PL 39 · cols. 2022–2025

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

Sermons CXLII–CXLIII

PL 39:2022

imago Dei est, vix post plures dies accipiat Dei verbum: cum tamen expediat nobis ut amplius Dei imaginem in nobis, quam nostram carnem honorare debeamus. Qui enim de sola carne cogitant, bestiis et pecoribus similes sunt: et qui ita agunt, jam in se Dei imaginem contriverunt. Caro ergo velut ancilla gubernetur; et anima tanquam domina legitima reficiatur. Nam et si aliter factum fuerit, si nos non agnoscimus ad imaginem Dei factos, et plus de carne quam de anima cogitemus, timeo ne nos Spiritus sanctus per prophetam arguat, dicens: Et homo cum in honore esset, non intellexit; comparatus est jumentis insipientibus, et similis factus est illis (Psal. XLVIII, 13).

is the image of God, should scarcely receive the word of God after many days, although it is expedient for us that we should honour the image of God in us more than our own flesh. For those who think only about the flesh are like beasts and cattle, and those who act in this way have already worn down the image of God in themselves. Let the flesh, then, be governed like a handmaid, and let the soul be refreshed as the lawful mistress. For if it has been done otherwise, if we do not acknowledge that we were made in the image of God, and we think more about the flesh than about the soul, I fear that the Holy Spirit may rebuke us through the prophet, saying: And man, when he was in honour, did not understand; he has been compared to the senseless beasts of burden, and has become like them (Ps. 48:13).

5. Lectiones divinae in ecclesia, domi, et refectionis tempore. Lectiones divinas et in ecclesia, sicut consuestis, libenter audite, et in domibus vestris relegite. Si aliquis ita fuerit occupatus, ut ante refectionem, Scripturae divinae non possit insistere, non eum pigeat in conviviolo suo aliquid de divinis Scripturis relegere: ut quomodo caro pascitur cibo, sic anima reficiatur Dei verbo; et totus homo, id est, et exterior et interior, de sancto et salubri convivio satiatus exsurgat. Nam si sola caro reficitur, et anima Dei verbo non pascitur; ancilla satiatur, et domina fame torquetur: et hoc quam sit injustum, Sanctitas vestra non potest ignorare. Et ideo, sicut jam dixi, lectiones divinas illo desiderio et legere et audire debetis, ut de ipsis in domibus vestris, et ubicumque fueritis, etiam loqui et alios docere possitis, et verbum Dei, velut munda animalia, cogitatione assidua ruminantes, utilem succum, id est, spiritualem sensum, et vobis sumere, et aliis, Deo auxiliante, propinare possitis: ut in vobis impleatur illud quod scriptum est, Et calix tuus inebrians quam praeclarus est (Psal. XXII, 5)! implentes illud quod beatus Apostolus hortatur et admonet, dicens, Sive manducatis, sive bibitis, sive aliud quid facitis, omnia ad gloriam Dei facite (I Cor. X, 31). Si infirmitas non prohibet, quotidie jejunate, ad Vigilias alacri et ferventi devotione consurgite, propter illud quod scriptum est, De nocte vigilat spiritus meus ad te, Deus (Psal. LXII, 2); et iterum, Ad te orabo, Domine, mane, et exaudies vocem meam (Psal. V, 4); et iterum, Media nocte surgebam ad confitendum nomini tuo, Domine (Psal. CXVIII. 62). Ad quam rem etiam Dominus et Salvator noster in Evangelio hortatur et admonet, dicens: Vigilate et orate, ne intretis in tentationem (Matth. XXVI, 41): quod ipse praestare dignetur, cui est honor et imperium cum Patre et Spiritu sancto, etc.

