PL 38 · cols. 1026–1030

Augustine, Sermones 195-209 (Classis II, de Tempore)

Sermons CXCIX–CC

cum infidelibus. Quae enim participatio justitiae cum iniquitate? aut quae societas luminis ad tenebras? Quae pars fideli cum infideli? qui autem consensus templi Domini cum idolis » (II Cor. VI, 14-16)? Et alibi dicit: « Quae enim immolant Gentes, daemoniis immolant, et non Deo. Nolo vos, » inquit, « socios fieri daemoniorum » (I Cor. X, 20). Ergo Deos ipsorum delectant mores eorum. Ille autem qui dixit, Nolo vos fieri socios daemoniorum, voluit ut ab illis qui daemonibus servirent, vita et moribus separarentur. Etenim illa daemonia delectantur canticis vanitatis, delectantur nugatorio spectaculo, et turpitudinibus variis theatrorum, insania circi, crudelitate amphitheatri, certaminibus animosis eorum qui pro pestilentibus hominibus lites et contentiones usque ad inimicitias suscipiunt, pro mimo, pro histrione pro pantomimo, pro auriga, pro venatore. Ista facientes, quasi thura ponunt daemoniis de cordibus suis. Spiritus enim seductores gaudent seductis; et eorum quos seduxerint atque deceperint, malis moribus et vita turpi infamique pascuntur. « Vos autem, » sicut dicit Apostolus, « non ita didicistis Christum: si tamen eum audistis, et in ipso edocti estis (Ephes. IV, 20, 21). Nolite ergo effici participes eorum. Eratis enim aliquando tenebrae, nunc autem lux in Domino; sicut filii lucis ambulate » (Id. V, 7, 8): ut et nos, qui vobis verbum Domini praedicamus, possimus vobiscum et de vobis in illa perpetua luce gaudere.

with unbelievers. For what participation does righteousness have with iniquity? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? What part does the believer have with the unbeliever? And what agreement does the temple of the Lord have with idols?" (2 Cor. 6:14–16). And elsewhere he says: "For what the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, and not to God. I do not want you," he says, "to become partners of demons" (1 Cor. 10:20). Therefore their gods are delighted by their morals. But he who said, I do not want you to become partners of demons, wished them to be separated in life and morals from those who served demons. For those demons delight in songs of vanity, they delight in trifling spectacle, and in the various obscenities of the theatres, the madness of the circus, the cruelty of the amphitheatre, the passionate contests of those who take up quarrels and disputes, even to the point of enmities, on behalf of pestilent men, for a mime, for an actor, for a pantomime, for a charioteer, for a beast-hunter. Those who do these things are, as it were, laying incense before demons from their hearts. For seducing spirits rejoice over the seduced; and they feed on the evil morals and the base and infamous life of those whom they have seduced and deceived. "But you," as the Apostle says, "have not so learned Christ: if indeed you have heard Him, and have been taught in Him (Eph. 4:20–21). Do not therefore become participants with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light" (Eph. 5:7–8): so that we too, who preach the word of the Lord to you, may be able to rejoice with you and over you in that perpetual light.

SERMO CXCIX. In Epiphania Domini, I.

Sermon 199. On the Epiphany of the Lord, 1.

CAPUT PRIMUM. — 1. Christus Judaeos et Gentes in se mox copulat. Nuper celebravimus diem quo ex Judaeis Dominus natus est: hodie celebramus, quo a Gentibus adoratus est. Quoniam salus ex Judaeis (Joan. IV, 22): sed haec salus usque ad fines terrae (Isai. XLIX, 6). Nam et illo die pastores adoraverunt, hodie Magi. Illis Angeli, istis autem stella nuntiavit. Utrique de coelo didicerunt, cum regem coeli in terra viderunt, ut esset gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis (Luc. II, 14). Ipse est enim pax nostra, qui fecit utraque unum. Jam hinc infans natus atque annuntiatus ostenditur lapis ille angularis, jam in ipso primordio nativitatis apparuit. Duos ex diverso parietes in se copulare jam coepit, pastores a Judaea, Magos ab Oriente perducens: ut duos conderet in se in unum novum hominem, faciens pacem; pacem his qui longe, et pacem his qui prope (Ephes. II, 14-20). Ideoque illi ipso die de proximo accedentes, de longinquo isti hodie venientes, duos dies celebrandos posteris signaverunt, unam tamen lucem mundi utrique viderunt.

