PL 38 · cols. 377–385

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

Sermon LVI

quod nec tenere hic poterat, nec auferre. Non enim hic aliquid tibi dimisit quod ipsius esse possit: ce⟨s⟩sit, ut sic accederes. Deus autem tuus, redemptor tuus, domitor tuus, castigator tuus, pater tuus, erudit te. Quo? Ut accipias haereditatem, ubi non efferas patrem, sed haereditatem habeas ipsum patrem. Ad hanc spem erudiris, et murmuras? et si quid triste acciderit, fortasse blasphemas? Quo ibis a spiritu ejus? Ecce dimittit te, et non flagellat: deserit blasphemantem, non senties judicantem? Nonne melius est ut flagellet te, et recipiat te, quam parcat tibi, et deserat te?

what he could neither keep here nor take away. For he did not leave you anything here that could be his own: he gave way, so that you might thus come in. But your God, your Redeemer, your tamer, your chastiser, your Father, is instructing you. To what end? That you may receive an inheritance where you will not carry out your father [to burial], but will have the Father Himself as your inheritance. For this hope you are being instructed, and do you grumble? And if anything sad happens, do you perhaps blaspheme? Where will you go from His Spirit? Behold, He lets you go and does not scourge you: He abandons the blasphemer; will you not feel Him judging? Is it not better that He should scourge you and receive you, than that He should spare you and abandon you?

CAPUT VI. — 6. Refugium nostrum Deus. Dicamus ergo Domino Deo nostro, Domine, refugium factus es nobis, in generatione et generatione. In prima generatione et altera generatione, refugium factus es nobis. Tu refugium ut nasceremur, qui non eramus: tu refugium ut renasceremur, qui mali eramus: tu refugium ut pasceres desertores tuos: tu refugium ut erigas et dirigas filios tuos: tu refugium factus es nobis. A te non recedemus, cum liberaveris nos ab omnibus malis nostris, et impleveris nos bonis tuis. Bona das, blandiris, ne fatigemur in via: corripis, caedis, percutis, dirigis, ne aberremus a via. Sive ergo blandiris, ne fatigemur in via; sive castigas, ne aberrem⟨u⟩s a via; Domine, refugium factus es nobis.

Chapter VI. — 6. God our refuge. Let us therefore say to the Lord our God, Lord, Thou hast become a refuge for us, in generation and generation. In the first generation and in the other generation Thou hast become a refuge for us. Thou art a refuge, that we might be born, who were not: Thou art a refuge, that we might be born again, who were evil: Thou art a refuge, that Thou mightest feed Thy deserters: Thou art a refuge, that Thou mayest raise up and direct Thy sons: Thou hast become a refuge for us. We shall not withdraw from Thee, when Thou hast delivered us from all our evils and filled us with Thy good things. Thou givest good things, Thou coaxest us, lest we grow weary on the way: Thou rebukest, strikest, smitest, directest, lest we stray from the way. Whether then Thou coaxest, lest we grow weary on the way, or chastisest, lest we stray from the way, Lord, Thou hast become a refuge for us.

SERMO LVI De Evangelio Matthaei, cap. VI, 7-13, de oratione Dominica, ad Competentes.

Sermon 56. On the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 6:7-13, on the Lord's Prayer, to the Competentes.

CAPUT PRIMUM. — 1. Symbolum et Oratio christianis traditur. Beatus Apostolus tempora ista, quando futurum erat ut omnes gentes in Deum crederent, praenuntiata ostendens fuisse a Prophetis, hoc testimonium posuit quod scriptum est, Et erit: omnis homo qui invocaverit nomen Domini, salvus erit (Joel. II, 32). Antea enim apud solos Israelitas invocabatur nomen Domini, qui fecit coelum et terram: caeterae gentes idola muta et surda invocabant, a quibus non audiebantur; aut daemones, a quibus malo suo audiebantur. At ubi venit plenitudo temporis, impletur quod praedictum est, Et erit: omnis qui invocaverit nomen Domini, salvus erit. Deinde quia invidebant ipsi Judaei Gentibus Evangelium, etiam illi qui crediderunt in Christum, et dicebant non debere annuntiari Evangelium Christi eis qui circumcisi non fuissent; quia contra istos posuit hoc testimonium apostolus Paulus, Et erit: omnis quicumque invocaverit nomen Domini, salvus erit: subjunxit statim ad illos convincendos, qui nolebant evangelizari Gentibus, et ait, Quomodo autem invocabunt, in quem non crediderunt? aut quomodo credent, quem non audierunt? Quomodo autem audient sine praedicante? aut quomodo praedicabunt, si non mittantur (Rom. X, 13-15)? Quia ergo dixit, Quomodo invocabunt, in quem non crediderunt: ideo non accepistis prius orationem, et postea symbolum; sed prius symbolum ubi sciretis quid crederetis, et postea orationem, ubi nossetis quem invocaretis.

Chapter One. — 1. The Creed and the Prayer are handed over to Christians. The blessed Apostle, showing that these times, when all nations were to believe in God, had been foretold by the Prophets, set down this testimony, which is written: And it shall be: every man who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Joel 2:32). For previously the name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth, was called upon among the Israelites alone: the other nations called upon dumb and deaf idols, by which they were not heard; or demons, by whom they were heard to their own harm. But when the fullness of time came, what was foretold is fulfilled: And it shall be: everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Then, because the Jews themselves, even those who had believed in Christ, begrudged the Gentiles the Gospel, and said that the Gospel of Christ ought not to be proclaimed to those who had not been circumcised; because the apostle Paul set down this testimony against them, And it shall be: whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, he immediately added, to refute those who did not want the Gospel preached to the Gentiles, and said, But how shall they call upon Him in Whom they have not believed? or how shall they believe Him Whom they have not heard? But how shall they hear without a preacher? or how shall they preach unless they are sent (Rom. 10:13–15)? Since, then, he said, How shall they call upon Him in Whom they have not believed, you have therefore not received the prayer first and the creed afterwards, but the creed first, so that you might know what to believe, and afterwards the prayer, so that you might know Whom to call upon.

Editors' notes and page, col. 377

Footnotes

(*) ‹anchor: SERMO LVI› · call in col 377 Ad cb. r. s. v. Ulim. Par. Lov. emendatus.

Corrected against cb. r. s. v. Ulim. Par. Lov.

(printed under page 195)

(a) ‹anchor: SERMO LVI› · call in col 377

Alias, de Diversis 48.

Formerly, de Diversis 48.

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Symbolum ergo pertinet ad fidem, oratio ad precem: quia qui credit, ipse exauditur invocans.

The Creed therefore pertains to faith, prayer to petition: for he who believes is himself heard when he calls upon [God].

