PL 39 · cols. 1981–1987

Appendix to Augustine's Sermones: Sermones supposititii, Sermones 107-120

Sermons CXVIII–CXX

PL 39:1981

ex amore facientes (Ephes. VI, 5-7); quia et illos Deus constituit ut vobis dominentur, et vos ut serviatis. Bene servite propter Deum, quia de bono servitio mercedem habebitis. Si boni fueritis, meliores eritis dominis malis: quia apud Deum anima uniuscujusque non est discernenda nobilitate, sed opere; nec genere, sed actione. Ideo nunc ad omnes mihi sermo fuit, quia Christus pro omnibus mortuus est (II Cor. V, 15). Et ideo servate quae dixi, ut de vobis fructum habeam, et vos omnes in coelestibus horreis, ubi frumenta congreganda sunt, misericors Dominus intromittat, qui vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

doing out of love (Eph. 6:5–7); for God has also appointed them to be masters over you, and you to serve. Serve well for God's sake, for you will have a reward for good service. If you are good, you will be better than bad masters: for with God the soul of each person is to be judged not by nobility but by work; not by birth, but by action. Therefore my sermon has now been addressed to all, because Christ died for all (2 Cor. 5:15). And therefore keep what I have said, so that I may have fruit from you, and that the merciful Lord may bring you all into the heavenly granaries, where the grain is to be gathered, He Who lives and reigns for ages of ages. Amen.

SERMO CXVIII. In Natali Domini, II.

Sermon 118. On the Lord's Nativity, II.

1. Filius Dei non mutatur cum fit homo. Hodie, fratres dilectissimi, celebramus Dominicae nativitatis diem, id est, Domini nostri Jesu Christi: qui cum aequalem trinitatem cum Patre possideat, qui cum coelum, terram ac maria, et omnia quae in eis sunt, pari cum Patre virtute firmaverit, in novissimis temporibus homo nasci ex homine dignatus est, sic nostram suscipiendo naturam, ut non permutaret suam. Permanente enim integro divinitatis statu, assumpsit hominem Dei Filius; nec amisit quod erat, sed sociavit sibi quod in ipso ante non fuerat. Invisibilis ergo secundum divinitatem Dei Filius visibilem suscepit hominem, immortalis mortalem, impassibilis passibilem, et ut totum breviter comprehendam, Deus hominem Quidquid ergo infirmitatis legimus in Christo, id est, quod esurivit, quod doluit, quod etiam mortem pro peccatis nostris sustinuit, suscepto hoc pro salute nostra homini deputemus, salva illius qui suscepit, id est Verbi Dei, reverentia: qui ita humanitatem divinitati suae junxit, ut eam post passionem impassibilem faciat; non autem ut fieret, quod cogitari scelus est, divinitas ipsa passibilis.

1. The Son of God is not changed when He becomes man. Today, most beloved brothers, we celebrate the day of the Lord's nativity, that is, of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who, though He possesses an equal trinity with the Father, though He established heaven, earth and seas, and all things that are in them, with power equal to the Father's, in the last times deigned to be born a man from man, so taking up our nature as not to change His own. For while the state of His divinity remained whole, the Son of God assumed man; and He did not lose what He was, but joined to Himself what had not been in Him before. Therefore the Son of God, invisible according to His divinity, took up visible man, the immortal took up the mortal, the impassible the passible, and, to sum it all up briefly, God took up man. Whatever weakness, then, we read of in Christ, that is, that He hungered, that He suffered pain, that He even endured death for our sins, let us ascribe this to the man taken up for our salvation, preserving the reverence due to Him Who took him up, that is, to the Word of God: Who so joined humanity to His divinity as to make it impassible after the passion; but not so that the divinity itself should become passible, which it is a crime even to think.

2. Nativitas Christi vera, sed non consueta. Per hunc tamen conjugia non damnavit. Nam etsi in Dei Filio ex divinitate et humanitate una persona est, cum tamen audis natum ex homine Dei Filium, noli communem hunc ibi credere nativitatis exortum ex opere conjugali, quod quidem a Deo est constitutum, ut humanitas propagetur. Aliter, inquam, ibi fuit humanitatis exortus, longe a nostra nativitate diversus. Nam etsi in eadem, qua nos naturaliter sumus, veritate carnis natus est Christus; non tamen eo quo nos more conceptus et natus est de conjugio, id est, unde caeteri exorti sumus, licet omnes procreentur homines. Nam et mirabiliter procreatus est. Legitima illa commixtio hominis homini quidem, licet juxta divinam auctoritatem culpa non vacet, non tamen etiam gloriosa est. In Christi vero nativitate sine commixtione propagatio omni prorsus gloria et honore cumulatur. Dominus itaque noster Jesus Christus, ordine nativitatis excepto, homo verus procreatus ex virgine est, eodemque omnipotentiae signo conceptus et natus. Virginem habuit matrem, cum portaretur in utero virginis, et cum ex utero funderetur: nec tamen ista nativitas conjugia damnavit, sed potentiam divinitatis honoravit.

2. The nativity of Christ true, but not customary. Yet by it He did not condemn marriages. For although in the Son of God there is one person from divinity and humanity, yet when you hear that the Son of God was born from man, do not believe that here there was that common origin of birth from the conjugal act, which indeed was established by God so that humanity might be propagated. Otherwise, I say, was the origin of His humanity there, far different from our birth. For although Christ was born in the same reality of flesh in which we naturally exist, yet He was not conceived and born from marriage in the manner in which we are, that is, in the way from which the rest of us have arisen, although all men are procreated. For He was indeed procreated wondrously. That lawful union of one human being with another, though according to divine authority it is not free from fault, is nevertheless not also glorious. But in Christ's nativity, propagation without union is heaped with all glory and honour. Our Lord Jesus Christ, therefore, with the order of birth set aside, was procreated a true man from a virgin, and was conceived and born by the same sign of omnipotence. He had a virgin for His mother, both when He was carried in the virgin's womb and when He was poured forth from the womb: yet this nativity did not condemn marriages, but honoured the power of the divinity.

3. Nobiscum Deus. Olim hujus novae fecunditatis signum Isaias propheta praedixerat: Ideo, inquit, dabit Dominus ipse vobis signum. Ecce virgo in utero concipiet et pariet filium, et vocabitur nomen ejus Emmanuel (Isai. VII, 14). Quod signatissime de Christo Domino nostro est prophetatum: Emmanuel enim interpretatur,

3. God with us. Long ago the prophet Isaiah had foretold the sign of this new fruitfulness: Therefore, he says, the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin will conceive in the womb and bear a son, and His name will be called Emmanuel (Isa. 7:14). This was most expressly prophesied of Christ our Lord: for Emmanuel is interpreted,

Editors' notes and page, col. 1981

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1981

Forte, divinitatem.

