Migne Reading Room
PL 76 · cols. 477–480
Gregory the Great, Moralia in Iob, liber XXIX (the opening)
Editors' preface
LIBER VIGESIMUS NONUS.
BOOK THE TWENTY-NINTH.
CAPUT PRIMUM.
CHAPTER THE FIRST.
1. Dei Filius in aeterna nativitate nobis ignotus, nasci voluit in tempore, ut se imitandum praeberet. — Dominus Deus noster Jesus Christus in eo quod virtus et sapientia Dei est (I Cor. I, 24), de Patre ante tempora natus est; vel potius quia nec coepit nasci, nec desiit, dicamus verius semper natus. Non autem possumus dicere semper nascitur, ne imperfectus videatur. At vero ut aeternus designari valeat et perfectus, semper dicamus et natus, quatenus et natus ad perfectionem pertineat, et semper ad aeternitatem, ut quocunque modo illa essentia sine tempore temporali valeat designari sermone; quamvis hoc ipso quod perfectum dicimus, multum ab illius veritatis expressione deviamus, quia quod factum non est non potest dici perfectum. Et tamen infirmitatis nostrae verbis Dominus condescendens, ait: Estote perfecti, sicut et Pater vester coelestis perfectus est (Matth. V, 48). In illa itaque nativitate divina ab humano genere cognosci non poterat; proinde in humanitate venit ut videretur, videri voluit ut imitaretur. Quae carnis nativitas despecta visa est sapientibus mundi; contempserunt namque infirma humanitatis ejus, Deo haec indigna judicantes. Cui tanto magis homo debitor fuit, quanto pro illo Deus etiam indigna suscepit. Quia enim non cognovit mundus per sapientiam Deum, placuit Deo per stultitiam praedicationis salvos facere credentes (I Cor. I, 21). Ac si diceret: Cum Deum, qui est sapientia, nequaquam per sapientiam suam mundus inveniret, placuit ut Deum hominem factum per humanitatis stultitiam cognosceret, quatenus ejus sapientia ad nostra stulta descenderet, et lucem supernae prudentiae luto suae carnis illuminata nostra caecitas videret. Natus igitur ex Patre sine tempore, ex matre nasci est dignatus in tempore, ut per hoc quod ortum suum inter initium finemque concluderet, humanae mentis oculis ortum, qui nec initio sumitur, nec fine angustatur, aperiret. Unde bene nunc ad beatum Job dicitur:
1. That the Son of God, unknown to us in His eternal nativity, willed to be born in time, that He might offer Himself to be imitated. — Our Lord God Jesus Christ, in that He is the power and the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:24), was born of the Father before all times; or rather, because He neither began to be born nor ceased, let us say more truly that He is always born. We cannot, however, say that He is always being born, lest He seem imperfect. But rather, that He may be signified as both eternal and perfect, let us say both "always" and "born" together, so that "born" may pertain to perfection, and "always" to eternity, so that in some manner that timeless essence may be signified in temporal speech; although by this very fact that we call Him "perfect" we depart far from the expression of that truth, because what is not made cannot be called perfect. And yet the Lord, condescending to the words of our weakness, says: Be perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect (Matt. 5:48). In that divine nativity, then, He could not be known by the human race; and so He came in humanity, that He might be seen, and willed to be seen, that He might be imitated. This birth in the flesh seemed despicable to the wise of the world; for they scorned the weak things of His humanity, judging these unworthy of God. And man was the more indebted to Him, in proportion as God, for man's sake, took upon Himself even things unworthy of Himself. For since the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe (1 Cor. 1:21). As if he were to say: Since the world could by no means find out God, Who is wisdom, through its own wisdom, it pleased Him that it should come to know God made man through the foolishness of His humanity, so that His wisdom might come down to our foolish things, and our blindness, illumined by the clay of His flesh, might see the light of supernal prudence. Born therefore of the Father without time, He deigned to be born of a mother in time, so that, by enclosing His own rising within a beginning and an end, He might open, to the eyes of the human mind, that rising which is neither taken up by a beginning nor straitened by an end. Whence it is now well said to blessed Job:
Editors' notes and page, col. 477
Footnotes
(1) ‹anchor: vel potius quia› · call in col 477
Vindoc., nec coepit esse.
