are some who do their righteousness before men in such a way, not that they may be seen by them, but that the works themselves may be seen, and that the Father Who is in heaven may be glorified, Who has deigned to bestow these things on the ungodly whom He has justified?

CAPUT III. — 4. Quisnam vere praeceptum utrumque implevit. Qui tales sunt, nec suam justitiam deputant, sed ejus ex cujus fide vivunt. Unde et Apostolus dicit, Ut Christum lucrifaciam, et inveniar in illo, non habens meam justitiam, quae ex Lege est, sed eam quae est per fidem Christi, quae est ex Deo, justitia ex fide (Philipp. III, 8 et 9): et in alio loco, Ut nos simus justitia Dei in illo (II Cor. V, 21). Unde et Judaeos ita reprehendit: Ignorantes, inquit, Dei justitiam, et suam volentes constituere, justitiae Dei non sunt subjecti (Rom. X, 3). Quisquis ergo ita vult videri hominibus opera sua, ut ille glorificetur, a quo ea quae in illo videntur accepit, et sic ad imitandum bonum iidem ipsi qui vident pietate fidei provocentur, vere lumen ejus lucet coram hominibus: quia lux de illo charitatis radiatur, non superbiae fumus evomitur: et in eo ipso cavet, ne justitiam suam faciat coram hominibus, ut videatur ab eis; quia nec suam deputat illam justitiam, nec ideo facit ut ipse videatur; sed ut ille intelligatur, qui laudatur in homine justificato, ut faciat et in laudante quod laudatur in altero, id est, ut laudantem faciat esse laudabilem. Attendite et Apostolum, cum dixisset, Placete omnibus per omnia, sicut et ego omnibus per omnia placeo; quomodo non ibi remansit, quasi ibi constituerit finem intentionis suae, ut placeret hominibus; alioquin falsum dixisset, Si adhuc hominibus placerem, Christi servus non essem: sed statim subjunxit quare hominibus placeret. Non quaerens, inquit, quod mihi utile est, sed quod multis, ut salvi fiant (I Cor. X, 33). Ita et non placebat hominibus propter suam utilitatem, ne Christi servus non esset; et placebat hominibus propter illorum salutem, ut Christi esset dispensator idoneus: quia et illi coram Deo conscientia sufficiebat, et de illo coram hominibus quod imitarentur, elucebat.

Chapter III. — 4. Who truly fulfilled both precepts. Those who are such do not count the righteousness as their own, but as His by faith in Whom they live. Hence the Apostle too says, That I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the Law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, which is from God, righteousness from faith (Phil. 3:8–9); and in another place, That we may be the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21). Hence too he rebukes the Jews thus: Being ignorant, he says, of the righteousness of God, and wishing to establish their own, they are not subject to the righteousness of God (Rom. 10:3). Whoever, therefore, wishes his works to be seen by men in such a way that He may be glorified from Whom he received the things that are seen in him, and that thus the very people who see them may be stirred by the piety of faith to imitate the good, truly his light shines before men: for the light of charity radiates from him, not the smoke of pride belched forth; and in that very thing he takes care not to do his righteousness before men in order to be seen by them, since he neither counts that righteousness as his own, nor does it for this, that he himself may be seen; but that He may be recognized Who is praised in the justified man, so that He may also bring about in the one who praises what is praised in the other, that is, that He may make the one praising worthy of praise. Mark the Apostle too, how, when he had said, Please all men in all things, as I too please all men in all things, he did not stop there, as though he had set there the end of his intention, namely to please men; otherwise he would have spoken falsely in saying, If I were still pleasing men, I would not be the servant of Christ; but he at once added why he pleased men: Not seeking, he says, what is profitable to me, but what is profitable to many, that they may be saved (1 Cor. 10:33). Thus he both did not please men for his own profit, lest he should not be the servant of Christ; and he did please men for their salvation, that he might be a fit steward of Christ: for both his conscience sufficed him before God, and from him there shone out before men what they might imitate.

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SERMO LV. De verbis Evangelii Matthaei, cap. V, 22, Qui dixerit fratri suo, Fatue, reus erit gehennae ignis, etc.

