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Augustine, Sermones 388-395 (Classis V, Sermones dubii)

Sermons CCCLXXXVIII–CCCLXXXIX

SERMO CCCLXXXVIII. De faciendis eleemosynis, I.

Sermon 388. On giving alms, 1.

1. De solis eleemosynis mentio fit in ultimo judicio. Lectio ista, fratres, quam modo audivimus de sancto Evangelio, ad eleemosynas faciendas nos hortatur: et sic hortatur, ut in judicio suo Dominus has solas factas imputet dextris, has solas non factas imputet sinistris (Matth. XXV, 31, 46). Non quo caetera facta hominum vel bona vel mala non veniant in judicium; scriptum est enim, omnia ventura ad judicium (Eccle. XII, 14): et tamen non elegit Dominus noster Jesus Christus, praenuntians nobis judicium suum venturum; non elegit unde nos admoneret, nisi solas eleemosynas. Numquid dextris non erit dicendum: Quia caste vixistis, quia res alienas non rapuistis, quia fidem meam usque ad sanguinem confessi estis? Omnia enim facta ista bona necesse est honorari in judicio Jesu Christi. Rursus putatis non esse dicendum sinistris: Quia fuistis impudici, quia fornicati estis, quia res alienas rapuistis, quia superbia vestra et malis moribus nomen meum blasphemari fecistis, et caetera quaeque enumerat? Tacet tamen Dominus noster, praenuntians nobis judicium suum, omnia caetera recta facta justorum, et solas eleemosynas commemorare dignatus est. Tacuit omnia mala facta iniquorum, et solam sterilitatem eleemosynae increpandam esse judicavit, nonnisi ad nos commonendos. Quare hoc? Quia omnia crimina eleemosynis redimuntur. Ideo illam laudavit fecunditatem, istam culpavit et damnavit ariditatem.

1. Of alms alone is mention made at the last judgement. This reading, brethren, which we have just heard from the holy Gospel, exhorts us to the giving of alms; and it exhorts us in such a way that in His judgement the Lord credits to those on the right these alone as done, and charges to those on the left these alone as not done (Matt. 25:31, 46). Not that the other deeds of men, whether good or bad, do not come into judgement; for it is written that all things will come to judgement (Eccl. 12:14): and yet our Lord Jesus Christ, foretelling to us that His judgement would come, did not choose; He did not choose anything with which to admonish us except alms alone. Will it not have to be said to those on the right: Because you lived chastely, because you did not seize the goods of others, because you confessed My faith even unto blood? For all these good deeds must be honoured in the judgement of Jesus Christ. Again, do you suppose it will not have to be said to those on the left: Because you were unchaste, because you committed fornication, because you seized the goods of others, because by your pride and evil morals you caused My name to be blasphemed, and whatever else He enumerates? Yet our Lord, foretelling to us His judgement, is silent about all the other right deeds of the just, and deigned to mention alms alone. He was silent about all the evil deeds of the wicked, and judged that only the barrenness of almsgiving was to be rebuked, solely in order to admonish us. Why this? Because all crimes are redeemed by alms. Therefore He praised the one fruitfulness, and blamed and condemned the other dryness.

2. Eleemosynae pro gravioribus peccatis non prosunt, nisi mores mutentur. Nemo hic sine peccato. Sed quod audistis, omnia male facta eleemosynis redimi, nolite sic intelligere, ut intelligunt quidam perversi. Eleemosynae enim possunt tibi prodesse ad delenda peccata praeterita, si mores mutaveris. Si autem in eisdem malis perseveras, eleemosynis tuis non corrumpis judicem. Ego dico propter illa scelera et crimina, quae omnes modo vitare debent, qui accipiunt corpus Christi et sanguinem. Caeterum non me latet, vitam istam mortalem et in carne corruptibili constitutam, sine peccatis esse non posse: sed illa quotidiana et levia habent etiam sua lavacra quotidiana. Hoc est quod pectus tundimus, et dicimus in oratione Domino Deo nostro, Dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris (Matth.

