PL 39 · cols. 2017–2021

Appendix to Augustine's Sermones: Sermones supposititii, Sermones 138-154

Sermons CXXXVIII–CXLI

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SERMO CXXXVIII. In E⟨p⟩iphania Domini, VIII.

Sermon 138. On the Epiphany of the Lord, 8.

1. Homines Angelis compares. Aperiatur hodie omne os, dilectissimi, et collaudet omne verbum, Dei Verbum quod effulsit de coelo. Laetetur omnis anima, omnis concin⟨a⟩t lingua, et terra Domini psallat universa. Hodie enim gratiam lucis, in die lucis, filius lucis irradiat. Consentiant terrena coelestibus, hymnum dicant cum summis Potestatibus cuncta quae videntur in mundo. Hodie enim effulsit veritas cum rege coelesti. Christi enim praesentia verae lucis adventus est, et totius mundi plena libertas. Adverte ergo, charissime, dignam Deo Ecclesiae disciplinam, adverte coelestis desiderii inexstinguibilem flammam, adverte corporis hanc naturam Angelorum ministeriis coaequari. Homines enim de terra, et habitantes in terra, quos etiam terra nutrit, supernis Potestatibus aemulantur. Negant enim propter charitatem Christi naturam corporis, et ministerium suscipiunt Angelorum. Quid enim aliud agunt Angeli in coelis, nisi quod divinis obtemperant nutibus? Quae sunt et opera in terra sanctorum, nisi angelicam vitam agere in terris, et dignis Deum laudibus praedicare? Quorum ergo idem est officium, ambiguum non est quod eadem possit esse et dignitas.

1. Men equal to the Angels. Let every mouth be opened today, dearly beloved, and let every word join in praising the Word of God which has shone forth from heaven. Let every soul rejoice, let every tongue sing in harmony, and let the whole earth of the Lord sing psalms. For today, on the day of light, the son of light sheds forth the grace of light. Let earthly things agree with heavenly ones; let all things that are seen in the world say a hymn together with the highest Powers. For today truth has shone forth with the heavenly king. For the presence of Christ is the coming of the true light and the full liberty of the whole world. Consider therefore, most dear one, the discipline of the Church, worthy of God; consider the inextinguishable flame of heavenly desire; consider that this nature of the body is made equal to the ministries of the Angels. For men from the earth, and dwelling on the earth, whom the earth also nourishes, emulate the Powers on high. For on account of the love of Christ they deny the nature of the body, and take up the ministry of the Angels. For what else do the Angels do in heaven, but obey the divine commands? And what are the works of the saints on earth, but to lead the angelic life on earth, and to proclaim God with worthy praises? Of those, therefore, whose office is the same, it is not doubtful that the dignity too can be the same.

2. Joannes, lucerna. Hodie ergo, charissimi, Dominus noster Jesus Christus in Jordanis fluenta descendit: non ut ipse sanctificaretur, sed ut aquis futuris vitalibus sanctificationem ipse praeberet. Joannes ergo implebat habitum sacerdotis. Ad eum Redemptor orbis accessit, ut baptizaretur in aqua, qui baptizantem illuminabat in Spiritu. Venit ergo rex ad praecursorem suum, Deus ad prophetam. Joannes ergo, charissimi, non ignorabat dispensationis mysterium, per quod Dominus humano generi remedium praepararet: sed nec eum fefellit corporis habitus, nec caro quae videbatur elusit. Et ideo lucerna Christo meo dictus est per prophetam: quia Filium Dei, qui carnis obscuritate latebat, lumine sui cordis agnovit primus, et ignorantibus digito demonstravit. Hic est ergo lucerna illa mirabilis, de qua illud est, Paravi lucernam Christo meo (Psal. CXXXI, 17). Hunc ergo Pater Filio praeparavit, non quod Verbum Dei, quod erat lumen verum et Sol justitiae, lucernae lumine indigeret; sed quia, ut superius diximus, primus agnovit humani generis Redemptorem.

2. John, the lamp. Today therefore, most dear ones, our Lord Jesus Christ went down into the streams of the Jordan: not that He Himself might be sanctified, but that He Himself might bestow sanctification on the waters that were to become life-giving. John therefore was fulfilling the role of priest. To him came the Redeemer of the world, to be baptized in water, He Who was enlightening the baptizer in the Spirit. So the king came to His forerunner, God to the prophet. John therefore, most dear ones, was not ignorant of the mystery of the dispensation by which the Lord was preparing a remedy for the human race: but neither did the bodily appearance deceive him, nor did the flesh which was seen elude him. And therefore he was called through the prophet a lamp for my Christ: because he first recognized, by the light of his heart, the Son of God, Who lay hidden in the obscurity of the flesh, and pointed Him out with his finger to those who did not know Him. This, then, is that wonderful lamp of which it is said, I have prepared a lamp for my Christ (Ps. 131:17). Him, then, the Father prepared for the Son, not because the Word of God, Which was the true light and the Sun of justice, needed the light of a lamp; but because, as we said above, he was the first to recognize the Redeemer of the human race.

