PL 39 · cols. 1655–1658

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

Sermons CCCLXIX–CCCLXX

ait : Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo, et ex tota anima tua, et ex omnibus viribus tuis; et proximum tuum sicut te ipsum (Matth. XXII, 37, 39). Primum ergo dilige Deum, deinde te ipsum; post haec dilige proximum tuum sicut te ipsum. Prius tamen disce amare te ipsum : sic dilige proximum tuum sicut te ipsum. Nam si te ipsum non nosti amare, quomodo proximum poteris in veritate diligere? Putant enim nonnulli homines legitimo ordine se amare, quando res alienas rapiunt, quando se inebriant, quando libidini serviunt, quando per diversas calumnias injusta lucra conquirunt. Isti tales audiant Scripturam dicentem, Qui diligit iniquitatem, odit animam suam. Si ergo amando iniquitatem, te ipsum non solum non diligis, sed etiam odio habes; quomodo aut Deum aut proximum diligere poteris? Si ergo vis verae charitatis ordinem custodire, fac justitiam, dilige misericordiam, fuge luxuriam; incipe secundum praeceptum Domini, non solum amicos, sed etiam inimicos diligere. Et haec cum fideliter custodire toto corde contenderis, istis virtutibus quasi quibusdam gradibus poteris ascendere, ut merearis Deum toto animo et tota virtute diligere. Et cum ad istam felicem perfectionem veneris, omnes concupiscentias istius mundi tanquam stercora computabis : et cum propheta poteris dicere, Mihi autem adhaerere Deo, bonum est (Psal. LXXII, 28).

says: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength; and your neighbour as yourself (Matt. 22:37, 39). First, then, love God, next yourself; after these, love your neighbour as yourself. Yet first learn to love yourself: so love your neighbour as yourself. For if you do not know how to love yourself, how will you be able to love your neighbour in truth? For some people think that they love themselves in lawful order when they seize the property of others, when they get drunk, when they serve lust, when by various false accusations they acquire unjust gains. Let such as these hear the Scripture saying, He who loves iniquity hates his own soul. If, then, by loving iniquity you not only do not love yourself but even hold yourself in hatred, how will you be able to love either God or your neighbour? If, then, you wish to keep the order of true charity, do justice, love mercy, flee luxury; begin, according to the precept of the Lord, to love not only friends but also enemies. And when you strive faithfully to keep these things with your whole heart, by these virtues, as by certain steps, you will be able to ascend, so that you may be found worthy to love God with your whole mind and all your strength. And when you have come to that happy perfection, you will count all the desires of this world as dung, and you will be able to say with the prophet, But for me it is good to cleave to God (Ps. 72:28).

SERMO CCCLXIX. De Nativitate Domini, I.

Sermon 369. On the Nativity of the Lord, 1.

1. Duplex Christi ortus, alius ante omnem diem, alius in die. Nativitas Christi divinis testimoniis illustrata. Salvator noster natus de Patre sine die, per quem factus est omnis dies, voluit in terra habere natalem hunc diem, quem hodie celebramus. Quisquis hunc diem miraris aeternum mirare potius ante omnem diem permanentem, omnem diem creantem, in die hodierno nascentem, a malitia diei liberantem. Adhuc mirare. Quae peperit, et mater et virgo est; quem peperit, et infans et Verbum est. Merito coeli locuti sunt, Angeli gratulati, pastores laetati, Magi mutati, reges turbati, parvuli coronati. Lacta, mater, cibum nostrum; lacta panem de coelo venientem, et in praesepi positum velut piorum cibaria jumentorum. Illic enim cognovit bos possessorem suum, et asinus praesepe domini sui (Isai. I, 3); circumcisio scilicet et praeputium, cohaerendo lapidi angulari, quorum primitiae fuerunt pastores et Magi. Lacta eum qui talem fecit te, ut ipse fieret in te, qui tibi et munus fecunditatis attulit conceptus, et decus virginitatis non abstulit natus : qui sibi, priusquam nasceretur, et uterum de quo nasceretur, et diem quo nasceretur elegit. Et ipse condidit quod elegit, ut illinc procederet ut sponsus de thalamo suo, quo mortalibus oculis posset videri, et augmento lucis annuae se lucem mentium venisse