CAPUT II. — 2. Duo cavenda invocanti. Multi autem petunt quod petere non deberent, ignorantes quid eis expediat. Duas ergo res, qui invocat, cavere debet: ne petat quod non debet, et ne ab illo petat a quo non debet. A diabolo, ab idolis, a daemonibus non est petendum aliquid: a Domino Deo nostro Jesu Christo, Deo Patre Prophetarum, Apostolorum et martyrum, a Patre Domini nostri Jesu Christi, a Deo qui fecit coelum et terram, mare et omnia quae in eis sunt, ab illo petendum est, si quid petendum est. Sed cavendum est, ne et ab illo petatur quod petere non debemus. Vitam humanam quia petere debemus, si petas ab idolis surdis et mutis, quid tibi prodest? Item a Deo Patre, qui est in coelis, si optas mortem inimicorum tuorum, quid tibi prodest? Non audisti vel legisti in Psalmo, in quo praedictus est damnabilis traditor Judas, quomodo prophetia dixit de illo, Oratio ejus fiat illi in peccatum (Psal. CVIII, 7)? Si ergo surgis et oras mala inimicis tuis, oratio tua fiet in peccatum.

Chapter II. — 2. Two things to be guarded against by one who calls upon [God]. Many, however, ask for what they ought not to ask for, not knowing what is expedient for them. Two things, therefore, he who calls upon [God] must beware of: that he not ask for what he ought not, and that he not ask from one from whom he ought not. From the devil, from idols, from demons nothing is to be asked: from our Lord God Jesus Christ, from God the Father of the Prophets, the Apostles and the martyrs, from the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from God Who made heaven and earth, the sea and all things that are in them, from Him it is to be asked, if anything is to be asked. But one must beware lest from Him too there be asked what we ought not to ask. Since we ought to ask for human life, if you ask for it from deaf and dumb idols, what does it profit you? Likewise, from God the Father, Who is in heaven, if you desire the death of your enemies, what does it profit you? Have you not heard or read in the Psalm in which the damnable traitor Judas is foretold, how the prophecy said of him, Let his prayer become sin for him (Ps. 108:7)? If therefore you rise and pray for evils upon your enemies, your prayer will become sin.

CAPUT III. — 3. Non optanda mala malis, sed ut boni fiant orandum. In Psalmis sanctis legistis, veluti multa imprecari mala inimicis suis, eum qui loquitur in Psalmis. Et utique, ait aliquis, qui loquitur in Psalmis, justus est: quare tam mala optat inimicis suis? Non optat, sed praevidet: prophetia est praenuntiantis, non votum male dicentis. In spiritu enim illi noverant quibus habebat evenire male, quibus bene: et per prophetiam dicebant, tanquam optarent quod praevidebant. Tu autem unde scis, ne melior te futurus sit, cui hodie male petis? Sed scio illum malignum, dicis. Et te scis malignum. Quamvis forte audeas et de corde alterius judicare quod nescis: sed et te scis malignum. Non audis Apostolum dicentem, Qui prius fui blasphemus, et persecutor, et injuriosus; sed misericordiam consecutus sum, quia ignorans feci in incredulitate (I Tim. I, 13)? Quando Paulus apostolus persequebatur Christianos, ligans ubi inveniebat, audiendos ad sacerdotes et puniendos attrahebat; quid putatis, fratres, Ecclesia contra illum orabat, an pro illo? Utique Ecclesia Dei, quae didicerat a Domino suo, qui pendens in cruce dixit, Pater, ignosce illis, quia nesciunt quid faciunt (Luc. XXIII, 34), talia precabatur pro Paulo, imo adhuc pro Saulo, ut hoc in illo fieret, quod et factum est. Nam quia dicit, Eram autem ignotus facie Ecclesiis Judaeae quae sunt in Christo; tantum autem audiebant quia ille qui aliquando nos persequebatur, nunc evangelizat fidem quam aliquando vastabat, et in me magnificabant Deum (Galat. I, 22-24): quare magnificabant Deum, nisi quia antequam esset factum, rogabant Deum?

Chapter III. — 3. Evils are not to be wished upon the wicked, but one must pray that they become good. In the holy Psalms you have read that he who speaks in the Psalms seems to call down many evils upon his enemies. And surely, someone says, he who speaks in the Psalms is righteous: why does he wish such evils upon his enemies? He does not wish them, but foresees them: it is the prophecy of one foretelling, not the wish of one cursing. For in the spirit they knew for whom it was to turn out badly, for whom well: and through prophecy they spoke as though they wished what they foresaw. But you, how do you know that he will not be better than you, against whom you today ask for evil? But I know him to be wicked, you say. You know yourself too to be wicked. Although perhaps you dare even to judge concerning another's heart what you do not know: but you know yourself too to be wicked. Do you not hear the Apostle saying, I who was formerly a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and insolent; but I obtained mercy, because I acted in ignorance in unbelief (1 Tim. 1:13)? When Paul the apostle was persecuting Christians, binding them wherever he found them, and dragging them to the priests to be heard and punished, what do you think, brethren: was the Church praying against him or for him? Certainly the Church of God, which had learned from its Lord, Who hanging on the cross said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do (Luke 23:34), prayed such things for Paul, or rather still for Saul, that there might be done in him what was in fact done. For since he says, But I was unknown by face to the churches of Judaea which are in Christ; they only heard that he who once persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once laid waste, and they glorified God in me (Gal. 1:22–24): why were they glorifying God, unless because, before it had been done, they were asking God?

4. Multiloquium in oratione vitandum. Ad quid oratio nostra. Desideriorum forma in Dominica oratione. Dominus ergo noster primo amputavit multiloquium,

4. Much speaking to be avoided in prayer. What our prayer is for. The pattern of desires in the Lord's Prayer. Our Lord, therefore, first cut off multiloquy,

Editors' notes and page, col. 378

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: Et te scis malignum› · call in col 378

Regius Ms., et testem malignum. Et infra loco, sed et te scis malignum; habet idem codex, sed et testis maligna. Forte pro, sed et testis malignus sit.

The Regius manuscript: "and a wicked witness." And below, in place of "but you know yourself too to be wicked," the same codex has "sed et testis maligna." Perhaps for "but let the witness too be wicked."

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ne multa verba afferas ad Deum, quasi velis multis verbis docere Deum. Quando ergo rogas, pietate opus est, non verbositate. Scit enim Pater v⟨e⟩ster quid vobis necessarium sit, priusquam petatis ab eo. Nolite ergo multum loqui: quia novit quid vobis necessarium sit. Sed ne forte hic aliquis dicat: Si novit quid nobis sit necessarium, utquid vel pauca verba dicimus? utquid oramus? Ipse scit: det quod scit nobis necessarium. Sed ideo voluit ut ores, ut desideranti det, ne vilescat quod dederit: quia et ipsum desiderium ipse insinuavit. Verba ergo quae Dominus noster Jesus Christus in Oratione docuit, forma est desideriorum. Non tibi licet petere aliud, quam quod ibi scriptum est.

that you should not bring many words to God, as though you wished to teach God by many words. So when you ask, there is need of piety, not of wordiness. For your Father knows what is necessary for you, before you ask Him. Do not, then, speak much: for He knows what is necessary for you. But lest perhaps someone here should say: If He knows what is necessary for us, why do we say even a few words? why do we pray? He Himself knows: let Him give what He knows is necessary for us. But He willed that you should pray for this reason, that He may give to one who desires, lest what He has given should become cheap: for He Himself also instilled the very desire. The words, therefore, which our Lord Jesus Christ taught in the Prayer are the pattern of our desires. It is not lawful for you to ask for anything other than what is written there.

