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PL 93 · cols. 41–68
Bede, On the First Letter of Peter
Editors' preface
IN PRIMAM EPISTOLAM PETRI.
ON THE FIRST LETTER OF PETER.
CAPUT PRIMUM.
CHAPTER I.
Petrus, apostolus Jesu Christi, etc. Advenae Latine, Graece dicuntur proselyti. Quo nomine appellabant Judaei eos qui, de gentibus nati, in Deum credere et, circumcisione accepta, Judaico more, juxta Dei legem vitam ducere maluerunt. De quorum numero fuere quidam eorum qui in die sancto Pentecostes, quo apostoli Spiritum sanctum in ignis visione perceperunt, ad praedicationem eorum Christo crediderunt, dicente Scriptu⟨r⟩a quod Judaei quoque et prose⟨l⟩yti adessent. Electos ergo advenas dicit, qui de gentilitate ad agniti⟨o⟩nem ac susceptionem divinae le⟨g⟩is, ac perceptus sacramentis legalibus, ad acceptionem gratiae fidei pervenire meruerunt. Unde sanc⟨t⟩us presbyter Hieronymus de his loquens ait: « Quia Petrus post episcopatum Antiochensis Ecclesiae, et praedicationem dispersionis eorum qui de circumcisione crediderunt in Ponto, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia et Bithynia, secundo Claudii anno, ad expugnandum Simonem magum Romam pergit. » Sed et nos si veraciter cum propheta, Deo dicere possumus: Quoniam incolae nos sumus apud te in terra, et peregrini sicut omnes patres nostri (Psal. XXXVIII), ad nos quoque Epistolas beati Petri scriptas credere et ut nobis missas legere debemus. Denique in ipsis Epistolis, quasi alibi patriam habentes, nos admonet, dicens: Charissimi, obsecro vos tanquam advenas et peregrinos abstinere a carnalibus desideriis (I Petr. II). Quod vero adjungitur, dispersionis, significat quia dispersi sint a Jerosolymis in persecutione quae facta fuerat sub Stephano, vel certe aliis multifariis persecutionibus sint pro fide vel a Judaeis vel a gentibus afflicti, a propriis saepe sedibus pulsi, ut in Actibus apostolorum legimus. Sed et Paulus ad Galatas: Tanta, inquit, pussi estis sine causa, si tamen sine causa.
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, etc. "Strangers" in Latin are called "proselytes" in Greek. By this name the Jews called those who, born of the gentiles, chose to believe in God and, having received circumcision, to lead their life in the Jewish manner according to the law of God. Of their number were some of those who on the holy day of Pentecost, on which the apostles received the Holy Spirit in a vision of fire, believed in Christ at their preaching, since Scripture says that both Jews and proselytes were present. So he calls "elect strangers" those who from among the gentiles deserved to come to the knowledge and acceptance of the divine law, and, having received the sacraments of the law, to the acceptance of the grace of faith. Hence the holy priest Jerome, speaking of them, says: "Peter, after his episcopate of the Church of Antioch and his preaching to the dispersion of those of the circumcision who had believed, in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, went to Rome in the second year of Claudius to overthrow Simon Magus." But if we too can truly say to God with the prophet: For we are sojourners with Thee on the earth, and strangers, as all our fathers were (Ps. 38:13), we ought to believe that the Letters of blessed Peter were written to us also, and to read them as sent to us. Indeed in those very Letters he admonishes us as people who have their homeland elsewhere, saying: Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims to abstain from carnal desires (1 Pet. 2:11). What is added, "of the dispersion", signifies that they had been dispersed from Jerusalem in the persecution that had taken place under Stephen, or at any rate that in many other and various persecutions they had been afflicted for the faith, whether by the Jews or by the gentiles, and often driven from their own homes, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles. And Paul too says to the Galatians: Have you suffered so much without cause, if indeed it was without cause? (Gal. 3:4)
Dispersionis Ponti, Galatiae, etc. Omnes hae provinciae sunt Graecorum in Asia. Sed et alia Bithynia est in Europa, de qua illi qui in Asia sunt Bithyni originem ducere perhibentur. Illa autem quae in Asia est Bithynia, vocatur et major Phrygia, quae Hiera flumine est a Galatia disterminata.
Of the dispersion of Pontus, Galatia, etc. All these provinces belong to the Greeks in Asia. But there is also another Bithynia in Europe, from which the Bithynians who are in Asia are said to draw their origin. And the Bithynia which is in Asia is also called Greater Phrygia, which is divided from Galatia by the river Hiera.
Secundum praescientiam Dei Patris, etc. Adhaerent
According to the foreknowledge of God the Father, etc. These
Editors' notes and page, col. 41
Footnotes
(none) <!-- The page foot runs the author's text down to the signature lines (PATROL. XCIII.; 2); no footnote rule or footnote type appears in either column's foot. --> (printed under page 25)
Page
- running head: 41 | IN PRIMAM EPISTOLAM PETRI. (running head across both columns of the page; page cols 41–42)
- marginal letters: A ‹superpositione vitae melioris› (James text, not set); B ‹Petrus, apostolus Jesu Christi›; C ‹« Quia Petrus post episcopatum›; D ‹persecutione quae facta fuerat›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: above: end of Bede on James, not set. The work's title IN PRIMAM EPISTOLAM PETRI. is printed across both columns of the page (completed from col. 42's top image); CAPUT PRIMUM. heads the left column. Damaged type restored in ⟨ ⟩: Scriptu⟨r⟩a, prose⟨l⟩yti, agniti⟨o⟩nem, le⟨g⟩is, sanc⟨t⟩us, a⟨g⟩ere (the last in the James text). 'sine causa' (first) slightly malformed in print, read as sine. Psal. XXXVIII and I Petr. II printed in small-cap lower-case numerals. The sentence 'Adhaerent hi versiculi...' continues in col. 42; English split accordingly. Footer signature 'PATROL. XCIII.' omitted.
hi versiculi ad hoc quod praedixerat, Electis advenis. Electi namque erant secundum praescientiam Dei Patris. Unde et apostolus ait: Quos praescivit et praedestinavit conformes fieri imaginis Filii sui. Et alibi: Sicut elegit nos in ipso ante mundi constitutionem. Electi autem erant ad hoc, ut per donationem Spiritus sancti sanctificarentur, emundati ab omnibus peccatis, ut obedire inciperent Domino Jesu Christo, qui per inobedientiam protoplasti perierant, ut aspersi sanguine ejus potestatem Satanae vitarent, sicut Israel per agni sanguinem Aegyptiorum dominatum declinavit. Aspersionem autem dicit more Scripturae veteris, ubi quae sanctificanda erant, sanguine hostiarum solebant aspergi. Caeterum ipse Dominus dicit manifeste de eo: Nisi manducaveritis carnem Filii hominis, et biberitis ejus sanguinem, non habebi⟨t⟩is vitam in vobis (Joan. VI).
verses are joined to what he had said before, To the elect strangers. For they were elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. Hence the apostle too says: Whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:29). And elsewhere: As He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). And they were elect to this end: that through the gift of the Holy Spirit they might be sanctified, cleansed from all sins; that they who had perished through the disobedience of the first-formed man might begin to obey the Lord Jesus Christ; that, sprinkled with His blood, they might escape the power of Satan, as Israel through the blood of the lamb escaped the dominion of the Egyptians. He speaks of "sprinkling" after the manner of the old Scripture, where the things that were to be sanctified used to be sprinkled with the blood of victims. Moreover the Lord Himself says plainly of it: Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you shall not have life in you (John 6:54).
Gratia et pax multiplicetur. Ut quod bene coep⟨i⟩stis, perfecte compleatis. Bene primo gratiam, postea nominat pacem, quia sine gratia Christi ad pacem reconciliationis pervenire non possumus, imo nihil pacificum, ni⟨s⟩i per gratiam ejus habere valemus.
Grace and peace be multiplied. That you may perfectly complete what you have well begun. Rightly he names grace first and peace afterwards, because without the grace of Christ we cannot come to the peace of reconciliation; indeed we can have nothing peaceable except through His grace.
Benedictus Deus, et Pater D⟨o⟩mini nostri Jesu Christi. Ita Deo Patri laudes benedictionis refert, ut Dominum Salvatorem nostrum, et Deum demonstret esse et hominem. Cum enim dicit, Deus et Pater Domini nostri Jesu Christi, Deum quidem Domini Jesu Christi appellat, quia ipsum Dominum Christum, hominem factum fuisse meminit; Patrem autem Domini nostri nominat, quia eumdem Dominum nostrum Dei Filium semper exstitisse non dubitat.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He renders praises of blessing to God the Father in such a way as to show that our Lord and Saviour is both God and man. For when he says, The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, he calls Him the God of the Lord Jesus Christ because he remembers that the Lord Christ Himself was made man; but he names Him the Father of our Lord because he does not doubt that the same our Lord has always been the Son of God.
Qui secundum magnam misericordiam suam regeneravit nos, etc. Jure benedicitur a nobis Deus, qui, cum nostris meritis generati fuissemus ad mortem, sua nos misericordia regeneravit ad vitam. Et hoc per resurrectionem Filii sui, cum in tantum nostram dilexerit vitam, ut illum pro hac mori disponeret, atque eadem morte per resurrectionem destructa, spem nobis exemplumque resurgendi monstra⟨r⟩et. Mortuus namque est, ne nos mori timeremus. Resurrexit ex mortuis, ut et nos per eum resurrecturos esse speraremus.
Who according to His great mercy has begotten us again, etc. Rightly is God blessed by us, who, when by our deserts we had been begotten unto death, by His mercy begot us again unto life. And this through the resurrection of His Son, since He so loved our life that He ordained that His Son should die for it, and, that same death being destroyed through the resurrection, showed us the hope and the example of rising again. For He died, so that we might not fear to die. He rose from the dead, so that we too might hope that through Him we shall rise again.
Editors' notes and page, col. 42
Page
- running head: IN PRIMAM EPISTOLAM PETRI. | 42 (running head across both columns of the page; page cols 41–42)
- marginal letters: A ‹doctor facere perhibetur› (James text, not set); B ‹hi versiculi ad hoc›; C ‹carnem Filii hominis›; D ‹mini nostri nominat›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: above: end of Bede on James, not set (from 'doctor facere perhibetur' to 'mercedem consequetur.'); the work's title across the page is set once in col. 41. Column opens mid-sentence continuing 'Adhaerent' from col. 41. Damaged type restored in ⟨ ⟩: habebi⟨t⟩is, coep⟨i⟩stis, ni⟨s⟩i, D⟨o⟩mini, monstra⟨r⟩et. The Pauline quotations carry no printed references; Rom. 8:29 and Eph. 1:4 supplied in the English only. Footer signature '2' omitted.
In haereditatem incorruptibilem, etc. Incorruptibi⟨l⟩em, inquit, propter vitam coelestem, quae nec senio, nec morbo, nec morte, nec aliqua moestitia tangitur. Incontaminatam, quia nullus in eam potest immundus intrare. Immarcescibilem, quia nec ipsis beatorum hominum mentibus ex longo usu coelestis illa conversatio valet aliquando vilescere, quomodo praesentis saeculi luxus et deliciae solent nonnunquam diutina consuetudine et usu in fastidium vert⟨i⟩.
Unto an inheritance incorruptible, etc. Incorruptible, he says, because of the heavenly life, which is touched neither by old age, nor by sickness, nor by death, nor by any sorrow. Undefiled, because no unclean person can enter into it. Unfading, because not even to the minds of the blessed themselves can that heavenly way of life ever grow cheap through long use, in the way that the luxury and delights of the present world are sometimes turned to disgust by long habit and use.
Conservatam in coelis in vobis. Conservatam in vobis dicit, pro eo ut diceret, conservatam vobis, id est ad hoc conservatam nunc, ut vobis tempore praestituto reddatur in coelis. Vel certe conservatam in coelis in vobis, quia qui dedit credentibus potestatem filios Dei fieri (Joan. I), ipse dedit ejusdem potestatem haereditatem in coelis accipere, perseverando usque in finem ut salvi sint. Et ideo conservatam dicit in illis haereditatem, quorum meritis, juvante Domino, perveniendum novit ad illam, quia qui non servaverint disciplinam Patris, haereditatem ab eo non me⟨r⟩entur accipere.
Reserved in heaven in you. He says "reserved in you" as though he were saying "reserved for you", that is, reserved now to this end, that it may be rendered to you in heaven at the appointed time. Or else "reserved in heaven in you", because He who gave to those who believe the power to become sons of God (John 1:12) has Himself given to the same the power to receive the inheritance in heaven, so that by persevering to the end they may be saved. And so he says the inheritance is reserved in those whose merits, with the Lord's help, he knows will bring them to it; for those who have not kept the Father's discipline do not deserve to receive the inheritance from Him.
Qui in virtute Dei custodimini per fidem, etc. Et Dominus ait in Evangelio: In domo Patris mei mansiones multae sunt (Joan. XIV). Et iterum: Non est meum dare vobis, sed quibus paratum est a Patre meo (Marc. X). Paratae ergo sunt sedes in regno Dei, paratae mansiones in domo Patris, parata salus in coelis, tantum faciat se dignum qui accipere desiderat. Sed quia nemo suo tantum conamine dignus fieri, suisque viribus ad aeternam potest venire salutem, recte praemittitur: Q⟨u⟩i in virtute Dei custodimini per fidem. Neque enim quisquam suae libertatis pote⟨n⟩tia custodiri valet in bonis, sed illius per omnia quaerendum est auxilium, ut perficiamur, a quo initium bonae actionis accepimus.
Who are kept by the power of God through faith, etc. The Lord too says in the Gospel: In My Father's house there are many mansions (John 14:2). And again: It is not Mine to give to you, but to those for whom it has been prepared by My Father (Mark 10:40). The seats in the kingdom of God are therefore prepared, the mansions in the Father's house are prepared, salvation in heaven is prepared; only let him who desires to receive it make himself worthy. But because no one can become worthy by his own effort alone, nor come to eternal salvation by his own strength, it is rightly put first: Who are kept by the power of God through faith. For no one can be kept in good things by the power of his own freedom; rather, in all things we must seek the help of Him from whom we received the beginning of good action, that we may be brought to perfection.
In quo exsultabitis, etc. Quod dicit In quo, significat in eo quod tempore novissimo salus parata revelabitur, ac dignis dabitur. De quo et Dominus ait: Iterum autem videbo vos, et gaudebit cor vestrum, et gaudium ves⟨t⟩rum nemo tollet a vobis (Joan. XVI).
Wherein you shall rejoice, etc. When he says "wherein", he means: in this, that in the last time the salvation prepared will be revealed and given to the worthy. Of which the Lord too says: But I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one shall take from you (John 16:22).
Modicum nunc, si oportet, contristari. Oportet, inquit, contristari, quia non nisi per tristitiam saeculi labentis et afflic⟨t⟩iones potest ad gaudia aeterna perveniri. Modicum autem dicit, quia ubi merces ae⟨t⟩erna retribuetur, breve videbitur ac leve totum fuisse quod in saeculi tribulationibus grave videbatur et acerbum.
For a little while now, if need be, to be made sorrowful. It is needful, he says, to be made sorrowful, because one cannot come to eternal joys except through the sorrow and afflictions of the passing world. And he says "a little while" because, when the eternal reward is paid, all that seemed heavy and bitter in the tribulations of the world will seem to have been brief and light.
Ut probatio fidei vestrae multo pretiosior sit auro, etc. Et Sapientiae liber passiones sanctorum auro quod per ignem examinatur comparat, dicens de Domino: Tanquam aurum in fornace probavit ill⟨o⟩s, et quasi holocausti hostiam accepit illos (Sap. III). Quia nimirum quos in camino tribulatio⟨n⟩is fideles probaverit, hos in gaudio retributionis quasi placabilem sibi hostiam assumet. Et bene patientia sanctorum auro assimilatur, quia sicut in metallis pretiosius auro aliquid non est, ita haec apud Deum omni est laude dignissima. Hinc etenim scriptum est: Pretiosa in conspectu Domini mors sanctorum
That the trial of your faith, much more precious than gold, etc. The book of Wisdom too compares the sufferings of the saints to gold that is tried by fire, saying of the Lord: As gold in the furnace He has tried them, and as a victim of a holocaust He has accepted them (Wis. 3:6). For truly, those whom He has proved faithful in the furnace of tribulation He will take to Himself in the joy of recompense as a victim pleasing to Him. And rightly is the patience of the saints likened to gold, because, as among metals nothing is more precious than gold, so this is with God most worthy of all praise. For hence it is written: Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints
Editors' notes and page, col. 43
Footnotes
(none) <!-- Both column feet carry the author's text to the bottom of the page; no footnote rule or footnote type appears. --> (printed under page 26)
Page
- running head: 43 | BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS II. SE[CT. …] (head runs across the page; right part not in the crop)
- marginal letters: A ‹In haereditatem incorruptibilem›; B ‹potestatem haereditatem in coelis›; C ‹lutem, recte praemittitur›; D ‹fuisse quod in saeculi tribulationibus›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Damaged type restored in ⟨ ⟩: Incorruptibi⟨l⟩em (l prints like t), vert⟨i⟩, me⟨r⟩entur, Q⟨u⟩i, pote⟨n⟩tia, ves⟨t⟩rum, afflic⟨t⟩iones, ae⟨t⟩erna, ill⟨o⟩s (first; o prints like e, possibly a misprint 'illes'), tribulatio⟨n⟩is. Column ends mid-quotation at 'sanctorum'; the next word (ejus, Ps. 115:15) is in col. 44. Running head's right half not visible.
ejus (Psal. CXV). Sicut enim aurum in fornace clausum ignibus examinatur, prolatum vero foras cujus sit fulgoris apparebit, ita fidelium constantia inter infidelium quidem pressuras contemptibilis videtur ac stulta; sed ubi tempus retributionis, finito certamine tribulationum, adfuerit, tunc quantae fuerit gloriae quantum flammis passionum profecerit, eorum virtus ostenditur. Unde apte subjungitur:
(Ps. 115:15). For as gold shut in the furnace is tried by fire, but when it is brought out will show how bright it is, so the constancy of the faithful seems contemptible and foolish amid the oppressions of the unbelievers; but when the time of recompense has come, the struggle of tribulations being ended, then their virtue is shown: of how great glory it was, how far it advanced in the flames of sufferings. Hence it is fittingly added:
Invenitur in laudem et gloriam, etc. Invenitur autem in laudem probatio fidei, cum laudans eam Judex dicet: Esurivi, et dedistis mihi manducare, etc. (Matt. XXV). Invenitur in gloriam, cum praemittit eamdem glorificans: Venite, benedicti Patris mei, possidete paratum vobis regnum a constitutione mundi (Ibid.). Invenitur in honorem, cum, cadentibus impiis in supplicium aeternum, justi ibunt in vitam aeternam (Ibid.). De quo ipse ait: Si quis mihi ministraverit, honorificabit eum Pater meus (Joan. XII).
Is found unto praise and glory, etc. The trial of faith is found unto praise when the Judge, praising it, will say: I was hungry and you gave Me to eat, etc. (Matt. 25:35). It is found unto glory when, glorifying the same, He says first: Come, you blessed of My Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (Matt. 25:34). It is found unto honour when, as the wicked fall into eternal punishment, the just shall go into life eternal (Matt. 25:46). Of which He Himself says: If anyone serves Me, My Father will honour him (John 12:26).
Quem cum non videritis, dilig⟨i⟩tis, etc. Et Paulus ait: Quod oculus non vidit, nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit, quae praeparavit Deus diligentibus se (I Cor. II).
Whom, though you have not seen Him, you love, etc. And Paul says: What eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, what God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Cor. 2:9).
De qua salute exquisierunt atque scrutati sunt prophetae, etc. Exquisierunt et scrutati sunt in occulto a Domino, vel ab angelis, de futura Evangelii gratia, quando vel quo ordine salus aeterna mundo adveniret, quod in eorum libris invenitur. Unde et unus ex eis pro magno scienti⟨a⟩e salutaris amore vir desideriorum appellari ab angelo meruit. Prop⟨h⟩etabant autem loquendo palam hominibus, et exponendo quae in occulto internae contemplationis ipsi cognoverant.
Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched, etc. They inquired and searched in secret, from the Lord or from the angels, concerning the future grace of the Gospel, when or in what order eternal salvation would come to the world, as is found in their books. Hence one of them too, for his great love of saving knowledge, deserved to be called by the angel a man of desires. And they prophesied by speaking openly to men, and by setting forth what they themselves had come to know in the secret of inward contemplation.
