PL 38 · cols. 618–624

Augustine, Sermones 105-112 (Classis I, de Scripturis)

Sermon CV

SERMO CV. De verbis Evangelii Lucae, Quis vestrum habebit amicum, et ibit ad illum media nocte, etc., cap. XI ℣. 5-13.

Sermon CV. On the words of the Gospel of Luke, "Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight", etc., ch. 11, vv. 5-13.

CAPUT PRIMUM. — 1. Ad petendum a Deo, similitudinibus Christus hortatur. Audivimus nos exhortantem Dominum nostrum, coelestem magistrum, et fidelissimum consiliarium, eumdem hortatorem, ut petamus, et datorem cum petimus. Audivimus eum in Evangelio hortantem nos eum petere instanter, et pulsare usque ad similitudinem improbitatis. Proposuit enim nobis, exempli gratia: Si quis vestrum haberet amicum, a quo nocte peteret tres panes, cum illi amicus de via venisset, et quod ei apponeret non haberet: si autem ille respondeat jam se requiescere, et servos suos secum, nec debere illius precibus inquietari, ille autem pulsando instet et perseveret, nec pudore territus abscedat, sed necessitate coactus immineat: surrecturum illum, etsi non propter amicitiam, certe propter illius improbitatem, et daturum ei quantos voluerit. Quantos autem voluit? Nihil plus ille voluit quam tres. In hac ergo similitudine adjunxit hortationem Dominus, et omnino stimulavit

Chapter One. — 1. Christ exhorts us by similitudes to ask of God. We have heard our Lord, the heavenly Master and most faithful Counsellor, exhorting us, the same One Who urges us to ask and is the Giver when we ask. We have heard Him in the Gospel urging us to ask insistently, and to knock even to the point of seeming shamelessness. For He set before us, by way of example: if any of you had a friend from whom he asked three loaves by night, since a friend of his had come to him from a journey and he had nothing to set before him; and if that man should answer that he was already at rest, and his servants with him, and that he ought not to be disturbed by his entreaties, but the other should press on by knocking and persevere, and not go away deterred by shame, but, compelled by need, should keep pressing: [He said] that he would get up, if not on account of friendship, at least on account of the other's shamelessness, and would give him as many as he wanted. But how many did he want? He wanted nothing more than three. In this similitude, therefore, the Lord added an exhortation, and altogether spurred

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Footnotes

(*) ‹anchor: SERMO CV› · call in col 618 Recensitus est ad omnes codices scriptos et excusos in sermone praecedenti modo designatos.

It has been collated with all the manuscript and printed codices just now specified at the preceding sermon.

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(a) ‹anchor: SERMO CV› · call in col 618

Alias 29 de Verbis Domini.

Formerly 29 de Verbis Domini ("On the Words of the Lord").

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nos petere, quaerere, pulsare, donec accipiamus quod petimus, quod quaerimus, quod pulsamus, usus exemplo a contrario: sicut de illo judice qui nec Deum timebat, nec homines reverebatur, et tamen eum cum quaedam vidua interpellaret quotidie, taedio victus dedit quod beneficio non potuit invitus (Luc. XVIII, 1-8). Dominus autem noster Jesus Christus inter nos petitor, cum Patre dator, non utique nos tantum hortaretur ut peteremus, nisi dare vellet. Erubescat humana pigritia: plus vult ille dare, quam nos accipere: plus vult ille misereri, quam nos a miseria liberari: et utique si nòn liberati fuerimus, nos miseri remanebimus. Nam ille quod nos hortatur, propter nos hortatur.

us to ask, to seek, to knock, until we receive what we ask, what we seek, what we knock for, using an example from the contrary: as of that judge who neither feared God nor respected men, and yet, when a certain widow pestered him daily, overcome by weariness he gave unwillingly what he could not give out of kindness (Luke 18:1–8). But our Lord Jesus Christ, a petitioner among us, a giver with the Father, would certainly not urge us so much to ask unless He wished to give. Let human sloth blush: He wishes more to give than we to receive; He wishes more to show mercy than we to be freed from misery; and surely, if we are not freed, it is we who will remain miserable. For what He urges us to, He urges for our sake.

CAPUT II. — 2. Amicus de via veniens reficiendus. Evigilemus, et hortanti credamus, promittenti obsequamur, et ad dantem gaudeamus. Fortassis enim et nobis aliquando venit amicus de via, et non invenimus quod ei apponeremus; et necessitatem passi sumus, et accepimus et nobis et illi. Fieri enim non potest, nisi ut aliquis passus fuerit amicum aliquid interrogantem, quod respondere non possit: et tunc se invenit non habere, quando coactus est dare. Venit tibi amicus de via, id est, de vita hujus saeculi, in qua omnes velut peregrini transeunt, nec ullus quasi possessor manet; sed omni homini dicitur: Refectus es, transi; age iter, da venturo locum (Eccli. XXIX, 33). Aut forte de via mala, hoc est, de vita mala, fatigatus nescio quis amicus tuus, non inveniens veritatem, qua audita et percepta beatus fiat, sed lassatus in omni cupiditate et egestate saeculi, venit ad te, tanquam ad christianum, et dicit: Redde mihi rationem, fac me Christianum. Et interrogat quod forte tu per simplicitatem fidei nesciebas: et non est unde reficias esurientem, et te admonitus invenis indigentem; et cum vis docere, cogeris discere: et dum erubescis eum qui interrogavit, quod quaerebat non in te inveniens, compelleris quaerere, ut merearis invenire.