3. Joanne Dominum baptizante, colligitur mysterium Trinitatis. Adverte autem, dilectissime, miraculum Dominicae majestatis. Quando ad carnem venire disposuit Dominus qui ad nos venit; pro amore hominis etiam homo fieri dignatus est: et erat novum miraculum, Deus inter homines, Dominus inter servos, Creator inter creaturas, inter sanctificandos sanctificans. Tunc Joannes Dominum Jesum et omnium Redemptorem, homo qui redemptus fuerat, baptizavit, non fiducia provocatus, sed praeceptione subjectus. Tunc geminae voces propheticae sonuerunt: Vox Domini in deserto, vox Domini super aquas (Psal. XXVIII, 3 et 8). Nuntius veritatis clamabat; et Deus gloriae intonabat: et erat ibi in unum totius gloria Trinitatis adorandae. Pater de supernis Filium praedicabat: Filius in terris ordinem sacratissimae dispositionis implebat: et Spiritus sanctus Trinitatis indissolubile mysterium colligabat. Haec est ergo, charissimi, Trinitas unitatis, quae est unitas Trinitatis: quae nos per innumeras solemnitates tueatur,

3. When John baptizes the Lord, the mystery of the Trinity is gathered. But consider, dearly beloved one, the miracle of the Lord's majesty. When the Lord Who came to us resolved to come into the flesh, for love of man He deigned even to become man: and it was a new miracle, God among men, the Lord among servants, the Creator among creatures, the Sanctifier among those to be sanctified. Then John, a man who had been redeemed, baptized the Lord Jesus, the Redeemer of all, not provoked by confidence but submitting to a command. Then twin prophetic voices sounded: The voice of the Lord in the desert, the voice of the Lord upon the waters (Ps. 28:3 and 8). The messenger of truth was crying out; and the God of glory was thundering: and there was there, together in one, the glory of the whole Trinity to be adored. The Father from on high was proclaiming the Son: the Son on earth was fulfilling the order of the most sacred dispensation: and the Holy Spirit was binding together the indissoluble mystery of the Trinity. This, then, most dear ones, is the Trinity of unity, which is the unity of the Trinity: which may protect us through countless solemnities,

Editors' notes and page, col. 2017

Footnotes

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Alias, de Diversis 63.

Elsewhere, [Sermon] 63 on Various Subjects.

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In Appendice nunc primum collocatur. Augustino abjudicatur Verlini et Vindingi sententia, cui nos haud inviti subscribimus.

Now placed in the Appendix for the first time. It is denied to Augustine by the judgement of Verlinus and Vindingus, to which we subscribe not unwillingly.

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atque hic et in aeternum custodiat per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum.

and guard [us] both here and for ever, through our Lord Jesus Christ.

SERMO CXXXIX. In Epiphania Domini, IX.

Sermon 139. On the Epiphany of the Lord, 9.

1. De voce, Epiphania. Dies ista et festivitas, quam hodie, fratres, celebratis, ideo Epiphania, id est, apparitio sive manifestatio appellatur, quia in ea Christus, stella duce, Gentibus est manifestatus (Matth. II), et a Joanne hodie dicitur baptizatus (Id. III, 16), et aquam in vinum potestate divina eum convertisse narratur (Joan. II). Utinam sicut per stellam novam hodie Christus Redemptor noster ostensus est Gentibus; ita per coeleste desiderium vestris ipse semper manifestum se faciat cordibus: et qui a servo suo hodie baptizari voluit, donet vobis, ut quod in Baptismo promisistis, per humilitatis virtutem servare possitis; et qui aquas hodie convertit in vinum, quidquid in vobis insipidum est, in spiritualem commutet intellectum.

1. On the word "Epiphany". This day and festival, brethren, which you are celebrating today, is called Epiphany, that is, appearing or manifestation, for this reason: because on it Christ, with a star as guide, was manifested to the Gentiles (Matt. 2), and on this day He is said to have been baptized by John (Matt. 3:16), and He is related to have turned water into wine by divine power (John 2). Would that, just as Christ our Redeemer was shown today to the Gentiles through a new star, so He Himself may through heavenly desire always make Himself manifest to your hearts; and may He Who willed to be baptized today by His servant grant you to be able to keep, through the virtue of humility, what you promised in Baptism; and may He Who today turned waters into wine change whatever is insipid in you into spiritual understanding.

