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Augustine, Sermones 172-178 (Classis I, de Scripturis)

Sermon CLXXVIII

Noli multum cogitare de futuris : imo multum cogita de futuris ; sed de longe futuris : Thesaurizent sibi fundamentum bonum in futurum, ut apprehendant veram vitam. Haec ita, quemadmodum dixit Apostolus, Non ut aliis refectio, vobis autem angustia, sed ex aequalitate (II Cor. VIII, 13). Habe : tantum no⟨l⟩i amare, servare, thesaurizare, incubare reconditis hoc est de incertis sperare. Quam multi divites dormierunt, pauperes surrexerunt ! Propter istam enim cogitationem, cum dixisset : Sine amore modus pecuniae sufficiens est praesentibus. Propter malas cogitationes, quae dicunt, Si thesaurum non habuero, quis mihi dabit, cum egere coepero ? Deinde, Abundat unde vivam, sufficit mihi unde vivam : sed quid, si impingat mihi calumnia ? unde me redimam ? Quid, si mihi necesse sit litigare ? unde sumptus impendam ? Quamdiu omnia mala quae possunt evenire generi humano narrare et computare non poteris, plerumque una calamitas turbat computum numerantis, et totum quod numerabatur, non solum perit, sed nec in digitis remanebit ? Ideo contra istum cogitationis vermiculum, contra malignam tineam apposuit Deus in Scriptura sua, quomodo solent apponi vestibus odoramenta quaedam, ne tineent. Quid ? cogitabasne tibi calamitates ? non timebas unam grandem ? Attende quod sequitur : Sine amore modus pecuniae sufficiens est praesentibus. Ipse enim dixit : Non te derelinquam, non te deseram (Hebr. XIII, 5). Timebas mala nescio quae, propterea pecuniam servabas : tene fidejussorem ; hoc Deus tibi dicit, Non te derelinquam, non te deseram. Homo si promitteret, crederes ; Deus promittit, et dubitas ? Promisit, scripsit, cautionem fecit : esto securus. Lege quod tenes, cautionem tenes, ipsum debitorem tenuisti, a quo tua debita relaxari petisti.

Do not think much about future things: no, think much about future things; but about things far in the future: Let them lay up in store for themselves a good foundation for the future, that they may lay hold on true life. These things are so, as the Apostle said, Not that others should have refreshment and you distress, but out of equality (2 Cor. 8:13). Have: only do not love, keep, hoard, brood over things hidden away, that is, hope in uncertain things. How many rich men have fallen asleep, and poor men have risen up! For it was on account of this thought, when he had said: Without love of money, the measure is sufficient for present needs. On account of evil thoughts, which say: If I have no treasure, who will give to me when I begin to be in want? Then: I have plenty to live on, I have enough to live on; but what if a false accusation is thrust upon me? With what shall I redeem myself? What if I must go to law? From what shall I pay the costs? While you cannot recount and reckon up all the evils that can befall the human race, often a single calamity throws the reckoner's account into confusion, and the whole of what was being counted not only perishes, but will not even remain upon the fingers. Therefore against this little worm of thought, against the malignant moth, God has set something in His Scripture, just as certain perfumes are usually set among garments, lest they be eaten by moths. What? Were you thinking of calamities for yourself? Did you not fear one great one? Attend to what follows: Without love of money, the measure is sufficient for present needs. For He Himself has said: I will not forsake you, I will not desert you (Heb. 13:5). You feared I know not what evils, and therefore you kept your money: hold the guarantor; God says this to you: I will not forsake you, I will not desert you. If a man promised, you would believe; God promises, and do you doubt? He has promised, He has written, He has given a bond: be secure. Read what you hold: you hold the bond, you have held fast the very debtor from whom you have asked that your debts be remitted.

SERMO CLXXVIII De verbis Apostoli, Tit. cap. I, 9, Ut potens sit exhortari in doctrina sana, et contradicentes arguere.

Sermon 178. On the words of the Apostle, Titus chapter 1:9, That he may be able to exhort in sound doctrine, and to refute those who contradict.

Contra rerum alienarum raptores

Against those who seize the property of others

CAPUT PRIMUM. — 1. Episcoporum onus. Beati Apostoli Epistola cum legeretur de constituendis episcopis, commemoravit nos sine dubio respicere in nos : et vos commemoravit non judicare nos ; maxime quia omnes audivimus capituli Evangelii recentis lectionis novissimam se⟨n⟩tentiam : Nolite judicare personaliter, sed justum judicium judicate (Joan. VII, 24). Personam itaque judicando nemo accipit alienam, si non accipit suam. Beatus Apostolus ait quodam loco : Non sic pugno, quasi aerem caedens : sed castigo corpus meum, et in servitutem redigo ; ne forte aliis praedicans, ipse reprobus inveniar (I Cor. IX, 26, 27). Suo timore nos terruit. Quid enim faciet agnus ubi aries

Chapter I. — 1. The burden of bishops. When the Epistle of the blessed Apostle was being read concerning the appointing of bishops, it reminded us, without doubt, to look into ourselves; and it reminded you not to judge us; above all because we have all heard the last sentence of the passage of the Gospel recently read: Do not judge according to the person, but judge just judgement (John 7:24). So in judging, no one shows partiality to another's person if he does not show partiality to his own. The blessed Apostle says in a certain place: I do not fight so, as one beating the air; but I chastise my body and bring it into servitude, lest perhaps, having preached to others, I myself be found reprobate (1 Cor. 9:26–27). By his own fear he has made us afraid. For what will the lamb do where the ram

Editors' notes and page, col. 960

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: call not visible in the page-foot image› · call in col 960

In excusis deerat, Non; et pro, ex aequalitate, legebatur, ex eo quisque. Emendare oportuit ad Epistolam secundam ad Corinthios, cap. 8. Quo loco Vulgata quidem habet, Non ut aliis sit remissio; at Augustinus legere solet, refectio.

