Migne Reading Room
PL 39 · cols. 1918–1921
Appendix to Augustine's Sermones: Sermones supposititii, Sermones 77-93
Sermons XC–XCI
nemo tollet a vobis, nisi, me ipsum Dominum nemo tollet a vobis? Attendite conscientias vestras, fratres charissimi: si est in vobis justitia, id est, si omnibus hominibus hoc vultis et desideratis et optatis, quod vobis ipsis; si est in vobis pax quae non solum ad amicos, sed etiam usque ad ipsos perveniat inimicos; scitote quia regnum coelorum, hoc est, Christus Dominus, manet in vobis. Qui vero ad conscientiam suam recurrens, non ibi invenerit justitiam, sed avaritiam; non pacem, sed discordiam: non gaudium de spe vitae aeternae, sed carnalem l⟨ae⟩titiam de amore luxuriae: agnoscat et intelligat, quia non in illo regnat rex Legis Christus, sed crudelis tyrannus. Modo, fratres, dum adhuc vivimus in hoc corpore, possumus nos cum Dei adjutorio emendare atque corrigere. Si vero nos multis criminibus involutos ultimus dies invenerit, corrigendi tempus non erit. Erit enim tunc sicut omnibus sanctis aeternum gaudium, ita peccatoribus sine fine supplicium; sed illis hoc erit, qui se per poenitentiam emendare noluerunt. Tunc dicturus est Christus ad sinistram positis, Discedite a me, maledicti, in ignem aeternum: ad dexteram vero positis, Venite, benedicti, percipite regnum quod vobis paratum est ab origine mundi (Matth. XXV, 41, 34). Ad quam beatitudinem nos Dominus sub sua protectione perducat; cui est honor et gloria et imperium cum Patre et sancto Spiritu in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
no one will take from you, if not this: no one will take from you the Lord Himself? Examine your consciences, dearest brethren: if there is justice in you, that is, if you wish and desire and long for all men the same as for yourselves; if there is in you a peace which reaches not only to friends but even as far as to enemies themselves; know that the kingdom of heaven, that is, Christ the Lord, abides in you. But whoever, returning to his own conscience, finds there not justice but avarice; not peace but discord; not joy in the hope of eternal life but carnal gladness from the love of lust: let him recognize and understand that it is not Christ, the King of the Law, Who reigns in him, but a cruel tyrant. Now, brethren, while we still live in this body, we can with the help of God amend and correct ourselves. But if the last day finds us entangled in many crimes, there will be no time for correcting. For then, just as there will be eternal joy for all the saints, so there will be punishment without end for sinners; but it will be for those who were unwilling to amend themselves through penance. Then Christ will say to those placed on the left, Depart from Me, you cursed, into eternal fire; but to those placed on the right, Come, you blessed, receive the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the beginning of the world (Matt. 25:41, 34). To which blessedness may the Lord lead us under His protection; to Whom is honour and glory and dominion with the Father and the Holy Spirit unto ages of ages. Amen.
SERMO XC. De v⟨e⟩rbis Evangelii Joannis, cap. II, 1-10, Die tertia nuptiae fiebant, etc.
Sermon 90. On the words of the Gospel of John, chap. 2:1-10, On the third day a wedding took place, etc.
1. Quid significent nuptiae istae: quid sex hydriae: quid ternae metretae. Illud. fratres charissimi, quod die tertia nuptias factas, et aquam in vinum conversam fuisse, modo cum Evangelium legeretur, audistis, videamus. Quae sunt illae nuptiae? Hic acquisitio et reparatio nostra votis et festis nuptialibus demonstratur; sicut alio loco, cum choro et symphonia reditus filii junioris excipitur. Sex autem hydriae sunt sex mundi hujus aetates, per quas justi figuram et typum Domini praetulerunt, capiunt vero metretas binas vel ternas: quia fidem intra se continent Trinitatis. Sed videamus quid dicit sermo divinus; ipsa sacra Evangelii retractemus oracula.