Perhaps "divinitatem" [the divinity, accusative].

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(2) ‹anchor: culpa non vacet› · call in col 1981

Forte, culpa vacet.

Perhaps "culpa vacet" [is free of fault, without "non"].

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(a) ‹anchor: not visible (sermon heading)› · call in col 1981

Alias, de Tempore 8.

Formerly [numbered] On the Season 8.

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(b) ‹anchor: not visible (sermon heading)› · call in col 1981

In Appendice nunc primum collocatur. De hoc sermone idem atque de superiore Lovanienses, idem Verlinus et Vindingus judicaverunt. Videtur ad asserendam Christi divinitatem compositus, fortean a Vigilio Tapsitano, qui plura ejus generis a se edita opuscula contra Arianos sub veterum Patrum nomine publicavit.

It is placed in the Appendix now for the first time. Of this sermon the Louvain editors judged the same as of the preceding, and so did Verlinus and Vindingus. It seems to have been composed to assert Christ's divinity, perhaps by Vigilius of Thapsus, who published several small works of that kind written by himself against the Arians under the name of the ancient Fathers.

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Nobiscum Deus. Ergo Salvator noster ab effectu rerum etiam hoc nomen accepit, ut vocaretur Nobiscum Deus. Et ipse tunc Deus cum omnibus nobis esse dignatus est, quando suscepit hanc carnem, ut per hominem, qui visibilis erat, conversari v⟨i⟩der⟨e⟩tur in terris. Sic enim Jeremias propheta ⟨p⟩romiserat, dicens: Hic est Deus noster, et non aestimabitu⟨r⟩ alius ad eum. Hic adinvenit omnem viam disciplinae, et tradidit illam Jacob puero suo, et Israel dilecto suo. Post haec in terris visus est, et cum hominibus conversatus est (Baruch III, 36-38). Unde et ipse Dominus ad discipulos suos in Evangelio dicit: Tanto tempore vobiscum sum, et non cognovistis me? Qui videt me, videt et Patrem meum (Joan. XIV, 9), et reliqua quae sequuntur. Talia enim Dei Filius per assumptum hominem opera faciebat, ut ex ipsa operum claritate et Patris simul et Filii divinitas nosceretur. Quod si diligenter respiciamus ad causam, propter quam Dominus totum hoc sacramentum suscepti hominis implere dignatus est, tunc vere obtinebimus nobis illud impletum esse propheticum.

God with us. Therefore our Saviour received this name also from the effect of things, that He should be called God with us. And He Himself deigned then to be God with all of us, when He took up this flesh, so that through the man, who was visible, He might be seen to dwell on earth. For thus Jeremiah the prophet had promised, saying: This is our God, and no other shall be reckoned in comparison with Him. He found out every way of discipline, and delivered it to Jacob His servant, and to Israel His beloved. After these things He was seen on earth, and dwelt among men (Bar. 3:36–38). Hence also the Lord Himself says to His disciples in the Gospel: Have I been with you so long a time, and you have not known Me? He who sees Me sees My Father also (John 14:9), and the rest that follows. For the Son of God did such works through the man He had assumed, so that from the very brightness of the works the divinity of the Father and of the Son together might be recognized. But if we look carefully at the cause on account of which the Lord deigned to fulfil this whole mystery of the man taken up, then we shall truly establish for ourselves that that prophetic [saying] has been fulfilled.

4. Duplex causa Incarnationis, reparatio et instructio nostra. Duplex enim principaliter causa est, ob quam Dei Filius factus est filius hominis. Una est, ut secundum hominem omnia patiendo pro nobis, a peccatorum nos vinculis liberaret. Sic enim Isaias propheta praedixerat: Hic peccata nostra portavit, et pro nobis dolet; et rursus, Ipse autem vulneratus est propter peccata nostra. Eruditio pacis nostrae in eo; livore enim ejus nos sanati sumus (Isai. LIII, 4, 5). Altera vero causa est Dominicae passionis, ut ⟨n⟩os, quos sanguine suo redemit a vitiis atque criminibus, non solum doctrinae auxilio et gratiae, sed etiam exemplo suo ad studium sanctitatis accenderet; ut nos non modo praecipientem Dominum, sed etiam exemplo suo ad virtutis fastigia provocantem, majore alacritate sequeremur, et justissimum Dominum ac pium Patrem, secundum sententiam beati Petri, Filii imitatione coleremus. Sic enim Petrus ait: Christus passus est pro nobis, vobis relinquens exemplum ut sequamini vestigia ejus. Qui peccatum non fecit, nec dolus inventus est in ore ejus: qui cum malediceretur, non maledicebat; cum pateretur, non comminabatur: tradebat autem judicanti se injuste: qui peccata nostra ipse pertulit in corpore suo super lignum, ut peccatis mortui, justitiae vivamus (I Petr. II, 21-24). Praestet autem Dominus noster Jesus Christus, ut gratia ejus adjuti, ad vest⟨i⟩gia ejus sequenda properetis; et peccatis omnibus ac vitiis mortificati, ad sola vivatis opera justitiae exercenda, gratias agentes Patri Deo, cui est gloria et imperium, et Domino nostro Jesu Christo, et Spiritui sancto in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

4. The twofold cause of the Incarnation: our restoration and our instruction. For there is principally a twofold cause on account of which the Son of God was made the son of man. One is that, by suffering all things for us according to the man, He might free us from the chains of sins. For thus Isaiah the prophet had foretold: He has borne our sins, and grieves for us; and again, But He was wounded for our sins. The instruction of our peace is upon Him; for by His bruise we are healed (Isa. 53:4–5). The other cause of the Lord's passion is that He might kindle us, whom He redeemed by His blood from vices and crimes, to the pursuit of holiness, not only by the aid of doctrine and grace, but also by His example; so that we might follow with greater eagerness the Lord, Who not only commands but also by His example calls us forth to the heights of virtue, and might worship the most just Lord and loving Father, according to the saying of blessed Peter, by imitation of the Son. For thus Peter says: Christ suffered for us, leaving you an example that you should follow His footsteps. Who did no sin, nor was guile found in His mouth: Who, when He was reviled, did not revile; when He suffered, He did not threaten: but He delivered Himself to him who judged Him unjustly: Who Himself bore our sins in His body upon the tree, that we, being dead to sins, might live to righteousness (1 Pet. 2:21–24). May our Lord Jesus Christ grant that, helped by His grace, you may hasten to follow His footsteps; and that, being put to death to all sins and vices, you may live only for performing the works of righteousness, giving thanks to God the Father, to Whom is glory and dominion, and to our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the Holy Spirit, for ages of ages. Amen.