Chapter I. — 1. Christ soon joins Jews and Gentiles in Himself. Recently we celebrated the day on which the Lord was born of the Jews; today we celebrate the day on which He was adored by the Gentiles. For salvation is from the Jews (John 4:22); but this salvation [reaches] to the ends of the earth (Isa. 49:6). For on that day the shepherds adored, today the Magi. To the former angels announced it, but to the latter a star. Both learned from heaven, when they saw the king of heaven on earth, so that there might be glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will (Luke 2:14). For He is our peace, Who has made both one. Already from this point the infant, born and announced, is shown to be that corner-stone; already at the very beginning of His nativity He appeared [as such]. He already began to join in Himself two walls coming from different directions, leading the shepherds from Judaea and the Magi from the East: that He might make the two in Himself into one new man, making peace; peace to those who are far off, and peace to those who are near (Eph. 2:14–20). And so the former, approaching from nearby on that very day, and the latter, coming from afar today, marked out two days to be celebrated by posterity, yet both saw the one light of the world.

Editors' notes and page, col. 1026

Footnotes

(*) ‹anchor: SERMO CXCIX› · call in col 1026 Invenimus hunc sermonem in quatuor cb. et duobus n. in t. gr. r. rm. t. vd. et Am. Er. Par. Lov. [sigla before "et Am." partly illegible in the scan]

We have found this sermon in four [manuscripts?] and two […] [sigla illegible in the scan], and in the Amerbach, Erasmus, Paris and Louvain editions.

(printed under page 519)

(a) ‹anchor: SERMO CXCIX› · call in col 1026

Alias, de Tempore 34.

Formerly [numbered] De Tempore 34.

(printed under page 519)

(b) ‹anchor: In Epiphania Domini, I› · call in col 1026

In Possidii Indiculo, cap. 10, tractatus de hac solemnitate septem, ac praeterea quatuor, cap. 1: sic in manuscriptis notantur, « De Epiphania duo. Item de Epiphania, contra quos supra, duo, » id est contra Paganos. Hunc primum et alterum proxime subsequentem citat Facundus, libro 1, cap. 4.

In Possidius's Indiculus, ch. 10, seven treatises on this feast are listed, and four more besides in ch. 1, noted thus in the manuscripts: "On the Epiphany, two. Likewise on the Epiphany, against those named above, two", that is, against the pagans. Facundus, book 1, ch. 4, cites this first one and the one immediately following.

(printed under page 519)

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PL 38:1027

2. Magorum fides et contra infidelitas Judaeorum. Sed hodie de istis loquendum est, quos de remotis terris fides duxit ad Christum. Venerunt enim, et quaesierunt eum, dicentes: Ubi est qui natus est rex Judaeorum? Vidimus enim stellam ejus in Oriente, et venimus adorare eum (Matth. II, 2). Nuntiant et interrogant, credunt et quaerunt; tanquam significantes eos qui ambulant per fidem, et desiderant speciem. Nonne alii reges Judaeorum jam toties in Judaea nati erant? Quid est, quod iste ab alienigenis in coelo ag⟨n⟩oscitur, in terra quaeritur; in alto fulget, in humili latet? In Oriente Magi vident stellam, et in Judaea natum intelligunt regem. Quis est iste rex tam parvus, tam magnus; nondum in terris loquens, jam in coelis edicta proponens? Verumtamen propter nos, quibus de Scripturis suis sanctis innotescere voluit, ipsos etiam Magos quibus tam clarum signum in coelo dederat, et quorum cordibus se in Judaea natum esse revelaverat, Prophetis tamen suis de se credere voluit. Quaerendo enim civitatem in qua natus erat, quem videre et adorare cupiebant, necesse habuerunt percontari principes Judaeorum; ut illi de sancta Scriptura, quam in ore, non in corde gestabant, infideles fidelibus de gratia fidei responderent, mendaces a se, veraces contra se. Quantum enim erat, ut illis quaerentibus Christum comites fierent, cum ab eis audissent quod visa stella ejus venirent eum adorare cupientes; ipsi eos ad Bethlehem Judae, quam de Libris divinis indicaverant, ducerent, pariter viderent, pariter intelligerent, pariter adorarent? Nunc vero aliis demonstrato vitae fonte, ipsi sunt mortui siccitate. Facti sunt eis tanquam lapides ad milliaria: viatoribus ambulantibus aliquid ostenderunt, sed ipsi stolidi atque immobiles remanserunt. Magi quaerebant, ut invenirent: Herodes quaerebat, ut perderet: Judaei civitatem nascentis legebant, tempus venientis non intelligebant. Inter Magorum pium amorem, et Herodis crudelem timorem, illi evanuerunt Bethlehem demonstrantes: Christum autem qui ibi natus est, non tunc quaesitum, sed visum postea negaturi, nec tunc infantem, sed loquentem postea necaturi. Felix potius infantum ignorantia, quos Herodes persecutus est territus, quam istorum scientia qu⟨o⟩s consuluit perturbatus. Illi pro Christo potuerunt pati, quem nondum poterant confiteri: isti docentis non secuti sunt veritatem, cujus nascentis potuerunt nosse civitatem.

