PL 39 · cols. 2124–2127

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

Sermons CCIV–CCVI

pertimescit; et qui non recusat dominici tormenta patibuli, similitudinem expavescit triumphi!

he dreads; and he who does not refuse the torments of the Lord's gibbet shrinks in fear from the likeness of His triumph!

SERMO CCIV. In Natali apostolorum Petri et Pauli, IV.

Sermon 204. On the Feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul, 4.

1. Petrus a Paulo quaeritur, et timet. Filioli mei, audite nos, et liberate vos. Currite pro vobis, et nobis praestatis et vobis. Commune erit gaudium nostrum, si vos viderimus induere Christum. Juvenes et virgines, seniores cum junioribus ad gratiam festinent: mater nostra pariendo non discernit aetates. Ipsa genuit Petrum, ipsa genuit Apostolos omnes, ipsa genuit Paulum, ut ex lupo fieret agnus. Tanquam natus est Saulus, crevit, et factus est magnus. Baptizatus est a matre, illuminatus a Patre; et coepit velle Petrum videre: et cum quaereret eum valde videre, magis eum Petrus coepit timere. Audivit enim Petrus quia Saulus eum quaereret. Noli timere, beate Petre; quia non Saulus te quaerit, sed Paulus vas electionis te cupit videre. O sancte Petre, benedic Patrem, et suscipe fratrem; et habes cum quo possis defendere matrem. O beate Petre, quia conversus est Saulus, miraris; qualis es tu, erit et ipse talis, et unus vobis erit Natalis. Qui fecit ex Saulo Paulum, ipse fecit ex Simone Petrum. Unus vos honoravit, unus vos coronabit. Mutavit persecutorem, mutavit et piscatorem; etsi te priorem, illum posteriorem: tamen ambobus unum donavit honorem. Veni, sancte Paule, veni, sequere Petrum; sed docentem, non fugientem. Fugiebat, quando te nesciebat.

1. Peter is sought by Paul, and is afraid. My little children, hear us, and set yourselves free. Run for your own sakes, and you render service both to us and to yourselves. Our joy will be shared if we see you put on Christ. Let young men and maidens, the old with the young, hasten to grace: our mother in giving birth makes no distinction of ages. She bore Peter, she bore all the Apostles, she bore Paul, so that from a wolf a lamb might be made. Saul was, as it were, born, grew, and became great. He was baptized by the mother, enlightened by the Father; and he began to wish to see Peter: and while he was seeking very much to see him, Peter began all the more to fear him. For Peter had heard that Saul was seeking him. Do not fear, blessed Peter; for it is not Saul who seeks you, but Paul, the vessel of election, who longs to see you. O holy Peter, bless the Father, and receive your brother; and you have one with whom you can defend the mother. O blessed Peter, you marvel that Saul has been converted; such as you are, such will he also be, and you will have one feast-day. He who made Paul out of Saul Himself made Peter out of Simon. One honoured you, One will crown you. He changed the persecutor, He changed also the fisherman; although you were earlier and he later, yet He gave one honour to both. Come, holy Paul, come, follow Peter; but Peter teaching, not Peter fleeing. He used to flee when he did not know you.

2. Pauli salutem oratio meruit Stephani. Nam iste beatissimus Paulus, sicut in lectione Actuum Apostolorum, cum recitaretur, audivimus, coelesti voce prostratus est. Dum furit ad caulas lupina rabie, dum exosum sibi nomen innocentis Agni persequitur, dum quaerit discerpere aut vexare gregem, audivit altisonam vocem, Saule, Saule, quid me persequeris? Quid frustra insanisti contra nomen meum, et occidisti Martyrem meum? Olim quidem debui perdere te; sed Stephanus meus oravit pro te. Et ille: Quis es, Domine? Et Dominus ad illum: Ego sum, inquit, Jesus Nazarenus quem tu persequeris (Act. IX, 4, 5). Caput de coelo clamat pro membris. Inquietatur corpus; et de coelo intonat Christus, Saule, inquit, Saule, quid me persequeris? Quid est quod rugientis poli mugit arcanum, et contra saevitiam Pauli militia conqueritur coeli; nisi ut qui non crediderat resurgentem, saltem crederet in coelo sedentem? Nam dicitur Ananiae: Accede ad eum, et signa eum charactere meo: multa enim patietur pro nomine meo. Et ille: Domine, audivi a multis de viro hoc, quia multa mala fecit sanctis tuis. Ait illi Dominus: Vade, quoniam vas electionis est mihi (Ibid., 13, 15).

