Migne Reading Room
PL 61 · cols. 190–199
Paulinus of Nola, Letters
Letter XI
domo Domini, et plantati maceriam signaculi salutaris, qua ab incursu silvestris apri, et depastione ferocis onagri muniremur, adstruxeris et torcular foderis, quo per conversationem piam quasi quamdam tibi dulcem de tua vite vindemiam funderemus. Habes adhuc, quod facias imitatione illius, qui sterilis ficulneae commeatum a Domino vineae deprecatus est, et imminentem inutili ligno excisionem distulit sponsione. Sic igitur et pro nobis pietatis tuae cura interveniat, et positam ad radices arborum jejunarum securem vel annua Domini indulgentis exspectatione suspendi postulet. Sponde patrifamilias diligentiam pro nobis sollicitudinis tuae, et assiduas orationes, tamquam illum apostolicum evangelici stercoris cophinum pollicere, quo cordis nostri terra pinguescat, et sationis tuae seges nutriatur, vel plantationis tuae arbor succum tuae fecunditatis accipiat; ut in die recognitionis (Id est judicii. V. epist. 19, n. 3), quo pariter sator messorque gaudebunt, nos quoque paterno sinu afferens inter manipulos tuos, repetas ab eo culturae tuae fructum; cum illi qui sata irrigantium nutrit, et colentium labores fructificat, id in nobis, quod non ad ignem jubeat abscidi, sed ad horreum metere dignetur, obtuleris.
the house of the Lord (Ps. 91:14), and have built around us, once planted, the wall of the saving seal, by which we might be protected from the onslaught of the wild boar and the grazing of the fierce wild ass (Ps. 79:14), and have dug a winepress, so that through a holy way of life we might pour out for you, as it were, a sweet vintage from your own vine. You still have something to do, in imitation of him who begged of the Lord of the vineyard a respite for the barren fig tree (Luke 13:8) and by his pledge put off the cutting down that hung over the useless tree. So, then, let the care of your fatherly love intercede for us too, and ask that the axe laid to the roots of the fruitless trees (Matt. 3:10; Luke 3) be held back, at least by a year's waiting on the part of the indulgent Lord. Pledge to the householder the diligence of your solicitude for us and assiduous prayers; promise, as it were, that apostolic basket of evangelical dung (Luke 13:8), by which the soil of our heart may grow rich, and the crop of your sowing be nourished, or the tree of your planting take in the sap of your fruitfulness; so that on the day of recognition (that is, of judgement; see Letter 19, n. 3), when sower and reaper will rejoice together, bringing us too in your fatherly bosom among your sheaves, you may ask back from Him the fruit of your tilling; when you offer to Him who nourishes the sowings of those who water and makes fruitful the labours of those who till, that in us which He may command to be cut down not for the fire (see Letter 11, n. 7) but may deign to reap for the barn (Matt. 13:30).
EPISTOLA XI.
LETTER XI.
SEVERO fratri unanimo PAULINUS.
To Severus, his brother one in mind, Paulinus.
1. In Domino Deo Jesu Christo sentio, et in te potissimum munere et verbo Dei laetus experior, quia amico fideli nulla est comparatio, et lingua gratiae in bono homine abundat. Nam quasi medicamentum vitae nobis consolatio caritatis tuae, ut favi mellis sermones tui; ut aqua frigida sitientibus, ita nobis nuntius de te bonus a terra longinqua. Qui cum et salutis
1. In the Lord God Jesus Christ I perceive, and in you above all I joyfully experience, by the gift and word of God, that nothing can be compared with a faithful friend, and that the tongue of grace abounds in a good man (Ecclus. 6:15). For the consolation of your love is to us like a medicine of life, your words like honeycombs; as cold water to the thirsty, so to us is good news of you from a distant land (Prov. 16:24; 25:25, LXX). And since, both by the news of your health
Editors' notes and page, col. 190
Footnotes
(m) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 190
Luc. XIII, 8.
Luke 13:8.
(printed under page 98)
(n) ‹anchor: ad horreum metere dignetur› · call in col 190
Matth. XIII, 30.
Matthew 13:30.
(printed under page 98)
(o) ‹anchor: in bono homine abundat› · call in col 190
Eccli. VI, 15.
Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 6:15.
(printed under page 98)
(p) ‹anchor: bonus a terra longinqua› · call in col 190
Prov. XVI, 24, et XXV, 25, sec. LXX.
Proverbs 16:24, and 25:25, according to the Septuagint.
(*) ‹anchor: EPISTOLA XI› · call in col 190 Alias 5; quae autem 11 erat, nunc 3. Scripta anno 397.
Formerly 5; the letter that was 11 is now 3. Written in the year 397.
(printed under page 98)
(f) ‹anchor: In Domino› · call in col 190
Ita tres mss. cod. Reg. Vat. et Vien. In edit. deest Deo.
So the three manuscript codices, the Royal, Vatican and Vienna ones. In the printed editions "Deo" ("God") is wanting.
(printed under page 98)
Editors' prose
Quanta sit caritatis Christianae supra humanas necessitudines praestantia, ostendit, in se deque se ipso sacrificium Deo immolandum, veteribus sacrificiis allegorice explicatis : item Severum laudat quod S. Martini vitam scripserit, ac postremo ad se invitans de evangelicae paupertatis praestantia pulcherrime admonet.
He shows how far Christian charity surpasses the bonds of human kinship, and that the sacrifice to be offered to God is to be made in oneself and of oneself, the ancient sacrifices being explained allegorically; he also praises Severus for having written the life of St Martin, and finally, inviting him to visit, admonishes him most beautifully on the excellence of evangelical poverty.
<!-- note: italic type small and blurred; 'in se deque se ipso' and 'allegorice' (hyphenated al-le-orice across lines) read with fair confidence. Images show the right column in full; the left column is cut at the edge, so any editors' summary there could not be checked. -->
Page
- running head: EPISTOLA XI 190
- marginal letters: A ‹domo Domini, et plantati›; B ‹guescat, et sationis›; C (beside the argumentum of Letter XI, at "Martini vitam scripserit"); D (printed in the footnote block, below the text)
- old-edition numerals: (none)
tuae indicio, et caritatis eloquio impinguet ossa nostra, magnum laetitiae et jucunditatis cumulum hinc habet, quod per nostros filios in Domino tuos pueros affertur, et promitur; ut non solum litteris, sed quadam tui lateris parte potiamur, Quid retribuemus Domino nostro, praeter omnia quae retribuit nobis, pro hac etiam gratia, qua te nobis et in seculari prius amicitia dilectissimum, in suis quoque rebus, quod incomparabilis pretii ducimus, individuum comitem atque consortem spiritali germanitate connexuit?
and by the eloquence of your love, it fattens our bones (Prov. 15:30), it gains from this a great heap of joy and delight, that it is brought and delivered by your servants, our sons in the Lord, so that we have possession not only of letters but of a part, as it were, of your own side. What shall we render to our Lord for all that He has rendered to us (Ps. 115:12), and for this grace too, by which He has bound you, already most dear to us in our former worldly friendship, to us in His own concerns as well, as an inseparable companion and partner in a spiritual brotherhood, a thing we count of incomparable price?
Quae est, inquit, mater mea, aut qui sunt fratres mei? non hi videlicet, qui de voluntate carnis, et convenientia sumus; sed qui ex Deo nati sunt per sapientiam Dei Christum: qui in se manens innovat omnia, et dat potestatem filios Dei fieri, coheredes regni sui; propter idipsum conformatus corpori humilitatis nostrae, ut nos conformet corpori gloriae suae; et non solum a terra nostra sed etiam a cognatione divulsos in sortem et generationem suam transferat. Quo munere nos sibi creare, et in suae caritatis vinculo copulare dignatus est, a familiaritate carnali, in qua jam nunc intelligimus, huic nos foederi praeparaverat, in aeternam necessitudinem affectu potiore mutavit. Siquidem caritas Christi ista sit, quae numquam excidit, quia ex Deo defluit, et in Deo permanet; omnemque, in quo maneat, hominem sua perennitate perpetuat. Haec est inflari nescia, expers doli, pura livoris, aemula Deo, non elatione spiritus, sed spiritu mansuetudinis, et aemulatione pietatis. Dominus enim noster, ut ipse testatus est, et experimur, dulcis et mitis est, et humilis corde.
"Who is My mother," He says, "or who are My brothers?" (Matt. 12:48). Not, clearly, those of us who are so by the will of the flesh and by agreement, but those who are born of God (John 1:13) through Christ, the Wisdom of God; who, abiding in Himself, makes all things new and gives power to become sons of God (John 1:12), co-heirs of His kingdom; who for this very purpose was conformed to the body of our lowliness, that He might conform us to the body of His glory, and might carry over into His own lot and generation those torn away not only from their land but also from their kindred. By this gift He has deigned to create us for Himself and to join us in the bond of His love, and from the fleshly familiarity in which, as we now understand, He had been preparing us for this covenant, He has changed us, with a stronger affection, into an eternal kinship. For such is the love of Christ, which never falls away (1 Cor. 13:8), because it flows down from God and abides in God, and makes every man in whom it abides everlasting with its own perpetuity. It knows not how to be puffed up; it is without guile, clean of envy, emulous of God, not by loftiness of spirit but by a spirit of meekness and an emulation of devotion. For our Lord, as He Himself has testified and as we experience, is sweet and gentle and lowly of heart (Matt. 11:29).
