Migne Reading Room

PL 39 · cols. 1501–1504

Augustine, Sermones 341-346 (Classis IV, de Diversis)

Sermon CCCXLII

PL 39:1501
aut rugam, aut aliquid ejusmodi (Ephes. V, 27). Haec est sponsa Christi, non habens maculam aut rugam. Non vis habere maculam? Fac quod scriptum est; Lavamini, mundi estote, auferte nequitias de cordibus vestris (Isai. I, 16). Non vis habere rugam? Extendere in crucem. Non enim tantum opus est ut laveris, sed etiam ut extendaris, ut sis sine macula aut ruga. Per lavacrum enim auferuntur peccata: per extensionem fit desiderium futuri saeculi, propter quod Christus crucifixus est. Audi ipsum Paulum lotum: Non, inquit, ex operibus justitiae quae nos fecimus, sed secundum suam misericordiam salvos nos fecit, per lavacrum regenerationis (Tit. III, 5). Audi eumdem extensum: Ea, inquit, quae retro sunt oblitus, in ea quae ante sunt extensus, secundum intentionem sequor ad palmam supernae vocationis Dei in Christo Jesu (Philipp. III, 13 et 14).
or wrinkle, or anything of that kind (Eph. 5:27). This is the bride of Christ, not having spot or wrinkle. Do you not wish to have a spot? Do what is written: Wash yourselves, be clean, take away the wickedness from your hearts (Isa. 1:16). Do you not wish to have a wrinkle? Be stretched out upon the cross. For it is not only needful that you be washed, but also that you be stretched out, so that you may be without spot or wrinkle. For through the washing sins are taken away; through the stretching out there arises desire for the age to come, for the sake of which Christ was crucified. Hear Paul himself washed: Not, he says, by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration (Titus 3:5). Hear the same man stretched out: Forgetting, he says, the things which are behind, stretched out towards the things which are before, I follow according to my aim towards the prize of the heavenly calling of God in Christ Jesus (Phil. 3:13–14).
SERMO CCCXLII. De Sacrificio vespertino. In quo explicatur initium Evangelii Joannis.
Sermon 342. On the Evening Sacrifice. In which the beginning of the Gospel of John is explained.
1. Crucis signum. Sacrificium crucis. De Sacrificio vespertino sermo reddendus est. Oravimus enim cantando, et orando cantavimus, Dirigatur oratio mea sicut incensum in conspectu tuo: elevatio manuum mearum sacrificium vespertinum (Psal. CXL, 2). In oratione advertimus hominem, in extensione manuum agnoscimus crucem. Est ergo hoc signum quod in fronte gestamus, signum quo salvi sumus. Signum irrisum, ut honoraretur; contemptum, ut glorificaretur. Deus comparet, ut homo deprecetur; et Deus latet, ut homo moriatur. Si enim cognovissent, nunquam Dominum gloriae crucifixissent (I Cor. II, 8). Hoc ergo sacrificium, ubi sacerdos est victima, redemit nos fuso sanguine Creatoris. Non tamen creavit nos cum sanguine, sed redemit sanguine. Creavit enim nos in principio quod erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum. Ab hoc creati sumus. Sermo contextus adjungit, Omnia per ipsum facta sunt, et sine ipso factum est nihil. Hoc est quo creati sumus. Quo vero redempti, audi: Quod factum est, inquit, in eo vita erat, et vita erat lux hominum; et lux in tenebris lucet, et tenebrae eam non comprehenderunt. Adhuc Deus est: adhuc illud dicitur, quod incommutabile semper manet; adhuc illud dicitur, cui videndo corda mundanda sunt: unde autem mundentur, nondum dicit. Lux, inquit, lucet in tenebris, et tenebrae eam non comprehenderunt. Sed ut non sint tenebrae, possintque eam comprehendere; tenebrae enim peccatores, tenebrae infideles: ut ergo non sint tenebrae, possintque comprehendere, Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis. Videte Verbum, videte Verbum carnem, Verbum ante carnem.
1. The sign of the cross. The sacrifice of the cross. A sermon is to be delivered on the evening sacrifice. For we have prayed by singing, and sung by praying: Let my prayer be directed as incense in Thy sight: the lifting up of my hands an evening sacrifice (Ps. 140:2). In the prayer we perceive the man, in the stretching out of the hands we recognize the cross. This, then, is the sign which we bear on the forehead, the sign by which we are saved. A sign mocked, that it might be honoured; despised, that it might be glorified. God appears, that man may pray; and God lies hidden, that man may die. For if they had known, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory (1 Cor. 2:8). This sacrifice, therefore, where the priest is the victim, redeemed us by the shed blood of the Creator. Yet He did not create us with blood, but redeemed us with blood. For He created us in the beginning which was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word. By Him we were created. The connected discourse adds: All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made. This is that by which we were created. But by what we were redeemed, hear: That which was made, he says, in Him was life, and the life was the light of men; and the light shines in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. Thus far it is God: thus far that is spoken of which abides ever unchangeable; thus far that is spoken of for the seeing of which hearts must be cleansed: but whence they may be cleansed, he does not yet say. The light, he says, shines in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. But so that they may not be darkness, and may be able to comprehend it (for sinners are darkness, unbelievers are darkness), so then that they may not be darkness, and may be able to comprehend, the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. See the Word, see the Word flesh, the Word before flesh.
Editors' notes and page, col. 1501

