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

Sermons CXLVII–CXLIX

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SERMO CXLVII. In Quadragesima, VIII.

Sermon 147. In Lent, 8.

1. Quadragesima a Christo consecrata, de necessitate servanda. Si bene retinet, fratres, vestra Dilectio, hoc superiore Dominica praedicavimus, quod sanctam Quadragesimam abstinendo ipse Dominus consecraverit, et tot dierum noctiumque curriculo cibum omnino non capiens, unum ac solidum jejunii corpus effecerit: quod in totum non observare, sacrilegium est; ex parte autem violare, peccatum est. Hoc enim fecit causa salutis nostrae, ut rem utilem non solum doceret verbis, sed etiam exemplis instrueret: ut iisdem vestigiis quibus ad fidem currimus, ad abstinentiam graderemur. Sed videamus quae causa exstiterit, ut jejunia sibi Salvator indiceret, et ipse primus bonus humani generis medicus jejunaret. Bonus enim medicus poculum quod aegro daturus est, ipse prius gustat, ut peritiam artis suae ante in se ipse demonstret: ut experimentum aeger accipiens, securus sit de poculo, securior de salute. Deinde quo loco hoc ipsum tempus jejunii procurarit. Dicit enim evangelista abstinuisse Dominum quadraginta diebus et noctibus in deserto (Matth. IV, 2).

1. Lent, consecrated by Christ, is of necessity to be kept. If your Love remembers well, brethren, we preached last Sunday that the Lord Himself consecrated holy Lent by abstaining, and, taking no food at all through the course of so many days and nights, made one solid body of the fast: not to observe it as a whole is sacrilege; to violate it in part is sin. For He did this for the sake of our salvation, so that He might not only teach a useful thing by words but also instruct us by examples: that we might walk towards abstinence in the same footsteps in which we run towards faith. But let us see what cause there was for the Saviour to impose fasts on Himself, and for Him, the good physician of the human race, to be the first to fast. For a good physician first tastes himself the draught which he is about to give to the sick man, so that he may first demonstrate in himself the skill of his art: so that the sick man, receiving the proof, may be secure about the draught and more secure about his health. Next, in what place He arranged this very time of fasting. For the evangelist says that the Lord abstained for forty days and nights in the desert (Matt. 4:2).

2. Institutionis illius ratio. Castitatis prodiga saturitas. Adae primi et secundi comparatio. Arbitror itaque causam hanc esse jejunii, ut quia primus Adam in paradiso constitutus, per intemperantiam gulae, gloriam immortalitatis amiserat (Gen. III, 17), eamdem immortalitatem secundus Adam Christus per abstinentiam repararet. Et quia contra mandatum Dei gustans de interdicta arbore peccatum mortis inciderat; nunc secundum mandatum Domini jejunans vitae justitiam mereretur. Hoc enim agit Salvator, ut eisdem vestigiis, quibus admissa fuerant delicta, purgentur: hoc est, ut quia homo manducando deliquerat, corrigat abstinendo; vel, quia epulando mulierem cognoverat, nunc eamdem jejunando despiciat. Adam enim Evam nonnisi intemperantia provocante cognovit. Quamdiu autem mansit in illis intemerata parcitas, mansit et impolluta virginitas: et quamdiu jejunaverunt ab interdictis epulis, tamdiu et a pudendis jejunavere peccatis. Fames enim amica virginitatis est, inimica lasciviae: saturitas vero castitatem prodigit, nutrit illecebram. Igitur, sicut dixi, hoc agit Dominus, ut iis praejudiciis, quibus homo obnoxius peccatis fuerat, liberetur. Propterea namque per omnia secundum similitudinem Adae nasci voluit, ut secundum similitudinem Adae omnia hominis peccata dissolveret. Adam enim de terra virgine natus est; et Christus de Maria virgine procreatus. Illius maternum solum necdum rastris scissum fuerat; istius maternum secretum nunquam concupiscentia violatum. Adam Dei manibus plasmatur e limo; Christus Dei Spiritu formatur in utero. Uterque ergo oritur Deo Patre, uterque virgine utitur matre, uterque, sicut evangelista dicit, filius Dei est: sed Adam creatura est Dei, Christus vero substantia (Luc. III, 38, et I, 32).

