PL 39 · cols. 1899–1903

Appendix to Augustine's Sermones: Sermones supposititii, Sermones 77-93

Sermons LXXIX–LXXXI

ut mereatur aeterna; porrigit caduca, et recipit sine fine mansura. Ecce pro qua re hilari et bono animo dare debemus. Si tibi homo fidelis diceret, Da mihi unum aureum nummum, et reddo tibi solidos aureos centum, numquid non cum gaudio dares unum, ut acciperes centum? Quanto magis, quia dicit tibi Deus coeli et terrae, Qui pauperi tribuit, Deo fenerat (Prov. XIX, 17); et, Quamdiu fecistis uni ex his fratribus meis minimis, mihi fecistis; et in Psalmo, Jucundus homo qui miseretur et commodat (Psal. CXI, 5), debes commodare Deo in terra quod multipliciter accipias in vitam aeternam? Ut cum in conspectu Angelorum ante tribunal aeterni Judicis venire merueris, secura et libera con⟨s⟩cientia dicere possis, Da, Domine, quia dedi; miserere, quia misericordiam feci: ego implevi quod jussisti, tu redde quod promisisti. Iterum atque iterum admoneo, fratres, ut semper istam evangelicam lectionem memoriter teneatis, et totis viribus cum Dei adjutorio laboretis: ut aeternum ignem possitis evadere, et ad coelorum reg⟨n⟩a feliciter pervenire, ipso praestante qui vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

so that he may merit eternal ones; he holds out perishable things, and receives things that will endure without end. See, then, for what reason we ought to give with a cheerful and good heart. If a faithful man were to say to you, Give me one gold coin, and I will return to you a hundred gold solidi, would you not give the one with joy, so as to receive a hundred? How much more, since the God of heaven and earth says to you, He who gives to the poor lends at interest to God (Prov. 19:17); and, As long as you did it to one of these least of My brothers, you did it to Me; and in the Psalm, Pleasant is the man who shows mercy and lends (Ps. 111:5), ought you to lend to God on earth what you may receive manifold in eternal life? So that, when you have been found worthy to come before the tribunal of the eternal Judge in the sight of the angels, you may say with a secure and free conscience, Give, Lord, because I have given; have mercy, because I have shown mercy: I have fulfilled what Thou hast commanded, do Thou render what Thou hast promised. Again and again I admonish you, brothers, always to keep this Gospel reading in memory, and to labour with all your strength with the help of God, so that you may escape the eternal fire and happily attain to the kingdoms of the heavens, by the gift of Him Who lives and reigns for ages of ages. Amen.

SERMO LXXIX. De verbis Evangelii Matthaei, cap. XXVI, 31-35, 69-75, Omnes vos scandalum patiemini, etc., de lapsu Petri.

Sermon 79. On the words of the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 26, 31-35, 69-75 (Matt. 26:31–35, 69–75), You will all suffer scandal, etc., on the fall of Peter.

1. Homo sine Dei gratia. Cur Deus Petrum subdeseruit. In lectione evangelica quae nobis hesterno die recitata est, fratres charissimi, audivimus Dominum dixisse discipulis suis: Omnes vos scandalum patiemini in hac nocte propter me. Cui beatus Petrus: Etiamsi omnes scandalizati fuerint, ego nunquam scandalizabor. Sed Dominus inspector cordis respondit, et dixit: Amen dico tibi, antequam gallus cantet, ter me negabis. Ille autem dixit: Etiamsi me mori oportuerit pro te, non te negabo. Videte, fratres charissimi, verus et coelestis medicus venam cordis inspexerat, et qua hora tentationis pondus vel infidelitatis frigus venturum esset, praedixerat. Medicus praedicabat, et aegrotus negabat: sed ubi ad horam ventum est, falsum fuit quod promiserat homo, et verum apparuit quod praedixerat Deus. Quid enim homo sine Dei gratia possit, timor beati Petri apostoli evidenter ostendit. Per solum enim liberum arbitrium, non addito etiam Dei adjutorio, promiserat se pro Domino moriturum. Sed quid est homo sine gratia Dei, nisi quod fuit Petrus cum negaret Christum; et nisi quod ait propheta, Omnis caro fenum (Isai. XL, 6)? Et ideo beatum Petrum paululum Dominus subdeseruit, ut in illo totum humanum genus posset agnoscere, nihil se sine Dei gratia praevalere, et ut Ecclesiae rectori futuro ignoscendi peccantibus quaedam regula poneretur.

1. Man without the grace of God. Why God forsook Peter for a little while. In the Gospel reading which was recited to us yesterday, dearest brothers, we heard that the Lord said to His disciples: You will all suffer scandal because of Me this night. To which blessed Peter [said]: Even if all should be scandalized, I will never be scandalized. But the Lord, the Searcher of the heart, answered and said: Amen I say to you, before the cock crows, you will deny Me three times. But he said: Even if I must die for You, I will not deny You. See, dearest brothers, the true and heavenly Physician had examined the vein of the heart, and had foretold at what hour the weight of temptation or the chill of unfaithfulness would come. The Physician was foretelling, and the sick man was denying; but when the hour came, what the man had promised proved false, and what God had foretold appeared true. For what man can do without the grace of God, the fear of the blessed apostle Peter plainly shows. For by free will alone, with no help of God added to it, he had promised that he would die for the Lord. But what is man without the grace of God, except what Peter was when he denied Christ; and except what the prophet says, All flesh is grass (Isa. 40:6)? And therefore the Lord forsook blessed Peter for a little while, so that in him the whole human race might recognize that it has no strength without the grace of God, and so that a certain rule of pardoning sinners might be laid down for the future ruler of the Church.