2. Magos qualiter imitemur. Erigite, fratres, ad Deum animas vestras, et videte corda et cogitationes vestras, ut et pro bonis actibus vestris Deo gratias agatis, et mala vestra longe a vobis projiciatis. Imitemini istos Magos, ut eo studio et ardore semper ad ecclesiam veniatis, quo illi desiderio de longinquis regionibus Christum adorare venerunt. Illi pretiosa munera obtulerunt, et vos offerte illi animas vestras; si fidem, spem, charitatem, poenitentiam, humilitatem, et castitatem diligitis: rationabilia dona illi offeratis, id est, vos ipsos; quia plus Deus vos ipsos, quam substantiam vestram diligit. Multi enim sunt qui faciunt eleemosynas, et tamen peccare non cessant. Isti quasi sua offerunt Deo, et se ipsos diabolo. Nullam habet Deus cum diabolo partem (II Cor. VI, 15): et ideo sive furtum, sive luxuriam, sive odium, sive superbiam, et quidquid mali est, a vobis cum Dei adjutorio repellite; ut totos vos vester Creator possideat. Attendite quia Herodes Christum quaesivit; sed ideo non invenit, quia male quaesivit: et vos male Christum quaeritis, si bona opera pro humana laude facitis. Cavete ne taliter quaerendo, et illum non inveniatis, et vos ipsos perdatis. Magi ad Herodem intrantes, stellam perdiderunt; et vos si ad diabolum accesseritis peccando, lucem spiritualem non habebitis, nisi forte per confessionem et poenitentiam denuo ab illo recesseritis. Moneo ne intretis ad Herodem; quia melius est peccatum cavere, quam emendare. Nam si diabolo suadente, peccaveritis, per poenitentiam autem, Deo adjuvante, ab illo recesseritis, gratiam perditam recipietis: sicut et Magi postquam ab Herode recesserunt, stellam quam perdiderant, videre meruerunt.

2. How we should imitate the Magi. Lift up your souls to God, brethren, and look at your hearts and thoughts, so that you may both give thanks to God for your good deeds and cast your evil ones far from you. Imitate those Magi, so that you may always come to church with the same zeal and ardour with which they came from distant regions with desire to adore Christ. They offered precious gifts; you too, offer Him your souls. If you love faith, hope, charity, penitence, humility and chastity, you are to offer Him rational gifts, that is, yourselves; for God loves you yourselves more than your possessions. For there are many who give alms and yet do not cease to sin. These offer, as it were, their own things to God, and themselves to the devil. God has no part with the devil (2 Cor. 6:15); and therefore, whether theft, or lust, or hatred, or pride, and whatever is evil, drive it away from you with the help of God, so that your Creator may possess you wholly. Note that Herod sought Christ, but did not find Him for this reason, that he sought Him wrongly; and you too seek Christ wrongly if you do good works for the sake of human praise. Beware lest, by seeking in such a way, you both fail to find Him and lose yourselves. The Magi, on going in to Herod, lost the star; and you too, if you approach the devil by sinning, will not have the spiritual light, unless perhaps through confession and penitence you withdraw from him again. I warn you not to go in to Herod; for it is better to avoid sin than to amend it. For if you sin at the devil's persuasion, but through penitence, with God's help, withdraw from him, you will recover the grace you lost; just as the Magi too, after they withdrew from Herod, were found worthy to see the star which they had lost.

Magorum munera. Illi Magi tres reges esse dicuntur, et tria munera, hoc est, aurum, thus, et myrrham obtulerunt: quoniam verum Deum, et regem, et verum hominem in carne mortali apparuisse cognoverunt. Et vos, fratres, offerte illi aurum coelestis sapientiae, et thus mundae orationis, et myrrham perfectae mortificationis. Et sicut illi per aliam viam reversi sunt in regionem suam (Matth. II, 12); ita et vos, qui a paradiso recessistis superbiendo, inobediendo, et cibum prohibitum comedendo, curate illuc per humilitatem et obedientiam, atque abstinentiam redire. Vita ista praesens peregrinatio est, patria vero vestra paradisus est. Et quia nimis stulti sunt qui exsilium pro patria diligunt, vos despicite hanc miseram et incertam vitam, ut pervenire valeatis ad patriae coelestis felicitatem certissimam. Ad hoc namque Filius Dei de coelo venit ad terras, ut vos ejus exempla sequendo, possetis de terra in coelum ascendere. Quod ipse vobis concedat, cujus regnum et imper⟨i⟩um sine fine permanet in saecula saeculorum.

The gifts of the Magi. Those Magi are said to have been three kings, and they offered three gifts, that is, gold, frankincense and myrrh, because they recognized that true God, and king, and true man had appeared in mortal flesh. You too, brethren, offer Him the gold of heavenly wisdom, and the frankincense of pure prayer, and the myrrh of perfect mortification. And just as they returned to their own region by another way (Matt. 2:12), so you too, who withdrew from paradise by being proud, by disobeying, and by eating the forbidden food, take care to return there through humility and obedience, and abstinence. This present life is a pilgrimage, but your homeland is paradise. And since those who love exile in place of their homeland are exceedingly foolish, do you despise this wretched and uncertain life, so that you may be able to attain the most certain happiness of the heavenly homeland. For to this end the Son of God came from heaven to earth, that you, by following His example, might be able to ascend from earth into heaven. May He Himself grant you this, Whose kingdom and dominion abide without end for ages of ages.

