Migne Reading Room
PL 39 · cols. 2058–2061
Appendix to Augustine's Sermones: Sermones supposititii, Sermones 155-173
Sermons CLIX–CLX
SERMO CLIX. De Pascha, 1.
Sermon 159. On Easter, 1.
1. Haec dies caeteris lucidior. Dierum omnium mater. Non queo, fratres charissimi, quod mente concipio, ore proferre; et cordis mei laetitiam lingua non explicat. Hoc autem non solum ego patior, qui cupio narrare quae sentio, sed etiam vos mecum patimini, plus exsultantes in conscientia, quam in eloquio proferentes. Videtur mihi haec dies caeteris diebus esse lucidior, sol mundo clarior illuxisse, astra quoque et omnia elementa laetari: et quae patiente Domino proprium lumen retraxerant, et noluerunt Creatorem suum aspicere crucifixum, ecce nunc victorem illum, et ab inferis resurgentem novo claritatis suae prosequuntur obsequio. Credit coelum, credit terra, et sagena quae totum mundum piscata est, Judaeos tenere non potuit. Haec est dies quam fecit Dominus, exsultemus et laetemur in ea (Psal. CXVII, 24). Quomodo Maria virgo mater Domini inter omnes mulieres principatum tenet; ita et inter caeteros dies haec omnium dierum mater est. Rem novam dico, sed quae Scripturarum vocibus comprobatur. Haec dies et una de septem, et extra septem est: haec est dies quae appellatur octava; unde et in quibusdam Psalmorum titulis superscribitur, Pro octava (Psal. VI, etc.). Haec est dies in qua Synagoga finitur, et Ecclesia nascitur: haec in cujus numero octo animae servatae sunt in arca Noe. Et quid mihi necesse est infinita replicare? Dies me deficiet, si voluero omne diei istius exponere sacramentum.
1. This day is brighter than the rest. The mother of all days. I cannot, dearest brethren, bring forth with my mouth what I conceive in my mind; and my tongue does not unfold the gladness of my heart. Yet not only do I suffer this, who desire to tell what I feel, but you also suffer it with me, exulting more in your inward awareness than you can bring forth in speech. It seems to me that this day is brighter than the other days, that the sun has shone out more clearly upon the world, that the stars too and all the elements rejoice: and those which, while the Lord suffered, had withdrawn their own light and would not look upon their Creator crucified, behold, now attend Him, the victor and rising from the dead, with a new homage of their brightness. Heaven believes, earth believes, and the net which has fished the whole world could not hold the Jews. This is the day which the Lord has made; let us exult and rejoice in it (Ps. 117:24). As Mary the virgin, the mother of the Lord, holds the first place among all women, so also among the other days this is the mother of all days. I say a new thing, but one which is proved by the words of the Scriptures. This day is both one of the seven and outside the seven: this is the day which is called the eighth; whence also in the titles of certain Psalms there is written above, For the octave (Ps. 6, etc.). This is the day on which the Synagogue is ended and the Church is born: this is the day in whose number eight souls were saved in the ark of Noah. And why need I unfold things without end? The day will fail me if I wish to set forth the whole mystery of this day.