1. What this wedding signifies: what the six water jars: what the three measures. Dearest brethren, let us consider what you heard just now when the Gospel was read, that a wedding took place on the third day and that water was turned into wine. What is that wedding? Here our acquisition and restoration is shown forth by vows and nuptial festivities; just as in another place the return of the younger son is welcomed with dancing and music. Now the six water jars are the six ages of this world, through which the just displayed the figure and type of the Lord; and they hold two or three measures each, because they contain within themselves faith in the Trinity. But let us see what the divine word says; let us go over again the sacred oracles of the Gospel themselves.
2. Mysterium reparationis humanae. Christus Ecclesiae arrhas dedit et dotem. In Cana Galilaeae aquas in vinum convertit, et latentem sub homine divinorum operum virtutem detexit. Die, inquit, tertia nuptiae fiebant. Quae sunt istae nuptiae, nisi gaudia salutis humanae? Quare die tertia? Sive quia nobis mysterium Trinitatis ostendit, sive quia die tertia resurrexit. Itaque tanquam sponsus procedens de thalamo suo descendit ad terras, Ecclesiae ex Gentibus congregandae, suscepta incarnatione, jungendus. Cui quidem Ecclesiae, quae utique sumus nos, et arrhas et dotem dedit. Arrhas dedit, quando nobis est ex Lege promissus; dotem dedit, quando pro nobis est immolatus: et alio modo potest accipi, ut arrhas, praesentem gratiam; dotem intelligamus vitam aeternam. Videamus quid agat in Cana Galilaeae: hic jam prodeant nobis Domini stupenda miracula.
2. The mystery of human restoration. Christ gave the Church a pledge and a dowry. In Cana of Galilee He turned water into wine, and revealed the power of divine works hidden beneath the man. On the third day, it says, a wedding took place. What is this wedding, if not the joys of human salvation? Why on the third day? Either because He shows us the mystery of the Trinity, or because He rose again on the third day. And so, like a bridegroom coming forth from his chamber, He came down to earth, having taken on the incarnation, to be joined to the Church to be gathered from the Gentiles. To this Church, which indeed we are, He gave both a pledge and a dowry. He gave the pledge when He was promised to us through the Law; He gave the dowry when He was sacrificed for us: and it can be understood in another way, so that by the pledge we understand present grace, and by the dowry eternal life. Let us see what He does in Cana of Galilee: here now let the astounding miracles of the Lord come forth for us.
3. Regenerationis symbolum. Statuuntur hydriae capientes metretas binas vel ternas; metretas a metro, id est, mensura: implentur hydriae; mutantur subito
3. A symbol of regeneration. Water jars are set out holding two or three measures each; "metretae" from "metrum", that is, measure: the jars are filled; there are suddenly changed
Editors' notes and page, col. 1918
Footnotes
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Ita cum iisdem manuscriptis. [Quid est, Gaudium vestrum nemo tollet a vobis? attendite, etc.]
So with the same manuscripts. [What is "Your joy no one will take from you"? Attend, etc.]
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(a) ‹anchor: not visible (sermon title)› · call in col 1918
Alias, ex Vignerianis 10.
Formerly no. 10 of the Vignier sermons.
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In Appendice nunc primum collocatur. Non Augustinum, cui in aliquot manuscriptis assignatur, sed omnino Caesarium refert. Reperitur hic ipse sermo in Bibliotheca Patrum inter Eusebio Gallicano tributos ordine quintus, cum insigni tamen varietate, et eorum omissione quae hic toto num. 6 continentur. Idem sermo in Vindocinensi Ms. eadem parte truncatus est, atque ibi Faustino adscriptus. De num. 6 vide Caesarii homil. 7, 9 et 11, ex editis a Baluzio.
Now placed in the Appendix for the first time. It recalls not Augustine, to whom it is assigned in some manuscripts, but altogether Caesarius. This same sermon is found in the Bibliotheca Patrum, fifth in order among those ascribed to Eusebius Gallicanus, though with notable variation and with the omission of what is contained here in the whole of no. 6. The same sermon is cut short by the same part in the Vendôme manuscript, and there ascribed to Faustinus. On no. 6 see Caesarius's homilies 7, 9 and 11, among those edited by Baluze.
