PL 61 · cols. 243–249

Paulinus of Nola, Letters

Letters XIX–XX

teque ipsum ut argentum igne examinatum, et aurum in fornace seculi hujus probatum, ipse summus auri sui argentique purgator accipiet, et ut pretiosam diademati suo margaritam Rex aeternus aptabit: nec tuarum tibi tantum praemia se debere virtutum Judex justus agnoscet, videns innumeros circa te sanctorum utriusque sexus greges, quos illi quotidie institutis tuis generas, formula omnibus perfectae virtutis et fidei; sicut et frater Paschasius ostendit, in cujus gratia et humanitate quasi quasdam virtutum gratiarumque tuarum lineas velut speculo reddente collegimus. Vere tu beatus tot beatorum parens, tante messis sator, centesimum, et sexagesimum, ac tricesimum fructum Deo fecunditate tuae terrae afferens, et mensuram parem de variis partuum tuorum fructibus recepturus. Te Altissimus inter regni sui maximos nominavit, cui concessit facto aequare sermonem; ut et doctrina tibi vitae tuae sit, et vita doctrinae. Quo fit, ut nemo se audeat excusare discipulus velut difficultatis imperio, cum prius adstringatur virtutis exemplo.

and you yourself, as silver tried by fire (Ps. 11:7) and gold proved in the furnace of this world (Wis. 3:6), the supreme Refiner of His own gold and silver will Himself receive, and the eternal King will fit you to His diadem as a precious pearl; nor will the just Judge acknowledge that He owes you the rewards of your own virtues only, when He sees around you the countless flocks of saints of both sexes whom you daily beget for Him by your teachings, being for all a pattern of perfect virtue and faith; as brother Paschasius too has shown, in whose grace and kindness we have gathered, as from a mirror giving them back, some lines, as it were, of your virtues and graces. Truly you are blessed, parent of so many blessed ones, sower of so great a harvest, bringing to God fruit a hundredfold, and sixtyfold, and thirtyfold by the fruitfulness of your soil (Matt. 13:8), and about to receive an equal measure from the various fruits of your offspring. The Most High has named you among the greatest of His kingdom, granting you to make deed equal to word; so that in you there is both the teaching of your life and the life of your teaching. Hence it comes about that no disciple dares to excuse himself on the plea, as it were, of a hard command, since he is first bound by the example of virtue.

EPISTOLA XIX.

LETTER XIX.

Beatissimo et peculiariter domino, semper in Deo Christo nobis patri DELPHINO, PAULINUS.

To his most blessed and specially his own lord, Delphinus, ever our father in God Christ, Paulinus.

1. Exspectabamus, ut area sitiens, refrigeria litterarum tuarum; et anima nostra, sicut terra sine aqua, sitientibus in tua verba praecordiis anhelabat: jam enim prope biennium defluebat, ex quo nobis per confamulum Cardamatem modica licet, dulcissima tamen oris tui stillicidia roraveras; nec jam interim sperabamus vel guttula tui sermonis aspergi, quia per totam aestatem irrita non venientis Urani exspectatione suspensi, multo magis tempus hibernum in tuo nobis silentio transigendum putabamus. Et ecce misericors et miserator Dominus, qui dat escam esurientibus, et consolatur humiles, et potens est supra quam speramus, dare nobis quae desideramus, insperantibus quidem, sed optantibus repentino iterum Cardamatem nostrum superventu intulit nobis; et ut facta est per eum vox salutationis tuae in auribus nostris, exsultavit gaudio cor nostrum, et omnia ossa nostra dixerunt: Domine, quis similis tibi? quid est humilitas nostra quod memor es ejus, et visitas eam? Benedixisti, Domine, terram nostram, et torrente voluptatis tuae potasti nos.

1. We were waiting, like a thirsty threshing-floor (Joel 1:20), for the refreshment of your letters; and our soul, like earth without water (Ps. 142:6), was panting with a heart that thirsted for your words: for nearly two years were already slipping away since, through our fellow servant Cardamas, you had bedewed us with the droppings of your mouth, scant indeed, yet most sweet; and meanwhile we no longer hoped to be sprinkled with even a little drop of your speech, because, held in suspense the whole summer by a vain expectation of Uranius, who did not come, we thought all the more that the winter season would have to be passed by us in your silence. And behold, the merciful and compassionate Lord, who gives food to the hungry, and consoles the humble (2 Cor. 7:6), and is able, beyond what we hope, to give us what we desire (Eph. 3:20), brought our Cardamas to us again by a sudden arrival, to us who did not hope for it but longed for it; and as through him the voice of your greeting sounded in our ears, our heart leapt for joy (Luke 1:44), and all our bones said: Lord, who is like Thee (Ps. 34:10)? What is our lowliness, that Thou art mindful of it and dost visit it (Ps. 8:5)? Thou hast blessed, O Lord, our land (Ps. 84:2), and with the torrent of Thy pleasure Thou hast given us to drink (Ps. 35:9).

Editors' notes and page, col. 243

Scripture references

(printed under page 125)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 243

Psal. XI, 7.

Psalm 11 (12):7.

(printed under page 125)

(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 243

Sap. III, 6.

Wisdom 3:6.

(printed under page 125)

Matth. XIII, 8.

Matthew 13:8.

(printed under page 125)

(d) ‹anchor: ut area sitiens› · call in col 243

Joel. I, 20.

Joel 1:20.

(printed under page 125)

(e) ‹anchor: terra sine aqua› · call in col 243

Psal. CXLII, 6.

Psalm 142 (143):6.

(printed under page 125)

(f) ‹anchor: dat escam esurientibus› · call in col 243

Psal. CX, 4.

Psalm 110 (111):4.

(printed under page 125)

(g) ‹anchor: consolatur humiles› · call in col 243

II Cor. VII, 6.

2 Corinthians 7:6.

(printed under page 125)

(h) ‹anchor: quae desideramus› · call in col 243

Eph. III, 20.

Ephesians 3:20.

(printed under page 125)

(i) ‹anchor: exsultavit› · call in col 243

Luc. I, 44.

Luke 1:44.

(printed under page 125)

(j) ‹anchor: quis similis tibi› · call in col 243

Psal. XXXIV, 10.

Psalm 34 (35):10.

(printed under page 125)

(k) ‹anchor: et visitas eam› · call in col 243

Psal. VIII, 5.

Psalm 8:5.

(printed under page 125)

(l) ‹anchor: terram nostram› · call in col 243

Psal. LXXXIV, 2.

Psalm 84 (85):2.

(printed under page 125)

(m) ‹anchor: potasti nos› · call in col 243

Psal. XXXV, 9.

Psalm 35 (36):9.

(printed under page 125)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 243

Ms. Vien. et edit. Grin., unanimitate.

The Vienna manuscript and Gryphius's edition have "unanimitate".

(printed under page 125)

(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 243

Ita mss. codices et editi 4. Edit. Rosv., trigesimum.