Chapter II. — 2. The friend coming from a journey is to be refreshed. Let us wake up, and believe Him Who exhorts, comply with Him Who promises, and rejoice at Him Who gives. For perhaps to us too there has at some time come a friend from a journey, and we did not find anything to set before him; and we suffered need, and we received both for ourselves and for him. For it cannot be but that someone has had a friend asking him something which he cannot answer; and then he finds that he does not have, when he is compelled to give. A friend comes to you from a journey, that is, from the life of this world, in which all pass through like pilgrims, and no one remains as an owner; but to every man it is said: You have been refreshed, pass on; go your way, give place to the one who is to come (Ecclus. 29:33). Or perhaps from a bad way, that is, from a bad life, some friend of yours or other, wearied, not finding the truth by hearing and receiving which he might become blessed, but exhausted in every desire and want of the world, comes to you, as to a Christian, and says: Give me an account, make me a Christian. And he asks what perhaps you, through the simplicity of faith, did not know; and there is nothing with which you may refresh the hungry man, and, being admonished, you find yourself in need; and when you wish to teach, you are compelled to learn; and while you blush before him who asked, not finding in yourself what he was seeking, you are compelled to seek, so that you may deserve to find.

3. Amicus alius media nocte interpellatus ut det tres panes. Et ubi quaeras? Ubi, nisi in dominicis Libris? Fortassis quod ille interrogavit, in libro positum est, sed obscurum est. Forte dixit hoc Apostolus in Epistola sua. Sic dixit, ut legere possis, intelligere non possis: transire non permitteris. Urget enim interrogator; ipsum Paulum, aut Petrum, aut aliquem prophetam interrogare non sineris. Jam enim requiescit familia ista cum Domino suo, et saeculi hujus ignorantia valida est, hoc est, nox media, et urget amicus esuriens. Tibi forte sufficiebat simplex fides, illi non sufficit. Numquid deserendus est? numquid de domo projiciendus est?

3. Another friend, pestered at midnight to give three loaves. And where are you to seek? Where, if not in the Lord's Books? Perhaps what he asked is set down in the book, but it is obscure. Perhaps the Apostle said this in his Epistle. He said it in such a way that you can read it, but cannot understand it: you are not permitted to pass it by. For the questioner presses; you are not allowed to question Paul himself, or Peter, or some prophet. For that household is already at rest with its Lord, and the ignorance of this world is strong, that is, it is midnight, and the hungry friend presses. For you perhaps simple faith sufficed; for him it does not suffice. Is he to be abandoned? Is he to be thrown out of the house?

CAPUT III. — Ergo ad ipsum Dominum, ad ipsum cum quo familia requiescit, pulsa orando, pete, insta. Non quomodo amicus ille in similitudine positus, taedio victus surget et dabit. Dare vult: tu pulsans nondum accepisti; pulsa, dare vult. Et quod dare vult, differt, ut amplius desideres dilatum, ne vilescat cito datum.

Chapter III. — Therefore to the Lord Himself, to Him with Whom the household is at rest, knock by praying, ask, persist. Not in the way that the friend set in the parable, overcome by weariness, will rise and give. He wishes to give: you, knocking, have not yet received; knock, He wishes to give. And what He wishes to give, He defers, so that you may desire more greatly what is delayed, lest what is given quickly become cheap.

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4. Tres panes dati. Cum autem perveneris ad tres panes, hoc est, ad cibum et intelligentiam Trinitatis, habes et unde vivas, et unde pascas. Nec peregrinum venientem de via reformides, sed excipiendo civem domesticum facias: nec timeas ne finias. Non panis ille finietur, sed indigentiam tuam finiet. Panis est, et panis est, et panis est: Deus Pater, Deus Filius, Deus Spiritus sanctus. Aeternus Pater, coaeternus Filius, coaeternus Spiritus sanctus. Incommutabilis Pater, incommutabilis Filius, incommutabilis Spiritus sanctus. Creator et Pater, et Filius, et Spiritus sanctus. Pastor et vitae dator, et Pater, et Filius, et Spiritus sanctus. Cibus et panis aeternus, et Pater, et Filius, et Spiritus sanctus. Disce, et doce; vive, et pasce. Deus qui tibi dat, nihil melius quam se tibi dat. Avare, quid aliud quaerebas? Aut si aliud petas, quid tibi sufficit, cui Deus non sufficit?

4. Three loaves given. But when you have come to the three loaves, that is, to the food and understanding of the Trinity, you have both that whereby you may live and that whereby you may feed [others]. Do not dread the stranger coming from the road, but by receiving him make him a fellow citizen of the household; and do not fear that you will run out. That bread will not run out, but it will put an end to your want. It is bread, and it is bread, and it is bread: God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. Eternal the Father, coeternal the Son, coeternal the Holy Spirit. Unchangeable the Father, unchangeable the Son, unchangeable the Holy Spirit. Creator are both the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Shepherd and giver of life are both the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Food and eternal bread are both the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Learn, and teach; live, and feed. God, Who gives to you, gives you nothing better than Himself. Covetous man, what else were you seeking? Or if you ask for something else, what suffices for you, for whom God does not suffice?