2. Petrus natura austerior. Credendae enim erant Petro apostolo claves Ecclesiae: imo creditae sunt ei claves regni coelorum. Credenda quoque ei erat populorum innumera multitudo, quae esset pro suae naturae vitiis, passionibus, culpis involuta atque peccatis. Denique sic ad eum Salvator dicit: Tibi, inquit, dedi claves regni coelorum. Deinde sequitur, dicens: Quaecumque ligaveris super terram, erunt ligata et in coelo (Matth. XVI, 19): videlicet ut in clavibus fidelis janitor, in sententiis esset clementissimus dispensator. Erat enim revera hic Petrus paulo durior et severus, sicut ejus austeritatem truncata ob Christi injuriam servi principis sacerdotum declarat auricula. Hic igitur tam durus tamque severus, si donum non peccandi a Domino fuisset indeptus, quae venia commissis populis donaretur? Sed idcirco divinae providentiae secretum ita temperavit atque permisit, ut primus ipse laberetur ac rueret in peccatum, quo erga peccantes duriorem sententiam proprii casus intuitu temperaret.

2. Peter was more austere by nature. For the keys of the Church were to be entrusted to the apostle Peter; indeed, the keys of the kingdom of the heavens were entrusted to him. To him also was to be entrusted a countless multitude of peoples, which, according to the defects of its own nature, would be entangled in passions, faults and sins. Accordingly the Saviour speaks thus to him: To you, He says, I have given the keys of the kingdom of the heavens. Then He continues, saying: Whatever you bind upon earth will be bound also in heaven (Matt. 16:19): that is, so that he who was a faithful doorkeeper with the keys might be a most merciful steward in his sentences. For in truth this Peter was somewhat harsh and severe, as the ear of the servant of the chief of the priests, cut off because of the wrong done to Christ, declares his austerity. This man, then, so harsh and so severe, if he had obtained from the Lord the gift of not sinning, what pardon would have been granted to the peoples entrusted to him? But for this reason the secret counsel of divine providence so tempered and permitted things that he himself should be the first to slip and fall into sin, so that, in view of his own fall, he might temper a harsher sentence towards sinners.

Editors' notes and page, col. 1899

Footnotes

(a) ‹anchor: not visible (sermon title)› · call in col 1899

Alias, de Tempore 124.

Formerly [numbered] On the Season 124.

(printed under page 212)

(b) ‹anchor: not visible (sermon title)› · call in col 1899

In Appendice nunc primum collocatur. Lovaniensibus dubius, Verlino et Vindingo supposititius est. Stilus revera non sapit Augustinum.

Now placed in the Appendix for the first time. To the Louvain editors it is doubtful, to Verlinus and Vindingus spurious. The style indeed does not savour of Augustine.

(printed under page 212)

Page

running head: 1899 APPE[NDIX] (running head cut off at the image's right edge after APPE)
marginal letters: (none)
old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 39:1900

Quantum igitur divini muneris erga salutem hominum, quantum curae quantumque sollicitudinis impendatur, advertite. Totius corporis morbum in ipso capite curat Ecclesiae, et in ipso vertice componit membrorum omnium sanitatem, in ipsa confessionis Christi crepidine, in ipso immobilis fidei fundamento, in Petro scilicet illo qui dixerat, Etiamsi me oporteat mori tecum, non te negabo.

Observe, then, how much of the divine gift, how much care and how much solicitude is spent upon the salvation of men. He cures the disease of the whole body of the Church in its very head, and at its very summit He restores the health of all the members: on the very ledge of the confession of Christ, on the very foundation of immovable faith, namely in that Peter who had said, Even if I must die with Thee, I will not deny Thee.