2. The reason for that institution. Satiety squanders chastity. A comparison of the first and the second Adam. I think, therefore, that this is the cause of the fast: that, since the first Adam, placed in paradise, had lost the glory of immortality through the intemperance of the gullet (Gen. 3:17), the second Adam, Christ, might restore that same immortality through abstinence. And since the former, tasting from the forbidden tree against the command of God, had fallen into the sin of death, now the latter, fasting according to the command of the Lord, might merit the righteousness of life. For the Saviour does this so that sins may be purged by the same footsteps by which they had been committed: that is, that since man had transgressed by eating, he may make amends by abstaining; or, since by feasting he had known woman, he may now by fasting disdain her. For Adam knew Eve only when intemperance provoked him. But as long as untouched sparingness remained in them, unpolluted virginity also remained: and as long as they fasted from the forbidden foods, so long did they also fast from shameful sins. For hunger is the friend of virginity, the enemy of wantonness: but satiety squanders chastity and nourishes allurement. Therefore, as I said, the Lord does this so that man may be freed from those prejudgements by which he had been made liable to sins. For this reason He willed to be born in all things according to the likeness of Adam, so that according to the likeness of Adam He might dissolve all the sins of man. For Adam was born of the virgin earth; and Christ was begotten of the Virgin Mary. The maternal soil of the one had not yet been cut by hoes; the maternal secret place of the other was never violated by concupiscence. Adam is moulded from the mud by the hands of God; Christ is formed in the womb by the Spirit of God. Both, then, arise with God as Father, both have a virgin for mother, both, as the evangelist says, are son of God: but Adam is the creature of God, whereas Christ is His substance (Luke 3:38 and 1:32).

3. Cur Christus in deserto jejunavit. Mulieris praesentia quam periculosa. Hoc ergo agit Dominus sicut Adam secundus: ut quod prior homo manducando perdiderat, hoc alter jejunando recipiat, ac legem in paradiso abstinentiae datam in deserto custodiat. Sciebat enim

3. Why Christ fasted in the desert. How dangerous the presence of a woman is. The Lord, then, does this as the second Adam: so that what the former man had lost by eating, the other might recover by fasting, and might keep in the desert the law of abstinence given in paradise. For He knew

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Footnotes

1 ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 2031 In prius editis Augustinianorum Sermonum, tempus.

In the earlier editions of Augustine's Sermons, "tempus" ("time").

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(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 2031

Olim, de Tempore 77; et post, in Appendice 38.

Formerly [Sermon] 77 on the Season; and later, no. 38 in the Appendix.

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(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 2031

Exstat inter Ambrosianos ordine trigesimus nonus: tribuendus forte eidem auctori, cujus est sermo hujus Appendicis 145. Nam istis in hoc sermone verbis, « Hoc superiore Dominica praedicavimus, » etc., indicari pariter videtur sermo ex Ambrosianis trigesimus primus, in quo haec habes: « Hanc enim Quadragesimam nobis Dominus suo jejunio consecravit. Quod dixi, jejunio, » etc. Quemadmodum etiam hic jejunum corpus dicitur « desertum; » ita illic habetur. « Desertum omne jejunium est. » De num. 2 vide supra serm. 144, n. 1 et serm. 125 [print unclear], n. 2; de num. 4, vide serm. inter Ambrosianos 31.

It stands thirty-ninth in order among the Ambrosian [sermons]: perhaps to be attributed to the same author as sermon 145 of this Appendix. For by these words in this sermon, "We preached this last Sunday," etc., the thirty-first of the Ambrosian sermons seems likewise to be indicated, in which you have: "For the Lord consecrated this Lent for us by His own fast. I said, by fast," etc. And as here the fasting body is called "a desert," so there one reads: "Every fast is a desert." On no. 2 see above, sermon 144, no. 1, and sermon 125, no. 2; on no. 4, see sermon 31 among the Ambrosian [sermons].

1 ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 2032 Apud Ambrosium, illecebris.

In Ambrose, "illecebris" ("by enticements").

2 ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 2032 Ms. Lugdunensis, voluptate mulieris.

The Lyons manuscript, "voluptate mulieris" ("by the pleasure of a woman").

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praeceptum Dei non unius loci legem esse, sed mundi. Non enim interest divinitatis mandatum utrum domi an in agro custodias; cum ubique sit qui praecepit. In deserto itaque Salvator implet mandatum Dei, ut ibi Adam servaret errantem, ubi fuerat de paradisi possessione projectus. Adam enim expulsus de paradiso, inculta mundi deserta sustinuit. In deserto ergo primum homini salus refunditur, ubi desunt epulae, ubi desunt deliciae, ubi, quod est omnium malorum causa, deest et mulier. Potuerat enim Adam inter illas paradisi delicias inconcussus stare, si Eva ibidem cum diabolicis insidiis non fuisset. Conveniens ergo est desertum saluti, ubi non est Eva quae persuadet, non est mulier quae blanditur. Videte rem miram: in paradiso cum Adam diabolus decertat, in deserto cum Christo diabolus dimicat; ubique insidiatur homini, ubique congreditur: sed ubi mulierem invenit, vincit; ubi mulierem non invenit, victus abscedit.

that the commandment of God is the law not of one place but of the world. For it makes no difference to the mandate of the Godhead whether you keep it at home or in the field, since He Who gave the command is everywhere. In the desert, therefore, the Saviour fulfils the mandate of God, so that He might save the wandering Adam in the very place where he had been cast out of the possession of paradise. For Adam, expelled from paradise, endured the untilled wastes of the world. In the desert, therefore, salvation is first restored to man, where feasts are lacking, where delights are lacking, where, which is the cause of all evils, woman too is absent. For Adam could have stood unshaken amid those delights of paradise, had Eve not been there with the devil's snares. The desert, therefore, is suited to salvation, where there is no Eve who persuades, no woman who flatters. See a wondrous thing: in paradise the devil contends with Adam, in the desert the devil fights with Christ; everywhere he lies in wait for man, everywhere he joins battle; but where he finds a woman, he conquers; where he does not find a woman, he departs defeated.

