PL 39 · cols. 1762–1766

Appendix to Augustine's Sermones: Sermones supposititii, Sermones 2-15

Sermons XII–XIII

— Haec omnia, fratres, sicut Apostolus clamat, in figura contingebant illis: scripta sunt autem propter nos, in quos finis saeculorum devenit (I Cor. X, 11). Quomodo tamen, fratres, Angeli Dei ad Filium hominis in coelum ascendant, et ad ipsum Filium in terram descendant, diligenter attendite. Quando enim praedicatores Dei de Scrip⟨t⟩uris sanctis alta et profunda, quae nonnisi a perfectis intelliguntur, annuntiant, ascendunt ad Filium hominis: quando vero illi praedicant quae ad corrigendos mores pertinent, et quae omnis populus intelligere possit, descendunt ad Filium hominis. Sic et Apostolus dicit: Sapientiam loquimur inter perfectos, sapientiam non hujus saeculi; sed arcanam, absconditam, quam praedestinavit Deus ante saecula in gloriam nostram (Id. II, 6 et 7). Is⟨t⟩a quando dicebat Apostolus, sine dubio ascendebat ad Filium hominis. Quando autem dicebat, Fugite fornicationem (Id. VI, 18); quando dicebat, Nolite inebriari vino, in quo est luxuria (Ephes. V, 18); quando denuntiabat, Radix omnium malorum est cupiditas (I Tim. VI, 10): in his verbis tanquam Angelus Dei descendebat ad Filium hominis. Quando autem dicebat, Quae sursum sunt sapite, non quae super terram (Coloss. III, 2), ascendebat: cum vero dicebat, Sobrii estote, et nolite peccare (I Cor. XV, 34), et reliqua quae ad corrigendos mores pertinent praedicabat, lac doctrinae ministrans tanquam nutrix parvulis, descendebat; quia illa loquebatur quae etiam imperiti capere possent. Hoc ordine et ascenditur et descenditur ad Filium hominis, cum et perfectis cibus solidus tribuitur (Hebr. V, 14), et doctrinae lac etiam non negatur. Sed et beatus Joannes ascendebat, quando dicebat: In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum. Satis in altum ascendebat, quando ista dicebat. Sed quia Angeli Dei non solum ascendunt, sed etiam descendunt; inclinans se ad parvulos, dixit: Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis (Joan. I, 1, 14).

— All these things, brethren, as the Apostle cries out, happened to them in figure: but they were written for our sakes, upon whom the end of the ages has come (1 Cor. 10:11). Yet attend carefully, brethren, to how the angels of God ascend into heaven to the Son of Man, and descend to the same Son onto the earth. For when the preachers of God proclaim from the holy Scriptures high and deep things, which are understood only by the perfect, they ascend to the Son of Man; but when they preach the things which pertain to correcting morals, and which the whole people can understand, they descend to the Son of Man. So too the Apostle says: We speak wisdom among the perfect, wisdom not of this age; but a secret, hidden [wisdom], which God predestined before the ages for our glory (1 Cor. 2:6–7). When the Apostle said this, without doubt he was ascending to the Son of Man. But when he said, Flee fornication (1 Cor. 6:18); when he said, Do not be drunk with wine, in which is wantonness (Eph. 5:18); when he declared, The root of all evils is covetousness (1 Tim. 6:10): in these words he was descending like an angel of God to the Son of Man. Again, when he said, Mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the earth (Col. 3:2), he was ascending; but when he said, Be sober, and do not sin (1 Cor. 15:34), and preached the other things which pertain to correcting morals, ministering the milk of doctrine like a nurse to little ones, he was descending; for he was saying things which even the unlearned could grasp. In this order there is both ascending and descending to the Son of Man, when both solid food is given to the perfect (Heb. 5:14), and the milk of doctrine is also not denied. And blessed John too was ascending when he said: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He ascended high enough when he said these things. But because the angels of God not only ascend but also descend, bending down to the little ones he said: The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (John 1:1, 14).

6. Recapitulatio supra dictorum. Ut haec quae superius suggessimus, sanctis cordibus vestris possint tenacius inhaerere, breviter quae dicta sunt repetamus. Beatus Isaac, sicut diximus, mittens filium suum, typum Dei Patris habuit, Jacob qui missus est, Christum Dominum designavit. Lapis quem ad caput habuit, et oleo unxit, et ipse significavit Dominum Salvatorem. Scala usque ad coelos attingens, crucis figuram habuit. Dominus innixus scalae, Christus crucifixus ostenditur. Angeli ascendentes et descendentes per eam, Apostoli et apostolici viri, et omnes doctores Ecclesiarum intelliguntur; ascendentes, quando perfectis perfecta praedicant; descendentes, quando parvulis et imperitis simplicia quae intelligere possint, insinuant. Nos vero, fratres, qui omnia quae in veteri Testamento figurata sunt, in novo Testamento videmus esse completa; quantas possumus Deo gratias referamus, qui nobis nullis praecedentibus meritis tanta praestare dignatus est; totis viribus cum ipsius adjutorio laborantes, ut haec tanta et talia beneficia non nobis judicium pariant, sed profectum. Quinimo ita spiritualiter studeamus vivere, et bonis operibus semper insistere, ut cum nos castos, sobrios, misericordes et pios judicii dies invenerit, non cum impiis et peccatoribus puniamur; sed cum justis et Deum timentibus pervenire ad aeternam Beatitudinem mereamur, praestante Domino nostro, etc.

