PL 39 · cols. 2015–2017

Appendix to Augustine's Sermones: Sermones supposititii, Sermones 121-137

Sermon CXXXVII

PL 39:2015

et Filio et Spiritu sancto ita confitenda est una divinitas, ut nec singularis putetur in Trinitate persona, nec triplex in unitate substantia: sed ita assignetur pluralitas unitati, ne Trinitati subtrahatur aequalitas. Et licet intromittatur in una deitate numerositas, non sit tamen recipienda diversitas. Ita ergo fidelium cordibus disponendus est Dei cultus, ut non admittatur vel in unitate separatio, vel in Trinitate permixtio.

and the Son and the Holy Spirit one divinity must be so confessed that neither is a single person thought to be in the Trinity, nor a threefold substance in the unity; but plurality is so assigned to unity that equality is not taken away from the Trinity. And although number is admitted into the one deity, yet diversity is not to be accepted. So then the worship of God is to be ordered in the hearts of the faithful in such a way that neither separation is admitted in the unity, nor commingling in the Trinity.

5. In Christi baptismo baptizamur, aquae purgantur, effectus Baptismi declaratur. Proxima enim ab hac die, fratres charissimi, sacri Natalis die natus est Dominus, nunc baptizatus. Tunc nos genuit ad vitam; nunc regeneravit ad salutem: tunc Adam suscepit perditum; nunc abluit peccatorem. Venit ergo ad baptismum, sicut scriptum est. Sed quid ablueret qui mundus erat? Utique ut mundus ablueret immundos. Illum ergo currentes aquae tunc infundebant; sed peccata nostra secum portabant. De illo guttae baptismatis fluebant; sed nostra in guttis crimina defluebant. O misericordia simul et potentia Dei! Necdum eramus in mundo, et jam abluebamur in baptismo; mundati in illo sumus antequam nati. Nam ipsa fuit baptismatis ratio, ut aquae quae purgaturae nos erant, ab illo ante purgarentur. Et cum ascendisset, inquit Scriptura, de aqua, vidit apertos coelos (Matth. III, 16). Numquid tunc ei coelum apertum fuerat, cujus oculi coelorum interiora cernebant? Sed ideo coelum aperitur, ut mysterium Baptismatis in hoc declaretur: quia quando homo de Baptismo egreditur, tunc ei janua regni coelestis aperitur.

5. In Christ's baptism we are baptized, the waters are cleansed, the effect of Baptism is declared. For on the day nearest to this one, dearest brethren, the day of the sacred Nativity, the Lord was born; now He has been baptized. Then He begot us to life; now He has regenerated us to salvation: then He took up Adam, who was lost; now He has washed the sinner. He came, therefore, to baptism, as it is written. But what was there for Him to wash, Who was clean? Surely this: that He, being clean, might wash the unclean. The running waters, then, were pouring over Him at that time; but they were carrying our sins away with them. From Him the drops of baptism flowed; but in the drops our crimes flowed away. O mercy and power of God together! We were not yet in the world, and already we were being washed in baptism; we were cleansed in Him before we were born. For this was the very reason of the baptism, that the waters which were to cleanse us should first be cleansed by Him. And when He had come up, says the Scripture, from the water, He saw the heavens opened (Matt. 3:16). Had heaven then been opened to Him, Whose eyes discerned the inner things of the heavens? But heaven is opened for this reason, that the mystery of Baptism may be declared in it: because when a man comes out of Baptism, then the gate of the heavenly kingdom is opened to him.