Editors' notes and page, col. 2018

Footnotes

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Exstat inter Ambrosianos ordine duodecimus: sed Caesarianis omnino est annumerandus. Caesar., hom. 16, et ex editis a Baluz. 9.

It stands twelfth in order among the Ambrosian [sermons], but it is certainly to be counted among Caesarius's. Caesarius, Homily 16, and no. 9 of those edited by Baluze.

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SERMO CXL. In Quadragesima, I.

Sermon 140. On Lent, 1.

1. Quadragesima corpori et animae salubris. Quibusnam noxia. Ecce, fratres charissimi, Deo propitio, tempus Quadragesimae venit: et ideo rogo, dilectissimi, ut dies istos corporibus salubres et animae medicinales ita cum Dei adjutorio sancte ac spiritualiter celebremus; ut observatio sanctae Quadragesimae non nobis judicium pariat, sed profectum. Si enim negligenter agimus, si nos nimiis occupationibus implicamus, si castitatem servare nolumus, si jejuniis et vigiliis et orationibus non insistimus, si Scripturas divinas aut ipsi non legimus, aut legentes alios non libenter audimus, ipsa nobis medicamenta convertuntur in vulnera; et inde habebimus judicium, unde potuimus habere remedium.

1. Lent is wholesome for body and soul. To whom it is harmful. Behold, dearest brothers, by God's favour the season of Lent has come; and therefore I ask, most beloved, that with the help of God we celebrate these days, wholesome for bodies and healing for the soul, so holily and spiritually that the observance of holy Lent may bring us not judgement but progress. For if we act negligently, if we entangle ourselves in excessive occupations, if we are unwilling to keep chastity, if we do not persevere in fasts and vigils and prayers, if we either do not read the divine Scriptures ourselves or do not willingly listen to others reading them, the very medicines are turned for us into wounds; and we shall have judgement from the very thing from which we could have had a remedy.

2. Pia Quadragesimae exercitia. Et ideo rogo vos, fratres charissimi, ad Vigilias maturius surgite, ad Tertiam, ad Sextam, ad Nonam ante omnia convenite. Nullus se a sancto opere subtrahat, nisi quem infirmitas, aut publica utilitas, aut forte certa et grandis necessitas tenuerit occupatum. Nec solum vobis sufficiat quod in Ecclesia divinas lectiones auditis: sed etiam in domibus vestris aut ipsi legite, aut alios legentes requirite, et libenter audite. Recolite, fratres, sententiam Domini nostri qua dicit, Si totum mundum lucretur homo, animae autem suae detrimentum patiatur; qaam dabit commutationem pro anima sua (Matth. XVI, 26)? Et illud ante omnia memoriter retinete, et jugiter expavescite quod scriptum est, Impedimenta mundi fecerunt eos miseros. Sic ergo te occupabis in domo tua, ut non negligas animam tuam. Ad extremum si non amplius, vel tantum labora pro anima tua, quantum pro carne tua laborare te consideras.

2. The devout exercises of Lent. And therefore I ask you, dearest brothers: rise rather early for the Vigils; above all, assemble for Terce, for Sext, for None. Let no one withdraw himself from the holy work, unless infirmity, or the public service, or perhaps some definite and great necessity has kept him occupied. Nor let it be enough for you that you hear the divine readings in church; but in your homes too, either read yourselves, or seek out others who read, and listen willingly. Call to mind, brothers, the saying of our Lord in which He says, If a man gains the whole world, but suffers the loss of his own soul, what exchange will he give for his soul? (Matt. 16:26). And above all keep in memory, and continually dread, what is written: The hindrances of the world have made them wretched. So then occupy yourself in your house in such a way that you do not neglect your soul. At the very least, if not more, labour for your soul at any rate as much as you observe yourself labouring for your flesh.

3. Opera bona sequitur dulcedo, mala amaritudo. Et ideo, fratres charissimi, nolite diligere mundum, neque ea quae in eo sunt; quia mundas transit et concupiscentia ejus (I Joan. II, 15, 17). Quid autem permanet in homine, nisi quod quisque aut legendo, aut orando, aut bona opera faciendo pro animae salute in thesauro conscientiae suae recondiderit? Infelix enim voluptas, infelicior cupiditas atque luxuria, per transitoriam dulcedinem praeparant sempiternam amaritudinem: abstinentia vero, vigiliae, orationes atque jejunium per brevissimas angustias perducunt ad paradisi delicias; quia non mentitur Veritas, quae in Evangelio dicit, Arcta et angusta via est quae ducit ad vitam; et pauci sunt qui inveniunt eam (Matth. VII, 13, 14). Nec per latam viam diu gaudetur, nec per angustam et asperam longo tempore laboratur: quia et isti post brevem tristitiam accipiunt vitam aeternam, et illi post parvum gaudium patiuntur sine fine supplicium.