4. Desertum quoddam corpus jejunum et castum. Formam igitur dedit nobis Deus in hoc facto, ut jejuniorum tempore tanquam desertum habitantes, abstineamus epulis, voluptate, muliere; nec conjungatur nobis Eva, ne nos a casta observatione, illecebrosa persuasione subvertat. In deserto enim quodam modo videtur habitare, qui Quadragesimae tempore jejunus et castus est. Desertum plane quoddam ipsum corpus est christiani, cum non repletur cibis, non poculis irrigatur, sed arentis inediae squalore negligitur. Desertum, inquam, est corpus nostrum, cum abstinentia marcescit caro, siti pallor obducitur, et contemptu rerum totius hominis species inculta sordescit. Tunc Christus Dominus habitat desertum pectoris nostri, cum terram nostram fame squalidam ac siti aridam esse reperit; secundum quod ait propheta David: Sicut in terra deserta et invia et inaquosa, sic in sancto apparui tibi (Psal. LXII, 3). Aliter enim sicut in sancto ei apparere non possumus, nisi terra corporis nostri fuerit deserta mundanis deliciis, invia diabolicis concupiscentiis, et inaquosa libidinosis illecebris. Tunc habitans Salvator hoc desertum corporis nostri, omnes ibi diaboli factiones exsuperat, et secretum ac securum a cogitationibus saeculi esse suum fecit habitaculum: ut deinceps nos intra nosmetipsos velut in solitudine constituti, nonnisi coelum respiciamus et terram; hoc est, non cogitemus alium, nisi coelestis regni Dominum, et terrenae resurrectionis auctorem.

4. The fasting and chaste body is a kind of desert. God therefore gave us a pattern in this deed, that in the time of fasts, as though dwelling in the desert, we should abstain from feasts, from pleasure, from woman; and that Eve should not be joined to us, lest she overturn us from chaste observance by enticing persuasion. For he seems in a certain manner to dwell in the desert who in the time of Lent is fasting and chaste. The very body of a Christian is plainly a kind of desert when it is not filled with foods, is not watered with drinks, but is neglected in the squalor of parching want. The desert, I say, is our body, when the flesh withers through abstinence, a pallor is drawn over it through thirst, and through contempt of things the appearance of the whole man grows untended and shabby. Then Christ the Lord dwells in the desert of our breast, when He finds our earth squalid with hunger and dry with thirst; according to what the prophet David says: As in a land desert and pathless and waterless, so in the holy place have I appeared to Thee (Ps. 62:3). For otherwise we cannot appear to Him as in the holy place, unless the earth of our body has been deserted by worldly delights, made pathless to devilish lusts, and waterless to lustful enticements. Then the Saviour, dwelling in this desert of our body, overcomes there all the factions of the devil, and has made His dwelling-place to be secluded and secure from the thoughts of the world: so that thereafter we, set within ourselves as in a solitude, may look to nothing but heaven and earth; that is, may think of no other but the Lord of the heavenly kingdom and the Author of the earthly resurrection.

SERMO CXLVIII. In Quadragesima, IX.

Sermon 148. On Lent, 9.

1. Renovationi suae jugiter incumbendum. Indivisa Dei et hominis operatio. Cur Deus dat praecepta. Apostolica, dilectissimi, doctrina nos admonet, ut deponentes veterem hominem cum actibus suis, de die in diem sancta conversatione renovemur (Ephes. IV, 22, 23). Si enim templum Dei sumus, et mentium nostrarum Spiritus sanctus habitator est, dicente Apostolo, Vos enim estis templum Dei vivi (I Cor. III, 16); multa nobis vigilantia laborandum est, ut cordis nostri receptaculum tanto hospite non sit indignum. Et sicut in domibus manufactis laudabili diligentia providendum est, ut si quid aut infusione imbrium, aut turbine procellarum, vel ipsa fuerit antiquitate corruptum, cita in integrum cura restituat⟨:⟩ ita ⟨jugi⟩ oportet sollicitudine praecaveri, ne quid ⟨in nostris⟩ animis incompositum, ne quid inveniatur ⟨immundum⟩. Quamvis enim aedificium nostrum ⟨sine ope sui non⟩ subsistat artificis, nec fabrica ⟨nostra possit esse⟩ incolumis, nisi ei ⟨protectio praestiterit conditoris⟩: tamen quia rationabiles ⟨lapides sumus⟩, et viva

