Migne Reading Room
PL 39 · cols. 1929–1933
Appendix to Augustine's Sermones: Sermones supposititii, Sermones 94-106
Sermons XCVI–XCVIII
miru⟨m⟩ sane, si ad unam vocem Domini resurgere Lazarus potuit; quando omnes qui in monumentis sunt, ad unam vocem solam resurrecturos in Evangelio ipse declaravit dicendo, Venit hora, quando omnes qui in monumentis sunt, audient vocem Filii Dei, et resurgent (Joan. V, 25). Unde sine dubio tunc mors audita voce Domini omnes mortuos a se potuisset dimittere, nisi proprie vocatum Lazarum cognovisset. Ut ait ergo Dominus, Lazare, exi foras; statim ille exivit ligatis manibus et pedibus, et facies ejus sudario erat cooperta. Quid et hic dicemus? Numquid Dominus in Lazaro sepulturae vincula rumpere non poterat, qui mortis vincula disruperat? Sed hic Dominus ac Salvator noster duplicem virtutem in Lazaro suae operationis ostendit; ut vel sic incredulitati Judaeorum fidem credulitatis infunderet. Non enim minoris admirationis est, Lazarum ligatum pedibus ambulare potuisse, quam a mortuis resurrexisse.
is it indeed a wonder, if at a single call of the Lord Lazarus was able to rise again, since He Himself declared in the Gospel that all who are in the tombs will rise again at His single call alone, saying, The hour comes when all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of God, and will rise again (John 5:25). Hence without doubt death, on hearing the voice of the Lord, could then have released all the dead from itself, had it not recognized that it was Lazarus in particular who had been called. So when the Lord said, Lazarus, come forth, at once he came forth with hands and feet bound, and his face was covered with a cloth. What shall we say here too? Could the Lord not break the bonds of burial in Lazarus, He Who had shattered the bonds of death? But here our Lord and Saviour shows in Lazarus a twofold power of His working, so that even in this way He might pour the faith of belief into the unbelief of the Jews. For it is no less a cause for wonder that Lazarus was able to walk with his feet bound than that he rose from the dead.
SERMO XCVI. Rursus in Evangelii Joannis cap. XI, 1-44, de suscitatione Lazari.
Sermon 96. Again on chapter 11 of the Gospel of John, verses 1-44, on the raising of Lazarus.
1. Licet omnes virtutes quas in terris Dei Filius majestatem suam proditurus implevit, mirari tantum homines valeant, ut verbis definire non possint: excedit tamen omne miraculum, quod Christus circa Lazarum fecit, cui non aegro reddidit sanitatem, nec debilitatis languore viribus medelam protinus verbo restituit, non denique reliquias animae adhuc possidenti vitam rursus reddidit; sed jam sepulto, jam monumentis recondito, jam legitimis temporum spatiis adscripto inferis inquilino, ab ipsa sede pallente, destructa lege tartarea, mancipium mortis redire jussit ad superos; et post concilia stridentium umbrarum, post profundas noctis aeternae caligines, vitam ducere, in convivio discumbere, frui discumbentium colloquio, prandere et gaudere fecit: atque ut miraculum divinae virtutis accresceret, dum convivis interrogantibus tristia loca poenarum, sedesque alta nocte semper obscuras, Lazarus indicat diligenti narratione per ordinem; diu quaesiti longisque temporibus ignorati invenerunt tandem inferi proditorem.
1. Although men can marvel at all the mighty works which the Son of God performed on earth when He was about to reveal His majesty so greatly that they cannot define them in words, yet that which Christ did concerning Lazarus surpasses every miracle: to him He did not restore health when he was sick, nor did He at once by a word give back a remedy to strength failing in the languor of weakness, nor, finally, did He give life again to one still possessing the remnants of the soul; but when he was already buried, already hidden away in the tomb, already enrolled for the lawful spans of time as a tenant of the underworld, He commanded the chattel of death to return to the upper world from the very seat of pallor, the law of Tartarus being destroyed; and after the councils of the shrieking shades, after the deep darknesses of eternal night, He made him lead a life, recline at a banquet, enjoy the conversation of those reclining with him, dine and rejoice: and so that the miracle of divine power might be increased, while at the questioning of the guests Lazarus sets out in order, with careful narration, the gloomy places of punishment and the seats ever dark in deep night, the underworld, long inquired after and unknown for long ages, at last found its betrayer.
