Migne Reading Room
PL 38 · cols. 530–538
Augustine, Sermones 83-88 (Classis I, de Scripturis)
Sermon LXXXVII
mensa divitis frustra concupiscebat; canes ulceribus pascebat, et a divite non pascebatur. Uterque mortuus est: unus eorum sepultus est; de altero quid dictum est? Ablatus est ab Angelis in sinum Abrahae. Videt dives pauperem, imo jam pauper divitem: desiderat de digito stillam aquae in linguam suam, ab illo qui desideravit micam de mensa ejus. Certe vices mutatae sunt. Frustra hoc dicit dives mortuus: non frustra hoc audiamus qui vivimus. Nam et ille voluit ad superos revocari, et non est permissus: voluit aliquem mortuorum mitti ad fratres suos, nec hoc illi concessum est. Sed quid ei dictum est? Habent ibi Moysen et Prophetas. Et ille: Non audient, nisi aliquis a mortuis ierit. Ait illi Abraham: Si Moysen et Prophetas non audiunt, nec, si quis a mortuis ierit, credent (Luc. XVI, 19-31).
the rich man's table he longed for in vain; he fed dogs with his sores, and was not fed by the rich man. Both died: one of them was buried; of the other what was said? He was carried away by angels into Abraham's bosom. The rich man sees the poor man, or rather now the poor man sees the rich man: he longs for a drop of water from his finger onto his tongue, from him who longed for a crumb from his table. Certainly the roles have been exchanged. In vain does the dead rich man say this: let us who live not hear it in vain. For he too wished to be called back to those above, and was not permitted; he wished someone of the dead to be sent to his brothers, and not even this was granted him. But what was said to him? They have there Moses and the Prophets. And he: They will not hear, unless someone goes from the dead. Abraham said to him: If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither, if someone goes from the dead, will they believe (Luke 16:19–31).
CAPUT XIV. — 17. Consilium Dei de faciendis eleemosynis nunc amplectendum. De faciendis ergo eleemosynis, et comparanda animae requie in posterum, ut faciamus bene cum anima nostra, quod perverse dixit luxuria, dixit et Moyses, dixerunt et Prophetae. Audiamus cum vivimus. Quia ibi frustra concupiscit audire, qui contempsit ista cum audiret. An exspectamus ut aliquis et a mortuis resurgat, et dicat nobis, ut faciamus cum anima nostra bene? Jam et hoc factum est: non resurrexit pater tuus, sed resurrexit Dominus tuus. Ipsum audi, accipe bonum consilium. Noli parcere thesauris tuis, eroga quantum potes. Luxuriae vox orat: Domini vox facta est. Eroga quantum potes, fac bene cum anima tua, ne auferatur hac nocte anima tua. Habetis in nomine Christi, quantum arbitror, sermonem de faciendis eleemosynis. Vox ista vestra laudantium, tunc accepta est Domino, si videat et manus operantium.
Chapter XIV. — 17. God's counsel about giving alms is to be embraced now. Concerning the giving of alms, therefore, and the procuring of rest for the soul hereafter, so that we may do well by our soul: what luxury said perversely, Moses also said, and the Prophets also said. Let us hear while we live. For there he longs in vain to hear who despised these things when he heard them. Or are we waiting for someone also to rise from the dead and tell us to do well by our soul? This too has already been done: your father has not risen, but your Lord has risen. Hear Him, accept good counsel. Do not spare your treasures; give out as much as you can. It was the voice of luxury: it has become the voice of the Lord. Give out as much as you can, do well by your soul, lest your soul be taken away this night. You have, in the name of Christ, as far as I judge, a sermon on the giving of alms. That voice of yours, the voice of people praising, is acceptable to the Lord then, if He also sees the hands of people working.
SERMO LXXXVII. Habitus die dominica, de eo quod scriptum est, Simile est regnum coelorum homini patrifamilias, qui misit operarios in vineam suam. Matth. cap. XX, ℣. 1-16.
Sermon LXXXVII. Preached on the Lord's Day, on what is written: The kingdom of heaven is like a householder who sent workers into his vineyard. Matt. ch. 20, vv. 1-16.
CAPUT PRIMUM. — 1. Colimus nos Deum, et colit nos Deus. De sancto Evangelio praesenti tempori consonantem similitudinem audistis de his qui operantur in vinea. Est enim modo tempus vindemiae corporalis. Est autem et spiritualis vindemia, ubi Deus gaudet ad fructum vineae suae. Colimus enim Deum, et colit nos Deus. Sed non sic Deum colimus, ut nos eum meliorem colendo faciamus Colimus enim eum adorando, non arando. Ille autem colit nos tanquam agricola agrum. Quod ergo nos ille colit, meliores nos reddit; quia et agricola agrum colendo facit meliorem: et ipsum fructum in nobis
Chapter I. — 1. We cultivate God, and God cultivates us. From the holy Gospel you have heard a parable in harmony with the present season, about those who work in the vineyard. For it is now the time of the bodily vintage. But there is also a spiritual vintage, where God rejoices at the fruit of His vineyard. For we cultivate God, and God cultivates us. But we do not cultivate God in such a way that by cultivating we make Him better. For we cultivate Him by adoring, not by ploughing. He, however, cultivates us as a farmer cultivates a field. That He cultivates us, therefore, makes us better; for the farmer too by cultivating a field makes it better: and this very fruit in us
Editors' notes and page, col. 530
Footnotes
(1) ‹anchor: in vineam suam› · call in col 530
Hunc sermo titulum praefert in veteribus libris optimae notae Colbertino et Phimarconensi. In aliis vero Mss. minus bene inscribitur, de Verbis Domini secundum Joan., Ego sum vitis, etc.
The sermon bears this title in the old books of the best quality, the Colbertinus and the Phimarconensis. In other manuscripts, however, it is less well entitled "On the Words of the Lord according to John, I am the vine, etc."
(*) ‹anchor: SERMO LXXXVII› · call in col 530 Recognitus ad codices omnes notatos supra in sermone 82, ac praeterea ad ph. et ad quintum cl.
Revised against all the codices noted above at sermon 82, and besides against ph. and against a fifth cl.
(printed under page 271)
(a) ‹anchor: SERMO LXXXVII› · call in col 530
Alias, de Verbis Domini 59.
Formerly, On the Words of the Lord 59.
(printed under page 271)
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quaerit, ut eum colamus. Cultura ipsius est in nos, quod non cessat verbo suo exstirpare semina mala de cordibus notris, aperire cor nostrum tanquam aratro sermonis, plantare semina praeceptorum, exspectare fructum pietatis. Cum enim istam culturam in cor nostrum sic acceperimus, ut eum bene colamus, non existimus ingrati agricolae nostro, sed fructum reddimus quo gaudeat. Et fructus noster non illum ditiorem facit, sed nos beatiores.
He seeks, that we worship [colamus] Him. His cultivation is applied to us, in that He does not cease to root out bad seeds from our hearts by His word, to open our heart as with the plough of His speech, to plant the seeds of His precepts, and to look for the fruit of piety. For when we have so received this cultivation into our heart that we worship Him well, we are not ungrateful to our farmer, but we render fruit in which He may rejoice. And our fruit does not make Him richer, but makes us more blessed.
