Migne Reading Room
PL 39 · cols. 2301–2306
Appendix to Augustine's Sermones: Sermones supposititii, Sermones 285-297
Sermons CCXCIII–CCXCIV
Sicut enim ego reus ero ante tribunal Christi, si vobis non dixero; ita et vos si invicem quoscumque negligentes agnoscitis, admonere nolueritis, timere debetis, ne vobis necesse sit pro illis reddere rationem. Sed credimus de Dei misericordia, quod ita vobis agere inspirabit, ut nobis non solum de vestra Deo placita conversatione, sed et pro aliorum salute et in hoc saeculo et in futuro duplicata a Deo praemia repensentur. Amen.
For just as I shall be guilty before the tribunal of Christ if I do not tell you, so you too, if you recognize any among one another as negligent and are unwilling to admonish them, ought to fear lest it become necessary for you to render account for them. But we trust in the mercy of God that He will inspire you to act thus, so that rewards may be repaid to us by God, doubled both in this world and in the one to come, not only for your conduct pleasing to God but also for the salvation of others. Amen.
SERMO CCXCIII. De incauta familiaritate extranearum mulierum.
Sermon 293. On incautious familiarity with women who are strangers.
1. Martyres habet pax. Vitia caetera resistendo, libido fugiendo vincitur. Mulierum familiaritas omnibus fugienda. Nemo dicat, fratres charissimi, quod temporibus nostris martyrum certamina esse non possint: habet enim pax martyres suos. Nam, sicut jam diximus frequenter, iracundiam mitigare, libidinem fugere, justitiam custodire, avaritiam contemnere, superbiam humiliare, pars magna martyrii est. Non incongrue dictum est, avaritiam contemnere, iracundiam mitigare, libidinem fugere. Contemnenda est enim cupiditas, quae nobis ideo iniqua lucra procurat, ut suos faciat nos. Nostri enim essemus, si illa nostra non e⟨s⟩set. Contemnenda est, inquam, avaritia, quae velut ignis, qua⟨n⟩to magis acceperit, tanto amplius quaerit. Iracundia vero mitiganda est, quae prius nocituris nocet quam nocendis. Quod autem libidinem fugiendam esse diximus, Apostolo doctore evidenter didicimus: qui cum omnibus vitiis resistendum praedixerit, contra libidinem non ait, Resistite; sed dixit, Fugite fornicationem (I Cor. VI, 18). Ac sic contra reliqua vitia, Deo auxiliante, debemus in praesenti resistere; libidinem vero fugiendo superare. Sic et alibi in Scripturis legimus, Noli, inquit, in faciem virginis attendere, ne te scandalizet vultus ejus (Eccli. IX, 5). Et beatus Joseph ut impudicam posset evadere dominam, pallium quo apprehensus fuerat reliquit, et fugit. Ergo contra libidinis impetum apprehende fugam, si vis obtinere victoriam. Nec sit tibi verecundum fugere, si castitatis palmam desideras obtinere. Videte, fratres, quomodo ab omnibus Christianis, praecipue tamen a monachis seu clericis indigna et inhonesta familiaritas fugienda est: quia sine ulla dubitatione qui familiaritatem vitare non vult mulierum, cito dilabitur in ruinam.
1. Peace has martyrs. The other vices are overcome by resisting, lust by fleeing. Familiarity with women is to be fled by all. Let no one say, dearest brothers, that in our times the contests of martyrs cannot take place: for peace has its own martyrs. For, as we have often said already, to soften anger, to flee lust, to guard justice, to despise avarice, to humble pride, is a great part of martyrdom. Not unfittingly was it said: to despise avarice, to soften anger, to flee lust. For covetousness is to be despised, which procures unjust gains for us precisely so that it may make us its own. For we would be our own, if it were not ours. Avarice, I say, is to be despised, which like fire seeks the more, the more it has received. Anger, moreover, is to be softened, since it harms those who would do harm before those who are to be harmed. And that we said lust is to be fled, we have plainly learned with the Apostle as teacher: for although he declared that all vices are to be resisted, against lust he did not say "Resist", but said, "Flee fornication" (1 Cor. 6:18). And so, with God's help, we ought at present to resist the other vices, but to overcome lust by fleeing. So too we read elsewhere in the Scriptures: "Do not," it says, "gaze upon the face of a virgin, lest her countenance cause you to stumble" (Sir. 9:5). And blessed Joseph, in order to escape his shameless mistress, left behind the cloak by which he had been seized, and fled. Therefore, against the onset of lust take to flight, if you wish to obtain the victory. Nor let it be shameful to you to flee, if you desire to obtain the palm of chastity. See, brothers, how unworthy and dishonourable familiarity is to be fled by all Christians, but above all by monks or clerics: because without any doubt he who will not avoid familiarity with women quickly slips into ruin.
2. Inter quas valde periclitatur castitas. Frustra jugis victoriae spes praetenditur. Cum de tam duro hoste sit rara. Et aliis inde pessimum praebeatur exemplum. Sed forte negligens quisque et minus de animae suae salute sollicitus respondet et dicit: Ecce ego et familiaritatem habeo mulierum extranearum, et tamen castitatis ornamenta custodio. Infelix est ista et nimium periculosa praesumptio. Multi enim dum se putabant vincere, victi sunt. Sed adhuc addit et dicit aliquis: Ego inter mulieres extraneas habito, et continentiam teneo, et volo habere quod vincam. Quid est hoc dicere, Volo habere quod vincam, nisi, Volo habere quomodo peream? Sed ego, inquit, libidinis impetum
2. Among them chastity is in great peril. The hope of perpetual victory is put forward in vain. Since over so hard an enemy it is rare. And from this the worst example is given to others. But perhaps someone negligent and less anxious about the salvation of his soul replies and says: "See, I both have familiarity with women who are strangers, and yet I keep the adornments of chastity." This is an unhappy and exceedingly dangerous presumption. For many, while they thought they were conquering, were conquered. But someone further adds and says: "I live among women who are strangers, and I hold to continence, and I want to have something to conquer." What is it to say, "I want to have something to conquer", if not, "I want to have a means by which to perish"? "But I," he says, "the onset of lust
Editors' notes and page, col. 2301
Footnotes
1 ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 2301 Sic ex eodem Ms. [Sicut enim reus ero.]