2. Ad hanc tota sabbati gratia translata. Justi corona Christi a quo et ornantur. Hoc tantum dico, quod universa sabbati gratia et antiqua illa festivitas populi Judaeorum diei istius solemnitate mutata est. Illi in sabbato non faciebant opus servile: nos in die dominica, hoc est in die resurrectionis, opus servile non facimus; quia peccatis et vitiis non servimus: Qui enim facit peccatum, servus est peccati (Joan. VIII, 34). Illi de domibus suis non egrediebantur: et nos de domo Christi non egrediamur; sumus enim in Ecclesia. Illi non accendebant ignem in die sabbati: nos e contrario accendamus in nobis ignem Spiritus sancti, et omne vitium excoquamus peccatorum; de quo igne Dominus ait: Ignem veni mittere in terram; et quid volo, nisi ut ardeat (Luc. XII, 49)? Desiderat Dominus istum ignem ardere in nobis, secundum Apostolum, id est, Spiritum sanctum fervere (Rom. XII, 11), ut non refrigescat charitas Dei. Illi per diem sabbati non ambulant in itinere; perdiderunt enim eum qui dixit, Ego sum via (Joan. XIV, 6): nos autem dicimus, Beati immaculati in via, qui ambulant in lege Domini; et iterum, Viam veritatis elegi: et, Viam justificationum tuarum doce me (Psal. CXVIII, 1, 30, 26). Illi de spinis Dominum coronaverunt: nos autem si fuerimus lapides pretiosi, nostrum Dominum coronamus. Caput imperatorum saeculi istius ornant diademata: nos ideo in capite nostri regis imponimur, ut ornemur a capite. Illi non receperunt Christum, et suscepturi sunt antichristum: nos recepimus humilem Filium Dei, ut habeamus postea triumphantem. Et ad extremum, noster hircus ante Dominum immolatur in altari: illorum hircus antichristus consputus et maledictus projicitur in solitudinem. Noster latro cum Domino ingressus est paradisum: illorum latro homicida atque blasphemus moritur in suo peccato. Illis Barabbas latro dimittitur: nobis Christus occiditur.
2. To this day the whole grace of the sabbath has been transferred. The just are the crown of Christ, by Whom they are also adorned. This only I say, that the whole grace of the sabbath and that ancient festival of the people of the Jews has been changed into the solemnity of this day. They did no servile work on the sabbath: we do no servile work on the Lord's day, that is, on the day of the resurrection, because we are not slaves to sins and vices: For whoever commits sin is the slave of sin (John 8:34). They did not go out of their houses: let us too not go out of the house of Christ; for we are in the Church. They did not kindle fire on the sabbath day: we on the contrary, let us kindle in ourselves the fire of the Holy Spirit and burn out every vice of sins; of which fire the Lord says: I have come to send fire upon the earth; and what do I wish, but that it burn (Luke 12:49)? The Lord desires this fire to burn in us, according to the Apostle, that is, that the Holy Spirit be fervent (Rom. 12:11), so that the charity of God may not grow cold. They do not walk on a journey on the sabbath day; for they have lost Him Who said, I am the way (John 14:6): but we say, Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord; and again, I have chosen the way of truth; and, Teach me the way of Thy justifications (Ps. 118:1, 30, 26). They crowned the Lord with thorns: but we, if we become precious stones, crown our Lord. Diadems adorn the head of the emperors of this world: we are therefore placed upon the head of our King, that we may be adorned by the Head. They did not receive Christ, and are about to take up the antichrist: we have received the humble Son of God, that we may afterwards have Him triumphant. And lastly, our goat is sacrificed before the Lord on the altar: their goat, the antichrist, spat upon and accursed, is cast out into the wilderness. Our thief entered paradise with the Lord: their thief, a murderer and blasphemer, dies in his sin. To them Barabbas the thief is released: for us Christ is slain.
Editors' notes and page, col. 2058
Footnotes
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Ita Mss., uno excepto cb., in quo, protestantur. In editis autem, venerantur.
So the manuscripts, except one, cb., which has "protestantur." In the editions, however, "venerantur."
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Ms. cb. addit, id est, a mandatis ejus non declinemus; nec habet, sumus enim in Ecclesia.
Manuscript cb. adds "that is, let us not turn aside from his commandments," and does not have "for we are in the Church."
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In Ms. cb., nos ideo in capitibus nostris signaculum nostri regis imponimus, ut ornemur a Christo.
In manuscript cb.: "we therefore place the seal of our king on our heads, that we may be adorned by Christ."
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Olim, de Tempore 136; et post, in Appendice 51.
Formerly De Tempore 136; and afterwards Appendix 51.
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Inter Sermones Eusebio inscriptos exstare tradunt Lovanienses; sed in illis tamen nonnisi quod ad sensus contentus reperitur. Exstat vero totus quod ad verba in Hieronymi tomo 9, cum spuriis opusculis.