Scrutantes in quod vel in quale tempus significaret in eis Spiritus Christi, etc. Has glori⟨a⟩s significavit evangelista, cum ait: Spiritus enim nondum e⟨r⟩at datus, quia Jesus nondum fuerat glorificatus (Joan. VII). Duae autem sunt Domini glorificationes, secundum suscepti hominis formam: una, qua resurrexit a mortuis; et alia, qua ascendit in coelum ante oculos discipulorum suorum. Restat tertia, et ipsa in conspectu hominum, cum venerit in majestate sua et Patri⟨s⟩ et sanctorum angelorum ut reddat unicuique secundum opera sua.
Searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ in them signified, etc. The evangelist signified these glories when he said: For the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus had not yet been glorified (John 7:39). And there are two glorifications of the Lord according to the form of the manhood He assumed: one, by which He rose from the dead; and the other, by which He ascended into heaven before the eyes of His disciples. There remains a third, and that too in the sight of men, when He comes in His majesty and that of the Father and of the holy angels to render to each according to his works.
Quibus revelatum est quia non sibimetipsis, etc. Inter multa arcana quae revelata sunt prophetis, cum diligenter de futura salute scrutarentur et exquirerent, etiam hoc illis revelatum est, quia non in diebus eorum eadem salus, sed in vestris potius, qui in fine saeculorum nascimini, esset adventura temporibus. Haec ideo dicit, ut admoneat eos curam gerere salutis oblatae, quam tantisper amabant prophetae et justi priores, desiderantes illo tempore vivere in mundo, quo ablatis e mundo statim liceret coelestia regna conscendere.
To whom it was revealed that not to themselves, etc. Among the many secrets revealed to the prophets when they diligently searched and inquired concerning the salvation to come, this too was revealed to them: that this same salvation would come not in their days, but rather in your times, you who are born at the end of the ages. He says this to admonish them to take care of the salvation offered, which the prophets and the just of former times loved so much, desiring to live in the world at that time in which, once taken from the world, they might at once ascend to the heavenly kingdom.
Per eos qui evangelizaverunt in vos, etc. Supra dixerat prophetas Spiritu Christi praenuntiasse passiones ejus et posteriores glorias, et nunc eadem dicit apostolos eis nuntiare Spiritu sancto misso de
By those who have preached the Gospel to you, etc. Above he had said that the prophets by the Spirit of Christ foretold His sufferings and the glories that followed, and now he says that the apostles announce the same to them by the Holy Spirit sent down from
Editors' notes and page, col. 44
Page
- running head: BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS II. SECT. I. — EXEGETICA GENUINA. | 44 (running head across page cols 43–44; this completes the head truncated in c43's comment)
- marginal letters: A ‹ejus (Psal. CXV). Sicut enim›; B ‹tibus impiis in supplicium›; C ‹tabant autem loquendo palam›; D ‹Inter multa arcana›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Damaged type restored in ⟨ ⟩: dilig⟨i⟩tis, scienti⟨a⟩e, Prop⟨h⟩etabant, glori⟨a⟩s, e⟨r⟩at, Patri⟨s⟩; also lightly damaged but legible: qui(a), diebus, qui, priores, revelata. 'Invenitur in laudem et gloriam' printed thus in the lemma. 'Ibid.' references expanded to Matt. 25:34 and 25:46 in the English. Column ends mid-sentence at 'misso de'; continues in col. 45.
coelo. Unde patet quia idem Spiritus Christi erat in prophetis prius, qui postmodum in apostolis; ideoque eamdem fidem passionis Christi et posteriores glorias, utrique populis praedicabant, illic adhuc venturam, isti jam venisse; ac per hoc unam esse Ecclesiam, cujus pars carnalem Domini adventum praecesserit, pars sit altera secuta.
heaven. Hence it is plain that the same Spirit of Christ was first in the prophets who was afterwards in the apostles; and therefore both preached to the peoples the same faith in the passion of Christ and the glories that followed, the former as yet to come, the latter as having already come; and that through this there is one Church, of which one part went before the Lord's coming in the flesh, and the other part has followed it.
In quem desiderant angeli prospicere. Constat profecto quia tanta ejus qui passus est pro nobis hominis Jesu Christi posterior gloria successit, ut etiam angelicae in coelo virtutes, cum sint aeterna felicitate perfectae, non solum immortalem Deitatis magnificentiam, sed et assumptae humanitatis ejus claritatem semper aspicere gaudebant. Verum diligentius intuendum quomodo dicat quod in eum desiderent angeli prospicere, cum desiderium dici non soleat ejus rei quam habemus, sed quam volumus habere, nam nemo desiderat quod habet. Quomodo ergo in Christum prospicere desiderant, cujus faciem cernere nunquam cessant, nisi contemplatio divinae praesentiae ita supernae patriae cives beatificat, ut ineffabili nobis ordine et semper ejus visa gloria satientur, et semper ejus dulcedinem quasi novam insatiabiliter esuriant? Nam, sicut beatus papa Gregorius, delicias cordis et corporis mirifice distinguens, ait corporales deliciae, cum non habentur, grave in se desiderium accendunt, cum vero habitae eduntur, comedentem protinus in fastidium per satietatem vertunt. At contra spirituales deliciae, cum non habentur, in fastidio sunt; cum vero habentur, in desiderio sunt; tantoque a comedente amplius esuriuntur, quanto et ab esuriente amplius comeduntur. In illis appetitus saturitatem, saturitas fastidium generat; in istis autem appetitus saturitatem, saturitas appetitum parit. Augent enim spirituales deliciae desiderium in mente dum satiant, quia quanto magis earum sapor percipitur, eo amplius cognoscitur quod amplius ametur. Potest autem quod ait: In quem desiderant angeli prospicere, etiam de Spiritu sancto recte intelligi, de quo promiserat: Qui evangelizaverunt in vos Spiritu sancto misso de coelo. Namque hoc beatus Petrus ad gratiam referre divinae pietatis voluit, quod eum qui tantae majestatis est et gloriae, ut semper ejus visio sicut et ipsius Patris et Filii (quia nimirum una eademque est) desideretur ab angelis in coelis, causa salutis humanae ad terras Spiritum miserit, atque illustrandis fidelium mentibus infuderit.
On whom the angels desire to look. It is certain that so great a later glory followed for the man Jesus Christ, who suffered for us, that even the angelic powers in heaven, though they are perfected in eternal happiness, rejoiced always to behold not only the immortal magnificence of His Godhead but also the brightness of the humanity He assumed. But we must consider more carefully how he can say that the angels desire to look on Him, since desire is not usually spoken of a thing we have, but of one we wish to have; for no one desires what he has. How then do they desire to look on Christ, whose face they never cease to behold, unless the contemplation of the divine presence so beatifies the citizens of the heavenly homeland that, in a manner beyond our telling, they are both always filled with the sight of His glory and always insatiably hunger for His sweetness as though it were new? For, as blessed Pope Gregory says, wonderfully distinguishing the delights of the heart from those of the body, bodily delights, when they are not possessed, kindle a strong desire for themselves, but when they are possessed and eaten, they at once turn the eater to disgust through satiety. Spiritual delights, on the contrary, when they are not possessed, are held in distaste; but when they are possessed, they are desired; and the more the eater feeds on them, the more he hungers for them, as the hungry man feeds on them the more. In the former, appetite breeds satiety and satiety disgust; but in the latter, appetite breeds satiety and satiety appetite. For spiritual delights increase desire in the mind even while they satisfy it, because the more their savour is perceived, the more it is known what is to be loved more. And what he says, On whom the angels desire to look, can also rightly be understood of the Holy Spirit, of whom he had made promise: Who have preached the Gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven. For blessed Peter wished to refer this to the grace of the divine goodness: that Him who is of such majesty and glory that the sight of Him, as of the Father Himself and of the Son (since it is indeed one and the same), is always desired by the angels in heaven, He sent to earth as the Spirit for the sake of man's salvation, and poured into the minds of the faithful to enlighten them.
Propter quod succincti lumbos mentis vestrae, etc. Quia vobis, inquit, hoc promissum est, ut revelationem Jesu Christi videatis post hanc vitam, quam nunc angeli vident, quanto major est gratia vobis promissa, tanto amplius digni esse curate ut eam percipere valeatis. Succingit lumbos mentis, qui hanc et a cogitatione restringit. Et recte dicit: Sperate in eam quae offertur vobis gratiam in revelatione Jesu Christi, quia qui succinctis lumbis mentis, id est, mente et corpore castus, Domini adventum exspectat, merito, quando revelatur, sperat. Nam
Wherefore, having girded the loins of your mind, etc. Since this, he says, has been promised you, that after this life you shall see the revelation of Jesus Christ which the angels now see, the greater the grace promised you, the more take care to be worthy to receive it. He girds the loins of the mind who restrains this [loin] even in thought. And rightly he says: Hope for the grace that is offered you at the revelation of Jesus Christ, because he who with the loins of his mind girded, that is, chaste in mind and body, awaits the coming of the Lord, rightly hopes when He is revealed. For
Editors' notes and page, col. 45
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- running head: 45 | IN PRIMAM EPISTOLAM PETRI. (running head across page cols 45–46; right half beyond the crop)
- marginal letters: A ‹coelo. Unde patet quia›; B ‹siderent angeli prospicere›; C ‹bentur, in desiderio sunt›; D ‹una eademque est) desideretur›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Column opens mid-sentence ('de | coelo'), continuing col. 44. 'illic adhuc venturam, isti jam venisse' set as printed. Gregory's words are printed in roman without quotation marks (not italic); set as part of the paragraph. UNSURE: 'qui hanc et a cogitatione restringit' — 'hanc' is clearly printed but its antecedent is unclear (lumbos is masculine; perhaps luxuriam or carnem understood); English supplies [loin] tentatively. Column ends at 'Nam'; continues in col. 46.
qui Domino se placere non novit, merito spe bonorum, carnes ne citius adveniat, metuit.
he who does not know himself to be pleasing to the Lord rightly fears, lacking the hope of good things, lest He come too soon.
Quasi filii obedientiae, etc. Recte filios obedientiae vult illos existere, quos in praefatione in obedientiam et aspersionem sanguinis Jesu Christi dixerat electos.
As children of obedience, etc. Rightly he wishes those to be children of obedience whom in his opening he had called elect unto obedience and the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ.
Sed secundum eum qui vocavit vos sanctum, etc. Huic simile est illud in Evangelio: Estote igitur vos perfecti, sicut et Pater vester coelestis perfectus est (Matth. V).
But according to Him who has called you, who is holy, etc. Like this is that saying in the Gospel: Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect (Matt. 5:48).
Et si Patrem invocatis eum. D⟨i⟩cendo in oratione: Pater noster, qui es in coelis (Matth. VI).
And if you invoke Him as Father. By saying in prayer: Our Father, who art in heaven (Matt. 6:9).
Qui sine acceptione personarum judicat, etc. Non ut pater carnalis qui filiis peccantibus indulgentius parcere quam famulis consuevit. Pater autem Deus tantae justitiae et pietatis est, ut et servos humiles atque obedientes, imo et hostes sibi manum dantes mutet in adoptionem filiorum, et rursum eos qui filiorum nomine videntur honorabiliores, pro culpa inobedientiae prorsus haereditatis perpetuae reddat exsortes.
Who judges without respect of persons, etc. Not like a fleshly father, who is accustomed to spare his sons more indulgently when they sin than his servants. But God the Father is of such justice and goodness that He changes into the adoption of sons both servants who are humble and obedient, and even enemies who yield to Him; and on the other hand, for the fault of disobedience, He makes those who seem more honourable by the name of sons wholly without share in the everlasting inheritance.
In timore incolatus vestri tempore conversamini. No videlicet per desidiam et negligentiam tanto Patre existatis indigni, et dum tempore praesentis incolatus securi sitis, ad promissam patriae beatitudinem pervenire non possitis.
Conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your sojourning. That is, lest through sloth and negligence you prove unworthy of so great a Father, and, while you are careless in the time of your present sojourning, you be unable to come to the promised blessedness of the homeland.
Scientes quod non corruptibilibus, auro vel argento, etc. Quanto majus est pretium quo redempti estis a corruptione vitae carnalis, tanto amplius timere debetis, ne forte ad corruptelam vitiorum revertendo animum vestri Redemptoris offendatis.
Knowing that not with corruptible things, gold or silver, etc. The greater the price by which you were redeemed from the corruption of the fleshly life, the more you ought to fear lest by returning to the corruption of vices you offend the mind of your Redeemer.
Renati non ex semine corruptibili, etc. Tale est in Evangelio Joannis: His qui credunt in nomine ejus, qui non ex sanguinibus, neque ex voluntate carnis, neque ex voluntate viri, sed ex Deo nati sunt (Joan. I). Sicut ergo incorruptibile est pretium dominicae passionis quo redempti sumus, ita etiam incorruptibile est sacramentum fontis sacri quo renascimur. Quae ita sibi invicem connectuntur, ut unum nobis sine altero salutem conferre nequeat. Quia nimirum Dominus ita nos tempore Incarnationis suae suo sacro sanguine simul omnes redemit, ut nos quoque nostro tempore viritim per regenerationem baptismi, ad consortium ejusdem regenerationis pervenire debeamus. De qua regeneratione bene dicitur quia non ex semine corruptibili, sed per verbum Dei vivi et permanentis in aeternum agatur, ut hinc colligatur quia sicut ex semine corruptibili caro quae corrumpitur nascitur, sic per aquam verb⟨o⟩ Dei consecratam vita nobis quae fidem nesciat tribuitur. Quod et apte prophetico astruit testimonio, subjiciens:
Born again not of corruptible seed, etc. Such is the saying in the Gospel of John: To those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:12–13). As therefore the price of the Lord's passion by which we were redeemed is incorruptible, so too the sacrament of the sacred font by which we are reborn is incorruptible. And these are so joined to one another that the one cannot confer salvation on us without the other. For truly the Lord, in the time of His Incarnation, redeemed us all together with His sacred blood in such a way that we too, each in our own time, must come one by one through the regeneration of baptism to share in that same regeneration. Of this regeneration it is well said that it is wrought not of corruptible seed but through the word of God who lives and abides for ever, so that from this it may be gathered that, as flesh which is corrupted is born of corruptible seed, so through water consecrated by the word of God a life is given us that knows no end. This he aptly confirms with a prophetic testimony, adding:
Quia omnis caro ut fenum, etc. Sicut ergo corruptibilis corruptibilem caro generat carnem, ita verbum Domini, quod manet in aeternum, aeternam his quos ex aqua recreat in carne simul et anima vitam dat. Hujus testimonii sanctus Cyprianus, in libro de Habitu Virginum, ita meminit: « Clamat, inquit, Isaiae Deus: Omn⟨i⟩s caro fenum, et omnis
For all flesh is as grass, etc. As therefore corruptible flesh begets corruptible flesh, so the word of the Lord, which abides for ever, gives eternal life in flesh and soul together to those whom it re-creates from water. Saint Cyprian, in his book On the Dress of Virgins, recalls this testimony thus: "God," he says, "cries out through Isaiah: All flesh is grass, and all
Editors' notes and page, col. 46
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- running head: IN PRIMAM EPISTOLAM PETRI. | 46 (running head across page cols 45–46)
- marginal letters: A ‹qui Domino se placere›; B ‹tantae justitiae et pietatis›; C ‹tendo animum vestri Redemptoris›; D ‹non ex semine corruptibili, sed›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Column opens mid-sentence after 'Nam' (col. 45). 'fidem nesciat' read as printed (letter looks like d); the sense requires finem, English follows the intended reading. 'Isaiae Deus' set as printed (genitive; Cyprian's sense 'through Isaiah'). Damaged type restored: D⟨i⟩cendo, verb⟨o⟩, Omn⟨i⟩s. Column ends mid-quotation at 'et omnis'; continues in col. 47.
claritas ejus ut flos feni. Aruit fenum, et flos decidit, sermo autem Domini manet in aeternum. » Neminem Christianum decet, et maxime virginem non deceat, claritatem ullam computare carnis et honorem, sed solum appetere sermonem Dei, bona in aeternum mansura complecti. Aut si in carne sit gloriandum, tunc plane quando in nominis confessione cruci⟨a⟩tur, quando fortior femina viris torquentibus invenitur: quando ignes, aut cruces, aut ferrum, aut bestias patitur, ut coronetur. Illa sunt carnis pretiosa monilia, illa corporis ornamenta meliora. Non autem turbet lectorem quod in hac prophetae sententia, ille claritatem, nostra Translatio gloriam posuit, namque ex uno Graeco, quod est δόξα, utrumque solet Latine transferri.
its brightness as the flower of grass. The grass has withered, and the flower has fallen, but the word of the Lord abides for ever (Isa. 40:6–8). It befits no Christian, and least of all should it befit a virgin, to count any brightness and honour of the flesh, but only to seek the word of God and to embrace goods that will abide for ever. Or if one must glory in the flesh, then surely it is when the flesh is tortured in confessing the Name, when a woman is found stronger than the men who torture her: when she suffers fire, or crosses, or the sword, or beasts, that she may be crowned. These are the precious jewels of the flesh, these the better ornaments of the body." Let it not trouble the reader that in this saying of the prophet he put "brightness" where our Translation put "glory"; for both are commonly rendered in Latin from the one Greek word δόξα.
CAPUT II.
CHAPTER II.
Deponentes igitur omnem malitiam et omnem dolum, etc. Quia renati estis, inquit, nuper, et filii Dei per baptismum facti, tales modo estote per studium bonae conversationis, quales recenter editi infantes per naturam innoxiae aetatis, ignari videlicet malitiae et doli, simulare, invidere, detrahere, aliisque hujusmodi vitiis mancipari omnimodis ignorantes. Qui sicut lac maternum naturaliter desiderant, ut ad salutem crescere atque ad panem comedendum pervenire valeant, ita et vos simplicia fidei rudimenta, primo de Ecclesiae matris uberibus quaerite, hoc est de utriusque Testamenti doctoribus, qui divina eloquia vel scripsere, vel etiam viva vobis voce praedicant, ut bene discendo perveniatis ad refectionem Panis vivi qui de coelo desce⟨n⟩dit, hoc est per sacramenta dominicae incarnationis, quibus renati estis et quibus nutriti, perveniatis ad contemplationem divinae majestatis.
Laying aside therefore all malice and all guile, etc. Since you have lately been reborn, he says, and made sons of God through baptism, be now through the pursuit of a good way of life such as newly born infants are through the nature of their harmless age: ignorant, that is, of malice and guile, knowing nothing at all of pretending, envying, slandering, or being enslaved to other vices of this kind. And as they naturally desire their mother's milk, so that they may grow to health and come to eating bread, so you too should seek the simple rudiments of the faith first from the breasts of Mother Church, that is, from the teachers of both Testaments, who either wrote the divine words or even preach them to you by the living voice, so that by learning well you may come to the refreshment of the living Bread who came down from heaven; that is, through the sacraments of the Lord's incarnation, by which you have been reborn and by which you are nourished, you may come to the contemplation of the divine majesty.
Rationabile et sine dolo lac concupiscite, etc. Praecepto concupiscendi lac verbi tangit eos qui ad audiendas lectiones sacras inviti et fastidiosi adveniunt, ignari illius sitis et esuriei de qua Dominus ait: Beati qui esuriunt et sitiunt justitiam (Matth. V). Ideoque tardius ad perfectum salutis crementum pervenientes, quo possint solido verbi cibo refici, id est, arcana cognoscere divina, vel majora facere bona.
Desire the rational milk without guile, etc. By the command to desire the milk of the word he touches those who come to hear the sacred readings unwillingly and with distaste, ignorant of that thirst and hunger of which the Lord says: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice (Matt. 5:6). And so they come more slowly to the full growth of salvation, by which they could be refreshed with the solid food of the word, that is, come to know the divine mysteries or do greater good works.
Si tamen gustatis, quoniam dulcis est Dominus. Hoc (inquit) pacto dimissa atque emendata cordis ves⟨t⟩ri malitia et spurcitia, vitalem Christi alimoniam concupiscite, si divinae dulcedinis quanta sit mul⟨t⟩itudo sapitis. Nam qui nihil de superna suavitate animo gustat, non est mirum si hunc terrestribus illecebris sordidare non evitat. Bene autem Psalmista gustare admonet quam dulcis sit Dominus, quia sunt nonnulli qui de Deo sentiunt, non quod dulce interius sapiat, sed quod excussum exterius sonet. Qui etsi secreta quaedam intelligendo percipiunt, eorum dulcedinem experiri non possunt. Et si noverunt quomodo sunt, ignorant, ut dixi, quomodo sapiunt. Et quoniam in ipso psalmo de quo hunc versiculum assumpsit, praemissum est: Accedite ad illum et illuminamini (Psal. XXXIII), recte beatus Petrus subdidit, dicens:
If indeed you have tasted that the Lord is sweet. On this condition, he says, having put away and amended the malice and filth of your heart, desire the life-giving nourishment of Christ, if you have a taste of how great is the abundance of the divine sweetness. For it is no wonder if he who tastes nothing of the heavenly sweetness in his mind does not avoid defiling it with earthly enticements. And the Psalmist rightly bids us taste how sweet the Lord is, because there are some who think about God, not what has an inward sweet savour, but what sounds outwardly when struck out. Though they grasp certain secrets by understanding, they cannot experience their sweetness. And if they know how things are, they do not know, as I have said, how they taste. And since in the very psalm from which he took this verse it is said just before: Come to Him and be enlightened (Ps. 33:6), blessed Peter rightly went on, saying:
Editors' notes and page, col. 47
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- running head: 47 | BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS II. SE[CT. I. — EXEGETICA GENUINA.] (head runs across page cols 47–48; right part not in the crop)
- marginal letters: A ‹claritas ejus ut flos feni›; B ‹CAPUT II. / Deponentes igitur› (letter sits in the gutter at the chapter heading's level); C ‹nem Panis vivi qui de coelo›; D ‹vestri malitia et spurcitia›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Column opens mid-quotation (Cyprian, De habitu virginum, quoting Isa. 40:6–8) continuing col. 46. Damaged type restored: cruci⟨a⟩tur, desce⟨n⟩dit, ves⟨t⟩ri, mul⟨t⟩itudo. 'Hoc (inquit)' parentheses printed. 'hunc ... sordidare' set as printed (hunc presumably animum). Column ends at a paragraph end ('dicens:'); col. 48 already set.