1. The twofold birth of Christ, the one before every day, the other in a day. The Nativity of Christ made illustrious by divine testimonies. Our Saviour, born of the Father without a day, through Whom every day was made, willed to have on earth this birthday which we celebrate today. Whoever you are who marvel at this day, marvel rather at the Eternal One, abiding before every day, creating every day, being born on this present day, delivering from the malice of the day. Marvel further. She who gave birth is both mother and virgin; He to Whom she gave birth is both infant and Word. Rightly did the heavens speak, the angels rejoice, the shepherds exult; the Magi were changed, kings troubled, little ones crowned. Suckle, mother, our food; suckle the bread coming from heaven and laid in a manger like the fodder of pious beasts. For there the ox knew its owner, and the ass the manger of its lord (Isa. 1:3); that is, the circumcision and the uncircumcision, by cleaving to the corner-stone, whose first-fruits were the shepherds and the Magi. Suckle Him Who made you such that He Himself might be made in you, Who, when conceived, brought you the gift of fruitfulness, and, when born, did not take away the glory of virginity: Who, before He was born, chose for Himself both the womb from which He would be born and the day on which He would be born. And He Himself established what He chose, so that from there He might come forth as a bridegroom from His chamber, whereby He could be seen by mortal eyes, and could, by the increase of the yearly light, that He had come as the light of minds

Editors' notes and page, col. 1655

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: Quisquis hunc diem miraris› · call in col 1655

1 Mss., in die miraris.

The manuscripts read "you wonder at in the day".

(printed under page 90)

(2) ‹anchor: Magi mutati› · call in col 1655

2 Sic meliores Mss. At editi, Magi invitati.

So the better manuscripts. But the printed editions read "the Magi invited".

(*) ‹anchor: SERMO CCCLXIX› · call in col 1655 * Collatus ad tres cb. et duos n. ad f. gr. r. t. et ad Am. Er. Par. Lov.

Collated against the three cb. and the two n. manuscripts, against f., gr., r., t., and against the Amerbach, Erasmus, Paris and Louvain editions.

(printed under page 90)

(a) ‹anchor: SERMO CCCLXIX› · call in col 1655

(printed under page 90) (a) Alias, de Tempore 5.

Formerly, De Tempore 5.

(printed under page 90)

(b) ‹anchor: De Nativitate Domini, I› · call in col 1655

(printed under page 90) (b) Lovanienses dubitant an sit Augustini. Contra, Vindingus dicit nihil habere unde ipsi abjudicetur, imo assertum Augustino esse auctoritate antiqui scriptoris, in Conflictu Arnobii et Serapionis, ad cujus operis finem sermo iste totus recitatur. Verum Conflictus hujus commentitii auctor (ipsius etiam Vindingi conjectura in critico Augustiniano, tom. 6) Vigilius episcopus non meretur deinceps ullam hac in re fidem, postquam suas lucubrationes contra Arianos ementito superiorum Patrum nomine publicasse convictus est. Imitari stilum Augustini studet, probaturus eo sermone praedicatas ab ipso duas nativitates Christi. Confer Appendicis sermonem 117.

The Louvain editors doubt whether it is Augustine's. Vindingus, on the contrary, says that it has nothing by which it should be denied him; indeed, that it is claimed for Augustine on the authority of an ancient writer, in the Conflict of Arnobius and Serapion, at the end of which work this sermon is quoted entire. But the author of this fictitious Conflict, Bishop Vigilius (by the conjecture of Vindingus himself too, in the Critica Augustiniana, vol. 6), deserves no further credit in this matter, since he was convicted of publishing his works against the Arians under the falsely assumed name of earlier Fathers. He strives to imitate Augustine's style, meaning to prove by this sermon that the two nativities of Christ were preached by Augustine himself. Compare Sermon 117 of the Appendix.

