PL 39 · cols. 2237–2241

Appendix to Augustine's Sermones: Sermones supposititii, Sermones 258-271

Sermons CCLXV–CCLXVI

jam dixi, prodest quod malum non facitis, si id quod Deo placere nostis impleveritis. Et tunc de bonis operibus vestris mercedem vobis reddendam poteritis fideliter credere, quando vos cum Dei adjutorio coeperitis ad integrum a malis actibus abstinere. Nam si et bona simul et mala opera facere vultis, quid prodest ex una parte aedificare, ex alia vero destruere; et unum exspoliare, alium vero vestire? Istis talibus clamat in Evangelio Dominus, Aut facite arborem bonam, et fructus ejus bonos; aut facite arborem malam, et fructus ejus malos (Matth. XII, 33): et Salomon, Sicut canis odibilis est quando redit ad vomitum suum; ita et peccator, quando revertitur ad peccatum suum (Prov. XXVI, 11): et propheta, Vae peccatori terram ingredienti duabus viis (Eccli. II, 14): et illud, Nemo potest duobus dominis servire (Matth. VI, 24). Ergo, sicut jam saepius supra suggessimus, quia fides a Fit, id est, ab eo quod fiat, nomen accepit, et ipse se fiducialiter dicit credere, qui quod se credere dixerit, implere operibus voluerit; et, sicut jam dictum est, ipsa est tota virtus fidei ut credamus utrumque esse, quod promittit Deus, et quod minatur; ac si volumus ut in nobis perfecta fides maneat, et timentes supplicium, opera mala non faciamus, et desiderantes praemium, ea quae bona sunt agere totis viribus laboremus: ut non cum incredulis et impiis aeternum cogamur supplicium sustinere; sed cum fidelibus et in bonis operibus perseverantibus ad perpetuum regnum valeamus pervenire. Quod ipse praestare dignetur, qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

I have already said, it profits that you do not do evil, if you fulfil what you know to be pleasing to God. And then you will be able faithfully to believe that a reward will be rendered to you for your good works, when with God's help you have begun to abstain entirely from evil actions. For if you wish to do both good and evil works at the same time, what does it profit to build on one side and to destroy on the other; and to strip one man and to clothe another? To such as these the Lord cries out in the Gospel, Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad (Matt. 12:33): and Solomon, As a dog is hateful when it returns to its vomit; so too is the sinner when he turns back to his sin (Prov. 26:11): and the prophet, Woe to the sinner who walks the earth by two ways (Sir. 2:14): and that saying, No one can serve two masters (Matt. 6:24). Therefore, as we have often suggested above, since faith (fides) has taken its name from 'Fit', that is, from the fact that it is done, that man says with confidence that he believes who is willing to fulfil by works what he has said that he believes; and, as has already been said, this is the whole power of faith, that we believe that both things are real, what God promises and what He threatens; and if we wish that perfect faith should remain in us, let us, fearing punishment, not do evil works, and, desiring the reward, let us labour with all our strength to do the things that are good: so that we may not be compelled to endure eternal punishment with the unbelieving and the ungodly; but may be able to come to the everlasting kingdom with the faithful and with those who persevere in good works. May He deign to grant this, Who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit unto ages of ages. Amen.

SERMO CCLXV. De christiano nomine cum operibus non christianis.

Sermon 265. On the Christian name with works that are not Christian.

1. Christianum nomen non sufficit. Signum Christi. Quis ad perniciem eo se signet. Cui prosit. Rogo vos, fratres charissimi, ut attentius cogitemus quare christiani sumus, et crucem Christi in fronte portamus. Scire enim debemus quia non nobis sufficit quod nomen christianum accepimus, si opera christiana non fecerimus: sicut ipse Dominus in Evangelio dixit, Quid prodest quod dicitis mihi, Domine, Domine, et non facitis quae dico? Si te militem christianum dicas, et jugiter cruce Christi te signes, et eleemosynam secundum vires tuas non feceris, charitatem et justitiam vel castitatem habere nolueris; nihil tibi prodesse poterit christianum nomen. Magna res est signum Christi et crux Christi: et ideo de isto tam pretioso signaculo res magna et pretiosa signari debet. Quid enim prodest si de annulo aureo sigillum facias; et putridas paleas intus recondas? Quid prodest si signum Christi in fronte et in ore gestamus; et intus in anima crimina et peccata recondimus? Qui enim male cogitat, male loquitur, male operatur, si se emendare noluerit, quando se signat, peccatum illius non minuitur, sed augetur. Multi enim dum ad furtum aut ad adulterium vadunt, si

1. The Christian name is not sufficient. The sign of Christ. Who signs himself with it to his ruin. To whom it is of profit. I ask you, dearest brethren, that we consider more attentively why we are Christians and bear the cross of Christ on our forehead. For we ought to know that it is not sufficient for us that we have received the Christian name, if we have not done Christian works: as the Lord Himself said in the Gospel, What does it profit that you say to Me, Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say? If you call yourself a Christian soldier, and continually sign yourself with the cross of Christ, and have not given alms according to your means, and have refused to have charity and justice or chastity, the Christian name will be able to profit you nothing. A great thing is the sign of Christ and the cross of Christ: and therefore with so precious a seal a great and precious thing ought to be sealed. For what does it profit if you make a seal from a golden ring, and hide rotten chaff inside? What does it profit if we bear the sign of Christ on the forehead and on the mouth, and inside, in the soul, we hide crimes and sins? For whoever thinks evil, speaks evil, does evil, if he refuses to amend himself, when he signs himself his sin is not diminished but increased. For many, when they go to theft or to adultery, if

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Alias, de Tempore 215.

