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Appendix to Augustine's Sermones: Sermones supposititii, Sermones 196-210

Sermons CXCVI–CXCVII

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SERMO CXCVI. In Natali Joannis Baptistae, I.

Sermon 196. On the Birthday of John the Baptist, I.

1. Ratio singularis hujus festivitatis. Joannes typus

1. The singular character of this festival. John a type

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Footnotes

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Olim, de Sanctis 20; et post, in Appendice 76.

Formerly Sermon 20 on the Saints; and later, Sermon 76 in the Appendix.

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(b) ‹anchor: Joannis Baptistae, I› · call in col 2110 (right column)

Hac ipsa die in Romano Breviario legitur sub nomine Augustini: sed ipsi tamen haud immerito fuit per Lovanienses perque Verlinum et Vindingum abjudicatus. Consensionem in sensibus et in verbis habet quam plurimam cum Fausti scriptionibus variis, scilicet cum homilia quam ipsius esse supra ad sermonem 176 diximus; Eusebiana de Christi Natali prima, ubi modo eodem explicatur processio Verbi a Patre. Cum ejusdem Fausti Epistolis prima ad Felicem et sexta ad Ruricium convenit in distinguendis duobus abstinentiae generibus: cum ipsius libro de Libero Arbitrio, (continues)

On this very day it is read in the Roman Breviary under Augustine's name; but it was, not without reason, denied to him by the Louvain editors and by Verlinus and Vindingus. In thought and in wording it agrees very closely with various writings of Faustus: namely with the homily which we said above, at Sermon 176, is his, the first Eusebian homily on Christ's Nativity, where the procession of the Word from the Father is explained in the same way. It agrees with the same Faustus's first Letter, to Felix, and sixth, to Ruricius, in distinguishing two kinds of abstinence; with his book On Free Will, (continues)

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Legis. Post illum sacrosanctum Domini natalem diem, nullius hominis nativitatem legimus celebrari, nisi solius beati Joannis Baptistae. In aliis sanctis et electis Dei novimus illum diem coli, quo illos post consummationem laborum, et devictum triumphatumque mundum in perpetuas aeternitates praesens haec vita parturiit; in aliis consummata ultimi diei merita celebrantur: in hoc etiam prima dies et ipsa etiam hominis initia consecrantur; pro hac absque dubio causa, quia per hunc Dominus adventum suum, ne subito homines insperatum non agnoscerent, voluit esse testatum. Joannes autem figura fuit veteris Testamenti, et in se formam praetulit Legis: et ideo Joannes praenuntiavit Salvatorem, sicut Lex gratiam praecucurrit. Quod autem nondum natus de secreto materni uteri prophetavit, et expers lucis jam testis est veritatis: hoc est intelligendum, quod latens sub velamine et carne litterae, et Redemptorem mundo spiritu praedicavit, et nobis Dominum nostrum de quodam Legis utero proclamavit. Ergo quia Judaei erraverunt a ventre, id est, a Lege quae Christo gravida erat; Erraverunt a ventre, locuti sunt falsa (Psal. LVII, 4): ideo hic venit in testimonium, ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine (Joan. I, 8). Quod autem Joannes in carcere constitutus ad Christum discipulos suos ordinat (Matth. XI, 2), Lex ad Evangelia transmittit. Quae Lex juxta typum Joannis quasi ignorantiae clausa carcere, in obscuro et in occulto jacebat, et Judaicae caecitatis sensus intra litteram tenebatur inclusus.