SERMO CXIX. In Natali Domini, III.

Sermon 119. On the Lord's Nativity, 3.

1. Reparatur homo superbus per humilem Deum. Primi hominis procreatio renovatur. Legimus, et fideliter retinemus, quod sub ipso principio nascentis mundi in primo homine fecerit nos Deus ad imaginem et similitudinem suam. Ecce in hac die mutata vice factus est Deus ad imaginem et similitudinem nostram. In primis de suis meliora contulit: in secundis de nostris inferiora suscepit. Per interdictae arboris gustum primi hominis incauta fragilitas tentavit appetere ambitione damnabili Domini sui divinitatem, persuadente diabolo et dicente, Si de ligno hoc gustaveritis, aperientur oculi vestri, et eritis sicut dii (Gen. III, 5). Ideoque agnoscamus pii Patris admirabilem bonitatem. Homo, sollicitante inimico, Deus esse voluit per superbiam: et Deus homo factus est per misericordiam. Innovatur in nobis quodam modo

1. Proud man is restored through the humble God. The creation of the first man is renewed. We read, and faithfully hold, that at the very beginning of the world's birth God made us in the first man to His own image and likeness. Behold, on this day, the roles being exchanged, God was made to our image and likeness. In the first [creation] He conferred better things from what was His; in the second He took up lower things from what was ours. Through the tasting of the forbidden tree the incautious frailty of the first man tried, with damnable ambition, to grasp at the divinity of his Lord, the devil persuading him and saying, If you taste of this tree, your eyes will be opened, and you will be as gods (Gen. 3:5). And therefore let us acknowledge the wonderful goodness of the loving Father. Man, at the enemy's prompting, wished to be God through pride: and God was made man through mercy. There is renewed in us in a certain manner

Editors' notes and page, col. 1982

Footnotes

(a) ‹anchor: SERMO CXIX› · call in col 1982

Olim, de Tempore 9; et post, in Appendice 21.

Formerly On the Season 9; and afterwards, in the Appendix, 21.

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(b) ‹anchor: In Natali Domini, III› · call in col 1982

Incerti auctoris est, nec injuria per Lovanienses rejectus: tametsi quod continere aiunt plerasque sententias ex Homiliis S. Bernardi in Evangelium Missus est, haud bene nobis compertum sit. De n. 1 et 2 vid. Euseb. homil. 2

It is by an uncertain author, and was rejected by the Louvain editors not without reason: although their claim that it contains many sentences from St Bernard's Homilies on the Gospel "Missus est" is by no means clearly established to us. On nos. 1 and 2 see Eusebius, homily 2

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per Christi divinitatem species illius antiqui et incip⟨i⟩entis saeculi, quando primus Adam de limi materia ⟨f⟩iguratur. Ecce enim nunc secundus Adam, quasi de intacta ac ⟨r⟩udi terra, virginis de carne formatur. Ecce, in⟨q⟩uam, iterum cessantibus naturae legibus, novus homo in novam vitam, solo Deo operante perficitur.

through Christ's divinity, the pattern of that ancient and beginning age, when the first Adam was fashioned from the matter of clay. For behold, now the second Adam is formed from the flesh of a virgin, as if from untouched and unworked earth. Behold, I say, once again, the laws of nature ceasing, a new man is brought to completion for a new life, by God alone working.

2. Spiritus sancti operatio declarat Christi sanctitatem et divinitatem. Promittitur ergo filius virgini per visitationem Spiritus sancti. Quid mirum, si sine corruptione nascitur, qui de sanctificatione concipitur? Non enim decebat ut qui nobis afferebat salutem, soli matri praeriperet dignitatem. Spiritus, inquit, sanctus superveniet in te. Dignum plane erat, ut regali onustanda p⟨a⟩r⟨t⟩u, prius coelestis regis sanctificaretur ingressu. Unde Dominum et Salvatorem nostrum non ideo simplicem hominem credamus, quia ex homine nasci videmus: fas non est, ut non Deus credatur, cui descensuro ad terras a Deo habitaculum praeparatur. Divina itaque operante potentia credentis viscera fecundantur, et in ligno mortali vitae arbor inseritur, et portans in se omnia virtus ab infirmitate portatur: et qui terra, mari, coeloque non capitur, intra unius corpusculi membra suscipitur. De creatura sua Creator omnium procreatur, et de rivulo suo fons magnus exoritur: radix omnium de virgulto suo nascitur, et vitis vera palmitis sui fructus efficitur. Adest ecce exoptatissimus dies, gratia geminata resplendens, candore quidem consueti luminis illustratus, sed praecipue radiantis uteri fulgore coruscus. O dies dierum omnium novitas, lucrum lucis, et dispendium caecitatis: in quo aeternus sol de summa altitudine claritatis paternae descendens, vulvae virginalis aditum reseravit, et totius mundi caliginem fulgida coruscatione repressit!

2. The operation of the Holy Spirit declares Christ's holiness and divinity. A son, then, is promised to the virgin through the visitation of the Holy Spirit. What wonder if He is born without corruption, Who is conceived from sanctification? For it was not fitting that He Who was bringing salvation to us should snatch away dignity from His mother alone. The Holy Spirit, he says, shall come upon you. It was plainly fitting that she who was to be laden with a royal offspring should first be sanctified by the entrance of the heavenly King. Therefore let us not believe our Lord and Saviour to be a mere man because we see Him born of a human being: it is not right that He should not be believed God, for Whom, as He was about to descend to the earth, a dwelling is prepared by God. And so, by the working of divine power, the womb of the believing woman is made fruitful, and the tree of life is grafted onto mortal wood, and the Power that carries all things in itself is carried by weakness; and He Who is not contained by earth, sea and heaven is received within the members of one little body. The Creator of all is begotten of His own creature, and the great fountain springs forth from its own rivulet; the root of all things is born of its own shoot, and the true vine becomes the fruit of its own branch. Behold, the most longed-for day is here, shining with redoubled grace, illumined indeed by the brightness of its accustomed light, but especially gleaming with the radiance of a shining womb. O day, the newness of all days, the gain of light and the loss of blindness: on which the eternal Sun, descending from the highest height of the Father's brightness, unlocked the entrance of a virginal womb, and with its gleaming flash drove back the darkness of the whole world!