1. One must apply oneself continually to one's renewal. The undivided working of God and man. Why God gives commandments. The apostolic teaching, dearly beloved, admonishes us that, putting off the old man with his deeds, we should be renewed from day to day by holy conduct (Eph. 4:22–23). For if we are the temple of God, and the Holy Spirit is the dweller in our minds, as the Apostle says, For you are the temple of the living God (1 Cor. 3:16), we must labour with much vigilance, so that the receptacle of our heart may not be unworthy of so great a guest. And just as in houses made by hand it must be seen to with praiseworthy diligence that, if anything has been damaged either by the downpour of rains, or by the whirlwind of storms, or by age itself, prompt care should restore it to soundness: so we must take precaution with continual solicitude that nothing disordered, nothing unclean be found in our minds. For although our building does not stand without the help of its Builder, nor can our structure be safe unless the protection of its Founder has been afforded it: yet because we are rational stones, and living

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Footnotes

(a) ‹anchor: SERMO CXLVIII› · call in col 2032

Olim, de Tempore 65; et post, in Appendice 36.

Formerly [Sermon] 65 on the Season; and later, no. 36 in the Appendix.

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(b) ‹anchor: In Quadragesima, IX› · call in col 2032

Est Leonis papae de Quadragesima quintus, eique in manuscriptis adscribitur.

It is Pope Leo's fifth [sermon] on Lent, and is ascribed to him in the manuscripts.

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materies, sic nos auctoris nostri exstruit manus, ut cum opifice suo etiam is qui reparatur, o⟨p⟩eretur. Gratiae igitur Dei obedientia se humana non subtrahat, nec ab illo bono, sine quo non potest bona esse, deficiat; ac si quid sibi impossibile aut arduum in mandatorum effectibus experitur, non in se remaneat, sed ad adjuvantem recurrat: qui ideo praeceptum dat, ut excitet desiderium, et praestet auxilium, dicente propheta, Jacta cogitationem tuam in Domino, et ipse te enutriet (Psal. LIV, 23). An forte quisquam tam insolenter superbit, et ita se illaesum, ita immaculatum esse praesumit, ut nullius jam renovationis indigeat? Fallitur prorsus ista persuasio, et nimia vanitate veterascit, qui inter tentationes istius vitae ab omni se vulnere credit immunem.

material, so the hand of our Author builds us up, so that he too who is being restored may work together with his Maker. Let human obedience, therefore, not withdraw itself from the grace of God, nor fall away from that good without which it cannot be good; and if it finds anything impossible or arduous for itself in carrying out the commandments, let it not remain within itself, but run back to Him Who helps: Who gives a precept for this very purpose, to arouse desire and to supply aid, as the prophet says, Cast your thought upon the Lord, and He will nourish you (Ps. 54:23). Or is anyone perhaps so insolently proud, and does he presume himself to be so unharmed, so unstained, that he no longer needs any renewal? That conviction is utterly mistaken, and he grows old in excessive vanity who believes himself immune from every wound amid the temptations of this life.

2. Vita haec plena periculis. Justorum pericula: obtrectantium linguae, scandalum ex iniquorum prosperitate. Stellarum potestas nulla. Plena sunt omnia periculis, plena omnia laqueis; incitant cupiditates, insidiantur illecebrae; blandiuntur lucra, damna deterrent: amarae sunt obloquentium linguae, nec semper veracia sunt ora laudantium. Inde saevit odium, hinc decipit mendax officium; ut facilius sit vitare discordem, quam declinare fallacem. In ipsis autem virtutibus obtinendis tam dubius modus et tam incerta discretio est, ut si quisquam inter bonorum malorumque confinia subtilissimi discriminis potuerit servare mensuras, difficile sit ut bene sibi consciam probitatem obtrectantium lingua non mordeat, et iniquorum evadat opprobria, cui est amica justitia. Jam cum ad ipsas rerum temporalium varietates cogitatio humana convertitur, quantae se opponunt caligines, quanti pravarum opinionum oboriuntur errores; ut de objectu contrariorum sumatur materia querelarum! Nam licet omnium fidelium corda non dubitent, nullis mundi hujus partibus nullisque temporibus providentiam abesse divinam, nec de stellarum potestate, quae nulla est, saecularium negotiorum pendere proventus, sed aequissimo et clementissimo summi regis arbitrio cuncta disponi; quoniam sicut scriptum est, Universae viae Domini misericordia et veritas (Psal. XXIV, 10): tamen cum quaedam non secundum desideria nostra procedunt, et sub humani errore judicii superior est plerumque iniqui causa quam justi, vicinum nimis atque contiguum est ut etiam magnos animos ista concutiant, et in aliquod illicitae causationis murmur impellant: siquidem istis varietatibus etiam excellentissimus propheta David usque ad periculum se turbatum profitetur et dicit, Mei autem pene moti sunt pedes, pene effusi sunt gressus mei; quia zelavi in peccatoribus, pacem peccatorum videns (Psal. LXXII, 1, 2). Unde quia paucorum est tam solida fortitudo, ut nulla iniquitatum perturbatione quatiantur, et multos fidelium non adversa tantum, sed etiam secunda corrumpant; sanandis vulneribus, quibus humana infirmitas sauciatur, diligens est adhibenda curatio. Ideo enim de periculis qui⟨b⟩us mundus hic plenus est, quaedam brevite⟨r⟩ percurri; ut dicente Scriptura, Quis gloriabitur castum se habere cor, aut mundum se esse u peccato (Prov. XX, 9)? omnes sibi intelligant delictorum indulgentiam et reparationis necessariam esse medicinam.

