PL 39 · cols. 1650–1654

Augustine, Sermones 364-375 (Classis V, Sermones dubii)

Sermons CCCLXVII–CCCLXVIII

non potestis bibere calicem Domini, et calicem daemoniorum (I Cor. X, 20 et 21).

you cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons (1 Cor. 10:20–21).

7. Gratia praeveniens et subsequens. Cum vos ergo divina gratia, ad quam properatis, advexerit, cognoscetis mensam spiritualis convivii, ut agnita veritate unusquisque vestrum exsultans, et gratias agens Deo, jam competenter et fiducialiter dicat, Et misericordia tua subsequetur me omnibus diebus vitae meae. Magnum te gloriae solatium comitatur. Propter miseriam videlicet infirmitatis tuae, misericordia te Dei subsequitur. Sed prius ut iter tibi vitae aeternae demonstret, praevenit te, id est, antecedit te, secundum quod dicit in alio psalmo, Deus meus, misericordia ejus praeveniet me (Psal. LVIII, 11). Praevenit ergo te misericordia ejus, id est, in viam te ducit ignorantem viam, ad Deum te vocat longe factum a Deo; servum peccati attrahit, ut liberum faciat, ut ambulando in via omnibus diebus vitae tuae non erres. Subsequitur etiam te, custodiens terga tua, ne insidians calcaneo tuo serpens diabolus cum quo tibi sunt inimicitiae, supplantet te. Latro namque aut occurrendo occidit, aut exsurgendo post tergum. Ob hoc te praecedit et subsequitur misericordia Dei, ut medius tutus ambules et securus omnibus diebus vitae tuae. Habe ergo spem et gloriam, non in te, sed in praecedente et subsequente misericordia Dei: qua praeventus es peccator, ut salveris; non inventus es justus, ut placuisse glorieris.

7. Prevenient and subsequent grace. When, therefore, the divine grace towards which you are hastening has brought you there, you will come to know the table of the spiritual banquet, so that, the truth having been recognized, each one of you, exulting and giving thanks to God, may now fittingly and confidently say, And Thy mercy will follow me all the days of my life. A great consolation of glory accompanies you. Because, namely, of the misery of your weakness, the mercy of God follows you. But first, in order to show you the way of eternal life, it goes before you, that is, it precedes you, according to what he says in another psalm, My God, His mercy will go before me (Ps. 58:11). His mercy therefore goes before you, that is, it leads you onto the way when you do not know the way, it calls you to God when you have become far from God; it draws the slave of sin, in order to make him free, so that, walking on the way all the days of your life, you may not go astray. It also follows you, guarding your back, lest the serpent, the devil, lying in wait for your heel, with whom you are at enmity, should trip you up. For a robber kills either by coming to meet [you] or by rising up behind your back. For this reason the mercy of God goes before you and follows you, so that you may walk safe in the middle and secure all the days of your life. Have, therefore, hope and glory, not in yourself, but in the mercy of God which goes before and follows: by which you were anticipated as a sinner, so that you might be saved; you were not found righteous, so that you might boast of having pleased.

8. Gratiae et christianae professionis quis finis. Vide autem quo te perducit, si non deserueris deducentem. Non in agrum miseriae saecularis, ut inter spinas et tribulos panem in labore et sudore conquir⟨a⟩s; non ad marina discrimina, ut mercimonii causa ligno fragili incerta lucra secteris, ubi intentione quaestus multi merserunt. Ad domum Dei te ducit, non ut hospitem ad tempus, ut migres ex ea; sed habitatorem, ut permaneas in ea. Sequitur enim, Et ut inhabitem in domo Domini in longitudine dierum. Domus haec Domini, paradisus est. Longitudo dierum, vita aeterna est. Non illic esuries, non sities, nec laborabis aestu solis et lunae, frigus et tempestates hiemis non senties. Tristitia et moeror in ea non sunt. Consortio semper sanctorum beatus eris. Gaudebis cum eis, et exsultabis, vivendo et laudando in saecula saeculorum Deum. Dicit enim in alio psalmo, Beati qui habitant in domo tua; in saecula saeculorum laudabunt te (Psal. LXXXIII, 5). Haec est spes fidei vestrae, dilectissimi. Accessistis ad Dominum credere; festinate et operam date apprehendere per bonam conversationem quod credidistis. Non enim propter praesentem vitam efficimini christiani, sed propter futuram vitam, quam vobis credentibus et in se perseverantibus Dominus Christus ipse largitur: qui vivit et regnat cum Deo Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti, in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