6. Recapitulation of what has been said above. So that these things which we have set before you above may cling more tenaciously to your holy hearts, let us briefly repeat what has been said. Blessed Isaac, as we said, in sending his son, bore the type of God the Father; Jacob, who was sent, signified Christ the Lord. The stone which he had at his head, and anointed with oil, itself also signified the Lord Saviour. The ladder reaching to the heavens bore the figure of the cross. The Lord leaning on the ladder shows Christ crucified. By the angels ascending and descending upon it are understood the apostles and apostolic men, and all the teachers of the Churches: ascending, when they preach perfect things to the perfect; descending, when they instil into the little ones and the unlearned simple things which they can understand. But we, brethren, who see all the things that were prefigured in the Old Testament fulfilled in the New Testament, let us render to God what thanks we can, Who with no preceding merits on our part has deigned to bestow such great things upon us; labouring with all our strength, with His help, so that these benefits, so great and of such a kind, may bring us not judgement but progress. Indeed, let us so strive to live spiritually, and to persist always in good works, that when the day of judgement finds us chaste, sober, merciful and devout, we may not be punished with the ungodly and sinners, but may deserve to come with the just and those who fear God to eternal Beatitude, by the gift of our Lord, etc.

SERMO XII. De beato Jacob, II.

Sermon 12. On blessed Jacob, 2.

1. Jacob Salvatoris typus. Matrimonia Patriarcharum ad puteos. Frequenter Charitati vestrae suggessimus, fratres dilectissimi, beatum Jacob typum habuisse et figuram Domini Salvatoris. Denique quomodo Christus venturus erat in mundum, ut jungeretur Ecclesiae, ita in beato Jacob hoc praefiguratum est,

1. Jacob a type of the Saviour. The marriages of the patriarchs at wells. We have frequently set before your Charity, dearest brethren, that blessed Jacob bore the type and figure of the Lord Saviour. Indeed, just as Christ was to come into the world in order to be joined to the Church, so this was prefigured in blessed Jacob,

Editors' notes and page, col. 1762

Footnotes

(a) ‹anchor: SERMO XII› · call in col 1762

Alias, de Tempore 80.

Elsewhere, [Sermon] 80 de Tempore.

(printed under page 143)

(b) ‹anchor: De beato Jacob, II› · call in col 1762

In Appendice nunc primum collocatur. Lovaniensibus dubius, Verlino et Vindingo supposititius. Nobis vero est Caesarii sextus.

It is now placed in the Appendix for the first time. Doubtful to the Louvain editors, spurious to Verlinus and Vindingus. To us, however, it is Caesarius's sixth.

(printed under page 143)

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quando in regionem longinquam peregrinatus est, ut conjugium sortiretur. Abiit ergo, sicut audistis, beatus Jacob in Mesopotamiam ad accipiendam uxorem, et cum venisset ad quemdam puteum, vidit Rachel venientem cum ovibus patris sui; et cum agnovisset consobrinam suam esse, adaquato grege osculatus est eam (Gen. XXVIII, 6; XXIX, 2-11). Si diligenter audistis, fratres, potestis agnoscere non fuisse sine causa, quod sancti Patriarchae matrimonia ad puteos aut fontes inveniunt. Si hoc semel tantummodo evenisset, poterat aliquis dicere non pro aliqua significatione factum esse, sed casu potius accidisse: cum vero et beata Rebecca, quae jungenda erat Isaac, ad puteum invenitur (Id. XXIV, 45), et Rachel quam accepturus erat Jacob, ad puteum agnoscitur (Id. XXIX, 9), nihilominus et Sephora quae Moysi juncta est, ad puteum reperitur (Exod. II, 16); sine dubio aliqua in his sacramenta debemus agnoscere. Et quia toti tres isti patriarchae typum Domini Salvatoris praeferebant, ideo ad fontes vel ad puteos inveniunt matrimonia; quia Christus ad aquam Baptismi inventurus erat Ecclesiam. Denique veniens Jacob ad puteum, prius gregem Rachel adaquavit, et postea osculatus est eam. Verum est, fratres charissimi; nisi prius per aquam Baptismi christianus populus a malis omnibus abluatur, pacem Christi habere non meretur. Numquid beatus Jacob videns consobrinam suam, non eam potuit osculari priusquam aquam gregibus daret? Potuit sine dubio, sed mysterium gerebatur. Oportebat enim ut per gratiam Baptismi ab omni iniquitate vel discordia liberaretur Ecclesia, et sic pacem cum Deo habere mereretur.

