Migne Reading Room
PL 94 · cols. 9–266
Bede, Homilies on the Gospels
Book I
BEDAE VENERABILIS
OF THE VENERABLE BEDE
ANGLO-SAXONIS
THE ANGLO-SAXON
OPERA PARAENETICA,
HORTATORY WORKS,
SIVE
OR
OMNIUM EJUS OPERUM PARS TERTIA
THE THIRD PART OF ALL HIS WORKS
SECTIO PRIMA. — HOMILIAE.
SECTION ONE. — HOMILIES.
LIBER PRIMUS. — HOMILIAE GENUINAE.
BOOK I. — GENUINE HOMILIES.
HOMILIA PRIMA. IN FESTO ANNUNTIATIONIS BEATAE MARIAE. LUCAE I. In illo tempore missus est angelus Gabriel a Deo in civitatem Galilaeae, cui nomen Naz⟨a⟩reth, ad virginem desponsatam viro, cui nomen erat Joseph, de domo David, et nomen virginis Ma⟨r⟩ia, etc.
HOMILY I. ON THE FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION OF BLESSED MARY. LUKE 1. At that time the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a city of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary, etc.
Exordium nostrae redemptionis, fratres charissimi, hodierna nobis sancti Evangelii lectio commendat, quae angelum a Deo de coelis missum narrat ad Virginem, ut novam in carne nativitatem Filii Dei praedicaret, per quam nos, abjecta vetustate noxia, renovari atque inter Filios Dei computari possimus. Ut ergo ad promissae salutis mereamur dona pertingere, primordia ejus intenta curemus aure percipere.
The beginning of our redemption, dearly beloved brethren, is what today's reading of the holy Gospel sets before us, which tells of an angel sent by God from heaven to the Virgin, to proclaim the new birth in the flesh of the Son of God, through which we, having cast off our harmful oldness, may be renewed and counted among the sons of God. So that we may deserve to attain the gifts of the promised salvation, then, let us take care to receive its first beginnings with an attentive ear.
Missus est, inquit, angelus Gabriel a Deo in civitatem Galilaeae, cui nomen Nazareth, ad virginem desponsatam viro, cui nomen erat Joseph. Aptum profecto humanae restaurationis principium, ut angelus a Deo mitteretur ad virginem partu consecrandam divino, quia prima perditionis humanae fuit causa, cum serpens a diabolo mittebatur ad mulierem spiritu superbiae decipiendam: imo ipse in serpente diabolus veniebat, qui genus humanum, deceptis parentibus primis, immortalitatis gloria nudaret. Quia ergo mors intravit per feminam, apte redit et vita per feminam. Illa a diabolo seducta per serpentem, viro gustum necis obtulit; haec a Deo edocta per angelum, mundo auctorem salutis edidit.
The angel Gabriel, it says, was sent from God into a city of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph. A fitting beginning, truly, for the restoration of mankind: that an angel should be sent by God to a virgin who was to be hallowed by a divine birth, since the first cause of mankind's ruin was when the serpent was sent by the devil to a woman to deceive her with the spirit of pride; nay rather, the devil himself came in the serpent, to strip the human race of the glory of immortality by deceiving our first parents. Since, then, death entered through a woman, it is fitting that life too returns through a woman. The one, led astray by the devil through the serpent, offered her husband the taste of death; the other, taught by God through an angel, brought forth for the world the Author of salvation.
Missus est ergo angelus Gabriel a Deo. Raro autem legimus quia apparentes hominibus angeli designantur ex nomine. Verum quotiescunque fit, ideo utique fit ut etiam nomine ipso quod ministraturi veniant, insinuent. Gabriel namque fortitudo Dei dicitur. Et merito tali nomine praefulget, quia nascituro in carne Deo testimonium perhibet. De quo Propheta in
The angel Gabriel, then, was sent from God. Now we seldom read that angels appearing to men are designated by name. But whenever it happens, it happens precisely so that by the very name they may intimate what they come to minister. For Gabriel means "strength of God". And rightly does he shine with such a name, since he bears witness to God who is to be born in the flesh. Of Whom the Prophet in
Editors' notes and page, col. 9
Footnotes
(a) ‹anchor: not visible in the page-foot image (call above the rendered area)› · call in col 9
Ad intelligendum ordinem quem secuti sumus Homilias venerabilis Bedae recudendo, vide hujusce editionis Bedae tom. I, Patrologiae vero XC. col. 30, num. 31, Elogium historicum a Mabillonio scriptum. EDIT.
To understand the order we have followed in reprinting the Homilies of the Venerable Bede, see volume I of Bede in this edition, that is, volume XC of the Patrologia, col. 30, no. 31, the Historical Eulogy written by Mabillon. EDITOR.
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Page
- running head: (none; first page of the work)
- marginal letters: A ‹HOMILIA PRIMA.›; B ‹Missus est, inquit, angelus Gabriel a Deo in civita-›; C ‹legimus quia apparentes hominibus angeli designan-›; D (none)
- old-edition numerals: (none)
Psalmo: Dominus, inquit, fortis et potens, Dominus potens in praelio (Psal. XXIV). Illo nimirum praelio, quo potestates aereas debellare, et ab earum tyrannide mundum veniebat eripere.
the Psalm says: The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle (Ps. 23:8). In that battle, surely, in which He was coming to vanquish the powers of the air and to rescue the world from their tyranny.
Ad virginem desponsatam viro, cui nomen erat Joseph, de domo David, et nomen virginis Maria. Quod dicitur de domo David, non tantum ad Joseph, sed etiam pertinet ad Mariam. Legis namque erat praeceptum ut de sua quisque tribu ac familia duceret uxorem, Apostolo quoque attestante, qui, ad Timotheum scribens, ait: Memor esto Dominum Jesum Christum resurrexisse a mortuis ex semine David secundum Evangelium meum (II Tim. II). Ideo enim veraciter ex semine David ortus est Christus, quia incorrupta ejus genitrix veram de stirpe David originem duxit. Cur autem Dominus non de simplici virgine, sed de desponsata viro concipi et nasci voluerit, plurimae a patribus rationabiles causae proferuntur, e quibus permaxima est, ne velut stupri rea damnaretur, si virum non habens filium procrearet: deinde ut in his etiam quae domestica cura naturaliter exigebat, puerpera solatio sustentaretur virili. Oportebat ergo beatam Mariam habere virum, qui et testis integritatis ejus certissimus, et nati ex ea Domini ac Salvatoris nostri esset nutritius fidelissimus: quique et pro eo parvulo, secundum legem, hostias ad templum deferret, et eum, instante persecutionis articulo, in Aegyptum cum matre ferret ac referret, aliaque illi perplura, quae assumptae humanitatis fragilitas poscebat, necessaria ministraret. Nec multum obfuit si quis illum ad tempus ejus filium credidit, cum praedicantibus Apostolis post ascensionem ejus cunctis palam credentibus, quod de virgine natus esset, patuerit. Nec praetereundum quod beata Dei genitrix meritis praecipuis etiam nomine testimonium reddidit. Interpretatur enim
To a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. What is said, of the house of David, belongs not only to Joseph but to Mary as well. For it was a precept of the Law that each should take a wife from his own tribe and family, as the Apostle also attests when, writing to Timothy, he says: Remember that the Lord Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, of the seed of David, according to my Gospel (2 Tim. 2:8). For Christ was truly born of the seed of David for this reason, that His incorrupt mother drew her true origin from the stock of David. Now why the Lord willed to be conceived and born not of a virgin simply, but of one betrothed to a man, very many reasonable causes are put forward by the fathers, of which the greatest is this: lest she be condemned as guilty of fornication, if she bore a son without having a husband; and next, that in those things too which household care naturally required, she might, after giving birth, be sustained by a man's support. It was fitting, then, that blessed Mary should have a husband, who would be both the surest witness of her integrity and the most faithful foster-father of our Lord and Saviour born of her; and who would both bring the offerings to the temple for Him as a little child, according to the law, and, when the hour of persecution pressed, carry Him with His mother into Egypt and bring Him back, and minister to Him the very many other necessities which the frailty of the humanity He had assumed demanded. Nor did it do much harm if anyone for a time believed Him to be his son, since, when the Apostles preached after His ascension, it became plain to all believers that He had been born of a virgin. Nor should we pass over this, that the blessed Mother of God, for her outstanding merits, has received a testimony even in her name. For it is interpreted
Editors' notes and page, col. 10
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- running head: (none; first page of the work)
- marginal letters: A ‹Psalmo : Dominus, inquit, fortis et potens›; B ‹ginem duxit. Cur autem Dominus non de simplici›; C ‹humanitatis fragilitas poscebat, necessaria ministra-›; D (none)
- old-edition numerals: (none)
stella maris. Et ipsa quasi sidus eximium inter fluctus saeculi labentis gratia privilegii specialis refulsit.
star of the sea. And she herself, like a peerless star amid the waves of the passing world, shone forth by the grace of a special privilege.
Et ingressus autem angelus ad eam, dixit: Ave, gratia plena, Dominus tecum, benedicta tu in mulieribus. Quae salutatio quantum humana consuetudine inaudita, tantum est beatae Mariae dignitati congrua. Vere etenim gratia erat plena, cui divino munere collatum est, ut prima inter feminas gloriosissimum Deo virginitatis munus offerret. Unde jure angelico aspectu simul et affatu meruit perfrui, quae angelicam studebat vitam imitari. Vere gratia erat plena, cui ipsum, per quem gratia et veritas facta est, Jesum Christum generare donatum est. Et ideo vere Dominus cum illa erat, quam et prius novae castitatis amore a terrenis ad coelestia desideranda sustulit, et postmodum, mediante humana natura, omni plenitudine divinitatis consecravit. Vere quoque benedicta inter mulieres, quae sine exemplo muliebris conditionis cum decore virginitatis gavisa est honore parentis, quodque virginem matrem decebat, Deum filium procreavit. Quae postquam more humanae fragilitatis, et visione angelica, et insolita est salutatione turbata, mox idem angelus eam repetito sermone ne timeat hortatur: quodque maxime timorem pellere consuevit, quasi bene cognitam ac domesticam proprio eam nomine vocat, et quare gratia plenam diceret, diligenter edocet.
And the angel, having come in to her, said: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women. This greeting, as unheard of as it is in human custom, is just as fitting to the dignity of blessed Mary. For truly she was full of grace, on whom it was conferred by divine gift that she should be the first among women to offer God the most glorious gift of virginity. Hence she rightly deserved to enjoy at once the sight and the address of an angel, she who strove to imitate the angelic life. Truly she was full of grace, to whom it was granted to bear Jesus Christ Himself, through Whom grace and truth came. And therefore the Lord truly was with her, whom He first raised up, by the love of a new chastity, from earthly things to the desire of heavenly ones, and afterwards, by means of human nature, hallowed with all the fullness of the Godhead. Truly also she is blessed among women, who without precedent in the condition of womanhood rejoiced in the honour of a mother together with the beauty of virginity, and, as befitted a virgin mother, brought forth God as her son. And after she had been troubled, as is the way of human frailty, both by the angelic vision and by the unwonted greeting, at once the same angel, speaking again, urges her not to fear; and, what is most wont to drive out fear, he calls her by her own name as one well known and familiar, and carefully teaches her why he called her full of grace.
Ne timeas, inquit, Maria, invenisti enim gratiam apud Deum. Ecce concipies in utero, et paries Filium, et vocabis nomen ejus Jesum: hic erit magnus, et Filius Altissimi vocabitur. Notandus solerter ordo verborum, et tanto arctius est cordi inserendus, quanto manifeste patet quia in his tota redemptionis nostrae summa consistit. Nam manifestissime Dominum Jesum, id est, Salvatorem nostrum, et verum Dei Patris, et verum hominis matris Filium praedicat.
Fear not, he says, Mary, for you have found grace with God. Behold, you shall conceive in your womb, and shall bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus: He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High. The order of the words is to be noted with care, and planted all the more firmly in the heart, the more clearly it appears that in them the whole sum of our redemption consists. For it proclaims most plainly that the Lord Jesus, that is, our Saviour, is both the true Son of God the Father and the true Son of a human mother.
Ecce, inquit, concipies in utero, et paries Filium. Agnosce verum hunc hominem, veram de carne virginis assumpsisse substantiam carnis.
Behold, he says, you shall conceive in your womb, and shall bear a Son. Acknowledge that He is a true man, that He took the true substance of flesh from the flesh of the virgin.
Hic erit magnus, et Filius Altissimi vocabitur. Confitere eumdem etiam Deum verum de Deo vero, et aeterno Patri filium semper esse coaeternum. Quod autem futuro tempore dicitur, Hic erit magnus, et Filius Altissimi vocabitur, nemo ita intelligendum putet quod Dominus Christus ante partum virginis non fuerit, sed ita hoc potius dictum intelligamus, quia potentiam divinae majestatis quam Dei Filius aeternaliter habuit, hanc idem homo natus ex tempore acceperit, ut una in duabus naturis persona esset mediatoris ac Redemptoris nostri.
He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High. Confess that the same is also true God of true God, and the Son ever coeternal with the eternal Father. But as for its being said in the future tense, He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High, let no one think it is to be understood as though the Lord Christ did not exist before the virgin's childbirth; rather let us understand it as said in this sense, that the power of the divine majesty which the Son of God had from eternity, this the same, born a man in time, received, so that there should be one person in two natures of our Mediator and Redeemer.
Et dabit illi Dominus Deus sedem David patris ejus. Sedem David regnum dicit Israeliticae plebis, quod suo tempore David, jubente pariter et juvante Domino, fideli devotione gubernavit. Dedit ergo Dominus Redemptori nostro sedem David patris ejus, quando hunc de genere David incarnari disposuit, ut populum quem David temporali rexit imperio, ipse gratia spirituali ad aeternum proveheret regnum de quo Apostolus ait: Qui eruit nos de potestate tenebrarum, et transtulit
And the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of David His father. By the throne of David he means the kingdom of the Israelite people, which David in his time governed with faithful devotion, the Lord both commanding and helping him. The Lord, then, gave our Redeemer the throne of David His father when He ordained that He should become incarnate of the line of David, so that the people whom David ruled with temporal sway He Himself might, by spiritual grace, carry forward to the eternal kingdom of which the Apostle says: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated
Editors' notes and page, col. 11
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- running head: 11 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS I… (right part of the head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹stella maris. Et ipsa quasi sidus eximium inter flu-›; B ‹et postmodum, mediante humana natura, omni ple-›; C ‹et vocabis nomen ejus Jesum : hic erit magnus, et›; D ‹tet quod Dominus Christus ante partum virginis non›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "eruit" and "ait" printed with damaged letters (erui:, ajt), set as intended. The Apostle's quotation (Col. 1:13) continues in col. 12.
in regnum Filii dilectionis suae (Coloss. I). Hinc est quod idem populus divino admonitus instinctu, cum passurus ille Hierosolymam properaret, in ejus laudem gaudens decantabat: Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini, rex Israel (Joan. XII). Et juxta alium evangelistam: Benedictum quod venit regnum patris nostri David (Marc. XI). Aderat enim tempus quo redempti per ejus sanguinem mundi rex agnosceretur, non solum domus David, sed et totius Ecclesiae, imo omnium conditor et rector saeculorum. Unde recte angelus, postquam dixit, Et dabit illi Dominus Deus sedem David patris ejus, continuo subjunxit, Et regnabit in domo Jacob in aeternum. Domum namque Jacob Ecclesiam dicit universam, quae per fidem et confessionem Christi ad patriarcharum pertinet sortem, sive in iis qui de patriarcharum stirpe carnis originem duxerunt, seu in illis qui de aliis nationibus carnaliter editi, spirituali lavacro sunt in Christo renati. In qua videlicet domo regnabit in aeternum, et regni ejus non erit finis. Regnat quippe in ea in praesenti vita, cum electorum corda per fidem et dilectionem suam inhabitans regit, atque ad percipienda supernae retributionis dona continua protectione gubernat. Regnat in futuro, cum eosdem, finito statu temporalis exsilii, ad habitationem patriae coelestis introducit: in qua praesenti ejus visione semper admoniti nihil aliud agere quam ejus vacare laudibus gaudent.
into the kingdom of the Son of His love (Col. 1:13). Hence it is that the same people, prompted by a divine impulse, when He was hastening to Jerusalem to suffer, joyfully sang in His praise: Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel (John 12:13). And according to another evangelist: Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes (Mark 11:10). For the time was at hand when He would be acknowledged as King of the world redeemed by His blood, not only of the house of David but of the whole Church, nay, as the Maker and Ruler of all ages. Hence the angel, after he had said, And the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of David His father, rightly added at once, And He shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever. For by the house of Jacob he means the universal Church, which through faith in Christ and the confession of Him belongs to the lot of the patriarchs, whether in those who drew the origin of their flesh from the stock of the patriarchs, or in those who, born after the flesh of other nations, have been born again in Christ by the spiritual washing. In this house, namely, He shall reign for ever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end. For He reigns in it in the present life, when, dwelling in the hearts of the elect through His faith and love, He rules them, and with unceasing protection guides them to receive the gifts of the heavenly reward. He reigns in the future, when, the state of their temporal exile ended, He brings the same into the dwelling of the heavenly fatherland, where, ever prompted by the sight of His presence, they rejoice to do nothing else but give themselves to His praises.