2. The prayer of Stephen merited the salvation of Paul. For this most blessed Paul, as we heard in the reading of the Acts of the Apostles when it was recited, was laid low by a voice from heaven. While he rages at the sheepfolds with wolfish fury, while he persecutes the name of the innocent Lamb, hateful to him, while he seeks to tear apart or harass the flock, he heard a high-sounding voice: Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? Why have you raged in vain against My name, and killed My Martyr? Long ago indeed I ought to have destroyed you; but My Stephen prayed for you. And he: Who art Thou, Lord? And the Lord to him: I am, He said, Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting (Acts 9:4–5). The Head cries out from heaven on behalf of the members. The body is troubled; and from heaven Christ thunders, Saul, He says, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? What is it that the hidden depth of the roaring sky bellows, and the host of heaven complains against the savagery of Paul, unless that he who had not believed in Him rising again might at least believe in Him seated in heaven? For it is said to Ananias: Go to him, and seal him with My mark: for he will suffer many things for My name. And he: Lord, I have heard from many about this man, that he has done many evil things to Thy saints. The Lord said to him: Go, for he is a vessel of election to Me (ibid. 9:13, 15).

3. Paulus patitur quae infligebat mala. O beate Anania, merito in timore trepidares, si fortis manu non esset cui militares. Nam ideo prosternitur superbia, ut erigatur sanctitas. Venit ergo Ananias, baptizavit Saulum, et fecit Paulum. Baptizavit lupum, et fecit agnum: et coepimus habere praedicatorem, quem habuimus persecutorem. Denique coepit praedicare Christum, cui antea resistebat; paratus pati pro eo, contra quem antea pugnabat. Patitur Paulus quod fecerat Saulus. Saulus lapidavit; Paulus lapidatus est. Saulus Christianos virgis affecit; Paulus pro Christo quinquies quadragenas una minus accepit. Saulus persecutus est Ecclesiam Dei; Paulus submissus est in sporta. Saulus vinxit; Paulus vinctus est. Et dum Saulus saeviens quaerit minuere numerum Christianorum, etiam ipse accessit ad numerum confessorum.

3. Paul suffers the evils he used to inflict. O blessed Ananias, rightly would you tremble in fear, were He whom you served not strong of hand. For pride is laid low precisely so that holiness may be raised up. So Ananias came, baptized Saul, and made Paul. He baptized a wolf, and made a lamb: and we began to have as a preacher the man we had had as a persecutor. Then he began to preach Christ, whom he had formerly resisted, ready to suffer for Him against whom he had formerly fought. Paul suffers what Saul had done. Saul stoned; Paul was stoned. Saul afflicted Christians with rods; Paul for Christ five times received forty lashes less one. Saul persecuted the Church of God; Paul was let down in a basket. Saul bound; Paul was bound. And while Saul in his savagery seeks to lessen the number of Christians, he himself also joined the number of the confessors.

Editors' notes and page, col. 2124

Footnotes

(a) ‹anchor: not visible in the crop (Sermo CCIV title)› · call in col 2124

Alias, de Sanctis 25.

Elsewhere, Sermon 25 on the Saints.

(printed under page 324)

(b) ‹anchor: not visible in the crop (Sermo CCIV subtitle)› · call in col 2124

In Appendice nunc primum collocatur. Dubium relinquunt Lovanienses, rejiciunt ut falsum Verlinus et Vindingus. Leoni in veteri codice Corbeiensi adscribitur, in aliis quibusdam Augustino: sed horum sane doctorum eruditione et gravitate indignus est. Stilo parum distat a superioribus sermonibus 187 et 195. Habet verba etiam nonnulla sermonis proxime subsequentis.

It is now placed in the Appendix for the first time. The Louvain editors leave it doubtful; Verlinus and Vindingus reject it as false. In an old Corbie manuscript it is ascribed to Leo, in certain others to Augustine; but it is surely unworthy of the learning and weight of these doctors. In style it differs little from Sermons 187 and 195 above. It also has some words of the sermon immediately following.

