PL 39 · cols. 2264–2267

Appendix to Augustine's Sermones: Sermones supposititii, Sermones 272-284

Sermons CCLXXVI–CCLXXVII

mysterio factum fuerit, et significaverit Domini passionem, quando irridentes Judaei clamaverunt, Crucifigatur, Crucifigatur (Matth. XXVII, 23), sicut illi clamaverant, Ascende, calve; ascende, calve; id est, ascende in crucem in loco Calvariae: tamen etiam secundum litteram, ideo pauci percussi sunt, ut plurimi sanarentur; ut quia Prophetas Judaei non solum contemnebant, sed etiam irridebant, tali plaga percussi agnoscerent potentiam Spiritus sancti. Sed quia emendare se noluerunt, clamat ipse Spiritus sanctus alibi per prophetam, Percussi filios vestros, et disciplinam non recepistis (Jerem. II, 30). Si ergo hoc Spiritus sanctus operatus est, nefas est beato Elisaeo aliquid imputari; quia et revera tantam potentiam solus homo sine Spiritu sancto habere non potuit. Nam si sancto Elisaeo aliquid imputamus, quasi de Dei justo judicio disputare praesumimus.

mystery it was done, and signified the Lord's passion, when the Jews, mocking, cried out, Let Him be crucified, let Him be crucified (Matt. 27:23), just as those had cried out, Go up, baldhead; go up, baldhead; that is, go up onto the cross in the place of Calvary: yet also according to the letter, few were struck for this reason, that very many might be healed; so that, since the Jews not only despised the Prophets but even mocked them, being struck with such a blow they might acknowledge the power of the Holy Spirit. But because they refused to amend themselves, the Holy Spirit Himself cries out elsewhere through the prophet, I have struck your sons, and you have not received discipline (Jer. 2:30). If therefore the Holy Spirit worked this, it is wrong for anything to be imputed to blessed Elisha; for indeed a man alone, without the Holy Spirit, could not have had such great power. For if we impute anything to holy Elisha, we presume, as it were, to dispute about the just judgement of God.

4. Zelus idem in Petro. Et ne forte hoc in solo Veteri Testamento factum fuisse putemus; attendite illum beatissimum ac mitissimum apostolum Petrum, et videte quid per eum de Anania et Saphira fuerit Spiritus sanctus operatus (Act. V, 5-10). Quod utique non ideo factum est, ut se beatus Apostolus vindicaret, qui nullam ab eis pertulisse injuriam videbatur: sed Spiritus sanctus per os ejus pullulans exemplum pessimum infidelitatis in ipsa radice succidit. Haec ergo omnia spiritualiter et fideliter cogitantes, nihil sinistrum de sancto justorum zelo vel judicio suspicemur: quam rem nobis ipse Dominus et Salvator noster praestare dignetur, qui vivit et regnat Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

4. The same zeal in Peter. And lest perhaps we should think that this was done only in the Old Testament, consider that most blessed and most gentle apostle Peter, and see what the Holy Spirit worked through him concerning Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:5–10). This was certainly not done in order that the blessed Apostle might avenge himself, since he was seen to have suffered no injury from them: but the Holy Spirit, springing forth through his mouth, cut down a most evil example of unbelief at its very root. Thinking, therefore, on all these things spiritually and faithfully, let us suspect nothing sinister concerning the holy zeal or judgement of the righteous: which may our Lord and Saviour Himself deign to grant us, Who lives and reigns as God through all ages of ages. Amen.

SERMO CCLXXVI. De dilectione parentum, et de decimis.

Sermon 276. On love of parents, and on tithes.