5. The divine readings in church, at home, and at mealtime. Listen willingly to the divine readings in church, as you are accustomed, and read them again in your homes. If anyone is so occupied that before his meal he cannot apply himself to the divine Scripture, let him not be reluctant to read again something from the divine Scriptures at his own little meal, so that just as the flesh is fed with food, so the soul may be refreshed with the word of God, and the whole man, that is, both outer and inner, may rise up satisfied from a holy and wholesome banquet. For if only the flesh is refreshed, and the soul is not fed with the word of God, the handmaid is satisfied and the mistress is tormented by hunger; and how unjust this is, your Holiness cannot fail to know. And therefore, as I have already said, you ought both to read and to hear the divine readings with such desire that you may also be able to speak of them in your homes and wherever you may be, and to teach others, and, ruminating on the word of God with constant reflection like clean animals, you may be able both to take for yourselves its useful juice, that is, its spiritual sense, and, with God's help, to offer it to others to drink; so that in you may be fulfilled what is written: And Thy cup that inebriates, how excellent it is! (Ps. 22:5), fulfilling what the blessed Apostle exhorts and admonishes, saying: Whether you eat, or drink, or do anything else, do all things for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31). If infirmity does not prevent it, fast daily; rise for the Vigils with eager and fervent devotion, on account of what is written: By night my spirit keeps watch towards Thee, O God (Ps. 62:2); and again: To Thee I will pray, O Lord, in the morning, and Thou wilt hear my voice (Ps. 5:4); and again: At midnight I rose to give praise to Thy name, O Lord (Ps. 118:62). To this our Lord and Saviour also exhorts and admonishes in the Gospel, saying: Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation (Matt. 26:41). May He Himself deign to grant this, to Whom is honour and dominion with the Father and the Holy Spirit, etc.

SERMO CXLII. In Quadragesima, III.

Sermon 142. In Lent, 3.

1. Jejunare non valens, largiores eleemosynas eroget. Rogo vos et admoneo, fratres charissimi, ut in isto legitimo ac sacratissimo Quadragesimae tempore, exceptis dominicis diebus, nullus prandere praesumat, nisi forte ille quem jejunare infirmitas non permittit: quia aliis diebus, jejunare, aut remedium, aut praemium est; in Quadragesima non jejunare peccatum est. Alio tempore qui jejunat, accipiet indulgentiam: in Quadragesima qui potest, et non jejunat, sentiet poenam. Et ipse tamen qui jejunare non praevalet, secretius sibi soli, aut si est alius infirmus, cum ipso sibi in domo sua praeparet

1. Let one who is not able to fast give more generous alms. I ask and admonish you, dearest brothers, that in this lawful and most sacred time of Lent, Sundays excepted, no one presume to take a midday meal, unless perhaps one whom infirmity does not permit to fast; because on other days fasting is either a remedy or a reward, but in Lent not to fast is a sin. He who fasts at another time will receive indulgence; in Lent he who is able and does not fast will feel punishment. And yet he who is not strong enough to fast should, more privately, for himself alone, or, if there is another infirm person, together with him, prepare for himself in his own house

Editors' notes and page, col. 2022

Footnotes

(a) ‹anchor: SERMO CXLII› · call in col 2022

Alias, de Tempore 62.

Elsewhere, [Sermon] 62 on the Season.

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(b) ‹anchor: In Quadragesima, III› · call in col 2022

In Appendice nunc primum collocatur. Dubiis per Lovanienses, supposititiis per Verlinum et Vindingum annumeratus fuit. Inter spurios Ambrosii quoque sermones est vigesimus sextus. Sed verius inter Caesarianos repraesentatur in Bibliotheca Patrum et in Bibliotheca Lirinensi, et certa Caesarium clamant singula fere verba, adeo ut minime videatur fides habenda recentioribus aliquot manuscriptis qui Faustino adscribunt. De num. 3 vide Caesarii homil. 22, et serm. Appendicis 78, n. 5; de num. 5, serm. Append. 142; de num. 6, Caesarii homil. 24, et sermonem superiorem, n. 4; de num. 7, Caesar. in fine homil. 33; de num. 8, Caesar. homil. 1.