Dixit autem Maria ad angelum: Quomodo fiet istud, quoniam virum non cognosco? Quomodo, inquit, fieri potest, ut concipiam pariamque filium, quae in castimonia virginitatis vitam consummare disposui? Non autem quasi incredula verbis angeli, quomodo haec impleri valeant, inquirit, sed certa quia oportebat impleri quod et tunc ab angelo audiebat, et prius a propheta dictum legerat, quo id ordine implendum sit, interrogat: quia videlicet propheta qui hoc futurum praedixit, quomodo fieri posset non dixit, sed angelo dicendum reservavit.
And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be, since I know not a man? How, she says, can it be that I should conceive and bear a son, I who have resolved to complete my life in the chastity of virginity? Yet she does not ask how these things can be fulfilled as one who disbelieves the angel's words; rather, certain that what she was then hearing from the angel, and had earlier read as spoken by the prophet, must needs be fulfilled, she asks in what manner it is to be fulfilled: because, to be sure, the prophet who foretold that this would be did not say how it could come about, but left it to be told by the angel.
Respondens ergo angelus dixit ei: Spiritus sanctus superveniet in te, et virtus Altissimi obumbrabit tibi. Ideoque et quod nascetur ex te sanctum, vocabitur Filius Dei. Superveniens in virginem spiritus Sanctus duobus modis, in ea divinae suae potentiae efficaciam ostendit: quia et mentem illius adeo, quantum humana fragilitas patitur, ab omni vitiorum sorde castificavit, ut coelesti digna esset partu; et in utero illius sanctum ac venerabile Redemptoris nostri corpus sola sui operatione creavit: id est, nullo interveniente virili attactu, carnem de carne virginis sacrosanctam intemerata formavit. Quem enim prius aperte Spiritum sanctum dixit, hunc ipsum denuo virtutem Altissimi nominavit: juxta hoc quod Dominus, cum ejusdem Spiritus adventum discipulis promitteret, ait: Et ego mitto promissum Patris mei in vos: vos autem sedete in civitate, quoadusque induamini virtute ex alto (Luc. XXIV). Obumbravit autem beatae Dei genetrici virtus Altissimi: quia Spiritus sanctus cor illius cum implevit, ab omni aestu concupiscentiae
The angel therefore answered and said to her: The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you. And therefore also the holy one that shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God. The Holy Spirit, coming upon the virgin, showed the efficacy of His divine power in her in two ways: for He both so cleansed her mind from every stain of vice, as far as human frailty allows, that she was worthy of a heavenly childbirth; and in her womb He created the holy and venerable body of our Redeemer by His operation alone: that is, with no touch of man intervening, He formed most sacred flesh from the flesh of the virgin, she remaining inviolate. For Him whom he first openly called the Holy Spirit he named again the power of the Most High: in accordance with what the Lord said when He promised His disciples the coming of the same Spirit: And I send the promise of My Father upon you: but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:49). And the power of the Most High overshadowed the blessed Mother of God: for when the Holy Spirit filled her heart, He tempered it against every heat of fleshly
Editors' notes and page, col. 12
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- running head: BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 12 (left part of the head read on the col. 11 image)
- marginal letters: A ‹in regnum Filii dilectionis suae (Coloss. I). Hinc est›; B ‹sortem, sive in iis qui de patriarcharum stirpe carnis›; C ‹quoniam virum non cognosco ? Quomodo, inquit, fieri›; D ‹ostendit : quia et mentem illius adeo, quantum hu-›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Last word printed "con-" at the column foot; completed as "concupiscentiae" from the top of col. 13. "autem" in "Dixit autem Maria" printed with a damaged e. "intemerata" as printed (ablative with the virgin understood). Page signature/Google mark excluded.
carnalis temperavit, emundavit a desideriis temporalibus, ac donis coelestibus mentem simul illius consecravit, et corpus. Ideoque et quod nascetur ex te sanctum, vocabitur Filius Dei: quia quod de sanctificatione Spiritus concipies, sanctum erit quod gignitur. Congruit conceptioni nativitas, ut quae contra humanae conditionis morem virgo concipis, supra humanae consuetudinis modum Dei Filium generes. Omnes quippe homines in iniquitate concipimur, et in delictis nascimur: quotquot autem donante Deo ad vitam praeordinati sumus aeternam, ex aqua et spiritu sancto renascimur. Solus vero Redemptor noster pro nobis incarnari dignatus, mox sanctus natus est: quia sine iniquitate conceptus est. Possumus sane in eo quod dicitur, Et virtus Altissimi obumbrabit tibi, altius quiddam de sacramento Dominicae incarnationis intelligere. Obumbrari enim nobis dicimus cum, fervente meridiano sole, vel arborem mediam, vel aliud quodlibet umbraculi genus inter nos et solem opponimus, quo ardorem ejus vel lucem nobis tolerabiliorem reddamus. Redemptor ergo noster non immerito solis luce vel ardore designatur, qui nos veritatis scientia illustrat et amore inflammat; unde ipse per prophetam dicit: Vobis autem timentibus nomen meum orietur sol justitiae (Malach. IV). Cujus scilicet solis radios beata Virgo suscepit, quando Dominum concepit. Sed idem sol, id est, divinitas Redemptoris nostri, tegumine se humanae naturae quasi umbraculo quodam obtexit, quo mediante Virginis eum viscera ferre sufficerent: sicque virtus Altissimi obumbravit ei, dum divina Christi potentia et eam praesentialiter implevit, et ut capi ab illa posset substantia se nostrae fragilitatis obnubilavit.
desire, cleansed it from temporal longings, and with heavenly gifts consecrated at once her mind and her body. And therefore also the holy one that shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God: because what you conceive by the sanctifying of the Spirit, what is begotten will be holy. The birth befits the conception, so that you who conceive as a virgin, against the custom of the human condition, may bring forth the Son of God beyond the measure of human wont. For all of us men are conceived in iniquity and born in sins; but as many of us as, by God's gift, are foreordained to eternal life are born again of water and the Holy Spirit. Our Redeemer alone, having deigned to become incarnate for us, was born holy from the first, because He was conceived without iniquity. We may indeed understand something deeper about the mystery of the Lord's incarnation in the words, And the power of the Most High shall overshadow you. For we say that we are overshadowed when, in the blaze of the noonday sun, we set a tree, or some other kind of shade, between ourselves and the sun, so as to make its heat or its light more bearable to us. Not undeservedly, then, is our Redeemer signified by the light or the heat of the sun, since He enlightens us with the knowledge of truth and kindles us with love; whence He Himself says through the prophet: But unto you that fear My name the sun of justice shall arise (Mal. 4:2). The rays of this sun, namely, the blessed Virgin received when she conceived the Lord. But the same sun, that is, the Godhead of our Redeemer, covered Himself with the covering of human nature as with a kind of shade, by means of which the Virgin's womb might be able to bear Him: and thus the power of the Most High overshadowed her, while the divine power of Christ both filled her with His presence and, so that He could be contained by her, clouded Himself over with the substance of our frailty.
Et ecce Elizabeth cognata tua, et ipsa concepit filium in senectute sua. Non quasi incredulam exemplis hortatur ad fidem, sed ut bene jam credenti quae audierat, ampliora supernae dispensationis miracula replicat, ut quae Dominum virgo erat paritura, praecursorem quoque Domini de anu ac diu sterili parente cognosceret esse nasciturum. Nec mirandum juxta historiam, quod Elizabeth cognata dicatur Mariae, cum superius haec de domo David, illa de filiabus Aaron orta esse narratur. Legimus namque quod ipse Aaron de tribu Juda, de qua David ortus est, uxorem acceperit, videlicet Elizabeth filiam Amminadab, sororem Naason, qui fuit dux tribus Juda in deserto, cum egrederentur ex Aegypto. Rursusque regnantibus David posteris legimus, quod Joiada pontifex maximus uxorem habuerit de tribu regali, hoc est, Josabeth, filiam regis Joram. Ipse est Joiada, cujus filium Zachariam virum aeque sanctissimum lapidaverunt inter templum et altare, sicut etiam ipse Dominus beatorum martyrum mentionem faciens in Evangelio testatur. Unde tribus utraque, hoc est, regia et sacerdotalis, cognatione semper adinvicem probatur esse conjuncta. Potuit
And behold, Elizabeth your kinswoman, she also has conceived a son in her old age. He does not urge her to faith by examples as one who disbelieves, but to one who already well believed what she had heard he unfolds still greater miracles of the heavenly dispensation, so that she who as a virgin was to bear the Lord might know that the Lord's forerunner too was to be born of an aged and long barren parent. Nor, as to the history, is it to be wondered at that Elizabeth is called Mary's kinswoman, though above the one is related to have sprung from the house of David, the other from the daughters of Aaron. For we read that Aaron himself took a wife from the tribe of Judah, from which David sprang, namely Elizabeth the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon, who was leader of the tribe of Judah in the desert when they came out of Egypt. And again, when the descendants of David were reigning, we read that Jehoiada the high priest had a wife from the royal tribe, that is, Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram. This is the Jehoiada whose son Zechariah, a man likewise most holy, they stoned between the temple and the altar, as the Lord Himself also testifies in the Gospel when He makes mention of the blessed martyrs. Hence both tribes, that is, the royal and the priestly, are shown to have been always joined to each other by kinship. It could
Editors' notes and page, col. 13
Footnotes
(a) ‹anchor: not visible in the page-foot image (call above the rendered area)› · call in col 13
Cod. A. bibl. Arsen. Paris. add.: Filius Dei natus est, quia, operante Spiritu sancto, de Virgine conceptus est.
Codex A of the Arsenal Library, Paris, adds: He was born the Son of God, because he was conceived of the Virgin by the working of the Holy Spirit.
(printed under page 11)
Page
- running head: 13 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. HO… (right part of the head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹cupiscentiae carnalis temperavit, emundavit a deside-›; B ‹Altissimi obumbrabit tibi, altius quiddam de sacra-›; C ‹viscera ferre sufficerent : sicque virtus Altissimi›; D ‹quod ipse Aaron de tribu Juda, de qua David ortus›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
autem hujusmodi conjunctio etiam recentiori tempore fieri, datis nuptum feminis de tribu in tribum, ut manifeste beatam Dei genitricem, quae de tribu regia descendit, cum tribu sacerdotali cognationem generis habuisse constaret, quod ministeriis coelestibus aptissime congruit. Oportebat namque ut apparens in mundo mediator Dei et hominum de utraque tribu carnis originem haberet, quia nimirum ipse in humanitate assumpta utramque habiturus erat personam, sacerdotis scilicet et regis. Siquidem de regia ejus potestate, qua electis suis regnum perenne tribuit, et praesens sancti Evangelii lectio testatur: quia regnabit in domo Jacob in aeternum, et regni ejus non erit finis. Porro de pontificali ejus dignitate, in qua pro nostra redemptione hostiam suae carnis offerre dignatus est, testatur Propheta, qui ait: Tu es sacerdos in aeternum secundum ordinem Melchisedech (Psal. CX). Accepta autem tanta gratia, videamus beata Maria in quanta humilitatis arce persistat.
however, that a union of this kind should take place also in more recent times, women being given in marriage from tribe to tribe, so that it would be plainly established that the blessed Mother of God, who descended from the royal tribe, had kinship of race with the priestly tribe, which accords most fittingly with the heavenly ministries. For it was fitting that the Mediator of God and men, appearing in the world, should have the origin of His flesh from both tribes, since He Himself, in the humanity He assumed, was indeed to bear both persons, that of priest, namely, and of king. For of His royal power, by which He bestows an everlasting kingdom on His elect, the present reading of the holy Gospel also testifies: that He shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever, and of His kingdom there shall be no end. And of His pontifical dignity, in which He deigned to offer the victim of His own flesh for our redemption, the Prophet testifies, who says: Thou art a priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech (Ps. 109:4). But having received so great a grace, let us see on what a height of humility blessed Mary stands firm.
Ecce, inquit, ancilla Domini, fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum. Magnam quippe humilitatis constantiam tenet, quae se ancillam sui conditoris dum mater eligitur, appellat. Beata in mulieribus angelico oraculo praedicatur, incognita adhuc caeteris mortalibus arcana nostrae redemptionis edocetur: nec se tamen de singularitate meriti excellentioris singulariter extollit, sed potius suae conditionis ac divinae dignationis in omnibus memor, famularum se Christi consortio humiliter adjungit, famulatum Christo devota quod jubetur, impendit. Fiat, inquit, mihi secundum verbum tuum, fiat ut Spiritus sanctus adveniens me coelestibus dignam mysteriis reddat, fiat ut in meo utero Filius Dei humanae substantiae habitum induat, atque ad redemptionem mundi tanquam sponsus suo procedat de thalamo. Cujus vocem mentemque nos, fratres charissimi, pro modulo nostro sequentes, famulos esse nos Christi in cunctis actibus nostris motibusque recolamus, ejus semper obsequiis omnia corporis nostri membra mancipemus, ad ejus implendam voluntatem totum mentis nostrae dirigamus intuitum: sicque perceptis ejus muneribus gratias recte vivendo reddamus, ut ad majora percipienda digni existere mereamur. Precemur seduli cum beata Dei genitrice ut fiat nobis secundum verbum ejus, illud videlicet verbum, quo rationem suae incarnationis ipse exponens, dicit: Sic enim dilexit Deus mundum, ut unigenitum Filium suum daret, ut omnis qui credit in ipsum, non pereat, sed habeat vitam aeternam (Joan. III). Nec dubitandum quin nos de profundis ad se clamantes citius exaudire dignabitur, propter quos necdum se cognoscentes, ipse ad profundam hanc vallem lacrymarum descendere dignatus est Jesus Christus Dominus noster, qui vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Behold, she says, the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word. Great indeed is the steadfastness of humility she holds, who calls herself the handmaid of her Maker even as she is chosen to be His mother. She is proclaimed blessed among women by the angel's oracle; she is taught the mysteries of our redemption, as yet unknown to other mortals; and yet she does not exalt herself singularly for the singularity of her more excellent merit, but rather, mindful in all things of her own condition and of the divine condescension, she humbly joins herself to the company of Christ's handmaids, and devoutly renders to Christ the service that is bidden. Be it done to me, she says, according to your word: be it done that the Holy Spirit, coming upon me, may make me worthy of the heavenly mysteries; be it done that in my womb the Son of God may put on the garb of human substance, and go forth from His chamber like a bridegroom for the redemption of the world. Following her voice and mind, dearly beloved brethren, as far as our small measure allows, let us bear in mind that we are servants of Christ in all our actions and impulses; let us ever devote all the members of our body to His service; let us direct the whole gaze of our mind to fulfilling His will; and so let us render thanks for the gifts we have received by living rightly, that we may deserve to be found worthy to receive greater ones. Let us pray earnestly with the blessed Mother of God that it may be done to us according to His word, that word, namely, in which, setting forth the reason of His incarnation, He Himself says: For God so loved the world as to give His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him may not perish, but may have eternal life (John 3:16). Nor should we doubt that He will deign the more speedily to hear us crying to Him out of the depths, for whose sake, when we did not yet know Him, He Himself deigned to descend into this deep valley of tears, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Editors' notes and page, col. 14
Footnotes
(b) ‹anchor: not visible; probably "mysteriis" (col 14, "caelestibus dignam mysteriis reddat")› · call in col 14
Cod. A., mysteriis.
Codex A: mysteriis ("mysteries").
(printed under page 11)
Page
- running head: SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINAE. 14 (left part read on the col. 13 image)
- marginal letters: A ‹autem hujusmodi conjunctio etiam recentiori tem-›; B ‹hostiam suae carnis offerre dignatus est, testatur›; C ‹devota quod jubetur, impendit. Fiat, inquit, mihi›; D ‹mur seduli cum beata Dei genitrice ut fiat nobis›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
HOMILIA II. IN FESTO VISITATIONIS BEATAE MARIAE. LUCAE I. In illo tempore, exsurgens Maria abiit in montana cum festinatione in civitatem Juda, et intravit in domum Zachariae, et salutavit Elizabeth, etc.
HOMILY II. ON THE FEAST OF THE VISITATION OF BLESSED MARY. LUKE 1. At that time Mary, rising up, went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zechariah, and greeted Elizabeth, etc.