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: Non tamen› · call in col 1501

Sirmondus, non tantum. Aptius Florus, non tamen.

Sirmond [reads] "non tantum". Florus, more fittingly, "non tamen".

(*) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1501 Recensitus primum ad fl. v. et ad Sirm.; et deinde, post editionem, castigatus ad cl.

Revised first against fl. v. and against Sirmond; and afterwards, after the edition, corrected against cl.

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(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1501

Vide Retract. lib. 2, cap. 58.

See Retractations, book 2, chapter 58.

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(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1501

Alias, inter Sirmondianos 8.

Formerly no. 8 among Sirmond's [sermons].

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(c) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1501

Citat Florus ad Rom. XI, ad I Cor. XI, et ad Hebr. IX.

Florus cites it on Romans 11, on 1 Corinthians 11, and on Hebrews 9.

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  • running head: 1501 SERMO CCCXLII.
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PL 39:1502
In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum. et Deus erat Verbum: omnia per ipsum facta sunt. Ubi hic sanguis? Ecce jam auctor tuus, sed nondum est pretium tuum. Unde ergo redemptus? Quia Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God: all things were made through Him. Where is the blood here? Behold, already [He is] your author, but not yet is He your price. Whence then [are you] redeemed? Because the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.
2. Joannes missus ante Christum, ut lucerna ante lumen. Paulo superius attende. Lux, inquit, lucet in tenebris, et tenebrae eam non comprehenderunt. Quia ergo tenebrae lumen non comprehenderunt, opus erat hominibus humano testimonio. Diem videre non poterant, lucernam forte poterant tolerare. Quia ergo ad videndum diem minus idonei erant, lucernam tamen utcumque tolerabant; Fuit homo missus a Deo, cui nomen erat Joannes. Hic venit, ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine. Quis, de quo hic venit, ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine? Quomodo non erat ille lumen, si vel lucerna erat? Primo vide quia lucerna erat. Audire vis lucernam de die, et diem de lucerna? Vos, inquit, misistis ad Joannem, et voluistis ad horam exsultare in lumine ejus: ille erat lucerna ardens et lucens (Joan. V, 33 et 35). Joannes ergo iste quid videbat, qui lucernam contemnebat? Non erat ille lumen, sed ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine. De quo lumine? Erat lumen verum, quod illuminat omnem hominem venientem in hunc mundum. Si omnem hominem, ergo et Joannem. Qui nondum se volebat ostendere diem, ipse sibi suam accenderat testem lucernam. Sed talis erat lucerna, quae de die posset accendi. Audi ipsum Joannem confitentem: Nos, inquit, omnes de plenitudine ejus accepimus. Christus putabatur, hominem se esse fatebatur. Dominus putabatur, servum se esse confitebatur. Bene agnoscis, lucerna, humilitatem tuam, ne te superbiae ventus exstinguat. Erat enim lumen verum, quod illuminat omnem hominem venientem in hunc mundum: id est omne animal, quod est illuminationis capax, hoc est omnem hominem habentem mentem atque rationem, qua possit esse particeps Verbi.
2. John was sent before Christ, as a lamp before the light. Attend to what is a little above. The light, he says, shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. Since therefore the darkness did not comprehend the light, men had need of human testimony. They could not look upon the day; a lamp they could perhaps bear. Since therefore they were less fit for seeing the day, yet they somehow bore a lamp: There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came, that he might bear witness of the light. Who, and of whom did he come here to bear witness of the light? How was he not the light, if he was at least a lamp? First see that he was a lamp. Do you wish to hear of the lamp from the day, and of the day from the lamp? You, He says, sent to John, and you were willing for an hour to exult in his light: he was a lamp burning and shining (John 5:33, 35). What then did this John see, who held the lamp in contempt? He was not the light, but [came] that he might bear witness of the light. Of what light? That was the true light, which enlightens every man coming into this world. If every man, then John also. He Who did not yet wish to show Himself as the day had Himself lit for Himself His own lamp as witness. But such was the lamp that it could be lit from the day. Hear John himself confessing: We, he says, have all received of His fullness. He was thought to be the Christ; he declared himself to be a man. He was thought to be the Lord; he confessed himself to be a servant. Well do you acknowledge your lowliness, O lamp, lest the wind of pride extinguish you. For that was the true light, which enlightens every man coming into this world: that is, every living being which is capable of illumination, that is, every man having mind and reason, by which he may be a partaker of the Word.
3. Mundus duobus modis intelligitur. Illud ergo quod erat lumen verum, quod illuminat omnem hominem habentem mentem venientem in hunc mundum, ubi erat? In hoc mundo erat. Sed et terra in hoc mundo erat, et sol et luna in hoc mundo erant. Audi de die tuo, o mentis humanae oculus! In hoc mundo erat, et per ipsum mundus factus est. Sic erat hic, ut et antequam mundus esset, non quasi non haberet ubi esset. Deus enim habitando continet, non continetur. Ergo miro et ineffabili modo in hoc mundo erat. Et mundus per eum factus est, et mundus eum non cognovit. Quis est mundus, qui per eum
3. The world is understood in two ways. That, then, which was the true light, which enlightens every man having a mind coming into this world, where was it? It was in this world. But the earth too was in this world, and the sun and moon were in this world. Hear about your day, O eye of the human mind! He was in this world, and the world was made through Him. He was here in such a way that even before the world existed, it was not as though He had nowhere to be. For God contains by dwelling; He is not contained. Therefore in a wonderful and ineffable way He was in this world. And the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. What is the world, which through Him
Editors' notes and page, col. 1502