2. Quomodo nos Deus colit. Ecce audite, quia sicut dixi, colit nos Deus. Nam quia nos colimus Deum, non opus est ut probetur vobis. Omnis enim homo hoc habet in ore, quia homines colunt Deum. Quia vero Deus colit homines, quasi expavescit auditor quando audit: quia non est in usu hominum ut dicatur quia Deus colit homines; sed quia Deum colunt homines. Debemus ergo probare vobis quia et Deus colit homines; ne forte putemur verbum indisciplinatum dixisse, et aliquis in corde suo disputet contra nos, et nesciens quid dixerimus reprehendat nos. Hoc ergo constitutum est demonstrare vobis; quia et Deus colit nos; sed jam dixi, sicut agrum, ut meliores nos faciat. Dominus dicit in Evangelio: Ego sum vitis, vos estis sarmenta, Pater meus est agricola (Joan. XV, 5, 1). Quid facit agricola? Interrogo vos, qui agricolae estis; quid facit agricola? Puto quia agrum colit. Si ergo Pater Deus agricola est, habet agrum, et colit agrum suum, et exspectat inde fructum.
2. How God cultivates us. Listen now: as I said, God cultivates [colit] us. For that we worship [colimus] God need not be proved to you. For every man has this in his mouth, that men worship God. But that God cultivates men, the hearer is almost startled when he hears it, because it is not men's usage to say that God cultivates men, but that men worship God. We must therefore prove to you that God also cultivates men, lest perhaps we be thought to have spoken an undisciplined word, and someone dispute against us in his heart and, not knowing what we have said, find fault with us. This, then, is what we have set out to demonstrate to you: that God also cultivates us; but, as I have already said, as a field, that He may make us better. The Lord says in the Gospel: I am the vine, you are the branches, My Father is the farmer (John 15:5, 1). What does a farmer do? I ask you who are farmers: what does a farmer do? I think he cultivates a field. If, then, God the Father is a farmer, He has a field, and He cultivates His field, and He looks for fruit from it.
CAPUT II. — 3. Vinea a Deo plantata. Denique plantavit vineam, sicut dicit ipse Dominus Jesus Christus, et locavit eam agricolis, qui redderent ei fructum temporibus propriis. Et misit ad eos servos suos, ut peterent mercedem vineae. Illi autem contumeliis eos affecerunt, aliquos et occiderunt, et fructum reddere contempserunt. Misit alios; talia perpessi sunt. Et dixit ille pater familias, cultor agri sui, et plantator et locator vineae suae: Mittam unicum filium meum; forte vel ipsum verebuntur. Et misit, inquit, etiam filium suum. Dixerunt illi apud se ipsos: Hic est haeres; venite, occidamus eum, et nostra erit haereditas. Et occiderunt eum; et projecerunt extra vineam. Cum venerit Dominus vineae, quid faciet illis malis colonis? Responsum est: Malos male perdet, et vineam suam locabit aliis agricolis, qui reddant ei fructum in tempore suo (Matth. XXI, 33-41). Plantata est vinea, lege data in cordibus Judaeorum. Missi sunt Prophetae, quaerentes fructum, bonam vitam eorum: Prophetae ab eis contumeliis affecti, et occisi sunt. Missus est et Christus unicus Filius patrisfamilias; et ipsum occiderunt haeredem, et ideo perdiderunt haereditatem. In contrarium eis vertit malum consilium. Ut possiderent, occiderunt: et quia occiderunt, perdiderunt.
Chapter II. — 3. The vineyard planted by God. Indeed He planted a vineyard, as the Lord Jesus Christ Himself says, and let it out to farmers, who should render Him the fruit in their proper seasons. And He sent His servants to them, to ask for the payment for the vineyard. But they treated them with insults, and some they even killed, and they scorned to render the fruit. He sent others; they suffered the same things. And that householder, the cultivator of his field and the planter and lessor of his vineyard, said: I will send my only son; perhaps they will at least respect him. And he sent, it says, his son too. They said among themselves: This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours. And they killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. When the Lord of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those wicked tenants? The answer was given: He will bring the evil to an evil end, and will let out his vineyard to other farmers, who will render him the fruit in its season (Matt. 21:33–41). The vineyard was planted when the law was given in the hearts of the Jews. The Prophets were sent, seeking fruit, their good life; the Prophets were treated with insults by them and were killed. Christ too was sent, the only Son of the householder; and they killed Him, the heir, and therefore they lost the inheritance. Their wicked counsel turned to the contrary for them. That they might possess, they killed; and because they killed, they lost.
CAPUT III. — 4. Operarii ad vineae culturam conducti. Et modo audistis similitudinem ex Evangelio sancto, quia simile est regnum coelorum patrifamilias, qui exiit conducere operarios ad vineam suam. Exiit
Chapter III. — 4. The labourers hired for the cultivation of the vineyard. And just now you heard a likeness from the holy Gospel, that the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out to hire labourers for his vineyard. He went out
Editors' notes and page, col. 531
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- running head: 531 S. AUGUSTINI EP (cut off at the image edge)
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- other: "notris" read from blurred type, unsure whether misprint or damage; several blurred readings (eum, exstirpare, nostrum, occiderunt) set as the intended words; stray mark after "alios" not set; right-hand column partly visible and not set
mane, et quos invenit conduxit; et placuit cum eis mercedem denarium. Exiit et hora tertia, invenit alios, et adduxit ad opus vineae. Et sexta hora hoc fecit, et nona hoc fecit. Exiit etiam et hora undecima prope ad finem diei, invenit quosdam vacuos et stantes; et ait illis: Quid hic statis? quare non operamini in vinea? Responderunt: Quia nemo nos conduxit. Venite, inquit, et vos, et quod justum fuerit, dabo vobis. Mercedem denarium placuit. Isti qui una hora erant operaturi, quando sibi auderent sperare denarium? Sed tamen se aliquid accepturos gratulabantur. Adducti sunt et ipsi ad unam horam. Finito die, jussit omnibus reddi mercedem, a novissimis usque ad primos. Inde coepit reddere ab eis qui hora undecima venerant, jussit eis dare denarium. Illi qui prima hora venerant, videntes illos accepisse denarium, quem cum ipsis placuerat, speraverunt se plus aliquid accepturos: ventum est et ad ipsos, et acceperunt denarium. Murmuraverunt adversus patremfamilias, dicentes: Ecce nos qui sustinuimus ardorem diei et aestum, aequasti et pares fecisti illis qui unam horam operati sunt in vinea. Et ait paterfamilias, justissimum responsum reddens uni eorum: Sodalis, non tibi feci injuriam; hoc est, non te fraudavi; quod placui reddidi tibi. Fraudem tibi non feci, quia quod pactus sum reddidi. Huic non volo reddere, sed donare. Non licet mihi facere quod volo de meo? An oculus tuus nequam est, quia ego bonus sum? Si alicui tollerem alienum, recte reprehenderer, quasi fraudator et injustus; si alicui non redderem debitum, recte reprehenderer, quasi fraudator et negator alieni: cum vero debitum reddo, et cui volo etiam dono, nec cui debebam me potest reprehendere, et cui donavi debet amplius gaudere. Non erat quod responderetur: et aequati sunt omnes, et facti sunt novissimi primi et primi novissimi; aequando, non praeposterando. Quid est, Facti sunt novissimi primi et primi novissimi? Quia tantumdem acceperunt et primi et novissimi.