3. Sweetness follows good works, bitterness evil ones. And therefore, dearest brothers, do not love the world, nor the things that are in it; for the world passes away, and its lust (1 John 2:15, 17). But what abides in a man, except what each has laid up in the treasury of his conscience for the salvation of his soul, by reading, or by praying, or by doing good works? For unhappy pleasure, and unhappier greed and lust, through a passing sweetness prepare an everlasting bitterness; but abstinence, vigils, prayers and fasting lead through very brief straits to the delights of paradise; for the Truth does not lie, Who says in the Gospel, Narrow and strait is the way that leads to life, and few there are who find it (Matt. 7:13–14). Neither is there rejoicing for long along the broad way, nor labouring for a long time along the narrow and rough one; for these, after brief sorrow, receive eternal life, and those, after small joy, suffer punishment without end.

4. Quadragesima totius anni cibaria animae providenda. Damna reparanda. Et ideo, fratres charissimi, in istis quadraginta diebus, quasi totius anni cibaria animae nostrae jejunando, legendo, vel orando providere debemus. Nam licet per totum annum, Deo propitio, lectiones divinas frequenter et fideliter audiatis; in istis tamen diebus de pelago et fluctibus mundi hujus quasi ad portum Quadragesimae confugientes debemus requiescere, et lectiones divinas in exceptorio cordis nostri cum silentio et pace suscipere: ut Deo propitio pro amore vitae aeternae vacantes, quidquid in navicula animae nostrae per totum annum multis tempestatibus, id est, peccatorum fluctibus, aut fractum, aut dissolutum aliquid, aut corruptum,

4. In Lent the food of the soul for the whole year must be provided. Losses must be repaired. And therefore, dearest brothers, in these forty days we ought to provide, as it were, the provisions of our soul for the whole year by fasting, reading, or praying. For although throughout the whole year, by God's favour, you hear the divine readings frequently and faithfully, yet in these days, fleeing from the open sea and the waves of this world as if to the harbour of Lent, we ought to rest, and to receive the divine readings into the storeroom of our heart in silence and peace: so that, by God's favour, being free for the love of eternal life, whatever in the little ship of our soul throughout the whole year, through many storms, that is, through the waves of sins, [has been] either broken, or something loosened, or corrupted,

Editors' notes and page, col. 2019

Footnotes

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Alias, de Tempore 55.

Elsewhere, [Sermon] 55 on the Season.

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(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 2019

In Appendice nunc primum collocatur. Erat Lovaniensibus dubius, falsus Verlino et Vindingo. Cum proxime subsequente ac Caesarianis aliis sermonibus convenientiam et cognationem habet quam maximam. De num. 1 vide Appendicis serm. 11, n. 6, necnon Caesar., homil. 37 ex editis a Baluzio; de num. 2, Append. serm. 10, n. 5, et serm. 69, n. 5; de num. 4, Append. serm. 10, nn. 5, et 28, n. 4; de num. 5, Caesarii homil. 21, in fine.

Now placed in the Appendix for the first time. The Louvain editors held it doubtful; Verlinus and Vindingus, spurious. It has the very closest agreement and kinship with the sermon immediately following and with other sermons of Caesarius. On no. 1 see Appendix sermon 11, no. 6, and also Caesarius, Homily 37 of those edited by Baluze; on no. 2, Appendix sermon 10, no. 5, and sermon 69, no. 5; on no. 4, Appendix sermon 10, nos. 5, and 28, no. 4; on no. 5, Caesarius's Homily 21, at the end.

1 ‹anchor: possumus› · call in col 2020 In manuscriptis et apud Ambrosium desideratur, possumus.

In the manuscripts and in Ambrose, "possumus" ("we can") is wanting.

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aut perditum est, omni sollicitudine in istis diebus reparare studeamus atque componere. Et quia nos necesse est, dum adhuc in isto corpusculo sumus, procellas et turbines saeculi istius sustinere, quotiescumque nos aut per tempestates durissimas avertere, aut per voluptates mollissimas decipere voluerit inimicus; semper nos, adjuvante Deo, contra se inveniat praeparatos.

or lost, let us strive with all care in these days to repair and set in order. And since it is necessary for us, while we are still in this little body, to endure the storms and whirlwinds of this world, whenever the enemy wishes either to turn us aside through the harshest tempests or to deceive us through the softest pleasures, may he, with God's help, always find us prepared against him.