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Et dum infert aliis necem, suscepit ipse pro Christo mortem. Dum intrat lupus rapax in stabula pecudis, subito et ipse factus est ovis. Itaque quis jam desperet de magnitudine criminis, aut de humilitate generis? Nam beatissimum Petrum piscatorem modo genibus provolutis adorat excellentia imperatorum; immanem credentium persecutorem Paulum veneratur Gentium multitudo credentium, per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

And while he was bringing death upon others, he himself underwent death for Christ. While the ravening wolf was entering the folds of the flock, suddenly he himself too was made a sheep. Who, then, should now despair because of the greatness of his crime, or because of the lowliness of his birth? For now the most blessed Peter, a fisherman, is adored on bended knees by the majesty of emperors; Paul, the savage persecutor of believers, is venerated by the multitude of the Gentiles who believe, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns for ages of ages. Amen.

SERMO CCV. In Natali apostolorum Petri et Pauli, V.

Sermon 205. On the Feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul, 5.

1. Petri vocatio exponitur. Piscatoris et persecutoris sacratissimum diem, geminae festivitatis occursu, devotione praecipua hodie celebramus; ille quo retia evasit saeculi, iste quo ex praedone confessor factus est Christi. Eligit ecce duos, unum piscatorem, alterum grassatorem. Illum vocat ex littore, ad istum clamat ex aethere: illum accersit ex ponto, istum terret de coelo. Dum enim Petrus linea castra laxaret in freto, Christus retia misit in verbo. Cepit Christus, cepit et Petrus; Christus discipulum, Petrus pisciculum: et dum circumdat gentem squameam, ipse incidit in retia. Praeteriens, inquit, Jesus vidit duos fratres, Simonem qui dicitur Petrus, et Andream fratrem ejus, retia mittentes in mare; erant enim piscatores. Quibus Christus sic ait: Venite, inquit, post me, et faciam vos fieri piscatores hominum. At illi relictis retibus, secuti sunt eum (Matth. IV, 18-20). Stabat Petrus mobilitate gurgitis pendulus, et inter obscuras aquas inquieti maris, victum quem non habebat, artificio requirebat. Nutabat super ambiguam undam, ut posset indagare capturam. Vario fertur referturque vestigio, stat mobilis, et movetur stabilis. Rimatur inter caecos marini germinis fluctus, et sub obscura unda fugitivam insequitur praedam. Conclusus aqua carcer jactatur in pelagus, disposita praetenditur muscipula, erigitur maculosus sub unda paries, fit caeca piscibus in mari custodia: et dum insidiatur Petrus gregibus aequoris. ipse in retia incidit Salvatoris. Fit de praedone praeda, de piscatore piscatio, de pirata captivitas. Venite, inquit, post me, et faciam vos fieri piscatores hominum. At illi relictis retibus suis, secuti sunt eum. Dum enim Petrus in hamo quaerit concludere piscem, hamum verbi misit Christus, et ipsum tenuit piscatorem. Distendebat Petrus sinuoso lini volumine vacuam cortinam: et dum insequitur gravidi semper aequoris prolem, captorem suum fecit in littore Christum Salvatorem. Trahebat, et trahebatur: exercebat in aequore violentiam, et patiebatur in mente capturam. O aquigenum pirata reptilium, deseruisti artificium hoc, mutasti de pisce ad piscem. (Est enim Christus piscis ille, qui ad Tobiam ascendit de flumine vivus: cujus jecore per prunas passionis assato, fugatus est diabolus; et per amaritudinem fellis afflatus est caecus, et illuminatus est mundus.) De pisce, inquam, ad piscem, de reti ad Ecclesiam, de mari ad fontem, de captore factus est captura. Reliquit enim salum fluctuans, et coepit ambulare post piscem. Similitudo artis inflammat desiderium audientis; ut qui ante captorium jaciebat in salo, verbi nunc retia spargat in mundo. Tunc enim pisces induxit; nunc autem homines sagenis spiritualibus irretivit.