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testari. Prophetae cecinerunt Conditorem coeli et terrae in terra cum hominibus futurum: angelus annuntiavit Creatorem carnis et spiritus in carne venturum. Salutavit Joannes ex utero in utero Salvatorem; Simeon senex Deum agnovit infantem; Anna vidua virginem matrem. Haec sunt testimonia nativitatis tuae, Domine Jesu, antequam tibi fluctus substernerentur calcanti, cederent imperanti; antequam ventus te jubente siluisset, mortuus te vocante vixisset, sol te moriente palluisset, terra te resurgente tremuisset, coelum te ascendente patuisset: antequam ista et alia mirabilia jam juvenilis tui corporis aetate fecisses. Adhuc in manibus matris portabaris, et jam Dominus orbis agnoscebaris. Ipse puer parvulus ex semine Israel, et ipse nobiscum Deus Emmanuel.

bear witness. The prophets sang that the Maker of heaven and earth would be on earth with men; an angel announced that the Creator of flesh and spirit would come in the flesh. John from the womb greeted the Saviour in the womb; the old man Simeon recognized God as an infant; the widow Anna [recognized] the virgin mother. These are the testimonies of Thy nativity, Lord Jesus, before the waves spread themselves beneath Thee as Thou trod on them and gave way as Thou commanded; before the wind had fallen silent at Thy bidding, the dead man had come to life at Thy calling, the sun had grown pale at Thy dying, the earth had trembled at Thy rising, heaven had opened at Thy ascending: before Thou had done these and other wonders in the age of Thy body, already grown to youth. Thou were still carried in Thy mother's arms, and already Thou were acknowledged as Lord of the world. He Himself a little child from the seed of Israel, and He Himself God with us, Emmanuel.

2. Nativitas Christi aeterna. Quae est illa nostri generatio Salvatoris, qua gignenti Patri coaeternus est, quando hanc generationem ex virgine mundus expavit, quam pia fides agnovit et tenuit, infidelitas autem irrisit, superbia timuit superata? Quaenam est illa generatio, qua in principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum (Joan. I, 1)? Vel quod est hoc Verbum, quod dicturus ante non silebat, quo dicto non siluit qui dicebat? Quod est Verbum sine tempore, per quod facta sunt tempora? Verbum quod labia nullius aperuit coeptum, clausitve finitum: Verbum quod initium non habet ex ore loquentium, et aperit ora mutorum: Verbum quod linguis gentium disertis non fit, et linguas infantium disertas facit. Quaenam est, inquam, illa generatio, cui Pater moriendo non cedit, quia non eam vivendo praecedit? Ab omnibus locorum temporumque intervallis, ab omni distentione spatiorum, quam vel in diebus, vel in corporibus sentire consuevimus, levemus ad eum, quantum ipso adjuvante possumus, animam nostram, si quomodo capere valeamus et natum non praevenientem qui gignit, et gignentem non subsequentem qui gignitur, Patrem et Filium: nec pariter filios, sed pariter aeternos: non utrumque generantem, nec utrumque nascentem, sed alterum sine altero non viventem: et Patrem sempiterne genuisse, et Filium sempiterne natum esse cogitemus, si valemus; si non valemus, credamus. Non est quod hic dicere valeamus, sed tamen non longe positum est ab unoquoque nostrum: In illo enim vivimus, et movemur, et sumus (Act. XVII, 28). Transcendamus carnem nostram, in qua parentes ante filios vivunt: quia ut filios possent generare creverunt, et filiis crescentibus jam senescunt. Nondum natis filiis parentes vixerunt, quia et parentibus mortuis filii victuri sunt. Transcendamus et animas nostras: pariunt et ipsae aliquid cogitando, quod secum habent sciendo; sed possunt amittere obliviscendo, quia non habebant ante nascendo. Cuncta corporalia, temporalia, mutabilia transcendamus: ut videamus super omnia, per quem facta sunt omnia. Ascensus noster in corde est: quia et ille ad quem ascendimus prope est. Longe autem ab illo sumus, in quantum dissimiles sumus. Ascendit ergo ad eum sua similitudo, quam in nobis fecit et refecit, qua nondum perfecta, palpitat infirmus aspectus, et ineffabilem candorem lucis aeternae non potest intueri. Cujus ergo fulgorem mentis acies nondum capit, generationem ejus quis enarrabit (Isai. LIII, 8)? Sed Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis (Joan. I, 14).