Ad quem accedentes lapidem vivum, etc. Et hoc de lapide testimonium sumit ex psalmo, ubi scriptum est: Lapidem quem reprobaverunt aedificantes, hic factus est in caput anguli (Psal. CXVII). Quod ne quis Judaico sensu putaret de materiali lapide a propheta cantatum, qui in aedificatione terrenae cujuslibet domus contra hominum dispositionem divino judicio imponeretur, consulte addidit vivum: Ad quem accedentes, inquiens, lapidem vivum, ut de Christo dictum significet. Qui recte lapis appellatus est, qui in carne veniens, ad aedificationem sanctae Ecclesiae, quo hanc confirmaret, sese inserere dignatus est. Vivus autem qui dicere potuit: Ego sum via, veritas et vita (Joan. XIV). Qui ab hominibus reprobatus est, cum dicerent: Non habemus regem nisi Caesarem (Joan. XIX). A Deo autem electus, cum ait ipse: Ego autem constitutus sum rex ab eo (Psal. II), et caetera. Et honorificatus, quando post mortem crucis Deus illum exaltavit, et donavit illi nomen quod est super omne nomen (Philip. II), et caetera.
Coming to whom [as] a living stone, etc. And of this stone he takes the testimony from the psalm, where it is written: The stone which the builders rejected, this is become the head of the corner (Ps. 117). Lest anyone should suppose, in a Jewish sense, that this was sung by the prophet of a material stone, which by divine judgement is set, against the arrangement of men, into the building of some earthly house, he advisedly added living: Coming to whom, he says, a living stone — that he might signify it was said of Christ. Who is rightly called a stone, Who, coming in the flesh, deigned to insert Himself into the building of the holy Church, that He might confirm it. And He is living, Who was able to say: I am the way, the truth and the life (John 14). Who was rejected by men, when they said: We have no king but Caesar (John 19). But He was chosen by God, since He Himself says: But I am set up king by Him (Ps. 2), and so forth. And honoured, when, after the death of the cross, God exalted Him, and gave Him a name which is above every name (Phil. 2), and so forth.
Et ipsi tanquam lapides vivi, etc. Superaedificari illos dicit, quia sine Domino nostro Jesu Christo, lapide scilicet vivo, nulla spiritualis aedificatio stare potest. Fundamentum enim aliud nemo potest ponere praeter ipsum (I Cor. III), cujus participatione fideles lapides vivi efficiuntur, qui per infidelitatem lapides mortui fuerant, duri scilicet et insensibiles, quibus merito dicitur: Auferam a vobis cor lapideum, et dabo vobis cor carneum (Ezech. XXXVI). Sed tanquam lapides vivi ad spirituale aedificium aptantur, qui, per discretionem eruditi doctoris amputatis actibus et cogitationibus superfluis, velut ictu quadrantur securis. Et sicut ordines lapidum in pariete portantur alii ab aliis, ita portantur fideles quique a praecedentibus in Ecclesia justis, portant et ipsi sequentes justos per doctrinam et tolerantiam usque ad ultimum justum. Qui cum a prioribus portetur, quem portare debeat ipse sequentem non habebit. Qui autem omne aedificium portat, et ipse a nemine portatur, Dominus est Christus, unde et lapis pretiosus a propheta vocatur in fundamento fundatus. Item vivos lapides appellat electos, ut conatum insinuet bonae intentionis sive actionis eorum, quo praeveniente se ac comitante Dei gratia semper exerceri debeant. Mortui namque, id est, materiales lapides, cum praeparantur aut ponuntur in aedificio, nil ipsi laborem operantis juvare, nil etiam per se nisi cadere possunt, sed quocunque et ubicunque a structore positi fuerint, ita ibidem insensibiliter perdurant, aut elapsi decidunt. Non autem nos beatus Petrus talium lapidum duritiam atque insensibilitatem vult imitari, sed tanquam lapides vivos fundamento Christi superaedificari, ut videlicet juvante nos gratia, sobrie et juste et pie vivendo cooperemur, juxta exemplum ejus qui dicebat: Et gratia ejus in me vacua non fuit, sed plus omnibus illis laboravi (I Cor. XV). Vivus namque lapis in aedificatione sanctae Ecclesiae exstitit, qui ne gratiam Dei frustra videretur accepisse, sedulus laborare contendit. Et ne aliquid ejusdem pii
And you yourselves as living stones, etc. He says that they are to be built up, because without our Lord Jesus Christ — that is, the living stone — no spiritual building can stand. For no one can lay another foundation besides Him (1 Cor. 3), by participation in Whom the faithful are made living stones, who through unbelief had been dead stones — hard, that is, and unfeeling — to whom it is rightly said: I will take away from you the heart of stone, and will give you a heart of flesh (Ezek. 36). But as living stones they are fitted to the spiritual building, who, by the discretion of a learned teacher, with superfluous deeds and thoughts cut away, are squared as it were by the stroke of an axe. And as the courses of stones in a wall are borne one by another, so all the faithful are borne by the just who have gone before them in the Church, and they too, following, bear the just who come after, through teaching and forbearance, even to the last of the just. And he, though he is borne by those before him, will himself have no one following whom he must bear. But He Who bears the whole building, and is Himself borne by no one, is the Lord Christ, whence also He is called by the prophet a precious stone, founded in the foundation. Again he calls the elect living stones, so as to hint at the effort of their good intention or action, by which, with God's grace going before and accompanying, they ought always to be exercised. For dead [stones] — that is, material stones — when they are prepared or set in a building, can neither help at all the labour of the one working, nor do anything of themselves except fall; but wherever and however they have been placed by the builder, there they abide insensibly, or, having slipped, fall down. But the blessed Peter does not wish us to imitate the hardness and insensibility of such stones, but, as living stones, to be built up on the foundation of Christ, so that, with grace helping us, we may work together by living soberly and justly and devoutly, after the example of him who said: And His grace in me was not void, but I laboured more than they all (1 Cor. 15). For a living stone stood in the building of the holy Church, who, lest he should seem to have received the grace of God in vain, strove diligently to labour. And lest any of that same devoted
laboris sibimet tribuisse videretur, vigilanter adjunxit: Non autem ego, sed gratia Dei mecum (Ibid.). Tanquam ergo lapis vivus aedificatur a Christo in domo ejus, quicunque, donante ac juvante ipso, bonis indefessus insistere curat operibus. At qui per gratiam regenerationis sanctae Ecclesiae incorporatus nihil amplius pro sua salute operari studuerit, hic quasi lapis mortuus coelesti prorsus est aedificatione indignus, ideoque abjiciendus divino examine, atque alius qui dignus est loco ejus substituendus, juxta praeceptum Levitici, in quo leprosi domorum lapides a sacerdote inspici, et, si purificari nequiverint, jam inter immundos computari, ac de ordine mundorum lapidum praecipiuntur erui. Superaedificamini, inquit, domos spirituales. Ita illas domos spirituales dicit fieri debere, cum sit una domus Christi ex electis omnibus angelis et hominibus condita, quomodo cum sit una Ecclesia Catholica toto orbe diffusa, saepe pluraliter appellantur ecclesiae propter multifaria scilicet fidelium conventicula, variis tribubus, linguis et populis discreta. Unde dicit ipse: Ego Jesus misi angelum meum testificari vobis in ecclesiis. Nec praetereundum quod quidam codices habent in numero singulari, Superaedificamini, domus spiritualis; alii: Sursum aedificamini in domum spiritualem. In quo nimirum unitas ipsa totius sanctae Ecclesiae apertius commendatur. Cum autem dixisset: Superaedificamini domos spirituales, sive domus spiritualis, addidit:
labour he should seem to have ascribed to himself, he watchfully added: Yet not I, but the grace of God with me (ibid.). Whoever, then, by His gift and help, takes care to persist unweariedly in good works is built by Christ in His house as a living stone. But he who, incorporated by the grace of regeneration into the holy Church, shall have striven to do no more for his own salvation, is, as it were, a dead stone, altogether unworthy of the heavenly building, and is therefore to be cast out by the divine scrutiny, and another who is worthy is to be substituted in his place — according to the precept of Leviticus, in which the stones of leprous houses are ordered to be examined by the priest, and, if they cannot be purified, to be counted at once among the unclean, and to be plucked out from the order of the clean stones. Be built up, he says, spiritual houses. He says that they ought to become spiritual houses, although there is one house of Christ, built of all the elect angels and men, in the same way as, although there is one Catholic Church spread through the whole world, they are often called churches in the plural, on account, that is, of the manifold assemblies of the faithful, distinguished by various tribes, tongues and peoples. Whence He Himself says: I Jesus have sent my angel to testify to you in the churches. Nor is it to be passed over that certain codices have it in the singular number, Be built up, a spiritual house; others: Be built upward into a spiritual house. In which, indeed, the very unity of the whole holy Church is the more plainly commended. Now when he had said: Be built up spiritual houses, or a spiritual house, he added:
Sacerdotium sanctum. Quo manifestissime nos hortatur ut sacerdotium sanctum ipsi existentes superaedificemur super fundamentum Christi. Omnem ergo Ecclesiam sacerdotium sanctum appellat, quod sola domus Aaron in lege nomen et officium habuit. Quia nimirum omnes summi sacerdotis membra sumus, cuncti oleo laetitiae signamur, universis autem congruit quod subdidit:
A holy priesthood. By which he most plainly exhorts us that, being ourselves a holy priesthood, we may be built up upon the foundation of Christ. He calls the whole Church, therefore, a holy priesthood — [an honour] which under the law the house of Aaron alone had by name and office. Because, indeed, we are all members of the high priest, and all are sealed with the oil of gladness; and to all it is fitting what he adds:
Offerre spirituales hostias, acceptabiles Deo per Jesum Christum. Spirituales autem hostias opera nostra, eleemosynas et preces dicit, ad distinctionem carnalium in lege victimarum. Quod autem in conclusione dicit, per Jesum Christum, ad cuncta quae praemiserat pertinet, quia per ipsius gratiam et superaedificamur in illo per architectos sapientes, hoc est ministros Novi Testamenti, et domus spirituales efficimur per Spiritum ejus, contra pluvias, ventos, fulmina tentationum muniti. Et sacerdotio sancto participare, et boni aliquid acceptabile Deo gerere, non nisi per ipsum valemus. Sicut enim palmites non possunt ferre fructum a semetipsis, nisi permanserint in vite; sic nec vos (inquit) nisi in me manseritis.
To offer spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. By spiritual sacrifices he means our works, alms and prayers, to distinguish them from the carnal victims of the law. And what he says in conclusion, through Jesus Christ, belongs to all that he had said before, because it is through His grace both that we are built up in Him by wise architects — that is, the ministers of the New Testament — and that we are made spiritual houses through His Spirit, fortified against the rains, winds and lightnings of temptations. And we are able to share in the holy priesthood, and to do anything good acceptable to God, only through Him. For as the branches cannot bear fruit of themselves unless they abide in the vine, so neither (He says) [can you], unless you abide in me.
Propter quod continet Scriptura: Ecce pono in Sion lapidem, etc. Hoc testimonium de Isaia ponit, ad confirmandum hoc quod praemiserat: Ad quem accedentes lapidem vivum, astruens et affirmans Dominum Salvatorem propter firmitatem suam lapidem a prophetis vocari. Et quod addidit:
Wherefore the Scripture contains: Behold I lay in Sion a stone, etc. This testimony he sets down from Isaiah, to confirm what he had said before: Coming to whom [as] a living stone — establishing and affirming that the Lord the Saviour, on account of His firmness, is called a stone by the prophets. And what he added:
Et omnis qui credit in illum non confundetur. Propter hoc ponit quod dixerat: Et vos tanquam lapides
And whosoever believes in Him shall not be confounded. On this account he sets down what he had said: And you as stones
Editors' notes and page, col. 49
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vivi superaedificamini. Pulchre autem convenit huic prophetiae et apostoli sermo quo dicitur: accedentes ad lapidem vivum vel credentes in eo, non confundemini; illiusque psalmi versiculo, in quo cum dictum esset: Accedite ad eum et illuminamini (Psal. XXXIII), continuo subjunctum est, Et vultus vestri non erubescent (Ibid.). Cui simile est quod Joannes ait: Et nunc, filioli, manete in eo, ut cum apparuerit, habeamus fiduciam, et non confundamur ab eo in adventu ejus (I Joan. II).
living, be built up. And fittingly the apostle's word too agrees with this prophecy, the word in which it is said: coming to the living stone, or believing in Him, you shall not be confounded; and with that verse of the psalm, in which, when it had been said: Come to Him and be enlightened (Ps. 33), it is at once subjoined, And your faces shall not blush (ibid.). To which is like what John says: And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be confounded by Him at His coming (1 John 2).
Vobis igitur honor credentibus. Ille nimirum honor, ut non confundamini ab eo in adventu ejus, sed, sicut ipse ait: Si quis mihi ministraverit, honorificabit eum Pater meus (Joan. XII).
To you therefore who believe is the honour. That, doubtless, is the honour: that you should not be confounded before Him at His coming, but, as He Himself says: If any man minister to me, my Father will honour him (John 12).
Non credentibus autem, lapis quem reprobaverunt aedificantes. Ut sicut illum reprobaverunt cum aedificarent actus suos, nolentes eum ponere in fundamento cordis sui, ita et ipsi reprobentur ab eo in adventu ejus, nolente illo tunc eos qui se reprobaverunt in aedificationem accipere domus suae, quae est in coelis. Et haec distinctio honoris credentium, non credentium autem reprobatio hucusque pertingit. Hinc item de credentibus infert:
But to them that do not believe, the stone which the builders rejected. So that, just as they rejected Him when they were building up their own deeds, being unwilling to set Him in the foundation of their heart, so they too may be rejected by Him at His coming, He then being unwilling to receive into the building of His house, which is in heaven, those who rejected Him. And this distinction — of honour for those who believe, and rejection for those who do not — reaches thus far. Hence, again, he infers concerning believers:
Hic factus est in caput anguli. Quia videlicet sicut lapis angularis duos parietes conjungit, ita Dominus Judaeorum plebem et gentium in una sibi fidei societate copulavit. Ac mox de infidelibus addit:
This is made the head of the corner. Because, namely, as the corner-stone joins two walls, so the Lord united the people of the Jews and of the gentiles to Himself in one fellowship of faith. And straightway concerning unbelievers he adds:
Et lapis offensionis, et petra scandali. Hinc et Paulus: Nos, inquit, praedicamus Christum crucifixum. Judaeis quidem scandalum, gentibus autem stultitiam (I Cor. I).
And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of scandal. Whence Paul too: We, he says, preach Christ crucified: to the Jews indeed a stumbling-block, and to the gentiles foolishness (1 Cor. 1).
His qui offendunt verbo, etc. Offendunt verbo eo ipso quod verbum Dei audire eos contigit. Offendunt animo, dum nolunt credere quod audiunt. Quorum stultitiam exaggerando subjecit: Nec credunt in quod et positi sunt. Quia in hoc positi, id est, in hoc per naturam facti sunt homines, ut credant Deo, et ejus voluntati obtemperent. Salomone attestante cum ait: Deum time, et mandata ejus serva, hoc est omnis homo (Eccle. XII). Id est, in hoc naturaliter factus est omnis homo, ut Deum timeat, ejusque mandatis obsecundet. Quidam Codices habent: In quo et positi sunt, quod intelligitur juxta hoc quod Paulus de Deo loquens ait: In ipso enim vivimus, et movemur, et sumus (Act. XVII).
To them that stumble at the word, etc. They stumble at the word by the very fact that it has befallen them to hear the word of God. They stumble in mind, while they refuse to believe what they hear. Heightening their folly, he adds: Neither do they believe in that unto which also they were appointed. For it is in this that they were appointed — that is, it is for this that men were made by nature, that they should believe God and obey His will — Solomon attesting when he says: Fear God, and keep His commandments; this is every man (Eccl. 12). That is, every man is by nature made for this, that he should fear God and obey His commandments. Certain codices have: In which also they were appointed, which is understood according to what Paul, speaking of God, says: For in Him we live, and move, and are (Acts 17).
Vos autem genus electum, regale sacerdotium, etc. Hoc laudis testimonium quondam antiquo Dei populo per Moysen datum est, quod nunc recte gentibus dat apostolus Petrus, quia videlicet in Christum crediderunt, qui velut lapis angularis in eam quam in se Israel habuerat salutem gentes adunavit. Quas genus electum vocat propter fidem, ut distinguat ab eis qui lapidem vivum reprobando facti sunt ipsi reprobi. Regale autem sacerdotium, quia illius corpori sunt uniti, qui rex summus et sacerdos est verus, regnum suis tribuens ut rex, et ut pontifex eorum peccata sui sanguinis hostia mundans. Regale sacerdotium eos nominat, ut et regnum sperare perpetuum, et
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, etc. This testimony of praise was once given through Moses to the ancient people of God, and the apostle Peter now rightly gives it to the gentiles, because, namely, they have believed in Christ, Who like a corner-stone has united the gentiles into that salvation which Israel had held in itself. These he calls a chosen race on account of faith, to distinguish them from those who, by rejecting the living stone, have themselves been made reprobate. And a royal priesthood, because they are united to the body of Him Who is the supreme king and the true priest, bestowing the kingdom on His own as king, and as pontiff cleansing their sins by the victim of His own blood. He names them a royal priesthood, that they may remember both to hope for an everlasting kingdom and
hostias immaculatae conversationis Deo semper offerre, meminerint. Gens quoque sancta et populus acquisitionis vocantur, juxta id quod apostolus Paulus prophetae sententiam exponens dicit: Justus autem meus ex fide vivit; quod si subtraxerit se, non placebit animae meae; nos autem, inquit, non sumus subtractionis in perditionem, sed fidei in acquisitionem animae (Hebr. X). Et in Actibus apostolorum, Vos Spiritus sanctus posuit episcopos regere Ecclesiam Domini, quam acquisivit sanguine suo (Act. XX). Populus ergo acquisitionis facti sumus in sanguine nostri Redemptoris, quod erat quondam populus Israel redemptus sanguine agni de Aegypto. Unde et in sequenti quoque versiculo mystice veteris recordatus historiae, et hanc etiam novo Dei populo spiritualiter docet implendam, dicens:
always to offer to God the victims of an unstained way of life. They are also called a holy nation and a people of acquisition, in accordance with what the apostle Paul says, expounding the prophet's saying: But my just one lives by faith; and if he withdraws himself, he will not please my soul; but we, he says, are not of withdrawal unto perdition, but of faith unto the acquisition of the soul (Heb. 10). And in the Acts of the apostles: The Holy Spirit has placed you as bishops to rule the Church of the Lord, which He acquired with His own blood (Acts 20). We have therefore become a people of acquisition in the blood of our Redeemer, as the people Israel was once redeemed from Egypt by the blood of the lamb. Hence also in the following verse, mystically recalling the ancient history, he teaches that it too is to be fulfilled spiritually by the new people of God, saying:
Ut virtutes annuntietis ejus, etc. Sicut enim hi qui de Aegyptia servitute liberati sunt per Moysen carmen triumphale post transitum maris Rubri et demersum Pharaonis exercitum Domino decantarunt, ita et nos oportet post acceptam in baptismo remissionem peccatorum dignas beneficiis coelestibus rependere gratias. Namque Aegyptii, qui populum Dei affligebant, qui etiam tenebrae vel tribulationes interpretantur, apte per sequentia nos peccata, sed in baptismate deleta, significant. Liberatio quoque filiorum Israel, et ad promissam olim patriam perductio, congruit mysterio nostrae redemptionis, per quam ad lucem supernae mansionis, illustrante nos ac ducente, Christi gratia, tendimus: cujus lucem gratiae etiam illa nubis et ignis columna monstravit; quae eos et in toto itinere illo a tenebris defendit noctium, et ad promissas patriae sedes inenarrabili calle perduxit.