The Louvain editors report that it is found among the Sermons ascribed to Eusebius; but there only its content as to sense is found. It is extant in full, as to the words, in volume 9 of Jerome, among the spurious pieces.
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3. Hodie coeli porta reserata. Ecclesiae porta, porta paradisi. Pro quibus universis, fratres charissimi, consona pariter voce cantemus: Haec est dies quam fecit Dominus, exsultemus et laetemur in ea. Igneam illam rhomphaeam et paradisi januam, quam nullus potuit effringere, hodie Christus cum latrone reseravit. Hodie dixit Christus ad Angelos: Aperite mihi portas justitiae, ingressus in eas confitebor Domino; quae cum semel aperta est, nunquam credentibus clauditur. Ex eo tempore quo passus est Dominus usque ad praesentem diem, haec porta et clausa est et reserata: clausa est peccatoribus et incredulis, reserata est justis et credentibus. Per hanc ingressus est Petrus, per hanc ingressus est Paulus, per hanc omnes sancti et martyres intraverunt, per hanc quotidie de toto mundo justorum animae ingrediuntur. Duae enim sunt portae, porta paradisi, et porta Ecclesiae: per portam Ecclesiae intramus in portam paradisi. Ita ergo debemus vivere, ne ejiciamur de domo illa, et ejecti foras a bestiis devoremur: quas in alio loco propheta formidans, commemorans ait, Ne tradas bestiis animam confitentem tibi (Psal. LXXIII, 19). Ecce nunc Dominus stans in paradisi janua loquitur ad nos qui sumus in domo ipsius congregati, et dicit: Haec est porta Domini; justi intrabunt per eam (Psal. CXVII, 19, 20). Quod ipse praestare dignetur, qui vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
3. Today the gate of heaven is unbarred. The gate of the Church, the gate of paradise. For all these things, dearest brothers, let us sing together with one harmonious voice: This is the day which the Lord has made; let us exult and rejoice in it. That fiery sword and the gate of paradise, which no one was able to break open, today Christ has unbarred together with the thief. Today Christ said to the angels: Open to Me the gates of justice; having entered into them I will confess to the Lord; and this gate, once it has been opened, is never shut to believers. From the time when the Lord suffered up to the present day, this gate is both shut and unbarred: it is shut to sinners and unbelievers, it is unbarred to the just and to believers. Through it Peter entered, through it Paul entered, through it all the saints and martyrs have gone in, through it every day the souls of the just from the whole world enter. For there are two gates, the gate of paradise and the gate of the Church: through the gate of the Church we enter into the gate of paradise. Let us therefore so live that we are not cast out of that house and, cast outside, devoured by beasts; dreading these, the prophet in another place makes mention of them and says, Do not deliver to the beasts the soul that confesses to Thee (Ps. 73:19). Behold, the Lord now, standing at the gate of paradise, speaks to us who are gathered in His house, and says: This is the gate of the Lord; the just shall enter by it (Ps. 117:19–20). May He deign to grant this, Who lives and reigns for ages of ages. Amen.
SERMO CLX. De Pascha, II.
Sermon 160. On Easter, 2.