Now placed in the Appendix for the first time. It was counted among the doubtful by the Louvain editors, among the spurious by Verlinus and Vindingus. It is also the twenty-sixth among the spurious sermons of Ambrose. But it is more truly presented among Caesarius's in the Bibliotheca Patrum and in the Lérins Library, and almost every word cries out unmistakably for Caesarius, so that little credence seems due to some more recent manuscripts that ascribe it to Faustinus. On no. 3 see Caesarius's Homily 22, and Appendix sermon 78, no. 5; on no. 5, Appendix sermon 142; on no. 6, Caesarius's Homily 24, and the preceding sermon, no. 4; on no. 7, Caesarius at the end of Homily 33; on no. 8, Caesarius's Homily 1.

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quod accipiat; et illos qui sani sunt, et jejunare praevalent, ad prandium non invitet: quia si hoc fecerit, non solum Deus, sed etiam homines intelligere possunt illum non pro infirmitate non posse, sed pro gula jejunare non velle. Sufficiat illi quod ipse jejunare non praevalet: et magis cum gemitu et suspirio et animi dolore manducet, pro eo quod aliis jejunantibus, ille abstinere non potest. Quid opus est unicuique infirmo aliquem sanum rogare ad prandium, ut sibi etiam augeat de alterius gula peccatum? Pro eo tamen quod non potest jejunare, amplius debet erogare pauperibus: ut peccata quae non potest jejunando curare, possit eleemosynas dando redimere.

what he may receive; and let him not invite to a meal those who are healthy and are able to fast: because if he does this, not only God but men too can understand that he is not unable because of infirmity, but unwilling to fast because of gluttony. Let it suffice him that he himself is not able to fast: and let him rather eat with groaning and sighing and grief of mind, because, while others are fasting, he cannot abstain. What need is there for any sick man to invite some healthy man to a meal, so that he may increase his own sin as well by the other's gluttony? Yet because he cannot fast, he ought to pay out more to the poor: so that the sins which he cannot cure by fasting, he may be able to redeem by giving alms.

2. Eleemosyna jejunio melior. Bonum est jejunare, fratres; sed melius est eleemosynam dare. Si aliquis utrumque potest, duo sunt bona: si vero non potest, melius est eleemosynam dare. Si possibilitas non fuerit jejunandi, eleemosyna sufficit sibi sine jejunio; jejunium sine eleemosyna omnino non sufficit. Ergo si aliquis jejunare non potest, eleemosyna sine jejunio bonum est: si vero praevalet, jejunium cum eleemosyna duplex bonum est. Jejunium vero sine eleemosyna, nullum bonum est: nisi forte ita sit aliquis pauper, ut non habeat omnino quod tribuat. Illi ergo qui non habuerit unde tribuat, sufficit voluntas bona, secundum illud quod scriptum est, Gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis (Luc. II, 14).

2. Almsgiving is better than fasting. It is good to fast, brethren; but it is better to give alms. If anyone can do both, they are two goods: but if he cannot, it is better to give alms. If there is no possibility of fasting, almsgiving suffices of itself without fasting; fasting without almsgiving does not suffice at all. Therefore if anyone cannot fast, almsgiving without fasting is good: but if he is able, fasting with almsgiving is a double good. But fasting without almsgiving is no good at all: unless perhaps someone is so poor that he has nothing whatever to give. For him, then, who has nothing from which to give, a good will suffices, according to that which is written, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will (Luke 2:14).