in the morning, and those whom he found he hired; and he agreed with them on a wage of a denarius. He went out also at the third hour, found others, and brought them to the work of the vineyard. And at the sixth hour he did this, and at the ninth he did this. He went out also at the eleventh hour, near the end of the day, found some idle and standing, and said to them: Why do you stand here? Why do you not work in the vineyard? They answered: Because no one has hired us. Come, he said, you also, and whatever is just I will give you. A wage of a denarius was agreed. These who were going to work for one hour, when would they dare to hope for a denarius? But nevertheless they rejoiced that they would receive something. They too were brought in for one hour. When the day was finished, he ordered the wage to be paid to all, from the last to the first. So he began to pay from those who had come at the eleventh hour; he ordered a denarius to be given to them. Those who had come at the first hour, seeing that those had received a denarius, which had been agreed with themselves, hoped that they would receive something more: it came to them too, and they received a denarius. They murmured against the householder, saying: Behold, we who have borne the burning of the day and the heat, you have made us equal and made us like those who worked one hour in the vineyard. And the householder, giving a most just answer to one of them, said: Friend, I have done you no wrong; that is, I have not defrauded you; what was agreed I have paid you. I did not defraud you, because what I bargained for I have paid. To this man I do not wish to pay, but to give. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with my own? Or is your eye evil because I am good? If I took from someone what belongs to another, I would rightly be blamed as a defrauder and unjust; if I did not pay someone what is owed, I would rightly be blamed as a defrauder and a withholder of what belongs to another: but when I pay what is owed, and to whom I will I also give, neither can he to whom I was in debt blame me, and he to whom I gave ought to rejoice the more. There was nothing that could be answered: and all were made equal, and the last were made first and the first last; by making equal, not by reversing the order. What does it mean, The last were made first and the first last? That the first and the last received just as much.
CAPUT IV. — 5. Merces novissimis prius reddita, quid sit. Vocati hora prima, tertia, etc. Quid est ergo, quod a novissimis coepit reddere? Nonne omnes, sicut legimus, simul accepturi sunt? Legimus enim in alio loco Evangelii, quia dicturus est eis quos ponet ad dexteram: Venite, benedicti Patris mei, percipite regnum quod vobis paratum est ab initio mundi (Matth. XXV, 34). Si ergo omnes simul accepturi sunt quomodo hic intelligimus priores accepisse illos qui undecima operati sunt, et posteriores illos qui prima? Si potuero sic dicere, ut perveniat ad intellectum vestrum, Deo gratias. Illi enim debetis gratias agere, qui vobis per nos erogat: non enim de nostro erogamus. Si interroges de duobus, verbi gratia, quis prior acceperit, qui post unam horam accepit, an qui post duodecimam; omnis homo respondet quia prior accepit, qui post unam horam accepit, quam qui post duodecimam. Sic ergo quamvis una hora
Chapter IV. — 5. What the wage paid first to the last means. Those called at the first hour, the third, etc. What is it, then, that he began to pay from the last? Are not all, as we read, going to receive together? For we read in another place of the Gospel that He is going to say to those whom He will place at His right hand: Come, blessed of My Father, receive the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the beginning of the world (Matt. 25:34). If then all are going to receive together, how do we understand here that those who worked from the eleventh hour received first, and those who worked from the first received later? If I can put it so that it reaches your understanding, thanks be to God. For you ought to give thanks to Him who dispenses to you through us: for we do not dispense from our own. If you ask about two men, for example, which received first, he who received after one hour, or he who received after twelve, every man answers that he who received after one hour received sooner than he who received after twelve. So therefore, although at one hour
Editors' notes and page, col. 532
Footnotes
(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 532
Colbertinus et Phim. Mss.: Adducti sunt ad vineam hora undecima.
The Colbertinus and Phim. manuscripts: "They were brought to the vineyard at the eleventh hour."
(printed under page 272)
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acceperint omnes, tamen quia alii acceperunt post unam horam, alii acceperunt post duodecimam horam, illi dicti sunt priores accepisse, qui post modicum temporis acceperunt. Primi justi, sicut Abel, sicut Noe, quasi prima hora vocati, felicitatem resurrectionis nobiscum accepturi sunt. Alii justi post illos, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, et quicumque erant saeculi ipsorum, quasi tertia hora vocati, felicitatem resurrectionis accepturi sunt nobiscum. Alii justi, Moyses et Aaron, et quicumque cum illis tanquam hora sexta vocati, felicitatem resurrectionis nobiscum accepturi sunt. Post ipsos Prophetae sancti tanquam nona hora vocati, eamdem felicitatem nobiscum accepturi sunt. In fine saeculi omnes Christiani tanquam undecima hora vocati, felicitatem illius resurrectionis cum illis accepturi sunt. Omnes simul accepturi sunt: sed videte illos primos, post quantum tempus accipiunt. Si ergo illi primi post multum tempus, nos post modicum tempus; quamvis simul accipiamus, priores videmur accepisse, quia merces nostra non tardabit.
all received, yet because some received after one hour and others received after the twelfth hour, those were said to have received first who received after a little time. The first righteous, such as Abel, such as Noah, called as it were at the first hour, will receive the happiness of the resurrection together with us. Other righteous after them, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and whoever belonged to their age, called as it were at the third hour, will receive the happiness of the resurrection together with us. Other righteous, Moses and Aaron, and whoever were called with them as at the sixth hour, will receive the happiness of the resurrection together with us. After them the holy Prophets, called as at the ninth hour, will receive the same happiness together with us. At the end of the age all Christians, called as at the eleventh hour, will receive the happiness of that resurrection together with them. All will receive at the same time: but see after how long a time those first ones receive. If then those first ones [receive] after a long time, and we after a little time, although we receive at the same time, we seem to have received first, because our wage will not be delayed.
6. Denarius vita aeterna. Erimus ergo in illa mercede omnes aequales, tanquam primi novissimi, et novissimi primi: quia denarius ille vita aeterna est, et in vita aeterna omnes aequales erunt. Quamvis enim meritorum diversitate fulgebunt, alius magis, alius minus: quod tamen ad vitam aeternam pertinet, aequalis erit omnibus. Non enim alteri erit longius, alteri brevius, quod pariter sempiternum est: quod non habet finem, nec tibi habebit, nec mihi. Alio mo⟨d⟩o ibi erit castitas conjugalis, alio modo ibi erit integritas virginalis: alio modo ibi erit fructus boni operis, alio modo corona passionis. Illud alio modo: illud alio modo: tamen quantum pertinet ad vivere in aeternum, nec ille plus vivet illo, nec ille plus illo. Pariter enim sine fine vivunt, cum in suis quisque claritatibus vivat: et ille denarius vita aeterna est. Non murmuret ergo qui post multum tempus accepit, contra eum qui post modicum tempus accepit. Illi redditur, illi donatur; utrisque tamen una res donatur.