CAPUT IV. — 5. Prima petitio. — Vos ergo, inquit, dicite: Pater noster, qui es in coelis. Ubi vos (videtis) Deum Patrem habere coepistis. Sed habebitis, cum nati fueritis. Quanquam et modo antequam nascamini, illius semine concepti estis, tanquam utero Ecclesiae in fonte pariendi. Pater noster, qui es in coelis. Mementote, vos Patrem habere in coelis. Mementote, vos de patre Adam natos in mortem, de Patre Deo regenerandos ad vitam. Quae et dicitis, in cordibus vestris dicite. Sit orantis affectus, et erit exaudientis effectus. Sanctificetur nomen tuum. Quid rogas ut sanctificetur nomen Dei? Sanctum est. Quid rogas, quod jam sanctum est? Deinde cum rogas ut sanctificetur nomen ipsius, nonne quasi pro illo illum rogas, et non pro te? Intellige, et pro te rogas. Hoc enim rogas, ut quod semper sanctum est in se, sanctificetur in te. Quid est, sanctificetur? Sanctum habeatur, non contemnatur. Ergo vides quia cum optas, tibi bonum optas. Tibi enim malum est si contempseris nomen Dei, non Deo.

Chapter IV. — 5. The first petition. — You, therefore, He says, say: Our Father, Who art in heaven. Here you (you see) have begun to have God as Father. But you will have Him when you have been born. And yet even now, before you are born, you have been conceived by His seed, as if in the womb of the Church, to be brought forth in the font. Our Father, Who art in heaven. Remember that you have a Father in heaven. Remember that you were born of your father Adam unto death, and are to be reborn of God the Father unto life. And what you say, say in your hearts. Let there be the affection of one who prays, and there will be the effect of One Who hears. Hallowed be Thy name. Why do you ask that the name of God be hallowed? It is holy. Why do you ask for what is already holy? Then, when you ask that His name be hallowed, are you not, as it were, asking Him on His own behalf, and not on yours? Understand, and you ask on your own behalf too. For this is what you ask: that what is always holy in itself may be hallowed in you. What is "be hallowed"? Let it be held holy, let it not be despised. So you see that when you wish this, you wish good for yourself. For it is evil for you, not for God, if you have despised the name of God.

6. Secunda petitio. Veniat regnum tuum. Cui dicimus? Et si non petamus, non est venturum regnum Dei? De illo enim regno dicitur quod erit post finem saeculi. Nam regnum semper habet Deus; et nunquam est sine regno, cui servit universa creatura. Sed quod regnum optas? De quo scriptum est in Evangelio, Venite, benedicti Patris mei, percipite regnum quod vobis paratum est ab initio saeculi. Ecce de quo dicimus, Veniat regnum tuum. Ut in nobis veniat, optamus; ut in illo inveniamur, optamus. Nam ecce veniet: sed quid tibi prodest, si ad sinistram te inveniet? Ergo et hic tibi bene optas, pro te oras. Hoc desideras, hoc cupis orando, ut sic vivas, quomodo ad regnum Dei, quod est omnibus sanctis dandum, pertineas. Ergo, ut bene vivas, tibi oras cum dicis, Veniat regnum tuum. Pertineamus ad regnum tuum: veniat et nobis quod venturum est sanctis et justis tuis.

6. The second petition. Thy kingdom come. To whom do we say this? And if we do not ask, is the kingdom of God not going to come? For it is of that kingdom that it is said that it will be after the end of the world. For God always has a kingdom; and He is never without a kingdom, He Whom the whole creation serves. But what kingdom do you wish for? The one of which it is written in the Gospel: Come, blessed of My Father, receive the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the beginning of the world. See, it is of this that we say, Thy kingdom come. We wish that it may come in us; we wish that we may be found in it. For see, it will come: but what does it profit you if it finds you on the left hand? So here too you wish good for yourself, you pray for yourself. This you desire, this you long for in praying: that you may so live as to belong to the kingdom of God, which is to be given to all the saints. Therefore, that you may live well, you pray for yourself when you say, Thy kingdom come. May we belong to Thy kingdom: may there come to us too what is to come to Thy saints and just ones.

CAPUT V. — 7. Tertia petitio. — Fiat voluntas tua. Si non illud tu dicas, non faciet Deus voluntatem suam? Memento quod in symbolo reddidisti: Credo

Chapter V. — 7. The third petition. — Thy will be done. If you do not say that, will God not do His will? Remember what you rendered back in the Creed: I believe

Editors' notes and page, col. 379

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: jam sanctum est› · call in col 379

Lov., Sanctificetur nomen tuum. Quid rogas ut sanctificetur nomen Dei, quod jam sanctum est? Deinde, etc. M.

Lov.: "Hallowed be Thy name. Why do you ask that the name of God be hallowed, which is already holy? Then," etc. M.

(printed under page 196)

(2) ‹anchor: Secunda petitio. Veniat› · call in col 379

Mss. plerique in hoc et subsequentibus sermonibus habent constanter, Adveniat.

Most manuscripts in this and the following sermons consistently have "Adveniat."

(printed under page 196)

(3) ‹anchor: in symbolo reddidisti› · call in col 379

Sic Mss. Editi autem, credidisti.

So the manuscripts. But the printed editions: "you believed."

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in Deum Patrem omnipotentem. Si omnipotens est, cur oras ut fiat voluntas ejus? Quid est ergo, Fiat voluntas tua? Fiat in me, ut non resistam voluntati tuae. Ergo et hic pro te oras, et non pro Deo. Fiet enim voluntas Dei in te, etsi non fit a te. Nam et quibus dicturus est, Venite, benedicti Patris mei, percipite regnum quod vobis paratum est ab origine mundi. fiet in illis voluntas Dei, ut justi et sancti accipiant regnum: et quibus dicturus est, Ite in ignem aeternum, qui paratus est diabolo et angelis ejus (Matth. XXV, 34, 41); fiet in illis voluntas Dei, ut mali damnentur in ignem sempiternum. Aliud est, ut fiat a te. Ut ergo fiat in te, non sine causa oras, nisi ut bene sit tibi. Sive ergo bene sit tibi, sive male sit tibi, fiet in te: sed fiat et a te. Quare ergo dico, Fiat voluntas tua in coelo et in terra: et non dico, Fiat voluntas tua a coelo et a terra? Quia quod fit a te, ipse facit in te. Nunquam fit a te, quod non ipse facit in te. Sed aliquando facit in te, quod non fit a te: nunquam autem aliquid fit a te, si non facit in te.

in God the Father almighty. If He is almighty, why do you pray that His will be done? What then is "Thy will be done"? Let it be done in me, so that I do not resist Thy will. Therefore here too you pray for yourself, and not for God. For the will of God will be done in you, even if it is not done by you. For indeed in those to whom He is going to say, "Come, blessed of My Father, receive the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the beginning of the world," the will of God will be done, that the just and holy may receive the kingdom; and in those to whom He is going to say, "Go into the eternal fire, which has been prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matt. 25:34, 41), the will of God will be done, that the wicked may be condemned into everlasting fire. It is another thing that it be done by you. So it is not without reason that you pray that it be done in you, except that it may be well with you. Whether, then, it be well with you or ill with you, it will be done in you; but let it be done by you as well. Why then do I say, "Thy will be done in heaven and on earth," and do not say, "Thy will be done by heaven and by earth"? Because what is done by you, He Himself does in you. Never is anything done by you which He Himself does not do in you. But sometimes He does in you what is not done by you; yet never is anything done by you if He does not do it in you.