2. Alms do not avail for graver sins unless conduct is changed. No one here is without sin. But what you have heard, that all evil deeds are redeemed by alms, do not understand in the way certain perverse people understand it. For alms can benefit you for blotting out past sins, if you change your ways. But if you persevere in the same evils, you do not corrupt the Judge with your alms. I am speaking of those wicked deeds and crimes which all who receive the body and blood of Christ ought now to avoid. For the rest, it does not escape me that this mortal life, set in corruptible flesh, cannot be without sins; but those daily and light sins also have their own daily washings. This is why we beat our breast and say in prayer to the Lord our God, Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors (Matt.

Editors' notes and page, col. 1700

Footnotes

(*) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1700 * Emendatus ad duos cl. ad gr. r. rm. v. et ad Am. Er. Par. Lov.

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

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(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1700

(printed under page 112) (a) Alias, 19 inter Homilias 50.

Elsewhere, no. 19 among the Fifty Homilies.

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(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1700

(printed under page 112) (b) Dubius fuit Lovaniensibus, Verlino spurius visus est. Vindingo autem interpolatus et vitiatus. Verba nonnulla improprie usurpata, veluti cum dicitur n. 2, « extinguo omnia peccata, » pro redimo et aboleo; moxque, « tamen exstinguis, » pro finis peccata, seu peccare desinis: et universim stilus indicat sermonem non omni ex parte esse Augustinianum. Simillimus vero est trium superiorum.

It was doubtful to the Louvain editors; to Verlinus it seemed spurious, but to Vindingus interpolated and corrupted. Some words are used improperly, as when it is said in n. 2, "I extinguish all sins," for "I redeem and abolish"; and soon after, "yet you extinguish," for "you end your sins," that is, "you cease to sin"; and in general the style shows that the sermon is not Augustinian in every part. It is, however, very like the three preceding.

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(printed under page 112) (c) Vide serm. 60, n. 9.

See Sermon 60, n. 9.

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VI, 12): Non enim sine causa hoc dicimus, aut vero ipse coelestis magister doceret istam orationem, nisi nos peccatores esse praevideret. Vidit enim quae cavere debeamus, et vidit quae cavere difficile sit. Omnia autem cavere impossibile esse judicavit, qui istam orationem quotidianam, non quoslibet Christianos, sed ipsos arietes Apostolos docuit. Ubi autem Apostoli pectus tundunt, et dicunt, Dimitte nobis debita nostra, hoc est, peccata nostra, audet aliqua ovicula superbire de justitia? Videte qualis fuerit Joannes apostolus: supra pectus Domini discumbebat, de alto illo fonte sapientiae secreta bibebat. Inde enim bibit quod in Evangelio eructavit, In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum (Joan. I, 1). Et assidue testatur Evangelium, quod Dominus praecipue ipsum diligebat (Id. XIII, 23 et XXI, 20). Et tamen ait, Si dixerimus quia peccatum non habemus, nos ipsos decipimus, et veritas in nobis non est (I Joan. I, 8). Nec tamen quia ista dicuntur, debet quisquam securus esse homicida, si propter quotidianas fornicationes et latrocinia sua vererit dicere, Dimitte nobis debita nostra. Quod enim Deus statuit quotidie dici propter levia peccata, ille putat ad illa gravia sibi posse opitulari, a quibus non vult discedere, sed in his cupit perpetuo permanere. Tundat et de his pectus, faciat et pro his eleemosynas, sed vita mutata: inde recedat, et huc accedat. Si autem dixerit in animo suo, Si quotidiana faciam latrocinia, et si quotidianis corruptionibus adulterinis me contaminem, et si sortilegos quaeram, idolis sacrificem, mathematicos consulam, et a tali vita omnino non recedam, faciens tamen quotidianas eleemosynas exstinguo omnia peccata: tamen exstinguis, sed cum exstingueris. Sic enim tibi erit ista commutatio tua mala, ut non desit qui de te dicat, Et adhuc pusillum, et non erit peccator; et quaeres locum ejus, et non invenies. Vidi impium super cedros Libani exaltari: et transivi, et ecce non erat; et quaesivi, et non est inventus locus ejus (Psal. XXXVI, 10, 35, 36). Pereunt ergo peccata tua, sed tecum. Non enim in gehenna peccare permitteris, aut cum te coeperit torquere ignis aeternus, de satiandis libidinibus cogitabis. Pereunt ergo peccata, sed tecum. Si autem vitam mutaveris, illa pereunt, tu invenieris, et dicetur de te: Mortuus erat, et revixit; perierat, et inventus est (Luc. XV, 24).