3. Petri lapsus et poenitentia. Hic est Petrus, qui divina revelatione prior omnium veritatem meruit confiteri, dicens: Tu es Christus Filius Dei (Matth. XVI, 16). Hic tantus et talis venit ad illam noctem, in qua Dominus tradebatur, et cum se calefacere vellet ad prunas, accessit ad eum puella, et dicit ei: Et tu hesterno die cum homine hoc eras? At ille mox respondit: N⟨e⟩scio hominem istum. Quid agis, o Petre, futurae rector Ecclesiae? quid loqueris? Intuere quid sis interrogatus, vel quid interroganti responderis. Vox tua repente mutata est, hoc est omne illud quod cito, sed non cauto sermone promiseras? Hoc est totum quod etiam omnibus negantibus te usque ad mortem perseverare juraveras? Nondum fidem tuam aliquis tentavit atque discussit, nondum te ob Christi negationem adversarius traxit ad publicum, nondum es apud reges et praesides propter nomen ejus exhibitus: non tibi flagella, nondum sunt admota tormenta. Quis porro est qui te interrogat, quod tam cito negasti? Non est servus, non liber, non pharisaeus, non scriba, non sacerdos, non miles, non centurio, non spiculator; nullus postremo eorum qui auctoritate sua posset formidinem incutere confitenti: mulier te simplici voce interrogat, et fortasse nec proditura confessum; nec vero tantum mulier, sed puella; et non solum puella, sed ostiaria, vile procul dubio abjectumque mancipium. O res stupenda! Puella accedens fidem Petri discussit, et mirum si soliditatem Petri non turbo, non imber, sed roris levissima gutta transfixit. Petrus labia puellae non sustulit; sed ubi locuta est, ille turbatur. Processit sermo puellae et immobilis columna concussa est. Verumtamen instabat illa interrogans, et dicebat: Et tu hesterno die cum homine hoc eras? Petrus autem eo magis oppressus formidine, hominem se scire negavit. Quem respiciens Christus, suorum fecit recordari sermonum. At ille intelligens factum, conversus ad poenitentiam amarissime flevit. Agnovit enim sibi ut homini peccati irrepsisse perniciem, quod totum hactenus, ut memini, divinitus procuratum est.

3. The fall and repentance of Peter. This is Peter, who by divine revelation was the first of all found worthy to confess the truth, saying: Thou art the Christ, the Son of God (Matt. 16:16). This man, so great and of such a kind, came to that night in which the Lord was being betrayed, and when he wished to warm himself at the coals, a girl came up to him and said to him: And you, were you with this man yesterday? But he at once answered: I do not know this man. What are you doing, O Peter, future ruler of the Church? What are you saying? Consider what you have been asked, or what you have answered the one asking. Your voice has suddenly changed: is this all that you had promised in a quick but not cautious speech? Is this the whole of what you had sworn, that even if all denied you would persevere even unto death? No one has yet tested and shaken your faith, no adversary has yet dragged you into public for denying Christ, you have not yet been brought before kings and governors for His name: no scourges, no tortures have yet been applied to you. Who, moreover, is it that questions you, that you so quickly denied? It is not a slave, not a free man, not a Pharisee, not a scribe, not a priest, not a soldier, not a centurion, not an executioner; in short, none of those who by their authority could strike fear into one confessing: a woman questions you in a simple voice, and perhaps one who would not even have betrayed you had you confessed; and not merely a woman, but a girl; and not only a girl, but a doorkeeper, without doubt a base and abject slave. O astonishing thing! A girl coming up shook the faith of Peter, and, marvel of marvels, not a whirlwind, not a rainstorm, but the very lightest drop of dew pierced the solidity of Peter. Peter did not endure the lips of the girl; but when she spoke, he is thrown into confusion. The girl's word went forth, and the immovable pillar was shaken. Nevertheless she pressed on, questioning him, and said: And you, were you with this man yesterday? But Peter, all the more overwhelmed by fear, denied that he knew the man. Christ, looking back at him, made him remember His words. And he, understanding what had been done, turned to repentance and wept most bitterly. For he recognized that the ruin of sin had crept upon him as a man, all of which, as I recall, had thus far been divinely arranged.

4. Petri lapsus nostri causa permissus Videte ergo, fratres charissimi, quemadmodum exiguae culpae permittitur subjacere tantus apostolus, ut emendatus elationis vitio atque correctus, integro vestiatur moderationis et clementiae indumento. Jam enim eruditus es et edoctus in Petro, quemadmodum eum Dominus tui causa patitur circumscribi delicto, quemadmodum illum fidei pietatisque signiferum, et generis humani columnam permiserit metu dominante quassari, ut populorum doctoribus et magistris esset exemplum, a Deo sibi non peccandi gratiam minime condonatam, sicut dicit apostolus Paulus, Considerans te, ne et tu tenteris (Galat. VI, 1). Cum forte quis fuerit in Ecclesia delicto praeventus, non statim abjiciat, condemnet; sed compatiatur ac lugeat, consoletur et revocet, commodet jacenti affectum, porrigat manum, erigat lapsum, spem ei divinae clementiae repromittens, sub qua etiam servire exemplo tantorum comprobat magistrorum. Haec autem nos, ut supra memoravimus, non justos culpando, sed peccatores ad spem erigendo protulimus; et primo quidem virtutes ejus extulimus, ut et justis formam cautelae, et peccatoribus salutis monstraremus exemplum.

4. The fall of Peter permitted for our sake. See, then, dearest brethren, how so great an apostle is permitted to fall subject to a slight fault, so that, amended and corrected of the vice of pride, he might be clothed in the whole garment of moderation and clemency. For you have now been instructed and taught in Peter how the Lord, for your sake, allows him to be hemmed in by a fault, how He permitted that standard-bearer of faith and piety, and pillar of the human race, to be shaken by the mastery of fear, so that it might be an example to the teachers and masters of the peoples that the grace of not sinning has by no means been granted them by God, as the apostle Paul says, Considering yourself, lest you too be tempted (Gal. 6:1). If perhaps anyone in the Church has been overtaken by a fault, let one not at once cast him off and condemn him; but let one suffer with him and mourn, console him and call him back, lend affection to the one lying fallen, stretch out a hand, raise up the fallen, promising him the hope of divine clemency, under which he proves by the example of such great teachers that one may still serve. These things, moreover, as we mentioned above, we have brought forward not to blame the just, but to raise sinners to hope; and first indeed we extolled his virtues, so that we might show both to the just a pattern of caution and to sinners an example of salvation.