2. The eternal nativity of Christ. What is that generation of our Saviour by which He is coeternal with the Father who begets Him, when the world stood in awe of this generation from the virgin, which pious faith recognized and held fast, while unbelief mocked it, and pride, overcome, feared it? What is that generation by which in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1)? Or what is this Word, before which He who was to speak it was not silent, and once it was spoken He who spoke it did not fall silent? What is the Word without time, through which times were made? A Word which, when begun, opened no one's lips, nor, when finished, closed them: a Word which does not have its beginning from the mouth of those who speak, and opens the mouths of the dumb: a Word which is not made by the eloquent tongues of the nations, and makes the tongues of infants eloquent. What, I say, is that generation to which the Father does not give way by dying, because He does not precede it by living? From all intervals of places and times, from every extension of spaces which we are accustomed to perceive either in days or in bodies, let us lift up our soul to Him, as far as we can with His help, if in some way we may be able to grasp both the One born, Whom He who begets does not go before, and the One begetting, Whom He who is begotten does not follow after, Father and Son: not alike sons, but alike eternal: not both begetting, nor both being born, but the one not living without the other: and let us think that the Father has begotten everlastingly and the Son has been born everlastingly, if we can; if we cannot, let us believe. It is not something that we are able to express here, and yet it is not placed far from each one of us: For in Him we live, and move, and are (Acts 17:28). Let us go beyond our flesh, in which parents live before their sons: for they grew up so as to be able to beget sons, and as their sons grow they are already growing old. Parents lived when their sons were not yet born, because sons too will live when their parents are dead. Let us go beyond our souls as well: they too bring forth something by thinking, which they keep with them by knowing; but they can lose it by forgetting, because they did not have it beforehand by being born. Let us go beyond all things bodily, temporal, changeable: so that we may see above all things Him through Whom all things were made. Our ascent is in the heart: for He to Whom we ascend is also near. But we are far from Him in so far as we are unlike Him. His likeness, therefore, ascends to Him, the likeness which He made and remade in us; and while it is not yet perfected, our weak gaze trembles and cannot look upon the ineffable brightness of the eternal light. Of Him, then, Whose splendour the eye of the mind does not yet grasp, who will declare His generation (Isa. 53:8)? But the Word was made flesh, and dwelt in us (John 1:14).

3. Nativitas Christi temporaria. Hanc ergo generationem, cujus hodiernum celebramus diem, hanc in qua dignatus est venire per Israel, et fieri Emmanuel, nobiscum Deus in carnis infirmitate, non nobiscum in cordis iniquitate; accedens ad nos per id quod assumpsit ex nostro, et liberans nos per id quod mansit in suo (visitavit quippe Dominus servos suos per mortalem infirmitatem, ut eos liberos faceret per incommutabilem veritatem): hanc ergo generationem, cujus ut cumque capax est humana fragilitas; non

3. The temporal nativity of Christ. This generation, therefore, whose day we celebrate today, this in which He deigned to come through Israel and to become Emmanuel, God with us in the weakness of the flesh, not with us in the iniquity of the heart; coming to us through that which He took from what is ours, and setting us free through that which remained in what is His (for the Lord visited His servants through mortal weakness, in order to make them free through unchangeable truth): this generation, therefore, of which human frailty is in some measure capable; not

Editors' notes and page, col. 1656

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: Ab omnibus› · call in col 1656

1 Hic in excusis et aliquot Mss. additum, segregata: vel, aliena.

Here the printed editions and some manuscripts add "set apart", or "estranged".

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illam quae sine tempore manet, sine matre super omnia; sed istam quae in tempore facta est, sine patre inter omnia: hunc virginis filium et virginum sponsum, de incorrupta matre nascentem, incorruptibili veritate fetantem, laudemus, amemus, adoremus, ut in ejus misericordia de astutia victa diaboli triumphemus. Diabolus ad nos decipiendos corrupta feminea mente subrepsit: Christus ad nos liberandos incorrupta feminea etiam carne processit; qui est benedictus cum Patre et Spiritu sancto in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

that one which abides without time, without a mother, above all things; but this one which was made in time, without a father, among all things: this Son of a virgin and Bridegroom of virgins, born of an uncorrupted mother, bearing fruit with incorruptible truth, let us praise, let us love, let us adore, that in His mercy we may triumph over the cunning of the devil, now overcome. The devil crept in to deceive us through a corrupted woman's mind: Christ came forth to set us free even through a woman's uncorrupted flesh; Who is blessed with the Father and the Holy Spirit unto ages of ages. Amen.