So from the same manuscript. [Before: "For just as I shall be guilty."]
2 ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 2301 Sic emendatur ex codice c. [quod ita nobis agere inspirabit, ut nobis non solum de nostra Deo placita conversatione.]
It is corrected thus from codex c. [Before: "that he will so inspire us to act, that to us not only from our way of life pleasing to God."]
3 ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 2301 In Ms. c. sermonis clausula est, Quod ipse praestare dignetur.
In manuscript c. the close of the sermon is, "Which may he deign to grant."
4 ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 2301 Haec non habent Mss., quae nobis ideo..... avaritia.
The manuscripts do not have these words, "which to us therefore … avarice."
(printed under page 413)
(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 2301
Olim, tomo 9, et post, tomo 10, serm. de Tempore 250.
Formerly in volume 9, and afterwards in volume 10, Sermon De Tempore 250.
(printed under page 413)
(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 2301
In Appendice nunc primum collocatur. Lovaniensibus dubius, Verlino et Vindingo spurius est. Locum etiam in tomo 9 habuit, cum hoc titulo, « De Honestate mulierum. » Stilus omnino refert Caesarium, qui sane de re hic proposita canonem 10 Agathensis concilii edendum curavit. De num. 1 vide infra serm. 294, n. 3; 224, n. 1, Caesarii epist. ad quosdam Germanos : de num. 2 vide Caesarii epistolam citatam : de num. 5, serm. 90, n. 6, et 142, n. 8, 314, n. 5.
It is now placed in the Appendix for the first time. To the Louvain editors it is doubtful, to Verlinus and Vindingus spurious. It also had a place in volume 9, with this title, "On the Modesty of Women." The style entirely reflects Caesarius, who indeed saw to the issuing of canon 10 of the Council of Agde on the matter set out here. On no. 1 see below Sermon 294, no. 3; 224, no. 1; Caesarius's letter to certain brothers; on no. 2 see the letter of Caesarius cited; on no. 5, Sermon 90, no. 6, and 142, no. 8, 314, no. 5.
(printed under page 413)
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tanquam adversarium meum volo captivum jugiter retinere. Vide ne contra te incipiat ipsa captivitas praevalere, et unde te putabas obtinere triumphum, inde in aeternum incurras opprobrium. Inter omnia enim Christianorum certamina sola duriora sunt praelia castitatis; ubi quotidiana est pugna, et rara victoria. Gravem namque castitas sortita est inimicum, qui quotidie vincitur, et timetur. Et ideo, sicut jam dictum est, nemo se falsa securitate decipiat, nemo de suis viribus periculose praesumat; sed audiat Apostolum dicentem, Fugite fornicationem. David enim ille sanctissimus in mille passus mulierem nudam vidit; et statim homicidium fecit et adulterium. Et qui cum mulieribus habitantes putant se castitatis obtinere triumphum, ignorant dupliciter se apud Deum reos existere, dum et se ipsos in periculum mittunt, et aliis exemplum perversae familiaritatis ostendunt. Quanticumque enim illorum stultitiam imitantes per inhonestam familiaritatem castitatis ornamenta perdiderint, illorum animae ab illis in die judicii requirentur, qui eis exemplum perditionis ostendunt.
as my adversary I wish to keep continually captive." See that the captivity itself does not begin to prevail against you, and that from the very thing by which you thought to obtain a triumph you do not incur eternal disgrace. For among all the contests of Christians, the battles of chastity alone are the harder, where the fight is daily and victory rare. For chastity has been allotted a grievous enemy, one that is conquered daily and yet is feared. And therefore, as has already been said, let no one deceive himself with false security, let no one presume dangerously on his own strength; but let him hear the Apostle saying, Flee fornication. For that most holy David saw a naked woman at a thousand paces, and at once committed murder and adultery. And those who live with women and think that they obtain the triumph of chastity do not know that they stand doubly guilty before God, since they both put themselves in danger and show others an example of perverse familiarity. For however many, imitating their folly, lose the ornaments of chastity through unseemly familiarity, their souls will be required on the day of judgement from those who show them the example of perdition.
3. Qui nunc sint Christi persecutores et martyres. Nulla omnino cum femina familiaritas habenda. Quantum voluptatis momentaneae damnum. Et ideo, fratres charissimi, contra mortifera blandimenta, et contra adjutores diaboli, qui familiaritatem suspectam habere nec metuunt nec erubescunt, ne nos exemplo suo decipiant, Dei adjutorium jugiter imploremus, ut nos de laqueo venantium liberare dignetur: scientes quod in malis omnibus, quae supra diximus, Christianis quotidiana martyria deesse non possunt. Sicut enim castitas et veritas et justitia Christus est; sic et ille qui eis insidiatur, persecutor Christi est: ille autem qui et in aliis ista defendere, et in se custodire voluerit, martyr erit. Et ideo qui haec tota animi virtute et in se diligit, et ut alii diligant, verbis simul et exemplis ostendit, et ubicumque veritas vel justitia sive castitas laborant, quantum praevalet se etiam ultro ingerit, et secundum quod vires habuerit, defendere contendit; non unam, sed plures coronas, Deo remunerante, percipiet. Et ut haec obtinere cum Dei adjutorio mereamur, non solum extranearum mulierum, sed etiam ancillarum nostrarum vel quarumcumque vicinarum, aut filiae, aut alumnae, aut ancillae unusquisque familiaritatem. vel secretam collocutionem vitare contendat: quia quanto earum vilior conditio, tanto facilior ruina est. De familiaritate enim talium Salomon nos admonet, dicens: Numquid alligabit quis ignem in sinu suo, et vestimenta ejus non ardebunt? aut ambulabit quis super prunas, et non comburentur plantae ejus (Prov. VI, 27, 28)? et illud, Pretium meretricis vix dimidium est panis; mulier autem pretiosam viri animam capit (Ibid., 26). ⟨E⟩t quanta iniquitas et quam lugenda perversitas, ut animam, quam Christus sanguine suo redemit, luxuriosus quisque propter unius momenti delectationem libidinis diabolo vendat ac tradat? Vere enim nimium plangenda et miseranda conditio est, ubi cito praeterit quod delectat, et permanet sine fine quod cruciat. Sub momento enim libidinis impetus transit, et permanet sine fine infelicis animae opprobrium.