5. Occupationes saeculi saltem temperandae. Mundus aut ridetur a nobis, aut ipse ridet nos. Unde iterum rogo, ut occupationes saeculi hujus in istis diebus sanctae Quadragesimae, si non potestis abscindere, studeatis vel ex parte aliqua temperare: ut praeciso damno et gloriosissimo fructu hoc saeculum fugientes, subtrahatis aliquas horas occupationi terrenae, in quibus Deo vacare possitis. Nam iste mundus, aut ridet nos, aut ridetur a nobis: aut acquiescimus et despicimur, aut contemnimus ut aeterna praemia consequamur. Ac sic aut contemnis et despicis mundum, aut acquiescis et premeris vel calcaris a mundo. Sed melius est ut calces mundum, et calcato eo gradum tibi facias, per quem in sublime conscendas. Haec enim, fratres charissimi, quae pro salute communi de vestra obedientia praesumentes suggerimus, si secundum vestram consuetudinem et libenter auditis, et fideliter implere contenditis; et Pascha cum gaudio celebrabitis, et ad vitam aeternam feliciter venietis. Quod ipse praestare dignetur, qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

5. The occupations of the world are at least to be moderated. Either the world is laughed at by us, or it laughs at us. Therefore I ask again that, in these days of holy Lent, if you cannot cut off the occupations of this world, you strive at least to moderate them in some part: so that, the loss being cut off, and fleeing this world with most glorious fruit, you may withdraw some hours from earthly occupation, in which you may be free for God. For this world either laughs at us or is laughed at by us: either we give in and are despised, or we despise it so as to obtain eternal rewards. And so either you despise and look down on the world, or you give in and are pressed down or trampled by the world. But it is better that you trample the world, and, having trampled it, make of it a step for yourself, by which you may climb on high. For these things, most beloved brethren, which, presuming on your obedience, we suggest for the common salvation, if according to your custom you both hear willingly and strive to fulfil faithfully, you will both celebrate Easter with joy and come happily to eternal life. May He deign to grant this, Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns for ages of ages. Amen.

SERMO CXLI. In Quadragesima, II.

Sermon 141. On Lent, II.

1. Dies Quadragesimae vitam praesentem, dies Paschae futuram designant. Dominus et Salvator noster, qualiter ad eum post multas negligentias venire debeamus, fratres charissimi, per prophetam nos hortatur et admonet dicens, Venite, adoremus et procidamus ante Deum, et ploremus coram Domino qui fecit nos (Psal. XCIV, 6); et iterum, Convertimini ad me in toto corde vestro, in jejunio et fletu et planctu (Joel II, 12). Dies enim sanctae Quadragesimae, fratres charissimi, si diligenter attendimus, vitam saeculi praesentis significant; sicut et dies Paschae aeternam beatitudinem praefigurant. Et quomodo in Quadragesima quasi tristitiam habemus, ut in Pascha ordine legitimo gaudeamus: sic et in hoc saeculo quamdiu vivimus, poenitentiam debemus agere, ut in futuro possimus peccatorum indulgentiam accipere, et ad aeternum gaudium pervenire. Sed ita debet unusquisque pro suis criminibus suspirare, lacrymas fundere, eleemosynas dare; ut Deo auxiliante, quamdiu vivit, semper crimina ipsa conetur effugere. Sicut enim sine minutis peccatis nullus unquam aut fuit aut esse poterit: ita sine capitalibus criminibus, donante et auxiliante Deo, omnimodis esse possumus et debemus.

1. The days of Lent signify the present life, the days of Easter the future. Our Lord and Saviour, most beloved brethren, exhorts and admonishes us through the prophet as to how we ought to come to Him after many negligences, saying, Come, let us adore and fall down before God, and let us weep before the Lord Who made us (Ps. 94:6); and again, Turn to Me with your whole heart, in fasting and weeping and mourning (Joel 2:12). For the days of holy Lent, most beloved brethren, if we attend carefully, signify the life of the present world, just as the days of Easter prefigure eternal blessedness. And just as in Lent we have a kind of sadness, so that at Easter we may rejoice in lawful order, so also in this world, as long as we live, we ought to do penance, so that in the future we may receive pardon of sins and attain to eternal joy. But each one ought so to sigh for his crimes, to shed tears, to give alms, that, with God's help, as long as he lives, he may always strive to flee those very crimes. For just as no one ever has been or will be able to be without small sins, so without capital crimes, God granting and helping, we can and ought to be in every way.

2. Quadragesima, tempus messis ac vindemiae spiritualis. Quod carni cibus, id animae verbum Dei. Canava. Et ut haec obtinere possimus, si nos alio tempore impedimenta mundi detinent obligatos, vel in diebus sanctae Quadragesimae, in Domini lege, sicut scriptum est, die noctuque meditemur (Psal. I, 2): et ita cor nostrum divinae legis dulcedine repleamus, ut in nobis nullum locum virtutibus vacuum, quem obtinere possint vitia, relinquamus. Sicut enim tempore messium vel vindemiarum, unde caro nostra possit sustentari, colligitur; ita in diebus Quadragesimae, quasi in

2. Lent, the time of the spiritual harvest and vintage. What food is to the flesh, the word of God is to the soul. The storeroom. And so that we may obtain these things, if at other times the hindrances of the world keep us bound, let us at least in the days of holy Lent meditate day and night on the law of the Lord, as it is written (Ps. 1:2): and let us so fill our heart with the sweetness of the divine law that we leave in ourselves no place empty of virtues which vices could occupy. For just as at the time of harvests or vintages that by which our flesh can be sustained is gathered, so in the days of Lent, as if in

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(a) ‹anchor: SERMO CXLI› · call in col 2020

Alias de Tempore 56.

