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

Sermon CLX

; calcat omnia quae delectant, et transit : venit ad aspera, horrenda, truculenta, minantia ; calcat, frangit, et transit. O amare, o ire, o sibi perire, o ad Deum pervenire ! Qui animam suam amat, perdet illam ; et qui perdiderit animam suam propter me, in vitam aeternam inveniet illam. Sic armandus est amator justitiae, sic armandus est amator invisibilis pulchritudinis. Quae dico vobis in tenebris, dicite in lumine ; et quae in aure auditis, super tecta praedicate (Matth. X, 39, 27). Quid est, quae dico vobis in tenebris, dicite in lumine ? Quae dico et auditis mente, dicite praesumentes. Et quod in aure auditis, super tecta praedicate. Quid est, In aure auditis ? In secreto auditis ; quia profiteri et confiteri adhuc timetis. Quid est ergo, Super tecta praedicate ? Domus vestrae, corpora vestra ; domus vestrae, carnes vestrae. Ascende in tectum, calca carnem, et praedica verbum.

; he treads down all things that delight, and passes on. He comes to things harsh, dreadful, savage, threatening; he treads them down, breaks them, and passes on. O to love, O to go, O to perish to oneself, O to arrive at God! He who loves his soul will lose it; and he who has lost his soul for My sake will find it unto eternal life. Thus must the lover of righteousness be armed, thus must the lover of invisible beauty be armed. What I say to you in darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach upon the housetops (Matt. 10:39, 27). What is "What I say to you in darkness, speak in the light"? What I say and you hear in the mind, speak out with confidence. "And what you hear in the ear, preach upon the housetops." What is "you hear in the ear"? You hear in secret, because you are still afraid to profess and to confess. What then is "Preach upon the housetops"? Your houses are your bodies; your houses are your flesh. Climb up onto the roof, tread down the flesh, and preach the word.

CAPUT VIII. — 9. Ex Deo est, si quid justitiae habemus. Sed prius, fratres mei, plangite quod eratis, ut quod nondum estis, esse possitis. Hoc quod loquor magnum est. Et unde nobis magnum ? Summum est, perfectum est, optimum est : unde nobis ? Audite unde nobis : Omne datum optimum et omne donum perfectum desursum est, descendens a Patre luminum, apud quem non est transmutatio, nec momenti obumbratio (Jacobi I, 17). Inde est quod habemus bonum, inde est quod nondum habemus. Non habetis ? Petite, et accipietis. Si vos, ait Salvator, si vos cum sitis mali, nostis bona data dare filiis vestris ; quanto magis Pater vester coelestis dabit bona petentibus se (Matth. VII, 7, 11) ? Examinet se ergo omnis homo, et quidquid in se boni invenerit, quod pertineat ad justificationem nostram, agat gratias illi qui dedit ; et agendo gratias illi qui dedit, ab illo petat et quod nondum dedit. Non enim tu in accipiendo proficis, et ille in dando deficit. Quantumlibet capaces fauces, capacem ventrem afferas ; fons vincit sitientem.

Chapter VIII. — 9. It is from God, if we have anything of righteousness. But first, my brothers, lament what you were, so that you may be able to be what you are not yet. What I am speaking of is a great thing. And whence is this great thing to us? It is the highest, it is perfect, it is the best: whence is it to us? Hear whence it is to us: Every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with Whom there is no change, nor shadow of a moment (Jas. 1:17). From there comes the good we have, from there comes what we do not yet have. You do not have it? Ask, and you will receive. If you, says the Saviour, if you, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask Him (Matt. 7:7, 11)? Let every man therefore examine himself, and whatever good he finds in himself that pertains to our justification, let him give thanks to Him Who gave it; and in giving thanks to Him Who gave it, let him ask of Him also what He has not yet given. For you do not gain by receiving while He loses by giving. However capacious a throat, however capacious a belly you may bring, the fountain overcomes the thirsty man.

SERMO CLX. De verbis Apostoli, I Cor. cap. I, 31, Qui gloriatur, in Domino glorietur. Et de versu Psalmi LXX, 2, In tua justitia erue me, et exime me.