SERMO CCCLXX. De Nativitate Domini, II.

Sermon 370. On the Nativity of the Lord, 2.

CAPUT PRIMUM. — 1. Nativitatis seu conditionis hominis quatuor genera. Hodiernus dies ad habendam spem vitae aeternae, magnum contulit gaudium generi humano. Primus enim homo, quo cadente omnes cecidimus, cujus ruina est mortalitas nostra, non est natus, sed factus; patre nullo, nulla matre, sed Deo operante. Haec est hominis prima conditio. Adam de terra. Secunda conditio est hominis, qua creatur femina de latere viri. Tertia conditio est hominis, qua natus est homo ex viro et femina. Quarta conditio est Dei et hominis, qua natus est Christus sine viro de femina. In istis quatuor conditionibus una sola nobis usitata est, caeterae tres non sunt in oculis carnis, sed in fide cordis. De terra factum hominem sine patre, sine matre, non novimus; factam feminam de latere viri non novimus, lectam et auditam credidimus. Tertia illa usitata est nobis ipsa quotidiana de complexu maris et feminae quotidie nascuntur homines. Jam ergo erat una sine viro et femina, jam erat altera de viro sine femina, jam erat tertia de viro et femina, quarta restabat sine viro de femina. Sed ista quarta liberavit tres. Prima enim et secunda ruerunt, tertiam de ruina genuerunt, in quarta salutem invenerunt.

Chapter I. — 1. The four kinds of the birth or condition of man. Today's day has brought great joy to the human race, for the holding of the hope of eternal life. For the first man, in whose fall we all fell, whose ruin is our mortality, was not born, but made; with no father, no mother, but by God's working. This is the first condition of man: Adam from the earth. The second condition of man is that by which woman is created from the side of the man. The third condition of man is that by which man is born of man and woman. The fourth condition is that of God and man, by which Christ was born without a man, of a woman. Of these four conditions only one is familiar to us; the other three are not before the eyes of the flesh, but in the faith of the heart. A man made from the earth without father, without mother, we have not known; a woman made from the side of a man we have not known: we have believed it, having read and heard it. That third one is familiar to us, the very daily one: from the embrace of male and female men are born daily. So there was already one without man and woman, there was already a second from man without woman, there was already a third from man and woman; a fourth remained, without man, from woman. But this fourth set the three free. For the first and the second fell, they begot the third out of the ruin, in the fourth they found salvation.

CAPUT II. — 2. Omnis fidelium gradus Salvatori omnium nato attestatur. Exsultent ergo virgines; virgo peperit Christum. Nihil in ea quod voverunt putent exterminatum: mansit virgo post partum. Exsultent viduae; infantem Christum vidua Anna cognovit. Exsultent conjugatae; nasciturum Dominum Jesum Christum Elisabeth maritata prophetavit. Nullus gradus praetermissus est, de quo non haberet testimonium salus omnium. Numquid enim solae virgines ad regnum caelorum perveniunt? Perveniunt et viduae. Magni meriti fuit illa vidua sancta Anna. A virginitate enim sua septem annos vixerat cum viro suo; quo defuncto usque ad senilem aetatem p⟨e⟩rvenerat, et in senectute sancta exspectabat infantiam Salvatoris; ut parvum

Chapter II. — 2. Every rank of the faithful bears witness to the Saviour of all at His birth. Let virgins therefore exult: a virgin gave birth to Christ. Let them not think that anything of what they have vowed was destroyed in her: she remained a virgin after giving birth. Let widows exult: the widow Anna recognized the infant Christ. Let married women exult: the married Elizabeth prophesied the Lord Jesus Christ who was to be born. No rank has been passed over from which the salvation of all should not have testimony. For do virgins alone reach the kingdom of heaven? Widows too reach it. Of great merit was that holy widow Anna. For from her virginity she had lived seven years with her husband; and when he died she had come on to the age of old age, and in holy old age she was awaiting the infancy of the Saviour; so that the little one

Editors' notes and page, col. 1657

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: quod voverunt› · call in col 1657

1 Lov., voverat; refragantibus editis caeteris et manuscriptis.

The Louvain edition reads "she had vowed", against the other editions and the manuscripts.

