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Appendix to Augustine's Sermones: Sermones supposititii, Sermones 155-173
Sermons CLXI–CLXIII
SERMO CLXI. De Pascha, III.
Sermon 161. On Easter, 3.
1. Descensus Christi ad inferos effectus. Digne, fratres charissimi, piis studiis exsultemus in Christo sub praesenti solemnitate, in qua nobis inferorum dives spoliis tertia dies reddita est, celsitudo de profundis, lux de tenebris, vita de mortuis. Ecce quantum pro salute ovium perditarum benigna pii pastoris sollicitudo discurrit. Sub uno eodemque tempore et hominem usque ad paradisum revocare dignatur, et mortem usque ad inferna persequitur, gloriosius captivandam in regno suo, et magnificentius in suis sedibus triumphandam. Ad descensum itaque coelestis Domini profundum inferi panditur, peregrinum sibi lumen inferni nox aeterna miratur. Expavit ergo nox subito non suum mortuum, imo expavit mortem suam. Aderat enim ille, qui dudum per prophetam suum dixerat: O mors, ero mors tua; ero morsus tuus, inferne (Osee XIII, 14). Et ideo non solum in eo invenire non potuit quod teneret; sed etiam quos antea retinebat, revocari ad superos se ⟨n⟩o⟨l⟩ente conspexit: et quem debitorem suum putabat, exactorem potius experta est; et quem quasi captivum inferni vinculis astringendum esse credebat, quasi liberatorem cum recepta captivitate redire mirata est; ac sic quem descensione hominem judicaverat, Deum regressione cognovit.
1. The descent of Christ to the underworld accomplished. Fittingly, dearest brethren, let us exult in Christ with devout zeal at the present solemnity, in which the third day has been given back to us rich with the spoils of the underworld: height from the depths, light from darkness, life from the dead. Behold how far the kindly solicitude of the loving shepherd runs about for the salvation of the lost sheep. At one and the same time He both deigns to call man back even to paradise, and pursues death even to the underworld, so that it might be more gloriously taken captive in its own kingdom, and more magnificently triumphed over in its own seats. Therefore at the descent of the heavenly Lord the depth of the underworld is laid open; the eternal night of the underworld marvels at a light strange to it. So the night suddenly took fright at a dead man not its own; nay rather, it took fright at its own death. For He was present Who long before had said through His prophet: O death, I will be your death; I will be your bite, O underworld (Hos. 13:14). And therefore not only could it find nothing in Him that it might hold; but it also saw those whom it had previously kept back being called back to the world above against its will: and Him Whom it thought its debtor, it found rather to be its exactor; and Him Whom it believed must be bound as a captive with the chains of the underworld, it marvelled to see returning as a liberator with captivity recovered; and thus Him Whom by His descent it had judged a man, by His return it recognized as God.
2. Sine incarnatione Verbi potuit homo liberari: at non decuit. Potuerat quidem Dominus noster, fratres charissimi, hostem humani generis sola majestate prosternere sine incarnationis humilitate, sine certamine passionis: sed homo, qui proprio transgressionis crimine tenebatur obnoxius, qui per culpam suam incurrerat servitutem, non violentia liberandus fuit, sed misericordia redimendus. Et quia Deus aequitas et justitia est, ipse sibi lex est: et quia homo judicii et juris sui ac liberi arbitrii praeditus voluntate; qui voluntarius ruerat, injustum erat ut erigeretur invitus. Aequius et salubrius fuit, ut qui per superbiam a diabolo persuasus fuerat ad mortem, a Deo per humilitatem sollicitaretur ad vitam. Justo ergo ordine qui per calliditatem malevoli serpentis, non impulsus, sed seductus fuerat ad perditionem, rursum per sapientiam benevoli Redemptoris non compellitur, sed ducitur ad salutem: ut qui cum sua
2. Without the incarnation of the Word man could have been set free: but it was not fitting. Our Lord, dearest brethren, could indeed have overthrown the enemy of the human race by His majesty alone, without the humility of the incarnation, without the struggle of the passion: but man, who was held liable by the crime of his own transgression, who through his own fault had incurred servitude, was not to be set free by violence, but redeemed by mercy. And because God is equity and justice, He is a law unto Himself: and because man was endowed with a will of his own judgement and right and of free choice; since he had fallen willingly, it was unjust that he should be raised up unwillingly. It was more equitable and more salutary that he who through pride had been persuaded by the devil to death should be solicited by God through humility to life. By a just order, therefore, he who through the cunning of the malevolent serpent had been, not driven, but seduced to perdition, is again through the wisdom of the benevolent Redeemer not compelled, but led to salvation: so that he who with his own
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Ita Mss. potiores. N., suscitaretur. Editi, solidaretur; et infra, solidat et eruit ad vitam.