The Vendôme manuscript: nec coepit esse ("nor did He begin to be").
(printed under page 243)
(2) ‹anchor: Deum hominem factum› · call in col 477
Laud. et Corb. Germ., per humanitatis stulta.
The Laon manuscript and the Corbie manuscript of Saint-Germain: per humanitatis stulta ("through the foolish things of His humanity").
(printed under page 243)
(3) ‹anchor: ejus sapientia› · call in col 477
Ita Turon., Vindoc., Laudun., Corb. Germ., Ebroic. aliique Norm.; Editis habentibus, ad nostram stultitiam.
So the manuscripts of Tours, Vendôme, Laon, Corbie (Saint-Germain), Évreux and the other Norman ones; whereas the printed editions have ad nostram stultitiam ("to our foolishness").
(printed under page 243)
Editors' prose
(argument) ‹anchor: LIBER VIGESIMUS NONUS.› · printed under the book title, across the full width of cols 477–478
Explicantur capitis XXXVIII versus duo supra viginti a 12 ad 33 inclusive; multaque docentur, praesertim de Satanae artibus et insidiis, de gratia, de praedestinatione, reprobatione occultisque Dei judiciis.
Twenty-two verses of chapter XXXVIII are expounded, from the 12th to the 33rd inclusive; and many things are taught, especially concerning the arts and snares of Satan, concerning grace, predestination, reprobation and the hidden judgements of God.
(printed on page 243)
CAPUT II [Rec. II].
CHAPTER II [Recent ed. II].
Vers. 12. — Nunquid post ortum tuum praecepisti diluculo, et ostendisti aurorae locum suum?
Verse 12. — Did you, after your rising, command the daybreak, and show the dawn its place?
2. Orto Domino, Ecclesia tanquam aurora a tenebris in lucem versa. — Subaudis ut ego. Ortus quippe divinitatis ejus ante et post non habet. Cui dum semper esse est per aeternitatem, dum omne quod labitur circumscribit, intra semetipsum temporum discursus claudit. Ortus vero humanitatis ejus, quia et coepit, et desiit, et ante et post habere a tempore accepit. Sed quia, dum ipse umbras nostrae temporalitatis suscepit, lumen nobis suae aeternitatis infudit, recte post hunc ortum quem creator sibi in tempore condidit locum suum sine tempore aurora cognovit. Quia enim diluculum vel aurora a tenebris in lucem vertitur, non immerito diluculi vel aurorae nomine omnis electorum Ecclesia designatur. Ipsa namque dum ab infidelitatis nocte ad lucem fidei ducitur, velut aurorae more in diem post tenebras splendore supernae claritatis aperitur. Unde et bene in Canticis canticorum dicitur: Quae est ista quae progreditur quasi aurora consurgens (Cant. VI, 9)? Sancta enim Ecclesia coelestis vitae praemia appetens, aurora vocata est, quia dum peccatorum tenebras deserit, justitiae luce fulgescit.
2. With the Lord risen, the Church is turned, as it were a dawn, out of darkness into light. — You are to understand "as I". For the rising of His divinity has no before and after. To Him, since to be is always, through eternity, while He circumscribes all that passes away, the course of the times is enclosed within Himself. But the rising of His humanity, because it both began and ceased, received from time the having of a before and an after. But because, while He Himself took on the shadows of our temporality, He poured into us the light of His own eternity, rightly after this rising, which as creator He founded for Himself in time, did the dawn come to know its place, which is without time. For since the daybreak or dawn is turned from darkness into light, not without cause is the whole Church of the elect designated by the name of daybreak or dawn. For she herself, while she is led from the night of unbelief to the light of faith, is opened out into day after darkness, after the manner of the dawn, by the splendour of supernal brightness. Whence also it is well said in the Song of Songs: Who is she that goes forth as the morning rising (Song 6:9)? For holy Church, seeking the rewards of the heavenly life, is called dawn, because, in forsaking the darkness of sins, she shines with the light of righteousness.