2. The faith of the Magi and, on the other side, the unbelief of the Jews. But today we must speak of those whom faith led from distant lands to Christ. For they came and sought Him, saying: Where is He who is born king of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East, and we have come to adore Him (Matt. 2:2). They announce and they inquire, they believe and they seek; as though signifying those who walk by faith and desire sight. Had not other kings of the Jews already been born in Judaea so many times? What is it, that this one is recognized by foreigners in heaven and sought on earth; shines on high and lies hidden in lowliness? In the East the Magi see a star, and understand that a king has been born in Judaea. Who is this king so small, so great; not yet speaking on earth, already setting forth edicts in the heavens? Yet for our sake, to whom He willed to make Himself known from His holy Scriptures, He willed that even the Magi, to whom He had given so clear a sign in heaven, and to whose hearts He had revealed that He was born in Judaea, should nevertheless believe His Prophets concerning Him. For in seeking the city in which He whom they desired to see and adore had been born, they had need to inquire of the chief men of the Jews; so that these, out of the holy Scripture which they carried in their mouth, not in their heart, might as unbelievers answer believers concerning the grace of faith, liars of themselves, truthful against themselves. For how great a thing would it have been for them to become companions to those seeking Christ, when they had heard from them that, having seen His star, they were coming desiring to adore Him; for them to lead them to Bethlehem of Judaea, which they had pointed out from the divine Books, to see alike, to understand alike, to adore alike? But now, having shown others the fountain of life, they themselves have died of dryness. They became for them like stones at the milestones: they showed something to travellers walking along, but they themselves remained senseless and immovable. The Magi were seeking, that they might find; Herod was seeking, that he might destroy; the Jews read of the city of Him who was being born, they did not understand the time of Him who was coming. Between the pious love of the Magi and the cruel fear of Herod, they vanished away after pointing out Bethlehem: but as for Christ who was born there, they were not then to seek Him, but afterwards, having seen Him, to deny Him; nor then to kill Him as an infant, but afterwards when He was speaking. Happier rather the ignorance of the infants whom Herod, terrified, persecuted, than the knowledge of these whom he consulted, disturbed. Those could suffer for Christ, whom they could not yet confess: these did not follow the truth of Him who taught, though they could know the city of His birth.

CAPUT II. — 3. Error de sidereis fatis. Magos sane ad ipsum proprie locum, ubi Deus Verbum infans erat, illa stella perduxit. Hic jam erubescat stultitia sacrilega, et quaedam, ut sic dicam, indocta doctrina, quae ideo putat Christum sub stellarum decreto esse natum, quia scriptum est in Evangelio, quando natus est, stellam ejus Magos in Oriente vidisse.

Chapter II. — 3. The error concerning fates from the stars. The Magi, indeed, that star led right to the very place where God the Word was an infant. Here now let sacrilegious folly blush, and a certain, so to speak, unlearned learning, which supposes that Christ was born under the decree of the stars because it is written in the Gospel that, when He was born, the Magi in the East saw His star.