1. Parentibus debetur honor, amor, et in penuria subsidium. Pauperes parentes nonnulli despiciunt, ipsis forte meliores. Legimus, fratres charissimi, monente nos Domino per prophetam, parentibus nostris et honorem semper et amorem impendere; et si forte evenerit ut aliqua paupertate laborent, necessitates eorum secundum quod possumus sublevare. Sic enim ait: Si videris, inquit, nudum, cooperi eum, et domesticos seminis tui ne despexeris (Isai. LVIII, 7). Hoc loco, domesticos seminis, parentes nostros intelligi voluit. Sed dicit aliquis: Quis est qui parentes suos odio habeat, ut hoc pro magno Dominus admonuerit per prophetam? Sine dubio, fratres, scivit Spiritus sanctus nonnullos homines, qui cum ad aliquos honores aut divitias undecumque acquisitas pervenerint, ita parentes suos pauperes despiciunt, ut eos nec videre dignentur. Quod si fecerint, non solum peccatum, sed etiam grave crimen se admisisse non dubitent. Et forte evenit ut ille per divitias et superbiam crimina grandia vel peccata committat, et parentes sui pro ipsa paupertate et humilitate et simplicitate justitiam teneant: et qua fronte dedignatur attendere parentes suos innocentes et justos, cum sit ipse peccator et impius? Si quis ergo idoneus est, si aliquos parentes habuerit pauperes; ipsis prius necessaria tribuat, et sic indigentibus extraneis eleemosynam faciat: quia reliquis pauperibus si tu non dederis, dabit alius; parentibus vero tuis pauperibus, si tu nihil largitus fueris, difficile est ut alius largiatur.

1. To parents are owed honour, love, and help in want. Some despise their poor parents, who are perhaps better than themselves. We read, dearest brethren, that the Lord admonishes us through the prophet always to bestow both honour and love on our parents; and if it should happen that they labour under some poverty, to relieve their needs according as we are able. For thus He says: If you see, He says, one naked, cover him, and do not despise those of the household of your seed (Isa. 58:7). In this place, by those of the household of your seed, He wished our parents to be understood. But someone says: Who is there that holds his parents in hatred, that the Lord should have admonished this through the prophet as a great matter? Without doubt, brethren, the Holy Spirit knew that there are some men who, when they have attained to certain honours or to riches acquired from wherever, so despise their poor parents that they do not even deign to see them. And if they do this, let them not doubt that they have committed not only a sin but even a grave crime. And perhaps it happens that such a man, through riches and pride, commits great crimes or sins, while his parents, on account of their very poverty and humility and simplicity, hold fast to righteousness: and with what face does he disdain to give heed to his parents, innocent and righteous, when he himself is a sinner and ungodly? If therefore anyone is able, if he has any poor parents, let him first give them what is necessary, and so give alms to needy strangers: for if you do not give to the other poor, another will give; but to your own poor parents, if you have bestowed nothing, it is hard for another to bestow anything.

2. Eleemosynarum ordo legitimus. De opibus nostris quid nostrum; quid alienum. Ipse est eleemosynarum ordo justus atque legitimus, ut prius tibi et tuis victum et vestitum sufficientem et mediocrem, non pomposum nec deliciosum provideas; deinde, sicut dixi, si qui sunt pauperes de parentibus tuis, quantum praevales largiaris; deinde servos et ancillas tuas

2. The lawful order of almsgiving. Of our wealth, what is ours and what is another's. This is the just and lawful order of almsgiving: that first you provide for yourself and your own food and clothing that is sufficient and moderate, not showy nor luxurious; then, as I have said, if there are any poor among your parents, you bestow as much as you are able; then your menservants and maidservants

Editors' notes and page, col. 2264

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(1) ‹anchor: qua fronte dedignatur› · call in col 2264

Ms., infelix dedignatur.

A manuscript: "infelix dedignatur" (the wretch disdains).

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(a) ‹anchor: SERMO CCLXXVI› · call in col 2264

Caesarii nomen in manuscriptis praefert, et ipsius est in Bibliotheca Patrum homilia 21. De num. 1 vide Appendicis serm. 265, n. 2, et 270, n. 3: de num. 2, serm. 69, n. 8; 277 subseq., n. 3: de num. 3, serm. 115, n. 4: de num. 4, serm. 277, n. 3, et 308, n. 2: de num. 6, serm. 10, n. 3; 140, n. 5.