CAPUT IV. — 5. Fides, spes, charitas, Dei dona. Sed opus est ut habeas charitatem, habeas fidem, habeas spem: ut possit tibi dulce esse quod datur. Et haec ipsa tria sunt, fides, spes, charitas. Et haec ipsa dona Dei sunt. Nam fidem ab ipso accepimus: Sicut Deus, inquit, unicuique partitus est mensuram fidei (Rom. XII, 3). Et spem ab ipso accepimus, cui dicitur: In quo spem dedisti mihi (Psal. CXVIII, 49). Et charitatem ab ipso accepimus, de quo dicitur: Charitas Dei diffusa est in cordibus nostris per Spiritum sanctum, qui datus est nobis (Rom. V, 5). Sed haec itidem tria aliquantulum sunt diversa; sed omnia Dei dona. Manent enim tria haec, fides, spes, charitas: major autem horum charitas (I Cor. XIII, 13). In illis panibus non est dictus aliquis panis major aliis: sed simpliciter petiti, et dati tres panes.

Chapter IV. — 5. Faith, hope, charity, gifts of God. But you need to have charity, to have faith, to have hope, so that what is given may be sweet to you. And these are themselves three: faith, hope, charity. And these are themselves gifts of God. For we have received faith from Him: As God, it says, has apportioned to each one the measure of faith (Rom. 12:3). And we have received hope from Him, to Whom it is said: Wherein Thou hast given me hope (Ps. 118:49). And we have received charity from Him, of Whom it is said: The charity of God is poured forth in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, Who has been given to us (Rom. 5:5). But these three likewise are somewhat different; yet all are gifts of God. For there abide these three, faith, hope, charity: but the greatest of these is charity (1 Cor. 13:13). Among those loaves no one loaf was said to be greater than the others: but three loaves were simply asked for, and given.

6. Tria eadem rursus significata. Panis, charitas. Piscis, fides. Ecce alia tria: Quis est vestrum, a quo petit filius suus panem, numquid lapidem porriget ei? Aut quis est vestrum, a quo petit piscem, numquid serpentem porriget ei? Aut a quo petit ovum, numquid porriget ei scorpionem? Si ergo vos, cum sitis mali, nostis bona data dare filiis vestris; quanto magis Pater vester qui in coelis est, dabit bona petentibus se? Tria ergo rursus ista consideremus, ne forte ibi sint illa tria, fides, spes, charitas: major autem horum charitas. Pone ergo tria, panem, piscem, ovum: major horum panis. Ideo bene panem intelligimus in his tribus charitatem. Propterea pani lapidem opposuit, quia duritia contraria est charitati. Piscem fidem intelligimus. Dixit quidam sanctus, et nos dicere delectat: Piscis bonus, pia est fides. Vivit inter fluctus, nec frangitur aut solvitur fluctibus. Vivit inter tentationes tempestatesque hujus saeculi, pia fides: saevit mundus, et integra est. Tantum contrarium fidei serpentem illum observa. In fide enim desponsata est illa, cui dicitur in Canticis canticorum: Veni de Libano, sponsa mea, veniens et pertransiens ab initio fidei (Cant. IV, 8). Ideo et desponsata, quia desponsationis initium fides est. Promittitur enim ab sponso aliquid, et promissa fide detinetur. Opposuit autem Dominus serpentem pisci, diabolum fidei. Propterea

6. The same three signified again. Bread, charity. Fish, faith. Behold another three: Which of you is there, from whom his son asks bread, will he hand him a stone? Or which of you is there, from whom he asks a fish, will he hand him a serpent? Or from whom he asks an egg, will he hand him a scorpion? If then you, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father Who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him? Let us therefore consider these three again, lest perhaps those three be there, faith, hope, charity: but the greatest of these is charity. Set down, then, the three, bread, fish, egg: the greatest of these is bread. Therefore among these three we rightly understand bread as charity. For this reason He set a stone against the bread, because hardness is contrary to charity. By the fish we understand faith. A certain holy man said, and it delights us to say it too: A good fish is pious faith. It lives amid the waves, and is not broken or dissolved by the waves. Pious faith lives amid the temptations and tempests of this world: the world rages, and it remains whole. Observe that serpent, so great an adversary of faith. For she was betrothed in faith, to whom it is said in the Song of Songs: Come from Lebanon, my bride, coming and passing through from the beginning of faith (Song 4:8). Therefore also betrothed, because the beginning of betrothal is faith. For something is promised by the bridegroom, and it is held fast by the faith pledged. Now the Lord set the serpent against the fish, the devil against faith. Therefore

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desponsatae huic dicit Apostolus, Desponsavi vos uni viro, virginem castam exhibere Christo: et, Timeo ne sicut serpens Evam seduxit astutia sua, sic et vestri sensus corrumpantur a castitate quae est in Christo (II Cor. XI, 2, 3); id est, quae est in fide Christi. Habitare enim, inquit, Christum per fidem in cordibus vestris (Ephes. III, 17). Diabolus ergo non corrumpat fidem, non devoret piscem.

the Apostle says to this betrothed: I have betrothed you to one husband, to present a chaste virgin to Christ; and: I fear lest, as the serpent seduced Eve by his cunning, so your minds too may be corrupted from the chastity which is in Christ (2 Cor. 11:2–3); that is, which is in the faith of Christ. For, he says, that Christ may dwell by faith in your hearts (Eph. 3:17). So let the devil not corrupt faith, let him not devour the fish.