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aquae; homines postmodum mutati: et dum in melius reformantur, velut Baptismatis vim loquuntur, quodam modo in illis similitudo regenerationis exprimitu⟨r⟩. et dum aliud ex alio efficiuntur, dum in speciem gratiorem inferior creatura transfertur; mysterium secundae nativitatis aperitur. Nihil in ipsis aquis de sua quantitate minuitur; et dum in se maneant, a se omnino n⟨o⟩bili commutatione degenerant. Pereunt substantiae suae, et acquiruntur alienae: fortior tenui materiae apponitur sapor, et occulta fluentis levibus virtus infunditur, et aquarum natura inebriatur; sic novo more Creatoris sui potentiam confitentur. Quis potest ista convertere, nisi qui potuit et creare?
the waters; men afterwards changed: and when they are reformed for the better, they speak as it were the power of Baptism, in a certain manner the likeness of regeneration is expressed in them. and when one thing is made out of another, when the inferior creature is transferred into a more pleasing form, the mystery of the second birth is laid open. Nothing in the waters themselves is diminished of its quantity; and while they remain in themselves, they depart wholly from themselves by a noble change. They lose their own substance, and acquire another's: a stronger savour is added to thin matter, and a hidden power is poured into light-flowing liquids, and the nature of the waters is made intoxicating; thus in a new manner they confess the power of their Creator. Who can change these things, except He Who was able also to create [them]?
4. Vinum, Scripturae sacrae. Aquae vinum, gratia succedens Legi. — Deficiente ergo vino, dixit ad Jesum mater ejus: Vinum non habent. Jam primo loco requiramus, quid sit vinum, quod defecisse dicitur, et quod sit aliud vinum, quod mirabiliter praeparatur, quod architriclinus melius esse pronuntiat, dicens: Omnis homo primum bonum vinum ponit; et cum inebriati fuerint, tunc id quod deterius est: tu vero servasti bonum vinum usque nunc. Vinum multis locis accipimus divina praecepta, et Scripturas sanctas, meracissimum vigorem coelestis sapientiae continentes, quibus ad timorem Dei incalescant sensus, et inebrientur affectus; secundum illud quod de Sapientia scriptum est, Paravit mensam suam, miscuit vinum suum in cratera (Prov. IX, 2). Scripturarum divinarum virtus, si quando alicujus interiora impleverit, dicere poterit cum propheta, Potasti nos vino compunctionis (Psal. LIX, 5): et, Poculum tuum inebrians quam praeclarum est (Psal. XXII, 5)! Operante ergo Christo in Cana Galilaeae, vinum defecit, et vinum fit; id est, umbra removetur, et veritas praesentatur: recedit Lex, gratia succedit; carnalia spiritualibus commutantur; in novum Testamentum observatio vetusta transfunditur, sicut beatus Apostolus dicit, Vetera transierunt, et ecce nova facta sunt omnia (II Cor. V, 17). Quomodo autem hydriae illae impletae aqua, nihil minuuntur ab eo quod erant; et tamen incipiunt esse quod non erant: ita Lex non perit per adventum Christi absoluta, sed proficit. Vino ergo deficiente, vinum aliud ministratur. Bonum quidem est vetus Testamentum; sed sine spirituali intellectu vanescit in littera: novum vero odorem vitae reddit in gratia.