3. De quo tu mihi genitus frater non solum ad praesens adjutorium, sed et ad perenne consortium tanto superas omnem circa me corporalium necessitudinum affectionem, quanto potiore mihi parente germanus es, quam illi quos caro tantum et sanguis mihi sociat. Ubi enim mihi nunc consanguinea germanitas? ubi amicitia vetus? ubi pristina contubernia? Evanui coram illis omnibus, exter, ut dictum est, fratribus meis, et peregrinus filiis matris meae. Amici mei et proximi quondam mei, nunc a longe steterunt; et, sicut fluvius decurrens, et ut fluctus pertransiens, sic transeunt me, et in me forsitan confunduntur et erubescunt, ut scriptum est, venire ad me: facti sunt mihi, qui prope, longe; et qui longe, prope. Pro patribus, inquit, nati sunt tibi filii. Ita pro parentibus, et fratribus et amicis, tu nobis factus a Domino es, qui et parentum cura anxius et fraterna dilectione sollicitus, et tota non fictae amicitiae
3. Born of Him as my brother, not only for present help but also for an everlasting partnership, you surpass all the affection of bodily kinships towards me by as much as you are my brother through a better Parent than those whom flesh and blood alone join to me. For where now is my brotherhood by blood? where my old friendship? where my former companions? I have vanished in the sight of them all, a stranger, as it is said, to my brothers, and a foreigner to the sons of my mother. My friends and those once my neighbours now have stood afar off (Ps. 68:9; 37:12, according to the Roman Psalter); and like a river running down and like a wave passing over, so they pass me by, and perhaps they are ashamed and blush on my account, as it is written, to come to me: those who were near have become far from me, and those who were far, near (Ps. 37:12; 107:10; Eph. 2:13). "Instead of fathers," it says, "sons are born to you" (Ps. 44:17). So you have been made by the Lord, for us, in place of parents and brothers and friends: you who, both anxious with a parent's care and solicitous with a brother's love, and in the whole faith of unfeigned friendship
Editors' notes and page, col. 191
Footnotes
<!-- Two series: scripture references (a–o) and editor's notes (a)–(h). Small-capital numerals set as capitals. --> (printed under page 99)
(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 191
Prov. XV, 30.
Proverbs 15:30.
(printed under page 99)
(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 191
Psal. CXV, 12.
Psalm 115 (116):12.
(printed under page 99)
(c) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 191
Matth. XII, 48.
Matthew 12:48.
(printed under page 99)
(d) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 191
Johan. I, 13.
John 1:13.
(printed under page 99)
(e) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 191
Ibid. 12.
The same, verse 12.
(printed under page 99)
(f) ‹anchor: numquam excidit› · call in col 191
I Cor. XIII, 8.
1 Corinthians 13:8.
(printed under page 99)
(g) ‹anchor: humilis corde› · call in col 191
Matth. XI, 29.
Matthew 11:29.
(printed under page 99)
(h) ‹anchor: a longe steterunt› · call in col 191
Psal. LXVIII, 9, et XXXVII, 12, sec. Psalt. Rom.
Psalm 68 (69):9, and 37 (38):12, according to the Roman Psalter.
(printed under page 99)
(i) ‹anchor: et qui longe, prope› · call in col 191
Psal. XXXVII, 12, et CVII, 10; Eph. II, 13.
Psalm 37 (38):12, and 107 (108):10; Ephesians 2:13.
(printed under page 99)
(j) ‹anchor: nati sunt tibi filii› · call in col 191
Psal. XLIV, 17.
Psalm 44 (45):17.
(printed under page 99)
(k) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 191 or 192
Isai. LII, 7; Rom. X, 15.
Isaiah 52:7; Romans 10:15.
(printed under page 99)
(l) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 191 or 192
Matth. XIX, 29.
Matthew 19:29.
(printed under page 99)
(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 191
Ms. Vien., impinguat.
The Vienna manuscript: "impinguat" ("fattens", present tense).
(printed under page 99)
(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 191
Sic mss. Reg. et Vien. et editi 4. Edit. Rosv., creari.
So the Royal and Vienna manuscripts and four printed editions. Rosweyde's edition: "creari" ("to be created").
(printed under page 99)
(c) ‹anchor: in quo› · call in col 191
Ms. Vien., monet.
The Vienna manuscript: "monet" [so printed; probably "manet", "remains"].
(printed under page 99)
(d) ‹anchor: perenne consortium› · call in col 191
Ita mss. Reg. Vien. et edit. Schot. Ceteri codices, tantum
So the Royal and Vienna manuscripts and Schott's edition. The other copies: "tantum" ("only").
(printed under page 99)
(e) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 191 or 192
Sic ms. Vien. et edit. Grin. edit. Rosv., perferunt. Ms. Reg. cum tribus editis, proferunt.
So the Vienna manuscript and Gryphius's edition; Rosweyde's edition: "perferunt" ("they endure"). The Royal manuscript with three printed editions: "proferunt" ("they bring forth").
(printed under page 99)
Page
- running head: 191 S. PAULINI NOLANI EPISCOPI 192
- marginal letters: A ‹lutis tuae indicio›; B ‹omnia, et dat potestatem›; C ‹Dominus enim noster›; D ‹facti sunt mihi›
- old-edition numerals: 49 after ‹habet,›; 50 after ‹sollicitus, et›
fide sedulus, omnibusque in nos pietatis visceribus effusus, assiduis nos litteris adeas, blandissimis solatiis mulceas.
diligent, and poured out towards us with all the heart of affection, visit us with constant letters and soothe us with the gentlest comforts.
4. Neque sat habes occasionibus cunctis revisere, nisi et pueros tuos mittas. Nec solum de famulis, sed et de filiis sanctis, quorum benedicta in Domino prole laetaris, eligis tabellarios; quorum oculis nos videas, et ore contingas. Speciosi nobis pedes illorum tamquam evangelizantium bona. Nuntiant enim nobis, et afferunt ea quae ad pacem sunt de te; cum proferunt opera Domini, quae aut operaris in verbo Dei, aut scribis in spiritu Verbi. Quae nobis divitiae tam pretiosa munera, quae necessitudines tam dulcia possint praestare solatia? ut eorum reputatio differatur, quae in aeternum largitas divina promittit; quanto potiora post habitis rebus sint; quae jam et in isto seculo rependuntur, considerare promptum est. Quod enim quaeso, mihi damnum pietatis et gratiae parens inhumanus, aut frater negligens, aut amicus immemor faciunt, cum omnes horum mihi nominum, vel pignorum, aut foederum caritates, vel de te uno largiter rependantur? ut taceam vel in nostro, vel etiam in ignoto orbe, non paucos et in Deum et erga nos tui similes: quorum nobis affectus maximos pro patria, et parentibus, et patrimoniis gratia retributoris indulget, in te uno, quae accepimus bona, si computemus, omnia nobis nostra in te largius atque pretiosius compensata reputabimus. Frater non redimit, inquit, redimit homo. Similiter nobis licet dicere: Mundus nos non amat, sed amat Christus. Homo negligit, sed Deus diligit. Inimici hominis domestici ejus, sed rursum amici hominis domestici Dei. Fuerint nobis fratres, et amici, et proximi boni et magni; sed non fuit placitum circa nos in eis Domino, qui te elegit donare nobis in fratrem inseparabilem, et in proximum dilectissimum; quem merito sicut nosmetipsos diligamus, quia cor unum et unam animam tecum in Christo habemus.
4. Nor do you think it enough to visit us at every opportunity unless you also send your servants. And not only from among your household but also from among your holy sons, in whose offspring, blessed in the Lord, you rejoice, you choose letter-carriers, so that with their eyes you may see us and with their mouths touch us. Beautiful to us are their feet, as of those who bring good tidings (Isa. 52:7; Rom. 10:15). For they announce to us and bring us the things that make for peace concerning you, when they bring out the works of the Lord, which you either do in the word of God or write in the spirit of the Word. What riches could furnish us gifts so precious, what kinships comforts so sweet? To put off reckoning the things that the divine bounty promises for eternity (Matt. 19:29), how much better they are than the things set aside, it is easy to consider which are repaid even in this world. For what loss of affection and kindness, I ask, do an unkind parent, a neglectful brother or a forgetful friend inflict on me, when all the loves of these names, or ties, or bonds are repaid to me abundantly from you alone? Not to mention the many, whether in our world or in a world unknown to us, who are like you towards God and towards us: the grace of the Rewarder grants us their very great affection in place of homeland, parents and patrimony; and if we count up the good things we have received in you alone, we shall reckon that all that was ours has been repaid us in you more abundantly and more preciously. "A brother does not redeem," it says; "a man redeems" (Ps. 48:8). Likewise we may say: the world does not love us, but Christ loves us. Man neglects, but God cherishes. A man's enemies are those of his household (Matt. 10:36); but again, a man's friends are those of the household of God. We may have had brothers and friends and neighbours, good and great; but it was not the Lord's pleasure concerning us in them, who chose to give you to us as an inseparable brother and a most beloved neighbour, whom we rightly love as ourselves, since we have one heart and one soul with you in Christ (Acts 4:32).
5. Itaque quod supra breviter posuimus de caritate multorum aeque spiritalium, nequaquam apte et digne diximus; in nullius enim persona congruere nobis eadem, quam in te habemus, gratia potest. Ut enim aeque diligere dignentur in humilitate nostra gratiam Domini; tamen illud in te speciale nobis donum est, quod praedestinatos nos invicem nobis in caritate Christi junctissima prioris quoque vitae amicitia signavit, adhuc eorum, quae nunc per Christum avertimur, amatores. Sed tamen in hanc, qua modo interventu Dei nectimur copulam, per consuetudinem illius familiaritatis inolevimus, ut diligendo
5. And so what we set down briefly above about the love of many who are equally spiritual we said in no way fittingly or worthily; for in no one's person can the same grace match us that we have in you. For though they may deign equally to love the grace of the Lord in our lowliness, yet this is a special gift to us in you, that He marked us out, predestined for each other in the love of Christ, by a very close friendship in our former life as well, when we were still lovers of the things from which we are now turned away through Christ. But still, into this bond, in which we are now knit together by the intervention of God, we have grown through the habit of that familiarity, so that by loving
Editors' notes and page, col. 192
Footnotes
(m) ‹anchor: redimit homo› · call in col 192
Psal. XLVIII, 8.