Sermon 55. On the words of the Gospel of Matthew, ch. 5:22, Whoever says to his brother, Fool, will be liable to the gehenna of fire, etc.

CAPUT PRIMUM. — 1. Timor utilis. Sancti Evangelii capitulum, quod modo cum legeretur audivimus, valde nos terruit, si fidem habemus: eos autem non terruit, qui fidem non habent. Et quia non terret eos, volunt esse perverse securi, nescientes distribuere et distinguere tempora timoris et securitatis. Timeat ergo qui ducit modo vitam cum fine, quo possit in illa vita habere securitatem sine fine. Ergo timuimus. Quis enim non timeat loquentem Veritatem et dicentem, Qui dixerit fratri suo, Fatue, reus erit gehennae ignis? Linguam autem nullus hominum domare potest. Et homo domat feram, non domat linguam: domat leonem, et non refrenat sermonem: domat ips⟨e⟩, et non domat se ipsum: domat quod timebat; et ut se domet, non timet quod timere debebat. Sed quid fit? Sententia vera, et ista processit de oraculo veritatis: Linguam autem nullus hominum domare potest (Jacobi III, 7, 8).

Chapter One. — 1. A useful fear. The little chapter of the holy Gospel which we heard just now as it was being read has greatly terrified us, if we have faith; but it has not terrified those who do not have faith. And because it does not terrify them, they wish to be perversely secure, not knowing how to apportion and distinguish the times of fear and of security. Let him therefore who now leads a life that has an end fear, so that in that [other] life he may have security without end. Therefore we have feared. For who would not fear the Truth speaking and saying, Whoever says to his brother, Fool, will be liable to the gehenna of fire? But no man can tame the tongue. Man tames the wild beast, yet does not tame the tongue; he tames the lion, yet does not rein in his speech; he himself tames, yet does not tame himself; he tames what he used to fear, and in order to tame himself he does not fear what he ought to have feared. But what happens? It is a true sentence, and this too came forth from the oracle of truth: But no man can tame the tongue (Jas. 3:7–8).

CAPUT II. — 2. Divini auxilii necessitas ad domandam linguam. Quid ergo faciemus, fratres mei? Video me quidem ad multitudinem loqui: sed quia unum sumus omnes in Christo, tanquam in secreto consilium capiamus. Nullus nos audit extraneus, unum sumus, quia in unum sumus. Quid faciemus? Q⟨u⟩i dixerit fratri suo, Fatue, reus erit gehennae ignis: Linguam autem nullus hominum domare potest. Ibunt ergo omnes in gehennam ignis? Absit. Domine, refugium factus es nobis, a generatione in generationem (Psal. LXXXIX, 1). Ira tua justa est: neminem in geh⟨e⟩nnam mittis injuste. Quo ibo a spiritu tuo, et a te quo fugiam (Psal. CXXXVIII, 7), nisi ad te? Ergo intell⟨i⟩gamus, charissimi, quia si linguam nullus hominum domare potest, ad Deum confugiendum est, qui domet linguam nostram. Si enim tu eam domare voluer⟨i⟩s, non potes, quia homo es? Linguam nullus hominum domare potest. Attendite similitudinem ab ipsis be⟨s⟩tiis quas domamus. Equus non se domat; camelus non se domat; elephantus non se domat; aspis non se domat; leo non se domat: sic et homo non se domat. Sed ut dometur equus, bos, camelus, elephantus, leo, aspis, quaeritur homo. Ergo Deus quaeratur, ut dometur homo.

Chapter II. — 2. The necessity of divine help for taming the tongue. What then shall we do, my brothers? I see indeed that I am speaking to a multitude; but because we are all one in Christ, let us take counsel as if in secret. No outsider hears us; we are one, because we are gathered into one. What shall we do? Whoever says to his brother, Fool, will be liable to the gehenna of fire; but no man can tame the tongue. Will all then go into the gehenna of fire? Far from it. Lord, Thou hast become a refuge for us, from generation to generation (Ps. 89:1). Thy anger is just: Thou sendest no one into gehenna unjustly. Where shall I go from Thy Spirit, and where shall I flee from Thee (Ps. 138:7), except to Thee? Let us therefore understand, dearly beloved, that if no man can tame the tongue, we must flee for refuge to God, that He may tame our tongue. For if you yourself wish to tame it, you cannot, because you are a man? No man can tame the tongue. Consider a likeness drawn from the very beasts which we tame. The horse does not tame itself; the camel does not tame itself; the elephant does not tame itself; the asp does not tame itself; the lion does not tame itself: so too man does not tame himself. But in order that the horse, the ox, the camel, the elephant, the lion, the asp may be tamed, a man is sought. Therefore let God be sought, that man may be tamed.