Elsewhere [numbered] De Tempore 215.

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In Appendice nunc primum collocatur. In Lovaniensium editione dubius, Verlini et Vindingi sententia spurius est. Stilus et res apprime conveniunt Caesario, a quo « Praedicationes contra ebrietatis et libidinis malum, contraque « discordiam et odium, contra iracundiam atque sacrilegos « et aruspices, contra calendarum quoque paganissimos ritus, contraque augures, lignicolas, fonticolas diversorumque vitia » factas, in ejus Vita legimus, quae populis in ecclesia legendae per diversas provincias circumferebantur. Ex his concionibus plura translata sunt in tractatum de Rectitudine catholicae conversationis, in Appendice tomi sexti, et in alios quosdam sermones Eligii nomine publicatos. De num. 1 vide Appendicis serm. 233, n. 4; 115, n. 1; et 116, n. 1 : de num. 2, infra serm. 267, n. 5; et supra serm. 168, n. 3; 21, n. 8; et 220, n. 2 : de num. 3, infra serm. 282, n. 4; Caesarii homil. 33 et 34; serm. 17, n. 3 : de num. 4, infra serm. 277, n. 4 : de num. 5, serm. 129, n. 2; et 130, n. 1 et 2, cum notis; 278, n. 1; 130, n. 288, n. 2; 4; 277, n. 4; et in fine, Caesarii homil. 33.

Now placed in the Appendix for the first time. In the Louvain edition it is doubtful; in the judgement of Verlinus and Vindingus it is spurious. Style and matter suit Caesarius exceedingly well: in his Life we read that he composed "sermons against the evil of drunkenness and lust, against discord and hatred, against anger, against sacrilegious men and soothsayers, against the utterly pagan rites of the Kalends too, and against augurs, tree-worshippers, spring-worshippers and the vices of various kinds," which were carried round through various provinces to be read to the people in church. Many passages of these addresses were carried over into the treatise On the Uprightness of Catholic Life, in the Appendix of volume six, and into certain other sermons published under the name of Eligius. On no. 1 see sermon 233 of the Appendix, no. 4; 115, no. 1; and 116, no. 1; on no. 2, below, sermon 267, no. 5, and above, sermon 168, no. 3; 21, no. 8; and 220, no. 2; on no. 3, below, sermon 282, no. 4; Caesarius, homilies 33 and 34; sermon 17, no. 3; on no. 4, below, sermon 277, no. 4; on no. 5, sermon 129, no. 2, and 130, nos. 1 and 2, with the notes; 278, no. 1; 130, no. 288, no. 2; 4 [references garbled as printed]; 277, no. 4; and at the end, Caesarius, homily 33.

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pedem impegerint, signant se, et tamen de malo opere non revocant se: et nesciunt miseri, quia includunt in se magis daemones quam excludunt. Qui autem a se cum Dei adjutorio vitia et peccata repellit, et quod bonum est cogitare simul et implere contenderit; juste signum crucis labiis suis apponit: quia talia opera conatur agere, quae signum Christi mereantur accipere. Et quia scriptum est, Regnum Dei non est in sermone, sed in virtute (I Cor. IV, 20); et iterum, Fides sine operibus mortua est (Jacobi II, 26): ut nomen christianum non ad judicium, sed ad remedium habeamus, convertamus nos ad opera bona, dum in nostra sunt potestate remedia.

they have struck their foot, sign themselves, and yet do not call themselves back from evil work: and the wretches do not know that they shut demons in within themselves rather than shut them out. But whoever with God's help drives vices and sins away from himself, and strives both to think what is good and at the same time to carry it out, rightly sets the sign of the cross upon his lips: for he endeavours to do such works as deserve to receive the sign of Christ. And since it is written, The kingdom of God is not in speech, but in power (1 Cor. 4:20); and again, Faith without works is dead (Jas. 2:26): so that we may have the Christian name not for judgement but for remedy, let us turn ourselves to good works, while the remedies are in our power.

2. Officium christiani. Patrisfamilias. Judicis. Et ut haec, Deo auxiliante, possitis implere, pacem et ipsi habete, et eos qui discordes sunt ad concordiam revocate. Mendacium fugite, perjurium velut mortem perpetuam nolite facere. Ante omnia, sicut jam supra dictum est, secundum vires eleemosynam pauperibus exhibete, oblationes quae in altario consecrentur offerte. Erubescere debet homo idoneus, si de aliena oblatione communicaverit. Qui possunt, aut cereolos aut oleum quod in cicindilibus mittatur, exhibeant. Symbolum vel orationem dominicam et ipsi tenete, et filiis vestris ostendite. Nam nescio qua fronte se christianum dicat, qui paucos versus in Symbolo vel in oratione dominica parare dissimulat. Filios quos in Baptismo excipitis, scitote vos fidejussores pro ipsis apud Deum exstitisse. Et ideo tam illos qui de vobis nati sunt, quam illos quos de fonte excipitis, semper castigate atque corrigite, ut caste et juste et sobrie vivant. Et vos ipsi ita agite, ut si vos filii vestri imitari voluerint, non vobiscum in igne ardeant, sed simul vobiscum ad praemia aeterna perveniant. Qui causas audiunt, juste judicent: nec munera super innocentes accipiant, quia munera excaecant corda sapientium, et immutant verba justorum; ne forte dum acquirunt pecuniam, perdant animam suam. Nemo enim habet injustum lucrum sine justo damno. Ubi lucrum, ibi et damnum: lucrum in arca, damnum in conscientia. Nullus se inebriet, nemo in convivio suo cogat alium amplius bibere quam oportet; ne per ebrietatem et suam et illius animam perdat.

