PL 61 · cols. 286–299

Paulinus of Nola, Letters

Letter XXIV

remittit usuras, et obligationis immensae compendium praestat, solam a nobis dilectionem sui repetens; quam inter praecepta sua principali loco ponens, ostendit quomodo illi insolubile debitum etiam inopes solveremus. Nemo se igitur excuset difficultate solvendi, quia nemo se potest dicere animum non habere. Non sacrificia, non munera sumtuosa, non duri labores exiguntur a nobis: in nobis est, unde solvamus. Res enim potestatis nostrae est, noster affectus: hunc Domino impendamus, et solvimus. Denique David liberatus de manu omnium inimicorum suorum pro salutis suae plena securitate, non regni opibus, sed animi solvens, ait: Diligam te, Domine, virtus mea.

remits the interest, and grants the discharge of an immense obligation, asking back from us only the love of Himself; which, by setting it in the chief place among His commandments, He showed how we, even though penniless, might pay Him a debt otherwise unpayable. Let no one therefore excuse himself by the difficulty of paying, since no one can say that he has no heart. Not sacrifices, not costly gifts, not hard labours are demanded of us: what we pay with is within us. For our affection is a thing in our own power: let us spend it on the Lord, and we pay. Thus David, delivered from the hand of all his enemies, paying for the full security of his salvation not with the wealth of his kingdom but with that of his heart, says: I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength (Ps. 17:2).

47. Addo etiam amplius eum, qui creditor est, debitorem fore, si illi pretium bonitatis suae, quam nobis indebitam praestat, gratuita diligentes animo pensione solvamus. Diligitur autem et in nobismetipsis, quia ipse dixit, hoc signum fore discipulorum suorum si diligerent invicem dilectione qua ipse dilexit nos, id est, ut cor unum et unam animam habeamus in Christo: et id quisque proximo suo faciat, quod sibi fieri cupit. Quo magis tua caritate gloriamur in Domino, quae sola nos facit aliquatenus vel unum de magnis et innumeris debitis Deo solvere. In omnibus enim aliis bonis vix nos tantum vel in paucis initiatos, in tua tantum dilectione profitemur esse perfectos.

47. I add, further still, that He Who is the creditor will be a debtor, if, loving Him with our heart, we pay Him in free payment the price of His goodness, which He bestows on us undeserved. Moreover He is loved in our own selves too, since He Himself said that this would be the sign of His disciples, if they loved one another with the love with which He Himself loved us (John 13:35), that is, that we should have one heart and one soul in Christ (Acts 4:32): and that each should do to his neighbour what he wishes to be done to himself (Matt. 7:12). All the more do we glory in the Lord in your charity, which alone makes us in some measure pay to God at least one of our great and countless debts. For while in all other goods we profess ourselves scarcely even initiated, and that in few, in love for you alone we profess ourselves perfect.

EPISTOLA XXIV.

LETTER XXIV.

1. Habeo tibi adhuc aliquid dicere; quamquam tu in opertis litterarum promptuariis accipias, et super tecta, quantum in te est, ut ipse profiteris, studeas praedicare. Sed si hanc, quam de te apud te nunc deposituri sumus querimoniam, inter cetera loquacitatis nostrae inepta depromseris, tuam simul temeritatem divulgabis: de qua conquerentes hanc epistolam facimus, superioris fine commoniti, de caritatis videlicet et perfectionis verbo, ut istius faceremus exordium. Haec enim nobis de nimio tuae unanimitatis affectu expostulandi causa est, quod te multa dilectio usque ad mendacii peccatum trahit.

1. I have something more to say to you; although you receive it into the closed storerooms of letters, and, as far as in you lies, as you yourself profess, are eager to proclaim it upon the housetops. But if you bring out this complaint, which we are now about to lodge with you about yourself, among the other follies of our talkativeness, you will at the same time publish your own rashness: and it is in complaint of this that we are writing this letter, reminded by the end of the former one, namely by its word on charity and perfection, to make it the beginning of this one. For this is our cause of remonstrance, arising from the excessive affection of your oneness of heart with us: that your great love draws you even into the sin of lying.

Editors' notes and page, col. 286

Footnotes

Ms. Vatic. et ed. Grin. in marg., itinere, haud omnino sine causa, inquit Sacchinus, antiquitus enim erant itinera necessaria ut adiretur Hierusalem ad offerendum sacrificia. Quod non placet. Quid enim sibi vult, itinera sumtuosa? Vera igitur lectio munera sumtuosa, quae ex praedictis confirmatur.

The Vatican manuscript and the Grin. edition in the margin have itinere, "not wholly without reason", says Sacchini, "for in ancient times journeys were needed to go up to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices." That does not satisfy. For what would "costly journeys" mean? The true reading, then, is munera sumtuosa ("costly gifts"), which is confirmed by what was said above.

(printed under page 146)

(d) ‹anchor: aliquid dicere;› · call in col 286

Ms. Vien., quamquam tu qui in opertis, litterarum promtuaria accipis.

The Vienna manuscript has quamquam tu qui in opertis, litterarum promtuaria accipis.

(printed under page 146)

Editors' prose

Severus Paulinum laudaverat, quod facultates suas in pauperes contulisset, quo Christo impensius militaret. Respondet Paulinus rem esse non magni momenti, si quis divitias abjiciat, nisi sibimetipsi renuntiet; eumque docet in quo sita sit evangelicae paupertatis perfectio. Deinde quanta pericula, insidiae quantae, quot Christo militantibus hostes immineant, enumerat, ut ostendat, externa reliquisse, pugnae initium esse, non victoriam.

Severus had praised Paulinus for having given his means to the poor, so as to serve Christ as a soldier more wholeheartedly. Paulinus replies that it is a matter of no great moment if someone casts away riches unless he renounces himself; and he teaches him in what the perfection of Gospel poverty consists. Then he lists how great are the dangers, how great the snares, how many the enemies that threaten those who serve as Christ's soldiers, to show that to have left outward things behind is the beginning of the battle, not the victory.

Page

running head: EPISTOLA XXIV. 286
marginal letters: A ‹remittit usuras›; B ‹bitorem fore, si illi›; C ‹pauperes contulisset› (beside the argumentum, not set); D ‹caritatis videlicet et perfectionis›
old-edition numerals: 148 after ‹Diligitur›
other: EDITORS' PROSE in this column: the italic argumentum of Ep. XXIV ('Severus Paulinum laudaverat ... non victoriam.') is not set; the asterisk foot-note to the title ('Alias 2; quae autem erat 24, nunc 21. Scripta et missa cum superiore, anno 401.') is editors' matter, not set. No address line is printed under the title. Superscripts 106, 107 (after opibus, animo), foot-note calls (c) before munera, (d) before quamquam, and numerals 1, 2 (after facimus, nimio) left out. 'sumtuosa', 'solvimus', 'depromseris' set as printed.

PL 61:287

Sive enim ea reputem quae de te, sive illa quae de nobis loqueris, onera nostra injustis laudibus cumulans, tua falsis vituperationibus minuens, arguam te in caritatem de caritate peccare. Caritas enim, inquit benigna est: caritas proximo malum non operatur. Benignam eam nobis exhibes, quod experimur; nam et in eo gloriamur: sed vide ne contra ejus regulam videaris operari malum proximis, quibus sarcinam peccatorum pondere indebitae laudis accumulas; et quasi non idem volens nobis, quod tibi, siquidem de nobis, ita loqui justum existimes, ut de te inutile tibi judicas, jure audies: Si recte diligis et non recte dividas, peccasti. Nisi forte id quoque altiore pietatis consilio facias, ut dum aliena nobis bona verbis indulges, stimulum pudoris suggeras, ut legentes quod esse debemus, boni esse discamus, nitamurque nos juxta sermonem tuum promere; et forsitan possimus effici quod non sumus, dum erubescimus non esse quod dicimur. Interim tamen dum conscientia non agnoscit fidem sermonis tui, blandimentum aspernatur verecundia. Quae te apud teipsum, ut dixi, conveniat; cur audeas nobis, ut decertato agone, victoribus palmam perfectionis adscribere, quod omnem terrenae possessionis sarcinam exposuisse (id est deposuisse. V. carm. 23, v. 66) videamur: te contra adhuc infelicem, et in luto faecis infernae adhaerentem ingemiscas, quod vel unum, ut scripsisti, praediolum non vendidisse videaris; cum ipsum quoque aeque ut vendita a tuo jure praesenti alienaveris: ut majoribus fidei fructibus bis devotus existeres Deo: diverso mercimonii opere, sed uno vitae lucro intra ejusdem praecepti terminos venditor largitorque fundorum, et ideo sine animi captivitate possessor: quia et quae reservasti, Ecclesia te serviente possideat.

For whether I consider the things you say about yourself or those you say about us, heaping up our burdens with unjust praises and lessening your own with false reproaches, I shall convict you of sinning against charity out of charity. For charity, it says, is kind: charity works no evil to a neighbour (1 Cor. 13:4; Rom. 13:10). You show it to us as kind, as we experience; and indeed we glory in it: but see that you do not appear, against its rule, to work evil to your neighbours, on whom you pile up a load of sins with the weight of undeserved praise; and as though you did not wish the same for us as for yourself, since you think it right to speak of us in a way in which you judge it unprofitable for yourself to speak of yourself, you will rightly hear: If you love rightly and do not divide rightly, you have sinned (Gen. 4:7, according to the Septuagint) (see note 107). Unless perhaps you do this too by a higher counsel of loving-kindness, so that, while in words you indulge us with goods not our own, you may apply the spur of shame, so that, reading what we ought to be, we may learn to be good, and may strive to bring ourselves forth in accordance with your words; and perhaps we may be made what we are not, while we blush not to be what we are called. Meanwhile, however, while conscience does not acknowledge the truth of your words, modesty spurns the flattery. Let this [complaint], as I said, confront you before yourself: why do you dare to ascribe to us, as though the contest had been fought out, the victors' palm of perfection, because we appear to have laid out (that is, laid down; see Poem 23, line 66) the whole burden of earthly possession: while, on the contrary, you lament yourself as still unhappy and sticking in the mud of the infernal dregs, because, as you wrote, you appear not to have sold even one little estate; when you have alienated that too from your present right just like the things sold: so that with greater fruits of faith you might stand twice devoted to God: by a different kind of trading but with the one gain of life, within the bounds of the same commandment a seller and a giver of lands, and therefore a possessor without captivity of soul: because even what you have kept back, the Church possesses, with you as its servant (see note 108).

2. Itaque de ipsius Domini verbis nostras pariter ac tuas pende rationes, ne vel tibi ut impedito diffidas, vel nobis ut jam liberis congratuleris. Cogita divisiones esse gratiarum, et mensuras donationum; quas ut in corporis sui membris unus atque idem dispensator operatur Deus, diversa in suo corpore distinguens placitis membra muneribus; sed corpus unum ex diversitate membrorum struens, ut hinc quoque gratia sacri corporis augeatur, si multiplex virtus in una compage numeretur: ut stet regina a dextris ejus in fimbriis aureis, circumamicta varietate.

2. Therefore weigh our accounts and yours alike by the words of the Lord Himself, so that you neither despair of yourself as one hindered, nor congratulate us as already free. Consider that there are divisions of graces, and measures of gifts; which, as in the members of His body, one and the same God works as dispenser, distinguishing the diverse members in His body by the gifts He pleases (Rom. 12:4); but building one body out of the diversity of members, so that from this too the grace of the sacred body may be increased (1 Cor. 12:4), if a manifold power is counted in one framework: that the queen may stand at His right hand in golden fringes, clothed round about with variety (Ps. 44:10, 15, according to the Roman Psalter).

Editors' notes and page, col. 287

Footnotes

Scripture references ᵃ ‹anchor: not visible on the page foot› · call in col 287 (upper part) I Cor. XIII, 4; Rom. XIII, 10.

1 Corinthians 13:4; Romans 13:10.

ᵇ ‹anchor: operatur Deus› · call in col 287 Gen. IV, 7, juxta LXX.

Genesis 4:7, following the Septuagint.

ᶜ ‹anchor: membra muneribus› · call in col 287 Rom. XII, 4.

Romans 12:4.

ᵈ ‹anchor: corporis augeatur› · call in col 287 I Cor. XII, 4.

1 Corinthians 12:4.

ᵉ ‹anchor: circumamicta varietate› · call in col 287 Psal. XLIV, 10 et 15, juxta Psalterium Rom.

Psalm 44 (45):10 and 15, according to the Roman Psalter.

ᶠ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 288 (upper part) Job. I, 21.

Job 1:21.

ᵍ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 288 (upper part) Gen. XII, 1.

Genesis 12:1.

ʰ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 288 (upper part) Psal. LXVII, 4. [numerals blurred on the scan]

Psalm 67 (68):4.

ⁱ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 288 (upper part) Matth. VII, 3; Luc. VI, 41.

Matthew 7:3; Luke 6:41.

ʲ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 288 (upper part) I Cor. VII, 30. [last numeral blurred on the scan]

1 Corinthians 7:30.

ᵏ ‹anchor: quasi non utaris› · call in col 288 I Cor. VII, 31.

1 Corinthians 7:31.

ˡ ‹anchor: non ureris› · call in col 288 Prov. VI, 27.

Proverbs 6:27.

ᵐ ‹anchor: nec inquinaris› · call in col 288 Eccli. XIII, 1.

Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 13:1.

Editors' notes (printed under page 147)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible on the page foot› · call in col 287 (upper part)

Ms. Regius, accumulans.

The Regius manuscript has accumulans ("heaping up").

(printed under page 147)

(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 287 (upper part)

Ita mss. Reg. Vien. et editi 4. Edit. Rosv., audias. Ibid. loco dirigis apud LXX et apud Ambrosium multoties legitur offeras. Vulg., si bene egeris.

So the Regius and Vienna manuscripts and four editions. Rosweyde's edition has audias. In the same place, for dirigis, the Septuagint and Ambrose, many times over, read offeras. The Vulgate has si bene egeris ("if you do well").

(printed under page 147)

Haec restituimus ex ms. Vien. Ante legebatur possimus effici: quod nostra tamen dum conscientia, etc. Ms. Reg., effici, quod, non tamen, etc. Exscriptor videtur voluisse scribere ut in ms. Vien. cum eadem interpunctione.