Editors' notes and page, col. 1027

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: de gratia fidei› · call in col 1027

Sic manuscripti. Editi vero, de gratia rei.

So the manuscripts. The printed editions, however: "de gratia rei".

(printed under page 520)

(2) ‹anchor: lapides ad milliaria› · call in col 1027

Editi, lapides a milliario. At Mss. alii, lapides ad milliaria; alii, lapidea milliaria.

The printed editions: "lapides a milliario". But some manuscripts: "lapides ad milliaria" [stones at the milestones]; others: "lapidea milliaria" [stone milestones].

(printed under page 520)

(3) ‹anchor: postea negaturi› · call in col 1027

Sic manuscripti. At editi hic omittunt, postea negaturi; et infra pro, necaturi, habent, negaturi.

So the manuscripts. But the printed editions here omit "postea negaturi" [who would later deny]; and below, for "necaturi" [who would kill], they have "negaturi".

(printed under page 520)

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PL 38:1028

Quod verum non esset, nec si homines sub decreto ejusmodi nascerentur: quia non sicut Dei Filius propria voluntate, sed naturae mortalis conditione nascuntur. Nunc autem tantum abhorret a vero, sub stellato fato natum esse Christum, ut nullum hominum ita nasci credat quisquis recte credit in Christum. Sed de genituris hominum vani homines loquantur quod insipienter opinantur, negent voluntatem qua peccant, confingant necessitatem qua peccata defendant; perditos mores, per quos in terra ab hominibus detestantur, in coelo etiam figere conentur, et a sideribus manare mentiantur: videat tamen unusquisque eorum quemadmodum non vitam, sed familiam suam qualicumque potestate regendam putet; quandoquidem ista sentiendo servos suos in domo peccantes verberare non sinitur, nisi prius deos suos in coelo radiantes blasphemare cogatur. Christum tamen isti nec secundum suas vanissimas conjecturas, et non sane fatidicos, sed plane falsidicos libros, possunt ideo putare sub stellarum decreto esse natum, quia eo nato stellam Magi in Oriente viderunt. Hinc enim potius Christus non sub dominatu ejus, sed Dominus ejus apparuit: quia illa non in coelo sidereas vias tenuit, sed hominibus quaerentibus Christum viam usque ad locum, in quo natus fuerat, demonstravit. Unde non ipsa Christum fecit mirabiliter vivere, sed ipsam fecit Christus mirabiliter apparere: nec ipsa Christi mirabilia decrevit, sed ipsam Christus inter sua mirabilia demonstravit. Ipse enim natus ex matre, de coelo terrae novum sidus ostendit, qui natus ex Patre coelum terramque formavit. Eo nascente lux nova est in stella revelata, quo moriente lux antiqua est in sole velata. Eo nascente superi novo honore claruerunt, quo moriente inferi novo timore tremuerunt, quo resurgente discipnli novo amore exarserunt, quo ascendente coeli novo obsequio patuerunt. Celebremus ergo devota solemnitate et hunc diem, quo cognitum Christum Magi ex Gentibus adoraverunt (Matth. II, 1-11); sicut celebravimus illum diem, quo natum Christum pastores ex Judaea viderunt (Luc. II, 8-20). Ipse enim Dominus Deus noster elegit Apostolos ex Judaea pastores, per quos congregaret salvandos etiam ex Gentibus peccatores.