2. The duty of a Christian. Of a father of a household. Of a judge. And so that you may be able, with God's help, to fulfil these things, both keep peace yourselves and call back to concord those who are at discord. Flee lying; do not commit perjury, as you would not commit everlasting death. Above all, as has already been said above, give alms to the poor according to your means; offer the oblations that are to be consecrated on the altar. A man who is able ought to blush if he has communicated from another's oblation. Let those who can provide either small candles or oil to be put in the lamps. Both hold fast the Creed and the Lord's Prayer yourselves, and show them to your children. For I do not know with what face a man may call himself a Christian who neglects to learn the few lines in the Creed or in the Lord's Prayer. Know that you have stood as sureties before God for the children whom you receive at Baptism. And therefore both those who have been born of you and those whom you receive from the font, always chastise and correct, so that they may live chastely and justly and soberly. And do you yourselves so act that, if your children are willing to imitate you, they may not burn with you in the fire, but may come together with you to the eternal rewards. Let those who hear cases judge justly: and let them not accept gifts against the innocent, for gifts blind the hearts of the wise and change the words of the just; lest perhaps, while they acquire money, they lose their own soul. For no one has an unjust gain without a just loss. Where there is gain, there also is loss: gain in the coffer, loss in the conscience. Let no one make himself drunk; let no one at his own banquet compel another to drink more than is fitting; lest through drunkenness he lose both his own soul and the other's.

3. Quaenam agenda dominico die: in ecclesiis: in morbis. Unctionis extremae effectus. Omni die dominico ad ecclesiam convenite. Si enim infelices Judaei tanta devotione celebrant sabbatum, ut in eo nulla opera terrena exerceant; quanto magis Christiani in die dominico soli Deo vacare, et pro animae suae salute debent ad ecclesiam convenire? Quando ad ecclesiam convenitis, pro peccatis vestris orate. Nolite rixas committere, nolite lites et scandala concitare: qui ad ecclesiam veniens haec fecerit, ibi se litigando vulnerat, ubi se orando sanare potuerat. In ecclesia stantes nolite verbosari, sed lectiones divinas patienter audite. Qui enim in ecclesia verbosari voluerit, et pro se et pro aliis redditurus est rationem, dum verbum Dei nec ipse audit, nec alios audire permittit. Et decimas de fructibus vestris ecclesiis reddite. Qui fuit superbus, sit humilis; qui erat adulter, sit castus; qui solebat furtum facere vel res alienas invadere, etiam de propria substantia incipiat pauperibus erogare. Qui fuit invidus, sit bonivolus. Qui fecit injuriam, cito veniam petat; cui injuria facta est, cito dimittat. Quoties aliqua infirmitas supervenerit, corpus et sanguinem Christi ille qui aegrotat accipiat: et inde corpusculum suum ungat; ut illud quod scriptum est impleatur in eo, Infirmatur aliquis, inducat presbyteros, et orent super eum ungentes eum oleo: et oratio fidei salvabit infirmum, et alleviabit eum Dominus; et si in peccatis sit, dimittentur ei (Jacobi V, 14 et 15). Videte, fratres, quia qui in infirmitate ad

3. What is to be done on the Lord's day: in the churches: in sicknesses. The effect of extreme unction. Gather at church every Lord's day. For if the unhappy Jews celebrate the sabbath with such devotion that they do no earthly work on it, how much more ought Christians on the Lord's day to be free for God alone, and to gather at church for the salvation of their soul? When you gather at church, pray for your sins. Do not start quarrels, do not stir up disputes and scandals: whoever, coming to church, does these things wounds himself by wrangling in the very place where he could have healed himself by praying. Standing in church, do not chatter, but listen patiently to the divine readings. For whoever is minded to chatter in church will have to render an account both for himself and for others, since he neither hears the word of God himself nor allows others to hear it. And pay tithes from your produce to the churches. Let him who was proud be humble; let him who was an adulterer be chaste; let him who used to commit theft or seize the goods of others begin even to bestow on the poor from his own substance. Let him who was envious be well-wishing. Let him who has done an injury quickly ask pardon; let him to whom an injury has been done quickly forgive. Whenever some infirmity comes upon him, let him who is sick receive the body and blood of Christ: and then let him anoint his poor body; so that what is written may be fulfilled in him, Is anyone sick, let him bring in the presbyters, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick man, and the Lord shall relieve him; and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him (Jas. 5:14–15). See, brethren, that whoever in infirmity to

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Cicindile proprie lampyris, gallice ver luisant. Quae vox inde ad lychnum olearium translata est. Hac voce et in eo sensu utitur Caesarius, homil. 21 et 22.

"Cicindile" properly means the firefly, in French "ver luisant" (glow-worm). From there the word was transferred to an oil lamp. Caesarius uses this word, and in this sense, in homilies 21 and 22.

