Augustine, Sermones 158-163 (Classis I, de Scripturis)

sight: now by faith, as long as [we are] on the way, as long as [we are] in pilgrimage. For as long as we are in the body, we are on pilgrimage away from the Lord: for we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:6–7).

Chapter IX. — 9. God will be all in all to the blessed. Charity alone remains for ever. If this is faith, what will sight be? Hear what it will be: That God may be all in all (1 Cor. 15:28). What is "all"? Whatever you sought here, whatever you held to be great here, He Himself will be to you. What did you want here, what did you love? To eat and to drink? He Himself will be your food, He Himself will be your drink. What did you want here? Health of body, fragile and passing? He Himself will be your immortality. What did you seek here? Riches? Covetous man, what indeed suffices you, if God Himself does not suffice? But what did you love? Glory, honours? God will be your glory: to Whom even now it is said, My glory, and the One Who lifts up my head (Ps. 3:4). For He has already lifted up my head. Our head is Christ. But why do you wonder? Because the head and the other members will be lifted up; then God will be all in all. In this way we believe, in this way we hope: when we have come, we shall hold; and then it will be vision, not faith: when we have come, we shall hold, and then it will be the reality, not hope. What of charity? Does it too exist now, and will it then not exist? If we love by believing and not seeing, how shall we love by seeing and holding? Therefore charity will exist, but it will be perfect: as the Apostle says, Faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity (1 Cor. 13:13). Having this, and nourishing it in ourselves, persevering in it, secure with Him helping us, let us say: Who shall separate us from the charity of Christ? until He Himself has mercy, He Himself brings it to completion. Tribulation? or distress? or famine? or nakedness? or danger? or the sword? For for Thy sake we are put to death all the day long, we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. And who bears it? who endures all things? But in all these things we overcome. Whence? Through Him Who loved us (Rom. 8:36–37). Therefore, If God is for us, who is against us?

Sermon 159. On the same words of the Apostle, Rom. 8:30-31, or on justification: and also on the words of James 1:2-4, Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations, etc.

Chapter One. — 1. Justification here in us is imperfect. Perfect justification in the martyrs. It is an injury to pray for a martyr. Yesterday a sermon was delivered on our justification, which comes to us from the Lord our God, we ministering, He granting, you listening. And although we are in this life burdened with the load of corruptible flesh, certainly not without sin, since if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8), yet that we are justified according to the measure of our pilgrimage, living by faith

until we enjoy the sight [of Him], has become clear, as far as I judge, to Your Charity. So one begins from faith in order to arrive at sight: the road is run, the homeland is sought. In the pilgrimage our soul says: For before Thee is all my desire, and my groaning is not hidden from Thee (Ps. 37:10). But in the homeland there will be no place for praying, but only for praising. Why will there be no place for praying? Because nothing is lacking. What is believed here is seen there; what is hoped for here is held there; what is asked for here is received there. Yet there is a certain perfection in this life, to which the holy martyrs have attained. And therefore the discipline of the Church holds, as the faithful know, that when the martyrs are named at that place at the altar of God, there is no praying for them, whereas for the other departed who are commemorated there is praying. For it is an injury to pray for a martyr, to whose prayers we ought to be commended. For he strove against sin even unto blood. But to certain people still imperfect, and yet in part justified, the Apostle says to the Hebrews: For you have not yet fought unto blood, striving against sin (Heb. 12:4). If, then, those had not yet [striven] unto blood, without doubt some have [striven] unto blood. Who [have striven] unto blood? The holy martyrs, of course; concerning whom the reading of the holy apostle James was heard just now: Count it all joy, my brethren, when you fall into various temptations. It is said to the perfect now, who can also say: Prove me, O Lord, and try me (Ps. 25:2). Knowing, he says, that tribulation works patience; and patience has a perfect work.