In the printed copies Non was missing; and instead of ex aequalitate ("out of equality") one read ex eo quisque ("each from it"). It had to be corrected by the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, ch. 8. There the Vulgate has Not that others should have relief (remissio); but Augustine usually reads refectio ("refreshment").

(*) ‹anchor: SERMO CLXXVIII› · call in col 960 Emendatus est ad a. bn. cl. cb. f. fs. g. lr. m. pr. rm. vd. Am. Er. Par. Lov.

It has been corrected against the manuscripts a. bn. cl. cb. f. fs. g. lr. m. pr. rm. vd. and the Amerbach, Erasmus, Paris and Louvain editions.

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(a) ‹anchor: SERMO CLXXVIII› · call in col 960

Alias, de Verbis Apostoli 19.

Formerly numbered On the Words of the Apostle 19.

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(b) ‹anchor: alienarum raptores› · call in col 960

Nonnulla ex hoc sermone retulit Florus ad Tit. I, et Hebr. XII.

Florus reproduced some passages of this sermon on Titus 1 and Hebrews 12.

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tremit? Inter multa ergo, quibus scripsit Apostolus, qualis esse episcopus debeat, etiam illud audivimus, unde modo forsitan loqui et disputare sufficiat. Si enim singula discutere, et de singulis, ut dignum est, disputare conemur; nec nostrae vires sufficiunt ad loquendum, nec vestrae ad audiendum. Quid ergo est quod volo dicere, si adjuvet me qui terruit me? Inter caetera ait episcopum potentem esse debere in doctrina sana, ut contradicentes redarguere possit. Magnum opus est, gravis sarcina, clivus arduus. Sed sperabo, inquit, in Deum, quoniam ipse liberabit me de laqueo venantium, et a verbo aspero (Psal. XC, 2, 3). Nulla enim causa est, quae magis faciat hominem dispensatorem Dei pigriorem ad redarguendos contradicentes, quam timor verbi asperi.

trembles? Among the many things, then, in which the Apostle wrote what sort of man a bishop ought to be, we have also heard that point about which it may perhaps suffice to speak and discuss now. For if we were to try to examine each point and discuss each one as it deserves, neither would our strength suffice for speaking nor yours for listening. What then is it that I wish to say, if He Who has made me afraid helps me? Among other things he says that a bishop ought to be powerful in sound doctrine, so that he may be able to refute those who contradict. It is a great task, a heavy burden, a steep slope. But I will hope, he says, in God, since He will free me from the snare of the hunters and from a harsh word (Ps. 90:2–3). For there is no cause that makes a steward of God more sluggish in refuting those who contradict than the fear of a harsh word.

CAPUT II. -- 2. Avarus suorum reconditor damnatur. Prius ergo quid sit, contradicentes redarguere, ut Dominus donaverit, exponam vobis. Contradicentes ⟨n⟩on uno modo intelligendi sunt. Paucissimi enim nobis contradicunt loquendo: sed multi male vivendo. Quando mihi audet dicere christianus, bonum esse rapere res alienas; quandoquidem non audet dicere, bonum esse tenaciter servare res suas? Numquid enim dives ille, cui successerat regio, et non inveniebat ubi poneret fructus suos, et se consilium invenisse gaudebat destruendi veteres apothecas, et construendi novas ampliores, ut impleret eas, et diceret animae suae, Anima, habes multa bona in multum tempus, laetare, jucundare, satiare: numquid ergo iste dives aliena quaerebat? Fructus suos colligere disponebat, ubi poneret consulebat, non de cujusquam vicini agris, non limite perturbato, non spoliato paupere, non circumvento simplice, sed tantummodo de suis colligendis cogitabat. Audite quid audierit, qui tenaciter servabat sua; et hinc intelligite quid exspectent, qui rapiunt aliena. Cum ergo se prudentissimum consilium invenisse arbitraretur, de apothecis veteribus angustis dejiciendis, et amplioribus novis aedificandis, et omnibus suis fructibus colligendis et recondendis, non alienis concupiscendis atque rapiendis; ait illi Deus, Stulte: ubi tibi sapiens videris, ibi stulte. Stulte, inquit, hac nocte repetunt a te animam tuam; haec quae praeparasti cujus erunt (Luc. XII, 16-20)? Si servaveris, tua non erunt: si erogaveris, tua erunt. Quid, inquit, reponis, quod relicturus es? Ecce increpatus est stultus male recondens. Si stultus est qui recondit sua, vos invenite nomen ei qui tollit aliena. Si sordidus est reconditor suorum, ulcerosus est raptor alienorum. Sed non qualis ille ulcerosus, qui jacebat ante januam divitis, et cujus canes linguebant ulcera. Ille enim ulcerosus erat in corpore; raptor, in corde.