That you may declare His virtues, etc. For just as those who were freed from Egyptian servitude through Moses sang to the Lord a triumphal song after the crossing of the Red Sea and the drowning of Pharaoh's army, so we too, after receiving the remission of sins in baptism, ought to render thanks worthy of the heavenly benefits. For the Egyptians, who afflicted the people of God, and who are also interpreted as darkness or tribulations, fitly signify the sins that pursue us, but that are blotted out in baptism. The liberation of the children of Israel, too, and their leading into the fatherland once promised, accords with the mystery of our redemption, through which we press on towards the light of the heavenly dwelling, the grace of Christ illumining and leading us: the light of which grace that pillar of cloud and fire also showed, which both defended them from the darkness of the nights on that whole journey and led them by an indescribable path to the promised seats of the fatherland.
Qui aliquando non populus Dei, nunc autem populus Dei, etc. Indicat aperte per hos versiculos quia his qui de gentibus ad fidem venerant hanc scripsit Epistolam, qui quondam alienati a conversatione populi Dei, nunc per gratiam fidei populo sunt ejus adunati, et misericordiam quam sperare non noverant adepti (Ephes. II). Assumit autem eos de propheta Osee, qui de vocatione gentium praecinens: Vocabo, inquit, non plebem meam plebem meam, et non misericordiam consecutam misericordiam consecutam. Et erit, in loco ubi dictum est eis: Non plebs mea vos, ibi vocabuntur filii Dei vivi (Ose. I, II).
Who once were not the people of God, but now the people of God, etc. By these verses he plainly indicates that he wrote this Epistle to those who had come to the faith from among the gentiles, who, once estranged from the citizenship of the people of God, are now, through the grace of faith, united to His people, and have obtained the mercy which they did not know how to hope for (Eph. 2). And he takes this from the prophet Hosea, who, foretelling the calling of the gentiles: I will call, he says, that not my people, my people; and her that had not obtained mercy, one that has obtained mercy. And it shall be, in the place where it was said to them: You are not my people, there they shall be called the sons of the living God (Hos. 1, 2).
Charissimi, obsecro vos tanquam advenas et peregrinos, etc. Hucusque beatus Petrus generaliter Ecclesiam instituit, explicans vel beneficia quibus ⟨n⟩os divina pietas ad salutem vocare, vel dona quibus aliquando Judaeos, nunc autem nos honorare dignatus est. Hinc diversas fidelium personas solerter hortatur, ne se tanta sancti Spiritus gratia carnaliter vivendo reddant indignos. Ne qui regali ac sacerdotali vocabulo sunt insigniti, vitiorum malitia subacti, a condonatae vel promissae olim sibi nobilitatis gloria degenerent. Itaque primo liberos et servos, deinde mulieres et viros specialiter alloquitur, ac post interlocutionem generalis exhortationis seniores quoque et adolescentes qualiter sese agere debeant ostendit.
Beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, etc. Up to this point blessed Peter has instructed the Church in general, setting out either the benefits by which the divine goodness has deigned to call us to salvation, or the gifts with which it deigned once to honour the Jews, but now us. From here he skilfully exhorts the different persons among the faithful, lest by living carnally they render themselves unworthy of so great a grace of the Holy Spirit; lest those who have been distinguished by the royal and priestly name, subdued by the malice of the vices, fall away from the glory of the nobility once granted or promised to them. And so he addresses first the free and the servants, then wives and husbands in particular, and after an interlude of general exhortation he shows how the elders too and the young ought to conduct themselves.
Editors' notes and page, col. 51
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- running head: 51 | BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS II. SE[CT. I. — EXEGETICA GENUINA.] (head runs across page cols 51–52; right part not in the crop)
- marginal letters: A ‹hostias immaculatae conversationis›; B ‹docet implendam, dicens› (letter sits in the gutter at that line's level); C ‹Christi gratia, tendimus / illa nubis›; D ‹ibi vocabuntur / Charissimi›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Column set top to foot (Q1 completed the last paragraph, 'Charissimi … ostendit', which the imported reading had stopped short of). 'os-/tendit' split across the column break set whole at the end of 51; its tail removed from the start of col. 52. Damaged type restored: ⟨n⟩os. 'vocare' set as printed.
Apte autem liberos docet a carnalibus abstinere desideriis, quia solet libertas vitae remissioris majora illecebrarum titillantium tolerare pericula, quae militant adversus animam. Quia dum concupiscentiis blandientibus caro enerviter subjugatur, jam vitiorum exercitus firmiter adversus animam armatur. Quos competenter advenas vocat et peregrinos, ut eo minus terrenis rebus animam supponant, quo se patriam in coelis habere meminerint. Namque hoc distare in hac vita inter electos et reprobos solet, quod electi peregrini nunc et exsules patriam exspectant in futuro, tantoque minus in praesenti gaudiis delectantur caducis, quanto futura sine fine gaudia se sperant accipere, et in aeternum regnare cum Christo. At vero reprobi hic habent patriam, cujus solum vitae desideriis norunt inhiare, ideoque post hanc vitam in exsilium relegabuntur perpetuum, ubi cunctis carentes voluptatibus sola in tormentis patiantur adversa.
Fittingly, moreover, he teaches the free to abstain from carnal desires, because the freedom of a more relaxed life is wont to bear greater dangers from tickling enticements, which war against the soul. For while the flesh is feebly subjugated by flattering lusts, at once the army of the vices is firmly armed against the soul. He fittingly calls them strangers and pilgrims, so that they may subject the soul the less to earthly things, the more they remember that they have their homeland in heaven. For this is wont to be the difference in this life between the elect and the reprobate: that the elect, as pilgrims and exiles now, await their homeland in the future, and take the less delight in the fleeting joys of the present, the more they hope to receive joys without end in the future, and to reign with Christ for ever. But the reprobate have their homeland here, and know how to gape after the desires of this life alone; and therefore after this life they will be banished into perpetual exile, where, lacking all pleasures, they will suffer only adversities in torments.
Ut in eo quod detractant de vobis, etc. Plerumque contigit ut pagani qui fidem Christianorum vituperabant, quia deos suos dereliquissent, postmodum considerantes castam eorum conversationem et invictum in Christo animum, cessarent eis detrahere, magisque Deum glorificare ac laudare inciperent, qui bonitate ac justitia cultorum suorum bonus esse probaretur et justus. Glorificent (inquit) Deum in die visitationis, hoc est in tempore retributionis, quanta sit vobis gloria per Deum domanda, jam nunc agnoscant increduli, cum vos instanter inter obstantia pericula illum sequi perspexerint.
That in that wherein they speak against you, etc. It often happened that pagans who reviled the faith of the Christians because they had forsaken their gods, afterwards, considering their chaste conduct and their spirit unconquered in Christ, ceased to speak against them, and rather began to glorify and praise God, Who was proved good and just by the goodness and justice of His worshippers. Let them glorify (he says) God in the day of visitation: that is, in the time of recompense; let the unbelievers even now recognize how great a glory is to be given you by God, when they have seen you following Him earnestly amid opposing dangers.
Subjecti igitur estote omni humanae creaturae propter Deum. Omni humanae creaturae dicit, omni dignitati hominum, omni personae, omni principatui, cui nos divina dispositio subdi voluerit. Hoc est enim quod ait: Propter Deum, quia non est potestas nisi a Deo. Et qui potestati resistit, Dei ordinationi resistit (Rom. XIII). Quam creaturam subsequenter exponit, adjungens:
Be subject therefore to every human creature for God's sake. He says "to every human creature": to every dignity of men, to every person, to every principality to which the divine disposition has willed us to be subject. For this is what he says: For God's sake, because there is no power but from God. And he that resists the power resists the ordinance of God (Rom. 13). Which creature he next sets out, adding:
Sive regi quasi praecellenti, etc. Ideo regi tantum ac ducibus, non autem et dominis dicit, quia in hoc loco illos specialiter, ut praefati sumus, instruit qui sunt domini servorum. Subsequenter vero et servos quomodo dominis famulentur admonet. Docet ergo fideles famulos videlicet aeterni Regis, etiam mundi potestatibus subdi, ne vel in hoc fidei et religioni Christianae possit detrahi, quod per eam humanae conditionis jura turbentur. Nam et ita potest recte intelligi quod dictum est, Omni humanae creaturae, ut significetur et fidelibus et incredulis rerum dominis.
Whether to the king as excelling, etc. He speaks only of the king and governors, and not also of masters, because in this place, as we said before, he is instructing especially those who are masters of servants. Afterwards, however, he admonishes the servants too how they should serve their masters. He teaches, then, the faithful, namely the servants of the eternal King, to be subject also to the powers of the world, lest even in this the faith and the Christian religion could be spoken against, that through it the rights of the human condition are thrown into disorder. For what is said, To every human creature, can rightly be understood in this way too: so that it signifies [subjection] both to faithful and to unbelieving lords of affairs.
Ad vindictam malefactorum, laudem vero bonorum. Non quod omnes quidem reges aut duces vel malefactores punire vel laudare bonos noverint, sed quae esse debeat actio boni judicis simpliciter narrat, hoc est ut malefacientes coerceat, bene agentes remuneret. Qui etsi injuste agit si bonos damnat, nihilominus ad laudem eorum pertinent, quae facit, si patienter ejus improbitatem tolerent, et patienter ejus stultitiae resistant. Vis (inquit) non timere potestatem?
For the punishment of evildoers, but for the praise of the good. Not that all kings or governors indeed know how to punish evildoers or praise the good; but he simply tells what the action of a good judge ought to be: that is, that he should restrain evildoers and reward those who do well. And even if he acts unjustly in condemning the good, the things he does nonetheless pertain to their praise, if they bear his wickedness patiently and patiently withstand his folly. Will you (he says) not fear the power?
Editors' notes and page, col. 52
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- running head: [...]S II. SECT. I. — EXEGETICA GENUINA. 52 (left edge of head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹tendit. Apte autem›; B ‹solum vitae desideriis›; C ‹pericula illum sequi›; D ‹potestatibus subdi›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens mid-sentence with "tendit" (word begun in col. 51). Last word printed "po-" at column end; completed as "potestatem?" from the first line of col. 53 (Rom. 13:3). "domanda" read as printed; the type is faint, UNSURE whether the page prints "donanda". No editors' prose.
Bonum fac, et habebis laudem ex illa (Ibid.). Non dicit ab illa, sed ex illa, quia etsi potestas humana non laudat, imo si etiam persequitur, si occidit gladio ut Paulum, si crucifigit ut Petrum, habebis ex illa laudem, dum ex eo quod illa malefacit in te justum et innoxium, tuae virtutis patientia coronam laudis meretur. Nam et hoc intendisse beatum Petrum in hac sententia, verba sequentia docent, quibus dicitur:
Do good, and you shall have praise from it (ibid.). He does not say "by it", but "from it", because even if human power does not praise you, nay, even if it persecutes you, if it kills you with the sword like Paul, if it crucifies you like Peter, you will have praise from it, since, from the fact that it does evil to you who are just and innocent, the patience of your virtue earns the crown of praise. For that blessed Peter also intended this in this sentence, the following words show, in which it is said:
Quia sic est voluntas Dei, ut benefacientes, etc. Haec est ergo laus bonorum, ad quam duces a rege dicit missos, dum ignorantia ducum imprudentium, boni ad laudem suam perpetuam bene se agendo utuntur.
For so is the will of God, that by doing good, etc. This, then, is the praise of the good, to which he says the governors are sent by the king: while the good, by conducting themselves well, turn the ignorance of imprudent governors to their own everlasting praise.
Quasi liberi, et non quasi velamen habentes malitiae libertatem. Quasi liberi bona faciunt, qui quo majore apud homines libertate utuntur, eo arctius, imo liberius divino famulatui subjunguntur. Sed et illi quasi liberi benefaciunt, qui exemplo Joseph patriarchae, tametsi servitio deprimuntur hominum, servi esse vitiorum nulla arte compelluntur. At vero libertatem suam in velamen malitiae vertunt, qui quo minus humani famulatus jugo cohibentur, eo latius peccatorum dominio mancipantur, et cum vitiis impune serviunt, libertatem vocant, nomine hoc suam tegentes culpam. Potest autem juxta illud apostoli Pauli generaliter accipi: Vos in libertatem vocati estis, fratres, tantum ne libertatem in occasionem carnis detis (Galat. V). Liberi enim recte vocamur, qui per baptisma a peccatorum sumus nexibus absoluti; qui a daemoniaca servitute redempti, quia filii Dei effecti, non tanto dono libertatis potiorem peccandi facultatem vel licentiam accepimus; quinimo si peccamus, mox, libertate perdita, servi efficimur peccati. Et quisquis se ad hoc liberatum a Domino putat, ut licentius peccet, talis suam libertatem in velamen malitiae mutat. Vult autem nos beatus Petrus liberos esse a servitio culparum, ut servi Creatoris nostri boni et fideles permanere possimus; unde subsequenter adjungit:
As free, and not as having liberty for a cloak of malice. They do good as free men who, the greater the freedom they enjoy among men, are the more closely, nay the more freely, joined to the service of God. But those too do good as free men who, after the example of the patriarch Joseph, although they are pressed down by the servitude of men, are by no contrivance compelled to be slaves of the vices. But they turn their liberty into a cloak of malice who, the less they are held in by the yoke of human service, the more widely are they made over to the dominion of sins, and when they serve the vices with impunity they call it liberty, covering their guilt with this name. It can also be taken generally, according to that saying of the apostle Paul: You have been called unto liberty, brethren; only do not make liberty an occasion for the flesh (Gal. 5). For we are rightly called free, who through baptism have been loosed from the bonds of sins; who, redeemed from the servitude of demons because we have been made sons of God, have not by so great a gift of liberty received a greater power or licence to sin; nay rather, if we sin, at once, our liberty lost, we are made slaves of sin. And whoever thinks that he has been freed by the Lord for this, that he may sin with more licence, such a man changes his liberty into a cloak of malice. But blessed Peter wishes us to be free from the servitude of faults, so that we may be able to remain good and faithful servants of our Creator; whence he next adds:
Sed sicut servi Dei. Omnes honorate, etc. Monet ergo congruum cunctis impendere honorem, et, juxta imperium Domini, Caesari quae Caesaris sunt, et Deo reddere quae Dei sunt (Luc. XX). Et bene inter alia fraternitatem diligere jubet liberos, ut eos quoque qui sibi temporali conditione subjecti sunt, fratres sibi esse in Christo factos recolant, una cum ipsis Patrem invocantes eum qui sine acceptione personarum judicat.
But as the servants of God. Honour all men, etc. He admonishes, then, that fitting honour be paid to all, and, according to the Lord's command, that to Caesar be rendered the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's (Luke 20). And well among other things does he bid the free to love the brotherhood, so that they may remember that those also who are subject to them by temporal condition have been made their brethren in Christ, calling on the Father together with them, Him Who judges without respect of persons.
Servi, subditi estote in omni timore dominis vestris, non tantum bonis et modestis, sed etiam dyscolis, etc. Dyscolis, indisciplinatis dicit, nomine ducto a Graeco eloquio. Quia Graece schola vocatur locus in quo adolescentes litteralibus studiis operam dare, et audiendis magistris vacare solent; unde schola vacatio interpretatur. Denique in psalmo ubi canimus: Vacate, et videte quoniam ego sum Deus (Psal. XLV), pro eo quod nos dicimus vacate, in Graeco habetur σχολάζετε. Scholastici Graece sunt eruditi, dyscoli
Servants, be subject with all fear to your masters, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the dyscoli, etc. By dyscoli he means the undisciplined, the name being drawn from the Greek tongue. For in Greek schola is the name of the place in which young men are wont to give their effort to the study of letters and to have leisure for hearing their masters; whence schola is interpreted "leisure". Indeed, in the psalm where we sing: Be at leisure, and see that I am God (Ps. 45), for what we say vacate, in the Greek there is σχολάζετε. Scholastici in Greek are the learned; dyscoli
Editors' notes and page, col. 53
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- running head: 53 IN PRIMAM EPISTOL[...] (right part of head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹testatem? Bonum fac›; B ‹libertatem. Quasi liberi›; C ‹a daemoniaca servitute›; D ‹fraternitatem diligere jubet›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "testatem?", the end of "po-testatem?" split from col. 52 and set whole there; this file starts at "Bonum fac". Column ends mid-sentence at "dyscoli" (no hyphen). Several letters are worn in this scan (e.g. "darc", "percamus", "Bonnm"); read as dare, peccamus, Bonum, UNSURE whether these are misprints or worn type. No editors' prose.
indocti et agrestes. Sed utrisque vult obedire subditos, explicans apertius quomodo nos supra omni humanae creaturae jusserit esse subjectos. Alia Translatio, pro dyscolis, difficiles habet. Et sanctus antistes Fulgentius in opusculis suis sic ponit: « Servientes cum timore non tantum bonis et modestis, sed etiam difficilioribus. »
are the untaught and boorish. But he wishes those who are subject to obey both, explaining more openly how he bade us above to be subject to every human creature. Another translation has difficiles, "the difficult", for dyscolis. And the holy bishop Fulgentius in his little works puts it thus: « Serving with fear not only the good and gentle, but also the more difficult. »
Sed si benefacientes, patienter sustinetis, etc. Notandum attentius quam summe conditionem servorum glorificet, quos benefacientes et absque culpa, vapulantes a dominis crudelibus et improbis, imitatores esse dominicae passionis affirmat. Audis autem quia passus est pro nobis, et gaudes quia pro te mortuus est, attende quod sequitur:
But if, doing well, you suffer patiently, etc. It is to be noted more attentively how supremely he glorifies the condition of servants, whom, when they do well and are beaten without fault by cruel and wicked masters, he declares to be imitators of the Lord's passion. You hear, then, that He suffered for us, and you rejoice that He died for you: attend to what follows:
Relinquens vobis exemplum ut sequamini vestigia ejus. Exemplum tribulationum non deliciarum, contumeliarum, flagellorum, dolorum, opprobriorum, spinarum, crucis, vulnerum, mortis. In psalmo scriptum est: Propter verba labiorum tuorum ego custodivi vias duras (Psal. XVI). Propter quae verba labiorum Dei, nisi quibus promittit vitam aeternam?
Leaving you an example, that you should follow His steps. An example of tribulations, not of delights; of insults, scourges, pains, reproaches, thorns, the cross, wounds, death. In the psalm it is written: For the sake of the words of Thy lips I have kept hard ways (Ps. 16). For the sake of what words of God's lips, if not those by which He promises eternal life?
Qui peccata nostra ipse pertulit, etc. Cum supra ad servos specialiter fecerit sermonem, nunc generaliter admonet ut etiam domini in memoriam revocent quid pro illis Deus et Dominus sustinuerit. Imo totam Ecclesiam instruit quid pro ejus liberatione suus auctor pertulerit. Non enim ait peccata vestra, sed etiam se addito: Qui peccata, inquit, nostra ipse pertulit in corpore suo super lignum.
Who His own self bore our sins, etc. Although above he directed his discourse specially to servants, now he admonishes generally that masters too should call to mind what God and the Lord endured for them. Nay, he instructs the whole Church what its Author bore for its deliverance. For he does not say "your sins", but with himself added as well: Who, he says, His own self bore our sins in His body upon the tree.
Eratis enim sicut oves errantes. Quomodo et oves dicit et errantes, cum hi qui in errore vitam ducunt, haedorum potius quam ovium nomine censeantur, nisi quia novit Dominus qui sunt ejus, qui et multos diu male conversantes sustinet, quos tamen in ovium suarum numero salvandos esse praevidet?
For you were as sheep going astray. How does he call them both sheep and going astray, when those who lead their life in error are reckoned under the name of goats rather than of sheep, unless because the Lord knows who are His, Who also bears with many who live wickedly for a long time, whom nevertheless He foresees are to be saved in the number of His sheep?
Sed conversi estis nunc ad pastorem et visitatorem animarum vestrarum. Tangit evangelicam parabolam, ubi pius Pastor, relictis nonaginta novem ovibus in deserto, venit visitare unam quae erraverat. Nam quod ibi dictum est, quia hanc inventam imposuerit in humeros suos gaudens, hoc istic beatus Petrus praemisit, dicens: Quia peccata nostra ipse portavit in corpore suo super lignum. Quia nimirum ita nos redimere voluit, ut lignum in quo peccata nostra tolleret pendens in humeris haberet. Ad pastorem ergo, inquit, et visitatorem animarum vestrarum. Pastorem, videlicet, quia pascua nobis vitae donat aeternae, pascua in praesenti temporalium praestat gratiarum. Visitatorem vero animarum vestrarum, quia visitavit nos Oriens ex alto, ut illuminaret his qui in tenebris et in umbra mortis sedent (Luc. I). Visitat quotidie ipsam in nobis quam donavit lucem, ne deficiat servando, imo ut crescat juvando. Quidam Codices ipsum Graecum habent: Ad pastorem et episcopum animarum vestrarum. Episcopus autem Latine superintendens dicitur. Quia nimirum oculi Domini super justos, et aures ejus ad preces eorum, ut ex omnibus tribulationibus eorum liberet eos. (Psal. XXXIII).