when he travelled abroad into a far country to obtain a marriage. So blessed Jacob went off, as you have heard, into Mesopotamia to take a wife, and when he had come to a certain well, he saw Rachel coming with her father's sheep; and when he had recognized that she was his cousin, he watered the flock and kissed her (Gen. 28:6; 29:2–11). If you have listened carefully, brethren, you can recognize that it was not without cause that the holy patriarchs find their marriages at wells or springs. If this had happened only once, someone could have said that it was not done for any signification, but rather happened by chance: but since blessed Rebecca too, who was to be joined to Isaac, is found at a well (Gen. 24:45), and Rachel, whom Jacob was to receive, is recognized at a well (Gen. 29:9), and Sephora likewise, who was joined to Moses, is met with at a well (Exod. 2:16), without doubt we ought to recognize some sacraments in these things. And because all three of these patriarchs bore the type of the Lord the Saviour, therefore they find their marriages at springs or at wells; because Christ was to find the Church at the water of Baptism. Indeed Jacob, coming to the well, first watered Rachel's flock, and afterwards kissed her. It is true, dearest brethren: unless the Christian people is first washed from all evils through the water of Baptism, it does not deserve to have the peace of Christ. Could not blessed Jacob, seeing his cousin, have kissed her before he gave water to the flocks? Without doubt he could, but a mystery was being enacted. For it was fitting that the Church should be freed from all iniquity or discord through the grace of Baptism, and thus deserve to have peace with God.

2. Lia et Rachel, Synagoga et Ecclesia. Quod autem in illa peregrinatione duas uxores accepit Jacob, duos populos figurabat, Judaeorum et Gentium. Nam in adventu Christi non parvus numerus etiam de Judaeorum populo in eum legitur credidisse. Sic enim in Apostolorum Actibus continetur, quia crediderunt una die tria millia, item alia die quinque millia, item postea multa millia (Act. II, 41, 44). Quod autem duo populi in Christum crediderint, etiam ipse Dominus in Evangelio confirmat, ubi ait: Habeo et alias oves, quae non sunt ex hoc ovili, et illas oportet me adducere, ut fiat unus grex, et unus pastor (Joan. X, 11). Duae ergo i⟨s⟩tae mulieres, id est Lia et Rachel, quae beato Jacob fuerant junct⟨a⟩e, istos duos populos figuraverunt; Lia Judaeorum, Rachel Gent⟨i⟩um. Istis duobus populis velut duobus parietibus, tanquam lapis angularis junctus est Christus. In ipso enim se osculati sunt, et in ipso aeternam pacem invenire meruerunt, sicut Apostolus dicit: Ipse est pax nostra, qui fecit utraque unum (Ephes. II, 14). Quomodo fecit utraque unum? Utique duos greges jungendo, et duos parietes sibi invicem copulando.

2. Lia and Rachel, the Synagogue and the Church. Now the fact that on that journey Jacob took two wives figured two peoples, that of the Jews and that of the Gentiles. For at the coming of Christ no small number even of the people of the Jews is read to have believed in Him. For thus it is contained in the Acts of the Apostles, that three thousand believed on one day, likewise five thousand on another day, likewise afterwards many thousands (Acts 2:41, 44). And that two peoples believed in Christ the Lord Himself also confirms in the Gospel, where He says: I have other sheep also, which are not of this fold, and them too I must bring, that there may be one flock and one shepherd (John 10:11). So these two women, that is, Lia and Rachel, who had been joined to blessed Jacob, figured these two peoples: Lia that of the Jews, Rachel that of the Gentiles. To these two peoples, as to two walls, Christ was joined as the corner-stone. For in Him they kissed one another, and in Him they deserved to find eternal peace, as the Apostle says: He is our peace, Who has made both one (Eph. 2:14). How did He make both one? Surely by joining the two flocks, and by coupling the two walls to each other.

3. Jacob dives rediens, figura Christi. Denique videte quid postea consecutus est. Dicit enim Scriptura, quod post haec dives factus fuerit beatus Jacob (Gen. XXX, 43). Sicut enim sanctus Jacob crevit, ac ditatus est, et cum infinita substantia ad patriam reversus est, ita et verus Jacob Dominus noster Jesus Christus veniens in hu⟨n⟩c mundum, et istas duas sibi plebes, id est, Gentium et Judaeorum, c⟨o⟩nsocians, innumerabiles ex eis filios spiritualiter genuit et creavit, ac ditatus est nimis. D⟨e⟩nique audi ipsum dicentem, Data est m⟨i⟩hi omnis potestas in caelo et in terra (Matth. XXVIII, 18). Nam exspoliato diabolo, reversus ad Patrem magnas secum divitias reportavit, secundum quod Psalmista de eo multo ante praedixerat, Ascendens in al⟨t⟩um, captivam duxit captivitatem (Psal. LXVII, 19).

3. Jacob returning rich, a figure of Christ. Then see what he obtained afterwards. For Scripture says that after this blessed Jacob became rich (Gen. 30:43). For just as holy Jacob grew and was enriched, and returned to his homeland with boundless substance, so also the true Jacob, our Lord Jesus Christ, coming into this world and uniting to Himself these two peoples, that is, of the Gentiles and of the Jews, begot and created from them innumerable sons spiritually, and was enriched exceedingly. Indeed, hear Him saying: All power has been given to Me in heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18). For having despoiled the devil, He returned to the Father and brought back great riches with Him, according to what the Psalmist had foretold of Him long before: Ascending on high, He led captivity captive (Ps. 67:19).