We have restored these words from the Vienna manuscript. Previously the text read possimus effici: quod nostra tamen dum conscientia, etc. The Regius manuscript has effici, quod, non tamen, etc. The copyist seems to have meant to write as in the Vienna manuscript, with the same punctuation.

(printed under page 147)

(d) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 287 (upper part)

Ms. Vien., paratam.

The Vienna manuscript has paratam.

(printed under page 147)

Page

running head: 287 S. PAULINI NOLANI EP[...] (end of the head cut off in the image; 288 shows it continues 'EPISCOPI')
marginal letters: A ‹Sive enim ea reputem›; B ‹ris suggeras, ut legentes›; C ‹bus fidei fructibus bis devotus›; D ‹virtus in una compage›
old-edition numerals: 149 before ‹recte dividas›
other: superscript numerals 3–8 (after possimus, conveniat, audeas, omnem, reservasti, Deus) and foot-note calls (a) before accumulas, (b) before jure, (c) before quod non sumus left out. '(id est deposuisse. V. carm. 23, v. 66)' is an editors' gloss printed in parentheses within the text; set as printed. 'inquit benigna' printed without a comma. Foot-notes: a 1 Cor. XIII, 4; Rom. XIII, 10. b Gen. IV, 7, juxta LXX. c Rom. XII, 4. d 1 Cor. XII, 4. e Psal. XLIV, 10 et 15, juxta Psalterium Rom.

PL 61:288

Vide nunc quantum in ea tibi donaverit Deus: cui et in illorum sorte tribuit portionem, qui in lege perfecti vixerunt, ita possidentes, ut non possiderentur a possessionibus suis, neque ullam aut rerum aut necessitudinum caritatem, ut in Job, et Abraham, et Lot ostenditur, dominicae caritati et disciplinae anteponerent: sed et eorum sis particeps, quos evangelica plenitudo consummat: qui majoris opulentiae et illecebrae praedia vendidisti.

See now how much God has given you in this: to you He has granted a portion also in the lot of those who lived perfect under the law, possessing in such a way that they were not possessed by their possessions, and did not set any love either of things or of kinships before the love and discipline of the Lord, as is shown in Job (Job 1:21), and Abraham, and Lot (Gen. 12:4): but you are also a sharer with those whom the fullness of the Gospel perfects: you who have sold estates of greater wealth and allurement.

3. Unde confido parem tibi in medio divinarum sortium requiem, ut dormias, sicut scriptum est, inter medios cleros, id est sortes Domini, quae in duobus Testamentis accipiuntur, de quibus hereditas Domini, et sanctorum plenitudo perficitur. Unde paratus sum dominico adversum te verbo in diversum uti, ut dicam tibi: In fratris tui oculo festucam gratiae vides, et in tuo ejusdem boni massam non sentis; cum utrasque, ut dixi, sanctorum occupaveris partes: nec in reservatis praediis possessor, et perfectus in venditis. Itaque et in quo possessor videris, soluta a possessionum vinculis mente perfectus es: qui collecti temporis memor illud Apostoli comples, ut habens non habeas; quia non tibi, sed non habentibus habes. Domus tuae hospes es, ut sis hospitum domus: patriae tuae peregrinus es, et exsul istius mundi; ut sis incola paradisi, et patriae civis antiquae. Non tricliniis tua tecta occupas, neque supellectilis aut pecuniae molibus stipas; sed peregrinis et egentibus, unius ipse metator anguli, comples, tuorumque confamulus vernularum temporale habitaculum tui tecti, non ut paterfamilias usurpas, sed ut mercenarius vel inquilinus inanis, stipendium, quasi precariae mansionis Domino altissimo pensitans de socia et corporis tui et animi servitute.

3. Hence I trust that there is for you an equal rest in the midst of the divine lots, that you may sleep, as it is written, among the middle lots (Ps. 67:14), that is, the lots of the Lord, which are received in the two Testaments, from which the inheritance of the Lord and the fullness of the saints are made complete. Hence I am ready to use the Lord's word against you in the opposite sense, and to say to you: In your brother's eye you see the mote of grace, and in your own you do not feel the mass of the same good (Matt. 7:3; Luke 6:41); since, as I said, you have taken possession of both portions of the saints: not a possessor in the estates kept back, and perfect in those sold. And so even in that in which you seem a possessor, you are perfect, with a mind loosed from the chains of possessions: you who, mindful that the time is drawn short, fulfil that saying of the Apostle, that having you should not have (1 Cor. 7:29); for you have not for yourself, but for those who have not. You are a guest in your own house, that you may be a house for guests: you are a stranger to your own country and an exile from this world, that you may be a dweller in paradise and a citizen of the ancient fatherland. You do not take up your house with dining-rooms, nor cram it with masses of furniture or money; but you fill it with strangers and the needy, yourself the occupier of a single corner, and, as fellow-servant of your own little household slaves, you hold the temporary dwelling of your roof not as a householder but as a hired man or a penniless lodger, paying to the Lord Most High the rent, as it were, of a dwelling held on sufferance, out of the joint service of both your body and your soul.

4. Quod si juxta operis modum porrigenda est vel contrahenda merces, et compensatio quaedam facti infectique facienda est, aeque ratio perfectionis animi tui cum eorum opere ducetur, qui omnia vendiderunt: quia nec tu tibi aliquid vel in jure, vel quod est amplius, in animo reliquisti: qui sic uteris mundo, quasi non utaris. Atque haud scio, an fortioris fidei judicanda sit ista constantia et firmitas tui cordis, qua inter ignes non ureris: inter laqueos non caperis; picem tangis, nec inquinaris: quam eorum, quos tu fortes putas; ego autem infirmiores arbitror judicandus: quia non credentes infirmitati suae, festinaverunt alienare omnia, quibus inhaerere timuerunt:

4. But if the reward is to be extended or contracted according to the measure of the work, and some balancing of what is done and not done is to be made, the reckoning of your soul's perfection will be drawn up equally with the work of those who have sold all things: for neither have you kept anything back for yourself, either in right or, what is more, in mind: you who so use the world as though you did not use it (1 Cor. 7:31). And I do not know whether this constancy and firmness of your heart, by which amid fires you are not burned (Prov. 6:27), amid snares you are not caught, you touch pitch and are not defiled (Sir. 13:1), is not to be judged of stronger faith than that of those whom you think strong, but whom I think are to be judged the weaker: because, not trusting their own weakness, they hastened to alienate all the things to which they feared to cling:

Editors' notes and page, col. 288

Footnotes

(e) ‹anchor: occupas, neque› · call in col 288

Ms. Vien., supellectilibus.

The Vienna manuscript has supellectilibus.

(printed under page 147)

(f) ‹anchor: vel inquilinus› · call in col 288

Ita ms. Vatic. et ed. Grin. Quod pulchrum sensum efficit: inanis, id est pauperrimus. Alii, manes.

So the Vatican manuscript and the Grin. edition. This makes a fine sense: inanis, that is, utterly poor. Others have manes.

(printed under page 147)

(g) ‹anchor: mansionis Domino› · call in col 288

Hanc vocem addidimus ex ms. Vien. Quod confirmatur infra n. 9.

We have added this word from the Vienna manuscript. It is confirmed below at n. 9.

(printed under page 147)

(h) ‹anchor: faciendum est,› · call in col 288

Sic ms. Vien. Edit. codd., aequa ratione perfectio..... ducitur. Ms. Reg., perfectionis, etc., ut in editis.

So the Vienna manuscript. The printed codices have aequa ratione perfectio ... ducitur. The Regius manuscript has perfectionis, etc., as in the editions.

(printed under page 147)

Page

running head: [S. PAU]LINI NOLANI EPISCOPI 288
marginal letters: A ‹Vide nunc quantum›; B ‹sum uti, ut dicam tibi›; C ‹tui tecti, non ut paterfamilias›; D ‹bitror judicandus›
old-edition numerals: 150 before ‹et sanctorum plenitudo›
other: superscript numerals 9–16 (after Deus, vixerunt, eorum, verbo, reservatis, peregrinis, quia) and foot-note calls (d) before parem, (e) before supellectilis, (f) before inanis, (g) before altissimo, (h) before aeque left out; 'Domino' after call (g) is in the printed text and set. Foot-note j read as 1 Cor. VII, 29 (last digit soft; could be 39), g as Gen. XII, 4 (soft). Last word split at column end: 'timue-' set as visible.

PL 61:289

Tu igitur inter mortuos liber, qui in possessione terrena terra jam non es, et terris emines, nec morticinorum contagione pollueris, nec habitas in dormientium projectorum sepulcris, quia in coelo sepelisti vitam tuam, quam in Christo abscondisti. Nos autem non patiamur invidiam perfectionis; sed potius accipiamus veniam infirmitatis: quia negare non potes, fortius esse manentibus, quam alienatis rebus carere: et spernere quod habeas, quam non habere quod spernas.

You, then, free among the dead (Ps. 87:6), who in your earthly possession are no longer earth, and stand out above the earth, are neither polluted by contact with carcasses, nor dwell in the tombs of the sleeping who have been cast away (Ps. 67:7; 87:6) (see note 109), because you have buried your life in heaven, having hidden it in Christ (Col. 3:3). But let us not suffer the envy of perfection; let us rather receive the pardon of weakness: for you cannot deny that it is braver to do without things while they remain than when they have been alienated: and to despise what you have than not to have what you despise.

5. Sane considera ipsa, de quibus nobis arrogas perfectionem, verba Domini, et videbis te principia pro fine posuisse. Si vis, ait, perfectus esse, vade et vende omnia tua, et da pauperibus. Si in hoc sententiam terminasset, te falso arguerem; et ultro exposcerem, ut mihi tamquam vicina de similitudine ejusdem studii anima congratulareris, quia agonis impleti palmam quasi decimam illam drachmam, quam in primo carnis parente perditam, intra domum tamen, tandem accenso verbi salutaris lumine inventam, in manibus jam teneremus: sed cum videas quantae molis verbum supersit, cum ipse Dominus majestatis adjiciat: Et veni sequere me; istam potius difficultatem considera, et dilatato corde metire, tunc intelliges majores tibi causas pro nobis superesse sollicitudinis, quam esse gratulationis. Facile enim nobis bona vel onera apposita pallium remittentibus exciderunt: et quae nobiscum non intuleramus in hunc mundum, nec poteramus efferre nobiscum, quasi mutuata reddidimus; nec ut cutem a carne distraximus, sed ut vestem a corpore deposuimus.

5. Consider indeed the very words of the Lord on the strength of which you attribute perfection to us, and you will see that you have set the beginnings in place of the end. If you will, He says, be perfect, go and sell all that you have, and give to the poor (Matt. 19:21). Had He ended the sentence there, I should be accusing you falsely; and I should of my own accord ask you to congratulate me as a soul neighbouring yours in the likeness of the same pursuit, because we should already be holding in our hands the palm of the contest completed, like that tenth drachma which, lost in the first parent of the flesh yet within the house, was at last found when the light of the saving word was kindled (Luke 15:8): but since you see how weighty a word remains, when the Lord of majesty Himself adds: And come, follow Me (Matt. 19:21); consider rather this difficulty, and measure it with an enlarged heart; then you will understand that there remain for you greater causes of anxiety on our behalf than of congratulation. For goods, or rather burdens laid upon us, fell away easily from us as we let go the cloak too: and what we had not brought with us into this world, and could not carry out with us (1 Tim. 6:7), we gave back as if borrowed; nor did we tear it away like skin from flesh, but laid it down like a garment from the body.

6. Nunc opus est, ut quae vere nostra sunt dependamus Deo, hoc est, cor, et animam, et corpora nostra exhibentes in hostiam vivam, ut scriptum est, Domino, nosque ipsos aedificantes ei in templum sanctum, in ipso lapide angulari, qui nobis sanctificationis nostrae formulam in semetipso dedit, et ait: Sancti estote, quoniam ego sanctus sum. Quae igitur nobis gratia, si in alieno tantum fideles fuerimus, nisi de proprio serviamus? id est, de libero voluntatis arbitrio, ex toto corde nostro, et ex totis animae nostrae, ut scriptum est, viribus diligentes Deum? In quem nos affectum lacessit propheta, qui dicit: Voluntarie sacrificabo tibi. Hoc enim acceptum et placitum coram Deo, ut bonum nostrum sit voluntarium: quatenus recipiamus quae nostra sunt, paradisi scilicet domum, et vitam aeternam, in quibus creati sumus: quam si ab hujus terrae, in quam damnatione devenimus, possessione purgati receperimus,

6. Now there is need that we pay out to God what is truly ours, that is, the heart and the soul, presenting our bodies also as a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1), as it is written, to the Lord, and building ourselves up for Him into a holy temple (Eph. 2:21), on the very corner-stone, Who gave us in Himself the pattern of our sanctification, and said: Be holy, because I am holy (Lev. 11:44). What thanks, then, are due to us if we have been faithful only in what is another's, unless we serve out of our own? That is, out of the free choice of the will, loving God with all our heart and, as it is written, with all the strength of our soul (Deut. 6:5; Matt. 22:37)? To this affection the prophet provokes us, who says: Willingly will I sacrifice to Thee (Ps. 53:8). For this is acceptable and pleasing before God, that our good should be voluntary (Philemon 14): so that we may receive back what is ours, namely the home of paradise and eternal life, in which we were created: and if we receive it back cleansed from the possession of this earth, into which we came by condemnation,

Editors' notes and page, col. 289

Footnotes

Scripture references ᵃ ‹anchor: not visible on the page foot› · call in col 289 (upper part) Psal. LXXXVII, 6.

Psalm 87 (88):6.

ᵇ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 289 (upper part) Psal. LXVII, 7, et lxxxvii, 6.

Psalm 67 (68):7, and 87 (88):6.

ᶜ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 289 (upper part) Colos. iii, 5.

Colossians 3:5.

ᵈ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 289 (upper part) Matth. XIX, 21.

Matthew 19:21.

ᵉ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 289 (upper part) Luc. XV, 8.

Luke 15:8.

ᶠ ‹anchor: sequere me› · call in col 289 Matth. XIX, 21.

Matthew 19:21.

ᵍ ‹anchor: corpore deposuimus› · call in col 289 I Tim. VI, 7.