Sermon 160. On the words of the Apostle, 1 Cor. chapter 1:31, He who glories, let him glory in the Lord. And on the verse of Psalm 70:2, In Thy righteousness rescue me, and deliver me.

1. Glorietur homo in Domino, non in sua justitia. Admoniti ab Apostolo sumus, ut qui gloriatur, in Domino glorietur ; eique Domino cantavimus, In tua justitia erue me, et exime me. Hoc est ergo in Domino gloriari, non in sua, sed in ejus justitia gloriari. Haec autem justitia latuit eos qui de sua justitia gloriantur. Et hoc maxime vitium apparuit in Judaeis novum Testamentum recusantibus et in vetere homine remanentibus. Frustra et infructuose in suis codicibus legerant atque cantaverant, In tua justitia erue me. Ignorantes enim Dei justitiam, et suam volentes constituere, justitiae Dei non sunt subjecti.

1. Let a man glory in the Lord, not in his own righteousness. We have been admonished by the Apostle that he who glories should glory in the Lord; and to that Lord we have sung, In Thy righteousness rescue me, and deliver me. This, then, is to glory in the Lord: to glory not in one's own righteousness, but in His. But this righteousness was hidden from those who glory in their own righteousness. And this vice appeared above all in the Jews, who refused the New Testament and remained in the old man. In vain and fruitlessly had they read and sung in their books, In Thy righteousness rescue me. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God and wishing to establish their own, to the righteousness of God they have not been subjected.

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Footnotes

(*) ‹anchor: SERMO CLX› · call in col 872 Collatus ad bd. fl. gr. et Lov.

Collated against the manuscripts bd. fl. gr. and the Louvain edition.

(printed under page 442)

(a) ‹anchor: SERMO CLX› · call in col 872

Alias, 11 inter editos ex majoris Carthusiae manuscriptis.

Formerly no. 11 among those edited from the manuscripts of the Grande Chartreuse.

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(b) ‹anchor: et exime me› · call in col 872

Meminit Possidius in Indiculo, cap. 9, citatque Beda et Florus ad Galat. VI.

Possidius mentions it in his Indiculus, ch. 9, and Bede and Florus cite it on Galatians 6.

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Nemo ergo tanquam de sua justitia glorietur, etiamsi justus est. De sua quippe justitia glorianti dictum est: Quid enim habes quod non accepisti (I Cor. IV, 7)? Ergo qui gloriatur, in Domino glorietur. Quid enim securius, quam in illo gloriari, de quo nemo potest omnino confundi? Nam si gloriatus fueris in homine, potest inveniri aliquid in homine, imo multa inveniri possunt in homine, de quibus confundatur qui in illo gloriatur. Cum autem audis non esse in homine gloriandum, utique nec in te: non enim tu non homo. Si ergo gloriaris in te, in homine gloriaris: et hoc est stultius et exsecrabilius. Quia si gloriatus fueris in homine justo aliquo vel alio sapiente, ille non in se gloriatur in quo tu gloriaris; tu autem si in te gloriaris, non sapiens, non justus es: si autem non oportet in homine sapiente gloriari, multo minus oportet in insipiente gloriari. Qui autem gloriatur in se, in insipiente gloriatur. Eo enim ipso insipiens convincitur, quia in se ipso gloriatur. Ergo qui gloriatur, in Domino glorietur. Nihil tutius, nihil securius. Si potes, habes quod apprehendas, in Domino gloriatus non confunderis. Non enim aliquid reprehensionis inveniri potest in illo, in quo gloriaris. Ac per hoc et ille qui non dicebat, In mea justitia erue me; sed, In tua justitia erue me: hoc prius dixit, In te speravi, Domine, non confundar in aeternum (Psal. LXX, 1).