1. The calling of Peter is set forth. The most sacred day of the fisherman and of the persecutor, by the meeting of a twofold festival, we celebrate today with especial devotion: the one, the day on which he escaped the nets of the world; the other, the day on which from a robber he was made a confessor of Christ. See, He chooses two, the one a fisherman, the other a highwayman. The one He calls from the shore, to the other He cries out from the sky: the one He summons from the sea, the other He terrifies from heaven. For while Peter was letting down his linen camps in the strait, Christ cast His nets in the word. Christ caught, and Peter caught too; Christ a disciple, Peter a little fish: and while he was surrounding the scaly race, he himself fell into the nets. "Passing by," it says, "Jesus saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting nets into the sea; for they were fishermen. To whom Christ spoke thus: Come," He says, "after Me, and I will make you become fishers of men. And they, having left their nets, followed Him" (Matt. 4:18–20). Peter stood poised upon the movement of the deep, and amid the dark waters of the restless sea he was seeking by his craft the livelihood which he did not have. He swayed upon the uncertain wave, so that he might track down a catch. He is carried this way and that with shifting footing; he stands while moving, and is moved while standing. He searches among the blind waves of the sea's offspring, and under the dark water pursues a fugitive prey. A prison enclosed by water is cast into the deep, a trap is set out and stretched before them, a meshed wall is raised up under the wave, a blind custody is made for the fish in the sea: and while Peter lies in wait for the flocks of the deep, he himself falls into the nets of the Saviour. The plunderer is made the plunder, the fisherman the catch, the pirate the captive. "Come," He says, "after Me, and I will make you become fishers of men. And they, having left their nets, followed Him." For while Peter seeks to secure a fish on the hook, Christ cast the hook of the word, and held the fisherman himself. Peter was spreading an empty enclosure with the winding fold of flax: and while he pursues the offspring of the ever-teeming sea, he made Christ the Saviour his captor on the shore. He was drawing, and he was being drawn: he was exercising force upon the sea, and was undergoing capture in his mind. O pirate of the water-born creeping things, you have abandoned this craft, you have changed from fish to Fish. (For Christ is that Fish which came up alive out of the river to Tobias: by whose liver, roasted upon the coals of the passion, the devil was put to flight; and by the bitterness of whose gall the blind man was breathed upon, and the world was enlightened.) From fish, I say, to Fish, from the net to the Church, from the sea to the font, from captor he was made the captured. For he left the surging sea, and began to walk after the Fish. The likeness of his craft inflames the desire of the hearer; so that he who formerly cast the catching-net upon the sea may now spread the nets of the word in the world. For then he drew in fish; but now he has enmeshed men in spiritual seines.

2. Pauli conversio. Paulus autem parvus, sed ex parvo magnus, dum diceretur Saulus, sidereae

2. The conversion of Paul. But Paul, small, yet from small made great, while he was called Saul, of the starry

Editors' notes and page, col. 2125

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: vacuam cortinam› · call in col 2125

Ita Mss. r. et gr. At f., sinuosa volumina, et vocat cohortem. In editis autem, ut alii quam plures hujus sermonis loci, sic et iste vitiose reddebatur in hunc modum, sinum lini, volvit in se vacuam cortinam.

So manuscripts r. and gr. But f. reads "winding coils, and calls the band." In the printed editions, however, like a great many other places in this sermon, this one too was given faultily, thus: "the fold of the line, he rolled up into himself an empty net."

(printed under page 325)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible in the crop (Sermo CCV title)› · call in col 2125

Alias, de Sanctis 28.

Elsewhere, Sermon 28 on the Saints.

(printed under page 325)

(b) ‹anchor: not visible in the crop (Sermo CCV subtitle)› · call in col 2125

In Appendice nunc primum collocatur. Ex Lovaniensium censura dubius, ex Verlini autem et Vindingi sententia supposititius est. Non peritiori stilo conscriptus, quam sermo superior, quo cum sermone in sententiis et verbis quibusdam convenit.

It is now placed in the Appendix for the first time. By the Louvain editors' judgement it is doubtful; in the opinion of Verlinus and Vindingus, spurious. It is written in a style no more skilled than the preceding sermon, with which it agrees in certain thoughts and words.