Which would not be true even if men were born under a decree of this kind: since they are born not, as the Son of God was, by their own will, but by the condition of mortal nature. But as it is, the claim that Christ was born under a starry fate is so far removed from the truth that whoever believes rightly in Christ does not believe that any man is born in that way. But let vain men say about the nativities of men what they foolishly suppose; let them deny the will by which they sin, let them invent a necessity by which they may defend their sins; let them try to fix even in heaven the depraved morals for which they are detested by men on earth, and let them falsely claim that these flow from the stars: let each of them nevertheless consider how he thinks his household, not his life, is to be governed by any power whatsoever; since, holding these views, he is not permitted to flog his slaves when they sin in the house unless he is first forced to blaspheme his gods shining in heaven. Yet these men cannot, even according to their most empty conjectures and their books, which are not indeed fate-telling but plainly false-telling, think that Christ was born under the decree of the stars on the ground that, when He was born, the Magi saw a star in the East. For by this Christ appeared rather not under its dominion but as its Lord: since it did not keep starry paths in the sky, but showed to men seeking Christ the way right to the place where He had been born. Hence it did not make Christ live wonderfully, but Christ made it appear wonderfully: nor did it decree the wonders of Christ, but Christ displayed it among His wonders. For He, born of a mother, showed from heaven to earth a new star, He Who, born of the Father, formed heaven and earth. At His birth a new light was revealed in a star; at His death the ancient light was veiled in the sun. At His birth those above shone with new honour; at His death those below trembled with new fear; at His rising the disciples burned with new love; at His ascending the heavens opened with new homage. Let us therefore celebrate with devout solemnity this day too, on which the Magi from the Gentiles worshipped Christ, having come to know Him (Matt. 2:1–11); just as we celebrated that day on which shepherds from Judaea saw Christ born (Luke 2:8–20). For the Lord our God Himself chose Apostles from Judaea as shepherds, through whom He might gather sinners to be saved even from the Gentiles.

SERMO CC. In Epiphania Domini, II.

Sermon 200. On the Epiphany of the Lord, II.

CAP. PRIMUM.—1. Manifestationis Christi solemnitas. Ad partum Virginis adorandum Magi ab Oriente venerunt. Hunc diem hodie celebramus, huic debitam solemnitatem sermonemque persolvimus. Illis dies iste primus illuxit, anniversaria nobis festivitate rediit. Illi erant primitiae Gentium, nos populus Gentium. Nobis hoc lingua nuntiavit Apostolorum, stella illis tanquam lingua coelorum: et nobis iidem Apostoli, tanquam coeli, enarraverunt gloriam Dei

Chapter One.—1. The solemnity of the manifestation of Christ. The Magi came from the East to worship the Virgin's offspring. This day we celebrate today; to it we render the due solemnity and sermon. For them this day first dawned; for us it has returned with an anniversary festival. They were the first-fruits of the Gentiles, we are the people of the Gentiles. To us the tongue of the Apostles announced this; to them the star, as it were the tongue of the heavens: and to us the same Apostles, as heavens, have declared the glory of God

Editors' notes and page, col. 1028

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1028

Nonnulli Mss., sub stella et fato; et quidam, sub stellarum fato.

Some manuscripts: "sub stella et fato" [under a star and fate]; and one: "sub stellarum fato" [under the fate of the stars].

(*) ‹anchor: SERMO CC› · call in col 1028 Castigatus est ad tres cb. ad f. gr. n. r. rm. t. v. vd. et ad Am. Er. Par. Lov. [sigla before "et ad Am." as far as legible in the scan]

Corrected against three [manuscripts?] [sigla illegible in the scan], and against the Amerbach, Erasmus, Paris and Louvain editions.

(printed under page 520)

(a) ‹anchor: SERMO CC› · call in col 1028

Alias, de Tempore 30.

Formerly [numbered] De Tempore 30.

(printed under page 520)

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PL 38:1029

(Psal. XVIII, 1). Cur enim non agnoscamus eos coelos, qui facti sunt sedes Dei? sicut scriptum est, Anima justi, sedes est sapientiae (Sap. VII). Per hos enim coelos ille coelorum fabricator et habitator i⟨n⟩tonuit, quo tonitru mundus contremuit, et ecce jam credit. M⟨a⟩gnum sacramentum. In praesepi tunc jacebat, et Magos ab Oriente ducebat. Abscondebatur in stabulo, et agnoscebatur in coelo; ut agnitus in coelo manifestaretur in stabulo, et appellaretur Epiphania dies iste, quod latine manifestatio dici potest: simul ejus celsitudinem humilitatemque commendans, ut qui in aperto coelo signis sidereis monstrabatur, in angusto diversorio quaesitus inveniretur; invalidus infantilibus membris, involutus infantilibus pannis, adoraretur a Magis, timeretur a malis.