[Vet. II.] 3. Quandiu vivimus, aurora est, non perfectus dies. — Habemus tamen subtilius aliquid quod considerata qualitate diluculi vel aurorae pensemus. Aurora namque vel diluculum noctem quidem praeteriisse nuntiant, nec tamen diei claritatem integram ostentant; sed dum illam pellunt, hanc suscipiunt, lucem tenebris permistam tenent. Quid itaque in hac vita omnes qui veritatem sequimur, nisi aurora vel diluculum sumus? quia et quaedam jam quae lucis sunt agimus, et tamen in quibusdam adhuc tenebrarum reliquiis non caremus. Per Prophetam quippe Deo dicitur: Non justificabitur in conspectu tuo omnis vivens (Psal. CXLII, 2). Rursumque scriptum est: In multis offendimus omnes (Jac. III, 2). Paulus quoque
[Old ed. II.] 3. That as long as we live, it is dawn, not the perfect day. — We have, however, something subtler still to weigh, when we consider the quality of daybreak or dawn. For dawn or daybreak indeed announces that the night has passed, and yet does not display the full brightness of day; but while it drives away the one, it takes up the other, and holds light mingled with darkness. What then, in this life, are all we who follow the truth, but dawn or daybreak? Because we already do certain things that belong to the light, and yet in certain others we are not without the remaining traces of darkness. For through the Prophet it is said to God: In Thy sight shall no man living be justified (Ps. 142:2). And again it is written: In many things we all offend (Jas. 3:2). Paul also
Editors' notes and page, col. 478
Footnotes
(4) ‹anchor: aeternitatis infudit› · call in col 478
Sic legendum probant tum Mss. Anglic. et nostri, tum ipse contextus Job qui explanatur : nunquid post ortum. In veretibus tamen Edit. in Gilotiana Vaticana et Gussanv., quibus favet Corb. Germ. Mss., legitur recte per hunc ortum. Ubi satis mirari non possumus acerbas Jamezii adversus Romanos Editores querelas. Quis, inquit ad hunc locum, excusare poterit extremam supinitatem Romanensium, etc. Quasi vero priores ita scripserint; et eadem lectio non reperiatur in Edit. Basil. 1503 et 1514, in Paris. 1488, 1495, 1518 et 1571, etc.
That this is the right reading is proved both by the English manuscripts and our own, and by the very text of Job that is being expounded: nunquid post ortum ("did you, after your rising"). Yet in the old editions, in Gilot's, the Vatican and Goussainville's, which the Corbie manuscript of Saint-Germain supports, one reads recte per hunc ortum ("rightly through this rising"). Here we cannot wonder enough at James's bitter complaints against the Roman editors. Who, he says on this place, will be able to excuse the extreme negligence of the Romans, etc. As though they had been the first to write it so, and the same reading were not found in the Basel editions of 1503 and 1514, in the Paris editions of 1488, 1495, 1518 and 1571, etc.
(printed under page 243)
ait: Video aliam legem in membris meis repugnantem legi mentis meae, et captivum me ducentem in lege peccati, quae est in membris meis (Rom. VII, 23). Ubi ergo lex peccati cum lege mentis contendit, profecto adhuc aurora est, quia lux quae jam emicuit, necdum praetereuntes funditus tenebras pressit. Adhuc aurora est, quia dum lex carnis legem mentis, et lex mentis legem carnis percutit, inter se vicissim lux et umbra confligit. Unde rursum Paulus cum diceret: Nox praecessit (Rom. XIII, 12), nequaquam subdidit, Dies venit, sed Dies autem appropinquavit. Qui enim post discessum noctis jam non venisse sed appropinquasse diem insinuat, esse se procul dubio ante solem post tenebras adhuc in aurora demonstrat.
says: I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and leading me captive in the law of sin, which is in my members (Rom. 7:23). Where, then, the law of sin contends with the law of the mind, it is assuredly still dawn, because the light that has already shone forth has not yet altogether pressed down the darkness passing away. It is still dawn, because while the law of the flesh strikes against the law of the mind, and the law of the mind against the law of the flesh, light and shadow contend with one another by turns. Whence again Paul, when he had said: The night is passed (Rom. 13:12), by no means added, The day is come, but rather, The day is at hand. For he who, after the departure of night, hints that the day has not yet come but is at hand, shows without doubt that he is, after the darkness, still in the dawn before the sun.