(printed under page 325)

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vocis tuba conterritus, cadit elisus audacia, ut seminet erectus in mundo doctrinam. Saule, inquit, Saule, quid me persequeris? Ibat enim Saulus furiae equis invectus, dirum toto pectore virus efflabat, sanctorumque sanguinem sitiens, per totam Judaeam insaniae ferebatur habenis, ut Christi membra laniaret in terris. Fit vana religione crudelis et quaestionarius innocentium. Per campos sceleratissimi aggeris evagatur; ut Judaea quae jam primo saevierat in capite, crudelitatem exerceret in corpore. Acceperat enim Saulus potestatem a principibus sacerdotum, ut homines fidei nostrae occideret, et germinantem fidei campum manu nefaria detruncaret. Dum ergo portat Saulus funereum contra milites Christi gladium, fulmineum de coelo accipit telum; dum grassatur, percutitur; dum Christi sanctos persequitur, violento radio coelestis luminis caecatur: et qui sufflatorio superbiae adversus Deum erigebatur, divinae vocis terribilitate prosternitur: Saule, inquit, Saule, quid me persequeris (Act. IX, 2-9)? Caput pro membris clamat. Inquietatur corpus; et intonat Christus in coelis, Saule, Saule, quid me persequeris? Quid est quod rugientis poli mugit arcanum, et contra saevitiam Pauli provincia conqueritur coeli; nisi ut qui non crediderat resurgentem, saltem crederet in coelis sedentem: et qui defuncto Apostolorum Domino asseveraverat ex sepulcro mendacium, de coelo viventis acciperet testimonium? Saule, inquit, Saule, quid me persequeris? Subito igitur hasta divinae increpationis prostratus ad terram, et saevitiam perdit et semitam; deponit feritatem, et incurrit oculorum caecitatem; coepit habere ducatores, quos habuerat ante secutores.

voice terrified by the trumpet, he falls, his boldness crushed, so that, raised up, he might sow the teaching in the world. "Saul," He says, "Saul, why do you persecute Me?" For Saul was going along borne on the horses of fury, he was breathing out a dire poison from his whole breast, and, thirsting for the blood of the saints, he was carried through all Judaea by the reins of madness, to tear the members of Christ to pieces on earth. Through a vain religion he becomes cruel and a torturer of the innocent. He roams over the fields of a most wicked rampart, so that Judaea, which had already first raged against the Head, might exercise its cruelty upon the body. For Saul had received authority from the chief priests to kill the men of our faith and with an impious hand to cut down the field of the faith as it was sprouting. While, then, Saul carries a deadly sword against the soldiers of Christ, he receives a thunderbolt-like weapon from heaven; while he attacks, he is struck; while he persecutes the saints of Christ, he is blinded by a violent ray of heavenly light; and he who was being lifted up against God by the bellows of pride is laid low by the terribleness of the divine voice: "Saul," He says, "Saul, why do you persecute Me?" (Acts 9:2–9). The Head cries out on behalf of the members. The body is disturbed, and Christ thunders in heaven, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?" What does it mean that the secret place of the roaring sky bellows, and the province of heaven complains against the savagery of Paul, unless that he who had not believed Him rising again might at least believe Him sitting in heaven; and that he who had asserted the lie concerning the tomb about the dead Lord of the Apostles might receive from heaven the testimony of the Living One? "Saul," He says, "Saul, why do you persecute Me?" Suddenly, therefore, laid low on the ground by the spear of the divine rebuke, he loses both his savagery and his path; he puts off his ferocity and incurs blindness of the eyes; he began to have as guides those whom he had previously had as followers.

3. In Judaeos increpatio. Ubinam, Paule, currebas, quando videbas? Ecce nunc oberrans quaeris locum; et qui persequebaris Christum, caecus curris ad manum. O Saule rapax lupe, comedisti: sed exspecta paululum, et digerens digereris. Credis ergo, o Saule, in Deo, adhibes fidem perfido? Non solent istae manus in sanguine pollui, si non te adhuc ab eis videris cruciari. Parum erat generi tuo, quod crucifixerat Christum; insuper et manus mittere non formidavit in coelum. Impressit patibulo carnem, posuit ad ostium sepulcri custodes. Jam Christus ascendit ad Patrem; et adhuc genitrix tua non caruit feritate. O Judaea Prophetarum sanguine temulenta, necdum satiata es? A sanguine Abel usque ad sanguinem Zachariae flumina tui sceleris spumant; et te adhuc usque non satiant? Ab origine mundi sanguinem bibis, et adhuc sitis? Necdum tui facinoris in Christo unda siccavit; et jam alveus tui sceleris sitit? Modo Christum patibulo confixisti; et tam cito cupiditate sanguinis aruisti? Sed ecce prosternitur crudelitas, ut erigatur sanctitas: cadit miles diaboli, ut surgat signifer Christi.