So the manuscript codices and four printed editions. Rosweyde's edition has "trigesimum" (thirtieth).

(printed under page 125)

Ms. Reg. cum tribus editis, efferens. Latin. forte referens.

The Royal manuscript with three printed editions has "efferens". Latini: perhaps "referens".

(printed under page 125)

Editors' prose

Suam de acceptis a Delphino litteris describit laetitiam. Se plantationem ejus esse dicit, et petit ab eo rigari, sermonibusque ac precibus excoli.

He describes his joy at receiving a letter from Delphinus. He says that he is Delphinus's planting, and asks to be watered by him and tended by his words and prayers.

Page

running head: 243 S. PAULINI NOLANI EP[ISTOLAE] (right part of head cut off in image)
marginal letters: A ‹rum; teque ipsum›; B ‹rem de variis partuum›; C ‹aqua, sitientibus in tua›; D ‹cor nostrum, et omnia ossa›
old-edition numerals: 104 at the start of the argumentum of Ep. XIX (before ‹Suam›)

PL 61:244

Ructabunt labia nostra hymnum vespere, mane, et meridie. Cantabimus, et psallemus Domino, qui bona tribuit nobis. Misit enim nuntium bonum de terra longinqua, quo dulcissimi et carissimi patris et sospitatem agnovimus, et sermonem accepimus. Unde conversum est cor nostrum a tristitia sollicitudinis in gaudium securitatis: et versa in melius anxiae affectionis vice, in illo die nobis per litteras tuas festo, delectati sumus, pro diebus quibus nos humiliaverat diuturnitas taciturnitatis tuae

Our lips shall pour forth a hymn (Ps. 118:171) at evening, morning, and noon. We will sing, and play psalms to the Lord, who has bestowed good things on us (Ps. 20:14, and 12:6). For He has sent good news from a far country (Prov. 25:25), by which we have learned the safety of our sweetest and dearest father and have received his word. Hence our heart has been turned from the sadness of anxiety to the joy of reassurance; and, the lot of our anxious affection having changed for the better, on that day made festal for us by your letter, we have been gladdened in return for the days in which the long continuance of your silence had humbled us (Ps. 89:15).

2. Confiteamur itaque Domino misericordias ejus, et immolemus ei hostiam laudis, quia saturavit animam inanem, non quidem, quod propitio ipso dicimus, gratiae ejus vacuam, sed desiderii nostri fructu jejunam; cum solatia litterarum tuarum diu esuriret, quae jam, ut dixi, nobis pene biennio negabantur. Non statuat illis Dominus in peccatum praevaricationem suam, quorum iniquitas mentita est sibi, et longa ab oris tui panibus fame tabefecit animam nostram.

2. Let us therefore give thanks to the Lord for His mercies (Ps. 106:8), and offer Him a sacrifice of praise, because He has satisfied the empty soul (Ps. 49:14) — not empty, indeed, of His grace (this we say by His favour), but fasting from the fruit of our desire; since it had long hungered for the comforts of your letters, which, as I said, had now been denied us for nearly two years. May the Lord not lay their transgression to them as sin, whose iniquity has lied to itself (Ps. 26:12) and has wasted our soul with a long famine of the bread of your mouth.

Remaneant ubi volunt, quia nolunt ubi malle debuerant. Faciant quod eis licet, quia non faciunt quod expedit. Nobis accessio talium, ut nihil conferre potuisset boni, ita nihil detrahere poterit. Utinam a peccatis nostris ita nullum nobis fieret detrimentum, si et ipsa cum talibus proximis elongarentur a nobis per multitudinem miserationum ejus, qui non secundum peccata nostra retribuit nobis, sed sicut miseretur pater filii sui, ita miseretur timentes nomen suum, et sperantes in misericordia sua; quorum participes sumus, quia adventum ejus et diligimus miseri spe misericordiae ejus, et horrescimus peccatores timore justitiae ejus. Sed orationibus tuis propitiatus filiis tuis, non intret in judicium cum malis servis suis; quorum primi nos ita ut bonorum ultimi sumus. Qui et hanc ipsam gloriam, qua te in Christo et a Christo patrem regenerationis accepimus, in cumulum damnationis convertimus; quia nihil te patre dignum Domino altissimo servi inutiles et filii degeneres exhibemus, qui etiam nunc infelicem naturalis oleastri duritiam spinoso in corde servamus, cum jamdudum bonitate Domini a cognationis nostrae radice divulsi, in arborem tuam videamur inserti: de qua pinguedinis tuae succum medullis animae duceremus, et spiritu mansuetudinis in via pacis radicati, bonae olivae germina esse (Sacchin. ex) generosis fructibus agnosceremus.

Let them remain where they wish, since they do not wish to be where they ought rather to have chosen. Let them do what is permitted them, since they do not do what is expedient. The coming of such men, just as it could have brought us no good, so it will be able to take nothing away. Would that likewise no loss might come to us from our sins, if they too, together with such neighbours, were removed far from us through the multitude of the mercies of Him who has not repaid us according to our sins, but as a father has pity on his sons, so has pity on those who fear His name (Ps. 102:10) and hope in His mercy; whose partners we are, because, wretched, we love His coming in hope of His mercy, and, sinners, we shudder at it in fear of His justice. But, propitiated by your prayers towards your sons, may He not enter into judgement with His wicked servants (Ps. 142:2); of whom we are the first, just as we are the last of the good. For we have turned even this very glory, by which we have received you in Christ and from Christ as the father of our regeneration, into a heaping-up of condemnation; because, unprofitable servants (Luke 17:10) and degenerate sons, we show to the Lord most high nothing worthy of you as our father, we who even now keep in a thorny heart the unhappy hardness of the natural wild olive, although long since, by the goodness of the Lord torn away from the root of our kindred, we appear to have been grafted into your tree (Rom. 11:17): from which we ought to draw the sap of your richness into the marrow of the soul, and, rooted by the spirit of meekness in the way of peace, be recognized by generous fruits (Sacchini: from) as shoots of the good olive.

3. Nunc vero per abundantiam vitiorum nostrorum inopes paternorum bonorum, quomodo disponemus

3. But now, destitute of our father's goods through the abundance of our vices, how shall we arrange

Editors' notes and page, col. 244

Footnotes

(n) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 244

Psal. CXVIII, 171.

Psalm 118 (119):171.

(printed under page 125)

(o) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 244

Psal. XX, 14, et xii, 6.

Psalm 20 (21):14, and 12 (13):6.

(printed under page 125)

(p) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 244

Prov. XXV, 25.

Proverbs 25:25.

(printed under page 125)

(q) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 244

Psal. LXXXIX, 15.

Psalm 89 (90):15.

(printed under page 125)

(r) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 244

Psal. CVI, 8, juxta Hebr.

Psalm 106 (107):8, following the Hebrew.

(printed under page 125)

(s) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 244

Psal. XLIX, 14.

Psalm 49 (50):14.