6:12): For not without cause do we say this, nor indeed would the heavenly Master Himself have taught this prayer, unless He had foreseen that we would be sinners. For He saw what we ought to beware of, and He saw what is difficult to beware of. And He judged that it is impossible to beware of everything, He Who taught this daily prayer not to just any Christians, but to the very rams, the Apostles. Now where the Apostles beat their breast and say, Forgive us our debts, that is, our sins, does some little sheep dare to grow proud about its righteousness? See what kind of man John the apostle was: he reclined upon the Lord's breast, he drank secrets from that lofty fountain of wisdom. For from there he drank what he poured forth in the Gospel, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). And the Gospel constantly testifies that the Lord loved him especially (John 13:23 and 21:20). And yet he says, If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8). Yet because these things are said, no one ought to be a murderer free from care, if on account of his daily fornications and robberies he comes to say, Forgive us our debts. For what God has established to be said daily on account of light sins, that man thinks can help him towards those grave ones from which he does not wish to depart, but in which he desires to remain perpetually. Let him both beat his breast for these and give alms for these, but with his life changed: let him withdraw from there, and come over here. But if he has said in his heart, If I commit robberies daily, and if I defile myself with daily adulterous corruptions, and if I seek out sorcerers, sacrifice to idols, consult astrologers, and do not withdraw at all from such a life, yet by giving daily alms I extinguish all my sins: you do indeed extinguish them, but you are extinguished with them. For thus this exchange of yours will turn out evil for you, so that there will not be lacking one to say of you, And yet a little while, and the sinner will not be; and you will seek his place, and will not find it. I saw the ungodly man exalted above the cedars of Lebanon: and I passed by, and behold, he was not; and I sought, and his place was not found (Ps. 36:10, 35–36). Your sins, then, perish, but with you. For you will not be permitted to sin in Gehenna, nor, when the eternal fire has begun to torment you, will you think about satisfying your lusts. The sins, then, perish, but with you. But if you change your life, they perish, you are found, and it will be said of you: He was dead, and has come to life again; he had perished, and is found (Luke 15:24).

SERMO CCCLXXXIX. De faciendis eleemosynis, III.

Sermon 389. On giving alms, 3.

1. Panis coelestis et panis terrenus. Consilium dandi panem terrenum, ut coelestis impetretur. Admonet nos Dominus de lectione evangelica, ut loquamur vobis de impetrando pane coelesti. Iste enim panis terrenus terrae necessarius, quia

1. Heavenly bread and earthly bread. Counsel to give earthly bread, so that the heavenly may be obtained. The Lord admonishes us through the Gospel reading to speak to you about obtaining the heavenly bread. For this earthly bread is necessary to the earth, because

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Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1701

¹ Forte, indicavit.

Perhaps "indicavit" (he indicated).

(*) ‹anchor: SERMO CCCLXXXIX› · call in col 1701 * Emendatus ad m. r. v. et ad Sirm.

Corrected against manuscripts m., r., v., and against Sirmond.

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(a) ‹anchor: SERMO CCCLXXXIX› · call in col 1701

(printed under page 113) (a) Alias, inter Sirmondianos 40.

Elsewhere, no. 40 among Sirmond's sermons.

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(b) ‹anchor: eleemosynis, III› · call in col 1701

(printed under page 113) (b) Sermo probæ notæ et Augustino dignus : sed posterior pars eadem est cum posteriore parte sermonis 60 ; nisi quod ibi omissa est tota narratio de homine qui de pretio solidi pauperibus erogavat.

A sermon of sound stamp and worthy of Augustine; but its latter part is the same as the latter part of Sermon 60, except that there the whole story of the man who gave the price of a solidus to the poor is left out.