6. The denarius is eternal life. In that wage, then, we shall all be equal, as though the first were last and the last first: for that denarius is eternal life, and in eternal life all will be equal. For although they will shine with a diversity of merits, one more, another less, yet what pertains to eternal life will be equal for all. For it will not be longer for one and shorter for another, since it is everlasting alike: what has no end will have none for you, nor for me. In one way conjugal chastity will be there, in another way virginal integrity will be there; in one way the fruit of good work will be there, in another way the crown of suffering. That in one way, this in another way: yet as far as living for ever is concerned, neither will this one live more than that one, nor that one more than this. For they live alike without end, though each lives in his own splendours: and that denarius is eternal life. Let him then who received after a long time not murmur against him who received after a little time. To the one it is paid, to the other it is given; yet to both one and the same thing is given.
CAPUT V. — 7. Quomodo aliter intelliguntur vocati hora prima, tertia, etc. Est et in ista vita simile aliquid, et excepta illa solutione similitudinis hujus, qua intelliguntur prima hora vocati Abel et ipsius saeculi justi, tertia Abraham et ipsius saeculi justi, sexta Moyses et Aaron et ipsius saeculi justi, nona Prophetae et ipsius saeculi justi, undecima tanquam in fine saeculi Christiani omnes; excepta solutione ista similitudinis hujus, et in ista vita nostra potest adverti haec similitudo. Tanquam enim prima hora vocan⟨tu⟩r, qui recentes ab utero matris incipiunt esse christiani; quasi tertia, pueri; quasi sexta, juvenes; quasi nona, vergentes in senium; quasi undecima, omnino decrepiti: unum tamen vitae aeternae denarium omnes accepturi.
Chapter V. — 7. How else those called at the first hour, the third, etc., are understood. There is something similar in this life too: apart from that explanation of this parable, by which Abel and the righteous of his age are understood as called at the first hour, Abraham and the righteous of his age at the third, Moses and Aaron and the righteous of their age at the sixth, the Prophets and the righteous of their age at the ninth, and all Christians, as at the end of the age, at the eleventh; apart from this explanation of this parable, the likeness can be observed in this life of ours as well. For as it were at the first hour are called those who begin to be Christians fresh from their mother's womb; as at the third, children; as at the sixth, young men; as at the ninth, those declining into old age; as at the eleventh, the utterly decrepit: yet all are to receive the one denarius of eternal life.
CAPUT VI. — 8. In eos qui vocati ad vineam venire differunt. Sed attendite et intelligite, fratres mei, ne ideo quisque differat venire ad vineam, quia securus est quoniam quandocumque venerit, ipsum denarium
Chapter VI. — 8. Against those who, called to the vineyard, put off coming. But attend and understand, my brothers, lest anyone put off coming to the vineyard on the ground that he is secure that whenever he comes, the same denarius he
Editors' notes and page, col. 533
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- running head: 533 SERMO LXXXVI[I] (cut off at the right edge of the image)
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- other: Q1a: the English ending was mended ("the same denarius he") to read whole into col 534, which opens "is going to receive."
- other: Q1a: col 532's English ends "although one hour" and reads into this column without "at"; it should end "although at one hour"; the mend belongs in col 532's file, which Q1a did not write (see qa_Q1a.tsv)
- other: Q1a UNSURE: in the last lines of the column the page seems to print "no" where the source here reads "ne" (fratres mei, ne ideo quisque); e against o cannot be settled at this resolution; the source is left as it stands
accepturus est. Securus est quidem quod ipse denarius illi promittitur; sed differre non jubetur. Numquid enim et illi qui sunt ad vineam conducti, quando ad illos exibat paterfamilias, ut conduceret quos invenit hora tertia, et conduxit, verbi gratia, dixerunt illi, Exspecta, non illuc imus nisi hora sexta? aut quos invenit hora sexta, dixerunt, Non imus nisi hora nona? aut quos nona invenit, dixerunt, Non imus nisi undecima? Omnibus enim tantumdem daturus est: quare nos amplius fatigamur? Quid ille daturus sit, et quid facturus sit, penes ipsum consilium est: tu quando vocaris, veni. Merces enim cunctis aequalis promittitur: sed de ipsa hora operandi, magna quaestio est. Si enim illi, verbi gratia, qui vocati sunt hora sexta, in hac aetate corporis constituti, ubi juveniles anni fervent, sicut ipsa hora sexta fervet; si dicerent illi juvenes vocati: Exspecta, audivimus enim in Evangelio, quia omnes unam mercedem accepturi sumus; cum senes facti fuerimus, hora undecima veniemus; tantumdem accepturi, quare laboraturi? Responderetur eis et diceretur: Laborare non vis, qui utrum vivas usque ad senectam, nescis? Sexta hora vocaris, veni. Paterfamilias tibi quidem etiam undecima venienti denarium promisit: sed utrum vivas usque ad septimam, nemo tibi promisit. Non dico, usque ad undecimam, sed usque ad septimam. Quare ergo differs vocantem te, certus de mercede, incertus de die? Vide ne forte quod tibi ille daturus est promittendo, tu tibi auferas differendo. Si hoc recte dicitur de infantibus, tanquam ad horam primam pertinentibus; si recte dicitur de pueris, tanquam ad horam tertiam pertinentibus; si recte dicitur de juvenibus, tanquam in horae sextae flagrantia constitutis: quanto magis recte de decrepitis dicitur, Ecce jam hora undecima est, et adhuc stas, venire piger es?
is going to receive. He is indeed secure that that very denarius is promised to him; but he is not bidden to put it off. For did those too who were hired for the vineyard, when the householder went out to them to hire those whom he found at the third hour, and he hired them, did they, for example, say to him, Wait, we are not going there until the sixth hour? Or did those whom he found at the sixth hour say, We are not going until the ninth hour? Or did those whom he found at the ninth say, We are not going until the eleventh? For he is going to give the same to all: why should we weary ourselves more? What He is going to give, and what He is going to do, the counsel of that rests with Him: you, when you are called, come. For the wage is promised equal to all: but about the very hour of working there is a great question. For if, for example, those who were called at the sixth hour, set in that age of the body when the years of youth are hot, just as the sixth hour itself is hot; if those young men, when called, were to say: Wait, for we have heard in the Gospel that we are all going to receive one wage; when we have become old, we shall come at the eleventh hour; since we are going to receive the same, why are we to labour? It would be answered and said to them: Do you not wish to labour, you who do not know whether you will live until old age? You are called at the sixth hour; come. The householder has indeed promised you a denarius even if you come at the eleventh: but no one has promised you that you will live until the seventh. I do not say until the eleventh, but until the seventh. Why then do you put off Him who calls you, certain of the wage, uncertain of the day? Take care lest perhaps what He is going to give you by promising, you take away from yourself by delaying. If this is rightly said of infants, as belonging to the first hour; if it is rightly said of boys, as belonging to the third hour; if it is rightly said of young men, as set in the blaze of the sixth hour: how much more rightly is it said of the decrepit, See, it is already the eleventh hour, and are you still standing there, slow to come?