3. Who are now the persecutors and the martyrs of Christ. No familiarity at all is to be had with a woman. How great the loss from momentary pleasure. And therefore, dearest brethren, against deadly allurements, and against the helpers of the devil, who neither fear nor blush to keep up a suspect familiarity, let us continually implore the help of God, so that they may not deceive us by their example, that He may deign to free us from the snare of the hunters: knowing that in all the evils of which we spoke above, daily martyrdoms cannot be lacking to Christians. For just as Christ is chastity and truth and justice, so also he who lies in wait against these is a persecutor of Christ; but he who is willing both to defend these things in others and to guard them in himself will be a martyr. And therefore he who loves these things with all the strength of his mind in himself, and shows by words and examples alike that others should love them, and wherever truth or justice or chastity is in distress, thrusts himself forward of his own accord as far as he is able, and strives to defend them according to the strength he has, will receive, God rewarding him, not one but many crowns. And that we may deserve to obtain these things with God's help, let each one strive to avoid familiarity or secret conversation not only with women outside the household, but also with our maidservants or with any neighbours whatever, whether daughter, or foster-daughter, or maidservant: for the lower their condition, the easier the fall. For concerning familiarity with such, Solomon admonishes us, saying: Will anyone bind fire in his bosom, and his garments not burn? or will anyone walk upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned (Prov. 6:27–28)? and that saying, The price of a harlot is scarcely half a loaf; but a woman captures the precious soul of a man (ibid. 6:26). And how great an iniquity and how lamentable a perversity it is, that any lustful man should sell and hand over to the devil, for the delight of lust lasting a single moment, the soul which Christ redeemed with His blood? For truly that condition is exceedingly to be bewailed and pitied, where what delights passes quickly, and what torments remains without end. For in a moment the impulse of lust passes, and the disgrace of the unhappy soul remains without end.
4. An facile resarciatur. Libido, malleus universae terrae. Sed dicit aliquis: Juvenis homo sum, facio quod me delectat modo, et postea poenitentiam ago. Quomodo si dicat, Percutio me crudeli gladio, et postea vado ad medicum: et nescit quod unius hor⟨ae⟩ puncto vulnus accipitur, et vix longo tempore ad sanitatem pristinam revocatur. Qui enim adulterans dicit se postea poenitentiam acturum, quare non timet ne eum subitanea febricula superveniens rapiat; et pereat dilatio, et succedat aeterna damnatio? Et quia de infelici libidine, unde supra diximus, credendum est illud dictum esse quod ait propheta, Quomodo confractus est malleus universae terrae (Jerem. L, 23)? quamvis post adventum Domini nostri Jesu Christi per universa monasteria, et per clericos vel etiam laicos castitatem servantes quasi confractus esse malleus ille
4. Whether it is easily repaired. Lust, the hammer of the whole earth. But someone says: I am a young man, I do what delights me now, and afterwards I do penance. It is as if he were to say, I strike myself with a cruel sword, and afterwards I go to the physician: and he does not know that a wound is received in the instant of a single hour, and is scarcely restored to its former health over a long time. For he who commits adultery and says that he will do penance afterwards, why does he not fear lest some sudden fever coming upon him carry him off, and the delay perish, and eternal damnation follow? And since concerning unhappy lust, of which we spoke above, we must believe that this saying was spoken which the prophet utters, How is the hammer of the whole earth broken (Jer. 50:23)? although after the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, throughout all the monasteries, and through clergy and even laity who keep chastity, that hammer as it were broken
Editors' notes and page, col. 2302
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- other: left-hand column (2301) partly visible at image edges, not set; "Et quanta" initial letter damaged, set ⟨E⟩t; "horae" damaged at end, set hor⟨ae⟩; "Jesu" looks like "Jesn" in the scan, UNSURE whether misprint or damaged type, set Jesu; "in mille passus" set as printed; column ends without a hyphen ("malleus ille"); Google digitization stamp at foot not set
videatur; adhuc tamen, quod pejus est, multo plures sunt, qui ab illo malleo quotidie confringuntur, quam illi qui de ruina vel collisione ipsius liberantur. Unde iterum atque iterum rogo, ut diligentius consideremus, et quantum possumus timeamus illud quod Dominus in Evangelio dixit: Qui viderit mulierem ad concupiscendum eam, jam moechatus est eam in corde suo (Matth. V, 28).
may seem; yet, what is worse, there are many more who are daily broken by that hammer than those who are set free from its fall or its blow. Wherefore again and again I ask that we consider more diligently, and fear as much as we can, what the Lord said in the Gospel: Whoever has looked at a woman so as to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matt. 5:28).