Editors' notes and page, col. 1900

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: labia puellae non sustulit› · call in col 1900

Forte, sustinuit.

Perhaps sustinuit ("withstood").

(printed under page 212)

Page

running head: APPENDIX.
marginal letters: (none)
old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 39:1901

SERMO LXXX. In Matthaei cap. XXVII, 3-10: de Juda proditore, et de agro in peregrinorum sepulturam comparato ex pretio venditionis Christi.

Sermon 80. On Matthew chapter 27:3-10: on Judas the betrayer, and on the field bought for the burial of strangers from the price of the selling of Christ.

1. Judas severissimus sui judex. Retinet Sanctitas vestra, fratres, nos vobis hoc jam proxima Dominica praedicasse, quod Judas Iscarioth propria sententia condemnatus, ad Pharisaeos Dominici sanguinis mercedem reportarit, et actus poenitentia refuderit venditionis pretium; sed conscientiae suae non resolverit scelus. Denique post redditum pretium, laqueo se suspendit, ut qui se multaverat pecunia, multaret et vita. Intelligens enim quantum admiserit scelus, non suffecit ei sacrilegii carere mercede, nisi careret et salute. Dignum enim se morte judicat, quod Christum vitam omnium tradidisset. Severissimus igitur Judas sui judex, vel in ulciscendo confitetur, quem negaverat in tradendo. Restituit ergo pecuniam Pharisaeis; sed nec Pharisaei eam libenter accipiunt: dicunt enim illicitum sibi esse in suis eam habere thesauris. Vide igitur quanta vis dominicae sit pecuniae, quam inde Judas rejicit, hinc Pharisaei in loculos non recludunt. Justi enim sanguinis pretium pertimescit iniquitas possidere.

1. Judas the most severe judge of himself. Your Holiness remembers, brethren, that we preached this to you just last Sunday: that Judas Iscariot, condemned by his own sentence, carried back to the Pharisees the wages of the Lord's blood, and, driven by repentance, paid back the price of the sale; but did not loose the crime from his conscience. Then, after the price had been returned, he hanged himself with a noose, so that he who had fined himself of the money might fine himself of life also. For, understanding how great a crime he had committed, it was not enough for him to be without the wages of sacrilege unless he were also without salvation. For he judges himself worthy of death, because he had betrayed Christ, the life of all. Judas, therefore, the most severe judge of himself, at least in taking vengeance [on himself] confesses Him Whom he had denied in betraying. So he restores the money to the Pharisees; but neither do the Pharisees willingly accept it: for they say that it is unlawful for them to keep it in their treasuries. See then how great is the power of the Lord's money, which on the one side Judas casts away, and on the other the Pharisees do not shut up in their purses. For iniquity dreads to possess the price of righteous blood.

2. Providentia Dei in usu pretii Christi. Ager figuli, mundus. Consilium tamen ineunt Pharisaei, ut ex ea ager figuli comparetur, in quo peregrinorum corpora collocentur. Quod quidem providentia Dei factum puto, ut pretium Salvatoris non peccatoribus sumptum praebeat, sed peregrinis requiem subministret; non sacrilegis sit ad luxum, sed defunctis sit ad sepulcrum: ut jam exinde Christus et vivos sanguinis sui passione redimat, et mortuos pretiosa possessione suscipiat. Pretio ergo Dominici sanguinis ager figuli comparatur. Legimus in Scripturis, quod totius generis humani salus redempta sit sanguine Salvatoris, sicut ait apostolus Petrus: Hoc scientes, quia non corruptibilibus auro vel argento redempti estis de vana vestra conversatione paternae traditionis, sed pretioso sanguine quasi agni immaculati et incontaminati Jesu Christi (I Petr. I, 18, 19). Igitur si pretium vitae nostrae sanguis est Domini, vide ergo quia illa non tam redempta sit agri terrena fragilitas, quam totius mundi incolumitas sempiterna. Ait namque evangelista, Non enim venit Christus ut judicet mundum, sed ut salvetur mundus per ipsum (Joan. III, 17). Vide, inquam, ne pecunia illa non tam comparata sit agri parva portio, quam totius mundi copiosa possessio, sicut ait David propheta, Postula a me, et dabo tibi Gentes haereditatem tuam, et possessionem tuam terminos terrae (Psal. II, 8). Ager ergo iste mundus hic totus est, in quo nos dispersi et disseminati Domino fructum boni operis germinamus.