CAPUT VII. — 9. Quomodo paterfamilias exiit vocare ad vineam suam. Ecclesia loquitur omnium gentium linguis. An forte non exiit ad te vocandum paterfamilias? Si non exiit, quid est quod loquimur? Nempe nos servi de familia ipsius sumus, conducere operarios missi sumus. Quid ergo stas? Finisti jam annorum numerum, festina ad denarium. Hoc est enim exire patremfamilias, innotescere: quoniam qui in domo est, in abdito est, non videtur ab eis qui foris sunt; cum autem exiit de domo, videtur ab eis qui foris sunt. Christus, quando non intelligitur et non agnoscitur, in secreto est: quando autem agnoscitur, exiit conducere. Ex occulto enim processit ad notitiam: notus est Christus, ubique praedicatur Christus; gloriam Christi omnia quaecumque sunt sub coelo clamant. Fuit irrisibilis quodam modo et reprehensibilis inter Judaeos, visus est humilis, contemptus est. Occultabat enim majestatem, promptam habebat infirmitatem. Contemptum est in illo quod promptum erat, nec cognitum quod occultum erat. Si enim cognovissent, nunquam Dominum gloriae crucifixissent (I Cor. II, 8). Numquid adhuc contemnendus est sedens in coelo, si contemptus est eum penderet in
Chapter VII. — 9. How the householder went out to call to his vineyard. The Church speaks in the tongues of all nations. Or perhaps the householder has not gone out to call you? If he has not gone out, what is it that we are saying? Surely we are servants of his household, we have been sent to hire labourers. Why then are you standing there? You have already completed the number of your years; hasten to the denarius. For this is what it is for the householder to go out: to become known. For he who is in the house is hidden, he is not seen by those who are outside; but when he has gone out of the house, he is seen by those who are outside. Christ, when He is not understood and not recognized, is in secret: but when He is recognized, He has gone out to hire. For He came forth from hiding into knowledge: Christ is known, Christ is preached everywhere; all things whatsoever that are under heaven proclaim the glory of Christ. He was in a certain way laughable and blameworthy among the Jews; He was seen as lowly, He was despised. For He hid His majesty, He kept His weakness to the fore. What was to the fore in Him was despised, and what was hidden was not known. For if they had known it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Cor. 2:8). Is He still to be despised, now sitting in heaven, if He was despised when He hung on
Editors' notes and page, col. 534
Footnotes
(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 534
Forte, amplius laboraturi.
Perhaps "amplius laboraturi" [who are going to labour longer].
(printed under page 273)
Page
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ligno? Agitaverunt caput qui eum crucifixerunt, et ante crucem ejus stantes, et tanquam ad fructum suae saevitiae pervenientes, insultantes dicebant: Si Filius Dei est, descendat de cruce. Alios salvos fecit, se ipsum salvum facere non potest? Descendat de cruce, et credimus in eum (Matth. XXVII, 39-43). Non descendebat, quia latebat. Multo enim facilius poterat de cruce descendere, qui potuit de sepulcro resurgere. Ad nostram informationem demonstrabat patientiam, differebat potentiam, et non est agnitus. Non enim tunc exierat conducere operarios, non exierat, non innotuerat. Tertio die resurrexit, demonstravit se discipulis, ascendit in coelum, et misit Spiritum sanctum quinquagesimo die post resurrectionem, decimo post ascensionem. Missus Spiritus sanctus implevit omnes qui fuerunt in uno conclavi, centum viginti homines (Act. I, 15). Impleti illi Spiritu sancto, coeperunt loqui linguis omnium gentium, expressa est vocatio, exiit ille conducere. Coepit enim veritatis potentia omnibus innotescere. Nam tunc etiam unus accepto Spiritu sancto, etiam unus loquebatur omnium gentium linguis. Modo autem in Ecclesia ipsa unitas tanquam unus loquitur omnium gentium linguis. Ad quam linguam religio christiana non pervenit? ad quos fines non pertendit? Jam non est qui se abscondat a calore ejus (Psal. XVIII, 7): et adhuc fit mora ab eo qui stat in undecima!
the tree? Those who crucified Him wagged their heads, and standing before His cross, as though arriving at the fruit of their cruelty, they said mockingly: If He is the Son of God, let Him come down from the cross. He saved others, can He not save Himself? Let Him come down from the cross, and we believe in Him (Matt. 27:39–43). He did not come down, because He was hidden. For He could far more easily have come down from the cross, Who was able to rise from the tomb. For our instruction He was displaying patience, He was postponing power, and He was not recognized. For at that time He had not yet gone out to hire labourers; He had not gone out, He had not made Himself known. On the third day He rose again, He showed Himself to the disciples, He ascended into heaven, and He sent the Holy Spirit on the fiftieth day after the resurrection, the tenth after the ascension. The Holy Spirit, when sent, filled all who were in one room, a hundred and twenty men (Acts 1:15). Those men, filled with the Holy Spirit, began to speak in the tongues of all nations; the calling was made plain; He went out to hire. For the power of the truth began to become known to all. For at that time even one man, having received the Holy Spirit, even one man spoke in the tongues of all nations. But now in the Church unity itself, as though one man, speaks in the tongues of all nations. To what tongue has the Christian religion not come? To what bounds has it not reached? Now there is no one who can hide himself from its heat (Ps. 18:7): and still there is delay on the part of him who stands at the eleventh hour!
CAPUT VIII. — 10. Desperatio et perversa spes occidunt animas. Manifestum est ergo, fratres mei, omnino manifestum est, tenete, certi estote, quoniam Deus noster Jesus Christus, quando quisque se converterit ad fidem ipsius, a via sua vel superflua vel nequissima, omnia illi praeterita dimittuntur, et omnino, tanquam donatis debitis, fiunt cum illo tabulae novae. Prorsus omnia dimittuntur. Nemo sit sollicitus, quod aliquid ei non dimittatur. Sed iterum nemo perverse sit securus. Ista enim duo occidunt animas, aut desperatio, aut perversa spes. De his duobus malis pauca audite. Nam sicut liberat bona spes, et recta spes; ita decipit perversa spes. Prius attendite quemadmodum decipiat desperatio. Sunt homines qui cum cogitare coeperint mala quae fecerunt, non sibi putant ignosci posse; et dum non putant posse sibi ignosci, dant animam jam perire, desperatione pereunt, dicentes in cogitationibus suis: Jam nulla nobis spes est; neque enim tanta illa quae commisimus donari nobis aut ignosci possunt; quare ergo non satisfacimus cupiditatibus nostris? Impleamus saltem praesentis temporis voluptatem, quia nullam habemus in futuro mercedem. Faciamus quidquid libet, etsi non licet; ut habeamus suavitatem vel temporalem, quia percipere non meremur aeternam. Talia dicentes desperando pereunt, sive antequam omnino credant, sive jam christiani et in aliqua peccata et scelera male vivendo prolapsi. Procedit ad eos Dominus vineae, et tanquam desperantes et vocanti tergum dantes, pulsat et clamat per prophetam
Chapter VIII. — 10. Despair and perverse hope kill souls. It is plain, then, my brothers, entirely plain: hold it fast, be certain of it, that our God Jesus Christ, when anyone has turned to faith in Him from his way, whether vain or most wicked, all things past are forgiven him, and entirely, as though his debts had been remitted, there are new tablets drawn up with him. Absolutely everything is forgiven. Let no one be anxious that something may not be forgiven him. But again, let no one be perversely secure. For these two things kill souls: either despair or perverse hope. Hear a few words about these two evils. For just as good hope, right hope, sets free, so perverse hope deceives. First observe how despair deceives. There are men who, when they have begun to reflect on the evils they have done, think that they cannot be forgiven; and while they think that they cannot be forgiven, they give up their soul to perish at once, they perish by despair, saying in their thoughts: Now there is no hope for us; for those great things that we have committed cannot be pardoned or forgiven us; why then do we not satisfy our desires? Let us at least fill ourselves with the pleasure of the present time, since we have no reward in the future. Let us do whatever we please, even if it is not lawful, so that we may have sweetness, even if only temporal, since we do not deserve to receive eternal sweetness. Saying such things, they perish by despairing, whether before they believe at all, or when already Christians and fallen into some sins and crimes by living wickedly. The Lord of the vineyard comes out to them, and as they despair and turn their back on Him Who calls, He knocks and cries out through the prophet
Editors' notes and page, col. 535
Footnotes
(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 535
Aliquot Mss., exsultantes.