CAPUT V. — 7. Ovum, spes. Restat spes, quae, quantum mihi videtur, ovo comparatur. Spes enim nondum pervenit ad rem: et ovum est aliquid, sed nondum est pullus. Quadrupedes ergo filios pariunt, aves autem spem filiorum. Spes ergo ad hoc nos hortatur, ut praesentia contemnamus, futura exspectemus; ea quae retro sunt obliviscentes, cum Apostolo in anteriora extendamur. Sic enim dicit: Unum autem, quae retro oblitus, in ea quae ante sunt extentus, secundum intentionem sequor ad palmam supernae vocationis Dei in Christo Jesu (Philipp. III, 13, 14). Nihil ergo tam inimicum est spei, quam retro respicere, id est, in eis rebus, quae praeterlabuntur et transeunt, spem ponere: sed in his quae nondum datae sunt, sed dandae quandoque nunquam transibunt. Quando autem scatet tentationibus mundus, velut pluvia Sodomae sulfurea, metuendum est exemplum ux⟨o⟩ris Loth. Retro enim respexit; et ubi respexit, ibi remansit. In salem conversa est (Gen. XIX, 26), ut prudentes condiret exemplo. Apostolus Paulus de hac spe ita loquitur: Spe enim salvi facti sumus. Spes autem quae videtur, non est spes: quod enim videt quis, quid sperat? Si autem quod non videmus speramus, per patientiam exspectamus (Rom. VIII, 24, 25). Quod enim videt quis, quid sperat? ovum est. Est ovum, et pullus nondum est. Et testudine tectum est: non videtur, quia operitur: cum patientia exspectetur; fervescat, ut viviscat. Intende, extendere in anteriora, obliviscere praeterita. Quae enim videntur, temporalia sunt. Non respicientes, inquit, quae videntur, sed quae non videntur. Quae enim videntur, temporalia sunt; quae autem non videntur, aeterna (II Cor. IV, 18). In illa ergo quae non videntur, extende spem: exspecta, sustine. Noli retro respicere. Ovo tuo scorpium time. Vide quia de cauda percutit, quam retro habet. Non ergo scorpius perimat ovum tuum, mundus iste spem tuam, ut ita dicam, veneno eo contrario, quo retrario. Quanta tibi loquitur mundus, quanta post dorsum strepit, ut retro respicias: id est, ut in rebus praesentibus (nec praesentibus; non enim dicenda sunt praesentia nunquam stantia) spem tuam ponas; et ab eo quod promisit Christus et nondum dedit, sed quia fidelis est dabit, avertas animum tuum, et velis requiescere in mundo pereunte.

Chapter V. — 7. The egg, hope. There remains hope, which, as far as it seems to me, is compared to an egg. For hope has not yet arrived at the thing itself; and an egg is something, but it is not yet a chick. So four-footed animals bear offspring, but birds bear the hope of offspring. Hope therefore exhorts us to this: that we despise things present and await things to come; that, forgetting the things which are behind, we may with the Apostle stretch forward to the things ahead. For thus he says: But one thing [I do]: forgetting the things which are behind, stretched out towards those which are ahead, I follow according to my purpose towards the prize of the heavenly calling of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:13–14). Nothing therefore is so hostile to hope as to look back, that is, to place one's hope in those things which slip by and pass away; [hope must rather be placed] in those things which have not yet been given, but, being given at some time, will never pass away. But when the world teems with temptations, like the sulphurous rain of Sodom, the example of Lot's wife is to be feared. For she looked back; and where she looked back, there she remained. She was turned into salt (Gen. 19:26), that she might season the prudent by her example. The Apostle Paul speaks thus of this hope: For by hope we have been saved. But hope that is seen is not hope; for what someone sees, why does he hope for it? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it through patience (Rom. 8:24–25). For what someone sees, why does he hope for it? It is an egg. It is an egg, and not yet a chick. And it is covered with a shell: it is not seen, because it is covered; let it be awaited with patience; let it grow warm, that it may come to life. Attend, stretch out towards the things ahead, forget the things past. For the things which are seen are temporal. Not looking, he says, at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Cor. 4:18). Towards those things, then, which are not seen stretch out your hope: wait, endure. Do not look back. For your egg fear the scorpion. See how it strikes with its tail, which it has behind. So let not the scorpion destroy your egg, let not this world destroy your hope, with a venom, so to speak, the more contrary for being backward. How much the world says to you, how much it makes noise behind your back, that you may look back: that is, that you may place your hope in things present (yet not present; for things that never stand still are not to be called present), and that you may turn your mind away from what Christ has promised and has not yet given, but, because He is faithful, will give, and may wish to rest in a perishing world.

CAPUT VI. — 8. Clades et vastationes quomodo Christianis utiles. Ideo enim Deus felicitatibus terrenis amaritudines miscet, ut alia quaeratur felicitas, cujus dulcedo non est fallax: et de ipsis amaritudinibus conatur mundus avertere ab eo quod intendis in anteriora, et retro convertere. De ipsis amaritudinibus, de ipsis tribulationibus murmuras, et dicis:

Chapter VI. — 8. How disasters and devastations are useful to Christians. For God mingles bitternesses with earthly happinesses for this reason, that another happiness may be sought, whose sweetness is not deceptive; and by means of these very bitternesses the world tries to turn you away from that towards which you are straining ahead, and to turn you back. About these very bitternesses, about these very tribulations you grumble, and you say:

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In Fossatensi codice additur, dulcia.

In the codex of Saint-Maur-des-Fossés there is added, dulcia ("sweet things").