1 Timothy 6:7.

ʰ ‹anchor: in hostiam vivam› · call in col 289 Rom. XII, 1.

Romans 12:1.

ⁱ ‹anchor: templum sanctum› · call in col 289 Eph. II, 21.

Ephesians 2:21.

ʲ ‹anchor: sanctus sum› · call in col 289 Lev. XI, 44.

Leviticus 11:44.

ᵏ ‹anchor: ut scriptum est› · call in col 289 Deut. VI, 5; Matth. XXII, 37.

Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 22:37.

ˡ ‹anchor: sacrificabo tibi› · call in col 289 Psal. LIII, 8.

Psalm 53 (54):8.

ᵐ ‹anchor: sit voluntarium› · call in col 289 Philem. 14.

Philemon 14.

ⁿ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 290 (upper part) Psal. CXLI, 6.

Psalm 141 (142):6.

ᵒ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 290 (upper part) II Tim. II, 5.

2 Timothy 2:5.

ᵖ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 290 (upper part) Gen. XXXII, 24.

Genesis 32:24.

ᑫ ‹anchor: voces eorum› · call in col 290 Luc. XXIII, 21.

Luke 23:21.

ʳ ‹anchor: et praevalendum› · call in col 290 Matth. XI, 12.

Matthew 11:12.

ˢ ‹anchor: a diripientibus› · call in col 290 Luc. XVI, 16.

Luke 16:16.

ᵗ ‹anchor: extorqueamus benedictionem› · call in col 290 Gen. XXXII, 26.

Genesis 32:26.

Editors' notes (printed under page 148)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible on the page foot› · call in col 289 (upper part)

Sic mss. Reg. et Vien. Editi tres, terrae seminis, ms. Vat. et edit. Grin., terreni seminis.

So the Regius and Vienna manuscripts. Three editions have terrae seminis; the Vatican manuscript and the Grin. edition, terreni seminis.

(printed under page 148)

(b) ‹anchor: nec poteramus› · call in col 289

Ita mss. codices Reg. et Vien. In aliis, auferre.

So the Regius and Vienna manuscript codices. In the others, auferre.

(printed under page 148)

Page

running head: 289 EPISTOLA XXIV[...] (end of the head cut off in the image)
marginal letters: A ‹runt: Tu igitur›; B ‹exposcerem, ut mihi›; C ‹nobiscum, quasi mutuata›; D ‹Voluntarie sacrificabo tibi›
old-edition numerals: 151 before ‹ait, perfectus›
other: superscript numerals 16–20 (after terminasset, intuleramus, viribus, lacessit, quatenus) and foot-note calls (a) before terris, (b) before efferre left out. The column opens with the end of the word 'timue-runt' split from c288. 'quam' (fem.) after 'creati sumus' presumably refers to 'vitam aeternam'; rendered with 'it'.

PL 61:290

tunc vere, ut ab exsilio in patriam restituti, vel a peregrinatione longinqua in genitalem domum reduces, poterimus dicere: Portio nostra Dominus in terra viventium.

then truly, as men restored from exile to their fatherland, or brought back from a long journey abroad to the house of their birth, we shall be able to say: The Lord is our portion in the land of the living (Ps. 141:6).

7. Quamobrem temporalium, quae in hoc seculo habentur, bonorum relictio sive distractio, non decursus stadii, sed ingressus; nec ut meta, sed janua est. Non enim athleta tum vincit, cum exuitur: qui ideo nudatur, ut incipiat dimicare, cum legitime certaverit coronandus. Et natator amnem interpositum superaturus exuitur: nec tamen hoc tanto apparatu, quod se dispoliaverit, transnatabit, nisi totius corporis nisu, et omnium scita mobilitate membrorum, et propulsu pedum, et remigio brachiorum, et lateris illapsu, torrentis impetum scindat, et laborem natationis exhauriat.

7. Wherefore the leaving or the selling off of temporal goods, which are had in this world, is not the running of the course but the entry into it; it is not as it were the finishing-post, but the gate. For the athlete does not win at the moment he is stripped: he is stripped for this reason, that he may begin to fight, to be crowned when he has striven lawfully (2 Tim. 2:5). And the swimmer who is to overcome a river lying in his way strips: yet he will not swim across by this great preparation, that he has undressed, unless by the effort of his whole body, and by the skilled movement of all his limbs, and by the thrust of his feet, and the oaring of his arms, and the gliding of his side, he cleaves the force of the torrent and spends himself in the labour of swimming.

8. Video tamen nobis et in beato patriarcha Jacob hujus expeditionis ordinem prolusisse; cum illum lego, posteaquam torrente transmisso, praemissis curarum suarum oneribus, id est, facultatum corporalium et necessitudinum impedimentis, solus in tabernaculi loco remanserat, Deo colluctatum, cum extorquenda benedictione praevaluit: et illud coelo terrisque sacratum Israel nomen accepit. In quo, tametsi principaliter sacramenti salutaris praefiguratio esse videatur, quod videlicet in Judaeorum typo, hoc est, corporis sui sobole, Jacob praevaluerit Domino; sicut ille populus in ejus passione Pilato extorquenda praevaluit, sicut scriptum est, cum dicerent: Crucifige, crucifige, et invalescebant, inquit, voces eorum: attamen in hujus nostri nunc ratione sermonis eatenus usurpanda videtur historia, quatenus imaginem Evangelicae praeceptionis operata est, ut illo videlicet exemplo intelligamus, non posse nos esse idoneos ad congrediendum Deo: cui utique congredimur, cum verbum ejus implere nitimur, et in virtutes divinas imitatione ipsius praevalere conamur. Itaque, ad corripiendam vitae viam, capiendumque Dei verbum et praevalendum in regnum coelorum, quod a diebus Johannis vim patitur et a diripientibus obtinetur, idonei esse non possumus, nisi omnia quae vel amore vel cura, si in itinere istius seculi nobis adhaereant, impediunt et retardant, ante obitus nostri vesperam praemittamus: et inde per totam hujus seculi noctem apprehendere et tenere Christum sollicita spiritalium operum ac studiorum contentione luctemur; nec divellamur a caritate Christi, sicut Jacob ab ejus amplexu, nisi extorqueamus benedictionem. Atque utinam ad salutaris insigne luctaminis, nervum femoris nostri majestatis suae timore percutiat; quo obstupescente infirmabitur virtus carnis,

8. Yet I see that in the blessed patriarch Jacob also the order of this campaign was rehearsed for us beforehand; when I read that he, after crossing the torrent, having sent ahead the burdens of his cares, that is, the encumbrances of bodily means and of kinships, had remained alone in the place of his tent, and wrestled with God (Gen. 32:24), and prevailed by wresting a blessing: and received that name Israel, hallowed in heaven and on earth. In which, although the chief thing seems to be a prefiguring of the saving mystery, namely that Jacob, in the figure of the Jews, that is, of his own bodily offspring, prevailed against the Lord; as that people in His passion prevailed in wresting it from Pilate, as it is written, when they said: Crucify, crucify, and their voices, it says, prevailed (Luke 23:21): yet in the present scheme of this discourse of ours the story seems to be taken up so far as it has wrought an image of the Gospel precept, that is, so that by that example we may understand that we cannot be fit to grapple with God: and we grapple with Him indeed when we strive to fulfil His word, and endeavour by imitating Him to prevail unto divine virtues. And so, for seizing the way of life, and grasping the word of God, and prevailing into the kingdom of heaven, which from the days of John suffers violence (Matt. 11:12) and is obtained by those who seize it (Luke 16:16), we cannot be fit unless we send ahead, before the evening of our death, all the things which, by love or by care, hinder and delay us if they cling to us on the road of this world: and then through the whole night of this world let us wrestle with anxious striving in spiritual works and pursuits to lay hold of Christ and hold Him; and let us not be torn from the love of Christ, as Jacob was not from His embrace, unless we wrest the blessing (Gen. 32:26). And would that, as the mark of a saving wrestling, He might strike the sinew of our thigh with the fear of His majesty; for when it grows numb, the strength of the flesh will be weakened,

Editors' notes and page, col. 290

Footnotes

Ita ms. Vien. et ed. Grin. Alii, passionem... extorquendam. Vide paulo superius.

So the Vienna manuscript and the Grin. edition. Others have passionem ... extorquendam. See a little above.

(printed under page 148)

(d) ‹anchor: a diripientibus› · call in col 290

Hoc verbum addidimus ex ms. Vien. At ms. codex Reg., ut vetitur et a diripientibus, idonei.

We have added this word from the Vienna manuscript. But the Regius manuscript codex has ut vetitur et a diripientibus, idonei.

(printed under page 148)

Page

running head: EPISTOLA XXIV. 290
marginal letters: A ‹tunc vere, ut ab exsilio›; B ‹laborem natationis exhauriat›; C ‹tamen in hujus nostri›; D ‹sollicita spiritalium operum›
old-edition numerals: 152 before ‹nisu, et omnium›
other: superscript numerals 21–28 (after Dominus, meta, vincit, transnatabit, sacratum, nostri, illo, inde) and foot-note calls (c) before passione, (d) before obtinetur left out; 'obtinetur' is in the printed text (note d says it was added from ms. Vien.) and is set. 'eatenus' read so; the soft image could show 'catenus' (UNSURE). The stop after 'retardant' looks like a full stop but 'ante' follows in lower case; set as a comma (UNSURE). Foot-note r read as 'Matth. XI, 12' (soft image; could read xii, 15; UNSURE). Last word split at column end: 'car-' set as visible.

PL 61:291

et spiritalis gratia convalescet. In Jacob tamen, ad Judaicae sterilitatis et depravationis typum, percussi femoris nervus emarcuit, eam filiorum ejus partem indicans, quae degenerans a fide patrum, destitit Deo esse fecunda: unde habes, quia fecunda in filiis infirmata est; et a praeceptis autoris sui devia, in erroris sui semitis claudicavit.

and spiritual grace will grow strong. In Jacob, however, the sinew of the stricken thigh withered as a figure of Jewish barrenness and depravity, indicating that part of his sons which, degenerating from the faith of the fathers, ceased to be fruitful to God: whence you have it that she who was fruitful in children has been made weak (1 Sam. 2:5); and, straying from the precepts of her Author, she has limped in the paths of her error.

9. Sed nihilominus et nobis cavendum est, ne steriles appareamus in conspectu Domini, neve debili pede in ejus itinere claudicemus: et ut potius corporeis fructibus infecundi, illum de divinae manus ictu femoris paterni stuporem ad continentiae rigorem trahamus: ut enerves cupiditatibus, quibus virtus fidei subnervatur, confirmemus animam castitate: quam, ut Apostolus docet, etiam carnales athletae diligenter tuentur, quo nobis impensiore studio servanda est pro illa immarcessibili corona luctantibus, cum etiam pro temporali et fragili corona decernentibus excolatur. Quare sub hominum et angelorum spectaculis in hujus mundi theatro ante Dominum dimicaturi, exuamur oneribus adversis, ut medicis oneribus induamur. In hoc enim ipsum nos praeparari vult qui dicit: Veni, sequere me, ut apprehendamus eum, in quo apprehensi sumus ab ipso. Qui nos illo vocat, ubi sedet ad dexteram Dei in gloria Patris, omnibus dicit: Venite ad me, onerati et laborantes, et invenietis requiem animabus vestris. Omnem enim, quantum in ipso est, hominem salvum fieri vult, qui fecit omnes. Nam et idcirco descendit ad nos, ut ad illum ascenderemus: ideo conformatus est corpori carnis nostrae, quae peccato serviebat, ut nos conformaret corpori carnis suae, quae peccatum non fecit, ut vere ad originalem gloriam reformemur, si divinam similitudinem Christi imitatione capiamus. Nam in Adam solam nobis imaginem remansisse, ipsa, quae opificium divinae manus narrat, Genesis ostendit: in qua similitudo cum imagine Dei, in ipso adhuc hominis faciendi molimine nominatur: sed capite subsequenti, quo jam factus homo tantum ad imaginem Dei scribitur, similitudinem quasi peccaturo fuisse subtractam indicat profecto futuri praescientia; ut reservaretur hominibus in Christo, qui per obedientiam pietatis suae reconciliavit Patri mundum, quem inconciliaverat primi parentis inobedientia. Et ideo similitudinem Dei, qua †ut servus in cupiditatem Dominicae aequalitatis elatus amiserat, ipse Dominus in formam servi exinanitus recepit: et homo, qui in superbia sua per fraudem

9. But none the less we too must beware lest we appear barren in the sight of the Lord, or limp with a feeble foot on His road: and rather, unfruitful in bodily fruits, let us turn that numbness of our father's thigh from the stroke of the divine hand into the rigour of continence: so that, nerveless towards the desires by which the strength of faith is hamstrung, we may strengthen the soul with chastity: which, as the Apostle teaches (1 Cor. 9:25), even athletes of the flesh (see note 110) carefully guard, so that it must be kept with all the more earnest zeal by us who wrestle for that unfading crown, since it is cultivated even by those who contend for a temporal and fragile crown. Wherefore, as we are about to fight before the Lord in the theatre of this world, under the gaze of men and angels (1 Cor. 4:9), let us strip off the hostile burdens, that we may put on healing burdens. For it is for this very thing that He wishes us to be prepared Who says: Come, follow Me (Matt. 8:22; Mark 2:14; 10:21; Luke 5:27; 18:22), that we may lay hold of Him in Whom we have been laid hold of by Him. He Who calls us thither where He sits at the right hand of God (Mark 16:19) in the glory of the Father, says to all: Come to Me, you who are burdened and labouring, and you shall find rest for your souls (Heb. 1:3; Matt. 11:28). For, as far as lies in Him, He wills every man to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4; John 3:15; Phil. 3:21), He Who made all men. For it was for this reason too that He came down to us, that we might ascend to Him: for this He was conformed to the body of our flesh, which was a slave to sin, that He might conform us to the body of His own flesh, which did no sin, so that we may truly be re-formed to our original glory, if we take on the divine likeness by the imitation of Christ. For that only the image remained to us in Adam (see note 111), Genesis itself, which recounts the workmanship of the divine hand, shows (Gen. 1:26): in it the likeness is named together with the image of God while the making of man is still being undertaken: but in the following chapter, in which man, now made, is written to be only in the image of God, foreknowledge of what was to come surely indicates that the likeness was withdrawn from him as one who would sin; so that it might be kept in reserve for men in Christ, Who through the obedience of His loving-kindness reconciled to the Father the world which the disobedience of the first parent had estranged (2 Cor. 5:19; Rom. 5:19). And therefore the likeness of God, which man had lost when, as a servant, he was lifted up into the desire of equality with the Lord, the Lord Himself, emptied into the form of a servant, received back (Phil. 2:7): and man, who in his pride through the fraud

Editors' notes and page, col. 291

Footnotes

Scripture references ᵃ ‹anchor: not visible on the page foot› · call in col 291 (upper part) I Reg. II, 5.