2. This life is full of dangers. The dangers of the just: the tongues of detractors, the scandal arising from the prosperity of the wicked. The stars have no power. All things are full of dangers, all things full of snares; desires incite, allurements lie in wait; gains flatter, losses deter: bitter are the tongues of slanderers, nor are the mouths of those who praise always truthful. On one side hatred rages, on the other a lying courtesy deceives; so that it is easier to avoid the quarrelsome man than to escape the deceitful one. And in acquiring the virtues themselves the measure is so doubtful and the discernment so uncertain that, even if someone has been able to keep the measures of the finest distinction along the borders between good and evil, it is difficult for the tongue of detractors not to bite at a probity well aware of itself, and for him to whom justice is dear to escape the reproaches of the wicked. Now when human thought turns to the very vicissitudes of temporal things, what darkness sets itself in the way, what errors of perverse opinions spring up, so that from the encounter of contrary things matter for complaints is taken! For although the hearts of all the faithful do not doubt that divine providence is absent from no parts of this world and at no times, and that the outcomes of worldly affairs do not depend on the power of the stars, which is nothing, but that all things are disposed by the most just and most merciful judgement of the supreme King; since, as it is written, All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth (Ps. 24:10): nevertheless, when certain things do not proceed according to our desires, and under the error of human judgement the cause of the unjust man is often superior to that of the just, it is very near and close at hand that these things should shake even great souls, and drive them into some murmur of unlawful complaint: since indeed even the most excellent prophet David confesses that he was troubled by these vicissitudes to the point of danger, and says, But my feet were almost moved, my steps had almost slipped; because I was zealous over sinners, seeing the peace of sinners (Ps. 72:1–2). Therefore, since few possess so solid a fortitude that they are not shaken by any disturbance caused by iniquities, and since not adversity only but prosperity too corrupts many of the faithful, diligent care must be applied to healing the wounds with which human weakness is injured. For this reason I have briefly run through some of the dangers with which this world is full; so that, as Scripture says, Who will boast that he has a chaste heart, or that he is clean from sin (Prov. 20:9)? all may understand that the pardon of offences and the medicine of restoration are necessary for them.

3. Poenitentia omnibus necessaria. Deus omniscius. Quando autem, dilectissimi, opportunius ad remedia divina decurrimus, quam cum ipsa nobis sacramenta redemptionis nostrae temporum lege referuntur? Quae ut dignius celebremus, saluberrime nos quadraginta dierum jejunio praeparemus. Non enim hi tantum qui per mortis Christi resurrectionisque mysterium in ⟨n⟩ovam vitam Baptismo sunt regenerandi, sed etiam omnes populi renatorum utiliter sibi et necessarie praesidium hujus sanctificationis assumunt: illi, ut quae nondum habent accipiant; isti, ut accepta custodiant: dicente Apostolo, Qui stat, videat ne cadat (I Cor. X, 12). Nemo tanta est firmitate suffultus, ut de stabilitate sua debeat esse securus. Utamur igitur, dilectissimi, saluberrimi temporis venerabilibus institutis, et sollicitiore

3. Penance is necessary for all. God is all-knowing. But when, dearly beloved, do we more fittingly have recourse to the divine remedies than when the very sacraments of our redemption are brought back to us by the law of the seasons? That we may celebrate them more worthily, let us most wholesomely prepare ourselves by a fast of forty days. For not only those who are to be regenerated by Baptism into new life through the mystery of Christ's death and resurrection, but also all the peoples of the reborn take up the protection of this sanctification usefully and necessarily for themselves: the former, that they may receive what they do not yet have; the latter, that they may guard what they have received: as the Apostle says, Let him who stands see that he does not fall (1 Cor. 10:12). No one is propped up by such firmness that he ought to be secure about his own stability. Let us therefore, dearly beloved, make use of the venerable institutions of this most wholesome season, and with more solicitous