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Ecce pereunt omnia christianis temporibus. Quid strepis? Non hoc promisit mihi Deus, quod ista non peribunt: non hoc mihi promisit Christus. Aeterna promisit aeternus: si credidero, ex mortali fiam aeternus. Quid strepis, o munde immunde? quid strepis? Quid avertere conaris? Tenere vis periens: quid faceres, si maneres? Quem non deciperes dulcis, si amarus alimenta mentiris? Ego si habeo spem, si teneo spem, ovum meum non est ab scorpione percussum. Benedicam Dominum in omni tempore; semper laus ejus in ore meo (Psal. XXXIII, 2). Felix sit mundus, evertatur mundus: Benedicam Dominum, qui fecit mundum. Benedicam prorsus. Secundum carnem bene sit, secundum carnem male sit: Benedicam Dominum in omni tempore; semper laus ejus in ore meo. Nam si benedico quando bene est, et blasphemo quando male est; suscepi scorpionis aculeum, compunctus retro respexi; quod absit a nobis. Dominus dedit, Dominus abstulit; sicut Domino placuit, ita factum est: sit nomen Domini benedictum (Job. I, 21).

Behold, all things are perishing in Christian times. Why do you make a din? God did not promise me this, that these things would not perish; Christ did not promise me this. The Eternal promised eternal things: if I believe, from mortal I shall become eternal. Why do you make a din, O unclean world? why do you make a din? Why do you try to turn [me] away? You wish to hold [me] while you are perishing: what would you do, if you were abiding? Whom would you not deceive when sweet, if when bitter you counterfeit nourishment? If I have hope, if I hold hope, my egg has not been struck by the scorpion. I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall be ever in my mouth (Ps. 33:2). Let the world be happy, let the world be overturned: I will bless the Lord, Who made the world. I will bless, by all means. Let it go well as regards the flesh, let it go ill as regards the flesh: I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall be ever in my mouth. For if I bless when it goes well, and blaspheme when it goes ill, I have taken the scorpion's sting; pricked, I have looked back; which be far from us. The Lord gave, the Lord took away; as it pleased the Lord, so it has been done: may the name of the Lord be blessed (Job 1:21).

CAPUT VII.— 9. Civitas et regnum in coelis aeternum eos manent. Manet civitas quae nos carnaliter genuit. Deo gratias. Utinam et spiritualiter generetur, et nobiscum transeat ad aeternitatem. Si non manet civitas quae nos carnaliter genuit, manet quae nos spiritualiter genuit. Aedificans Jerusalem Dominus (Psal. CXLVI, 2). Numquid dormitando aedificium suum perdidit, aut non custodiendo hostes admisit? Nisi Dominus custodierit civitatem, in vanum vigilat qui custodit eam (Psal. CXXVI, 1). Et quam civitatem? Non dormit, neque dormitabit, qui custodit Israel (Psal. CXX, 4). Quid est Israel, nisi semen Abrahae? Quid e⟨s⟩t semen Abrahae? nisi Christus? Et semini tuo, inquit, quod est Christus. Et nobis quid? Vos autem Christi: ergo semen Abrahae estis, secundum promissionem haeredes (Galat. III, 16, 29). In semine tuo, inquit, benedicentur omnes gentes (Gen. XXII, 18). Civitas sancta, civitas fidelis, civitas in terra peregrina, in coelo fundata est. O fidelis, noli corrumpere spem, noli amittere charitatem, accinge lumbos tuos, ascende, praetende lucernas tuas, exspecta Dominum, quando veniat a nuptiis (Luc. XII, 35, 36). Quid expavescis, quia pereunt regna terrena? Ideo tibi coeleste promissum est, ne cum terrenis perires. Nam ista peritura praedicta sunt, praedicta omnino. Non enim negare possumus quod praedictum est. Dominus tuus quem exspectas, dixit tibi: Exsurget gens super gentem, et regnum super regnum (Marc. XIII, 8). Habent mutationes terrena regna: veniet ille de quo dictum est, Et regni ejus non erit finis (Luc. I, 33).

Chapter VII.— 9. An eternal city and kingdom in heaven await them. The city that begot us according to the flesh abides. Thanks be to God. Would that it might also be begotten spiritually, and pass over with us into eternity. If the city that begot us according to the flesh does not abide, the one that begot us spiritually abides. The Lord building up Jerusalem (Ps. 146:2). Has He by sleeping lost His building, or by not keeping guard let in enemies? Unless the Lord guard the city, he watches in vain who guards it (Ps. 126:1). And which city? He does not sleep, nor will He slumber, Who guards Israel (Ps. 120:4). What is Israel, if not the seed of Abraham? What is the seed of Abraham? if not Christ? And to your seed, he says, which is Christ. And what of us? But you are Christ's: therefore you are the seed of Abraham, heirs according to the promise (Gal. 3:16, 29). In your seed, he says, all nations shall be blessed (Gen. 22:18). The holy city, the faithful city, the city on pilgrimage on earth, is founded in heaven. O faithful one, do not corrupt hope, do not let go of charity, gird your loins, go up, hold out your lamps, await the Lord, when He may come from the wedding (Luke 12:35–36). Why are you terrified because earthly kingdoms are perishing? For this reason a heavenly one has been promised to you, so that you should not perish with the earthly ones. For these things were foretold as going to perish, foretold altogether. For we cannot deny what has been foretold. Your Lord, Whom you await, said to you: Nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom (Mark 13:8). Earthly kingdoms undergo changes: He will come of Whom it was said, And of His kingdom there shall be no end (Luke 1:33).