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caro nostra terra est. Fieri autem non potest ut panem suum caro nostra haberet, et panem suum anima non haberet. Etenim et anima nostra in quadam egestate in hoc saeculo eget pane suo, sicut caro suo. Nam qui non eget pane, Deus est. Ergo solus panis non eget pane. Ipse est enim panis animae nostrae, qui pane altero non eget, sed sibi sufficiens nutrit et nos. Manifestus est itaque panis coelestis, quo pascitur anima nostra. Sed quomodo ad eum perveniatur, ut eo saginemur, unde modo vix micas colligimus, ne in ista famelica eremo pereamus; quomodo ergo perveniatur ad saginam hujus panis, de quo Dominus ait, Panem hunc qui manducaverit, non esuriet; et potum quem ego dedero qui biberit, non sitiet in aeternum (Joan. VI, 51), saginam quamdam promittens et satietatem sine fastidio: quomodo ergo perveniamus ad hanc satietatem panis, longe ab ea satietate in hac fame positi, consilio opus est. Quod consilium si neglexerimus, ad panem illum sine causa pulsamus. Imo vero consilium hoc quod daturus sum, vel potius quod commemoraturus: non enim a me dicam quod vobiscum didici: consilium ergo hoc quod dicturus sum, non dico quisquis contempserit, sine causa pulsat; sed quisquis contempserit, omnino non pulsat. Hoc enim consilium sequi et agere, hoc est pulsare. Quid enim putatis, fratres mei, quia vere quasi corporaliter habet Deus quamdam januam duram, quam claudat contra homines, et ideo nobis dixit, Pulsate, ut veniamus et tundamus ostium, quousque pulsando perveniat ad aures patrisfamilias in secreto quodam loco constituti, et jubeat nobis aperiri, dicendo, Quis est qui pulsat? quis est qui auribus meis taedium facit? Date illi quod petit, recedat hinc? Non ita est. Verumtamen est aliquid simile. Certe quando pulsas ad aliquem, manibus agis. Est quod agas manibus, quando pulsas ad Dominum. Prorsus manibus age, manibus pulsa. Si hoc non egeris, non dico, frustra pulsas; sed dico, non pulsas. Ideo non mereberis, ideo non accipies, quia non pulsas. Quomodo, inquit, vis ut pulsem? ecce quotidie rogo. Bene facis. Nam et hoc dictum est, Petite, et dabitur vobis; quaerite, et invenietis; pulsate, et aperietur vobis (Matth. VII, 7). Omnia dicta sunt, Pete, quaere, pulsa. Petis orando, quaeris disputando, pulsas erogando. Non ergo quiescat manus. Apostolus, cum de eleemosynis plebem moneret: Consilium, inquit, in hoc do: hoc enim vobis prodest, qui non solum sapere, sed etiam velle coepistis ab anno priore (II Cor. VIII, 10). Et Daniel regi Nabuchodonosor sic dixit: Consilium meum accipe, rex, et peccata tua eleemosynis redime (Dan. IV, 24).