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cura cordis nostri specula tergamus. Quantumlibet enim caste et sobrie mortalis haec vita ducatur, quodam tamen pulvere terrenae conversationis aspergitur: et nitor mentium ad Dei imaginem conditarum non ita a fumo totius vanitatis alienus est, ut nulla possit sorde fuscari, et non semper indigeat expoliri. Quod si etiam cautissimis animis necessarium est, quanto illis amplius est expetendum, qui tota forte anni spatia aut securius aut negligentius transegerunt? Quos charitate debita commonemus, ut non ideo sibimet blandiantur, quia nobis conscientiae singulorum patere non possunt: cum oculos Dei simul universa cernentis non abdita locorum, non parietum septa secludant; nec solum ei acta et cogitata, verum et agenda et cogitanda sint cognita. Ista ergo scientia summi judicis, iste est tremendus aspectus, cui pervium est omne solidum, et apertum omne secretum; cui obscura clarent, muta respondent; silentium confitetur, et sine voce mens loquitur. Nemo patientiam bonitatis Dei de peccatorum suorum impunitate contemnat: nec ideo illum aestimet non offensum, quia necdum est expertus iratum. Non sunt longae mortalis vitae induciae, nec diuturna est licentia insipientium voluptatum in aeternarum dolorem transitura poenarum, si dum justitiae sententia suspenditur, poenitentiae medicina non quaeritur.

care wipe clean the mirrors of our heart. For however chastely and soberly this mortal life is led, it is nevertheless sprinkled with a certain dust of earthly conduct; and the brightness of minds created to the image of God is not so free from the smoke of all vanity that it can be darkened by no stain and does not always need polishing. But if this is necessary even for the most cautious souls, how much more must it be sought by those who have perhaps passed whole spans of the year either too heedlessly or too negligently? These we admonish with due charity not to flatter themselves on the ground that the consciences of individuals cannot lie open to us: since neither the hidden corners of places nor the enclosures of walls shut out the eyes of God, Who sees all things at once; and not only things done and thought, but also things yet to be done and to be thought, are known to Him. This, then, is the knowledge of the supreme Judge, this is the dread gaze, to which everything solid is penetrable and every secret open; to which obscure things are clear and mute things answer; silence confesses, and the mind speaks without a voice. Let no one despise the patience of God's goodness on account of the impunity of his sins, nor think Him therefore not offended because he has not yet experienced Him angry. The truce of mortal life is not long, nor is the licence of foolish pleasures lasting, which is to pass into the pain of eternal punishments, if, while the sentence of justice is suspended, the medicine of penitence is not sought.

4. Quam periculose orat cupidus ultionis. Praesto est misericordia misericordi. Confugiamus ergo ad praesentem ubique misericordiam Dei, et ut sanctum Pascha Domini digna observantia celebretur, cunctorum fidelium corda sanctificentur. Mitescat saevitia, mansuescat iracundia: remittant sibi omnes culpas invicem suas, nec exactor sit vindictae qui petitor est veniae. Dicentes enim, Dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris (Matth. VI, 12); durissimis nos vinculis alligamus, nisi quod profitemur impleamus. Unde, si orationis hujus sacratissimum pactum non tota sui conditione servatum est; nunc saltem conscientiam suam unusquisque cognoscat, et alienis ignoscendo delictis, abolitionem suorum obtineat peccatorum. Dicente namque Domino, Si dimiseritis hominibus peccata eorum, dimittet et vobis Pater vester qui in coelis est (Matth. VI, 14; Luc. VI, 37): non longe est ab unoquoque quod poscit; cum de benignitate supplicis sententia pendeat judicantis. Qui humanarum precum misericors et justus auditor, aequitati suae de nostra lenitate praescribit, ut non haberet in eos jus severitatis, quos non invenisset cupidos ultionis. Clementes autem et mites animos etiam largitas decet. Nihil enim dignius est, quam ut homo sui auctoris sit imitator, et secundum modum propriae facultatis divini sit operis exsecutor. Nam cum aluntur esurientes, vestiuntur nudi, foventur infirmi, nonne auxilium Domini manus explet ministri, et benignitas servi munus est Domini? Qui cum ad effectus misericordiae suae adjutore non egeat, ita suam omnipotentiam temperavit, ut laboribus hominum per homines subveniret, et merito Deo gratiae referrentur de pietatis officiis, cujus opera videntur in famulis. Propter quod ipse Dominus discipulis ait: Sic luceat lumen vestrum coram hominibus, ut videntes opera vestra bona, magnificent Patrem vestrum qui in coelis est (Matth. V, 16), per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.