So the better manuscripts. N.: "suscitaretur." The editions: "solidaretur"; and below, "solidat et eruit ad vitam."
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(a) ‹anchor: SERMO CLXI› · call in col 2062
Olim, de Tempore 156; et post, in Appendice 54.
Formerly De Tempore 156; and afterwards Appendix 54.
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(b) ‹anchor: De Pascha, III› · call in col 2062
Homilia est inter Eusebianas primae collectionis de Paschate nona, ejusdem omnino, ut ex stilo et rebus liquet, auctoris, cujus sunt Homiliae ibidem de Nativitate Domini 2, de Paschate 2, 6, 7, 10, 11, et quae subsequitur de beato Latrone, aliaeque bene multae; id est, Fausti semipelagiani, nostra quidem opinione, fetus. Ipsius certe sermones in Homiliarum collectione illa sub Eusebii nomine plurimos obtrudi liquet: atque hunc infaustum doctorem refert illud imprimis ex homilia 4 de Epiphania, « Gratia divina..... ubi infirmitatis nostrae invenerit votum, supponit auxilium. » Itemque ex homilia de Paschate 11 istud: « Per liberum arbitrium est excepta captivitas, per liberum rursus arbitrium erat restituenda libertas. Dominus enim qui januam reserat, etiam sollicitudinem pulsantis exspectat. » Neque licet praeterire, quae ibidem proximo ante loco habentur verba: « Propterea homo, si inobedientiae lapsu et liberae mentis assensu a diabolo seductus fuerat, non coactus; a totius rationis aequitatisque auctore invitandus erat, non attrahendus: iniquissimum videtur siquidem, ut qui ceciderat voluntarius, erigeretur invitus. » Quae dicta in hoc etiam 161 sermone, n. 2, legere est absque ulla, quod ad sensum, varietate. Hic postremo Semipelagianorum haeresim redolet doctrina illa, quod Thomas resurrectionem Domini non negavit, sed « doceri voluit, confirmari desideravit: » quod in ipso Christus « non dubitationis vitium, sed sollicitudinis instruxit affectum: » quod denique « merito curiosae perscrutationis non est exclusa sedulitas. » De num. 1 vide Eusebii homil. 7 de Pascha; de num. 2 confer serm. Appendicis 103, n. 4, et Eusebii homil. de Pascha 6 et 11; de num. 3, confer Euseb. homil. de Nativitate Domini 2, de Symbolo 1, 10 de Pascha, et 1 de Ascensione; de num. 4 et 5, confer Euseb. homil. 10 de Pascha.