(printed under page 125)

(t) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 244

Psal. XXVI, 12.

Psalm 26 (27):12.

(printed under page 125)

(u) ‹anchor: timentes nomen suum› · call in col 244

Psal. CII, 10.

Psalm 102 (103):10.

(printed under page 125)

(v) ‹anchor: cum malis servis suis› · call in col 244

Psal. CXLII, 2.

Psalm 142 (143):2.

(printed under page 125)

(x) ‹anchor: servi inutiles› · call in col 244

Luc. XVII, 10.

Luke 17:10.

(printed under page 125)

(y) ‹anchor: videamur inserti› · call in col 244

Rom. XI, 17.

Romans 11:17.

Editors' notes

(*) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 243 Alias 17; quae autem erat 19, nunc 35. Scripta anno 400 ante 29 Junii.

Formerly 17; the letter that was 19 is now 35 [numeral faint in the scan]. Written in the year 400, before 29 June.

(printed under page 125)

(d) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 244

In omnibus psalteriis, Eructabunt.

In all the psalters: "Eructabunt" (they shall pour forth).

(printed under page 125)

(e) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 244

Ms. Vien., litteras.

The Vienna manuscript has "litteras".

(printed under page 125)

(f) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 244

Ms. Viennensis codex, Renuent.

The Vienna manuscript codex has "Renuent" [word faint in the scan].

(printed under page 125)

(g) ‹anchor: ita miseratur (g) timentes› · call in col 244

Ms. Vien. cum psalteriis quinque timentibus.

The Vienna manuscript, with five psalters, has "timentibus".

(printed under page 125)

Page

running head: [S. PAU]LINI NOLANI EPISCOPI 244
marginal letters: A ‹Ructabunt labia nostra›; B ‹riret, quae jam, ut dixi›; C ‹participes sumus, quia›; D ‹radicati, bonae olivae›
old-edition numerals: 105 before ‹Remaneant›
other: no stop is visible after "taciturnitatis tuae" at the end of §1. Migne's note s (at "inanem") reads "Psal. XLIX, 14", given as printed although that verse matches "immolemus ei hostiam laudis"; the end of note r ("…juxta Hebr.") is cut at the image edge. "(Sacchin. ex)" is a printed parenthetical variant, kept as printed like [alias …]. "miseretur timentes" kept as printed (foot note g records "timentibus" in Ms. Vien.). Column ends mid-sentence at "disponemus".

PL 61:245

sermones nostros in die recognitionis, non assecuti virtutes tuas, et nullam de tua in nobis stirpe similitudinem praeferentes qua recognoscamur tui? Quis nos eripiet ab ira ventura? quis nos a nobis ipsis eruet? ut emundati a sensibus nostris, ab irae coelestis materia fide purgante vacuemur. In nobis enim inesse sentimus causas poenarum aeternarum, viventibus in corde nostro radicibus spinarum atque tribulorum. Nam prior vetustatis nostrae propago, ut vinea Sodomorum, fellis uvam acerbis carnalis vitae fructibus praeferebat, et iram aspidum venenis malitiae ebria mens vomebat: sed fecit nobis magna qui potens est: misit de coelo, et liberavit nos: misit per te misericordiam suam, et renovavit faciem terrae nostrae, et fecit plantationem tuam esse nos sibi in vinea sua. Propterea, pater benedicte et venerandissime, perpeti cura et assidua prece dicere te oportet Domino, ut respiciat de coelo, et visitet vites istas quas plantavit dextera tua; ut affixi in vera vite, vivamus non ad ignem amputanda, sed ad fructum putanda sarmenta. Dirigat nos ipse, qui vitis et vita est, in omnem disciplinae suae regulam veritatis, rigans nos de superioribus suis per eloquia tua casta et pia, et tam ignita quam dulcia. Sermones enim tui guttae sunt illius pluviae voluntariae, quam segregavit Deus hereditati suae, qui descendit in vellus, tacito scilicet in Virginem fusus allapsu. Ipse est in cujus stillicidiis laetamur, cum exoritur in nobis; et animam renascentem primo notitiae suae rore distillat, ut sanet omnes languores nostros. Ros enim qui ab illo est, sanitas est nobis; quia ipse est fons vitae qui misit Verbum suum, et sanavit nos. Hoc Dei Verbum, de quo pluvia voluntaria est; quia non necessitate subjecti, sed Dei aequalis assensu, et pietatis officio obediens Patri Filius humiliavit se usque ad mortem crucis, sicut dixerat per prophetam: Voluntarie sacrificabo tibi. Quia idem Dominus sacerdos et victima semetipsum pro nobis obtulit, et propria potestate animam suam deposuit et resumsit. Et ideo pluvia haec voluntaria, quae se sponte profudit arentibus terris, ut poneret desertum in flumina. Quomodo autem infirmata sit, docet ille qui dicit: Crucifixus est enim ex infirmitate: et quomodo confirmata et posita sit, in eodem habes; quoniam, inquit, vivit ex virtute Dei.

our words on the day of recognition, if we have not attained your virtues and show in us no likeness from your stock by which we may be recognized as yours? Who will snatch us from the wrath to come (Matt. 3:7)? Who will rescue us from ourselves, so that, cleansed of our own senses, we may be emptied of the fuel of heavenly wrath by the purifying of faith? For we feel that the causes of eternal punishments are within us, while the roots of thorns and thistles live in our heart. For the former offshoot of our old state, like the vine of Sodom, bore a cluster of gall with the bitter fruits of carnal life (Deut. 32:32), and the mind, drunk with the poisons of malice, vomited the wrath of asps: but He who is mighty has done great things for us (Luke 1:49): He has sent from heaven and delivered us (Ps. 56:4): He has sent His mercy through you, and has renewed the face of our earth (Ps. 103:30), and has made us to be your planting for Himself in His vineyard. Therefore, blessed and most venerable father, you must with unceasing care and constant prayer say to the Lord that He look down from heaven and visit these vines which your right hand has planted (Ps. 79:15); so that, fixed in the true vine, we may live as branches to be pruned for fruit, not cut off for the fire. May He Himself, who is the vine and the life (John 14:6 and 15:1), direct us into every rule of truth of His discipline, watering us from His upper rooms (Ps. 103:13) through your words, chaste and holy, as fiery as they are sweet. For your words are drops of that voluntary rain which God has set apart for His inheritance (Ps. 67:10), He who came down upon the fleece, poured, that is, into the Virgin by a silent descent. He it is in whose drops we rejoice when He springs up in us (Ps. 64:11; Ps. 71:6); and He bedews the soul being reborn with the first dew of the knowledge of Himself, so that He may heal all our infirmities (Isa. 53:4–5; Ps. 102:3). For the dew that is from Him is health to us; because He is the fountain of life (Ps. 35:10) who sent His Word and healed us (Ps. 106:20). This is the Word of God, of whom the rain is voluntary; because, not by the necessity of a subject but by the assent of one equal to God, and in the duty of filial love, the Son, obedient to the Father, humbled Himself even to the death of the cross (Phil. 2:8), as He had said through the prophet: Voluntarily will I sacrifice to Thee (Ps. 53:8). For the same Lord, priest and victim, offered Himself for us, and by His own power laid down His life and took it up again (John 10:18). And therefore this rain is voluntary, which of its own accord poured itself out on the parched lands, to turn the desert into rivers (Ps. 106:35). How it was made weak, he teaches who says: For He was crucified out of weakness (2 Cor. 13:4); and how it was made strong and established you have in the same place; for He lives, he says, by the power of God (ibid.).