In the manuscripts it bears the name of Caesarius, and it is his homily 21 in the Bibliotheca Patrum. On no. 1 see Appendix sermon 265, no. 2, and 270, no. 3; on no. 2, sermon 69, no. 8; 277 following, no. 3; on no. 3, sermon 115, no. 4; on no. 4, sermon 277, no. 3, and 308, no. 2; on no. 6, sermon 10, no. 3; 140, no. 5.

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nec esurire neque algere permittas: et post haec quidquid tibi Deus, sicut dixi, excepto victu et vestitu dederit, non in terreno, ubi fures effodiunt et furantur, sed in coelesti thesauro recondas: ut ubi fuerit thesaurus tuus, ibi sit et cor tuum (Matth. VI, 20 et 21); et cum sacerdos clamaverit, Sursum corda, securi et in veritate respondeamus, habemus ad Dominum. Quaecumque enim Deus, excepto mediocri et rationabili victu et vestitu, sive de quacumque militia, sive de agricultura contulerit, non tibi specialiter dedit, sed per te pauperibus eroganda transmisit: si nolueris dare, noveris te res alienas auferre; quia, sicut dixi, hoc solum nostrum est, quod nobis vel nostris rationabiliter sufficit. Quidquid superfuerit, Deus noster, sicut dixi, pauperibus erogandum transmisit.

you do not allow to be hungry or cold; and after this, whatever God has given you, as I have said, apart from food and clothing, you should lay up not in an earthly treasury, where thieves dig through and steal, but in the heavenly one, so that where your treasure is, there your heart may be also (Matt. 6:20–21); and when the priest has cried out, "Lift up your hearts," let us answer securely and in truth, "We have them to the Lord." For whatever God has bestowed, apart from moderate and reasonable food and clothing, whether from any military service or from agriculture, He has not given to you specially, but has sent it through you to be distributed to the poor: if you refuse to give it, know that you are taking away what belongs to others; because, as I have said, only that is ours which suffices reasonably for us or for our own. Whatever is left over, our God, as I have said, has sent to be distributed to the poor.

3. Decimae injuste denegantur, cum ex jure novem partes deberentur. Ac sic non solum decimas dare debemus, sed etiam de novem partibus, quidquid solutis tributis, vel expletis sumptibus nostris remanserit, quasi aliis transmissum fideliter erogare debemus. Quod tamen si fecerimus, vere nostra sunt quae donamus: si vero non facimus, nec illa nostra sunt quae servamus, nec nos ipsi nostri sumus qui servare videmur. Et tamen, fratres, non video qua fronte illi non offerimus decimum, a quo accepimus totum. Si velit Deus rationem facere nobiscum et dicere, Terram quam colis ego feci, te ipsum qui colis et servos tuos ego feci, animalia quae te ad colendum adjuvant ego condidi; calorem solis ego tribuo, pluviam temporibus suis ego dispenso, ipsam sementem quam spargis ego concedo: si ad justitiae rationem attendis, tibi debes decimam reservare, et mihi novem partes dare. Nec hoc quaero, misericors esse volo: exemplum tibi praebeo, ut quomodo misertus sum tui, sic miserearis tu pauperis. Si ergo, fratres, justam rationem nobiscum voluerit facere Deus, numquid est quod respondere possimus? Et licet in multis sanctarum Scripturarum locis nos de his rebus admoneat Deus; tamen per Apostolum specialiter clamat et admonet, dicens: Habentes victum et vestitum, his contenti simus. Nam qui volunt divites fieri, incidunt in tentationem, et in laqueum diaboli, et desideria multa inutilia et nociva, quae mergunt homines in interitum et perditionem: quia radix omnium malorum est cupiditas, quam quidam appetentes naufragaverunt a fide, et inseruerunt se doloribus multis. Tu vero, homo Dei, haec fuge; sectare vero justitiam, pietatem et fidem (I Tim. VI, 8⟨-⟩11). Rogo vos, fratres, ut de Scripturis reliquis taceamus, sententia ista apostolica cui christiano non sufficit? Vere dico, fratres, quod qui sub tali tonitruo de avaritiae somno non surgit, non dormiens, sed mortuus esse credendus est.