3. A rebuke against the Jews. Where, Paul, were you running when you could see? Behold, now, wandering about, you seek the place; and you who were persecuting Christ run, blind, to [be led by] the hand. O Saul, rapacious wolf, you have eaten; but wait a little, and digesting you will be digested. Do you then believe, O Saul, in God; do you give faith to the faithless one? These hands are not accustomed to be defiled in blood, if you do not see yourself still tormented by them. It was too little for your race that it had crucified Christ; besides, it did not even fear to lay hands upon heaven. It fastened His flesh to the gibbet, it set guards at the door of the tomb. Christ has already ascended to the Father, and still your mother has not been free of ferocity. O Judaea, drunk with the blood of the Prophets, are you not yet sated? From the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah the rivers of your crime foam; and do they still not sate you? From the beginning of the world you drink blood, and do you still thirst? The wave of your crime against Christ has not yet dried; and does the channel of your crime already thirst? Just now you fastened Christ to the gibbet; and have you so quickly become parched with the desire for blood? But behold, cruelty is laid low so that holiness may be raised up: the soldier of the devil falls so that the standard-bearer of Christ may rise.

4. Petri et Pauli martyrium. Mittit Petrus in salum retiaculum; circumfert Paulus dominicum in mundo vexillum. Et ille piscatur homines, et iste titulo Christi signat Gentiles. Currunt utrique ad palmam martyrii, et utrique perveniunt ad coronam: non quidem eodem temporis cursu, sed eodem anni revertentis occursu. Petrus pro Christo capite deorsum in ligno suspenditur; Paulus pro Christo pugione truncatur. Ille propriis gressibus proficiscebatur ad Christum, oculisque superiora respiciens, beatum spiritum deducebat ad coelum; iste cervicem curvabat ad poenam, et offerebat verticem capitis ad coronam. Petrum crux necat; Paulum gladius immolat. Duo genera suppliciorum Domini et Christi, in duobus Apostolis Christi. Petrus patitur crucem; Paulus sentit Dominici lateris pugionem. Piscatorem suspendit hamus crucis; persecutorem mucro minuit persecutoris.

4. The martyrdom of Peter and Paul. Peter casts his little net into the sea; Paul carries the Lord's standard about in the world. The one fishes for men, and the other marks the Gentiles with the title of Christ. Both run to the palm of martyrdom, and both arrive at the crown: not indeed in the same course of time, but on the same recurrence of the returning year. Peter for Christ is hung on the wood head downwards; Paul for Christ is beheaded with the dagger. The one set out to Christ by his own steps, and, looking with his eyes towards the things above, led his blessed spirit to heaven; the other bent his neck to the penalty, and offered the crown of his head to the crown. The cross kills Peter; the sword sacrifices Paul. Two kinds of the punishments of the Lord and of Christ, in two Apostles of Christ. Peter suffers the cross; Paul feels the dagger of the Lord's side. The hook of the cross hangs the fisherman; the blade of the persecutor cuts down the persecutor.

Editors' notes and page, col. 2126

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible in the crop› · call in col 2126 (above the crop)

Editi, mugit populus; Ms., rugiente populo: et mox, militia conqueritur; pro, provincia. Floriacensem secuti sumus.

The printed editions read "the people bellows"; the manuscript, "with the people roaring"; and just after, "militia conqueritur" (the host complains) instead of "provincia". We have followed the Fleury manuscript.

(printed under page 325)

(2) ‹anchor: digerens digereris› · call in col 2126

Ms. r., digeres; f., digereris. Mox uterque, adhibes ergo fidem video; vel potius, Judaeo.

Manuscript r. reads "digeres"; f., "digereris". Just after, both read "adhibes ergo fidem video" (so you give faith, I see); or rather, "Judaeo" (to the Jew).

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Nunc ad memoriam piscatoris flectuntur genua imperatoris. Ibi radiant gemmae diadematis, ubi fulgent beneficia piscatoris. Ex piscatore fecit Dominus Apostolorum principem; ex persecutore fecit apostolicum confessorem. Praestitit passio socios, quos fecerat fidei praedicatio copulatos. Veneremur ergo principes gregis, si volumus aeterni caulas intrare pastoris.