Lectio quam audivimus sancti Evangelii, et redemptionis nostrae nobis semper veneranda primordia praedicat, et salutaria semper imitandae humilitatis remedia commendat. Nam quia peste superbiae attactum genus humanum perierat, decebat ut medicamentum humilitatis quo sanaretur, prima mox incipientis salutis tempora praetenderent. Et quia per temeritatem seductae mulieris mors in mundum introierat, congruum fuit [Al., fuerat] ut in indicium vitae revertentis mulieres se devotae humilitatis invicem ac pietatis praevenirent obsequiis. Prior ergo nobis beata Dei genitrix ad sublimitatem patriae coelestis iter ostendit humilitatis, non minus religionis, quam castitatis exemplo venerabilis. Siquidem gloria virginei et intemerati corporis qualis sit vita supernae civitatis, ad quam suspiramus, insinuat, ubi neque nubent neque nubentur, sed sunt sicut angeli Dei in coelis, ac virtutem mentis eximiam, qua ad hanc pertingere debeamus, indicat. Namque sicut praecedente sancti Evangelii lectione cognovimus, postquam angelica visione et allocutione meruit sublimari, postquam se coelesti onustandam partu didicit, nequaquam se de donis coelestibus quasi a se haec essent extulit: sed ut magis magisque donis esset apta divinis, in custodia humilitatis gressum mentis fixit, ita evangelizanti sibi archangelo respondens: Ecce ancilla Domini, fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum. Ut vero ex hodierna lectione audivimus, eamdem, quam angelo exhibuerat humilitatem, hominibus quoque curavit exhibere, et quod majoris est virtutis, hoc etiam minoribus. Quis enim nesciat virginem Deo consecratam, muliere Deo dedita gradum habere potiorem? Quis dubitet matrem regis aeterni jure matri militis praeferendam? Attamen ipsa, memor Scripturae praecipientis, Quanto magnus es, te in omnibus humilia (Eccli. III): mox, ut angelus qui loquebatur ei ad coelestia rediit, surgit ac montana conscendit, gestansque in utero Deum servorum Dei habitacula petit, ac requirit alloquia. Et apte post visionem angeli in montana subiit, quae, gustata suavitate supernorum civium, humilitatis gressibus ad virtutum alta se transtulit. Intrat ergo domum Zachariae atque Elizabeth, quam servum ac praecursorem Domini parituram noverat, salutat, non quasi dubia de oraculo quod acceperat, sed ut congratulatura de dono, quod conservam accepisse didicerat: non ut verbum angeli mulieris attestatione probaret, sed ut mulieri provectae aetatis virgo juvencula ministerium sedula impenderet.
The reading of the holy Gospel which we have heard both proclaims to us the beginnings of our redemption, ever to be venerated, and commends to us the saving remedies of a humility ever to be imitated. For since the human race, infected by the plague of pride, had perished, it was fitting that the very first times of its dawning salvation should hold out the medicine of humility by which it might be healed. And since death had entered the world through the rashness of a woman led astray, it was fitting [another reading: had been fitting] that, as a sign of life returning, women should outdo one another in the services of devout humility and of piety. First, then, the blessed Mother of God shows us the way of humility to the height of the heavenly fatherland, venerable for her example no less of devotion than of chastity. For by the glory of her virginal and undefiled body she intimates what the life of the city on high is like, for which we sigh, where they shall neither marry nor be given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven; and she points to the excellent virtue of mind by which we ought to attain to it. For as we learned from the preceding reading of the holy Gospel, after she had been deemed worthy to be exalted by the sight and address of an angel, after she learned that she was to be laden with a heavenly offspring, she in no way exalted herself over the heavenly gifts as though they were of herself; but, that she might be ever more fitted for the divine gifts, she fixed the step of her mind in the keeping of humility, answering thus the archangel who brought her the good news: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word. And, as we have heard from today's reading, the same humility that she had shown to the angel she took care to show to men as well, and, what is of greater virtue, to her inferiors also. For who does not know that a virgin consecrated to God holds a higher rank than a married woman devoted to God? Who would doubt that the mother of the eternal King is rightly to be preferred to the mother of a soldier? Yet she, mindful of the Scripture which commands, The greater you are, humble yourself in all things (Sir. 3:20), as soon as the angel who spoke to her returned to heaven, rises and climbs into the hill country, and, carrying God in her womb, seeks the dwellings of God's servants and asks for their converse. And fittingly, after the angel's vision, she went up into the hill country, she who, having tasted the sweetness of the citizens on high, betook herself by the steps of humility to the heights of the virtues. She enters, then, the house of Zechariah, and greets Elizabeth, whom she knew was to bear the servant and forerunner of the Lord; not as one in doubt about the oracle she had received, but to rejoice with her over the gift which she had learned her fellow servant had received; not to prove the angel's word by a woman's testimony, but that the young virgin might diligently render her service to a woman of advanced age.
Ut autem salutationem Mariae Elizabeth audivit, exsultavit infans in utero ejus, et repleta est Spiritu sancto Elizabeth. Aperiente os ad salutandum beata Maria, repleta est mox Spiritu sancto Elizabeth, repletus est et Joannes: atque uno eodemque Spiritu
And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the infant leapt in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. As blessed Mary opened her mouth to greet her, Elizabeth was at once filled with the Holy Spirit, and John was filled as well; and by one and the same Spirit
Editors' notes and page, col. 15
Page
- running head: 15 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS I… (right part of the head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹HOMILIA II.›; B ‹cem ac pietatis praevenirent obsequiis. Prior ergo nobis›; C ‹apta divinis, in custodia humilitatis gressum mentis›; D ‹apte post visionem angeli in montana subiit, quae,›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Last word printed "Spi-" at the column foot; completed as "Spiritu" from the first line of col. 16 visible at the image edge. "[Al., fuerat]" is Migne's inline variant, kept as printed. Many letters damaged in the impression (LUCAE, exsurgens, nostrae, incipientis, Evangelii, angelica, haec, apta, loquebatur, apte, repletus) set as intended.
ambo edocti, illa salutantem quae esset agnovit, et ut matrem Domini sui debita cum benedictione venerata est, ille ipsum Dominum esse qui in utero virginis portaretur intellexit: et quia lingua necdum valuit, animo exsultante salutavit, officiumque suae praecursionis quam devote, quam libenter juvenis esset impleturus, et antequam nasceretur adveniente Domino quibus valebat indiciis intimavit. Aderat namque tempus quo impleretur angeli sermo quem dixerat: Quia Spiritu sancto replebitur adhuc ex utero matris suae (Luc. I).
both were taught: she recognized who it was that greeted her, and venerated her with fitting blessing as the mother of her Lord; he understood that it was the Lord Himself who was being carried in the virgin's womb; and since he could not yet with his tongue, he greeted Him with exulting spirit, and, at the Lord's coming, even before he was born, made known by what signs he could how devotedly, how gladly he would fulfil the office of his forerunning as a young man. For the time was at hand when the angel's word which he had spoken would be fulfilled: For he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb (Luke 1:15).
Repleta est ergo Spiritu sancto Elizabeth, et exclamavit voce magna. Recte voce magna, quia magna Dei dona cognovit; recte voce magna, quia illum quem ubique praesentem noverat, etiam corporaliter adesse sentiebat. Magna etenim voce non tam clamosa quam devota intelligendum est. Neque enim modicae vocis devotione Dominum laudare valebat, quae Spiritu sancto plena flagrabat: quae et illum in utero gestabat, quo in natis mulierum major nemo esset [Ed. Basil., est]: et eum advenisse gaudebat, qui conceptus ex carne matris virginis filius Altissimi vocaretur, et esset.
Elizabeth therefore was filled with the Holy Spirit, and cried out with a loud voice. Rightly with a loud voice, because she recognized the great gifts of God; rightly with a loud voice, because Him whom she knew to be present everywhere she felt to be present in the body also. For by a loud voice is to be understood one not so much clamorous as devout. For she who burned, filled with the Holy Spirit, could not praise the Lord with the devotion of a small voice: she who both carried in her womb him than whom none among those born of women should be [Basel edition: is] greater, and rejoiced that He had come who, conceived from the flesh of a virgin mother, should be called, and should be, the Son of the Most High.
Exclamavit autem, et dixit: Benedicta tu inter mulieres, et benedictus fructus ventris tui. Non solum benedicta inter mulieres, sed inter mulieres benedictas majori benedictione specialiter insignis. Benedictus fructus ventris tui. Nec ipse generali sanctorum more benedictus, sed sicut Apostolus ait: Quorum patres, et ex quibus Christus secundum carnem, qui est super omnia Deus benedictus in saecula (Rom. IX). De hujus ortu fructus Psalmista mystico sermone testatur, dicens: Etenim Dominus dabit benignitatem, et terra nostra dabit fructum suum (Psal. LXXXIV). Dedit quippe Dominus benignitatem, quia genus humanum a reatu praevaricationis per unigenitum suum liberare disposuit: dedit benignitatem, qui ejus ingressui virginalis uteri templum Spiritus sancti gratia consecravit. Et terra nostra dedit fructum suum, quia eadem virgo quae de terra corpus habuerat, Filium genuit divinitate quidem Deo Patri coaequalem, sed sibi carnis veritate consubstantialem. De hoc et Isaias humanae redemptionis tempus intuens, ait: In illa die erit germen Domini in magnificentia et gloria, et fructus terrae sublimis (Isa. IV). Germen namque Domini fuit in magnificentia et gloria, cum sempiternus Dei Filius in carne temporaliter apparens, magnitudine virtutum coelestium mundo clarus effulsit. Fructus quoque terrae sublimis effectus est, quando carnem quam de nostra natura Deus mortalem susceperat, virtute resurrectionis immortalem jam redditam ad coelos sublevavit. Recte ergo dicitur, Benedicta tu [Ed. Bas. om. tu] in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui. Benedicta est enim incomparabiliter, quae et divini germinis suscepit gloriam, et coronam integritatis servavit. Benedicta tu inter mulieres, per cujus partum virgineum a natis mulierum maledictio primae matris exclusa est. Benedictus fructus ventris illius, per quem et semen
And she cried out, and said: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. Not only blessed among women, but, among blessed women, specially marked out by a greater blessing. Blessed is the fruit of your womb. Nor is He Himself blessed after the common manner of the saints, but as the Apostle says: Whose are the fathers, and of whom is Christ according to the flesh, who is over all things God blessed for ever (Rom. 9:5). Of the springing up of this fruit the Psalmist testifies in mystical speech, saying: For the Lord will give goodness, and our earth shall yield its fruit (Ps. 84:13). For the Lord gave goodness, in that He resolved to free the human race from the guilt of transgression through His Only-begotten; He gave goodness, in that for His entry He consecrated the temple of a virginal womb by the grace of the Holy Spirit. And our earth yielded its fruit, in that the same virgin, who had had her body from the earth, bore a Son coequal in Godhead with God the Father, but consubstantial with herself in the reality of flesh. Of this Isaiah too, beholding the time of man's redemption, says: In that day the bud of the Lord shall be in magnificence and glory, and the fruit of the earth shall be high (Isa. 4:2). For the bud of the Lord was in magnificence and glory when the everlasting Son of God, appearing in time in the flesh, shone out bright to the world with the greatness of heavenly powers. The fruit of the earth also was made high when the flesh which God had taken, mortal, from our nature, now rendered immortal by the power of the resurrection, He raised up to heaven. Rightly, then, is it said, Blessed are you [the Basel edition omits you] among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. For she is blessed beyond compare, who both received the glory of the divine bud and kept the crown of integrity. Blessed are you among women, through whose virginal childbearing the curse of the first mother was shut out from those born of women. Blessed is the fruit of her womb, through whom both the seed
Editors' notes and page, col. 16
Page
- running head: BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 16 (left part read on the col. 15 image)
- marginal letters: A ‹ritu ambo edocti, illa salutantem quae esset agnovit,›; B ‹adesse sentiebat. Magna etenim voce non tam cla-›; C ‹Quorum patres, et ex quibus Christus secundum carnem,›; D ‹gloria, et fructus terrae sublimis (Isa. IV). Germen›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: The column opens with "-ritu", the tail of "Spiritu" set whole in col. 15; this column begins at "ambo". "[Ed. Basil., est]" and "[Ed. Bas. om. tu]" are Migne's inline variants, kept as printed. Damaged letters in "exsultante", "praecursionis", "Spiritu", "clamosa", "benedicta", "quibus", "benignitatem", "ait", "sublimis", "gloria", "Filius", "coelestium", "natura", "resurrectionis", "Benedicta" set as intended.
incorruptionis, et supernae haereditatis, quam perdidimus in Adam, fructum recepimus. Et vere ac singulariter benedictus, qui non nostro more postquam natus est, gratiam a Domino benedictionis percepit, sed ipse ad salvandum mundum benedictus qui [Ed. Bas. om. qui] venit in nomine Domini.
of incorruption and the fruit of the heavenly inheritance, which we lost in Adam, we have received back. And truly and singularly blessed is He who did not, after our manner, receive the grace of blessing from the Lord after He was born, but Himself, to save the world, is blessed who [the Basel edition omits who] comes in the name of the Lord.
Et unde hoc mihi, ut veniat mater Domini mei ad me? O quanta in prophetissae mente humilitas, quam verus sermo Domini quem dixit: Super quem requiescet Spiritus meus, nisi super humilem et quietum et trementem verba mea? (Isa. LXVI.) Matrem quidem Domini, quae ad se venerat, mox ut vidit, esse cognovit: sed nihil in se talis meriti reperiens quo digna fieret a tanta hospite visitari, Unde hoc mihi, inquit, ut mater Domini mei veniat ad me? quia nimirum ipse Spiritus, qui ei prophetiae donum contulit, munus pariter humilitatis praestitit. Prophetico repleta spiritu genitricem ad se adventasse Salvatoris intellexit, sed humilitatis spiritu circumspecta minus dignam se ejus adventu deprehendit.
And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? O how great the humility in the prophetess's mind, how true the word of the Lord which He spoke: Upon whom shall My Spirit rest, but upon the humble and quiet one, and him that trembles at My words? (Isa. 66:2.) She knew, as soon as she saw her, that the one who had come to her was the Mother of the Lord; but finding in herself no merit such that she should be worthy to be visited by so great a guest, Whence is this to me, she says, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, to be sure, the same Spirit who conferred on her the gift of prophecy bestowed on her likewise the gift of humility. Filled with the prophetic spirit, she understood that the Mother of the Saviour had come to her; but, made circumspect by the spirit of humility, she found herself less than worthy of her coming.
Ecce enim ut facta est vox salutationis tuae in auribus meis, exsultavit in gaudio infans in utero meo. Intellexit Elizabeth, eodem quo impleta erat Spiritu revelante, quid illa exsultatio sui significasset infantis, hoc est illius venisse matrem cujus ipse praecursor ac demonstrator esset futurus. Et quam miranda, quam cita sancti Spiritus operatio! Nulla quippe in discendo mora est, ubi Spiritus sanctus doctor adest. In uno eodemque momento cum voce salutantis gaudium nascitur infantis, quia dum vox ad aures pervenit corporales, virtus spiritualis cor intravit audientis, nec solum genitricem, sed et sobolem amore Domini advenientis accendit. Unde mox eadem praecursoris Domini genitrix ea quae in occulto cognoverat, his qui simul aderant et audiebant palam evangelizare curavit. Nam subdit:
For behold, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leapt for joy. Elizabeth understood, by the revelation of the same Spirit with whom she had been filled, what that leaping of her infant had signified, that is, that the mother of Him had come whose forerunner and herald he himself was to be. And how wonderful, how swift is the working of the Holy Spirit! For there is no delay in learning where the Holy Spirit is present as teacher. In one and the same moment the infant's joy is born with the voice of the one greeting; for while the voice reached the bodily ears, a spiritual power entered the heart of the hearer, and kindled not only the mother but the offspring too with love of the coming Lord. Hence the same mother of the Lord's forerunner at once took care openly to announce the good news of what she had come to know in secret to those who were with her and heard. For she adds:
Et beata quae credidit, quoniam perficientur in ea, quae dicta sunt ei a Domino. Nam et hoc quoque per Spiritum didicit Elizabeth, quae angelus ad Mariam verba protulerit, quod illa mox evangelizanti crediderit, quod haec, divina operante potentia, absque ulla essent dubietate complenda. Mirumque in modum idem Spiritus eam cum replevit, praesentium simul praeteritorum et futurorum scientia instruxit. De praesentibus namque se edoctam monstravit, cum beatam Mariam matrem Domini sui vocans, quia Redemptorem humani generis in utero gestaret, indicavit. Unde etiam fructum ventris ejus singulariter benedictum esse professa est. Praeteritorum se notitiam accepisse signavit, quae et verba angeli ad Mariam, et consensum Mariae credentis sibi innotuisse prodidit. Sed et futurorum scientiam sibi non negatam intimavit, cum perficienda a Domino, quae ei dicta essent aperuit. Quis autem, fratres mei, dicere, quis aestimare sufficiat, quae tunc gratia spiritus Dei genitricem repleverit, cum tanta in matre praecursoris lux doni coelestis emicuit? Verum audiamus verba quae dixit, si forte ex his valeamus aliquantulum dignoscere quid intus habuerit. Audita
And blessed is she who believed, because the things that were said to her by the Lord shall be accomplished in her. For this too Elizabeth learned through the Spirit: what words the angel had spoken to Mary; that she had at once believed him as he brought the good news; that these things were to be fulfilled without any doubt by the working of divine power. And in a wonderful manner the same Spirit, when He filled her, instructed her with the knowledge at once of things present, past and to come. For she showed that she had been taught of things present when, calling blessed Mary the mother of her Lord, she indicated that she was carrying the Redeemer of the human race in her womb. Hence too she professed that the fruit of her womb was singularly blessed. She made it plain that she had received knowledge of things past, when she disclosed that both the angel's words to Mary and the consent of Mary in believing had become known to her. And she intimated that knowledge of things to come had not been denied her either, when she declared that the things said to her were to be accomplished by the Lord. But who, my brethren, would be able to tell, who to reckon, what grace of the spirit then filled the Mother of God, when so great a light of heavenly gift shone forth in the mother of the forerunner? But let us hear the words that she spoke, if perhaps from them we may be able to discern a little of what she held within. Having heard
Editors' notes and page, col. 17
Page
- running head: 17 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. H… (right part of the head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹incorruptionis, et supernae haereditatis, quam perdi-›; B ‹tulit, munus pariter humilitatis praestitit. Prophetico›; C ‹pervenit corporales, virtus spiritualis cor intravit›; D ‹praesentibus namque se edoctam monstravit, cum›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "[Ed. Bas. om. qui]" is Migne's inline variant, kept as printed. Damaged letters in "absque", "audiamus", "aliquantulum" set as intended.