1 Samuel (1 Kings) 2:5.

ᵇ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 291 (upper part) III Reg. XVI, 21.

3 Kings (1 Kings) 16:21.

ᶜ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 291 (upper part) I Cor. IX, 25.

1 Corinthians 9:25.

ᵈ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 291 (upper part) I Cor. IV, 9.

1 Corinthians 4:9.

ᵉ ‹anchor: sequere me› · call in col 291 Matth. VIII, 22; Marc. II, 14, et x, 21; Luc. V, 27, et xviii, 22.

Matthew 8:22; Mark 2:14 and 10:21; Luke 5:27 and 18:22.

ᶠ ‹anchor: ad dexteram Dei› · call in col 291 Marc. XVI, 19.

Mark 16:19.

ᵍ ‹anchor: animabus vestris› · call in col 291 Heb. I, 3; Matth. XI, 28.

Hebrews 1:3; Matthew 11:28.

ʰ ‹anchor: salvum fieri vult› · call in col 291 I Tim. II, 4; Johan. iii, 13; Philip. iii, 21.

1 Timothy 2:4; John 3:13; Philippians 3:21.

ⁱ ‹anchor: Genesis ostendit› · call in col 291 Gen. I, 26; Gen. II, 7.

Genesis 1:26; Genesis 2:7.

ʲ ‹anchor: parentis inobedientia› · call in col 291 II Cor. V, 19; Rom. V, 19.

2 Corinthians 5:19; Romans 5:19.

ᵏ ‹anchor: exinanitus recepit› · call in col 291 Philip. ii, 7.

Philippians 2:7.

ˡ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 292 (upper part) Philip. ii, 8.

Philippians 2:8.

ᵐ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 292 (upper part) Johan. xii, 32.

John 12:32.

ⁿ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 292 (upper part) Matth. XIX, 21.

Matthew 19:21.

ᵒ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 292 (upper part) Psal. LXII, 9.

Psalm 62 (63):9.

ᵖ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 292 (upper part) Rom. XIII, 10; I Tim. I, 5.

Romans 13:10; 1 Timothy 1:5.

ᑫ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 292 (upper part) Psal. LXXII, 25.

Psalm 72 (73):25.

ʳ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 292 (upper part) Prov. IV, 23.

Proverbs 4:23.

ˢ ‹anchor: corpore mortis hujus› · call in col 292 Rom. VII, 24.

Romans 7:24.

ᵗ ‹anchor: in visceribus meis› · call in col 292 Psal. L, 12.

Psalm 50 (51):12.

ᵘ ‹anchor: in me est› · call in col 292 Psal. XXV, 2, et cxxxviii, 23.

Psalm 25 (26):2, and 138 (139):23.

ᵛ ‹anchor: renes meos› · call in col 292 Psal. CXXXVIII, 13.

Psalm 138 (139):13.

Editors' notes (printed under page 149)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible on the page foot› · call in col 291 (upper part)

Ita ms. Vat. et edit. Grin. Alii codices, operibus: quae lectio potest confirmari ex verbo infra posito, laborante... Vide num forte sit legendum medicis opibus, ut carm. 18, v. 159, carm. 25, v. 381, et carm. 30, v. 31. Ex opibus enim in operibus facilis librariorum lapsus.

So the Vatican manuscript and the Grin. edition. Other codices have operibus ("works"): a reading that can be confirmed from the word set below, laborante … Consider whether perhaps medicis opibus ("healing resources") should be read, as in Poem 18, line 159, Poem 25, line 381, and Poem 30, line 31. For copyists slip easily from opibus to operibus.

(printed under page 149)

(b) ‹anchor: qui dicit:› · call in col 291

Hoc verbum addidimus ex ms. Vien. codice.

We have added this word from the Vienna manuscript codex.

(printed under page 149)

Page

running head: 291 S. PAULINI NOLANI EP[...] (end of the head cut off in the image; 292 shows it continues 'EPISCOPI')
marginal letters: A ‹nis, et spiritalis gratia›; B ‹not. 110) diligenter tuentur›; C ‹illum ascenderemus: ideo›; D ‹tis inobedientia. Et ideo›
old-edition numerals: 153 before ‹et ut potius›
other: superscript numerals 29–31 (after docet, impensiore, peccato) and foot-note calls (a) after medicis, (b) before Veni left out; 'medicis' set as printed (note a records the variant 'operibus' and conjectures 'opibus'). Foot-note b ('in conspectu Domini') reads roughly 'III Reg. XVI, 21' in the soft image; UNSURE, so no reference is given for it in the English. Foot-note i: 'Gen. I, 26' is clear, the second reference ('Gen. II, 7'?) is not; only Genesis 1:26 given. The word after 'qua' is unclear (one or two letters; read 'ut', marked †); 'elatus' read from a soft image that could suggest 'clarus' (UNSURE). Foot-note g gives 'Heb. I, 3; Matth. XI, 28' and h 'I Tim. II, 4; Johan. iii, 15; Philip. iii, 21', set as printed. The column opens with the end of the word 'car-nis' split from c290.

PL 61:292

zabuli ceciderat, in humiliatione Domini altissimi, prostrato zabulo, per fidem ipsius in Domini humilitate resurrexit. Hic ergo pro nobis dolens, et propter nos obediens factus usque ad mortem crucis, viam vitae nobis perfectionemque virtutis, non in vendendis tantum praediis et pretiis erogandis, sed in sui sectatione proposuit. Et quia dixerat: Cum exaltatus fuero, omnia ad me traham; ideo dicit: Veni, sequere me. Beatus, qui tam proximo intervallo sequitur, ut dicat: Adhaesit anima mea post te. Quod illa tantum caritas dicere potest, quae finis praecepti, et plenitudo legis est, id est, de corde puro, et bona conscientia, et fide non ficta se ita inserit et affigit Deo: ut nihil extra Deum †amans, dicat: Et ego semper tecum. Quare totus labor, et plenum opus nobis in observantia et exspoliatione cordis nostri est: cujus tenebras vel abstrusas in eo inimici latebras videre non possumus, nisi defaecato ab externarum rerum curis animo, et intus ad semetipsum converso; non enim frustra dictum est: Omni custodia serva cor tuum.

of the devil had fallen, rose again in the humiliation of the most high Lord, the devil being laid low, through faith in Him, in the humility of the Lord. He, then, grieving for us, and for our sake made obedient even unto the death of the cross (Phil. 2:8), set before us the way of life and the perfection of virtue, not only in selling estates and paying out their prices, but in following Himself. And because He had said: When I am lifted up, I will draw all things to Myself (John 12:32); therefore He says: Come, follow Me (Matt. 19:21). Blessed is he who follows at so near a distance that he can say: My soul has clung close behind Thee (Ps. 62:9). Which only that charity can say which is the end of the commandment and the fullness of the law (Rom. 13:10), that is, which, from a pure heart and a good conscience and faith unfeigned (1 Tim. 1:5), so engrafts and fastens itself to God that, loving nothing outside God, it says: And I am always with Thee (Ps. 72:23). Wherefore the whole labour and the full work for us lies in the watching and the stripping of our heart: whose darkness, or the hidden lurking-places of the enemy within it, we cannot see unless the mind is cleansed of the cares of external things and turned inward upon itself; for not in vain was it said: Keep your heart with all watchfulness (Prov. 4:23).

10. Credo jam expertus sis quam laboriosum nobis, et assiduum, vel quotidianum cum hoc hoste certamen sit, et quantae in eo versentur insidiae; quae illic vitiorum virtus (id est vis. V. num. 23), quanta virtutum infirmitas sit: quam prona ejus ad pravitatem relapsio, quam piger ad Deum nisus. Nunc mihi illa prius clausa intra me discordia diversae legis aperitur: nunc sentio vim legis adversae, quae velut injecta manu captivum me trahere contendit in legem peccati; et recognosco quoniam beatus ille vir mea potius infelicitate uritur, et de mea affectione pro me dolens clamat: Infelix ego homo! quis me liberabit de corpore mortis hujus? Sed idem Magister me recreat et reficit, ostendens mihi exitum salutarem, si tamen velle adjaceat mihi, ut perfectionem merear invenire, gratia Dei per Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum: qui exorandus est, ut praevalescat inimicis nostris, et tenebris superabundet; destruat in nobis aliena vel nostra, et aedificet sua. Quod etiam amicos Dei orando meruisse cognoscimus, qui utique cor suum patiebantur, cum dicerent: Cor mundum crea in me Deus, et spiritum rectum innova in visceribus meis; quo exorato jam securus dicit: Proba me, Domine, et scito cor meum, et vide si via iniquitatis in me est. Sed ne hanc sui confidentiam sua magis virtute quam Dei gratia meruisse videatur, idem dicit: Quia tu Domine possedisti renes meos. Nihil enim, ut Dominus ipse

10. I believe you have by now experienced how laborious, and unremitting, or rather daily, is our struggle with this enemy, and how great are the snares that lurk in it; what strength the vices have there (that is, force; see no. 23), how great is the weakness of the virtues: how prone its relapse into depravity, how sluggish its striving towards God. Now there is opened to me that discord of a different law, formerly shut up within me: now I feel the force of the opposing law, which, as though laying hands on me, strives to drag me captive into the law of sin; and I recognize that that blessed man is burned rather by my unhappiness, and, grieving for me out of my own feeling, cries out: Unhappy man that I am! who will deliver me from the body of this death (Rom. 7:24)? But the same Master restores and refreshes me, showing me a saving way out, if only the will is present in me, so that I may deserve to find perfection: the grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord: Who is to be entreated, that He may prevail over our enemies and overflow the darkness; that He may destroy in us what is alien, or rather our own, and build up what is His. And we know that the friends of God gained this too by praying, who certainly suffered in their heart, when they said: Create a clean heart in me, O God, and renew a right spirit within my bowels (Ps. 50:12); and when He has been entreated, he says, now secure: Prove me, O Lord, and know my heart, and see if the way of iniquity is in me (Ps. 25:2; 138:23). But lest he should seem to have earned this confidence in himself by his own strength rather than by the grace of God, the same man says: For Thou, O Lord, hast possessed my reins (Ps. 138:13). For nothing, as the Lord Himself

Editors' notes and page, col. 292

Footnotes

Ms. Vien., tenebras superet. Lectio quam retinemus egregie confirmatur epist. 12 ad Amandum, num. 10, ubi legitur, divitias bonitatis suae, quibus superabundat abundantiae peccatorum nostrorum.

The Vienna manuscript has tenebras superet. The reading we keep is admirably confirmed by Letter 12, to Amandus, no. 10, where we read: "the riches of his goodness, by which he overflows the abundance of our sins".

(printed under page 149)

(d) ‹anchor: meis;› · call in col 292

Ms. Reg. et edd. Bad., Grav. et Schot., qui.

The Regius manuscript and the editions of Badius, Gravius and Schott have qui.

(printed under page 149)

Page

running head: [...]NI NOLANI EPISCOPI 292
marginal letters: A ‹zabuli ceciderat›; B ‹bis in observantia›; C ‹tendit in legem peccati›; D ‹meum, et vide si via›
old-edition numerals: 154 before ‹dicit: Veni›
other: superscript numerals 32, 33 (after peccati, dicit) and foot-note calls (c) before tenebris, (d) before quo left out. 'amans' after 'extra Deum' is unclear in the soft image (marked †; could be 'ardens'). '(id est vis. V. num. 23)' is an editors' gloss printed in parentheses within the text; set as printed. Foot-notes: l Philip. ii, 8; m Johan. xii, 32; n Matth. XIX, 21; o Psal. LXII, 9; p Rom. XIII, 10; I Tim. I, 5; q Psal. LXXII, 23; r Prov. IV, 23; s Rom. VII, 24; t Psal. L, 12; u Psal. XXV, 2, et cxxxviii, 23; v Psal. CXXXVIII, 13.

PL 61:293

dixit, sine eo facere possumus; quia ipse est vitis vera, et nos sarmenta ejus. Si in ejus dilectione maneamus, non arescemus, viventes succo radicis aeternae; nec ad ignem amputabimur ira, sed ad fructum putabimur disciplina, purgante nos evangelicae falcis acie: ut castigata luxurie palmitis nostri fructuosius pullulemus.

said, can we do without Him; for He Himself is the true vine, and we are His branches (John 15:5). If we abide in His love, we shall not wither, living by the sap of the eternal root; nor shall we be cut off for the fire by wrath, but pruned for fruit by discipline, as the edge of the gospel's pruning-hook cleanses us, so that, the luxuriance of our shoot checked, we may sprout forth more fruitfully.

11. Ergo inchoaturus agriculturam in nobis suam dicit: Ignem veni mittere in terram, quo videlicet cor nostrum peccatis obsitum, quasi agrum spinis horridum, purget, urens nos in vitiis, et in sensibus luminans. Veterumque in nobis actuum stirpes salutari falce pius cultor insequitur, ut residuam messis vetustae stipulam sermo ignitus accendat, et animam nostram quasi campum novae sationi praeparet; qui laetam virtutum segetem, eradicatis impresso divini verbi vomere spinis, liber effundat, dignasque coelestibus horreis fruges, perempta graminum noxiorum stirpe, multiplicet. Sed quia non agricultura tantum, sed aedificatio Dei sumus, qui gratia et spiritu ejus ac verbo colimur et struimur; aedificaturus nos eo itinere, quo post se vocat, isto opere praeparat, quo venditis rebus absolvi prius suadet: quarum cura vel amor quoniam mentis ipsius praestringit aciem, et animam ab interioribus suis abductam ad exteriora sollicitat, dicit etiam nobis per prophetam: Vacate et videte, quoniam ego sum Dominus. Nonne et hic videtur dicere: Non potestis duobus dominis servire? Non enim otium nobis suadet hoc verbo, qui instanter orare et vigilare nos monet, ne intremus in tentationem; sed vacare a seculo, ut occupemur sibi; vacare ab his negotiis, quibus implicati otiamur Deo.