8. De eadem petitione. Quid est autem, in coelo et in terra, vel, sicut in coelo et in terra? Faciunt Angeli voluntatem tuam, faciamus et nos. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in coelo et in terra. Mens coelum est, caro terra est. Quando dicis, si tamen dicis, quod ait Apostolus, Mente servio legi Dei, carne autem legi peccati (Rom. VII, 25); fit voluntas Dei in coelo, sed nondum in terra. Cum vero caro menti consenserit, et absorpta fuerit mors in victoriam (I Cor. XV, 54), ut nulla desideria carnalia remaneant cum quibus mens confligat; cum transierit rixa in terra, cum transierit bellum cordis, eum transierit quod dictum est, Caro concupiscit adversus spiritum, et spiritus adversus carnem; haec enim invicem adversantur, ut non ea quae vultis faciatis (Galat. V, 17): cum ergo hoc bellum transierit, omnisque concupiscentia in charitatem fuerit commutata, nihil in corpore remanebit quod spiritui resistat, nihil quod dometur, nihil quod frenetur, nihil quod calcetur; sed totum per concordiam perget ad justitiam; fiet voluntas Dei in coelo et in terra. Fiat voluntas tua in coelo et in terra. Perfectionem optamus, quando hoc oramus. Item, Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in coelo, et in terra. In Ecclesia spirituales coelum sunt, carnales terra sunt. Fiat ergo voluntas tua, sicut in coelo et in terra: ut quomodo tibi serviunt spirituales, sic tibi mutati in melius serviant et carnales. Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in coelo et in terra. Est et alius sensus pius valde. Moniti enim sumus orare pro inimicis nostris. Ecclesia, coelum est: inimici Ecclesiae, terra sunt. Quid est ergo, Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in coelo, et in terra? Credant inimici nostri, quomodo et nos in te credimus: fiant amici, finiant inimicitias. Terra sunt, ideo nobis adversantur: coelum fiant, et nobiscum erunt.

8. On the same petition. But what is "in heaven and on earth," or "as in heaven, so on earth"? The Angels do Thy will; let us do it too. "Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth." The mind is heaven, the flesh is earth. When you say, if indeed you do say, what the Apostle says, "With the mind I serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin" (Rom. 7:25), the will of God is done in heaven, but not yet on earth. But when the flesh has consented to the mind, and death has been swallowed up in victory (1 Cor. 15:54), so that no carnal desires remain with which the mind must contend; when the strife on earth has passed away, when the war of the heart has passed away, when that has passed away which was said, "The flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; for these are opposed to one another, so that you do not do the things that you will" (Gal. 5:17); when, then, this war has passed away, and all concupiscence has been changed into charity, nothing will remain in the body to resist the spirit, nothing to be tamed, nothing to be bridled, nothing to be trodden down; but the whole will proceed in concord towards righteousness: the will of God will be done in heaven and on earth. "Thy will be done in heaven and on earth." We desire perfection when we pray this. Again, "Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth." In the Church the spiritual are heaven, the carnal are earth. "Thy will be done," then, "as in heaven, so on earth": that as the spiritual serve Thee, so the carnal too, changed for the better, may serve Thee. "Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth." There is also another, very devout, sense. For we have been admonished to pray for our enemies. The Church is heaven; the enemies of the Church are earth. What then is "Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth"? May our enemies believe, as we too believe in Thee; may they become friends, may they end their enmities. They are earth, therefore they oppose us; let them become heaven, and they will be with us.

CAPUT VI. — 9. Quarta petitio. Omnes sumus mendici Dei. — Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie. Et hic jam manifestum est quod pro nobis oramus. Quando dicis, Sanctificetur nomen tuum; exponendum est tibi quia pro te oras, non pro De⟨o⟩. Quando dicis,

Chapter VI. — 9. The fourth petition. We are all God's beggars. — "Give us this day our daily bread." Here now it is plain that we pray for ourselves. When you say, "Hallowed be Thy name," it has to be explained to you that you pray for yourself, not for God. When you say,

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Fiat voluntas tua, et hoc exponendum tibi est, ne putes quod Deo bene optas, ut fiat voluntas ipsius, et non potius pro te oras. Quando dicis, Veniat regnum tuum; et hoc exponendum est, ne putes quia Deo bene optas, ut regnet. Ab isto autem loco et deinceps usque in finem Orationis, apparet quia pro nobis rogamus Deum. Quando dicis, Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie, profiteris te mendicum Dei. Sed noli erubescere: quantumlibet quis sit dives in terra, mendicus Dei est. Stat mendicus ante domum divitis: sed et ipse dives stat ante domum magni divitis. Petitur ab illo, et petit. Si non egeret, aures Dei oratione non pulsaret. Et quid eget dives? Audeo dicere, ipso pane quotidiano eget dives. Quare enim abundant illi omnia? unde, nisi quia Deus dedit? Quid habebit, si Deus subtrahat manum suam? Nonne multi dormierunt divites, et surrexerunt pauperes? Et quod illi non deest, misericordiae Dei est, non potentiae ipsius.

Thy will be done, this too must be explained to you, lest you think that you are wishing God well, that His will may be done, and not rather that you are praying for yourself. When you say, Thy kingdom come; this too must be explained, lest you think that you are wishing God well, that He may reign. But from this point onwards right to the end of the Prayer, it is plain that we are asking God for ourselves. When you say, Give us today our daily bread, you profess yourself God's beggar. But do not blush: however rich anyone may be on earth, he is God's beggar. The beggar stands before the rich man's house: but the rich man too stands before the house of a great rich Man. He is asked by the one, and he himself asks. If he were not in need, he would not knock at God's ears with prayer. And what does the rich man need? I dare to say, the rich man needs that very daily bread. For why do all things abound for him? From where, unless because God has given them? What will he have, if God withdraws His hand? Have not many gone to sleep rich, and risen poor? And that he lacks nothing is due to God's mercy, not to his own power.