2. The providence of God in the use of the price of Christ. The potter's field, the world. Yet the Pharisees take counsel that with it a potter's field should be bought, in which the bodies of strangers might be laid. This indeed I think was done by the providence of God, so that the price of the Saviour should not furnish expenditure for sinners but supply rest for strangers; that it should not serve the sacrilegious for luxury but the dead for a tomb: so that from then on Christ should both redeem the living by the passion of His blood and receive the dead into a precious possession. With the price of the Lord's blood, therefore, the potter's field is bought. We read in the Scriptures that the salvation of the whole human race was redeemed by the blood of the Saviour, as the apostle Peter says: Knowing this, that you were not redeemed with corruptible gold or silver from your vain manner of life of your fathers' tradition, but with the precious blood as of a lamb unspotted and undefiled, Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 1:18–19). If therefore the price of our life is the blood of the Lord, see then that by it was redeemed not so much the earthly frailty of a field as the everlasting safety of the whole world. For the evangelist says, For Christ came not to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him (John 3:17). See, I say, whether by that money there was bought not so much a small portion of a field as the abundant possession of the whole world, as David the prophet says, Ask of Me, and I will give you the Gentiles for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for your possession (Ps. 2:8). This field, then, is this whole world, in which we, scattered and sown abroad, bring forth for the Lord the fruit of good work.

3. Figulus, mundi Dominus. Sed fortasse perquiras a me, si ager mundus est, quisnam sit figulus, qui mundi possit habere dominatum? Nisi fallor, ipse est figulus, qui vascula corporis nostri fecit ex limo, de quo dicit Scriptura, Et fecit Deus hominem de limo terrae (Gen. II, 7); ipse est figulus, qui carnium nostrarum coenosum lutum vapore sui spiritus animavit, et materiam fluidam atque terrenam igneo calore decoxit:

3. The potter, the Lord of the world. But perhaps you may ask of me, if the field is the world, who then is the potter who can have dominion over the world? Unless I am mistaken, He is the potter Who made the little vessels of our body out of clay, of Whom Scripture says, And God made man from the clay of the earth (Gen. 2:7); He is the potter Who quickened the muddy clay of our flesh with the breath of His spirit, and baked the fluid and earthy matter with fiery heat:

Editors' notes and page, col. 1901

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1901

In manuscriptis desunt voces, proxima Dominica; et in editis particula, jam.

The words proxima Dominica ("next Sunday") are wanting in the manuscripts, and the particle jam ("now") in the printed editions.

(printed under page 213)

(2) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1901

In n. et cl., ut qui se mutaverat per pecuniam, mutaret et vitam.

In n. and cl.: "so that he who had changed himself through money might change his life also".

(printed under page 213)

(3) ‹anchor: mortuos pretiosa possessione› · call in col 1901

Apud S. Maximum, mortuos pretiosa passione. In uno Ms., mortuis pretiosam passionem, etc.

In St Maximus: mortuos pretiosa passione ("the dead by his precious passion"). In one manuscript: mortuis pretiosam passionem, etc.

(printed under page 213)

(4) ‹anchor: traditionis, sed› · call in col 1901

Ita editi. At apud Maximum, Non enim redempti estis corruptibilibus auro vel argento, sed pretioso, etc. Manuscripti autem, Non enim redempti estis auro vel argento, et reliqua.

So the printed editions. But in Maximus: "For you were not redeemed with corruptible gold or silver, but with the precious", etc. The manuscripts, however: "For you were not redeemed with gold or silver", and the rest.

(printed under page 213)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible (sermon title)› · call in col 1901

Olim, de Tempore 128, et post, in Appendice 48.

Formerly On the Season 128, and afterwards Appendix 48.

(printed under page 213)

(b) ‹anchor: not visible (sermon title)› · call in col 1901

Jampridem auctori suo restitutus, Maximo episcopo Taurinensi, cujus nomen gerit in scriptis et excusis libris.

Long since restored to its author, Maximus bishop of Turin, whose name it bears in the written and printed books.

(printed under page 213)

Similia habet Ambrosius in cap. 22 Lucae.

Ambrose has similar things on chapter 22 of Luke.

(printed under page 213)

Page

running head: 1901 ... SERMO LXXXI. (only the column number and the right-hand part of the head are visible)
marginal letters: (none)
old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 39:1902

ipse, inquam, est figulus, qui nos per manus suas formavit ad vitam, per Christum suum reformavit ad gloriam, sicut ait Apostolus, Ad eamdem imaginem reformamur de gloria ad gloriam (II Cor. III, 18): scilicet, ut qui a priore factura propriis vitiis corruimus, in secunda nativitate figuli hujus misericord⟨ia⟩ reparemur; hoc est, qui per Adae transgressionem in mortem cecidimus, per Salvatoris gratiam denuo resurgamus. Ipse plane est figulus, de quo dicit Apostolus, Numquid dicit figmentum ei qui se finxit, Quare me finxisti sic? et iterum, Numquid non habet potestatem figulus luti ex eadem massa facere aliud quidem vas in honorem, aliud vero in contumeliam (Rom. IX, 20, 21)? Ex eodem enim luto corporis nostri Deus, tamen pro meritis singulorum, alios custodit ad regnum, alios reservat ad poenam.