6. Unde Magorum tanta devotio. Mystica eorum munera. Placita Deo dona. Illud vero quale est quod Magi veniunt ad Deum natum, imo ducuntur: positum in praesepio vident; nec apud sensus eorum humilitas nativitatis reverentiam divinitatis imminuit: adorant corporibus, honorant muneribus, venerantur officiis? Oculis hominem vident; et Deum obsequiis confitentur. Videbant enim in eo qui natus fuerat, plus esse quod animi hominum, quam quod oculi providerent. Dominus qui tunc corporaliter natus fuerat, per ipsum omnia nata erant. Videbatur quidem in praesepio, sed dominabatur in coelo; intra corpusculum erat, sed intra se omnia continebat. Natus quidem ex matre fuerat, sed matrem suam ipse creaverat. Et ideo se ei Magi humiliabant, quia famulari astra cernebant: Deum enim esse cognoscebant, cui coelestia serviebant. Et idcirco etiam ipsa eorum munera divino mysterio plena erant. Aurum namque, ut audistis, et thus, et myrrham obtulerunt (Id. II, 11). Triplicium ergo munerum numero triplex significatio continetur. In thure signant Dei honorem; in auro, regiam dignitatem; in myrrha, corporis sepulturam. Offeramus ergo et nos, dilectissimi fratres, sincera et sancta munera Deo nostro, castitatem, fidem, patientiam, charitatem, mentes humiles, probos mores, animas Deo inhabitatore condignas. Haec sunt enim placita Deo dona, haec grata munera, quae illi quidem offeruntur, sed offerentibus prosunt. Nulla enim re ille, nullo munere eget: sed hoc illi munus optimum est, ut causas habeat munerandi. Nihil a nobis amplius exigit, nihil amplius petit nisi salutem nostram. Omnia enim sibi praestari a nobis putat, si ita nos egerimus, ut nobis ab illo cuncta praestentur; auxiliante ipso Domino nostro Jesu Christo, cui est honor cum Patre et Spiritu sancto in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

6. Whence the great devotion of the Magi. Their mystical gifts. Gifts pleasing to God. But what is this, that the Magi come to God newly born, or rather are led: they see Him laid in a manger; and in their perception the lowliness of the birth does not lessen reverence for the divinity: they adore with their bodies, honour with gifts, venerate with services? With their eyes they see a man; and with their homage they confess God. For they saw that in Him Who had been born there was more for the minds of men than the eyes could perceive. The Lord Who had then been born in the body was He through Whom all things had been born. He was seen indeed in a manger, but He was ruling in heaven; He was within a little body, but He contained all things within Himself. He had indeed been born of a mother, but He Himself had created His mother. And therefore the Magi humbled themselves before Him, because they perceived that the stars served Him: for they recognized that He was God, Whom heavenly things served. And for that reason their very gifts were also full of divine mystery. For they offered, as you have heard, gold and frankincense and myrrh (Ibid. 2:11). In the number of the three gifts, therefore, a threefold signification is contained. In the frankincense they signify the honour of God; in the gold, royal dignity; in the myrrh, the burial of the body. Let us also, then, dearest brethren, offer to our God sincere and holy gifts: chastity, faith, patience, charity, humble minds, upright conduct, souls worthy of God as their indweller. For these are the gifts pleasing to God, these the welcome offerings, which are indeed offered to Him, but profit those who offer them. For He needs nothing, no gift: but this is the best gift for Him, that He should have reasons for rewarding. He requires nothing more of us, He asks nothing more than our salvation. For He considers that everything is rendered to Him by us, if we so act that all things are rendered to us by Him; with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, to Whom is honour with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ages of ages. Amen.

SERMO CXXXVII. In Epiphania Domini, VII.

Sermon 137. On the Epiphany of the Lord, 7.

1. Christus primum innotuit in baptismo suo. Dies Epiphaniorum graeco nomine sic vocatur. Quod enim

1. Christ first became known in His baptism. The day of the Epiphanies is so called by a Greek name. For what

Editors' notes and page, col. 2015

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible in the image (call higher in the column)› · call in col 2015

Hic, sublata particula, enim, incipit alter sermo in Ms. Navarrico.

Here, with the particle for removed, the second sermon begins in the Navarre manuscript.

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(a) ‹anchor: SERMO CXXXVII› · call in col 2015

Alias, inter Vignerianos 3, in prima parte Supplementi.

Elsewhere, among the Vignier sermons, 3, in the first part of the Supplement.

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(b) ‹anchor: In Epiphania Domini, vii› · call in col 2015

In Appendice nunc primum collocatur. Augustini nomen gerit in manuscriptis pluribus. In Corbeiensi codice ante 800 annos scripto reperitur sine nomine post epistolam Hieronymi. Remigianus autem Ms. tribuit Ambrosio, inter cujus Sermones etiam editus est, paucis mutatis. Apud Ambrosium incipit in hunc modum: « Hanc baptismi Jesu « Christi, » etc., estque ordine 18.

It is now placed in the Appendix for the first time. It bears Augustine's name in several manuscripts. In the Corbie codex, written over 800 years ago, it is found without a name after a letter of Jerome. The Saint-Remi manuscript, however, attributes it to Ambrose, among whose Sermons it has also been published, with a few changes. Among Ambrose's it begins thus: "This [day] of the baptism of Jesus Christ," etc., and is 18th in order.