Chapter II. -- 2. The miser who stores up his own goods is condemned. First, then, I shall set out for you, as the Lord may grant, what it is to refute those who contradict. Those who contradict are to be understood in more than one way. For very few contradict us by speaking, but many by living badly. When does a Christian dare to tell me that it is good to seize the goods of others, seeing that he does not dare to say that it is good to keep a tight hold on his own goods? For that rich man whose estate had prospered, and who could not find where to put his produce, and rejoiced that he had found the plan of pulling down his old storehouses and building new and larger ones so as to fill them, and of saying to his soul, Soul, you have many goods for a long time; rejoice, make merry, eat your fill: was that rich man, then, seeking what belonged to others? He was arranging to gather his own produce; he was deliberating where to put it; he was not thinking of any neighbour's fields, nor of a boundary moved, nor of a poor man despoiled, nor of a simple man cheated, but only of gathering his own. Hear what he heard who kept a tight hold on his own; and from this understand what they may expect who seize what belongs to others. When, then, he thought he had found a most prudent plan, of throwing down the old cramped storehouses and building new and larger ones, and of gathering and storing up all his own produce, not of coveting and seizing others'; God said to him, Fool: where you seem to yourself wise, there you are a fool. Fool, He says, this night they demand your soul from you; whose will these things be which you have prepared (Luke 12:16–20)? If you keep them, they will not be yours; if you give them out, they will be yours. Why, He says, do you store up what you are going to leave behind? See, the fool who stored up wrongly has been rebuked. If he who stores up his own goods is a fool, you find a name for him who takes away the goods of others. If he who stores up his own goods is mean, he who seizes the goods of others is covered with sores. But not like that man covered with sores who lay before the rich man's gate, and whose sores the dogs licked. For that man was covered with sores in his body; the robber, in his heart.

CAPUT III. — 3. Dives quia immisericors, punitur. Fortassis aliquis respondeat, et dicat: Non valde magna poena erat illi homini, cui dixit Deus, Stulte. Non sic dicit Deus, Stulte, quomodo homo dicit. Tale in quemquam Dei verbum, judicium est. Numquid

Chapter III. — 3. The rich man is punished because he was unmerciful. Perhaps someone may reply and say: It was no very great punishment for that man to whom God said, Fool. God does not say Fool in the way a man says it. Such a word of God against anyone is a judgement. Surely

Editors' notes and page, col. 961

Footnotes

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Sic Am. Er. et Mss. At Lov., quae.

So the Amerbach and Erasmus editions and the manuscripts. But the Louvain edition has which.

(printed under page 487)

(2) ‹anchor: raptor, in corde› · call in col 961

Lov., non raptor in corde; refragantibus editis aliis et aliquot manuscriptis.

The Louvain edition has not a robber in heart, against the other printed editions and some manuscripts.

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enim Deus stultis daturus est regnum coelorum? Quibus autem non est daturus regnum coelorum, quid eis restat, nisi poena gehennarum? Conjicere hoc videmur: aperte hoc manifesteque videamus. Nam et ille dives, ante cujus januam jacebat pauperrimus ulcerosus, non est dictus raptor rerum alienarum. Erat quidam dives, inquit, qui induebatur purpura et bysso, et epulabatur quotidie splendide. Dives, inquit, erat: non dixit, Calumniator; non dixit, Pauperum oppressor; non dixit, Rerum alienarum raptor, aut delator, aut receptor; non dixit, Pupillorum spoliator; non dixit, Viduarum persecutor; nihil horum: sed, Erat quidam dives. Quid magnum est? Dives erat, de suo dives erat. Cui aliquid tulerat? An forte ille auferret, et Dominus de illo reticeret, et personam ejus acciperet, si crimina ejus absconderet, qui nobis dicit, Nolite personaliter judicare? Si vis ergo audire crimen divitis illius, noli amplius quaerere, quam audis a Veritate. Dives erat; induebatur purpura et bysso, et epulabatur quotidie splendide. Quod ergo ejus crimen? Jacens ante januam ulcerosus, et non adjutus. Hoc enim aperte de illo dictum est, quod immisericors erat. Numquid enim, charissimi, si pauper ille ante januam jacens sufficientem panem a divite acciperet, diceretur de illo quia cupiebat saturari de micis quae cadebant de mensa divitis? Propter hanc solam inhumanitatem, qua contemnebat pauperem ante januam suam jacentem, nec congrue digneque pascebat, mortuus est et sepultus; et cum apud inferos in tormentis esset, levavit oculos suos, et vidit pauperem in sinu Abrahae. Et quid pluribus immorer? Desideravit guttam, qui non dedit micam: non accepit justa sententia, qui non dedit crudeli avaritia (Luc. XVI, 19-26). Si haec ergo poena est avarorum, quae poena raptorum?