2. Nec leves jam praecesserant in multis curationibus diversae virtutes. Neque enim levia sunt vel ludicra praeter Lazarum quae Christus implevit: quod claudi redintegratis gressibus cucurrerunt, et accepto beneficio sanitatis Domino gratias retulerunt; quod manci utrasque manus ad coelum cum laudibus levaverunt; quod resoluta sunt mutis claustra linguarum, et post horrificum vocis inarticulatae mugitum, vinculo nodatae linguae disrupto, ex ore dividuo sensibilia verba processerunt; quod caecus recepit lumen, quod violentus dolor nube crassi humoris obscurans ab orbium sede rapuerat; et noctem funeratae frontis excutiens, dum totum recipit visum, resurrectionem caecus meruit oculorum. Recepit hic quidem oculos, alter accepit; et quod natura non dederat, manus Christi formavit. Imposuit enim fronti pulverem sputo conspersum, et ad tactum sacrae manus operis disciplina festinans luciferas gemmas orbibus praeparatis infixit; et quod natura non dederat, Christus artifex integravit. Haec omnia cunctis fuere miraculo, dum fiebant. Quis enim protinus saxeus mirari non cogatur, cum omnia damna membrorum non medicinae pigmentis, nec arte aliqua, nec remediis, sed solo tantummodo videret sermonis imperio restituta? Parva haec tamen ad Christi potentiam videbantur, nisi amicus Christi Lazarus moreretur. Quem ideo Christus vitae naturae restituit, ut mutaret naturam, et vitae ordinem verteret, ut unus homo semel nasci, et bis
2. Nor indeed had slight mighty works of various kinds already gone before in many healings. For the things which Christ performed besides Lazarus are not slight or trifling: that the lame, their steps restored, ran, and having received the benefit of health gave thanks to the Lord; that the maimed raised both hands to heaven with praises; that the bars of their tongues were loosed for the dumb, and after the dreadful bellowing of an inarticulate voice, the bond of the knotted tongue being broken, intelligible words came forth from a divided mouth; that the blind man received back the light which a violent pain, darkening it with a cloud of thick humour, had snatched from the seat of the eyeballs; and, shaking off the night of his deadened brow, while he receives his whole sight, the blind man earned a resurrection of the eyes. This one indeed received his eyes back, another received them for the first time; and what nature had not given, the hand of Christ formed. For He placed on his brow dust sprinkled with spittle, and at the touch of the sacred hand the skill of the work, making haste, fixed light-bearing jewels in sockets made ready; and what nature had not given, Christ the craftsman made whole. All these things were a miracle to all while they were being done. For who, however stony, would not at once be compelled to marvel, when he saw all the losses of the limbs restored not by the drugs of medicine, nor by any art, nor by remedies, but solely by the command of a word? Yet these things seemed small in relation to the power of Christ, had not Lazarus, the friend of Christ, died. Him, therefore, Christ restored to the nature of life, that He might change nature and overturn the order of life, so that one man might be born once, and twice
Editors' notes and page, col. 1929
Footnotes
(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1929
In Mss. plerisque, nec debilitatis fugavit languorem, nec viribus, etc.
In most manuscripts: "nec debilitatis fugavit languorem, nec viribus" [nor drove away the languor of the weakened, nor with strength], etc.
(printed under page 227)
(2) ‹anchor: tristia loca poenarum› · call in col 1929
Manuscripti non pauci, tristega poenarum; et sic forte corrigendus vetus codex cl. ubi, tristitia capitenarum.
Not a few manuscripts read "tristega poenarum" [the upper chambers of the punishments]; and perhaps the old codex cl. should be corrected accordingly, where it reads "tristitia capitenarum".
(printed under page 227)
(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1929
Olim, de Verbis Domini 52; et post in Appendice 6.
Formerly no. 52 de Verbis Domini; and afterwards no. 6 in the Appendix.
(printed under page 227)
(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1929
Incerti auctoris et insulse rhetorem agentis.
By an unknown author, playing the rhetorician tastelessly.
(printed under page 227)
Page
- running head: 1929 SERMO XCVI.
- marginal letters: (none)
- old-edition numerals: (none)
mori disceret, ut conditionem mortis nova resurrectionis lege turbaret.
might learn to die, so that by a new law of resurrection He might throw the condition of death into disorder.
3. Invadit igitur Lazarum pernicies inimica languoris, et fornace febrium anhelum corpus exurens, miserandi hominis robur quotidie edax incendium absumebat. Jacebat visceribus anhelis exaestuans, crebrisque singultibus corpus excussum, migraturam de domo corporis animam promittebat. Non amici, non consilia, non fomenta, non artis magisterio remedia provisa succurrunt: omnia enim quae pro salute data fuerant, in contrarium vertebantur. Languor enim iste non aliquo remedio, sed sola morte fuerat finiendus: et mors ipsa per resurrectionem Christi vincenda. Aderant autem duae sorores languenti, et casum dolentes juvenis, aegrotantis lectulo jugiter inhaerebant. Fovebant vero jacentem talibus frequenter alloquiis: Patienter, inquiunt, sustine, fortiter dura, noli desperatione corruere. Dum enim languorem istum fortitudine toleras, cum sustines, cum foveris, venit inter haec Christus, ut credimus; forsitan et sanaberis. Sed quid vos, o Maria et Martha, pro germano tantus dolor exurit? quid jugibus suspiriis optatis mori cum fratre? In contrarium potius vota pectoris immutate, precamini crementa languoris, augmenta febrium quaerite, et ut in extrema vitae limina tempestas morbi saevientis citius impingat, optate. Frater enim vester Lazarus, cujus ingemiscitis tanto affectu languorem, nisi mortuus fuerit, non recipiet sanitatem.