ergo responsione Elizabeth, qua eam beatam inter mulieres praedicavit, matrem Domini sui cognominavit, fide fortem laudavit, ad cujus ingressum seipsam cum filio Spiritu sancto repletam esse signavit, non amplius tacere potuit dona quae perceperat, sed quae semper animo gerebat, ubi aptum tempus invenit, etiam devota oris professione patefecit. Namque ut virginalem decebat pudorem, acceptum divinitus [Ms., divinitatis] oraculum aliquandiu silentio tegebat, arcanum mysterii coelestis in sui pectoris abdito venerabatur occultum, exspectabat reverenter donec ipse donorum distributor quid sibi doni specialis tribuisset, quid secreti revelasset, quandocunque vellet, ostenderet. At postquam eadem quae sibi erant charismata praestita per alios Spiritu revelante esse patefacta cernebat, mox ipsa etiam thesaurum coeli quem in corde servabat, aperuit. Ait ergo:
Elizabeth's answer, then, having been heard, in which she proclaimed her blessed among women, named her the mother of her Lord, praised her as strong in faith, and made known that at her entering she herself with her son had been filled with the Holy Spirit, she could no longer keep silent about the gifts she had received, but what she had always carried in her mind, when she found a fitting time, she disclosed also by the devout confession of her lips. For, as befitted virginal modesty, she had for some while covered with silence the oracle received from God [manuscript: of the Godhead]; she venerated the secret of the heavenly mystery hidden in the recess of her breast; she waited reverently until the Giver of gifts Himself should show, whenever He willed, what special gift He had bestowed on her, what secret He had revealed. But when she saw that the same gifts of grace which had been bestowed on her had been disclosed through others by the revelation of the Spirit, at once she too opened the treasure of heaven which she kept in her heart. She said, therefore:
Magnificat anima mea Dominum. Et exsultavit Spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo. Quibus profecto verbis primo dona sibi specialiter concessa confitetur, deinde generalia Dei beneficia quibus generi humano in aeternum consulere non desistit, enumerat. Ejus autem anima Dominum magnificat, qui omnes interioris hominis sui affectus divinis laudibus ac servitiis mancipat, qui observantia praeceptorum Dei semper ejus potentiam majestatis se cogitare demonstrat. Ejus spiritus in Deo salutari suo exsultat, quem nihil in terrenis libet, nulla caducarum rerum affluentia emollit, nulla adversitas frangit, sed sola illius a quo salus speratur aeterna, sui conditoris, memoria delectat. Quae cum omnibus perfectis verba recte conveniant, maxime tamen ea beatam Dei genitricem proferre decebat, quae meriti privilegio singularis spirituali ipsius dilectione flagrabat, cujus corporali conceptione gaudebat. Quae jure in Jesu, id est, in salutari suo speciali prae caeteris sanctis gaudio potuit exsultare, quia quem perpetuum salutis auctorem noverat, hunc ipsum temporali ortu de carne sua nasciturum esse sciebat, quatenus in una eademque persona veraciter suus et filius esset et Dominus. Quae sequentibus quoque verbis, quam vilia de seipsa senserit edocet, et quod omne quidquid boni meriti habuit, hoc superna gratia largiente perceperit, dicens:
My soul magnifies the Lord. And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour. In these words she first confesses the gifts granted specially to her, then recounts the general benefits of God by which He does not cease to provide for the human race for ever. Now his soul magnifies the Lord who devotes all the affections of his inner man to the praises and service of God, who by keeping God's commandments shows that he ever has His mighty majesty in mind. His spirit rejoices in God his Saviour whom nothing in earthly things pleases, whom no abundance of perishable goods softens, whom no adversity breaks, but whom only the remembrance of Him from whom eternal salvation is hoped for, his Maker, delights. And though these words rightly befit all the perfect, yet it was most of all fitting that the blessed Mother of God should utter them, who by the privilege of a singular merit burned with spiritual love for Him in whose bodily conception she rejoiced. She rightly could rejoice in Jesus, that is, in her Saviour, with a joy special beyond the other saints, because Him whom she knew to be the everlasting Author of salvation she knew was to be born of her own flesh by a birth in time, so that in one and the same person He should truly be both her son and her Lord. In the following words too she teaches how lowly she thought of herself, and that whatever good merit she had she received by the bounty of heavenly grace, saying:
Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae: ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes. Humilem quippe Christi ancillam suo judicio se fuisse demonstrat, sed respectu se gratiae coelestis repente sublimatam pronuntiat, atque in tantum glorificatam, ut sua beatitudo praecipua merito cunctarum gentium voce miretur. Addidit etiam adhuc divinae pietatis munera, quae mirabiliter accepit, digna gratiarum actione collaudans.
Because He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid: for behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For she shows that in her own judgement she had been a lowly handmaid of Christ, but declares that by the regard of heavenly grace she was suddenly exalted, and glorified so greatly that her pre-eminent blessedness is deservedly marvelled at by the voice of all nations. She added further the gifts of the divine goodness which she had wondrously received, praising them with fitting thanksgiving.
Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est, et sanctum nomen ejus. Nil igitur suis meritis tribuit, quae totam magnitudinem ad illius donum refert, qui essentialiter potens et magnus existens, fideles suos de parvis atque infirmis fortes facere consuevit, et magnos. Bene autem addidit, Et sanctum nomen ejus, ut admoneret
Because He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. She ascribes nothing, then, to her own merits, who refers the whole greatness to the gift of Him who, being in His very essence mighty and great, is wont to make His faithful strong and great out of small and weak. And well did she add, And holy is His name, so that she might admonish
Editors' notes and page, col. 18
Page
- running head: SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINAE 18 (left part read on the col. 17 image)
- marginal letters: A ‹ergo responsione Elizabeth, qua eam beatam inter›; B ‹facta cernebat, mox ipsa etiam thesaurum coeli quem›; C ‹moria delectat. Quae cum omnibus perfectis verba›; D ‹hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes. Humilem›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Last word printed "ad-" at the column foot and split across the break; col. 19 not seen, so only the visible part is set; complete it from col. 19's first line (English left open). "[Ms., divinitatis]" is Migne's inline variant, kept as printed. Damaged letters in "ingressum", "desistit", "observantia", "seipsa", "quidquid", "largiente", "beatitudo", "mirabiliter" set as intended.
audientes, imo omnes ad quos ejus verba pervenirent, instrueret ad fidem, et invocationem ejusdem nominis advolare, quatenus et ipsi sanctitatis aeternae ac salutis verae possent esse participes, juxta illud propheticum: Et erit: omnis quicunque invocaverit nomen Domini, salvus erit (Joel. II). Ipsum enim est nomen, de quo supra ait, Et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo. Unde adhuc apertius addit:
her hearers, nay rather instruct all to whom her words should come in the faith, and to hasten to the invocation of that same name, so that they too might be able to be partakers of eternal holiness and true salvation, according to that prophetic word: And it shall be: whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved (Joel 2:32). For this is the very name of which she said above, And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour. Hence she adds yet more openly:
Et misericordia ejus a progenie in progenies, timentibus eum. Progenies autem et progenies vel utriusque populi, Judaei videlicet et gentilis, appellat, vel certe omnium per orbem nationum, quas in Christo credituras esse praevidebat: quia, sicut Petrus ait, Non est personarum acceptor Deus, sed in omni gente qui timet eum, et operatur justitiam, acceptus est illi (Act. X). Concinit autem his beatae Mariae verbis ipsius Domini sermo, quo non tantum matrem, quae se corporaliter meruit generare, sed et omnes qui sua praecepta servarent, pronuntiavit esse beatos. Cum enim docente illo populum quodam loco, et miracula faciente, omnes sapientiam ejus ac virtutes mirarentur, extollens vocem quaedam mulier de turba, dixit illi: Beatus venter qui te portavit, et ubera quae suxisti (Luc. XI). At ille testimonium veritatis prolatum libenter accipiens, continuo respondit: Beati qui audiunt verbum Dei, et custodiunt illud, ut ipsa quoque mulier, imo universi qui audiebant, se beatos fore confiderent, si divinis vellent obtemperare mandatis. Ac si aperte dicat: Quamvis singulare privilegium beatitudinis habeat, quae Filium Dei incarnatum virgo in utero gestare, parere, ac nutrire digna exstitit, praecipuum tamen in eadem vita perpetuae beatitudinis locum et ipsi sunt habituri qui ejus fidem ac dilectionem casto in corde concipiunt, qui sedula in mente praeceptorum ejus memoriam portant, qui hanc et in mente proximorum solerti exhortatione nutrire satagunt. Verum quia venerabilis Dei genitrix misericordiam ejus omnibus per orbem qui eum timerent adfuturam esse perdocuit, restat ut etiam superbi et contemnentes monita veritatis, quid mereantur, insinuet.
And His mercy is from generation to generation, to those who fear Him. By generation and generation she means either both peoples, namely the Jewish and the Gentile, or indeed all the nations throughout the world which she foresaw would believe in Christ: because, as Peter says, God is not a respecter of persons, but in every nation he who fears Him and works justice is acceptable to Him (Acts 10:34–35). And with these words of blessed Mary the saying of the Lord Himself is in harmony, by which He declared blessed not only the mother who was found worthy to bear Him bodily, but also all who should keep His precepts. For when He was teaching the people in a certain place and working miracles, and all were marvelling at His wisdom and His mighty works, a certain woman of the crowd, lifting up her voice, said to Him: Blessed is the womb that bore Thee, and the breasts that Thou didst suck (Luke 11:27). But He, gladly accepting the testimony of truth that had been uttered, at once answered: Blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it, so that the woman herself also, nay all who were listening, might be confident that they would be blessed if they were willing to obey the divine commandments. As if He were saying openly: Although she who as a virgin was found worthy to carry the incarnate Son of God in her womb, to bear Him and to nourish Him, has a singular privilege of blessedness, yet in that same life of everlasting blessedness those also will have a pre-eminent place who conceive faith in Him and love of Him in a chaste heart, who carry in their mind an assiduous remembrance of His precepts, who take pains to nourish this also in the minds of their neighbours by skilful exhortation. But since the venerable mother of God has fully taught that His mercy would be present to all throughout the world who should fear Him, it remains that she should make known also what the proud, and those who despise the admonitions of truth, deserve.
Fecit, inquit, potentiam in brachio suo, dispersit superbos mente cordis sui. In brachio suo, in ditione propriae virtutis significat. Non enim alieno ad operandum indiget auxilio, cui, sicut scriptum est, subest cum voluerit posse. Quod ad distinctionem nostrae bonae operationis dicit, qui non in nostrae juribus libertatis, sed in Deo facimus virtutem, et sicut alias scriptum est: Et brachium eorum non salvavit eos, sed dextra tua, et brachium tuum, et illuminatio vultus tui (Psal. XLIII). Dispersit autem superbos mente cordis sui, quia initium omnis peccati superbia, ob cujus meritum Dominus genus humanum a stabili habitatione patriae coelestis ejiciens, in hujus peregrinationem exsilii longe lateque dispulit: sed et his qui in peccatis perdurare non timent, graviorem futurae dispersionis vindictam reservavit.
He has shown might, she says, with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their heart. By "with His arm" she signifies "by the sway of His own power". For He needs no help from another in order to act, He with whom, as it is written, power is at hand whenever He wills. She says this to distinguish our own good working, for we do valiantly not by the rights of our own liberty but in God, and, as it is written elsewhere: And their own arm did not save them, but Thy right hand and Thine arm and the light of Thy countenance (Ps. 43:4). And He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their heart, because pride is the beginning of all sin; for its desert the Lord, casting the human race out of the settled dwelling of the heavenly homeland, drove it far and wide into the wandering of this exile; and for those too who do not fear to persist in their sins He has reserved the heavier punishment of a dispersion to come.
Deposuit potentes de sede. Eosdem potentes appellat quos ante dixerat superbos. Qui ideo nimirum
He has put down the mighty from their seat. She calls "mighty" the same men whom she had earlier called "proud". Who for this reason, surely,
Editors' notes and page, col. 19
Page
- running head: 19 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III.
- marginal letters: A ‹moneret audientes, imo omnes›; B ‹(Act. X). Concinit autem›; C ‹privilegium beatitudinis habeat›; D ‹randum indiget auxilio›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "moneret", the end of a word divided from the previous column (probably ad-moneret); set as printed, English supplies [ad]. Column ends mid-sentence after "nimirum".
superbi vocantur, quia supra mensuram se suae conditionis extollunt; potentes autem, non quia vere potentes sunt, sed quia confidentes in virtute sua, conditoris adjutorium quaerere detrectant. Illi autem vere potentes sunt qui dicere cum Apostolo norunt: Omnia possumus in eo qui nos confortat (Philip. IV). De qualibus scriptum est: Deus potentes non abjicit, cum et ipse sit potens (Job. XXXVI). Deposuit ergo potentes de sede, et exaltavit humiles, quia omnis qui se exaltat, humiliabitur; et qui se humiliat, exaltabitur. Quamvis etiam ita recte possit intelligi, quod nonnunquam illi ipsi, qui merito suae elationis a Domino fuerant dejecti, denuo miserante illo ad humilitatis gratiam redeant, sicque merito devotae humilitatis erigantur ad gloriam. Denique Saulus ad superbiam de sede doctrinae legalis depositus est, sed mox ob humilitatis subjectionem ad evangelizandam Christi fidem levatus.
are called proud because they exalt themselves above the measure of their condition; and mighty, not because they are truly mighty, but because, trusting in their own strength, they refuse to seek the help of their Maker. But those are truly mighty who know how to say with the Apostle: We can do all things in Him who strengthens us (Phil. 4:13). Of such it is written: God does not cast away the mighty, since He Himself also is mighty (Job 36:5). He has put down the mighty from their seat, therefore, and has exalted the humble, because everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted. Although it may also rightly be understood in this way: that sometimes those very men who had been cast down by the Lord for the desert of their pride return again, by His mercy, to the grace of humility, and so by the merit of devout humility are raised up to glory. Saul, indeed, was put down from the seat of the teaching of the Law to [his] pride, but soon, because of the submission of humility, he was lifted up to preach the faith of Christ.