4. The wine, the sacred Scriptures. The water [made] wine, grace succeeding the Law. — The wine therefore failing, His mother said to Jesus: They have no wine. Let us in the first place inquire what the wine is which is said to have failed, and what the other wine is which is wondrously prepared, which the chief steward declares to be better, saying: Every man sets out the good wine first; and when they have become drunk, then that which is worse: but you have kept the good wine until now. By wine in many places we understand the divine precepts, and the holy Scriptures, containing the purest vigour of heavenly wisdom, by which the senses grow warm towards the fear of God, and the affections are inebriated; according to that which is written of Wisdom, She has prepared her table, she has mixed her wine in the bowl (Prov. 9:2). The power of the divine Scriptures, if at any time it has filled anyone's inner parts, he will be able to say with the prophet, Thou hast given us to drink the wine of compunction (Ps. 59:5): and, Thy inebriating cup, how glorious it is (Ps. 22:5)! When Christ therefore was at work in Cana of Galilee, the wine failed, and wine is made; that is, the shadow is removed, and the truth is presented: the Law withdraws, grace succeeds; carnal things are exchanged for spiritual; the ancient observance is poured over into the New Testament, as the blessed Apostle says, The old things have passed away, and behold, all things are made new (2 Cor. 5:17). And just as those water jars filled with water are in no way diminished from what they were, and yet begin to be what they were not: so the Law, brought to completion by the coming of Christ, does not perish, but advances. The wine therefore failing, other wine is served. Good indeed is the Old Testament; but without spiritual understanding it vanishes in the letter: whereas the New gives back the odour of life in grace.
5. Miraculum maximum, conversio peccatoris. Cum haec ita sint, architriclinum ipsum praepositum in domo sponsi videamus, quem sentire possumus. Et quem alium nisi beatum Paulum intelligere debemus, qui post Legis litteram, acceptum Novi Testamenti mysterium suavissimum vel odore vel gustu, spiritualium sensuum fragrantia repletus et inebriatus exclamat et laudat, Tu servasti bonum vinum usque adhuc. Videamus tamen quemadmodum vinum ipsum laudat: Nec oculus, inquit, vidit, nec auris audivit, quae praeparavit Deus diligentibus se (I Cor. II, 9). Ecce vera, ecce praedicanda miracula, quae in nobis operatur, quando de pessimis bonos facit, de superbis humiles, de inhonestis castos, de sectatoribus saeculi amicos Dei. Quae potest majora exercere miracula, quam quando hominem vermem et putredinem dignatur in statum angelicum promovere, de terrenis in coelestibus collocare, et in gratiam suae adoptionis assumere?
5. The greatest miracle, the conversion of the sinner. Since these things are so, let us look at the chief steward himself, set over the house of the bridegroom, whom we are able to perceive. And whom else ought we to understand but blessed Paul, who after the letter of the Law, having received the most sweet mystery of the New Testament by both smell and taste, filled and inebriated with the fragrance of the spiritual senses, cries out and praises: You have kept the good wine until now. Let us see, however, how he praises the wine itself: Eye has not seen, he says, nor ear heard, what God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Cor. 2:9). Behold the true miracles, behold the miracles to be proclaimed, which He works in us, when from the worst He makes good men, from the proud humble, from the unchaste chaste, from followers of the world friends of God. What [power] can work greater miracles than when He deigns to promote man, a worm and rottenness, to an angelic state, to set him from earthly things among heavenly, and to take him up into the grace of His adoption?