10. Panis quotidianus, sermo Dei. Eucharistia. Sed istum panem, charissimi, quo venter impletur, quo caro quotidie reficitur; istum ergo panem videtis Deum dare, non solum laudatoribus suis, sed etiam blasphematoribus: qui facit solem suum oriri super bonos et malos, et pluit super justos et injustos (Matth. V, 45). Laudas, pascit te: blasphemas, pascit te. Ut poenitentiam agas, exspectat te: sed si non te mutaveris, damnat te. Quia ergo panem istum accipiunt a Deo et boni et mali, putas non est aliquis panis quem petunt filii, de quo dicebat Dominus in Evangelio, Non est bonum tollere panem filiorum, et mittere canibus (Matth. XV, 26)? Est plane. Quis est iste panis? et quare dicitur quotidianus? Et iste necessarius est: etenim sine illo vivere non possumus; sine pane non possumus. Impudentia est ut a Deo petas divitias: non est impudentia ut petas panem quotidianum. Aliud est unde superbias, aliud est unde vivas. Tamen quia iste panis visibilis et tractabilis datur et bonis et malis; est panis quotidianus quem petunt filii. Ipse est sermo Dei, qui nobis quotidie erogatur. Panis noster quotidianus est: inde vivunt non ventres, sed mentes. Necessarius est nobis etiam nunc operariis in vinea; cibus est, non merces. Operario enim duas res debet, qui illum conducit ad vineam, cibum, ne deficiat; et mercedem, unde gaudeat. Cibus noster quotidianus in hac terra, sermo Dei est, qui semper erogatur Ecclesiis: merces nostra post laborem vita aeterna nominatur. Iterum in isto pane nostro quotidiano si intelligas quod fideles accipiunt, quod accepturi estis baptizati; bene rogamus et dicimus, Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie: ut sic vivamus, ne ab illo altari separemur.

10. The daily bread, the word of God. The Eucharist. But this bread, dearly beloved, by which the belly is filled, by which the flesh is refreshed daily; this bread, then, you see God giving not only to those who praise Him, but also to those who blaspheme Him: He Who makes His sun rise upon the good and the bad, and rains upon the just and the unjust (Matt. 5:45). You praise, He feeds you: you blaspheme, He feeds you. He waits for you to do penance: but if you do not change, He condemns you. Since, then, both the good and the bad receive this bread from God, do you think there is not some bread which the children ask for, of which the Lord said in the Gospel, It is not good to take the children's bread, and cast it to the dogs (Matt. 15:26)? Assuredly there is. What is that bread? and why is it called daily? This too is necessary: for without it we cannot live; without bread we cannot. It is shamelessness to ask God for riches: it is not shamelessness to ask for daily bread. One thing is what you may be proud of, another what you may live by. Yet since this visible and tangible bread is given to both good and bad; there is a daily bread which the children ask for. It is the word of God, which is dealt out to us daily. It is our daily bread: by it live not bellies, but minds. It is necessary to us even now as labourers in the vineyard; it is food, not wages. For he who hires a labourer for the vineyard owes him two things: food, that he may not faint; and wages, that he may rejoice. Our daily food on this earth is the word of God, which is always dealt out to the Churches: our wages after the labour are called eternal life. Again, if in this our daily bread you understand what the faithful receive, what you are going to receive when baptized; we rightly ask and say, Give us today our daily bread: that we may so live as not to be separated from that altar.

CAPUT VII. — 11. Quinta petitio. Omnes hic sumus debitores. Peccata quotidiana baptizatorum. — Et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Et ista petitio non est exponenda quia pro nobis petimus. Nobis enim debita demitti postulamus. Debitores enim sumus, non pecuniarum, sed peccatorum. Dicis modo forte: Et vos? Respondemus

Chapter VII. — 11. The fifth petition. All here are debtors. The daily sins of the baptized. — And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. This petition does not need explaining, [to show] that we ask for ourselves. For we ask that debts be forgiven to us. For we are debtors, not of money, but of sins. Perhaps you now say: And you? We answer

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: Et nos. Et vos, episcopi sancti, debitores estis? Et nos debitores sumus. Et vos? Absit, domine, noli tibi facere injuriam. Non injuriam mihi facio, sed verum dico : debitores sumus. Si dixerimus quia peccatum non habemus, nos ipsos decipimus, et veritas in nobis non est (I Joan. I, 8). Et baptizati sumus, et debitores sumus. Non quia aliquid remansit quod nobis in Baptismo non dimissum fuerit : sed quia vivendo contrahimus quod quotidie dimittatur. Qui baptizantur et exeunt, sine debito ascendunt, sino debito pergunt. Qui autem baptizantur et tenentur in hac vita, de fragilitate mortali contrahunt aliquid, unde etsi non naufragatur, tamen oportet ut sentinetur. Quia si non sentinatur, paulatim ingreditur unde tota navis mergatur. Et hoc orare, sentinare est. Non tantum autem debemus orare, sed et eleemosynam facere : quia quando sentinatur ne navis mergatur, et vocibus agitur et manibus. Vocibus agimus, cum dicimus, Dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Manibus autem agimus, cum facimus, Frange esurienti panem tuum, et egenum sine tecto induc in domum tuam (Isai. LVIII, 29). Include eleemosynam in corde pauperis, et ipsa pro te exorabit ad Dominum (Eccli. XXIX, 15).

: We too. And you, holy bishops, are you debtors? We too are debtors. You? Far be it, lord, do not do yourself an injury. I do myself no injury, but I speak the truth: we are debtors. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8). We have been baptized, and yet we are debtors. Not because anything remained which was not forgiven us in Baptism, but because by living we contract what is to be forgiven daily. Those who are baptized and depart [this life] go up without debt, go on without debt. But those who are baptized and are kept in this life contract something from mortal frailty, so that, even if there is no shipwreck, yet the bilge must be pumped. For if it is not pumped, little by little there comes in that by which the whole ship may be sunk. And to pray this is to pump the bilge. Yet we ought not only to pray, but also to give alms: for when the bilge is pumped lest the ship sink, the work is done both with voices and with hands. With voices we do it when we say, Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. With hands we do it when we do this: Break your bread to the hungry, and bring the needy without shelter into your house (Isa. 58:7). Shut up alms in the heart of the poor, and it will plead for you before the Lord (Sir. 29:15).

CAPUT VIII.—12. Peccatorum quotidianorum mundatio. Minuta peccata non contemnenda, quia plura. Dimissis ergo peccatis omnibus per lavacrum regenerationis, in magnas angustias contrusi fuerimus, si non nobis daretur quotidiana mundatio sanctae orationis. Eleemosynae et orationes mundant peccata; tantum ne talia committantur, unde necesse sit separari nos a pane quotidiano; vitantes debita, quibus debetur certa et severa damnatio. Nolite vos justos dicere, quasi non habeatis unde dicatis, Dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Abstinentes ab idololatria, a constellationibus mathematicorum, a remediis incantatorum; abstinentes a deceptionibus haereticorum, a conscissionibus schismaticorum; abstinentes ab homicidiis, ab adulteriis et fornicationibus, a furtis et rapinis, a falsis testimoniis; et si qua forte alia, non dico quae exitiales exitus habent, unde necesse sit praecidi ab altari, et ligari in terra ut ligetur in coelo, valde periculose et mortifere, nisi solvatur in terra quod solvatur in coelo : istis ergo exceptis, non deest unde homo peccet. Quod non oportet videndo libenter, peccat. Et quis teneat oculi velocitatem? Quandoquidem dicitur oculus inde accepisse nomen, a velocitate. Quis teneat aurem vel oculum? Oculi, cum volueris, claudi possunt, et cito clauduntur : aures cum conatu claudis, manum levas, pervenis ad illas : et si tibi aliquis manus teneat, patent; nec potes eas claudere adversus verba maledica, impura, blandientia et decipientia. Cum aliquid, quod non oportet, audieris, etsi non feceris, nonne aure peccas? Audis mali aliquid libenter. Lingua mortifera quanta peccata committit? Aliquando