Psalm 48 (49):8.
(printed under page 99)
(n) ‹anchor: hominis domestici ejus› · call in col 192
Matth. X, 36.
Matthew 10:36.
(printed under page 99)
(o) ‹anchor: in Christo habemus› · call in col 192
Act. IV, 32.
Acts 4:32.
(printed under page 99)
(f) ‹anchor: compensata› · call in col 192
Ms. Vatic., putabimus.
The Vatican manuscript: "putabimus" ("we shall think").
(printed under page 99)
(g) ‹anchor: in nullius enim› · call in col 192
Ita mss. codices. Editi, personam.
So the manuscript codices. The printed editions: "personam" (accusative, "person").
(printed under page 99)
(h) ‹anchor: diligere dignentur› · call in col 192
Ms. Vien. humilitatem nostram gratia Domini.
The Vienna manuscript: "humilitatem nostram gratia Domini" ("our lowliness by the grace of the Lord").
(printed under page 99)
Page
- running head: S. PAULINI NOLANI EPISCOPI 192
- marginal letters: A ‹fide sedulus›; B ‹quanto potiora post›; C ‹Homo negligit, sed Deus›; D ‹num est, quod praedestinatos›
- old-edition numerals: 51 after ‹adhuc›
nos et in infideli via fideliter, diligere etiam spiritaliter disceremus. Quia tam religiose nos semper uterque dileximus, ut ad nostram inter nos dilectionem nulla adjici posset affectio, nisi caritas Christi, quae sola omnem sensum affectumque supereminet. Quo impensiores debemus bono Domino gratias, quod respicere dignatus in humilitatem nostram, cum pariter in agro invenisset, pariter ut geminos ab utero carnis extraxit, et pariter assumsit. Duo enim vere, ut scripsisti, fuimus in agro, sed bonitate et omnipotentia Dei, ausim dicere, ita de nobis unus assumtus est, quod neuter est relictus. Eramus enim et singillatim duo, cum in nobis caro rebellis a spiritu dissideret; neque nostro homini pax esset, cum interiori repugnaret exterior. Nunc vero propitio i⟨p⟩so, qui fecit utrumque unum, et duo unum sumus, quia unus spiritus in duobus; et nulla discretio, quorum corpus unum. Sed hoc, ut dixi, commune nobiscum omnibus in Christo fratribus, unum in te peculiariter nobis gratum atque gratandum est, in cujus amicitia beatissimum Dei munus accepimus, ut nec itinere mutato dissolveremur a nobis: quod damnum de multis, ut recognoscis, dulcissimis aliquando nostris pariter experimur.
us even on an unbelieving way faithfully, we might learn to love also spiritually. For we have both always loved each other so devoutly that no affection could be added to our love for one another, except the charity of Christ, which alone surpasses every sense and affection. All the more fervent thanks, then, do we owe to the good Lord, that, deigning to look upon our lowliness, since He had found us together in the field, He drew us out together like twins from the womb of the flesh, and together took us up. For truly, as you wrote, we were two in the field, but by the goodness and almighty power of God, I would dare to say, one of us was taken up in such a way that neither was left (Matt. 24:40). For we were two even singly, when in us the rebellious flesh was at odds with the spirit, and there was no peace for our man, since the outer fought against the inner. But now, by the favour of Him who made both one (Eph. 2:14), we two are also one, because there is one spirit in two; and there is no separation between those whose body is one. But this, as I said, is common to us with all the brethren in Christ; one thing is especially dear to us in you and a cause for rejoicing, that in your friendship we have received a most blessed gift of God, so that even with our road changed we were not parted from each other: a loss which, as you remember, we are experiencing alike in the case of many who were once most dear to us.
6. Vere ergo tu nobis et parens, et frater, et proximus es, qui faciens in nobis voluntatem Dei, ac plenitudinem legis, diligis nos tamquam te, amicus nobis in caritate Christi, et in Dei regeneratione germanus. Quod cum videas, et recognoscas, cur in nos onerose, et de te falso loqueris, ut dicas: Duo fuimus in agro, et unus assumtus est? Non simus ingrati Deo, qui non unum ex nobis, sed unum assumsit in nobis. Duo fuimus, sed quando cum illis fratribus combinabamus, quorum a nobis per hoc propositum facta divisio est: quia unum non de singulari corpore, sed de multorum quoque unanimitate dici satis eadem Scriptura declarat, cum has personas non in duobus hominibus, sed populis, fide gentium, et remansione Judaeorum id ostendente, proponit. Nam et illae molentes duae, de quibus similiter una assumitur, ut arbitror, Synagogae et Ecclesiae formam gerunt. Quia non est alia persona quae in omni sacrarum Litterarum ratione tractetur, nisi aut in universitate generis humani, credentium infideliumque populorum
6. Truly, then, you are to us both parent and brother and neighbour, you who, doing the will of God in us and the fullness of the law (Rom. 13:10), love us as yourself, a friend to us in the charity of Christ, and a brother in the regeneration of God. Since you see and acknowledge this, why do you speak so burdensomely against us, and falsely of yourself, as to say: We were two in the field, and one was taken up (Matt. 24:40)? Let us not be ungrateful to God, who took up not one of us, but one in us. We were two, but that was when we kept company with those brethren from whom a separation was made from us by this way of life: for the same Scripture declares plainly enough (Rom. 11:7) that "one" is said not of a single body, but also of the unanimity of many, when it sets forth these persons not in two individual men but in peoples, as the faith of the Gentiles and the remaining-behind of the Jews shows. For those two women grinding too, of whom likewise one is taken up (Matt. 24:41; Luke 17:35), bear, as I think, the figure of the Synagogue and the Church. For there is no other person treated in the whole scheme of the sacred Letters except either, in the universality of the human race, the distinction of believing and unbelieving peoples;
Editors' notes and page, col. 193
Scripture references
[script. a] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 193 Matth. XXIV, 40.
Matthew 24:40.
[script. b] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 193 Ephes. II, 14.
Ephesians 2:14.
[script. c] ‹anchor: plenitudinem legis› · call in col 193 Rom. XIII, 10.
Romans 13:10.
[script. d] ‹anchor: unus assumtus est› · call in col 193 Matth. XXIV, 40.
Matthew 24:40.
[script. e] ‹anchor: eadem Scriptura declarat› · call in col 193 Rom. XI, 7.
Romans 11:7.
[script. f] ‹anchor: una assumitur› · call in col 193 Matth. XXIV, 41; Luc. XVII, 35.
Matthew 24:41; Luke 17:35.
[script. g] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 193 or 194 Rom. XI, 29.
Romans 11:29.
[script. h] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 193 or 194 Psal. CXXXV, 25.
Psalm 135:25.
[script. i] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 194 Johan. VI, 33.
John 6:33.
[script. j] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 194 Eccli. XXIV, 29.
Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 24:29.
[script. k] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 194 I Tim. I, 5.
1 Timothy 1:5.
[script. l] ‹anchor: spiritus unus efficitur› · call in col 194 I Cor. VI, 17.
1 Corinthians 6:17.
[script. m] ‹anchor: imaginem terreni› · call in col 194 I Cor. XV, 49.
1 Corinthians 15:49.
[script. n] ‹anchor: sumus in Christo› · call in col 194 II Cor. II, 15.
2 Corinthians 2:15.
[script. o] ‹anchor: obsequio rationabili› · call in col 194 Rom. XII, 1.
Romans 12:1.
[script. p] ‹anchor: peremtione peccati› · call in col 194 Lev. X, 16.
Leviticus 10:16.
[script. q] ‹anchor: sacrificantes ovem› · call in col 194 Levit. III, 6.
Leviticus 3:6.
Editors' notes
(printed under page 100)
(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 193
Ms. Vien., nobis cum.
The Vienna manuscript: "nobis cum" ("with us").
(printed under page 100)
(b) ‹anchor: not visible (before "nostris pariter experimur")› · call in col 193
Sic mss. codices cum editis quatuor. Edit. Rosv., nunc.
So the manuscript codices, with four printed editions. Rosweyde's edition: "nunc" ("now").
(printed under page 100)
(c) ‹anchor: proximus es, qui› · call in col 193
Ita ms. Vien. Alii, qui facis et in nobis voluntatem Dei ac plenitudinem legis. Diligis, etc.
So the Vienna manuscript. Others: "who do in us also the will of God and the fullness of the law. You love," etc.
(printed under page 100)
(d) ‹anchor: cum illis fratribus› · call in col 193
Ante erat in edit. Rosv., combinabamur, in ed. Schot., convivebamus. Emendavimus ex ms. Reg. et edit. Bad., Grav. et Grin., combinabamus. Hæc lectio restituta confirmatur nova operum S. Augustini editione, quæ Confessionum lib. V, cap. 10, n. 18, sic habet: Et ideo adhuc combinabam cum electis eorum. Sequitur hic Paulinus lectionem quamdam LXX, quæ habet συνδυάσω, combinabo, sicut et Augustinus in psal. CXL, n. 12, tom. IV, p. 1570. Itaque cum in antiquioribus operum S. Augustini mss. codicibus legatur combinabam et combinabo, cum nostris pariter scribimus combinabamus.
Formerly Rosweyde's edition had "combinabamur", Schott's edition "convivebamus" ("we lived together"). We have corrected it from the Royal manuscript and the editions of Badius, Gravius and Grinaeus to "combinabamus" ("we were paired"). This restored reading is confirmed by the new edition of the works of St Augustine, which at Confessions book V, chapter 10, no. 18, reads thus: "And so I was still paired with their elect." Paulinus here follows a certain reading of the Septuagint, which has συνδυάσω, "I shall pair", as Augustine also does on Psalm 140, no. 12, vol. IV, p. 1570. So, since the older manuscripts of St Augustine's works read "combinabam" and "combinabo", we likewise write "combinabamus" with ours.