4. Laban typus diaboli. Revertente autem Jacob ad patriam suam, persecutus est eum Laban cum sociis suis, et scrutatus omnem substantiam ejus, nihil de rebus suis invenit: et quia de suo nihil invenit, tenere eum omnino non potuit (Gen. XXXI, 23-35). Laban hic typum diaboli habuisse non incongrue dicitur; qui et idolis serviebat, et beato Jacob, qui typum Domini praeferebat,

4. Laban a type of the devil. Now as Jacob was returning to his homeland, Laban pursued him with his companions, and having searched all his substance, he found nothing of his own things: and because he found nothing of his own, he could not hold him at all (Gen. 31:23–35). Laban is not unfittingly said here to have borne the type of the devil; he both served idols, and to blessed Jacob, who bore the type of the Lord,

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adversarius erat. Persecutus est ergo Jacob; nihil apud eum de rebus suis invenit. Audi hoc et verum Jacob in Evangelio dicentem: Ecce venit princeps hujus mundi, et in me nihil invenit (Joan. XIV, 30). Concedat nobis divina misericordia, ut etiam in nobis nihil de suis operibus noster adversarius recognoscat. Si enim de suo nihil invenerit, tenere nos vel revocare ab aeterna vita non poterit. Et ideo, fratres charissimi, diligenter aspiciamus arcellas conscientiae nostrae, perscrutemur latibula cordis nostri; et si nihil ibi quod ad diabolum pertinet invenimus, gaudeamus, et Deo gratias referamus; et quantum possumus, cum ipsius adjutorio studeamus, ut januae cordis nostri semper aperiantur Christo, et usque ad finem claudantur diabolo. Si vero aliquid de operibus vel calliditate diaboli in animis nostris latitare cognoscimus, velut venenum mortiferum evomere vel exspuere festinemus: ut cum nobis insidiari voluerit, et nihil quod ad se pertinet potuerit invenire, confusus abscedat, et nos cum Propheta gratias agentes, clamemus ad Dominum: Liberasti nos ex affligentibus nos, et eos qui nos oderunt, confudisti (Psal. XLIII, 8). Lia ergo, sicut supra diximus, significat illam plebem quae de Judaeis juncta est Christo; Rachel vero Ecclesiae, id est omnium gentium typum gessit. Et ideo Lia non est furata idola patris sui, sed Rachel (Gen. XXXI, 19); quia post adventum Christi non usquequaque Synagoga idolis servisse cognoscitur, sicut de Ecclesia Gentium manifestissime comprobatur; et propterea non apud Liam. id est, Synagogam: sed apud Rachel, quae typum Gentium praeferebat, idola Laban legimus latuisse.

was the adversary. He therefore persecuted Jacob; he found nothing of his own with him. Hear the true Jacob also saying this in the Gospel: Behold, the prince of this world comes, and in Me he has found nothing (John 14:30). May the divine mercy grant us that in us too our adversary may recognize nothing of his own works. For if he finds nothing of his own, he will not be able to hold us back or call us away from eternal life. And therefore, dearest brothers, let us carefully look into the little chests of our conscience, let us search out the hiding-places of our heart; and if we find nothing there that belongs to the devil, let us rejoice and give thanks to God; and as far as we can, with His help, let us strive that the doors of our heart may always be opened to Christ and shut to the devil to the end. But if we recognize that something of the works or cunning of the devil lies hidden in our souls, let us hasten to vomit it out or spit it out like a deadly poison: so that when he wishes to lie in wait for us and can find nothing that belongs to him, he may go away confounded, and we, giving thanks with the Prophet, may cry out to the Lord: Thou hast delivered us from those who afflict us, and those who hate us Thou hast confounded (Ps. 43:8). Leah therefore, as we said above, signifies that people which was joined to Christ from among the Jews; Rachel, on the other hand, bore the type of the Church, that is, of all the nations. And therefore it was not Leah who stole her father's idols, but Rachel (Gen. 31:19); because after the coming of Christ the Synagogue is not known to have served idols at all, as is most manifestly proved of the Church of the Gentiles; and for that reason we read that Laban's idols lay hidden not with Leah, that is, the Synagogue, but with Rachel, who presented the type of the Gentiles.