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: perhiberet de lumine ?› · call in col 1502

Codex cl.: Quis, de quo hic venit ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine? Quis, de quo? Joannes de Christo, lucerna de die. Quis, de quo? Joannes de Christo : ergo lucerna de die. Non injuriam Joanni facimus : sed diem nostrum si constanter intueri non possumus, saltem cum honore laudemus. Venit ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine. Non erat ille lumen, sed ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine. Quomodo non erat, etc.

The cl. manuscript [reads]: "Who is it, and of whom, that came here to bear witness to the light? Who, of whom? John, of Christ: the lamp, of the day. Who, of whom? John, of Christ: so the lamp, of the day. We do John no wrong: but if we cannot look steadily on our day, let us at least praise it with honour. He came to bear witness to the light. He was not the light, but [came] to bear witness to the light. How was he not," etc.

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(2) ‹anchor: et diem de lucerna ?› · call in col 1502

Ita legendum cum eodem codice cl. [Audire vis lucernam, lucernam de die in diem. De lucerna.]

So it is to be read with the same cl. manuscript. [Would you hear the lamp, the lamp from day to day? Of the lamp.]

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(3) ‹anchor: Qui nondum› · call in col 1502

Sic idem codex cl. non repetita voce, Joannem, quæ superest in editis. [Si omnem hominem, ergo Joannem : Joannem qui nondum.]

So the same cl. manuscript, without repeating the word "Joannem", which is superfluous in the printed editions. [If every man, then John: John who not yet.]