But you are now converted to the shepherd and visitor of your souls. He touches on the Gospel parable, where the kind Shepherd, leaving the ninety-nine sheep in the desert, comes to visit the one that had strayed. For what is said there, that when He had found it He laid it on His shoulders rejoicing, blessed Peter here said beforehand, saying: For He Himself carried our sins in His body upon the tree. For indeed He willed to redeem us in such a way that, hanging, He had on His shoulders the tree on which He was to take away our sins. To the shepherd, then, he says, and visitor of your souls. Shepherd, namely, because He gives us the pastures of eternal life, and in the present provides the pastures of temporal graces. And visitor of your souls, because the Dayspring from on high has visited us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death (Luke 1). Daily He visits in us the very light which He has given, keeping it lest it fail, nay, helping it so that it may grow. Some codices have the Greek word itself: To the shepherd and bishop of your souls. Now episcopus in Latin is called superintendens, "overseer". Because indeed the eyes of the Lord are upon the just, and His ears unto their prayers, that He may deliver them out of all their tribulations (Ps. 33).
Editors' notes and page, col. 54
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- running head: [...]EPISTOLAM PETRI. 54 (left part of head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹indocti et agrestes›; B ‹ejus. Exemplum tribulationum›; C ‹dicit et errantes›; D ‹tolleret pendens in humeris›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens mid-sentence (continuing "dyscoli" from col. 53) and ends at the close of chapter II; col. 55 opens with CAPUT III. No editors' prose.
CAPUT III.
CHAPTER III.
Similiter et mulieres subditae sint suis viris, etc. Notandum quod beatus Petrus ea conditione desiderat mulieres bonas et honestas viris incredulis subdi, ut non solum nihil mali ad imperium eorum faciant, verum etiam in tam casta conversatione persistant insuperabiles, ut ipsis etiam viris exemplo possint esse castitatis et fidei.
In like manner also let wives be subject to their husbands, etc. It is to be noted that blessed Peter desires good and honourable wives to be subject to unbelieving husbands on this condition: that they not only do nothing evil at their command, but also persist unconquerable in so chaste a conduct that they may be an example of chastity and faith even to their husbands themselves.
Quarum sit non extrinsecus capillatura, etc. Quia, sicut Cyprianus ait, « sericum et purpuram indutae Christum induere non possunt. Auro et margaritis et monilibus adornatae ornamenta cordis ac pectoris perdiderunt. Quod si Petrus mulieres quoque admonet coercendas, et ad ecclesiasticam disciplinam religiosa observatione moderandas, quae excusare cultus suos soleant per maritos, quanto id magis observare virginem fas est, cui nulla ornatus competat venia, nec derivari in alterum possit mendacium culpae, sed sola ipsa in crimine remaneat? »
Whose adorning let it not be the outward plaiting of the hair, etc. Because, as Cyprian says, « women clothed in silk and purple cannot put on Christ. Adorned with gold and pearls and necklaces, they have lost the ornaments of heart and breast. But if Peter admonishes that wives too are to be restrained, and moderated to the discipline of the Church by religious observance, wives who are wont to excuse their adornment on account of their husbands, how much more is it right for a virgin to observe this, to whom no indulgence for adornment is fitting, nor can the falsehood of her fault be shifted on to another, but she alone remains in the charge? »
Sed qui absconditus est cordis homo in incorruptibilitate quieti et modesti spiritus, etc. Castitatem praedicat, et ornatum interioris hominis in incorruptione quieti et modesti spiritus, quodammodo dicens: Quoniam exterior vester homo corruptus est, et beatitudinem integritatis, quae proprie virginum est, habere destitistis, imitamini incorruptionem spiritus per severam abstinentiam, et quod corpore non potestis, mente praestate. Has enim Christus divitias, et vos [F. hos] vestrae conjunctionis quaerit ornatus. Mirum et apud Pythagoram naturalis scientiae lege dictante hanc sententiam inveniri, vera ornamenta matronarum pudicitiam, non vestes, esse.
But the hidden man of the heart in the incorruptibility of a quiet and modest spirit, etc. He preaches chastity, and the adornment of the inner man in the incorruption of a quiet and modest spirit, saying as it were: Since your outer man has been corrupted, and you have ceased to have the blessedness of integrity, which belongs properly to virgins, imitate the incorruption of the spirit by severe abstinence, and what you cannot in the body, render in the mind. For these are the riches Christ seeks, and you [perhaps: these] as the adornments of your union. It is remarkable that among Pythagoras too, at the dictate of the law of natural knowledge, this sentence is found: that the true ornaments of matrons are modesty, not garments.
Viri, similiter cohabitantes secundum scientiam, etc. Similiter dicit, viros ad imitationem provocans, quia jam supra uxoribus praeceperat, dicens: Considerent viri in timore Dei castam vestram conversationem. Secundum scientiam autem, ut noverint quid desideret Deus, et tribuant honorem vasculo muliebri. Si abstineamus nos a coitu, honorem tribuimus. Si non abstineamus, perspicuum est honori contrarium esse concubitum.
You husbands, likewise dwelling with them according to knowledge, etc. He says likewise, calling the husbands to imitation, because he had already above given precepts to the wives, saying: Let your husbands consider your chaste conduct in the fear of God. And according to knowledge, that they may know what God desires, and give honour to the womanly vessel. If we abstain from intercourse, we give honour. If we do not abstain, it is plain that lying together is contrary to honour.
Ut ne impediantur orationes vestrae. Et Paulus ait: Nolite fraudare invicem, nisi forte ex consensu ad tempus ut vacetis orationi (I Cor. VII). Impediri ergo orationes officio conjugali commemorat, quia quotiescunque uxori debitum reddo, orare non possum. Quod si juxta alium apostoli sermonem sine intermissione orandum est, nunquam ergo mihi conjugio serviendum est, ne ab oratione cui semper insistere jubeor, ulla hora praepediar.
That your prayers be not hindered. And Paul says: Defraud not one another, except perhaps by consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to prayer (1 Cor. 7). He declares, then, that prayers are hindered by the conjugal office, because as often as I render the debt to my wife I cannot pray. But if, according to another saying of the apostle, we must pray without ceasing, then I must never be in the service of wedlock, lest I be hindered at any hour from the prayer in which I am bidden to persist always.
In fide autem omnes unanimes, compatientes. Quia superius diversas personas, conditiones, et sexus congrua sibi discretione docebat, jam nunc omnes communiter admonet in fidei dominicae causa, unum cor et unam habere animam.
And in faith be you all of one mind, having compassion. Because above he was teaching different persons, conditions and sexes with a discernment suited to them, now he admonishes all in common, in the cause of the Lord's faith, to have one heart and one soul.
Quia in hoc vocati estis, ut benedictionem haereditate possideatis. Dicente, videlicet, Judice: Venite, benedicti Patris mei, percipite regnum (Matth. XXV). Potest benedictio haereditatis et illa intelligi, qua
For unto this are you called, that you may possess a blessing by inheritance. As, namely, the Judge says: Come, you blessed of My Father, receive the kingdom (Matt. 25). The blessing of the inheritance can also be understood as that by which
Editors' notes and page, col. 55
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- running head: 55 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS II. SE[...] (right part of head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹CAPUT III.›; B ‹cultus suos soleant›; C ‹tiae lege dictante›; D ‹tiescunque uxori›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column ends mid-sentence at "qua" (no hyphen). Worn type in several words (e.g. "Con-iderent", "lesideret", "Dcente", "le-nedicti", "insiste:e"); read as Considerent, desideret, Dicente, benedicti, insistere. "[F. hos]" set as printed. No editors' prose.
Ecclesia in futura vita perpetuo benedicitur. Unde et nunc spe futurorum gratulabunda dicit: Exaltabo te, Deus, meus rex, et benedicam nomini tuo in saeculum et in saeculum saeculi (Psal. CXLIV). Quod ergo quisque in futuro invenire desiderat, hoc in praesenti meditari et agere satagat, et Conditorem videlicet et proximum sincera voce benedicere, et seipsum etiam divina pariter ac fraterna benedictione dignum reddere.
the Church is blessed perpetually in the life to come. Whence even now, rejoicing in the hope of things to come, she says: I will extol Thee, O God, my King, and I will bless Thy name for ever and for ever and ever (Ps. 144). What, therefore, each one desires to find in the future, let him busy himself to meditate on and do in the present: namely, to bless both the Creator and his neighbour with a sincere voice, and to render himself also worthy of the divine and likewise of the brotherly blessing.
Quia oculi Domini super justos, etc. Quia beatus Petrus malum nos pro malo reddere vetuerat, imo maledicentibus benedicere jusserat, recte prophetico testimonio astruit superna inspectione et bonos semper videri et malos, quatenus meminerimus et nostram patientiam qua toleramus malos, et nostram benevolentiam qua persequentibus bona optamus, aeterno praemio remunerandam, et persecutores nostros, si poenitere noluerint, digno plectendos esse supplicio: si vero poenituerint, nos quoque pro ipsorum salute, quam deprecabamur a Domino coronam justae congratulationis accepturos.
For the eyes of the Lord are upon the just, etc. Because blessed Peter had forbidden us to render evil for evil, nay, had bidden us to bless those who curse us, he rightly establishes by the prophetic testimony that both the good and the wicked are always seen by the inspection from above, so that we may remember both that our patience, by which we bear with the wicked, and our benevolence, by which we wish good things to those who persecute us, are to be rewarded with an eternal prize; and that our persecutors, if they refuse to repent, are to be punished with fitting punishment; but if they repent, that we too will receive from the Lord, for their salvation which we prayed for, the crown of a just rejoicing together.
Et quis est qui vobis noceat, etc. De his dicit quae nobis ab adversariis per verba contumeliosa, per damna rerum temporalium, per tormenta corporis accidunt. Haec enim et hujusmodi omnia cum fidelibus irrogantur, his duntaxat qui boni aemulatores sunt, et hoc secundum scientiam, nequaquam eis nocere possunt, sed palmam magis patientiae aequanimiter tolerantibus afferunt, et contra illis qui irrogant poenam accumulando aeternam plurimum nocent. Si quis autem hujusmodi adversis victus deficit, non huic ille qui malum intulit, sed ipse sibi qui hoc patienter ferre recusavit nocuit. Neque enim domus quam vir sapiens aedificavit, ideo non cecidit quia violentias tempestatum non pertulit, sed quia fundata erat super petram. Nec rursum ea quam stultus stulte fabricavit, ideo cecidit quia pulsata tempestatibus fuit, sed quia super arenam posita erat. Utramque etenim aequaliter adversitas feriens tentavit, sed uni firmitas fundamenti coronam perseverantiae tribuit, alteram fragilis structurae stultitia stravit. Non enim perfectum boni aemulatorem casus aliquis, vel a diabolo, vel ab homine improbo, vel generali rerum labentium turbine illatus, laedere potest. Caeterum plurimos constat boni aemulatores laesos esse ab aliis, dum in veritatis quam diligunt scientiam male instituuntur. Quantos enim catholice in Deum credere, et recte in Ecclesia vivere cupientes, Arii vesania, quantos Sabellii, aliorumve haereticorum nequitia nescientes seduxit? Lege librum Joannis Chrysostomi, quem scripsit de eo: Neminem posse laedi ab alio nisi a semetipso.
And who is he that can hurt you, etc. He speaks of the things that befall us from adversaries through insulting words, through losses of temporal goods, through torments of the body. For when these and all things of this kind are inflicted on the faithful, at least on those who are zealous for good, and that according to knowledge, they can in no way hurt them, but rather bring the palm of patience to those who bear them with equanimity; and on the other hand they do very great hurt to those who inflict them, by heaping up eternal punishment. But if anyone, overcome by adversities of this kind, gives way, it is not the one who inflicted the evil that hurt him, but he hurt himself who refused to bear it patiently. For the house which the wise man built did not stand because it did not suffer the violence of the storms, but because it was founded upon the rock. Nor again did the one which the fool foolishly built fall because it was beaten by storms, but because it was set upon the sand. For adversity, striking both equally, tried them; but to the one the firmness of its foundation gave the crown of perseverance, while the folly of its fragile structure laid the other low. For no misfortune, whether brought by the devil, or by a wicked man, or by the general whirlwind of passing things, can hurt one who is perfectly zealous for good. But it is agreed that very many who were zealous for good have been hurt by others, while they are badly instructed in the knowledge of the truth which they love. For how many, desiring to believe in God catholicly and to live rightly in the Church, has the madness of Arius, how many has the wickedness of Sabellius or of other heretics, led astray unawares? Read the book of John Chrysostom which he wrote on this: That no one can be hurt by another except by himself.
Sed et si quid patiamini propter justitiam, beati eritis. Non solum (inquit) nihil vobis nocet, qui bonum facientibus mala irrogat, sed et cum vos propter bona quae exsecratur hostis insequitur, causam vobis majoris beatitudinis praestat cum patientiae vestrae
But if also you suffer anything for justice' sake, blessed are you. Not only (he says) does he do you no hurt who inflicts evils on those who do good; but also, when the enemy pursues you on account of the good things which he abhors, he furnishes you with the cause of a greater blessedness, when [he puts] your patience's
Editors' notes and page, col. 56
Page
- running head: [...]S II. SECT. I. — EXEGETICA GENUINA. 56 (left part of head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹Ecclesia in futura vita›; B ‹benevolentiam qua persequentibus›; C ‹rogant poenam accumulando›; D ‹tus, laedere potest›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens mid-sentence (continuing "qua" from col. 55) and ends mid-sentence at "vestrae"; the sentence continues "vires exercet" at the head of col. 57, so the closing English clause is completed in sense only. Worn type read as reddere, benedicere, optamus. No editors' prose.
vires exercet, juxta illud evangelicum: Beati qui persecutionem patiuntur propter justitiam.
powers to the test, according to that saying of the Gospel: Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake.
Dominum autem Christum sanctificate in cordibus vestris. Quid est Dominum sanctificare in cordibus nostris, nisi sanctitatem ejus quam incomprehensibilis gloriae sit, intimo cordis affectu intueri? Quantam in se sperantibus fortitudinem vincendi dare valet, cujus inaestimabilis sanctitas fulget?
But sanctify the Lord Christ in your hearts. What is it to sanctify the Lord in our hearts, if not to behold with the inmost affection of the heart His holiness, how incomprehensible its glory is? How great a strength to conquer is He able to give to those who hope in Him, Whose inestimable holiness shines forth?
Parati semper ad satisfactionem omni poscenti vos rationem, etc. Duobus modis de spe et fide nostra rationem poscentibus reddere debemus, ut et justas spei ac fidei nostrae causas omnibus intimemus sive fideliter sive infideliter quaerentibus, et ipsam fidei ac spei nostrae professionem illibatam semper teneamus, etiam inter pressuras adversantium, ostendentes per patientiam quam rationabiliter eam servandam didicerimus, pro cujus amore nec adversa pati nec mortem subire formidemus.
Being ready always to satisfy everyone that asks you a reason, etc. In two ways we ought to render a reason of our hope and faith to those who ask it: that we both make known the just grounds of our hope and faith to all who inquire, whether faithfully or unfaithfully, and that we always hold the very profession of our faith and hope unimpaired, even amid the pressures of adversaries, showing through patience how reasonably we have learned that it is to be kept, for love of which we fear neither to suffer adversities nor to undergo death.
Cum modestia et timore conscientiam habentes bonam. In ipsa doctrinae scientia qualitatem docendi monet observare, ut videlicet humilitas, quae magistra est omnium materque virtutum, et loquendo dicatur, et videndo monstretur.
With modesty and fear, having a good conscience. In the very knowledge of doctrine he admonishes us to observe the manner of teaching: that, namely, humility, which is the mistress and mother of all virtues, may be both spoken in our speaking and shown in our being seen.
Ut in eo quod detrahunt de vobis tanquam de malefactoribus, etc. Ut qui fidem ac spem coelestium quae videre nequeunt in vobis irrident, videant opera vestra bona, et per haec confundantur quae aperte esse bona negare non valent. Vel certe ita sentiendum: Curate, benefacientes, ut qui vestrae bonae conversationi detrahunt, adveniente tempore retributionis futurae, confundantur, videntes vos cum Christo coronari, sese autem cum diabolo damnari.
That in that wherein they speak against you as evildoers, etc. So that those who mock in you the faith and hope of heavenly things, which they cannot see, may see your good works, and be confounded by these, which they cannot deny to be openly good. Or certainly it is to be understood thus: Take care, by doing good, that those who speak against your good conduct may be confounded when the time of the future recompense comes, seeing you crowned with Christ, and themselves damned with the devil.
Melius est enim benefacientes, si velit voluntas Dei, pati, quam malefacientes. Haec sententia illorum stultitiam eleganter arguit, qui cum pro culpis arguuntur a fratribus, vel etiam poenis coercentur, patienter omnino tolerant; at cum absque culpa, vel verborum contumelias, vel damna rerum, vel adversa quaeque patiuntur a proximis, mox ad iracundiam prorumpunt, et qui hactenus videbantur innoxii, per impatientiam se et murmurationem noxios reddunt. Ut autem flagellorum distantia in disparibus meritis longe dispar appareat, videamus una eademque caecitatis molestia Tobiam, Saulum, Elymam fuisse percussos. Sed Tobiam ob hoc, ut virtus patientiae ejus latius in exemplum cunctis claresceret; Saulum ob hoc, ut de Saulo persecutore in Paulum mutaretur apostolum; Elymam vero, ut, dignas suae perfidiae poenas luens, ab eorum quoque qui credituri erant dementatione cessaret. Et mihi si detur optio, malim cum tanto Patre sive divinis seu humanis subjacere justis verberibus, quam ob injustitiam verberum vi ad justitiae studia trahi. Rursumque malim a culpis flagello retrahi, quam pro insanabili pondere peccatorum aeternae ultioni subjici.
For it is better, if the will of God so wills, to suffer doing well than doing ill. This sentence elegantly refutes the folly of those who, when they are rebuked for faults by the brethren, or even restrained by punishments, bear it altogether patiently; but when without fault they suffer from their neighbours either insulting words, or losses of goods, or any adversities, at once break out into anger, and those who till then seemed harmless make themselves harmful through impatience and murmuring. And that the difference of scourges in unequal deserts may appear widely unequal, let us see that Tobias, Saul and Elymas were struck with one and the same affliction of blindness. But Tobias for this, that the virtue of his patience might shine forth more widely as an example to all; Saul for this, that from Saul the persecutor he might be changed into Paul the apostle; and Elymas, that, paying the penalty worthy of his perfidy, he might cease from leading astray those also who were going to believe. And if I am given the choice, I would rather, with so great a Father, submit to just blows, whether divine or human, than be dragged by the force of blows to the pursuit of justice on account of injustice. And again I would rather be drawn back from faults by the scourge than be subjected to eternal vengeance for the incurable weight of sins.
Quia et Christus semel pro peccatis nostris mortuus est, etc. Qui ergo justus patitur, Christum imitatur; qui in flagellis corrigitur, latronem, qui in cruce Christum cognovit, et a cruce paradisum cum Christo
Because Christ also died once for our sins, etc. He, then, who suffers being just imitates Christ; he who is corrected by scourges [imitates] the thief who on the cross recognized Christ, and from the cross [entered] paradise with Christ
Editors' notes and page, col. 57
Footnotes
(none) <!-- Both column feet carry the author's text to the bottom of the page; no footnote rule or footnote type appears. --> (printed under page 33)
Page
- running head: 57 IN PRIMAM EPISTO[...] (right part of head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹vires exercet, juxta›; B ‹dentes per patientiam›; C ‹tributionis futurae›; D ‹ejus latius in exemplum›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens mid-sentence (continuing "vestrae" from col. 56). Last word printed "Chri-" at column end; completed as "Christo" from the first line of col. 58, whose sentence continues "intravit". English bracket supplements anticipate that verb. Worn type read as doctrinae ("doctrin e"), caecitatis ("cæ-c.tatis"). No editors' prose.
intravit; qui nec inter flagella desistit a culpis. sinistrum imitatur latronem, qui propter peccata ascendit in crucem, et post crucem ruit in Tartarum. Ideo autem Christum semel esse mortuum commemorat, ut nobis quoque in memoriam revocet, quia temporaneis nostris passionibus merces redditur aeterna.
entered; he who does not leave off his faults even amid scourges imitates the thief on the left, who for his sins went up on the cross, and after the cross fell headlong into Tartarus. And he recalls that Christ died once for this reason, that he may call to our memory too that an eternal reward is rendered for our temporal sufferings.