Esurientes implevit bonis, et divites dimisit inanes. Qui aeterna perfecte nunc esuriunt, atque ad haec appetenda infatigabili operum justorum instantia certare non desistunt, satiabuntur utique cum sui Redemptoris gloria, quam desiderabant, apparuerit. At quicunque coelestibus divitiis terrenas praeponere gaudent, hi nimirum tempore ultimae discretionis inanes totius beatitudinis dimittuntur a Domino, ideoque cum diabolo perennis miseriae poena plectuntur. Quod etiam in hac vita ex parte non minima videmus impleri, ut et humiles videlicet supernae bonitatis alimoniis repleantur, virtutumque coelestium largitate ditescant: et qui vel de terrenis divitiis gloriantes superbiunt, vel de opibus se bonorum operum quasi haec per se habeant, extollunt, intus a lumine veritatis inanescunt. Singulis autem his versiculis, quos de diverso superborum atque humilium statu beata Maria protulit, adjungendum est quod praemisit, A progenie in progenies, quia nimirum per omne labentis saeculi tempus Creator justus ac misericors et superbis resistere, et humilibus dare gratiam consuevit. Unde bene post generalem divinae pietatis et justitiae commemorationem, ad specialem novae incarnationis dispensationem, qua mundum redimere dignatus est, confessionis suae verba convertit, dicens:
He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. Those who now hunger perfectly for eternal things, and do not cease to strive for them with tireless perseverance in just works, shall surely be satisfied when the glory of their Redeemer, which they longed for, shall appear. But whoever delight to set earthly riches before heavenly ones are, surely, at the time of the last judgement sent away by the Lord empty of all blessedness, and are therefore punished with the devil by the penalty of everlasting misery. This we see fulfilled even in this life in no small part: namely, that the humble are filled with the nourishment of the goodness from above and grow rich in the bounty of heavenly virtues, while those who are proud, either glorying in earthly riches, or exalting themselves over their wealth of good works as though they had these of themselves, grow empty within of the light of truth. To each of these little verses which blessed Mary uttered about the differing state of the proud and of the humble must be joined what she set before them, From generation to generation, because, surely, through all the time of this passing age the Creator, just and merciful, has been wont both to resist the proud and to give grace to the humble. Hence, fittingly, after the general remembrance of the divine mercy and justice, she turns the words of her confession to the particular dispensation of the new incarnation, by which He deigned to redeem the world, saying:
Suscepit Israel puerum suum, memorari misericordiae suae. Israel quippe vir videns Deum interpretatur. Quo nomine omnis redemptorum hominum coetus designatur, propter quos ut Deum videre valeant, ipse Deus homo visibilis inter homines apparuit. Qui suscepit Israel quasi medicus aegrum quem curaret, quasi rex populum, quem ab hostium incursione defenderet, imo hoste prostrato liberum redderet, ac secum perpetuo regnare donaret. Et bene addidit, Puerum suum, videlicet humilem obedientemque significans, quia non nisi per virtutem humilitatis quis ad sortem potest redemptionis attingere. Unde et Dominus ait: Nisi conversi fueritis, et efficiamini sicut parvuli, non intrabitis in regnum coelorum (Matth. XVIII). Bene quoque subjunxit, Memorari misericordiae suae, quia quod Deus hominem ut redimeret, assumpsit,
He has taken up Israel His servant, mindful of His mercy. For Israel is interpreted "a man seeing God". By this name the whole company of redeemed men is designated, for whose sake, that they might be able to see God, God Himself appeared among men as a visible man. He took up Israel as a physician takes up a sick man whom he would heal, as a king a people whom he would defend from the onslaught of enemies, nay rather whom, the enemy overthrown, He would make free and grant to reign with Him for ever. And she fittingly added, His servant [puer], signifying one humble and obedient, because no one can attain to the lot of redemption except through the virtue of humility. Hence the Lord too says: Unless you are converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 18:3). Fittingly too she added, Mindful of His mercy, because that God took up man in order to redeem him,
Editors' notes and page, col. 20
Page
- running head: BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 20
- marginal letters: A ‹superbi vocantur, quia supra›; B ‹de sede doctrinae legalis›; C ‹nitatis alimoniis repleantur›; D ‹diae suae. Israel quippe›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column ends mid-sentence after "assumpsit,".
non humanae meritum conditionis, sed divinae donum pietatis exstitit. Quid enim post culpam praevaricationis, nisi justam Conditoris iram meruimus? Unde restat ut quotquot ad salutem vitamque recuperamur aeternam, non hoc nobis, sed ejus gratiae tribuamus, cui dictum est: In ira misericordiae memor eris (Habac. III).
was not the desert of the human condition but the gift of the divine mercy. For what did we deserve after the fault of transgression but the just wrath of our Maker? Hence it remains that as many of us as are restored to salvation and to eternal life should attribute this not to ourselves but to the grace of Him to whom it is said: In wrath Thou wilt remember mercy (Hab. 3:2).
Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros, Abraham et semini ejus in saecula. Patrum memoriam faciens beata Maria, recte Abraham nominatim exprimit, quia etsi multi Patres ac sancti dominicae incarnationi testimonium mystice protulerunt, ipsi tamen primo manifeste sunt ejusdem incarnationis, ac nostrae redemptionis arcana praedicta: ipsi specialiter dictum est: Atque in te benedicentur universae cognationes terrae (Gen. XII): Quod ad Dominum Salvatorem pertinere nullus fidelium dubitat, qui ad dandam nobis benedictionem perpetuam, de stirpe Abrahae ad nos venire dignatus est. Semen autem Abrahae non illos tantum dicit electos, qui ex Abrahae progenie sunt corporaliter editi, verum etiam nos qui de gentibus ad Christum congregati, illis fidei societate patribus copulamur, a quibus prosapiae carnalis origine longe segregamur. Et nos enim semen ac filii sumus Abrahae, cum sacramentis nostri Redemptoris, qui de genere Abrahae carnem assumpsit, renascimur. Nos sumus filii Abrahae, cum illum videre solerti intentione quaerimus cujus diem ipse Abraham exsultavit ut videret, et vidit et gavisus est. Hinc autem Apostolus ait: Si autem vos Christi, ergo semen Abrahae estis, secundum promissionem haeredes. Recte autem in conclusione subjungitur, In saecula, quia nimirum praefata promissio supernae haereditatis nullo unquam fine claudetur. Nam et usque in finem saeculi hujus non deerunt, qui in Christum credendo semen fiant Abrahae, et futurae beatitudinis eidem semini manebit gloria perennis. Unde nos necesse est, fratres charissimi, quibus aeterna merces a Domino promittitur, indefesso nisu mentis pro ejus perceptione luctari. Oportet enim ut pro obtinendo bono, quod sine fine cupimus habere, sine ulla intermissione donec accipiamus, certare curemus. Verba igitur evangelicae lectionis frequenti meditatione revolvamus, exempla beatae Dei genitricis Mariae semper animo retineamus, ut et in conspectu Dei humiles inventi, et proximis quoque honore debito submissi mereamur una cum ipsa perpetuo sublimari. Studeamus sollicite ne nos laudantium indebite favor extollat, cum illam videamus inter verba verae laudationis inconcussam humilitatis tenuisse constantiam. Si immoderatus temporalium rerum nos appetitus delectat, reminiscamur quia judex noster divites dimittit inanes: si temporalis afflictio forte mentem conturbat, recogitemus quia et humiles exaltat. Nunquam de impetranda admissorum venia desperemus, quia misericordia ejus a progenie in progenies timentibus eum. Nulli inter mala quae fecit gravior impoenitendi culpa surripiat, quia Deus superbis resistit, eosque a beatorum sorte secernens, per varia poenarum loca
As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever. Blessed Mary, making mention of the fathers, rightly names Abraham expressly, because, although many fathers and saints bore witness in a mystical way to the Lord's incarnation, yet to him first were the secrets of that same incarnation and of our redemption openly foretold: to him in particular it was said: And in you shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed (Gen. 12:3). None of the faithful doubts that this refers to the Lord the Saviour, who, to give us an everlasting blessing, deigned to come to us from the stock of Abraham. And by the seed of Abraham she means not only those elect who were born bodily of Abraham's progeny, but also us, who, gathered to Christ from the Gentiles, are joined by the fellowship of faith to those fathers from whom we are far separated by the origin of our fleshly lineage. For we too are the seed and the sons of Abraham when we are born again by the sacraments of our Redeemer, who took flesh from the race of Abraham. We are the sons of Abraham when we seek with careful attention to see Him whose day Abraham himself rejoiced to see, and he saw it and was glad. Hence too the Apostle says: And if you are Christ's, then you are the seed of Abraham, heirs according to the promise. And rightly is there added in conclusion, For ever, because, surely, the aforesaid promise of the heavenly inheritance will never be closed by any end. For even to the end of this age there will not be lacking those who by believing in Christ become the seed of Abraham, and the glory of the blessedness to come will abide for ever for that seed. Hence it is necessary for us, dearest brethren, to whom an eternal reward is promised by the Lord, to struggle with unwearied effort of mind to receive it. For to obtain the good which we long to have without end, we must take care to strive without any intermission until we receive it. Let us therefore turn over the words of the Gospel reading in frequent meditation; let us keep the examples of blessed Mary, the mother of God, always in mind, so that, being found humble in the sight of God and submissive to our neighbours too with due honour, we may deserve to be exalted together with her for ever. Let us take anxious care that the undeserved favour of those who praise us does not puff us up, since we see that she, amid the words of true praise, held to the unshaken constancy of humility. If an immoderate appetite for temporal things delights us, let us remember that our Judge sends the rich away empty; if temporal affliction perhaps troubles the mind, let us call to mind that He also exalts the humble. Let us never despair of obtaining pardon for what we have committed, because His mercy is from generation to generation to those who fear Him. Among the evils one has done, let no graver fault of impenitence steal upon anyone, because God resists the proud, and, separating them from the lot of the blessed, through various places of punishment
Editors' notes and page, col. 21
Page
- running head: 21 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINAE.
- marginal letters: A ‹non humanae meritum conditionis›; B ‹rem pertinere nullus fidelium›; C ‹autem in conclusione subjungitur›; D ‹per animo retineamus›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the last word "loca" is followed by a hyphen-like mark, but col. 22 continues with "pro peccatorum", so no word is divided; set "loca". "afflictio" is printed with a gap after "affl" (spacing, not lost type).
pro peccatorum varietate dispergit. Fit autem, largiente Domino, ut si beatae Mariae semper actus et dicta recolamus, semper in nobis et observantia castitatis et virtutis opera perseverent. Nam et optimus ac saluberrimus in sancta Ecclesia mos inolevit, ut hymnus ipsius quotidie cum psalmodia vespertinae laudis ab omnibus canatur, quatenus ex hoc animos fidelium et frequentior dominicae incarnationis memoria ad affectum devotionis accendat, et recogitata saepius exempla genitricis illius in virtutum soliditate confirment. Et hoc opportune ad vesperas fieri complacuit, ut videlicet fatigata per diem et distenta diversis cogitationibus mens nostra, incumbente tempore quietis, ad unionem se suae considerationis colligeret; jamque salubriter admonita quidquid superfluum vel nocivum diurna negatione contraxisset, totum hoc nocturnis precibus denuo ac lacrymis ex tempore mundaret. Verum nos quia in longum duximus sermonem, jam conversi ad Dominum clementiam ipsius postulemus, ut et memoriam beatae Mariae congruis veneremur officiis, et ad celebranda dominicae nativitatis solemnia purioribus animis venire mereamur, adjuvante ipso ad facienda opera spiritualia, et ad percipienda dona coelestia desiderium nostrum, qui pro nobis incarnari, atque inter homines vivendi formam dare voluit unigenitum suum Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum, cum quo vivit et regnat Deus in unitate Spiritus sancti per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
scatters them according to the variety of their sins. And it comes about, by the Lord's bounty, that if we always recall the deeds and words of blessed Mary, both the observance of chastity and the works of virtue persevere in us always. For indeed a most excellent and most wholesome custom has grown up in holy Church, that her hymn should be sung daily by all with the psalmody of the evening praise, so that by this the more frequent remembrance of the Lord's incarnation may kindle the minds of the faithful to an affection of devotion, and the examples of His mother, often called to mind, may strengthen them in the solidity of virtues. And it was fittingly resolved that this should be done at Vespers, so that our mind, wearied through the day and distracted by divers thoughts, might, as the time of rest comes on, gather itself into the unity of its own reflection; and, now wholesomely admonished, might at once cleanse anew by nightly prayers and tears whatever superfluous or harmful thing it had contracted by the day's denial. But since we have drawn out our discourse at length, let us now turn to the Lord and ask His clemency, that we may both honour the memory of blessed Mary with fitting offices and deserve to come with purer minds to celebrate the solemnity of the Lord's nativity, He Himself helping our desire to do spiritual works and to receive heavenly gifts, He who willed that His only-begotten, Jesus Christ our Lord, should become incarnate for us and give among men a pattern of living, with whom He lives and reigns, God, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.
HOMILIA III. DE ADVENTU DOMINI. MARC. XIV. In illo tempore fuit Joannes in deserto baptizans et praedicans baptismum poenitentiae in remissionem peccatorum.
HOMILY III. ON THE ADVENT OF THE LORD. MARK 14 [sic]. At that time John was in the desert, baptizing and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
Adventum dominicae praedicationis Joannes praeveniens, sicut ex lectione sancti Evangelii, fratres charissimi, audistis, fuit in deserto baptizans et praedicans baptismum poenitentiae in remissionem peccatorum. Ubi solerter intuenda distinctio verborum qua dicitur quia fuit baptizans et praedicans baptismum poenitentiae in remissionem peccatorum. Baptizabat namque ipse baptismo poenitentiae in confessionem et emendationem peccatorum, et praedicabat baptismum poenitentiae futurum in Christo in remissionem peccatorum: in cujus solo baptismate peccatorum remissio nobis donatur, Apostolo testante, qui ait: Unus Dominus, una fides, unum baptisma, unus Deus (Eph. IV). Quod baptisma poenitentiae recte vocatur, quia non ob aliud quis in fonte vitae baptizari desiderat nisi quia poenitet se noxa primae praevaricationis animae simul et corporis morte constringi. Quod si quaerimus quare Joannes baptizaverit, cujus baptismate peccata remitti nequiverunt; patet aperta ratio, quia praecursionis suae servans officium, sicut ante Dominum nasci, praedicare et mori; ita etiam baptizare debebat: simul ne Domini dispensationem, si primus ipse baptisma hominibus daret, Pharisaeorum et scribarum carperet invidiosa contentio: sed si interrogare voluissont in qua potestate baptizaret,
John, going before the coming of the Lord's preaching, as you have heard, dearest brethren, from the reading of the holy Gospel, was in the desert baptizing and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. Here the distinction of the words must be carefully observed, in which it is said that he was baptizing and preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. For he himself baptized with a baptism of repentance, for the confession and amendment of sins, and he preached a baptism of repentance that was to come in Christ for the remission of sins: in whose baptism alone the remission of sins is given us, as the Apostle testifies, who says: One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God (Eph. 4:5–6). It is rightly called a baptism of repentance, because one desires to be baptized in the font of life for no other reason than that one repents of being bound, by the guilt of the first transgression, by the death of soul and body together. But if we ask why John baptized, when sins could not be remitted by his baptism, the reason is plain and open: because, keeping the office of his forerunning, just as he had to be born, to preach and to die before the Lord, so also he had to baptize before Him; and at the same time so that the envious contention of the Pharisees and scribes might not carp at the Lord's dispensation if He Himself were the first to give baptism to men; but if they should wish to ask by what authority He baptized,
Editors' notes and page, col. 22
Page
- running head: SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINAE. 22
- marginal letters: A ‹pro peccatorum varietate dispergit›; B ‹perfluum vel nocivum diurna›; C ‹HOMILIA III. (heading)›; D ‹catorum : in cujus solo›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the Gospel line reads "MARC. XIV." as printed; the pericope is Mark 1:4, so XIV is probably a misprint for I (kept as printed, English marks [sic]). "diurna negatione" printed so (one might expect "negotiatione"); kept and translated as printed. Homily numbered III where the series would lead one to expect a different number; kept as printed.