Chapter VIII.—12. The cleansing of daily sins. Small sins are not to be despised, because they are many. All sins, then, having been forgiven through the washing of regeneration, we would have been thrust into great straits if the daily cleansing of holy prayer were not given us. Alms and prayers cleanse sins; only let such things not be committed as make it necessary for us to be separated from the daily bread; avoiding those debts to which a certain and severe condemnation is due. Do not call yourselves righteous, as though you had no reason to say, Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. Abstaining from idolatry, from the constellations of the astrologers, from the remedies of enchanters; abstaining from the deceptions of heretics, from the rendings of schismatics; abstaining from murders, from adulteries and fornications, from thefts and robberies, from false testimonies; and whatever others there may perhaps be (I do not speak of those which have deadly outcomes, on account of which it is necessary to be cut off from the altar and to be bound on earth so that one is bound in heaven, very perilously and fatally, unless there be loosed on earth what is to be loosed in heaven): these, then, excepted, there is no lack of occasion for a man to sin. He sins by seeing with pleasure what he ought not. And who can check the speed of the eye? Since indeed the eye (oculus) is said to have taken its name from this, from speed (velocitas). Who can check the ear or the eye? The eyes, when you wish, can be closed, and are quickly closed: the ears you close with effort; you raise your hand, you reach them; and if someone holds your hands, they are open; nor can you close them against words that are cursing, impure, flattering and deceiving. When you have heard something you ought not, even if you have not done it, do you not sin with the ear? You hear something evil with pleasure. How many sins does the deadly tongue commit? Sometimes

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Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: Et hoc orare› · call in col 382

Editi, Et ob hoc orare. Particula, ob, non est in Mss.

The printed editions: "And to pray on account of this." The particle "ob" is not in the manuscripts.

(printed under page 197)

(2) ‹anchor: constellationibus mathematicorum› · call in col 382

Melioris notae Mss., a consolationibus mathematicorum.

The manuscripts of better mark: "from the consolations of the astrologers."

(printed under page 197)

Misprints kept as printed

- sino (in "sino debito pergunt"): the sense wants sine, and the English follows sine; on the lean image the last letter may be a filled e. (listed by QA Q6a) - 29 (in the reference "Isai. LVIII, 29"): the verse is 7, and the English gives Isa. 58:7. (listed by QA Q6a)

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talia, quibus homo ab altari separetur. Ad illam pertinet materies blasphemiarum: et multa etiam inania dicuntur, quae ad rem non pertinent. Nihil mali faciat manus; non currat pes ad aliquid mali; non dirigatur oculus in lasciviam; non auris libenter pateat turpitudini; non moveatur lingua ad id quod non decet: dic, cogitationes quis tenet?

such as would separate a man from the altar. To it belongs the matter of blasphemies; and many idle things too are said which do not pertain to the matter. Let the hand do nothing evil; let the foot not run to anything evil; let the eye not be directed towards wantonness; let the ear not lie willingly open to filthiness; let the tongue not be moved to what is not fitting: tell me, who holds back his thoughts?

CAPUT IX. — Fratres mei, plerumque oramus, et aliunde cogitamus, quasi obliti ante quem stemus, aut ante quem proni jaceamus. Ista omnia si colligantur contra nos, num ideo non premunt, quia minuta sunt? Quid interest, utrum te plumbum premat, an arena? Plumbum una massa est, arena minuta grana sunt, sed copia te premunt. Minuta sunt peccata: non vides de guttis minutis flumina impleri, et fundos trahi? Minuta sunt, sed multa sunt.

Chapter IX. — My brothers, we often pray and think of something else, as if we had forgotten before Whom we stand, or before Whom we lie prostrate. If all these things are gathered together against us, do they therefore not weigh us down, because they are small? What difference does it make whether lead weighs you down, or sand? Lead is a single mass, sand is tiny grains, but by their quantity they weigh you down. Sins are small: do you not see that rivers are filled from tiny drops, and estates are dragged away? They are small, but they are many.

13. Pactum donandi debita. Quotidie ergo dicamus; et corde vero dicamus, et quod dicimus faciamus: Dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Sponsionem facimus cum Deo, pactum et placitum. Hoc tibi dicit Dominus Deus tuus: Dimitte, et dimitto. Non dimisisti: tu contra te tenes, non ego. Sane, charissimi filii mei, quoniam scio quid vobis expediat in oratione dominica, et maxime in tota oratione ista sententia, Dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris: audite me. Baptizandi estis, omnia dimittite: quisque quod habet adversus aliquem in corde suo, dimittat ex corde. Sic intrate, et certi estote omnia prorsus vobis dimitti quae contraxistis, et ex parentibus nascendo secundum Adam cum originali peccato, propter quod peccatum cum parvulis curritis ad gratiam Salvatoris, et quidquid vivendo addidistis, dictis, factis, cogitationibus, omnia dimittuntur: et exibitis inde tanquam a conspectu Domini vestri, cum securitate omnium debitorum.

13. The pact of forgiving debts. Daily, therefore, let us say it; and let us say it truly from the heart, and let us do what we say: Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. We make a pledge with God, a pact and an agreement. This is what the Lord your God says to you: Forgive, and I forgive. You have not forgiven: it is you who hold [it] against yourself, not I. Indeed, my dearest sons, since I know what is profitable for you in the Lord's Prayer, and above all in the whole of that prayer this sentence, Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors: hear me. You are about to be baptized; forgive everything: whatever each one has in his heart against anyone, let him forgive it from the heart. Enter in this way, and be certain that absolutely everything is forgiven you which you have contracted, both from your parents by being born according to Adam with original sin, on account of which sin you run with the little ones to the grace of the Saviour, and whatever you have added by living, in words, deeds, thoughts: all are forgiven; and you will go out from there as from the presence of your Lord, with security from all debts.