3. Tithes are unjustly refused, when by right nine parts would be owed. And so we ought not only to give tithes, but also from the nine parts, whatever remains once taxes are paid or our expenses met, we ought faithfully to distribute as something sent on to others. If, however, we do this, the things we give away are truly ours; but if we do not, neither are the things we keep ours, nor are we ourselves our own, we who seem to be keeping them. And yet, brethren, I do not see with what face we fail to offer a tenth to Him from Whom we have received the whole. Should God wish to settle an account with us and say: "The land that you till, I made; you yourself who till it, and your servants, I made; the animals that help you to till it, I created; the heat of the sun I bestow, the rain in its seasons I dispense, the very seed that you scatter I grant: if you pay heed to the reckoning of justice, you ought to reserve a tenth for yourself and give the nine parts to Me. Yet I do not ask this; I wish to be merciful: I offer you an example, that just as I have had mercy on you, so you should have mercy on the poor man." If then, brethren, God should wish to settle a just account with us, is there anything that we could answer? And although in many places of the holy Scriptures God admonishes us about these matters, yet through the Apostle He cries out and admonishes especially, saying: Having food and clothing, let us be content with these. For those who wish to become rich fall into temptation, and into the snare of the devil, and into many useless and harmful desires, which plunge men into ruin and perdition: for the root of all evils is covetousness, which some, craving it, have made shipwreck from the faith, and have pierced themselves with many sorrows. But you, man of God, flee these things; and pursue justice, piety and faith (1 Tim. 6:8–11). I ask you, brethren, even if we say nothing of the remaining Scriptures, for what Christian is this apostolic sentence not enough? I tell you truly, brethren, that he who does not rise from the sleep of avarice beneath such a thunderclap must be believed to be not sleeping but dead.

4. Necessitas et modus ad Dei misericordiam fugiendi. Superfluum non dans invadit alienum. Et ideo, fratres, quia pro ista fragilitate carnali multis peccatis, tanquam circumvolantibus muscis, assidue inquietamur atque compungimur, ad portum misericordiae Dei inter procellas et tempestates mundi istius festinemus. Forte aliquis interrogat, quomodo ad hunc portum valeat pervenire. Audiat Christum dicentem, Beati misericordes, quoniam ipsi misericordiam consequentur (Matth. V, 7): et iterum, Date eleemosynam, et ecce omnia munda sunt vobis (Luc. XI, 41). Ergo istam Apostoli sententiam, si evadere de pelago mundi hujus volumus, ante oculos semper habere debemus. Sufficiat nobis habere victum et vestitum, non pomposum, non deliciosum: et quidquid amplius Deus dederit, non negetur usibus pauperum; quia per nos ipsis probatur esse transmissum. Et si id quod nobis superfluum est non dederimus, res alienas invasimus: et quanti pauperes cum nostra scientia fame mortui fuerint, causas nobiscum ante tribunal Christi dicturi sunt.

4. The necessity and the manner of fleeing to the mercy of God. He who does not give what is superfluous seizes what belongs to another. And therefore, brethren, since because of this fleshly frailty we are constantly disturbed and stung by many sins, as by flies buzzing around us, let us hasten to the harbour of God's mercy amid the storms and tempests of this world. Perhaps someone asks how he may manage to reach this harbour. Let him hear Christ saying, Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy (Matt. 5:7); and again, Give alms, and behold, all things are clean for you (Luke 11:41). Therefore, if we wish to escape from the sea of this world, we ought always to keep this sentence of the Apostle before our eyes. Let it suffice us to have food and clothing, not showy, not luxurious; and whatever more God has given, let it not be denied to the uses of the poor, since it is shown to have been sent to them through us. And if we do not give what is superfluous to us, we have seized what belongs to others; and as many poor people as have died of hunger with our knowledge will plead their cases against us before the judgement seat of Christ.

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(1) ‹anchor: christiano non sufficit› · call in col 2265

Sic melius Ms. [sententia ista apostolica unicuique christiano sufficit.]

So, better, a manuscript: ["this apostolic sentence suffices for every Christian."]