God is not going to give the kingdom of heaven to fools? But for those to whom He is not going to give the kingdom of heaven, what remains for them but the punishment of Gehenna? We seem to be guessing at this: let us see it openly and plainly. For that rich man too, before whose gate there lay a most wretchedly poor man covered in sores, was not called a robber of other people's goods. There was a certain rich man, He says, who was clothed in purple and fine linen, and feasted sumptuously every day. He was rich, He says: He did not say, a slanderer; He did not say, an oppressor of the poor; He did not say, a robber of other people's goods, or an informer, or a receiver; He did not say, a despoiler of orphans; He did not say, a persecutor of widows; none of these: but, There was a certain rich man. What great matter is that? He was rich, he was rich from his own. From whom had he taken anything? Or, had he perhaps been taking things away, would the Lord have kept silent about him and shown partiality to his person, were He to hide his crimes, He who says to us, Do not judge with respect of persons? If therefore you wish to hear the crime of that rich man, do not seek beyond what you hear from the Truth. He was rich; he was clothed in purple and fine linen, and feasted sumptuously every day. What then was his crime? A man covered in sores lying before his gate, and not helped. For this is said of him plainly, that he was unmerciful. For, dearly beloved, if that poor man lying before the gate had received sufficient bread from the rich man, would it be said of him that he longed to be filled with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table? Because of this inhumanity alone, by which he despised the poor man lying before his gate and did not feed him fittingly and worthily, he died and was buried; and when he was in torments in the underworld, he lifted up his eyes, and saw the poor man in Abraham's bosom. And why should I dwell on it further? He longed for a drop who did not give a crumb: he did not receive, by a just sentence, who did not give, out of cruel avarice (Luke 16:19–26). If, then, this is the punishment of the avaricious, what is the punishment of robbers?

CAPUT IV. — 4. Raptoris eleemosynae Deo non acceptae. Sed ait mihi raptor rerum alienarum: Ego similis illius divitis non sum. Agapes facio, vinctis in carcere victum mitto, nudos vestio, peregrinos suscipio. Dare te putas? Tollere noli, et dedisti. Cui dederis, gaudet; cui abstuleris, plorat: quem duorum istorum exauditurus est Dominus? Dicis ei cui dederis: Gratias age quia accepisti. Sed alter tibi ex alia parte dicit: Ego gemo cui abstulisti. Et pene totum tenuisti, et exiguum illi dedisti. Si ergo quod alteri abstulisti egentibus dedisses, nec talia opera diligit Deus. Dicit tibi Deus: Stulte, jussi ut dares, sed non de alieno. Si habes, da de tuo: si non habes quod des de tuo, melius nulli dabis, quam alteros spoliabis. Dicturus est Dominus Christus, cum in judicio suo sederit, et alios ad dexteram et ad sinistram alios separaverit, bene operantibus: Venite, benedicti Patris mei, percipite regnum; sterilibus autem, qui nihil boni in pauperes operati sunt: Ite in ignem aeternum. Et quae dicturus est bonis? Esurivi enim, et dedistis mihi manducare, et caetera. Et respondebunt illi: Domine, quando te vidimus esurientem? Et ille ad eos:

Chapter IV. — 4. The alms of a robber are not acceptable to God. But the robber of other people's goods says to me: I am not like that rich man. I hold love-feasts, I send food to those bound in prison, I clothe the naked, I take in strangers. You think you are giving? Do not take, and you have given. The one to whom you give rejoices; the one from whom you take weeps: which of these two will the Lord hear? You say to the one to whom you have given: Give thanks, because you have received. But the other says to you from the other side: I, from whom you took, groan. And you have kept almost the whole, and given him a trifle. Even if you had given to the needy what you took from another, God does not love such works either. God says to you: Fool, I commanded you to give, but not from what belongs to another. If you have, give from your own: if you do not have anything of your own to give, it is better that you give to no one than that you despoil others. The Lord Christ, when He has sat in His judgement and set some apart at the right hand and others at the left, is going to say to those who did good: Come, blessed of My Father, receive the kingdom; but to the barren, who did no good towards the poor: Go into the eternal fire. And what is He going to say to the good? For I was hungry, and you gave Me to eat, and the rest. And they will answer: Lord, when did we see Thee hungry? And He to them:

Editors' notes and page, col. 962

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: hanc solam inhumanitatem› · call in col 962

Quidam Mss., immanitatem.

Some manuscripts have savagery.

(printed under page 487)

(2) ‹anchor: justa sententia› · call in col 962

Am. Er. et Lov., Nonne accepit justam sententiam, etc.

The Amerbach, Erasmus and Louvain editions have Did he not receive a just sentence, etc.

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Cum uni ex minimis meis fecistis, mihi fecistis. Intellige ergo, stulte, qui vis eleemosynam facere de rapina, quoniam si quando pascis christianum, pascis Christum; quando spolias christianum, spolias Christum. Attendite quid sinistris dicturus est: Ite in ignem aeternum. Quare? Esurivi enim, et non dedistis mihi manducare; nudus fui, et non vestistis me (Matth. XXV, 34, etc.). Ite. Quo? In ignem aeternum. Prorsus ite. Quare? Nudus fui, et non vestistis me. Si ergo in ignem aeternum ibit cui dicturus est Christus, Nudus fui, et non vestisti me; quem locum in igne aeterno habebit cui dicturus est, Vestitus fui, et spoliasti me?