(Ps. 18:1). For why should we not recognize as those heavens those who have been made the seat of God? as it is written, The soul of the just is the seat of wisdom (Wis. 7). For through these heavens He, the maker and inhabitant of the heavens, thundered, and at that thunder the world trembled, and behold, it now believes. A great mystery. He lay then in a manger, and He was leading the Magi from the East. He was hidden in a stable, and He was recognized in heaven; so that, recognized in heaven, He might be made manifest in the stable, and this day might be called Epiphany, which in Latin can be called manifestation: commending at once His loftiness and His humility, so that He Who was shown by starry signs in the open heaven was, when sought, found in a narrow lodging; powerless in infant limbs, wrapped in infant cloths, He was adored by the Magi and feared by the wicked.

2. Herodis terror. Timuit enim eum rex Herodes, eisdem sibi Magis nuntiantibus, cum adhuc quaererent parvulum, quem cognoverant coelo teste jam natum. Quid erit tribunal judicantis, quando superbos reges cunae terrebant infantis? Quanto consultius nunc reges, non sicut Herodes, interficere quaerunt; sed sicut Magi potius, adorare delectantur, jam praesertim eum qui et ipsam mortem quam cupiebat inimicus inferre, etiam pro ipsis inimicis ab inimicis sustinuit, eamque in suo corpore occisus occidit. Pie timeant nunc reges ad Patris dexteram jam sedentem, quem rex ille impius timuit adhuc matris ubera lambentem. Aud⟨i⟩ant quod scriptum est: Et nunc, reges, intelligite; erudimini, qui judicatis terram: servite Domino in timore, et exsultate ei cum tremore (Psal. II, 10 et 11). Ille enim rex, ultor impiorum regum, et rector piorum, non ita natus est, ut reges nascuntur in s⟨ae⟩culo; quia et ille natus est, cujus regnum non est de hoc saeculo. Nobilitas fuit nascentis, in virginitate parientis; et nobilitas parientis, in divinitate nascentis. Denique cum tam multi jam nati atque defuncti essent reges Judaeorum, nunquam quemquam eorum adorandum Magi quaesierunt: quia nec quemquam eorum coelo loquente didicerunt.

2. The terror of Herod. For King Herod feared Him, when those same Magi told him, while they were still seeking the little one whom, with heaven as witness, they had learned to be already born. What will the tribunal of the Judge be, when the cradle of the infant terrified proud kings? How much more wisely do kings now seek, not to kill Him as Herod did, but rather, like the Magi, delight to adore Him, especially now that He has, even for His very enemies, undergone at the hands of His enemies that very death which the enemy longed to inflict, and being slain has slain it in His own body. Let kings now piously fear Him Who already sits at the right hand of the Father, Whom that impious king feared while He was still sucking at His mother's breasts. Let them hear what is written: And now, O kings, understand; be instructed, you who judge the earth: serve the Lord in fear, and rejoice to Him with trembling (Ps. 2:10–11). For that King, the avenger of impious kings and the ruler of the pious, was not born as kings are born in the world; for He was born Whose kingdom is not of this world. The nobility of the One being born lay in the virginity of her who bore Him; and the nobility of her who bore Him lay in the divinity of the One being born. Finally, although so many kings of the Jews had already been born and died, the Magi never sought any one of them to adore: because they had not learned of any one of them from heaven speaking.

CAPUT II. — 3. Judaeorum caecitas in ipsa illuminatione Magorum. Scripturae apud Judaeos propter Gentium fidem relictae. Verumtamen, quod praetereundum non est, haec Magorum illuminatio magnum testimonium caecitatis exstitit Judaeorum. In terra eorum isti requirebant, quem illi in sua non agnoscebant. Apud eos isti infantem invenerunt, quem illi apud se docentem negaverunt. In his terris de longinquo isti peregrini puerum Christum nondum verba promentem adoraverunt, ubi cives illi juvenem miracula facientem crucifixerunt. Isti in membris parvis Deum agnoverunt; illi in factis magnis nec tanquam homini pepercerunt: quasi plus fuerit videre novam stellam in