8. What the end of grace and of the Christian profession is. But see where it leads you, if you do not abandon the One who leads you. Not into the field of worldly misery, so that among thorns and thistles you may seek bread in toil and sweat; not to the perils of the sea, so that for the sake of trade you may pursue uncertain gains on fragile timber, where many have sunk through their intent on profit. It leads you to the house of God, not as a guest for a time, so that you should move out of it, but as an inhabitant, so that you may remain in it. For there follows, And that I may dwell in the house of the Lord for length of days. This house of the Lord is paradise. Length of days is eternal life. There you will not hunger, you will not thirst, nor will you toil in the heat of sun and moon; you will not feel the cold and the storms of winter. Sadness and grief are not in it. In the fellowship of the saints you will be blessed for ever. You will rejoice with them and exult, living and praising God for ever and ever. For he says in another psalm, Blessed are they who dwell in Thy house; for ever and ever they will praise Thee (Ps. 83:5). This is the hope of your faith, most beloved. You have come to the Lord to believe; hasten and take pains to lay hold, through good conduct, of what you have believed. For you are not made Christians for the sake of the present life, but for the sake of the future life, which the Lord Christ Himself bestows on you who believe and persevere in Him: Who lives and reigns with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.

SERMO CCCLXVII. De verbis Evangelii Lucae, cap. XVI, 19-31; ubi de divite et Lazaro.

Sermon 367. On the words of the Gospel of Luke, chapter 16:19-31; where [it treats] of the rich man and Lazarus.

CAPUT PRIMUM. — 1. Divitis cum Lazaro paupere comparatio. Avaritia inexplebilis. Advertit Sanctitas vestra, fratres charissimi, et mecum, ut arbitror, tota mentis intentione perspexit opulentiam divitis, et indigentiam mendicantis; unum cibis aestuantem, et alium fame deficientem. Ambo quidem homines, ambo carnales, ambo mortales: sed non ambo aequales. Natura

Chapter I. — 1. Comparison of the rich man with Lazarus the poor man. Insatiable avarice. Your Holiness has noticed, dearest brothers, and, as I suppose, has together with me observed with the whole attention of the mind the opulence of the rich man and the neediness of the beggar: the one heaving with food, and the other fainting with hunger. Both indeed men, both of flesh, both mortal: but not both equal. Nature

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Footnotes

(a) Forte, et.

Perhaps "and".

(*) ‹anchor: SERMO CCCLXVII› · call in col 1650 * Collatus ad duos bn. et quatuor cl. ad cb. f. fs. g. lr. m. pr. rm. vd. et ad Am. Er. Par. Lov.

Collated against the two bn. and the four cl. manuscripts, against cb., f., fs., g., lr., m., pr., rm., vd., and against the Amerbach, Erasmus, Paris and Louvain editions.

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(a) ‹anchor: SERMO CCCLXVII› · call in col 1650