3. Prophetia de virgineo partu. Ducite, fideles Christi, festivissima gaudia; res nobis hodie perfecta est nova, quae olim fuerat repromissa, ut sine virginei detrimento pudoris, filium lactarent ubera genitricis. Haec illa est novitas Jeremiae prophetae vaticinio nuntiata: Faciet, inquit, Dominus novum supra terram. Et quasi quamdam lucernam hujus obscuritatis accendens, continuo subjecit, Femina circumdabit virum (Jerem. XXXI, 22): hoc est, inquit, novum quod super terram dico Dominum esse facturum, quia femina circumdabit virum. Advertite, fratres, et me potius vestro intellectu praecedite, Femina, inquit, circumdabit virum. O femina super feminas benedicta, quae et virum non cognovit; et virum in utero circumdedit: quae concubitu carnali non tangitur, et tamen carnea prole de spirituali semine gratulatur! Circumdat Maria virum angelo fidem dando; quia Eva perdidit virum serpenti consentiendo; Faciet, inquit, Dominus novum super terram.

3. The prophecy of the virgin birth. Keep, faithful of Christ, the most festive joys; a new thing has today been accomplished for us, which had once been promised, that without injury to virginal modesty the breasts of the mother should suckle a son. This is that newness announced in the oracle of the prophet Jeremiah: The Lord, he says, shall make a new thing above the earth. And as though kindling a kind of lamp for this obscurity, he straightway added: A woman shall encompass a man (Jer. 31:22); that is, he says, this is the new thing which I say the Lord will make upon the earth: that a woman shall encompass a man. Mark it, brethren, and rather go before me with your understanding: A woman, he says, shall encompass a man. O woman blessed above women, who both knew not a man and encompassed a man in her womb; who is not touched by carnal intercourse, and yet rejoices in fleshly offspring from a spiritual seed! Mary encompasses a man by giving faith to an angel, because Eve lost a man by consenting to a serpent. The Lord, he says, shall make a new thing upon the earth.

4. Angeli ad Mariam allocutio. Ut igitur exhibendae hujus novitatis tempus advenit, coelestis ad Virginem praemittitur nuntius. Salutat angelus puellam viri salutationis ignaram; terretur virgo novitate verborum. Ad quam angelus, Ne timeas, inquit, Maria; invenisti enim gratiam apud Dominum. Ne, inquit, ad conspectum meum, Mater Domini mei, terrearis: ego conceptionis tuae minister adveni; ipse me misit ad te qui est nasciturus ex te; ipse tibi per me annuntiat gaudium, cui placuit in utero tuo cum humana natura mysticum sociare conjugium. Invenisti gratiam apud Dominum. Ecce concipies et paries filium, non cujuslibet meriti hominem, sed totius mundi Salvatorem. Ne, inquit, timeas. Abjice abs te omnem metum saeculi, quae conceptura es gaudium mundi. Revolve, Maria, propheticam lectionem: neque enim te scientia divinorum potest praeterire Librorum, quae ipsam plenitudinem paritura es Prophetarum. Recole in libro Isaiae prophetae virginem quam legisti; et gaude quia tu esse meruisti. Tu ibi praesignata es virgo: tu ecce concipies in utero, non de viro, sed de Spiritu sancto: et gravida eris, et incorrupta manebis, paries filium, et virginitatis non patieris detrimentum. At illa, Ecce, inquit, ancilla Domini, ⟨f⟩iat mihi secundum verbum tuum.

4. The angel's address to Mary. When therefore the time came for this newness to be shown forth, a heavenly messenger is sent ahead to the Virgin. The angel greets a girl unacquainted with a man's greeting; the virgin is frightened by the newness of the words. To her the angel says: Fear not, Mary; for you have found grace with the Lord. Do not, he says, be frightened at the sight of me, Mother of my Lord: I have come as the minister of your conception; He Who is to be born of you has Himself sent me to you; He Himself announces joy to you through me, He Whom it has pleased to join a mystical marriage with human nature in your womb. You have found grace with the Lord. Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son, not a man of any ordinary merit, but the Saviour of the whole world. Fear not, he says. Cast away from you all fear of the world, you who are to conceive the joy of the world. Turn over, Mary, the prophetic reading: for the knowledge of the divine Books cannot pass you by, you who are to bring forth the very fullness of the Prophets. Recall the virgin of whom you have read in the book of the prophet Isaiah, and rejoice that you have been found worthy to be she. There you were foreshown as the virgin: behold, you shall conceive in the womb, not of a man but of the Holy Spirit; and you shall be with child and remain uncorrupted, you shall bear a son and suffer no injury to your virginity. But she said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word.

Editors' notes and page, col. 1983

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5. Gratia exinanitionis Verbi. Mox igitur angelus, Virginis accepto consensu coelestis regionis accolas repetit: et ecce subito secretum Virginis ineffabilis potentia penetravit. Intrat Artifex mundi angustias ventris humani, efficitur gravida mater intacta: et ecce tanquam sponsus de thalamo, Mariae Christus procedit ex utero. Occultatur in membris infantis potentia majestatis, Deus pendet ad ubera genitricis. Pannorum vilium squalore contegitur, durissimi suffert praesepis angustias, et totum misericors humiliter patitur, dummodo mundus qui perierat, liberaretur. O beata infantia, per quam nostri generis vita est reparata! O gratissimi, delectabilesque vagitus, per quos stridores dentium aeternosque ploratus evasimus! O felices panni, quibus peccatorum sordes extersimus! O praesepe splendidum, in quo non solum jacuit fenum animalium, sed cibus inventus est Angelorum! Lacta, Maria, Creatorem tuum, lacta panem coeli, pretium mundi. Praebe lambenti mamillam, ut pro te ipse praebeat percutienti maxillam. Nutriatur infans lacte tuorum uberum, ut pro te etiam accipia⟨t⟩ aceti potum. Ferant eum nunc manus tuae, ut manus pro te postea figantur in cruce. Postremo tu illi ut mater temporalem ministra substantiam, ut ipse nobis et tibi una cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vitam tribuat sempiternam. Quod ipse praestare dignetur, qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et gloriatur Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

5. The grace of the self-emptying of the Word. Then, therefore, the angel, having received the Virgin's consent, returns to the dwellers of the heavenly region: and behold, suddenly an ineffable power penetrated the secret place of the Virgin. The Maker of the world enters the narrow confines of a human womb; an untouched mother is made pregnant: and behold, as a bridegroom from his chamber, Christ comes forth from the womb of Mary. The power of majesty is hidden in the limbs of an infant; God hangs at the breasts of His mother. He is covered with the squalor of cheap swaddling-cloths, He endures the harsh narrowness of a manger, and in His mercy He humbly suffers everything, provided that the world which had perished might be set free. O blessed infancy, through which the life of our race has been restored! O most welcome and delightful wailings, through which we have escaped the gnashing of teeth and everlasting weeping! O happy swaddling-cloths, by which we have wiped away the filth of sins! O splendid manger, in which not only the hay of animals lay, but the food of Angels was found! Suckle, Mary, your Creator; suckle the bread of heaven, the price of the world. Offer the breast to Him as He sucks, so that for you He Himself may offer His cheek to the one who strikes. Let the infant be nourished with the milk of your breasts, so that for you He may also receive the drink of vinegar. Let your hands carry Him now, so that His hands may afterwards be fixed to the cross for you. Lastly, as His mother, supply Him with temporal substance, so that He Himself, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, may grant to us and to you life everlasting. May He Himself deign to bestow this, Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and glories as God, for all ages of ages. Amen.