Let no one, therefore, glory as though of his own righteousness, even if he is righteous. For to one glorying in his own righteousness it was said: For what do you have that you did not receive (1 Cor. 4:7)? Therefore let him who glories glory in the Lord. For what is safer than to glory in Him, in whom no one can be put to shame at all? For if you glory in a man, something can be found in the man, indeed many things can be found in the man, over which he who glories in him may be put to shame. But when you hear that one must not glory in a man, then certainly not in yourself either: for you are not not a man. If, therefore, you glory in yourself, you glory in a man: and this is more foolish and more execrable. For if you glory in some righteous man or in another who is wise, he in whom you glory does not glory in himself; but you, if you glory in yourself, are not wise, are not righteous: and if one ought not to glory in a wise man, much less ought one to glory in a foolish one. But he who glories in himself glories in a foolish man. For by that very fact he is convicted of being foolish, that he glories in himself. Therefore let him who glories glory in the Lord. Nothing is more secure, nothing safer. If you can, you have something to lay hold of: having gloried in the Lord you will not be put to shame. For nothing worthy of reproof can be found in Him in whom you glory. And for this reason he too who did not say, In my righteousness deliver me, but, In Thy righteousness deliver me, said this first: In Thee have I hoped, O Lord, let me not be put to shame for ever (Ps. 70:1).

2. Judaei propriae justitiae opinione excaecati. Numquid enim aliud est, in quo erraverunt Judaei, aut quo alio vitio ab evangelica gratia extorres facti sunt, nisi uno illo de quo Apostolus non tacuit, quod paulo ante commemoravi? Testimonium, inquit, eis perhibeo, quia zelum Dei habent, sed non secundum scientiam. Ubi laudavit, etiam reprehendit. Unde ergo illi vitiosi? Quia utique quamvis zelum Dei habeant, non secundum scientiam. Et quasi consuleremus Apostolum, et diceremus, Qu⟨i⟩d est quod dixisti, non secundum scientiam? Quae est ista scientia, quam illi non habent, qui tamen zelum Dei habent? Quam scientiam non habent, vis audire? Attende quod sequitur: Ignorantes enim Dei justitiam, et suam volentes constituere, justitiae Dei non sunt subjecti (Rom. II, 3). Si ergo zelum Dei habes, et vis habere secundum scientiam, et pertinere ad Testamentum novum, ad quod Judaei propterea pertinere non potuerunt, quia zelum Dei non secundum scientiam habuerunt; agnosce Dei justitiam, et noli tuam velle constituere hanc ipsam, si quam habes: si bene vivis, si praecepta Dei facis, noli tuum putare; hoc est enim velle suam justitiam constituere. Agnosce a quo acceperis et habes quod accepisti. Non enim habes, quod non accepisti. Si autem accepisti, quid gloriaris, quasi non acceperis (I Cor. IV, 7)? Cum enim gloriaris, quasi non acceperis, in te gloriaris: et ubi est, Qui gloriatur, in Domino glorietur? Datum tene, sed datorem a⟨g⟩nosce. Spiritum suum se daturum cum promitteret Dominus: Si quis sitit, inquit, veniat ad me, et bibat. Qui credit in me, flumina aquae vivae fluent de ventre ejus (Joan. VII, 37,

2. The Jews blinded by the opinion of their own righteousness. For is there anything else in which the Jews erred, or any other fault by which they were made exiles from the grace of the Gospel, except that one about which the Apostle was not silent, which I mentioned a little before? I bear them witness, he says, that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. Where he praised, he also reproved. Why, then, were they at fault? Because, certainly, although they have a zeal for God, it is not according to knowledge. And as if we were consulting the Apostle and saying, What is it that you said, not according to knowledge? What is this knowledge which they do not have, who nevertheless have a zeal for God? Do you want to hear what knowledge they do not have? Attend to what follows: For not knowing the righteousness of God, and wishing to establish their own, they have not been subject to the righteousness of God (Rom. 10:3). If, therefore, you have a zeal for God, and wish to have it according to knowledge, and to belong to the New Testament, to which the Jews could not belong for this reason, that they had a zeal for God not according to knowledge; acknowledge the righteousness of God, and do not wish to establish this very righteousness, if you have any, as your own: if you live well, if you do the commandments of God, do not think it your own; for this is to wish to establish one's own righteousness. Acknowledge from whom you have received, and you have what you have received. For you do not have what you have not received. But if you have received, why do you glory as if you had not received (1 Cor. 4:7)? For when you glory as if you had not received, you glory in yourself: and where then is, Let him who glories glory in the Lord? Hold fast what is given, but acknowledge the Giver. When the Lord was promising that He would give His Spirit, He said: If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, rivers of living water shall flow from his belly (John 7:37,