of the Law. After that most holy birthday of the Lord, we read of the nativity of no man being celebrated except that of blessed John the Baptist alone. In the case of the other saints and elect of God we know that day to be kept on which, after the completion of their labours and the world conquered and triumphed over, this present life brought them forth into everlasting eternities; in the others the merits of the last day, once completed, are celebrated: in this one even the first day and the very beginnings of the man are consecrated; and for this reason without doubt, that through him the Lord willed His coming to be attested beforehand, lest men should fail to recognize it if it came suddenly and unexpected. Now John was a figure of the Old Testament, and bore in himself the form of the Law: and therefore John foretold the Saviour, just as the Law ran before grace. That, moreover, while not yet born he prophesied from the secret place of his mother's womb, and while still without light was already a witness of the truth: this is to be understood thus, that, lying hidden under the veil and flesh of the letter, he both preached the Redeemer to the world in spirit, and proclaimed our Lord to us from a certain womb of the Law. Therefore, because the Jews went astray from the womb, that is, from the Law which was pregnant with Christ; They went astray from the womb, they spoke false things (Ps. 57:4): therefore this man came for a witness, to bear witness concerning the light (John 1:8). That John, moreover, when placed in prison, directs his disciples to Christ (Matt. 11:2), [signifies that] the Law sends on to the Gospels. This Law, after the type of John, shut up as it were in the prison of ignorance, lay in darkness and in hiding, and the sense of Jewish blindness was held enclosed within the letter.

2. Lucerna ardens. De hoc beatus Evangelista proloquitur, Ille erat lucerna ardens (Joan. V, 35); id est, Spiritus sancti igne succensus, ut mundo ignorantiae nocte possesso, lumen salutis ostenderet, et quasi inter densissimas de⟨li⟩ctorum tenebras, splendidissimum justitiae solem lucis suae radio demonstraret, de se ipso dicens, Ego vox clamantis in deserto (Matth. III, 3). Videamus in quo deserto, id est, in Gentium populo. Vacua enim timore Dei pectora, et Spiritu sancto carentia, deserto squalentis eremi comparantur. Desertus enim erat hic mundus ab omni cultura fidei et timoris Dei, et peccatorum spinis obsitus squalebat tanquam ager incultus, et nullam penitus bonorum ⟨o⟩perum fecunditatem attulerat, nullum imbrem gratiae spiritualis acceperat. Mittitur beatus Joannes, qui eum per propheticam atque apostolicam praedicationem, annuntiando poenitentiam, quasi rudem campum pro⟨ ⟩cinderet, fecundaret et excoleret, divini verbi seminibus impleret: et ad maturam frugem, id est, ad regenerationis gratiam praepararet.

2. A burning lamp. Of him the blessed Evangelist speaks out, He was a burning lamp (John 5:35); that is, kindled by the fire of the Holy Spirit, so that to a world held fast in the night of ignorance he might show the light of salvation, and, as it were amid the densest darkness of sins, might point out by the ray of his own light the most brilliant sun of justice, saying of himself, I am the voice of one crying in the desert (Matt. 3:3). Let us see in what desert: that is, in the people of the Gentiles. For hearts empty of the fear of God and lacking the Holy Spirit are compared to the desert of a squalid wilderness. For this world was deserted of all cultivation of faith and of the fear of God, and, overgrown with the thorns of sins, it lay squalid like an untilled field, and had brought forth no fruitfulness whatever of good works, had received no rain of spiritual grace. Blessed John is sent, so that through prophetic and apostolic preaching, by announcing penance, he might plough it up like a rough field, make it fruitful and cultivate it, fill it with the seeds of the divine word, and prepare it for ripe produce, that is, for the grace of regeneration.

3. Quae suo in ortu revelet. Jam illud quantae gloriae est, quod Zachariae sacerdoti seni et Elisabeth sterili a Gabriele, id est, ab illo angelo promittitur, a quo Mariae nativitas Domini, nuntiatur: et quasi ex aliquo similis Domini, praemittitur filius sterilis ante filium Virginis, n⟨e⟩scio quod majus miraculum ipsa nativitate declarans. Insperata prole posteritas muneratur; quia novo partu erat muneranda et ditanda virginitas. Praemittitur ante Jesum Christum Joannes, quasi Testamentum vetus ante novum; ut dies diei eructet verbum, et sacramentorum obscura profunditas evidentioribus novae doctrinae mysteriis reveletur. Praemittitur ergo lucerna ante solem, servus ante Dominum, amicus ante sponsum, praeco ante judicem, vox ante verbum. Et ideo de se dicit, Ego vox clamantis in deserto. Quid est quod beatus Joannes vocem se esse dixit? Id est, quia Verbi annuntiator et praedicator erat.