SERMO CXX. In Natali Domini, IV.

Sermon 120. On the Nativity of the Lord, 4.

1. Per feminam peccatum oritur. Per feminam eradicatur. Hodie puer natus est nobis, hodie filius datus est nobis (Isai. IX, 6). Puer, inquam, non teneritudine membrorum invalidus, sed inculpabili generatione praeclarus. Hodierna enim die genitricis innocentiae et puritatis Spiritum sanctum declarat auctorem. Hodie filius datus est nobis. Nunc nobis est datus, qui est ante saecula natus: datus in partu Virginis, filius de substantia Genitoris. Cum igitur servilem casam per ostium fidei spretus quondam Dominator intraret, rubuit inviolata virginitas. Nec pessulum pudoris infregit, et in sacris visceribus radius aeternae claritatis effulsit. Laetetur ergo omne mundi hujus exsilium, exsultet saeculum paulo ante captivum. Misit Deus Filium suum, qui nascatur, et terreat; moriatur, et vincat. Terruit namque Herodem natus, vicit diabolum innocens crucifixus. Cela, Domine, sub pelle carnis arma virtutis, habitum majestatis paulisper occulta. Tege te in utero Virginis; egredere et congredere ex tentorio sacrae Virginis. Apta pro me muscipulam, ubi totam liberes creaturam. Sed tanti hujus conceptus ac partus et causam et miraculum pertractemus. Ut igitur vitiorum sordibus obsoletus horribiliter squalesceret mundus ab origine jam in paradiso captivus, femina causa fuit. Sic enim scriptum est: A muliere initium factum est peccati, et per illam omnes morimur (Eccli. XXV, 33). Et aposto⟨l⟩us Paulus: Vir, inquit, seductus non est; mulier autem seducta in praevaricatione facta est (II Tim. II, 14). Per hanc ergo mundus aerumnabili servitute depressus, sub jugo diaboli anxia colla submiserat: a quo enim quis devictus est, huic et servus addictus est. Soluta igitur elementorum foederata compage, diluvium hominem delevit, crimen delere non potuit. Isaac sterilis, non virginis filius, crucis meruit signa portare; apprehendi meruit, vinciri meruit: non tamen meruit et occidi. Moyses ad aquas purificandas exponitur; agmen eripit, Deo mittente, Judaicum, non totum

1. Through a woman sin arises. Through a woman it is rooted out. Today a child is born to us, today a son is given to us (Isa. 9:6). A child, I say, not weak through the tenderness of His limbs, but illustrious through a blameless generation. For on this day He declares the Holy Spirit to be the author of His mother's innocence and purity. Today a son is given to us. Now He is given to us Who was born before the ages: given in the Virgin's childbearing, the Son from the substance of the Begetter. When, therefore, the Lord, once despised, entered the servile hut through the door of faith, inviolate virginity blushed. Nor did He break the bolt of modesty, and in the sacred womb the ray of eternal brightness shone forth. Let, then, the whole exile of this world rejoice; let the age that was a little while ago captive exult. God sent His Son, to be born and to strike terror; to die and to conquer. For when born He terrified Herod; innocent and crucified He conquered the devil. Hide, O Lord, under the skin of flesh the arms of Thy power; conceal for a little while the garb of Thy majesty. Cover Thyself in the womb of the Virgin; come forth and do battle out of the tent of the holy Virgin. Prepare for my sake a mousetrap, in which Thou mayest set free the whole creation. But let us treat thoroughly both the cause and the miracle of so great a conception and birth. That the world, then, worn out by the filth of vices, should be horribly squalid, captive from its origin already in paradise, a woman was the cause. For thus it is written: From a woman was the beginning of sin made, and through her we all die (Sir. 25:33). And the apostle Paul: The man, he says, was not seduced; but the woman, having been seduced, came into transgression (2 Tim. 2:14). Through her, therefore, the world, weighed down by toilsome servitude, had bowed its anxious neck under the yoke of the devil: for by whom anyone is overcome, to him he is also bound over as a slave. When, then, the bonded framework of the elements was loosened, the flood destroyed man, but could not destroy crime. Isaac, son of a barren woman, not of a virgin, merited to bear the signs of the cross; he merited to be seized, he merited to be bound: yet he did not merit also to be slain. Moses is exposed at the waters that were to be purified; he rescues, God sending him, the Jewish host, not the whole

Editors' notes and page, col. 1984

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: fidei spretus› · call in col 1984

Ita Ms. gr. At editi, speratus.

So the gr. manuscript. But the printed editions read "hoped for."

(printed under page 254)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible (sermon heading)› · call in col 1984

Alias, de Tempore 21.

Formerly [numbered] On the Season 21.

(printed under page 254)

(b) ‹anchor: In Natali Domini, IV› · call in col 1984

In Appendice nunc primum collocatur. Lovaniensibus dubius erat, spurius Verlino et Vindingo. Stilus Petavio, in lib. de Incarnat. 14, nimis cothurnatus videbatur. Confer sermonem 194, in quo non pauca ipsis iisdem atque hic verbis repetuntur.

It is placed in the Appendix now for the first time. It was doubtful to the Louvain editors, spurious to Verlinus and Vindingus. To Petavius, in his book On the Incarnation, 14, the style seemed too grandiloquent. Compare sermon 194, in which not a little is repeated in the very same words as here.