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ecclesiam cucurrerit, et corporis sanitatem recipere, et peccatorum indulgentiam merebitur obtinere. Cum ergo duplicia bona possint in ecclesia inveniri, quare per praecantatores, per fontes et arbores et diabolica phylacteria, per characteres et aruspices et divinos vel sortilegos multiplicia sibi mala miseri homines conantur inferre.

the church has run will deserve both to recover health of body and to obtain forgiveness of sins. Since, therefore, twofold goods can be found in the church, why do wretched men try to bring manifold evils upon themselves through enchanters, through springs and trees and diabolical amulets, through written characters and soothsayers and diviners or sorcerers?

4. Quid cavendum in colloquiis. Balationes ante basilicas sanctorum. Sicut jam supra diximus, filios et omnes familias vestras admonete, fratres, semper, ut caste et juste ac salubriter vivant: nec solum eos verbis, sed etiam exemplis ad bona opera provocate. Ante omnia ubicumque fueritis, sive in domo, sive in itinere, sive in convivio, sive in consessu, verba turpia et luxuriosa nolite ex ore vestro proferre: sed magis vicinos et proximos vestros jugiter admonete, ut semper quod bonum est et honestum loqui studeant; ne forte detrahendo, male loquendo, et in sanctis festivitatibus choros ducendo, cantica luxuriosa et turpia proferendo de lingua sua, unde debuerant Deum laudare, inde sibi vulnera videantur infligere. Isti enim infelices et miseri homines, qui balationes et saltationes ante ipsas basilicas sanctorum exercere nec metuunt nec erubescunt, etsi christiani ad ecclesiam venerint, pagani de ecclesia revertuntur; quia ista consuetudo balandi de Paganorum observatione remansit. Et jam videte qualis est ille christianus, qui ad ecclesiam venit orare, et neglecta oratione, sacrilega verba paganorum non erubescit ex ore proferre. Videte tamen, fratres charissimi, si justum est ut ex ore Christianorum, ubi corpus Christi ingreditur, luxuriosum canticum quasi venenum diaboli proferatur? Ante omnia quidquid vultis vobis ab aliis fieri, hoc aliis facite: quod vobis ab aliis non vultis fieri, nulli alii feceritis. Quam rem si volueritis implere, ab omni peccato potestis vestras animas liberare: quia et qui litteras non novit, istas duas sententias memoriter teneat, et cum Dei adjutorio operibus et potest et debet implere.

4. What is to be avoided in conversation. Dancings before the basilicas of the saints. As we have already said above, admonish your sons and all your households, brethren, always to live chastely and justly and wholesomely: and spur them on to good works not only by words but also by examples. Above all, wherever you may be, whether at home, or on a journey, or at a banquet, or in a gathering, do not utter shameful and wanton words from your mouth: but rather continually admonish your neighbours and those near you that they always be eager to speak what is good and honourable; lest perhaps by disparaging, by speaking evil, and by leading dances at the holy festivals and uttering wanton and shameful songs with their tongue, they should be seen to inflict wounds on themselves with that very thing with which they ought to have praised God. For these unhappy and wretched men, who neither fear nor blush to perform dancings and leapings before the very basilicas of the saints, even if they have come to the church as Christians, return from the church as pagans; for this custom of dancing has remained from the observance of the pagans. And now see what sort of Christian that is who comes to the church to pray, and, having neglected prayer, does not blush to utter from his mouth the sacrilegious words of the pagans. Yet consider, dearest brethren, whether it is just that from the mouth of Christians, where the body of Christ enters, a wanton song, like the poison of the devil, should be uttered? Above all, whatever you wish to be done to you by others, do this to others: what you do not wish to be done to you by others, do to no other. If you are willing to fulfil this, you can free your souls from every sin: for even he who does not know letters may hold these two sentences in memory, and with the help of God he both can and ought to fulfil them in deeds.

5. Ethnicarum superstitionum reliquiae. Superstitio in feria quinta. Et licet credam quod illa infelix consuetudo, quae de Paganorum profana observatione remansit, jan nobis castigantibus et de locis istis fuerit, Deo inspirante, sublata; tamen si adhuc agnoscatis aliquos illam sordidissimam turpitudinem de hinnicula vel cervula exercere, ita durissime castigate, ut eos poeniteat rem sacrilegam commisisse. Et si, quando luna obscuratur, adhuc aliquos clamare cognoscitis, et ipsos admonete denuntiantes eis quod grave sibi peccatum faciunt, quando lunam, quae Deo jubente certis temporibus obscuratur, clamoribus suis a maleficiis sacrilego ausu se defensare posse confidunt. Et si adhuc videtis aliquos ad fontes aut ad arbores vota reddere, et, sicut jam dictum est, sortilegos etiam et divinos vel praecantatores inquirere, phylacteria etiam diabolica et characteres, aut herbas, vel succos sibi aut suis appendere; durissime tanta eorum peccata increpantes dicite, quia

5. Remnants of heathen superstitions. Superstition on the fifth day of the week. And although I believe that that unhappy custom, which has remained from the profane observance of the pagans, has now, through our chastising and by God's inspiration, been removed even from these places; yet if you still recognize any people practising that most filthy disgrace of the little mare or the little hind, chastise them so very severely that they repent of having committed a sacrilegious act. And if you know of any who still shout when the moon is darkened, admonish them too, declaring to them that they commit a grave sin against themselves when, with sacrilegious daring, they trust that by their shouts they can defend from sorceries the moon, which by God's command is darkened at fixed times. And if you still see any paying vows at springs or at trees, and, as has already been said, also seeking out sorcerers and diviners or enchanters, and hanging diabolical amulets and written characters, or herbs, or juices on themselves or on their own; rebuking such great sins of theirs most severely, say that