3. So the hostile bane of sickness assailed Lazarus, and, as it burned his panting body in a furnace of fevers, a devouring fire consumed day by day the strength of the pitiable man. He lay seething with panting innards, and his body, shaken by frequent sobs, foretold that the soul was about to move out of the house of the body. Neither friends, nor counsels, nor poultices, nor remedies provided by the mastery of the art come to his aid: for all things that had been given for his health were turned to the contrary. For this sickness was to be ended not by any remedy but by death alone, and death itself was to be overcome through the resurrection of Christ. Now the two sisters were at the side of the sick man, and, grieving at the young man's misfortune, they clung constantly to the little bed of the ailing one. And they frequently comforted him as he lay with such words as these: Patiently, they say, bear it, endure bravely, do not collapse in despair. For while you tolerate this sickness with fortitude, while you bear up, while you are tended, Christ comes in the midst of these things, as we believe; perhaps you will even be healed. But why, O Mary and Martha, does so great a sorrow for your brother burn you? Why with continual sighs do you wish to die with your brother? Rather change the prayers of your heart to the contrary, pray for the growth of the sickness, seek increases of the fevers, and wish that the storm of the raging disease may drive him the more quickly onto the farthest threshold of life. For your brother Lazarus, whose sickness you lament with such great affection, will not receive health unless he has died.
4. Urebat igitur aegrotum febris assidua, edax flamma penetrabili vapore siccabat. Incumbit quaestionarius corpori dolor, totus homo saevientium morborum oneribus premitur; ut corporis vinculis anima resolvatur. Vicit tandem succum corporis aegritudo, et caminus febrium extremo divortio de sede corporis animam compulit emigrare. Scindebant Maria et Martha germanae vestes, laniabant iratis unguibus genas, spargebant evulsos crines, ululatibus astra pulsabant: et tamen incumbentes funeri, amplexaeque corpus exanime, inania figentes oscula, saepius hoc dicebant: Poteras, miser, nec aegrotare, nec mori, si nulla ratio fecisset Christum absentem. Inter omnes enim quibus sermone medico desiderata concessit, si te quoque languentem contingeret aut videret; non te frigidi corporis sopore oppressum, non spoliatum lumine videremus: imo illo praesente non tibi febris accederet, non invaderet dolor, non aegritudo vastaret. Tanta est enim illius omnipotentia; ut etiam jam mortuus resurgeres, si veniret. Procedit interea funus, longoque ordine tristibus obsequiis decoratum infertur sepulcris: absconditur cavato saxo, luctuosisque vocibus conclamatur.
4. So a constant fever was burning the sick man, a devouring flame was drying him up with its penetrating heat. A torturing pain lies upon the body, the whole man is pressed down by the burdens of raging diseases, so that the soul may be loosed from the bonds of the body. At length the sickness overcame the sap of the body, and the furnace of fevers, by a final divorce, compelled the soul to depart from the seat of the body. Mary and Martha, his sisters, were rending their garments, tearing their cheeks with angry nails, scattering their plucked-out hair, beating upon the stars with their wailings; and yet, bending over the corpse and embracing the lifeless body, planting empty kisses, they said this again and again: You could, poor wretch, have been neither sick nor dead, if no reason had made Christ absent. For, as among all those to whom He granted their desires by His healing word, if He had touched or seen you too in your sickness, we would not see you overwhelmed by the sleep of a cold body, nor robbed of the light: nay rather, with Him present, no fever would have come upon you, no pain would have invaded you, no sickness would have laid you waste. For so great is His omnipotence that even now, dead as you are, you would rise again if He came. Meanwhile the funeral procession goes forth, and, adorned with mournful obsequies in a long train, he is borne into the tomb: he is hidden in the hollowed rock, and is lamented with mournful cries.
5. Venit igitur ad Bethaniam Christus, claustra mortis divina potentia destructurus. Occurrunt lacrymosae sorores, funus hominis contestantes, Dei auxilium requirebant (erat enim ei insitus amor Lazari, erat sororum ejus quaedam dilectio apud Dominum), de servitiis amoris sui pignus intrinsecus deponentes, in visceribus habere Dominum videbantur. Sed interrogat de lacrymis Deus; et licet sciret quid contigerit, tamen ex illarum voce optat audire. Lazarus, inquiunt, quem diligebas, mortuus est. O invidia! o infidelis conventio! Te adhuc posito in saeculo, Lazarus amicus tuus moritur. Si amicus moritur, inimicus quid patiatur? Parum est si tibi non soli superi serviunt: ecce tuum dilectum inferi rapuerunt. Lazarus, inquiunt, quem diligebas, moritur. Exclusit humanitatis consuetudinem, et vox illa mortalitatis dicit: amicus Dei plus debuit vivere; sed moritnr.
5. So Christ comes to Bethany, to destroy the bars of death by divine power. The tearful sisters run to meet Him, bearing witness to the man's death; they sought the help of God (for a love of Lazarus was implanted in Him, and there was a certain affection for his sisters with the Lord); laying up within them the pledge of their love from their services, they seemed to have the Lord in their inmost hearts. But God asks about the tears; and although He knew what had happened, yet He wishes to hear it from their voice. Lazarus, they say, whom Thou loved, is dead. O envy! O faithless compact! While Thou art still set in the world, Lazarus Thy friend dies. If a friend dies, what would an enemy suffer? It is too little if not only those above serve Thee: behold, those below have snatched away Thy beloved. Lazarus, they say, whom Thou loved, is dying. It has shut out the custom of humankind, and that voice of mortality says: the friend of God ought to have lived longer; but he dies.