4. How perilously one who is eager for vengeance prays. Mercy is at hand for the merciful. Let us therefore take refuge in the mercy of God, present everywhere, and, that the holy Pasch of the Lord may be celebrated with worthy observance, let the hearts of all the faithful be sanctified. Let cruelty grow mild, let wrath be tamed: let all forgive one another their faults, and let him who is a seeker of pardon not be an exactor of vengeance. For when we say, Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors (Matt. 6:12), we bind ourselves with the hardest of chains unless we fulfil what we profess. Hence, if the most sacred compact of this prayer has not been kept in its whole condition, let each one now at least recognize his own conscience, and by pardoning the offences of others obtain the abolition of his own sins. For since the Lord says, If you forgive men their sins, your Father Who is in heaven will forgive you also (Matt. 6:14; Luke 6:37), what each one asks for is not far from him, since the sentence of the One judging depends on the kindness of the suppliant. He Who is the merciful and just hearer of human prayers lays down a rule for His equity from our gentleness, so that He should have no right of severity against those whom He had not found eager for vengeance. Moreover, generosity too befits clement and gentle souls. For nothing is more fitting than that man should be an imitator of his Maker and, according to the measure of his own capacity, an executor of the divine work. For when the hungry are fed, the naked clothed, the sick tended, does not the hand of the servant fulfil the help of the Lord, and is not the kindness of the servant the gift of the Lord? He, though He needs no helper for the effects of His mercy, has so tempered His omnipotence that He comes to the aid of men's toils through men, and thanks are deservedly rendered to God for works of piety, since His works are seen in His servants. For which reason the Lord Himself says to His disciples: So let your light shine before men, that seeing your good works they may magnify your Father Who is in heaven (Matt. 5:16), through Christ our Lord. Amen.

SERMO CXLIX. In Coena Domini. De eo quod scriptum est in Evangelio Joannis, cap. XIII, 4-8, Surgit a coena, et ponit vestimenta sua, etc.

Sermon 149. On the Lord's Supper. On what is written in the Gospel of John, chapter 13:4-8, He rises from supper and lays aside His garments, etc.

1. Lotio pedum peregrinis exemplo Domini exhibenda.

1. The washing of feet is to be offered to pilgrims after the Lord's example.

Editors' notes and page, col. 2034

Footnotes

1 ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 2034 Sic habent mss. Editi vero, audivimus.

So the manuscripts have it. But the printed editions, "audivimus" ("we have heard").

(printed under page 279)

(a) ‹anchor: SERMO CXLIX› · call in col 2034

Alias, de Tempore 127.

Elsewhere, [Sermon] 127 on the Season.

(printed under page 279)

(b) ‹anchor: vestimenta sua, etc.› · call in col 2034

In Appendice nunc primum collocatur. Lovaniensibus dubius, Verlino autem et Vindingo spurius videbatur. Augustinum certe illud minime sapit quod in fine n. 1 dicitur, lotione pedum, non solum minuta, sed etiam capitalia peccata purgari. Longe cautius ille in sermone 9, de Decem (continues)

Now placed in the Appendix for the first time. To the Louvain editors it seemed doubtful, but to Verlinus and Vindingus spurious. Certainly what is said at the end of no. 1, that by the washing of feet not only small but even capital sins are cleansed, has nothing of Augustine's savour. He speaks far more cautiously in sermon 9, on the Ten (continues)

(printed under page 279)

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running head: SERMO CXLIX. 2034
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Hodie, fratres charissimi, auditori sumus evangelistam dicentem, Quia cum surrexisset a coena Dominus, posuit vestimenta sua, et praecinxit se linteo, et coepit lavare pedes discipulorum suorum. Quid nos, dilectissimi, hoc loco dicturi sumus? Quam excusationem praetendere poterimus, qui dedignamur impendere peregrinis, quod ille dignatus est impendere servis suis? Sed sunt forte aliqui viri potentes et nobiles, sunt aliquae delicatae matronae, quae dedignantur se inclinare usque ad vestigia sanctorum in hoc mundo peregrinantium: hospitum pedes non solum ipsi non dignantur abluere, sed nec suorum quidem cuiquam, ut pro se faciant, imperare. Erubescunt forsitan nobiles delicatis manibus viri, vel mulieres christianae in hoc mundo sanctorum contrectare vestigia; quia hoc natalium praerogativa non patitur. Mala nobilitas, quae per superbiam apud Deum reddit ignobilem. Erubescunt ergo nobiles et potentes sanctis et peregrinis abluere pedes in hoc saeculo: sed si se non correxerint, plus habent erubescere et dolere, cum ab illorum consortio separati fuerint in futuro. Tunc sine ullo poenitentiae remedio affligentur, cum illos quos despexerant, propter humilitatem viderint accipere regnum, se propter superbiam meruisse supplicium. Timeamus ergo, fratres, illud quod beatus apostolus Petrus timuit, quando audivit Dominum dicentem, Si non lavero te, non habebis partem mecum: nè forte et nos, si sanctorum pedes dedignamur abluere, partem cum illis non mereamur habere. Inclinemus nos potius ad sanctorum vel peregrinorum vestigia: quia cum hoc sancta humilitate complemus, illorum quidem pedes manibus nostris tangimus, sed animarum nostrarum sordes et maculas per fidem et humilitatem abluimus, et non solum minuta, sed etiam capitalia peccata purgamus.