6. Munera Deo grata. Quid ergo retribuemus Domino, pro omnibus quae retribuit nobis? aut quando reddere poterimus quod nec cogitare sufficimus? Nec tamen desperandum est, quod nihil repensare possumus; quia tanta est pietas Domini nostri, ut apud eum voluntas perfecta faciendi reputetur pro opere facti. Omnia enim implevit, qui quod potuit fecit. Quid ergo retribuemus Domino, nisi ut humiliter corpore humiliato, et corde contrito dicamus, Domine, propitius esto mihi peccatori (Luc. XVIII, 13)? Ille enim holocaustomata diligit, qui et cor contritum et humiliatum non despicit. Non a nobis requirit quod
6. Gifts pleasing to God. What then shall we render to the Lord for all the things that He has rendered to us? or when shall we be able to repay what we are not even sufficient to conceive? Yet we must not despair because we can repay nothing; for so great is the goodness of our Lord that with Him the perfect will to do is reckoned for the work done. For he has fulfilled all things who has done what he could. What then shall we render to the Lord, except that, with body humbled and heart contrite, we humbly say: Lord, be merciful to me a sinner (Luke 18:13)? For He loves burnt offerings Who also does not despise a contrite and humbled heart. He does not require of us that which
Editors' notes and page, col. 1919
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nos implere non posse cognoscit. Et ideo qui eleemosynas largiores erogare non possunt, vel parum aliquid secundum vires suas cum bona voluntate dispensent. Qui virginitatis gloriam non praevalent obtinere, cum propriis uxoribus castitatem studeant, Deo auxiliante, servare; justitiam diligant, charitatem teneant, patientiam colant, ebrietatem velut inferni foveam fugiant, omnes homines perfecto animo diligant: pro bonis orent, ut a sancto opere non recedant; pro malis supplicent, ut cito se ad meliora convertant. Haec enim et his similia, fratres charissimi, nec nimium dura, noc importabilia esse probantur: ubi sola bona voluntas fuerit, impossibile nihil erit. Non enim nos Deus ad comparandam vitam aeternam, aut in Orientem, aut in Occidentem per itinera laboriosa transmittit; ad nos ipsos nos dirigit, quod in nobis per suam gratiam contulit, hoc requirit: sic enim in Evangelio ipse dixit, Regnum Dei intra vos est (Luc. XVII, 21.) Et ideo sit in nobis vera charitas, et bona voluntas; ut illud Evangelium in nobis impleatur, Pax hominibus bonae voluntatis (Id. II, 14.) Quod ipse praestare dignetur, qui vivit et regnat Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
He knows we cannot fulfil. And therefore those who are not able to pay out more generous alms should at least dispense some little thing according to their means with good will. Those who are not strong enough to attain the glory of virginity should strive, with God's help, to keep chastity with their own wives; let them love justice, hold fast to charity, cultivate patience, flee drunkenness as the pit of hell, love all men with a perfect mind: let them pray for the good, that they may not draw back from holy work; let them make supplication for the wicked, that they may quickly turn themselves to better things. For these things and things like them, dearest brethren, are proved to be neither too hard nor unbearable: where there is only good will, nothing will be impossible. For God does not send us, in order to obtain eternal life, either to the East or to the West by laborious journeys; He directs us to ourselves, and what He has conferred in us by His grace, this He requires: for thus He Himself said in the Gospel, The kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21). And therefore let there be in us true charity and good will, so that that Gospel saying may be fulfilled in us, Peace to men of good will (ibid. 2:14). May He deign to grant this, Who lives and reigns as God through all ages of ages. Amen.
SERMO XCI. Rursum in Joannis cap. II, 1-10, de sex hydriis aquae mutatae in vinum in nuptiis Cana Galilaeae.
Sermon 91. Again on John chapter 2:1-10, on the six water-jars of water changed into wine at the wedding at Cana of Galilee.
1. Hydriae sex, sex mundi aetates. Sex hominum aetates. Hydriae istae mysteriis Christi plenae. Sicut jam aliquando charitati vestrae suggessimus, fratres charissimi, sex illae hydriae, quas modo Evangelica lectio memoravit, et quarum aqua in vinum mutata est, sex aetates mundi istius figurabant. Et ut soletis audire, una aetas impleta est ab Adam usque ad Noe; secunda, a Noe usque ad Abraham; etiam sicut evangelista commemorat; tertia, ab Abraham usque ad David; quarta, a David usque ad transmigrationem Babyloniae; quinta, a transmigratione Babyloniae usque ad Joannem Baptistam; a Joanne Baptista et ab adventu Domini Salvatoris sexta aetas agitur (Matth. I.) Quae res etiam in humanae vitae cursu evidenter agnoscitur. Primus enim gradus est, quasi prima aetas, infantia; secunda, pueritia; tertia, adolescentia; quarta, juventus; quinta, senectus; sexta est illa permatura, quae etiam decrepita dicitur. Non ergo tibi mirum videatur, quando audis mundum istum sex aetatibus consummari; cum hoc videas etiam hominum aetatibus adimpleri. In istis sex aetatibus mundi, quasi in sex hydriis prophetia non defuit. Plenae ergo erant istae hydriae mysteriis Veteris Testamenti: sed quando in illis Christus non intelligebatur, non ex ipsis vinum, sed aqua bibebatur.