Chapter II. — 2. The love of justice admits several degrees. The first degree. The delights of the senses, lawful and unlawful. For justice is to be loved; and in this loving of justice there are degrees for those who make progress. The first is that all the things which delight should not be set before the love of justice. That is the first degree. What is it that I have said? That among all the things which delight, justice itself should delight you more; not that other things should not delight, but that it should delight more. For certain things naturally delight our weakness, as food and drink delight the hungry and thirsty; as this light delights us, which is poured from heaven when the sun has risen, or which shines from the stars and the moon, or which is kindled on earth by lamps that console the darkness of the eyes: a melodious voice and a most sweet song delight, a good odour delights; whatever pertains to some pleasure of the flesh also delights our touch. And of all these things which delight us in the senses of the body, some are lawful. For, as I said, these great spectacles of nature delight the eyes: but the spectacles of the theatres also delight the eyes. These are lawful, those unlawful. A sacred psalm sweetly sung delights the hearing: but the songs of actors also delight the hearing. This lawfully, that unlawfully. Flowers and spices delight the sense of smell, and these are God's creation: incense on the altars of demons also delights the sense of smell. This lawfully, that unlawfully. Food that is not forbidden delights the taste; the banquets of sacrilegious sacrifices also delight the taste. This lawfully, that unlawfully. Conjugal embraces delight: the embraces of harlots also delight. This lawfully, that unlawfully. You see, therefore, dearly beloved,

in these senses of the body lawful and unlawful delights. Let justice so delight [you] that it overcomes even the lawful delights; and to that delight in which you lawfully take delight, prefer justice.

Chapter III. — 3. The mind's delight in justice and faith. Let us set before our eyes, on account of what I have said, an example of the contest. I ask whether you love justice: you will answer, I love it. You would not answer this truthfully unless it delighted you to some extent. For nothing is loved except what delights. Take delight in the Lord (Ps. 36:4), says Scripture. But the Lord is justice. For you ought not to fashion God for yourself like an idol. God is like invisible things; and those things in us are better which are invisible. Faith is better than flesh, faith is better than gold, and faith is better than silver, than money, than estates, than a household, than riches; and all these things are seen, faith is not seen. To which, then, shall we think God more like, to visible things or to invisible? to precious things or to cheap ones? I shall speak of cheaper things. You have two servants, one deformed in body, the other most handsome; but the deformed one faithful, the other unfaithful. Tell me which you love more: and I see that you love invisible things. What then, when you love the faithful servant more, though deformed in body, than the handsome unfaithful one, have you erred, and preferred ugly things to beautiful ones? Certainly not: rather you have preferred more beautiful things to ugly ones. For you disregarded the eyes of the flesh and raised up the eyes of the heart. You questioned the eyes of the flesh, and what did they report to you? This one is handsome, that one ugly. You rejected them, you disallowed their testimony: you raised the eyes of the heart towards the faithful servant and towards the unfaithful servant: this one you found ugly in the flesh, that one handsome; but you pronounced and said, What is more beautiful than faith? what more deformed than unfaithfulness?

Chapter IV. — 4. Justice to be loved above all lawful delights. Therefore justice is to be loved above all pleasures, that is, even above lawful delights. For if you have interior senses, all those interior senses are delighted with the delight of justice. If you have interior eyes, see the light of justice: For with Thee is the fountain of life, and in Thy light we shall see light (Ps. 35:10). Of that light the Psalm says: Enlighten my eyes, lest I ever fall asleep in death (Ps. 12:4). Likewise, if you have interior ears, hear justice. Such ears He was seeking Who said: He who has ears to hear, let him hear (Luke 8:8). If you have an interior sense of smell, hear the Apostle: We are the good odour of Christ to God in every place (2 Cor. 2:15). If you have an interior sense of taste, hear: Taste and see that the Lord is sweet (Ps. 33:9). If you have an interior sense of touch, hear what the bride sings of the bridegroom: His left hand under my head, and his right hand will embrace me (Song 2:6).

5. The delight of justice to be preferred to other delights. Let us therefore, as I had begun to say, set forth an example of this contest. Let us see, my brothers, who

it is; I ask, and let him answer what I am about to say, whether he is so delighted by righteousness that he sets it before the other delights that pertain to these senses of the body. See, your gold delights you, it delights your eyes: it is a beautiful metal, most brilliant, it delights. It is beautiful, I do not deny it: for if I denied that it is beautiful, I would do injury to the Creator. So the tempter comes and says to you: I take your gold from you unless you bear false witness for me; but if you do bear it, I add to it for you. Two delights contend within you: now I ask you which you prefer, which delights you more, gold or truth; gold or true testimony. Does this shine, and that not shine? Faithfulness is sought in true testimony. Does gold shine, and faithfulness not shine? Blush, have eyes: what you loved in your servant, render to your Lord. For a while ago, when I asked you about your two servants, one ugly and faithful, the other handsome and unfaithful, which you would love more, you answered me rightly, and preferred what was to be preferred. Return to yourself, for now the matter concerns you yourself. Surely you loved the faithful servant: is your Lord unworthy to have you as a faithful servant? And what did you promise your faithful servant as something great? As one you loved much, the supreme reward of freedom. What great thing did you promise your faithful servant? Temporal freedom. Do we not see many who serve and are not in want, and free men who beg? And you demanded faithfulness from him to whom you promised freedom: and you do not keep faith with Him who promises you eternity!