Today, dearest brethren, we are to hear the evangelist saying, That when the Lord had risen from supper, He laid aside His garments, and girded Himself with a towel, and began to wash the feet of His disciples. What, beloved, are we going to say at this point? What excuse shall we be able to put forward, we who disdain to render to strangers what He deigned to render to His servants? But there are perhaps some powerful and noble men, there are some delicate matrons, who disdain to bow themselves down to the footsteps of the saints who are pilgrims in this world: not only do they themselves not deign to wash the feet of guests, but they do not even deign to command any of their own household to do it on their behalf. Perhaps noble men with delicate hands, or Christian women, are ashamed to handle the footsteps of the saints in this world, because the privilege of their birth does not allow it. Evil is the nobility which through pride renders a man ignoble before God. The noble and powerful, then, are ashamed to wash the feet of saints and strangers in this age: but if they do not correct themselves, they will have more cause to be ashamed and to grieve when they have been separated from their company in the future. Then they will be afflicted without any remedy of penance, when they see those whom they had despised receiving the kingdom because of their humility, and themselves to have deserved punishment because of their pride. Let us therefore fear, brethren, what the blessed apostle Peter feared when he heard the Lord saying, If I do not wash you, you will have no part with Me: lest perhaps we too, if we disdain to wash the feet of the saints, should not deserve to have a part with them. Let us rather bow down to the footsteps of the saints or of strangers: for when we fulfil this with holy humility, we touch their feet indeed with our hands, but we wash away the filth and stains of our souls through faith and humility, and we purge not only small sins but even capital ones.

2. Mysteria in die Coenae instituta. Gaudete ergo, dilectissimi, et exsultate in Domino, qui nobis in hoc die salutiferae consolationis mysteria consecravit. Unde autem commendavit Dominus corpus et sanguinem suum? unde, nisi de humilitate sua? Nisi enim esset humilis, nec manducaretur, nec biberetur. Respice altitudinem ipsius: In principio erat Verbum. Ecce qualis est cibus sempiternus. Sed manducant Angeli, manducant supernae virtutes, manducant coelestes spiritus, manducant et saginantur; et integrum manet quod eos satiat et laetificat. Quis autem homo posset ad illum cibum ascendere? Quia ergo ad illum panem homo non poterat ascendere, dignatus est panis ipse descendere ad hominem: et hoc cum ineffabili pietate factum est; quia oportebat ut mensa illa Angelorum lactesceret, et ad parvulos perveniret. Sic ergo fecit Sapientia Dei, sic nos per carnis assumptionem pavit pane coelesti: quia Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis (Joan. I, 1, 14). Vide ergo humilitatem, quia panem Angelorum manducavit homo: id est, Verbum illud, unde pascuntur Angeli, sempiternum, quod est aequale Patri, manducavit homo.

2. The mysteries instituted on the day of the Supper. Rejoice therefore, beloved, and exult in the Lord, Who on this day has consecrated for us the mysteries of saving consolation. But from what source did the Lord commend His body and blood? From what, if not from His humility? For unless He were humble, He would neither be eaten nor drunk. Look upon His loftiness: In the beginning was the Word. Behold what the everlasting food is like. But the Angels eat, the heavenly powers eat, the celestial spirits eat, they eat and are filled; and that which satisfies them and gladdens them remains whole. But what man could ascend to that food? Since, then, man could not ascend to that bread, the bread itself deigned to descend to man: and this was done with unspeakable loving-kindness; for it was fitting that that table of the Angels should turn into milk and reach the little ones. So, then, the Wisdom of God did, so He fed us with heavenly bread through the assumption of flesh: for the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (John 1:1, 14). See, then, the humility, that man has eaten the bread of Angels: that is, that Word on which the Angels feed, everlasting, which is equal to the Father, man has eaten.

3. Nihil nisi de adjutorio Dei praesumendum. Praesumptio Petri. Et ideo, fratres charissimi, quia nos Dominus noster patientiam docuit, poena liberavit, morte redemit, speremus semper in Domino, et nihil sine ejus voluntate et adjutorio praesumamus. Nostis enim quid temere beatus Petrus promiserit Christo: Et si omnes, inquit, scandalizati fuerint in te, ego nunquam scandalizabor. Dominus qui noverat fragilitatem humanam, et sciebat non esse in promissione, sed in

3. Nothing is to be presumed upon except from the help of God. The presumption of Peter. And therefore, dearest brethren, since our Lord has taught us patience, freed us from punishment, redeemed us by death, let us always hope in the Lord, and presume upon nothing without His will and help. For you know what the blessed Peter rashly promised to Christ: Even if all, he said, are scandalized in You, I shall never be scandalized. The Lord, Who knew human frailty, and knew that it is not in promising, but in

Editors' notes and page, col. 2035