5. Quomodo mors intret per fenestras. Pro qua re, sicut jam dictum est non solum ab extraneis mulieribus, sed etiam ab ancillis propriis refrenanda est et secreta familiaritas, et oculorum incauta fragilitas; ne illud eveniat nobis quod Dominus per prophetam terribiliter clamat dicens, Mors intravit in animas vestras per fenestras vestras (Jerem. IX, 21). Per quas enim fenestras mors intrat ad animas nostras, nisi per visum oculorum, et auditum aurium? Si per linguam amico aut servo tuo jusseris ut ad te meretrix adducatur; per os tuum ad animam tuam gladius aeternae mortis ingreditur. Si autem consilium malum libenter audieris, si detrahentem, vel aliquid luxuriose loquentem, aut cantica turpia proferentem non respuis; per aurium tuarum fenestras mors intravit ad animam tuam. Et quia Dominus dixit, Qui viderit mulierem ad concupiscendum eam, jam moechatus est eam in corde suo; intelligitur quod voluntas perfecta faciendi reputabitur pro opere facti. Ac sic dum aliquis mulierem libidinoso animo considerat, per fenestram corporis sui ad secretum cordis venenum mortis instillat. Talis enim cogitatio, etiamsi aliquo impediatur casu, ut non impleat voluntatem suam; nihilominus actionis crimine condemnatur a Domino: ac sic et illa casta est cum qua libidinis malum voluit exercere, et ille jam adulter tenetur in corde. Et ideo audiamus Scripturam dicentem, Omni custodia serva cor tuum (Prov. IV, 23); et illud, Averte oculos meos, ne videant vanitatem (Psal. CXVIII, 37). Quomodo enim si aliquis carbones ignis apprehendat, si eos cito projecerit, nihil ei nocebunt; si vero diutius tenere voluerit, sine vulnere eos jactare non potuerit: ita et ille qui ad concupiscendum oculorum defixerit aspectum, et libidinis malum in corde suscipiens moras in cogitationibus suis habere permiserit, excutere eas a se sine animae plaga non poterit. Et ideo jugiter cum propheta clamemus, Oculi mei semper ad Dominum; quoniam ipse evellet de laqueo pedes meos (Psal. XXIV, 15); praestante Domino nostro Jesu Christo, etc.
5. How death enters through the windows. For this reason, as has already been said, not only with women who are strangers but also with one's own maidservants, both secret familiarity and the incautious frailty of the eyes must be restrained; lest there befall us what the Lord cries out terribly through the prophet, saying, Death has entered into your souls through your windows (Jer. 9:21). For through what windows does death enter into our souls, if not through the sight of the eyes and the hearing of the ears? If with your tongue you order your friend or your servant to have a harlot brought to you, through your mouth the sword of eternal death enters into your soul. If, moreover, you listen gladly to evil counsel, if you do not reject one who disparages others, or one who says something lewd, or one who sings shameful songs, through the windows of your ears death has entered into your soul. And since the Lord said, Whoever has looked at a woman so as to desire her has already committed adultery with her in his heart, it is understood that the settled will to do the deed will be reckoned as the deed done. And so, when someone looks upon a woman with a lustful mind, through the window of his body he instils the poison of death into the secret place of his heart. For such a thought, even if it is hindered by some chance so that it does not fulfil its will, is nonetheless condemned by the Lord with the guilt of the act: and so she remains chaste with whom he wished to commit the evil of lust, and he is already held an adulterer in his heart. And therefore let us hear Scripture saying, With all watchfulness keep your heart (Prov. 4:23); and this, Turn away my eyes, that they may not see vanity (Ps. 118:37). For just as, if someone takes hold of coals of fire and throws them away quickly, they will do him no harm, but if he chooses to hold them longer, he will not be able to throw them off without a wound: so too he who has fixed the gaze of his eyes so as to desire, and, receiving the evil of lust into his heart, has allowed it to linger in his thoughts, will not be able to shake those lingerings off from himself without a wound to the soul. And therefore let us cry out constantly with the prophet, My eyes are ever towards the Lord; for He will pluck my feet out of the snare (Ps. 24:15); by the help of our Lord Jesus Christ, etc.
SERMO CCXCIV. Admonitio ut ebrietatis malum totis viribus caveatur.
Sermon 294. An admonition that the evil of drunkenness be guarded against with all one's strength.
1. Ebrietas nec peccatum putatur. Inimica ebriosorum amicitia. Licet propitio Christo, fratres charissimi, credam vos ebrietatis malum velut inferni foveam expavescere, et non solum ipsi non velitis amplius bibere, sed nec alios adjurare vel cogere plus quam oportet accipere: tamen quia non potest fieri ut non sint aliqui negligentes, qui sobrii esse non velint, vos qui semper convivia sobria exhibetis, nolite ad vestram injuriam revocare, quia nobis necesse est alios ebriosos arguere. Cum enim, fratres charissimi, ebrietatis malum nimium sit grave vitium et Deo odibile; ita per universum mundum a pluribus in consuetudinem missum est, ut ab illis qui Dei praecepta cognoscere nolunt, jam nec putetur aut credatur esse peccatum: in tantum ut in conviviis suis irrideant eos qui minus bibere possunt et per inimicam amicitiam adjurare homines non erubescant, ut potum
1. Drunkenness is not even thought a sin. The hostile friendship of drunkards. Although, by the favour of Christ, dearest brothers, I believe that you dread the evil of drunkenness like the pit of hell, and that not only do you yourselves not wish to drink more, but you also do not wish to adjure or compel others to take more than is fitting: yet since it cannot be that there are not some negligent people who do not wish to be sober, you who always give sober banquets, do not take it as an injury to yourselves that we must rebuke others who are drunkards. For, dearest brothers, although the evil of drunkenness is an exceedingly grave vice and hateful to God, it has been brought into custom by so many throughout the whole world that by those who do not wish to know God's commandments it is no longer even thought or believed to be a sin: so much so that at their banquets they mock those who are able to drink less, and are not ashamed to adjure men by a hostile friendship that, as to drink,
Editors' notes and page, col. 2303
Footnotes
1 ‹anchor: voluntas perfecta› · call in col 2303 Mss., prona.
The manuscripts: "inclined."
(printed under page 414)
(a) ‹anchor: SERMO CCXCIV› · call in col 2303
Alias, de Tempore 231.
Otherwise numbered: De Tempore 231.
(printed under page 414)
(b) ‹anchor: viribus caveatur› · call in col 2303
In Appendice nunc primum collocatur. Dubium Lovanienses, Verlinus autem et Vindingus supposititium esse voluerunt. Ipsa est Caesarii homilia inter editas a Baluzio quinta : quae in nostris etiam aliquot manuscriptis Caesario assignatur. De num. 1 vide Appendicis serm. 295, n. 1; 286, n. 5; 267, n. 4 : de num. 3, serm. 266, n. 3 : de num. 6, serm. 286, n. 6 : de num. 8, serm. 272, n. 8; 295, n. 6; 277, n. 4; 265, n. 5.