5. Luctatio Jacob, Judaeos Christum persequentes designat. Quod autem venit Jacob ad Jordanem, et transmissis omnibus rebus ipse solus remansit, et luctabatur cum viro usque dum veniret aurora; Jacob in illa colluctatione Judaeorum populum figuravit; Angelus qui cum illo luctabatur, typum Salvatoris Domini praeferebat. Luctatur Jacob cum Angelo; quia populus Judaeorum luctaturus erat cum Christo. Vincebat Jacob Angelum: quia Judaeorum populus Christum usque ad mortem persecuturus erat. Et quia non totus populus Judaeorum infidelis existit Christo, sicut jam supra diximus, sed non parva multitudo in nomine ejus legitur credidisse; ideo Angelus tetigit femur Jacob, et claudicare coepit. Pes enim ille in quo claudicabat, Judaeos qui in Christum non crediderunt figurabat; ille vero qui sanus remansit, illorum typum gessit qui Christum Dominum receperunt. Denique diligenter attendite, quia Jacob in illa colluctatione et vincebat, et benedictionem petebat. Cum enim dixisset Angelus, Dimitte me; respondit Jacob, Non dimittam te, nisi benedixeris mihi. In eo quod vincebat Jacob, Judaeos persecuturos Christum significabat; in eo quod benedictionem petebat, illum populum figurabat qui in Christum Dominum crediturus erat. Denique quid ei dixit Angelus? Si contra Dominum fortis fuisti, quanto magis contra homines praevalebis (Id. XXXII, 23-28)? Hoc tunc impletum est, quando populus Judaeorum Christum Dominum crucifixit. Dimitte me, inquit Angelus, jam ascendit aurora. Hoc jam resurrectionem Domini figuravit; quia Dominus, sicut optime nostis, ante lucem legitur resurrexisse a mortuis.

5. The wrestling of Jacob signifies the Jews persecuting Christ. Now that Jacob came to the Jordan, and, having sent all his possessions across, himself remained alone and wrestled with a man until the dawn came: Jacob in that struggle prefigured the people of the Jews; the Angel who wrestled with him presented the type of the Lord Saviour. Jacob wrestles with the Angel, because the people of the Jews was going to wrestle with Christ. Jacob was overcoming the Angel, because the people of the Jews was going to persecute Christ even to death. And because not the whole people of the Jews was unbelieving towards Christ, as we have already said above, but no small multitude is read to have believed in His name, therefore the Angel touched Jacob's thigh, and he began to limp. For that foot on which he limped prefigured the Jews who did not believe in Christ; but the one which remained sound bore the type of those who received Christ the Lord. Then pay careful attention to the fact that Jacob in that struggle was both overcoming and asking for a blessing. For when the Angel had said, Let me go, Jacob answered, I will not let you go unless you bless me. In that Jacob was overcoming, he signified the Jews who would persecute Christ; in that he was asking for a blessing, he prefigured that people which was going to believe in Christ the Lord. Then what did the Angel say to him? If you have been strong against the Lord, how much more will you prevail against men (Gen. 32:23–28)? This was fulfilled then, when the people of the Jews crucified Christ the Lord. Let me go, said the Angel, the dawn is already rising. This already prefigured the resurrection of the Lord; because the Lord, as you know very well, is read to have risen from the dead before daylight.

6. Jacob baculum portans, imago Christi crucem gerentis. Quod autem Jacob typum Domini figuravit, etiam hinc cognoscimus, quod orans Deum ut eum de manu Esau fratris sui eriperet, Domine, inquit, minor sum cunctis miserationibus tuis; in baculo meo transivi Jordanem, et ecce cum duabus turmis regredior (Ibid., 10). Verum est, fratres charissimi, baculo crucis Christus apprehendit mundum, et cum duabus turmis, id est, cum duobus populis ad Patrem rediit cum triumpho. Haec ergo, fratres charissimi, frequentius cogitate, et velut munda animalia spiritualiter ruminantes utilem et necessarium cibum, vestris animis praevidete: illum utique cibum de ⟨q⟩uo

6. Jacob carrying a staff is an image of Christ bearing the cross. That Jacob prefigured the type of the Lord we also recognize from this, that, praying God to rescue him from the hand of his brother Esau, he said, Lord, I am less than all Thy mercies; with my staff I crossed the Jordan, and behold, I return with two companies (Gen. 32:10). It is true, dearest brothers: with the staff of the cross Christ laid hold of the world, and with two companies, that is, with two peoples, He returned to the Father in triumph. Think on these things, therefore, dearest brothers, more often, and like clean animals spiritually chewing the cud, provide for your souls useful and necessary food: that food, namely, of which

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Dominus ⟨a⟩it, Operamini non cibum qui perit, sed qui permanet in vitam aeternam (Joan. VI, 27): ad quam vos Dominus per suam pietatem perducat, cui est honor et imperium cum Patre, etc.

the Lord says, Work not for the food that perishes, but for that which endures unto eternal life (John 6:27): to which may the Lord by His goodness lead you, to Whom is honour and dominion with the Father, etc.

SERMO XIII. De beato Joseph, I.

Sermon 13. On the blessed Joseph, 1.