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  • running head: [S]ERMO CCCXLII. 1502 (initial S cut off at left edge of image)
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  • misprints kept as printed: "apud Deum. et Deus" (full stop for comma, first line of the column).
PL 39:1503
factus est? In principio fecit Deus coelum et terram (Gen. I, 1), quia omnia per ipsum facta sunt. Quis mundus eum non cognovit? Mundus et mundus, sicut domus et domus; domus in fabrica, domus in habitatoribus. In fabrica domus; quemadmodum, Magnam domum fecit, pulcherrimam domum construxit. Domus in habitatoribus; quomodo, Bona domus, benedicat eam Dominus; mala domus, parcat ei Deus. Ergo mundus per eum factus est, et habitatio et habitatores: et mundus eum non cognovit, habitatores.
was made? In the beginning God made heaven and earth (Gen. 1:1), because all things were made through Him. Which world did not know Him? World and world, just as house and house: a house in its structure, a house in its inhabitants. A house in its structure, as when [one says], He made a great house, he built a most beautiful house. A house in its inhabitants, as when [one says], A good house, may the Lord bless it; a bad house, may God spare it. Therefore the world was made through Him, both the dwelling and the dwellers: and the world did not know Him, [that is,] the dwellers.
4. Christus quomodo non receptus a suis. Judaei ob superbiam praecisi, Gentiles ob humilitatem in oliva inserti. Centurionis humilitas et fides. — In sua propria venit, et sui eum non receperunt. Ergo quare venit, quasi non praescius quod sui non essent eum recepturi? Audi propter quod venerit: Quotquot autem receperunt eum. Sui non receperunt, et sui receperunt; mundus non credidit, et mundus totus credidit. Sicut dicimus, Tota arbor plena foliis; numquid fructibus est locus ablatus? Utrumque dici, utrumque intelligi potest, et arbor foliis plena, et arbor fructibus plena: una arbor in utroque, sed foliis dispergendis, fructibus colligendis. Ergo, fideles ejus, servi ejus, dilectores ejus, quorum gloria est, quorum spes, quorum res est; quando auditis, Sui eum non receperunt, nolite dolere: quia credendo ipsius estis. Sui eum non receperunt. Qui isti sunt? Forte Judaei olim vocati ex Aegypto, liberati in manu potenti, per Rubrum mare trajecti, per siccum evadentes, hostibus insequentibus carentes, manna pasti, de servitute eruti, ad regnum perducti, tot beneficiis empti. Ecce sui, qui non receperunt: sed non recipiendo facti sunt alieni. In oliva erant, superbiendo fracti sunt. Oleaster contemptibilis, amaritudine baccarum aspernabilis, per totum mundum erat; illo totus mundus horrebat silvestri oleastro: sed tamen per humilitatem ibi meruit inseri, unde oliva superbiendo praecidi (Rom. XI, 17). Audi olivam superbientem, et frangi dignam: Nos de servitute non sumus nati, patrem habemus Abraham. Respondetur: Si filii Abrahae essetis, facta Abrahae faceretis. Contra id quod dictum est, De servitute non sumus nati: Si vos Filius liberaverit, vere liberi eritis. Liberos vos esse jactatis? Omnis qui facit peccatum, servus est peccati (Joan. VIII, 33-39). Quanto ergo tutius homo servus esses hominis, quam perversae cupiditatis? Illi tamen superbiendo humilem non receperunt. Vide oleastrum dignum inseri, Centurionem illum, non de Israeliticis, sed de Gentilibus: Domine, non sum dignus, ut sub tectum meum intres. Et Dominus:
4. How Christ was not received by His own. The Jews cut off on account of pride, the Gentiles grafted into the olive on account of humility. The humility and faith of the centurion. — He came into His own, and His own did not receive Him. Why then did He come, as though not foreknowing that His own would not receive Him? Hear for what reason He came: But as many as received Him. His own did not receive [Him], and His own received [Him]; the world did not believe, and the whole world believed. Just as we say, The whole tree is full of leaves: has the place been taken away from the fruits? Both can be said, both can be understood, both the tree full of leaves and the tree full of fruits: one tree in both cases, but with leaves to be scattered and fruits to be gathered. Therefore, His faithful, His servants, His lovers, whose glory He is, whose hope, whose possession He is: when you hear, His own did not receive Him, do not grieve, for by believing you are His. His own did not receive Him. Who are these? Perhaps the Jews, once called out of Egypt, set free by a mighty hand, brought across the Red Sea, escaping over dry ground, rid of the enemies pursuing them, fed with manna, rescued from slavery, led to a kingdom, purchased by so many benefits. Behold His own, who did not receive [Him]: but by not receiving they became strangers. They were in the olive; by being proud they were broken off. The wild olive, contemptible, despicable for the bitterness of its berries, was throughout the whole world; the whole world bristled with that woodland wild olive: but yet through humility it deserved to be grafted in there, whence the olive by being proud deserved to be cut off (Rom. 11:17). Hear the olive being proud and worthy to be broken off: We were not born of slavery, we have Abraham as father. It is answered: If you were sons of Abraham, you would do the deeds of Abraham. Against what was said, We were not born of slavery: If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. You boast that you are free? Everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin (John 8:33–39). How much more safely, then, would you, a man, be the slave of a man than of perverse desire? Yet they, by being proud, did not receive the humble One. See the wild olive worthy to be grafted in, that centurion, not of the Israelites but of the Gentiles: Lord, I am not worthy that Thou enter under my roof. And the Lord:
Editors' notes and page, col. 1503

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1503

Idem codex cl.: Audi propter quos venerit.