6. Dominus noster Jesus Christus intendens in lacrymas mulierum, quae jugibus suspiriis optabant mori cum fratre, ad mausoleum Lazari una cum discipulis suis vel prolixis turbis accelerat. Jam enim intra cavatum saxum quatuor dies habuit ut jacebat,
6. Our Lord Jesus Christ, attending to the tears of the women, who with continual sighs were wishing to die with their brother, hastens to the tomb of Lazarus together with His disciples, or rather with large crowds. For he had now spent four days within the hollowed rock as he lay,
Editors' notes and page, col. 1930
Footnotes
(1) ‹anchor: insitus amor› · call in col 1930
Ita Mss. plures. Alii cum editis, erat enim insitus amori, etc., et mox, quaedam delectatio.
So most manuscripts. Others, with the printed editions, read "erat enim insitus amori", etc., and shortly after, "quaedam delectatio" [a certain delight].
(printed under page 227)
Page
- running head: SERMO XCVI. 1930
- marginal letters: (none)
- old-edition numerals: (none)
jam fluescentium membrorum teterrimus foetor prohibebat ⟨ac⟩cessum, jam in concavis orbibus tabido situ marcescentes resederant oculi, jam deficiebat narium mollitudo, jam rictus oris dentibus nudatis horrebat, jam nudata cute, laxa temporibus cerebri sedes tegmine attenuato pallescens, capillis subinde rarescentibus apparebat; jam Maria et Martha sorores Lazari, quae Christum frequenter resuscitasse mortuos viderant, fratrem suum posse resuscitari penitus non credebant. Ibi vere Christus probatus est Deus, ubi tantum fecit, quantum ausa non est etiam ipsa fides optare. Et commotus spiritu dixit: Ubi posuistis eum? Non tamen locum sepulti ignorare credi debuerat; sed fidem populi approbare volebat. Venit igitur Christus ad monumentum in quo Lazarus dormiebat, et non tanquam mortuum, sed tanquam sanum, tanquam vivum, tanquam audire paratum, de sepulcro protinus evocavit. Lazare, inquit, prodi foras. Ideo dicit nomen, ne omnes mortui cogerentur exire. Clamat tamen ad monumentum; turbant se inferi, exspectant audientiam omnes mortui, quaerunt sua nomina vocitari: Ne, inquiunt, et nos Dominus suscitabit? Ubicumque Christus steterat, patebant inferi. Subito una vox intercepit caeteros, Lazare, veni foras. Non dilatio ulla retinet resurgentem, non tardant reditus animae, non impediunt vincula sepulturae. Involutus linteis, nodisque lineis irretitus, voce Christi citius egreditur, surgit, ambulat, currit. Et ne quid quisquam deesse diceret resurgenti, praesentibus cunctis agit gratias Redemptori.
already the most foul stench of the dissolving limbs barred approach, already the eyes, withering in decay and rot, had sunk back into their hollow sockets, already the softness of the nostrils was failing, already the gaping of the mouth bristled with bared teeth, already, the skin being stripped away, the seat of the brain, loosened at the temples, showed pale, its covering worn thin, the hair growing ever sparser; already Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, who had seen Christ often raise the dead, did not at all believe that their brother could be raised. There truly was Christ proved to be God, where He did as much as even faith itself did not dare to wish for. And being moved in spirit He said: Where have you laid him? Yet He ought not to have been believed to be ignorant of the place of the buried man; but He wished to put the faith of the people to the proof. Christ therefore came to the tomb in which Lazarus was sleeping, and not as one dead, but as one healthy, as one living, as one ready to hear, He called him forth at once from the sepulchre. Lazarus, He said, come forth. He says the name for this reason, lest all the dead be compelled to come out. Yet He cries out at the tomb; the underworld is thrown into turmoil, all the dead await a hearing, they seek to have their own names called: Will the Lord, they say, raise us too? Wherever Christ had stood, the underworld lay open. Suddenly one voice cut off the rest: Lazarus, come forth. No delay holds back the one rising again, the return of the soul does not tarry, the bonds of burial do not hinder. Wrapped in linen cloths, and entangled in knots of linen, at the voice of Christ he comes out more swiftly, he rises, he walks, he runs. And lest anyone should say that anything was lacking to the one who rose again, in the presence of all he gives thanks to the Redeemer.
SERMO XCVII. De verbis Evangelii Joannis, cap. XIV, 27, Pacem meam do vobis, pacem meam relinquo vobis.
Sermon 97. On the words of the Gospel of John, chapter 14, 27, My peace I give to you, My peace I leave to you.
Pax quid sit. Quid faciat. Qualis sit. Jactura illius quanta. Contumaciae crimen. Discordia. Domini vox est, fratres charissimi, Pacem meam do vobis, pacem relinquo vobis. De pace dicturi, prius quae pacis sint commoda, videamus. Est pax serenitas mentis, tranquillitas animi, simplicitas cordis, amoris vinculum, consortium charitatis. Haec est quae simultates tollit, bella compescit, comprimit iras, superbos calcat, humiles amat, discordes sedat, inimicos concordat, cunctis est placita. Non quaerit alienum, nihil deputat suum; docet amare, quae odisse non novit. Nescit extolli, nescit inflari. Hanc ergo qui accepit, teneat; qui perdidit, repetat; qui amisit, exquirat: quoniam qui in eadem non fuerit inventus, abdicatur a Patre, exhaeredatur a Filio, nihilominus a sancto Spiritu alienus efficitur. Respuit enim munus oblatum, qui datae legis contempserit bonum: nec poterit ad haereditatem Domini pervenire, qui testamentum noluerit observare. Non potest concordiam habere cum Christo, qui discors voluerit esse cum christiano. Contumaciae ergo crimen est, quod jubetur contemnere, quod praecipitur nolle, quod imperatur declinare. Quid tibi commune cum discordia, christiane? Quid simultates amas, quod auctori pacis placere non potuit? Quid exerces inimicitias, quas evadere non potuit nec ille, qui eas primus invenit? Initio namque inimicitias in protoplastum dum serpens exerit, interficitur; dum homini invidet, ipse prosternitur; dum Adam cupit decipere, ipse primitus jugulatur. Quare aut Christi charitatem amplectere, christiane, aut discordiae auctori de similitudine operum parem te esse cognosce.