4. Hunc tu Dominum ora donec exores, ut vellera nostra, quae in aqua refectionis manibus tuis lavit, non patiatur iterum peccatis nostris maculata sordescere, et rursus in phoenicium (al.

4. Pray this Lord until you prevail upon Him, that He may not allow our fleeces, which He washed by your hands in the water of refreshment, to grow foul again, stained by our sins, and once more into crimson (alias

Editors' notes and page, col. 245

Scripture references

(printed under page 126)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 245

Matth. III, 7.

Matthew 3:7.

(printed under page 126)

(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 245

Deut. XXXII, 32.

Deuteronomy 32:32.

(printed under page 126)

Luc. I, 49.

Luke 1:49.

(printed under page 126)

(d) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 245

Psal. LVI, 4.

Psalm 56 (57):4.

(printed under page 126)

(e) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 245

Psal. CIII, 30.

Psalm 103 (104):30.

(printed under page 126)

(f) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 245

Psal. LXXIX, 15.

Psalm 79 (80):15.

(printed under page 126)

(g) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 245

Johan. xiv, 6, et xv, 1.

John 14:6 and 15:1.

(printed under page 126)

(h) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 245

Psal. CIII, 13.

Psalm 103 (104):13.

(printed under page 126)

(i) ‹anchor: segregavit Deus hereditati suae› · call in col 245

Psal. LXVII, 10.

Psalm 67 (68):10.

(printed under page 126)

(j) ‹anchor: laetamur› · call in col 245

Psal. LXIV, 11; Psal. LXXI, 6.

Psalm 64 (65):11; Psalm 71 (72):6.

(printed under page 126)

(k) ‹anchor: omnes languores nostros› · call in col 245

Isai. LIII, 4 et 5; Psal. CII, 3.

Isaiah 53:4 and 5; Psalm 102 (103):3.

(printed under page 126)

(l) ‹anchor: et sanavit nos› · call in col 245

Psal. XXXV, 10; cvi, 20.

Psalm 35 (36):10; 106 (107):20.

(printed under page 126)

(m) ‹anchor: ad mortem crucis› · call in col 245

Phil. II, 8.

Philippians 2:8.

(printed under page 126)

(n) ‹anchor: sacrificabo tibi› · call in col 245

Psal. LIII, 8.

Psalm 53 (54):8.

(printed under page 126)

(o) ‹anchor: et resumsit› · call in col 245

Joh. x, 18.

John 10:18.

(printed under page 126)

(p) ‹anchor: desertum in flumina› · call in col 245

Psal. CVI, 35.

Psalm 106 (107):35.

(printed under page 126)

(q) ‹anchor: ex infirmitate› · call in col 245

II Cor. XIII, 4.

2 Corinthians 13:4.

(printed under page 126)

(r) ‹anchor: ex virtute Dei› · call in col 245

Ibid.

The same place.

(printed under page 126)

(s) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 245

Psal. CXXV, 6.

Psalm 125 (126):6.

(printed under page 126)

(t) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 245

Isai. VIII, 18.

Isaiah 8:18.

(printed under page 126)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 245

Sic ms. Vien. Ante erat quare cognoscamur. Praecessit jam in die recognitionis.

So the Vienna manuscript. Previously it read "quare cognoscamur". "In die recognitionis" has already come before.

(printed under page 126)

(b) ‹anchor: confirmata et (b) posita sit› · call in col 245

Posita. An perfecta? Alluditur enim ad psalmum lxvii: Et infirmata est; tu vero perfecisti eam.

"Posita": perhaps "perfecta"? For there is an allusion to Psalm 67: "And it was weakened; but you made it perfect."

(printed under page 126)

Page

running head: [2]45 EPISTOLA XX[.] (left part of head cut off in image)
marginal letters: A ‹sermones nostros in die›; B ‹nedicte et venerandissime›; C ‹ut sanet omnes languores›; D ‹ex virtute Dei›
old-edition numerals: 106 after ‹sarmenta.›

PL 61:246

phoeniceum) vitiis tingentibus infecta converti; sed custodiat excubiis orationum tuarum gratiae suae munus in nobis; et operationem manuum tuarum non omittat in nobis, donec maturet et perficiat de nobis fructum et coronam tibi; ut in illa die veniens in exsultatione, et repleto sinu portans manipulos tuos, possis etiam de nobis in tua prole et messe numeratis dicere: Ecce ego, Domine, et pueri quos dedisti mihi. Sed jam admonet metus fatigationis tuae; non solum autem, sed et metus peccati, quod de multiloquio non effugitur, ut imponamus frenum ori nostro, et ostium verbi, licet tardo, epistolae fine claudamus. Sit nobis clausula commendatio Cardamatis, quem gratulamur de benedictione manus tuae ita esse renovatum, ut in eo ante ridiculam mimici nominis levitatem, nunc assumta de exorcistae nomine gravitas reverentiam dederit. Magis tamen admirati, eo gavisi sumus, quod etiam pristinae conditionis ingenium religioso mutavit officio: nam assiduus mensulae nostrae particeps, ita se ad mensuram nostri gutturis arctavit, ut nec oluscula nec pocula nostra vitaverit; quod poterit attenuatione sui corporis et oris pallore testari: nisi se forte, dum remeat, per iter laboriosum, retractata suorum quondam calicum familiaritate, reparaverit.

phoeniceum), dyed through by the staining vices, to be turned; but may He guard in us, by the watches of your prayers, the gift of His grace; and may He not leave off the work of your hands in us, until He ripens and perfects from us fruit and a crown for you; so that on that day, coming with rejoicing and carrying your sheaves in a full bosom (Ps. 125:6), you may say of us too, numbered among your offspring and your harvest: Behold I, Lord, and the children whom Thou hast given me (Isa. 8:18). But now the fear of wearying you warns us, and not only that, but also the fear of sin, which is not escaped in much speaking (Prov. 10:19), to put a bridle on our mouth and to shut the door of our speech (Ps. 140:3; Sir. 28:28), late though it be, by ending the letter. Let our close be a commendation of Cardamas, whom we congratulate on being so renewed by the blessing of your hand that, where once there was in him the ridiculous levity of a mime's name, the gravity now assumed with the name of exorcist has won him respect. Yet what we wondered at more, and rejoiced at, is that he has changed even the bent of his former condition through his religious office: for, a constant sharer of our little table, he has so narrowed himself to the measure of our gullet that he has shunned neither our little vegetables nor our cups; to which he will be able to testify by the thinness of his body and the pallor of his face: unless perhaps on his way back, along the laborious road, he has restored himself by taking up again his old familiarity with his own cups.