(*) ‹anchor: not visible (heading of the sermon)› · call in col 1657 * Emendatus ad tres cb. ad f. n. r. t. v. et ad Am. Er. Par. Lov.

Corrected against the three cb. manuscripts, against f., n., r., t., v., and against the Amerbach, Erasmus, Paris and Louvain editions.

(printed under page 91)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible (heading of the sermon)› · call in col 1657

(printed under page 91) (a) Alias, de Tempore 20.

Formerly, De Tempore 20.

(printed under page 91)

(b) ‹anchor: not visible (heading of the sermon)› · call in col 1657

(printed under page 91) (b) Dubius nobis hic sermo est, propter genus dicendi incultum ac minus accuratum. Exempli gratia, post recensitos quatuor modos conditi hominis, quod subjicitur, « sed ista quarta conditio liberavit tres. Prima enim et secunda ruerunt, tertiam de ruina genuerunt, » etc., perplexe dictum est ac improprie. Nonnulla hic reperies consimilia sermonum verorum Augustini de Natali Domini.

This sermon is doubtful to us, because of its unpolished and less careful manner of speaking. For example, after the four ways in which man was made have been listed, what is added, "but this fourth condition set the three free. For the first and second fell, they begot the third out of the ruin," etc., is said confusedly and improperly. You will find here some things very like the genuine sermons of Augustine on the Lord's Nativity.

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(printed under page 91) (c) Hinc sermo incipit in multis libris.

In many books the sermon begins here.

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(d) ‹anchor: Perveniunt et viduae› · call in col 1657

(printed under page 91) (d) Vide serm. 184, cap. 2, et serm. 192, cap. 2.

See Sermon 184, ch. 2, and Sermon 192, ch. 2.

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videret annosa, parvum agnosceret anicula, intrantem in mundum Salvatorem videret itura (Luc. II, 36-38). Et in masculino sexu tria ipsa genera commendata sunt. Ipse Christus puer natus est; exsultent pueri, continentiam voventes puero. Ipse vere integritatem pudicitiae consecravit, qui suae matri fecunditatem attulit, virginitatem non abstulit. Simeon ille senex diu vixerat, cujus aetas comparatur Annae; et audierat responsum; quod non esset visurus mortem nisi prius videret Christum Domini.

she, advanced in years, might see, that a little old woman might recognize Him as a little one, that she who was about to go out might see the Saviour entering into the world (Luke 2:36–38). And in the male sex too these same three kinds have been commended. Christ Himself was born a boy; let boys exult, vowing continence to the Boy. He Himself truly consecrated the integrity of chastity, Who brought fruitfulness to His mother and did not take away her virginity. That old man Simeon had lived long, and his age is compared with Anna's; and he had heard the response that he would not see death unless he first saw the Christ of the Lord.