3. Ab ea nemo facile excusatur. Sed quis erit qui se possit excusare, cum etiam pro calice aquae frigidae mercedem se Dominus redditurum esse promiserit (Matth. X, 42)? Et quare frigidae dixit? Ne forte se posset aliquis pauper de lignorum penuria excusare; aut dicere, se vasculum ubi aquam calefaceret, non habere. Denique et per beatum prophetam, fratres charissimi, Dominus ita hortatur et admonet eleemosynam fieri, ut prope nullus pauper sit qui se valeat excusare. Sic enim ait: Hoc est jejunium quod elegi, dicit Dominus: Frange esurienti panem tuum. Non dixit ut integrum daret; cum forte pauper ille alium non haberet: sed, Frange, inquit; hoc est dicere, Etiamsi tanta paupertas tibi est, ut non habeas nisi unum panem, ex ipso tamen frange, et pauperi tribue. Et egenum, inquit, ac sine tecto induc in domum tuam (Isai. LVIII, 6, 7). Si aliquis ita pauper est, ut non habeat unde tribuat pauperi cibum, vel in uno angulo domus suae peregrino praeparet lectulum. Quid nos ad haec dicturi sumus, fratres, vel quam excusationem habere poterimus, qui amplas et spatiosas domos habentes, vix aliquando dignamur excipere peregrinum; ignorantes, imo non credentes, quod in omnibus peregrinis Christus excipitur, sicut ipse dicit, Hospes fui, et suscepistis me; et, Quamdiu uni ex minimis istis fecistis, mihi fecistis (Matth. XXV, 35, 40).

3. From it no one is easily excused. But who will there be who can excuse himself, when the Lord has promised that He will give a reward even for a cup of cold water (Matt. 10:42)? And why did He say "cold"? Lest perhaps some poor man might excuse himself on account of a shortage of firewood; or say that he did not have a little vessel in which to heat the water. Moreover, through the blessed prophet too, dearest brethren, the Lord so exhorts and admonishes that alms be given, that there is scarcely any poor man who can excuse himself. For thus He says: This is the fast that I have chosen, says the Lord: Break your bread to the hungry. He did not say that he should give it whole, since perhaps that poor man had no other: but, Break, He says; that is to say, Even if your poverty is so great that you have only one loaf, yet break from it, and give to the poor man. And the needy, He says, and the one without a roof, bring into your house (Isa. 58:6–7). If anyone is so poor that he has nothing from which to give food to a poor man, let him at least prepare a little bed for a stranger in one corner of his house. What are we going to say to this, brethren, or what excuse shall we be able to have, who, possessing large and spacious houses, scarcely ever deign to take in a stranger; not knowing, indeed not believing, that in all strangers Christ is taken in, as He Himself says, I was a stranger, and you took Me in; and, As long as you did it to one of these least, you did it to Me (Matt. 25:35, 40).

4. Christus in pauperibus recipiendus, ut nos ipse in patriam recipiat. Laboriosum et fastidiosum nobis est, in pauperibus recipere Christum in patria nostra: timeo ne nobis ille vicem reddat in coelo, et non nos recipiat in beatitudinem suam. Contemnimus illum in mundo: timeo ne nos ille iterum contemnat in coelo, secundum illud quod ipse dixit, Esurivi, et non dedistis mihi manducare; et, Hospes fui, et non suscepistis me; et, Quamdiu non fecistis uni ex minimis istis, nec mihi fecistis. Et quid post haec sequitur, fratres? Avertat hoc Deus a nobis. Hoc enim postea addidit, dicens: Discedite a me, maledicti, in ignem aeternum, qui paratus est diabolo et angelis ejus (Ibid. 42-46). Haec ergo, fratres charissimi, non transitorie, nec solis corporis auribus audiamus; sed fideliter audientes, etiam ut alii teneant et impleant, verbo pariter et exemplo doceamus.

4. Christ is to be received in the poor, so that He Himself may receive us into the fatherland. It is toilsome and irksome to us to receive Christ in the poor in our own country: I fear lest He repay us in kind in heaven, and not receive us into His blessedness. We despise Him in the world: I fear lest He in turn despise us in heaven, according to that which He Himself said, I was hungry, and you did not give Me to eat; and, I was a stranger, and you did not take Me in; and, As long as you did not do it to one of these least, neither did you do it to Me. And what follows after these words, brethren? May God turn this away from us. For afterwards He added this, saying: Depart from Me, you cursed, into the eternal fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels (ibid. 25:42–46). These things therefore, dearest brethren, let us not hear in passing, nor with the ears of the body alone; but hearing them faithfully, let us also teach them by word and example alike, so that others too may hold and fulfil them.