3. What he reveals in his birth. Now how great a glory is this, that he is promised to Zachary, an aged priest, and to the barren Elisabeth by Gabriel, that is, by that angel by whom the nativity of the Lord is announced to Mary: and, as if from some likeness to the Lord, the son of the barren woman is sent before the Son of the Virgin, declaring by that very nativity some greater miracle, I know not what. Posterity is rewarded with unexpected offspring; because virginity was to be rewarded and enriched by a new birth. John is sent before Jesus Christ, as the Old Testament before the New; so that day may utter the word to day, and the obscure depth of the sacraments may be revealed by the clearer mysteries of the new doctrine. The lamp, therefore, is sent before the sun, the servant before the Lord, the friend before the bridegroom, the herald before the judge, the voice before the Word. And therefore he says of himself, I am the voice of one crying in the desert. What does it mean that blessed John said he was a voice? It is this: because he was the announcer and preacher of the Word.

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4. Verbum quid sit, quid vox. Hic jam sollicite requiramus quid inter verbum sit et vocem. Scripturae sanctae verbum esse definiunt, quod intra animi silentium mente concipimus; verbum esse definiunt ipsam cogitationem, quae adhuc intra conscientiae secreta retinetur: vocem vero, per quam verbum profertur in medium. Vox, sonus est index cogitationis; verbum vero ipsa cogitatio. Sicut enim quando verbum corde concipimus, necessaria est vox quasi quoddam vehiculum verbi; et quamlibet verbum ipsum per oris sonum ad alium transferamus, tamen illud integrum etiam intra nos, id est, clausum a loquente transfertur, ut tamen in sua sede teneatur: ita et omnipotens Pater innotescere nobis volens, Sapientiam et Verbum illud quod in principio erat Deus apud Deum (Joan. I, 1), sicut ipse testatur, Eructavit cor meum verbum bonum (Psal. XLIV, 2), beatum Joannem, quasi vocem per quam ad nos verbum suum proferret, assumpsit. Quod quidem verbum de illa sede ita ad nos descendit, ut in sinu, id est, in profundo Paterni pectoris permaneret, terrena visitans, et coelestia non relinquens.

4. What the word is, what the voice is. Here now let us carefully inquire what [difference there is] between the word and the voice. The holy Scriptures define the word as that which we conceive in the mind within the silence of the soul; they define the word as the very thought which is still held within the secret places of the conscience; but the voice as that through which the word is brought forth into the open. The voice is a sound, the indicator of thought; but the word is the thought itself. For just as, when we conceive a word in the heart, the voice is necessary as a kind of vehicle of the word; and although we transfer the word itself to another through the sound of the mouth, nevertheless it is transferred while remaining whole within us too, that is, kept enclosed by the speaker, so that it is still held in its own seat: so also the almighty Father, wishing to make known to us the Wisdom and that Word which in the beginning was God with God (John 1:1), as He Himself testifies, My heart has uttered a good word (Ps. 44:2), took up blessed John as a voice, as it were, through which He might bring forth His Word to us. Which Word indeed so descended to us from that seat that He remained in the bosom, that is, in the depth of the Father's breast, visiting earthly things and not leaving heavenly ones.

5. Joannis prae caeteris Prophetis gloria. Mediator est novi et veteris Testamenti. Hanc itaque gloriam beatus Joannes Baptista non de longinquo, sicut reliqui Prophetae; sed vicinus et proximus antecessit. Illi adventum regis ante multa tempora praedicaverunt, alii dixerunt, Quandoque venturus est; alii, Ecce cito venit: iste autem quem venturum praedixit, venisse monstravit, et prophetiam suam ipso quem annuntiabat assistente complevit. Adhuc itaque in utero matris suae Spiritu sancto est repletus, et suam ipsius nativitatem prophetando praevenit; ad similitudinem Domini sanctificatus antequam natus, intra viscera exsultans, et Salvatoris adventum materno ore protestans. Vere lucerna ardens, in quo tam singularis gratia divinae dignationis effulsit, ut jam jamque adfore Redemptorem sanctae genitricis voce narraret; et per eam, velut per quamdam veritatis lucernam, nondum in lucem prolatus ostenderet. Hic est ille novi et veteris Testamenti idoneus mediator, et gloriosi Agni dignus ostensor: qui Dominum suum et annuntiare uno tempore meruit et videre, una eademque suae nativitatis aetate et nova incipiens, et vetera concludens.