1. Christus quomodo libere egit. Quonam modo mors mortis et morsus inferni. Passionem vel resurrectionem Domini et Salvatoris nostri Jesu Christi, fratres dilectissimi, licet omnia Veteris Testamenti volumina multo ante praedixerint; tamen etiam per os David prophetae Spiritus sanctus evidenter ostendit, dicens: Deus ultionum Dominus, Deus ultionum libere egit (Psal. XCIII, 1). Solus etenim ipse libere egit, qui nobis hodie ostendit quid egerit. Libere enim egit, de quo multo ante fuerat prophetatum, quia factus est sicut homo sine adjutorio inter mortuos liber (Psal. LXXXVII, 5, 6). Vultis tamen scire quid egerit? Audite quid fecerit. Nulla necessitate, sed propria voluntate in ligno se suspendi permisit, clavis corpus suum perforari non renuit, animam ponendo mortem sustinuit, carnem in sepulcro reposuit, et comitante secum anima ad inferna descendit. [Per hanc electi, qui quamvis in tranquillitatis sinu, tamen apud inferni claustra tenebantur, ad paradisi amoena reducti sunt. Quod ante passionem dixit, in resurrectione sua Dominus implevit: Si exaltatus fuero, inquit, a terra, omnia traham ad me (Joan. XII, 32). Omnia etenim traxit, qui de electis suis apud inferos nullum reliquit: omnia abstulit, utique electa. Neque enim infideles quosque et pro suis criminibus aeternis suppliciis deditos, ad veniam Dominus resurgendo reparavit: sed illos ex inferni claustris rapuit, quos suos in fide et actibus recognovit. Unde recte etiam per Oseam dicitur, Ero mors tua, o mors; ero morsus tuus, inferne (Osee XIII, 14). Id namque quod occidimus, agimus ut penitus non sit; ex eo autem quod mordemus, partem abstrahimus, partemque relinquimus: quia ergo in electis suis funditus,
1. How Christ acted freely. In what way [He is] the death of death and the bite of hell. The passion and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, most beloved brothers, although all the volumes of the Old Testament foretold it long before, yet the Holy Spirit also shows it plainly through the mouth of David the prophet, saying: The Lord is the God of vengeances, the God of vengeances has acted freely (Ps. 93:1). For He alone acted freely Who today has shown us what He did. For He acted freely, of Whom it had been prophesied long before that He became as a man without help, free among the dead (Ps. 87:5–6). Do you nevertheless wish to know what He did? Hear what He has done. By no necessity, but by His own will, He allowed Himself to be hung upon the wood, He did not refuse to have His body pierced with nails, by laying down His soul He underwent death, He laid His flesh in the tomb, and with His soul accompanying Him He descended to the lower regions. [Through this the elect, who, although in the bosom of tranquillity, were nevertheless held within the bars of hell, were led back to the delights of paradise. What He said before His passion, the Lord fulfilled in His resurrection: If I be lifted up, He says, from the earth, I will draw all things to Me (John 12:32). For He drew all things, He Who left none of His elect among those below: He took away all things, that is, the elect ones. For the Lord did not by rising again restore to pardon all the unbelievers and those given over to eternal punishments for their crimes; but He snatched from the bars of hell those whom He recognized as His own in faith and deeds. Hence it is also rightly said through Hosea, I will be your death, O death; I will be your bite, O hell (Hos. 13:14). For that which we kill, we bring about that it should not exist at all; but from that which we bite, we take away a part, and leave a part: since therefore in His elect utterly,
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Sic plerique Mss. cb. autem: Haec est porta Domini; justi intrabunt per eam. Festinemus ergo, fratres mei, monente Apostolo, in illam requiem; ne quis errando incidat in tentationem et laqueum diaboli: sed ad aeterna praemia festinemus, quae ipse promisit qui pro nobis mortuus est et resurrexit; cui est honor et potestas in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
So most manuscripts; but cb.: "This is the gate of the Lord; the just shall enter by it. Let us hasten therefore, my brothers, as the Apostle warns, into that rest, lest anyone by straying fall into the temptation and snare of the devil; but let us hasten to the eternal rewards which he promised who died and rose again for us; to whom be honour and power for ever and ever. Amen."
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Alias, de tempore 137; et post, in Appendice 52.
Elsewhere, De Tempore 137; and afterwards, Appendix 52.
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Consarcinatus ex Gregorii et Eusebii sententiis. Et quidem hic plura sunt ansulis inclusa, quae minime reperiuntur in manuscriptis, quibus detractis caetera inter se aptius cohaerent. De num. 1. vid. homil. Gregorii papae 22 in Evangelium; de num. 2, vid. Eusebii homil. 1 de Pascha; de num. 3, confer ejusdem homil. 1 de Ascensione Domini; de num. 5, vide Append. 163, n. 4.
Patched together from sentences of Gregory and Eusebius. Indeed several passages here are enclosed in brackets which are not found at all in the manuscripts; when they are removed the rest hangs together more fittingly. On no. 1 see Pope Gregory's Homily 22 on the Gospel; on no. 2, Eusebius's Homily 1 on Easter; on no. 3, compare the same author's Homily 1 on the Ascension of the Lord; on no. 5, see Appendix 163, no. 4.