Editors' notes and page, col. 2023

Footnotes

1 ‹anchor: non habere› · call in col 2023 Hic Mss. duo, omissis intermediis, subjungunt: Omnia enim complevit, qui quod potuit fecit, etc., quae habentur versus finem Sermonis.

Here two manuscripts, omitting what lies between, add: "For he has fulfilled all who has done what he could," etc., which stands towards the end of the sermon.

2 ‹anchor: exemplo doceamus› · call in col 2023 Hic sermo in editis terminabatur clausula, praestante Domino nostro, etc. Alteram sermonis partem, quam exhibent Mss. plures jam seorsum dederat post Marum Vignerius in Supplemento.

In the printed editions this sermon ended with the closing formula "by the grace of our Lord," etc. The other part of the sermon, which several manuscripts give, Vignier had already published separately, after Marum, in the Supplement.

1 ‹anchor: sed charitatis› · call in col 2024 Ita Mss. At apud Caesarium et Ambrosium, claritatis.

So the manuscripts. But in Caesarius and Ambrose, "claritatis" ("of brightness").

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5. Objurgantur qui divitias coacervant. Quid ergo post haec dixit Dominus per Prophetam? Si videris, inquit, nudum, operi eum. Ego in hac sententia neminem judico; unusquisque attendat conscientiam suam. Me tamen arguo et reprehendo, quod forte aliquoties evenit ut per negligentiam vestimenticula mea, quae debuerunt accipere pauperes, devorarentur a tineis: et timeo ne mihi ipsi panni in testimonium proferantur in die judicii; secundum illud quod Jacobus apostolus terribiliter increpat dicens, Agite nunc, inquit, divites, plorate ululantes in miseriis quae advenient vobis. Divitiae vestrae putrefurtae sunt, et vestimenta vestra a tineis comesta sunt. Aurum et argentum vestrum aeruginavit, et aerugo eorum in testimonium vobis erit, et manducabit carnes vestras sicut ignis. Thesaurizastis super terram, et in deliciis enutristis corda vestra in die occisionis (Jacobi V, 1-5). Haec omnia, sicut dixi, fratres charissimi, quae per Apostolum comminatus est Christus, licet nos nimium terreant; non tamen de Dei misericordia desperandum est. Adhuc ego et mei similes negligentes cum Dei adjutorio possumus nos emendare, si volumus, si et eleemosynas, quas huc usque parcius fecimus, largius erogemus, et pro peccatis praeteritis cum dolore et gemitu, cum spe reparationis, Dei misericordiam deprecemur.

5. Those who heap up riches are rebuked. What then did the Lord say after these things through the Prophet? If you see, He says, a naked man, cover him. In this saying I judge no one; let each one attend to his own conscience. Yet I accuse and reproach myself, because perhaps it has sometimes happened that through negligence my poor little garments, which the poor ought to have received, were devoured by moths; and I fear lest those very cloths be brought forward as testimony against me on the day of judgement, according to that which the apostle James rebukes so terribly, saying: Come now, he says, you rich, weep, howling in the miseries which will come upon you. Your riches have rotted, and your garments have been eaten by moths. Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be a testimony against you, and will eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasure upon earth, and in delights you have nourished your hearts on the day of slaughter (Jas. 5:1–5). All these things, as I said, dearest brothers, which Christ threatened through the Apostle, although they terrify us exceedingly, yet we must not despair of God's mercy. Even now I and those like me who are negligent can, with God's help, amend ourselves, if we will: if we also give more generously the alms which until now we have given more sparingly, and for past sins, with sorrow and groaning, with hope of restoration, implore God's mercy.