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nos apparitionem, vel ostensionem dicimus, id Graeci epiphaniam vocant. Hoc autem ideo dicimus, quia hodie Dominus noster et Salvator apparuit secundum carnem in terris. Licet enim olim natus esset ex Maria, et triginta jam annorum explesset aetatem; tamen ignorabatur a mundo. Eo tempore cognitus est, quo ad Joannem Baptistam, ut in Jordane baptizaretur, advenit: et vox de coelo Patris intonantis audita est, Hic est Filius meus dilectus, in quo mihi bene complacui (Matth. III, 17). Quem Pater de coelis voce monstraverat, hunc Spiritus sanctus verus, quasi in columba, et super caput illius sedens, tactu voluit demonstrare: ne quis alius Filius Dei putaretur ex populo. Quid hac humilitate sublimius, vilitate nobilius? Baptizatur a servo; et a Deo Filius appellatur. Inter publicanos, et meretrices, et peccatores ad lavacrum venit; et sanctior est baptizatore suo. Baptizatur a Joanne in carne; sed ipse Joannem in spiritu lavat. Aquae quae caetera mundare consueverant, Domino nostro lavante, mundatae sunt. Jordanis fluvius, qui eo tempore, quando populum Israel duxit Jesus Nave, et ad terram repromissionis induxit, fuerat exsiccatus: nunc totis, si potuisset, undis in unum locum voluit congregari, ut Domini corpus attingeret. Jordanis, inquit, reversus est retrorsum (Psal. CXIII, 3).

we call the appearance, or the showing, the Greeks call the epiphany. And we say this for this reason, that today our Lord and Saviour appeared according to the flesh on earth. For although He had long before been born of Mary, and had already completed the age of thirty years, yet He was unknown to the world. He was made known at that time when He came to John the Baptist to be baptized in the Jordan: and the voice of the Father thundering from heaven was heard, This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased (Matt. 3:17). Him Whom the Father had pointed out from the heavens by His voice, the true Holy Spirit, as in a dove, and sitting upon His head, willed to show by touch: lest any other from among the people should be thought the Son of God. What is more sublime than this humility, more noble than this lowliness? He is baptized by a servant; and is called Son by God. Among publicans, and harlots, and sinners He comes to the washing; and He is holier than His baptizer. He is baptized by John in the flesh; but He Himself washes John in the spirit. The waters, which had been accustomed to cleanse other things, were cleansed as our Lord washed. The river Jordan, which at the time when Jesus Nave led the people of Israel and brought them into the land of promise had been dried up: now wished, had it been able, to be gathered with all its waves into one place, that it might touch the Lord's body. The Jordan, it says, was turned back (Ps. 113:3).

2. Psalmi vigesimi octavi brevis expositio. Ecclesiae antea desertae fecunditas. Videte, fratres, quomodo id quod in Evangelio lectum est, in vigesimo et octavo Psalmo fuerat ante praedictum: Vox Domini super aquas. Locutus est enim Dei Filius ad Joannem, Sine modo; sic enim oportet nos adimplere omnem justitiam. Sequitur, Dominus majestatis intonuit; quando Pater Filio testimonium reddidit, dicens: Hic est Filius meus dilectus in quo mihi complacui (Matth. III, 15, 17). Vox Domini confringentis cedros. Baptizatus est enim Christus; et erecti prius atque sublimes daemones corruerunt. Succidit eos Dominus quasi cedros Libani, et comminuit eos tanquam vitulos; fragmenta arborum ventilans, et calcibus stirpes in diversa dispergens. E contrario de Salvatore quid dicitur? Et dilectus sicut filius unicornium. Dilectus Dominus atque Salvator est Filius Dei: unicornium, filius crucis, de quo dicitur in cantico Habacuc. Cornua in manibus ejus: ibi abscondit fortitudinem suam (Habac. III, 4). Postquam autem dilectus iste crucifixus est, impletum est illud quod sequitur in Psalmo, Vox Domini intercidentis flammam ignis. Illo enim baptizato, et universo mundo, Christo lavante, mundato, gehennae ignis exstinctus est. Vox Domini concutientis desertum. Deserta fuit Ecclesia, quae prius filios non habebat. Ad praedicationem Christi deserta ista commota est; et parturivit, et peperit, et nata est in una die gens tota. Simul illa, quae antea dicebatur desertum Cades, hoc est desertum sanctitatis, siquidem non habuerat sanctitatem, coepit parere cervos et sanctorum suorum emittere greges, qui serpentes interficiunt, qui venena contemnunt: quibus discurrentibus, et in toto orbe Christi Evangelium praedicantibus, In templo ejus omnes dicent gloriam Deo. Sequitur, Dominus diluvium inhabitare facit. Consideremus totum orbem, respiciamus barbaras nationes, Romanum quoque mente lustremus imperium: ubique Christo credunt, ubique in nostrum Dominum baptizantur; et ita fit ut non una aqua, sed quodam modo sit diluvium baptismorum. Quapropter, fratres charissimi, quoniam consummatum est Tabernaculum (hoc enim Psalmi istius titulo praenotatur); et quoniam Ecclesia vivis lapidibus constructa est: afferamus Domino filios Dei, afferamus ei filios arietum, Apostolorum atque sanctorum; et imitemur Salvatorem nostrum, qui et ipse