1. The six water-jars, the six ages of the world. The six ages of men. These water-jars full of the mysteries of Christ. As we have already at some time suggested to your charity, dearest brethren, those six water-jars which the Gospel reading has just mentioned, and whose water was changed into wine, figured the six ages of this world. And as you are accustomed to hear, the first age was completed from Adam up to Noah; the second, from Noah up to Abraham, as the evangelist also records; the third, from Abraham up to David; the fourth, from David up to the deportation to Babylon; the fifth, from the deportation to Babylon up to John the Baptist; from John the Baptist and from the coming of the Lord the Saviour the sixth age is being passed (Matt. 1). This thing is also clearly recognized in the course of human life. For the first stage, as it were the first age, is infancy; the second, childhood; the third, adolescence; the fourth, youth; the fifth, old age; the sixth is that over-ripe age which is also called decrepit. Let it not seem a marvel to you, then, when you hear that this world is brought to completion in six ages, since you see this fulfilled also in the ages of men. In these six ages of the world, as in six water-jars, prophecy was not lacking. These water-jars, then, were full of the mysteries of the Old Testament: but when Christ was not understood in them, it was not wine but water that was drunk from them.
2. Christus in Adam. Prima ergo hydria impleta est temporibus Adam, quando Dominus emisit soporem in eo, et tulit unam de costis ejus, et fabricatus est eam in mulierem (Gen. II, 21, 22). Quid enim aliud tunc significavit, nisi passionem Domini Salvatoris? Dormit Adam, et de latere ejus tollitur costa, fabricatur Eva: inclinato capite dormivit in cruce Christus, et de latere ejus formatur Ecclesia. Cum enim percussus est in latere, exivit sanguis et aqua (Joan. XIX, 30, 34); sanguis redemptionis, et aqua Baptismatis. Quasi revera, fratres, non potuit Deus inde facere Evam, unde fecerat et Adam. Sed jam tunc in illo vetere Adam, de cujus costa fabricata est Eva, novus Adam significabatur, de cujus latere formanda erat Ecclesia. Sed haec prophetia, quia in illa Judaeorum populus Christum non intelligebat, non vinum, sed aquam sapiebat.
2. Christ in Adam. The first water-jar, then, was filled in the times of Adam, when the Lord sent a deep sleep upon him, and took one of his ribs, and built it into a woman (Gen. 2:21–22). For what else did He then signify, but the passion of the Lord the Saviour? Adam sleeps, and from his side a rib is taken, Eve is built: with head bowed Christ slept on the cross, and from His side the Church is formed. For when He was pierced in the side, there came out blood and water (John 19:30, 34): the blood of redemption, and the water of Baptism. As though indeed, brethren, God could not have made Eve from the same source from which He had also made Adam. But already then, in that old Adam, from whose rib Eve was built, the new Adam was signified, from whose side the Church was to be formed. But this prophecy, because the people of the Jews did not understand Christ in it, tasted not of wine, but of water.
3. In Noe. Secunda hydria impleta est in Noe, cujus temporibus ita per mysterium arcae vel diluvii genus humanum salvatur (Gen. VI, et seq.), quomodo per
3. In Noah. The second water-jar was filled in Noah, in whose times the human race is saved through the mystery of the ark or of the flood in such a way as through
Editors' notes and page, col. 1920
Footnotes
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Prodit nunc primum ex quatuor manuscriptis, ubi absque auctoris nomine subjungitur sermonibus quibusdam Augustinianis. Et Augustini quidem doctrinam exhibet, sed stilum omnino Caesarii, qui hic Tractatum nonum in Joannis Evangelium imitatur.
It appears now for the first time, from four manuscripts, where it is appended without an author's name to certain Augustinian sermons. It does present Augustine's teaching, but altogether the style of Caesarius, who here imitates the ninth Tractate on John's Gospel.