5. The glory of John above the other Prophets. He is the mediator of the New and the Old Testament. This glory, then, blessed John the Baptist went before not from far off, as the rest of the Prophets did, but near and very close. They proclaimed the coming of the King many ages beforehand; some said, At some time He will come; others, Behold, He comes soon: but this man showed that He whom he foretold as coming had come, and fulfilled his prophecy while the very One whom he was announcing stood by. And so, while still in his mother's womb, he was filled with the Holy Spirit, and anticipated his own birth by prophesying; sanctified before he was born, after the likeness of the Lord, leaping within the womb and proclaiming the Saviour's coming through his mother's mouth. Truly a burning lamp, in whom so singular a grace of divine condescension shone forth that he declared by the voice of his holy mother that the Redeemer was even now about to be present; and through her, as through a kind of lamp of truth, he showed [Him] while not yet brought forth into the light. This is that fit mediator of the New and the Old Testament, and worthy shower of the glorious Lamb: who was found worthy both to announce and to see his Lord at one time, by one and the same age of his birth both beginning the new and concluding the old.

6. Vis facienda propter regnum coelorum. De persona hujus Evangelista testatur, A diebus, inquit, Joannis regnum coelorum vim patitur (Matth. XI, 21). Novimus quia familiariter mens humana in diversis hujus mundi illecebris et concupiscentiis devicta fugit laborem, expetit voluptatem, et vix adducitur ut consuetudinem a se vitae prioris excludat: sed cum coeperit cogitare ultimi diei necessitatem, ac futuri judicii pondus, incitata et stimulata vel spe praemii vel timore supplicii, voluntarium bellum indicit passionibus, et vim facit pristinis suis desideriis, et violenter se vincere ipsa contendit. Non enim sine violentia fieri potest ut de abundantia et deliciis ad famem et sitim, ad abstinentiam et crucem transeat; ut somno prius atque otio amicam carnem contritione vigiliisque conficiat. Non, inquam, sine violentia fieri potest ut unusquisque iracundiam patientia, superbiam humilitate commutet; amore paupertatis, divitiarum ac sufficientiae affluentiam superet; vinolentiam sobrietate, luxuriam castitate condemnet; et homo subito in virum transformetur perfectum, et quodam modo alter reddatur ex altero; ac sic a talibus per violentiam regnum coeleste diripitur.

6. Violence must be done for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Concerning his person the Evangelist testifies: From the days, he says, of John the kingdom of heaven suffers violence (Matt. 11:21). We know that the human mind, habitually overcome by the various allurements and lusts of this world, flees labour, seeks pleasure, and is scarcely brought to shut out from itself the habit of its former life: but when it has begun to consider the necessity of the last day and the weight of the judgement to come, roused and spurred either by hope of reward or by fear of punishment, it declares a voluntary war on the passions, does violence to its former desires, and strives forcibly to conquer itself. For it cannot happen without violence that it passes from abundance and delights to hunger and thirst, to abstinence and the cross; that it wears down with contrition and vigils the flesh that was formerly a friend to sleep and idleness. It cannot, I say, happen without violence that each one exchanges anger for patience, pride for humility; overcomes the abundance of riches and sufficiency by love of poverty; condemns drunkenness by sobriety, lust by chastity; and that a man is suddenly transformed into a perfect man, and in a certain way is made another out of the other; and thus the heavenly kingdom is seized by such people through violence.