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una, sed vita non una. Nullus eorum a conditione mortis immunis: et tamen unus epulatur splendide, et alter in pannis et in aerumna sordescit. Ille delicatis escis adinventione coquorum gaudebat: iste, si caderent micae de mensa ejus, exspectabat. Audiant nunc divites, qui nolunt esse misericordes; audiant quia una omnes nascimur lege, una vivimus luce, unum spiramus aerem, una quoque exstinguimur morte: quae si non intercederet, nec pauper ipse duraret. Hic ulcerosus et nudus jacens Lazarus, ad Abrahae sinum Angelorum portatur manibus. Ecce dives refectus et splendidus tartareo carcere clauditur. Ubi est vestis illa byssina? ubi vita abundans et affluens copiis multis? Nonne morte omnia transeunt tanquam umbra? Nihil intulimus in hunc mundum, dicit Apostolus, sed nec quidquam auferre possumus (I Tim. VI, 7). Nihil nobiscum tollimus aut rapimus. Quid si aliquid tolleremus, nonne vivos homines voraremus? Quae est ista aviditas concupiscentiae, cum ipsae belluae habeant modum? Tunc enim rapiunt, quando esuriunt: parcunt vero praedae, cum senserint satietatem. Inexplebilis est sola avaritia divitum. Semper rapit, et nunquam satiatur: nec Deum timet, nec hominem reveretur: nec patri parcit, nec matrem agnoscit: nec fratri obtemperat, nec amico fidem servat: viduam opprimit, pupilli rem invadit: libertos in servitium revocat, testamentum falsum profert. Res mortui occupantur; quasi non et ipsi qui hoc faciunt moriantur. Quae est ergo ista animarum insania, amittere vitam, appetere mortem? acquirere aurum, et perdere coelum? Sed quia nemo cogitat Deum, ideo manet in morte judicium.

one, but life not one. Neither of them is exempt from the condition of death: and yet the one feasts splendidly, and the other grows squalid in rags and in misery. The former delighted in delicate foods of the cooks' devising: the latter waited in case crumbs should fall from his table. Let the rich now hear, who are unwilling to be merciful; let them hear that we are all born by one law, live by one light, breathe one air, and are likewise extinguished by one death: and if this did not intervene, not even the poor man himself would endure. Here Lazarus, lying ulcerous and naked, is carried by the hands of angels to Abraham's bosom. Behold, the rich man, well fed and splendid, is shut up in the prison of Tartarus. Where is that garment of fine linen? where is the life abounding and overflowing with many riches? Do not all things pass away at death like a shadow? We brought nothing into this world, says the Apostle, but neither can we carry anything away (1 Tim. 6:7). We take or carry off nothing with us. If we could take anything away, would we not devour living men? What is this greed of covetousness, when even the beasts have a limit? For they seize when they are hungry, but they spare their prey once they have felt satiety. The avarice of the rich alone is insatiable. It is always seizing, and is never satisfied: it neither fears God nor reveres man; it neither spares a father nor acknowledges a mother; it neither obeys a brother nor keeps faith with a friend; it oppresses the widow, invades the property of the orphan, calls freedmen back into servitude, produces a forged will. The goods of the dead are seized; as if those who do this were not themselves going to die too. What, then, is this madness of souls, to lose life and to seek death? to acquire gold, and to lose heaven? But because no one thinks of God, judgement therefore awaits in death.

CAPUT II. — 2. Dives cur damnatus. Merito dictum est diviti, Quia recepisti bona in vita tua, et Lazarus similiter mala; nunc autem hic consolatur, tu vero cruciaris. Audiant ista divites, qui nolunt esse misericordes. Audiant irrogari supplicia eis qui nolunt erogare subsidia. Audiant pauperem refrigerantem, audiant divitem poenis gravioribus aestuantem. Pater Abraham, inquit, mitte Lazarum, ut intingat extremum digiti sui in aquam, et refrigeret linguam meam; quia crucior in hac flamma. At ille: Memento, inquit, fili, quia recepisti bona in vita tua, et Lazarus similiter mala. Pensantur pro divitiis poenae, refrigerium pro paupertate, pro purpura flamma, refectio pro nuditate, ut salva sit aequitas staterae, et non mentiatur modus illius mensurae: In qua, inquit, mensi fueritis mensura, ita remetietur vobis (Matth. VII, 2). Ideo negatur in poenis misericordia diviti, quia ipse dum viveret, noluit misereri. Ideo rogans dives non exauditur in tormentis; quia rogantem pauperem non exaudivit in terris.