The same cl. manuscript: "Hear for whose sake he came."

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(2) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1503

Illud, et sui receperunt, restituitur ex eodem codice cl. [Sui non receperunt, mundus non credidit.]

The words "et sui receperunt" [and his own received] are restored from the same cl. manuscript. [His own did not receive, the world did not believe.]

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(3) ‹anchor: servi ejus› · call in col 1503

Vox, ejus, hic restituitur ex eodem codice cl. [Ergo fideles ejus, servi, dilectores ejus.]

The word "ejus" is restored here from the same cl. manuscript. [So his faithful, servants, his lovers.]

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(4) ‹anchor: baccarum aspernabilis› · call in col 1503

In eodem codice cl., amaritudine baccarum aspernabilis; ubi scripsimus, baccarum. [Amaritudine batorum aspernabilis.]

In the same cl. manuscript, "amaritudine baccarum aspernabilis" [despised for the bitterness of its berries], where we have written "baccarum". [Despised for the bitterness of its batorum.] [The first word "baccarum" is as read at this resolution; the note's contrast suggests the manuscript form differs from the editors'.]

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(5) ‹anchor: silvestri oleastro› · call in col 1503

Illud, silvestri oleastro, additur ex eodem codice cl. [Totus mundus horrebat; sed tamen.]

The words "silvestri oleastro" [with the wild olive] are added from the same cl. manuscript. [The whole world bristled; but yet.]

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(6) ‹anchor: de Gentilibus› · call in col 1503

Idem codex cl., non de Israelitis, sed de Gentibus.

The same cl. manuscript [reads] "not of the Israelites but of the Gentiles" (de Gentibus).