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Haec in sermonibus sequentibus saepius reprehenduntur vitia, quibus « fidem catholicae religionis maxime in estari, » dicit concilium Agathense, can. 42, et eorum reos « ab « Ecclesia haberi extraneos statuit. » De iisdem concilium Autissiodorense, can 4, « Non licet ad sortilegos vel ad « auguria respicere, non ad caragios, nec ad sortes, quas « sanctorum vocant, » etc.; et can. 3, « Non licet compensos « in domibus propriis nec pervigilias in festivitatibus sanctorum facere, nec inter sentes, aut arbores sacrivos vel « ad fontes vota exsolvere. » Insignis est etiam ea de re canon 22 concilii secundi Turonensis. Forte ad eumdem arbores colendi ritum pertinet quod in Vita S. Valarici, cap. 22, legimus : « Juxta ripam ipsius fluminis stips erat « magnus, diversis imaginibus figuratus, atque ibi in ter- « ram magna virtute immissus, qui nimio cultu more Gen- « tilium a rusticis colebatur. » Certe ex sacrilegis illis arboribus ea erat, quam S. Martinus, ut in ejus Vita narrat Sulpicius, succisam voluit. Infra, serm. 278, n. 5, rursum acriter invehitur in eosdem ritus.

These vices are often rebuked in the sermons that follow; by them, says the Council of Agde, canon 42, "the faith of the Catholic religion is chiefly [?]" [the word "estari" is corrupt as printed], and it decreed that those guilty of them "be held strangers to the Church." On the same matters the Council of Auxerre, canon 4: "It is not lawful to look to fortune-tellers or to auguries, nor to caragii [diviners], nor to the lots which they call the lots of the saints," etc.; and canon 3: "It is not lawful to hold compensi [gatherings] in private houses, nor vigils on the feasts of the saints, nor to pay vows among thickets, or at sacred trees, or at springs." Canon 22 of the second Council of Tours is also notable on this matter. Perhaps to the same rite of worshipping trees belongs what we read in the Life of St Valaricus, chapter 22: "Beside the bank of that river there was a great stock, carved with various images, and set there in the ground with great force, which the country people worshipped with excessive devotion after the manner of the Gentiles." Certainly one of those sacrilegious trees was the one which St Martin wished to have cut down, as Sulpicius relates in his Life. Below, sermon 278, no. 5, he again inveighs sharply against the same rites.

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(a) ‹anchor: not visible; on the superstition of the fifth weekday› · call in col 2239 (above the crop)

Quod hic dicitur de superstitione in feria quinta egregie illustratur et confirmatur canone 15 concilii Narbonensis anni 589, ubi primum aiunt antistites : « Ad nos perve- « nit quosdam de populis catholicae fidei exsecrabili ritu diem « quintam feriam, qui et dicitur Jovis, multos excolere, et « operationem non facere. » Tum sanciunt : « Quicumque « praeter festivitates in eo die venientes ausus fuerit va- « care et operationem non facere, si ingenuus est, de eccle- « sia repellendus et sub poenitentia mittendus anno uno et « eleemosyna et fletu satisfaciat; si servus aut ancilla, fla- « gellis correcti domino consignentur. » Idem quoque concilium, canone 4, eos qui die dominico operati fuerint, ingenuos quidem sex solidis multandos, servos vero centum flagellis corripiendos decernit. Et quia huic synodo subscriptus legitur Sedatius Biterrensis episcopus, hinc praeberetur conjectandi locus, superiores aliquot sermones non frustra Sedatii episcopi nomen in fronte habere, et hunc ipsum eidem forsitan adscribendum, nisi Caesarium in iisdem loquela aliaque indicia manifestum facerent. Neque vero in verbis concilii Narbonensis par deprehenditur, ac in rebus expressis, cum hoc sermone consensio.

What is said here about the superstition of the fifth weekday is excellently illustrated and confirmed by canon 15 of the Council of Narbonne of the year 589, where the bishops first say: "It has come to our ears that some of the peoples of the Catholic faith, by an accursed rite, keep the fifth weekday, which is also called Jupiter's day, and many of them do no work." Then they decree: "Whoever, apart from feast days falling on that day, dares to keep holiday and do no work, if he is freeborn, is to be driven from the church and put under penance for one year, and is to make satisfaction with almsgiving and weeping; if a slave or a maidservant, they are to be beaten with lashes and handed over to their master." The same council, in canon 4, also decrees that those who have worked on the Lord's day are, if freeborn, to be fined six solidi, and if slaves, to be punished with a hundred lashes. And since Sedatius, bishop of Béziers, is read among the signatories of this synod, this would give room to conjecture that several of the sermons above bear the name of Bishop Sedatius at their head not without reason, and that this very sermon should perhaps be ascribed to him, were it not that the diction and other signs in them made Caesarius plain. Nor indeed is the agreement between the words of the Council of Narbonne and this sermon found to be equal to the agreement in the matters set out.