Ut nos offerret Deo mortificatos quidem carne, etc. De hac mortificatione carnis et vivificatione spiritus, quam habent hi qui pro Domino per patientiam laborant, dicit et apostolus Paulus: Etsi exterior homo noster corrumpitur, sed tamen is qui intus est renovatur de die in diem (II Cor. IV). Offert ergo nos Deo Patri Christus, cum per mortificationem carnis pro illo immolari gaudemus, id est, vitam nostram laudabilem in conspectu Patris ostendit. Vel certe offert nos Deo, cum absolutos carne in aeternum nos regnum introducit. Sane hoc quod dicitur: Vivificatos autem Spiritu: sanctus Athanasius Alexandriae pontifex, non ad hominis spiritum, qui mortificata carne melius vivificatur, dicente propheta de Domino: Ut vivificet spiritum humilium, et vivificet cor contritorum (Isai. LVII), sed ad gratiam potius refert Spiritus sancti, qui mortificantibus carnem suam vitam tribuit aeternam. Utitur enim et hoc testimonio contra Arianos, qui aequalitati sanctae Trinitatis contradicunt, astruens quia individua divinae operationis unitate qua vivificat Pater, vivificet Filius, vivificet Spiritus sanctus. Pater videlicet et Filius, quia scriptum est: Sicut enim Pater suscitat mortuos et vivificat, sic et Filius quos vult vivificat. Spiritus vero sanctus, ut hoc testimonio declaratur, quo dicitur de Filio, ut nos offerret Deo, mortificatos quidem carne, vivificatos autem Spiritu; ideoque quorum una operatio est, horum dispar esse substantia vel essentia non possit.
That He might offer us to God, put to death indeed in the flesh, etc. Of this putting to death of the flesh and quickening of the spirit, which those have who labour through patience for the Lord, the apostle Paul also speaks: Though our outward man is corrupted, yet the one who is within is renewed day by day (2 Cor. 4). Christ therefore offers us to God the Father when we rejoice to be sacrificed for Him through the mortification of the flesh; that is, He shows our life worthy of praise in the sight of the Father. Or certainly He offers us to God when, released from the flesh, He brings us into the eternal kingdom. As for what is said, But quickened in the Spirit: Saint Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria, refers it not to the spirit of man, which is better quickened when the flesh is mortified, as the prophet says of the Lord: To quicken the spirit of the humble, and to quicken the heart of the contrite (Isa. 57), but rather to the grace of the Holy Spirit, Who gives eternal life to those who mortify their flesh. For he uses this testimony too against the Arians, who deny the equality of the Holy Trinity, establishing that by the undivided unity of divine operation by which the Father quickens, the Son quickens and the Holy Spirit quickens. The Father, namely, and the Son, because it is written: For as the Father raises the dead and quickens them, so the Son also quickens whom He will. And the Holy Spirit, as is declared by this testimony in which it is said of the Son, that He might offer us to God, put to death indeed in the flesh, but quickened in the Spirit; and therefore those whose operation is one cannot be unequal in substance or essence.
In quo et iis qui in carne conclusi erant, etc. Qui nostris temporibus in carne veniens iter vitae mundo praedicavit, ipse etiam ante diluvium eis qui tunc increduli erant et carnaliter vivebant, Spiritu veniens praedicavit. Ipse enim per Spiritum sanctum erat in Noe caeterisque qui tunc fuere sanctis, et per eorum bonam conversationem pravis illius aevi hominibus, ut ad meliora converterentur praedicavit. Conclusos namque in carne dicit carnalibus desideriis vehementer aggravatos. Unde de illis Scriptura ait: Quia omnis caro corruperat viam suam (Gen. VI). Quod autem dicit, in quo, significat in eo quod praemiserat, ut nos offerret Deo. Quia et tunc si qui ad praedicationem Domini, quam per vitam fidelium praetendebat, credere voluissent, et ipsos offerre Deo Patri gaudebat. Si qui autem detrahebant de bonis tanquam de malefactoribus, hi veniente diluvio confundebantur. Nam et de utroque potest intelligi quod ait, in quo, id est, et in eis qui in carne conclusi erant, Spiritu veniens praedicavit, ut per eamdem suam praedicationem, et credentibus corona laudis, et iis qui in incredulitate perstitissent, confusio nasceretur. Quidam Codices habent: In quo et
In which also to those who were shut up in the flesh, etc. He Who in our times, coming in the flesh, preached the way of life to the world, Himself also before the flood, coming in the Spirit, preached to those who were then unbelieving and lived carnally. For He Himself through the Holy Spirit was in Noah and the other saints who lived then, and through their good conduct He preached to the depraved men of that age that they should be converted to better things. For he calls "shut up in the flesh" those who were heavily weighed down by carnal desires. Whence Scripture says of them: For all flesh had corrupted its way (Gen. 6). And when he says in which, he means "in that" which he had said before, that He might offer us to God. For then too, if any had been willing to believe at the preaching of the Lord, which He held out through the life of the faithful, He rejoiced to offer them too to God the Father. But if any spoke against the good as against evildoers, these were confounded when the flood came. For what he says, in which, can also be understood of both: that is, also to those who were shut up in the flesh, coming in the Spirit, He preached, so that through that same preaching of His there should arise both a crown of praise for those who believed, and confusion for those who had persisted in unbelief. Some codices have: In which also
Editors' notes and page, col. 58
Page
- running head: EPISTOLAM PETRI. 53 (left part of head cut off; the column number is printed 53 on a page that is col. 58)
- marginal letters: A ‹sto intravit; qui nec›; B ‹dabilem in conspectu Patris›; C ‹enim Pater suscitat›; D ‹cavit. Conclusos namque›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "sto intravit"; "Chri-sto" was set whole as "Christo" at the end of col. 57, so this file starts at "intravit". The running head's numeral is a misprint (53 for 58), recorded here only. Column ends mid-sentence at "In quo et"; col. 59 continues the lemma. Worn type read as merces, praedicavit, aevi. No editors' prose.
iis qui in carcere erant, Spiritu veniens praedicavit. Quod ad eamdem pravorum atque incredulorum intentionem respicit, qui quoniam tenebris obscuratum habent sensum, merito etiam in hac vita in carcere conclusi esse dicuntur. In quo videlicet carcere, interioribus adhuc tenebris, hoc est, caecitate mentis et operibus injustis gravantur, donec, carne soluti, in tenebras exteriores et in carcerem projiciantur aeternae damnationis; de quo Dominus in Evangelio: Et judex (inquit) tradat te ministro, et in carcerem mittaris (Matth. V). Quamvis etiam sancti in hac vita se in carcere positos, cum gaudium supernae patriae sitiunt, merito proclament, juxta illud Psalmistae: Educ de carcere animam meam ad confitendum nomini tuo (Psal. CXLI). Distat namque multum inter utrumque carcerem, siquidem reprobi in carcere sunt peccatorum et ignorantiae, justi vero in carcere licet tribulationum positi, luce semper justitiae dilatato in Deum corde perfruuntur; quos designaverunt apostoli Paulus et Silas, cum media nocte in intimo carceris horrore, vincti licet et flagellati, hymnum Deo laudis laetissima voce canebant. Quidam hunc locum ita interpretatus est, quod consolationem illam de qua dicit apostolis Dominus: Multi prophetae et justi cupierunt videre quae vos videtis, et non viderunt, et audire quae auditis, et non audierunt (Matth. XIII); de qua et Psalmista: Defecerunt oculi mei in eloquium tuum, dicentes: Quando consolaberis me (Psal. CXVIII)? sancti quiescentes in inferno desideraverunt, quod haec, descendente Domino in inferna, etiam his qui in carcere erant et increduli quondam fuerant in diebus Noë, consolatio vel exhortatio praedicata fuerit. Et haec ille dixerit, sed catholica fides habet, quia descendens ad inferna Dominus non incredulos inde, sed fideles solummodo suos educens, ad coelestia secum regna perduxerit, neque exutis corpore animabus, et inferorum carcere scelerum inclusis, sed in hac vita vel per seipsum vel per suorum exempla sive verba fidelium, quotidie vitam vitae demonstret. De quibus bene dicitur:
to those who were in prison, coming in the Spirit, He preached. This looks to the same intention of the wicked and unbelieving, who, since they have their understanding darkened, are rightly said to be shut up in prison even in this life. In which prison, namely, they are still weighed down by inner darkness, that is, by blindness of mind and unjust works, until, released from the flesh, they are cast into the outer darkness and into the prison of eternal damnation; of which the Lord says in the Gospel: And the judge (He says) deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison (Matt. 5). Although the saints too in this life, when they thirst for the joy of the heavenly homeland, rightly proclaim that they are set in prison, according to that saying of the Psalmist: Bring my soul out of prison, that I may confess Thy name (Ps. 141). For there is a great difference between the two prisons, since the reprobate are in the prison of sins and of ignorance, but the just, though set in the prison of tribulations, ever enjoy the light of justice, with their heart enlarged towards God; whom the apostles Paul and Silas signified, when at midnight in the innermost horror of the prison, though bound and scourged, they sang a hymn of praise to God with a most joyful voice. A certain man has interpreted this place thus: that the consolation of which the Lord says to the apostles: Many prophets and just men have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them, and to hear the things that you hear, and have not heard them (Matt. 13); of which the Psalmist also says: My eyes have failed for Thy word, saying: When wilt Thou comfort me? (Ps. 118), the saints resting in hell desired; and that this consolation or exhortation was preached, when the Lord descended into hell, even to those who were in prison and had once been unbelieving in the days of Noah. Let him say this; but the Catholic faith holds that the Lord, descending into hell, led out from there not the unbelievers but His faithful only, and brought them with Him to the heavenly kingdoms; and that not to souls stripped of the body and shut up in the prison of the damned for their crimes, but in this life, whether through Himself or through the examples or words of His faithful, He daily shows the life of life. Of whom it is well said:
Qui increduli fuerant aliquando, etc. Nam et ipsa Dei patientia praedicatio erat ejus, cum Noe, centum annis arcae operibus insistens, quid mundo futurum esset quotidiana operis exsecutione monstrabat. Unde Paulus ait: An ignoras quoniam patientia Dei ad poenitentiam te adducit (Rom. II)? etc. Alia Translatio hunc locum ita habet: Christus semel pro peccatis nostris mortuus est, justus pro injustis, ut nos adducat ad Deum, mortificatus corpore, sed vivus factus in spiritu. In quo spiritu et eis qui in carcere erant praedicavit, qui quondam non crediderant in diebus illis, cum exspectarent Dei patientiam in diebus Noe, etc.
Which had been some time unbelieving, etc. For the very patience of God was His preaching, when Noah, applying himself for a hundred years to the works of the ark, showed by the daily carrying-out of the work what was to befall the world. Whence Paul says: Do you not know that the patience of God leads you to repentance? (Rom. 2), etc. Another translation has this place thus: Christ died once for our sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, put to death in the body, but made alive in the spirit. In which spirit He preached also to those who were in prison, who once had not believed in those days, when they waited for the patience of God in the days of Noah, etc.
In qua pauci, id est, octo animae salvae factae sunt, etc. Formam baptismi assimilatam dicit arcae et aquis diluvii. Et recte omnino, quia et ipsa fabricatio arcae de lignis laevigatis constructionem significat Ecclesiae, quae fit de collectione animarum fidelium per architectos verbi. Et quod pereunte orbe toto, pauci, id est, octo animae, salvae factae sunt per aquam, significat
In which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved, etc. He says that the form of baptism is likened to the ark and to the waters of the flood. And quite rightly, because the very building of the ark from smoothed timbers signifies the construction of the Church, which is made from the gathering of the souls of the faithful by the architects of the word. And that, while the whole world perished, a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water, signifies
Editors' notes and page, col. 59
Footnotes
(none) <!-- Both column feet carry the author's text to the bottom of the page; no footnote rule or footnote type appears. --> (printed under page 34)
Page
- running head: 59 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS II. SE[...] (right part of head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹tis qui in carcere erant›; B ‹multum inter utrumque carcerem›; C ‹in inferna, etiam his›; D ‹poenitentiam te adducit›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with the second half of the lemma begun at the end of col. 58 ("In quo et"); the first word looks like "tis" in the scan and is read "iis" (as in col. 58's lemma), UNSURE whether the page prints "iis" or "his". The first "Noë" (in diebus Noë, consolatio) carries a mark over the e on the page and is set with a diaeresis (Q1; the mark could be read as another accent at this resolution); the later two "Noe" print plain. Last word printed "signi-"; completed as "significat" from the first line of col. 60. No editors' prose.
quod ad comparationem pereuntium gentilium, Judaeorum, haereticorum et falsorum fidelium, multo brevior est numerus electorum. Unde de angusta porta et arcta via, quae ducit ad vitam, dicitur: Et pauci sunt qui inveniunt eam (Matth. VII). Et iterum: Nolite timere, pusillus grex, quia complacuit Patri vestro dare vobis regnum (Luc. XII). De quo pusillo grege et hic apte subjungitur:
that in comparison with the perishing gentiles, Jews, heretics and false faithful, the number of the elect is much smaller. Whence it is said of the narrow gate and strait way that leads to life: And few there are that find it (Matt. 7). And again: Fear not, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom (Luke 12). Of which little flock it is here too fittingly added:
Non carnis depositio sordium, etc. Ubi enim est conscientia bona, nisi ubi est et fides non ficta? Docet namque apostolus Paulus quia finis praecepti est charitas de corde puro, et conscientia bona, et fide non ficta (I Tim. I). Quod ergo aqua diluvii non salvavit extra arcam positos, sed occidit, sine dubio praefigurabat omnem haereticum, licet habentem baptismatis sacramentum, non aliis, sed ipsis aquis ad inferna mergendum, quibus arca sublevatur ad coelum. Ipse quoque octonarius numerus animarum quae salvae factae sunt per aquam significat quia sancta Ecclesia in sacramentum dominicae resurrectionis baptismi lavacrum percepit, ut sicut ipse resurrexit a mortuis per gloriam Patris, ita et nos, expurgati a peccatis per aquam regenerationis, in novitate vitae ambulemus (Rom. VI). Octava namque die, hoc est post septimam Sabbati, Dominus, a mortuis resurgens, et exemplum nobis futurae resurrectionis, et mysterium novae conversationis, qua in terris positi coelestem vitam ageremus, ostendit. Quod etiam ipse Petrus exponendo subjungit, dicens:
Not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, etc. For where is there a good conscience, if not where there is also unfeigned faith? For the apostle Paul teaches that the end of the commandment is charity from a pure heart, and a good conscience, and unfeigned faith (1 Tim. 1). That, therefore, the water of the flood did not save those placed outside the ark, but killed them, without doubt prefigured that every heretic, although he has the sacrament of baptism, is to be plunged into hell, not by other waters, but by the very waters by which the ark is lifted up towards heaven. The very number eight, too, of the souls that were saved through water signifies that holy Church received the laver of baptism in the sacrament of the Lord's resurrection, so that as He rose from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also, cleansed from sins through the water of regeneration, may walk in newness of life (Rom. 6). For on the eighth day, that is, after the seventh of the Sabbath, the Lord, rising from the dead, showed us both the example of the future resurrection and the mystery of the new manner of life, by which, while set on earth, we should lead a heavenly life. Which Peter himself also adds by way of explanation, saying:
Per resurrectionem Jesu Christi, etc. Sicut enim ipse resurgens a mortuis ascendit in coelum, et sedet a dextris Dei, sic etiam et nobis per baptisma viam salutis ac regni coelestis introitum patere signavit. Bene autem ait: Deglutiens mortem; quod enim deglutimus, agimus ut virtute nostri corporis assumptum nunquam pareat. Et deglutivit mortem Dominus, quam resurgens a mortuis ita funditus consumpsit, ut nihil contra se ultra per attactum alicujus corruptionis valeret, ac, manente specie veri corporis, abesset prorsus labes omnis priscae fragilitatis. Quod ipsum et nobis in fine promittitur futurum, dicente Apostolo, cum de nostra resurrectione loqueretur: Tunc fiet sermo qui scriptus est: Absorpta est mors in victoria (I Cor. XV). Bene absorpta, quia cum et nos vitae aeternae participes fuerimus effecti, ita nimirum virtus corporis immortalis omne praeteritae corruptionis vitium tollet, quomodo solet flamma ignis immissam sibi aquae guttam ardoris sui consumere virtute.
By the resurrection of Jesus Christ, etc. For as He Himself, rising from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, so also He signified that for us through baptism the way of salvation and the entrance of the heavenly kingdom lie open. And he says well: Swallowing up death; for what we swallow, we bring about by the power of our body that, once taken in, it never appears. And the Lord swallowed up death, which, rising from the dead, He so utterly consumed that it should have no further power against Him through the touch of any corruption, and that, while the form of a true body remained, every stain of the former frailty should be wholly absent. And this very thing is promised to us too as to come at the end, as the Apostle says, when he was speaking of our resurrection: Then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory (1 Cor. 15). Well does he say swallowed up, because when we too have been made partakers of eternal life, the power of the immortal body will indeed take away every fault of past corruption, just as the flame of a fire is wont to consume, by the power of its heat, a drop of water let fall into it.
Profectus (inquit) in coelum, etc. Nulli dubium est quin Filio Dei semper fuerint angeli et omnes patriae coelestis virtutes ac potestates subjectae, quem cum Patre et Spiritu sancto unum sine initio Deum laudant, tremunt, adorant. Sed necessario admonendum beatus Petrus aestimavit quod assumpta humanitas in tantam sit gloriam resurgendo sublimata, ut incomparabili culmine omni angelicae dignitatis potentiae praeferetur. Juxta quod et Psalmista, cum diceret de ipso Patri: Minuisti eum paulo minus ab
Going (he says) into heaven, etc. No one doubts that the angels and all the virtues and powers of the heavenly homeland have always been subject to the Son of God, Whom, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, they praise, tremble before and adore as one God without beginning. But blessed Peter judged it necessary to admonish that the humanity He assumed was, by rising again, raised to such glory that by an incomparable height it should be preferred to every power of angelic dignity. In accordance with which the Psalmist also, when he said of Him to the Father: Thou hast made Him a little less than
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angelis (Psal. VIII); continuo subjecit: Gloria et honore coronasti eum, et constituisti eum super opera manuum tuorum; omnia subjecisti sub pedibus ejus (Ibid.).
the angels (Ps. 8:6); he at once added: With glory and honour Thou hast crowned him, and hast set him over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast subjected all things under his feet (ibid.).
CAPUT IV.
CHAPTER IV.
Christo igitur passo in carne, etc. Postquam exemplum resurrectionis dominicae et ablutionis nostrae quae fit in baptismo, de arcae ac diluvii sacramento astruxerat, revertitur ad hoc quod dicere coeperat, ut, imitantes opus Redemptoris nostri, inter bona quae facimus, patienter malorum nequitiam toleremus. Notandum autem, quod distincte loquens ait: Christo igitur passo in carne. Quia sicut beatus Ambrosius ait: « caro ejus est passa, Divinitas autem mortis libera, passioni corpus naturae humanae lege concessit. » An vero mori Divinitas potest, cum anima non possit? Nolite, inquit, timere eos qui occidunt corpus, animam autem non possunt occidere (Matth. X). Si ergo anima occidi non potest, quomodo Divinitas potest?
Since then Christ has suffered in the flesh, etc. After he had established, from the sacrament of the ark and the flood, the pattern of the Lord's resurrection and of our washing which takes place in baptism, he returns to what he had begun to say, namely that, imitating the work of our Redeemer, amid the good things we do we should patiently bear the wickedness of evil men. But it is to be noted that, speaking with precision, he says: Since then Christ has suffered in the flesh. For, as blessed Ambrose says: "His flesh suffered, but the Divinity was free of death; He yielded the body to suffering by the law of human nature." Can the Divinity indeed die, when the soul cannot? Do not fear, He says, those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul (Matt. 10:28). If therefore the soul cannot be killed, how can the Divinity?