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5. Eleemosynarum duo genera. Sine se invicem nihil prosunt. Et quia duo sunt eleemosynarum genera, unum quod pauperibus erogamus, aliud quod vicinis vel fratribus nostris, quotiescumque in nobis peccaverint, indulgemus: utrumque Deo auxiliante faciamus; quia unum sine alio nihil prodest. Si pauperi porrigis eleemosynam, et in te peccanti non tribuis veniam; nihil tibi prodest. Sicut e contrario, si peccantibus tibi indulseris, et esurientibus quantum vales dare nolueris; sicut dixi, una virtus sine altera tibi prodesse non potest. Nos vero, fratres, ista duo eleemosynarum genera nobis quasi spiritualium alarum remigia praeparemus, ut ad principalem patriam et illam coelestem Jerusalem, ab omni terrena cupiditate expediti ac liberi, virtutum pennis, tanquam spirituales columbae, volare feliciter ac venire possimus: secundum illud quod Psalmista desiderat, et supplicat dicens: Quis dabit mihi pennas sicut columbae? et volabo, et requiescam (Psal. LIV, 7).

5. The two kinds of almsgiving. Without each other they profit nothing. And since there are two kinds of almsgiving, one which we pay out to the poor, the other which we grant to our neighbours or brothers whenever they have sinned against us, let us, with God's help, do both; for the one without the other profits nothing. If you hold out alms to a poor man, and do not grant pardon to one who sins against you, it profits you nothing. So too, on the contrary, if you have pardoned those who sin against you, and have been unwilling to give to the hungry as much as you are able, then, as I have said, the one virtue without the other cannot profit you. But let us, brothers, prepare for ourselves these two kinds of almsgiving as the oars, as it were, of spiritual wings, so that, freed and set loose from every earthly desire, we may be able by the feathers of the virtues, like spiritual doves, to fly happily and come to our chief fatherland and to that heavenly Jerusalem: according to that which the Psalmist longs for, and pleads, saying: Who will give me wings like a dove? and I will fly, and be at rest (Ps. 54:7).

6. Saeculi negotia interdum remittere. Certum est, fratres, quod nisi quisque de peccatorum glutino et nimiis impedimentis ac laqueis mundi hujus animae suae pennas contenderit expedire, ad veram requiem nunquam poterit pervenire. Nos vero, fratres, adjuvante Deo, impedimenta mundi hujus, si a nobis ad integrum subtrahere non possumus, vel ita ea quantum vires suppetunt, temperare, vel aliquid ab eis rescindere studeamus, ut nobis remaneant aliqua horarum spatia, in quibus lectioni vel orationi vacare possimus. Nam si totum nobis occupatio terrena subtraxerit, timendum est ne nobis veniat illud quod scriptum est, Impedimenta mundi fecerunt eos miseros. Magis ergo adjuvante Domino laboremus, ut et in nobis vel ex parte aliqua impleatur illud quod de beat⟨o⟩ viro scriptum est, In lege Domini meditabitur die ac nocte (Psal. I, 2). Quam rem Dominus sanctae Charitati vestrae pro sua misericordia praestare dignetur, cui est honor et imperium cum Patre et Spiritu sancto in s⟨ae⟩cula saeculorum. Amen.

6. The business of the world is to be set aside from time to time. It is certain, brothers, that unless each one strives to free the wings of his soul from the glue of sins and from the excessive hindrances and snares of this world, he will never be able to arrive at true rest. But let us, brothers, with God's help, strive, if we cannot remove the hindrances of this world from ourselves entirely, either so to moderate them as far as our strength allows, or to cut away something from them, so that some spaces of hours may remain to us in which we may be free for reading or prayer. For if earthly occupation has taken everything away from us, it is to be feared lest there come upon us that which is written, The hindrances of the world have made them wretched. Let us therefore labour the more, with the Lord's help, so that in us too, at least in some part, may be fulfilled that which is written of the blessed man, On the law of the Lord he will meditate day and night (Ps. 1:2). May the Lord deign in His mercy to grant this to your holy Charity, He to Whom is honour and dominion with the Father and the Holy Spirit for ages of ages. Amen.

SERMO CCLXXVII. De reddendis decimis.

Sermon 277. On paying tithes.

