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Augustine, Sermones 337-339 (Classis III, de Sanctis)

Sermon CCCXXXIX

SERMO CCCXXXIX. In die Ordinationis suae, I.

Sermon 339. On the Day of his Ordination, I.

CAPUT PRIMUM. — 1. Sarcinae episcopalis pondus. Ad hominum laudes quomodo affectus Augustinus. Hodiernus dies iste, fratres, admonet me attentius cogitare sarcinam meam. De cujus pondere etiamsi mihi dies noctesque cogitandum sit, nescio quo tamen modo anniversarius iste dies impingit eam sensibus meis, ut ab ea cogitanda omnino dissimulare non possim. Et quanto anni accedunt, imo decedunt, nosque propinquiores faciunt diei ultimo, utique quandoque sine dubitatione venturo; tanto mihi est acrior cogitatio, et stimulus plenior, qualem Domino Deo nostro rationem possim reddere pro vobis. Hoc enim interest inter unumquemque vestrum et nos, quod vos pene de vobis solis reddituri estis rationem, nos autem et de nobis et de omnibus vobis. Ideo major est sarcina: sed bene portata majorem comparat gloriam; infideliter autem gesta ad inmanissimam praecipitat poenam. Quid ergo mihi hodie maxime faciendum, nisi ut commendem vobis periculum meum, ut sitis gaudium meum? Periculum autem meum est, si attendam quomodo laudatis, et dissimulem quomodo vivatis. Ille autem novit, sub cujus oculis loquor, imo sub cujus oculis cogito, non me tam delectari laudibus popularibus, quam stimulari et angi quomodo vivant qui me laudant. Laudari autem a male viventibus nol⟨o⟩, abhorreo, detestor: dolori mihi est, non voluptati. Laudari autem a bene viventibus, si dicam nolo, mentior: si dicam volo, timeo ne sim inanitatis appetentior quam soliditatis. Ergo quid dicam? Nec plene volo, nec plene nolo. Non plene volo, ne in laude humana pericliter: non plene nolo, ne ingrati sint quibus praedico.

Chapter I. — 1. The weight of the episcopal burden. How Augustine is disposed towards the praises of men. This present day, brothers, admonishes me to think more attentively about my burden. Although I must think about its weight day and night, yet somehow this anniversary day thrusts it upon my senses, so that I cannot at all pretend not to think about it. And the more the years advance, or rather depart, and bring us nearer to the last day, which will certainly come at some time without any doubt, the keener is my thought and the fuller the goad, as to what account I may be able to render to the Lord our God for you. For this is the difference between each one of you and us: that you are to render account almost for yourselves alone, but we both for ourselves and for all of you. Therefore the burden is greater; but when carried well it procures greater glory, while when handled unfaithfully it hurls one headlong into a most monstrous punishment. What then must I chiefly do today, except commend to you my peril, so that you may be my joy? Now my peril is if I attend to how you praise and overlook how you live. But He knows, under Whose eyes I speak, nay under Whose eyes I think, that I am not so much delighted by popular praises as goaded and distressed by how those who praise me live. To be praised by those who live badly I do not want; I shrink from it, I detest it: it is a grief to me, not a pleasure. But to be praised by those who live well, if I say I do not want it, I lie; if I say I want it, I fear lest I be more eager for emptiness than for solidity. So what shall I say? I neither fully want it, nor fully do not want it. I do not fully want it, lest I be imperilled in human praise; I do not fully not want it, lest those to whom I preach be ungrateful.

CAPUT II. — 2. Cura de aliorum salute quanta imposita episcopo. Sarcina autem mea est, quam modo audistis, cum Ezechiel propheta legeretur. Parum est enim quia dies ipse admonet nos eamdem sarcinam cogitare: insuper etiam talis lectio recitata est, quae nobis incutiat magnum timorem, ut quid portemus cogitemus; quia nisi nobiscum qui imposuit portet, deficimus. Ecce audistis: Terra, inquit, super quam induxero gladium, et posuerit sibi exploratorem, qui videat gladium supervenientem, et dicat et denuntiet: si veniente autem gladio taceat ille explorator, et superveniens gladins super peccatorem, occidat; peccator quidem pro sua iniquitate morietur, sanguinem autem ejus de manu exploratoris inquiram. Si autem viderit gladium supervenientem, et tuba cecinerit, et annuntiaverit, et ille cui annuntiat non observaverit; ille quidem

Chapter II. — 2. How great a care for the salvation of others is laid upon a bishop. Now my burden is the one you heard of just now, when the prophet Ezekiel was being read. For it is not enough that the day itself admonishes us to think about that same burden: on top of that, such a reading has also been recited as strikes great fear into us, so that we may think about what we are carrying; for unless He Who laid it on us carries it with us, we fail. See, you have heard: The land, He says, upon which I shall bring the sword, and it sets up for itself a watchman to see the sword coming upon it, and to speak and give warning: but if, when the sword comes, that watchman keeps silent, and the sword coming upon the sinner kills him, the sinner indeed shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at the hand of the watchman. But if he sees the sword coming upon it, and the trumpet sounds, and he gives warning, and he to whom he gives warning does not heed, he indeed

Editors' notes and page, col. 1480

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1480

Forte, stimulis.