Quia qui passus est in carne desiit a peccatis, etc. Quisquis sanctorum corpus suum ad martyrium persecutorum violentiae subdidit, nulli dubium quin usque ad vitae suae terminum, quantum humanae naturae possibile est, sese a peccatis abstinuerit. Quid enim de peccati perpetratione, quid de carnalibus desideriis cogitare, quid nisi voluntatem Dei potuit animo versare, qui vel ligno affixus, vel lapidum ictibus circumdatus, vel bestiarum morsibus subactus, vel ignium flammis superpositus, vel scorpionum flagris perfossus, vel alio quolibet poenarum genere affectus, hoc tantummodo desiderare cogebatur, ut finito certamine coronam vitae perciperet? Talium ergo mentem nos beatus Petrus cupit semper imitari, cum, proposito dominicae passionis exemplo, nos eadem cogitatione contra nequitiam pravorum contraque vitiorum oblectamenta praecipit arma⟨r⟩i, volens intelligi quod etiam nos in pace Ecclesiae quiescentes, si habitum patientis induimus, facile, adjuvante Domino, lapsus vitamus peccatorum omnium cunctaque desideria divinae voluntatis subjugamus imperiis. Denique et Psalmista Dominum precatur dicens: Infige timore tuo carnes meas, a judiciis enim tuis timui (Psal. CXVIII). Et Apostolus: Qui ergo Christi sunt (inquit) carnem suam crucifixerunt cum vitiis et concupiscentiis (Galat. V). Qui ergo timore judiciorum coelestium carnales in mente concupiscentias exstinguit, jam talis crucifixo ac patienti pro Christo similis, quasi mortuus existens peccatis, Dei tantum servitio vivit.
For he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sins, etc. Whoever of the saints submitted his body to martyrdom at the violence of persecutors, no one doubts that up to the end of his life, so far as is possible to human nature, he kept himself from sins. For what could he think of the committing of sin, what of carnal desires, what could he turn over in his mind but the will of God, who, whether fastened to the wood, or surrounded by blows of stones, or brought low by the bites of beasts, or set upon the flames of fires, or pierced by scourges of scorpions, or afflicted by any other kind of punishment whatever, was compelled to desire this alone, that when the contest was finished he might receive the crown of life? It is the mind of such men, then, that blessed Peter desires us always to imitate, when, setting before us the example of the Lord's passion, he bids us arm ourselves with the same thought against the wickedness of the depraved and against the delights of the vices, wishing it to be understood that we too, resting in the peace of the Church, if we put on the disposition of one who suffers, easily, with the Lord's help, avoid the falls of all sins and subjugate all our desires to the commands of the divine will. So too the Psalmist prays to the Lord, saying: Pierce my flesh with Thy fear, for I have feared Thy judgements (Ps. 118:120). And the Apostle: And those who are Christ's (he says) have crucified their flesh with its vices and desires (Gal. 5:24). Whoever therefore, through fear of the heavenly judgements, extinguishes carnal desires in his mind is now like one crucified and suffering for Christ; as one dead to sins, he lives for the service of God alone.
In quo admirantur, non concurrentibus vobis, etc. Quia carnem (inquit) vestram crucifixistis cum vitiis et concupiscentiis, evenit profecto ut etsi propter suam perfidiam vos blasphement, ut pote segregatos ab eorum consortio, in vestra tamen conversatione semper opera justitiae et pietatis videant, quae merito admirentur, et pro quibus fidem jure laudent ac venerentur Christianam.
In which they are astonished that you do not run together with them, etc. Because (he says) you have crucified your flesh with its vices and desires, it surely comes about that, although on account of their own faithlessness they revile you, as men separated from their company, yet in your way of life they always see works of justice and piety which they rightly marvel at, and on account of which they justly praise and revere the Christian faith.
Qui reddent rationem ei qui paratus est judicare
Who will render an account to Him Who is ready to judge
Editors' notes and page, col. 61
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- marginal letters: A ‹angelis (Psal. VIII); continuo subjecit›; B ‹concessit. An vero mori Divinitas potest›; C ‹num flagris perfossus›; D ‹Christi sunt (inquit) carnem suam›
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- other: "arma⟨r⟩i": the r is lost to damaged type. "ut pote" printed as two words. Column ends mid-sentence at "judicare".
vivos ac mortuos. Ideo (inquit) minus curate, minus dolete, si benefacientes blasphemamini a reprobis, quia etsi vos tacueritis, non tamen tacebit, neque compescetur Deus judex utique justus, qui et illis blasphemiae suae, et patientiae vestrae vobis praemia digna restituet.
the living and the dead. Therefore (he says) be less concerned, grieve less, if when doing good you are reviled by the reprobate, because even if you keep silent, yet God will not keep silent, nor will He be restrained, being a judge altogether just, Who will render due rewards both to them for their blasphemy and to you for your patience.
Propter hoc enim et mortuis evangelizatum est, etc. Tanta Deo cura, tantus amor, tantum est desiderium nos mortificari carne, vivificari autem spiritu, ut his quoque qui majoribus criminibus involuti sunt, et inter mortuos jure nominandi, luxuriis videlicet, desideriis, vinolentiis, comessationibus, potationibus, et illicitis idolorum cultibus, verbum fidei evangelizare praeceperit, quatenus et illi judicatis, id est, spretis et abjectis carnalibus desideriis spiritualiter vivant, unaque cum eis quos innocenter viventes Evangelii gratia invenit, vitam exspectent aeternam.
For this is why the gospel was preached even to the dead, etc. So great is God's care, so great His love, so great His desire that we be put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, that He commanded the word of faith to be preached also to those who are entangled in greater crimes and are rightly named among the dead, namely in debaucheries, lusts, drunkenness, revellings, carousings and the unlawful worship of idols, so that they too, their carnal desires judged, that is, spurned and cast off, may live spiritually, and together with those whom the grace of the Gospel found living innocently, may await eternal life.
Omnium autem finis appropinquabit. Ne sibi quisque blandiretur de longinquitate futuri judicii, in quo vivos et mortuos dixerat esse judicandos, consulte admonet, quia etsi incertus est extremi discriminis adventus, certum tamen constat omnibus quod in hac mortali vita diu subsistere nequeunt.
But the end of all things will draw near. Lest anyone should flatter himself about the remoteness of the coming judgement, in which he had said the living and the dead are to be judged, he advisedly warns that, although the coming of the final reckoning is uncertain, yet it stands certain for all that they cannot long continue in this mortal life.
Estote itaque prudentes, etc. Et Dominus in Evangelio, nos incerti finis intuitu semper orare et vigilare praecepit. Ait namque, loquens de die judicii: Vigilate itaque, omni tempore orantes, ut digni habeamini fugere omnia quae ventura sunt, et stare ante Filium hominis (Luc. XXI). Bene autem in orationibus vigilare jubemur, ut cum stamus ad orationem, cogitatio omnis carnalis et saecularis abscedat, nec tunc quidquam animus praeter id solum cogitet quod precatur. Subripit enim frequenter hostis, et subtiliter fallens preces nostras adeo avocat, ut aliud habeamus in corde et aliud proferamus in voce, cum intentione sincera Deum debeat non sonus vocis, sed animae sensus orare.
Be therefore prudent, etc. The Lord too in the Gospel, with a view to the uncertain end, commanded us always to pray and keep watch. For He says, speaking of the day of judgement: Watch therefore, praying at all times, that you may be counted worthy to escape all the things that are to come, and to stand before the Son of man (Luke 21:36). And rightly are we bidden to watch in prayers, so that when we stand to pray every carnal and worldly thought may depart, and the mind may then think of nothing but that alone which it prays for. For the enemy often creeps in, and, subtly deceiving us, so draws our prayers away that we have one thing in the heart and utter another with the voice, whereas it is not the sound of the voice but the mind of the soul that ought to pray to God with sincere intention.
Ante omnia autem mutuam in vobismetipsis charitatem continuam habentes. Bene addidit continuam, quia semper diligere valemus, semper autem vigilare in orationibus fragilitate carnis obstante nequimus; semper his quae subjungit virtutibus insistere minime valeamus, id est, hospitalitati, doctrinae, administrationi gratiarum, vel communium, vel specialium in proximos, caeterisque hujusmodi. Quia haec nimirum et per officium corporis, et per tempora opportuna fieri necesse est. Ipsa autem charitas cujus instinctu haec foris aguntur, quia interiori homini praesidet, semper ibidem haberi potest, quamvis in publico non semper ostendi possit
But above all having continual mutual charity among yourselves. He did well to add continual, because we are able to love always, but to watch always in prayers we cannot, the frailty of the flesh standing in the way; nor are we at all able always to apply ourselves to the virtues which he adds, that is, to hospitality, to teaching, to the ministering of graces, whether common or particular, towards our neighbours, and other things of this kind. For these things must of course be done both through the service of the body and at suitable times. But charity itself, at whose prompting these things are done outwardly, since it presides over the inner man, can always be had there, although it cannot always be shown in public.
Quia charitas cooperit multitudinem peccatorum. In eo maxime, cum veraciter Deo dicitur: Et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris (Matth. VI). Et quidem cuncta opera bona quae facimus culpas quas fecimus diluere et cooperire certum est, sed hoc ideo specialiter de charitate dicitur per quam proximis nostris ea quae nobis debent donamus, quia justissimum est apud Deum
For charity covers a multitude of sins. Above all in this, when it is truly said to God: And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors (Matt. 6:12). And indeed it is certain that all the good works we do wash away and cover the faults we have committed, but this is said specially of charity, through which we forgive our neighbours what they owe us, because it is most just with God
Editors' notes and page, col. 62
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- running head: [IN PRIMAM] EPISTOLAM PETRI. 62
- marginal letters: A ‹vivos ac mortuos. Ideo (inquit)›; B ‹vivant, unaque cum eis quos innocenter›; C ‹bus vigilare jubemur, ut cum stamus›; D ‹administrationi gratiarum, vel communium›
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ut juxta mensuram pietatis qua mensi fuerimus remetiatur nobis. Sicut e contra terribiliter duricordes vir sapiens arguit, dicens: Homo homini servat iram, et a Deo quaerit medelam (Eccli. XXVIII)? Nec dubitandum quod in eo quoque qui per charitatem quidquid valet erga correptionem proximi, admonendo, increpando, castigando operatur, charitas ipsa cooperiat multitudinem peccatorum, Jacobo attestante, qui ait: Quoniam qui converti fecerit peccatorem ab errore viae suae salvabit animam ejus a morte, et operit multitudinem peccatorum (Jac. V).
that it should be measured back to us according to the measure of mercy with which we have measured. Just as, on the contrary, the wise man terribly rebukes the hard of heart, saying: Man keeps anger against man, and does he seek healing from God (Sir. 28:3)? Nor is it to be doubted that in him also who through charity does whatever he can towards the correction of his neighbour, by admonishing, rebuking, chastising, charity itself covers a multitude of sins, as James bears witness, who says: For he who causes a sinner to be converted from the error of his way will save his soul from death, and covers a multitude of sins (Jas. 5:20).
Si quis loquitur quasi sermones Dei. Timens videlicet, ne praeter voluntatem Dei, vel praeter quod in Scripturis sanctis evidenter praecipitur, vel dicat aliquid vel imperet, et inveniatur tanquam falsus testis Dei, aut sacrilegus, vel introducens aliquid alienum a doctrina Domini, vel certe subrelinquens et praeteriens aliquid eorum quae Deo placita sunt, cum ipse manifestissime praedicatoribus veritatis de his quos ad vitam imbuerint praecipiat, dicens: Docentes eos servare omnia quaecunque mandavi vobis (Matth. XXVIII). Et ea enim quae ipse mandavit, nos alia, et haec non ex parte, sed omnia suis auditoribus observanda tradere jubet.
If anyone speaks, as the words of God. Fearing, that is, lest he should either say or command anything contrary to the will of God, or contrary to what is plainly commanded in the holy Scriptures, and be found as a false witness of God, or sacrilegious, either introducing something foreign to the Lord's teaching, or at least leaving out and passing over something of the things that are pleasing to God, since He Himself most plainly commands the preachers of the truth concerning those whom they have instructed for life, saying: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you (Matt. 28:20). For He bids them hand on to their hearers to be observed the very things He commanded, not others, and these not in part, but all.
Si quis ministrat, etc. Tanto humilius impendat quisque proximo omne bonum quod potest, quanto certissime novit quod a semetipso non potest habere quod impendat.
If anyone ministers, etc. Let each bestow on his neighbour every good that he can the more humbly, the more certainly he knows that he cannot have from himself what he bestows.
Ut in omnibus honorificetur Deus per Jesum Christum, etc. Juxta ipsius Jesu Christi praeceptum quo ait: Videant vestra bona opera, et glorificent Patrem vestrum qui in coelis est (Matth. V). Honorificatur ergo Deus in actibus nostris, cum omne quidquid bene ac secundum voluntatem ejus facimus, non hoc nostris meritis, sed ejus gratiae tribuimus, econtra autem mala quae gerimus nostrae solum malitiae vel ignorantiae deputamus.
That in all things God may be honoured through Jesus Christ, etc. According to the precept of Jesus Christ Himself, in which He says: Let them see your good works, and glorify your Father Who is in heaven (Matt. 5:16). God is therefore honoured in our actions when everything whatever that we do well and according to His will we attribute not to our own merits but to His grace, while on the other hand the evil things we do we ascribe to our own malice or ignorance alone.
Charissimi, nolite mirari in fervore, etc. Quidam Codices habent: Nolite peregrinari in fervore. Utriusque autem verbi sensus in promptu est, quia neque mirari fidelis quisque debet quare in hac vita fervorem patiatur tribulationum, qui certa ratione ideo nunc tribulationibus tentatur, ut, cum probatus fuerit, ad futurae vitae coronam percipiendam dignus habeatur; neque se aliquis ideo peregrinum et extraneum a Christi membris existimare debet, quia praesentis saeculi feriatur adversis, cum et Domini exitus mortis (Psal. LXVII), et in ejus Ecclesia nunquam, a protomartyre Abel usque ad ultimum electum qui in fine saeculi nasciturus est, infidelium persecutio cessaverit. Unde bene cum dixisset, Nolite mirari in fervore, addidit:
Beloved, do not marvel at the fiery heat, etc. Some codices have: Do not be estranged in the fiery heat. But the sense of either word is plain, because neither ought any of the faithful to marvel why in this life he suffers the heat of tribulations, since for a sure reason he is tried now by tribulations in order that, when he has been proved, he may be held worthy to receive the crown of the life to come; nor ought anyone to think himself a stranger and foreign to the members of Christ because he is struck by the adversities of the present age, since both the Lord's are the issues of death (Ps. 67:21), and in His Church, from the protomartyr Abel to the last elect who is to be born at the end of the age, the persecution of unbelievers has never ceased. Hence, having said, Do not marvel at the fiery heat, he rightly added:
Quasi novi aliquid vobis contingat. Quia valde est antiquum et frequens, electos Dei vitae praesentis adversa pro aeterna salute tolerare.
As though something new were happening to you. For it is very ancient and frequent for God's elect to endure the adversities of the present life for the sake of eternal salvation.
Nemo autem vestrum patiatur tanquam homicida, etc. Tanquam maledicus enim patitur qui passionis suae tempore in sui injuriam persecutoris effrenatur.
But let none of you suffer as a murderer, etc. For he suffers as a reviler who, at the time of his suffering, breaks loose without restraint in abuse of his persecutor.
Quoniam tempus est ut incipiat judicium a domo
For it is time for judgement to begin from the house
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- marginal letters: A ‹ut juxta mensuram pietatis qua mensi›; B ‹tis Dei, aut sacrilegus, vel introducens›; C ‹ait: Videant vestra bona opera›; D ‹beatur; neque se aliquis ideo peregrinum›
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Dei. Duo sunt judicia Dei per Scripturas insinuata: unum occultum, alterum manifestum. Occultum judicium est poena, qua nunc unusquisque hominum aut exercetur ad purgationem, aut admonetur ad conversionem, aut, si contempserit vocationem et disciplinam Dei, excaecatur ad damnationem. Judicium autem manifestum est, quo venturus est Dominus judicare vivos et mortuos. Nunc autem dicitur esse tempus in quo incipiat judicium de domo Domini, id est, de Ecclesia, quae per exercitium praesentium afflictionum ad futura gaudia praeparatur. Namque reprobi tanto securiores nunc et sine ullo vindictae verbere vitam transitoriam ducunt, quanto eis in futuro nihil nisi vindicta restat, juxta illud beati Job: Ducunt in bonis dies suos, et in puncto ad inferna descendunt.
of God. There are two judgements of God made known through the Scriptures: one hidden, the other manifest. The hidden judgement is the punishment by which each man is now either exercised for purification, or admonished to conversion, or, if he has despised the calling and discipline of God, blinded unto damnation. But the manifest judgement is that in which the Lord is to come to judge the living and the dead. Now it is said to be the time in which judgement begins from the house of the Lord, that is, from the Church, which through the exercise of present afflictions is prepared for the joys to come. For the reprobate now lead this passing life the more securely and without any lash of punishment, the more nothing but punishment remains for them in the future, according to that saying of blessed Job: They spend their days in good things, and in a moment they go down to hell.
Si autem primum a nobis, quis finis illorum, etc.? Hinc colligitur districtus Judex quanta illic feriat districtione quos reprobat, si hic sic cruciat quos amat. Si enim flagellantur filii, quid debent sperare servi nequissimi?
And if it begins first with us, what will be the end of those, etc.? From this it is gathered with what great severity the strict Judge will strike there those whom He rejects, if here He so torments those whom He loves. For if the sons are scourged, what must the most wicked servants expect?
Et si justus quidem vix salvabitur, etc. Nolunt credere Pelagiani quod in uno homine tota est generis humani massa vitiata, et tota damnata. A quo vitio unius hominis et damnatione sola sanat et liberat gratia Christi. Quare enim justus vix salvabitur? Nunquid liberare justum labor est Deo? Absit. Sed ut ostendatur quod merito fuerit damnata natura, non vult facile de tanto malo nec ipse Omnipotens liberare. Propter quod et peccata proclivia sunt, et laboriosa justitia, nisi amantibus. Sed charitas quae hos amantes facit, ex Deo est. Notandum autem quod hanc sententiam beatus Petrus de Proverbiis Salomonis juxta veterem duntaxat Editionem assumpsit, pro qua in nostra quae de Hebraicae veritatis fonte descendit, scriptum est: Si justus in terra recipit, quanto magis impius et peccator (Proverb. XI)? Quod est aperte dicere: Si tanta est vitae mortalis fragilitas, ut ne justi quidem qui in coelo coronandi sunt, hanc sine tribulatione propter innumeram vitiatae naturae labem transeant, quanto magis hi qui coelestis sunt gratiae extorres certum suae perpetuae damnationis exitum exspectant?
And if the just man will scarcely be saved, etc. The Pelagians refuse to believe that in one man the whole mass of the human race was corrupted and the whole condemned. From this corruption and condemnation of the one man the grace of Christ alone heals and sets free. For why will the just man scarcely be saved? Is it a labour for God to set the just man free? Far from it. But in order that it may be shown that nature was deservedly condemned, not even the Almighty Himself wills to set free easily from so great an evil. For this reason sins come readily and justice is laborious, except to those who love. But the charity that makes them [so printed, hos; perhaps "us", nos, as in Augustine] lovers is from God. It is to be noted, moreover, that blessed Peter took this sentence from the Proverbs of Solomon according to the old Edition only, in place of which in ours, which comes down from the source of the Hebrew truth, it is written: If the just man receives on earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner (Prov. 11:31)? Which is to say openly: If the frailty of mortal life is so great that not even the just, who are to be crowned in heaven, pass through it without tribulation because of the countless stain of corrupted nature, how much more do those who are exiles from heavenly grace await the certain issue of their perpetual damnation?
CAPUT V.
CHAPTER V.
Seniores ergo qui in vobis sunt obsecro, etc. Ideo videlicet testis, quod praesens i⟨l⟩lo patiente astitit, et cuncta ut gerebantur aspexit. Vel certe quia et ipse propter nomen Christi, carcerem, vincula ac verbera passus est, ut in apostolorum Actibus legimus.
I therefore exhort the elders who are among you, etc. A witness, that is, because he stood by, present, while He suffered, and saw all things as they were done. Or certainly because he himself also, for the name of Christ, suffered prison, chains and blows, as we read in the Acts of the apostles.
Qui et ejus quae in futuro revelanda est gloriae communicator. Tunc nimirum cum in monte sancto gloriam vultus ejus coelestem cum Jacobo et Joanne conspexit, sive cum resurrectionis et ascensionis ejus potentiam cum caeteris qui affuere discipulis vidit.
Who am also a sharer of His glory which is to be revealed in the future. Then, doubtless, when on the holy mountain he beheld the heavenly glory of His countenance with James and John, or when he saw the power of His resurrection and ascension with the other disciples who were present.