1. Jacob Dei Patris, Joseph Christi typum gessit. Fratres Joseph Judaeos et peccatores designant. Quoties vobis, fratres charissimi, lectiones de Testamento Veteri recitantur, sicut frequenter admonui, non hoc solum debetis attendere quod sonat in verbo, sed quod intelligitur et sapit in spiritu. S⟨i⟩c et Apostolus admonet nos dicens, Littera occidit, spiritus autem vivificat (II Cor. III, 6). H⟨ae⟩c enim omnia quae in Veteri Testamento leguntur, sicut dicit Apostolus, in figura contingebant illis, scripta sunt autem propter nos (I Cor. X, 11). Cum enim populus Christianus fideliter ad ecclesiam venit, quid ei prodest quod audit qualiter sancti Patriarchae aut uxores acceperint, aut filios procreaverint, nisi quare haec facta sunt, aut quid res ipsae figuraverint, spirituali sensu perspexerit? Ecce audivimus quod beatus Jacob genuerit filium, et vocaverit nomen ejus Joseph, et eum plus quam reliquos filios suos dilexerit (Gen. XXX, 24 et, XXXVII, 3). Hoc loco beatus Jacob figuram habuit Dei Patris, sanctus quoque Joseph typum gessit Domini Salvatoris. Diligebat ergo Jacob filium suum; quia et Deus Pater diligit Unigenitum suum, sicut ipse dixit: Hic est Filius meus dilectus (Matth. III, 17). Jacob misit filium suum, ut de fratribus sollicitudinem gereret: et Deus Pater misit Unigenitum suum, ut genus humanum peccatis languidum visitaret. Joseph dum fratres suos quaereret, errabat in eremo; et Christus genus humanum requirebat, quod errabat in mundo, quo in mundo quasi et ipse errabat, quia errantes requirebat. Joseph enim fratres suos quaerebat in Sichimis. Sichima interpretatur Humerus. Semper enim peccatores dorsum magis quam faciem ponunt in faciem justi. Humeri enim retro sunt. Sicut enim fratres Joseph invidia percussi, fraternae dilectioni dorsum magis quam facies offerebant; ita et infelices Judaei, veniente ad eos salutis auctore, invidere potius quam diligere maluerunt. De talibus dicitur in Psalmo: Obscurentur oculi eorum, ne videant; et dorsum illorum semper incurva (Psal. LXVIII, 24).

1. Jacob bore the type of God the Father, Joseph that of Christ. The brothers of Joseph signify the Jews and sinners. Whenever readings from the Old Testament are recited to you, dearest brethren, as I have often reminded you, you ought to attend not only to what sounds in the word, but to what is understood and savoured in the spirit. So too the Apostle admonishes us, saying, The letter kills, but the spirit gives life (2 Cor. 3:6). For all these things that are read in the Old Testament, as the Apostle says, happened to them in figure, but they were written for our sake (1 Cor. 10:11). For when the Christian people comes faithfully to church, what does it profit it to hear how the holy Patriarchs took wives or begot sons, unless it perceives with a spiritual sense why these things were done, or what the things themselves prefigured? Behold, we have heard that blessed Jacob begot a son, and called his name Joseph, and loved him more than his other sons (Gen. 30:24 and 37:3). In this place blessed Jacob bore the figure of God the Father, and holy Joseph likewise bore the type of the Lord and Saviour. Jacob therefore loved his son; because God the Father too loves His Only-begotten, as He Himself said: This is My beloved Son (Matt. 3:17). Jacob sent his son to take care of his brothers: and God the Father sent His Only-begotten to visit the human race, languishing in sins. Joseph, while he was seeking his brothers, wandered in the wilderness; and Christ was seeking the human race, which was wandering in the world, in which world He Himself as it were wandered too, because He was seeking those who wandered. For Joseph was seeking his brothers in Shechem. Shechem is interpreted Shoulder. For sinners always set their back rather than their face towards the face of the just man. For the shoulders are behind. For just as the brothers of Joseph, struck with envy, offered their back rather than their faces to brotherly love; so also the unhappy Jews, when the author of salvation came to them, chose to envy rather than to love. Of such it is said in the Psalm: Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see; and bow down their back always (Ps. 68:24).

2. De pretio venditionis Joseph non conveniunt translationes. Invenit ergo Joseph fratres suos in Dothaim. Dothaim interpretatur Defectio. Vere in grandi defectione erant, qui de fratricidio cogitabant. Videntes ergo Joseph fratres sui, de morte illius tractaverunt: sicut videntes Judaei verum Joseph Dominum Christum, ut eum crucifigerent uno omnes consilio statuerunt. Joseph exspoliaverunt fratres sui tunica polymita et talari; et Judaei Christum per mortem crucis expoliaverunt tunica corporali. Joseph exutus tunica mittitur in cisternam, id est in lacum; et Christus exspoliatus carne humana descendit in infernum. Joseph posteaquam de cisterna levatur, Ismaelitis, id est, Gentibus venditur; et Christus posteaquam de inferno regreditur, ab omnibus gentibus fidei commercio comparatur. Joseph per consilium Judae triginta argenteis distrahitur; et Christus per consilium Judae Iscariotis eodem numero venundatur. Quod autem in diversis translationibus non aequali pretio Joseph scribitur venundatus; sed alii dixerunt viginti argenteis, alii triginta; hoc spiritualiter significavit, quod Christus non aequaliter ab omnibus credendus