It is now placed in the Appendix for the first time. The Louvain editors held it doubtful, but Verlinus and Vindingus judged it spurious. It is in fact the fifth of the homilies of Caesarius published by Baluze, and in several of our manuscripts too it is assigned to Caesarius. On no. 1 see Sermon 295 of the Appendix, no. 1; 286, no. 5; 267, no. 4; on no. 3, Sermon 266, no. 3; on no. 6, Sermon 286, no. 6; on no. 8, Sermon 272, no. 8; 295, no. 6; 277, no. 4; 265, no. 5.
1 ‹anchor: lege contenditur› · call in col 2304 Ms. r., lex conditur. Ms. vero l., lege condita.
Manuscript r.: "a law is laid down." But manuscript l.: "by a law laid down."
2 ‹anchor: si se inebriare voluerit … ‹word cut off›› · call in col 2304 Mss., peccetis.
The manuscripts: "you sin."
(printed under page 414)
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amplius quam oportet accipiant. Qui enim alterum cogit ut se, plus quam opus est bibendo, inebriet; minus malum ei erat si carnem ejus vulneraret gladio, quam animam ejus per ebrietatem occideret.
they should take more than is fitting. For whoever compels another to make himself drunk by drinking more than is necessary: it would have been a lesser evil for him to wound the other's flesh with a sword than to slay his soul through drunkenness.
2. Ebriosi paludibus comparantur. Et quia corpora nostra terrena sunt, quomodo quando pluvia nimium grandis et diuturna fuerit, ita terra infunditur et in lutum resolvitur, ut nulla in ea cultura possit fieri: sic et caro nostra, quando nimio potu fuerit inebriata, nec spiritualem culturam accipere, nec fructus animae necessarios poterit exhibere. Et ideo quomodo omnes homines ita sufficientem pluviam in agris suis accipere desiderant, ut et culturam valeant exercere, et de fructuum ubertate gaudere: ita et in agro corporis hoc tantum deberent bibere quod oportet; ne per nimiam ebrietatem ipsa corporis terra velut in paludem conversa, magis vermes et serpentes vitiorum generare, quam fructus bonorum operum possit afferre. Omnes enim ebriosi tales sunt, quales paludes esse videntur. Quid enim in paludibus nascatur, non ignorat Charitas vestra: totum enim quod ibi nascitur, nullum fructum habere cognoscitur. Nascuntur ibi serpentes sanguisugae: nascuntur ibi ranae et diversa genera vermium, quae magis horrorem possunt generare, quam aliquid quod ad victum proficiat exhibere. Istae enim herbae vel arbores, quae aut in ipsis paludibus aut circa ripas earum nasci solent, nihil utilitatis habere videntur, in tantum ut annis singulis incendio concrementur. Videte quia quod de ebrietate nascitur, igni praeparatur.
2. Drunkards are compared to marshes. And since our bodies are earthly: just as, when the rain has been exceedingly heavy and long-lasting, the earth is soaked and dissolved into mud, so that no cultivation can be carried out in it, so too our flesh, when it has been made drunk by excessive drinking, will be able neither to receive spiritual cultivation nor to produce the fruits necessary to the soul. And therefore, just as all men desire to receive only so much rain in their fields as suffices, so that they may be able both to carry on cultivation and to rejoice in the abundance of the fruits, so too in the field of the body they ought to drink only as much as is fitting; lest through excessive drunkenness the very earth of the body, turned as it were into a marsh, should breed the worms and serpents of vices rather than be able to bear the fruits of good works. For all drunkards are such as marshes are seen to be. What is born in marshes Your Charity is not unaware: for everything that is born there is known to bear no fruit. Serpents, leeches are born there; frogs are born there and various kinds of worms, which can produce horror rather than yield anything that would serve for food. For the plants or trees that are wont to grow either in the marshes themselves or about their banks are seen to have no usefulness, so much so that every year they are burned up by fire. See that what is born of drunkenness is prepared for the fire.
3. Depinguntur. Tales enim sunt, sicut jam dixi, omnes ebriosi, quorum prandia ducuntur usque ad noctem, quorum coenas lucifer videt; qui stare non possunt etiam cum videntur esse jejuni; quorum sensus tardi, graves, obtusi, et quodam modo jam sepulti. Denique frequenter in ipsa ebrietate nec se ipsos nec alios recognoscunt, nec ambulare valent nec stare; dicere aliquid vel audire quod ad rationem pertineat, omnino non possunt. Frequenter etiam usque ad vomitum ingurgitare se non erubescunt, et ad mensuram sine mensura bibere. Majora enim pocula providentur, certa bibendi lege contenditur; qui potuerit vincere, laudem meretur ex crimine. Inde lites et rixae nascuntur, inde diversis et horrendis saltationibus membra torquentur, inde adulteria et nonnunquam homicidia perpetrantur. Et quoties nimium potum accipiunt, tanquam in paralysim resoluti, dum suis pedibus ambulare non possunt, foedissima latura aliorum manibus portantur ad lectos. Et est in illis oculorum caligo, vertigo, fatigatio et dolor capitis, suffusio vultus, membrorum omnium tremor, animae ac mentis stupor. In talibus impletur illud quod scriptum est, Cui vae? cujus patri vae? cui rixae? cui sine causa vulnera? cui suffusio oculorum? Nonne his qui morantur in vino, et student calicibus epotandis (Prov. XXIII, 29 et 30)?
3. They are portrayed. For such, as I have already said, are all drunkards: their luncheons are drawn out until night, their suppers are seen by the morning star; they cannot stand even when they seem to be sober; their senses are slow, heavy, dulled, and in a certain manner already buried. In short, often in their very drunkenness they recognize neither themselves nor others, they are able neither to walk nor to stand; they are utterly unable to say or to hear anything that pertains to reason. Often too they do not blush to gorge themselves even to the point of vomiting, and to drink by measure without measure. For larger cups are provided, the contest is held under a fixed law of drinking; whoever is able to win earns praise from a crime. Thence quarrels and brawls arise, thence limbs are contorted in various and horrid dances, thence adulteries and sometimes homicides are committed. And whenever they take too much drink, as if dissolved into paralysis, since they cannot walk on their own feet, they are borne to their beds in the hands of others, a most shameful carrying. And there is in them dimness of the eyes, dizziness, weariness and pain of the head, flushing of the face, trembling of all the limbs, stupor of soul and mind. In such men is fulfilled that which is written: Who has woe? Whose father has woe? Who has quarrels? Who has wounds without cause? Who has bloodshot eyes? Is it not those who linger over wine, and are eager to drain cups? (Prov. 23:29–30).