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occidit mortem, mors mortis exstitit; quia vero ex inferno partem abstulit, et partem reliquit, non occidit funditus, sed momordit infernum. Ait ergo, Ero mors tua, o mors: ac si aperte dicat, Quia in electis meis te funditus perimo. Ero morsus tuus, inferne; quia sublatis meis te in parte transigo. Tunc enim Dominus noster Jesus Christus illum] tenebrarum et mortis principem colligavit, legiones illius perturbavit: portarum inferni vectes ferreos confregit, omnes justos, qui originali peccato astricti tenebantur, absolvit, captivos in libertatem pristinam revocavit, peccatorum tenebris obcaecatos splendida luce perfudit.
He killed death, He became the death of death; but because He took part away from hell and left part, He did not kill it utterly, but bit hell. So He says, I will be your death, O death: as if He were to say openly, Because in My elect I destroy you utterly. I will be your bite, O hell; because, having taken away My own, I pierce you through in part. For then our Lord Jesus Christ bound that] prince of darkness and of death, threw his legions into confusion: He broke the iron bars of the gates of hell, released all the righteous who were held bound by original sin, called the captives back into their former freedom, and flooded with splendid light those blinded by the darkness of sins.
2. Voces tartari ad adventum Christi. Ecce audistis, quid defensor noster ultionis Dominus libere egisse describitur. Postquam enim exaltatus, id est, a Judaeis in cruce suspensus est, ut haec breviter cuncta perstringam, mox ut spiritum reddidit, unita suae divinitati anima ad inferorum profunda descendit. Cumque tenebrarum terminum quasi quidam depraedator splendidus ac terribilis attigisset, aspicientes eum impiae ac tartareae legiones, territae ac trementes inquirere coeperunt dicentes: [Quisnam est iste terribilis, et niveo splendore coruscus? Nunquam noster talem excepit tartarus, nunquam in nostram cavernam talem evomuit mundus. Invasor iste, non debitor; exactor est, non precator: judicem videmus, non supplicem. Venit jubere, non succumbere; eripere, non manere. Ubinam janitores nostri dormierunt, cum iste bellator claustra vexabat? Hic si reus esset, tam potens non esset. Si eum aliqua peccata fuscarent, nunquam nostra tartara suo dissiparet fulgore. Si Deus, utquid venit? Si homo, quid praesumpsit? Si Deus, quid in sepulcro facit? Si homo, quare peccatores solvit? Numquid cum auctore nostro foedus composuit; aut forte congressus et ipsum vicit, et sic ad nostra regna ascendit? Certe mortuus erat, certe victus erat. Illusus est praeliator noster, nescivit quam hic stragem procuraret inferno crux illa fallens gaudia nostra, parturiens damna nostra. Per lignum ditati sumus, per lignum evertimur: perit potestas illa semper populis formidata. Nullus hic vivus intravit, nemo carnifices terruit, nunquam huic coenolento loco et nigra semper caligine caecato jucundum lumen apparuit. Aut forte sol de mundo migravit? Sed nec coelum nobis astraque apparent; et tamen infernus lucet. Defendere contra ipsum custodiam carceris nostri non valemus. Male intravimus, lumen tantum obtenebrare nequivimus: insuper et de nostro interitu formidamus.