10. Terreno regno aeternitas adulatorie promissa. Qui hoc terrenis regnis promiserunt, non veritate ducti sunt, sed adulatione mentiti sunt. Poeta illorum quidam induxit Jovem loquentem, et ait de Romanis, His ego nec metas rerum, nec tempora pono: / Imperium sine fine dedi. (Virgil. lib. 1, Aeneid. vers. 278, 279.) Non plane ita respondet veritas. Regnum hoc, quod

10. Eternity promised to an earthly kingdom in flattery. Those who promised this to earthly kingdoms were not led by truth, but lied in flattery. A certain poet of theirs brought in Jupiter speaking, and he says of the Romans: For these I set neither bounds of things nor times: / I have given empire without end. (Virgil, Aeneid 1.278-279) Truth plainly does not answer so. This kingdom, which

Editors' notes and page, col. 622

Footnotes

(2) ‹anchor: veniat a nuptiis› · call in col 622

Omnes Mss., ad nuptias.

All the manuscripts, ad nuptias ("to the wedding").

(printed under page 317)

Page

running head: SERMO CV. 622
marginal letters: (none)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: the call of foot note 1 (In Fossatensi codice additur, dulcia.) stands in col 622, between "amarus alimenta" and "mentiris"; the note is set in n621 with its column left undetermined, and belongs here (QA Q1a; n621 not written by this read).
other: doubt raised by QA Q1a: "ascende, praetende lucernas tuas" is so read on the page and kept; the sense expects accende. Not changed.

PL 38:623

sine f⟨i⟩ne dedisti, o qui nihil d⟨e⟩disti, in terra est, an in coelo? Utique in terra. Et si esset in coelo, Coelum et terra transient (Luc. XXI, 33). Transient quae fecit ipse Deus; quanto citius quod condidit Romulus? Forte si vellemus hinc exagitare Virgilium, et insultare, quare hoc dixerit; in parte tolleret nos, et diceret nobis: Et ego scio; sed quid facerem qui Romanis verba vendebam, nisi hac adulatione aliquid promitterem quod falsum erat? Et tamen et in hoc cautus fui, quando dixi, « Imperium sine fine dedi, » Jovem ipsorum induxi, qui hoc diceret. Non ex persona mea dixi rem falsam, sed Jovi imposui falsitatis personam: sicut Deus falsus erat, ita mendax vates erat. Nam vultis nosse quia ista noveram? Alio loco, quando non Jovem lapidem induxi loquentem, sed ex persona mea locutus sum, dixi:

without end you have given, O you who have given nothing, is it on earth or in heaven? On earth, certainly. And even if it were in heaven, Heaven and earth shall pass away (Luke 21:33). The things which God Himself made shall pass away; how much more quickly what Romulus founded? Perhaps, if we wished to harass Virgil on this point and mock him for why he said this, he would take us aside and say to us: I too know it; but what was I to do, I who was selling words to Romans, unless by this flattery I promised something that was false? And yet even in this I was cautious: when I said, "I have given an empire without end," I brought in their Jupiter to say it. I did not speak a false thing in my own person, but I laid the mask of falsehood on Jupiter: as the god was false, so the poet was a liar. For do you want to know that I knew these things? In another place, when I did not bring in Jupiter, a stone, speaking, but spoke in my own person, I said:

Non res Romanae perituraque regna. (Virgil. Georg. lib. 2, vers. 498.)

Not the Roman state and kingdoms that are to perish. (Virgil, Georgics 2.498.)

Videte quia dixi peritura regna. Dixi peritura regna, non tacui. Peritura, veritate non tacuit: semper mansura, adulatione promisit.

See that I said kingdoms that are to perish. I said kingdoms that are to perish; I did not keep silent. That they would perish, out of truth he did not keep silent; that they would last for ever, out of flattery he promised.

CAPUT VIII. — 11. Constantia in ferendis adversis. Sursum cor. Gallina evangelica. Non ergo deficiamus, fratres: finis erit terrenis omnibus regnis. Nunc si finis est, Deus videt. Forte enim nondum est, et infirmitate quadam, vel misericordia, vel miseria hoc optamus, ut nondum sit: numquid tamen ideo non erit? Figite spem in Deum, aeterna concupiscite, aeterna exspectate. Christiani estis, fratres, christiani sumus. Non ad delicias Christus in carnem descendit: toleremus potius praesentia quam diligamus: adversorum est manifesta pernicies, prosperorum falsa blandities. Time mare et quando malacia est. Omnino non frustra audiamus, sursum cor. Quid ponimus cor in terra, cum videamus quia evertitur terra? Nos non possumus nisi exhortari vos, ut habeatis quod dicatis, et quod pro spe vestra respondeatis insultatoribus et blasphematoribus nominis christiani. Nemo vos murmurando avertat ab exspectatione futurorum. Omnes qui propter istas adversitates blasphemant Christum nostrum, cauda scorpionis sunt. Nos ovum nostrum sub alis illius gallinae ponamus evangelicae, quae clamat: Jerusalem, Jerusalem, illi falsae et perditae, quoties volui colligere filios tuos, tanquam gallina pullos suos, et noluisti (Matt. XXIII, 37)? Non nobis dicatur, Quoties volui, et noluisti? Illa enim gallina divina Sapientia est: sed assumpsit carnem, ut pullis congrueret. Videte gallinam hispidam plumis, dimissis alis, voce fracta, et quassa, et lassa, et languida congruere parvulis suis. Ovum ergo nostrum, id est, spem nostram sub alis illius gallinae ponamus.