Pascite qui in vobis est gregem Dei. Sicut Dominus beato Petro totius gregis ejus, hoc est Ecclesiae curam habere jussit, ita ipse Petrus sequentibus
Feed the flock of God which is among you. Just as the Lord commanded blessed Peter to have the care of His whole flock, that is, of the Church, so Peter himself [commanded] his successors
Editors' notes and page, col. 64
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- running head: [BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PA]RS II. SECT. I. — EXEGETICA GENUINA. 64
- marginal letters: A ‹Dei. Duo sunt judicia Dei›; B ‹inferna descendunt.›; C ‹liberare. Propter quod et peccata›; D ‹Seniores ergo qui in vobis sunt obsecro›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "quis finis": the i of "quis" is broken in the type; "Dominus" in the last paragraph prints with a damaged i (looks like "Domlnus"); both set as the evident word. "i⟨l⟩lo": one l lost to damaged type. "Ideo videlicet testis" as printed (the lemma's "testis" is covered by "etc."). "charitas quae hos amantes facit": the page prints "hos" (Augustine's sentence has "nos"); set as printed and translated as printed (Q1; UNSURE at this scan's resolution, re-check at zoom). Column ends mid-sentence at "sequentibus"; the English supplies [commanded] only to make the fragment readable.
Ecclesiae pastoribus jure mandat ut eum quisque qui secum est, gregem Dei sollicita gubernatione tueatur.
pastors of the Church rightly commands that each should protect with careful governance that flock of God which is with him.
Providentes non coacte, sed spontanee, etc. Coacte pascit gregem Dei et providet ille qui propter rerum temporalium penuriam non habens unde vivat, idcirco praedicat Evangelium, ut de Evangelio vivere possit. Spontanee vero et secundum Deum, qui nullius terrenae rei, sed tantum supernae mercedis intuitu verbum Dei praedicat. Quod utrumque distinguens ab invicem apostolus Paulus: Si enim volens (inquit) hoc ago, mercedem habeo; si autem invitus, dispensatio mihi credita est. Dispensatio quippe ei credita dicitur, qui rei externae curam ad tempus habere praecipitur. Verbi gratia, qui triticum domini sui conservis in tempore dispertiri jubetur, huic assimilatur qui non spontanee, sed invitus evangelizat.
Taking care of it not under constraint, but willingly, etc. He feeds and takes care of the flock of God under constraint who, through want of temporal things, not having the means to live, therefore preaches the Gospel so that he may be able to live by the Gospel. But willingly and according to God, he who preaches the word of God with a view to no earthly thing, but only to the heavenly reward. Distinguishing these two from each other, the apostle Paul says: For if I do this willingly (he says), I have a reward; but if unwillingly, a stewardship has been entrusted to me (1 Cor. 9:17). For a stewardship is said to be entrusted to him who is ordered to have the care of something outside himself for a time. For example, one who is ordered to distribute his lord's wheat to his fellow servants in due season: to him is likened the man who preaches the gospel not willingly but unwillingly.
Neque turpis lucri gratia, sed voluntarie. Turpis lucri gratia providet gregi Dei, qui propter quaestum et terrena commoda praedicat, cum religionis opera cuncta spontanee fieri debeant. Juxta illud exemplum constructionis tabernaculi, quod praesentem Ecclesiae constructionem praetendebat, ubi et omnis multitudo filiorum Israel obtulit mente promptissima atque devota primitias Domino ad faciendum opus tabernaculi, sponte propria cuncta tribuens, et ipsi artifices sponte sua obtulerunt se ad faciendum opus.
Nor for the sake of shameful gain, but freely. He takes care of the flock of God for the sake of shameful gain who preaches for profit and earthly advantages, whereas all the works of religion ought to be done willingly. According to that example of the building of the tabernacle, which foreshadowed the present building of the Church, where both the whole multitude of the sons of Israel offered with a most ready and devout mind first-fruits to the Lord for making the work of the tabernacle, giving everything of their own accord, and the craftsmen themselves of their own accord offered themselves to do the work.
Neque ut dominantes in cleris, etc. Ut videlicet humilitatem, quam subditos et ad vos et ad invicem habere desideratis, ipsi prius et actu monstretis, et in animo servetis integro, juxta illud dominicum: Scitis quia hi qui videntur principari gentibus, dominantur eis, et principes eorum potestatem habent ipsorum. Non autem ita erit in vobis, sed quicunque voluerit fieri major, erit vester minister; et quicunque voluerit in vobis primus esse, erit omnium servus (Matth. XXIII). Quod Paulus imperium diligenter observans ait: Non enim nosmetipsos praedicamus, sed Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum, nos autem servos vestros per Jesum.
Nor as lording it over the clergy, etc. That is, so that the humility which you desire those subject to you to have both towards you and towards one another, you yourselves may first both show in act and keep in an undivided mind, according to that word of the Lord: You know that those who are seen to rule over the gentiles lord it over them, and their princes have power over them. But it shall not be so among you; but whoever wishes to become greater shall be your minister; and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be the servant of all (Matt. 20:25–27). Carefully observing this command, Paul says: For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ our Lord, and ourselves your servants through Jesus (2 Cor. 4:5).
Similiter, adolescentes, subditi estote senioribus. Postquam seniores quomodo praeessent docuit, oportebat ut etiam juniores ad obediendum paternae eorum provisioni instrueret. Non autem opus erat eis plura loqui, sed tantum subjectionis dare praeceptum. Quia nimirum senioribus praeceperat ut forma facti essent subditis, et sufficiebat juniores ad majorum bene agentium exempla respicere, et haec devote imitari. Sed ne haec audientes praelati putarent solummodo subditis suis, et non etiam sibi debitae humilitatis jura esse servanda, continuo generaliter admonendo subjecit:
Likewise, young men, be subject to the elders. After he had taught the elders how they should preside, it was fitting that he should also instruct the younger to obey their fatherly care. But there was no need to say more to them, but only to give the precept of subjection. For he had of course commanded the elders to be made a pattern to those subject to them, and it was enough for the younger to look to the examples of their elders who did well, and to imitate them devoutly. But lest the prelates, hearing this, should think that the rights of due humility were to be kept only by their subjects and not by themselves as well, he at once added, admonishing in general terms:
Omnes autem invicem humilitatem insinuate. Omnes etenim dicit, et seniores et adolescentes, qui invicem jubentur humilitatis insinuare virtutem, et hi videlicet regendo, et illi obsequendo humiliter. Quod apud ipsum Petrum, et in ipso factum legimus, cum,
And all of you, show humility to one another. For he says all, both elders and young men, who are bidden to show to one another the virtue of humility, the former, that is, by ruling, and the latter by obeying humbly. Which we read was done in Peter's own case and by Peter himself, when,
Editors' notes and page, col. 65
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- running head: 65 IN PRIMAM EPISTO[LAM PETRI.] (rest of the head over column 66)
- marginal letters: A ‹Ecclesiae pastoribus jure mandat›; B ‹sui conservis in tempore dispertiri›; C ‹humilitatem, quam subditos et ad vos›; D ‹tebat ut etiam juniores ad obediendum›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: UNSURE: the Gospel reference reads "(Matth. XXIII)" as far as the blurred numeral can be read; the words quoted are Matt. 20:25–27, and the English gives that. Migne prints no references for 1 Cor. 9:17 or 2 Cor. 4:5; the English supplies them. "imperium" (Paul observing the "command") as printed. Column ends mid-sentence at "cum,".
intrante eo Caesaream, Cornelius occurrens pedibus se ejus humiliter stravit, et ille humilius levavit eum, dicens: Surge, et ego homo sum, sicut et tu (Act. X). Et quidem Cornelius necdum renatus in Christo, necdum Ecclesiae erat membris incorporatus. Omnes ergo humilitatem habere ad alterutrum vel exemplo docet, vel etiam verbo insinuat, quia nimirum omnibus superbiae vitium quod angelos de coelo dejecit, noverat esse cavendum, omnes adjuncta Salomonis sententia terret salubriter ac refovet, dicens:
as he entered Caesarea, Cornelius, running to meet him, humbly prostrated himself at his feet, and he more humbly raised him up, saying: Stand up; I too am a man, just as you are (Acts 10:26). And Cornelius was indeed not yet reborn in Christ, nor yet incorporated into the members of the Church. He therefore teaches all, whether by example or also by word, to have humility towards one another, because he knew well that all must beware of the vice of pride, which cast the angels down from heaven; adding a sentence of Solomon, he wholesomely alarms and comforts all, saying:
Quia Deus superbis resistit, etc. Et quae sit eadem gratia quam confert humilibus Deus, consequenter exponit, cum admonendo subjungit:
For God resists the proud, etc. And what that grace is which God confers on the humble he explains next, when he adds by way of admonition:
Humiliamini igitur sub potenti manu Dei, etc. Hanc ergo gratiam humilibus tribuit, ut quo magis humiliati fuerint propter ipsum, tempore certaminis, eo gloriosius exaltentur ab ipso tempore retributionis. Potest autem humiliatio hoc in loco multifarie accipi, hoc est, et ea qua incipiens quisque viam virtutum pro abluendis quae commiserat peccatis salubriter atteritur, et illa quae spontanea mentis devotione a perfectioribus Deo vel proximis in pace exhibetur rerum circumstantium, necnon et ea qua, incursantibus persecutionum turbinibus, invictus per patientiae virtutem animus armatur. Omni autem generi Deo devotae humilitatis merces succedit illa, ut qui se tempore peregrinationis suae humiliant, tempore visitationis ejus exaltentur.
Be humbled therefore under the mighty hand of God, etc. This grace, then, He bestows on the humble, that the more they have been humbled for His sake in the time of contest, the more gloriously they may be exalted by Him in the time of recompense. Now humiliation in this place can be taken in many ways, that is: both that by which each one beginning the way of the virtues is wholesomely worn down for washing away the sins he had committed; and that which is shown to God or to neighbours by the more perfect, out of the spontaneous devotion of the mind, when the surrounding circumstances are at peace; and also that by which, when the whirlwinds of persecution rush upon it, the mind is armed, unconquered, through the virtue of patience. And upon every kind of humility devoted to God there follows that reward, that those who humble themselves in the time of their pilgrimage are exalted in the time of His visitation.
Sobrii estote et vigilate, etc. In hujus expositione sententiae, non nostra, verum beati Cypriani dicta ponamus. « Circumit (inquit) ille nos singulos, et tanquam hostis clausos obsidens muros explorat et tentat, an sit pars aliqua membrorum minus stabilis et minus fida, cujus aditu ad interiora penetretur. Offert oculis formas illices et faciles voluptates, ut visu destruat castitatem. Aures per canora musica tentat, ut soni dulcioris auditu solvat et molliat Christianum vigorem. Linguam convicio provocat, manum injuriis lacessentibus ad petulantiam caedis instigat; ut fraudatorem faciat, lucra opponit injusta; ut animam pecunia capiat, ingerit perniciosa compendia. Honores terrenos promittit, ut coelestes adimat. Obtendit falsa, ut vera subripiat. Et cum latenter non potest fallere, aperte minatur, terrorem turbidae persecutionis intentans, ad debellandos servos Dei inquietus semper et semper infestus. In p⟨a⟩ce subdolus, in persecutione violentus. Quamobrem contra omnes diaboli vel fallaces insidias vel apertas minas stare debet instructus animus et armatus, tam paratus semper ad repugnandum, quam est ad impugnandum semper paratus inimicus. »
Be sober and watch, etc. In expounding this sentence let us set down not our own words but those of blessed Cyprian. "He goes round each one of us," he says, "and like an enemy besieging walls shut fast, he spies out and tries whether there be any part of the members less firm and less trustworthy, by whose entrance he may penetrate to the inner parts. He offers to the eyes alluring forms and easy pleasures, so as to destroy chastity through sight. He tries the ears through tuneful music, so as by the hearing of sweeter sound to loosen and soften Christian vigour. He provokes the tongue by abuse; he goads the hand, through provoking injuries, to the wantonness of slaughter; to make a man a cheat, he sets unjust gains before him; to ensnare the soul with money, he thrusts ruinous profits upon it. He promises earthly honours, so as to take away the heavenly. He holds out false things, so as to steal away the true. And when he cannot deceive secretly, he threatens openly, holding out the terror of turbulent persecution, always restless and always hostile for the vanquishing of the servants of God. In peace crafty, in persecution violent. Wherefore against all the devil's deceitful snares or open threats the mind must stand equipped and armed, as ready always to resist as the enemy is always ready to attack."
Cui resistite fortes in fide, etc. Tanto (inquit) fortiores estote in fide, tanto majorem habetote fiduciam ad superandas diaboli versutias, quanto constat quia non vos soli tentamini, sed ipsa pass⟨i⟩o quae vos fatigat ei quoque quae per totum mundum est Ecclesiae Christi, vestrae videlicet fraternitati, communis
Resist him, strong in faith, etc. Be the stronger in faith (he says), have the greater confidence for overcoming the devil's wiles, the more it is evident that you are not tempted alone, but the very suffering that wearies you is common also to that Church of Christ which is throughout the whole world, that is, to your brotherhood
Editors' notes and page, col. 66
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- running head: [IN PRIMAM] EPISTOLAM PETRI. 66
- marginal letters: A ‹intrante eo Caesaream, Cornelius›; B ‹ergo gratiam humilibus tribuit›; C ‹Sobrii estote et vigilate›; D ‹ter non potest fallere, aperte minatur›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "p⟨a⟩ce" and "pass⟨i⟩o": a letter lost to damaged type in each. The Cyprian quotation (De zelo et livore 2) is printed with guillemets and no reference. Column ends mid-sentence at "communis".
est. Et quod a constitutione mundi semper passi sunt justi, pudeat vos solos prae omnibus sustinere non posse.
And what the just have always suffered from the foundation of the world, be ashamed that you alone, before all others, cannot endure.
Per Sylvanum vobis fidelem fratrem, etc. Quod ait obsecrans potest ad superiora referri, quia videlicet breviter scripserit, non imperans, sed obsecrans eos fortes in fide persistere. Potest et ad sequentia recte copulari, ut intelligatur non solum contestari hanc esse veram eorum gratiam quam scribendo praedicat, quia nimirum non est in alio aliquo salus, in quo oporteat nos salvos fieri (Act. IV), sed etiam obsecrare eos, ut hanc esse veram suam gratiam faciant, qua imbuti sunt in Christo. Gratia enim Christi eorum fit gratia, qui hanc mundo corde suscipiunt. Nam qui gratiam Dei spernit, non ipsam gratiam minuit, sed hanc suam non esse, id est, sibi facit non prodesse.
By Silvanus, a faithful brother to you, etc. What he says, beseeching, can be referred to what goes before, namely that he wrote briefly, not commanding but beseeching them to persevere strong in faith. It can also rightly be joined to what follows, so that he is understood not only to testify that this which he preaches in writing is their true grace, since indeed there is salvation in no other, in whom we must be saved (Acts 4:12), but also to beseech them to make this to be truly their own grace, with which they were imbued in Christ. For the grace of Christ becomes the grace of those who receive it with a clean heart. For he who spurns the grace of God does not diminish that grace, but makes it not his own, that is, makes it of no profit to himself.
Salutat vos Ecclesia quae est in Babylone collecta, etc. Babylonem typice Romam dicit, videlicet propter confusionem multiplicis idololatriae. In cujus medio sancta Ecclesia jam rudis et perparva fulgebat, juxta exemplum plebis Israeliticae, quae quondam, parva numero et captivata super flumina Babylonis sedens, absentiam sanctae terrae deflebat, nec canticum Domini in terra aliena cantare valebat (Psal. CXXXVI). Et bene beatus Petrus dum suos auditores ad tolerantiam hortatur adversitatum praesentium, dicit et Ecclesiam quae secum est in Babylone constitutam, id est, in confusione tribulationum. Et tamen collectam eam esse confirmat, ut ostendat sanctam Dei civitatem in hac vita a permistione et pressura civitatis diaboli, quam Babylonia signat, immunem esse non posse. Marcum autem filium suum evangelistam dicit, qui ejus in baptismate dicitur filius effectus. Unde patet quod priusquam
The Church which is gathered in Babylon greets you, etc. By Babylon he means Rome figuratively, namely on account of the confusion of its manifold idolatry. In the midst of it the holy Church, still new and very small, was shining, after the pattern of the people of Israel, which once, few in number and captive, sitting by the rivers of Babylon, wept for the absence of the holy land, and could not sing the Lord's song in a foreign land (Ps. 136:1–4). And blessed Peter does well, while exhorting his hearers to the endurance of present adversities, to say that the Church which is with him is also set in Babylon, that is, in the confusion of tribulations. And yet he affirms that it is gathered, to show that the holy city of God cannot in this life be free from the intermingling and oppression of the devil's city, which Babylon signifies. By Mark his son he means the evangelist, who is said to have been made his son in baptism. Hence it is clear that before
Editors' notes and page, col. 67
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- running head: 67 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS II. S[ECT. ...]
- marginal letters: A ‹est. Et quod a constitutione mundi›; B ‹minuit, sed hanc suam non esse›; C ‹sanctam Dei civitatem in hac vita›; D (falls below the band, beside the II Peter text, not set)
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: WORK BOUNDARY: I Peter in this column ends with the words "Unde patet quod priusquam" directly above the full-width rule and the band "IN SECUNDAM EPIS[TOLAM PETRI]"; the sentence continues at the top of column 68. The band, "CAPUT PRIMUM." and everything below it in this column (II Peter, from "Simon Petrus, servus et apostolus Jesu Christi, etc.") are not set.
Marcum Alexandriam de Roma ad evangelizandum mitteret, Epistolam hanc scripsit. Tempore autem Claudii principis et Petrus et Marcus Romam venerunt, et ipse Marcus, descripto Romae Evangelio suo, Alexandriam missus est. Unde colligitur quia Epistolam hanc Petrus dum quaeritur ubi vel quando scripserit, locus erat Roma, tempus Claudii Caesaris.
he sent Mark from Rome to Alexandria to preach the gospel, he wrote this Epistle. Now in the time of the emperor Claudius both Peter and Mark came to Rome, and Mark himself, having written out his Gospel at Rome, was sent to Alexandria. From this it is gathered that, when it is asked where or when Peter wrote this Epistle, the place was Rome, the time that of Claudius Caesar.
Salutate invicem in osculo sancto. Osculo sancto, osculo vero, osculo pacifico, osculo columbino, non subdolo, non polluto, quali usus est Joab ad occidendum Amasam, quali Judas ad tradendum Salvatorem, quali utuntur hi qui loquuntur pacem cum proximo suo, mala autem sunt in cordibus eorum (Psal. XXVII). Illi ergo osculo sancto salutant invicem, qui non diligunt verbo neque lingua, sed opere et veritate.
Greet one another with a holy kiss. With a holy kiss, a true kiss, a peaceable kiss, a dovelike kiss, not crafty, not defiled, such as Joab used to kill Amasa, such as Judas used to betray the Saviour, such as those use who speak peace with their neighbour, but evils are in their hearts (Ps. 27:3). Those, then, greet one another with a holy kiss who love not in word nor with the tongue, but in deed and in truth.
Gratia vobis omnibus qui estis in Christo Jesu. A gratia coepit Epistolam, in gratia consummavit, mediam gratia respersit, ut errorem Pelagianum omni locutionis suae parte damnaret, Ecclesiam vero Christi non nisi per gratiam ejus salvari posse doceret. Et consulte cum diceret: Gratia vobis, addidit: Omnibus qui estis in Christo Jesu, ut ea quae paucis Ecclesiis, id est, Ponti, Galatiae, Cappadociae, Asiae, et Bithyniae scripsit, cunctis per orbem Christi Ecclesiis se scribere designet. Sicut et Joannes in Apocalypsi, cum septem Asiae Ecclesias singulatim prout competebat admoneret, adjunxit per singula, ita concludens: Qui habet aures audiendi, audiat quid Spiritus dicat Ecclesiis (Apoc. II), aperte insinuans quia cuncta quae unicuilibet Ecclesiae scripsit omnibus qui auditum salubrem haberent et universis fidelium scriberet Ecclesiis.
Grace to you all who are in Christ Jesus. With grace he began the Epistle, in grace he completed it, its middle he sprinkled with grace, so as to condemn the Pelagian error in every part of his speech, and to teach that the Church of Christ cannot be saved except through His grace. And when he said: Grace to you, he advisedly added: All who are in Christ Jesus, to indicate that what he wrote to a few Churches, that is, those of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, he was writing to all the Churches of Christ throughout the world. Just as John too in the Apocalypse, when he admonished the seven Churches of Asia one by one as was fitting, added to each, concluding thus: He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the Churches (Rev. 2:7), openly intimating that all he wrote to any one Church he was writing to all who had a wholesome hearing and to all the Churches of the faithful.
Editors' notes and page, col. 68
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- running head: [BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PA]RS II. SECT. I. — EXEGETICA GENUINA. 68
- marginal letters: A ‹Marcum Alexandriam de Roma›; B ‹cem, qui non diligunt verbo›; C ‹tus dicat Ecclesiis (Apoc. II)›; D (falls below the band, beside the II Peter text, not set)
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- other: WORK BOUNDARY: Bede on I Peter ends in this column with "et universis fidelium scriberet Ecclesiis." directly above the full-width rule and the band "[IN SECUNDAM] EPISTOLAM PETRI."; the band and everything below it (II Peter, from "opera justitiae exercent") are not set. "insinuans" has a damaged i in the type.