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liberat mundum; exterminat Aegyptum, non peccatum; regem Pharaonem freto hiante occidit, non diabolum cum suis legionibus pernecavit. David in iniqu⟨i⟩tatibus se fatetur esse conceptum: nec ipse ergo mundi potuit auferre peccatum. Cum per has igitur temporum girantium rotas mundiale curriculum volveretur, neque quispiam mederetur; et, ingravescentibus culpis, ruinae praecipitis ictu et fremitu totius orbis membra pulvescerent, et nemo succurreret: ad feminam causa revertitur, et origo per originem detruncatur. Origo peccati per Genitricem Christi exstincta est: prosapies impietatis per prosapiem pietatis ablata est, stirps mortis per stirpem vitae. Hactenus causam, nunc et opertos obtutus miraculis revel⟨e⟩mus.

world does he free; he destroys Egypt, not sin; he killed King Pharaoh in the gaping sea, but did not slay the devil with his legions. David confesses that he was conceived in iniquities: so neither could he take away the sin of the world. When, therefore, the world's course was turning through these wheels of the revolving times, and no one was healing it; and, as faults grew heavier, the limbs of the whole globe were crumbling to dust under the blow and roar of a headlong ruin, and no one came to help: the cause returns to a woman, and an origin is cut off through an origin. The origin of sin was extinguished through the Mother of Christ: the lineage of impiety was taken away through the lineage of piety, the stock of death through the stock of life. Thus far the cause; now let us also uncover our veiled gaze to the miracles.

2. Virginei partus miracula. Christum virgo parit; mutatur natura, deletur et culpa. Praecisum est illud Evae infelicitatis elogium, In tristitia paries filios (Gen. III, 16): quia ista in laetitia Dominum parturivit. Illa enim luxit, ista reluxit; illa lacrymas, ista gaudium in ventre portavit: quia illa peccatorem, ista edidit innocentem. Spiritus seminavit, non luxus; Deus sevit, non maritus. Virgo genuit; quia virgo concepit. Inviolata peperit; quia in conceptu libido non fuit. Utrobique miraculum, et sine corruptione gravida, et in partu virgo puerpera, matrimonium in fide, partus in virgine.

2. The miracles of the virgin birth. A virgin bears Christ; nature is changed, and guilt too is blotted out. That sentence of Eve's unhappiness has been cut off, In sorrow you will bear children (Gen. 3:16): because this woman brought forth the Lord in gladness. For that one mourned, this one shone forth again; that one carried tears in her womb, this one joy: because that one brought forth a sinner, this one an innocent. The Spirit sowed, not lust; God planted, not a husband. A virgin gave birth, because a virgin conceived. Inviolate she brought forth, because in the conception there was no desire. A miracle on both sides: both pregnant without corruption, and in giving birth a virgin mother, marriage in faith, childbirth in a virgin.

3. Gabrielis verba expenduntur. Fidei Mariae sublimitas. Gabriel ille horum sponsalium internuntius fu⟨i⟩t. Quid dixerit, quid audierit, referat: Ave, inquit, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. A salutatione incipit, qui salvationem in lingua portavit. Sileat nunc a feminis, sileat tortuosi serpentis male suadibilis sibilus; ad matrem Domini nostri angelus est locutus: Ave, inquit, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Gratia refertur pro culpa; plena dicitur, non vacua: impleta est ergo gratia, et evacuata est culpa. Hoc modo et ipsa venerabilis Virgo nostra in suo Cantico plausit: Esurientes implevit bonis, et divites dimisit inanes. Ave, inquit, gratia plena, Dominus tecum: tecum in corde, tecum in ventre, tecum in utero, tecum in auxilio. Gratulare, Virgo, Christus rex e coelo suo venit in uterum tuum. Ex sinu Patris in uterum dignatus est descendere Genitricis: sed nec regionem suam majestas infinita deseruit, nec eum virginalis aula cum accepisset, inclusit. Fides a terra in coelum erec⟨t⟩a est: huic Christus insedit, et per ipsam in templum pudoris intravit.

3. The words of Gabriel are weighed. The sublimity of Mary's faith. That Gabriel was the go-between of this betrothal. Let him relate what he said, what he heard: Hail, he says, full of grace, the Lord is with you. He who carried salvation on his tongue begins with a salutation. Let it now fall silent, away from women, let the hissing of the twisting serpent, persuasive to evil, fall silent; the angel has spoken to the mother of our Lord: Hail, he says, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Grace is brought in place of guilt; she is called full, not empty: grace, therefore, has been filled up, and guilt has been emptied out. In this way our venerable Virgin herself also applauded in her Canticle: He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. Hail, he says, full of grace, the Lord is with you: with you in the heart, with you in the belly, with you in the womb, with you as help. Rejoice, Virgin, Christ the King has come from His heaven into your womb. From the bosom of the Father He deigned to descend into the womb of the Mother: yet neither did the infinite majesty desert its own region, nor did the virginal hall, when it had received Him, enclose Him. Faith was raised up from earth to heaven: on it Christ sat, and through it He entered the temple of chastity.

4. Evae maledictio per Mariam deletur. Mulier etiam virgo.—Benedicta, inquit, tu inter mulieres, quae vitam et viris et mulieribus peperisti. Ede, inculpabilis femina, inviolabilem virum; et sic et feminam salvabis et virum. Mater generis nostri poenam intulit mundo; Genitrix Domini nostri salutem et feminae gessit et viro. Auctrix illa peccati maledicta: sic enim in eam sententia decreti principalis invehitur, Maledicta tu inter mulieres. Auctrix ergo haec meriti benedicta; ita enim ad eam coelestis nuntius infert, Benedicta tu inter mulieres. Genere sexuali omnes appellantur equidem communiter mulieres, equidem etiam incorrupta virginitate, pudoris proprietate distantes. Illa occidendo obfuit; ista vivificando profuit: percussit illa; ista sanavit. Pro inobedientia enim obedientia commutatur, et fides pro perfidia compensatur.

4. The curse of Eve is blotted out through Mary. A woman, even a virgin.—Blessed, he says, are you among women, who have borne life for both men and women. Bring forth, blameless woman, an inviolable man; and thus you will save both woman and man. The mother of our race brought punishment upon the world; the Mother of our Lord bore salvation for both woman and man. That author of sin is cursed: for thus the sentence of the original decree is pronounced against her, Cursed are you among women. This author of merit, therefore, is blessed; for so the heavenly messenger declares to her, Blessed are you among women. By kind of sex all are indeed commonly called women, even those indeed who are set apart by incorrupt virginity, by the property of chastity. That one did harm by killing; this one did good by giving life: that one struck; this one healed. For obedience is put in exchange for disobedience, and faith is set to make amends for faithlessness.