What peace is. What it does. Of what kind it is. How great the loss of it is. The crime of contumacy. Discord. It is the voice of the Lord, dearest brethren: My peace I give to you, peace I leave to you. Being about to speak of peace, let us first see what the benefits of peace are. Peace is serenity of mind, tranquillity of soul, simplicity of heart, the bond of love, the fellowship of charity. It is this that removes animosities, restrains wars, represses wrath, tramples on the proud, loves the humble, calms the quarrelsome, reconciles enemies, is pleasing to all. It does not seek what belongs to another, it reckons nothing its own; it teaches to love, since it does not know how to hate. It knows not how to be lifted up, it knows not how to be puffed up. Let him therefore who has received it hold it fast; let him who has lost it seek it again; let him who has let it go search it out: since whoever has not been found in it is disowned by the Father, disinherited by the Son, and is made no less a stranger to the Holy Spirit. For he rejects the gift offered who has despised the good of the law given: nor will he be able to come to the inheritance of the Lord who has refused to observe the testament. He cannot have concord with Christ who has wished to be at discord with a Christian. It is therefore the crime of contumacy to despise what is commanded, to refuse what is enjoined, to turn aside from what is ordered. What have you in common with discord, Christian? Why do you love animosities, a thing that could not please the author of peace? Why do you practise enmities, which not even he who first devised them could escape? For in the beginning, while the serpent puts forth enmities against the first-formed man, he is slain; while he envies man, he himself is laid low; while he desires to deceive Adam, he himself is first struck down. Therefore either embrace the charity of Christ, Christian, or recognize that by the likeness of your works you are equal to the author of discord.
Sermo idem fusior, sicuti habetur in Regio Ms. necnon in Colbertino, in quo praefigitur titulus iste: « Sermo sancti Augustini in Coena Domini, de pace discipulis commendata. »
The same sermon at greater length, as it is found in the Royal manuscript and also in the Colbertine, in which this title is prefixed: "Sermon of Saint Augustine on the Lord's Supper, on the peace commended to the disciples."
Domini est ista vox, Pacem meam do vobis, pacem
This is the voice of the Lord: My peace I give to you, peace
Editors' notes and page, col. 1931
Footnotes
(1) ‹anchor: de similitudine operum› · call in col 1931
Mss. omnes addunt vocem, ipsius: sed alii post verbum, operum; alii post particulam, te.
All the manuscripts add the word "ipsius" [his]: but some after the word "operum", others after the particle "te".
(printed under page 228)
(a) ‹anchor: SERMO XCVII› · call in col 1931
Olim, de Verbis Domini 57; et post, in Appendice 7.
Formerly no. 57 de Verbis Domini; and afterwards no. 7 in the Appendix.
(printed under page 228)
(b) ‹anchor: pacem meam relinquo vobis› · call in col 1931
Stilo convenit cum sermone Appendicis 73, necnon cum 61, qui Chrysologo tribuitur. In Ms. regio notato 3793, adscribitur Ambrosio.
In style it agrees with sermon 73 of the Appendix, and also with 61, which is attributed to Chrysologus. In the royal manuscript numbered 3793 it is ascribed to Ambrose.
(printed under page 228)
Page
- running head: APPENDIX.