4. Dies erit, cum nullae peccati tenebrae supererunt. — Tunc autem plene sancta electorum Ecclesia dies erit, cum ei admista peccati umbra jam non erit. Tunc plene dies erit, quando interni luminis perfecto fervore claruerit. Tunc plene dies erit, quando nullam malorum suorum tentantem memoriam tolerans, omnes a se tenebrarum etiam reliquias abscondet. Unde et bene haec aurora quasi adhuc in transitu demonstratur, cum dicitur: Et ostendisti aurorae locum suum. Cui enim locus suus ostenditur, profecto ex alio ad aliud vocatur. Quid est enim locus aurorae, nisi perfecta claritas visionis aeternae? Ad quem cum perducta venerit, jam de transactae noctis tenebris nihil habet. Nunc autem adhuc tentationum molestias sustinens, quia per intentionem cordis ad aliud festinat Ecclesia, ad locum suum tendit aurora. Quem locum si mente non cerneret, in hujus vitae nocte remaneret. Sed cum quotidie contendit perfici, et in lucem quotidie augeri, locum suum jam conspicit, et plene sibi clarescere solem quaerit. Locum suum aurora considerat, quando sancta anima ad contemplandam conditoris sui speciem flagrat. Ad locum suum pertingere aurora satagebat, cum David diceret: Sitivit anima mea ad Deum vivum quando veniam, et apparebo ante faciem Dei (Psal. XLI, 3)? Locum suum veritas aurorae monstrabat, cum per Salomonem diceret: Quid habet amplius sapiens a stulto; et quid pauper nisi ut pergat illuc ubi est vita (Eccle. VI, 8)? Quem profecto locum etiam praecedentibus incarnationem suam patribus post ortum suum Dominus ostendit, quia nisi per prophetiae spiritum incarnandum supernae patriae regem cognoscerent, bona ejusdem patriae quam essent desiderabilia non viderent. Locum suum veritas aurorae patefecit, cum Patrem coram discipulis petiit, dicens: Pater, quos dedisti mihi, volo ut ubi ego sum et illi sint mecum (Joan. XVII, 24). Locum suum aurorae monstravit, cum diceret: Ubicunque fuerit corpus, illic congregabuntur et aquilae (Matth. XXIV, 28). Ad hunc locum quem cognoverat pervenire aurora festinabat, cum Paulus
4. That it will be day when no darkness of sin any longer remains. — But the holy Church of the elect will be fully day then, when no shadow of sin is any longer mingled with her. She will be fully day when she has grown bright with the perfect ardour of inward light. She will be fully day when, suffering no tempting memory of her own evils, she hides from herself even all the remaining traces of darkness. Whence also this dawn is well shown to be, as it were, still in passage, when it is said: And showed the dawn its place. For he to whom his own place is shown is assuredly called from one thing to another. For what is the place of the dawn, but the perfect brightness of the eternal vision? When she has been brought through to it, she now has nothing left of the darkness of the night that has passed. Now, however, while she still bears the troubles of temptations, since by the intention of her heart the Church hastens towards something else, the dawn tends towards its own place. Which place, if she did not discern it in her mind, she would remain in the night of this life. But since she strives daily to be made perfect, and daily to grow into the light, she already beholds her own place, and seeks that the sun may shine forth fully upon her. The dawn considers her own place, when the holy soul burns to contemplate the beauty of her Maker. The dawn was striving to reach her own place, when David said: My soul has thirsted after the living God: when shall I come and appear before the face of God (Ps. 41:3)? Truth was showing the dawn her own place, when through Solomon He said: What has the wise man more than the fool; and what has the poor man, but to go thither where there is life (Eccl. 6:8)? This place, indeed, the Lord showed even to the fathers who came before His incarnation, after His own rising, because unless through the spirit of prophecy they came to know the king of the heavenly fatherland Who was to be incarnate, they would not have seen how desirable were the good things of that same fatherland. Truth disclosed to the dawn her own place, when He asked the Father before His disciples, saying: Father, those whom Thou hast given me, I will that where I am, they also may be with me (John 17:24). He showed the dawn her own place, when He said: Wheresoever the body shall be, there shall the eagles also be gathered together (Matt. 24:28). The dawn was hastening to arrive at this place which she had come to know, when Paul
Editors' notes and page, col. 479
Footnotes
(1) ‹anchor: perfecta claritas› · call in col 479
Turon., Corb. Germ., Pratel., Laud. et alii, visionis internae.