2. A brief exposition of the twenty-eighth Psalm. The fruitfulness of the Church once desolate. See, brethren, how that which was read in the Gospel had been foretold in the twenty-eighth Psalm: The voice of the Lord upon the waters. For the Son of God spoke to John, Let it be so now; for thus it befits us to fulfil all justice. There follows, The Lord of majesty has thundered; when the Father bore witness to the Son, saying: This is My beloved Son in Whom I am pleased (Matt. 3:15, 17). The voice of the Lord breaking the cedars. For Christ was baptized; and the demons, formerly raised up and lofty, fell down. The Lord cut them down like the cedars of Lebanon, and broke them in pieces like calves; scattering the fragments of the trees, and with His heels dispersing the stocks in different directions. On the contrary, what is said of the Saviour? And the beloved like the son of unicorns. The beloved Lord and Saviour is the Son of God: of the unicorns, the son of the cross, of Whom it is said in the canticle of Habakkuk. Horns are in His hands: there He has hidden His strength (Hab. 3:4). And after this beloved one was crucified, that was fulfilled which follows in the Psalm, The voice of the Lord dividing the flame of fire. For when He was baptized, and the whole world was cleansed as Christ washed, the fire of gehenna was extinguished. The voice of the Lord shaking the desert. The Church was a desert, which formerly had no sons. At the preaching of Christ this desert was moved; and it was in labour, and brought forth, and a whole nation was born in one day. At the same time she who was formerly called the desert of Kadesh, that is, the desert of holiness, inasmuch as she had not had holiness, began to bear harts and to send forth flocks of her saints, who kill serpents, who despise poisons: and as they run to and fro, and preach the Gospel of Christ in the whole world, In His temple all shall speak glory to God. There follows, The Lord makes the flood to dwell. Let us consider the whole world, let us look upon the barbarian nations, let us survey in mind the Roman Empire too: everywhere they believe in Christ, everywhere they are baptized into our Lord; and so it comes about that it is not one water, but in a certain manner a flood of baptisms. Wherefore, dearest brethren, since the Tabernacle has been completed (for this is noted beforehand in the title of this Psalm); and since the Church has been built of living stones: let us bring to the Lord the sons of God, let us bring to Him the sons of rams, of the Apostles and saints; and let us imitate our Saviour, Who Himself also

Editors' notes and page, col. 2016

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: Filius Dei: unicornium› · call in col 2016

Apud Ambrosium, estque filius unicornium.

In Ambrose: and He is the son of the unicorns.

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p⟨a⟩stor et agnus appellatur, qui pro nobis immolatur in Aegypto, qui pro Is⟨a⟩ac tenetur in sentibus; et dicamus, Dominus pascit me, et nihil mihi deerit: in loco pascuae ibi me collocavit; super aquam refectionis educavit me (Psal. XXII, 1, 2); cui est gloria in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

is called shepherd and lamb, Who is sacrificed for us in Egypt, Who is held in the thorns in place of Isaac; and let us say, The Lord feeds me, and nothing shall be lacking to me: in a place of pasture there He has set me; beside the water of refreshment He has brought me up (Ps. 22:1–2); to Whom is glory for ages of ages. Amen.

Editors' notes and page, col. 2017