7. Duo abstinentiae genera. Duo autem sunt abstinentiae et crucis genera, unum corporale, aliud spirituale. Unum a potu atque epulis temperare, appetitum gulae a delectationibus et mollissimis suavitatibus coercere, ab his quae per tactum et gustum visumque decipiunt, sensum viriliter revocare, ac violenter abstrahere. Alterum abstinentiae et crucis genus est pretiosius atque sublimius, motus animi regere, et

7. Two kinds of abstinence. Now there are two kinds of abstinence and of the cross, the one bodily, the other spiritual. The one is to refrain from drink and feasting, to restrain the appetite of the palate from delights and the softest pleasures, to call the senses manfully back from those things which deceive through touch and taste and sight, and to withdraw them forcibly. The other kind of abstinence and of the cross is more precious and more sublime: to govern the motions of the mind, and

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perturbationes illius modestiae tranquillitate placare, irae ac superbiae impetus quasi feram bestiam refrenare, litigare quotidie contra vitia sua, increpare se quadam ⟨c⟩ensoria austeritate virtutis, et rixam quodam modo cum homine interiore conserere. Pretiosa haec in conspectu Dei et gloriosa crux, cogitationes malas in potestatem redigere, voluntates proprias abnegare, easque interiori examinatione discutere, et regentis imperio subjugare; a sermone atque opere quo anima laeditur, tanquam a cibis noxiis abstinere, et sensum ab his quae contraria sunt, spirituali temperantia sobrium custodire. Haec qui facit, perrupto passionis muro violenter ad coelorum regna conscendit. Vim itaque sibi factura est anima, ut palmam laborum, quam sibi subtrahi multis inimicis adversant⟨i⟩bus sentit, viribus contendat eripere. Necesse ergo est cum summo labore ex hoc mundo rapere palmam salutis, et quasi excubantibus circumjectis hostibus obsessos pervigili intentione fructus decerpere, et praedam a thesauro vitae velut de medio abreptam saeculi hujus incendio reportare.

to calm its disturbances with the tranquillity of modesty, to rein in the onsets of anger and pride as though a wild beast, to contend daily against one's own vices, to rebuke oneself with a certain censorious severity of virtue, and in a certain manner to join battle with the inner man. Precious in the sight of God and glorious is this cross: to bring evil thoughts into subjection, to deny one's own wills, and to examine them by inward scrutiny and subjugate them to the command of the one who rules; to abstain from speech and deed by which the soul is harmed, as from harmful foods, and by spiritual temperance to keep the sense sober from those things that are contrary. He who does these things, having broken through the wall of passion, climbs up violently to the kingdoms of heaven. The soul, therefore, will have to do violence to itself, so that it may strive with its strength to seize the palm of its labours, which it perceives being withdrawn from it by many enemies opposing it. It is necessary therefore with the utmost labour to snatch the palm of salvation out of this world, and, as it were with enemies keeping watch all around, to pluck the besieged fruits with sleepless attention, and to carry back from the treasury of life the booty, as if snatched from the midst of the fire of this world.

8. Rapit Ecclesia Synagogae regnum. Regnum nostrum Christus. Rapiunt et homines angelis apostatis. Est et aliud direptionis genus, quando aliis promissa et oblata diripimus. Salvator ad hoc vel maxime suscepta incarnatione descenderat, ut Judaeorum populum justificaret: sicut ipse in Evangelio loquitur, Non sum, inquit, missus, nisi ad oves quae perierunt domus Israel (Matth. XV, 24). Sed et discipuli ita incredulam Synagogae plebem coarguebant: Vobis, inquiunt, prius oportuerat verbum Dei loqui; sed quia vos indignos judicastis aeternae vitae, ecce convertimur ad Gentes (Act. XIII, 46). Ergo cum Judaei munera sibi parata respuerent, publicani et peccatores ex Gentibus crediderunt; ac sic rapit Ecclesia Synagogae regnum. Regnum enim nostrum Christus est. Rapimus itaque eum, cum a Judaeis occiditur, sepelitur a nobis. Rapimus autem eum illis dormientibus, sicut ipsi in Evangelio confitentur: Dicite, inquiunt, quia discipuli ejus nocte venerunt, et furati sunt eum vobis dormientibus (Matth. XXVIII, 13). Surgat ergo qui dormit; ne forte Christum per negligentiam resolutus amittat, dum mens ejus in infidelitate et in torpore dormitat. Rapitur itaque regnum coelorum, dum negatur a domesticis, et a Gentibus adoratur. Rapitur, cum aliis ad salutem mittitur, ab aliis invenitur; cum sui eum recusant, suscipiunt alieni; insectantur proprii, complectuntur inimici: quando haereditatem civis respuit, peregrinus invadit; filius repudiat, servus recognoscit. Adhuc et alio ordine regnum coelorum vim patitur, quando illud homines acquirunt quod angeli perdiderunt, quando illuc adoptati humiles ascendunt, unde superbi incolae ceciderunt. Ergo cum inter tantos invidos, inter tantos latrones et invisibiles insidiatores vivamus, quibus tandem viribus coelorum regna capiemus? Quis, inquam, nisi obediendo doctoribus, et vitiis et injustitiis ex cupiditate nascentibus resistendo, deflendo peccata, et ea jejuniis atque eleemosynis redimendo?