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38). Unde in te hoc flumen? Recordare tuam pristinam siccitatem. Nisi enim siccus fuisses, non sitisses: si non sitisses, non bibisses. Quid est, si non sitisses, non bibisses? Nisi tu te inanem invenisses, in Christum non credidisses. Antequam diceret, flumina aquae vivae fluent de ventre ejus; prius dixit, Si quis sitit, veniat et bibat. Ideo flumen habebis aquae vivae, quia bibis: non bibis, si non sitis: si autem sitiebas, quare tanquam de tuo flumine gloriari volebas? Ergo qui gloriatur, in Domino glorietur.

38). Whence this river in you? Remember your former dryness. For unless you had been dry, you would not have thirsted; if you had not thirsted, you would not have drunk. What does "if you had not thirsted, you would not have drunk" mean? Unless you had found yourself empty, you would not have believed in Christ. Before He said, rivers of living water shall flow from his belly, He first said, If anyone thirsts, let him come and drink. Therefore you will have a river of living water, because you drink; you do not drink if you do not thirst; but if you were thirsting, why did you wish to glory as if in your own river? Therefore let him who glories, glory in the Lord.

3. Scire Christum crucifixum magna sapientia. Superbia hominem prohibet a fide in Christum.— Et ego, inquit, fratres, veniens ad vos veni non in elatione verbi aut sapientiae, annuntians vobis mysterium Dei. Dicit etiam: Numquid dixi me scire aliquid in vobis, nisi Jesum Christum, et hunc crucifixum (I Cor. II, 1, 2)? Et si hoc solum sciebat, nihil est quod nesciebat. Magnum est scire Christum crucifixum: sed ante oculos parvulorum tanquam involutum posuit thesaurum. Christum, inquit, crucifixum. Quanta habet intus iste thesaurus? Deinde alio loco, cum metueret quibusdam, ne per philosophiam et inanem fallaciam seducerentur a Christo, thesaurum scientiae et sapientiae Dei promisit in Christo. Cavete, inquit, ne quis vos seducat per philosophiam et inanem seductionem, secundum elementa mundi, non secundum Christum, in quo sunt omnes thesauri sapientiae et scientiae absconditi (Coloss. II, 8, 3). Christus crucifixus, thesauri sapientiae et scientiae absconditi. Nolite ergo, inquit, nomine sapientiae decipi. Ad hoc involucrum vos advocate, hoc vobis ut evolvatur, orate. Stulte hujus mundi philosophe, quod quaeris nihil est: quem non qu⟨ae⟩ris. Quid prodest, quia multum sitis, et fontem calcando pertransis? Contemnis humilitatem, quia non intelligis majestatem. Si enim cognovissent, nunquam Dominum gloriae crucifixissent (I Cor. II, 8). Jesum Christum, inquit, crucifixum. Non dixi aliquid me in vobis scire, nisi Jesum Christum, et hunc crucifixum: humilitatem ejus, quam irrident superbi, ut fiat in eis, Increpasti superbos; maledicti enim qui declinant a mandatis tuis (Psal. CXVIII, 21). Et quod est mandatum ejus, nisi ut credamus in eum, et d⟨i⟩ligamus invicem? In quem credamus? In Christum crucifixum. Quod non vult andire superbia, hoc audiat sapientia. Mandatum ejus est, ut credamus in eum. In quem? In Christum crucifixum. Hoc est mandatum ejus, ut credamus in Christum crucifixum. Hoc omnino: sed superbus iste, erecta cervice, tumenti gutture, elata lingua, inflatis buccis irridet Christum crucifixum. Maledicti ergo qui declinant a mandatis tuis. Quare irrident, nisi quia vilem vesticulam forinsecus circumdatam vident, latentem intus thesaurum non vi⟨d⟩ent? Videt carnem, videt hominem, videt crucem, videt mortem, ista contemnit. Mane, noli transire, noli spernere, noli insultare. Exspecta, scrutare: forte est aliquid intus quod te multu⟨m⟩ delectet. Si invenias quod oculus non vidit, n⟨e⟩c auris audivit, nec in cor