Chapter II. — 2. Why the rich man was condemned. Rightly was it said to the rich man, Because you received good things in your life, and Lazarus likewise evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are tormented. Let the rich hear these things, who are unwilling to be merciful. Let them hear that punishments are inflicted on those who are unwilling to bestow help. Let them hear of the poor man being refreshed, let them hear of the rich man burning in heavier pains. Father Abraham, he says, send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But the other says: Remember, son, that you received good things in your life, and Lazarus likewise evil things. Punishments are weighed out in return for riches, refreshment in return for poverty, flame in return for purple, restoration in return for nakedness, so that the fairness of the balance may be kept intact, and the measure of that scale may not lie: With what measure, He says, you have measured, so shall it be measured back to you (Matt. 7:2). Therefore mercy is denied to the rich man in his punishments, because he himself, while he lived, was unwilling to show mercy. Therefore the rich man, when he asks, is not heard in his torments; because he did not hear the poor man asking on earth.

CAPUT III. — 3. Ad eleemosynam exhortatur. Dives et pauper duo sibi sunt contraria: sed iterum duo sibi sunt necessaria. Nullus indigeret, si se invicem supportarent; et nemo laboraret, si se ambo juvarent. Dives propter pauperem factus est, et pauper propter divitem factus est. Pauperis est orare, et divitis erogare; Dei est pro parvis magna pensare. De

Chapter III. — 3. He exhorts to almsgiving. The rich man and the poor man are two things contrary to each other: but again they are two things necessary to each other. No one would be in need, if they supported one another; and no one would toil, if both helped each other. The rich man was made for the sake of the poor man, and the poor man was made for the sake of the rich man. It belongs to the poor man to pray, and to the rich man to bestow; it belongs to God to repay great things for small. From

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Footnotes

(a) Alias, 37 inter Homilias 50.

Formerly, no. 37 among the Fifty Homilies.

(printed under page 88) (b) Sine Augustini nomine tanquam dubius a Lovaniensibus editus est, a Verlino autem et Vindingo rejectus ut spurius. Quae isti ambo reprehendunt in illis ante caput tertium verbis, « Videtis certe modo, si cujus vita, » etc., ubi locum Augustini ex sermone 161, cap. 4, exscriptum aut imitatione infeliciter expressum conqueruntur, ea forte interpolatoris alicujus manu immissa hic fuerunt. Sermo, nostra opinione, dignus est Augustino, ipsique facile convenit titulus a Possidio notatus in Indiculo, cap. 8: « De Apostolo, Nemo unquam carnem suam odio habuit: et ex Evangelio, Qui amat animam, » etc. In antiquis lectionariis adscribitur « Natali SS. Fabiani et Sebastiani martyrum. »

It was published by the Louvain editors without Augustine's name, as doubtful, and rejected as spurious by Verlin and Vindingus. What those two find fault with in the words before chapter 3, "You surely see now, if anyone's life," etc., where they complain that a passage of Augustine from Sermon 161, ch. 4, has been copied out or clumsily rendered by imitation, was perhaps inserted here by the hand of some interpolator. The sermon, in our opinion, is worthy of Augustine, and the title noted by Possidius in his Indiculus, ch. 8, fits it easily: "On the Apostle, No one ever hated his own flesh; and from the Gospel, He who loves his soul," etc. In ancient lectionaries it is assigned to "the feast of Saints Fabian and Sebastian, martyrs."

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misericordia ejus parva, magna nascitur copia. Fecundus est ager pauperum, cito reddit dominantibus fructum. Via coeli est pauper, per quam venitur ad Patrem. Incipe ergo erogare, si non vis errare. Patrimonii tui, quo es ligatus, compedem in hac vita resolve; ut libere ad coelum possis accedere: abjice abs te divitiarum onera, abjice vincula voluntaria, abjice anxietates et taedia, quae te pluribus in annis inquietant. Da petenti, ut possis ipse accipere: tribue pauperi, si non vis flammis exuri. Da in terra Christo, quod tibi reddat in coelo. Obliviscere quod es, et attende quod futurus es. Praesens vita fragilis est, et in mortem proclivis. Nemo potest stare: sed omnes cogimur transire. Nolentes imus, inviti eximus, quia mali sumus. Si autem ante nos aliquid mitteremus, non ad inane hospitium veniremus. Quod enim pauperi damus, ante nos praemittimus: quod autem rapimus, hic totum dimittimus.