Now at the memory of the fisherman the knees of the emperor are bent. There the gems of the diadem shine where the benefits of the fisherman are resplendent. Out of a fisherman the Lord made the prince of the Apostles; out of a persecutor He made an apostolic confessor. Their passion made them companions, whom the preaching of the faith had joined together. Let us therefore venerate the princes of the flock, if we wish to enter the folds of the eternal Shepherd.

SERMO CCVI. In Natali sancti Laurentii, I.

Sermon 206. On the Birthday of Saint Lawrence, 1.

1. Laurentius mundum inflammat ad martyrium. Martyrium spirituale. Igne ignis vim restinguit Laurentius. Beatissimi Laurentii martyris, cujus Natalem hodie celebramus, passionem nosse vos credo; et quanta in persecutione pertulerit, Dilectionem vestram scire posse non dubito. Tanta enim ejus martyrii gloria exstitit, ut passione sua mundum illuminaverit universum. Illuminavit plane mundum Laurentius eo lumine quo ipse succensus est; et flammis quas ipse pertulit, omnium Christianorum corda calefecit. Quis enim hoc exemplo nolit pro Christo ardere cum Laurentio, ut possit a Christo cum Laurentio coronari? Quis nolit ad horam sustinere Laurentii ignem, ut aeternum gehennae non patiatur incendium? Beati igitur Laurentii exemplo provocamur ad martyrium, accendimur ad fidem, incalescimus ad devotionem. Etsi nobis persecutoris flamma deest; fidei tamen flamma non deest. Non ardemus quidem corpore pro Christo, sed ardemus affectu: non subjicit mihi persecutor ignem, sed suggerit mihi ignem desiderium Salvatoris. Esse autem Salvatoris ignem legimus in Evangelio, dicente eodem Domino, Nescitis quia veni ignem mittere in terram? et quid volo, nisi ut accendatur (Luc. XII, 49)? Quo igne succensi Amahus et Cleophas dixerunt: Nonne cor nostrum ardens erat in nobis, dum loqueretur in via, et aperiret nobis Scripturas (Id. XXIV, 32)? Hoc igitur igne etiam beatus Laurentius accensus, flammarum non sentit incendia: et dum Christi ardet desiderio, persecutoris poena non ardet. In quantum enim in illo fidei ardor fervet, in tantum supplicii flamma frigescit. Corporali enim beatus Laurentius laborat incendio: hinc amore Christi succenditur, inde persecutoris flamma torquetur: sed divinus Salvatoris ardor materialem tyranni restinguit ardorem. Quamvis enim in favilla membra solvantur, fidei tamen fortitudo non solvitur: corporis quidem detrimentum sustinet, sed lucrum salutis acquirit.

1. Lawrence sets the world aflame for martyrdom. Spiritual martyrdom. By fire Lawrence quenches the force of fire. I believe that you know the passion of the most blessed martyr Lawrence, whose Birthday we celebrate today; and I do not doubt that your Charity can know how much he endured in the persecution. For so great was the glory of his martyrdom that by his passion he illuminated the whole world. Lawrence plainly illuminated the world with that light by which he himself was kindled; and by the flames which he himself endured he warmed the hearts of all Christians. For who would not wish, after this example, to burn for Christ with Lawrence, so that he may be crowned by Christ with Lawrence? Who would not wish to endure for an hour the fire of Lawrence, so as not to suffer the eternal burning of Gehenna? By the example, therefore, of blessed Lawrence we are summoned to martyrdom, kindled to faith, warmed to devotion. Although the persecutor's flame is lacking to us, yet the flame of faith is not lacking. We do not indeed burn in body for Christ, but we burn in affection: the persecutor does not set fire under me, but the desire of the Saviour supplies fire to me. That there is a fire of the Saviour we read in the Gospel, where the same Lord says: Do you not know that I have come to send fire upon the earth? and what do I will, except that it be kindled (Luke 12:49)? Kindled by this fire, Amahus and Cleophas said: Was not our heart burning in us while He was speaking on the way and opening the Scriptures to us (Luke 24:32)? Kindled therefore by this fire, blessed Lawrence too does not feel the burning of the flames; and while he burns with desire for Christ, he does not burn with the persecutor's punishment. For in so far as the ardour of faith glows in him, so far does the flame of the torment grow cold. For blessed Lawrence labours under a bodily burning: on this side he is kindled by the love of Christ, on that he is tortured by the persecutor's flame; but the divine ardour of the Saviour quenches the material ardour of the tyrant. For although his limbs are dissolved into ash, yet the fortitude of faith is not dissolved: he suffers indeed the loss of the body, but he acquires the gain of salvation.