5. Mariae cantus exsultationis. Plaudat iterum organis Maria, et inter veloces articulos tympana concrepent: resultent cantus digiti, pariat Christum ludentibus psalmis. Concinant laetantes chori, et alternantibus modis dulcisona carmina misceantur. Musicum Maria inter juvenculas melos exerceat, quia dulce verbum sancti Spiritus plectris modulantibus parturivit in terra Judaea, quae et ipsa tympanum

5. Mary's song of exultation. Let Mary applaud again with instruments, and let timbrels resound amid swift joints: let fingers make songs ring out, let her bring forth Christ with playing psalms. Let rejoicing choirs sing together, and let sweet-sounding songs be mingled in alternating measures. Let Mary practise a musical melody among the young maidens, because, with the plectra of the Holy Spirit making music, she brought forth the sweet Word in the land of Judaea, which itself also a timbrel

Editors' notes and page, col. 1985

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1985

Er. Lugd. Ven. et Lov., nunc aptos obtutus miraculis revelemus. M.

Er., Lugd., Ven. and Lov. [the Erasmus, Lyon, Venice and Louvain editions] read "now let us lift eyes fit for the miracles." M.

(printed under page 255)

(2) ‹anchor: cantus digiti› · call in col 1985

Er. Lugd. Ven. et Lov., excludat cantus digitis. M.

Er., Lugd., Ven. and Lov. read "let her strike out songs with her fingers." M.

(printed under page 255)

(3) ‹anchor: in terra Judaea› · call in col 1985

In Ms. gr., interierat et Judaea.

In the gr. manuscript, "and Judaea had perished."

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crudelitatis aptabat, et Christum in ligno tendebat. Postquam enim sceleris errabunda manus incompositis numeris discrepavit, confestim barbarus ille fragor truculenti stridoris infremuit, Crucifige, crucifige (Luc. XXIII, 21). Reciprocato igitur die quo criminosa Aegyptus sorberetur, tympanum Mariae nostrae pulsatum verbum edidit, et suae linguae pulsabulo puerpera no⟨s⟩tra laetos sui oris cantus effudit. Audiamus igitur quemadmodum tympanistria nostra cantaverit: Magnificat anima mea Dominum; et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo: quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae: ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes. Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est. Causam igitur invalescentis errati miraculum novi partus evicit; et Evae planctum Mariae cantus exclusit.

of cruelty was fitting, and was stretching Christ upon the wood. For after the wandering hand of wickedness had struck discord in disordered measures, at once that barbarous din of savage shrieking roared out, Crucify, crucify (Luke 23:21). So, the day on which guilty Egypt was swallowed up being turned back, the timbrel of our Mary, being struck, brought forth the Word, and with the plectrum of her tongue our mother in childbirth poured out the joyful songs of her mouth. Let us hear, then, how our timbrel-player sang: My soul magnifies the Lord; and my spirit has exulted in God my saviour: because He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid: for behold, from this time all generations will call me blessed. Because He Who is mighty has done great things for me. So the miracle of the new birth has overcome the cause of the growing error; and the song of Mary has shut out the lament of Eve.

6. Sobolis auctor Deus. Denique post illius benedicibilis salutationis et praesagium et triumphum, tacita secum Virgo mentis altercatione confligit, qualis esset ista salutatio. Nuntius interim coelestis exsequitur: Ne timeas, Maria; invenisti enim gratiam apud Deum. Ecce concipies et paries filium, et vocabis nomen ejus Jesum. At illa dum sciscitatur modum, audit auctorem sobolis Deum. Quomodo, inquit, fiet istud, quoniam virum non cognosco? Spiritus, inquit, sanctus superveniet in te, et virtus Altissimi obumbrabit tibi. Ideoque quod nascetur ex te sanctum, vocabitur Filius Dei. Expandat nunc fides splendentis uteri pulchra tentoria, obumbret virtus, Spiritus sibilet, naturali calore depulso tenuis virginem aura refoveat, et fluente refrigerio spiramentis coelestibus ventiletur, alvus virginalis sertis verecundiae coronetur. Flammeus ibi rosae fulgor anhelet, albens lilium candicet, mollis viola rutilet, purpurei spargantur flores, et vario nitore depictus Christi thalamus exornetur.

6. God the author of the offspring. Then, after both the presage and the triumph of that salutation worthy of blessing, the Virgin contends within herself in a silent debate of the mind as to what sort of salutation this was. Meanwhile the heavenly messenger continues: Do not fear, Mary; for you have found grace with God. Behold, you will conceive and bear a son, and you will call His name Jesus. But she, while she asks the manner, hears that God is the author of the offspring. How, she says, will this be done, since I do not know a man? The Holy Spirit, he says, will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. And therefore the holy thing that will be born of you will be called the Son of God. Now let faith spread out the beautiful tents of the shining womb, let the power overshadow, let the Spirit breathe softly, let a gentle breeze, natural heat having been driven off, refresh the virgin, and let her be fanned with heavenly breathings in flowing coolness, let the virginal womb be crowned with garlands of modesty. Let the flaming glow of the rose breathe there, let the white lily gleam, let the soft violet blush red, let purple flowers be strewn, and let the bridal chamber of Christ, painted with varied splendour, be adorned.

7. Salus mundi pependit ex assensu Mariae. Fides Mariae coelum aperit. Responde jam, Virgo sacra: vitam quid tricas mundo? Assensum tuum Angelus praestolatur; inde est quod nuntius iste moratur. Jam audisti quomodo fiet istud; quoniam Spiritus sanctus superveniet in te, et virtus Altissimi obumbrabit tibi, ut prolem gignas et virginitatem non perdas. Janua coeli quondam per Adam clausa jam sonuit, per ipsam internuntius iste processit. Deus in porta est, angelum quem moraris exspectat. O beata Maria, saeculum omne captivum, tuum deprecatur assensum; te Domino mundus suae fidei obsidem fecit, per te parentum suorum injurias abstergi deprecatur. Ipse prior qui offensus est misit, claustrum quod iniquitas nostra coelo infixerat, reseravit. Est nobis aditus, si assensus tuus fuerit commodatus. Et nobis succurris, et tibi: quia et nobis poena successit et tibi. Nuptias Filio suo in tuo thalamo praeparavit Deus: in ipsis sponsalibus gaudiis relaxavit quidquid eum offenderat mundus. O et tu, angele tanti regis nuntie et secreti divini legate, qui ex palatio imperatoriae majestatis indulgentiam reis, vitam mortuis, et pacis sacramenta attulisti captivis, urge virginem non de Dei munere diffidentem, sed de muneris magnitudine cogitantem: fave partibus saeculi, conscius secretorum coeli. Laetabuntur socii tui, si negotium juveris mundi. Nos a vestro consortio impietatis nostrae mucro divisit: per vos de reditu nostro tractatur. Inspice squalentem nostri carceris miseriam, et loquere festinus ad Mariam: Usquequo moraris, o Virgo, nuntium festinantem? Intuere Deum in coeli me vestibulo sustinentem: responde verbum, et suscipe filium; da fidem, et senti virtutem: pande sinus roseos, Virgo perpetua; fides tua modo aut aperit coelum, aut claudit.