Chapter VIII. — 11. Constancy in bearing adversities. Lift up the heart. The hen of the Gospel. Let us not then lose heart, brethren: there will be an end to all earthly kingdoms. Whether the end is now, God sees. For perhaps it is not yet, and out of a certain weakness, or mercy, or misery, we wish this, that it may not yet be: but will it therefore not be? Fix your hope on God, desire eternal things, await eternal things. You are Christians, brethren; we are Christians. Christ did not come down into the flesh for delights: let us rather endure present things than love them: the ruin of adversity is manifest, the flattery of prosperity is false. Fear the sea even when it is calm. Let us by no means hear in vain, Lift up the heart. Why do we place the heart on earth, when we see that the earth is being overturned? We can do nothing but exhort you, that you may have something to say, and something to answer on behalf of your hope to those who mock and blaspheme the Christian name. Let no one by murmuring turn you away from the expectation of things to come. All who because of these adversities blaspheme our Christ are the scorpion's tail. Let us place our egg under the wings of that hen of the Gospel, who cries out: Jerusalem, Jerusalem, to that false and lost [city], how often would I have gathered your children, as a hen her chicks, and you would not (Matt. 23:37)? Let it not be said to us, How often would I, and you would not? For that hen is the divine Wisdom: but He took on flesh, that He might be suited to the chicks. See the hen, bristling with feathers, wings lowered, voice broken, shaken, weary and languid, making herself suited to her little ones. Let us then place our egg, that is, our hope, under the wings of that hen.

CAPUT IX. — 12. Romae vastatio religioni christianae sive idololatriae exstinctioni falso tributa. Animadvertistis forte, quomodo gallina concidat scorpionem. Utinam ergo et istos blasphemantes, in terra reptantes, de cavernis prodeuntes, et male pungentes, illa

Chapter IX. — 12. The devastation of Rome falsely attributed to the Christian religion, or to the extinction of idolatry. You have perhaps noticed how a hen cuts a scorpion to pieces. Would that, then, these blasphemers too, creeping on the earth, coming out of caves, and stinging wickedly, that

Editors' notes and page, col. 623

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: quando malacia est› · call in col 623

Lov., et quando tranquillum est. Am. et Er., et quando mollities est. At Mss., malitia est: seu verius, malacia est.

The Louvain edition, et quando tranquillum est ("even when it is calm"). Amerbach and Erasmus, et quando mollities est ("even when there is softness"). But the manuscripts, malitia est ("there is malice"): or more truly, malacia est ("there is a dead calm").

(printed under page 318)

(2) ‹anchor: dimissis alis› · call in col 623

Ven., demissis alis. M.

The Venice edition, demissis alis ("with wings let down"). M[igne].

(printed under page 318)

Page

running head: 623 S. AUGUSTINI EPISC[OPI] (cut off at right edge; numeral printed somewhat damaged)
marginal letters: (none)
old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 38:624

gallina concidat et devoret, in corpus suum trajiciat, et in ovum vertat. Non irascantur: commoti videmur; sed maledicta maledictis non reddimus. Maledicimur et benedicimus, blasphemati deprecamur (I Cor. IV, 12, 13). Sed non dicat de Roma, dictum est de me: O si taceat de Roma: quasi ego insultator sim, et non potius Domini deprecator, et vester qualiscumque exhortator. Absit a me, ut insultem. Avertat Deus a corde meo, et a dolore conscientiae meae. Ibi multos fratres non habuimus? non adhuc habemus? Portio peregrinantis Jerusalem civitatis non ibi magna degit? non ibi temporalia pertulit? sed aeterna non perdidit. Quid ergo dico, cum de illa non taceo, nisi quia falsum est quod dicunt de Christo nostro, quod ipse Romam perdiderit, quod dii lapidei Romam tuebantur et lignei? Adde pretium, aerei. Adde plus, argentei et aurei: Idola gentium argentum et aurum. Non dixit, Lapis; non dixit, Lignum; non dixit, Testa: sed quod pro magno habent, argentum et aurum. Tamen ipsum argentum et aurum oculos habent, et non vident (Psal. CXIII, 4, 5). Dii aurei et dii lignei ad pretium dispares sunt: ad habere oculos et non videre, pares sunt. Ecce qualibus Romam docti homines custodibus commiserunt, habentibus oculos, et non videntibus. Aut si Romam servare potuerunt, quare ipsi ante perierunt? Inquiunt: Tunc periit Roma. Tamen perierunt. Non, inquiunt, ipsi perierunt, sed simulacra eorum. Quomodo ergo custodirent tecta vestra, qui non potuerunt custodire simulacra sua? Alexandria olim tales deos perdidit. Constantinopolis ex quo condita est in magnam civitatem, quoniam o christiano imperatore condita est, olim deos ipsos falsos perdidit: et tamen et crevit, et crescit, et manet. Q⟨u⟩amdiu vult Deus, manet. Non enim et illi civitati, quia hoc dicimus, aeternitatem promittimus. Carthago in nomine Christi manet, et olim eversa est Coelestis, quia non fuit coelestis, sed terrestris.