Some manuscripts: "exsultantes" [exulting].
(printed under page 274)
(2) ‹anchor: dant animam› · call in col 535
Mss., animum.
The manuscripts: "animum" [mind].
(printed under page 274)
(3) ‹anchor: desperantes et vocanti› · call in col 535
Sic aliquot Mss. At editi, vocantes.
So some manuscripts. But the printed editions: "vocantes" [calling].
(printed under page 274)
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Ezechielem : In quacumque die conversus fuerit homo a via sua pessima, omnes iniquitates ejus obliviscar (Ezech. XVIII, 21-22). Hac voce audita et credita, a desperatione recreantur, et ab illa altissima et profunda voragine, qua submersi fuerant, emergunt.
Ezekiel: On whatever day a man has turned from his most wicked way, I will forget all his iniquities (Ezek. 18:21–22). When this word has been heard and believed, they are revived from despair, and they come up out of that very deep and profound abyss in which they had been sunk.
CAPUT IX. — 11. Spes perversa qua differtur conversio. Diem crastinum Deus nemini promisit. Sed his timendum est, ne in aliam voraginem incurrant, et perverse sperando moriantur, qui desperando mori non potuerunt. Mutant enim cogitationes longe quidem diversas, sed non minus perniciosas; et rursus incipiunt dicere in cordibus suis : Si quacumque die conversus fuero a via mea pessima, Deus misericors, sicut veraciter per Prophetam promisit, omnes iniquitates meas obliviscitur, quare hodie convertor, et non cras? Quare hodie, et non cras? Eat hodiernus dies sicut hesternus, sit in nequissima voluptate, sit in flagitiorum gurgite, volutetur in mortifera delectatione : cras convertar, et finis est. Respondetur tibi : Cujus rei finis? Dicis : Iniquitatum mearum. Bene, gaude, quia crastino iniquitatum tuarum erit finis. Quid, si ante crastinum tuus erit finis? Ergo bene quidem gaudes, quia propter iniquitates tuas converso tibi indulgentiam Deus promisit : sed crastinum diem tibi nemo promisit. Aut si forte promisit mathematicus, longe aliud est quam Deus. Multos mathematici fefellerunt, quia et sibi plerumque lucra promiserunt, et damna invenerunt, Ergo etiam propter istos male sperantes, procedit paterfamilias. Quemadmodum processit ad illos qui male desperaverant, et perierant desperando, et revocavit eos in spem : sic procedit etiam ad istos qui male sperando volunt perire; et dicit eis per alium librum, Ne tardes converti ad Dominum. Quomodo illis dixerat, In quacumque die iniquus conversus fuerit a via sua pessima, omnes iniquitates ejus obliviscar; et tulit eis desperationem, qua jam dederant animam suam perditioni, omni modo indulgentiam desperantes : sic procedit etiam ad istos qui sperando et differendo volunt perire; et loquitur ad eos, et increpat eos, Ne tardes converti ad Dominum, neque differas de die in diem. Subito enim veniet ira ejus, et in tempore vindictae disperdet te (Eccli. V, 8, 9). Ergo noli differre, noli quod patet contra te claudere. Ecce indulgentiae dator aperit tibi ostium; quid moraris? Gaudere deberes, si aperiret aliquando pulsanti : non pulsasti, et aperit, et foris remanes? Ne ergo differas. De misericordiae operibus quodam loco Scriptura dicit, Ne dixeris, Vade et revertere, cras ego dabo; cum possis continuo bene facere (Prov. III, 28) : non enim scis quid contingat sequenti die. Audisti praeceptum non differendi ut in alium sis misericors, et differendo in te es crudelis? Non debes differre panem daturus, et differs indulgentiam accepturus! Si miserando
Chapter IX. — 11. The perverse hope by which conversion is put off. God has promised tomorrow to no one. But for these it is to be feared that they may run into another abyss, and die by hoping perversely, they who could not die by despairing. For they change their thoughts to ones far different indeed, but no less pernicious; and again they begin to say in their hearts: If on whatever day I have turned from my most wicked way, God, being merciful, forgets all my iniquities, as He truly promised through the Prophet, why should I turn today, and not tomorrow? Why today, and not tomorrow? Let today go by as yesterday did, let it be spent in most wicked pleasure, let it be spent in the whirlpool of shameful deeds, let it wallow in deadly delight: tomorrow I will turn, and that is the end. The answer comes to you: The end of what? You say: Of my iniquities. Good, rejoice, because tomorrow there will be an end of your iniquities. What if before tomorrow there is an end of you? So you rightly rejoice indeed, because God has promised you pardon for your iniquities once you have turned; but no one has promised you tomorrow. Or if perhaps an astrologer has promised it, that is something far different from God. Astrologers have deceived many, because they have often promised gains even to themselves, and met with losses. Therefore on account of these too who hope wrongly, the householder goes out. Just as He went out to those who had wrongly despaired, and had perished by despairing, and called them back to hope: so He goes out also to these who wish to perish by hoping wrongly; and He says to them through another book, Do not delay to turn to the Lord. Just as He had said to those, On whatever day the wicked man has turned from his most wicked way, I will forget all his iniquities; and He took from them the despair by which they had already given their soul over to perdition, despairing of pardon altogether: so He goes out also to these who wish to perish by hoping and putting off; and He speaks to them, and rebukes them, Do not delay to turn to the Lord, and do not put it off from day to day. For suddenly His wrath will come, and in the time of vengeance He will destroy you (Sir. 5:8–9). So do not put it off, do not shut against yourself what stands open. See, the Giver of pardon opens the door to you; why do you delay? You ought to rejoice if He were to open at some time to you when you knocked: you have not knocked, and He opens, and do you remain outside? Do not therefore put it off. Concerning works of mercy Scripture says in a certain place, Do not say, Go and come back, tomorrow I will give; when you can do good at once (Prov. 3:28): for you do not know what may happen on the following day. You have heard the precept of not putting off, so that you may be merciful towards another, and by putting off are you cruel towards yourself? You ought not to put off when you are about to give bread, and do you put off when you are about to receive pardon! If by showing mercy
Editors' notes and page, col. 536
Footnotes
(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 536
Mss. alii, Et hodiernus; alii cum Am. et Er., Erit hodiernus.