It is the ninth homily on Easter among the Eusebian homilies of the first collection, by wholly the same author, as style and matter make plain, as the homilies there on the Nativity of the Lord 2, on Easter 2, 6, 7, 10, 11, and the one that follows on the blessed Thief, and a good many others; that is, in our opinion, the offspring of Faustus the Semipelagian. It is clear that very many of his sermons are passed off in that collection of homilies under the name of Eusebius; and this ill-starred teacher is recalled above all by the passage in Homily 4 on the Epiphany, "Divine grace ..... where it finds the wish of our weakness, supplies help." Likewise by this from Homily 11 on Easter: "Through free will captivity was incurred; through free will in turn liberty was to be restored. For the Lord Who opens the door also awaits the earnestness of the one who knocks." Nor may we pass over the words found there just before: "Therefore man, if he had been seduced by the devil through the fall of disobedience and the assent of a free mind, not compelled, was to be invited by the author of all reason and equity, not dragged: for it seems most unjust that one who had fallen willingly should be raised unwillingly." These words may also be read in this Sermon 161, no. 2, with no difference at all as to sense. Lastly, there is the smell of the Semipelagian heresy in the teaching that Thomas did not deny the Lord's resurrection but "wished to be taught, desired to be confirmed"; that Christ formed in him "not the fault of doubt but the disposition of solicitude"; and finally that "the diligence of curious enquiry was rightly not shut out." On no. 1 see Eusebius, Homily 7 on Easter; on no. 2 compare Appendix Sermon 103, no. 4, and Eusebius, Homilies 6 and 11 on Easter; on no. 3 compare Eusebius, Homily 2 on the Nativity of the Lord, Homily 1 on the Creed, Homily 10 on Easter, and Homily 1 on the Ascension; on nos. 4 and 5 compare Eusebius, Homily 10 on Easter.
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voluntate corruisse videbatur, cum sua rursus voluntate repararetur; ut esset virtuti ac remunerationi locus. Non ergo eum praeripit per violentiam; sed potius per justam benevolentiam sollicitat et erudit ad vitam: quia benignitas provocantis etiam meritum desiderat acquiescentis, et dignantissimi medici studium, infirmi requirit assensum. Cujus ineffabilem ad erudiendos nos dignationem etiam praesens Evangelii lectio declaravit.
will seemed to have fallen might be restored again with his own will, so that there might be room for virtue and reward. He therefore does not snatch him away by violence, but rather by a just benevolence He solicits him and trains him for life; because the kindness of the One Who summons also desires the merit of the one who consents, and the care of the most condescending physician requires the assent of the sick man. His ineffable condescension in instructing us the present reading of the Gospel has also made plain.
3. Christus de Virgine natus potuit januis clausis intrare. Ait enim, sicut audistis: Cum esset sero die illo, una sabbatorum, venit Jesus januis clausis, et stetit in medio discipulorum. Quid mirum, si Dominus ad discipulos glorificatum corpus claustris stupentibus intromisit, qui illaeso materni pudoris signaculo, januam mundi hujus intravit, cujus ortum natura nescivit. Non dubites, si potentiam exercere videas triumphantem, quem tam stupenda perspicis egisse nascentem. Quid hic respondebunt Judaei, sepulto Domino discedentes, et signantes lapidem cum custodibus? Quae cum ita sint, quomodo eum repellere potuit objectus repaguli, quem non coercuerat pondus sepulcri? Imo quomodo eum obserata domus excludere potuit, quem includere mortis porta non potuit? Quid mirum, si substantiam corporis nostri per clausa ostia transmisit, cui etiam penetralia supernorum et solis Angelis familiare secretum patere consuevit?
3. Christ, born of a Virgin, was able to enter through closed doors. For it says, as you have heard: When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, Jesus came, the doors being closed, and stood in the midst of the disciples. What wonder if the Lord brought His glorified body in to the disciples while the bolts stood astonished, He Who, with the seal of His mother's chastity unharmed, entered through the door of this world, He Whose birth nature did not know? Do not doubt, if you see Him exercising His power in triumph, when you perceive that He did such astonishing things in being born. What will the Jews answer here, who went away when the Lord was buried, and sealed the stone with guards? Since these things are so, how could the barrier of a bolt repel Him Whom the weight of the tomb had not restrained? Indeed, how could a locked house shut Him out Whom the gate of death could not shut in? What wonder if He passed the substance of our body through closed doors, He to Whom even the inner places of the heavenly beings, and the secret familiar to the Angels alone, were accustomed to lie open?