Chapter II. — 3. The blindness of the Jews in the very illumination of the Magi. The Scriptures left with the Jews for the sake of the faith of the Gentiles. Nevertheless, as must not be passed over, this illumination of the Magi stood as a great testimony to the blindness of the Jews. These sought in their land the One Whom those did not recognize in their own. Among them these found as an infant the One Whom those denied when He was teaching among them. In these lands these strangers from afar adored the boy Christ, not yet uttering words, where those citizens crucified Him as a young man working miracles. These recognized God in small limbs; those did not spare Him even as a man in His great deeds: as if it were a greater thing to see a new star, at

Editors' notes and page, col. 1029

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1029

Floriacensis Ms., Agnitus est e coelo, ut appellaretur Epiphania dies iste.

The Fleury manuscript: "He was recognized from heaven, so that this day was called the Epiphany."

(printed under page 521)

(2) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1029

Sic Am. Er. et Mss. At Lov., monstrabatur magnus, in angusto diversorio quaesitus inveniretur invalidus, infantilibus in membris natus, infantilibusque pannis involutus, etc.

So Amerbach, Erasmus and the manuscripts. But Louvain: "he was being shown as great, sought in a narrow lodging he would be found helpless, born in an infant's limbs and wrapped in an infant's swaddling clothes", etc.

(printed under page 521)

(3) ‹anchor: docentem negaverunt› · call in col 1029

Editi omittunt, docentem. Habent, Mss. et ex his quidam, necaverunt, pro, negaverunt.

The printed editions omit "docentem" [teaching]. The manuscripts have it, and one of them has "necaverunt" [they killed] for "negaverunt" [they denied].

(printed under page 521)

(4) ‹anchor: Deum agnoverunt› · call in col 1029

Editi, Deum adoraverunt. At manuscripti, Deum agnoverunt.

The printed editions: "Deum adoraverunt" [they worshipped God]. But the manuscripts: "Deum agnoverunt" [they acknowledged God].

(printed under page 521)

Page

running head: 1029 SERMO CC.
marginal letters: (none)
old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 38:1030

ejus nativitate fulgentem, quam solem ejus in morte lugentem. Jam vero quod eadem stella, quae Magos perduxit ad locum ubi erat cum matre virgine Deus infans, quae utique poterat eos et ad ipsam perducere civitatem, se tamen subtraxit, nec eis prorsus apparuit, donec de civitate, in qua Christus nasceretur, iidem ipsi interrogarentur Judaei, ut ipsi eam secundum divinae Scripturae testimonium nominarent, ipsi dicerent, In Bethlehem Judae. Sic enim scriptum est: Et tu Bethlehem, terra Juda, non es minima in principibus Juda: ex te enim exiet dux qui reget populum meum Israel (Matth. II, 1-6): quid aliud hic significavit divina providentia, nisi apud Judaeos solas divinas Litteras remansuras, quibus Gentes instruerentur, illi excaecarentur; quas portarent non ad adjutorium salutis suae, sed ad testimonium salutis nostrae? Nam hodie cum praemissas prophetias de Christo proferimus, jam rerum completarum luce declaratas, si forte Pagani, quos lucrari volumus, dixerint non eas tanto ante praedictas, sed post rerum eventum, ut haec quae facta sunt prophetata putarentur, a nobis esse confictas; Judaeorum codices recitamus, ut tollatur dubitatio Paganorum: qui jam in Magis illis figurabantur, quos Judaei de civitate in qua natus est Christus, divinis eloquiis instruebant, et eum ipsi nec requirebant, nec agnoscebant.

His nativity, shining, than the sun mourning at His death. Now as for the fact that the same star which led the Magi to the place where the infant God was with His virgin mother, and which could certainly have led them to the city itself as well, nevertheless withdrew itself and did not appear to them at all, until those same Jews were asked about the city in which Christ was to be born, so that they themselves might name it according to the testimony of divine Scripture, that they themselves might say: In Bethlehem of Judah. For thus it is written: And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are not the least among the princes of Judah: for out of you shall come forth a leader who shall rule my people Israel (Matt. 2:1–6): what else did divine providence signify here, except that among the Jews only the divine Letters would remain, by which the Gentiles would be instructed while they themselves were blinded; Letters which they would carry not as a help to their own salvation, but as a testimony to ours? For today, when we bring forward the prophecies concerning Christ that were sent on ahead, now made plain by the light of things fulfilled, if perhaps the pagans, whom we wish to win, should say that they were not foretold so long beforehand, but were fabricated by us after the event, so that the things that have been done might be thought to have been prophesied, we read out the books of the Jews, so that the doubt of the pagans may be removed: these pagans were already prefigured in those Magi, whom the Jews instructed out of the divine oracles about the city in which Christ was born, while they themselves neither sought Him nor acknowledged Him.