our flesh is earth. But it cannot be that our flesh should have its bread and the soul should not have its bread. For our soul too, in a certain want in this world, needs its bread, just as the flesh needs its own. For He who does not need bread is God. Therefore the bread alone does not need bread. For He is the bread of our soul, Who does not need another bread, but, sufficient to Himself, nourishes us also. Manifest, then, is the heavenly bread by which our soul is fed. But how is one to come to it, so that we may be filled to fullness with that from which we now scarcely gather crumbs, lest we perish in this famished desert; how, then, is one to come to the fullness of this bread, of which the Lord says, Whoever eats this bread shall not hunger; and whoever drinks the drink which I shall give shall not thirst for ever (John 6:51), promising a certain fullness and a satiety without loathing: how, then, we may come to this satiety of bread, placed as we are far from that satiety in this hunger, there is need of counsel. If we neglect this counsel, we knock at that bread without cause. Indeed rather this counsel which I am about to give, or rather which I am about to recall (for I shall not speak from myself what I have learned together with you): this counsel, then, which I am about to speak, I do not say that whoever despises it knocks without cause; but that whoever despises it does not knock at all. For to follow and carry out this counsel, that is to knock. For what do you think, my brothers? That God truly, as it were bodily, has some hard door which He shuts against men, and that He therefore said to us, Knock, so that we may come and beat upon the door until by knocking it reaches the ears of the householder, set in some secret place, and he orders it to be opened to us, saying, Who is it that knocks? Who is it that wearies my ears? Give him what he asks, let him go away from here? It is not so. Yet there is something similar. Certainly, when you knock at someone's door, you act with your hands. There is something for you to do with your hands when you knock at the Lord's door. By all means act with your hands, knock with your hands. If you do not do this, I do not say you knock in vain; but I say you do not knock. That is why you will not merit, that is why you will not receive, because you do not knock. How, he says, do you want me to knock? See, every day I ask. You do well. For this too has been said, Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you (Matt. 7:7). All have been said: Ask, seek, knock. You ask by praying, you seek by discussing, you knock by giving out. So let the hand not be idle. The Apostle, when he was admonishing the people about alms, says: Herein I give counsel: for this is profitable for you, who began not only to understand but also to will from the year before (2 Cor. 8:10). And Daniel spoke thus to King Nebuchadnezzar: Accept my counsel, O king, and redeem your sins with alms (Dan. 4:24).

2. Ne se extollat qui dat pauperi. Pauper accipiendo plus diviti praestat, quam ille ipsi erogando. Si ergo consilium est quod accipimus, quando nobis jubetur, vel quando monemur ut aliquid ex eo quod habemus indigentibus praebeamus, non superbiamus quando damus. Si enim consilium est quod accepisti, tibi prodest plus quam illi cui dedisti. Non ergo nos extollamus super opera nostra, et quasi placeamus nobis

2. Let him who gives to a poor man not exalt himself. The poor man by receiving bestows more on the rich man than the latter does on him by giving out. If, then, it is counsel that we receive when we are commanded, or when we are admonished to supply something out of what we have to those in need, let us not be proud when we give. For if what you have received is counsel, it profits you more than the man to whom you have given. Let us not, then, exalt ourselves over our works, and, as it were, be pleased with ourselves

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quod beneficia praestamus quibus damus. Consilium qui vult accipere, hoc vult accipere quod sibi prosit; et consilium qui dat, consulit. Si consulit, ei prodest cui consulit. Accipit quisque a te supplex pauper; quia si te superbe dare non decet, quanto magis illum superbe non deceat accipere! Accipit humiliter, accipit gratias agens. Tu tamen scito et reminiscere, non solum quid des, sed etiam quid accipias. Si enim accipiat iste pauper libertatem respondendi tibi, si forte senserit te superbientem super se, et dicat tibi, Unde superbis? unde extolleris, quia dedisti mihi? Quid mihi dedisti? Panem. Hunc panem si in domo tua poneres et contemneres, iret in aeruginem, ex aerugine in putredinem, ex putredine in terram, terra reverteretur in terram. Et tu quidem porrectae manui meae ut acciperet, porrexisti manum tuam ut dares. Memento unde fuerit facta manus tua, et unde in meam apposuisti: terram, de terra, in terram. Deinde quid facio de pane tuo? Comedo, molestiam famis compesco: beneficium accipio; non sum ingratus. Verumtamen tu cogita quid te Dominus ipse Salvator commonuerit: quia omne quod in os intrat, in ventrem cadit, et in secessum emittitur (Matth. XV, 17). Rursusque apostolus Paulus quid tibi dixerit: Esca ventri, et venter escis; Deus autem et hunc et eas evacuabit (I Cor. VI, 13). Panis ergo, ut dixi, terra, de terra, in terram; ut fulciatur terra, et reficiatur terra. Quid dedisti cogitas, quid accepturus es non cogitas. Vide ergo ne plus tibi praestem accipiendo, quam tu mihi dando. Si enim non esset qui a te acciperet, non erogares terram, et non acciperes coelum. Pulso ad januam tuam, et audis me, jubes mihi porrigi unde fames mea sustentetur, et ab hac molestia quam mihi ingerit, compescatur. Bene fecisti. Audire me pulsantem noli, si audes. Si rogaturus non es, contemne rogantem. Contemne me, si nihil petis ab eo qui fecit et me et te. Si autem petiturus es illud quod mihi das; quia me exaudisti, tibi praestas ut exaudiaris. Age illi gratias, qui rem tam pretiosam tam vili pretio te facit emere. Das quod in tempore perit: accipis quod manet in aeternum. Das quod si non dares, post paululum projiceres: accipis quo in aeternum perfruaris. Das unde sustentetur fames hominum: accipis unde sis socius Angelorum. Das unde non esuriat homo post paululum famem iterum passurus: accipis unde famem nunquam sitimque patiaris. Cum ergo vides quid des, et quid accipias, noli dare, si audes. Videamus quis majore damno feriatur, ego, cui non das terram; aut tu, qui non pervenies ad eum qui fecit coelum et terram.