Elsewhere, [Sermon] 56 on the Season.

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(b) ‹anchor: In Quadragesima› · call in col 2020

In Appendice nunc primum collocatur. Idem atque de superiore est Lovaniensium, idem Verlini et Vindingi judicium. Inter Ambrosianos reperitur vigesimus quintus: Caesario tamen tribuere suadet cum duorum manuscriptorum Corbeiensium, qui ipsi adscribunt, auctoritas, tum maxime stili consensio.

Now placed in the Appendix for the first time. The judgement of the Louvain editors, and of Verlinus and Vindingus, is the same as on the preceding sermon. It is found twenty-fifth among the Ambrosian [sermons]; but both the authority of two Corbie manuscripts, which ascribe it to him, and above all the agreement of style, persuade us to attribute it to Caesarius.

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spirituali vindemiarum vel messium tempore, unde anima nostra in aeternum possit vivere, congregetur: quia sicut negligens quisque, si tempore vindemiarum vel messium nihil collegerit, per totum anni spatium fame torquebitur; ita qui in hoc tempore spirituale triticum et caeleste mustum jejunando, legendo, orando in horreis animae suae providere et congregare neglexerit, in aeternum durissimam sitim et crudelem inopiam sustinebit. Certissime scitote, fratres charissimi, quia qualis est caro quae post multos dies percipit cibum, talis est anima quae assidue non pascitur Dei verbo: et quomodo caro per famem et inopiam tenuis et sicca velut quoddam simulacrum efficitur; ita et anima, si verbi Dei cibo non pascitur, arida et inutilis et ad nullum opus bonum congrua invenitur. Considerate, fratres, si et horreum et canavam et cellarium annis singulis replemus, unde uno anno cibum habeat caro nostra; putas, quantum debemus recondere, unde in aeternum sustentetur anima nostra?

the spiritual time of the vintages or harvests, that by which our soul may live for ever should be gathered: because, just as any negligent person, if in the time of the vintages or harvests he has gathered nothing, will be tormented by hunger through the whole space of the year; so whoever in this time has neglected to provide and gather spiritual wheat and heavenly new wine into the granaries of his soul by fasting, reading and praying, will endure for ever the harshest thirst and cruel want. Know most certainly, dearest brothers, that as is the flesh which receives food after many days, such is the soul which is not continually fed with the word of God: and just as the flesh through hunger and want is made thin and dry like some kind of image; so also the soul, if it is not fed with the food of the word of God, is found dry and useless and fit for no good work. Consider, brothers, if each year we fill both granary and wine-cellar and storeroom, so that our flesh may have food for one year; how much, do you think, ought we to store up, from which our soul may be sustained for ever?

3. Occupationes commutentur. Tabulae ludus. Et ideo, fratres, vel istis paucis diebus recedant impedimenta mundi, quae secundum Scripturam multos negligentes miseros faciunt. Recedat carnalis laetitia, recedant venenis plena mundi istius blandimenta. Carnis gaudia minuantur, ut animae lucra spiritualia praeparentur; propter illud quod scriptum est, Vae vobis qui ridetis nunc, quia lugebitis et flebitis (Luc. VI, 25); et illud, Beati qui lugent, quoniam ipsi consolabuntur (Matth. V, 5). Tempus quod nobis furiosus tabulae ludus solebat auferre, lectio divina incipiat occupare. Otiosis fabulis, et mordacibus jocis, et detractionibus venenatis colloquia de Scripturis sanctis succedant. Horarum spatiis, in quibus solebamus cum damno animae detineri, visitentur infirmi, requirantur in carcere constituti, peregrini suscipiantur, et discordes ad concordiam revocentur. Haec si facimus, fratres, inde nobis parare possumus medicamenta, unde nobis vulnera feceramus.

3. Let occupations be changed. The board game. And therefore, brothers, at least in these few days let the hindrances of the world withdraw, which according to Scripture make many negligent people wretched. Let carnal merriment withdraw, let the allurements of this world, full of poisons, withdraw. Let the joys of the flesh be lessened, so that spiritual gains may be prepared for the soul; because of that which is written, Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep (Luke 6:25); and that, Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted (Matt. 5:5). The time which the frenzied board game used to take from us, let divine reading begin to occupy. In place of idle tales and biting jests and venomous detractions, let conversations about the holy Scriptures follow. In the spaces of hours in which we used to be held to the loss of the soul, let the sick be visited, those placed in prison be sought out, strangers be received, and the quarrelsome be called back to concord. If we do these things, brothers, we can prepare medicines for ourselves from the very source from which we had made wounds for ourselves.