(printed under page 100)
(e) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 193 or 194
Ms. Reg. addit nobis.
The Royal manuscript adds "nobis" ("to us").
(printed under page 100)
(f) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 193 or 194
Ms. Reg. et edit. Bad., Grav., Grin., conversationis.
The Royal manuscript and the editions of Badius, Gravius and Grinaeus: "conversationis" ("of the way of life").
(printed under page 100)
Page
- running head: 193 EPISTOLA XI.
- marginal letters: A ‹nos et in infideli via›; B ‹qui fecit utrumque unum›; C ‹in agro, et unus assumtus est›; D ‹(beside the editors' notes)›
- old-edition numerals: 52 after ‹molentes›
- other: "i⟨p⟩so": the p is damaged/faint in the type (reads "i, so"). Superscript numeral calls 6, 7, 8 (after assumsit, singillatim, unum) left out. Scripture foot-notes d, e, f read from the facing page image (c194_3): Matth. XXIV, 40; Rom. XI, 7; Matth. XXIV, 41; Luc. XVII, 35. Last word "po-" completed as "populorum" from the next column's top line.
distinctio; aut in natura omnis hominis geminae creatura substantiae: et ideo; mi frater, quia semper cohaesimus in corde uno, sicut nunc cohaeremus in Christo, aut pariter assumti, aut pariter relicti sumus. Assumti autem, non nostro merito, sed gratia Dei, cujus dona et vocatione sine poenitentia sunt; neque ex operum praerogativa, sed ex fi⟨d⟩e bonae voluntatis, qua pariter in caritatem ejus animati, ut uno et tenore propositi, et tempore conversionis nostrae apparuit, simul oportet gloriemur, et exsultemus in eo qui justificat impium per fidem, et dat escam omni carni; escam non istam quae perit, sed illam quae conficitur in aeternum victum, qualem vel anima in Dei rebus operosa, vel catholica Ecclesia coquit. Corpus est enim veri panis qui de coelo descendit, et dat escam vivificantem esurientibus justitiam. Non enim carnem farcit, sed cor hominis firmat. Hic panis et fons est, qui quo amplius editur, plus esuritur: et quo magis bibitur, plus sititur. Hunc panem ut edamus in aeternum, molamus in hujus mundi pistrino triticum bonum, quod est obedientiae fidelis operatio, et caritas in corde puro et fide non ficta.
or, in the nature of every man, the creature of a twofold substance: and therefore, my brother, because we always clung together in one heart, as now we cleave together in Christ, we have been either taken up together or left together. Taken up, however, not by our own merit but by the grace of God, whose gifts and calling are without repentance (Rom. 11:29); nor from any precedence of works, but from the faith of a good will, by which we were quickened together into His charity, as appeared both in the one tenor of our purpose and in the time of our conversion, so that we must glory together and exult in Him who justifies the ungodly through faith, and gives food to all flesh (Ps. 135:25); not this food which perishes, but that which is prepared for eternal sustenance, such as either the soul busy in the things of God or the Catholic Church cooks. For it is the body of the true bread which came down from heaven (John 6:33), and gives life-giving food to those who hunger for justice. For it does not stuff the flesh, but strengthens the heart of man. This bread is also a fountain, which the more it is eaten, the more it is hungered for; and the more it is drunk, the more it is thirsted for (Ecclus. 24:29). That we may eat this bread for ever, let us grind in the mill of this world the good wheat, which is the faithful working of obedience, and charity from a pure heart and faith unfeigned (1 Tim. 1:5).
7. Qua gratia et virtute cum plenus sis, bonam Deo frugem molis, teque ipsum in azymis sinceritatis et veritatis epulandum Deo exhibes: cujus esca est, quisquis voluntatem ejus efficiens, in corporis ipsius membra convertitur, dicente Apostolo, quia qui se jungit Deo, spiritus unus efficitur. Quod assequimur, si portemus imaginem coelestis ea cura et diligentia, qua portavimus imaginem terreni. Imitando enim imitatorem Christi perveniemus ad imitationem Dei; cui bonus odor sumus in Christo, si exhibeamus hostiam vivam obsequio rationabili, ut illi puram similaginem mola mundi cordis excretam ab interioris nostri penetralibus offeramus, et in pectore nostro castum altare ponentes illa per legem jussa sacrificiis animalia mactemus in vitiis, immolantes hircum peremtione peccati, in quo odor mortis est; caedentes taurum, si deponamus superbiam; sacrificantes ovem, si mollitudinem et ignaviam, in caritate non tepidi, et spiritu ferventes ejiciamus: offerentes in nobis et agnum, si immaculati vivamus, et vitulum, si efficiamur malitia parvuli, ut
7. Since you are full of this grace and virtue, you grind good grain for God, and present yourself to God to be feasted upon in the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth: for His food is whoever, accomplishing His will, is turned into the members of His body, as the Apostle says, that he who joins himself to God becomes one spirit (1 Cor. 6:17). This we attain if we bear the image of the heavenly with the same care and diligence with which we have borne the image of the earthly (1 Cor. 15:49). For by imitating the imitator of Christ we shall come to the imitation of God; to whom we are a good odour in Christ (2 Cor. 2:15), if we present a living victim in reasonable service (Rom. 12:1), so as to offer Him from the inner recesses of our being pure fine flour sifted by the mill of a clean heart, and, setting up a chaste altar in our breast, slay in our vices those animals commanded for sacrifice by the law: offering the he-goat by the destruction of sin (Lev. 10:16), in which is the odour of death; striking down the bull, if we lay aside pride; sacrificing the sheep (Lev. 3:6), if, not lukewarm in charity and fervent in spirit, we cast out softness and sloth; offering in ourselves also the lamb, if we live spotless, and the calf, if we become little children in malice, so that
Editors' notes and page, col. 194
Footnotes
(g) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 194
Hæc vox abest a ms. Vien. codice.
This word is absent from the Vienna manuscript.
(printed under page 100)
(h) ‹anchor: esca est, quisquis› · call in col 194
Mss. codices Reg. et Vien., voluntatum ejus effectus. At editi quinque voluntatem ejus efficiens. Ms. Vien. infra, convertit.
The Royal and Vienna manuscripts: "voluntatum ejus effectus" ("the doing of his wills"). But five printed editions: "voluntatem ejus efficiens" ("doing his will"). Below, the Vienna manuscript: "convertit" ("turns").
(printed under page 100)
(i) ‹anchor: membra convertitur, dicente› · call in col 194
Hanc vocem substituimus ex ms. Vien. cum in aliis codicibus legatur ipso.
We have substituted this word from the Vienna manuscript, since the other codices read "ipso" ("[the Apostle] himself").
(printed under page 100)
(j) ‹anchor: Apostolo, quia› · call in col 194
Addidimus quia ex mss. duobus, et editis quatuor.
We have added "quia" ("that") from two manuscripts and four printed editions.
(printed under page 100)
Page
- running head: EPISTOLA XI. 194
- marginal letters: A ‹pulorum distinctio›; B ‹descendit, et dat escam›; C ‹diligentia, qua portavimus›; D ‹(beside the editors' notes: antiquioribus operum)›
- old-edition numerals: 53 after ‹in› (before "quo odor mortis")
- other: "fi⟨d⟩e": the d is lost in the type. Superscript numeral calls 9, 10, 11 (after imaginem, vivam, peremtione) left out. "ln corporis" set as "in". Opening "pulorum" completes "po-" at the foot of col. 193; English supplies "[the distinction of]" for the word order across the break.
unius purum pudicitia, alterius stultum simplicitate referamus; quale te sacrificium Deo exhibere video in templo tui corporis, in sacrario tui cordis, in immolatione tuae carnis, in oblatione tuae animae. Immolas taurum, cum pia humilitate depositus cervicem altam percussisti timore divino. Immolas haedum, cum omnia sinistrae partis opera, justitiae sectator, interficis. Ovem jugulas, cum diligens operarius, studiosusque meditator divinae voluntatis et legis, inertiam in te et ignaviam quasi pecus molle prosternis, et a te vitae istius impedimenta, quasi vellera, tondenti utilia, onerosa gestanti, forcipe verbi coelestis abscidis: qua nos duobus Testamentis apprehensos tenet Christus; et vel sarcinis secularibus quasi lanis exuit: vel rursum, ut vellera a corporalibus vitiis tamquam a morbidis et mollibus ovium corporibus abscidens, in vestimentum sui corporis, quod operatione credentium tegit, siquidem vicissim cum Christum induimus, induamur a Christo, in Ecclesiae pensa deducit, et fimbriis suae vestis intexit.
we may render back the pure [purity] of the one by chastity, the foolish [folly] of the other by simplicity; such a sacrifice I see you present to God in the temple of your body, in the sanctuary of your heart, in the immolation of your flesh, in the oblation of your soul. You immolate the bull when, brought low in holy humility, you have struck your high neck with divine fear. You immolate the kid when, a follower of justice, you slay all the works of the left-hand side. You cut the throat of the sheep when, a diligent workman and a zealous meditator on the divine will and law, you lay low the inertia and sloth in you like a soft beast, and with the shears of the heavenly word cut off from yourself the encumbrances of this life, like fleeces, useful to the shearer, burdensome to the wearer: shears with which Christ holds us gripped by the two Testaments; and either strips us of worldly baggage as of wool; or again, as He cuts the fleeces from bodily vices as from the sickly and soft bodies of sheep, He draws them out into the spinning-work of the Church for the garment of His body, which He covers with the working of believers, since, as we in turn put on Christ (Rom. 13:14), we are put on by Christ; and He weaves them into the fringes of His robe.