CAPUT III. — 3. Deus linguae domitor. Ergo, Domine, refugium factus es nobis. Conferimus nos ad te, et bene nobis erit de te. Malum est enim nobis de nobis. Quia dimisimus te, dimisisti nos nobis. Inveniamur ergo in te, quia perieramus in nobis. Domine, refugium factus es nobis. Quid ergo, fratres mei, dubitare debemus, quia mansuetos nos faciet Dominus, si nos domandos ei praebeamus? Domuisti leonem,

Chapter III. — 3. God the tamer of the tongue. Therefore, Lord, Thou hast become a refuge for us. We betake ourselves to Thee, and it will be well with us from Thee. For it is ill with us from ourselves. Because we forsook Thee, Thou didst abandon us to ourselves. Let us then be found in Thee, since we had perished in ourselves. Lord, Thou hast become a refuge for us. Why then, my brothers, should we doubt that the Lord will make us gentle, if we offer ourselves to Him to be tamed? You have tamed the lion,

Editors' notes and page, col. 375

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Pauciores Mss., Sed quid infit sententia vera? Forte legendum Sed quid si sententia vera est ista? Processit de oraculo veritatis.

A few manuscripts: "But what does the true saying declare?" Perhaps one should read "But what if this saying is true? It has come forth from the oracle of truth."

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Alias, de Verbis Domini 4.

Formerly, on the Words of the Lord 4.

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Citatur a Floro in Epistolam ad Hebr. XII.

It is cited by Florus on the Epistle to the Hebrews 12.

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old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 38:376

quem non fecisti; non domat te, qui fecit te? Unde enim bestias tam immanes domare potuisti? Numquid eis aequaris viribus corporis? Qua ergo virtute ingentes bestias domare potuisti? Ipsa jumenta quae dicuntur, bestiae sunt. Non enim indomita tolerantur. Sed quia non eas novit consuetudo, nisi in manibus hominum et sub frenis hominum et sub potestate hominum, putas eas mansuetas nasci potuisse? Certe feras immanes attende. Fremit leo, quis non timeat? Et tamen unde te intelligis fortiorem? Non corporis virtute, sed mentis ratione interiore. Fortior es leone, unde factus es ad imaginem Dei. Imago Dei domat feram; et non domat Deus imaginem suam?

which you did not make; does He Who made you not tame you? For how were you able to tame beasts so savage? Are you their equal in strength of body? By what power, then, were you able to tame huge beasts? The very creatures that are called beasts of burden are beasts. For untamed they are not endured. But because custom does not know them except in the hands of men, and under the bridles of men, and under the power of men, do you suppose they could have been born tame? Consider, surely, the savage wild beasts. The lion roars; who would not fear? And yet from what do you understand yourself to be stronger? Not by strength of body, but by the inner reason of the mind. You are stronger than the lion in that by which you were made to the image of God. The image of God tames the wild beast; and does God not tame His own image?

CAPUT IV. — 4. Ferendum flagellum Dei domitoris. In illo spes est, ei nos subdamus, et misericordiam precemur. In illo spem nostram ponamus, et donec domemur et perdomemur, id est, perficiamur, domitorem feramus. Plerumque enim profert domitor noster etiam flagella. Si enim tu ad domanda jumenta tua profers virgam, profers flagellum; Deus non profert ad domanda jumenta sua, quod sumus nos, qui de jumentis suis faciet filios suos? Domas equum tuum: quid daturus es equo tuo, cum te coeperit portare mansuetus, ferre disciplinam tuam, obedire imperio tuo, esse jumentum, hoc est, adjumentum infirmitatis tuae? Quid ei retribuis, quem nec saltem sepelis cum mortuus fuerit, sed discerpendum volatilibus projicis? Domito tibi Deus haereditatem servat, quod est ipse Deus: et ad tempus mortuum, resuscitat te. Carnem tuam usque ad numerum capillorum reddet tibi: et constituet te cum Angelis in aeternum, ubi jam non indigeas domari, sed tantummodo a piissimo possideri. Erit enim tunc Deus omnia in omnibus (I Cor. XV, 28): nec erit ulla infelicitas quae nos exerceat, sed felicitas sola quae pascat. Ipse autem pastor noster, Deus noster: ipse potus noster, Deus noster; honor noster, Deus noster; divitiae nostrae, Deus noster. Quaecumque hic varia quaeris, ipse tibi unus omnia erit.