8. The Church seizes the kingdom of the Synagogue. Our kingdom is Christ. Men too seize [it] from the apostate angels. There is also another kind of plundering, when we carry off things promised and offered to others. The Saviour had descended, having taken on the incarnation, chiefly for this purpose, that He might justify the people of the Jews: as He Himself says in the Gospel, I was not sent, He says, except to the sheep that have perished of the house of Israel (Matt. 15:24). But the disciples too reproved the unbelieving populace of the Synagogue thus: To you, they say, the word of God ought first to have been spoken; but since you have judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46). Therefore, since the Jews spurned the gifts prepared for them, publicans and sinners from among the Gentiles believed; and thus the Church seizes the kingdom of the Synagogue. For our kingdom is Christ. We seize Him, therefore, since, when He is killed by the Jews, He is buried by us. And we seize Him while they are sleeping, as they themselves confess in the Gospel: Say, they say, that His disciples came by night and stole Him while you were sleeping (Matt. 28:13). Let him therefore who sleeps arise, lest perhaps, slackened through negligence, he lose Christ, while his mind sleeps in unbelief and in torpor. The kingdom of heaven, therefore, is seized when it is denied by those of the household and adored by the Gentiles. It is seized when it is sent to some for salvation and is found by others; when His own refuse Him, strangers receive Him; His own persecute, enemies embrace: when the citizen spurns the inheritance, the foreigner takes possession; the son repudiates, the servant acknowledges. Further, in yet another order the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, when men acquire what angels lost, when the humble who have been adopted ascend thither whence the proud inhabitants fell. Since, therefore, we live among so many envious ones, among so many robbers and invisible ambushers, by what strength at last shall we take the kingdoms of heaven? Who, I say, [shall do so], except by obeying teachers, and by resisting the vices and injustices born of cupidity, by weeping for sins, and by redeeming them with fasts and almsgiving?

SERMO CXCVII. In Natali Joannis Baptistae.

Sermon 197. On the Birthday of John the Baptist.

1. Solius Domini et Joannis Nativitas celebratur. Qui ex muliere, inferior est Joanne. Natalem sancti Joannis, fratres charissimi, hodie celebramus, quod nulli unquam sanctorum legimus fuisse concessum. Solius enim Domini et beati Joannis dies nativitatis in universo mundo celebratur et colitur. Illum enim sterilis peperit; istum virgo concepit. In Elisabeth

1. Only the Nativity of the Lord and of John is celebrated. Whoever is of woman is inferior to John. We celebrate today, dearest brethren, the birthday of Saint John, which we read was never granted to any of the saints. For only the day of the nativity of the Lord and of blessed John is celebrated and kept throughout the whole world. For that one a barren woman bore; this one a virgin conceived. In Elizabeth

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Footnotes

(a) ‹anchor: SERMO CXCVII› · call in col 2113

Alias, de Sanctis 21.

Elsewhere, Sermon 21 on the Saints.

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(b) ‹anchor: Joannis Baptistae› · call in col 2113

In Appendice nunc primum collocatur. Manebat apud Lovanienses dubius: rejectus est per Verlinum et Vindingum. Constat excerptis ex superiore sermone, ex Eusebianis de hoc festo duobus, ex eo qui apud Ambrosium est in eadem celebritate secundus, ex duobus demum inter Augustinianos 287-289. Conclusio stili est Caesariani.

It is now placed in the Appendix for the first time. With the Louvain editors it remained doubtful; it was rejected by Verlinus and Vindingus. It is made up of extracts from the preceding sermon, from the two Eusebian sermons on this feast, from the second sermon on the same feast among Ambrose's, and finally from two among Augustine's, 287-289. The conclusion is in Caesarius's style.