his small mercy, great abundance is born. Fruitful is the field of the poor; it quickly returns fruit to its owners. The poor man is the way of heaven, by which one comes to the Father. Begin, then, to give out, if you do not wish to go astray. Loosen in this life the fetter of your patrimony, by which you are bound, so that you may be able to approach heaven freely: cast from you the burdens of riches, cast off the voluntary chains, cast off the anxieties and wearinesses which disquiet you through many years. Give to him who asks, so that you yourself may be able to receive: bestow on the poor man, if you do not wish to be burned up by flames. Give to Christ on earth what He may return to you in heaven. Forget what you are, and attend to what you are going to be. The present life is fragile, and prone to death. No one can stand still: but we are all compelled to pass on. Unwilling we go, reluctant we depart, because we are wicked. But if we were to send something ahead of us, we would not come to an empty lodging. For what we give to the poor man we send ahead of us: but what we seize, we leave here entirely.

SERMO CCCLXVIII. De verbis Evangelii Joannis, cap. XII, 25, Qui amat animam suam, perdet illam: et de verbis Apostoli, ad Ephesios, cap. V, 29, Nemo unquam carnem suam odio habuit.

Sermon 368. On the words of the Gospel of John (John 12:25), Whoever loves his soul will lose it: and on the words of the Apostle to the Ephesians (Eph. 5:29), No one ever held his own flesh in hatred.

CAPUT PRIMUM. — 1. Animam si quis amat, quomodo perdet. Modo, fratres, cum divina lectio legeretur, audivimus Dominum dicentem, Qui amat animam suam, perdet illam. Huic sententiae quasi contrarium videtur esse quod ait Apostolus, Nemo unquam carnem suam odio habuit. Si ergo nemo est qui carnem suam oderit, quanto magis nemo est qui oderit animam suam? Multum quippe anima carni praeponitur: quia ipsa est habitatrix, caro habitaculum; et anima dominatur, caro autem servit; anima superior est, caro subjecta est. Si ergo nemo unquam carnem suam odio habuit, quis est qui animam suam oderit? Propter hoc non parvam quaestionem nobis intulit praesens evangelica lectio, ubi audivimus, Qui amat animam suam, perdet illam. Periculosum est animam amare, ne pereat. Sed si propterea periculosum est ut ames animam tuam, ne pereat anima tua, ideo non debes illam amare, quia non vis illam perire. Si autem non vis illam perire, amas illam. Quid est hoc? Si amo, perdo. Ergo non amem, ne perdam. Sed quia timeo perdere, ideo non amo; et utique quod timeo ne perdam, amo. Dicit et alibi Dominus: Quid prodest homini si totum mundum lucretur, animae vero suae detrimentum patiatur (Matth. XVI, 26)? Ecce quia sic est

Chapter I. — 1. If anyone loves his soul, how he will lose it. Just now, brethren, while the divine reading was being read, we heard the Lord saying, Whoever loves his soul will lose it. To this saying what the Apostle says seems to be as it were contrary, No one ever held his own flesh in hatred. If, then, there is no one who hates his own flesh, how much more is there no one who hates his own soul? For the soul is set far above the flesh: because it is the inhabitant, the flesh the dwelling; and the soul rules, while the flesh serves; the soul is superior, the flesh is subject. If, then, no one ever held his own flesh in hatred, who is there who hates his own soul? For this reason the present gospel reading has brought before us no small question, where we heard, Whoever loves his soul will lose it. It is dangerous to love the soul, lest it perish. But if it is dangerous for you to love your soul for this reason, lest your soul perish, then you ought not to love it, because you do not want it to perish. But if you do not want it to perish, you love it. What is this? If I love, I lose. Then let me not love, lest I lose. But because I fear to lose, therefore I do not love; and yet what I fear to lose, I certainly love. The Lord also says elsewhere: What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but suffers the loss of his soul (Matt. 16:26)? Behold, because so is

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Footnotes

(*) ‹anchor: not visible (heading of the sermon)› · call in col 1652 * Collatus ad duos cl. ad gr. rm. v. et ad Am. Er. Par. Lov.

Collated against the two cl. manuscripts, against gr., rm., v., and against the Amerbach, Erasmus, Paris and Louvain editions.