8. Totondit te hic pastor jam; ut arbitror, et posuit in area sua, et coelesti rore perfudit vellus tuum. Nam et gratia quae infusa est ori tuo, et per os tuum quasi rivus a fontibus Israel, vel διῶρυξ, ut scriptum est, a paradiso abundans fluit, docet nos, quia descendit in te Dominus sicut pluvia in vellus, et dedit tibi aquam de puteo Jacob, quia tu quoque de filiis Israel Domino propinquatus exstiteras. Si ergo pertonsus es, duplex beneficium recepisse te sentis, quia et in aestu seculi levis, pascua verbi matutinae laetitiae rori sparsa decerpis; nec meridiani daemonii ardore torreris, quia sub umbra alarum Domini conquiescis. Paratur tibi interim tunica de tuis lanis, qua in illa die hiemis vestiaris, ut ante faciem frigoris ejus valeas subsistere, si dispoliatus a corpore, non inveniaris nudus ab opere. Tum vicissim praebebit se tibi ovem Christus, et agnus, ille qui pro nobis ad interfectionem ductus est, et coram tondente se non aperuit os suum, vellera sua, id est, carnis exuvias abstrahi sibi passus. Ipse enim pro
8. This shepherd has already shorn you, as I think, and has set you on His threshing-floor, and has drenched your fleece with heavenly dew. For the grace too which has been poured into your mouth, and flows abundantly through your mouth like a stream from the fountains of Israel, or a channel, as it is written, from paradise (Ecclus. 24:41), teaches us that the Lord has come down upon you like rain upon the fleece (Ps. 71:6), and has given you water from the well of Jacob (John 4:5), because you too had become one of the sons of Israel brought near to the Lord. If, then, you are shorn close, you feel that you have received a double benefit, because, lightened even in the heat of the world, you crop the pastures of the word sprinkled with the dew of morning gladness; nor are you scorched by the heat of the noonday demon (Ps. 90:6), because you rest under the shadow of the Lord's wings (Ps. 16:8). Meanwhile a tunic is being made ready for you from your own wool, with which you may be clothed on that day of winter, so that you may be able to stand before the face of its cold, if, stripped of the body, you are not found naked of work. Then in turn Christ will offer Himself to you as a sheep, and as the lamb, He who for us was led to the slaughter, and before His shearer did not open His mouth (Isa. 53:7), suffering His fleeces, that is, the cast-off covering of His flesh, to be drawn from Him. For He Himself for
Editors' notes and page, col. 195
Scripture references
[script. a] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 195 Rom. XIII, 14.
Romans 13:14.
[script. b] ‹anchor: ut scriptum est› · call in col 195 Eccli. XXIV, 41.
Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 24:41.
[script. c] ‹anchor: sicut pluvia in vellus› · call in col 195 Psal. LXXI, 6.
Psalm 71:6.
[script. d] ‹anchor: de puteo Jacob› · call in col 195 Johan. IV, 5.
John 4:5.
[script. e] ‹anchor: nec meridiani dæmonii› · call in col 195 Psal. XC, 6.
Psalm 90:6.
[script. f] ‹anchor: alarum Domini› · call in col 195 Psal. XVI, 8.
Psalm 16:8.
[script. g] ‹anchor: non aperuit os suum› · call in col 195 Isai. LIII, 7.
Isaiah 53:7.
[script. h] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 195 or 196 Johan. X, 17 et 18.
John 10:17 and 18.
[script. i] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 195 or 196 Heb. X, 10.
Hebrews 10:10.
[script. j] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 195 or 196 Luc. XV, 5.
Luke 15:5.
[script. k] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 196 Psal. XV, 2.
Psalm 15:2.
[script. l] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 196 I Cor. IV, 7.
1 Corinthians 4:7.
[script. m] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 196 Act. XVII, 28.
Acts 17:28.
[script. n] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 196 I Tim. VI, 7.
1 Timothy 6:7.
[script. o] ‹anchor: magno præmio negligamus› · call in col 196 Matth. XIX, 29.
Matthew 19:29.
[script. p] ‹anchor: in hunc mundum› · call in col 196 I Tim. VI, 7.
1 Timothy 6:7.
[script. q] ‹anchor: hujus mundi figuram› · call in col 196 I Cor. VII, 31.
1 Corinthians 7:31.
[script. r] ‹anchor: seminata præmittimus› · call in col 196 Gal. VI, 8.
Galatians 6:8.
Editors' notes
(printed under page 101)
(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 195
Ita mss. codices. At editi, vitæ.
So the manuscript codices. But the printed editions: "vitae" ("of life").
(printed under page 101)
(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 195
Sic ms. Vien. Alii codices, accidis. Verum hic restituta lectio confirmatur ex sequentibus.
So the Vienna manuscript. Other codices: "accidis" ("you fall"). But the reading restored here is confirmed by what follows.
(printed under page 101)
(c) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 195
Ita mss. codices et editi duo. Sic ad Prudentii Apotheosin, vers. 954, abscidere quidquam, vetustiores omnes codices: idem hymn. 4 Peristeph., vers. 125, abscisa papilla; hymno S. Romani Martyris, vers. 975, Nervos abscideret; et hymn. 11, vers. 65, Hunc abscide caput. Sed et mss. nostri codices ad epistolam I Paulini ad Severum, n. 5, habent abscidatur, non abscindatur; et omnes tum mss. tum editi codices ad epist. 10, n. 5, jubeat abscidi, non abscindi.
So the manuscript codices and two printed editions. Thus at Prudentius's Apotheosis, line 954, all the older codices read "abscidere quidquam" ("to cut off anything"); likewise at Peristephanon hymn 4, line 125, "abscisa papilla" ("the breast cut off"); in the hymn of St Romanus the Martyr, line 975, "Nervos abscideret" ("he would cut the sinews"); and in hymn 11, line 65, "Hunc abscide caput" ("cut off this head"). And our manuscript codices too, at Paulinus's first letter to Severus, no. 5, have "abscidatur", not "abscindatur"; and all codices, both manuscript and printed, at Letter 10, no. 5, have "jubeat abscidi", not "abscindi".
(printed under page 101)
(d) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 195
Ms. Vatic. et ed. Grin., sicut.
The Vatican manuscript and Grinaeus's edition: "sicut" ("as").
(printed under page 101)
(e) ‹anchor: Israel, vel› · call in col 195
Emendavimus διῶρυξ, quæ est fossa de flumine, ex ms. Vien., in quo dorix. Ms. Reg. Diorayi. Ante erat διωρυχή. Vide not. 28.
We have corrected to διῶρυξ, that is, a channel cut from a river, from the Vienna manuscript, which has "dorix". The Royal manuscript: "Diorayi". Formerly it read διωρυχή. See note 28.
(printed under page 101)
(f) ‹anchor: Israel Domino› · call in col 195
Ms. Vien., propinquans.
The Vienna manuscript: "propinquans" ("drawing near").
(printed under page 101)
(g) ‹anchor: matutinæ lætitiæ› · call in col 195
Ita ms. Reg. et edit. Bad., Grav. et Schot. Verissima lectio. Sic quoque Paulinus epist. 23 ad eumdem, n. 38, scribit vulnerata caritatis, et Natali 6 S. Felic., carm. 18, vers. 123, pietatis circumfusus. Græca phrasi mss. Vatic., Vien. et edit. Grin., rore respersa. Edit. Rosv., rore sparsa. Sacchino placet ut legatur matutini læti in roris.
So the Royal manuscript and the editions of Badius, Gravius and Schott. A most true reading. So too Paulinus in Letter 23 to the same man, no. 38, writes "vulnerata caritatis" ("wounded with love"), and in the sixth Natalicium of St Felix, poem 18, line 123, "pietatis circumfusus" ("surrounded with devotion"). With a Greek turn of phrase, the Vatican and Vienna manuscripts and Grinaeus's edition: "rore respersa" ("sprinkled with dew"). Rosweyde's edition: "rore sparsa" ("scattered with dew"). Sacchini prefers the reading "matutini laeti in roris".
(printed under page 101)
(h) ‹anchor: si dispoliatus› · call in col 195
Particulam a addidimus ex mss. Reg. et Vien. et editis quatuor.
We have added the particle "a" ("from") from the Royal and Vienna manuscripts and four printed editions.
(printed under page 101)
Page
- running head: 195 S. PAULINI NOLANI EPISCOPI
- marginal letters: A ‹unius purum pudicitia›; B ‹libus vitiis tamquam a morbidis›; C ‹quia et in aestu seculi levis›; D ‹(beside the editors' notes: (b) Sic ms. Vien.)›
- old-edition numerals: 54 after ‹dispoliatus›
- other: UNSURE: the accent of the Greek word is hard to read in the image (text seems "διώρυξ"; editors' note (e) gives "διώρυξ"/"δɩώρυξ"); set as διῶρυξ, check at higher zoom. "depositus" set as printed (sense would want "depositis"?). Column opens mid-sentence (continuing "ut ... referamus" from col. 194); English supplies [purity], [folly] for the substantive adjectives.
nobis et animam et carnem suam posuit, et recepit; qui et sacerdos et hostia, et agnus et pastor est. qui pro ovibus suis pastor, et pro pastoribus suis agnus occisus est. Ipse enim Dominus hostia omnium sacerdotum est, qui semetipsum pro omnium reconciliatione Patri libans, victima sacerdotii sui, et sacerdos suae victimae fuit: cuique nunc ut uni omnium Domino omnis nova creatura sacrificium, ipsique sunt hostiae sacerdotes. Si nunc ei nos tondendos in silentio humilitatis atque patientiae, qua se ipse pro nobis praebuit, praebeamus, suscipiet in se onera velleris nostri; nec dedignabitur ovium suarum lanas portare, qui ipsam ovem, quam ab errore revocaverit humeris suis ad ovilia reportare dignatur.
us laid down both His soul and His flesh, and took them up again (John 10:17–18); He who is both priest and victim, both lamb and shepherd; who as shepherd for His sheep, and as lamb for His shepherds, was slain. For the Lord Himself is the victim of all priests (Heb. 5:10), who, offering Himself to the Father for the reconciliation of all, was the victim of His own priesthood and the priest of His own victim: and to Him now, as to the one Lord of all, every new creature is a sacrifice, and the priests themselves are the victims. If now we present ourselves to Him to be shorn in the silence of humility and patience in which He Himself presented Himself for us, He will take upon Himself the burdens of our fleece; nor will He disdain to carry the wool of His sheep, He who deigns to carry back on His shoulders to the folds the very sheep that He has called back from straying (Luke 15:5).