When you did it to one of the least of Mine, you did it to Me. Understand, then, you fool who want to give alms out of plunder, that whenever you feed a Christian, you feed Christ; when you despoil a Christian, you despoil Christ. Listen to what He is going to say to those on the left: Go into the eternal fire. Why? For I was hungry, and you did not give Me to eat; I was naked, and you did not clothe Me (Matt. 25:34, etc.). Go. Where? Into the eternal fire. Go, without more ado. Why? I was naked, and you did not clothe Me. If, then, the one to whom Christ is going to say, I was naked, and you did not clothe Me, will go into the eternal fire, what place in the eternal fire will the one have to whom He is going to say, I was clothed, and you stripped Me?

CAPUT V. — 5. Paganorum res rapere non licet. Hic fortasse ut evadas hanc vocem, ne dicat tibi Christus, Vestitus fui, et spoliasti me; mutata consuetudine, cogitas spoliare paganum, et vestire christianum. Et hic respondebit tibi Christus, imo nunc respondebit tibi per servum qualemcumque ministrum suum: respondebit tibi Christus, et dicet, Etiam hic parce damnis meis. Cum enim christianus spolias paganum, impedis fieri christianum. Etiam et hic fortasse respondebis adhuc: Ego non odio poenam ingero, sed dilectione potius disciplinae: ideo spolio paganum, ut per hanc asperam et salubrem disciplinam faciam christianum. Audirem et crederem, si quod abstulisti pagano, redderes christiano.

Chapter V. — 5. It is not permitted to plunder the property of pagans. Here perhaps, to escape this word, so that Christ may not say to you, I was clothed, and you stripped Me, you change your habit and think of stripping a pagan and clothing a Christian. And here too Christ will answer you, nay, He will answer you now through His servant, whatever sort of minister of His he may be: Christ will answer you and say, Here too spare My losses. For when you, a Christian, despoil a pagan, you hinder him from becoming a Christian. And here too perhaps you will still reply: I do not inflict the penalty out of hatred, but rather out of love of discipline: that is why I despoil the pagan, so that through this harsh and wholesome discipline I may make him a Christian. I would listen and believe, if what you took from the pagan you were giving back to the Christian.

6. Raptores redarguit. Diximus contra unum vitium rapinarum, quo res humanae usquequaque vastantur: diximus, et nemo nobis contradicit. Quis enim audet apertissimae loquendo contradicere veritati? Non ergo facimus quod Apostolus monuit, non contradicentes redarguimus; obedientes alloquimur, laudantes instruimus; non contradicentes redarguimus. Ita vero non contradicunt lingua, sed vita. Moneo, rapit; doceo, rapit; praecipio, rapit; arguo, rapit: quomodo non contradicit? Dicam ergo quod de hac re sufficere existimo. Abstinete vos, fratres, abstinete vos, filii, abstinete vos a consuetudine rapiendi: et vos qui sub manibus raptorum gemitis, abstinete vos a cupiditate rapiendi. Alius potens est, et rapit: tu in manu raptoris gemis; quia rapere non potes, ideo non facis. Habeto facultatem, et ibi laudabo domitam cupiditatem.

6. He rebukes plunderers. We have spoken against one vice, that of plundering, by which human affairs are laid waste everywhere: we have spoken, and no one contradicts us. For who dares by speaking to contradict a most manifest truth? So we are not doing what the Apostle advised: we are not refuting those who contradict; we are addressing the obedient, instructing those who praise; we are not refuting those who contradict. Yet in truth they contradict not with the tongue, but with their life. I admonish, he plunders; I teach, he plunders; I command, he plunders; I rebuke, he plunders: how does he not contradict? Let me say, then, what I consider sufficient on this matter. Restrain yourselves, brothers, restrain yourselves, sons, restrain yourselves from the habit of plundering: and you who groan under the hands of plunderers, restrain yourselves from the desire to plunder. Another man is powerful, and he plunders: you groan in the plunderer's hand; because you cannot plunder, that is why you do not do it. Have the power, and then I will praise your desire as tamed.

CAPUT VI. — 7. Res inventa restituenda. Beatum sancta Scriptura dicit, qui post aurum non abiit; qui potuit transgredi, et non est transgressus; qui facere mala potuit, et non fecit (Eccli. XXXI, 8, 10). Tu autem dicis, Nunquam negavi rem alienam. Quia forte nemo tibi commendavit; aut forte commendavit, sed sub testibus commendavit. Dic mihi, reddidisti, quando a solo solus, ubi Deus inter vos fuerat, accepisti? Si tunc reddidisti, si mortuo qui commendavit, nescienti filio reddidisti; tunc te laudabo, quia post aurum non isti; quia potuisti transgredi, et non es transgressus; quia potuisti mala facere, et non fecisti. Si forte alienum saeculum solidorum, ubi nemo te vidit, in via invenisti, et sine ulla mora cujus fuerat reddidisti. E⟨i⟩a, fratres, redite ad vos, inspicite vos, interrogate

Chapter VI. — 7. A thing found must be restored. Holy Scripture calls blessed the one who has not gone after gold; who could have transgressed, and did not transgress; who could have done evil, and did not do it (Ecclus. 31:8, 10). But you say, I have never denied what belongs to another. Because perhaps no one entrusted anything to you; or perhaps someone did entrust it, but entrusted it before witnesses. Tell me, did you give it back when you received it alone from one alone, where God was between you? If you gave it back then, if, when the one who entrusted it had died, you gave it back to his son who knew nothing of it, then I will praise you, because you did not go after gold; because you could have transgressed, and did not transgress; because you could have done evil, and did not do it. If perhaps you found on the road someone else's purse of solidi, where no one saw you, and without any delay you gave it back to the one whose it had been. Come, brothers, return to yourselves, look into yourselves, question

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Forte, tunc.