Perhaps stimulis ("by goads").

(*) ‹anchor: not visible (Sermo CCCXXXIX title)› · call in col 1480 Emendatus ad duos cl. ad gr. r. rm. t. et ad Am. Er. Par. Lov.

Corrected against two [manuscripts] cl., against gr. r. rm. t., and against the Amerbach, Erasmus, Paris and Louvain [editions].

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(a) ‹anchor: not visible (Sermo CCCXXXIX title)› · call in col 1480

Alias, 25 ex 50 Homiliis.

Formerly no. 25 of the Fifty Homilies.

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(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1480

Habitus scilicet in anniversario suscepti episcopatus, quem diem Natalem episcopi appellabant. Natalitia Optati Thamugadensis frequentissimo Donatistarum conventu, quamdiu ille vixit, celebrari solita commemorat Augustinus in epist. 108, n. 5, et in libro 2 contra Litteras Petiliani, cap. 23, n. 53. Diem etiam anniversarium ordinationis Aurelii Carthaginensis celebrandum postridie esse significat supra in fine serm. 111.

Preached, that is, on the anniversary of his taking up the episcopate, the day they called the bishop's Birthday. Augustine records that the birthday of Optatus of Thamugadi used to be celebrated, as long as he lived, by a very crowded gathering of Donatists, in Letter 108, n. 5, and in Book 2 Against the Letters of Petilian, ch. 23, n. 53. He also indicates, above at the end of Sermon 111, that the anniversary of the ordination of Aurelius of Carthage was to be celebrated the next day.

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in sua iniquitate mori⟨e⟩tur, explorator autem animam suam liberavit. Et tu, fili hominis, exploratorem posui te filiis Israel. Exposuit quid dixerit gladium, exposuit quid dixerit exploratorem, exposuit quam dixerit mortem. Non nos permisit in obscuritate lectionis excusare negligentiam nostram. Posui te ergo, inquit, exploratorem. Si dixero peccatori, Morte morieris, et tu tacueris, et ille in peccato suo mortuus fuerit; ille quidem in peccato suo morietur digne et juste, sanguinem autem ejus de manu tua requiram. Si autem tu dixeris peccatori, Morte morieris, et ille se non observaverit; ille in iniquitate sua morietur, tu vero animam tuam liberasti (Ezech. XXXIII, 2⟨-⟩9).

will die in his iniquity, but the watchman has delivered his own soul. And you, son of man, I have set as a watchman for the children of Israel. He has explained what He meant by the sword, He has explained what He meant by the watchman, He has explained what death He meant. He has not allowed us to excuse our negligence by the obscurity of the reading. I have set you therefore, He says, as a watchman. If I say to the sinner, You shall die the death, and you keep silent, and he dies in his sin; he indeed will die in his sin deservedly and justly, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you say to the sinner, You shall die the death, and he does not take heed to himself; he will die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your soul (Ezek. 33:2–9).

CAPUT III. — 3. Suos hortatur ut ipsum bene viventes relevent. Relevate ergo, fratres, relevate sarcinam meam, et portate mecum. Bene vivite. Natalis Domini imminet, pascendos habemus compauperes nostros, et cum eis communicanda est humanitas. Vobis autem fercula mea verba ista sunt: pascere omnes pane tractabili et visibili non sufficio. Inde pasco, unde pascor. Minister sum, pa⟨t⟩erfamilias non sum. Inde vobis appono, unde et ego vivo. De thesauro dominico, de epulis illius patrisfamilias, qui propter nos pauper factus est, cum dives esset, ut ejus paupertate nos ditaremur (II Cor. VIII, 9). Si panem vobis ponerem, fracto pane singula frusta ablaturi eratis: etsi ego multum ponerem, perparum ad singulos perveniret. Modo autem quod dico, et omnes totum habent, et singuli quique totum habent. Numquid enim verbi mei inter vos syllabas divisistis? Numquid ipsius producti sermonis singula verba abstulistis? Unusquisque vestrum totum audivit: sed videat quomodo audivit; quia erogator sum, non exactor.