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(a) ‹anchor: not visible (heading of the sermon)› · call in col 1652

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(b) ‹anchor: suam odio habuit› · call in col 1652

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amanda anima, ut lucro totius mundi praeferatur; et tamen observet qui animam amat, quia si amat, perdet illam. Non vis perdere eam, noli illam amare. Sed si non vis eam perdere, non potes eam non amare.

the soul to be loved that it is preferred to the gain of the whole world; and yet let him who loves his soul take heed, because if he loves it, he will lose it. You do not want to lose it? Do not love it. But if you do not want to lose it, you cannot not love it.

CAPUT II. — 2. Amor quidam perversus et quoddam rectum odium animae. Sunt ergo qui perverse animam suam amant: et hoc vult Dei sermo corrigere, non ut oderint animam suam, sed ut recte diligant. Male enim diligendo perdunt eam, et fit quiddam magnum quasi praeposterum et contrarium: sed ita tamen fit, ut si diligas eam perverse, perdas illam; si oderis illam recte, conserves illam. Est ergo quidam perversus amor ejus, et quoddam rectum odium ejus. Sed amor perversus ab odio, odium rectum ab am⟨o⟩re ejus. Quis est perversus animae amor? Quando diligis animam tuam in iniquitatibus. Audi quia ab odio venit amor iste perversus: Qui autem diligit iniquitatem, odit animam suam (Psal. X, 6). Odium autem rectum vide, quia ab amore venit. Ibidem Dominus secutus ait: Qui autem odit animam suam in hoc saeculo, in vitam aeternam inveniet eam. Utique quod vis invenire in vitam aeternam, multum amas. Quod enim amas ad tempus, quid prodest? Aut subduceris illi, aut subducitur tibi. Cum fueris tu subtractus, perit ipse amator: cum fuerit illud subtractum, perit quod amasti. Ubi ergo aut amator perit, aut quod amatur, non est amandum. Sed quid est amandum? Quod nobiscum potest esse in aeternum. Sed si vis animam tuam in aeternum habere salvam, oderis eam ad tempus. Ergo odium rectum ab amore venit; perversus amor ab odio venit.

Chapter II. — 2. A certain perverse love and a certain right hatred of the soul. There are, then, those who love their soul perversely: and this the word of God wishes to correct, not so that they should hate their soul, but so that they should love it rightly. For by loving it badly they lose it, and something great comes about, as it were back to front and contrary: but nevertheless it comes about thus, that if you love it perversely, you lose it; if you hate it rightly, you preserve it. There is therefore a certain perverse love of it, and a certain right hatred of it. But the perverse love comes from hatred, the right hatred from love of it. What is the perverse love of the soul? When you love your soul in iniquities. Hear that this perverse love comes from hatred: But he who loves iniquity hates his own soul (Ps. 10:6). Now see that the right hatred comes from love. In the same place the Lord went on to say: But he who hates his soul in this world will find it unto eternal life. Surely what you wish to find unto eternal life, you love much. For what you love for a time, what does it profit? Either you are withdrawn from it, or it is withdrawn from you. When you have been taken away, the lover himself perishes: when that thing has been taken away, what you loved perishes. Where, therefore, either the lover perishes or what is loved, it is not to be loved. But what is to be loved? That which can be with us for eternity. But if you wish to have your soul safe for eternity, hate it for a time. Therefore the right hatred comes from love; the perverse love comes from hatred.

3. Modus diligendi animam. Duplex amor. Quis igitur modus diligendi animam? Putatis martyres non amabant animas suas? Videtis certe modo, si cujus vita praesentis saeculi periclitetur, quomodo amici ejus currunt pro ea: quomodo curritur ad ecclesiam, rogatur episcopus, ut intermittat, si quas habet actiones, currat, festinet. Quare? Pro anima. Et omnes contremiscunt, omnibus caeteris rebus intermissis, festinandum esse decernunt. Omnis festinatio laudatur, omnis tardatio accusatur. Quare? Pro anima. Quid est, pro anima? Ne moriatur homo. Non noverant martyres amare animas suas: et tamen hoc est pro anima, ⟨n⟩e moriatur homo.