9. Et quoniam bonorum nostrorum ipse non indiget, nos vero omnium illius indigemus, nostro tantum bono nobis bonus, capit nostra quae sua sunt, et tamen ea juris sui non vult; ut quasi nostra nobis accepto ferat, cum nihil habeamus nisi acceperimus; et ne ipsi quidem sine nutu ipsius esse possimus. Ergo nihil in hunc mundum inferentibus, substantiam rerum temporalium quasi tonsile vellus apponit, non ut sarcina impediat, quos expeditos nasci jubet, sed ut materiam nobis virtutis ad merita parienda proponat; et sit unde documentum nostrae in Deum, id est verum Patrem ac Dominum, fidei atque pietatis edamus, si suppetant nobis ca⟨r⟩a vel dulcia, quae, praeferentes Deum, magno praemio negligamus: et quae per immensam ejus bonitatem, cum nec illata nobiscum sint in hunc mundum, neque istinc efferenda nobiscum, tamen si pareamus praeceptis illius, ita ordinantur, ut mutentur in melius, et de temporalibus aeterna reddantur. Nam quae sicut non intulimus, ita nec auferre possumus per naturam nostram et praetereuntem hujus mundi figuram, ea per omnipotentis Dei opus, beato mercimonii genere vertentes, non modo nobiscum efferimus, sed ante nos etiam in sinum Domini seminata praemittimus.
9. And since He Himself does not need our goods (Ps. 15:2), while we need all of His, being good to us only for our own good, He takes what is ours, which is His, and yet does not wish it to be under His own right; so that He credits to us as ours what He has received, though we have nothing that we have not received (1 Cor. 4:7), and cannot even exist without His nod (Acts 17:28). So to us who brought nothing into this world (1 Tim. 6:7) He sets beside us the substance of temporal things like a fleece for shearing, not that the baggage should hinder those whom He bids be born unencumbered, but that He may set before us material of virtue for bringing forth merits; and that there may be means by which we give proof of our faith and piety towards God, that is, our true Father and Lord, if things dear or sweet are at hand for us which, preferring God, we disregard for a great reward (Matt. 19:29): things which, through His immeasurable goodness, though they were neither brought with us into this world (1 Tim. 6:7) nor are to be carried out from here with us, are yet, if we obey His precepts, so ordered that they are changed for the better, and from temporal things are rendered eternal. For the things which, just as we did not bring them in, so we cannot take away, by reason of our nature and the passing figure of this world (1 Cor. 7:31), these, turning them by the work of almighty God in a blessed kind of trading, we not only carry out with us, but even send on ahead of us, sown in the bosom of the Lord (Gal. 6:8).
10. Unde praescriptum arbitror, ut piger operarius
10. Hence, I think, it has been prescribed that the idle workman
Editors' notes and page, col. 196
Footnotes
(i) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 196
Ms. Vien., revocaverat.
The Vienna manuscript: "revocaverat" ("had called back").
(printed under page 101)
(j) ‹anchor: neque istinc› · call in col 196
Ita mss. codices. Editi, auferenda. Manuscriptorum codicum lectio confirmatur ex sequentibus, non modo nobiscum efferimus; editorum vero ex epist. 16 ad Jovium, n. 8.
So the manuscript codices. The printed editions: "auferenda" ("to be taken away"). The manuscripts' reading is confirmed by what follows, "not only do we carry them out with us"; the editions' reading, by Letter 16 to Jovius, no. 8.
(printed under page 101)
(k) ‹anchor: in sinum Domini› · call in col 196
Abest hoc verbum a ms. codice Vaticano.
This word is absent from the Vatican manuscript.
(printed under page 101)
Page
- running head: S. PAULINI NOLANI EPISCOPI 196
- marginal letters: A ‹nobis et animam et carnem›; B ‹9. Et quoniam bonorum›; C ‹nobiscum sint in hunc mundum›; D ‹(beside the editors' notes: (g) Ita ms. Reg.)›
- old-edition numerals: 55 after ‹praetereuntem›
- other: "est. qui pro ovibus" set as printed (lower-case qui after a full stop). "ca⟨r⟩a": the r is lost in the type. The editors' cross-reference "(V. not. 29)" printed in the text after "humeris" is left out as apparatus. "nostro tantum" read so (the o is poorly printed).
non edat panem, non videlicet istum pereuntis cibi panem, sed illum quo vivitur in veram vitam: quia unusquisque, sicut scriptum est, de fructibus suis manducabit, et in operibus suis vivet: ac proinde suum cuique opus panis est: et panis verus ac vivus Christus est: quem non potest manducare piger operarius, quia idem est pascha nostrum, quod expediti atque praecincti, et firmiter calceati, nec depositis a manu baculis, id est operibus, quibus nitimur, numquam remissis, cum omni festinantia edere praecipimur: quia tempus breve est, et expedit nobis sine cura esse, sicut Apostolus suadet, propter instantem necessitatem, ut inveniamur parati, et pulsanti Domino non timeamus aperire, de conscientia somni aut negligentiae digna metuentes. Quod quidem nobis nihil proderit nihilominus extrahendis, et ad mortem quidem post mortem, ut justas negligentiae atque impietatis poenas luamus, si alieno potius quam nostro domino deservientes, deprehendamur seculi magis quam Christi negotiis occupati, pulsantique Domino non aperiamus, et ad Patrem ducamur inviti. Propterea praedicitur nobis, ut pro hac, id est anima, laboremus et oremus in tempore opportuno, hoc est praesenti; in cujus spatium ideo inducimur, ut veram vitam ista brevi et transeunte quaeramus. Hujus vitae campus et ager mundus iste est, vel homo ipse qui in hunc mundum mittitur. Deo quo unus assumitur cum, ut supra diximus, carne spiritui subjugata, duo unum fecerit: quia et in unoquoque nostrum, secundum Apostolum, duae mentes et duae leges sunt: quibus intra nos molentibus, aut acceptabilis Deo aut refutabilis similago conficitur.
should not eat bread (2 Thess. 3:10), not, that is, this bread of perishing food, but that by which one lives unto the true life: because each one, as it is written, shall eat of his own fruits, and live in his own works (Ps. 127:2): and accordingly to each his own work is bread: and the true and living bread is Christ (John 6:33): whom the idle workman cannot eat, because He is likewise our pasch, which we are commanded to eat with all haste, unencumbered and girded and firmly shod, and with our staves not laid down from our hand (Exod. 12:11), that is, our works, on which we lean, never slackened: because the time is short, and it is expedient for us to be without care, as the Apostle urges, on account of the present necessity (1 Cor. 7:26, 29, 32), so that we may be found ready, and may not be afraid to open to the Lord when He knocks (Luke 12:36), fearing what is the due of a conscience of sleep or negligence. Which will avail us nothing, who are nonetheless to be drawn out, and indeed to death after death, to pay the just penalties of negligence and impiety, if, serving another's master rather than our own, we are caught busied with the affairs of the world rather than of Christ, and do not open to the Lord when He knocks, and are led unwilling to the Father. Therefore it is foretold to us that for this, that is, for the soul, we should labour and pray in a seasonable time (Ps. 31:6), that is, the present; into whose span we are brought for this reason, that through this short and passing life we may seek the true life (1 Tim. 6:19). The plain and field of this life is this world (Matt. 13:38), or man himself who is sent into this world. From which one is taken up (Matt. 24:40) when, as we said above, the flesh being subjugated to the spirit, He has made two one: because in each one of us too, according to the Apostle (Gal. 5:17), there are two minds and two laws: and as they grind within us, fine flour either acceptable to God or to be rejected is made.
11. Te vero, victa lege membrorum, et exteriore corrupto, puram conspersionem parare, et sine fermento azymum Christo confici, eloquia tua tam facunda quam casta testantur. Neque enim tibi donatum fuisset enarrare Martinum, nisi dignum os tuum sacris laudibus mundo corde fecisses. Benedictus igitur tu homo Domino, qui tanti sacerdotis et ma⟨n⟩ifestissimi Confessoris historiam, tam digno sermone quam justo affectu percensuisti. Beatus et ille pro meritis, qui dignum fide et vita sua meruit historicum; qui et ad divinam gloriam suis meritis, et ad humanam memoriam tuis litteris consecratur. Haec quoque verba tua, vellera sunt, et Dominum Jesum gratissimo tegmine cooperiunt, cujus supellectili pulcra ambiunt, et
11. But that you, the law of the members being overcome (Rom. 7:23) and the outer man corrupted, are preparing a pure dough, and are being made unleavened bread for Christ without leaven (1 Cor. 5:7), your discourses, as eloquent as they are chaste, bear witness. For it would not have been granted you to tell of Martin, had you not made your mouth worthy of sacred praises by a clean heart. Blessed therefore are you, a man of the Lord, who have recounted the history of so great a priest and most manifest Confessor with speech as worthy as your affection is just. Blessed too is he for his merits, who by his faith and life has deserved a worthy historian; who is consecrated both to divine glory by his own merits and to human memory by your writings. These words of yours too are fleeces, and cover the Lord Jesus with a most welcome covering; they encircle His furnishings with beauty, and
Editors' notes and page, col. 197
Scripture references
[script. a] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 197 II Thess. 3, 10.
2 Thessalonians 3:10.
[script. b] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 197 Psal. CXXVII, 2, juxta LXX.
Psalm 127:2, according to the Septuagint.
[script. c] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 197 Johan. VI, 33.
John 6:33.
[script. d] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 197 Exod. XII, 11.
Exodus 12:11.