Chapter III. — 3. He exhorts his people to relieve him by living well. Relieve, then, brothers, relieve my burden, and carry it with me. Live well. The Lord's Nativity is at hand; we have our fellow poor to feed, and humanity must be shared with them. But for you these words of mine are my dishes: I am not sufficient to feed all with bread that can be handled and seen. I feed you from that by which I am fed. I am a servant, I am not the householder. I set before you that from which I too live: from the Lord's treasury, from the banquet of that householder Who for our sake became poor, though He was rich, that by His poverty we might be enriched (2 Cor. 8:9). If I set bread before you, once the bread was broken you would each carry off single pieces: even if I set out much, very little would reach each one. But now, what I say, all have the whole, and each and every one has the whole. Have you divided the syllables of my word among you? Have you each carried off single words of this lengthy discourse? Each of you has heard the whole: but let him see how he has heard it; for I am the one who pays out, not the one who exacts.

4. Evangelio terretur, ne episcopali onere posito securiorem vitam deligat. Servi est erogare; Domini, rationem exigere. Si non erogem, et pecuniam servem, terret me Evangelium. Possem enim dicere: Quid mihi est taedio esse hominibus, dicere iniquis, Inique agere nolite, sic agite, sic agere desistite? Quid mihi est oneri esse hominibus? Accepi quomodo vivam, quomodo jussus sum, quomodo praeceptus sum, assignem quomodo accepi: de aliis me reddere rationem quo mihi? Evangelium me terret. Nam ad istam securitatem otiosissimam nemo me vinceret. Nihil est melius, ni⟨h⟩il dulcius, quam divinum scrutari, nullo strepente, thesaurum: dulce est, bonum est. Praedicare, arguere, corripere, aedificare, pro unoquoque satagere magnum onus, magnum pondus, magnus labor. Quis non refugiat istum laborem?

4. He is terrified by the Gospel, lest he lay down the episcopal burden and choose a more carefree life. It is the servant's part to pay out; the Lord's, to demand an account. If I were not to pay out, but to keep the money, the Gospel terrifies me. For I could say: What is it to me to be a nuisance to people, to say to the wicked, Do not act wickedly, act thus, cease to act thus? What is it to me to be a burden to people? I have received how I am to live, how I have been commanded, how I have been instructed; let me give account of how I received: why should I render account for others? The Gospel terrifies me. For in that most leisurely security no one would outdo me. Nothing is better, nothing sweeter, than to search the divine treasure with no one making a noise: it is sweet, it is good. To preach, to reprove, to rebuke, to edify, to take pains over each one, is a great burden, a great weight, a great labour. Who would not flee from this labour?

CAPUT IV. — Sed terret Evangelium. Processit quidam servus, et ait domino suo: Sciebam te hominem molestum, metere ubi non seminasti; servavi pecuniam tuam, nolui eam erogare, tolle quod tuum est. Si aliquid minus est, indica; si integrum est, noli mihi molestus esse. Ait autem ille: Serve nequam, ex ore tuo te condemnabo. Quare hoc? Quia avarum dixisti me; lucra mea quare neglexisti? Sed timui dare ne

Chapter IV. — But the Gospel terrifies. A certain servant came forward and said to his lord: I knew you to be a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow; I kept your money, I was unwilling to pay it out, take what is yours. If anything is lacking, point it out; if it is intact, do not be troublesome to me. But he said: Wicked servant, out of your own mouth I will condemn you. Why so? Because you called me avaricious; why did you neglect my gains? But I was afraid to give, lest

Editors' notes and page, col. 1481

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Mss., judica.

Manuscripts: judica ("judge").

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perderem: hoc dicis. Plerumque enim dicitur: Quid corripis? Perit ad illum quod dicis, non te audit. Et ego, inquit ille, nolui dare, ne perderem pecuniam tuam. Ego veniens cum usuris exigerem (Luc. XIX, 21-23). Erogatorem, inquit, posueram te, non exactorem. Tu exerceres erogationem, mihi relinqueres exactionem. Hoc ergo timens unusquisque, videat quomodo accipiat. Si ego erogans timeo, qui accipit securus esse debet?

I should lose: this you say. For it is often said: Why do you rebuke? What you say is lost on him, he does not listen to you. And I, says that man, did not want to give, lest I should lose your money. I, coming, would have exacted it with interest (Luke 19:21–23). I had appointed you, he says, a disburser, not an exactor. You were to carry out the disbursing, and to leave the exacting to me. Fearing this, then, let each one see how he receives. If I who disburse am afraid, ought he who receives to be secure?