2. The voices of Tartarus at the coming of Christ. Behold, you have heard what our defender, the Lord of vengeance, is described as having freely done. For after He was exalted, that is, hung on the cross by the Jews, to touch on all this briefly, as soon as He gave up His spirit, His soul, united to His divinity, descended to the depths of the underworld. And when, like a kind of splendid and terrible plunderer, He had reached the boundary of darkness, the impious and Tartarean legions, seeing Him, terrified and trembling, began to inquire, saying: [Who is this terrible one, gleaming with snowy splendour? Never has our Tartarus received such a one, never has the world vomited such a one into our cavern. This is an invader, not a debtor; He is an exactor, not a petitioner: we see a judge, not a suppliant. He has come to command, not to succumb; to snatch away, not to remain. Where were our doorkeepers sleeping, while this warrior was battering the bars? If He were guilty, He would not be so powerful. If any sins darkened Him, He would never scatter our infernal regions with His brightness. If He is God, why has He come? If man, what has He presumed? If God, what is He doing in the tomb? If man, why has He set sinners free? Has He made a pact with our author; or perhaps, having engaged him, has He even conquered him, and so come up to our realms? Certainly He was dead, certainly He was conquered. Our warrior has been mocked; he did not know what slaughter that cross was procuring here for hell, cheating our joys, bringing forth our losses. Through the wood we were enriched, through the wood we are overthrown: that power ever dreaded by the peoples perishes. No one living has entered here, no one has terrified the executioners; never has pleasant light appeared to this filthy place, ever blinded by black gloom. Or has the sun perhaps departed from the world? But neither the sky nor the stars appear to us; and yet hell shines. We are not able to defend the custody of our prison against Him. We entered badly; we were unable even to darken the light: moreover, we also dread our own destruction.
3. Tartari ad suum principem apostrophe. Unde est iste tam splendidus, tam fortis, tam praeclarus, tamque terribilis? Mundus ille qui nobis subditus fuit, semperque nostris usibus mortis tributa persolvit, nunquam nobis talem misit, nunquam talia inferis munera destinavit. Quis ergo iste est, qui sic intrepidus nostros fines ingreditur; et non solum nostra supplicia non veretur, insuper et alios de vinculis nostris absolvit? An forte ipse est ille de quo princeps noster paulo ante dicebat, quod per ejus mortem, totius mundi acciperet potestatem? Sed si iste est, in contrarium est nostri praeliatoris versa sententia: et dum sibi vincere visus est, ipse potius victus atque prostratus est. O princeps noster, hicne est ille de cujus tibi semper futura morte plaudebas? ipsene est in cujus cruce omnem mundum tibi subjugandum esse credebas? ipsene est in cujus exitu nobis tanta spolia promittebas? Quid est quod egisti? Quid est quod facere voluisti? Ecce jam totas tibi tenebras suo splendore fugavit, et omnes tuos carceres fregit,
3. The apostrophe of Tartarus to its prince. Whence is this one so splendid, so strong, so glorious, and so terrible? That world which was subject to us, and always paid the tributes of death for our uses, never sent us such a one, never appointed such gifts for those below. Who then is this, who so fearlessly enters our territory, and not only does not fear our punishments, but moreover releases others from our chains? Is He perhaps that one of whom our prince was saying a little while ago that through His death he would receive power over the whole world? But if it is He, the verdict of our warrior has been turned to the contrary: and while he seemed to himself to conquer, he himself was rather conquered and laid low. O our prince, is this the one at whose future death you were always rejoicing? is this the one on whose cross you believed the whole world was to be subjugated to you? is this the one at whose departure you were promising us such great spoils? What is it that you have done? What is it that you wished to do? Behold, He has now put to flight all your darkness with His splendour, and has broken all your prisons,
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Apud Eusebium, nigrati sumus; et sic forte corrigendi Mss. in quibus, intrati sumus.
In Eusebius, "nigrati sumus" (we have been blackened); and so perhaps the manuscripts that read "intrati sumus" should be corrected.
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Hic in excusis desinit Eusebii homilia: sed in manuscriptis nostris quorum unus Eusebii nomen praefert, longe prolixior est, et plerasque continet sententias quae hic deinceps exponuntur.
Here the homily of Eusebius ends in the printed editions; but in our manuscripts, one of which bears the name of Eusebius, it is far longer and contains most of the sentences set out here from this point on.