that we confer benefits on those to whom we give. Whoever wishes to receive counsel wishes to receive what may profit him; and whoever gives counsel, counsels. If he counsels, he profits the one whom he counsels. Each poor man receives from you as a suppliant; for if it is not fitting for you to give proudly, how much more is it not fitting for him to receive proudly! He receives humbly, he receives giving thanks. Yet you, know and remember not only what you give, but also what you receive. For if this poor man were to take the liberty of answering you, if perhaps he perceived you being proud over him, and were to say to you: Why are you proud? Why are you lifted up, because you have given to me? What have you given me? Bread. This bread, if you had put it away in your house and disregarded it, would have gone to mould, from mould to rottenness, from rottenness to earth; earth would have returned to earth. And you indeed stretched out your hand to give to my hand stretched out to receive. Remember from what your hand was made, and from what you placed it in mine: earth, from earth, into earth. Then what do I do with your bread? I eat it, I check the distress of hunger: I receive a benefit; I am not ungrateful. Nevertheless, consider what the Lord the Saviour Himself has reminded you of: that everything that enters the mouth falls into the belly, and is cast out into the privy (Matt. 15:17). And again what the apostle Paul has told you: Food for the belly, and the belly for food; but God will destroy both it and them (1 Cor. 6:13). Bread, then, as I said, is earth, from earth, into earth; so that earth may be propped up, and earth refreshed. You consider what you have given; what you are going to receive you do not consider. See, then, lest I confer more on you by receiving than you on me by giving. For if there were no one to receive from you, you would not pay out earth, and you would not receive heaven. I knock at your door, and you hear me; you order that something be handed to me by which my hunger may be sustained and be restrained from this distress which it heaps upon me. You have done well. Refuse to hear me knocking, if you dare. If you are not going to ask, despise the one who asks. Despise me, if you ask nothing from Him Who made both me and you. But if you are going to ask for that which you give me, then since you have heard me, you secure for yourself that you may be heard. Give thanks to Him Who makes you buy so precious a thing at so cheap a price. You give what perishes in time: you receive what remains for ever. You give what, if you did not give it, you would throw away a little later: you receive what you may enjoy for ever. You give that by which the hunger of men may be sustained: you receive that by which you may be a companion of the Angels. You give that by which a man may not be hungry, though he is going to suffer hunger again a little later: you receive that by which you may never suffer hunger and thirst. Since, then, you see what you give and what you receive, refuse to give, if you dare. Let us see who is struck with the greater loss: I, to whom you do not give earth; or you, who will not come to Him Who made heaven and earth.

5. Consilium Christi de erogandis divitiis, ne hic pereant. Si ergo consilium accipimus, faciamus propter nos; et nemo dicat quia praestat pauperi. Sibi enim plus praestat, quam pauperi. Si verum cogitemus, fratres mei, et secundum verba Domini nostri sapiamus; aliter enim si sapuerimus, perimus: si non ex nostro consilio, sed ex ipsius vivamus, tunc vere vivimus. Si habemus aliquid quod pauperibus demus, si non dederimus, hic dimittimus; aut forte cum vivimus,

5. Christ's counsel on paying out riches, so that they may not perish here. If, then, we accept counsel, let us act for our own sake; and let no one say that he is conferring something on the poor man. For he confers more on himself than on the poor man. If we think on what is true, my brothers, and are minded according to the words of our Lord (for if we are minded otherwise, we perish), if we live not by our own counsel but by His, then we truly live. If we have something to give to the poor, if we do not give it, we leave it behind here; or perhaps while we live,

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Footnotes

(a) Omissa repete ex sermone 60, n. 7.