3. To know Christ crucified is great wisdom. Pride keeps a man from faith in Christ.— And I, he says, brothers, when I came to you, came not in loftiness of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the mystery of God. He also says: Did I say that I knew anything among you, except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:1–2)? And if he knew this alone, there is nothing that he did not know. It is a great thing to know Christ crucified; but he set the treasure before the eyes of the little ones as if wrapped up. Christ, he says, crucified. How much does this treasure hold within? Then in another place, when he feared for certain people, lest they be led astray from Christ through philosophy and empty deceit, he promised the treasure of the knowledge and wisdom of God in Christ. Beware, he says, lest anyone lead you astray through philosophy and empty seduction, according to the elements of the world, not according to Christ, in Whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:8, 3). Christ crucified: the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Do not, then, he says, be deceived by the name of wisdom. Call yourselves to this wrapping; pray that it may be unwrapped for you. Foolish philosopher of this world, what you seek is nothing: Him Whom you do not seek. What does it profit you that you thirst much, and pass over the spring, trampling on it? You despise the humility, because you do not understand the majesty. For if they had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Cor. 2:8). Jesus Christ, he says, crucified. I did not say that I knew anything among you, except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified: His humility, which the proud mock, so that there may be fulfilled in them, Thou hast rebuked the proud; for cursed are they who turn aside from Thy commandments (Ps. 118:21). And what is His commandment, except that we believe in Him and love one another? In Whom are we to believe? In Christ crucified. What pride does not wish to hear, let wisdom hear. His commandment is that we believe in Him. In Whom? In Christ crucified. This is His commandment, that we believe in Christ crucified. This altogether; but this proud man, with neck erect, swelling throat, tongue lifted up, cheeks puffed out, mocks Christ crucified. Cursed, therefore, are they who turn aside from Thy commandments. Why do they mock, except because they see the mean little garment wrapped around on the outside, and do not see the treasure hidden within? He sees flesh, he sees a man, he sees a cross, he sees death; these things he despises. Stay, do not pass by, do not spurn, do not scoff. Wait, search: perhaps there is something within that will greatly delight you. If you find what eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor into the heart

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(1) ‹anchor: quem non quaeris› · call in col 874

Hic aliquid deest

Something is missing here.

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hominis ascendit (I Cor. II, 9). Videt oculus carnem: est infra carnem quod oculus non videt. Audit auris tua vocem: est ibi quod auris non audivit. Ascendit in cor tuum, quasi de terrenis cogitationibus, homo crucifixus et mortuus: est illic quod in cor hominis non ascendit. Ascendunt enim in cor nostrum usitatae cogitationes: Ascendit, inquit, in cor Moysi visitare fratres suos (Exod. II, 11); humana est ista conditio. Et cum discipuli de ipso Domino dubitarent, et apud se ipsos dicerent, cum subito resurrexisse conspicerent, Ipse est, non est; caro est, spiritus est: hoc eis dicit, Quid cogitationes ascendunt in cor vestrum (Luc. XXIV, 38)?

of man has ascended (1 Cor. 2:9). The eye sees the flesh: there is beneath the flesh what the eye does not see. Your ear hears a voice: there is in it what the ear has not heard. There ascends into your heart, as if out of earthly thoughts, a man crucified and dead: there is in that what has not ascended into the heart of man. For customary thoughts ascend into our heart: It ascended, it says, into the heart of Moses to visit his brethren (Exod. 2:11); that is the human condition. And when the disciples were in doubt about the Lord Himself, and were saying among themselves, when they suddenly saw that He had risen, "It is He, it is not; it is flesh, it is a spirit", He says this to them: Why do thoughts ascend into your heart (Luke 24:38)?