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quicumque fecerit hoc malum, perdit Baptismi sacramentum. Et quia audivimus quod aliquos viros vel mulieres ita diabolus circumveniat, ut quinta feria nec viri opera faciant, nec mulieres lanificium; coram Deo et sanctis Angelis ejus contestamur, quia quicumque hoc observare voluerint, nisi per prolixam et duram poenitentiam tale sacrilegium emendaverint, ubi arsurus est diabolus, ibi et ipsi damnandi sunt. Isti enim infelices et miseri, qui in honore Jovis in quinta feria opera non faciunt, non dubito quod ipsa opera die dominico facere nec erubescunt nec metuunt. Et ideo quoscumque tales esse cognoveritis, durissime castigate; et, si emendare noluerint, nec ad colloquium nec ad convivium vestrum eos venire permittite. Si vero ad vos pertinent, etiam flagellis caedite; ut vel plagam corporis timeant, qui de animae suae salute non cogitant. Nos enim, fratres charissimi, cogitantes periculum vestrum, paterna vos sollicitudine admonemus. Si nos libenter auditis, et nobis facietis gaudium, et vos feliciter pervenietis ad regnum. Quod ipse praestare dignetur, qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

whoever has done this evil loses the sacrament of Baptism. And because we have heard that the devil so deceives certain men or women that on the fifth day of the week neither do the men do their work nor the women their wool-working, we solemnly declare before God and His holy angels that whoever are willing to observe this, unless they amend such a sacrilege through long and hard penance, where the devil is to burn, there they too are to be damned. For these unhappy and wretched people, who in honour of Jupiter do no work on the fifth day of the week, I do not doubt that they neither blush nor fear to do that very work on the Lord's day. And therefore, whomever you come to know to be such, chastise them most severely; and if they are unwilling to amend, do not permit them to come either to your conversation or to your table. If indeed they belong to you, strike them even with whips, so that those who give no thought to the salvation of their soul may at least fear the blow to the body. For we, dearest brothers, considering your danger, admonish you with fatherly solicitude. If you listen to us willingly, you will both give us joy and yourselves happily arrive at the kingdom. May He Himself deign to grant this, Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns unto ages of ages. Amen.

SERMO CCLXVI. Quales sint christiani boni, et quales mali.

Sermon 266. What sort of people good Christians are, and what sort bad ones.

1. Quare christiani simus. Cujus tota cogitatio de hac vita, bestiis est similis. Gaudemus, fratres charissimi, et Deo gratias agimus, quia vos secundum desideria nostra incolumes invenire meruimus. Et vere, fratres, juste et merito pater gaudet, quoties filios suos et corpore sanos et in Dei timore devotos invenerit. Et quia tam de vestra quam de nostra salute duplicatum nobis gaudium nunc pietas divina concessit, quod ad profectum animarum vestrarum pertinet, debemus Charitati vestrae suggerere. Oportet, fratres charissimi, ut tota mentis intentione inquirere vel intelligere studeamus, quare christiani sumus, et quare crucem Christi in fronte portamus. Agnoscite et intelligite, fratres, quod non ideo christiani facti sumus, ut de ista tantummodo vita solliciti simus, sicut dicit Apostolus: Si enim in hac vita tantum in Christo sperantes sumus, miserabiliores sumus omnibus hominibus (I Cor. XV, 19). Qui enim non cogitat nisi de ista tantummodo vita, animalibus et pecoribus similis est. Quid enim quaerunt animalia, nisi manducare et bibere, luxuriari atque dormire?

1. Why we are Christians. He whose whole thought is about this life is like the beasts. We rejoice, dearest brothers, and give thanks to God, because we have been granted to find you safe and sound in accordance with our desires. And truly, brothers, a father rightly and deservedly rejoices whenever he finds his sons both sound in body and devout in the fear of God. And since the divine goodness has now granted us a doubled joy, as much from your well-being as from our own, we ought to suggest to your Charity what pertains to the progress of your souls. It is fitting, dearest brothers, that with the whole intent of the mind we should strive to inquire into or understand why we are Christians, and why we bear the cross of Christ on our forehead. Recognize and understand, brothers, that we were not made Christians for this purpose, that we should be anxious only about this life, as the Apostle says: For if in this life only we are hoping in Christ, we are more wretched than all men (1 Cor. 15:19). For he who thinks of nothing but this life alone is like animals and cattle. For what do animals seek, except to eat and drink, to indulge in lust and to sleep?

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Footnotes

(a) ‹anchor: de animae suae salute non cogitant› · call in col 2240

Quod hic dicitur de superstitione in feria quinta egregie illustratur et confirmatur canone 15 concilii Narbonensis anni 589, ubi primum aiunt antistites : « Ad nos pervenit quosdam de populis catholicae fidei exsecrabili ritu diem « quintam feriam, qui et dicitur Jovis, multos excolere, et « operationem non facere. » Tum sanciunt : « Quicumque « praeter festivitates in eo die venientes ausus fuerit vacare et operationem non facere, si ingenuus est, de ecclesia repellendus et sub poenitentia mittendus anno uno et « eleemosyna et fletu satisfaciat; si servus aut ancilla, flagellis correcti domino consignentur. » Idem quoque concilium, canone 4, eos qui die dominico operati fuerint, ingenuos quidem sex solidis multandos, servos vero centum flagellis corripiendos decernit. Et quia huic synodo subscriptus legitur Sedatius Biterrensis episcopus, hinc praeberetur conjectandi locus, superiores aliquot sermones non frustra Sedatii episcopi nomen in fronte habere, et hunc ipsum eidem forsitan adscribendum, nisi Caesarium in iisdem loquela aliaque indicia manifestum facerent. Neque vero in verbis concilii Narbonensis par deprehenditur, ac in rebus expressis, cum hoc sermone consensio.