[script. e] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 197 I Cor. VII, 29 et 32.
1 Corinthians 7:29 and 32.
[script. f] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 197 Luc. XII, 36.
Luke 12:36.
[script. g] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 197 Psal. XXXI, 6.
Psalm 31:6.
[script. h] ‹anchor: transeunte quæramus› · call in col 197 I Tim. VI, 19.
1 Timothy 6:19.
[script. i] ‹anchor: ager mundus iste est› · call in col 197 Matth. XIII, 38.
Matthew 13:38.
[script. j] ‹anchor: unus assumitur› · call in col 197 Matth. XXIV, 40.
Matthew 24:40.
[script. k] ‹anchor: secundum Apostolum› · call in col 197 Gal. V, 17.
Galatians 5:17.
[script. l] ‹anchor: victa lege membrorum› · call in col 197 Rom. VII, 23.
Romans 7:23.
[script. m] ‹anchor: Christo confici› · call in col 197 I Cor. V, 7.
1 Corinthians 5:7.
[script. n] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 198 I Cor. XV, 54.
1 Corinthians 15:54.
[script. o] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 198 Luc. IX, 62.
Luke 9:62.
[script. p] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 198 Philip. III, 14.
Philippians 3:14.
[script. q] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 198 Matth. XIII, 25.
Matthew 13:25.
[script. r] ‹anchor: hoc contentus sim› · call in col 198 I Tim. VI, 8.
1 Timothy 6:8.
[script. s] ‹anchor: ultra diem cogitem› · call in col 198 Matth. VI, 34.
Matthew 6:34.
[script. t] ‹anchor: sequere me› · call in col 198 Luc. IX, 23; Matth. XIX, 21.
Luke 9:23; Matthew 19:21.
[script. u] ‹anchor: non habuit› · call in col 198 Matth. VIII, 20.
Matthew 8:20.
[script. v] ‹anchor: solo vivit homo› · call in col 198 Deut. VIII, 3; Matth. IV, 4.
Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4.
[script. x] ‹anchor: ex fide vivit› · call in col 198 Gal. III, 12.
Galatians 3:12.
[script. y] ‹anchor: et illam destruet› · call in col 198 I Cor. VI, 13.
1 Corinthians 6:13.
[script. z] ‹anchor: fundati, consistamus› · call in col 198 Ephes. III, 17.
Ephesians 3:17.
Editors' notes
(printed under page 102)
(a) ‹anchor: et exteriore› · call in col 197
Ms. Vien., corrupta.
The Vienna manuscript: "corrupta" (feminine, "corrupted").
(printed under page 102)
(b) ‹anchor: puram conspersionem› · call in col 197
Sic mss. codices, Reg. et Vien. et editi quatuor. Ed. Rosv., parari.
So the manuscript codices, the Royal and the Vienna, and four printed editions. Rosweyde's edition: "parari" ("to be prepared").
(printed under page 102)
(c) ‹anchor: azymum Christo› · call in col 197
Ita iidem mss. et editi codices. Ed. Rosv., fieri.
So the same manuscript and printed codices. Rosweyde's edition: "fieri" ("to be made").
(printed under page 102)
(d) ‹anchor: tua tam› · call in col 197
Sic ms. Reg. et editi 4. Al., fecunda. Utraque vox recepta. Vide eloquii facundiam, ep. 16 ad Jovium, n. 11.
So the Royal manuscript and four printed editions. Others: "fecunda" ("fruitful"). Both words are accepted. See "eloquii facundiam" ("eloquence of speech"), Letter 16 to Jovius, no. 11.
(printed under page 102)
(e) ‹anchor: gratissimo tegmine cooperiunt› · call in col 197
Ex conjectura Rosveydus addiderat membra. Quam vocem in nullo codice repertam expunximus.
Rosweyde had added "membra" ("limbs") by conjecture. Since that word is found in no codex, we have struck it out.
(printed under page 102)
Page
- running head: 197 EPISTOLA XI.
- marginal letters: A ‹non edat panem›; B ‹nobis nihil proderit›; C ‹leges sunt: quibus intra nos›; D ‹riam tuis litteris consecratur›
- old-edition numerals: 56 after ‹meruit›
- other: "ma⟨n⟩ifestissimi": the n is lost in the type. Superscript numeral call 12 (after brevi) left out. The editors' cross-reference "(V. ep. 29, n. 14)" printed in the text after "fuisset" is left out as apparatus. Foot-note c reads "Johan. vi, 55" or "vi, 33" (3 and 5 hard to tell in this type); given as John 6:33, check. Foot-notes d–k read from the facing page image (c198_3).
ingenii tui floribus comunt. Vestiet i⟨ll⟩e te vicissim Agnus de suo vellere in retributionis die, mortale tuum de sua immortalitate superinduens.
adorn them with the flowers of your genius. That Lamb will clothe you in turn from His own fleece on the day of retribution, putting on your mortal from His own immortality (1 Cor. 15:54).
12. Tu tantum nostri memento, et nos respice, non retro spectans, sed amici memor. Certum est enim, quia agricola solertior fructus habeas largiores, et pernicior cursor tarditatem nostram ad bravium supernae vocationis antevoles. Infirmior etenim mente quam corpore, longo te intervallo sequor, spatio tamen tantum a te non itinere separatus; et eamdem molam aegra et impari manu verto, pistrino socius, fruge deterior, quia tritico mixta zizania molo: quae ut tota vertantur in frugem, orationibus tuis egeo; quibus spero evadere et divitias, et paupertatem meam, quia utrumque mihi in malum est, cum sim justitiae pauper, et peccati dives. Nam vere me divitem boni crederem, si ita jam pauper essem, ut putas. In quo tamen de verbis tuis te paulisper excutiam, quibus a te ipse discordas. Etsi non meas virtutes in me praedicaveris; tamen qui alienas licet mihi verbis tuis donandas putasti, quomodo convenit, ut idem tu paupertatem, quam te admirari profiteris, horrere fatearis? Si credas hanc mihi donatam esse virtutem, quam te velle nec posse assequi confiteris, ut habens victum et vestimentum, hoc contentus sim, nihil ultra diem cogitem; cur vel me inopiae necessitate superandum putas, ut te, quem non desiderare non possum, invitare desistam: aut te tam infirmum diffidentemque Christo prodis, ut timeas ad hujusmodi, qualem praedicas, amicum venire, si in veritate sequeris illum qui dixit: Tolle crucem tuam, et veni, sequere me? Quomodo aliter putas Christum sequendum, nisi lege qua docuit, et forma quam praetulit? qui cum in sua venisset, reclinandi tamen capitis locum inter sua non habuit.
12. Only remember us and look back upon us, not looking back (Luke 9:62), but mindful of a friend. For it is certain that, as a more skilful husbandman, you have more abundant fruits, and, as a swifter runner, you outstrip our slowness towards the prize of the heavenly calling (Phil. 3:14). For, weaker in mind than in body, I follow you at a long interval, yet separated from you only in distance, not in the road; and I turn the same mill with a sick and unequal hand, a partner in the mill-house, worse in grain, because I grind cockle mixed with the wheat (Matt. 13:25): that all of it may be turned into grain, I need your prayers; through which I hope to escape both my riches and my poverty, because both are to my harm, since I am poor in justice and rich in sin. For I should truly believe myself rich in good, if I were already as poor as you think. In this matter, however, let me shake you a little over your own words, in which you disagree with yourself. Even if you have not proclaimed in me virtues of my own, yet you who thought that another's virtues might be bestowed on me by your words, how is it fitting that you yourself should confess that you shrink from the poverty which you profess to admire? If you believe that this virtue has been given to me which you confess that you wish for but cannot attain, that, having food and clothing, I am content with this (1 Tim. 6:8), and think of nothing beyond the day (Matt. 6:34); why do you either think that I shall be overcome by the necessity of want, so as to stop inviting you, whom I cannot but long for; or betray yourself as so weak and so distrustful of Christ that you fear to come to such a friend as you proclaim, if in truth you follow Him who said: Take up your cross and come, follow Me (Luke 9:23; Matt. 19:21)? How else do you think Christ is to be followed, except by the law which He taught and the pattern which He displayed? He who, though He came to His own, yet had not among His own a place to lay His head (Matt. 8:20).
13. Imitare imitatorem Christi, ut mortuus vivas crucifigens te mundo, et tibi mundum; quotidie moriens per fidem verbi, et vivens in verbo fidei. Non enim in pane solo vivit homo, praesertim Christianus; de quo proprie scriptum est: Quia ex fide vivit; numquid dixit, Ex pane? Quid igitur a me famem metuis, si fidem habes? Panis tuus tecum est. Si verbo Dei pasceris, non desiderabis escam ventris; Deus enim et hunc et illam destruet, dum se aedificat in nobis, si nos in ipsius caritate fundati, consistamus, neque domum nostram in diffidentiae fluctuantis
13. Imitate the imitator of Christ, so that, dead, you may live, crucifying yourself to the world and the world to yourself; dying daily through faith in the word, and living in the word of faith. For not in bread alone does man live (Deut. 8:3; Matt. 4:4), especially the Christian; of whom it is properly written: For he lives by faith (Gal. 3:12); did it say, By bread? Why then do you fear hunger with me, if you have faith? Your bread is with you. If you are fed with the word of God, you will not long for the food of the belly; for God will destroy both it and them (1 Cor. 6:13), while He builds Himself up in us, if we, grounded in His charity, stand firm (Eph. 3:17), and do not set our house on the sand of wavering distrust
Editors' notes and page, col. 198
Footnotes
(f) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 198
Sic mss. Reg. et Vien. et edd. Bad. et Grin. Alii, superatus.
So the Royal and Vienna manuscripts and the editions of Badius and Grinaeus. Others: "superatus" ("overcome").
(printed under page 102)
(g) ‹anchor: lege qua docuit› · call in col 198
Ms. Vien., voluit.