4. Excusant se de amicitia. Conviva ad bibendum ne cogatur. Ebriosi in sui similes prodigi, in pauperes parci. Animalibus deteriores sunt. Et se et sua perdunt. Sed illi qui tales esse volunt, miserabiliter se excusare conantur, dicentes: Ingratum habeo amicum meum, si quoties illum ad convivium vocavero, potum ei quantum voluerit ipse non dedero. Et non sit tibi amicus, qui te Deo vult facere inimicum, qui et tuus et suus est inimicus. Si et te et alium inebriaveris, hominem amicum habebis, et Deum inimicum: et ideo sapienter considera, si justum sit ut te a Deo separes, dum te ebrioso conjungis. Ad extremum tu cum noli adjurare, noli cogere; sed in potestate illius dimitte ut quantum ipsi placuerit bibat: ut si se inebriare voluerit, vel solus pereat, et non ambo pereatis. O infelicitas generis humani! Quam multi inveniuntur qui ebriosos et luxuriosos amplius quam oportet cogunt bibere: et ante ostium pauperibus petentibus vel unum calicem dissimulant dare; nec
4. They excuse themselves on the ground of friendship. A guest should not be compelled to drink. Drunkards are lavish towards those like themselves, sparing towards the poor. They are worse than beasts. They ruin both themselves and their possessions. But those who wish to be such try wretchedly to excuse themselves, saying: I shall make my friend ungrateful if, as often as I invite him to a banquet, I do not give him as much drink as he himself wishes. Then let him not be a friend to you who wishes to make you an enemy to God, who is an enemy both to you and to himself. If you make both yourself and another drunk, you will have a man as friend, and God as enemy: and therefore consider wisely whether it is just that you should separate yourself from God while you join yourself to a drunkard. Finally, do not adjure him, do not compel him; but leave it in his power to drink as much as pleases him, so that, if he wishes to make himself drunk, at least he alone may perish, and you may not both perish. O unhappiness of the human race! How many are found who compel the drunken and the dissolute to drink more than is fitting, and at the door evade giving even a single cup to the poor who ask; nor
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attendunt quia illud quod luxuriosis videntur ingerere, Christus in pauperibus deberet accipere, qui dixit: Quamdiu fecistis uni ex minimis meis, mihi fecistis (Matth. XXV, 40)! Sed quia tales sunt qui quando alios in nimio potu sepeliunt, pauperi eleemosynam petenti dicunt, Vade, vade in ante, dat tibi Deus: et utique cum ambulaverit homo, ei daturus est. Quid est ergo quod dicit, Vade in ante, et dat tibi Deus; nisi, Vade ad illum hominem qui habet Deum, quia ipse tibi daturus est? Ac sic ore suo ipse confitetur, apud se Deum non esse, quo inspirante possit aliquid pauperibus erogare. Rogo, fratres charissimi, diligenter attendite et videte, quia quando equi vel reliqua animalia ducuntur ad aquam, ubi satiaverint sitim suam, etiamsi super ipsam aquam diutius teneantur, repleta siti bibere nolunt omnino nec possunt. Considerent ebriosi, si non pejores animalibus judicandi sunt. Cum enim animalia amplius quam eis opus est bibere nolint, illi et duplum et triplum quam eis oportet potum accipiunt. Et unde tribus aut quatuor diebus refectionem rationabilem potuerant habere, uno die cum grandi peccato suo contendunt perdere potius, quam expendere: atque utinam vel potum tantummodo perderent, et non etiam ipsi perirent!
consider that what they are seen to press upon the dissolute, Christ ought to receive in the poor, He Who said: As long as you did it to one of the least of mine, you did it to Me (Matt. 25:40)! But because there are such men who, while they bury others in excessive drink, say to a poor man asking for alms, Go, go on ahead, God gives to you: and certainly, when the man has walked on, there is one who will give to him. What then is it that he says, Go on ahead, and God gives to you; unless, Go to that man who has God, because he will give to you? And so with his own mouth he himself confesses that God is not with him, by Whose inspiration he might be able to bestow something on the poor. I ask you, dearest brethren, attend diligently and see that when horses or other animals are led to water, once they have satisfied their thirst, even if they are kept standing over the water itself for a long time, their thirst being filled they are altogether unwilling to drink and cannot. Let drunkards consider whether they are not to be judged worse than animals. For while animals are unwilling to drink more than they need, these men take double and triple the drink that is fitting for them. And what could have provided them reasonable refreshment for three or four days, they strive in one day, with great sin on their part, to waste rather than to spend: and would that they wasted only the drink, and did not also perish themselves!