2. On the price of the sale of Joseph the translations do not agree. Joseph therefore found his brothers in Dothan. Dothan is interpreted Failing. Truly they were in a great failing who were thinking of fratricide. His brothers therefore, seeing Joseph, plotted his death: just as the Jews, seeing the true Joseph, the Lord Christ, all resolved with one counsel to crucify Him. His brothers stripped Joseph of his many-coloured, ankle-length tunic; and the Jews, by the death of the cross, stripped Christ of the tunic of the body. Joseph, stripped of his tunic, is put into a cistern, that is, into a pit; and Christ, stripped of human flesh, descended into hell. Joseph, after he is drawn up out of the cistern, is sold to the Ishmaelites, that is, to the Gentiles; and Christ, after He returns from hell, is purchased by all the nations through the commerce of faith. Joseph by the counsel of Judah is sold off for thirty pieces of silver; and Christ by the counsel of Judas Iscariot is sold for the same number. But that in different translations Joseph is written to have been sold not at an equal price, but some have said for twenty pieces of silver, others for thirty, this signified spiritually that Christ was not equally by all to be believed

Editors' notes and page, col. 1765

Footnotes

(a) ‹anchor: not visible (title of the sermon)› · call in col 1765

Alias, de Tempore 81.

Elsewhere, [Sermon] 81 de Tempore.

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(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1765

In Appendice nunc primum collocatur. A Lovaniensibus in Augustinianorum sermonum numero, sed absque Augustini nomine tanquam dubius, relictus est: a Verlino et Vindingo spuriis accensitus. Nobis vero videtur numerandus inter sermones Caesarii, qui hic Ambrosii ex libro de Joseph, capp. 2 et 3, ipsos eosdem plerumque sensus, et eadem interdum verba retulit.

It is now placed in the Appendix for the first time. The Louvain editors left it among Augustine's sermons, but without Augustine's name, as doubtful; Verlinus and Vindingus counted it among the spurious. To us, however, it seems it should be numbered among the sermons of Caesarius, who here reproduced from Ambrose's book On Joseph, chs. 2 and 3, for the most part the very same thoughts, and sometimes the same words.

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vel diligendus esset. Denique etiam nunc in Ecclesia alii eum p⟨l⟩us diligunt, alii minus. Ipsi enim plus valet Christus, qui eum majori charitate dilexerit. Joseph descendit in Aegyptum; et Christus in mundum. Joseph a penuria frumenti salvat Aegyptum; et Christus a fame verbi Dei liberat mundum. Nisi enim Joseph fratres sui vendidissent, defecerat Aegyptus. Fratres, verum est; nisi Christum Judaei crucifixissent, perierat mundus.

or loved. Indeed, even now in the Church some love Him more, others less. For Christ avails more to him who has loved Him with greater charity. Joseph went down into Egypt; and Christ into the world. Joseph saves Egypt from a want of grain; and Christ frees the world from a famine of the word of God. For had his brothers not sold Joseph, Egypt would have perished. Brethren, it is true; had the Jews not crucified Christ, the world would have perished.

3. Invidiae veneno mors intravit in orbem terrarum. Videamus tamen, fratres charissimi, unde in beatum Joseph fratres sui tam crudeliter saevierunt. Unde, nisi invidiae veneno, per quod mors intravit in orbem terrarum? Denique audi Scripturam dicentem, Invidebant ei fratres sui, et non poterant ei loqui quidquam pacificum. Vidit enim beatus Joseph somnium, quasi stantem se in agro cum fratribus suis, et manipulos alligantem, et fratrum manipulos adorare manipulum suum (Gen. XXXVII, 4, 7). Hoc in illo Joseph tunc impletum est, quando eum in Aegypto adoraverant fratres sui. Et non incongrue coacti sunt steriles manipuli fructuosum manipulum adorare, per quem de famis periculo liberandi erant.

3. By the poison of envy death entered into the world. Let us see, however, most dear brethren, from what source his brothers raged so cruelly against blessed Joseph. From what, if not from the poison of envy, through which death entered into the world? Indeed, hear the Scripture saying, His brothers envied him, and could not speak anything peaceable to him. For blessed Joseph saw a dream, as it were that he was standing in a field with his brothers and binding sheaves, and that his brothers' sheaves worshipped his sheaf (Gen. 37:4, 7). This was then fulfilled in that Joseph when his brothers had worshipped him in Egypt. And not unfittingly were the barren sheaves compelled to worship the fruitful sheaf, through which they were to be freed from the danger of famine.