EPISTOLA XX.

LETTER XX.

Beatissimo et merito venerabili patri, DELPHINO PAULINUS.

To his most blessed and deservedly venerable father, Delphinus, Paulinus.

1. Oportebat quidem nos sapientiae doctrinam servantes, jugum linguae nostrae et stateram verbis imponere, ut et de multiloquio nostro et de tua fatigatione geminandum nobis peccatum evaderemus. Sed de abundantia caritatis tuae os nostrum ad te dilatatur, neque possumus affectum de praecordiis exuberantem, obserato oris ostio, intra pectoris taciti claustra cohibere. Loquimur ergo ad venerationem tuam et alia epistola; quia etsi una illa, qua rescripsimus, tam prolixa est, ut sufficiat te saturare fastidio; tamen nobis longissimo, ut recognoscis, intervallo temporum accipientibus colloquia tua, et nostra reddentibus; parum est una ad te epistola loqui. Damus enim hinc animae nostrae aliquod, etsi tenue, solatium; ut dum ad affectionem tuam litteras facimus, toto in faciem tuam corde defixi, subito te obliviscamur absentem, et tamquam in praesentis alloquio

1. We ought indeed, keeping the teaching of wisdom, to set a yoke on our tongue and a balance on our words, so as to escape the sin that would be doubled for us by our much speaking and by your weariness. But from the abundance of your love our mouth is opened wide to you (2 Cor. 6:11), and we cannot, with the door of the mouth bolted, hold within the bars of a silent breast the affection overflowing from our heart. So we speak to your reverence in another letter as well; for although that one, in which we replied, is so long that it would suffice to sate you to weariness, yet for us, who, as you recognize, receive your conversation and return our own at the longest interval of time, it is little to speak to you in one letter. For hereby we give our soul some comfort, slight though it be; so that while we write a letter to your affection, fixed with our whole heart upon your face, we suddenly forget that you are absent, and, as if lingering in converse with you present,

Editors' notes and page, col. 246

Footnotes

(u) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 246

Prov. X, 19.

Proverbs 10:19.

(printed under page 126)

(v) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 246

Psal. CXL, 3; Eccli. XXVIII, 28.

Psalm 140 (141):3; Ecclesiasticus 28:28.

(printed under page 126)

(x) ‹anchor: verbis imponere› · call in col 246

Eccli. XXVIII, 2.

Ecclesiasticus 28:2 [so the scan appears to read; the verse number may be cut short].

(printed under page 126)

(y) ‹anchor: dilatatur› · call in col 246

II Cor. VI, 11.

2 Corinthians 6:11.

Editors' notes

(*) ‹anchor: EPISTOLA› · call in col 246 Alias 16; quae autem 20 erat, nunc 36. Scripta anno 400 et missa cum superiore.

Formerly 16; the letter that was 20 is now 36. Written in the year 400 and sent with the preceding one.

(printed under page 126)

Ms. Vatic., numerans.

The Vatican manuscript has "numerans" [word faint in the scan].

(printed under page 126)

(d) ‹anchor: reparaverit (d)› · call in col 246

Edit. Grin., Schot. et Rosv. addunt Vale, pater.

The editions of Gryphius, Schott and Rosweyde add "Vale, pater" (Farewell, father) [faint in the scan].

(printed under page 126)

(e) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 246

Ms. Vien., Beatissimo et venerabili, semper nobis desideratissimo, etc.

The Vienna manuscript: "To the most blessed and venerable, ever most longed-for by us," etc.

(printed under page 126)

Editors' prose

Delphino scribit de Anastasii Romani pontificis et Venerii Mediolanensis antistitis erga se caritate. Gratulatur de condita Alingonensi Ecclesia, et digreditur ad templum spirituale quod optat in se fieri, ut habitetur a Christo.

He writes to Delphinus of the charity shown him by Anastasius, the Roman pontiff, and by Venerius, bishop of Milan. He congratulates him on the founding of the church at Alingo (Langon), and digresses to the spiritual temple that he prays may be built in himself, to be inhabited by Christ.

Page

running head: EPISTOLA XX. 246
marginal letters: A ‹phoeniceum) vitiis tingentibus›; B ‹levitatem, nunc assumta›; C ‹[ad templum spiri]tuale … bitetur a Christo› (in the argumentum); D ‹tervallo temporum›
old-edition numerals: 107 after ‹poterit›

PL 61:247

demorantes, longius verba ducamus: unde flagrantem desideriorum nostrorum sitim, etsi non restinguimus, quia nec expedit nobis, tamen proposita interioribus oculis conspectus atque colloquii tui imagine mitigamus. Nam etsi prolongatus videatur incolatus noster, a locis habitationis tuae, tamen spiritus non est separatus a complexu dilectionis tuae. Quis enim, inquit, nos separabit a caritate Christi? Si neque mors, neque vita, neque alia creatura, quanto minus absentia corporalis, quae non potest praesentiam spiritalem solvere? Quia quanto fortior carne est spiritus, tanto potior est conjunctio animorum quam corporum, et interiorum hominum praesentia melior exterioribus separatis; qui saepe sine causa junguntur locis, si mentibus separentur. Non enim, inquit, qui in aperto Judaeus, neque quae in carne est circumcisio; sed qui in occulto Judaeus, qui spiritu non littera circumcisus, cujus gloria non ex hominibus, sed ex Deo est. Itaque hac eadem lege, qua verior circumcisio quae in corde, quam in carne concisio: et praesentia firmior quae spiritu, quam quae corpore jungitur et cohaeret sibi, semper tecum sumus, tuque nobiscum. Nam etsi facie ad tempus discernimur, semper tamen corde conserti manemus in te, vicissim te habitante in visceribus nostris, et ad commoriendum, et ad convivendum. Sane, quia ad caritatis ejusdem curam et consolationem pertinet, ut actuum nostrorum invicem conscii efficiamur, quo tolerabilius de nobis absentibus aestuemus, si non simus incerti; indicamus affection. tuae, quam scimus de omni actu nostro sollicitissimam esse, propitio Christo, ita ut oras, valere nos; non quidem robusta, sed tamen sana corporum fragilitate. Pauperes spiritu, non nostro, sed Dei, cujus bonitate egenus, malitia nostra abundantes. De quo autem Cardamas noster admonuit, jussisse te asserens ut etiam hinc quae circa nos sunt in Domino nuntiaremus.