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sterilitas vincitur; in beata Maria conceptionis consuetudo mutatur. Elisabeth virum cognoscendo filium genuit; Maria angelo credidit, et concepit. Hominem concepit Elisabeth, et hominem Maria; sed Elisabeth solum hominem, Maria Deum et hominem. Quid sibi vult ergo Joannes? Unde interpositus, unde praemissus? Magnus igitur Joannes, cujus magnitudini etiam Salvator testimonium perhibet, dicens: Non surrexit inter natos mulierum major Joanne Baptista (Matth. XI, 11). Praecellit cunctis, eminet universis; antecellit Prophetas, supergreditur Patriarchas; et quisquis de muliere natus est, inferior est Joanne. Dicit fortasse aliquis: Si inter natos mulierum Joannes major est, major est Salvatore. Absit. Joannes enim natus mulieris, Christus autem virginis natus est; ille corruptibilis uteri sinibus effusus est, iste impollutae vulvae flore progenitus. Ideo autem cum Joannis nativitate Domini generatio deputatur, ne Dominus extra veritatem videatur conditionis humanae: si comparetur hominibus Joannes, praemissus est ante Deum. Tanta in illo excellentia erat, tanta gratia, ut ipse putatus sit Christus. Quid ergo dixit de Christo? Nos omnes de plenitudine ejus accepimus (Joan. I, 16). Quid est, Nos omnes? Ergo Prophetae, Patriarchae, Apostoli, quotquot sancti, et ante incarnationem praemissi, vel ab incarnato missi, omnes nos de plenitudine ejus accepimus: nos vasa sumus, ille fons est.

barrenness is overcome; in blessed Mary the ordinary course of conception is changed. Elizabeth, by knowing a husband, bore a son; Mary believed the angel, and conceived. Elizabeth conceived a man, and Mary a man; but Elizabeth only a man, Mary God and man. What then does John signify? Why was he placed in between, why was he sent ahead? Great, then, is John, to whose greatness even the Saviour bears witness, saying: There has not arisen among those born of women a greater than John the Baptist (Matt. 11:11). He excels all, he stands out above everyone; he surpasses the Prophets, he goes beyond the Patriarchs; and whoever is born of woman is lower than John. Perhaps someone says: If John is greater among those born of women, he is greater than the Saviour. Far from it. For John was born of a woman, but Christ was born of a virgin; the one was poured forth from the recesses of a corruptible womb, the Other was brought forth from the flower of an undefiled womb. And the reason the Lord's generation is reckoned together with John's nativity is so that the Lord may not seem to stand outside the truth of the human condition: if John is compared with men, he was sent ahead before God. So great was the excellence in him, so great the grace, that he himself was thought to be the Christ. What then did he say of Christ? We have all received of His fullness (John 1:16). What is, We all? Therefore the Prophets, the Patriarchs, the Apostles, as many saints as there are, both those sent ahead before the incarnation and those sent by the Incarnate One, we have all received of His fullness: we are vessels, He is the fountain.

2. Ut Christi, sic Joannis nativitas plena mysterio. Item et utriusque passio. Si ergo intelleximus mysterium, fratres mei, Joannes homo est, Christus Deus est: humilietur homo, et exaltetur Deus, secundum illud quod de Domino ipse Joannes dixit, Illum oportet crescere, me autem minui (Id. III, 30). Ut humiliaretur homo, eo die natus est Joannes, quo incipiunt decrescere dies: ut exaltetur Deus, eo die natus est Christus, quo incipiunt crescere dies. Magnum sacramentum, fratres charissimi. Ideo celebramus Natalem Joannis, sicut et Christi, quia et ipsa nativitas plena est mysterio. Quo mysterio, nisi humilitatis nostrae; sicut nativitas Christi plena est mysterio altitudinis nostrae? Ergo in homine minuamur, ut in Deo crescamus; in nobis humiliemur, ut in illo exaltemur; humilietur humana praesumptio, ut crescat divina miseratio. Nam hujus rei sacramentum etiam in passionibus amborum impletum est. Ut minueretur homo, caput Joannis absciditur: ut exaltetur Deus, Christus in ligno suspenditur.