The manuscripts of Tours, Corbie (Saint-Germain), Préaux, Laon and others: visionis internae ("of the inward vision").
(printed under page 244)
(2) ‹anchor: nocte remaneret.› · call in col 479
Turon., sed dum quotidie augeri locum suum jam conspicit, et plene sibi clarescere solem quaerit.
The Tours manuscript: sed dum quotidie augeri locum suum jam conspicit, et plene sibi clarescere solem quaerit ("but while it now beholds its place to be daily increased, and seeks that the sun should shine fully upon it").
(printed under page 244)
(3) ‹anchor: ubi ego sum› · call in col 479
Laud., et illic sint mecum.
The Laon manuscript: et illic sint mecum ("they too may be there with me").
(printed under page 244)
(4) ‹anchor: fuerit corpus,› · call in col 479
Corb. Germ., Pratel., Utic. et al., illuc congregabuntur.
The manuscripts of Corbie (Saint-Germain), Préaux, Saint-Évroult and others: illuc congregabuntur ("thither will they be gathered").
(printed under page 244)
desiderium habere se diceret dissolvi, et cum Christo esse. Et rursum Mihi vere Christus est, et mori lucrum (Philip. I, 21). Et rursum: Scimus quoniam si terrestris domus nostra hujus habitationis dissolvatur, quod aedificationem ex Deo habemus, domum non manufactam, aeternam in coelis (II Cor. V, 1). Bene autem post ortum suum locum proprium aurorae ostendisse se perhibet, quia futurae retributionis beatitudinem, priusquam per corpus ipse innotesceret, in paucorum intellectu continuit. Cum vero humanae nativitatis infirma suscepit, venturae claritatis notitiam in multitudinis innumerae amore dilatavit. Sed cum divini operis mysterium sic misericordia peragat, ut tamen et ira comitetur, quatenus occultus arbiter alios respiciens redimat, alios deserens perdat, quia cognovimus quomodo per incarnationem suam electos illuminet, audiamus nunc quomodo reprobos damnet. Sequitur:
said that he had the desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ. And again: Living, for me, is Christ, and dying is gain (Phil. 1:21). And again: We know that if our earthly house of this habitation be dissolved, that we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens (2 Cor. 5:1). Rightly, then, does He declare that after His own rising He showed the dawn her own place, because, before He became known in the body, He kept the blessedness of the future reward within the understanding of a few; but when He had taken upon Himself the weak things of human birth, He spread abroad the knowledge of the glory to come in the love of a countless multitude. But since mercy so carries through the mystery of the divine work that it is nevertheless accompanied also by wrath, in that the hidden judge, looking upon some, redeems them, and abandoning others, destroys them; now that we have learned how through His incarnation He enlightens the elect, let us hear now how He condemns the reprobate. There follows:
Editors' notes and page, col. 480
Footnotes
(5) ‹anchor: claritatis notitiam› · call in col 480
Laud., in multitudines innumeras amore dilatavit.
The Laon manuscript: in multitudines innumeras amore dilatavit ("He spread it abroad by love into numberless multitudes").
(printed under page 244)