4. In Thoma non dubitantis, sed inquirentis affectus. Ejus inqu⟨i⟩sitio fit universitatis instructio. Cur cicatrices ostenderit Christus. Cum ergo dixissent alii discipuli, Vidimus Dominum; respondit Thomas, et dixit eis: Nisi videro, inquit, in manibus ejus fixuram clavorum, et mittam digitum meum in locum clavorum, et mittam manus meas in latus ejus, non credam. Quam bona ignorantia, quae erudivit ignaros, quae instruxit incredulos! quam bona infidelitas, quae saeculorum fidei militavit? Nisi videro, inquit, in manibus ejus fixuram clavorum. Vox ista inqnirentis est, non negantis. Dum hoc dicit, doceri voluit, confirmari desideravit; et ideo ad eum Dominus ita ait: Infer digitum tuum huc, et vide manus meas; et affer manum tuam, et mitte in latus meum. Dum benignum praebet Veritas ac moderatum responsum, in Apostolo suo non dubitationis vitium, sed sollicitudinis instruxit affectum. Quia ergo illo in tempore tanti mysterii novitas versabatur, merito curiosae perscrutationis non est exclusa sedulitas. Accedit, quod in his Apostoli verbis mundi utilitas agitur: unius interrogatio, universitatis est instructio. Ostendit ergo manus et latus. Necessarium enim erat ut manifestarum praesens expressio cicatricum crucifixi corporis faceret fidem; quia splendor novae lucis pristinam obduxerat veritatem, et cognitionem quodam modo claritas obscuraverat. Visis ergo cicatricibus, respondit Thomas, et dixit: Dominus meus, et Deus meus (Joan. XX, 19-28)! Novo genere vestigia vulnerum divinitati perhibent testimonium; quia templum erat Dei indumentum corporis vulnerati. Duas hoc loco in Christo mirare substantias. Fixuram perspicit corporis; et Deum praedicat majestatis.
4. In Thomas the disposition not of one doubting, but of one inquiring. His inquiry becomes the instruction of all. Why Christ showed His scars. When, then, the other disciples had said, We have seen the Lord, Thomas answered and said to them: Unless I see, he says, in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hands into His side, I will not believe. How good an ignorance, which taught the ignorant, which instructed the unbelieving! How good an unbelief, which did service to the faith of the ages? Unless I see, he says, in His hands the print of the nails. That is the voice of one inquiring, not of one denying. In saying this he wished to be taught, he desired to be confirmed; and therefore the Lord speaks to him thus: Bring your finger here, and see My hands; and bring your hand, and put it into My side. While the Truth gives a kind and measured answer, in His Apostle He instructed not the vice of doubt but the disposition of solicitude. Since, then, at that time the newness of so great a mystery was at hand, the diligence of a careful scrutiny was rightly not excluded. Add to this that in these words of the Apostle the benefit of the world is at stake: the questioning of one is the instruction of all. He showed, therefore, His hands and side. For it was necessary that the present impress of the manifest scars of the crucified body should produce faith; because the splendour of the new light had veiled the former truth, and the brightness had in a certain manner obscured recognition. So when he had seen the scars, Thomas answered and said: My Lord and my God (John 20:19–28)! In a new manner the traces of the wounds bear witness to the divinity; because the clothing of the wounded body was the temple of God. Marvel at this point at the two substances in Christ. He perceives the print in the body, and proclaims the God of majesty.