11. So, about to begin His husbandry in us, He says: I came to cast fire upon the earth (Luke 12:49), that by it, plainly, He may cleanse our heart, overgrown with sins like a field bristling with thorns, burning us in our vices and enlightening us in our senses. And the loving husbandman pursues the roots of our old deeds in us with His saving pruning-hook, so that the fiery word may kindle the leftover stubble of the old harvest, and prepare our soul like a field for a new sowing; which, once the thorns have been uprooted by the ploughshare of the divine word driven into it, may freely pour forth a joyful crop of virtues, and, the root of noxious weeds destroyed, multiply fruits worthy of the heavenly granaries. But since we are not only God's husbandry but His building (1 Cor. 3:9; Eph. 2:21), we who are tilled and built up by His grace and Spirit and word, He, being about to build us up for the road on which He calls us after Him, prepares us by this work: He first urges us to be set free by selling our possessions; and since care or love of these dulls the edge of the mind itself, and draws the soul away from its inward parts and troubles it with outward things, He says to us also through the prophet: Be still and see that I am the Lord. Does He not seem here too to be saying: You cannot serve two masters? For by this word He does not urge idleness on us, He who bids us pray and watch earnestly, lest we enter into temptation; but to be free of the world, so as to be occupied with Him; to be free of those affairs, entangled in which we are idle towards God (Rom. 6:6).

12. Itaque novitatem vitae in nobis aedificantes, necesse est ut vetustatem destruamus, et quia nullum tenebris cum lumine, et mammonae cum Christo potest esse commercium, oportet ut novis vetera mutemus: et occupationis pariter ac vacationis genere converso, implicemur, quibus vacavimus; et vicissim vacemus, quibus fuimus implicati: moriamur, quibus viximus; et vivamus vicissim his operibus ac studiis, quibus mortui fuimus: cum vivi, essemus mortui; et mortificantia gerentes, in mortuis viveremus. Unde sanctus Magister humanum et aequum postulat, ut sicut exhibuimus membra nostra servire iniquitati, ita nunc exhibeamus eadem ministra justitiae

12. Therefore, as we build newness of life in ourselves, we must destroy the old; and since darkness can have no dealings with light, nor mammon with Christ, we ought to exchange the old for the new: and, the kind of our business and of our leisure being turned about, let us be entangled in the things from which we were free, and in turn be free of the things in which we were entangled; let us die to the things by which we lived, and live in turn by those works and pursuits to which we were dead, when, though alive, we were dead, and, bearing deadly things, we lived among the dead. Hence the holy Master (see Letter 23, no. 14, and 37, no. 3) asks what is human and fair, that as we yielded our members to serve iniquity, so we should now yield the same as ministers of justice (Rom. 6:19)

Editors' notes and page, col. 293

Footnotes

Scripture references ᵃ ‹anchor: not visible on the page foot› · call in col 293 (upper part) Job. XV, 5.

Job 15:5.

ᵇ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 293 (upper part) Luc. XII, 48.

Luke 12:48.

ᶜ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 293 (upper part) I Cor. III, 7; Eph. II, 21.

1 Corinthians 3:7; Ephesians 2:21.

ᵈ ‹anchor: ego sum Dominus› · call in col 293 Psal. XLV, 11.

Psalm 45 (46):11.

ᵉ ‹anchor: dominis servire› · call in col 293 Matth. VI, 24.

Matthew 6:24.

ᶠ ‹anchor: in tentationem› · call in col 293 Luc. XXII, 40.

Luke 22:40.

ᵍ ‹anchor: otiamur Deo› · call in col 293 Rom. VI, 6.

Romans 6:6.

ʰ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 294 (upper part) Rom. VI, 13.

Romans 6:13.

ⁱ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 294 (upper part) Eph. VI, 12.

Ephesians 6:12.

ʲ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 294 (upper part) Eph. V, 8.

Ephesians 5:8.

ᵏ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 294 (upper part) I Cor. VII, 31.

1 Corinthians 7:31.

ˡ ‹anchor: vita transigitur› · call in col 294 Psal. XXII, 4, et xxx, 5, Sap. XIV, 11; Eccli. IX, 20.

Psalm 22 (23):4 and 30 (31):5; Wisdom 14:11; Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 9:20.

ᵐ ‹anchor: carbonibus desolatoriis› · call in col 294 Psal. CXIX, 4.

Psalm 119 (120):4.

ⁿ ‹anchor: domestici ejus› · call in col 294 Matth. X, 36.

Matthew 10:36.

ᵒ ‹anchor: utero matris meae› · call in col 294 Job i, 21.

Job 1:21.

Editors' notes (printed under page 150)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible on the page foot› · call in col 293 (upper part)

Ita ms. Reg. et editi Grin. et Schot. Alii face, minus bene. Vide praecedentia et seqq.

So the Regius manuscript and the Grin. and Schott editions. Others have face, less well. See what precedes and follows.

(printed under page 150)

(b) ‹anchor: mentis ipsius› · call in col 293

Ms. Vien., perstringit.

The Vienna manuscript has perstringit.

(printed under page 150)

Sic ms. Vien. mutato b in u. Editi, expedit nobis ut vetera vitemus. Ms. Reg., oportet, etc., ut in editis. Paulinus videtur scripsisse quod in textu inseruimus: praecedentia et sequentia id confirmant.

So the Vienna manuscript, with b changed to u. The editions have expedit nobis ut vetera vitemus. The Regius manuscript has oportet, etc., as in the editions. Paulinus seems to have written what we have put into the text: what precedes and follows confirms it.

(printed under page 150)

(d) ‹anchor: mortui fuimus: cum› · call in col 293

Ita ms. Vien. Alii codices, virorum.

So the Vienna manuscript. Other codices have virorum.

(printed under page 150)

(e) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 293/294 (upper part)

Sic mss. tres. Editi, experto.

So three manuscripts. The editions have experto.

(printed under page 150)

Page

running head: 293 EPISTOLA XXIV[...] (rest of head cut off at image edge)
marginal letters: A ‹dixit, sine eo facere›; B ‹paret; qui laetam virtutum›; C ‹orare et vigilare nos›; D ‹lat, ut sicut exhibuimus›
old-edition numerals: 155 before ‹11. Ergo›
other: 'justi-' at column end completed as 'justitiae' from the top of the facing column (same image), where call h follows it. Foot-note references read at low resolution: b read as Luc. XII, 49 (digits blurred, could be 48); c 'I Cor. III, ?; Eph. II, 21' (verse digit blurred, given as 3:9); h 'Rom. VI, 1?' given as 6:19 (blurred). Foot notes d, e, f (Vacate et videte; Non potestis duobus; ne intremus) cut off at image edge: no references given. Opening word read as 'dixit' (first letter faint). Ref '(V. ep. 23, n. 14, et 37, n. 3)' is printed in the text in parentheses; kept as printed.

PL 61:294

mutatis dominis, et studia mutemus. Neque enim aut servitutem aut libertatem deponimus commutatione dominorum; sed tantum felicitatem acquirimus, et servitute in melius et libertate mutata, quando vinculum iniquitatis rumpimus; et justitiae jugo subdimur, ac divino timore frenamur, incipientes versa in directum via liberi esse peccato, cui serviebamus in libertate misera, justitiae rebellantes.

having changed masters, let us change our pursuits as well. For by the exchange of masters we lay aside neither servitude nor freedom; we only gain happiness, both servitude and freedom being changed for the better, when we break the bond of iniquity, and are put under the yoke of justice, and are bridled by the fear of God, beginning, our road turned straight, to be free from sin, which we served in a wretched freedom, rebelling against justice.

13. Nunc igitur vicissim Deo servi, et huic mundo rebelles, ingredimur agonem; et ipsum, cui serviebamus, hostem freti Domino provocamus. Recognoscis profecto, mi frater, nam experta communiter ut commilitoni loquor, quanta nobis discordia, et quantus est hostis in nobis, non carnis et sanguinis, sed invisibilium potestatum, et nequitiae, ut Apostolus ait, spiritalis, quibus carnalium vitiorum ministeria conjurant. Unde et principes tenebrarum dicuntur, quia secundum Apostolum tenebrae appellantur peccatores, quibus, ut sui similibus, daemonia principantur. Sed et tota hujus mundi figura, quae praeterit, et per oculos corda prolectat, zabulicis praetenta retibus, in qualibet sui specie laqueus mentis et gladius est. Credamus prophetae, quia in medio muscipularum ambulamus, et inter opertos letalibus dolis gladios vita transigitur. Excipit nos mundus iste variis voluptatibus florens, et fallentibus venenatus illecebris. Excipit nos innumeris anguis insidiis, cui nomina mille, mille nocendi artes: ac saepe aperto certamine violentus aggreditur, et candentibus petit telis, si latentibus non capit laqueis. Sagittae enim potentis acutae cum carbonibus desolatoriis: quae videlicet noxiis cupiditatum ignibus animam nostram perurant, et a Spiritus sancti habitatione desolent. Quod cum accidit, diversi nos hospites subeunt, et fiunt inimici hominis domestici ejus: qui nunc ambitionis vento inflant, nunc libidinum faces admovent, nunc avaritiae catenis alligant. Quae una omnibus armata criminibus, vel si sola nos capiat, et zabulo ad malitiam, et homini ad mortem sufficit.

13. Now therefore, servants of God in our turn and rebels against this world, we enter the contest; and, relying on the Lord, we challenge that very enemy whom we used to serve. You surely recognize, my brother, for I speak of things we have both experienced, as to a fellow soldier, how great is the strife within us, and how great the enemy in us, not of flesh and blood, but of invisible powers and of spiritual wickedness, as the Apostle says (Eph. 6:12), with whom the services of the carnal vices conspire. Hence they are also called princes of darkness (Eph. 5:8), because according to the Apostle sinners are called darkness, over whom, as over their like, the demons hold rule. And indeed the whole fashion of this world, which passes away (1 Cor. 7:31), and entices hearts through the eyes, spread before us with the devil's nets, is in every one of its forms a snare and a sword for the mind. Let us believe the prophet, that we walk in the midst of traps, and that life is passed among swords hidden with deadly guile (Ps. 22:4 and 30:5; Wis. 14:11; Sir. 9:20). This world receives us, flowering with various pleasures and poisoned with deceiving allurements. The serpent receives us with countless ambushes, he who has a thousand names, a thousand arts of harming: and often he attacks violently in open combat, and assails us with burning darts, if he does not catch us with hidden snares. For the arrows of the mighty are sharp, with coals that lay waste (Ps. 119:4): which, that is, burn up our soul with the noxious fires of desires, and lay it waste, emptied of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. When this happens, various guests enter us, and a man's enemies become those of his own household (Matt. 10:36): who now puff us up with the wind of ambition, now apply the torches of lusts, now bind us with the chains of avarice. Any one of these, armed with all crimes, even if it alone should take us, suffices both for the devil unto malice and for the man unto death.

14. Quid ergo agis infelix homo, inter tantos missus (forte mistus) hostes? quomodo repugnabis infirmus fortibus, armatis inermis? Clamat beatus Job multis zabuli telis sine cordis vulnere sauciatus: Nudus exivi de utero matris meae: Quis ergo me armabit contra tot agmina hostis aerii, ne nudus, ut veni, revertar in terram? Ecce respiro, confortor,

14. What then are you doing, unhappy man, sent (perhaps 'mingled') among such great enemies? How will you, weak, resist the strong, you, unarmed, the armed? Blessed Job cries out, wounded by the devil's many darts without wound to his heart: Naked I came out of my mother's womb (Job 1:21): who then will arm me against so many hosts of the enemy of the air, lest I return to the earth naked, as I came? Behold, I breathe again, I am strengthened,

Editors' notes and page, col. 294

Footnotes

(f) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 294 (upper part)

Ita mss. codices. Editi, nequitiarum... spiritalium.

So the manuscript codices. The editions have nequitiarum ... spiritalium.

(printed under page 150)

(g) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 294 (upper part)

Ms. Vien., contingant.

The Vienna manuscript has contingant.

(printed under page 150)

(h) ‹anchor: Sagittae enim› · call in col 294

Ms. codex Regius cum ed. Bad., potentes. Sic Augustinus ad psal. xliv, v. 6, juxta melioris notae mss. codices legit, Sagittae tuae acutae, potentissimae: sicque legisse Augustinum facile ex ipsa interpretatione intelligas.

The Regius manuscript codex, with Badius's edition, has potentes. So Augustine, on Psalm 44, verse 6, according to the manuscript codices of better quality, reads Sagittae tuae acutae, potentissimae ("your arrows are sharp, most mighty"); and that Augustine read so you may easily see from his interpretation itself.

(printed under page 150)

(i) ‹anchor: tot agmina› · call in col 294

Id est diaboli. Vide Ephes. II, v. 2, principem aeris hujus.

That is, of the devil. See Ephesians 2, verse 2, "the prince of this air".

(printed under page 150)

Page

running head: EPISTOLA XXIV. 294
marginal letters: A ‹tiae: mutatis dominis›; B ‹sanguinis, sed invisibilium›; C ‹tur, et candentibus petit›; D ‹dus exivi de utero›
old-edition numerals: 156 after ‹iniquitatis›
other: The column opens with '-tiae', the end of 'justitiae' split from col. 293, where the word is set whole; it is not repeated here. The second call after 'tenebrarum' prints as 'i' (looks like a repeat of i); given the foot note j (Eph. V, 8) there. '(forte mistus)' is printed in the text in parentheses; kept as printed. Foot notes d (Psal. XLV, 11), e (Matth. VI, 24), f (Luc. XXII, 40), g (Rom. VI, 6), h (Rom. VI, 13?) belong to col. 293.