5. Ebrietatis mala exemplis et verbis Scripturae declarantur. Quantum mali in se habeat ebrietas, etiam in Loth et filiabus ejus evidenter ostensum est. Nam vino inebriatus cum ipsis filiabus suis nesciens concubuit (Gen. XIX, 33, 35). Pharao quoque inebriatus magistrum pistorum in cruce appendi fecit (Id. XL, 20, 22). Populus autem Judaeorum, de quo scriptum est, Sedit populus manducare et bibere, et surrexerunt ludere (Exod. XXXII, 6); posteaquam vinum plus quam oportebat accepit, idola sibi fabricari petiit, et in honore ipsorum idolorum coepit choros ducere, et more phrenetico diversis saltationibus membra torquere. Herodes quoque, ubi nimio vino concaluit, ad unius puellae saltationem sanctum Joannem Baptistam interfici jussit (Matth. XIV). Quid adhuc de ebrietatis malo nascatur, Spiritus sanctus per Salomonem testatur, dicens, Vinum, inquit, et mulieres apostatare faciunt sapientes, et arquunt sensatos (Eccli. XIX, 2); et iterum, Ne intuearis vinum quando flavescit, cum splenduerit in vitro color ejus. Ingreditur enim blande: sed in novissimo mordebit ut coluber, et quasi regulus venena suffundet. Oculi tui videbunt extraneas, et cor tuum loquetur perversa (Prov. XXIII, 31-33). Paulus etiam apostolus contra ebrietatis malum nos admonet, dicens, Nolite inebriari vino in quo est luxuria (Ephes. V, 18). Iterum atque iterum quid mali in se ebrietas habeat, eis qui illam diligunt sanctarum Scripturarum testimoniis evidenter ostendimus. In Salomone scriptum est, Qui amat vinum et pinguia, non ditabitur (Prov. XXI, 17); et iterum, Noli regibus dare vinum, quia nullum secretum est ubi regnat ebrietas; ne forte bibant, et obliviscantur judiciorum Dei, et mutent causam filiorum pauperum (Id. XXXI, 4, 5). Item illic ait, Operarius ⟨e⟩briosus non locupletabitur (Eccli. XIX, 1); et iterum. Vinum si bibas moderate, eris sobrius (Id. XXXI, 32): item illic, Vinum in jucunditatem creatum est, non in ebrietatem ab initio. Exsultatio animae et cordis, vinum moderate potatum: infirmitas animae et corporis vinum multum potatum, irritationem, et iram, et ruinas multas facit. Amaritudo animae vinum multum potatum, ebrietatis animositas, imprudentis offensio, minorans virtutem et faciens vulnera (Ibid., 35-40).
5. The evils of drunkenness are made plain by the examples and words of Scripture. How much evil drunkenness holds within itself has been plainly shown also in Lot and his daughters. For, made drunk with wine, he lay with his own daughters without knowing it (Gen. 19:33, 35). Pharaoh also, when drunk, had the chief of the bakers hanged on a cross (Gen. 40:20, 22). And the people of the Jews, of whom it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play (Exod. 32:6), after they had taken more wine than was fitting, demanded that idols be made for them, and in honour of those same idols began to lead dances, and in frenzied fashion to twist their limbs in various leapings. Herod too, when he had grown heated with too much wine, ordered Saint John the Baptist to be killed for the dancing of one girl (Matt. 14). What further arises from the evil of drunkenness the Holy Spirit testifies through Solomon, saying, Wine, he says, and women make wise men fall away, and rebuke men of sense (Sir. 19:2); and again, Do not look upon wine when it turns golden, when its colour shines in the glass. For it goes in pleasantly: but at the last it will bite like a snake, and like a basilisk it will pour out venom. Your eyes will see strange women, and your heart will speak perverse things (Prov. 23:31–33). Paul the apostle also warns us against the evil of drunkenness, saying, Do not be drunk with wine, wherein is lust (Eph. 5:18). Again and again we plainly show, by the testimonies of the holy Scriptures, to those who love it what evil drunkenness holds within itself. In Solomon it is written, He who loves wine and rich fare will not become rich (Prov. 21:17); and again, Do not give wine to kings, because there is no secret where drunkenness reigns; lest perhaps they drink, and forget the judgements of God, and pervert the cause of the children of the poor (Prov. 31:4–5). Likewise there he says, A drunken workman will not become wealthy (Sir. 19:1); and again, If you drink wine moderately, you will be sober (Sir. 31:32): likewise there, Wine was created for gladness, not for drunkenness, from the beginning. Wine drunk moderately is the exultation of soul and heart: wine drunk to excess is the sickness of soul and body, and it causes provocation, and anger, and many downfalls. Wine drunk to excess is bitterness of soul, the boldness of drunkenness, the stumbling of the imprudent, diminishing strength and causing wounds (Sir. 31:35–40).
6. Ebriosis non est pars in regno Dei. Sed quando ista suggerimus, forte irascuntur contra nos et murmurant ebriosi. Et quamvis non desint qui irascantur, Deo tamen propitio multi erunt qui libenter salubre consilium audientes, de isto tam gravi peccato per Dei misericordiam liberabuntur. Ipsi tamen qui contra coalumnam et amicam suam ebrietatem loquentibus irascuntur, libera a nobis voce audiant: quia quicumque ebriosus poenitentiam pro ipsa ebrietate non egerit, sed usque ad mortem suam in ipsa ebrietate
6. Drunkards have no share in the kingdom of God. But when we urge these things, perhaps the drunkards grow angry against us and murmur. And although there are not lacking those who grow angry, yet, God being gracious, there will be many who, willingly hearing wholesome counsel, will be set free from this so grave sin through the mercy of God. Yet let those very men who grow angry with those who speak against drunkenness, their foster-sister and friend, hear from us with a free voice: that whatever drunkard has not done penance for that drunkenness, but even until his death in that very drunkenness
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permanserit, in aeternum profecto peribit; quia non mentitur Spiritus sanctus per Apostolum dicens, Neque ebriosi regnum Dei possidebunt (I Cor. VI, 10). Et ideo quicumque sunt ebriosi, melius faciunt, ut non nobis sed sibi potius irascantur, et cum Dei adjutorio de luto faecis se excutere, vel de cloaca ebrietatis, dum adhuc tempus poenitentiae est, festinent quanta possunt celeritate, Deo auxiliante, consurgere: et totis animae viribus cum propheta supplicantes Domino dicant, Eripe me de luto, ut non inhaeream (Psal. LXVIII, 15); et illud, Non me demergat tempestas aquae, neque absorbeat me profundum, neque urgeat super me puteus os suum (Psal. LXVIII, 16). Ebrietas enim quasi inferni puteus, quoscumque susceperit, nisi digna subvenerit poenitentia, et emendatio fuerit subsecuta, ita fortiter sibi vindicat, ut eosdem ipsos de tenebroso inferni puteo ad castitatis vel sobrietatis lucem redire penitus non permittat.
has remained, will assuredly perish for ever; for the Holy Spirit does not lie, Who says through the Apostle, Nor shall drunkards possess the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:10). And therefore all who are drunkards would do better to be angry not with us but rather with themselves, and, with God's help, to hasten to shake themselves out of the mud of the dregs, or out of the sewer of drunkenness, while there is still time for repentance, and to rise up with all the speed they can, God assisting them; and with all the strength of the soul let them say to the Lord in supplication with the prophet, Rescue me from the mud, that I may not stick fast (Ps. 68:15); and that other, Let not the tempest of water sink me, nor the deep swallow me up, nor the pit close its mouth over me (Ps. 68:16). For drunkenness, like a pit of hell, holds so firmly as its own whomever it has taken in, unless a worthy repentance comes to their aid and amendment follows, that it altogether does not permit those very same people to return from the dark pit of hell to the light of chastity or sobriety.