6. Jejunium non sit sine eleemosyna. Prandia pauperibus erogentur. Ergo, sicut supra suggessi, fratres charissimi, jejunia nostra eleemosynarum pinguedo commendet; quia tale est jejunium sine eleemosyna, qualis sine oleo lucerna. Nam sicut lucerna, quae sine oleo accenditur, fumigare potest, lucem habere non potest: ita jejunium sine eleemosyna carnem quidem cruciat, sed charitatis lumine animam non illustrat. Interim vel quod ad praesens agitur, fratres, sic jejunemus, ut prandia nostra pauperibus erogentur; ut quod pransuri eramus, non in nostris sacculis, sed in visceribus pauperum reponamus: quia manus pauperis gazophylacium est Christi, qui quod accipit, ne in terra pereat, in coelo reponit; quia quamvis cibus quem p⟨a⟩uper accipit, consumatur, merces tamen boni operis in coelo reconditur. Nam si prandia nostra exquisitis saporibus, et multiplicatis ferculis expendere studeamus ad coenam; si corpori nostro deliciae non subtrahuntur, sed etiam duplicantur: sicut modo corpori nihil minuitur, sic animae nihil augetur.

6. Let fasting not be without almsgiving. Let midday meals be given out to the poor. Therefore, as I suggested above, dearest brothers, let the richness of alms commend our fasts; for fasting without almsgiving is like a lamp without oil. For just as a lamp which is lit without oil can smoke but cannot have light, so fasting without almsgiving indeed torments the flesh, but does not illumine the soul with the light of charity. Meanwhile, at least as regards what is being done at present, brothers, let us so fast that our midday meals are given out to the poor; so that what we were going to eat at midday we may store up, not in our own purses, but in the bowels of the poor: for the hand of the poor man is the treasury of Christ, Who, what He receives, lest it perish on earth, stores up in heaven; for although the food which the poor man receives is consumed, yet the reward of the good work is laid up in heaven. For if we are eager to spend our midday meals, with exquisite flavours and multiplied dishes, on the evening meal; if delights are not withdrawn from our body, but are even doubled: then, just as nothing is now diminished for the body, so nothing is increased for the soul.

7. Castitas per totam Quadragesimam servanda. Haec, fratres, timens magis quam de vobis aliquid sinistrum credens, admoneo. Scio enim plures ex vobis, Deo propitio, et peregrinos assidue excipere, et pauperibus frequenter eleemosynam dare. Et ideo quod suggero, ad hoc proficiat, ut qui faciebat, amplius faciat; qui vero non faciebat, aut forte tardius faciebat, tam sanctam sibi et Deo placitam operationem in consuetudinem mittat. Et licet credam, quod, Deo inspirante, semper supervenientibus festivitatibus, castitatem ante plures dies, etiam cum propriis uxoribus custodiat Charitas vestra: tamen, licet ex superfluo, etiam quod vos facere credo, charitatis contemplatione commoneo, ut per totam Quadragesimam et usque ad finem Paschae castitatem, Deo auxiliante, servantes, in illa sacrosancta solemnitate Paschali, charitatis luce vestiti, eleemosynis splendidi, orationibus, vigiliis et jejuniis, velut quibusdam coelestibus et spiritualibus margaritis ornati, non solum cum amicis, sed etiam cum inimicis pacifici, libera et secura conscientia, ad altare Domini accedentes, corpus et sanguinem ejus non ad judicium, sed ad remedium possitis accipere.

7. Chastity is to be kept throughout the whole of Lent. These things, brothers, I urge out of fear rather than because I believe anything untoward of you. For I know that many of you, by God's favour, both constantly receive strangers and frequently give alms to the poor. And therefore let what I suggest serve this end: that whoever was doing it may do it more abundantly; and whoever was not doing it, or perhaps was doing it rather sluggishly, may make so holy a work, and one so pleasing to himself and to God, into a habit. And although I believe that, by God's inspiration, whenever festivals come round, your Charity keeps chastity for many days beforehand, even with your own wives, yet, though it be superfluous, I admonish you out of regard for charity even in that which I believe you do: that, keeping chastity throughout the whole of Lent and right up to the end of Easter, with God's help, you may, on that most holy solemnity of Easter, clothed in the light of charity, resplendent with alms, adorned with prayers, vigils and fasts as with certain heavenly and spiritual pearls, at peace not only with friends but also with enemies, approaching the altar of the Lord with a free and untroubled conscience, receive His body and blood not unto judgement but unto healing.