CAPUT X. — 14. Hortatur ad dilectionem inimicorum. Jam propter illa quotidiana peccata, de quibus locutus sum, quia necessarium est vobis dicere, velut quotidiana mundatione ista, Dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris; quid facietis? Habetis inimicos: Quis enim vivat in hac terra non habens inimicum? Intendite vobis, diligite illos. Nullo modo tibi potest nocere saeviens inimicus, quantum tibi noces, si non diligis inimicum. Ille enim nocere potest aut villae tuae, aut pecori tuo, aut domui tuae, aut servo tuo, aut ancillae tuae, aut filio tuo, aut conjugi tuae; aut, ut multum, si illi data fuerit potestas, carni tuae? Numquid, quomodo tu, animae tuae? Extendite vos ad istam perfectionem, charissimi, exhortor vos. Sed numquid ego illud donavi vobis? Ille vobis donavit, cui dicitis, Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in coelo, ita et in terra. Tamen non vobis videatur impossibile: ego scio, ego novi, ego probavi esse homines christianos, qui diligunt inimicos suos. Si vobis impossibile visum fuerit, non faciatis. Primo credite posse fieri: et orate, ut fiat in vobis voluntas Dei. Quid enim tibi prodest malum inimici tui? Si malum nullum haberet, nec inimicus tuus esset. Bonum

Chapter X. — 14. He exhorts to the love of enemies. Now, on account of those daily sins of which I have spoken, since it is necessary for you to say, as by this daily cleansing, Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors, what will you do? You have enemies: for who could live on this earth without having an enemy? Look to yourselves: love them. In no way can a raging enemy harm you as much as you harm yourself if you do not love your enemy. For he can harm your farm, or your livestock, or your house, or your manservant, or your maidservant, or your son, or your wife; or, at the most, if power should be given him, your flesh? Can he, as you can, [harm] your soul? Stretch yourselves out towards this perfection, dearest ones, I exhort you. But is it I who have given you that? He has given it to you, to Whom you say, Thy will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth. Yet let it not seem impossible to you: I know, I have learned, I have proved that there are Christian men who love their enemies. If it has seemed impossible to you, you will not do it. First believe that it can be done: and pray that the will of God may be done in you. For what does the evil of your enemy profit you? If he had no evil, he would not even be your enemy. Wish good

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illi opta, finiat mala, et non erit tibi inimicus. Non enim inimica est tibi in illo natura humana, sed culpa. Numquid ideo tibi est inimicus, quod habet animam et carnem? Hoc est quod tu: animam habes, animam habet; carnem habes, carnem habet. Consubstantialis tuus est: simili de terra facti estis; a Domino animati estis. Hoc est ille quod tu: respice fratrem tuum. Primi duo parentes nostri erant, Adam et Eva; ille pater, illa mater: ergo nos fratres. Omittamus originem primam: Deus pater, Ecclesia mater: ergo nos fratres. Sed inimicus meus Paganus est, Judaeus est, haereticus est; et unde jamdudum dixi, Fiat voluntas tua, sicut in coelo, ita et in terra. O Ecclesia, inimicus tuus est Paganus, Judaeus, haereticus: terra est. Si coelum es, invoca Patrem qui est in coelis, et pro inimicis tuis ora: quia et Saulus inimicus erat Ecclesiae; sic oratum est pro illo, factus est amicus. Non solum destitit esse persecutor, sed laboravit ut esset adjutor. Et si verum quaeras, oratum est contra illum: sed contra ejus malitiam, non naturam. Ora et tu contra malitiam inimici tui: illa moriatur, et ille vivat. Si enim mortuus fu⟨e⟩rit inimicus tuus, quasi inimico caruisti, sed nec amicum invenisti. Si autem mortua fuerit malitia ejus: et inimicum amisisti, et amicum invenisti.

for him: let him put an end to his evils, and he will not be your enemy. For it is not human nature in him that is your enemy, but fault. Is he your enemy for this reason, that he has a soul and flesh? This is what you are: you have a soul, he has a soul; you have flesh, he has flesh. He is of one substance with you: you were made alike from earth; you were given life by the Lord. He is what you are: look upon your brother. Our first two parents were Adam and Eve; he the father, she the mother: therefore we are brothers. Let us leave aside our first origin: God is Father, the Church is mother: therefore we are brothers. But my enemy is a pagan, is a Jew, is a heretic; and that is why I said a while ago, Thy will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth. O Church, your enemy is the pagan, the Jew, the heretic: he is earth. If you are heaven, call upon the Father Who is in heaven, and pray for your enemies: for Saul too was an enemy of the Church; thus prayer was made for him, and he became a friend. Not only did he cease to be a persecutor, but he laboured to be a helper. And if you seek the truth, prayer was made against him: but against his malice, not his nature. You too pray against the malice of your enemy: let it die, and let him live. For if your enemy has died, you have in a way been rid of an enemy, but neither have you found a friend. But if his malice has died, you have both lost an enemy and found a friend.

CAPUT XI. — 15. Inimicos diligere paucorum est, sed tamen ab omnibus id praestandum. Adhuc dicitis: Quis potest? quis illud fecit? Deus illud faciat in cordibus vestris. Et ego scio, pauci illud faciunt, magni sunt qui faciunt, spirituales faciunt. Numquid tales sunt omnes in Ecclesia fideles ad altare accedentes, corpus et sanguinem Christi sumentes? numquid tales sunt omnes? Et tamen omnes dicunt, Dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Si respondeat illis Deus: Quid a me petitis ut faciam quod promisi, quando vos non facitis quod praecepi? Quid promisi? Dimittere debita vestra. Quid praecepi? Ut et vos dimittatis debitoribus vestris. Quomodo potestis hoc facere, si non diligatis inimicos? Quid ergo facturi sumus, fratres? Ad tantam paucitatem redigitur grex Christi? Si soli illi debent dicere, Dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris, qui diligunt inimicos; nescio quid faciam, nescio quid dicam. Dicturus enim vobis sum: Si non diligitis inimicos vestros, nolite orare? Non audeo: imo ut diligatis, orate. Sed numqu⟨i⟩d vobis dicturus sum: Si non diligi⟨t⟩is inimicos ve⟨s⟩tros, nolite in oratione dominica dicere, Dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris? Puta quia dico, Nolite dicere. Si non dixeritis, non dimittuntur: si dixeritis, et non feceritis, non dimittuntur. Ergo dicendum est et faciendum, ut dimittantur.

Chapter XI. — 15. To love enemies belongs to few, but nevertheless it must be performed by all. You still say: Who can do it? Who has done it? May God do it in your hearts. I too know that few do it; those who do it are great, the spiritual do it. Are all the faithful in the Church who approach the altar and receive the body and blood of Christ such as these? Are all such? And yet all say, Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. What if God should answer them: Why do you ask Me to do what I have promised, when you do not do what I have commanded? What have I promised? To forgive your debts. What have I commanded? That you also forgive your debtors. How can you do this, if you do not love your enemies? What then are we to do, brothers? Is the flock of Christ reduced to so small a number? If only those who love their enemies ought to say, Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors, I do not know what to do, I do not know what to say. For am I to say to you: If you do not love your enemies, do not pray? I do not dare: rather, pray that you may love. But am I to say to you: If you do not love your enemies, do not say in the Lord's Prayer, Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors? Suppose I say, Do not say it. If you do not say it, they are not forgiven: if you say it and do not do it, they are not forgiven. Therefore it must be both said and done, that they may be forgiven.

CAPUT XII. — 16. Inimico saltem petenti detur venia. Video aliquid unde possum, non paucitatem christianam, sed multitudinem consolari: et scio quia hoc desideratis audire. Dimittite, ut dimittatur vobis, Christus dixit (Luc. VI, 37). Et vos in oratione quid

Chapter XII. — 16. Let pardon be given at least to an enemy who asks for it. I see something by which I can console, not the Christian few, but the multitude: and I know that you desire to hear this. Forgive, that it may be forgiven you, Christ said (Luke 6:37). And you in prayer what

Editors' notes and page, col. 384

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 384

Mss., simul de terra.