4. Somnium Joseph in Christo duntaxat impletum. Vidit etiam aliud somnium, quod sol et luna et undecim stellae adorarent eum. Cui respondit pater suus, Numquid ego et mater tua, et fratres tui adorabimus te super terram (Ibid., 9, 10)? Hoc in illo Joseph impleri non potuit: in nostro autem Joseph, id est, Domino Jesu Christo, somnii illius sacramenta completa sunt. Sol enim et luna et undecim stellae eum adoraverunt, quando post resurrectionem sancta Maria, quasi luna, et beatus Joseph velut sol, cum undecim stellis, id est, beatis Apostolis, incurvati et prostrati sunt ante eum; et impleta est prophetia quae dixerat: Laudate eum, sol et luna; laudate eum, omnes stellae et lumen (Psal. CXLVIII, 3). Nam in tantum in illo Joseph impleta non est somnii hujus interpretatio, ut mater ipsius ante multos annos legatur fuisse defuncta, quam praefata somnia ille vidisset. Et revera quomodo fratribus ipsius potest convenire, quod eum quasi stellae adorare possent, quos invidiae nox obscuros et tenebrosos effecerat? Jam enim claritatem stellarum perdiderant, qui in se lumen charitatis exstinxerant. Merito ergo hoc in Domino Salvatore nostro verius credimus fuisse completum, quem, sicut jam antea dixi, et beatum Joseph et beatam Mariam cum undecim Apostolis frequentius legimus adorasse (Matth. XXVIII, 17). Nam quod Apostoli lumen stellarum habuerint, ipse Dominus in Evangelio dicit, Vos estis lux mundi (Id. V, 14). Et iterum de ipsis ac suis similibus, Tunc justi, inquit, fulgebunt sicut sol in regno Patris eorum (Id. XIII, 43).

4. Joseph's dream fulfilled in Christ alone. He saw also another dream, that the sun and the moon and eleven stars worshipped him. To whom his father answered, Shall I and your mother and your brothers worship you upon the earth? (ibid. 9-10). This could not be fulfilled in that Joseph; but in our Joseph, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, the mysteries of that dream were accomplished. For the sun and the moon and the eleven stars worshipped Him when, after the resurrection, holy Mary, as the moon, and blessed Joseph as the sun, with the eleven stars, that is, the blessed Apostles, bowed down and prostrated themselves before Him; and the prophecy was fulfilled which had said: Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you stars and light (Ps. 148:3). For the interpretation of this dream was so far from being fulfilled in that Joseph that his mother is read to have died many years before he saw the aforesaid dreams. And truly, how can it be fitting to his brothers that they should worship him as stars, whom the night of envy had made dark and gloomy? For they had already lost the brightness of stars, who had extinguished in themselves the light of charity. Rightly, therefore, do we believe this to have been more truly fulfilled in our Lord and Saviour, whom, as I said already before, we read more frequently that both blessed Joseph and blessed Mary with the eleven Apostles worshipped (Matt. 28:17). For that the Apostles had the light of stars, the Lord Himself says in the Gospel, You are the light of the world (ibid. 5:14). And again of them and of those like them, Then the just, He says, will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father (ibid. 13:43).

5. In Joseph sola Aegyptus, in Christo universus mundus augmentum habet. Quis est qui reddit mala pro bonis. Joseph interpretatur Augmentatio sive ampliatio. Sed in illo Joseph ampliationem non habuit, nisi sola Aegyptus; in nostro vero Joseph augmentum habere universus meruit mundus. Ille Joseph erogavit triticum; noster erogare dignatus est verbum. In omnem terram exivit sonus Apostolorum, et in fines orbis terrae verba eorum (Psal. XVIII, 5). Nos ergo, fratres dilectissimi, qui nullis praecedentibus meritis tanta bona per misericordiam veri Joseph Domini

5. In Joseph Egypt alone, in Christ the whole world has increase. Who it is that returns evil for good. Joseph is interpreted Increase or enlargement. But in that Joseph none had enlargement except Egypt alone; but in our Joseph the whole world has been worthy to have increase. That Joseph dispensed wheat; ours deigned to dispense the word. The sound of the Apostles went out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world (Ps. 18:5). We therefore, most beloved brethren, who with no preceding merits such great good things through the mercy of the true Joseph, the Lord

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Footnotes

(a) ‹anchor: velut sol› · call in col 1766

« Velut sol, » id est velut alter parentum, in Joseph somnio per solem significatus quod Ambrosius, lib. de Joseph, cap. 2, his verbis explicavit: « Quis est ille quem parentes et fratres adoraverunt super terram, nisi Christum Jesum, quando eum Maria et Joseph cum discipulis adoraverunt, Deum verum esse in illo corpore confitentes; de quo sole dictum est, Laudate eum sol, et luna, » etc. Baronius, ad annum Christi 12, hujus sermonis auctoritate male fretus, Augustinum facit sectatorem illius opinionis, cui adhaeret Arnaldus Abbas Bonaevallis in libro de Operibus cardinalibus Christi, tractatu de Passione, scilicet Joseph post passionem vel resurrectionem Domini adhuc fuisse superstitem.

"As the sun," that is, as one of the parents, signified by the sun in Joseph's dream, which Ambrose, On Joseph, ch. 2, explained in these words: "Who is he whom parents and brothers adored upon the earth, if not Christ Jesus, when Mary and Joseph with the disciples adored him, confessing that he was true God in that body; of which sun it is said, Praise him, sun and moon," etc. Baronius, at the year of Christ 12, wrongly relying on the authority of this sermon, makes Augustine a follower of the opinion to which Arnold, abbot of Bonneval, holds in his book On the Cardinal Works of Christ, in the treatise On the Passion: namely, that Joseph was still alive after the Lord's passion or resurrection.

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