we draw out our words at greater length: and so the burning thirst of our longings, though we do not quench it, since that is not expedient for us either, we yet assuage by setting before our inner eyes the image of your sight and your converse. For although our sojourning seems prolonged (Ps. 119:5) away from the places of your dwelling, yet the spirit is not separated from the embrace of your love. For who, he says, shall separate us from the love of Christ? If neither death, nor life, nor any other creature (Rom. 8:35), how much less bodily absence, which cannot dissolve spiritual presence? For as much as the spirit is stronger than the flesh, so much more powerful is the union of souls than that of bodies, and the presence of inner men better than that of outer men who are separated; who are often joined in place to no purpose, if they are separated in mind. For he is not a Jew, he says, who is one openly, nor is that circumcision which is in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one in secret, who is circumcised in spirit, not in the letter, whose glory is not from men but from God. Therefore by this same law, by which the circumcision that is in the heart is truer than the cutting in the flesh, and the presence that is joined and holds together in spirit firmer than that in body, we are always with you, and you with us. For although for a time we are parted in face, yet we always remain knit in heart in you, while you in turn dwell in our inmost parts, both to die together and to live together (2 Cor. 7:3). Certainly, since it belongs to the care and comfort of that same love that we be made aware of each other's doings, so that, being absent, we may be less anxious about each other if we are not uncertain, we inform your affection, which we know to be most solicitous about our every act, that by Christ's favour, as you pray, we are well; not in a robust, indeed, but yet in a sound frailty of body. Poor in spirit (Matt. 5:3), not in our own but in God's, needy of His goodness, abounding in our own malice. And this is the matter on which our Cardamas reminded us, saying that you had bidden us also to report from here, in the Lord, how things stand with us.

2. Sciat veneratio tua sanctum fratrem tuum papam Urbis Anastasium amantissimum esse humilitatis nostrae: nam ubi primum potestatem caritatis suae nobis offerendae habere coepit, non solum suscipere eam a nobis, sed ingerere nobis piissima affectione properavit. Nam brevi post ordinationem suam epistolas de nomine nostro, plenas et religionis, et pietatis, et pacis, ad episcopos Campaniae misit; quibus et suum declararet affectum, et aliis benignitatis suae praeberet exemplum. Deinde nos ipsos Romae, cum solenni consuetudine ad beatorum apostolorum natalem venissemus, tam blande quam honorifice excepit. Postea quoque interposito tempore

2. Let your reverence know that your holy brother Anastasius, pope of the City, is most loving towards our lowliness: for as soon as he began to have the power of offering us his love, he hastened not only to receive it from us but to press it upon us with most devoted affection. For shortly after his ordination he sent letters concerning our name, full of religion and of piety and of peace, to the bishops of Campania, by which he might both declare his own affection and offer others an example of his kindness. Then, when we had come to Rome by our solemn custom for the birthday of the blessed apostles, he received us as warmly as he did honourably. Afterwards too, when some time had passed,

Editors' notes and page, col. 247

Scripture references

(printed under page 127)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 247

Psal. CXIX, 5.

Psalm 119 (120):5.

(printed under page 127)

(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 247

Rom. VIII, 35.

Romans 8:35.

(printed under page 127)

Rom. II, 18.

Romans 2:18.

(printed under page 127)

(d) ‹anchor: et ad convivendum› · call in col 247

II Cor. VII, 3.

2 Corinthians 7:3.

(printed under page 127)

(e) ‹anchor: Pauperes spiritu› · call in col 247

Matth. V, 3.

Matthew 5:3.

(printed under page 127)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 247

Ms. codex Viennensis, circumcisio. Ed. Bad. et Grav., consertio.

The Vienna manuscript codex has "circumcisio". The editions of Badius and Gravius have "consertio".

(printed under page 127)

(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 247

Sic ms. Vien. codex. Ante erat salutem; domum nostram... nos aedificet.

So the Vienna manuscript codex. Previously it read "salutem; domum nostram... nos aedificet" [last word faint in the scan].

(printed under page 127)

Page

running head: 247 S. PAULINI NOLANI EP[ISCOPI] (right part of head cut off in image)
marginal letters: A ‹loquio demorantes›; B ‹Non enim, inquit›; C ‹simus incerti; indicamus›; D ‹nis, et pietatis›
old-edition numerals: 108 after ‹occulto›
other: the column opens with "loquio", the end of "al-loquio", which is set whole at the end of col. 246; this file therefore begins at "demorantes". Editors' matter not set: "(id est separamur, distamus; vid. epist. 29, n. 9)" after "discernimur", and "(V. not. 62)" after "Anastasium". "affection." is an abbreviation as printed. "egenus" (for egeni?) kept as printed; UNSURE whether it is a misprint. Migne's note c (at "ex Deo est") reads "Rom. II, 48" or "18" in two images, so the verse is not certain and no reference is given there.

PL 61:248

etiam ad natalem suum, quod consacerdotibus suis tantum deferre solet, invitare dignatus est: nec offensus est excusatione nostra; sed officium sermonis nostri, quod in vicem praesentiae reddideramus, acceptans animo nos paterno et absentes recepit. Denique si Dominus commeatum donaverit, ut ad eum usitato solemniter nobis tempore recurramus, spero me ad sanctitatem tuam ei litteras exacturum, quibus etiam tibi nos incipiat commendare.

he deigned to invite us even to his own birthday, an honour he is accustomed to pay only to his fellow priests: nor was he offended by our excuse; but, accepting with a fatherly mind the duty of our speech, which we had rendered in place of our presence, he received us even when absent. Finally, if the Lord grants us leave to hasten back to him at the time customarily solemn for us, I hope to obtain from him a letter to your holiness, by which he may begin to commend us to you as well.

3. Mediolanensis quoque episcopus novus, filius vester hucusque, nunc frater Venerius, jam scripserat nobis post ordinationem suam: sed quia et hoc Cardamas jussisse te retulit, scripsimus illi per ipsum, ut sciret paratam esse opportunitatem, si vellet officium debitae pietatis agnoscere, ut beatitudini tuae scriberet et commendaret pectori tuo primordia sua. Nos vero gaudemus et gloriamur in Domino, quia et visibiliter et invisibiliter operaris salutem nostram vere pater bonus et salutaris patronus, invisibiliter nos aedificas in orationibus tuis, rogans intra nosmetipsos fieri regnum Dei; visibiliter autem nobis operaris in fabricis ecclesiarum, ut partem nobis facias cum illo, cujus domus a Christo meruit visitari quia de aedificatione tunc Synagogae, quod nunc Ecclesia est, testimonium religiosae plebis acceperat. Fatemur venerandae pietati tuae, legentibus nobis illam epistolae partem, qua Alingonensi Ecclesiae novam filiam te autore progenitam jam in nomine Domini usque ad dedicationis diem crevisse signabas, ita exsultasse spiritum nostrum in Deo salutari nostro, ut tamquam in praesenti dedicantium coetibus interessemus, illa de psalmis prophetici gaudii verba caneremus: Exsultate Deo adjutori nostro; sumite psalmum, et date tympanum. Tollite hostias, et introite in atria Domini; adorate Dominum in aula sancta ejus. Vel illud ejusdem prophetae: Surge, Domine, in requiem tuam, tu et arca sanctificationis tuae. Sacerdotes tui induant salutarem, et sancti tui exsultent. Constituant diem suum.