4. Humilitas crucis via ad celsitudinem. Quaeramus ergo, si possumus, non quod in cor nostrum possit ascendere, sed quo cor nostrum mereatur ascendere. Merebitur enim in regnante glorificari, qui didicerit in crucifixo gloriari. Unde videns ipse Apostolus, non solum quo ascendat, sed etiam qua ascendat: multi enim viderunt quo, nec viderunt qua: amaverunt celsitudinis patriam, sed ignoraverunt humilitatis viam: sciens ergo Apostolus, et cogitans et praemeditans, non solum quo, sed etiam qua, Mihi, inquit, absit gloriari, nisi in cruce Domini Jesu Christi. Poterat dicere, In sapientia Domini nostri Jesu Christi; et verum diceret: poterat, In majestate; et verum diceret: poterat, In potestate; et verum diceret: sed dixit, in cruce. Ubi mundi philosophus erubuit, ibi thesaurum Apostolus reperit: non contemnendo vile involucrum, pervenit ad pretiosum involutum. Absit, inquit, mihi gloriari, nisi in cruce Domini nostri Jesu Christi. Bonam sarcinam sustulisti, ibi totum est quod quaesisti; et quid ibi magnum lateret, ostendisti. Quale adjutorium? Per quem mihi, inquit, mundus crucifixus est et ego mundo (Galat. VI, 14). Quando tibi crucifigeretur mundus, nisi pro te crucifigeretur per quem factus est mundus? Ergo qui gloriatur, in Domino glorietur. Quo Domino? Christo crucifixo. Ubi humilitas, ibi majestas; ubi infirmitas, ibi potestas; ubi mors, ibi vita. Si vis ad illa pervenire, noli ista contemnere.

4. The humility of the cross is the way to the height. Let us seek, therefore, if we can, not what may be able to ascend into our heart, but whither our heart may deserve to ascend. For he will deserve to be glorified in the One reigning who has learned to glory in the One crucified. Hence the Apostle himself saw not only whither he should ascend, but also by what way he should ascend: for many have seen whither, and have not seen by what way: they have loved the homeland of the height, but have not known the way of humility. So the Apostle, knowing, and pondering, and considering beforehand not only whither but also by what way, says: Far be it from me to glory, except in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. He could have said, "In the wisdom of our Lord Jesus Christ", and he would have spoken the truth; he could have said, "In the majesty", and he would have spoken the truth; he could have said, "In the power", and he would have spoken the truth: but he said, in the cross. Where the philosopher of the world blushed, there the Apostle found a treasure: by not despising the cheap wrapping, he came to the precious thing wrapped in it. Far be it, he says, from me to glory, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. A good burden you have taken up; there is the whole of what you have sought; and you have shown what great thing lay hidden there. What kind of help? Through Whom, he says, the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world (Gal. 6:14). When would the world be crucified to you, unless He through Whom the world was made were crucified for you? Therefore let him who glories glory in the Lord. In what Lord? In Christ crucified. Where there is humility, there is majesty; where there is weakness, there is power; where there is death, there is life. If you wish to come to those things, do not despise these.

5. Filii Zebedaei celsitudinem appetentes ad viam vocantur. Audisti in Evangelio filios Zebedaei. Quaerebant altitudinem, dicentes ut unus eorum sederet ad dexteram tanti patrisfamilias, alter ad sinistram. Magnam plane illi celsitudinem requirebant, magnam: sed quoniam postponebant qua, vocat eos Christus ab eo quo ire volebant, ad illud qua ire debebant. Quaerentibus quippe tantam celsitudinem quid respondit? Potestis bibere calicem quem ego bibiturus sum (Matth. XX, 22)? Quem calicem, nisi humilitatis, nisi passionis? quem bibiturus et in se transformans infirmitatem nostram ait Patri: Pater, si fieri potest, transeat a me calix iste (Id. XXVI, 39).

5. The sons of Zebedee, seeking the height, are called to the way. You have heard in the Gospel of the sons of Zebedee. They were seeking loftiness, asking that one of them should sit at the right hand of so great a householder, the other at the left. A great height indeed they were seeking, a great one: but since they were putting off the way by which, Christ calls them from that whither they wished to go to that by which they ought to go. For to them seeking so great a height what did He answer? Can you drink the cup which I am about to drink (Matt. 20:22)? What cup, if not that of humility, if not that of the passion? Being about to drink it, and transforming our weakness into Himself, He says to the Father: Father, if it can be, let this cup pass from me (Matt. 26:39).

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Forte, cogitatio.

Perhaps "thought".