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captivos ejecit, ligatos solvit, luctus eorum in gaudium commutavit. Ecce ipsi qui sub nostris solebant suspirare tormentis, insultant nobis de perceptione salutis; et non solum jam nihil verentur, insuper et minantur. Nunquam hic ita superbierant mortui, nec aliquando sic potuerunt laeti esse captivi. Utquid huc istum adducere voluisti, quo veniente omnes sunt laetitiae restituti, qui ante fuerant desperati? Nullus hic jam solitus eorum mugitus auditur, nullus resonat gemitus. [Factum est autem captivis redemptionis commercium.] O princeps noster, illas tuas divitias, quas primum acquisieras per paradisi amissionem, nunc perdidisti per crucem: perit omnis laetitia tua, in luctum conversa sunt gaudia tua. Dum tu Christum suspendis in ligno, ignoras quanta damna sustineas in inferno. Praevidere non poteras, quia eversorem regni tui in mortem sine reatu aliquo perducebas? Si attenderes causam, requireres culpam. In quo nihil mali cognoveras, quare eum ad nostram patriam perducebas? Istum liberum adduxisti; et totos obnoxios perdidisti.
has cast out the captives, loosed the bound, changed their mourning into joy. Behold, the very ones who used to sigh under our torments mock us over their receiving of salvation; and not only do they now fear nothing, they even threaten besides. Never had the dead been so proud here, nor at any time could captives be so glad. Why did you wish to bring this man here, at whose coming all who before had been in despair have been restored to gladness? No longer is their accustomed bellowing heard here, no groaning resounds. [But for the captives an exchange of redemption has been made.] O our prince, those riches of yours, which you had first acquired through the loss of paradise, you have now lost through the cross: all your gladness perishes, your joys have been turned into mourning. While you hang Christ on the wood, you do not know what great losses you are sustaining in hell. Could you not foresee that you were bringing the overthrower of your kingdom to death without any guilt? If you had attended to the cause, you would have looked for a fault. Why were you bringing into our homeland Him in whom you had recognized no evil? Him you brought here free; and you have lost all who were liable.
4. Justorum ad Christum obsecratio. Post istas crudelium ministrorum infernalium voces, sine aliqua mora ad imperium Domini ac Salvatoris nostri omnes ferrei confracti sunt vectes: et ecce subito innumerabiles sanctorum populi, qui tenebantur in morte captivi, Salvatoris sui genibus obvoluti, lacrymabili eum obsecratione deposcunt, dicentes: Advenisti, Redemptor mundi; advenisti, quem desiderantes quotidie sperabamus; advenisti, quem nobis futurum Lex nuntiaverat et Prophetae, advenisti donans in carne vivis indulgentiam peccatoribus mundi: solve defunctos et captivos inferni. [Venisti post longas lacrymas, eripe solus qui passus es pro nobis. Coeli conditor, ad inferos intrare dignatus es: te enim nostra vocabant suspiria, te larga requirebant lamenta: unde spes desperatis, unde consolatio in tormentis. In adventu tuo catena nostra cecidit, nox effugit. Vita veniente mors moritur, nec tortor instat, nec percussor. Damnati vota capiunt: Creator imperat, non invasor. In tyranno catena innectitur; et tortor noster poena torquetur. Solve, Redemptor mundi, defunctos et captivos inferni.] Descendisti pro nobis ad inferos; noli nobis deesse, cum fueris reversurus ad superos. Posuisti titulum gloriae in saeculo, pone signum victoriae in inferno.
4. The entreaty of the righteous to Christ. After these cries of the cruel ministers of hell, without any delay, at the command of our Lord and Saviour, all the iron bars were broken: and behold, suddenly innumerable peoples of the saints, who were held captive in death, prostrate at the knees of their Saviour, beseech Him with tearful entreaty, saying: Thou hast come, Redeemer of the world; Thou hast come, Whom in our longing we hoped for daily; Thou hast come, Whom the Law and the Prophets had announced to us as to come; Thou hast come, granting in the flesh to the living pardon for the sinners of the world: loose the dead and the captives of hell. [Thou hast come after long tears; rescue [us], Thou Who alone hast suffered for us. Founder of heaven, Thou hast deigned to enter the underworld: for our sighs were calling Thee, abundant lamentations were seeking Thee: whence hope for the despairing, whence consolation in torments. At Thy coming our chain has fallen, night has fled. As Life comes, death dies; neither the torturer presses on, nor the smiter. The condemned obtain their wishes: the Creator commands, not the invader. On the tyrant the chain is fastened; and our torturer is tortured with punishment. Loose, Redeemer of the world, the dead and the captives of hell.] Thou didst descend for us to the underworld; do not fail us when Thou art about to return to the world above. Thou hast set up a title of glory in the world; set up a sign of victory in hell.