PL 61:295

adsurgo. Dominus illuminatio mea, Dominus defensor vitae meae: si consistant adversus me castra, non timebit cor meum. Nec si propriae opis armis egeo, diffidam. Habeo armamentarium Christi, de quo arma lucis usurpem, quibus principes tenebrarum, et agmina noctis expugnem in coelestibus mihi adversantia: videlicet in conversatione spiritali, quam terrenis debellare nituntur illecebris. Sed adversum hos mihi ille armiger, ille signifer erit, qui vas electionis Deo. Ille lumbos meos cingulo castitatis adstringet, capiti meo galeam salutis aptabit, lorica justitiae meum pectus includet. Ille me totum proteget scuto fidei, et dexteram meam, immo me totum in dexteram Christi factum, gladio spiritus et verbo veritatis armabit: ut cadant a latere meo mille et dena millia a dextris meis. Ille pedes meos in Evangelii praeparationem calceabit, ut presso impune vestigio super spinas et tribulos istius terrae ambulem, et per aspera itineris angusti munito pede tutus ingrediar. Nec a morsu metuens, subditum serpentis inimici caput, ipso, quod insidiosus observat, calcaneo conteram. Quod quidem non de meae infirmitatis audacia arrogans mihi vindico; sed omni fideli de virtute Christi promitto. Qui sicut vocat ea quae non sunt, tamquam quae sint, ita potens est et de infirmis et humilibus suis, ut semper fecit et facit, fortia mundi istius et alta destruere. Ideo nobis Magistrum dedit, quem imitatorem habebat, per quem ad ipsius Domini imitationem pervenire possimus. Nam ipse me Magister in acie stare, in stadio currere, in agone luctari docet, lividum faciens corpus suum, et quae retro sunt obliviscens, et in priora se extendens.

I rise up. The Lord is my light, the Lord is the defender of my life: if armies stand together against me, my heart shall not fear (Ps. 26:1, according to the Septuagint). Nor, if I lack the arms of my own strength, shall I lose heart. I have the armoury of Christ, from which I may take up the arms of light (Rom. 13:12), with which I may overcome the princes of darkness and the hosts of the night that oppose me in heavenly places: that is, in the spiritual way of life, which they strive to subdue by earthly allurements. But against these that man will be my armour-bearer, that man my standard-bearer, who is a vessel of election to God. He will gird my loins with the belt of chastity, will fit the helmet of salvation to my head, will enclose my breast with the breastplate of justice. He will shield the whole of me with the shield of faith, and will arm my right hand, nay, the whole of me made into the right hand of Christ, with the sword of the spirit and the word of truth: so that a thousand may fall at my side and ten thousand at my right hand (Ps. 90:7). He will shoe my feet for the preparation of the Gospel (Eph. 6:15), so that I may walk with footstep firmly planted, unharmed, over the thorns and thistles of this earth, and may go safely, with protected foot, through the rough places of the narrow way. Nor, fearing its bite, shall I fail to crush the serpent enemy's head beneath me (Gen. 3:15) with the very heel that he lies in wait for. This, indeed, I do not claim for myself, arrogantly, out of the boldness of my weakness; but I promise it to every believer out of the power of Christ. He who calls the things that are not as though they were (Rom. 4:17) is likewise able, by means of His weak and lowly ones, as He always has done and does, to destroy the strong and lofty things of this world. Therefore He has given us the Master, whom He had as His imitator, through whom we may attain to the imitation of the Lord Himself. For the Master himself teaches me to stand in the battle line, to run in the stadium, to wrestle in the contest, making his body livid (see note 112), and forgetting the things that are behind, and reaching forth to those that are before.

15. Atque ita fundatus in petra, ut etiam in infirmitatibus glorietur, et cum infirmatur, tunc potens sit, omnia potens, ut ipse profitetur, in eo qui confirmat suos, Christo scilicet, qui pro nobis pugnat, et vincit in nobis: quae causa dicendi Apostolo fuit; Sic currite, ut apprehendatis omnes. Quod in agone terreno contra est, ubi non potest lucta nisi dispari luctantium sorte finiri, ut unius gloria, alterius ignominia sit; in Christo autem, quia multi unum sumus, omnes ut unus currimus: et omnium consors ad unum bonum cursus est: et ideo dicitur nobis: Sic currite, ut apprendatis omnes. Quia

15. And he is so founded upon the rock that he glories even in infirmities, and when he is weak, then he is strong, able for all things, as he himself professes (Phil. 4:13; Heb. 2:18), in Him who strengthens His own, that is, in Christ, who fights for us and conquers in us: which was the Apostle's reason for saying: So run that you may all obtain (see note 115) (1 Cor. 9:24). In an earthly contest it is the opposite, where a bout cannot be ended except by an unequal lot for the wrestlers, so that there is glory for one and disgrace for the other; but in Christ, because we, being many, are one, we all run as one: and the course of all, sharing together, is towards one good: and therefore it is said to us: So run that you may all obtain. Because

Editors' notes and page, col. 295

Footnotes

Scripture references ᵃ ‹anchor: not visible on the page foot› · call in col 295 (upper part) Psal. XXVI, 1, juxta LXX.

Psalm 26 (27):1, following the Septuagint.

ᵇ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 295 (upper part) Rom. XIII, 12; Eph. VI, 12.

Romans 13:12; Ephesians 6:12.

ᶜ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 295 (upper part) Act. IX, 15; Eph. VI, 14, Isai. LIX, 17.

Acts 9:15; Ephesians 6:14; Isaiah 59:17.

ᵈ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 295 (upper part) Psal. XC, 7.

Psalm 90 (91):7.

ᵉ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 295 (upper part) Eph. VI, 15.

Ephesians 6:15.

ᶠ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 295 (upper part) Gen. III, 15.

Genesis 3:15.

ᵍ ‹anchor: tamquam quae sint› · call in col 295 Rom. IV, 17.

Romans 4:17.

ʰ ‹anchor: alta destruere› · call in col 295 I Cor. I, 27.

1 Corinthians 1:27.

ⁱ ‹anchor: se extendens› · call in col 295 Philip. iii, 13.

Philippians 3:13.

ʲ ‹anchor: omnia potens› · call in col 295 II Cor. XII, 10.

2 Corinthians 12:10.

ᵏ ‹anchor: ipse profitetur› · call in col 295 Philip. iv, 13; Heb. II, 18.

Philippians 4:13; Hebrews 2:18.

ˡ ‹anchor: apprehendatis omnes› · call in col 295 I Cor. IX, 24.

1 Corinthians 9:24.

ᵐ ‹anchor: unum sumus› · call in col 295 Rom. XII, 5.

Romans 12:5.

ⁿ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 296 (upper part) I Cor. IX, 24.

1 Corinthians 9:24.

ᵒ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 296 (upper part) Psal. LXIV, 12.

Psalm 64 (65):12.

ᵖ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 296 (upper part) Prov. XXVII, 6, sec. LXX.

Proverbs 27:6, according to the Septuagint.

ᑫ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 296 (upper part) Matth. XXVI, 49.

Matthew 26:49.

ʳ ‹anchor: diligi jubet› · call in col 296 Matth. V, 44.

Matthew 5:44.

ˢ ‹anchor: odium recipiebat› · call in col 296 Psal. CVIII, 5.

Psalm 108 (109):5.

ᵗ ‹anchor: alter abstulerit› · call in col 296 Matth 5, 40.

Matthew 5:40.

ᵘ ‹anchor: ultio est› · call in col 296 Ibid., 44.

The same, verse 44.

ᵛ ‹anchor: donare pauperibus› · call in col 296 Matth. XIX, 21.

Matthew 19:21.

Editors' notes (printed under page 151)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible on the page foot› · call in col 295 (upper part)

Sic mss. codd. Editi, Deus.

So the manuscript codices. The editions have Deus.

(printed under page 151)

(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 295 (upper part)

Ita ms. Reg. et editi codd. 4, Psalterium vetus, et Augustinus in Commentar. super psalmos. Sic etiam Paulinus legit in epist. 37 ad Victricium, n. 4, et carm. 24 ad Cytherium, v. 627.

So the Regius manuscript and four printed codices, the Old Psalter, and Augustine in his Commentary on the Psalms. Paulinus also reads so in Letter 37, to Victricius, n. 4, and in Poem 24, to Cytherius, line 627.

(printed under page 151)

Graece ὑπωπιάζων. Sic juxta vim textus Graeci eodem modo legit Paulinus in epist. 12 ad Amandum, n. 7, et epist. 50 ad Augustinum, n. 13. Vide not. 112.

In Greek, ὑπωπιάζων ("bruising"). Thus, following the force of the Greek text, Paulinus reads it the same way in Letter 12, to Amandus, n. 7, and Letter 50, to Augustine, n. 13. See note 112.

(printed under page 151)

(d) ‹anchor: in eo qui› · call in col 295

Ms. Vien. edit. Grin. in marg. et Vulgata, confortat.

The Vienna manuscript, the Grin. edition in the margin, and the Vulgate have confortat ("strengthens").

(printed under page 151)

Page

running head: 295 S. PAULINI NOLANI EP[...] (rest cut off at image edge)
marginal letters: A ‹adsurgo. Dominus›; B ‹mille et dena millia›; C ‹currere, in agone luctari›; D ‹dicitur nobis: Sic currite›
old-edition numerals: 157 after ‹consistant›
other: Foot-note references partly cut off at the image edge: b gives Rom. XIII, 12 plus an Eph. VI reference whose verse is cut (only Romans given); c (includet), h (destruere), i (extendens), j (potens sit; visible tail 'xii, 10', book cut), m (unum sumus; only 'R' visible) not given. Second 'apprendatis' (for apprehendatis) is as printed; possibly a misprint, kept. '(V. not. 112)' and '(V. not. 115)' are printed in the text in parentheses; kept as printed.

PL 61:296

scissura, ut idem ait, in corpore esse non potest, cui caput Christus est; quem ut communem sibi apicem una membrorum suorum compago comitatur. Quae quoniam sibi discrepare non possunt, curramus pariter, ut apprehendamus omnes, sine aemulatione invidiae, cum aequalitate victoriae: ut sicut in contentione currendi labor Christi sumus, ita in perveniendi fine Christi triumphus esse possimus, et benedicat nos in corona anni benignitatis suae.

there can be no schism, as the same [Apostle] says, in the body of which Christ is the head; whom the single framework of His members accompanies as its common summit. Since these cannot be at variance with one another, let us run together, that we may all obtain (1 Cor. 9:24), without the rivalry of envy, with equality of victory: so that, as in the striving of the race we are the labour of Christ, so at the goal of arrival we may be the triumph of Christ, and He may bless us with the crown of the year of His goodness (Ps. 64:12).

16. Video autem quod in hoc certamine non magis vincere nobis quam vinci expedit: quia in nobis et hostis et amicus habitant. Quis autem mihi amicior quam spiritus qui adversatur carni ne me trahat in legem peccati? Aut quis inimicior nobis quam caro, quae adversum spiritum pro interitu concupiscit? Itaque meliora mihi amici vulnera, quae Christus accepit ut sanaret me, quam voluntaria inimici oscula quibus mihi per illecebras delectationum suarum caro malesuada blanditur, ut me, quasi illo parricidali Judae osculo, paratis in captivitatem meam prodat inimicis: quod tamen osculum Dominus non ideo suscepit, ut pacem proditoris acciperet, sed ut suam ab alienato reciperet. Quamquam et illud ad intuendum perfectae bonitatis exemplum teneri salubre sit, ut eo affectu, quo et inimicos diligi jubet, amicum osculum dederit pacis inimico, dilectionem reddens pro odio, qui pro sua dilectione odium recipiebat.

16. But I see that in this contest it is no more to our advantage to conquer than to be conquered: for both an enemy and a friend dwell in us. And who is more my friend than the spirit, which resists the flesh lest it drag me into the law of sin? Or who more our enemy than the flesh, which lusts against the spirit unto destruction? Therefore better to me are the wounds of a friend, which Christ received that He might heal me, than the willing kisses of an enemy (Prov. 27:6, according to the Septuagint), with which the flesh, ill counsellor, flatters me through the allurements of its delights, so as to betray me, as with that parricidal kiss of Judas (Matt. 26:49), to enemies ready for my captivity: a kiss which, however, the Lord accepted not in order to receive the traitor's peace, but in order to give back His own to the one estranged. And yet it is wholesome to hold this too before us as an example of perfect goodness to contemplate: that with the same affection with which He bids us love even our enemies (Matt. 5:44), He gave a friendly kiss of peace to His enemy, returning love for hatred, He who received hatred for His love (Ps. 108:5).

17. In promptu est ergo dignoscere: zabulus cum carne contendunt: praestat enim vinci bono quam vincere malo. Itaque vinci videtur in hoc seculo, cui tunicam suam alter abstulerit: at in Christo triumphat, qui tunicam auferenti remittit et pallium. Vicem injuriae reddere humana ultio est: at inimicum etiam diligere, vindicta coelestis est. Vendere patrimonia, et donare pauperibus, stultitia huic seculo, sed sapientia Deo est: at contra, divitiis incubare, pecuniam fenore augere, possessiones auctionibus, terminos dilatare violentia, industria et quaestus apud hoc seculum, sed apud Deum crimen et poena est. Ita si malo vincas, victor victus es, quia cum scelere viceris, cupiditate superatus es. Victus vero vinces, si justo cedas, et tuae voluntati voluntas divina praevaleat. Evacuemur

17. It is easy, then, to discern: the devil with the flesh contend: for it is better to be conquered by good than to conquer by evil. Thus in this world he seems conquered from whom another has taken away his tunic: but in Christ he triumphs who to the one taking his tunic lets go his cloak as well (Matt. 5:40). To return injury for injury is human vengeance (Matt. 5:44): but to love even an enemy is heavenly retribution. To sell one's inheritance and give to the poor (Matt. 19:21) is folly to this world, but wisdom to God: whereas, on the contrary, to brood over riches, to increase money by usury, possessions by auctions, to extend boundaries by violence, is industry and gain in this world, but before God it is crime and punishment. So if you conquer by evil, you are a conquered conqueror, because, though you have conquered by crime, you have been overcome by greed. But conquered, you will conquer, if you yield to the just, and the divine will prevails over your own will. Let us empty ourselves

Editors' notes and page, col. 296

Footnotes

(e) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 296 (upper part)

Ms. Vien., excepit, ut sanaret mea: non male,

The Vienna manuscript has excepit, ut sanaret mea: not badly,

(printed under page 151)

(f) ‹anchor: bonitatis exemplum› · call in col 296

Sic mss. Reg. et Vien. cum edit. Bad. et Grin. Alii, tenere.