He, I say, is the potter, Who by His hands formed us for life, and through His Christ reformed us for glory, as the Apostle says, We are reformed into the same image from glory to glory (2 Cor. 3:18): that is, so that we who by our own vices fell away from the first making may be restored in the second birth by the mercy of this potter; that is, so that we who through Adam's transgression fell into death may rise again through the grace of the Saviour. He plainly is the potter of whom the Apostle says, Does the thing formed say to Him Who formed it, Why hast Thou formed me thus? and again, Does the potter of the clay not have power out of the same lump to make one vessel for honour, and another for dishonour (Rom. 9:20–21)? For out of the same clay of our body God nevertheless, according to the merits of each, keeps some for the kingdom and reserves others for punishment.

4. Peregrini, devoti christiani. Iis Christus est sepultura. Istius itaque figuli ager Christi sanguine emptus est peregrinis: peregrinis, inquam, qui erant sine domo, sine patria, et toto orbe exsules jactabantur, requies Christi sanguine providetur; ut quibus non est in mundo possessio, his in Christo sit sepultura. Istos autem peregrinos quos esse dicimus, nisi devotissimos christianos, qui renuntiantes saeculo et nihil possidentes in mundo, in Christi sanguine requiescunt? Christianus enim qui mundum non possidet, hic totum possidet Salvatorem. Ideo autem peregrinis Christi sepultura promittitur, ut qui se a carnalibus vitiis tanquam peregrinum et alienum custodierit; hic Christi requiem mercatur. Sepultura enim Christi quid est aliud, nisi requies christiani? Nos ergo peregrini in hoc mundo sumus, et tanquam hospites in hac luce versamur, sicut ait Apostolus dicens, Etenim dum sumus in corpore, peregrinamur a Domino (II Cor. V, 6). Peregrini, inquam, sumus, et nobis Salvatoris sanguinis pretio empta est sepultura. Consepulti enim sumus, sicut ait Apostolus, cum illo per Baptismum in mortem (Rom. VI, 4). Baptismum igitur Christi nobis est sepultura, in quo peccatis morimur, criminibus sepelimur, et veteris hominis conscientia resoluta in alteram nativitatem rediviva infantia reparamur. Baptismum, inquam, Salvatoris nobis est sepultura: quia ibi perdimus quod ante viximus, et ibi denuo accipimus ut vivamus. Magna igitur sepulturae hujus est gratia, in qua nobis et utilis mors i⟨n⟩fertur, et utilior vita donatur. Magna, inquam, hujus gratia sepulturae, quae et purificat peccatorem, et vivificat morientem; adjuvante ipso, qui vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

4. Strangers are devout Christians. For them Christ is a burial place. So the field of this potter was bought with the blood of Christ for strangers: for strangers, I say, who were without home, without fatherland, and were tossed about as exiles throughout the whole world, a rest is provided by the blood of Christ; so that those who have no possession in the world may have a burial place in Christ. But whom do we say these strangers are, if not the most devout Christians, who, renouncing the world and possessing nothing in the world, rest in the blood of Christ? For the Christian who does not possess the world, he possesses the Saviour entire. And the burial place of Christ is promised to strangers for this reason, that whoever keeps himself from carnal vices as a stranger and alien, he purchases the rest of Christ. For what else is the burial place of Christ but the rest of the Christian? We, then, are strangers in this world, and we dwell in this light as guests, as the Apostle says, saying, For while we are in the body, we are sojourning away from the Lord (2 Cor. 5:6). We are strangers, I say, and a burial place has been bought for us at the price of the Saviour's blood. For we have been buried together, as the Apostle says, with Him through Baptism into death (Rom. 6:4). The Baptism of Christ, therefore, is a burial for us, in which we die to sins, are buried to crimes, and, the conscience of the old man being dissolved, are restored into a second birth with an infancy come to life again. The Baptism of the Saviour, I say, is a burial for us: because there we lose what we lived before, and there we receive anew so that we may live. Great, therefore, is the grace of this burial, in which both a useful death is brought upon us and a more useful life is bestowed. Great, I say, is the grace of this burial, which both purifies the sinner and gives life to the dying; with the help of Him Who lives and reigns for ages of ages. Amen.

SERMO LXXXI. De verbis Evangelii Marci, cap. VIII, 1-9, Cum turba multa esset cum Jesu, nec haberent quod manducarent, etc.

Sermon 81. On the words of the Gospel of Mark, chapter 8:1-9, When there was a great crowd with Jesus, and they had nothing to eat, etc.

1. Christi divinitas et humanitas in multis elucet. Eutychetis error refellitur. Altitudinem divinitatis suae et misericordiam humanitatis multis et variis modis in Scripturis sanctis Dominus noster Jesus Christus ostendit, quemadmodum solet in mysteriis et sacramentis, ut et petentes accipiant, et quaerentes inveniant, et pulsantibus aperiatur. Omnia enim quae in hoc mundo sub fragilitate nostra exhibuit miracula. nobis proficiunt. Non utique sine causa faciebat ea Dominus, vel quasi frustra et inaniter. Verbum Dei est Christus, qui non solum sonis, sed etiam factis loquitur

1. The divinity and humanity of Christ shine forth in many things. The error of Eutyches is refuted. Our Lord Jesus Christ has shown the height of His divinity and the mercy of His humanity in many and various ways in the holy Scriptures, as He is accustomed to do in mysteries and sacraments, so that those who ask may receive, and those who seek may find, and to those who knock it may be opened. For all the miracles which He displayed in this world in our frailty profit us. Certainly the Lord did not do them without cause, or as it were in vain and to no purpose. Christ is the Word of God, Who speaks not only by sounds but also by deeds

Editors' notes and page, col. 1902

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: Salvatoris sanguinis pretio› · call in col 1902

Haec verba, sanguinis pretio, ex editione Maximi hausimus, cum in caeteris editis et in manuscriptis nostris desiderentur.