Some manuscripts: "And today's"; others, with Am. and Er.: "There will be today's."
(printed under page 274)
(2) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 536
Aliquot Mss., Bene gaudes. Et infra, Ergo quid est? Bene gaudes quia propter, etc.
Some manuscripts: "You do well to rejoice." And below: "What is it, then? You do well to rejoice because on account of," etc.
(printed under page 274)
(3) ‹anchor: mathematici fefellerunt› · call in col 536
Sic Mss. At editi, longe aliud est. Quam, o Deus, multi, etc.
So the manuscripts. But the printed editions: "it is a far different thing. How many, O God," etc.
(printed under page 274)
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alterum non differs, miserere et animae tuae placens Deo (Eccli. XXX, 24). Exhibe et animae tuae eleemosynam. Non dicimus ut tu ei des, sed ne repellas manum dantis.
you do not put off the other, have mercy also on your own soul, pleasing God (Sir. 30:24). Show almsgiving to your own soul as well. We do not say that you should give to it, but that you should not push away the hand of the one who gives.
CAPUT X. — 12. Potentium amicitiam, cum saluti obest, contemnendam docet Christus. Sed aliquando homines inde sibi plurimum nocent, cum alios offendere timent. Multum valent et boni amici ad bonum, et mali amici ad malum. Ideo Dominus, ut pro salute nostra potentium amicitias contemnamus, noluit prius eligere senatores, sed piscatores. Magna artificis misericordia. Sciebat enim quia si eligeret senatorem, diceret senator: Dignitas mea electa est. Si prius eligeret divitem, diceret dives: Opulentia mea electa est. Si prius eligeret imperatorem, diceret imperator: Potestas mea electa est. Si prius eligeret oratorem, diceret orator: Eloquentia mea electa est. Si eligeret philosophum, diceret philosophus: Sapientia mea electa est. Interim, inquit, differantur superbi isti, multum tument. Distat autem inter magnitudinem et tumorem: utrumque grande est; sed non utrumque sanum est. Differantur ergo, inquit, isti superbi, aliqua soliditate sanandi sunt. Da mihi, inquit, prius istum piscatorem. Veni tu, pauper, sequere me; nihil habes, nihil nosti, sequere me. Idiota pauper, sequere me. Non est quod in te expavescatur, sed multum est quod in te impleatur. Tam largo fonti vas inane admovendum est. Dimisit retia piscator, accepit gratiam peccator, et factus est divinus orator. Ecce quid fecit Dominus, de quo dicit Apostolus: Infirma mundi elegit Deus, ut confundat fortia; et ignobilia mundi elegit Deus, et ea quae non sunt tanquam quae sint, ut ea quae sunt evacuentur (I Cor. I, 27 et 28). Denique leguntur modo verba piscatorum, et colla subduntur oratorum. Tollantur ergo de medio inanes venti; tollatur de medio fumus, qui crescendo evanescit; prorsus pro salute ista contemnantur.
Chapter X. — 12. Christ teaches that the friendship of the powerful is to be despised when it stands in the way of salvation. But sometimes people do themselves very great harm in this respect, when they are afraid of offending others. Good friends have great power for good, and bad friends for evil. Therefore the Lord, so that we might despise the friendships of the powerful for the sake of our salvation, did not wish to choose senators first, but fishermen. Great is the mercy of the Craftsman. For He knew that if He chose a senator, the senator would say: My rank has been chosen. If He first chose a rich man, the rich man would say: My wealth has been chosen. If He first chose an emperor, the emperor would say: My power has been chosen. If He first chose an orator, the orator would say: My eloquence has been chosen. If He chose a philosopher, the philosopher would say: My wisdom has been chosen. Meanwhile, He says, let these proud men be put off; they are much swollen. Now there is a difference between greatness and swelling: each is large, but not both are healthy. Let these proud men be put off, then, He says; they must be healed by some solidity. Give Me first, He says, this fisherman. Come, you poor man, follow Me; you have nothing, you know nothing, follow Me. Unlettered poor man, follow Me. There is nothing in you to be dreaded, but there is much to be filled in you. To so abundant a fountain an empty vessel must be brought. The fisherman left his nets, the sinner received grace, and became a divine orator. See what the Lord did, of Whom the Apostle says: God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the strong; and God has chosen the ignoble things of the world, and the things which are not as though they were, so that the things which are might be brought to nothing (1 Cor. 1:27–28). In the end, the words of fishermen are now read, and the necks of orators are bowed beneath them. Let the empty winds, then, be removed from our midst; let the smoke be removed from our midst, which vanishes as it grows; let these things be utterly despised for the sake of salvation.
13. Christo medico obediendum, contemptis potentibus qui ei adversantur. Si quisquam corpore aegrotaret in civitate, et esset ibi aliquis peritissimus medicus, amicis aegroti potentibus inimicus: si quisquam ergo in civitate aliquo periculoso morbo corporis aegrotaret, et esset in eadem civitate peritissimus medicus, amicis, ut dixi, aegrotantis potentibus inimicus, qui dicerent amico suo, Noli eum adhibere, nihil novit: dicerent autem, non judicante animo, sed invidente: nonne ille pro salute sua removeret amicorum potentium fabulas, et ut paucis diebus plus viveret, cum illorum qualibet offensione, pellendo sui corporis morbo medicum illum, quem peritissimum fama commendaverat, adhiberet?
13. Christ the physician is to be obeyed, the powerful who oppose Him being despised. If someone were sick in body in a city, and there were in it a most skilful physician, an enemy of the sick man's powerful friends: if, then, someone in a city were sick with some dangerous bodily disease, and there were in the same city a most skilful physician, an enemy, as I said, of the sick man's powerful friends, who would say to their friend, Do not call him in, he knows nothing: and they would say it not from a judging mind but from an envious one: would that man not, for the sake of his health, set aside the talk of his powerful friends, and, in order to live a few days longer, at the cost of any offence to them, call in that physician whom report had recommended as most skilful, to drive out the disease of his body?
CAPUT XI. — Aegrotat humanum genus, non morbis corporis, sed peccatis. Jacet toto orbe terrarum ab oriente usque in occidentem grandis aegrotus. Ad sanandum grandem aegrotum descendit omnipotens medicus. Humiliavit se usque ad mortalem carnem, tanquam usque ad lectum aegrotantis. Dat salutis
Chapter XI. — The human race is sick, not with diseases of the body, but with sins. Over the whole world, from the east even to the west, lies a great sick man. To heal the great sick man the almighty Physician came down. He humbled Himself even to mortal flesh, as if even to the sick man's bed. He gives saving
Editors' notes and page, col. 537
Footnotes
(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 537
Nonnulli Mss., Magna ars misericordiae.
Some manuscripts: "Great is the art of mercy."
