PL 39 · cols. 1522–1524

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

Sermon CCCXLVI

solemnitatem celebramus. Dominus vester, Dominus noster, Dominus illarum, Redemptor vitae nostrae, de via angusta et aspera praecedendo stratam eam vobis fecit, stratam securam, munitam, Christus Dominus noster, qui regnat in saecula saeculorum. Ame⟨n⟩.

we celebrate the solemnity. Your Lord, our Lord, their Lord, the Redeemer of our life, by going before has made it, from a narrow and rough way, a paved way for you, a paved way, safe, fortified, Christ our Lord, Who reigns for ages of ages. Amen.

SERMO CCCXLVI. De peregrinatione nostra in hac vita, per fidem.

Sermon 346. On our pilgrimage in this life, through faith.

1. Vita haec mors verius quam vita. Vera vita nonnisi aeterna. Recordamini nobiscum, dilectissimi fratres, dixisse Apostolum, Quamdiu sumus in corpore, peregrinamur a Domino; per fidem enim ambulamus, non per speciem (II Cor. V, 6, 7). Dominus enim noster Jesus Christus, qui ait, Ego sum via, et veritas et vita (Joan. XIV, 6), ambulare nos voluit et per seipsum et ad se ipsum. Qua enim ambulamus, nisi per viam? Et quo ambulamus, nisi ad veritatem et ad vitam, vitam scilicet aeternam, quae sola vita dicenda est? Nam ista vita mortalis, in qua nunc sumus, ex illius vitae comparatione mors esse convincitur; quae tanta mutabilitate variatur, et nulla stabilitate firmatur, et cursu brevissimo terminatur. Et ideo Dominus illi diviti, qui ei dixerat, Magister bone, quid faciam, ut vitam aeternam consequar? respondit, Si vis venire ad vitam, serva mandata (Matth. XIX, 16, 17). Erat utique in aliqua vita; neque enim cadaveri, et non viventi homini loquebatur. Sed quia ille de consequenda vita aeterna quaesiverat, non ait Dominus, Si vis venire ad vitam aeternam; sed, Si vis, inquit, venire ad vitam, serva mandata: videlicet hoc intelligi volens, quoniam quae vita aeterna non est, nec vita dicenda est; quia vera vita nonnisi aeterna est. Hinc et Apostolus, cum eleemosynarum consilium dandum divitibus admoneret, Divites sint, inquit, in operibus bonis, facile tribuant, communicent, thesaurizent sibi fundamentum bonum in futurum, ut apprehendant veram vitam (I Tim. VI, 18, 19). Quam dixit veram vitam, nisi aeternam vitam, quae sola vita dicenda est, quia sola beata est? Nam utique illi divites, quibus praecipiendum esse dicebat ut apprehenderent veram vitam, in abundantia divitiarum habebant istam vitam: quam tamen Apostolus si veram vitam esse judicaret, non diceret, Thesaurizent sibi fundamentum bonum in futurum, ut apprehendant veram vitam: nihil aliud admonens, nisi non esse veram vitam divitum; vitam, quae ab stultis non solum vera, sed etiam beata nominatur. Quomodo autem beata est, quae vera non est? Non ergo beata vita est, nisi vera vita; nec vera vita est, nisi aeterna vita, quam divites intelliguntur per quaslibet

1. This life is more truly death than life. True life is none but the eternal. Remember with us, dearly beloved brothers, that the Apostle said, As long as we are in the body, we are on pilgrimage away from the Lord; for we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:6–7). For our Lord Jesus Christ, Who said, I am the way, and the truth and the life (John 14:6), willed that we should walk both through Himself and to Himself. For by what do we walk, if not by the way? And whither do we walk, if not to the truth and to the life, that is, to eternal life, which alone is to be called life? For this mortal life, in which we now are, is proved by comparison with that life to be death; for it is varied by so great a changeableness, and made firm by no stability, and ended in a very brief course. And therefore the Lord answered that rich man who had said to Him, Good Master, what shall I do to obtain eternal life? If you wish to come to life, keep the commandments (Matt. 19:16–17). He was certainly in some kind of life; for He was not speaking to a corpse and a man not living. But because he had asked about obtaining eternal life, the Lord did not say, If you wish to come to eternal life; but, If you wish, He said, to come to life, keep the commandments: wishing, that is, this to be understood, that the life which is not eternal is not even to be called life; because true life is none but the eternal. Hence also the Apostle, when he was urging that the counsel of almsgiving be given to the rich, says, Let them be rich in good works, let them give readily, let them share, let them lay up for themselves a good foundation for the future, that they may lay hold of the true life (1 Tim. 6:18–19). What did he call the true life, if not eternal life, which alone is to be called life, because it alone is blessed? For certainly those rich men, to whom he said it must be enjoined that they lay hold of the true life, had this life in an abundance of riches: yet if the Apostle judged this to be true life, he would not say, Let them lay up for themselves a good foundation for the future, that they may lay hold of the true life: urging nothing else than that the life of the rich is not true life; a life which by fools is named not only true but also blessed. But how is that blessed which is not true? Therefore there is no blessed life unless it is true life; nor is there true life unless it is eternal life, which the rich are understood, through any