5. Cum iisdem corporibus resurgemus. Ideo mors somno assimilata, et resurrectio grano tritici. Ubi sunt qui dicunt animas novis, in quibus antea non vixerint, corporibus induendas? Ecce in resurrectionis auctore hoc ipsum video resurrexisse quod cecidit: et ideo mortui dormire dicuntur juxta prophetam, Numquid qui dormit, non adjiciet ut resurgat (Psal. XL, 9). Quare mortem somno assimilavit? Quia in uno eodemque homine numquid alter est qui in somno resolvitur, alter vero qui in ejusdem somni stupore ad vigilandi officia suscitatur? Non utique; sed ipsa absque dubio membra evigilasse credenda sunt, quae dormitionis stupore laxata sunt. Ita mors corporis, quod in pulverem confectura susceperit, idem ipsum discussa restituet: nec rude, sed redivivum vas cognatus spiritus recognoscet. Et propterea mysterium resurrectionis etiam de minimis exponens ita Apostolus
5. We shall rise with the same bodies. Therefore death is likened to sleep, and the resurrection to a grain of wheat. Where are those who say that souls are to be clothed with new bodies, in which they did not live before? Behold, in the Author of the resurrection I see that the very thing which fell has risen again: and therefore the dead are said to sleep, according to the prophet, Shall not he who sleeps rise again (Ps. 40:9)? Why did he liken death to sleep? Because in one and the same man, is it one who is relaxed in sleep, and another who in the stupor of that same sleep is roused to the duties of waking? Certainly not; but without doubt those very members must be believed to have awakened which were relaxed by the stupor of sleeping. So the death of the body, when it is shaken off, will restore that very same thing which it received to be ground into dust: and the kindred spirit will recognize not a crude vessel, but one restored to life. And therefore, expounding the mystery of the resurrection even from the smallest things, thus the Apostle
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loquitur, resurrectionem grano tritici comparans: Etenim tu quod seminas, non vivificatur, nisi prius moriatur. Si quando, ut moris est, fruges putribus sulcis agricola fenerante creduntur, numquid aliud est quod sepelitur in semina, aliud quod virescit in germina? Sed singula quaeque corpora non de nihilo; sed de sui origine producuntur, et recentia de veteribus innovantur. Cum autem de resurrectione loqueretur Apostolus, dicens: Quod seminas, non vivificatur, nisi prius moriatur, vides quia mors quod susceperit, hoc refundit? Et unicuique, inquit, seminum proprium corpus (I Cor. XV, 36, 38): non utique a genere suo alienum, sed naturae suae proprium, et de materiae suae qualitate reparatum. Revocabitur ergo in contubernium pristinum animae et corporis unitas, et nullis unquam saeculis dissocianda germanitas. Nostrum est gratia Auctoris et Redemptoris inniti: ut ad illorum numerum pertinere videamur, de quibus Apostolus dicit: Simul rapiemur obviam Christo in aera et in nubibus, et sic semper cum Domino erimus (I Thess. IV, 16). Dignum enim esse judicavit, ut germana corporis animaeque substantia cum Christo simul regnet in coelis, quae Christo servivit in terris.
speaks, comparing the resurrection to a grain of wheat: For what you sow is not brought to life unless it first dies. When, as is the custom, the crops are entrusted by the farmer to the rotting furrows, as though lending at interest, is it one thing that is buried as seed and another that grows green as shoot? But each and every body is produced not from nothing but from its own origin, and new things are renewed out of old. Now when the Apostle was speaking of the resurrection, saying: What you sow is not brought to life unless it first dies, do you see that what death has received, this it pays back? And to each, he says, of the seeds its own body (1 Cor. 15:36, 38): not, indeed, alien to its own kind, but proper to its own nature, and restored from the quality of its own matter. The unity of soul and body, then, will be called back into its former fellowship, a kinship never to be sundered in any ages. It is ours to rely on the grace of the Author and Redeemer, so that we may be seen to belong to the number of those of whom the Apostle says: We shall be caught up together to meet Christ in the air and in the clouds, and so we shall be always with the Lord (1 Thess. 4:16). For He judged it fitting that the kindred substance of body and soul which served Christ on earth should reign together with Christ in heaven.
SERMO CLXII. De Pascha, IV.
Sermon 162. On Easter, 4.
1. Thomae sollicitudo fidem omnium firmavit. Thomas fidelis non dubitavit. Retinet Sanctitas vestra, fratres, superiorem tractatum, in quo scripsimus sanctum Thomam apostolum, ad confirmandam fidem omnium, post resurrectionem Dominici corporis membra palpasse, et ad repellendam ambiguitatem universorum, vulnerum ejus cicatrices scrutari voluisse. Non enim propter se tantum hoc operatus est beatus Apostolus: sed quod sibi gessit, cunctis profecit. Cum suam enim exercuit sollicitudinem, fidem omnium confirmavit. Quis enim ex hoc dubitet rediisse a mortuis Salvatorem, cujus post inferos praesentiam agnoscat oculus, attrectet manus, digitus perscrutetur? Quamvis igitur modicae fidei homo, quamvis imbecillis ingenii christianus, nunquam sollicitudinem suam inquisitioni Thomae aequiparare potuisset. Nunquam enim post agnitionem, conversationem, loquelam ausus esset petere ut etiam tactu Christum perscrutaretur in Christo, et in ipso homine quem cerneret, hominis corpus inquireret, et resurrectionem ejus non tam mirabilium gloria crederet, quam passionis injuria comprobaret. Thomas ergo cum esset sanctus, fidelis et justus, haec omnia sollicite requisivit; non quod ipse aliquid dubitaret, sed ut omnem suspicionem incredulitatis excluderet. Nam suffecerat illi ad fidem propriam, vidisse quem noverat: sed nobis operatus est, ut tangeret quem videbat; ut si forte diceremus delusos esse ejus oculos, non possemus dicere manus illius fuisse frustratas. In resurrectionis enim manifestatione de aspectu ambigi potest, de tactu non potest dubitari. Constat enim veritatis ipsius testimonio, rediisse ab inferis Salvatorem.