2. As Christ's, so John's nativity is full of mystery. Likewise also the passion of each. If then we have understood the mystery, my brothers, John is a man, Christ is God: let man be humbled, and let God be exalted, according to what John himself said of the Lord, He must increase, but I must decrease (John 3:30). That man might be humbled, John was born on the day on which the days begin to decrease: that God might be exalted, Christ was born on the day on which the days begin to increase. A great sacrament, dearest brothers. Therefore we celebrate the Birthday of John, as also that of Christ, because this nativity too is full of mystery. Of what mystery, if not of our humility; just as the nativity of Christ is full of the mystery of our exaltation? Therefore let us decrease in man, that we may increase in God; let us be humbled in ourselves, that we may be exalted in Him; let human presumption be humbled, that divine mercy may increase. For the sacrament of this matter was fulfilled also in the passions of both. That man might be diminished, John's head is cut off: that God might be exalted, Christ is hung upon the wood.

3. Cur Joannes lucerna dictus, et ante Christum praemissus. Cur vox. Legis typum gessit. Quare autem beatum Joannem Dominus et Salvator noster lucernam esse dixerit, et quare eum mitti ante se voluerit, breviter, si jubetis, Charitatis vestrae auribus cupimus intimare. Praemissus est enim velut vox ante verbum, lucerna ante solem, praeco ante judicem, servus antes dominum, amicus ante sponsum. Et quia universum mundum peccatorum tenebrae et nox infidelitatis oppresserat, et solem justitiae aspicere non valebat, beatus Joannes quasi lucerna praemittitur, ut cordis oculi, qui lippitudine iniquitatis oppressi magnum et verum lumen videre non poterant, ad lumen lucernae primum quasi tenuem splendorem videre consuescerent; et paulatim peccatorum nubilo remoto, et infidelitatis humore digesto, adveniente Christo, ab illo coelesti lumine laetificari possent potius quam torqueri. Sicut enim lippientes oculos ad videndum provocas, si exiguum splendorem lucernae ostenderis; et amplius crucias, si lumen magnum ingesseris: ita Dominus et Salvator noster, qui est lumen verum, nisi prius beatum Joannem velut lucernam praemitteret, claritatem illius totus mundus sustinere non posset. Loquatur Joannes, et dicat, Ego vox clamantis in deserto (Id., I, 23). Vox erat; quia Verbi Dei spiritu replebatur.

3. Why John was called a lamp, and sent ahead before Christ. Why a voice. He bore the figure of the Law. Now why our Lord and Saviour said that blessed John was a lamp, and why He willed him to be sent before Himself, we wish, if you permit, to make known briefly to the ears of your Charity. For he was sent ahead like a voice before the word, a lamp before the sun, a herald before the judge, a servant before the master, a friend before the bridegroom. And because the darkness of sins and the night of unbelief had weighed down the whole world, and it was not able to look upon the sun of justice, blessed John is sent ahead as a lamp, so that the eyes of the heart, which, weighed down by the bleariness of iniquity, could not see the great and true light, might at the light of the lamp first grow accustomed to seeing a faint brightness, as it were; and that, the cloud of sins being gradually removed and the humour of unbelief dispersed, at Christ's coming they might be gladdened rather than tormented by that heavenly light. For just as you draw bleary eyes on to seeing if you show them the small brightness of a lamp, and torment them the more if you thrust a great light upon them: so our Lord and Saviour, Who is the true light, unless He had first sent ahead blessed John as a lamp, the whole world could not have endured His brightness. Let John speak, and say, I am the voice of one crying in the desert (John 1:23). He was a voice, because he was filled with the spirit of the Word of God.

Editors' notes and page, col. 2114

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: spiritu replebatur› · call in col 2114

Ita editi et Eusebius. At Mss. duo cb., vox erat; quia Verbum praeibat: clamabat, quia Spiritu sancto plenus erat.

So the printed editions and Eusebius. But two manuscripts [siglum "cb."] read: "He was a voice, because he went before the Word; he cried out, because he was full of the Holy Spirit."

(printed under page 319)