Editors' notes and page, col. 1522

Footnotes

(a) ‹anchor: SERMO CCCXLVI› · call in col 1522

Prodit nunc primum ex vetere Ms. Michaelino, quo in libro cum duobus hic subsequentibus proxime est collocatus, sub eodem titulo, « De timore Domini. » Nobis tamen videtur ad eum potius pertinere tractatum, qui in Possidii Indiculo, cap. 8, recensetur, « De peregrinatione Christianorum, « quæ in hac vita est. »

It appears now for the first time, from the old manuscript of Saint-Michel, in which book it is placed right next to the two that follow here, under the same title, "On the fear of the Lord". To us, however, it seems rather to belong to the treatise listed in Possidius's Indiculus, chapter 8, "On the pilgrimage of Christians which is in this life".

(printed under page 23)

(b) ‹anchor: vera vita nonnisi æterna est› · call in col 1522

Vide serm. 306, nn. 6, 7.

See Sermon 306, nos. 6 and 7.

(printed under page 23)

Page

running head: SERMO CCCXLVI. (column number 1522, damaged print)
marginal letters: (none)
old-edition numerals: (none)
other: UNSURE — the call after "nonnisi æterna est" appears at this resolution to read (c), while the only remaining foot note under this column is lettered (b); taken as the same note. The lines "Majore condita Carthagine … ad Serm. 280." printed at the head of this column's foot are the continuation of col 1521's note (b), set in n1521.

PL 39:1523

delicias nondum tenere; et ideo per eleemosynas admonentur apprehendere: ut in fine audiant, Venite, benedicti Patris mei, percipite regnum quod vobis paratum est ab initio mundi: esurivi enim, et dedistis mihi manducare. Nam quia ipsum regnum aeterna vita est, paulo post consequenter idem Dominus ostendit dic⟨e⟩ns: Ibunt illi in combustionem aeternam, justi autem in vitam aeternam (Matth. XXV, 34, 35, 46).

delights whatever, not yet to hold; and therefore through almsgiving they are admonished to lay hold of it: so that at the end they may hear, Come, blessed of My Father, receive the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the beginning of the world: for I was hungry, and you gave Me to eat. For because that kingdom itself is eternal life, a little later the same Lord shows it accordingly, saying: These shall go into eternal burning, but the just into eternal life (Matt. 25:34, 35, 46).

2. Peregrinatio per fidem in hac vita. Hanc vitam donec apprehendamus, peregrinamur a Domino; quoniam per fidem ambulamus, non per speciem. Ille quippe ait, Ego sum via, veritas et vita. In fide nobis via est, in specie autem veritas et vita. Videmus nunc per speculum in aenigmate, et haec est fides: tunc autem facie ad faciem (I Cor. XIII, 12), et illa erit species. Item dicit, In interiore homine habitare Christum per fidem in cordibus vestris: haec via est, ubi ex parte scimus. Sed paulo post dicit, cognoscere etiam supereminentem scientiam charitatis Christi, ut impleamini in omnem plenitudinem Dei (Ephes. III, 16, 17, 19): illa erit species, quando in ista plenitudine, cum venerit quod perfectum est, quod ex parte est auferetur (I Cor. XIII, 10). Item dicit, Mortui enim estis, et vita vestra abscondita est cum Christo in Deo: haec est fides. Deinde subjungit, Cum Christus apparuerit vita vestra, tunc et vos cum illo apparebitis in gloria (Coloss. III, 3, 4): illa erit species. Dicit et Joannes, Dilectissimi, nunc jam filii Dei sumus, et nondum apparuit quod erimus: haec est fides. Deinde subnectit, Scimus quia cum apparuerit, similes ei erimus, quoniam videbimus eum sicuti est (I Joan. III, 2): illa erit species. Quocirca ipse Dominus, qui ait, Ego sum via et veritas et vita, cum loqueretur ad Judaeos, inter quos erant qui jam in eum crediderant, ad ipsos jam sermones suos dirigens, Si manseritis, inquit, in verbo meo, vere discipuli mei eritis; et cognoscetis veritatem, et veritas liberabit vos. Jam isti crediderant: nam Evangelista sic ait, Dicebat autem Jesus ad eos qui crediderant in eum: Si manseritis in verbo meo, vere discipuli mei eritis; et cognoscetis veritatem, et veritas liberabit vos (Joan. VIII, 31, 32). Jam ergo crediderant, et tanquam in via in Christo ambulare jam coeperant. Hortatur itaque illos ut permanendo perveniant. Quo perveniant, nisi ad id quod ait, Veritas liberabit vos? Quae est illa liberatio, nisi ab omni mutabilitate vanitatis, ab omni corruptione mortalitatis? Ergo ipsa est vita vera, aeterna vita, quam nondum apprehendimus, quamdiu peregrinamur a Domino: sed apprehensuri sumus, quia in ipso Domino per fidem ambulamus, si in ejus verbo constantissime permanemus. Nam secundum id quod ait, Ego sum via; secundum hoc ait, Si manseritis in verbo meo, vere discipuli mei eritis. Et secundum id quod ait, et veritas et vita; secundum hoc ait, et cognoscetis veritatem, et veritas liberabit vos. In hac ergo peregrinatione et in hac via, id est in fide, quid vos exhortor, fratres, nisi verbis Apostoli dicentis, Has ergo promissiones habentes, charissimi, mundemus nos ab omni inquinatione carnis et spiritus, perficientes sanctificationem in timore Domini (II Cor. VII, 1)? Qui