Perhaps then.

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vos, vera respondete vobis, et judicate vos non secundum personam, sed justum judicium judicate. Ecce christianus es, ecclesiam frequentas, verbum Dei audis, de lectione verbi Dei laetissime commoveris. Tu laudas tractantem, ego quaero facientem: tu, inquam, laudas dicentem, ego quaero facientem. Christianus es, frequentas ecclesiam, amas verbum Dei, et libenter audis. Ecce hoc quod propono, in eo te examina, in eo te appende, in eo ascende mentis tuae tribunal, et constitue te ante te, et judica te: et si pravum inveneris, corrige te. Propono ergo. Deus dicit in lege sua, inventionem esse reddendam (Deut. XXII, 3): Deus in lege sua dicit, quam primo populo dedit, pro quibus Christus nondum erat mortuus, inventionem tanquam alienum esse reddendam; si quisquam, verbi gratia, in via inveniat alienum sacculum solidorum, debere reddere. Sed nescit cui? Non se excusat ignorantia, si non dominetur avaritia.

yourselves, answer yourselves truthfully, and judge yourselves not according to the person, but judge a just judgement. Behold, you are a Christian, you frequent the church, you hear the word of God, you are moved most joyfully by the reading of the word of God. You praise the one who expounds, I look for the one who does: you, I say, praise the one who speaks, I look for the one who does. You are a Christian, you frequent the church, you love the word of God, and you hear it gladly. Behold what I put before you: examine yourself in it, weigh yourself in it, in it ascend the tribunal of your mind, and set yourself before yourself, and judge yourself: and if you find anything crooked, correct yourself. I put it forward, then. God says in His law that a thing found is to be returned (Deut. 22:3): God says in His law, which He gave to the first people, for whom Christ had not yet died, that a thing found is to be returned as belonging to another; if anyone, for example, finds on the road someone else's purse of solidi, he ought to return it. But he does not know to whom? He does not excuse himself by ignorance, if avarice does not rule him.

CAPUT VII. — 8. Exemplum eximium de restituenda re aliena. Dicam vestrae Charitati, quoniam dona Dei sunt; et sunt in populo Dei qui non frustra audiunt verbum Dei: dicam quod fecerit pauperrimus homo, nobis apud Mediolanum constitutis; tam pauper, ut proscholus esset grammatici: sed plane christianus, quamvis ille esset paganus grammaticus; melior ad velum, quam in cathedra. Invenit sacculum, nisi forte me numerus fallit, cum solidis ferme ducentis: memor legis proposuit pittacium publice. Reddendum enim sciebat; sed cui redderet, ignorabat. Proposuit pittacium publice: «Qui solidos perdidit, veniat ad locum illum, et quaerat hominem illum.» Ille qui plangens circumquaque vagabatur, invento et lecto pittacio, venit ad hominem. Et ne forte quaereret alienum, quaesivit signa, interrogavit sacculi qualitatem, sigillum, solidorum etiam numerum. Et cum omnia ille fideliter respondisset, reddidit quod invenerat. Ille autem repletus gaudio, et quaerens vicem rependere, tanquam decimas obtulit illi solidos viginti: qui noluit accipere. Obtulit vel decem: noluit accipere. Saltem rogavit vel quinque accipere: noluit ille. Stomachabundus homo projecit sacculum: Nihil perdidi, ait; si non vis aliquid a me accipere, nec ego aliquid perdidi. Quale certamen, fratres mei, quale certamen? qualis pugna, qualis conflictus? Theatrum mundus, spectator Deus. Victus tandem ille quod offerebatur accepit: continuo totum pauperibus erogavit, unum solidum in domo sua non dimisit.

Chapter VII. — 8. An outstanding example of restoring another's property. I will tell your Charity, since these are gifts of God, and there are among the people of God those who do not hear the word of God in vain: I will tell what a very poor man did, when we were staying at Milan; so poor that he was the proscholus of a grammarian: but plainly a Christian, although the grammarian himself was a pagan; better at the curtain than in the chair. He found a purse, unless perhaps the number deceives me, with nearly two hundred solidi: mindful of the law, he put up a notice publicly. For he knew it was to be returned; but to whom he should return it, he did not know. He put up a notice publicly: "Whoever has lost solidi, let him come to such a place, and ask for such a man." The one who was wandering about everywhere lamenting, having found and read the notice, came to the man. And lest perhaps he should be seeking what belonged to another, he asked for signs, he asked about the kind of purse, the seal, and also the number of solidi. And when the other had answered everything faithfully, he returned what he had found. But the other, filled with joy, and seeking to make a return, offered him twenty solidi as a tithe: he would not accept them. He offered at least ten: he would not accept them. He asked him at least to accept five: he would not. Indignant, the man threw down the purse: "I have lost nothing," he said; "if you will not accept anything from me, neither have I lost anything." What a contest, my brothers, what a contest? What a fight, what a clash? The theatre, the world; the spectator, God. Overcome at last, he accepted what was offered: at once he paid out the whole of it to the poor, he did not keep a single solidus in his house.