So the Regius and Vienna manuscripts, with the Badius and Grin. editions. Others have tenere.

(printed under page 151)

(g) ‹anchor: dignoscere:› · call in col 296

Mss. Reg. et Vat. et editi Grin. et Schot., zabolus. Vide not. 2.

The Regius and Vatican manuscripts and the Grin. and Schott editions have zabolus. See note 2.

(printed under page 151)

(h) ‹anchor: enim vinci› · call in col 296

Ms. Vien., bonum... malum.

The Vienna manuscript has bonum ... malum.

(printed under page 151)

(i) ‹anchor: patrimonia, et› · call in col 296

Ms. Vat., dare.

The Vatican manuscript has dare ("give").

(printed under page 151)

(j) ‹anchor: victus es,› · call in col 296

Ita ms. Vien. Alii codices, qui.

So the Vienna manuscript. Other codices have qui.

(printed under page 151)

(k) ‹anchor: Victus vero› · call in col 296

Ms. Vat., vincis si injusto cedas. Ed. Grin., vincis, si justo cedas; quod perinde est ac si bono vincaris, opponiturque praecedenti, si malo vincas. Sacchin.

The Vatican manuscript has vincis si injusto cedas. The Grin. edition has vincis, si justo cedas ("you conquer if you yield to the just man"): which is just as if one said "if you are conquered by good", and it is set against the preceding "if you conquer by evil". Sacchini.

(printed under page 151)

Page

running head: [...]NI NOLANI EPISCOPI 296
marginal letters: A ‹scissura, ut idem›; B ‹caro, quae adversum›; C ‹cum carne contendunt›; D ‹voluntati voluntas divina›
old-edition numerals: 158 after ‹idem›
other: 'zabulus cum carne contendunt' is printed so (singular subject, plural verb; foot note g records the zabolus spelling); set and translated as printed. Foot-note line for this page, now fully visible, also supplies references that were cut off for col. 295: b Rom. XIII, 12; Eph. VI, 12; c Act. IX, 15; Eph. VI, 14; Isai. LIX, 17 (and more); h I Cor. I, 27; i Philip. iii, 13; j II Cor. [xii, 10]; m Rom. XII, 5. Call s printed 'Psal. CVIII, v.' (read as 5); t printed 'Matth. 5, 40'.

PL 61:297

ergo nostris viribus, ut divinis impleamur. Vincamur corpore, ut vincamus salute. Meminerimus ejus esse nos membra, qui vicit cum judicatus est, qui cedendo superavit; et cadendo in mortem, resurrexit in gloriam, de suae passionis occasu ortum nostrae resurrectionis instituens.

then of our own strength, that we may be filled with the divine. Let us be conquered in body, that we may conquer in salvation. Let us remember that we are the members of Him who conquered when He was judged, who overcame by yielding; and, falling into death, rose again into glory, establishing from the setting of His passion the rising of our resurrection (Rom. 6:4).

18. Hunc Dominum vocantem sequamur, qui nos doceat cedendo vincere, et moriendo vivescere, interficiens in nobis quo mortificamur, et vivificans quo vivamus. Hic nobis Deus, non aestimabitur alius ad eum: qui in terris visus est, et inter homines conversatus est. Quod quia non potest nobis caro et sanguis revelare, ideo dicit: Vacate, et videte, quoniam ego sum Deus. Excitor hoc loco in audaciam percontandi, ut dicam: Quinam tu, Deus, qui fecisti coelum et terram, et apparuisti in rubo; qui fecisti magnalia in Aegypto, mirabilia in terra Cham, terribilia in mari Rubro? Adhuc te Deum nemo non credit: neque tantum Judaei, quamlibet labiis diligentes, et corde longinqui, ut populus in lege formatus: sed gentes etiam sine lege viventes naturali sensu unicum summae potestatis Dominum confitentur. Quae igitur difficultas est videre quod Deus sis, cum et coeli enarrent gloriam tuam, et invisibilia tua per ea quae facta sunt, intellecta conspiciantur? Quid impedit possidere? quid obest et alia curare, cum et occupatis hominibus in promptu sit conspicuam Dei veritatem cernere, et manifestum summae providentiae lumen videre? Dies diei eructat verbum, et nox nocti indicat scientiam: et vacare jubeor, ut te Deum esse videam, cum hanc lucem etiam noctes sciant: id est, etiam principes vel operarii tenebrarum.

18. Let us follow this Lord as He calls, that He may teach us to conquer by yielding and to come alive by dying, slaying in us that by which we are made dead, and quickening that by which we may live. This is our God, no other shall be accounted beside Him: who was seen on earth and conversed among men. And because flesh and blood cannot reveal this to us, therefore He says: Be still, and see that I am God (Ps. 45:11). At this place I am roused to the boldness of asking, so as to say: Who then art Thou, O God, who made heaven and earth, and appeared in the bush; who did great things in Egypt, wonders in the land of Ham, terrible things in the Red Sea (Gen. 1:7; Exod. 3:2; Acts 2:30; Ps. 105:21–22)? Up to this point there is no one who does not believe Thee to be God: not only the Jews, however much they love with their lips and are far off in heart (Isa. 29:13; Matt. 15:8), as a people formed in the law: but even the Gentiles, living without the law, confess by natural sense the one Lord of supreme power (Rom. 2:14). What difficulty, then, is there in seeing that Thou art God, when both the heavens declare Thy glory (Ps. 18:2), and Thy invisible things are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made (Rom. 1:20)? What hinders one from possessing? What harm is there in caring for other things too, when even for busy men it is easy to discern the conspicuous truth of God and to see the manifest light of the supreme providence? Day to day utters the word, and night to night shows knowledge (Ps. 18:3; 45:11): and yet I am bidden to be still, that I may see that Thou art God, when even the nights know this light: that is, even the princes or the workers of darkness (Eph. 6:12).

19. Sed non frustra est quod se ipsa, quae in multis saepe divinitatis insignibus manifestavit veritas, non nisi vacatione procurata perspici posse testatur. Deum enim tantum in promptu est videre, quod Deus est. Hoc, ut dixi, omnis anima videt: ad hoc mens nulla caligat: hoc etiam infidelium fides percipit; sed Deum in Christo, vel Christum in Deo esse, non videt occupatus, et curarum terrestrium nube circumdatus. Verbum enim carnem factum, sapientiae hujus mundi stultitia est: et ideo placuit Deo ad confusionem sapientiae, cujus superbia non cognovit hic mundus sapientiam Dei, per stultitiam praedicationis salvos facere credentes.

19. But it is not for nothing that the Truth, which has often manifested itself in many signs of divinity, testifies that it can be perceived only when stillness has been secured. For it is easy only to see that God is God. This, as I have said, every soul sees: no mind is darkened to this: even the faith of unbelievers grasps this; but that God is in Christ, or Christ in God, the busy man does not see, surrounded by the cloud of earthly cares. For the Word made flesh (John 1:14) is folly to the wisdom of this world: and therefore it pleased God, to the confounding of that wisdom through whose pride this world did not know the wisdom of God, to save those who believe by the folly of preaching (1 Cor. 1:21).

Editors' notes and page, col. 297

Footnotes

Scripture references ᵃ ‹anchor: not visible on the page foot› · call in col 297 (upper part) Rom. VI, 4.

Romans 6:4.

ᵇ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 297 (upper part) Psal. XLV, 11.

Psalm 45 (46):11.

ᶜ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 297 (upper part) Gen. I, 7; Exod. III, 2; Act. II, 30; Psal. CV, 21 et 22.

Genesis 1:7; Exodus 3:2; Acts 2:30; Psalm 105 (106):21 and 22.

ᵈ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 297 (upper part) Isai. XXIX, 13; Matth. XV, 8.

Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:8.

ᵉ ‹anchor: Dominum confitetur› · call in col 297 Rom. II, 14.

Romans 2:14.

ᶠ ‹anchor: gloriam tuam› · call in col 297 Psal. XVIII, 2.

Psalm 18 (19):2.

ᵍ ‹anchor: intellecta conspiciantur› · call in col 297 Rom. I, 20.

Romans 1:20.

ʰ ‹anchor: indicat scientiam› · call in col 297 Ps. XVIII, 3, et xlv, 11.

Psalm 18 (19):3, and 45 (46):11.

ⁱ ‹anchor: operarii tenebrarum› · call in col 297 Eph. VI, 12.

Ephesians 6:12.

ʲ ‹anchor: stultitia est› · call in col 297 Johan. i, 14.

John 1:14.

ᵏ ‹anchor: salvos facere credentes› · call in col 297 I Cor. I, 21.

1 Corinthians 1:21.

ˡ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 298 (upper part) Matth. XIII, 44.

Matthew 13:44.

ᵐ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 298 (upper part) Matth. XIII, 46.

Matthew 13:46.

ⁿ ‹anchor: non est numerus› · call in col 298 Psal. CIII, 25.

Psalm 103 (104):25.

ᵒ ‹anchor: in exitu canitur› · call in col 298 Exod. XV, 1.

Exodus 15:1.

ᵖ ‹anchor: esse perfectus› · call in col 298 Matth. XIX, 21.

Matthew 19:21.

ᑫ ‹anchor: et ipse ambulare› · call in col 298 I Joh. ii, 6.

1 John 2:6.

ʳ ‹anchor: in ore ejus› · call in col 298 Isai. LIII, 9.

Isaiah 53:9.

Editors' notes (printed under page 152)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible on the page foot› · call in col 297 (upper part)

Hanc vocem emendavimus in textu, licet tamen in mss. et editis codicibus legatur Chanaan. Vide not. 114.

We have corrected this word in the text, although "Chanaan" is read in the manuscripts and printed codices. See note 114.

(printed under page 152)

(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 297 (upper part)

Ita ms. Vien. Alii codices, Domine. Sic quoque ex eodem ms. Vien. paulo inferius reposuimus, Deum, ubi caeteri codd. Dominum.

So the Vienna manuscript. Other codices have "Domine". Likewise, from the same Vienna manuscript, a little below we have restored "Deum", where the other codices have "Dominum".

(printed under page 152)

Sic ms. codex Vien. Alii, recipit.

So the Vienna manuscript codex. Others have "recipit".

(printed under page 152)

(d) ‹anchor: non videt› · call in col 297

Ms. Vien., occupata... circumdata, non male. Retinuimus vulgatam lectionem, quia paulo ante praecessit, cum et occupatis hominibus in promptu sit... lumen videre.

The Vienna manuscript has "occupata ... circumdata", not badly. We have kept the common reading, because a little before came "since even for busy men it is easy ... to see the light".

(printed under page 152)

Page

running head: 297 EPISTOLA XXI[...] (rest cut off at image edge)
marginal letters: A ‹ergo nostris viribus›; B ‹in rubo; qui fecisti›; C ‹et vacare jubeor›; D ‹praedicationis salvos facere›
old-edition numerals: 159 before ‹ergo nostris›; 160 after ‹sapientiam Dei,›
other: foot-note references c, h and i are read in full on the right foot image and given above (Q3 added them to the English). 'conspicuam' prints as 'couspicuam' (turned n, blurred; set conspicuam, UNSURE). The editors' cross-reference '(V. ep. 44, num. 7)' after 'vivescere' is not set, per the unit rule (Q3 removed its English rendering). Superscript note numbers 50–56 omitted. Printer's signature 'PATROL. LXI.' left out.

PL 61:298

20. Et hic est ille thesaurus agri, pro quo obtinendo etiam ager comparandus est; quia videlicet salutis nostrae pretium in hoc est, ut Deum Dei Filium ad carnem salvandam in carne venisse fateamur, et haec est illa profligatis emenda patrimoniis margarita; sed non statim emitur, cum ejus pretium praeparatur, quia plurimae interveniunt ipsi commercio difficultates. Aut enim mare interjacet, aut praedo intercipit, aut cupidior praevenit, aut praefertur opulentior. Ideo ne existimes jam et comparasse nos gemmam, quia vides pretium praeparasse, neque aedificasse jam domum, cui aedificandae locum fecimus, cum visibiles divitias, supellectiles, pecuniam, patrimonia, velut sordidos aggeres et importunum rudus, egessimus, ut in corde purgato, quasi in terra viva, firmius stabilioris aedificii fundamenta jaceremus. Sed sicut exhaustione ruderum nudata humo, sub immundis molibus multa aut nodamenta truncorum, aut residua ruinarum, aut pleraque noxii generis animalia, et praecipue fetus aut cubilia viperarum deprehenduntur, sic remota a nostro pectore temporalium rerum possessione et cura, jam nobis inspectione cordis nostri vacantes ab his quae nos foras extrahebant, inveteratorum criminum nodos, et inimicorum spiritalium latebras in nostris sensibus invenimus. Nunc nobis apparere incipit interior domus, et illic repentia, quorum non est numerus. Nunc tota infelicitatis nostrae patescit obscuritas. Nunc demum quam longinqui a Deo simus, et quam mortui in comparatione vivorum, videmus.

20. And this is that treasure of the field, to obtain which even the field must be bought (Matt. 13:44); because, namely, the price of our salvation lies in this, that we confess that God the Son of God came in the flesh to save the flesh; and this is that pearl to be bought with patrimonies squandered; but it is not bought at once when its price is made ready, for very many difficulties come in the way of that very transaction (Matt. 13:46). For either the sea lies between, or a robber intercepts, or a greedier man gets there first, or a richer one is preferred. Therefore do not think that we have already bought the gem because you see that we have made ready the price, nor that we have already built the house for whose building we have made room, when we carried out visible riches, furnishings, money, patrimonies, like foul heaps and troublesome rubble, so that in a cleansed heart, as in living ground, we might lay more firmly the foundations of a more stable building. But just as, when the ground has been laid bare by clearing away the rubble, there are found under the filthy masses many knots of tree-stumps, or remnants of ruins, or a great many creatures of a harmful kind, and above all the broods or lairs of vipers, so, the possession and care of temporal things having been removed from our breast, now, free for the inspection of our heart from the things that used to drag us outside, we find in our senses the knots of long-standing sins and the lurking-places of spiritual enemies. Now the inner house begins to appear to us, and there creeping things without number (Ps. 103:26). Now the whole darkness of our unhappiness lies open. Now at last we see how far off from God we are, and how dead in comparison with the living.