1. Decimarum oblatio nobis proficit. Decimae tributa egentium. De laboris fructu reddendae sunt. Propitio Christo, fratres charissimi, jam prope sunt dies in quibus messes colligere debeamus: et ideo gratias agentes Deo qui dedit, de offerendis, imo de reddendis decimis cogitemus. Deus enim noster, qui dignatus est totum dare, decimam a nobis dignatur repetere, non sibi, sed nobis sine dubio profuturam. Sic enim per prophetam ipse promisit, dicens: Inferte, inquit, omnem decimam in horreis meis, ut sit cibus in domo mea; et probate me in his, dicit Dominus, si non aperuero vobis cataractas coeli, et dedero vobis fructum usque ad abundantiam (Malach. III, 10). Ecce probavimus quomodo nobis decim⟨ae⟩ magis quam Deo proficiant. Et propterea alibi scriptum est, Domini est terra et plenitudo ejus, orbis terrarum et universi qui habitant in eo (Psal. XXIII, 1). Si ergo Domini est terra et plenitudo ejus; servi Domini sumus pariter et coloni: et nescio quomodo non omnes agnoscimus possessorem. Dicit enim: Agnovit bos possessorem suum, et asinus praesepe domini sui; Israel autem me non cognovit, et populus meus me non intellexit (Isai. I, 3). O homines stulti, quid mali imperat Deus, ut

1. The offering of tithes profits us. Tithes are the tributes of the needy. They are to be paid from the fruit of labour. By the favour of Christ, dearest brothers, the days are now near in which we are to gather in the harvests: and therefore, giving thanks to God Who gave them, let us think about offering, or rather about paying back, tithes. For our God, Who deigned to give the whole, deigns to ask back a tenth from us, which will without doubt profit not Himself but us. For thus He Himself promised through the prophet, saying: Bring in, He says, every tithe into My storehouses, that there may be food in My house; and test Me in these things, says the Lord, whether I will not open to you the floodgates of heaven, and give you fruit even to abundance (Mal. 3:10). See, we have proved how tithes profit us more than God. And therefore it is written elsewhere, The earth is the Lord's and its fullness, the world and all who dwell in it (Ps. 23:1). If then the earth is the Lord's and its fullness, we are at once servants of the Lord and tenants: and I do not know how it is that we do not all recognize the owner. For He says: The ox has known its owner, and the ass its master's manger; but Israel has not known Me, and My people has not understood Me (Isa. 1:3). O foolish men, what evil does God command, that

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Alias, de Tempore 219.

Formerly, de Tempore 219.

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(b) ‹anchor: De reddendis decimis› · call in col 2266

In Appendice nunc primum collocatur. Lovanienses dubium reliquerant: rejecit post Verlinum Vindingus, ob id maxime quod decimas, de quibus reddendis hic agitur, intelligere liceat ex enarratione in Psal. 103, serm. 3, n. 9, et ex enarratione in Psal. 146, nn. 16 et 17, nondum fuisse Augustini aetate clericis et sacerdotibus datas aut assignatas. Caesarium potius refert, quam Augustinum. De num. 2 et seqq. confer Appendicis serm. 276: de num. 3, infra, serm. 308, nn. 2 et 6: de num. 4, serm. 266, n. 2; 294, n. 8; 295, n. 6; 265, nn. 4 et 5.

It is placed in the Appendix now for the first time. The Louvain editors had left it doubtful; after Verlinus, Vindingus rejected it, chiefly because the tithes whose payment is treated here had not yet, as one may gather from the exposition of Psalm 103, sermon 3, no. 9, and from the exposition of Psalm 146, nos. 16 and 17, been given or assigned to clerics and priests in Augustine's time. It recalls Caesarius rather than Augustine. On no. 2 and following compare Appendix sermon 276; on no. 3, below, sermon 308, nos. 2 and 6; on no. 4, sermon 266, no. 2; 294, no. 8; 295, no. 6; 265, nos. 4 and 5.