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(a) ‹anchor: qua, Mihi, inquit› · call in col 875

Florus ad Galat. VI, post citatum sermonem qui nunc ordine est 27, subjungit hujusce tractatus fragmentum ab istis verbis, Mihi, inquit, absit gloriari, etc., cum hoc titulo, « Ex eodem sermone. » Sed castigandus Florus ex Beda, qui id ibidem notat excerptum, « Ex sermone de Apostolo, « Qui gloriatur, in Domino glorietur. »

Florus on Galatians 6, after citing the sermon that is now no. 27 in order, appends a fragment of this discourse beginning from the words "But far be it from me," he says, "to glory," etc., under the title "From the same sermon." But Florus must be corrected from Bede, who notes in the same place that it is excerpted "From the sermon on the Apostle, 'He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.'"

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(a) ‹anchor: qua, Mihi, inquit› · call in col 875

Hinc incipiebat sermo alias 15 inter editos a Parisiensibus, qui hanc solum partem repererant in vetere Lectionario Carthusiano aut Germanensi, ad diem Exaltationis S. Crucis.

Here began the sermon formerly no. 15 among those edited by the Paris editors, who had found only this part in an old Carthusian or Saint-Germain Lectionary, for the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

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running head: 875 S. AUGUSTINI EPISC[...] (cut off at image edge)
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PL 38:876

Istos ipsos in se transformans, qui talem calicem bibere recusabant, et altitudinem quaerebant, humilitatis viam negligebant, Potestis bibere, inquit, calicem quem ego bibiturus sum? Christum quaeritis excelsum; redite ad crucifixum. Vultis regnare et gloriari in sedibus Christi; prius discite dicere, Mihi absit gloriari, nisi in cruce Domini nostri Jesu Christi. Haec est doctrina christiana, humilitatis praeceptum, humilitatis commendatio, ut non gloriemur, nisi in cruce Domini nostri Jesu Christi. Nam non est magnum in Christi sapientia gloriari: magnum est in cruce Christi gloriari: unde tibi insultat impius, inde glorietur pius; unde insultat superbus, inde glorietur christianus. Noli erusbescere de cruce Christi: ideo in fronte tanquam in sede pudoris signum ipsum accepisti. Recole frontem tuam, ne linguam expavescas alienam.

Transforming into Himself those very men who refused to drink such a cup, and sought loftiness, and neglected the way of humility, He says, Can you drink the cup which I am about to drink? You seek Christ on high; go back to the Crucified. You wish to reign and to glory in the seats of Christ; first learn to say, Far be it from me to glory, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is Christian doctrine, the precept of humility, the commendation of humility: that we glory not, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. For it is no great thing to glory in the wisdom of Christ: the great thing is to glory in the cross of Christ: in the very thing for which the ungodly man mocks you, let the godly man glory; in the very thing for which the proud man mocks, let the Christian glory. Do not be ashamed of the cross of Christ: it is for this reason that you received that very sign on your forehead, as on the seat of shame. Remember your forehead, so that you do not dread another's tongue.

6. Circumcisio veteris Testamenti, crux novi signum. Signum veteris Testamenti circumcisio in latenti carne: signum novi Testamenti crux in libera fronte. Ibi enim occultatio est, hic revelatio: illud est sub velamine, hoc in facie. Quamdiu enim legitur Moyses, velamen super cor eorum positum est. Quare? Quia non transierunt ad Christum. Cum enim transieris ad Christum, auferetur velamen: ut qui habebas in occulto circumcisionem, in fronte portes crucem. Nos autem revelata facie gloriam Domini speculantes, in eamdem imaginem, inquit, transformamur, de gloria in gloriam, tanquam a Domini Spiritu (II Cor. III, 15, 16, 18). Ne hoc tibi tribuas, ne hoc tuum putes, ne ignorans Dei justitiam et tuam volens constituere, justitiae Dei non sis subjectus. Transi ergo ad Christum, o qui gloriaris de circumcisione. Inde enim vis gloriam habere, quod verecundaris ostendere. Signum est, verum est, a Deo praeceptum est: sed occultationis signum est. Novum enim Testamentum in veteri velabatur: vetus Testamentum in novo revelatur. Ideo signum ab occulto transeat in manifestum, et incipiat esse in fronte quod latebat sub veste. Nam in eo signo Christum esse praenuntiatum quis ambigat? Inde cultellus petrinus: Petra autem erat Christus (I Cor. X, 4). Inde octavus dies circumcisionis, et dominicus resurrectionis. Ideo Apostolus inde transiens, inde veniens, transiens scilicet ad Christum, ut auferatur velamen, novit unde glorietur. Mihi autem absit gloriari, nisi in cruce Domini nostri Jesu Christi. Quid enim prius dixerat? Neque enim qui circumcisi sunt, ii legem custodiunt; sed volunt vos circumcidi, ut in vestra carne glorientur (Galat. VI, 14, 13). Tu quid, Apostole? Transfer signum ad frontem. Mihi autem absit gloriari, nisi in cruce Domini nostri Jesu Christi. Hic habeo, inquit, quod ignorabam.