5. Tormenta sua in tortores convertunt. Nec mora; postquam audita est postulatio atque altercatio innumerabilium captivorum, statim a Domini jussu omnes antiqui justi jura potestatis accipiunt, atque in suos tor⟨t⟩ores ipsi protinus tormenta convertunt, humili supplicatione cum ineffabili gaudio clamantes Domino, atque dicentes: Ascende, Domine Jesu, spoliato inferno, et auctore mortis vinculis irretito, redde jam laetitiam mundo. Jucundentur in ascensu tuo fideles tui, aspicientes cicatrices corporis tui. Fecit hoc Christus, sicut jam superius dictum est Facta praeda in inferno, vivus exiit de sepulcro: ipse se sua potentia suscitavit, et iterum se immaculata carne vestivit. Discipulis suis apparuit, ut dubitationem auferret incredulis: clavorum vulnera demonstravit, ut nullam suspicionem relinqueret Manichaeis. Manifeste manducavit et bibit; postea vero in conspectu multorum apparuit. Per nubem in coelos a⟨s⟩cendit, et se in sede sua ad Patris dexteram, unde nunquam Verbum discesserat, collocavit. Exsultent ergo populi christiani, pro quibus sanguis effusus est Christi. Jucundemur omnes in Domino, qui resurrectionem carnis solemniter celebramus in Christo. Omnis per totum mundum catholica gratuletur Ecclesia; quia Christus Dominus et de sua divinitate nihil minuit, et hominem quem fecerat liberavit. Unde exsultantes voce humili supplicemus, ut pro quibus ista pertulit, cum venit in mundum, liberatos nos de manu inferi attollere secum dignetur in coelum: cui est honor et gloria cum Patre et Spiritu sancto in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
5. They turn their torments upon their torturers. There was no delay; after the demand and the dispute of the innumerable captives had been heard, immediately at the Lord's command all the righteous of old receive the rights of power, and they themselves at once turn the torments upon their torturers, crying to the Lord with humble supplication and ineffable joy, and saying: Ascend, Lord Jesus, now that hell is despoiled and the author of death entangled in chains; give gladness back now to the world. Let Thy faithful rejoice at Thy ascent, beholding the scars of Thy body. Christ did this, as has already been said above. Having taken the plunder in hell, He went out alive from the tomb: He raised Himself by His own power, and clothed Himself again with immaculate flesh. He appeared to His disciples, to take away doubt from the unbelieving: He showed the wounds of the nails, to leave no ground for suspicion to the Manichaeans. He openly ate and drank; and afterwards He appeared in the sight of many. Through a cloud He ascended into the heavens, and placed Himself on His seat at the right hand of the Father, from which the Word had never departed. Let the Christian peoples therefore exult, for whom the blood of Christ was shed. Let us all rejoice in the Lord, we who solemnly celebrate the resurrection of the flesh in Christ. Let the whole Catholic Church throughout the whole world give thanks; because Christ the Lord both diminished nothing of His divinity and set free the man whom He had made. Therefore, exulting, let us pray with humble voice that He may deign to lift up with Him into heaven us, freed from the hand of hell, for whom He endured these things when He came into the world: to Whom is honour and glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit unto the ages of ages. Amen.
Editors' notes and page, col. 2061
Footnotes
(1) ‹anchor: titulum gloriae in saeculo› · call in col 2061
Mss. fere omnes, in coelo.
Almost all the manuscripts: "in heaven."
(printed under page 293)
Page
- running head: 2061 SERMO CLXI.
- marginal letters: (none)
- old-edition numerals: (none)