3. The new bishop of Milan too, hitherto your son, now our brother Venerius, had already written to us after his ordination: but since Cardamas reported that you had bidden this also, we have written to him by Cardamas himself, so that he might know the opportunity was ready, if he wished to acknowledge the duty of the devotion he owes, to write to your beatitude and commend his beginnings to your heart. We for our part rejoice and glory in the Lord, because both visibly and invisibly you work our salvation, truly a good father and a saving patron: invisibly you build us up in your prayers, asking that the kingdom of God be made within ourselves; visibly you work for us in the building of churches, so that you give us a share with that man whose house deserved to be visited by Christ because he had received the testimony of a devout people for building what was then a synagogue and is now the Church (Luke 7:5). We confess to your venerable piety that, as we read that part of your letter in which you signified that a new daughter, begotten by your agency for the Church at Alingo, had now grown in the name of the Lord up to the day of her dedication, our spirit so rejoiced in God our Saviour (Luke 1:47) that, as if we were present among the companies of those dedicating it, we sang those words of prophetic joy from the psalms: Rejoice to God our helper; take up a psalm, and bring the timbrel (Ps. 80:2). Bring sacrifices, and enter into the courts of the Lord; worship the Lord in His holy court (Ps. 95:8, according to the Roman Psalter). Or that word of the same prophet: Arise, O Lord, into Thy rest, Thou and the ark of Thy sanctification. Let Thy priests put on the Saviour, and let Thy saints rejoice (Ps. 131:8). Let them appoint their day (Ps. 117:27).

4. Quod vero indicare dignatus es, aliquos de parte illius, cujus invidia mors introivit in orbem terrarum, dentibus suis fremere et tabescere, non miramur; quia et in Hierusalem cum reaedificaretur templum Dei, invidebant Assyrii; et fabricam resurgentem conabantur hostilibus saepe incursionibus impedire. Sed quia potior est qui in nobis est, quam qui in hoc mundo, desiderium illorum peribit, nostrum vero confirmabitur: quia speramus in misericordia ejus, qui numquam confundit sperantes in se. Tantum oret sanctitas tua, sicut facit, ut et in nobis ipsis

4. But as to what you have deigned to tell us, that some of the party of him through whose envy death entered into the world (Wis. 2:24) gnash with their teeth and pine away (Ps. 111:10), we do not wonder; for in Jerusalem too, when the temple of God was being rebuilt, the Assyrians were envious (Ezra 4:4; 5:3), and often tried to hinder the rising structure by hostile raids. But since He who is in us is greater than he who is in this world (1 John 4:4), their desire shall perish (Ps. 111:10), while ours shall be confirmed: for we hope in the mercy of Him who never confounds those who hope in Him (Ps. 12:6, and 146:11). Only let your holiness pray, as you do, that in ourselves too

Editors' notes and page, col. 248

Footnotes

(f) ‹anchor: tunc Synagogae› · call in col 248

Luc. VII, 5.

Luke 7:5.

(printed under page 127)

(g) ‹anchor: salutari nostro› · call in col 248

Luc. I, 47.

Luke 1:47.

(printed under page 127)

(h) ‹anchor: date tympanum› · call in col 248

Psal. LXXX, 2.

Psalm 80 (81):2.

(printed under page 127)

(i) ‹anchor: sancta ejus› · call in col 248

Psal. XCV, 8, sec. Psalter. Rom.

Psalm 95 (96):8, according to the Roman Psalter.

(printed under page 127)

(j) ‹anchor: sanctificationis tuae› · call in col 248

Psal. CXXXI, 8.

Psalm 131 (132):8.

(printed under page 127)

(k) ‹anchor: diem (c) suum› · call in col 248

Psal. CXVII, 27.

Psalm 117 (118):27.

(printed under page 127)

(l) ‹anchor: in orbem terrarum› · call in col 248

Sap. II, 24.

Wisdom 2:24.

(printed under page 127)

(m) ‹anchor: fremere et tabescere› · call in col 248

Psal. CXI, 10.

Psalm 111 (112):10.

(printed under page 127)

(n) ‹anchor: invidebant Assyrii› · call in col 248

I Esd. iv, 4; v, 3.

1 Esdras (Ezra) 4:4; 5:3.

(printed under page 127)

(o) ‹anchor: in hoc mundo› · call in col 248

I Johan. iv, 4.

1 John 4:4.

(printed under page 127)

(p) ‹anchor: illorum peribit› · call in col 248

Psal. CXI, 10.

Psalm 111 (112):10.

(printed under page 127)

(q) ‹anchor: sperantes in se› · call in col 248

Psal. XII, 6, et cxlvi, 11.

Psalm 12 (13):6, and 146 (147):11.

Editors' notes

(printed under page 127)

Suum. Legerim festum. Nam allusio est ad psalmum cxvii. Constituite diem solemnem. Graece ἑορτήν.

"Suum": I would read "festum". For the allusion is to Psalm 117: "Appoint a solemn day"; in Greek, "feast".

(printed under page 127)

(d) ‹anchor: Tantum (d) oret› · call in col 248

Ms. Regius codex, orat. Ms. Vien., vigilet.

The Royal manuscript codex has "orat" (prays); the Vienna manuscript, "vigilet" (may keep watch) [both words faint in the scan].

(printed under page 127)

Page

running head: [S. PAU]LINI NOLANI EPISCOPI 248
marginal letters: A ‹etiam ad natalem›; B ‹cium debitae pietatis›; C ‹signabas, ita exsultasse›; D ‹Dei, invidebant Assyrii›
old-edition numerals: 109 before ‹primordia›
other: editors' matter not set: "(V. not. 63)" after "natalem", "(id est suffraganeis)" after "consacerdotibus", "(V. not. 64)" after "commeatum", "(V. not. 65)" after "Alingonensi". After "visitari" a faint raised mark, no clear stop; set without punctuation. Foot notes (c) "Suum. Legerim festum…" and (d) are apparatus.

PL 61:249

aedificetur domus a Christo et in Christo: quia nisi Dominus aedificaverit domum, in vanum laboraverunt qui aedificant eam: et nisi supra petram, qui est Christus, fundetur haec domus, non poterit ventis spiritalium nequitiarum et torrentibus secularium tentationum resistere.

the house may be built by Christ and in Christ: for unless the Lord build the house, they have laboured in vain who build it (Ps. 126:1): and unless this house is founded (Matt. 7:24) upon the rock, which is Christ (1 Cor. 10:4), it will not be able to withstand the winds of spiritual wickedness and the torrents of worldly temptations.