7. Qua ratione ab ebriositate desuefiant. Sed hoc ante omnia intelligere et scire debemus, quia non una die efficiuntur homines ebriosi: sed dum paulatim adjurantibus et cogentibus crudelissimis inimicis potius quam amicis, per singulos dies, singulos sibi aut binos calices ad potum consuetudinarium addunt. At ubi hoc in usum miserint, ita eos ipsius ardor ebrietatis occupat, ut illos semper sitire compellat. Sed qui ab hoc malo desiderat liberari, quomodo sibi per intervalla dierum potum addendo ad ebrietatis tenebras pervenit; ita paulatim subtrahendo ad sobrietatis lucem redeat: quia si semel totum quod amplius accipiebat subtraxerit, ubi nimia siti coeperit exardescere, cum grandi amaritudine clamat et dicit, malle se mori, quam sibi bibendi vel inebriandi consuetudinem tollere; nec attendit quod tolerabilius erat illi in carne mori, quam animam per ebrietatem interficere. Et ideo ut nec ardorem nimium patiatur, et de tam gravi peccato liberetur; sicut jam dictum est, per intervalla dierum sibi aliquid de nimietate potus subtrahat, quousque ad rationabilem bibendi consuetudinem redeat. Qui hoc ita, ut diximus, per partes subducere voluerit, et de ebrietate liberabitur, et illum intolerabilem ardorem non patietur.
7. By what means they may be weaned from drunkenness. But this above all we ought to understand and know, that men do not become drunkards in a single day; but gradually, as most cruel enemies rather than friends adjure and compel them, day by day they add one or two cups to their customary drinking. And once they have made this a habit, the burning of drunkenness itself so takes hold of them that it compels them to be always thirsty. But let him who desires to be freed from this evil return to the light of sobriety by taking away little by little, just as he came to the darkness of drunkenness by adding drink to himself at intervals of days; for if he takes away all at once the whole of what he used to take in excess, when he begins to burn with excessive thirst, he cries out with great bitterness and says that he would rather die than take away from himself the habit of drinking or of getting drunk; nor does he consider that it would be more tolerable for him to die in the flesh than to kill his soul through drunkenness. And therefore, so that he may neither suffer excessive burning and yet be freed from so grave a sin, let him, as has already been said, take away from himself something of the excess of drink at intervals of days, until he returns to a reasonable habit of drinking. Whoever is willing to withdraw it thus by parts, as we have said, will both be freed from drunkenness and will not suffer that intolerable burning.
8. Clerici ab hoc vitio non sunt immunes. Ethnica superstitio. Ego, fratres charissimi, dum haec suggero, me absolvo apud Deum. Quicumque me audire contempserit, et ad bibendum aut ipse pronus fuerit, aut convivas suos adjurare vel cogere voluerit; et pro se et pro illis in Dei judicii reus erit. Et quia, quod pejus est, aliqui etiam clerici, qui hoc deberent prohibere, ipsi cogunt aliquos plus quam expedit bibere, amodo incipiant et se ipsos corrigere, et alios castigare: ut cum ante tribunal Chris⟨t⟩i venerint, nec de sua nec de aliorum ebrietate incurrant supplicium; sed magis dum et ipsi se emendant, et alios castigare non cessant, pervenire ad aeternum praemium mereantur. Et illud ante omnia rogo, et per tremendum diem judicii vos adjuro, ut quotiescumque vobis invicem convivia exhibetis, illam foedam consuetudinem, per quam grandi mensura sine mensura tres homines aut volentes aut inviti solebant bibere, tanquam venenum diaboli de vestris conviviis respuatis: quia ista infelix consuetudo adhuc de Paganorum observatione remansit. Et quicumque hoc in suo convivio aut alieno fieri acquieverit, diabolo se sacrificasse non dubitaverit. De qua bibitione non solum anima occiditur, sed etiam corpus debilitatur. Sed credo de Dei misericordia, quod ita vobis inspirare dignabitur, ut tam lugendum et etiam erubescendum malum ita vobis in horrorem veniat, ut illud nunquam fieri permittatis; sed quod in illa ebrietate periturum erat, in pauperum refecti⟨one⟩m proficiat: praestante Domino Jesu Christo, qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat Deus in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
8. Clerics are not immune from this vice. A heathen superstition. I, dearest brethren, in urging these things, absolve myself before God. Whoever scorns to listen to me, and either is himself given to drinking or chooses to adjure or compel his guests, will be guilty both for himself and for them on the day of judgement. And since, what is worse, some even of the clergy, who ought to forbid this, themselves compel some to drink more than is fitting, let them from now on begin both to correct themselves and to chastise others, so that when they come before the judgement seat of Christ they may incur punishment neither for their own drunkenness nor for that of others; but rather, while they both amend themselves and do not cease to chastise others, they may deserve to attain the eternal reward. And this above all I ask, and I adjure you by the dreadful day of judgement, that whenever you give banquets to one another, you spit out from your banquets, as the poison of the devil, that foul custom by which three men, willing or unwilling, used to drink by a great measure beyond measure; for this unhappy custom has remained from the observance of the pagans. And whoever consents to this being done at his own banquet or at another's, let him not doubt that he has sacrificed himself to the devil. By such drinking not only is the soul slain, but the body too is weakened. But I trust in the mercy of God that He will deign so to inspire you that so lamentable and also so shameful an evil may come to be held by you in such horror that you never permit it to be done; but that what was going to perish in that drunkenness may serve for the refreshment of the poor: by the gift of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, God, for ages of ages. Amen.
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