Supply what is omitted from Sermon 60, n. 7.

(printed under page 114) (b) Quanti solidum aureum vendiderit non declarat ; intelligi autem potest ex novella Valentiniani xxv inter Theodosianas, qua cautum est, « Ne unquam intra septem mil« lia nummorum solidus distrahatur. » Cassiodorus sex olim millibus venditum docet lib. 1 Variarum, epist. 10 : « Sex, » inquit, « millia denariorum solidum esse voluerunt. » Sirm.

He does not say for how much he sold the gold solidus; but it can be understood from the twenty-fifth Novel of Valentinian among the Theodosian ones, by which it is provided "that a solidus never be sold for less than seven thousand nummi." Cassiodorus, Variae book 1, letter 10, shows that it was once sold for six thousand: "They decided," he says, "that the solidus should be six thousand denarii." Sirmond.

(printed under page 114) (c) Folles æreos dicit, non argenteos. Argentei enim folles centum pars solidi exigua non essent. Ut denarios ergo appellabant, tum argenteos, tum æreos ; sic folles alii argentei fuerunt, alii ærei. Follium æreorum valor, aut idem fuit ac nummorum, seu denariorum, quorum sex septemve millia in solido censebantur, aut utriusque generis non magnum discrimen. Folles autem argentei Augustini ævo quid valerent, æstimari potest ex Lege III Cod. Theod. de Suariis, quæ porcinæ pretium in singulas libras senis follibus definit, et ex iis quæ in lib. 22 de Civitate Dei, cap. 8, narrantur de Florentio sartore Hipponensi, qui grandem piscem trecentis follibus vendidisse dicitur. Utrobique enim congruere omnia possunt, si pro follibus asses sive solidi sumantur monetæ nostræ Gallicanæ. Nam et porcinæ in singulas libras solidorum sex justum fuerit pretium, et grandem piscem trecentis assibus nostris vendi nihil est (continues)

He means bronze folles, not silver. For a hundred silver folles would not be a small part of a solidus. As they called denarii now silver, now bronze, so some folles were silver, others bronze. The value of the bronze folles was either the same as that of the nummi or denarii, six or seven thousand of which were reckoned to the solidus, or there was no great difference between the two kinds. What silver folles were worth in Augustine's time can be judged from Law III of the Theodosian Code, On the Pork-dealers, which fixes the price of pork at six folles a pound, and from what is told in book 22 of The City of God, chapter 8, of Florentius the tailor of Hippo, who is said to have sold a large fish for three hundred folles. For in both places everything can agree if for folles one takes the as or sou of our French coinage. For six sous a pound would be a fair price for pork, and for a large fish to be sold for three hundred of our sous is nothing (continues)