What is said here about the superstition of the fifth day of the week is excellently illustrated and confirmed by canon 15 of the Council of Narbonne of the year 589, where the bishops first say: "It has come to our notice that some among the people of the Catholic faith, many of them, keep the fifth day of the week, which is also called Jupiter's, by an execrable rite, and do no work." Then they decree: "Whoever, apart from feasts falling on that day, has dared to keep holiday and not to work, if he is freeborn, is to be driven from the church and put under penance for one year, and is to make satisfaction with alms and weeping; if a slave or a maidservant, they are to be corrected with whips and handed over to their master." The same council also, in canon 4, decrees that those who have worked on the Lord's day are to be punished, the freeborn with a fine of six solidi, the slaves with a hundred lashes. And since Sedatius, bishop of Béziers, is read among the signatories of this synod, there would be room here to conjecture that several of the preceding sermons bear the name of bishop Sedatius at their head not without reason, and that this one too should perhaps be ascribed to him, were it not that the style and other indications make Caesarius plain in them. Nor indeed is there as close an agreement with this sermon in the words of the Council of Narbonne as in the matters expressed.

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(b) ‹anchor: SERMO CCLXVI› · call in col 2240

Alias, de Tempore 216.

Elsewhere [numbered] De Tempore 216.

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In Appendice nunc primum collocatur. Dubium relinquunt Lovanienses : rejiciunt ut falsum Verlinus et Vindingus. Inter Ambrosianos reperitur 58, de Ascensione : ibique aliquo ad finem additamento auctior est, in exordio autem nonnisi uno aut altero verbo tenus variat, incipiens, « Laudemus Dominum, fratres charissimi, et gratias agamus, » etc. Ejusdem certe auctoris est, cujus sermo superior, Caesarii nimirum Arelatensis. De num. 1 vide Caesari. initio homil. 20. et Appendicis serm. 141, n. 4 : de num. 2, serm. 116, n. 6; 142, n. 7, et 277, n. 4 : de num. 3, serm. 45, n. 3; serm. anteced., n. 1; 115, n. 1; 116, n. 1, et 142, n. 7; infra serm. 295, n. 6; et supra serm. 130, n. 2.

Now placed in the Appendix for the first time. The Louvain editors leave it doubtful; Verlinus and Vindingus reject it as false. It is found among the sermons ascribed to Ambrose as no. 58, On the Ascension; there it is longer by some addition towards the end, while at the opening it differs only by a word or two, beginning "Let us praise the Lord, dearest brethren, and give thanks," etc. It is certainly by the same author as the preceding sermon, namely Caesarius of Arles. On no. 1 see Caesarius at the beginning of homily 20, and sermon 141 of the Appendix, no. 4; on no. 2, sermon 116, no. 6; 142, no. 7; and 277, no. 4; on no. 3, sermon 45, no. 3; the preceding sermon, no. 1; 115, no. 1; 116, no. 1; and 142, no. 7; below, sermon 295, no. 6; and above, sermon 130, no. 2.

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Tales sunt qui plus cogitant de carne sua quam de anima; qui plus diligunt gulam ac luxuriam, quam castitatem atque justitiam. Scire debetis, fratres charissimi, quia ideo christiani facti sumus, ut semper de futuro saeculo, et de aeterna beatitudine cogitemus; et plus pro anima quam pro corpore laboremus: quia caro nostra paucis annis erit in mundo; anima autem nostra, si bene agimus, sine fine regnabit in coelo. Si vero, quod Deus non patiatur, et mala opera exerceamus, et plus pro carnis luxuria quam pro salute animae laboremus; timeo ne quando boni christiani cum Angelis accipiunt vitam aeternam, nos, quod absit, praecipitemur in gehennam.

Such are those who think more about their flesh than about their soul; who love gluttony and lust more than chastity and justice. You ought to know, dearest brothers, that we were made Christians for this reason: that we should always think about the world to come and about eternal blessedness, and labour more for the soul than for the body. For our flesh will be in the world for a few years, but our soul, if we act well, will reign without end in heaven. But if (may God not permit it) we both practise evil works and labour more for the lust of the flesh than for the salvation of the soul, I fear that, when good Christians receive eternal life with the angels, we, which God forbid, may be cast headlong into Gehenna.