7. The salvation of the world hung upon the assent of Mary. The faith of Mary opens heaven. Answer now, holy Virgin: why do you hold back life from the world? The Angel awaits your assent; that is why this messenger lingers. You have now heard how this will be done; since the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, so that you may bring forth offspring and not lose your virginity. The door of heaven, once closed through Adam, has now sounded; through it this go-between has come forth. God is at the gate; He awaits the angel whom you are delaying. O blessed Mary, the whole captive world begs for your assent; the world has made you the hostage of its faith to the Lord; through you it begs that the wrongs of its parents be wiped away. He Who was offended has Himself sent first; the bolt which our iniquity had fixed upon heaven He has unbarred. There is access for us, if your assent is lent. You help both us and yourself: for the penalty fell both upon us and upon you. God has prepared a marriage for His Son in your bridal chamber: in the very joys of the betrothal He has remitted whatever the world had offended Him in. And you too, O angel, messenger of so great a King and envoy of the divine secret, who from the palace of the imperial majesty have brought pardon to the guilty, life to the dead, and the sacraments of peace to captives, urge the virgin, who does not mistrust the gift of God but ponders the greatness of the gift: favour the side of the world, you who are privy to the secrets of heaven. Your companions will rejoice, if you help the business of the world. The sword of our impiety has cut us off from your fellowship: through you our return is being negotiated. Look upon the squalid misery of our prison, and speak in haste to Mary: How long do you keep waiting, O Virgin, the hastening messenger? Behold God awaiting me in the porch of heaven: answer a word, and receive a son; give faith, and feel the power: open your rosy bosom, perpetual Virgin; your faith now either opens heaven or shuts it.

8. Christi desponsatio cum homine, cum Ecclesia. — Ecce, inquit, ancilla Domini: introeat rex in cubiculum suum, fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum (Id. I, 26-38, 46-52). Nec mora, revertitur nuntius, et nuptialem thorum ingreditur Christus. Accipit stolam

8. The espousal of Christ with man, with the Church. — Behold, she says, the handmaid of the Lord: let the King enter into His chamber, be it done to me according to your word (Luke 1:26–38, 46–52). Without delay the messenger returns, and Christ enters the nuptial bed. He receives the robe

Editors' notes and page, col. 1986

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: abstergi deprecatur› · call in col 1986

Ms. gr., per te parens suorum injurias deprecatur.

The gr. manuscript reads "through you the parent begs pardon for the wrongs of his own."

(printed under page 255)

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old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 39:1987

carnis intra thalamum Virginis, intra thesaurum majestatis sacculum carnis. Divinitati sponsatur homo, praemium accipit caro. Procedit Christus quasi sponsus de thalamo suo; praesagio nuptiarum exiit ad campum saeculi, cucurrit sicut gigas exsultando per viam: pervenit usque ad crucis thorum, et ibi firmavit, ascendendo, conjugium; ubi cum sentiret anhelantem in suspiriis creaturam, commercio pietatis se pro conjuge dedit ad poenam. Tradidit quoque carbunculum, tanquam sui sanguinis gemmam, et copulavit sibi perpetuo jure matronam. Aptavi vos, inquit Apostolus, uni viro virginem castam exhibere Christo (II Cor. XI, 2). Ecce nunc quae fuerat foeda, facta est pulchra; quae fuerat captiva, facta est libera: Judaea autem quae fuerat libera, facta est ancilla; quia vidit vitam suam in ligno pendentem, et non credidit liberantem. Gaudeamus ergo, fratres, in commercio Dei et hominis, sponsi et sponsae, Christi et Ecclesiae, Salvatoris et Virginis. Exsultemus in fide et ad partum Virginis, quae dum desponsaretur fabro, coeli nupsit Architecto. Veneremur Christum in praesepi, qui quadrifidum mundum replevit in fide. Adoremus pannos infantiae, quibus meruimus emplastra naturae. Honorate pastores, qui primi mysterium ab angelis didicerunt. Plaudamus cuncti cum coelestibus Angelis officiisque divinis, et coeli ac terrae pacem bonae voluntatis hominibus nuntiemus. Date gloriam in excelsis Deo: redempti credite datam pacem esse captivis. Estote homines bonae voluntatis, ut mereamini praemium libertatis, ipso donante qui vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

of flesh within the bridal chamber of the Virgin, within the treasury of majesty, the little purse of flesh. Man is betrothed to the Godhead, the flesh receives a reward. Christ goes forth as a bridegroom from His bridal chamber; with a presage of the nuptials He went out into the field of the world, He ran like a giant exulting along the way: He came even to the marriage-bed of the cross, and there, by ascending, He made the wedlock fast; where, when He perceived the creature panting in sighs, by an exchange of mercy He gave Himself up to punishment in place of His spouse. He also handed over the carbuncle, as the gem of His own blood, and joined the matron to Himself by perpetual right. I have fitted you, says the Apostle, to present a chaste virgin to one husband, Christ (2 Cor. 11:2). Behold, now she who had been foul has been made beautiful; she who had been captive has been made free: but Judaea, who had been free, has been made a handmaid; because she saw her life hanging on the wood, and did not believe in Him as her liberator. Let us rejoice therefore, brethren, in the exchange between God and man, between Bridegroom and bride, between Christ and the Church, between the Saviour and the Virgin. Let us exult in faith also at the childbearing of the Virgin, who, while she was betrothed to a craftsman, was wedded to the Architect of heaven. Let us venerate Christ in the manger, Who filled the fourfold world with faith. Let us adore the swaddling-cloths of infancy, through which we have merited the plasters of nature. Honour the shepherds, who were the first to learn the mystery from the angels. Let us all applaud together with the heavenly Angels and the divine ministries, and let us announce the peace of heaven and earth to men of good will. Give glory to God in the highest: you who are redeemed, believe that peace has been given to captives. Be men of good will, that you may merit the reward of liberty, by the gift of Him Who lives and reigns unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Editors' notes and page, col. 1987

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: in suspiriis creaturam› · call in col 1987

In editis, ubi consentiret alienantem in suppliciis creaturam.

In the printed editions, "where it would agree [to] the creature estranging [itself] in punishments."

(printed under page 256)