3. The manner of loving the soul. A twofold love. What, then, is the manner of loving the soul? Do you think the martyrs did not love their souls? You certainly see now, if anyone's life in this present world is in danger, how his friends run on its behalf: how people run to the church, the bishop is asked to break off whatever business he has, to run, to hurry. Why? For the soul. And all tremble, and, all other things being set aside, they decide that haste must be made. All haste is praised, all delay is blamed. Why? For the soul. What is "for the soul"? That the man may not die. The martyrs did not know how to love their souls: and yet this is "for the soul", that the man may not die.

CAPUT III. — Mors hominis iniquitas est. Si curris pro hac vita centum millia, quot millia debes currere pro vita aeterna? Si festinas lucrari dies paucos, et ipsos incertos: hodie enim homo a morte liberatus, nescit utrum cras moriatur: tamen si sic curritur propter lucrum paucorum dierum, quia et usque in senectam pauci dies sunt, quomodo currendum est pro vita aeterna? Et tamen propter hanc pigri sunt homines. Difficile invenis qui vel passus lente moveat pro vita aeterna. Amor ergo perversus animae abundat; amor autem rectus valde paucorum est. Nam sicut nemo est qui non diligat animam suam, sic nemo est qui non amet carnem suam. Unde fieri potest ut et verum sit quod ait Apostolus, Nemo unquam carnem suam odio habuit, et anima non ametur?

Chapter III. — The death of man is iniquity. If you run a hundred thousand [paces] for this life, how many thousands ought you to run for eternal life? If you hurry to gain a few days, and those uncertain: for a man freed from death today does not know whether he will die tomorrow: yet if people run thus for the gain of a few days, since even up to old age the days are few, how must one run for eternal life? And yet for this men are sluggish. You will hardly find anyone who would slowly move even a step for eternal life. Perverse love of the soul, therefore, abounds; but right love belongs to very few. For just as there is no one who does not love his soul, so there is no one who does not love his flesh. How then can it be that what the Apostle says is also true, No one ever held his own flesh in hatred, and yet the soul is not loved?

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Discamus ergo, fratres, amare animas nostras. Omnis voluptas saeculi transitoria est. Est amor utilis, est amor noxius: amor amore impeditur; amor noxius recedat, et amor utilis succedat. Sed quia homines nolunt illinc recedere; ideo in illos non potest aliud introire: ut non capiant, pleni sunt; fundant, et capiunt. Pleni sunt enim amore voluptatum carnalium, pleni sunt amore vitae praesentis, pleni sunt amore auri et argenti, possessionum saeculi hujus. Qui ergo pleni sunt, sic sunt quomodo vasa. Vis ut intret mel unde acetum nondum fudisti? Funde quod habes, ut capias quod non habes. Ideo prima renuntiatio est huic saeculo, et deinde conversio ad Deum. Qui renuntiat, fundit; qui convertitur, impletur: sed si non fiat corpore solo, sed et corde.

Let us learn, therefore, brothers, to love our souls. Every pleasure of the world is passing. There is a useful love, there is a harmful love: love is hindered by love; let the harmful love withdraw, and let the useful love come in its place. But because men are unwilling to withdraw from there, for that reason nothing else can enter into them: that they do not take it in is because they are full; let them pour out, and they take it in. For they are full of the love of carnal pleasures, they are full of the love of the present life, they are full of the love of gold and silver, of the possessions of this world. Those, then, who are full are just like vessels. Do you want honey to go into a place from which you have not yet poured out the vinegar? Pour out what you have, so that you may take in what you do not have. Therefore the first thing is renunciation of this world, and then conversion to God. He who renounces pours out; he who is converted is filled: but only if it is done not with the body alone, but with the heart as well.