These words, sanguinis pretio ("by the price of the blood"), we have taken from the edition of Maximus, since they are lacking in the other printed editions and in our manuscripts.

(printed under page 213)

(2) ‹anchor: et utilior vita donatur› · call in col 1902

Ita Ms. cb. Alii, condonatur.

So the manuscript cb. Others: condonatur ("is granted").

(printed under page 213)

(a) ‹anchor: SERMO LXXXI› · call in col 1902

Alias, de Tempore 209.

Formerly On the Season 209.

(printed under page 213)

(b) ‹anchor: manducarent, etc.› · call in col 1902

In Appendice nunc primum collocatur. Inter Augustinianos absque Augustini nomine tanquam dubius relictus erat per Lovanienses. Sed merito postea fuit repudiatus per Verlinum et Vindingum, qui damnatum hic Eutychetis errorem aliquanto post Augustini obitum exoriri coepisse observabant. Exordium capitis 1 et 2 sumpsit auctor ex Augustini sermone 252, qui incipit: « Multis et variis modis « et altitudinem divinitatis suae, » etc.

Now placed in the Appendix for the first time. It had been left by the Louvain editors among the Augustinian sermons, without Augustine's name, as doubtful. But it was afterwards rightly rejected by Verlinus and Vindingus, who observed that the error of Eutyches condemned here began to arise some while after Augustine's death. The author took the opening of chapters 1 and 2 from Augustine's sermon 252, which begins: "In many and various ways … and the height of his divinity," etc.

(printed under page 213)

Page

running head: [S]ERMO LXXXI. 1902 (left edge cut off; probably preceded by APPENDIX)
marginal letters: (none)
old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 39:1903

hominibus. Hoc enim etiam quod hodie de sancto Evangelio lectum est, quaerit intellectorem : et cum fuerit intellectum, spirituale facit gaudium. Et in hac lectione simul consideranda est in uno eodemque Redemptore nostro disjuncta operatio divinitatis et humanitatis, atque omnimodis detestandus error Eutychetis, qui unam tantum in Christo dogmatizare praesumit operationem. In alterutra enim parte vel qui solum hominem fuisse dixerit, gloriam negabit Conditoris; vel qui solum Deum, negabit misericordiam Redemptoris. Nempe quod super turbam miseretur Dominus, ne vel inedia, vel longioris viae deficiat labore, noverimus affectum esse atque compassionem humanae fragilitatis : quod autem de septem panibus et paucis piscibus satiavit quatuor millia hominum, credimus divinae opus esse virtutis.

to men. For this too, which has been read today from the holy Gospel, seeks someone to understand it: and when it has been understood, it brings about spiritual joy. And in this reading we must consider at the same time the distinct operation of divinity and of humanity in one and the same Redeemer of ours, and also the error of Eutyches, to be detested in every way, who presumes to teach as dogma that there is only one operation in Christ. For on either side, whoever says that He was man only will deny the glory of the Creator; or whoever says He was God only will deny the mercy of the Redeemer. Indeed, the Lord has compassion on the crowd, lest it faint either from hunger or from the toil of a rather long journey; let us recognize this as the affection and fellow-feeling of human frailty. But that He satisfied four thousand men from seven loaves and a few fishes, we believe to be the work of divine power.

2. Turbae, Gentes. Cibus quo carebant, Lex Moysi. Attendat ergo Sanctitas vestra, quia hoc nobis propositum est, quod cum vestra charitate tractemus, quid sibi velit hujus rei tantum mysterium, quod eo modo se Deum discipulis demonstrasse sancta testatur Scriptura, quomodo Evangelium narrat. Ait enim Evangelista in hodierna lectione : Cum multa turba esset cum Jesu, nec haberent quod manducarent, convocatis discipulis ait illis : Misereor turbae huic. Sed requiramus quod ait superius, In illis diebus cum turba multa esset. Superius enim accesserunt Judaei ad Salvatorem, accusantes discipulos ejus, eo quod non lotis manibus manducarent. Quos Dominus redarguit, quia quae de corde mala procedunt, ea potius hominem coinquinarent. Et relictis illis, venit in finibus Gentium, ubi mulier Chananaea, quae est mater gentilium, pro filia sua, id est, Ecclesia, Dominum deprecatur : quae tamdiu postulavit, donec acciperet quod petebat. Post haec iterum curavit mutum et surdum (Marc. VII). Ergo in his diebus cum multitudo populi concurrisset, nec haberent quod manducarent : turbas enim hic omnes gentis significare creaturas intelligimus, pro quibus ipse Dominus misericordia commovetur, quod non haberent quod manducarent : hic spiritualiter debemus intelligere; quod ideo non habebant quod manducarent : quia Gentes Legem non habebant, id est, quinque libros Moysi, non Prophetas, non praedicationem sancti Joannis; quia Gentes non per Legem, sed per fidem venerunt ad Redemptorem. Ideo triduo perseverant, hoc est, in nativitate, in passione, in resurrectione Domini; sive in Patre, et in Filio, et in Spiritu sancto. Perseverare enim, permanere est in confessione, sicut ipse Dominus ait : Qui autem perseveraverit usque in finem, hic salvus erit (Matth. X, 22). Dicit ergo Dominus, Non habent quod manducent : quia Legem non habent : et dimittere eos jejunos nolo, ne deficiant in via; ut qui per fidem Christi crediderunt, per fidem Christi salvarentur. Quidam autem ex his de longe venerunt. Longe enim erant Gentes a Deo, errando per idola. Et modo omnis qui peccat, longe est a Deo.