statim audirent: Baptismus Joannis unde erat? E coelo, an ex hominibus? (Marc. II.) Quod cum e coelo esse negare non auderent, etiam ejus quem Joannes praedicebat opera coelitus acta cogerentur fateri. Nec tamen baptisma Joannis, quamvis peccata non relaxaverit, infructuosum omnimodis accipientibus exstitit, quia ipse etsi non pro remissione peccatorum, pro signo tamen fidei et poenitentiae dabatur: ut videlicet recolerent se omnes qui hoc initiabantur a peccatis continere, eleemosynis insistere, in Christum credere, atque ad ejus baptisma quo in remissionem peccatorum abluerentur, mox ut appareret, properare debere. Quod autem Joannes in deserto baptismum suum dat, et baptisma Christi praedicat, imo totam a puero in desertis agit vitam: ideo fit ut summus doctor quod verbis praedicabat exemplis astrueret; et qui suos auditores a peccatis poenitendo discedere suadebat, ipse peccantium vitia, non solum munditia mentis, sed corporis situ declinaret. Typice autem desertum in quo Joannes manebat, segregatam a mundi illecebris sanctorum vitam designat, qui sive solitarii, sive turbis admixti vivant, tota semper intentione animi praesentis saeculi desideria spernunt, soli Deo in abscondito cordis adhaerere, et in illo spem ponere delectantur: quam dilectissimam Deo solitudinem mentis, juvante Spiritus sancti gratia desiderabat adire Propheta qui dicebat: Quis dabit mihi pennas sicut columbae? et volabo et requiescam (Psal. LV); eamque se mox Domino juvante consecutum gratulatus, quasi communibus terrenorum desideriorum implicamentis insultans adjungit: Ecce elongavi fugiens, et mansi in solitudine (Ibid.). Denique Dominus liberatum sanguine agni populum de Aegypto, et per mare Rubrum eductum, prius in deserto quadraginta annis instituit, et sic in terram repromissionis induxit: quia nimirum populus fidelium non statim post baptisma coelestis patriae gaudia potest subire, sed primo longis virtutum exercendus agonibus, ac deinde perpetuis supernae beatitudinis est donandus muneribus. Quo autem fructu praedicaverit Joannes, consequenter ostenditur cum dicitur:
they would at once hear: The baptism of John, whence was it? From heaven, or from men? (Mark 11:30). And since they would not dare to deny that it was from heaven, they would be compelled to confess that the works of Him whom John foretold were also done from heaven. Yet the baptism of John, although it did not loose sins, was not altogether fruitless for those who received it, because, though it was not given for the remission of sins, it was given as a sign of faith and repentance: namely, that all who were initiated by it might call to mind that they must keep themselves from sins, apply themselves to almsgiving, believe in Christ, and hasten, as soon as He should appear, to His baptism, by which they would be washed for the remission of sins. And that John gives his baptism in the desert and preaches the baptism of Christ, nay rather passes his whole life from boyhood in desert places, comes about so that the supreme teacher might establish by examples what he preached in words; and that he who urged his hearers to depart from sins by repenting might himself turn aside from the vices of sinners not only by purity of mind but also by the place where his body dwelt. Figuratively, moreover, the desert in which John remained signifies the life of the saints set apart from the allurements of the world, who, whether they live as solitaries or mingled with crowds, always spurn the desires of the present age with the whole intent of their mind, and delight to cleave to God alone in the hidden place of the heart and to set their hope in Him. To this solitude of mind, most beloved of God, the Prophet longed to come by the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit, when he said: Who will give me wings like a dove? and I will fly and be at rest (Ps. 54:7); and, rejoicing that by the Lord's help he had soon attained it, he adds, as though mocking the common entanglements of earthly desires: Lo, I have gone far off, fleeing, and have abode in the wilderness (Ps. 54:8). Indeed, the Lord first trained for forty years in the desert the people freed from Egypt by the blood of the lamb and led out through the Red Sea, and so brought them into the land of promise: because, surely, the people of the faithful cannot enter into the joys of the heavenly homeland immediately after baptism, but must first be exercised in long contests of the virtues, and then be gifted with the everlasting rewards of the blessedness above. And with what fruit John preached is shown next, when it is said:
Et egrediebatur ad eum omnis Judaeae regio et Hierosolymitae universi, et baptizabantur ab illo in Jordane flumine, confitentes peccata sua. Patet litterae sensus, quia qui viciniores vel doctiores erant, primi affluenter verbum suscepere salutis. Sed quia Judaea confessio, et Hierosolyma visio pacis dicitur, possumus intelligere eos mystice qui confessionem rectae fidei didicerint, qui visionem supernae pacis amaverint, in Judaeae et Hierosolymitanorum appellatione designatos. Nam tales maxime tunc ad Joannem in desertum pro accipiendo baptismate exisse credendi sunt. Tales etiam nunc audito Dei verbo de prisca sua conversatione egredi, ac solitudinem vitae spiritualis ad exemplum fidelium doctorum constat ingredi; quia nimirum vita novae conversationis quotidie castigati, quasi quotidiano Jordanis baptismate ⟨la⟩crymis suae compunctionis ab omni vitiorum subripientium contagione purgantur, juxta eum qui dicit: Lavabo per
And there went out to him all the country of Judaea and all the people of Jerusalem, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. The sense of the letter is plain: those who were nearer, or more learned, were the first to receive in abundance the word of salvation. But since Judaea means "confession" and Jerusalem "vision of peace", we can understand that mystically those are designated by the name of Judaea and of the people of Jerusalem who have learned the confession of the right faith and who have loved the vision of the peace above. For such above all are to be believed to have gone out then to John in the desert to receive baptism. Such, too, even now, having heard the word of God, are known to go out from their former way of life and to enter the solitude of the spiritual life after the example of faithful teachers; because, surely, chastened daily by the life of a new way of living, they are cleansed, as by a daily baptism in the Jordan, by the tears of their compunction from every contagion of the vices that creep in upon them, according to him who says: I will wash, through
Editors' notes and page, col. 23
Page
- running head: 23 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III.
- marginal letters: A ‹statim audirent : Baptismus›; B ‹doctor quod verbis praedicabat›; C ‹tum gratulatus, quasi communibus›; D ‹quia qui viciniores vel doctiores›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "Marc. II." printed for Mark 11:30 (set as printed; English gives the modern reference). "Psal. LV" printed; the verses are Psalm 54:7–8 in the Vulgate, and the English gives Vulgate 54. "lacrymis": the first letters are blurred in the scan, marked ⟨la⟩. Column ends mid-quotation after "Lavabo per".
singulas noctes lectum meum, lacrymis stratum meum rigabo (Psal. VI). Unde recte Jordanis rivus judicii interpretatur: quia nimirum electi quo sollicitius suam conscientiam discutiendo examinant, eo latiores ex intimo cordis fonte lacrymarum fluvios fundunt, ut, quia minus perfectos se esse deprehendunt, sordes suae fragilitatis undis poenitentiae diluant. Sequitur:
each night my bed; with tears I will water my couch (Ps. 6:7). Hence rightly is Jordan interpreted "stream of judgement": because, surely, the more anxiously the elect examine their conscience by searching it, the broader the rivers of tears they pour out from the inmost fount of the heart, so that, since they find themselves less perfect, they may wash away the stains of their frailty with the waves of repentance. There follows:
Et erat Joannes vestitus pilis cameli, et zona pellicea circa lumbos ejus, et locustas et mel silvestre edebat. Quantum ad litteram indumenti et escae, vilitas quae solitarium et poenitentiae praeconem decebat ostenditur. Sed et figurate pilis cameli, e quibus cilicium fit, poenitentia vel continentia, qua et ipse exercebatur et caeteros instituebat, exprimitur. Zona pellicea quae ex mortuo tollitur animante, et ipsum mortificasse membra sua terrena, et auditores suos idem docuisse signatur. Constat namque per lumbos saepe luxuriam designari: unde propter hanc capessendam et castitatis gloriam nanciscendam Dominus praecepit: Sint lumbi vestri praecincti, et lucernae ardentes in manibus vestris (Luc. XII). Qui ergo venereae motus concupiscentiae funditus edomuit, lumbos utique zona pellicea cinxit. Locustis, quae alacriter a terra evolant, sed citius ad terram redeunt, et melle silvestri quod simul edebat, brevitas pariter et dulcedo praedicationis ejus intimatur, quia et libenter a populis audiebatur praedicans, et citissime Domino veniente praedicationi ac baptismati suo terminum posuit. Quod si quis habitum vel victum Joannis ad figuram Domini Salvatoris interpretari desiderat, opportunum ducens ut quem prophetando monstrabat etiam vivendo significaverit, libenter hujus est intentio sequenda; intelligendumque quod pili cameli propter cilicium eos qui peccata poenitendo, jejunando, et flendo abstergere curant; zona pellicea, propter mortem animantis de quo fit, illos significet qui carnem suam crucifixerunt cum vitiis et concupiscentiis. Et quia scriptum est: Quotquot in Christo baptizati estis, Christum induistis (Gal. III); cum tales Christo intentione seduli amoris adhaerent, quasi pilis cameli vestiuntur, et zona pellicea circa lumbos accinguntur. Locusta propter brevem volatum mobilem Judaicae gentis animum, quo inter Dominum et idola sursum et deorsum ferebatur insinuat. Mel silvestre dulcedinem naturalis ingenii qua inculti externarum nationum populi reficiebantur significat. Et dum ex utroque populo Dominus quos in unitatem sui corporis, quod est Ecclesia, docendo trajiciat eligit, locustis nimirum et melle silvestri pascitur; quia et ex ea quae instabili intentione coelestia quaesierat, et ex illa gente quae terrenae solum philosophiae saporem noverat, multos in membra sua convertit. Descripto autem Joannis loco, ministerio, habitu et alimento, mox etiam praedicationis forma subinfertur. Nam sequitur:
And John was clothed with camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins, and he ate locusts and wild honey. As regards the letter of his clothing and food, there is shown the meanness that befitted a solitary and a herald of repentance. But figuratively, too, by the camel's hair, from which haircloth is made, is expressed the penance or continence in which he both exercised himself and instructed others. By the leathern girdle, which is taken from a dead animal, it is signified both that he himself had mortified his members which are upon the earth and that he taught his hearers the same. For it is agreed that lust is often designated by the loins: hence, so that chastity might be taken up and its glory attained, the Lord commanded: Let your loins be girded, and lamps burning in your hands (Luke 12:35). He, therefore, who has utterly subdued the motions of venereal concupiscence has indeed girded his loins with a leathern girdle. By the locusts, which fly up eagerly from the earth but quickly return to the earth, and by the wild honey which he ate with them, the brevity and likewise the sweetness of his preaching are intimated, because he was both gladly heard by the peoples when he preached, and, when the Lord came, very soon put an end to his preaching and his baptism. But if anyone wishes to interpret John's dress or food as a figure of the Lord the Saviour, thinking it fitting that he should have signified by his living Him whom he showed by prophesying, his intent is gladly to be followed; and it is to be understood that the camel's hair, because of the haircloth, signifies those who take care to wipe away their sins by repenting, fasting and weeping; the leathern girdle, because of the death of the animal from which it is made, signifies those who have crucified their flesh with its vices and concupiscences. And since it is written: As many of you as have been baptized in Christ have put on Christ (Gal. 3:27), when such men cleave to Christ with the intent of zealous love they are, as it were, clothed with camel's hair and girded with a leathern girdle about the loins. The locust, because of its short flight, suggests the fickle mind of the Jewish nation, by which it was borne up and down between the Lord and idols. The wild honey signifies the sweetness of natural wit by which the untaught peoples of the foreign nations were refreshed. And when the Lord chooses from both peoples those whom by teaching He may bring over into the unity of His body, which is the Church, He surely feeds on locusts and wild honey; because both from that [nation] which had sought heavenly things with unstable intent, and from that nation which had known only the savour of earthly philosophy, He converted many into His members. And John's place, ministry, dress and food having been described, the form of his preaching is presently added. For there follows:
Et praedicabat dicens: Venit fortior me post me. Fortis quidem est multum qui in confessionem peccatorum, fortior qui in remissionem baptizat; fortis, qui Spiritum sanctum habere dignus est; fortior, qui
And he preached, saying: There comes after me one mightier than I. Mighty indeed, greatly, is he who baptizes for the confession of sins; mightier He who baptizes for their remission; mighty, he who is worthy to have the Holy Spirit; mightier, He who
Editors' notes and page, col. 24
Page
- running head: S OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 24 (BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 24)
- marginal letters: A ‹singulas noctes lectum meum›; B ‹casse membra sua terrena›; C ‹Salvatoris interpretari desiderat›; D ‹dinem naturalis ingenii›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "singulas", completing "Lavabo per" at the foot of col. 23. Column ends mid-sentence after "fortior, qui".
tribuere: fortis, quo in natis mulierum nemo major est; fortior, cui minorato paulo minus ab angelis omnia subjecta sunt sub pedibus ejus: fortis, qui regnum coelorum primus venit praedicare; fortior, qui hoc solus potuit dare: Cujus non sum dignus, inquit, procumbens solvere corrigiam calceamentorum ejus (Marc. I). Et si ad hoc tantum ministerium quo calceamentorum ejus corrigiam procumbens solveret se dignum fateretur, magnae profecto esset devotionis indicium; nunc autem, prae mirae humilitatis virtute, ne hoc quidem ministerio digne se fungi posse testatur. Quod si mysterio intendimus, patet legis decretum: quia qui debitam sibi propinquitatis jure uxorem non ipse accipere, sed alteri accipiendam permittere voluisset, in signo permissionis ejusdem calceamentum de pede solutum ei qui hanc acciperet dare jubebatur. Et quia Joannem merito virtutum populi Christum esse credebant, sponsum profecto Ecclesiae credebant. Sed ipse Joannes, ut quis sit ostendat, ait: Qui habet sponsam, sponsus est; amicus autem sponsi, qui stat et audit eum, gaudio gaudet propter vocem sponsi (Joan. III). Non ergo se sponsum patitur credi, ne amicitiam sponsi perdat, quod est ad solutionem calceamentorum ejus se dignum non esse testari. Denique Moyses et Josue cum duces Synagogae constituerentur, calceamentum solvere praecepti sunt, ut intelligerent eum qui haec mandabat sponsum, id est, Dominum synagogae credendum; se autem amicos sponsi, in eo quod eidem synagogae praeessent, appellari et esse debere.
to bestow [it]: mighty, he than whom none greater is among those born of women; mightier, He to whom, made a little lower than the angels, all things have been subjected under His feet: mighty, he who came first to preach the kingdom of heaven; mightier, He who alone could give it: The latchet of whose shoes, he says, I am not worthy to stoop down and loose (Mark 1:7). Even if he had confessed himself worthy only of this ministry, of stooping down and loosing the latchet of His shoes, it would surely have been a sign of great devotion; but now, by the virtue of a wonderful humility, he testifies that he cannot worthily perform even this ministry. But if we attend to the mystery, the decree of the Law is plain: that he who was not willing himself to take the wife due to him by right of kinship, but to allow her to be taken by another, was bidden, as a sign of that permission, to give his shoe, loosed from his foot, to the one who would take her. And since the people, because of the merit of his virtues, believed John to be the Christ, they surely believed him to be the bridegroom of the Church. But John himself, to show who he is, says: He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices with joy because of the bridegroom's voice (John 3:29). He does not, therefore, allow himself to be believed the bridegroom, lest he lose the friendship of the bridegroom; and that is to testify that he is not worthy to loose His shoes. Indeed, when Moses and Joshua were appointed leaders of the Synagogue, they were commanded to loose their shoes, that they might understand that He who gave these commands was to be believed the bridegroom, that is, the Lord of the synagogue; but that they themselves, in that they were set over that same synagogue, ought to be called, and to be, friends of the bridegroom.
Ego baptizavi vos aqua, ille vero baptizabit vos Spiritu sancto. Apud evangelistam Matthaeum fertur dixisse Joannes: Ego quidem baptizo vos in aqua in poenitentiam (Matth. III). Ob hoc ergo baptizabat aqua Joannes, ut omnes quos ad poenitendum Christoque credendum persuadere potuisset, sui signaculo baptismatis ab infidelium et impoenitentium turba secerneret: qui ne hoc sibi baptisma sufficere ad salutem crederent, sed ad Christi potius baptisma festinarent, consequenter adjunxit: Ille vero baptizabit vos Spiritu sancto. Baptizat quippe Spiritu sancto, qui munere Spiritus sancti peccata dimittit; et accepta remissione peccatorum, etiam Spiritus ejusdem gratiam tribuit. Nam et dationem charismatum in Spiritu baptisma Spiritus recte vocari testatur ipse qui ascensurus in coelum discipulis promittit, dicens: Joannes quidem baptizavit aqua, vos autem baptizabimini Spiritu sancto non post multos hos dies (Act. I), significans decimo ascensionis suae die Spiritum sanctum super eos in linguis igneis esse venturum. Quaeritur sane utrum Dominus qui cunctos fideles Spiritu baptizat, ipse aliquos etiam baptizaverit aqua. Neque indignum tantae majestati ducendum est baptizandi ministerium aliquibus discipulorum suorum exhibuisse, per quos in caetera sua membra baptismi dona propagaret, qui memorabile illud lavandi pedes discipulorum munus subire non despexit. Sed sive tunc per se, seu deinceps per suos aqua baptizaverit, solus tamen ipse Spiritu sancto
I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. In the evangelist Matthew John is reported to have said: I indeed baptize you in water unto repentance (Matt. 3:11). For this reason, then, John baptized with water: that all whom he had been able to persuade to repent and to believe in Christ he might set apart, by the seal of his baptism, from the crowd of the unbelieving and the impenitent; and so that they should not believe this baptism sufficient for their salvation, but should rather hasten to the baptism of Christ, he added next: But He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. For He baptizes with the Holy Spirit who forgives sins by the gift of the Holy Spirit; and, the remission of sins received, He bestows also the grace of that same Spirit. For He Himself testifies that the giving of the gifts in the Spirit is rightly called the baptism of the Spirit, when, about to ascend into heaven, He promises the disciples, saying: John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence (Acts 1:5), signifying that on the tenth day after His ascension the Holy Spirit would come upon them in tongues of fire. It is indeed asked whether the Lord, who baptizes all the faithful with the Spirit, Himself also baptized some with water. Nor should it be thought unworthy of so great a majesty to have performed the ministry of baptizing for some of His disciples, through whom He might spread the gifts of baptism to the rest of His members, He who did not disdain to undertake that memorable office of washing the disciples' feet. But whether He baptized with water by Himself at that time, or afterwards through His own, yet He alone with the Holy Spirit
Editors' notes and page, col. 25
Page
- running head: 25 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINAE.