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non mereatur audiri? Sic enim dicit : Primitias areae tuae et torcularis tui non tardabis offerre mihi (Exod. XXII, 29). Si tardius dare peccatum est, quanto pejus est non dedisse? Et iterum dicit : Honora Dominum Deum tuum de tuis justis laboribus, et deliba ei de fructibus justitiae tuae; ut repleantur horrea tua frumento, vino quoque torcularia tua redundent (Prov III, 9 et 10). Non praestas hoc gratis, quod cito recipias magno cum fenore. Quaeris forte cui proficiat quod Deus accipit redditurus. Quaeris iterum cui proficiat quod pauperibus datur. Si credis, tibi proficit : si dubitas, perdidisti. Decimae enim tributa sunt egentium animarum. Redde ergo tributa pauperibus, offer libamina sacerdotibus. Quod si decimas non habes fructuum terrenorum, quod habet agricola; quodcumque te pascit ingenium, Dei est : et inde decimas expetit, unde vivis. De militia, de negotio, de artificio redde decimas. Aliud enim pro terra dependimus, aliud pro usura vitae pensamus. Redde ergo, homo, quia possides; redde, quia nasci meruisti : sic enim dicit Dominus, Dabunt singuli redemptionem animarum suarum, et non erunt in eis morbi neque casus (Exod. XXX, 12). Ecce habes in Scripturis sanctis cautionem Domini tui, per quam tibi promisit, quod si decimas dederis, non solum abundantiam fructuum recipies, sed etiam sanitatem corporis consequeris. Replebuntur, inquit, areae tuae frumento, vino quoque torcularia tua redundabunt; et non erunt in eis morbi neque casus. Cum enim decimas dando et terrena et coelestia possis munera promereri; quare per avaritiam duplici te benedictione defraudas?

should not deserve to be heard? For thus He says: The firstfruits of your threshing floor and of your winepress you shall not delay to offer to Me (Exod. 22:29). If to give late is a sin, how much worse is it not to have given? And again He says: Honour the Lord your God from your just labours, and offer to Him from the fruits of your justice, that your barns may be filled with grain, and your winepresses also overflow with wine (Prov. 3:9–10). You do not render this for nothing, since you will soon receive it back with great interest. Perhaps you ask whom it profits, what God receives intending to repay it. You ask again whom it profits, what is given to the poor. If you believe, it profits you; if you doubt, you have lost it. For tithes are the tributes of needy souls. Render therefore tributes to the poor, offer libations to the priests. But if you do not have tithes of earthly fruits, such as the farmer has, whatever skill feeds you is God's; and He requires tithes from that by which you live. From soldiering, from trade, from craft render tithes. For we pay one thing for the land, and weigh out another for the use of life. Render therefore, man, because you possess; render, because you were granted to be born: for thus says the Lord, They shall each give a ransom for their souls, and there shall be no diseases or mishaps among them (Exod. 30:12). Behold, you have in the holy Scriptures the bond of your Lord, by which He has promised you that if you give tithes, you will not only receive an abundance of fruits, but also obtain health of body. Your threshing floors, He says, shall be filled with grain, and your winepresses also shall overflow with wine; and there shall be no diseases or mishaps among them. For since by giving tithes you can merit both earthly and heavenly gifts, why through avarice do you defraud yourself of a double blessing?