2. The crowds are the Gentiles. The food which they lacked is the Law of Moses. Let your Holiness therefore pay attention, since what we have set ourselves is to consider with your charity what is meant by so great a mystery in this event, in which, as the holy Scripture testifies, He showed Himself to be God to the disciples in the way the Gospel narrates. For the Evangelist says in today's reading: When there was a great crowd with Jesus, and they had nothing to eat, having called the disciples together He said to them: I have compassion on this crowd. But let us inquire into what he says earlier, In those days when there was a great crowd. For earlier the Jews came to the Saviour, accusing His disciples because they were eating with unwashed hands. The Lord rebuked them, because it is rather the evil things that proceed from the heart that would defile a man. And leaving them, He came into the borders of the Gentiles, where the Canaanite woman, who is the mother of the gentiles, entreats the Lord for her daughter, that is, the Church: and she kept asking until she received what she was seeking. After these things He again healed the man who was dumb and deaf (Mark 7). Therefore in these days, when a multitude of people had flocked together and they had nothing to eat: for here we understand the crowds to signify all the creatures of the Gentile race, for whom the Lord Himself is moved with mercy because they had nothing to eat. Here we ought to understand spiritually that they had nothing to eat for this reason: because the Gentiles did not have the Law, that is, the five books of Moses, nor the Prophets, nor the preaching of Saint John; for the Gentiles came to the Redeemer not through the Law but through faith. Therefore they persevere for three days, that is, in the nativity, in the passion, in the resurrection of the Lord; or in the Father, and in the Son, and in the Holy Spirit. For to persevere is to remain in confession, as the Lord Himself says: But he who has persevered to the end, he will be saved (Matt. 10:22). The Lord therefore says, They have nothing to eat: because they do not have the Law. And I do not want to send them away fasting, lest they faint on the way; so that those who believed through faith in Christ might be saved through faith in Christ. But some of them came from far off. For the Gentiles were far from God, straying among idols. And now everyone who sins is far from God.

3 Increduli Apostoli, donec revelentur mysteria. — Dicunt discipuli ejus : Unde istos quis poterit saturare panibus in solitudine? Adhuc Apostolos tenebat incredulitas, donec mysteria revelarentur : nec recordabantur quod fecerat de quinque panibus et duobus piscibus. Et interrogavit eos Jesus quot panes haberent. Qui dixerunt, Septem. Et praecepit turbae, ut discumberent super terram. Et accipiens panes gratias egit, et dedit discipulis suis ut apponerent. Et pisces similiter benedixit, et posuit ante illos. Et manducaverunt, et saturati sunt, et sustulerunt septem sportas plenas. Erant autem qui manducaverunt quasi quatuor millia, extra mulieres et infantes. Et virtutes quidem Domini manifestissime credimus esse factas in praesenti : sed quid lateat in mysterio, ipsius gratia donante requiramus.

3 The Apostles were unbelieving until the mysteries should be revealed. — His disciples say: From where could anyone satisfy these people with bread in the wilderness? Unbelief still held the Apostles until the mysteries should be revealed: and they did not remember what He had done with the five loaves and two fishes. And Jesus asked them how many loaves they had. They said, Seven. And He commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground. And taking the loaves He gave thanks, and gave them to His disciples to set before them. And He likewise blessed the fishes, and set them before them. And they ate, and were satisfied, and they took up seven full baskets. Now those who ate were about four thousand, besides women and children. And indeed we believe that the mighty works of the Lord were most manifestly done at that time: but what lies hidden in the mystery, let us inquire, by His grace granting it.

4. Duplicis panum multiplicationis collatio. Prima Judaeos, altera Gentes exhibet. In superiori enim lectione de quinque panibus et duobus piscibus quinque millia hominum satiavit : hic septem panibus saturavit

4. A comparison of the twofold multiplication of loaves. The first represents the Jews, the second the Gentiles. For in the earlier reading He satisfied five thousand men from five loaves and two fishes: here with seven loaves He satisfied

Editors' notes and page, col. 1903