8. Bona voluntate implent pauperes praeceptum eleemosynae

8. By good will the poor fulfil the commandment of alms.

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Sed cum de eleemosynis loquimur, non conturbetur angusta paupertas. Omnia enim complevit, qui quod potuit fecit: quia voluntas perfecta faciendi reputabitur pro opere facti. Sed hoc ille implere poterit, qui omnem pauperem, quasi se ipsum considerare voluerit; ut sic pauperi tribuat, quomodo si ipse in tali necessitate esset, sibi fieri cuperet. Haec qui fecerit, et Novi et Veteris Testamenti praecepta complebit, implens illud evangelicum: Omnia quaecumque vultis ut faciant vobis homines, et vos facite illis similiter; haec est enim Lex et Prophetae (Matth. VII, 12). Ad quam verae et perfectae charitatis legem pius vos Dominus sub sua protectione perducat; qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

But when we speak of almsgiving, let narrow poverty not be troubled. For he has fulfilled everything who has done what he could: because the perfect will to do will be reckoned in place of the work done. But he will be able to fulfil this who is willing to regard every poor man as himself, so that he gives to the poor man as he would wish to be done to himself if he were in such need. Whoever does these things will fulfil the precepts of both the New and the Old Testament, fulfilling that saying of the Gospel: Whatever you wish that men should do to you, do you also likewise to them; for this is the Law and the Prophets (Matt. 7:12). To this law of true and perfect charity may the gracious Lord lead you under His protection; Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns for ages of ages. Amen.

SERMO CXLIII. In Quadragesima, IV.

Sermon 143. In Lent, 4.

1. Quadragesima sanctorum exemplis celebrata, Moysi, Eliae, et ipsius Christi. Omne vitae nostrae tempus, stadium quoddam debemus putare virtutum, et ad coeleste bravium tota virtute contendere. Sed hoc praecipue in Quadragesimae diebus implendum est, qui abstinentiae ac jejuniis dedicati, tantum nobis ad virtutem animi conferunt, quantum et de corpore voluptatem decerpunt. Est autem legitimus numerus iste jejunii, et qui his sanctis celebratur exemplis. Moyses Legem accepturus a Deo, quadraginta dies ac noctes absque cibo potuque transegit, et ad suscipiendam Domini voluntatem jejunus praeparatus est (Exod. XXXIV, 28). Elias post quadraginta dierum jejunia curru igneo de hoc mundo ad superna coelorum translatus est (III Reg. XIX, 8). Ipse quoque Dominus ac Salvator noster quadraginta diebus jejunans de diaboli tentationibus triumphavit, ut ad praedicationem Evangelii jam victor accederet (Matth. IV, 2). Merito ergo etiam nos hunc dierum numerum custodire debemus jejuniis, quem per talia exempla legimus consecratum.

1. Lent celebrated by the examples of the saints, Moses, Elijah, and Christ Himself. We ought to regard the whole time of our life as a kind of racecourse of virtues, and to strive with all our strength towards the heavenly prize. But this is to be fulfilled especially in the days of Lent, which, being dedicated to abstinence and fasts, contribute as much to the strength of our soul as they take away pleasure from the body. Moreover, this is the lawful number of the fast, and one which is celebrated by these holy examples. Moses, when about to receive the Law from God, passed forty days and nights without food and drink, and was prepared by fasting to receive the will of the Lord (Exod. 34:28). Elijah, after a fast of forty days, was carried up in a fiery chariot from this world to the heights of the heavens (1 Kgs. 19:8). Our Lord and Saviour Himself also, fasting for forty days, triumphed over the temptations of the devil, so that He might come to the preaching of the Gospel already a victor (Matt. 4:2). Rightly, therefore, ought we also to keep with fasts this number of days, which we read has been consecrated by such examples.