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Footnotes

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Colbertinus codex, si dominatur avaritia, omissa negante particula, nec minus recte.

The Colbert manuscript has if avarice holds sway, leaving out the negative particle, and no less correctly.

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(a) ‹anchor: proscholus esset grammatici› · call in col 964

Proscholum Ausonius, Epigr. 23 in Professor., subdoctorem vocat. Sed erat ille non tam docendis pueris, quam iis ad auditorium introducendis praefectus, ut scilicet composite ad magistrum accederent. Locus ipsius ante velum, proscholium vocabatur. « Vela » quippe, ut dicit Augustinus in libro I Confessionum, cap. 13, n. 22, « pendebant liminibus grammaticarum scholarum. » Unde hic proscholum grammatico pagano christiana fide praestantem laudans, « Melior, » ait, « ad velum, quam in cathedra. »

Ausonius, in his Epigram 23 on the Professors, calls the proscholus an under-teacher. But he was in charge not so much of teaching the boys as of bringing them into the lecture room, so that they might come to the master in good order. His place before the curtain was called the proscholium. For "curtains," as Augustine says in Confessions I, ch. 13, n. 22, "hung at the doors of the grammar schools." Hence, praising here a proscholus who excelled a pagan grammarian by his Christian faith, he says: "Better at the curtain than in the chair."

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Pittacium seu pictacium dicitur schedula membranea vel tabella ad scribendum comparata.

A pittacium or pictacium is a small parchment slip or tablet provided for writing on.

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CAPUT VIII. — 9. Idem tractatur argumentum. Quid est? Si aliquid egi in cordibus vestris, si verbum Dei insedit in vobis, si requiem invenit apud vos, facite hoc, fratres mei: nolite putare damnum vos pati, si feceritis; magnum lucrum est, si feceritis quod dico. Perdidi viginti solidos, perdidi ducentos, quingentos. Quid perdidisti? De domo tua perierant: alter perdiderat, non tu. Terra communis est, in una domo estis, in hoc mundo ambo viatores, hujus vitae unum stabulum intrastis. Posuit ille, oblitus est ille; cecidit ab illo, tu invenisti alibi. Quis invenisti? Christianus. Quis invenisti? Qui legem audisti, christianus qui legem audisti. Quis invenisti? Qui cum audires multa laudasti, tu invenisti. Si ergo veraciter laudasti, redde quod invenisti. Si ergo non reddidisti quod invenisti; quando laudasti, testimonium contra te dixisti. Estote fideles inventores, et tunc iniquos vituperate raptores. Nam quod invenisti et non reddidisti, rapuisti. Quantum potuisti, fecisti: quia plus non potuisti, ideo non plus fecisti. Qui alienum negat, si possit et tollit. Quod non tollis, timor prohibet: non bonum facis, sed malum metuis.

Chapter VIII. 9. The same argument is treated. What is it? If I have achieved anything in your hearts, if the word of God has settled in you, if it has found rest with you, do this, my brothers: do not think that you suffer loss if you do it; it is a great gain if you do what I say. "I have lost twenty solidi, I have lost two hundred, five hundred." What have you lost? They had gone missing from your house: another man had lost them, not you. The earth is common, you are in one house, in this world you are both travellers, you have entered the one inn of this life. He put it down, he forgot it; it fell from him, you found it elsewhere. Who found it? A Christian. Who found it? You who heard the law, a Christian who heard the law. Who found it? You who, when you were listening, praised many things, you found it. If, then, you praised sincerely, give back what you found. If, then, you did not give back what you found, when you praised you spoke testimony against yourself. Be faithful finders, and then denounce wicked robbers. For what you found and did not give back, you have stolen. As much as you could, you did: because you could not do more, therefore you did not do more. He who denies what belongs to another would also take it, if he could. That you do not take, fear prevents: you are not doing good, but fearing evil.

CAPUT IX. — 10. Timor servilis nequitiam cordis non impedit. Quid est magnum, timere malum? Magnum est, non facere malum: magnum est, amare bonum. Nam et latro timet malum; et ubi non potest, non facit: et tamen latro est. Deus enim cor interrogat, non manum. Lupus venit ad ovile ovium, quaerit invadere, quaerit jugulare, quaerit devorare: vigilant pastores, latrant canes: nihil potest, non aufert, non occidit; sed tamen lupus venit, lupus redit. Numquid quia ovem non tulit, ideo lupus venit, et ovis redit? Lupus venit tremens, lupus redit tremens: lupus est tamen et fremens et tremens. Interroga ergo te, quisquis vis judicare; et vide si tunc non facis male, quando potes facere et ab homine non puniri: tunc times Deum. Nemo est ibi, nisi tu et ille cui facis malum, et Deus qui ambos videt: vide, ibi time. Parum est quod dico, Vide, ibi time malum: ibi ama bonum. Nam etiamsi timore gehennae non facis malum, nondum es perfectus. Audeo dicere, si timore gehennae non facis malum, est quidem in te fides, quia credis futurum Dei esse judicium: gaudeo fidei tuae, sed adhuc timeo malitiae tuae. Quid est quod dixi? Quia si timore gehennae non facis malum, non amore justitiae facis bonum.