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hic amittimus. Quam multi enim subito bona omnia perdiderunt, quae studiosissime recondebant? Uno impetu hostili universi thesauri divitum perierunt. Nemo dixit hosti: Filiis meis servo. Certe videtis quia si est in illis aliqua fides. De iis enim loquendum est, qui christiani hoc passi sunt. Nam de ignorantibus Deum nulla mentio est. Illi enim in hac vita quod pro magno habebant perdiderunt, aliam vitam non speraverunt. Tenebrae foris, tenebrae intus: paupertas in arca, major egestas in conscientia. De his ergo, ut dixi, quoquo modo non est loquendum; sed de iis potius, in quibus est fides aliqua christiana. Ideo dixi, aliqua, non robusta, non plena; quia si robusta et plena esset, consilium Domini non sprevissent. Certe tamen, charissimi, cum viderent domos suas inanes, aut forte nec ipsam inanitatem domorum suarum videre permissi sunt, cum inde captivi ducti sunt, cum eis discedentibus flamma successit: cum ergo se attenderent inanes, quomodo eos poenituit, quia non audierant Domini consilium? Quid enim Dominus noster Jesus Christus, fratres, dixit diviti illi quaerenti consilium de capessenda vita aeterna? Quid ei dixit? Dixit ei, Perde quod habes? Plane, etiamsi hoc diceret, Perde temporalia, diceret ut acquiras aeterna. Non ei tamen dixit, Perde quod habes. Videbat enim illum amatorem rerum suarum. Non ait, Perde; sed ait, Migra ubi non perdas. Amas thesauros tuos? amas pecuniam tuam? amas divitias tuas? amas praedia tua? Quidquid amas, in terra habes. Ibi habes quod amas, ubi perdas et pereas. Consilium do, migra in coelum. Hic si habes, perdes quod habes, peribis cum eo quod perdis. Ibi autem si habes, non amisisti, sed sequeris quo misisti (Matth. XIX, 16-21). Consilium ergo do, etc. ..... Quare contempsimus patrem monentem, et hostem sensimus invadentem? [Multos ergo poenitet. Nam quidam (quod revera dicitur accidisse) homo non dives, sed tamen etiam de tenui facultate pinguis adipe charitatis, cum solidum, ut assolet, vendidisset, centum folles ex pretio solidi pauperibus jussit erogari. Factum est. Ibi ille

here we lose. For how many have suddenly lost all the goods which they were most zealously laying up? By one onslaught of the enemy all the treasures of the rich perished. No one said to the enemy: I am keeping it for my sons. Surely you see that, if there is some faith in them. For we must speak of those who, being Christians, suffered this. For of those who do not know God there is no mention. For they lost in this life what they held to be of great worth, and they did not hope for another life. Darkness outside, darkness within: poverty in the strongbox, greater want in the conscience. Of these, then, as I said, we must in any case not speak; but rather of those in whom there is some Christian faith. That is why I said "some", not robust, not full; because if it were robust and full, they would not have spurned the counsel of the Lord. Yet surely, dearest ones, when they saw their houses empty, or perhaps were not even permitted to see the very emptiness of their houses, when they were led away from there as captives, when, as they departed, the flames took over: when, then, they saw themselves empty, how they repented that they had not listened to the counsel of the Lord! For what did our Lord Jesus Christ, brethren, say to that rich man who sought counsel about laying hold of eternal life? What did He say to him? Did He say to him, "Lose what you have"? Clearly, even if He had said this, "Lose temporal things", He would have been saying it so that you may acquire eternal things. Yet He did not say to him, "Lose what you have." For He saw that he was a lover of his own possessions. He does not say, "Lose"; but He says, "Move to where you may not lose." Do you love your treasures? do you love your money? do you love your riches? do you love your estates? Whatever you love, you have on earth. There you have what you love, where you may lose it and perish. I give counsel: move to heaven. If you have it here, you will lose what you have, you will perish together with what you lose. But if you have it there, you have not lost it, but you will follow where you have sent it (Matt. 19:16–21). I give counsel, then, etc. ..... Why did we despise the father who warned us, and feel the enemy who invaded us? [Many, then, repent. For a certain man (which is said really to have happened), not a rich man, but yet, even out of his slender means, rich with the fat of charity, when he had sold a solidus, as is customary, ordered a hundred folles from the price of the solidus to be paid out to the poor. It was done. There that

Editors' notes and page, col. 1704

Footnotes

(1) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 1704

¹ Apud Sirm. deest, quia; quam vocem prætcrea sensus repellit. M.

In Sirmond "quia" is missing; a word which the sense moreover rejects. M.

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(2) ‹anchor: quiras æterna› · call in col 1704

² Sirm. sic habet hunc locum : Quid enim, dixit? Dixit ei, Perde quod habes? Placeret, si hoc diceret. Perde temporalia, ut acquiras æterna. M.

Sirmond has this passage thus: "For what did he say? Did he say to him, Lose what you have? It would please, if he said this. Lose temporal things, that you may gain eternal ones." M.

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(a) ‹anchor: ergo do, etc.› · call in col 1704

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(b) ‹anchor: ut assolet, vendidisset› · call in col 1704

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