The Vienna manuscript: "voluit" ("he willed").
(printed under page 102)
(h) ‹anchor: locum inter sua› · call in col 198
Ms. Reg. addit jura.
The Royal manuscript adds "jura" ("rights").
(printed under page 102)
(i) ‹anchor: in diffidentiæ› · call in col 198
Ita ms. Vien. et edit. Schot. Alii, fluctuantes.
So the Vienna manuscript and Schott's edition. Others: "fluctuantes" ("wavering").
(printed under page 102)
Page
- running head: EPISTOLA XI. 198
- marginal letters: A ‹ingenii tui floribus›; B ‹est, cum sim justitiae pauper›; C ‹nire, si in veritate sequeris›; D ‹Deus enim et hunc et illam›
- old-edition numerals: 57 after ‹igitur›
- other: "i⟨ll⟩e": letters lost in the type (reads "i e"). "spectans" faintly printed. Superscript numeral call 13 (after "quam te") left out. Last word "flu-" completed as "fluctuantis" from the top line of col. 199; English finishes the clause there. Foot-note x read as "Gal. III, 12" (the quotation is Gal. 3:11): given as printed, check.
arena locemus. Nonne illi credidimus, et in illum ambo juravimus, qui dixit: Nolite cogitare in crastinum; sufficit enim diei malitia sua; quaerite primum regnum Dei, et justitiam ejus, et haec omnia apponentur vobis? Huic si credis, quid de ejus fratris inopia famem metuis, quem scis hujus verbi securitate paupertatem divitiis praetulisse? An magis abundare credis illum qui terrae, quam qui Deo credit? et qui propria, quam qui divina pascitur cura? Quid ille miser habeat, qui se non habet? non enim se habet, qui plus de se quam de Deo sperat: vereque est mortuus, qui non vivere timet, si totum se Deo credat, Deoque permittat. Opto igitur ut tuae potius comitatis hic jocus, quam infirmitatis fides fuerit, quod scripsisti credere te ita me futurum brevi pauperem, ut ulterius non auderem invitare te. Fateor nihil me praeoptare tantae libertatis bono: siquidem tam intima circumcisio, plena perfectio sit. Sed tamen si tibi vera in Christo fides, vera virtutum in homine coelestium admiratio, et hominis in Deo viventis aemulatio est; quomodo non eo magis me expeteres, quo perfectiorem esse audires, nisi si aperte, non credere corde quod ore profiteris, confitereris? Sed in me peccatorem fugere, non pauperem, Martini beatissimi frequentator argueris; quem certe numquam desiderasses, si cibis corporis esurire timuisses
(Matt. 7:26; Luke 6:49). Did we not believe Him, and both swear ourselves to Him, who said: Take no thought for the morrow; for sufficient for the day is its own evil; seek first the kingdom of God and His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you (Matt. 6:34, 33; Luke 12:31)? If you believe Him, why do you fear hunger from the want of His brother, whom you know to have preferred poverty to riches in the security of this word? Or do you believe that he abounds more who trusts to the earth than he who trusts to God? and he who is fed by his own care than he who is fed by the divine? What can that wretch have who does not have himself? for he does not have himself who hopes more from himself than from God: and he is truly dead who fears not to live, if he should entrust himself wholly to God and commit himself to God. I wish, then, that this should have been a jest of your good humour rather than an avowal of your weakness, when you wrote that you believed I should shortly be so poor that I would not dare to invite you any further. I confess that I desire nothing more than the good of so great a freedom: since so inward a circumcision would be full perfection. But yet if you have true faith in Christ, true admiration of heavenly virtues in a man, and emulation of a man living in God; how would you not seek me the more, the more perfect you heard I was, unless you would be openly confessing that you do not believe in your heart what you profess with your mouth (Rom. 10:10)? But you, the frequent visitor of the most blessed Martin, are convicted of fleeing in me the sinner, not the poor man; you would certainly never have longed for him, had you feared to go hungry for the food of the body
14. Ego certe, quia necesse est in operis spiritalis profectu caritas maxime, quae plenitudo legis est, proficiat, sicut desiderare te, ita et invitare non desinam. Veni ad nos: et si potes, advola. Nihil habemus nisi Christum; et vide si nihil habeamus, qui omnia habentem habemus. Ebromagum enim non hortuli causa, ut scribis, reliquimus; sed paradisi hortum praetulimus et patrimonio, et patriae; quia illic magis domus vera, ubi aeterna: ibi verius patria, ubi originalis terra, et principalis habitatio. Nam si credis propitio Christo, propter quem si nil habeamus, in ipso omnia possidemus; nunc in ista spinarum et laborum humo, ne in hortuli quidem glebula nos terrae limus tenet: sed utinam ita nullus a peccato nobis pulvis haereret! Tu si hoc bonum ita credis, ut praedicas; et in eo me esse credis, ut te credere scribis; et segnius me desideras; jam non in me peccatorem semper, et semper indignum conspectu tuo, sed in Dominum ipsum committis, si putas tum demum defuturam nobis vitae mortalis alimoniam, cum nobis coeperit Deus esse possessio.
14. I for my part, since in the progress of spiritual work it is charity above all, which is the fullness of the law (Rom. 13:10), that must advance, shall not cease to invite you, just as I do not cease to long for you. Come to us: and if you can, fly to us. We have nothing but Christ; and see whether we have nothing, we who have Him who has all things. For we did not leave Ebromagus for the sake of a little garden, as you write; but we preferred the garden of paradise both to our patrimony and to our homeland; because there is a truer home where it is eternal: there more truly a homeland where is the original land and the first dwelling-place. For, if you believe it, by the favour of Christ, for whose sake, though we have nothing, we possess all things in Him (2 Cor. 6:10), now in this ground of thorns and toils not even in the clod of a little garden does the mud of the earth hold us: but would that no dust of sin so clung to us! If you believe this good to be such as you proclaim, and believe me to be in it as you write that you believe, and yet long for me more sluggishly, you now offend not against me, a sinner always and always unworthy of your sight, but against the Lord Himself, if you think that the sustenance of mortal life will fail us just when God has begun to be our possession (Ps. 15:5).
Editors' notes and page, col. 199
Scripture references
[script. a] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 199 Matth. VII, 26; Luc. VI, 49.
Matthew 7:26; Luke 6:49.
[script. b] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 199 Matth. VI, 34, 33; Luc. XII, 31.
Matthew 6:34, 33; Luke 12:31.
[script. c] ‹anchor: ore profiteris, confitereris› · call in col 199 Rom. X, 10.
Romans 10:10.
[script. d] ‹anchor: plenitudo legis est› · call in col 199 Rom. XIII, 10.
Romans 13:10.
[script. e] ‹anchor: omnia possidemus› · call in col 199 II Cor. VI, 10.
2 Corinthians 6:10.
[script. f] ‹anchor: Deus esse possessio› · call in col 199 Psal. XV, 5.
Psalm 15:5.
[script. g] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 200 I Tim. I, 5.
1 Timothy 1:5.
[script. h] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 200 I Cor. V, 8.
1 Corinthians 5:8.
[script. i] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 200 Psal. XV, 2.
Psalm 15:2.
[script. j] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 200 II Cor. VIII, 14.
2 Corinthians 8:14.
[script. k] ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 200 Psal. XXXVIII, 2.
Psalm 38:2.
[script. l] ‹anchor: …giam (end of a word cut off above)› · call in col 200 Prov. X, 19.
Proverbs 10:19.
[script. m] ‹anchor: oris adapertionem ad te› · call in col 200 Ephes. VI, 19.
Ephesians 6:19.
[script. n] ‹anchor: lucernam verbi sui› · call in col 200 Psal. CXVIII, 105.
Psalm 118:105.
[script. o] ‹anchor: sicut dies illuminetur› · call in col 200 Psal. CXXXVIII, 12.
Psalm 138:12.
[script. p] ‹anchor: et asinæ os› · call in col 200 Num. XXII, 28.
Numbers 22:28.
[script. q] ‹anchor: significans locuturam› · call in col 200 Luc. XIX, 40.
Luke 19:40.
[script. r] ‹anchor: non ipsi nos› · call in col 200 Psal. XCIX, 3.
Psalm 99:3.
[script. s] ‹anchor: generatio in Seth› · call in col 200 Gen. IV, 25.
Genesis 4:25.
Editors' notes
(*) ‹anchor: title of the letter, not visible› · call in col 200 Alias 21; quæ autem 12 erat, nunc 32. Scripta anno 397.
Formerly 21; and the one that was 12 is now 32. Written in the year 397.
(printed under page 103)
(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 199
Addidimus verbum est ex mss. Reg. et Vien.
We have added the word "est" ("is") from the Royal and Vienna manuscripts.
(printed under page 103)
(b) ‹anchor: paradisi› · call in col 199
Ita ms. Vien. Alii addunt illum. Utraque lectio bona.
So the Vienna manuscript. Others add "illum" ("that"). Both readings are good.
(printed under page 103)
Page
- running head: 199 S. PAULINI NOLANI EPISCOPI
- marginal letters: A ‹ctuantis arena locemus›; B ‹credere te ita me futurum›; C ‹proficiat, sicut desiderare›; D ‹deras; jam non in me peccatorem›
- old-edition numerals: 58 after ‹et› (before "in eo me esse")
- other: Column opens with "ctuantis", completing "flu-" at the foot of col. 198 (set there whole); the English of that clause stands in col. 198, so this column's first English line opens with the reference only. Superscript numeral calls 14–18 left out. Two parentheses in the text treated as editors' glosses and left out, UNSURE: "(quasi leg. timet non vivere)" after "timet", and italic "(id est peccas)" after "committis"; also the cross-reference "(V. not. 30)" after "Ebromagum". "timuisses" ends the paragraph with no stop printed. Below the foot-notes, the editors' note on Ep. XII ("Alias 21 … Scripta anno 397") is editors' matter, not set.