2. Tunc virtus facilior. Celebremus ergo hos dies cum omni alacritate mentis et gaudio, et eos omnibus epulis, omnibus corporalibus deliciis praeferamus. In his enim praecipue diebus ad implendam Domini voluntatem animus accenditur, quando maxime per abstinentiam voluptas carnis exstinguitur. Tunc enim ad Dominum et ejus futura promissa tota mens purior facta festinat, cum nulla crapula, nulla cibi ac potus satietate crassatur. Unde et Salvator in Evangelio dixit: Attendite itaque vobis, ne graventur corda vestra in crapula et in ebrietate et in cogitationibus saecularibus; et superveniat in vos dies illa tanquam repentina: tanquam laqueus enim superveniet universo mundo, et nemo effugiet (Luc. XXI, 34 et 35). Sed et illa est in Quadragesimae diebus grandis utilitas, quod dum etiam a licitis abstinemus, magis ac magis admonemur illicita vitare. Qui enim abstinemus nos a carnibus, quibus aliis diebus uti licet; qui ergo ista vitamus, quae aliquando licent; imprimis peccata fugiamus, quae omnino nunquam licent.

2. Virtue is then easier. Let us therefore celebrate these days with all eagerness of mind and with joy, and let us prefer them to all feasts and to all bodily delights. For in these days above all the soul is kindled to fulfil the will of the Lord, when the pleasure of the flesh is most of all extinguished through abstinence. For then the whole mind, made purer, hastens towards the Lord and His future promises, when it is made gross by no surfeiting, by no satiety of food and drink. Hence the Saviour also said in the Gospel: Take heed therefore to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with surfeiting and with drunkenness and with worldly thoughts, and that day come upon you as if sudden: for as a snare it will come upon the whole world, and no one will escape (Luke 21:34–35). But there is also this great benefit in the days of Lent, that while we abstain even from lawful things, we are more and more admonished to avoid unlawful things. For we who abstain from meats, which it is lawful to use on other days; we, then, who avoid these things, which are sometimes lawful, let us above all flee sins, which are never lawful at all.

3. Jejunium praecipuum, a vitiis. Itaque si volumus bene jejunare a cibis, ante omnia jejunemus et a vitiis. Quid enim prodest vacuare corpus ab escis, et animam replere peccatis? Quid enim prodest pallidum esse jejunio, si odio et invidia livescas? Quid enim prodest vinum non bibere, et iracundiae veneno inebriari? Quid prodest abstinere a carnibus ad edendum creatis, et malignis obtrectationibus fratrum membra lacerare? Quid prodest si abstineamus ab his quae aliquando licent, et faciamus illa quae nunquam licent? Deus enim illos honorat et diligit, qui illicita fugiunt. Sic ergo, ut dixi, jejunemus a cibis, ut multo magis jejunemus et a vitiis, ut sanctorum operum ubertate saturemur; ut et in futuro mereamur

3. The chief fast, from vices. Therefore, if we wish to fast well from foods, let us above all fast also from vices. For what does it profit to empty the body of food, and to fill the soul with sins? For what does it profit to be pale from fasting, if you grow livid with hatred and envy? For what does it profit not to drink wine, and to be made drunk with the poison of anger? What does it profit to abstain from meats created for eating, and to tear the limbs of the brethren with malicious slanders? What does it profit if we abstain from those things which are sometimes lawful, and do those things which are never lawful? For God honours and loves those who flee unlawful things. So then, as I have said, let us fast from foods in such a way that much more we fast also from vices, so that we may be filled with the abundance of holy works; so that in the future also we may deserve

Editors' notes and page, col. 2025

Footnotes

(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 2025

Alias, de Tempore 64.

Elsewhere, [Sermon] 64 on the Season.

(printed under page 275)

(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 2025

In Appendice nunc primum collocatur. De hoc dubitare permittunt Lovanienses, sed ipsum repudiari non injuria volunt Verlinus et Vindingus.

Now placed in the Appendix for the first time. The Louvain editors allow it to be doubted; but Verlinus and Vindingus would have it rejected, not unjustly.

(printed under page 275)