5. Ora veniat Dominus Jesus in cor nostrum sicut in templum suum, excutiat flagellum pietatis suae, quo verberat omnem filium quem recipit; et expellat a sensibus mentis nostrae, quasi a negotiatoribus templi, omne commercium atque contagium iniquitatis. Expellat a nobis boves, et venditores columbarum, et mensas nummulariorum, ut ab omni immunditia et cupiditate purgati, castam simplicitatem fidei caritatisque teneamus: quia Christi figura servatur, unde Caesaris nummus expellitur; et ubi boves non sunt, praesepia munda sunt; et fides incorrupta retinetur, ubi columba non venditur. Nisi enim nos Deo tradamus, vendimus diabolo. Unde et vetus homo qui se consilio malesuadi serpentis addixit, venumdatus sub peccato dicitur. Denique quasi venditus eguit Redemtore, qui nos magno emit, ne jam aut diaboli aut nostri essemus: et a progenie viperarum in genus regale et sacerdotale mutati efficeremur sanguis ejus, qui nos ab originis primae generosa institutione degeneres, et, durante peccato, viles prius animas pretiosas sanguinis sui commercio fecit, et coheredes sibi, ac filios Dei fieri non invida pietate concessit. Exsultemus et gloriemur in eo, qui factus est refugium pauperum, ut humiliaret oculos superborum. Exhibeamus illi et templum in nobis et sacrificium, expurgantes nos, si possimus, veteri fermento, ut efficiamur azymi, et ipse qui pro nobis immolatus est, in nobis Christus epuletur.

5. Pray that the Lord Jesus may come into our heart as into His temple (Matt. 21:12), and shake out the scourge of His love, with which He scourges every son whom He receives; and drive out from the senses of our mind, as from the traders of the temple, all the commerce and contagion of iniquity (John 2:15; Prov. 3:12; Rev. 3:19). May He drive out from us the oxen, and the sellers of doves, and the tables of the money-changers, so that, purged of all uncleanness and greed, we may hold fast the chaste simplicity of faith and love: for the figure of Christ is kept where Caesar's coin is driven out (Matt. 22:21); and where there are no oxen, the cribs are clean (Prov. 14:4, according to the Septuagint); and faith is kept uncorrupted where the dove is not sold. For unless we give ourselves up to God, we sell ourselves to the devil. Hence the old man too, who bound himself over to the counsel of the evil-persuading serpent (Gen. 3:6), is said to be sold under sin (Rom. 7:14). And so, as one sold, he needed a Redeemer, who bought us at a great price (1 Cor. 6:20), so that we should no longer be either the devil's or our own: and that, changed from a brood of vipers (Matt. 3:7) into a royal and priestly race (1 Pet. 2:9), we might be made His blood, who, when we had fallen away from the noble constitution of our first origin and were souls once cheap while sin endured, made us precious by the exchange of His blood, and with unenvious love granted us to become His co-heirs and sons of God (Rom. 8:17). Let us exult and glory in Him who has become the refuge of the poor (Ps. 9:10), that He might humble the eyes of the proud (Ps. 17:28). Let us offer Him both a temple in ourselves and a sacrifice, purging ourselves, if we can, of the old leaven, so that we may become unleavened (1 Cor. 5:8), and Christ Himself, who was sacrificed for us, may feast in us.

6. Meminerimus nos ab utero terrae et cognationis nostrae segregatos, Delphini filios esse factos, ut efficeremur illi pisces, qui perambulant semitas maris. Meminerimus te non solum patrem, sed et Petrum nobis esse factum: quia tu misisti hamum ad me de profundis et amaris hujus seculi fluctibus extrahendum, ut captura salutis efficerer: et cui vivebam, naturae morerer; ut cui mortuus eram, viverem Domino.

6. Let us remember that, separated from the womb of our land and kindred, we have been made sons of Delphinus, so that we might become for him fishes that walk the paths of the sea (Ps. 8:9). Let us remember that you have been made for us not only a father but also a Peter: for you let down a hook to me, to draw me out of the deep and bitter waves of this world, so that I might become a catch of salvation; and that I might die to the nature for which I was living, so as to live to the Lord, to whom I had been dead.

Editors' notes and page, col. 249

Scripture references

(printed under page 128)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 249

Psal. CXXVI, 1.

Psalm 126 (127):1.

(printed under page 128)

(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 249

I Cor. X, 4.

1 Corinthians 10:4.

(printed under page 128)

Matt. VII, 24.

Matthew 7:24.

(printed under page 128)

(d) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 249

Matth. XXI, 12.

Matthew 21:12.

(printed under page 128)

(e) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 249

Johan. ii, 15; Prov. III, 12; Apoc. III, 19.

John 2:15; Proverbs 3:12; Revelation 3:19.

(printed under page 128)

(f) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 249

Matth. XXII, 21.

Matthew 22:21.

(printed under page 128)

(g) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 249

Prov. XIV, 4, sec. LXX.

Proverbs 14:4, according to the Septuagint.

(printed under page 128)

(h) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 249

Gen. III, 6.

Genesis 3:6.

(printed under page 128)

(i) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 249

Rom. VII, 14.

Romans 7:14.

(printed under page 128)

(j) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 249

I Cor. VI, 20.

1 Corinthians 6:20.

(printed under page 128)

(k) ‹anchor: efficeremur sanguis ejus› · call in col 249

Matth. III, 7.

Matthew 3:7.

(printed under page 128)

(l) ‹anchor: institutione degeneres› · call in col 249

I Pet. ii, 9.

1 Peter 2:9.

(printed under page 128)

(m) ‹anchor: pietate concessit› · call in col 249

Rom. VIII, 17.

Romans 8:17.

(printed under page 128)

(n) ‹anchor: refugium pauperum› · call in col 249

Psal. IX, 10.

Psalm 9:10.

(printed under page 128)

(o) ‹anchor: oculos superborum› · call in col 249

Psal. XVII, 28.

Psalm 17 (18):28.

(printed under page 128)

(p) ‹anchor: efficiamur azymi› · call in col 249

I Cor. V, 8.

1 Corinthians 5:8.

(printed under page 128)

(q) ‹anchor: semitas maris› · call in col 249

Psal. VIII, 9.

Psalm 8:9.

(printed under page 128)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 249

Ms. Vien. codex Cum enim peccamus, vendimus nos diabolo.

The Vienna manuscript codex: "For when we sin, we sell ourselves to the devil."

(printed under page 128)

(b) ‹anchor: animas (b) pretiosas› · call in col 249

Sic ms. Vien. et edit. Grin. et Schot. Alii, pretioso.

So the Vienna manuscript and the editions of Gryphius and Schott. Others have "pretioso".

(printed under page 128)

Ms. Viennensis, vetere.

The Vienna manuscript has "vetere".

(printed under page 128)

(d) ‹anchor: ad me (d) de profundis› · call in col 249

Ita codex Vien. Particula de abest a ceteris codicibus.

So the Vienna codex. The particle "de" is absent from the other codices.

(printed under page 128)