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crucis vel Baptismi sacramentum in adventu Domini Salvatoris de aeterna morte totus mundus eripitur.
the sacrament of the cross or of Baptism, at the coming of the Lord Saviour the whole world is rescued from eternal death.
4. In Abraham. Tertia hydria impleta est in Abraham, cui Dominus jussit ut ad similitudinem Domini Salvatoris filium suum offerret in holocaustum (Gen. XXII, 1-19). Nam quomodo beatus Isaac ad locum holocausti lignum ipse portavit, ita et verus Isaac ad locum passionis ipse sibi crucis patibulum bajulavit (Joan. XIX, 17).
4. In Abraham. The third water-jar was filled in Abraham, whom the Lord commanded to offer his son as a burnt offering, in the likeness of the Lord Saviour (Gen. 22:1–19). For just as blessed Isaac himself carried the wood to the place of the burnt offering, so also the true Isaac Himself carried for Himself the gibbet of the cross to the place of the passion (John 19:17).
5. David in multis Christum figuravit. Quarta hydria impleta est in David, qui et in humilitate, et in mansuetudine, et in multis tribulationibus Christum Dominum figuravit. Inter reliqua quae per eum Dominus loqui dignatus est, etiam hoc clamavit: Surge, Domine, judicare terram. Cui dicitur, Surge, nisi ei qui obdormivit? Surge, inquit, Domine, judicare terram. Dormisti judicatus a terra; surge, ut judices terram: ut in te impleatur, quod Scriptura praedixit, Quoniam tu haereditabis in omnibus gentibus (Psal. LXXXI, 8).
5. David prefigured Christ in many things. The fourth water-jar was filled in David, who both in humility, and in meekness, and in many tribulations prefigured Christ the Lord. Among the other things which the Lord deigned to speak through him, he also cried out this: Arise, O Lord, to judge the earth. To whom is it said, Arise, if not to Him who has fallen asleep? Arise, he says, O Lord, to judge the earth. Thou didst sleep, judged by the earth; arise, that Thou mayest judge the earth: that in Thee may be fulfilled what Scripture foretold, For Thou shalt inherit among all the nations (Ps. 81:8).
6. Prophetia de Christo in Daniele. Quinta hydria impleta est temporibus Danielis, qui se dixit vidisse praecisum lapidem de monte sine manibus, et crevisse ipsum lapidem, et implesse universam faciem terrae (Dan. II, 34, 35). Videte, fratres, quia mons ille, unde lapis praecisus est, implevit omnem terram. Mons ille significat regnum Judaeorum; de quo monte praecisus est lapis, id est, natus est Christus: quod autem ait, Sine manibus, hoc intelligitur, quia sine opere nuptiali; in manibus enim opera intelliguntur. Mons ergo ille, hoc est, regnum Judaeorum, non implevit terram; quia antequam veniret Christus, notus erat tantum in Judaea Deus. Postquam vero Christus venit, ita gratia sua universum implevit mundum, ut in omnem terram exiret sonus Apostolorum, et in fines orbis terrae verba eorum.
6. Prophecy concerning Christ in Daniel. The fifth water-jar was filled in the times of Daniel, who said that he had seen a stone cut from a mountain without hands, and that the stone itself had grown and filled the whole face of the earth (Dan. 2:34–35). See, brothers, that that mountain from which the stone was cut filled the whole earth. That mountain signifies the kingdom of the Jews; from which mountain the stone was cut, that is, Christ was born: but as for his saying, Without hands, this is understood to mean that it was without the marital act; for by hands works are understood. That mountain, then, that is, the kingdom of the Jews, did not fill the earth; for before Christ came, God was known only in Judaea. But after Christ came, He so filled the whole world with His grace that the sound of the Apostles went out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.