The manuscripts: "together from the earth."

(printed under page 198)

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running head: [A]UGUSTINI EPISCOPI 38[?] (cut off at left; column number partly illegible)
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old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 38:385

dicitis? unde modo tractamus: Dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Sic dimitte, Domine, quomodo dimittimus. Hoc dicis: Sic dim⟨i⟩tte, Pater, qui es in coelis, debita nostra, quomodo et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. Hoc enim facere debetis: quod si non feceritis, peribitis. Quando inimicus veniam petit, continuo dimittatis. Et hoc multum ad vos? Multum ad te erat, inimicum diligere saevientem: multum est ad te, hominem diligere supplicantem? Quid dicis? Saeviebat, et oderas. Mallem nec tunc odisses: mallem tunc, cum saevientem patereris, Dominum recordareris dicentem, Pater, ignosce illis, quia nesciunt quid faciunt (Luc. XXIII, 34). Hoc ergo magnopere vellem, ut etiam eo tempore, cum in te saeviebat inimicus, respiceres Dominum Deum tuum ista dicentem. Sed forte dicturus es: Fecit ille, sed ut Dominus, quia Christus, quia Dei Filius, quia Unigenitus, quia Verbum caro factum. Quid ego malus et invalidus homo? Si multum est ad te Dominus tuus, cogitetur a te conservus tuus. Stephanus sanctus lapidabatur: et inter lapides genu fixo pro inimicis orabat, et ait, Domine, ne statuas illis hoc peccatum (Act. VII, 59). Illi lapides mittebant, non veniam postulabant: et ille pro eis orabat. Talem te esse volo: extende te. Quid trahis semper cor in terra? Audi, Sursum cor: extende, dilige inimicos. Si non potes diligere saevientem, dilige vel petentem. Dil⟨i⟩ge hominem qui tibi dicit: Frater, peccavi, ignosce mihi. Tunc si non ignoveris, non dico, deles orationem de corde tuo; sed deleberis de libro Dei.

do you say? It is what we are now treating: Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. Forgive thus, Lord, as we forgive. This is what you say: Forgive thus, Father, Who art in heaven, our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. For this you ought to do: but if you do not do it, you will perish. When an enemy asks pardon, forgive at once. And is this much for you? It was much for you to love an enemy who was raging: is it much for you to love a man who is entreating? What do you say? He was raging, and you hated. I would rather you had not hated even then: I would rather that then, when you were suffering him as he raged, you had remembered the Lord saying, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34). This, then, I should greatly wish: that even at that time, when the enemy was raging against you, you would look to the Lord your God saying these things. But perhaps you are going to say: He did it, but as Lord, because He is Christ, because He is the Son of God, because He is the Only-begotten, because He is the Word made flesh. What am I, a bad and weak man? If your Lord is too much for you, let your fellow servant be considered by you. Saint Stephen was being stoned: and amid the stones, on bended knee, he prayed for his enemies, and said, Lord, do not lay this sin against them (Acts 7:59). They were throwing stones, they were not asking pardon: and he was praying for them. Such I want you to be: stretch yourself out. Why do you always drag your heart along on the earth? Hear, Up with the heart: stretch yourself out, love your enemies. If you cannot love one who rages, love at least one who asks. Love the man who says to you: Brother, I have sinned, forgive me. Then if you do not forgive, I do not say that you delete the prayer from your heart; but you will be deleted from the book of God.

CAPUT XIII. — 17. Disciplina sine odio. Inim⟨i⟩co veniam negans nihil ipsi nocet, sed sibi. Si autem vel tunc ignoveris, vel tunc ex corde dimiseris odium: odium dico dimittas ex corde, non di⟨s⟩ciplinam. Quid si ille qui petit veniam, castigandus est a me? Fac quod vis: puto enim quod filium tuum diligis et quando caedis. Lacrymas vapulantis non curas; quia ei haereditatem servas. Ego hoc dico, ut de corde dimittas odium, quando a te veniam petit inimicus. Sed forte dicis: Mentitur, fingit. O judex cordis alieni, dic mihi cogitationes patris tui, dic mihi hesternas tuas. Rogat, veniam petit: dimitte, prorsus dimitte. Si non dimiseris, non illi noces, sed tibi. Nam ille scit quid est facturus. Non vis tu dimittere conservus conservo tuo: ibit ad Dominum vestrum, et dicet ei, Domine, rogavi conservum meum, ut dimitteret mihi, et noluit dimittere; tu mihi dimitte. Numquid non licet Domino debita relaxare servi sui? Ille accepta venia a Domino recedit absolutus, tu remanes obligatus. Quomodo obligatus? Venturum est tempus orationis, venturum est ut dicas, Dimitte nobis debi⟨t⟩a nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris: respondebit tibi Dominus, Serve nequam, cum tanta mihi deberes, rogasti me, et dimisi tibi; nonne oportebat et te misereri conservi tui, sicut et ego tui misertus sum (Matth. XVIII, 32, 33). De Evangelio sunt verba is⟨t⟩a, non de corde meo. Si autem rogatus dimiseris veniam

Chapter XIII. — 17. Discipline without hatred. He who refuses pardon to an enemy harms not him but himself. But if even then you forgive, if even then you put away hatred from your heart: it is hatred, I say, that you should put away from the heart, not discipline. What if he who asks pardon has to be chastised by me? Do what you will: for I think that you love your son even when you beat him. You pay no heed to the tears of the one being beaten, because you are keeping the inheritance for him. This is what I say: that you should put away hatred from your heart when the enemy asks pardon of you. But perhaps you say: He is lying, he is pretending. O judge of another's heart, tell me the thoughts of your father, tell me your own of yesterday. He asks, he begs pardon: forgive, forgive entirely. If you do not forgive, you harm not him but yourself. For he knows what he is going to do. You, a fellow servant, will not forgive your fellow servant: he will go to your Lord, and will say to Him, Lord, I asked my fellow servant to forgive me, and he would not forgive; do Thou forgive me. Is it not lawful for the Lord to remit the debts of His servant? He, having received pardon from the Lord, departs absolved; you remain bound. How bound? The time of prayer will come, it will come that you say, Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors: the Lord will answer you, Wicked servant, when you owed me so much, you asked me, and I forgave you; ought you not also to have had pity on your fellow servant, as I too had pity on you? (Matt. 18:32–33). These words are from the Gospel, not from my own heart. But if, when asked, you grant pardon

Editors' notes and page, col. 385

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: judex cordis alieni› · call in col 385

Vox, alieni, abest a potioribus Mss. Paulo post editi habebant, cogitationes fratris tui; ubi Mss. omnes, patris tui.

The word "alieni" is absent from the better manuscripts. A little further on the printed editions had "the thoughts of your brother;" where all the manuscripts have "of your father."

(*) ‹anchor: SERMO LVII› · call in col 386 Ad gr. r. Ulim. Par. Lov. emendatus.

Corrected against gr. r. Ulim. Par. Lov.

(printed under page 199)