hen might cut up and devour, pass into her own body, and turn into an egg. Let them not be angry: we seem stirred; but we do not return curses for curses. We are cursed and we bless; being blasphemed, we entreat (1 Cor. 4:12–13). But this was said of me: "Let him not speak of Rome; O that he would be silent about Rome", as if I were an insulter, and not rather a suppliant to the Lord and, such as I am, your exhorter. Far be it from me that I should insult. May God avert it from my heart and from the pain of my conscience. Did we not have many brothers there? Do we not still have them? Does not a great portion of the pilgrim city Jerusalem dwell there? Has it not endured temporal things there? But it has not lost eternal things. What then am I saying, when I do not keep silent about it, except that what they say about our Christ is false, that He Himself destroyed Rome, that gods of stone and of wood were protecting Rome? Add to the price: of bronze. Add more: of silver and of gold: The idols of the nations are silver and gold. He did not say, Stone; he did not say, Wood; he did not say, Earthenware: but what they hold to be of great worth, silver and gold. Yet that very silver and gold have eyes, and do not see (Ps. 113:4–5). Gods of gold and gods of wood are unequal in price; in having eyes and not seeing, they are equal. See to what sort of guardians learned men entrusted Rome: to ones having eyes and not seeing. Or if they were able to preserve Rome, why did they themselves perish beforehand? They say: Then Rome perished. Yet they perished. No, they say, they themselves did not perish, but their images. How then would they guard your houses, who were not able to guard their own images? Alexandria long ago lost such gods. Constantinople, from the time it was founded as a great city, since it was founded by a Christian emperor, long ago lost the false gods themselves; and yet it both grew, and grows, and remains. As long as God wills, it remains. For we do not, because we say this, promise eternity to that city either. Carthage remains in the name of Christ, and long ago Caelestis was overthrown, because she was not heavenly, but earthly.

CAPUT X. — 13. Eversis idolis non exinde Romanam cladem accidisse. Et illud quod dicunt non est verum, quia continuo diis perditis Roma capta est, afflicta est. Prorsus non est verum: ante simulacra ipsa eversa sunt; et sic victi sunt Gothi cum Rhadagayso. Mementote, fratres, mementote: non est longum, pauci anni sunt, recordamini. Eversis in urbe Roma omnibus simulacris, Rhadagaysus rex Gothorum cum ingenti exercitu, multo numerosiore quam Alarici fuit, venit. Paganus homo erat Rhadagaysus: Jovi sacrificabat quotidie. Nuntiabatur ubique quod a sacrificiis non desisteret Rhadagaysus. Tunc omnes isti: Ecce nos non sacrificamus, ille sacrificat, vinci

Chapter X. — 13. That the disaster of Rome did not come about because the idols were overthrown. And what they say is not true either, that as soon as the gods were lost Rome was captured and afflicted. It is utterly untrue: the images themselves were overthrown before, and even so the Goths with Rhadagaysus were defeated. Remember, brothers, remember: it is not long ago, it is a few years; recall it. When all the images in the city of Rome had been overthrown, Rhadagaysus, king of the Goths, came with a huge army, far more numerous than Alaric's was. Rhadagaysus was a pagan man: he sacrificed to Jupiter daily. It was reported everywhere that Rhadagaysus would not desist from sacrifices. Then all these people [said]: See, we do not sacrifice, he sacrifices, conquered

Editors' notes and page, col. 624

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot images› · call in col 624

Editi, dictum est de meo. Sed taceat de Roma.

The printed editions, dictum est de meo. Sed taceat de Roma ("it has been said from what is mine. But let him be silent about Rome").

(printed under page 318)

(2) ‹anchor: not visible in the foot images› · call in col 624

Aliquot Mss., tempora pertulit. Quidam, temporalia protulit.

Some manuscripts, tempora pertulit ("he endured the times"). Certain ones, temporalia protulit ("he brought forth temporal things").

(printed under page 318)

(3) ‹anchor: eversa est Coelestis› · call in col 624

Editi, eversa est a scelestis. Castigamus ad Mss., eversa est Coelestis. Quae nimirum dea a Paganis Afris colebatur. Ejus Augustinus meminit in libro 2 de Civitate Dei, cap. 4, in Psal. 62, n.7, et 98, n. 14. De ipsius apud Carthaginem templo famosissimo in christianae religionis usum vindicato, quod anno 399, Aurelio antistite contigit, scribit Prosper in libro de Praedict. 3, cap. 38.

The printed editions, eversa est a scelestis ("was overthrown by the wicked"). We correct by the manuscripts, eversa est Coelestis ("Caelestis was overthrown"). She was, of course, a goddess worshipped by the pagan Africans. Augustine mentions her in book 2 of The City of God, ch. 4, on Psalm 62, n. 7, and on Psalm 98, n. 14. Of her most famous temple at Carthage, claimed for the use of the Christian religion, which happened in the year 399 under bishop Aurelius, Prosper writes in the book On the Predictions, part 3, ch. 38.

(printed under page 318)

(b) ‹anchor: pauci anni sunt› · call in col 624

Nempe Gothorum cum Rhadagayso duce strages incidit in annum 405. Urbis vero clades a Gothis sub Alarico pertinet ad annum 410.

That is, the slaughter of the Goths with their leader Radagaisus falls in the year 405. But the disaster of the City at the hands of the Goths under Alaric belongs to the year 410.

(printed under page 318)