4. Prandia pauperibus eroganda. Coenae cibi nec suaves nec nimii. Caro ut ancilla, anima ut domina tractetur. Ante omnia in diebus jejuniorum quod solebamus prandere, pauperibus erogemus; ne forte aliquis sibi sumptuosas coenas, et exquisitis saporibus epulas studeat praeparare, et corpori suo magis commutasse, quam subtraxisse ciborum abundantiam videatur. Nihil prodest tota die longum duxisse jejunium, si postea ciborum suavitate vel nimietate anima obruatur. Illico mens repleta torpescit, et irrigata corporis nostri terra spinas libidinum germinabit. Sit ergo temperatus cibus, et nunquam nimium venter expletus; et plus semper de cibo cordis quam de cibo corporis cogitemus: quia intus in homine interiore facti sumus ad imaginem Dei; in carne autem de limo terrae formati sumus. Et videte, fratres, si justum est ut caro nostra de terra facta interdum bis in die capiat cibum; et anima in qua

4. Midday meals to be given out to the poor. The food of suppers neither delicious nor excessive. Let the flesh be treated as a handmaid, the soul as mistress. Above all, on fast days let us give out to the poor what we used to eat at midday; lest perhaps someone should strive to prepare for himself sumptuous suppers and banquets of exquisite flavours, and should seem to have exchanged rather than withdrawn the abundance of foods for his body. It profits nothing to have drawn out a long fast the whole day, if afterwards the soul is overwhelmed by the sweetness or the excess of foods. At once the replete mind grows torpid, and the watered earth of our body will sprout thorns of lusts. Let food therefore be moderate, and let the belly never be filled too much; and let us always think more about the food of the heart than about the food of the body: because inwardly, in the inner man, we were made to the image of God; but in the flesh we were formed from the clay of the earth. And see, brothers, whether it is just that our flesh, made from earth, should sometimes take food twice a day; and the soul, in which

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Hic ex Mss. restituimus vocem canavam, id est, cellam penariam vel vinariam, gallice cave. Qua voce utitur idem ipse Caesarius in sermone qui inter Augustinianos alias fuit 61 de Tempore, nunc Appendicis 273; itemque in suae ad Virgines regulae capite 30 statuens, « Quae cellario, sive canavae, sive vestibus praeponuntur, » etc. Vide Regulam S. Aureliani ad Monachos, cap. 21, et Isidorum in Gloss. Victor in lib 2 de Persecutione Vandalica eam usurpat pro ergastulo seu cavea.

Here from the manuscripts we restore the word "canava", that is, a storeroom for provisions or for wine, in French "cave". Caesarius himself uses this word in the sermon that was formerly 61 on the Season among the Augustinian sermons, now Appendix 273; and likewise in chapter 30 of his Rule for Virgins, where he lays down, "Those who are set over the cellar, or the canava, or the clothing," etc. See the Rule of St Aurelian for Monks, ch. 21, and Isidore in the Glossary. Victor, in book 2 of the Vandal Persecution, uses it for a prison or cage.

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Exstat Eliberitani concilii can. 79, et Constantinop. 6 can. 50, de iis qui alea sive tabula ludunt. Fuit etiam aliquando civilibus legibus vetitus tabulae ludus, de quo Novell. Justin. 123, Julianus antecessor, Constit. 115, capp. 4, 9. Narrat tamen Gregorius Turonensis in Hist. lib. 10, n. 16, accusatam, quae Pictavensi S. Crucis monasterio praeerat, abbatissam, quod ad tabulam lusisset, respondisse « Nec in regula « per scripturam prohiberi, nec in canonibus. » Ad tabulam ludentes reprehenduntur rursum infra in sermone 146, n. 4, et in Caesarii homilia ex editis a Baluzio tertia; sed in eo maxime tractatu qui inter Cypriani opera vulgatus est de Aleatoribus.

There is canon 79 of the Council of Elvira, and canon 50 of the Sixth of Constantinople, on those who play at dice or at the board. The board game was also at one time forbidden by the civil laws, on which see Justinian's Novel 123, and Julian the law-teacher, Constitution 115, chs. 4, 9. Yet Gregory of Tours relates in the History, book 10, no. 16, that the abbess who governed the monastery of the Holy Cross at Poitiers, accused of having played at the board, answered "that it was forbidden neither in writing in the rule nor in the canons." Board-players are rebuked again below in sermon 146, no. 4, and in the third of Caesarius's homilies edited by Baluze; but above all in the treatise published among Cyprian's works, On Dice-Players.

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