2. Quis vere christianus. Non nobis sufficit, fratres, quod christianum nomen accepimus, si opera christiana non fecerimus Illi enim prodest quod christianus dicitur, qui castitatem diligit, ebrietatem fugit, superbiam detestatur, invidiam velut venenum diaboli respuit. Ille vere christianus est, qui furtum non facit, qui falsum testimonium non dicit, qui nec mentitur nec perjurat, qui adulterium non committit, qui ad ecclesiam frequentius venit, qui de fructibus suis non gustat, nisi prius ex ipsis Deo aliquid offerat, qui decimas annis singulis erogandas pauperibus reddit, qui sacerdotibus suis honorem impendit, qui omnes homines sicut se ipsum diligit, qui nullum hominem odio habet. Ille vero non solum christianus est; sed et ipse Christus in illo habitat, qui stateras dolosas et mensuras duplices velut gladium diaboli pertimescit. Ille bonus christianus est, qui quando ad ecclesiam venit, et oblationes quae in altario mittantur exhibet, et pauperibus secundum quod vires habet argentum porrigit aut buccellam: qui peregrinos in domum suam excipit, qui hospitibus pedes lavat, qui non solum lites non concitat, sed etiam discordes ad concordiam revocat: qui majoribus et parentibus honorem et amorem verae charitatis impendit, qui et ipse caste vivit, et filios vel vicinos suos ut caste et sobrie vivant, et verbis admonet et exemplis docet. Ille bonus christianus est, qui quoties sanctae solemnitates veniunt, ut securius communicet, ante plures dies castitatem cum propria uxore custodit; ut sincera et secura conscientia ad altare Domini casto corpore et mundo corde praesumat accedere: qui Symbolum et orationem Dominicam memoriter tenet, et filios vel filias suas, ut et ipsi teneant, fideliter docet.

2. Who is truly a Christian. It is not enough for us, brothers, that we have received the Christian name, if we have not done Christian works. For it profits him to be called a Christian who loves chastity, flees drunkenness, detests pride, and spits out envy as the devil's poison. He is truly a Christian who does not commit theft, who does not bear false witness, who neither lies nor perjures himself, who does not commit adultery, who comes to church rather often, who does not taste of his produce unless he first offers something of it to God, who every year pays the tithes that are to be distributed to the poor, who shows honour to his priests, who loves all men as himself, who holds no man in hatred. And he is not only a Christian, but Christ Himself dwells in him, who dreads deceitful scales and double measures as the devil's sword. He is a good Christian who, when he comes to church, presents the offerings that are to be placed on the altar, and holds out to the poor, according to his means, money or a morsel of bread; who receives strangers into his house, who washes the feet of guests, who not only stirs up no quarrels but even calls those at odds back to concord; who shows to his elders and parents the honour and love of true charity; who himself lives chastely and both admonishes by words and teaches by example his sons or neighbours to live chastely and soberly. He is a good Christian who, whenever the holy feasts come round, keeps chastity with his own wife for several days beforehand, so that he may communicate more safely, so that with a sincere and secure conscience he may venture to approach the altar of the Lord with a chaste body and a clean heart; who holds the Creed and the Lord's Prayer by heart, and faithfully teaches his sons or daughters so that they too may hold them.

3. Quis christiano indignus nomine. Ecce audistis, fratres, quales sint christiani boni. Et ideo, quantum possumus, cum Dei adjutorio laboremus, ut nomen christianum non sit falsum in nobis, nec in nobis Christi Sacramenta patiantur injuriam: sed semper opera christiana et cogitemus in corde, et impleamus in opere. Nam ille christianus qualis est, qui vix aliquando ad ecclesiam venit: et quando venerit non stat ut oret pro peccatis suis, sed aut causas dicit, aut lites et rixas concitat; et, si locum invenerit usque ad vomitum bibit, et postquam se inebriaverit, surgit velut phreneticus et insanus balare diabolico more, saltare, verba turpia et amatoria vel luxuriosa cautare? Iste talis non dubitat furtum facere, adulterium non timet admittere, falsum testimonium dicere, maledicere, perjurare. Sive viri, sive mulieres, qui talia opera faciunt, non ad remedium, sed ad judicium, christianum nomen et Baptismi sacramenta suscipiunt; et nisi poenitentiam egerint, in aeternum peribunt. Ecce, fratres, ostendimus vobis quales sint christiani boni, et quales sint mali. Et ideo quos bonos videtis, imitamini: quos vero malos cognoscitis, castigate semper, increpate, corrigite; ut de profectu vestro et de illorum perfectione duplicem mercedem habere possitis. Qui ergo boni sunt, casti et sobrii, humiles et benigni, Deo auxiliante, perseverent in operibus bonis. Qui vero opera mala faciunt, cito se corrigant, antequam illorum animae de hac luce discedant: quia si sine poenitentia

3. Who is unworthy of the Christian name. See, you have heard, brothers, what good Christians are like. And therefore, as far as we can, let us labour with God's help that the Christian name may not be false in us, nor Christ's sacraments suffer injury in us; but let us always both think Christian works in the heart and fulfil them in deed. For what sort of Christian is he who scarcely ever comes to church, and when he has come does not stand to pray for his sins, but either pleads cases or stirs up quarrels and brawls; and, if he finds the opportunity, drinks to the point of vomiting, and after he has made himself drunk, gets up like a frenzied and insane man to bleat in devilish fashion, to dance, to sing shameful, amorous or lustful words? Such a man does not hesitate to commit theft, does not fear to commit adultery, to bear false witness, to curse, to perjure himself. Whether men or women, those who do such works receive the Christian name and the sacraments of baptism not unto remedy but unto judgement; and unless they do penance, they will perish for ever. See, brothers, we have shown you what good Christians are like, and what bad ones are like. And therefore imitate those whom you see to be good; those whom you know to be bad, always chastise, rebuke, correct, so that you may have a double reward, from your own progress and from their perfection. Let those, then, who are good, chaste and sober, humble and kind, persevere in good works with God's help. But let those who do evil works correct themselves quickly, before their souls depart from this light: for if without penitence

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Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: aut causas› · call in col 2241

Ms. gr., fabulas.

One manuscript, gr. [siglum as printed]: "idle tales" [instead of "lawsuits"].

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