2. Pilgrimage through faith in this life. Until we lay hold of this life, we are on pilgrimage away from the Lord; for we walk by faith, not by sight. For He says, I am the way, the truth and the life. In faith the way is ours, but in sight the truth and the life. We see now through a mirror in an enigma, and this is faith: but then face to face (1 Cor. 13:12), and that will be sight. Again he says, That Christ may dwell in the inner man through faith in your hearts: this is the way, where we know in part. But a little later he says, to know also the surpassing knowledge of the charity of Christ, that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God (Eph. 3:16, 17, 19): that will be sight, when in that fullness, when that which is perfect has come, that which is in part shall be taken away (1 Cor. 13:10). Again he says, For you are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God: this is faith. Then he adds, When Christ, your life, shall appear, then you also shall appear with Him in glory (Col. 3:3, 4): that will be sight. John too says, Most beloved, now we are already sons of God, and it has not yet appeared what we shall be: this is faith. Then he joins on, We know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2): that will be sight. Wherefore the Lord Himself, Who says, I am the way and the truth and the life, when He was speaking to the Jews, among whom were some who had already believed in Him, directing His words now to these very ones, If you abide, He says, in My word, you will truly be My disciples; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. These had already believed: for the Evangelist says thus, Now Jesus said to those who had believed in Him: If you abide in My word, you will truly be My disciples; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free (John 8:31, 32). So they had already believed, and had already begun to walk in Christ as on a way. He exhorts them therefore that by persevering they may arrive. Where may they arrive, if not at that which He says, The truth shall set you free? What is that liberation, if not from all the changeableness of vanity, from all the corruption of mortality? Therefore that itself is the true life, eternal life, which we have not yet laid hold of, so long as we are on pilgrimage away from the Lord: but we are going to lay hold of it, because we walk in the Lord Himself by faith, if we abide most constantly in His word. For in accordance with what He says, I am the way, in accordance with this He says, If you abide in My word, you will truly be My disciples. And in accordance with what He says, and the truth and the life, in accordance with this He says, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free. In this pilgrimage, then, and on this way, that is, in faith, to what do I exhort you, brethren, if not in the words of the Apostle who says, Having therefore these promises, most dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting sanctification in the fear of the Lord (2 Cor. 7:1)? Those who

Editors' notes and page, col. 1523

Page

running head: 1523 S. AUGUSTINI EPIS[...] (cut off at image edge)
marginal letters: (none)
old-edition numerals: (none)

PL 39:1524

enim lucem illam sincerissimae atque incommutabilis veritatis, antequam credant, sibi expetunt ministrari, cum eam contueri non possint nisi per fidem corde mundato; Beati enim mundo corde, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt (Matth. V, 8): similes sunt hominibus caecis, qui corpoream lucem solis istius prius videre desiderant, ut a caecitate sanentur; cum eam videre non possint, nisi ante sanentur.

indeed demand that that light of the most pure and unchangeable truth be supplied to them before they believe, although they cannot behold it except with a heart cleansed by faith; for Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God (Matt. 5:8): are like blind men who wish first to see the bodily light of this sun in order to be healed of their blindness, when they cannot see it unless they are first healed.

Editors' notes and page, col. 1524

Footnotes

(none: the three foot notes printed under page 24, *, (a) and (b), are all called in the title lines of SERMO CCCXLVII, which begins a later unit; Sermon 346's lines in this column carry no call. Removed by QA Q1 under the boundary rule.)