1. The solicitude of Thomas strengthened the faith of all. Thomas, being faithful, did not doubt. Your Holiness, brethren, remembers the earlier discourse, in which we wrote that the holy apostle Thomas, to confirm the faith of all, handled the limbs of the Lord's body after the resurrection, and, to drive away the uncertainty of everyone, wished to examine the scars of His wounds. For the blessed Apostle did not do this for his own sake alone: rather, what he did for himself profited all. For when he exercised his own solicitude, he confirmed the faith of all. For who, on this account, would doubt that the Saviour returned from the dead, whose presence after the underworld the eye recognizes, the hand touches, the finger searches out? However much, then, a man of little faith, however much a Christian of feeble understanding, he could never have made his solicitude equal to the inquiry of Thomas. For never, after recognition, converse and speech, would he have dared to ask that he might search out Christ in Christ even by touch, and in the very man whom he saw seek out the body of a man, and believe His resurrection not so much by the glory of miracles as prove it by the injury of the Passion. Thomas, therefore, since he was holy, faithful and just, inquired into all these things with solicitude; not that he himself doubted anything, but so as to shut out every suspicion of unbelief. For it had sufficed him, for his own faith, to have seen Him Whom he had known: but he acted for us, in touching Him Whom he saw; so that if perhaps we should say that his eyes were deceived, we could not say that his hands had been mistaken. For in the manifestation of the resurrection there can be uncertainty about sight; about touch there can be no doubt. For it is established by the testimony of the truth itself that the Saviour returned from the underworld.
2. Primogenitus ex mortuis Christus. Partus resurrectionis. Quis non spem suam in Christo collocet? Quis non fidem suam ponat in Domino; ut dum illum credit ab inferis, ipse resurgat a mortuis? Dicit beatus Apostolus: Si enim mortui non resurgunt, neque Christus resurrexit (I Cor. XV, 13). Quia ergo surrexit Christus, suscitabuntur et mortui: quia resurrexit Dominus, et servuli reviviscent. Ipse enim est, sicut ait Apostolus, Primogenitus ex mortuis (Coloss. I, 18). Sicut enim est apud superos idem primogenitus in multis fratribus, ita et ab inferis est primogenitus ex defunctis. Primogenitus autem dicitur quis,
2. Christ the firstborn from the dead. The birth of the resurrection. Who would not place his hope in Christ? Who would not put his faith in the Lord, so that, while he believes Him [risen] from the underworld, he himself may rise from the dead? The blessed Apostle says: For if the dead do not rise, neither has Christ risen (1 Cor. 15:13). Since, then, Christ has risen, the dead too will be raised up: since the Lord has risen, His lowly servants also will come back to life. For He is, as the Apostle says, the Firstborn from the dead (Col. 1:18). For just as among those above the same One is the firstborn among many brethren, so also from the underworld He is the firstborn from among the departed. Now someone is called firstborn
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Olim, de Tempore 161; et post, in Appendice 56.
Formerly De Tempore 161; and afterwards Appendix 56.
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Ejusdem forte auctoris cujus est sermo superior, qui hujus sermonis exordio videtur designari, quique hunc ipsum sermonem proxime antecedit in Ms. Corbeiensi. De num. 1 confer sermonem praecedentem, n. 4.