- marginal letters: A ‹tribuere : fortis, quo in natis›; B ‹calceamentum de pede solutum›; C ‹ritu sancto. Apud evangelistam›; D ‹in Spiritu baptisma Spiritus›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens mid-sentence with "tribuere" (the English supplies [it]). "Marc." in the first reference has damaged type but is legible. Column ends mid-sentence after "Spiritu sancto".
baptizat, qui Spiritum nobis tribuit et operatur in nobis virtutes. Cujus in nobis gratiam, fratres mei, integram semper illibatamque conservare curemus, omni videlicet tempore bonis insistendo operibus, sed maxime nunc cum nativitatem ipsius Domini nostri Salvatoris proxime celebrare debemus, diligentius solito invigilando, ut quidquid negligentiae subripientis nobis inesse deprehenderimus, citius abstergere satagamus: quidquid habendae virtutis deesse nobis inspexerimus, citius acquirere studeamus, evulsis discordiarum, vituperationum, jurgiorum, murmurationum caeterorumque frutetis vitiorum, plantemus in nobis charitatem, gaudium, pacem, patientiam, bonitatem, benignitatem, fidem, mansuetudinem, continentiam, et caetera fructus Spiritus insignia, quatenus in illa die mundo corpore et pura conscientia ad altare dominicum accedere, et ejus sacrosanctis mysteriis mereamur communicare sacramentis, qui vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
baptizes, He who bestows the Spirit on us and works virtues in us. Let us take care, my brethren, to keep His grace in us always whole and unimpaired, by persevering, that is, in good works at all times, but above all now, when we are soon to celebrate the nativity of our Lord and Saviour Himself, by keeping watch more diligently than usual, so that whatever of creeping negligence we find in ourselves we may make haste to wipe away the sooner; whatever virtue that ought to be had we see to be lacking in us, we may strive to acquire the sooner; and, the thickets of discords, revilings, quarrels, murmurings and the other vices being rooted out, let us plant in ourselves charity, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faith, mildness, continence, and the other marks of the fruit of the Spirit, so that on that day we may deserve to approach the Lord's altar with clean body and pure conscience, and to communicate in His most holy mysteries, the sacraments of Him who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
HOMILIA IV. IN FERIA SECUNDA PRIM. HEBDOM. ADVENTUS. JOAN. I. In illo tempore Joannes testimonium perhibet de Domino, et clamat dicens: Hic erat quem dixi vobis, qui post me venturus est, ante me factus est, quia prior me erat.
HOMILY IV. ON MONDAY OF THE FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT. JOHN 1. At that time John bears witness concerning the Lord, and cries out, saying: This was He of whom I said to you, He who is to come after me has been made before me, because He was before me.
Redemptoris nostri praecursor, testimonium de ipso perhibens, certitudinem humanitatis ejus pariter et divinitatis aeternitatem manifesta voce pronuntiat. Clamat enim dicens, sicut modo cum Evangelium legeretur vestra fraternitas audivit: Hic erat, quem dixi vobis, qui post me venturus est, ante me factus est, quia prior me erat. In eo namque quod ait, qui post me venturus est, ordinem humanae dispensationis qua post eum natus, post eum etiam praedicaturus, baptizaturus, signa facturus et mortem erat passurus, insinuat. In eo vero quod subjungit, Ante me factus est, sublimitatem ejusdem humanitatis, quae caeteris omnibus creaturis erat merito praeferenda, designat. Quod enim ait, Ante me, non ad ordinem temporis, sed ad distantiam pertinet dignitatis, juxta quod de Joseph filiis, benedicente Jacob, scriptum est: Constituitque Ephraim ante Manassem (Gen. XLVIII), ubi recte potuit dicere: Manasses, qui post me venit, ante me factus est. Id est, qui post me natus est, potentia regni me antecessit. Quamobrem Joannes de Domino, Qui post me, ⟨in⟩quit, venturus est, ante me factus est: id est, qui post me ad praedicandum venturus est, culmine me regni et sacerdotii perennis antecellit. Quare autem is qui post eum venturus erat, eum dignitate antecelleret, aperuit cum subjungit, Quia prior me erat, id est, quia aeternus ante saecula Deus erat, propterea me, licet posterior natus, gloria majestatis etiam in assumpta humanitate praeibit. Exposito autem evangelista praecur⟨s⟩oris Domini testimonio quod de illo perhibuerat, reddit statim suae assertionis, quod coeperat illi dare, testimonium. Nam sequitur:
The forerunner of our Redeemer, bearing witness concerning Him, proclaims with a clear voice both the certainty of His humanity and the eternity of His divinity. For he cries out, saying, as your fraternity heard just now when the Gospel was read: This was He of whom I said to you, He who is to come after me has been made before me, because He was before me. For in saying, He who is to come after me, he points to the order of the human dispensation, by which He was born after him and was also to preach, to baptize, to work signs and to suffer death after him. But in adding, Has been made before me, he signifies the loftiness of that same humanity, which was deservedly to be preferred to all other creatures. For when he says, Before me, this refers not to the order of time but to the difference of dignity, as it is written of the sons of Joseph, when Jacob blessed them: And he set Ephraim before Manasseh (Gen. 48:20), where Manasseh could rightly have said: He who came after me has been made before me. That is, he who was born after me has gone before me in the power of the kingdom. Wherefore John says of the Lord, He who is to come after me, he says, has been made before me: that is, He who is to come after me to preach surpasses me by the summit of an everlasting kingdom and priesthood. And why He who was to come after him should surpass him in dignity he disclosed when he added, Because He was before me, that is, because He was God eternal before the ages, therefore, though born later, He will go before me in the glory of majesty even in the humanity He has taken up. And having set out the witness which the Lord's forerunner had borne concerning Him, the evangelist at once renders the witness of his own assertion, which he had begun to give Him. For there follows:
Editors' notes and page, col. 26
Page
- running head: SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINAE. 26
- marginal letters: A ‹baptizat, qui Spiritum nobis›; B ‹Spiritus insignia, quatenus›; C ‹nuntiat. Clamat enim dicens›; D ‹(Gen. XLVIII), ubi recte›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "praeibit" printed (future of praeire); "praeivit" might be intended; kept as printed and translated as a future. "inquit": the first letters are damaged, marked ⟨in⟩. "praecursoris": the s is lost in the type, marked ⟨s⟩.
Et de plenitudine ejus omnes nos accepimus, gratiam pro gratia. Superius namque dixit, quia Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis, et vidimus gloriam ejus, gloriam quasi unigeniti a Patre, plenum gratia et veritate (Joan. I). Quod cum praecursoris quoque ejus testimonio confirmasset dicentis: Hic erat quem dixi vobis, qui post me venturus est, ante me factus est, quia prior me erat (Ibid.); rursus ipse quae coeperat exsequitur dicens: Et de plenitudine ejus omnes nos accepimus, gratiam pro gratia (Ibid.). Plenus quippe erat Dominus Spiritu sancto, plenus gratia et veritate, quia, sicut Apostolus ait, In ipso habitat omnis plenitudo divinitatis corporaliter (Colos. II); de cujus plenitudine nos omnes juxta modum capacitatis nostrae accepimus, quia unicuique nostrum data est gratia secundum mensuram donationis Christi. De solo namque mediatore Dei et hominum homine Jesu Christo veraciter dici potuit: Et requiescet super eum spiritus Domini, spiritus sapientiae et intellectus, spiritus consilii et fortitudinis, spiritus scientiae et pietatis, et replebit eum spiritus timoris Domini (Isai. XI). Omnes vero sancti non plenitudinem Spiritus ejus, sed de plenitudine ejus quantum ille donat, accipiunt: Quia per Spiritum alii datur sermo sapientiae, alii sermo scientiae secundum eumdem spiritum, alteri fides in eodem spiritu, alii gratia sanitatum in uno spiritu, alii operatio virtutum, alii prophetia, alii discretio spirituum, alii genera linguarum, alii interpretatio sermonum. Haec autem omnia operatur unus ac idem Spiritus, dividens singulis prout vult (Cor. XII). Quia ergo de plenitudine nostri conditoris non quiddam, sed omne quidquid boni habemus, accepimus, curandum summopere est ne quispiam se de bona actione vel cogitatione incautus extollat; ne si ingratus largitori remanserit, perdat bonum quod accepit, ac digne apostolica increpatione percellatur, qua dicitur: Quid enim habes quod non accepisti? Si autem acceperis, quid gloriaris quasi non acceperis? (I Cor. IV.) Unde ipse Apostolus, quia nihil dignum nosse vel operari posset, si non de plenitudine Christi acciperet, alibi testatur manifeste dicens: Non quia sufficientes simus cogitare aliquid a nobis quasi ex nobis, sed sufficientia nostra ex Deo est (II Cor. III). Et alio loco: Et gratia ejus, inquit, in me vacua non fuit, sed plus illis omnibus laboravi: non autem ego, sed grat⟨i⟩a Dei mecum (I Cor. XV). Quod ipsum suis auditoribus humiliter cogitandum sedulus inculcat; unde est illud: Cum tremore et metu vestram salutem operamini. Deus est enim qui operatur in vobis et velle et perficere pro bona voluntate (Phil. ⟨II⟩).
And of His fullness we have all received, grace for grace. For above he said that The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, the glory as it were of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). And when he had confirmed this also by the testimony of His forerunner, who said: This was He of whom I said to you, He who is to come after me has been made before me, because He was before me (John 1:15), he himself again follows out what he had begun, saying: And of His fullness we have all received, grace for grace (John 1:16). For the Lord was full of the Holy Spirit, full of grace and truth, because, as the Apostle says, In Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Col. 2:9); of whose fullness we have all received according to the measure of our capacity, because to each one of us grace has been given according to the measure of the gift of Christ. For of the one mediator of God and men, the man Jesus Christ, alone could it truly be said: And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and godliness, and the spirit of the fear of the Lord shall fill Him (Isa. 11:2–3). But all the saints receive not the fullness of His Spirit, but of His fullness, as much as He gives: For to one is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge according to the same spirit, to another faith in the same spirit, to another the grace of healings in one spirit, to another the working of mighty deeds, to another prophecy, to another the discerning of spirits, to another kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of speeches. But all these things one and the same Spirit works, dividing to each as He wills (1 Cor. 12:8–11). Since, therefore, we have received from the fullness of our Maker not some part but all whatever of good we have, the greatest care must be taken that no one incautiously exalt himself over a good action or thought; lest, if he remain ungrateful to the Giver, he lose the good that he received, and be deservedly struck by the apostolic rebuke in which it is said: For what have you that you have not received? And if you have received it, why do you glory as if you had not received it? (1 Cor. 4:7). Hence the Apostle himself, because he could know or do nothing worthy unless he received it of the fullness of Christ, testifies plainly elsewhere, saying: Not that we are sufficient to think anything of ourselves, as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God (2 Cor. 3:5). And in another place: And His grace, he says, in me has not been void, but I have laboured more than all of them: yet not I, but the grace of God with me (1 Cor. 15:10). And this very thing he zealously impresses upon his hearers to be pondered humbly; whence is that saying: With fear and trembling work out your salvation. For it is God who works in you both to will and to accomplish according to His good will (Phil. 2:12–13).
Cum autem dixisset evangelista nos omnes de plenitudine Christi accepisse, confestim subjunxit, et ait: Gratiam pro gratia. Geminam ergo nos gratiam accepisse testatur, unam videlicet in praesenti, alteram in futuro: in praesenti quidem fidem quae per dilectionem operatur, in futuro autem vitam aeternam. Fides quippe quae per dilectionem Dei operatur, gratia Dei est; quia ut crederemus, ut diligamus, ut operemur bona quae novimus, non ullis
And when the evangelist had said that we have all received of the fullness of Christ, he at once added, and says: Grace for grace. He testifies, therefore, that we have received a twofold grace, namely one in the present, the other in the future: in the present, faith which works through love; in the future, eternal life. For the faith which works through the love of God is the grace of God; because that we believed, that we love, that we do the good things we know, [is] not by any
Editors' notes and page, col. 27
Page
- running head: 27 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III.
- marginal letters: A ‹Et de plenitudine ejus omnes›; B ‹secundum mensuram donationis›; C ‹Quia ergo de plenitudine›; D ‹fuit, sed plus illis omnibus›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "gratia" in the I Cor. XV quotation has its i lost in the type, marked ⟨i⟩. The numeral in "(Phil. ⟨II⟩)" is damaged; the passage is Phil. 2:12–13, so II is supplied as lost type: UNSURE. "(Cor. XII)" printed without "I". Column ends mid-sentence after "non ullis".
praecedentibus meritis nostris, sed ipso largiente percipimus, qui dicit: Non vos me elegistis, sed ego elegi vos, et posui vos ut eatis, et fructum afferatis, et fructus vester maneat (Joan. XV). Et ut vitam propter fidem, dilectionem, et opera bona percipiamus aeternam, gratia Dei est, quia ne a bono deviemus itinere, ipso duce semper opus habemus, cui dicitur: Deduc me in via tua, et ambulabo in veritate tua (Psal. LXXXVI); ac si aperte dicatur: Nisi te duce ingrediens viam veritatis quam coepi, tenere nequaquam sufficio. Ne in bonis operibus deficiamus, illius auxilio debemus semper inniti, qui ait: Quia sine me nihil potestis facere; unde bene Psalmista, ut initium fidei et bonae actionis a Domino nobis dari signaret, ait: Deus meus, misericordia ejus praeveniet me (Psal. LIX). Et ut bona quae agimus illo opitulante perficienda doceret, iterum dicit: Et misericordia tua subsequetur me omnibus diebus vitae meae (Psal. XXIII). Ut mercedem vitae aeternae, quae bonis redditur operibus, gratis nobis tribui ostenderet, ait: Qui coronat te in miseratione et misericordia (Psal. CIII). In misericordia quippe et miseratione nos coronat, quando propter bona opera quae nobis ipse misericorditer exercenda donavit, supernae beatitudinis praemia retribuit. Et hoc est quod dicitur accipere nos gratiam pro gratia, quia nimirum pro gratia bonae conversationis quam dedit, et ne deficere possit, ipse servans adjuvat, dabit gratiam beatae remunerationis, in qua misericordias ejus in aeternum cantemus. Denique Apostolus ipsam vitae aeternae perceptionem, quae utique meritis praecedentibus redditur gratiam vocare non dubitavit: qui cum praemisisset stipendium peccati esse mortem, noluit e contrario dicere stipendium justitiae esse vitam aeternam; sed ait: Gratia autem Dei vita aeterna in Christo Jesu Domino nostro (Rom. VI). Non quia non juste meritis bonis a justo judice datur, sed quia ipsa merita quibus dantur primo sunt a pio Salvatore gratis data. Sequitur:
merits of ours going before, but we receive it by the bounty of Him who says: You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and have appointed you that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain (John 15:16). And that we receive eternal life on account of faith, love and good works is the grace of God, because, lest we stray from the good road, we always have need of Him as our guide, to whom it is said: Lead me in Thy way, and I will walk in Thy truth (Ps. 85:11); as if it were said openly: Unless I enter it with Thee as guide, I am in no way able to keep the way of truth which I have begun. That we may not fail in good works, we must always lean upon the help of Him who says: For without Me you can do nothing; hence the Psalmist, to signify that the beginning of faith and of good action is given us by the Lord, fittingly says: My God, His mercy shall go before me (Ps. 58:11). And to teach that the good we do is to be brought to completion with His aid, he says again: And Thy mercy shall follow me all the days of my life (Ps. 22:6). To show that the reward of eternal life, which is rendered to good works, is bestowed on us freely, he says: Who crowns you with compassion and mercy (Ps. 102:4). For He crowns us in mercy and compassion when, on account of the good works which He Himself mercifully gave us to perform, He repays the rewards of the blessedness above. And this is what is meant by our receiving grace for grace: because, surely, for the grace of a good way of life which He gave, and which, so that it may not fail, He Himself helps by preserving it, He will give the grace of a blessed recompense, in which we may sing His mercies for ever. Indeed the Apostle did not hesitate to call grace the very receiving of eternal life, which is surely rendered to merits going before: for when he had first said that the wages of sin is death, he would not say, by contrast, that the wages of justice is eternal life; but he says: But the grace of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 6:23). Not that it is not justly given by a just Judge to good merits, but because the very merits to which it is given were first given freely by the merciful Saviour. There follows:
Quia lex per Moysen data est, gratia et veritas per Jesum Christum facta est. Lex quidem data est per Moysen, in qua quid agendum, quid vitandum sit coelesti jure decernitur; sed quod illa praecipit, non nisi gratia Christi completur. Illa quidem monstrare peccatum, justitiam docere, et transgressores sui reos ostendere valebat; porro gratia Christi diffusa per Spiritum charitatis in cordibus fidelium, facit ut quod lex praecipit impleatur; unde illud quod scriptum est: Non concupisces (Deut. V), per Moysen lex est quia jubetur, sed per Christum fit gratia, quando quod jubetur impletur. Veritas autem facta est per Christum, quia umbram habebat lex bonorum futurorum, non ipsam imaginem rerum. Et sicut alibi dicit Apostolus: Omnia in figura contingebant illis (I Cor. X); sed pro umbra lucem veritatis, pro figura legis ipsam imaginem rerum quae figurabatur exhibuit Christus, quando data Spiritus gratia, aperuit discipulis suis sensum ut intelligerent Scripturas. Lex per Moysen data est, cum populus aspersione sanguinis agni mundari praeceptus est; gratia
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. The law indeed was given through Moses, in which what is to be done and what is to be avoided is decreed by heavenly right; but what it commands is fulfilled only by the grace of Christ. The law was able to show sin, to teach justice, and to show its transgressors guilty; but the grace of Christ, poured out by the Spirit of charity in the hearts of the faithful, brings it about that what the law commands is fulfilled; hence that which is written, You shall not covet (Deut. 5:21), is law through Moses because it is commanded, but becomes grace through Christ when what is commanded is fulfilled. And truth came through Christ, because the law had a shadow of the good things to come, not the very image of the things. And as the Apostle says elsewhere: All things happened to them in figure (1 Cor. 10:11); but in place of the shadow Christ displayed the light of truth, in place of the figure of the law the very image of the things which was figured, when, the grace of the Spirit having been given, He opened the understanding of His disciples, that they might understand the Scriptures. The law was given through Moses when the people were commanded to be cleansed by the sprinkling of the blood of a lamb; grace
Editors' notes and page, col. 28
Page
- running head: S OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 28 (BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 28)
- marginal letters: A ‹praecedentibus meritis nostris›; B ‹LIX). Et ut bona quae agimus›; C ‹utique meritis praecedentibus›; D ‹ostendere valebat ; porro gratia›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "praecedentibus", continuing "non ullis" at the foot of col. 27. Column ends with "gra-", a word divided at the break; per the unit rule it is set whole as "gratia" (English "grace") at the end of this column. Psalm references are printed in Hebrew numbering (LXXXVI, LIX, XXIII, CIII); the English gives the Vulgate (85:11, 58:11, 22:6, 102:4).