2. Decimam negantem Deus ad solam decimam redigit. Indulgentia est quod novem partes non exigat. Audi ergo, indevota mortalitas. Nosti quia Dei sunt cuncta quae percipis, et de suo non accommodas rerum omnium Creatori? Non eget Dominus Deus, non praemium postulat, sed honorem, non de tuo aliquid exigit quod refundas. Primitias rerum et decimas petit, et negas? Avare, quid faceres, si novem partibus sibi sumptis, tibi decimam reliquisset? Quod certe jam factum est, cum messis tua pluviarum benedictione subtracta jejuna defecit, et vindemiam tuam aut grando percussit, aut pruina decoxit. Quid est; avide supputator? Novem tibi partes retractae sunt, quia decimam dare noluisti. Constat quidem, quod ipse non dederis; sed tamen Deus exegit. Haec enim est justissima Domini consuetudo, ut si tu decimam illi non dederis, tu ad decimam revoceris : scriptum est enim, Haec dicit Dominus, Quia decima agri tui et primitiae terrae vobiscum sunt. Video vos, et fallere me existimastis, intus in thesauris vestris et in domibus vestris erit direptio. Dabis impio militi, quod non vis dare sacerdoti. Convertimini ad me, dicit Dominus omnipotens (Malach. III, 7), ut aperiam vobis cataractas coeli, et effundam vobis benedictionem meam desuper : et non vobis corrumpentur fructus terrae, neque languebit vitis in agro vestro, et beatos vos dicent omnes gentes (Ibid., 11 et 12). Benefacere Deus semper paratus est; sed hominum malitia prohibetur : quia a Domino Deo sibi dari vult omnia, et non de his quae possidere videtur vult ei offerre. Quid, si diceret Deus, Nempe meus es, homo, quem feci, mea est terra quam colis, mea sunt semina quae spargis, mea animalia quae fatigas, mei sunt imbres et pluviae, ventorum flamina mea sunt, meus est solis calor : et cum omnia mea sint elementa vivendi, tu qui manus accommodas, solam decimam merebaris? Sed quia pie nos pascit omnipotens Deus, amplissimam tribuit minus laboranti mercedem; sibi tantum decimam vindicans, nobis omnia condonavit.

2. God reduces the one who refuses the tithe to the tithe alone. It is an indulgence that He does not demand nine parts. Hear therefore, undevout mortality. Do you know that all things which you receive are God's, and yet you do not lend from His own to the Creator of all things? The Lord God is not in need, He does not ask for a reward but for honour; He does not demand anything of yours for you to pay back. He asks for the firstfruits of things and the tithes, and do you refuse? Miser, what would you do if, having taken nine parts for Himself, He had left you the tenth? Which indeed has already happened, when your harvest, the blessing of the rains being withdrawn, failed, empty, and hail struck your vintage, or frost scorched it. What is it, greedy reckoner? Nine parts have been withdrawn from you, because you would not give the tenth. It is clear indeed that you yourself did not give it; but nevertheless God exacted it. For this is the most just custom of the Lord, that if you do not give Him the tenth, you are brought back to the tenth: for it is written, Thus says the Lord, Because the tithe of your field and the firstfruits of the land are with you. I see you, and you thought to deceive Me; within, in your treasuries and in your houses there shall be plunder. You will give to the godless soldier what you will not give to the priest. Turn to Me, says the Lord almighty (Mal. 3:7), that I may open to you the floodgates of heaven, and pour out upon you My blessing from above: and the fruits of the earth shall not be spoiled for you, nor shall the vine languish in your field, and all nations shall call you blessed (ibid., 11-12). God is always ready to do good; but He is hindered by the malice of men: for a man wishes all things to be given to him by the Lord God, and does not wish to offer to Him from the things which he seems to possess. What if God were to say, Surely you are Mine, man, whom I made; Mine is the land that you till, Mine are the seeds that you scatter, Mine the animals that you wear out, Mine are the showers and the rains, the blasts of the winds are Mine, Mine is the heat of the sun: and since all the elements of living are Mine, would you, who lend your hands, deserve only the tenth? But because almighty God feeds us kindly, He grants a most ample reward to the one who labours less; claiming only the tenth for Himself, He has made us a gift of everything.

3. De bonis hic bene agendum. Frustra aliis haec cura servatur. Decimas non dans res invadit alienas.

3. One must act well with one's goods here. In vain is this care reserved for others. He who does not give tithes seizes the property of others.

Editors' notes and page, col. 2267

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: vestris erit direptio› · call in col 2267

Ms. cl., non solum in terris vestris, sed etiam in domibus erit direptio; vat. autem: Annus consumptus est, et decimas meas intulistis in thesauris vestris. Erit enim direptio in domibus vestris.

Ms. cl. [the Clermont manuscript]: "there will be plundering not only in your lands but also in your houses"; but vat. [the Vatican manuscript]: "The year is spent, and you have brought my tithes into your treasuries. For there will be plundering in your houses."

(printed under page 396)