2. Diuturnum patitur supplicium. Tribus pueris non inferior. Non enim, fratres, beatus Laurentius cita vel simplici passione perimitur. Nam qui gladio percutitur, semel moritur; qui in flammarum camino mergitur, uno impetu liberatur: hic autem longa et multiplici poena cruciatur; ut mors ei non desit ad supplicium, et desit ad finem. Dicitur enim ab illo saevissimo persecutore haec beato Laurentio constituta poena, ut ardentium exposita mole carbonum, insuper eum ferrea crate distentum lenta flamma consumeret; ut non tam inflammando cito interimeret hominem, quam diu exurendo torqueret: ita ut cum unum latus exustum persecutor cerneret, aliud latus ignibus objiceret exurendum. Legimus Ananiam,

2. He suffers a long-drawn torment. Not inferior to the three youths. For, brethren, blessed Lawrence is not slain by a swift or simple passion. For he who is struck with the sword dies once; he who is plunged into the furnace of flames is set free at one onset; but this man is tortured with a long and manifold punishment, so that death is not lacking to him for torment, yet is lacking for an end. For it is said that this punishment was appointed for blessed Lawrence by that most savage persecutor: that, a heap of burning coals having been laid out, a slow flame should consume him stretched upon an iron grid above it, so that it should not so much kill the man by setting him quickly aflame as torture him by burning him for a long time; so that when the persecutor saw one side burnt through, he exposed the other side to the fires to be burnt. We read that Ananias,

Editors' notes and page, col. 2127

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible in the crop› · call in col 2127 (above the crop)

In Ms. r., fulget supplicium.

In manuscript r., "the punishment shines."

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(2) ‹anchor: Cleophas dixerunt› · call in col 2127

Editi, duo illi discipuli dixerunt. At cb. Ms., Amahus et Cleophas dixerunt: quomodo etiam habet idem sermo apud Ambrosium. Accedit codex t. in quo, Emahus et Cleophas: et sic jam supra in sermone 86, ad eumdem locum. Ambrosius porro in Lucae caput 24, eosdem discipulos Amaonem et Cleopham vocat.

The printed editions read "those two disciples said." But manuscript cb. reads "Amahus and Cleophas said," as the same sermon also has it in Ambrose. Manuscript t. agrees, reading "Emahus and Cleophas"; and so already above in Sermon 86, at the same place. Ambrose, moreover, on Luke chapter 24, calls these same disciples Amaon and Cleophas.

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(a) ‹anchor: not visible in the crop (Sermo CCVI title)› · call in col 2127

Olim, de Sanctis 30; et post, in Appendice 80.

Formerly Sermon 30 on the Saints; and later, Sermon 80 in the Appendix.

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(b) ‹anchor: not visible in the crop (Sermo CCVI subtitle)› · call in col 2127

Dignus est qui legatur, Lovaniensium judicio. Inter Ambrosii Sermones reperitur in excusis, ipsique in Ms. Corbeiensi et in Theodericensi inscribitur. Confer ad ejus Commentaria in Lucam et ad sermones hujus Appendicis 86, 87, Commentariis iisdem plurimum congruentes. Caeterum conclusio ab istis verbis, « Nos vero, fratres dilectissimi, » etc., desumpta est ex Caesarii sermone de Martyribus, qui est infra 224.

In the Louvain editors' judgement it is worth reading. It is found among Ambrose's sermons in the printed editions, and is inscribed to him in the Corbie manuscript and in the Thierry manuscript. Compare his Commentary on Luke and Sermons 86 and 87 of this Appendix, which agree very closely with that Commentary. The conclusion, however, from the words "But we, dearest brethren," etc., is taken from Caesarius's sermon on the Martyrs, which is below, no. 224.

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