- marginal letters: (none)
- old-edition numerals: (none)
dimitto vobis. De pace dicturi, prius quae sint pacis commoda audiamus. Est enim pax serenitas mentis, tranquillitas animi, simplicitas cordis, amoris vinculum, consortium charitatis. Haec est enim quae simultates tollit, bella compescit, comprimit iram: superbos calcat, humiles amat, discordias sedat, inimicos concordat, placita cunctis. Non quaerit alienum, nihil deputat suum. Docet amare, quae odisse non novit. Nescit extolli, nescit inflari: humilis omnibus, mitis est omnibus. In ipsa requies, in ipsa tranquillitas. Pax quae exercetur in christiano, consummatur in Christo. Hanc qui amaverit, Dei haeres est; qui contempserit, Christo rebellis est. Dominus enim Christus ad Patrem remeans, haereditarium bonum, id est, pacem suam, suis cultoribus dereliquit, dicens: Pacem meam do vobis, pacem dimitto vobis. Hanc pacem qui acceperit, teneat; qui perdiderit, repetat; qui amiserit, exquirat: quoniam qui in eadem pace inventus non fuerit, abdicatur a Patre, exhaeredatur a Filio; et exutus et nudus, invenietur ab eodem Domino alienus. Respuet munus oblatum, qui datae legis c⟨o⟩ntempserit bonum: nec poterit ad haereditatem Domini pervenire, qui testamento noluerit inservire. Pacem quam Christus dimisit, christiane, amplectere: haereditati Dei ut cultor adhaere, voluntatem Domini in te transfusam ostende. Beati, inquit, pacifici, quoniam ipsi filii Dei vocabuntur (Matth. V, 9). Scriptum est discordibus, scriptum est inimicis, Filius esse nisi pacificus non potest; inimicos abdicavit, qui pacificos filios fecit. Aut enim datam pacem, christiane, conserva, aut gloriam tibi salutis ablatam, si non amaveris pacem, cognosce. Non potest promissa Christi percipere, qui cum fratre noluerit concordari: non potest concordiam habere cum Christo, qui discors voluerit esse cum christiano. Si de nobis a Christo vicaria passio peteretur, et Filii Dei sanguis, qui pro nobis effusus est, ad pensandum nostro sanguine quaereretur; quanta instantia vel officio fuerat festinandum, ut et jussa tantae majestatis expleres, et vicaria passione dependere gauderes, et pro morte vitam acquirere, et passione reciproca compensare? At nunc quomodo poteris pro Christo animam ponere, qui pacem ab eodem delegatam nolueris conservare? Contumaciae crimen est, quod jubetur contemnere, quod praecipitur nolle, quod imperatur declinare. Pax enim Christi est bonum; discordia diaboli malum: auctori respondet, qui de utroque alterutrum eligit. Quid tibi cum discordia, christiane, quae principem suum diabolum interemit? Quid amas simultatem, quae placere auctori non potuit? Quid exerces inimicitias, quas evadere non potuit nec ille, qui eas primus invenit? Inimicitias in protoplasto dum serpens exercet, interficitur; dum homini invidet, ipse prosternitur; dum Adam decipit, jugulatur. At contra Christus tantum homini charitate adhaesit, tantum eum unica benignitate amavit, ut eum commendaret Patri, sociaret sibi, dum carnem propter ipsum descendens induit. Scriptum est, Invidia diaboli mors intravit in orbem terrarum. Imitantur autem illum, qui sunt ex parte illius (Sap. II, 24, 25). Non cadat in christianum, quae cadit in diabolum: quia christianum condecet conservare, quod eum constat a Domino didicisse. Qua de re autem Christi charitatem amplecti debemus, ut cum illo in aeterna beatitudine vivere possimus. Amen.
I leave to you. Being about to speak of peace, let us first hear what the benefits of peace are. For peace is serenity of mind, tranquillity of soul, simplicity of heart, the bond of love, the fellowship of charity. For it is this that removes grudges, restrains wars, suppresses anger; it tramples on the proud, loves the humble, calms discords, reconciles enemies, pleasing to all. It does not seek what belongs to another, it reckons nothing its own. It teaches to love, since it does not know how to hate. It knows not how to be exalted, knows not how to be puffed up: humble towards all, it is gentle towards all. In it is rest, in it is tranquillity. The peace which is exercised in the Christian is consummated in Christ. Whoever loves it is an heir of God; whoever despises it is a rebel against Christ. For the Lord Christ, returning to the Father, left to His worshippers an hereditary good, that is, His peace, saying: My peace I give to you, peace I leave to you. Whoever has received this peace, let him hold it fast; whoever has lost it, let him seek it again; whoever has let it go, let him search it out: since whoever has not been found in that same peace is disowned by the Father, disinherited by the Son; and, stripped and naked, he will be found a stranger to that same Lord. He will spurn the gift offered who has despised the good of the law given; nor will he be able to come to the inheritance of the Lord who has refused to be subject to the testament. The peace which Christ left, O Christian, embrace: cling as a worshipper to the inheritance of God, show forth the will of the Lord poured into you. Blessed, He says, are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God (Matt. 5:9). It is written for the discordant, it is written for enemies: one cannot be a son unless one is a peacemaker; He has disowned enemies Who made peacemakers sons. For either preserve, O Christian, the peace that has been given, or know that the glory of salvation is taken away from you if you do not love peace. He cannot receive the promises of Christ who refuses to be in concord with his brother: he cannot have concord with Christ who chooses to be in discord with a Christian. If a vicarious passion were demanded of us by Christ, and the blood of the Son of God, which was shed for us, were required to be repaid with our blood, with what urgency or dutifulness ought one to have hastened, that you might both fulfil the commands of so great a majesty, and rejoice to pay with a vicarious passion, and acquire life in return for death, and make recompense by a reciprocal passion? But now how will you be able to lay down your life for Christ, you who refuse to preserve the peace bequeathed by Him? It is the crime of contumacy to despise what is commanded, to refuse what is enjoined, to turn aside from what is ordered. For the peace of Christ is a good; discord is the devil's evil: he answers to the author of whichever of the two he chooses. What have you to do with discord, O Christian, which slew its own prince, the devil? Why do you love enmity, which could not please its author? Why do you practise hostilities, which not even he who first invented them could escape? While the serpent practises hostility against the first-formed man, he is slain; while he envies man, he himself is laid low; while he deceives Adam, his throat is cut. But on the contrary Christ clung to man with such charity, loved him with such singular kindness, that He commended him to the Father and joined him to Himself, when, descending, He put on flesh for his sake. It is written, Through the envy of the devil death entered into the world. And they imitate him who are of his party (Wis. 2:24–25). Let not that befall the Christian which befalls the devil: for it befits a Christian to keep what it is evident he has learned from the Lord. On which account we ought to embrace the charity of Christ, so that we may be able to live with Him in eternal blessedness. Amen.