21. Intellige haec, et cura nostri anxio corde suspira, providens, quia laus in exitu canitur, ut spiritu quo coepimus, ejusdem Domini gratia perficiamur, et usque ad finem praecepti pareamus, cui videmur in capite consilii paruisse. Consilium enim dat, non praeceptum, qui non dicit: Esto perfectus: sed, Si vis esse perfectus: quia libertas voluntatis, quae bona cum est supra legem est, non cogitur, sed suadetur, et ipsa sibi lex est. Quantum autem sit Christum sequi, potes de Apostoli sententia colligere, qua ait: Qui dicit se Christum sequi, debet, sicut ille ambulavit, et ipse ambulare. Quomodo autem ambulaverit Christus, docet alius magister: Qui peccatum, inquit, non fecit, nec dolus inventus est in ore ejus: qui cum malediceretur, non remaledixit;

21. Understand these things, and sigh with anxious heart in care for us, foreseeing, since praise is sung at the end (Exod. 15:1), that we may be perfected by the grace of the same Lord in the spirit in which we began, and may obey to the end the precept, which we seem to have obeyed at the head of the counsel. For He gives a counsel, not a precept, who does not say: Be perfect: but, If you will be perfect (Matt. 19:21): because the freedom of the will, which when it is good is above the law, is not compelled but persuaded, and is a law to itself. But how great a thing it is to follow Christ, you can gather from the Apostle's saying, in which he says: He who says that he follows Christ ought himself also to walk as He walked (1 John 2:6). And how Christ walked another master teaches: Who did no sin, he says, nor was guile found in His mouth (Isa. 53:9): who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return;

Editors' notes and page, col. 298

Footnotes

(e) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 298 (upper part)

Ms. Vat., ferus anguis.

The Vatican manuscript has ferus anguis ("a savage serpent").

(printed under page 152)

(f) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 298 (upper part)

Ita ms. Vien. Caeteri, ad inspectionem cordis nostri vacantis. Edit. Schot., vacantibus.

So the Vienna manuscript. The others have ad inspectionem cordis nostri vacantis. Schott's edition has vacantibus.

(printed under page 152)

(g) ‹anchor: et illic› · call in col 298

Ita Psalterium vetus, et Augustinus in commentario super psalmos.

So the Old Psalter, and Augustine in his commentary on the Psalms.

(printed under page 152)

(h) ‹anchor: haec, et› · call in col 298

Sic Ms. Vien. et Sacchinus legendum censebat. Alii codices, curam.

So the Vienna manuscript, and Sacchini held that it should be read so. Other codices have curam.

(printed under page 152)

(i) ‹anchor: quia laus› · call in col 298

Ita ms. Vien. et edit. Bad. et Grin. brevius et melius quam in aliis codicibus, qui addunt ejusdem Domini. Sic et in epist. 29, num. 15.

So the Vienna manuscript and the Badius and Grin. editions, more briefly and better than the other codices, which add ejusdem Domini. So also in Letter 29, no. 15.

(printed under page 152)

(j) ‹anchor: spiritu quo› · call in col 298

Sic mss. Vat. et Vien. Editi, coepti sumus.

So the Vatican and Vienna manuscripts. The editions have coepti sumus.

(printed under page 152)

(k) ‹anchor: maledicereretur, non› · call in col 298

Ita ms. Reg. et editi 4. Ms. Vien., non maledixit. Edit. Rosv., non maledicebat.

So the Regius manuscript and four editions. The Vienna manuscript has non maledixit; Rosweyde's edition, non maledicebat.

(printed under page 152)

Page

running head: EPISTOLA XXIV 298 (numeral blurred; could read XXIX)
marginal letters: A ‹20. Et hic est›; B ‹firmius stabilioris›; C ‹21. Intellige haec›; D ‹ore ejus›
old-edition numerals: 161 after ‹et ipse ambulare.›
other: The column ends with 'remale-', split across the break; the next column's top was not to hand when this was written, so only the visible part is set (English 'did not revile in' completes with col. 299). 'nodamenta' kept as printed. Foot-note line for this page also completes col. 297's cut references: c Gen. I, 7; Exod. III, 2; Act. II, 30; Psal. CV, 21 et 22; d Isai. XXIX, 13; Matth. XV, 8; h Ps. XVIII, 3, et xlv, 11; i Eph. VI, 12.

PL 61:299

tradebat autem se ad mortem judicanti injuste. Sed et ex ipsius actione et praeceptis scire possumus quomodo ambulaverit. Ad hoc enim venit, ut vitam suam nobis in formulam et speculum vitae proponeret. Non veni, inquit, legem solvere, sed adimplere: et, quae adimpletio sit, etiam docet ipse dicens: Nisi abundaverit justitia vestra super justitiam Pharisaeorum, non introibitis in regnum coelorum. Hoc enim est adimplere, quod deest adjicere. Lex dixit: Non occides; at ipse: Nec irasceris sine causa fratri tuo. Lex adulterium interdicit; at ipsa Veritas curiosum in feminas damnat aspectum. Ex quo vides, quanto major sit lege fides, cujus laus non ex hominibus, sed ex Deo est: quia legis circumcisio in aperto est, fidei in occulto. Lex ramos peccati praefringit, fides radices eruit: quae nos non operibus tantum, sed et sensibus immaculatos facit: ut vere ad primordialem dignitatem, hoc est, Dei similitudinem reformemur, non solum corpore, sed et corde mundati. Unde et Apostolus deposita terreni hominis specie, coelestem nos inducere testatur, et idem alibi, jam ut indutum Christo virum, gloriam Dei esse pronuntiat.

but He delivered Himself up to death to him who judged unjustly (1 Pet. 2:22). But we can know from His own conduct and precepts too how He walked. For He came for this, to set His life before us as a pattern and mirror of life. I came not, He says, to destroy the law but to fulfil it (Matt. 5:17): and what the fulfilling is He Himself also teaches, saying: Unless your justice abound beyond the justice of the Pharisees, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:20). For this is to fulfil: to add what is lacking. The law said: You shall not kill; but He: Nor shall you be angry with your brother without cause. The law forbids adultery; but the Truth Himself condemns the curious gaze at women. From this you see how much greater than the law is faith, whose praise is not from men but from God: because the circumcision of the law is in the open, that of faith in secret. The law breaks off the branches of sin, faith digs out the roots: it makes us spotless not only in works but also in our senses, so that we may truly be re-formed to our primordial dignity, that is, to the likeness of God, cleansed not only in body but in heart. Hence the Apostle too testifies that, having laid aside the form of the earthly man, we put on the heavenly; and the same elsewhere declares that the man, as now clothed with Christ, is the glory of God (Col. 3:10; Rom. 13:14; 1 Cor. 11).

22. Vide ergo quantum nobis agendum sit, ut non perfecti, sicut dicis, sed inchoati, ut probamus, itineris spatium perlegamus: qui justitiam legis jubemur excedere, ut efficiamur justitia Dei: neque ex lege nobis actio, sed in voluntate lex sit. Christum sequi, Deum imitari est. Et qui nos lege ipsa justitiae suae justiores, et juxta Patrem suum vult esse perfectos, non solum humanas fugere culpas, sed et divinas poscit implere virtutes. Quod quia tantae difficultatis esse perspicis in agone versantibus; quantae gloriae est exhausta decertatione victoribus. Noli interim dum in scammate sumus, dum foris pugnae, intus terrores, alta pro nobis sapere aut loqui: sed potius time, et laborantibus collabora spiritu, et cooperare orationibus: ut per nos quoque destruat inimicum et defensorem, qui elegit infirma mundi ut confunderet fortia.

22. See, then, how much we have to do, so that, not perfect, as you say, but only begun, as we show, we may cover the length of the road: we who are bidden to surpass the justice of the law, that we may be made the justice of God: and let our action not come from the law, but let the law be in our will. To follow Christ is to imitate God. And He who wills us to be more just than the very law of His justice, and perfect after the manner of His Father, demands not only that we flee human faults but also that we fulfil divine virtues. Because you perceive that this is a matter of such great difficulty for those engaged in the contest, [you perceive also] how great a glory it is for the victors when the struggle is spent. Meanwhile, while we are in the arena, while there are fightings without and fears within (2 Cor. 7:5), do not think or speak lofty things on our behalf: but rather fear (Rom. 11:20), and labour together in spirit with those who labour, and work with them by your prayers: so that through us too He may destroy the enemy and the defender (Ps. 8:3), He who chose the weak things of the world to confound the strong.

23. Posce suppliciter ut intellectum det nobis in via hac qua nos vocat, ut videamus quia ipse est Deus, qui crucifixus est ex infirmitate nostra, sed vivit ex virtute Dei: infirmet in nobis virtutem peccati, et confirmet virtutis suae spiritum: convertat et inopiam et abundantiam nostram;

23. Ask humbly that He may give us understanding in this way by which He calls us, so that we may see that He is God, who was crucified out of our weakness, but lives by the power of God (2 Cor. 13:4): that He may weaken in us the power (see no. 10) of sin, and strengthen the spirit of His own power: that He may turn about both our want and our abundance;

Editors' notes and page, col. 299

Footnotes

Scripture references ᵃ ‹anchor: not visible on the page foot› · call in col 299 (upper part) I Pet. ii, 22.

1 Peter 2:22.

ᵇ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 299 (upper part) Matth. V, 17.

Matthew 5:17.

ᶜ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 299 (upper part) Matth. V, 20.

Matthew 5:20.

ᵈ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 299 (upper part) Exod. XX, 13; Deut. V, 17.

Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17.

ᵉ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 299 (upper part) Matth. V, 22 et 28, Rom. II, 29.

Matthew 5:22 and 28; Romans 2:29.

ᶠ ‹anchor: esse pronuntiat› · call in col 299 Col. III, 10; Rom. XIII, 14; I Cor. XI, 7.

Colossians 3:10; Romans 13:14; 1 Corinthians 11:7.

ᵍ ‹anchor: justitia Dei› · call in col 299 Matth. V, 20; II Cor. V, 21.

Matthew 5:20; 2 Corinthians 5:21.

ʰ ‹anchor: esse perfectos› · call in col 299 Matth. V, 48.

Matthew 5:48.

ⁱ ‹anchor: intus terrores› · call in col 299 II Cor. VII, 5.

2 Corinthians 7:5.

ʲ ‹anchor: potius time› · call in col 299 Rom. XI, 20.

Romans 11:20.

ᵏ ‹anchor: et defensorem› · call in col 299 Psal. VIII, 3.

Psalm 8:3.

ˡ ‹anchor: confunderet fortia› · call in col 299 I Cor. I, 27.

1 Corinthians 1:27.

ᵐ ‹anchor: in via hac› · call in col 299 Psal. XXXI, 8.

Psalm 31 (32):8.

ⁿ ‹anchor: ipse est Deus› · call in col 299 Psal. XLV, 11.

Psalm 45 (46):11.

ᵒ ‹anchor: ex virtute Dei› · call in col 299 II Cor. XIII, 4.

2 Corinthians 13:4.

ᵖ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 300 (upper part) Rom. I, 24.

Romans 1:24.

ᑫ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 300 (upper part) Gen. XIV, 15; Heb. VII, 1; Rom. IV, 16; Psal. L, 14.

Genesis 14:15; Hebrews 7:1; Romans 4:16; Psalm 50 (51):14.

ʳ ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 300 (upper part) Ezech. IX, 4.

Ezekiel 9:4.

ˢ ‹anchor: sperantes in se› · call in col 300 Psal. XVI, 7.

Psalm 16 (17):7.

ᵗ ‹anchor: potens in praelio› · call in col 300 Psal. XLV, 10, et xxiii, 8.

Psalm 45 (46):10, and 23 (24):8.

ᵘ ‹anchor: vici mundum› · call in col 300 Johan. xvi, 33.

John 16:33.

Note on the letter * ‹anchor: EPISTOLA XXV› · call in col 300 Alias 39, quae autem 25 erat, nunc 15. Scripta anno 403.

Formerly 39; and the one that was 25 is now 15. Written in the year 403.

Editors' notes (printed under page 153)

(a) ‹anchor: not visible on the page foot› · call in col 299 (upper part)

Ms. Vien., judicantibus.

The Vienna manuscript has judicantibus.

(printed under page 153)

(b) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 299 (upper part)

Juxta textum Graecum εἰκῇ. Ita Patres Graeci et nonnulli Latini; Irenaeus lib. ii, c. 56, et lib. iv, c. 51, Chrysostomus in Matth., Cyprianus l. iii Testim. ad Quirinum, Hilarius comment. in Matthaeum, et Augustinus lib. i Serm. Domini in monte.

Following the Greek text, εἰκῇ ("without cause"). So the Greek Fathers and some Latin ones: Irenaeus, Book II, chapter 56, and Book IV, chapter 51; Chrysostom on Matthew; Cyprian, Book III of the Testimonies to Quirinus; Hilary's commentary on Matthew; and Augustine, Book I of the Sermon on the Mount.

(printed under page 153)

Ita mss. Reg. et Vien. Alii, praestringit.

So the Regius and Vienna manuscripts. Others have praestringit.

(printed under page 153)

(d) ‹anchor: not visible› · call in col 299 (upper part)

Ms. Vien., imagine.

The Vienna manuscript has imagine.

(printed under page 153)

(e) ‹anchor: imitari est.› · call in col 299

Sic ms. Vien. Legitur quoque Et in ms. Reg. et editis 3.

So the Vienna manuscript. Et is also read in the Regius manuscript and three editions.

(printed under page 153)

(f) ‹anchor: dum in› · call in col 299

Scamma, locus fossis inclusus, ubi gladiatores certabant.

Scamma: a place enclosed by ditches, where gladiators fought.

(printed under page 153)

(g) ‹anchor: inimicum et› · call in col 299

Defensorem. Graece ἐνδικητήν, quod idem sonat ac ultorem, ut et Rom. XII, 19. Sic et Psalteria vetus et Rom. habent defensorem, et Augustinus in psalmos. Vide not. 115.

Defensorem. In Greek ἐνδικητήν, which means the same as "avenger", as also in Romans 12:19. So too the Old and the Roman Psalters have defensorem, and Augustine on the Psalms. See note 115.

(printed under page 153)