6. Circumcision the sign of the Old Testament, the cross of the New. The sign of the Old Testament is circumcision in the hidden flesh: the sign of the New Testament is the cross on the open forehead. For there is concealment, here revelation: that is under a veil, this in the face. For as long as Moses is read, a veil is laid over their heart. Why? Because they have not passed over to Christ. For when you have passed over to Christ, the veil will be taken away: so that you who had circumcision in secret may carry the cross on your forehead. But we, he says, beholding the glory of the Lord with unveiled face, are transformed into the same image, from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Cor. 3:15, 16, 18). Do not attribute this to yourself, do not think this your own, lest, being ignorant of the righteousness of God and wishing to establish your own, you be not subject to the righteousness of God. Pass over, then, to Christ, O you who glory in circumcision. For you wish to have glory from that which you are ashamed to show. It is a sign, it is true, it was commanded by God: but it is a sign of concealment. For the New Testament was veiled in the Old: the Old Testament is revealed in the New. Therefore let the sign pass from the hidden into the open, and let what lay hidden under the garment begin to be on the forehead. For who would doubt that Christ was foretold in that sign? Hence the knife of stone: and the Rock was Christ (1 Cor. 10:4). Hence the eighth day of circumcision, and the Lord's day of the resurrection. Therefore the Apostle, passing over from there, coming from there, passing over, that is, to Christ, so that the veil might be taken away, knows in what he should glory. But far be it from me to glory, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. For what had he said before? For neither do those who are circumcised keep the law; but they wish you to be circumcised, so that they may glory in your flesh (Gal. 6:14, 13). What of you, Apostle? Transfer the sign to the forehead. But far be it from me to glory, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here I have, he says, what I did not know.

Editors' notes and page, col. 876

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: verum est› · call in col 876

Ita in Germanensi Lectionario. At editi ex majoris Carthusiae Mss., Et signum verum est, a Deo praeceptum est.

So in the Saint-Germain Lectionary. But the editions made from the manuscripts of the Grande Chartreuse: "And it is a true sign, commanded by God."

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(2) ‹anchor: Hic› · call in col 876

Lectionarium Germanense, Hinc. Quo quidem ex Lectionario habes quae sequuntur deinceps post verba, quod ignorabam. Reliqua enim deerant in editis ex majoris Carthusiae manuscriptis.

The Saint-Germain Lectionary: "Hence." Indeed, it is from this Lectionary that you have what follows from here on, after the words "what I did not know." For the rest was lacking in the editions made from the manuscripts of the Grande Chartreuse.

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(a) ‹anchor: nisi in cruce Domini nostri Jesu Christi (first occurrence, before Haec est doctrina)› · call in col 876

Hinc incipiebat sermo alias 15 inter editos a Parisiensibus, qui hanc solum partem repererant in vetere Lectionario Carthusiano aut Germanensi, ad diem Exaltationis S. Crucis.

Here began the sermon formerly numbered 15 among those published by the Paris editors, who had found only this part, in an old Carthusian or Saint-Germain Lectionary, for the day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

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(b) ‹anchor: dominicus resurrectionis› · call in col 876

Vide serm. 169, n. 3.

See Sermon 169, n. 3.

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