(printed under page 275)
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- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the word salutis was split at the column break and stands whole here (joined on receipt); check that the English reads whole across the break into col 538
praecepta, contemnitur : qui audiunt, liberantur. Contemnitur, cum dicunt amici potentes, Nihil novit. Si nihil nosset, potentia ejus gentes non impleret. Si nihil nosset, non esset antequam apud nos e⟨s⟩set. Si nihil nosset, Prophetas ante se non mitteret. Nonne modo implentur quae ante praedicta sunt? Nonne probat medicus iste artis suae potentiam promissa complendo? Nonne per totum mundum perniciosi evertuntur errores, et tritura mundi domantur cupiditates? Nemo dicat, Antea melior erat mundus quam modo : ex quo coepit iste medicus artem suam exercere, multa hic videmus horrenda. Noli mirari. Antequam aliquis curaretur, munda a sanguine statio medici videbatur : imo jam tu hoc videns excute vanas delicias, veni ad medicum ; sanitatis tempus est, non voluptatis.
precepts, He is despised: those who listen are set free. He is despised when powerful friends say, He knows nothing. If He knew nothing, His power would not fill the nations. If He knew nothing, He would not have existed before He was among us. If He knew nothing, He would not have sent the Prophets before Him. Are not the things that were foretold before now being fulfilled? Does not this physician prove the power of His art by fulfilling His promises? Are not pernicious errors being overthrown throughout the whole world, and are not desires being tamed by the threshing of the world? Let no one say, The world was better before than now: since this physician began to practise His art, we see many horrible things here. Do not be surprised. Before anyone was being cured, the physician's surgery seemed clean of blood: rather, now that you see this, shake off empty delights and come to the physician; it is a time for health, not for pleasure.
14. Phrenetici, Lethargici. Curemur ergo, fratres. Si necdum medicum agnoscimus, non in eum tanquam phrenetici saeviamus, non ab eo tanquam lethargici avertamur. Multi enim saeviendo, multi dormiendo perierunt. Phrenetici sunt, qui non dormiendo insaniunt. Lethargici sunt, qui multum dormiendo premuntur. Prorsus tales sunt homines. Contra istum medicum alii saevire in eum volunt ; et quoniam ipse jam in coelo sedet, membra ejus fideles in terra persequuntur. Curat et tales. Multi ex eis conversi ex inimicis facti sunt amici, ex persecutoribus facti sunt praedicatores. Tales etiam ipsos Judaeos, in se ipsum, cum hic esset, saevientes, tanquam phreneticos sanavit, pro quibus in ligno pendens oravit. Dixit enim : Pater, ignosce illis, quia nesciunt quid faciunt (Luc. XXIII, 34). Multi tamen eorum, sedato furore, tanquam phrenesi oppressa, cognoverunt Deum, cognoverunt Christum. Post ascensionem misso Spiritu sancto, conversi sunt ad eum quem crucifixerunt, et in Sacramento credentes sanguinem ejus biberunt, quem saeviendo fuderunt.
14. The frenzied, the lethargic. Let us therefore be cured, brothers. If we do not yet acknowledge the physician, let us not rage against Him like the frenzied, let us not turn away from Him like the lethargic. For many have perished by raging, many by sleeping. The frenzied are those who go mad from not sleeping. The lethargic are those who are weighed down by much sleeping. Men are exactly like this. Against this physician some want to rage against Him; and since He Himself now sits in heaven, they persecute His faithful members on earth. He cures such people too. Many of them, converted, have from enemies become friends, from persecutors have become preachers. Such too were the Jews themselves, raging against Him when He was here, whom He healed like the frenzied, for whom He prayed as He hung on the tree. For He said: Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luke 23:34). Many of them nevertheless, their fury calmed, as though the frenzy had been suppressed, came to know God, came to know Christ. After the Ascension, when the Holy Spirit had been sent, they were converted to Him Whom they had crucified, and believing in the Sacrament they drank His blood, which they had shed in their raging.
CAPUT XII. — 15. Conclusio. Habemus exempla. Persequebatur membra ejus jam sedentis in coelo Saulus : persequebatur graviter in phrenesi, mente perdita, morbo nimio. At ille una voce de coelo clamans ei, Saule, Saule, quid me persequeris? percussit phreneticum, erexit sanum ; occidit persecutorem, vivificavit praedicatorem (Act. IX, 4). Etiam lethargici multi sanantur. Ipsis enim similes sunt, qui non saeviunt in Christum, nec malitiosi sunt adversus Christianos ; sed tantum differendo languescunt verbis somnolentis, in lucem oculos extendere pigrescunt, et qui eos excitare volunt, molesti sunt. Recede a me, inquit languidus lethargicus, obsecro te, recede a me. Quare? Dormire volo. Sed morieris inde. Ille amore somni, Mori volo, ⟨r⟩espondet. Et charitas desuper, Nolo. Plerumque istum charitatis affectum exhibet filius etiam patri seni morituro post paucos dies, jam utique aetate finita. Si lethargicum
Chapter XII. — 15. Conclusion. We have examples. Saul was persecuting the members of Him Who was already seated in heaven: he was persecuting grievously in a frenzy, his mind lost, his disease extreme. But He, crying to him with a single voice from heaven, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? struck down the frenzied man and raised up a healthy one; He killed the persecutor and brought the preacher to life (Acts 9:4). Many of the lethargic too are healed. For like them are those who do not rage against Christ, nor are malicious towards Christians; but only by putting off they grow languid with sleepy words, they are too sluggish to open their eyes to the light, and those who want to rouse them are a nuisance to them. Go away from me, says the languid lethargic man, I beg you, go away from me. Why? I want to sleep. But you will die of it. He, out of love of sleep, answers, I want to die. And charity from above, I do not want it. Often a son shows this affection of charity even to an aged father who is to die in a few days, his life being now surely at its end. If, [his father being] lethargic,
Editors' notes and page, col. 538
Footnotes
(1) ‹anchor: non mitteret› · call in col 538
Sic meliores Mss. At editi, Si nihil esset, non esset ante quam apud nos esset. Prophetas ante se non mitteret.
So the better manuscripts. But the printed editions: "If He were nothing, He would not have been before He was among us. He would not send prophets before Him."
(printed under page 275)
(2) ‹anchor: medicum agnoscimus› · call in col 538
Aliquot Mss., si medicum agnoscimus.
Some manuscripts: "if we recognize the physician."
(printed under page 275)
(3) ‹anchor: adversus Christianos› · call in col 538
In quibusdam libris, nec molesti sunt adversus Christianos.
In some books: "nor are they troublesome towards Christians."
(printed under page 275)
Page
- running head: SERMO LXXXVII. 538
- marginal letters: (none)
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: QA Q1b: the column opens with the tail of a word split at the column break (it stands whole at the end of col 537, not restored here); the Latin tail left in the English of this column's first line was removed. The English of col 537 still ends on a broken half-word and must be completed there (the word translating the last Latin word of col 537), so that it reads whole into this column
- other: QA Q1b: the last word of the column was split at the column break and stands whole here; the English at the break was garbled on receipt and has been mended to read whole into col 539 (col 539 needs no change)