Chapter IX. 10. Servile fear does not hinder the wickedness of the heart. What great thing is it to fear evil? It is a great thing not to do evil: it is a great thing to love good. For even the robber fears evil; and where he cannot, he does not do it: and yet he is a robber. For God questions the heart, not the hand. The wolf comes to the sheepfold, seeks to break in, seeks to cut throats, seeks to devour: the shepherds keep watch, the dogs bark: he can do nothing, he carries nothing off, he kills nothing; but nevertheless a wolf came, a wolf goes back. Surely it is not the case that, because he did not carry off a sheep, a wolf came and a sheep goes back? The wolf comes trembling, the wolf goes back trembling: yet he is a wolf, both raging and trembling. Question yourself, then, whoever of you wishes to judge; and see whether you do not do wrong at that time when you could do it and not be punished by man: then you fear God. No one is there except you and the one to whom you are doing evil, and God, Who sees you both: look, fear there. What I say is too little, "Look, fear evil there": love good there. For even if you do not do evil out of fear of hell, you are not yet perfect. I dare to say, if you do not do evil out of fear of hell, there is indeed faith in you, because you believe that the judgement of God is to come: I rejoice at your faith, but I still fear for your malice. What is it that I have said? That if you do not do evil out of fear of hell, you do not do good out of love of justice.

CAPUT X. — 11. Amor justitiae castus unde probatur. Aliud est, timere poenam; aliud est, amare justitiam. Amor castus in te esse debet, quo amore desideres videre, non coelum et terram, non campos liquidos maris, non spectacula nugatoria, non fulgores nitoresque gemmarum: sed desidera videre Deum tuum, amare Deum tuum; quia dictum est: Dilectissimi, filii Dei sumus, et nondum apparuit quid erimus: scimus autem quia cum apparuerit, similes ei erimus, quoniam videbimus eum sicuti est (I Joan. III, 2). Ecce propter quam visionem fac bonum, ecce propter quam noli facere

Chapter X. 11. Whence a chaste love of justice is proved. It is one thing to fear punishment; it is another to love justice. There ought to be in you a chaste love, a love by which you would desire to see, not heaven and earth, not the liquid plains of the sea, not trifling spectacles, not the flashes and lustres of gems: but desire to see your God, to love your God; because it has been said: Most beloved, we are sons of God, and it has not yet appeared what we shall be: but we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, since we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2). Behold, for the sake of this vision do good; behold, for the sake of this do not do

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Er. Lugd. Ven. Lov., si posset et tolleret. M.

The Erasmus, Lyon, Venice and Louvain editions have if it could and would carry off. M.

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Er. Lugd. Ven., quando potes facere et ab hominibus non puniris : tunc time Deum. Sic etiam Lov.; sed loco, puniris, legunt, puniri. M.

The Erasmus, Lyon and Venice editions have when you can do it and are not punished by men: then fear God. So too the Louvain edition, but in place of you are punished they read to be punished. M.

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Forte, viae.

Perhaps of the way.

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malum. Si enim amas videre Deum tuum, si in hac peregrinatione illo amore suspiras; ecce probat te Dominus Deus tuus, quasi dicat tibi: Ecce fac quod vis, imple cupiditates tuas, extende nequitiam, dilata luxuriam, quidquid libuerit, licitum puta; non hinc te punio, non te in gehennas mitto, faciem mea⟨m⟩ tantum tibi negabo. Si expavisti, amasti: si hoc quod dictum est, Faciem suam tibi negabit Deus tuus, contremuit cor tuum, in non videndo Deum tuum magnam poenam putasti; gratis amasti. Si ergo sermo meus invenit in cordibus vestris aliquam scintillam gratuiti amoris Dei, ipsam nutrite: ad hanc augendam vos advocate prece, humilitate, dolore poenitentiae, dilectione justitiae, operibus bonis, gemitibus sinceris, conversatione laudabili, amicitia fideli. Hanc scintillam bo⟨n⟩i amoris flate in vobis, nutrite in vobis: ipsa cum creverit, et flammam dignissimam et amplissimam fecerit, omnium cupiditatum carnalium fena consumit.

evil. For if you love to see your God, if in this pilgrimage you sigh with that love, behold, the Lord your God tests you, as if He were saying to you: Look, do what you will, fulfil your desires, stretch out your wickedness, widen your luxury, whatever you please, consider it lawful; I do not punish you for this, I do not send you into Gehenna, only My face shall I deny you. If you were terrified, you loved: if at this which was said, Your God will deny you His face, your heart trembled, if you reckoned not seeing your God a great punishment, you loved freely. If, then, my sermon has found in your hearts some spark of the gratuitous love of God, nourish it: to increase it, summon yourselves by prayer, humility, the sorrow of penitence, love of justice, good works, sincere groans, praiseworthy conduct, faithful friendship. Fan this spark of good love in yourselves, nourish it in yourselves: when it has grown and made a most worthy and most ample flame, it consumes the hay of all carnal desires.

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Sic Am. Er. et Mss. At Lov., prece humilitatis.

So the Amerbach and Erasmus editions and the manuscripts. But the Louvain edition has by the prayer of humility.

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Lov., fenum consumit. M.

The Louvain edition has consumes the hay. M.

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