SERMO XCVIII. De iisdem verbis Evangelii Joannis, cap. XIV, 27.
Sermon XCVIII. On the same words of the Gospel of John, chapter 14:27.
1. Pax, haereditas Christi. Pacificus, filius Dei. Legimus in Evangelio, fratres charissimi, quod Salvator
1. Peace, the inheritance of Christ. The peacemaker, a son of God. We read in the Gospel, dearest brethren, that the Saviour
Editors' notes and page, col. 1932
Footnotes
(a) ‹anchor: SERMO XCVIII› · call in col 1932
Alias, de Tempore 166.
Elsewhere, no. 166 de Tempore.
(printed under page 228)
(b) ‹anchor: Joannis, cap. xiv, 27› · call in col 1932
In Appendice nunc primum collocatur. Continet caput sextum ex Alcuini opere de Virtutibus et Vitiis. Addendum alteram partem ejusdem sermonis, ab istis verbis num. 4, « Haec itaque unanimitas sub Apostolis, » etc. acceptam esse ex Cypriani libro de Unitate Ecclesiae.
It is now placed in the Appendix for the first time. It contains the sixth chapter of Alcuin's work On the Virtues and Vices. It should be added that the second part of the same sermon, from the words in no. 4, "Haec itaque unanimitas sub Apostolis" [This unanimity, then, under the Apostles], etc., is taken from Cyprian's book On the Unity of the Church.
(printed under page 228)
Page
- running head: APPENDIX. 1932
- marginal letters: (none)
- old-edition numerals: (none)
et Dominus noster, cum appropinquaret passioni, et transitum suum de hoc mundo ad Patrem discipulis insinuaret, inter alia verba quae ob sui commemorationem dilectis comitibus suis impenderat, maxime pacis bonum et unitatis quasi speciale munus illis commendavit, dicens, Pacem meam do vobis, pacem meam relinquo vobis: ac si diceret, In pace vos dimisi, in pace vos inveniam. Proficiscens voluit dare, quae desiderabat rediens in omnibus invenire: hanc suis haereditatem dedit, dona omnia suae pollicitationis et praemia in pacis conversatione promisit. Atque ideo, fratres, si haeredes Christi esse volumus, in ejus pace esse et manere debemus. Pacem nobis, sicut audistis, Christus dedit, concordes atque unanimes esse praecepit, dilectionis et charitatis foedera incorrupta atque inviolata mandavit. Cujus pacis ornamenta mirabiliter alio ostendit loco, dicens: Beati pacifici, quoniam filii Dei vocabuntur (Matth. V, 9). Et si filius Dei incipit vocari, qui pacificus esse jam coepit; non vult filius Dei dici, qui pacem noluerit amplecti: negat Deum sibi patrem, qui pacificus esse contemnit. Pacificos ergo esse oportet Dei filios, corde mites, sermone simplices, affectione concordes, fideliter sibi unanimitatis nexibus cohaerentes.
and our Lord, when He was drawing near to His passion and was making known to His disciples His passing from this world to the Father, among the other words which He had bestowed on His beloved companions for the remembrance of Himself, commended to them above all the good of peace and of unity as a kind of special gift, saying, My peace I give to you, My peace I leave to you: as if He were saying, In peace I have sent you away, in peace may I find you. As He set out, He willed to give what He desired, on returning, to find in all: this He gave to His own as an inheritance, and He promised all the gifts and rewards of His promise in the conduct of peace. And therefore, brethren, if we wish to be heirs of Christ, we ought to be and to remain in His peace. Christ, as you have heard, gave us peace, commanded us to be of one heart and one mind, and enjoined that the bonds of love and charity be kept uncorrupted and inviolate. The adornments of this peace He wonderfully showed in another place, saying: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God (Matt. 5:9). And if he begins to be called a son of God who has already begun to be a peacemaker, he does not wish to be called a son of God who has refused to embrace peace: he denies God as his father who scorns to be a peacemaker. The sons of God, therefore, must be peacemakers, gentle in heart, simple in speech, of one accord in affection, faithfully clinging to one another by the bonds of unanimity.
2. Pax cum quibus servanda. Pacis effectus. Sed haec pax cum bonis et Dei praecepta servantibus custodienda est, non cum iniquis et sceleratis, qui pacem inter se habent in peccatis suis. Pax Christi ad salutem sempiternam proficit: pax quae in diabolo est, ad perpetuam venit perditionem. Pax cum bonis, et bellum cum vitiis semper habendum est: mala siquidem impiorum hominum odio habenda sunt. Nam homines ipsi, quamvis mali sint, amandi sunt, quia creatura Dei sunt. Pax vero quae in bonis est, concordiam fratrum et charitatem copulat proximorum. Pax spiritum Dei specialiter promeretur, pax dilectionis mater est, pax indicium est sanctitatis, de qua Dominus per prophetam ait: Pacem et veritatem diligite (Zach. VIII, 19). Pax plebis sanitas, gloria sacerdotis, et patriae laetitia, et terror hostium sive visibilium sive invisibilium. Omnibus viribus pax est custodienda, fratres; quia semper in Deo manet, qui in pace sancta manet, et cum sanctis Dei societatem habet.