Perhaps by the same author as the preceding sermon, which seems to be pointed to in this sermon's opening and which immediately precedes this very sermon in the Corbie manuscript. On no. 1 compare the preceding sermon, no. 4.
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ex eo quod secuturis aliis primus gignitur. Primogenitus ergo Christus vocatur ex mortuis, quod primum illum ex inferni tenebris in lucem resurrectionis partus ediderit. Partus enim dicendus est, ubi permutatione quadam anima tartari legibus moritur, ut redivivo corporis usui renascatur. Nativitas enim resurrectionis apud superos, mors quaedam est inferorum.
from the fact that he is begotten first, with others to follow. Christ is therefore called the Firstborn from the dead, because a birth brought Him forth first out of the darkness of hell into the light of the resurrection. For it is to be called a birth when, by a kind of exchange, the soul dies to the laws of Tartarus so that it may be reborn to the restored use of the body. For the nativity of the resurrection among those above is a kind of death for those below.
3. Qui mors moriatur. Qui mors in victoria consumpta. Unde ipsa mors mortem quodam modo patitur, dum ei in vitam defunctorum multitudo subtrahitur. Nam sic beatus Apostolus dicit, Novissima autem inimica destruetur mors; et iterum, Absorpta est mors in victoria. Cum ergo absumitur mors in victoria, defectionis quadam suae internecione destruitur. Defectionem autem patitur, cum potestas ejus cunctis resurgentibus vacuatur. Videamus autem quid sit quod ait, mortem in victoria esse consumptam. Consumpta est plane mors in victoria sua, dum Christum inferni legibus subjiciens, ipsa se, cum eum vincit, obruit. In eo enim, in quo illum quem se superasse credebat, possedit, ab eo victa est cum resurrexit. Totam ergo fidem nostram in resurrectionis gloria collocare debemus, et in futura magis vita sperare de Domino. Sic enim ait beatus Apostolus: Si in hac vita tantum in Christo speramus, miserabiliores sumus omnibus hominibus (I Cor. XV, 26, 54, 19). Miser ergo est qui in hac tantum vita sperat in Domino. Miser plane est; quia cito spes ejus subducitur, dum cito haec brevis vita finitur. Nam spes illius caduca efficitur, dum temporali transitu dulcedinis ejus voluptas elabitur. De tali enim spe dicit Apostolus, Spes autem quae videtur, non est spes (Rom. VIII, 24). In futura igitur vita speremus in Domino, quae solida est atque perpetua: ut non miserabiliores cunctis hominibus, sed meliores esse possimus, per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, qui vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
3. How death dies. How death is swallowed up in victory. Hence death itself in a certain way suffers death, when the multitude of the dead is withdrawn from it into life. For thus the blessed Apostle says, But the last enemy, death, shall be destroyed; and again, Death is swallowed up in victory. When therefore death is consumed in victory, it is destroyed by a kind of slaughter of its own failing. And it suffers failing when its power is made void by all who rise again. Let us see, however, what it is that he says, that death has been consumed in victory. Death has plainly been consumed in its own victory, when, subjecting Christ to the laws of hell, it overwhelmed itself in conquering Him. For in the very act in which it held Him whom it believed it had overcome, it was conquered by Him when He rose again. We ought therefore to place our whole faith in the glory of the resurrection, and to hope in the Lord rather for the life to come. For thus the blessed Apostle says: If in this life only we hope in Christ, we are more miserable than all men (1 Cor. 15:26, 54, 19). Wretched, therefore, is he who hopes in the Lord in this life only. Wretched indeed he is; for his hope is quickly taken away, since this brief life is quickly ended. For his hope becomes perishable, as the pleasure of its sweetness slips away in temporal passing. For of such hope the Apostle says, But hope that is seen is not hope (Rom. 8:24). Let us therefore hope in the Lord for the life to come, which is solid and everlasting: so that we may be not more miserable than all men, but better, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns for ages of ages. Amen.
SERMO CLXIII. De Pascha, V.
Sermon 163. On Easter, 5.