Chapter IV. — 4. The scourge of God the tamer is to be borne. In Him is hope; let us submit ourselves to Him, and pray for mercy. In Him let us place our hope, and until we are tamed and thoroughly tamed, that is, made perfect, let us bear with our tamer. For often our tamer brings out even scourges. For if you, to tame your beasts of burden, bring out the rod, bring out the scourge, does God not bring it out to tame His beasts of burden, which we are, He Who will make of His beasts of burden His sons? You tame your horse: what are you going to give your horse when it has begun to carry you tamely, to bear your discipline, to obey your command, to be a beast of burden, that is, a help to your weakness? What do you render to it, you who do not even bury it when it has died, but throw it out to be torn to pieces by the birds? For you, once tamed, God keeps an inheritance, which is God Himself; and at the appointed time He raises you up from death. He will give back to you your flesh, down to the number of your hairs; and He will establish you with the Angels for ever, where you will no longer need to be tamed, but only to be possessed by the most loving One. For then God will be all in all (1 Cor. 15:28); nor will there be any unhappiness to trouble us, but happiness alone to feed us. He Himself is our shepherd, our God; He Himself our drink, our God; our honour, our God; our riches, our God. Whatever various things you seek here, He alone will be all things to you.

CAPUT V. — 5. Quam in spem hic domamur. Ad hanc spem homo domatur, et domitor intolerabilis habetur? Ad hanc spem homo domatur, et contra istum utilem domitorem, si forte flagellum proferat, murmuratur? Audistis exhortantem Apostolum: Si separetis vos a disciplina, ergo nothi, et non estis filii. Nothi sunt adulteri. Quis enim est filius, cui non det disciplinam pater ejus? Et carnis quidem nostrae, inquit, patres habebamus correptores, et reverebamur; non multo magis subjiciemur Patri spirituum, et vivemus (Hebr. XII, 7-9)? Quid enim tibi potuit praestare pater tuus, quia corripuit te, quia verberavit te, quia flagellum protulit et cecidit te? Numquid praestare potuit ut viveres in aeternum? Quod non potuit praestare sibi, quando praestaret tibi? Propter pecuniam suam quantulamcumque, quam de usuris et labore collegit, erudiebat te flagellis, ne tibi dimissus labor ejus te male vivente disperderetur. Et cecidit filium, timens perire labores suos: quoniam reliquit tibi,

Chapter V. — 5. Unto what hope we are tamed here. Is man tamed unto this hope, and is the tamer held to be unbearable? Is man tamed unto this hope, and is there murmuring against this useful tamer, if perhaps he brings out the scourge? You have heard the Apostle exhorting: If you separate yourselves from discipline, then you are bastards, and you are not sons. Bastards are those born of adultery. For who is a son to whom his father does not give discipline? And indeed we had the fathers of our flesh as correctors, he says, and we revered them; shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? (Heb. 12:7–9). For what could your father bestow on you because he corrected you, because he beat you, because he brought out the scourge and struck you? Could he bestow on you that you should live for ever? What he could not bestow on himself, when would he bestow on you? For the sake of his money, however little, which he gathered from interest and labour, he trained you with scourges, lest his labour, left to you, should be squandered through your living badly. And he struck his son, fearing that his labours would perish: since he left to you,

Editors' notes and page, col. 376

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: et reverebamur› · call in col 376

Sic Mss. At editi, et ferebamus.

So the manuscripts. But the printed editions: "and we bore with them."

(printed under page 194)