CAPUT V. — 5. Hortatur ut vitam mutent in melius. Vitam solam non curant homines habere bonam. Qui malus fuit heri, bonus sit hodie. Haec est ergo erogatio mea. Qui malus fuit heri, bonus sit hodie. Malus fuit heri, et non est mortuus. Si mortuus esset, et malus esset, isset unde non redisset. Malus fuit heri, vivit hodie: prosit illi quod vivit, non male vivat. Quare ergo diei hesterno hodiernum vult addere malum? Longam vitam vis habere; bonam non vis? Quis longum ferat malum vel prandium? Usque adeo caecitas mentis occalluit, usque adeo surdus est homo interior, ut omnia bona velit habere praeter seipsum? Vis habere villam? Nego te habere velle malam villam. Uxorem vis habere? Non vis nisi bonam: domum nonnisi bonam. Quid curram per singula? Caligam non vis habere malam, et vis habere vitam malam? Quasi plus tibi noceat mala caliga, quam vita mala. Cum tibi caliga mala et constricta nocuerit, sedes, discalceas te, abjicis, aut corrigis, aut mutas, ne digitum laedas; et calceas te. Mala vita est, qua animam perdis. Sed plane hoc video unde fallaris. Caliga nocens dolorem facit, vita nocens voluptatem: illud nocet, illud libet. Sed quod ad tempus libet, postea pejus dolet. Quod autem ad tempus salubriter dolet, postea infinita voluptate et abundanti gaudio laetificat; secundum illud quod scriptum est, Qui seminant in lacrymis, in gaudio metent (Psal. CXXV, 5); et illud, Beati qui lugent, quoniam ipsi consolabuntur (Matth. V, 5).

Chapter V. — 5. He exhorts them to change their life for the better. Life alone men do not care to have good. Whoever was bad yesterday, let him be good today. This, then, is my disbursing. Whoever was bad yesterday, let him be good today. He was bad yesterday, and he has not died. If he had died, and had been bad, he would have gone whence he would not have returned. He was bad yesterday, he lives today: let it profit him that he lives; let him not live badly. Why then does he want to add today's evil to yesterday's? You want to have a long life; do you not want a good one? Who would put up with a long bad thing, even a lunch? Has blindness of mind grown so callous, is the inner man so deaf, that he wants to have all things good except himself? You want to have a country house? I deny that you want to have a bad country house. You want to have a wife? You want none but a good one; a house, none but a good one. Why should I run through them one by one? You do not want to have a bad boot, and you want to have a bad life? As if a bad boot harmed you more than a bad life. When a bad and tight boot has hurt you, you sit down, take off your shoes, throw it away, or mend it, or change it, so as not to injure your toe; and you put your shoes on again. A bad life is that by which you lose your soul. But I plainly see where you are deceived. A harmful boot causes pain, a harmful life pleasure: the one hurts, the other pleases. But what pleases for a time afterwards pains worse. Whereas what pains wholesomely for a time afterwards gladdens with infinite pleasure and abundant joy; according to that which is written, Those who sow in tears will reap in joy (Ps. 125:5); and that, Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be consoled (Matt. 5:5).

6. Conclusio. Haec ergo diligentius attendentes, cogitemus illud quod de luxuria ac voluptate scriptum est: Ad tempus, inquit, indulcat fauces, postea felle amarior invenitur (Prov. V, 3 et 4). Et quia vita nostra in hoc saeculo quasi via esse cognoscitur, oportet nobis de labore ad requiem pervenire, quam de requie ad laborem: et melius est nobis in via brevi tempore laborare, ut postea in patria possimus ad aeternum gaudium feliciter pervenire; praestante Domino nostro Jesu Christo, qui cum Patre, etc.

6. Conclusion. Attending, then, more diligently to these things, let us consider that which is written about luxury and pleasure: For a time, it says, it sweetens the throat, afterwards it is found more bitter than gall (Prov. 5:3–4). And since our life in this world is recognized to be as it were a road, it behoves us to come from labour to rest, rather than from rest to labour: and it is better for us to labour for a short time on the road, so that afterwards in the homeland we may happily come to eternal joy; by the gift of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who with the Father, etc.

Editors' notes and page, col. 1482

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Sic Mss. Editi vero, et malus esset, inde non redisset.

So the manuscripts. The printed editions, however, have et malus esset, inde non redisset ("and had been bad, he would not have returned thence").

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(2) ‹anchor: occalluit› · call in col 1482

Editi, occuluit. Pro quo Mss., occalluit.

The printed editions have occuluit ("hid"); in its place the manuscripts have occalluit ("grew callous").

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(3) ‹anchor: oportet nobis› · call in col 1482

Editi, oportet nos. At omnes Mss., oportet nobis. Modus loquendi ejus auctoris est, qui sermoni clausulam apposuit, ab istis verbis : Haec ergo diligentius attendentes, etc.

The printed editions have oportet nos; but all the manuscripts have oportet nobis. This is the manner of speaking of the author who appended the closing passage to the sermon, from the words Haec ergo diligentius attendentes ("Attending more carefully, then, to these things"), etc.

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