CAPUT III. — 4. Christo charitate cum Judaeis Gentes cohaerent. Nunc ergo, charissimi, gratiae filii et haeredes, videte vocationem vestram, et manifestato Judaeis et Gentibus Christo tanquam angulari lapidi perseverantissima dilectione cohaerete. Manifestatus enim est in ipsis cunabulis infantiae suae his qui prope, et his qui longe erant; Judaeis in pastorum propinquitate, Gentibus in Magorum longinquitate. Illi ipso die quo natus est, isti ad eum hodie advenisse creduntur. Manifestatus ergo est, nec illis doctis, nec istis justis. Praevalet namque imperitia in rusticitate pastorum, et impietas in sacrilegiis Magorum. Utrosque sibi lapis ille angularis applicuit: quippe qui venit stulta mundi eligere, ut confunderet sapientes (I Cor. I, 27); et non vocare justos, sed peccatores (Matth. IX, 13); ut nullus magnus superbiret, nullus infimus desperaret. Unde Scribae et Pharisaei dum nimis docti et nimis justi sibi videntur, cujus nascentis civitatem ostenderunt prophetica eloquia recitantes, hunc reprobaverunt aedificantes. Sed quia factus est in caput anguli (Psal. CXVII, 22), et quod natus ostendit, passus implevit; huic nos inhaereamus cum alio pariete habente reliquias Israel, quae per electionem gratiae salvae factae sunt (Rom. XI, 5). Eos enim pastores illi praefigurabant de proximo conjungendos, ut et nos, quorum ex longinquo vocationem Magorum significabat adventus, jam non peregrini et inquilini, sed cives sanctorum et domestici Dei maneamus, coaedificati super fundamentum Apostolorum et Prophetarum, ipso summo angulari lapide existente Christo Jesu: qui fecit utraque unum

Chapter III. — 4. Through charity the Gentiles cleave to Christ together with the Jews. Now therefore, dearly beloved, children and heirs of grace, consider your calling, and cleave with most persevering love to Christ, Who was manifested to Jews and Gentiles, as to the corner-stone. For He was manifested in the very cradle of His infancy to those who were near and to those who were far off; to the Jews in the nearness of the shepherds, to the Gentiles in the remoteness of the Magi. The former are believed to have come to Him on the very day on which He was born, the latter today. He was manifested, then, neither to those as learned men nor to these as righteous men. For ignorance prevails in the rusticity of the shepherds, and impiety in the sacrileges of the Magi. That corner-stone joined both to Himself: as He Who came to choose the foolish things of the world, that He might confound the wise (1 Cor. 1:27); and not to call the righteous, but sinners (Matt. 9:13); so that no one great should be proud, no one lowly should despair. Hence the scribes and Pharisees, while they seem to themselves exceedingly learned and exceedingly righteous, though by reciting the prophetic oracles they pointed out the city of His birth, as builders rejected Him. But since He has been made the head of the corner (Ps. 117:22), and what He showed by being born He fulfilled by suffering, let us cleave to Him together with the other wall, which holds the remnant of Israel that has been saved through the election of grace (Rom. 11:5). For those shepherds prefigured these, who were to be joined from nearby, so that we too, whose calling from afar the coming of the Magi signified, may no longer be strangers and sojourners, but may remain fellow-citizens of the saints and members of the household of God, built together upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the chief corner-stone: Who made both one

Editors' notes and page, col. 1030

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: infimus desperaret› · call in col 1030

Sic potiores manuscripti. At editi, infirmus.

So the better manuscripts. But the printed editions: "infirmus" [the weak].

(printed under page 521)