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  • running head: S. AUGUSTINI EPIS[COPI] (cut off at image edge); column number 1503
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PL 39:1504
Amen dico vobis, non inveni tantam fidem in Israel. In oliva non inveni quod inveni in oleastro. Ergo oliva superbiens praecidatur, oleaster humilis inseratur. Vide inserentem, vide praecidentem: Propterea dico vobis, quia multi ab oriente et occidente venient; multus veniet oleaster inserendus in oliva; et recumbent cum Abraham et Isaac et Jacob in regno caelorum. Audisti quemadmodum oleaster humilis inseratur; audi quemadmodum oliva superba praecidatur: Filii autem regni ibunt in tenebras exteriores; ibi erit fletus et stridor dentium (Matth. VIII, 8-12). Quare? Quia sui eum non receperunt. Et quare insertus oleaster? Quia quotquot eum receperunt, dedit eis potestatem filios Dei fieri.
Amen I say to you, I have not found such great faith in Israel. In the olive I did not find what I found in the wild olive. Therefore let the proud olive be cut off, let the humble wild olive be grafted in. See Him Who grafts in, see Him Who cuts off: Therefore I say to you that many will come from the east and the west; much wild olive will come to be grafted into the olive; and they will recline with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. You have heard how the humble wild olive is grafted in; hear how the proud olive is cut off: But the sons of the kingdom will go into the outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 8:8–12). Why? Because His own did not receive Him. And why was the wild olive grafted in? Because as many as received Him, He gave them power to become sons of God.
5. Potestas data ut efficiamur filii Dei. Erige cor, genus humanum, respira in aura vitae et securissimae libertatis. Quid audis? quid tibi promittitur? Dedit eis potestatem. Quam potestatem? An forte unde inflantur homines, judicandi de capitibus humanis, ferendi sententias de innocentibus et nocentibus? Potestatem, inquit, dedit eis filios Dei fieri. Jam enim erant non filii, et fiebant filii; quia ille per quem fiunt filii Dei, jam erat Filius Dei, et factus est filius hominis. Jam ergo et illi erant filii hominum, et facti sunt filii Dei. Descendit ad id quod non erat, quia aliud erat. Levavit te ad id quod non eras, quia alius eras. Erige ergo spem. Magnum est quod tibi promissum est, sed a magno promissum est. Multum et incredibile videtur, et quasi non posse aestimatur filios hominum fieri filios Dei. Sed plus pro illis factum est, quia Filius Dei factus est filius hominis. Erige ergo spem, o homo, pelle a corde infidelitatem. Incredibilius jam pro te factum est, quam quod tibi promissum est. Miraris si homo habeat vitam aeternam? miraris si homo perveniat ad vitam aeternam? mirare potius quod Deus pro te pervenit ad mortem. Quid dubitas de promisso, tanto pignore accepto? Vide ergo quomodo te confirmat, quomodo promissionem Dei roborat: Quotquot, inquit, receperunt eum, dedit eis potestatem filios Dei fieri. Qua generatione? Non illa usitata, non veteri, non transitoria vel carnali. Non ex carne, inquit, non ex sanguine, neque ex voluntate viri, sed ex Deo nati sunt. Miraris, non credis? Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis (Joan. I, 1, 2, etc.). Ecce unde factum est sacrificium vespertinum. Inhaereamus illi: nobiscum offeratur, qui pro nobis oblatus est. Sic enim vespertino sacrificio vita vetus interficitur, et diluculo nova oritur.
5. Power given that we may be made sons of God. Lift up your heart, human race, breathe in the air of life and of most secure liberty. What do you hear? what is promised to you? He gave them power. What power? Perhaps that by which men are puffed up, of judging concerning human heads, of passing sentences upon the innocent and the guilty? Power, He says, He gave them to become sons of God. For they were already not sons, and they were becoming sons; because He through Whom sons of God are made was already the Son of God, and was made son of man. So they too were already sons of men, and were made sons of God. He came down to that which He was not, because He was something else. He raised you to that which you were not, because you were someone else. Lift up therefore your hope. Great is what has been promised to you, but it has been promised by One Who is great. It seems much and incredible, and it is reckoned as though impossible that sons of men should become sons of God. But more has been done for them, in that the Son of God was made son of man. Lift up therefore your hope, O man, drive unbelief from your heart. Something more incredible has already been done for you than what has been promised to you. Do you wonder that man may have eternal life? do you wonder that man may attain to eternal life? wonder rather that God for your sake came to death. Why do you doubt about the promise, having received so great a pledge? See therefore how He strengthens you, how He confirms the promise of God: As many, He says, as received Him, He gave them power to become sons of God. By what generation? Not that customary one, not the old, not the transient or carnal one. Not of flesh, He says, not of blood, nor of the will of man, but they were born of God. Do you wonder, do you not believe? The Word was made flesh, and dwelt in us (John 1:1, 2, etc.). Behold whence the evening sacrifice was made. Let us cleave to Him: let Him be offered with us, Who was offered for us. For thus by the evening sacrifice the old life is slain, and at dawn the new arises.
Editors' notes and page, col. 1504

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1504

Idem codex cl., respira in auras vitæ et serenissimæ libertatis.

The same cl. manuscript [reads] "breathe the air of life and of most serene liberty".

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(2) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1504

Hanc adhibemus lectionem ex eodem codice cl. [Jam enim non erant filii, et fiunt filii.]

We adopt this reading from the same cl. manuscript. [For they were not yet sons, and they become sons.]

(printed under page 14)

(3) ‹anchor: alius eras› · call in col 1504

Illud. Levavit te ad id quod non eras, quia alius eras, additur ex eodem codice cl. [Quia aliud erat. Erige ergo spem.]

The words "Levavit te ad id quod non eras, quia alius eras" [He raised you to what you were not, because you were other] are added from the same cl. manuscript. [Because he was other. Lift up your hope, then.]

(printed under page 14)

(4) ‹anchor: incredibile videtur› · call in col 1504

Illud : sed a magno promissum est. Multum, additur ex eodem codice cl. [Magnum est quod tibi promissum est, et incredibile videtur.]

The words "sed a magno promissum est. Multum" [but it is promised by one who is great. Much] are added from the same cl. manuscript. [Great is what is promised you, and it seems incredible.]

(printed under page 14)

Page

  • running head: UGUSTINI EPISCOPI 1504 (left edge of head cut off in image)
  • marginal letters: (none)
  • old-edition numerals: (none)
  • other: ligature doubt raised by the check (text not changed): caelorum | coelorum