Chapter V. — 6. Righteousness is to be pursued with delight, out of love. It would take long to run through the senses of the body one by one: but what I have said about the eyes, understand it of the rest as well; and set the delight of the mind before the delight of the flesh. For unlawful pleasures delight your flesh: let your mind be delighted by righteousness, invisible, beautiful, chaste, holy, melodious, sweet, so that you are not driven to it by fear. For if you are driven to it by fear, it does not yet delight. You ought not to sin, not out of fear of punishment, but out of love of righteousness. Hence the Apostle says: I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For as you presented your members to serve uncleanness and iniquity unto iniquity, so now present your members to serve righteousness unto sanctification (Rom. 6:19). What did I say? I speak in human terms: what you are able to bear, that I say. When you presented your members to iniquity for committing shameful deeds, were you led on by fear, or invited by delight? What do you say? Answer us, since even you who live well perhaps once lived badly. When you sinned, you took delight in your sins; was it fear that led you to sin, or the sweetness of sin? You will answer: Sweetness. Does sweetness lead to sin, and fear drive to righteousness? Test yourselves, examine yourselves. Let him who threatens take away the gold: righteousness is sweeter, righteousness is brighter. Let him who promises not give the gold: righteousness is to be preferred to gold, it is to be preferred by delighting in it; it is more brilliant, it is brighter, it is sweeter, more delightful

it is. So now if anyone proves himself and has overcome in this contest, he has heard the Apostle saying, I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. Without doubt he spared their weakness, and attempted to say something more agreeable to those less fit.

Chapter VI. — 7. For justice not only must pleasure be despised, but pain must also be borne. Look, he says, I say this which you are able to grasp: you yielded your members to unlawful delights, you were led by the sweetness of sins to do those things; let the sweetness and delight of justice lead you to right deeds: love justice as you loved iniquity. Justice is worthy to obtain from you that you yield to it what you yielded to iniquity: this is I speak in human terms, that is, what your weakness can still bear. What, then, did the Apostle hold back? What did he put off saying? What he put off, I shall tell, if I can. Weigh justice and iniquity: is justice worthy only so much as iniquity was worthy? Is this one to be loved just as that one was loved? Far be it that it should be so, and yet would that it were at least so. More, then? Altogether more. In iniquity he pursued pleasure; for justice endure pain. In injustice, I say, you pursued delight; for justice endure pain: this is more. See, some unchaste youth of slippery age, with alluring sweetness enticing him, has cast his eyes upon another man's wife; he has loved her, he longs to attain her; yet he seeks to lie hidden: for he so loves pleasure that he fears pain more. Why does he seek to lie hidden? He fears to be seized, bound, brought in, shut up, brought forth, tortured, put to death. Fearing all these things, in that craving his sweetness seeks its hiding-place: he watches for the husband's absence, he fears to find the very accomplice of his crime, since he dreads to entangle himself with one who knows. And we see that he is led by sweetness: but that sweetness is not so great as to overcome also fear, and pain, and the fear of punishments. Give me beautiful justice, give me the beauty of faith: let her come forth into the midst, let her show herself to the eyes of the heart, let her breathe fervour into her lovers. Now it is said to you: Do you wish to enjoy me? Despise whatever else delights you, despise it for my sake. See, you have despised it; it is too little for her: this is human, because of the weakness of your flesh. It is too little that you despise whatever used to delight you: despise whatever used to terrify you; despise prisons, despise chains, despise the rack, despise torments, despise death. You have conquered these things; you have found me. In both degrees prove yourselves lovers of justice.

Chapter VII. — 8. The martyrs are perfect lovers of justice. Perhaps we find some who set the delight of justice before pleasures and before the delight of their own body: but one who for her sake despises punishments, pains and death, do you think there is anyone among you? Let us at least think of what we do not dare to profess. What are we thinking of? Where are we thinking? Thousands of martyrs lie before our eyes, themselves true and perfect lovers of justice. Of them it was said: Count it all joy, my brethren, when you fall into various temptations; knowing that the testing of your faith works patience; and patience has a perfect work. What can be added, that it may have a perfect work? He loves, he burns, he glows;