2. With whom peace is to be kept. The effect of peace. But this peace is to be kept with the good and with those who keep the commandments of God, not with the wicked and the criminal, who have peace among themselves in their sins. The peace of Christ leads to everlasting salvation: the peace which is in the devil comes to perpetual perdition. Peace with the good, and war with vices, must always be maintained: for the evils of impious men are to be held in hatred. For the men themselves, although they are evil, are to be loved, because they are the creature of God. But the peace which is among the good joins together the concord of brethren and the charity of neighbours. Peace especially merits the Spirit of God, peace is the mother of love, peace is the sign of holiness, concerning which the Lord says through the prophet: Love peace and truth (Zech. 8:19). Peace is the health of the people, the glory of the priest, and the joy of the homeland, and the terror of enemies whether visible or invisible. Peace must be guarded with all our strength, brethren; for he who remains in holy peace remains always in God, and has fellowship with the saints of God.
3. Sacerdotis munus. Sine pace accepta non est oratio vel oblatio. Sacerdotis est, in pace populum admonere quod debeat agere; populi est, in humilitate audire quae monet sacerdos. Quidquid non licet, pastoris est prohibere ne fiat; plebis, audire ne faciat: atque unitatis vinculum omnes debent praelati simul et subditi in fide et dilectione per omnia servare: quia sine pace non suscipitur sacerdotis oratio, nec plebis oblatio. Si ergo volumus velociter a Deo exaudiri, et gratanter munera nostra ab eo accipi, debemus utique in pace conversari. De qua nos ipsa Veritas instruere dignata est: Si offers, inquit, munus tuum ad altare, et ibi recordatus fueris quia frater tuus habet aliquid adversum te: relinque ibi munus tuum ante altare, et vade prius reconciliari fratri tuo; et tunc veniens offeres munus tuum (Matth. V, 23 et 24).
3. The duty of the priest. Without peace neither prayer nor offering is acceptable. It is the priest's part to admonish the people in peace as to what they ought to do; it is the people's part to hear in humility what the priest admonishes. Whatever is not lawful, it is the shepherd's part to forbid lest it be done, the people's part to hear so as not to do it: and all, prelates and subjects alike, ought in all things to keep the bond of unity in faith and love: for without peace neither the prayer of the priest nor the offering of the people is received. If therefore we wish to be heard swiftly by God, and to have our gifts accepted by Him with favour, we ought by all means to live in peace. Concerning this the Truth Himself deigned to instruct us: If you offer, He says, your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you: leave your gift there before the altar, and go first to be reconciled to your brother; and then you shall come and offer your gift (Matt. 5:23–24).
4. Pax et unitas saepe in Scripturis commendatae. Quia ergo unitatem nostram et concordiam Deus desiderat, ostendit ipse Salvator in Evangelio ad Patrem ita loquens: Pater, inquit, sancte, serva eos in nomine tuo quos dedisti mihi, ut sint unum sicut et nos (Joan. XVII, 11). Unde et Apostolus fideles adhortatur dicens, Obsecro vos, fratres, ut idipsum sapiatis, et unum dicatis omnes (I Cor. I, 10): et item, Non sit, inquit, inter vos zelus et contentio (Rom. XIII, 13). Omnis amaritudo, et ira, et indignatio, et clamor, et blasphemia tollatur a vobis cum omni malitia (Ephes. IV, 30): item alibi ait, Sustinentes invicem in charitate, solliciti servare unitatem spiritus in vinculo pacis. Unum corpus, et unus spiritus, sicut vocati estis in una spe vocationis vestrae (Ibid. 2-4). Haec itaque unanimitas sub Apostolis
4. Peace and unity often commended in the Scriptures. Since, then, God desires our unity and concord, the Saviour Himself showed it in the Gospel, speaking thus to the Father: Holy Father, He says, keep in Thy name those whom Thou hast given Me, that they may be one even as We are (John 17:11). Hence the Apostle too exhorts the faithful, saying, I beseech you, brethren, that you be of the same mind, and that you all say one thing (1 Cor. 1:10): and again, Let there not be, he says, among you jealousy and contention (Rom. 13:13). Let all bitterness, and anger, and indignation, and clamour, and blasphemy be taken away from you, with all malice (Eph. 4:30): likewise elsewhere he says, Bearing with one another in charity, careful to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. One body and one spirit, as you were called in one hope of your calling (ibid. 2-4). This unanimity, therefore, under the Apostles
Editors' notes and page, col. 1933
Footnotes
(1) ‹anchor: creatura Dei sunt› · call in col 1933
Apud Alcuinum: Non homines, omissis deinde verbis, amandi sunt.
In Alcuin: "Non homines" [Not men], the words "amandi sunt" [are to be loved] being then omitted.
(printed under page 229)
(u) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1933
Forte, conservatione.
Perhaps "conservatione" [by preservation].
(printed under page 229)
Page
- running head: 1933 SERMO XCIX.
- marginal letters: (none)
- old-edition numerals: (none)