1. Christi divinitatis indicia. Gaudete, fratres charissimi, quia redemptionis nostrae pretium persolutum est. Non modica quantitate constamus, pro quibus ipse factus est pretium qui redemit. Christus enim Dominus et Salvator ideo natus est, ut doceret; ideo mortuus est, ut sanaret. Crux fuit mortifera Christo, sed salutifera christiano. Surrexit Salvator cunctis divinitatis suae manifestus indiciis. Nam secuta est eum stella post uterum, gloria post sepulcrum. Regressum custodit angelus, qui nuntiaverat nasciturum. Reddunt inferna victorem, et superna suscipiunt triumphantem. Tulit errorem natus, mortem calcavit occisus, revocavit ab inferis quem creavit: in illius cruce et pretium nostrum pependit et regnum. Redit in lucem creatura cum Domino. Lumen enim ex lumine suscipere meruisti, quod cum Christus oculos clauderet, perdidisti. Projiciant superi tenebras, quas Salvator noster etiam inferis denegavit. Congaudeant hic elementa quae planxerant; quia Christus de sua majestate nihil perdidit, et hominem quem fecerat liberavit.
1. Signs of Christ's divinity. Rejoice, dearest brethren, because the price of our redemption has been paid in full. We are of no small worth, we for whom He Who redeemed became Himself the price. For Christ the Lord and Saviour was born for this, that He might teach; He died for this, that He might heal. The cross was deadly to Christ, but saving to the Christian. The Saviour rose, made manifest by all the signs of His divinity. For a star followed Him after the womb, glory after the tomb. An angel guards His return, the one who had announced Him as about to be born. The lower regions give back the victor, and the regions above receive Him triumphant. Being born, He took away error; being slain, He trampled on death; He called back from hell the one whom He had created: on His cross hung both our price and the kingdom. The creature returns to the light with the Lord. For you have been found worthy to receive light from light, the light which you lost when Christ closed His eyes. Let those above cast off the darkness which our Saviour denied even to those below. Let the elements that had mourned rejoice together here; for Christ lost nothing of His majesty, and set free the man whom He had made.
2. Mortis Christi necessitas. Judaei tamen perfidi monumentum lapide signaverunt, ut non haberet Christus egressum: sed si eum mundus non capit, sepultura quomodo custodit? Tenetur ibi, sed ubique regnat. Difficile surgeret, si non antequam
2. The necessity of Christ's death. Yet the faithless Jews sealed the tomb with a stone, so that Christ should have no way out: but if the world does not contain Him, how does a burial place guard Him? He is held there, but He reigns everywhere. It would be difficult for Him to rise, if He did not, before
Editors' notes and page, col. 2065
Footnotes
(1) ‹anchor: ut sanaret› · call in col 2065
Addit Ms. cb., resurrexit ut muneraret.
Manuscript cb. adds: "he rose again that he might reward."
(printed under page 295)
(2) ‹anchor: creatura cum Domino› · call in col 2065
Et hic in eodem Ms. additur, quae olim fuerat tenebrata piaculo.
Here too the same manuscript adds: "which had once been darkened by sin."
(printed under page 295)
(3) ‹anchor: sed ubique regnat› · call in col 2065
Ms. idem, Quomodo tenetur in tumulo qui ubique regnat?
The same manuscript: "How is he held in the tomb who reigns everywhere?"
(printed under page 295)
(a) ‹anchor: SERMO CLXIII› · call in col 2065
Olim, de Tempore 138; et post, in Appendice 53.
Formerly De Tempore 138; and afterwards Appendix 53.
(printed under page 295)
(b) ‹anchor: De Pascha, v› · call in col 2065
Incerti auctoris, qui sententias hic nonnullas sermonum Eusebii habet, sive huc ex Eusebianis sermonibus, sive in Eusebianos sermones hinc translatas. De n. 1, vide Append. serm. 160, n. 5.
By an uncertain author, who has here several sentences of Eusebius's sermons, whether carried here from the Eusebian sermons or carried from here into them. On no. 1, see Appendix Sermon 160, no. 5.
(printed under page 295)
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- running head: SERMO CLXIV.
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