CAPUT III. — 3. Desiderium Christi nascituri quantum in antiquis sanctis. Intelligite, fratres, quantum desiderium habebant antiqui sancti videndi Christum. Sciebant illum esse venturum, et omnes qui pie vivebant, dicebant, O si hic me inveniat illa nativitas! o si quod credo in Scripturis Dei, videam oculis meis! Et ut noveritis quantum desiderium habebant sancti, qui noverant de Scripturis sanctis virginem parituram, sicut audistis cum Isaias legeretur, Ecce virgo in utero concipiet, et pariet filium, et vocabitur nomen ejus Emmanuel (Isai. VII, 14). Emmanuel quid sit, Evangelium nobis aperuit dicens, quod interpretatur, Nobiscum Deus (Matth. I, 23). Non tibi ergo sit mirum, quaecumque infidelis anima, non tibi videatur impossibile ut virgo pareret, virgo pariens permaneret. Intellige natum Deum, et non miraberis virginis partum. Ut ergo noveritis antiquos sanctos et justos optasse videre, quod concessum est huic seni Simeoni; Dominus noster Jesus Christus ad discipulos loquens ait: Multi justi et prophetae voluerunt videre quae vos videtis, et non viderunt; et audire quae auditis, et non audierunt (Id. XIII, 17). Multum senex iste fuit ad audiendum serus, sed ad videndum maturus. Non exspectavit ut Christum audiret loquentem, quoniam agnovit infantem. Et hoc illi concessum erat jam decrepito, quasi desideranti et suspiranti et dicenti quotidie in orationibus suis: Quando veniet? quando nascetur? quando videbo? Putas durabo? putas hic me inveniet? putas isti oculi mei videbunt, per quem cordis oculi revelabuntur? Dicebat ista in orationibus suis, et pro desiderio suo accepit responsum, quod non gustaret mortem, nisi prius videret Christum Domini. Gestabat eum Maria mater ejus infantem: vidit ille, et agnovit. Ubi noverat quem agnovit? An intus est revelatus, qui foris est natus? Vidit, et agnovit. Agnovit Simeon infantem tacentem; et occiderunt Judaei juvenem mirabilia facientem. Cum ergo cognovisset, accepit in ulnas suas, hoc est, in brachia sua, amplexatus est eum. Portabat a quo portabatur. Ipse enim est Christus sapientia Dei, attingens a fine usque ad finem fortiter, et disponens omnia suaviter (Sap. VIII, 1). Quantus ibi erat, et quam magnus, quam parvus factus erat? Parvus factus, parvos quaerebat. Quid est, parvos quaerebat? Non superbos, non elatos; sed humiles et mites colligebat. In praesepi dignatus est poni, ut esset piorum cibaria jumentorum. Accepit ergo eum Simeon in brachia sua, et dixit: Nunc dimittis, Domine, servum tuum in pace. Dimittis in pace, quia video pacem. Quare ergo dimittis in pace? Quonium

Chapter III. — 3. How great was the longing of the ancient saints for the Christ who was to be born. Understand, brethren, how great a longing the ancient saints had to see Christ. They knew that He was to come, and all who lived piously said: O, if only that birth might find me here! O, if only what I believe in the Scriptures of God I might see with my own eyes! And that you may know how great a longing the saints had, who knew from the holy Scriptures that a virgin would give birth, as you heard when Isaiah was read: Behold, a virgin shall conceive in the womb, and shall bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel (Isa. 7:14). What Emmanuel is, the Gospel has opened to us, saying: which is interpreted, God with us (Matt. 1:23). Let it not, then, be a wonder to you, whatever unbelieving soul you are; let it not seem impossible to you that a virgin should give birth, that a virgin giving birth should remain [a virgin]. Understand that it is God Who was born, and you will not marvel at the virgin's childbearing. So that you may know, then, that the ancient saints and just men longed to see what was granted to this old man Simeon, our Lord Jesus Christ, speaking to His disciples, says: Many just men and prophets have wished to see the things that you see, and have not seen them; and to hear the things that you hear, and have not heard them (ibid. 13:17). This old man was very late for hearing, but timely for seeing. He did not wait to hear Christ speaking, since he recognized Him as an infant. And this had been granted to him when he was already decrepit, as to one who longed and sighed and said daily in his prayers: When will He come? When will He be born? When shall I see Him? Do you think I shall last? Do you think He will find me here? Do you think these eyes of mine will see Him through Whom the eyes of the heart will be unveiled? He said these things in his prayers, and in answer to his longing he received the response that he would not taste death unless he first saw the Christ of the Lord. Mary His mother was carrying Him as an infant: he saw, and he recognized. Where had he come to know Him Whom he recognized? Was He revealed within, Who was born without? He saw, and he recognized. Simeon recognized a silent infant; and the Jews killed a young man working wonders. When therefore he had recognized Him, he took Him into the crook of his arms, that is, into his arms, and clasped Him. He was carrying the One by Whom he was carried. For He Himself is Christ, the Wisdom of God, reaching from end to end mightily, and ordering all things sweetly (Wis. 8:1). How great was He there, and how mighty, how small had He become? Having become small, He was seeking the small. What does it mean, He was seeking the small? Not the proud, not the lofty; but He was gathering the humble and the meek. He deigned to be laid in a manger, that He might be the fodder of pious beasts of burden. Simeon therefore took Him into his arms, and said: Now Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, O Lord, in peace. Thou dost dismiss me in peace, because I see peace. Why then dost Thou dismiss me in peace? Because

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