CAPUT IV. — 4. Amoris initia. Quaeritur autem, fratres, quomodo crescat iste amor. Habet enim initia sua, habet augmenta sua, habet perfectionem suam. Et debemus nosse quis coeperit, ut eum ad augmenta cohortemur: quis nec coeperit, ut eum quo incipiat moneamus: quis et coeperit et creverit, ut eum ad perfectionem incitemus. Primo illud attendat Charitas vestra: amores omnes et dilectiones prius sunt in hominibus de se, et sic de alia re quam diligunt. Si diligis aurum, prius te diligis, et sic aurum: quia si tu mortuus fueris, non erit qui aurum possideat. Ergo dilectio unicuique a se incipit; et non potest nisi a se incipere. Et nemo monetur ut se diligat. Hoc enim non solum inest hominibus, sed et pecoribus. Videtis enim, fratres, quemadmodum non tantum ingentes bestiae et magna animalia, ut sunt boves aut cameli vel elephanti, sed et muscae, sed et vermiculi minimi quomodo nolunt mori, et diligant se. Omnia animalia mortem fugiunt. Ergo diligunt se, custodire se volunt; alia velocitate, alia latebris, alia resistendo et repugnando: omnia tamen animalia pro vita sua pugnant, mori nolunt, custodire se volunt. Amant ergo se. Incipe et aliud amare. Sed quid est ipsum aliud? Quidquid amaveris, aut hoc est quod tu, aut inferius te est, aut superius te est. Si inferius te est quod amas, ad consolandum ama, ad tractandum ama, ad utendum ama, non ad illigandum. Verbi gratia, aurum amas, noli te illigare auro: quanto melior es quam aurum? Aurum enim terra est fulgens; tu autem ut illuminareris a Domino, ad imaginem Dei factus es. Cum sit aurum creatura Dei, non tamen fecit Deus aurum ad imaginem suam, sed te. Ergo posuit sub te aurum. Amor ergo iste contemnendus est. Ad usum assumenda sunt ista, non eis vinculo amoris quasi glutino haerendum est. Non facias tibi membra, quae cum coeperint praecidi, doleas atque crucieris. Quid ergo? Assurge ab isto amore, quo amas inferiora quam tu es: incipe amare paria, id est, quod tu es. Sed quid multis opus est? Si volueris, breviter poteris.

Chapter IV. — 4. The beginnings of love. Now it is asked, brothers, how this love grows. For it has its beginnings, it has its increases, it has its perfection. And we ought to know who has begun, so that we may urge him on to increase; who has not even begun, so that we may admonish him to begin; who has both begun and grown, so that we may spur him on to perfection. First let Your Charity attend to this: all loves and affections in men are first concerned with themselves, and only then with some other thing that they love. If you love gold, you love yourself first, and only then the gold: because if you have died, there will be no one to possess the gold. Therefore love begins for each person from himself; and it cannot begin except from himself. And no one is admonished to love himself. For this is present not only in men, but also in beasts. For you see, brothers, how not only huge beasts and great animals, such as oxen or camels or elephants, but also flies, and also the tiniest little worms, are unwilling to die, and love themselves. All animals flee death. Therefore they love themselves, they wish to protect themselves; some by speed, some by hiding-places, some by resisting and fighting back: yet all animals fight for their life, are unwilling to die, wish to protect themselves. So they love themselves. Begin to love something else as well. But what is that something else? Whatever you love is either what you are, or lower than you, or higher than you. If what you love is lower than you, love it for comfort, love it for handling, love it for use, not for binding yourself to it. For example, you love gold: do not bind yourself to gold: how much better are you than gold? For gold is shining earth; but you, so that you might be enlightened by the Lord, were made to the image of God. Though gold is a creature of God, yet God did not make gold to His own image, but you. Therefore He placed gold beneath you. This love, then, is to be despised. These things are to be taken up for use; one is not to cling to them by the bond of love as if by glue. Do not make limbs for yourself such that, when they begin to be cut off, you suffer pain and are tormented. What then? Rise up from that love by which you love things lower than you are: begin to love things equal, that is, what you are. But what need is there of many words? If you will, you can do it briefly.

CAPUT V. — 5. Amor verus et probus quo ordine comparatur. Quo ordine autem verum amorem et veram charitatem habere possimus, ipse Dominus dixit nobis in Evangelio, et evidenter ostendit. Sic enim

Chapter V. — 5. In what order true and upright love is acquired. Now in what order we can have true love and true charity, the Lord Himself has told us in the Gospel, and has plainly shown. For thus

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