7. De vocatione Gentium in Joanne. Lapides, Gentes. Lex Christum non intelligentibus, aqua; secus, vinum. Sexta hydria impleta est per beatum Joannem Baptistam. Ipse enim cum vidisset ad baptismum suum venire Judaeos, dixit ad eos: Progenies viperarum, quis vobis ostendit fugere a ventura ira? Facite fructus dignos poenitentiae. Potens est enim Deus de lapidibus istis suscitare filios Abrahae (Matth. III, 7-9). Quos enim intelligi voluit lapides, ex quibus suscitari possent filii Abrahae; quos utique, nisi omnes Gentes? Et quare omnes Gentes lapides erant? Quomodo lapides non erant, qui lapides colebant? Sed dicit aliquis, Etsi aliqui lapides colebant, numquid ideo lapides sunt? Audi Scripturam dicentem: Similes illis fiant qui faciunt ea, et omnes qui confidunt in eis (Psal. CXIII, 8). Istae ergo sex aetates mundi, velut sex hydriae, impletae sunt a ministris, id est, a Patriarchis et Prophetis. Veniens ergo Christus, non illam aquam jactavit, et aliam misit; sed illam ipse in vinum convertit. Quare hoc? Quia non venerat Legem solvere, sed adimplere. Non repulit Vetus Testamentum, et sic condidit Novum: sed illud quod in littera Legis aquam sapiebat, dum spiritualiter intelligi fecit, aquam in vinum convertit.
7. On the calling of the Gentiles in John. Stones, the Gentiles. The Law, to those who do not understand Christ, is water; otherwise, wine. The sixth water-jar was filled through blessed John the Baptist. For when he saw the Jews coming to his baptism, he said to them: Brood of vipers, who showed you how to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth fruits worthy of penance. For God is able from these stones to raise up sons to Abraham (Matt. 3:7–9). For whom did he wish to be understood as the stones from which sons of Abraham could be raised up; whom indeed, if not all the Gentiles? And why were all the Gentiles stones? How were they not stones, who worshipped stones? But someone says, Even if some worshipped stones, are they therefore stones? Hear Scripture saying: Let those who make them become like them, and all who trust in them (Ps. 113:8). These six ages of the world, then, like six water-jars, were filled by the servants, that is, by the Patriarchs and Prophets. Christ, then, when He came, did not throw out that water and put in other; but He Himself turned that water into wine. Why this? Because He had not come to abolish the Law, but to fulfil it. He did not reject the Old Testament and so found the New: but that which in the letter of the Law tasted of water, by causing it to be understood spiritually, He turned from water into wine.
8. Discipuli post Christi mortem infideles. Denique in tantum ante adventum Christi Vetus Testamentum aqua erat, ita ut qui eum legebant, et Christum non intelligebant, ab ipso Domino Christo stulti appellarentur. Nam post passionem Domini nostri iter agentibus duobus discipulis, et ad castellum nomine Emmaus ire volentibus, junxit se illis Dominus et Salvator, et dixit ad eos: Qui sunt hi sermones, quos confertis ad invicem ambulantes, et estis tristes? At illi inter reliqua dixerunt: De Jesu Nazareno, qui fuit vir propheta, potens in opere et sermone. O beati discipuii! ita in vobis infirmata est fides, ut prophetam dicatis Dominum Prophetarum? Numquid taliter audistis beatum Petrum apostolum confiteri? Non recolitis quid Domino interroganti responderit Petrus? Tu, inquit, es Christus Filius Dei vivi (Matth. XVI, 16). Ille Filium Dei vivi confessus est; et vos creditis fuisse prophetam?
8. The disciples unbelieving after Christ's death. In short, before the coming of Christ the Old Testament was water to such a degree that those who read it and did not understand Christ were called foolish by the Lord Christ Himself. For after the passion of our Lord, when two disciples were making a journey and wished to go to a village named Emmaus, the Lord and Saviour joined Himself to them and said to them: What are these words that you exchange with one another as you walk, and are sad? And they, among other things, said: About Jesus of Nazareth, who was a man, a prophet, mighty in deed and word. O blessed disciples! Has faith been so weakened in you that you call the Lord of the Prophets a prophet? Did you hear blessed Peter the apostle confess in such a way? Do you not recall what Peter answered the Lord when He questioned him? Thou, he says, art the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matt. 16:16). He confessed the Son of the living God; and you believe that He was a prophet?
Editors' notes and page, col. 1921
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