et veritas quae in lege figurabatur, per Jesum Christum facta est, cum ipse passus in cruce lavit nos a peccatis nostris in sanguine suo. Lex per Moysen data est, quia populum praeceptis salutaribus instituens, si haec observaret, terram repromissionis intraturum, et in ea perpetuo victurum; sin alias, prosternendum ab hostibus praedixit. Gratia et veritas per Jesum Christum facta est, quia dato Spiritus sui dono, et legem spiritualiter intelligi et servari posse donavit, et eos qui servant in veram coelestis vitae beatitudinem, quam terra repromissionis signabat, introducit. Quae sit autem summa gratiae et veritatis quae per Jesum Christum facta est, evangelista subdendo manifestat:
and truth which was prefigured in the law came about through Jesus Christ, when He Himself, suffering on the cross, washed us from our sins in His own blood. The law was given through Moses, because, instructing the people with saving precepts, he foretold that if they observed these they would enter the land of promise and live in it for ever; but if otherwise, they would be laid low by their enemies. Grace and truth came about through Jesus Christ, because by giving the gift of His Spirit He granted that the law could be both understood and kept spiritually, and He brings those who keep it into the true blessedness of the heavenly life, which the land of promise signified. But what the sum of the grace and truth is which came about through Jesus Christ, the evangelist makes plain by adding:
Deum nemo vidit unquam. Unigenitus qui est in sinu Patris, ipse narravit. Nulla etenim gratia major hominibus dari, nulla veritas altior potest ab hominibus cognosci, quam ea de qua unigen⟨i⟩tus Dei Filius suis fidelibus narrans: Beati, inquit, mundo corde, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt (Matth. V); et de qua Patri supplicans ait: Haec est autem vita aeterna, ut cognoscant te verum et unum Deum, et quem misisti Jesum Christum (Joan. XVII). Quae nimirum beatissima perceptio gratiae et veritatis, quoniam in hujus saeculi vita fieri non potest, recte dicitur: Deum nemo vidit unquam (I Joan. IV), id est, nemo corruptibili adhuc et mortali carne circumdatus incircumscriptam divinitatis potest lucem contueri; unde manifestius dicit Apostolus: Quem nemo vidit hominum, nec videre potest (I Tim. VI). Nemo enim hominum dicitur, nemo humano adhuc habitu aggravatus, humana conversatione caducus. Hinc est enim quod Moyses qui Deum, quem in angelo videbat, in ipsa ejus natura videre desiderans, orabat: Si inveni gratiam in conspectu tuo, ostende mihi gloriam tuam (Exod. XXXIII), audivit: Non poteris videre faciem meam, non enim videbit me homo, et vivet (Ibid.). Neque huic assertioni putandum est esse contrarium quod aliquoties patriarchae vel prophetae Deum vidisse perhibentur. Apparuit enim Dominus Abrahae in convalle Mambre. Et ait Jacob: Vidi Dominum facie ad faciem (Genes. xxxii). Item Isaias: Anno quo mortuus est rex Ozias, vidi Dominum sedentem super solium excelsum et elevatum (Isa. vi). Sed recte intelligendum in cunctis hujusmodi visionibus homines sanctos Deum non per ipsam naturae suae speciem, sed per quasdam imagines esse contemplatos. Et viderunt ergo sancti Deum per subjectam creaturam, verbi gratia, ignem, angelum, nubem, electrum; et tamen veraciter attestatur Joannes, quia Deum nemo vidit unquam (I Joan. IV). Veraciter dicitur Moysi: Non enim videbit me homo, et vivet (Exod. XXXIII); quia fragili adhuc vasculo carnis inclusi per circumpscriptas rerum imagines videre possunt, quem per incircumscriptum aeternitatis suae lumen nequaquam valent intueri.
No one has ever seen God. The only-begotten, Who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known. For no greater grace can be given to men, no loftier truth can be known by men, than that of which the only-begotten Son of God, telling it to His faithful, says: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matt. 5:8); and of which, praying to the Father, He says: Now this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the true and only God, and Jesus Christ Whom Thou hast sent (John 17:3). Since this most blessed reception of grace and truth cannot come about in the life of this world, it is rightly said: No one has ever seen God (1 John 4:12), that is, no one still surrounded by corruptible and mortal flesh can gaze upon the uncircumscribed light of the Godhead; whence the Apostle says more plainly: Whom no one of men has seen, nor can see (1 Tim. 6:16). For "no one of men" is said, that is, no one still weighed down by the human condition, frail in human life. Hence it is that Moses, who, desiring to see in His very nature the God Whom he saw in an angel, prayed: If I have found grace in Thy sight, show me Thy glory (Exod. 33:13, 18), heard: You cannot see My face, for man shall not see Me and live (ibid. 33:20). Nor should it be thought contrary to this assertion that patriarchs or prophets are sometimes said to have seen God. For the Lord appeared to Abraham in the valley of Mamre. And Jacob says: I have seen the Lord face to face (Gen. 32:30). Likewise Isaiah: In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up (Isa. 6:1). But in all visions of this kind it is rightly to be understood that holy men contemplated God not through the very form of His nature, but through certain images. So the saints did see God through a created thing set before them, for example fire, an angel, a cloud, amber; and yet John truly attests that no one has ever seen God (1 John 4:12). It is truly said to Moses: For man shall not see Me and live (Exod. 33:20); because, still shut in the fragile vessel of the flesh, men can see through circumscribed images of things Him Whom they are by no means able to behold through the uncircumscribed light of His eternity.
Qua autem ratione ad visionem incommutabilis et aeterni luminis pervenire debeat evangelista consequenter exposuit, dicens: Unigenitus Filius qui est
But by what means one must come to the vision of the unchangeable and eternal light, the evangelist set out next, saying: The only-begotten Son, Who is
Editors' notes and page, col. 29
Page
- running head: 29 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I.
- marginal letters: A ‹tia et veritas quae›; B ‹sinu Patris, ipse narravit›; C ‹minum dicitur, nemo humano›; D ‹Sed recte intelligendum›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "tia", the second half of "gra-tia" split from col. 28; set as printed here, English supplies [gra]. "unigen tus": letter lost to damaged type, set ⟨i⟩. Several letters faint/damaged around "aggravatus", "Hinc est", "in angelo", "desiderans, orabat", "mihi gloriam" but legible.
in sinu Patris ipse narravit (Joan. XIV). Cui simile est quod ipse Dominus ait: Nemo venit ad Patrem nisi per me (Matth. XI). Et alibi: Nemo novit Filium nisi Pater, neque Patrem quis novit nisi Filius, et cui voluerit Filius revelare. Ipsius quippe ducatu ad Patrem venire, ipsius magisterio Patrem et Filium, nec non et Spiritum sanctum, unum Deum ac Dominum nosse debemus; quia nimirum ipse homo factus pro nobis, in hominis habitu loquens, nobis quid de sanctae Trinitatis unitate recte sentiendum, qualiter ad ejus contemplationem fidelibus properandum, quibus actibus ad hanc sit perveniendum, clara luce revelavit. Ipse sacramentis suae incarnationis nos induens, sui nos Spiritus charismatibus sanctificans, ut ad hanc venire valeamus adjuvat. Ipse peracto in hominis forma judicio novissimo, ad visionem nos divinae majestatis sublimiter introducet, atque arcana nobis regni coelestis mirabiliter enarrabit.
in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known (John 1:18). Like this is what the Lord Himself says: No one comes to the Father except through Me (John 14:6). And elsewhere: No one knows the Son except the Father, nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and he to whom the Son wills to reveal Him (Matt. 11:27). For it is by His guidance that we must come to the Father, by His teaching that we must know the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit as well, one God and Lord; because He Himself, made man for us, speaking in the condition of a man, has revealed to us in clear light what is rightly to be believed about the unity of the Holy Trinity, how the faithful must hasten to its contemplation, and by what deeds it is to be attained. He Himself, clothing us with the sacraments of His incarnation and sanctifying us with the gifts of His Spirit, helps us to be able to come to it. He Himself, when the last judgement has been carried out in the form of man, will lead us in on high to the vision of the divine majesty, and will wondrously make known to us the hidden things of the heavenly kingdom.
Sane quod ait: Qui est in sinu Patris, in secreto Patris significat. Neque enim sinus Patris pueriliter est cogitandus in similitudinem nostri sinus quem habemus in vestibus; aut putandus est Deus, qui humanorum forma membrorum compaginatus non est, sic sedere quemadmodum nos; sed quia sinus noster intus est, more nostro loquens Scriptura, in sinu Patris esse dicit quem in secreto Patris, quo humanus intuitus pertingere non valet, semper manentem vult intelligi. Non tunc autem solum enarrabit unigenitus Filius Deum, id est sanctae et individuae Trinitatis, quae est unus Deus, gloriam manifestabit hominibus, cum post universale judicium omnes pariter electos ad visionem claritatis ejus introducet. Sed et quotidie narrat, cum singulis quibusque fidelibus perfectorum mox a carnis corruptione solutis implere coepit quod promisit: Qui diligit me, diligetur a Patr⟨e⟩ meo, et ego diligam eum, et manifestabo ei meipsum (Joan. XIV). Me ipsum, inquit, manifestabo dilectoribus meis, ut quem in sua cognovere mortalem, in mea jam natura Patri et Spiritui sancto videre possint aequalem. Verum hoc de apostolis, martyribus, confessoribus caeterisque arctioris ac perfectioris vitae viris fieri credendum est; quorum unus certaminum suorum conscius non dubitavit de seipso testari, Cupio dissolvi et cum Christo esse (Phil. I). Caeterum sunt plures in Ecclesia justi qui post carnis solutionem continuo beata paradisi requie suscipiuntur, exspectantes in magno gaudio, in magnis gaudentium choris, quando recepto corpore veniant et appareant ante faciem Dei. At vero nonnulli propter bona quidem opera ad electorum sortem praeordinati, sed propter mala al⟨i⟩qua, quibus polluti de corpore exierunt, post mortem severe castigandi excipiuntur flammis ignis purgatorii, et vel usque ad diem judicii longa hujus examinatione a vitiorum sorde mundantur; vel certe prius amicorum fidelium precibus, eleemosynis, jejuniis, fletibus, hostiae salutaris oblationibus absoluti poenis, et ipsi ad beatorum perveniunt requiem: quibus tamen
Indeed, when he says: Who is in the bosom of the Father, he means in the secret of the Father. For the bosom of the Father is not to be thought of childishly after the likeness of our bosom which we have in our clothing; nor is God, Who is not put together in the form of human limbs, to be supposed to sit as we do; but because our bosom is within, Scripture, speaking after our manner, says that He is in the bosom of the Father Whom it wishes to be understood as abiding always in the secret of the Father, to which human sight cannot reach. But the only-begotten Son will not make God known only at that time, that is, will not manifest to men the glory of the holy and undivided Trinity, which is one God, only when, after the universal judgement, He will lead all the elect together into the vision of His brightness. He also makes Him known daily, when, for each of the faithful among the perfect as soon as they are released from the corruption of the flesh, He begins to fulfil what He promised: He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him (John 14:21). I will manifest My very self, He says, to those who love Me, so that Him Whom they knew as mortal in their nature they may see in My own nature now as equal to the Father and the Holy Spirit. But this is to be believed to happen to apostles, martyrs, confessors and other men of a stricter and more perfect life; one of whom, conscious of his own contests, did not hesitate to testify of himself: I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ (Phil. 1:23). But there are many just in the Church who after the release of the flesh are at once received into the blessed rest of paradise, waiting in great joy, among great choirs of those rejoicing, for the time when, having received back the body, they may come and appear before the face of God. But some, foreordained to the lot of the elect because of their good works, yet because of certain evil things with which they were defiled when they went out of the body, are received after death to be severely chastised by the flames of the fire of purgatory, and are either cleansed from the filth of their vices by a long examination in it even until the day of judgement; or else, released from their punishments sooner by the prayers, alms, fasts and weeping of faithful friends and by offerings of the saving victim, they too come to the rest of the blessed: to whom nevertheless
Editors' notes and page, col. 30
Page
- running head: SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINAE 30
- marginal letters: A ‹in sinu Patris ipse narravit›; B ‹adjuvat. Ipse peracto›; C ‹dividuae Trinitatis›; D ‹dubitavit de seipso›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "Patr⟨e⟩ meo": final letter damaged, looks like a; "al⟨i⟩qua": letter lost to damaged type. Several damaged letters at "manifestabit hominibus ... quibusque fidelibus ... solutis implere" but legible. English supplies Matt. 11:27 for the unreferenced quotation. Migne's references at the column head are misplaced: "(Joan. XIV)" after "ipse narravit" is John 1:18, and "(Matth. XI)" after "nisi per me" is John 14:6; the English gives the right references.
omnibus unigenitus Filius qui est in sinu Patris, Deum juxta modum suae capacitatis cuique narrabit, cum tempore resurrectionis benedictionem dederit, cui legem dedit, ut ambulantes de virtute fidei et spei in virtutem contemplationis videant Deum deorum in Sion, id est, incommutabilis specula veritatis, cujus beneficiis et muneribus aeternis laus et gratiarum actio in omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
to all of them the only-begotten Son, Who is in the bosom of the Father, will make God known to each according to the measure of his capacity, when at the time of the resurrection He gives the blessing, He Who gave the law, so that, walking from the virtue of faith and hope into the virtue of contemplation, they may see the God of gods in Zion, that is, in the watchtower of unchangeable truth; for Whose benefits and eternal gifts be praise and thanksgiving for all ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILIA V. IN VIGILIA NATIVITATIS DOMINI. MATTH. I. In illo tempore cum esset desponsata mater Jesu Maria Joseph, antequam convenire⟨n⟩t, inventa est in utero habens de Spiritu sancto.
HOMILY V. ON THE VIGIL OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD. MATTHEW 1. At that time, when Mary the mother of Jesus had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 1:18).
Nativitatem Domini et Salvatoris nostri Jesu Christi, qua aeternus ante saecula Dei Filius hominis ex tempore filius apparuit, Matthaeus evangelista brevi quidem sermone, sed plena veritate, describit, qui cum patrum generationes ab Abraham usque ad Joseph virum Mariae perduxisset, omnesque communi humanae creationis ordine genitos simul et generantes ostendisset, mox de ipso locuturus, quantum ejus generatio a caeteris distaret aperuit; quia videlicet caeteri per conjunctionem maris et feminae solitam, ipse autem per virginem, ut pote Dei Filius nasceretur in mundum. Et quidem decebat omnimodis, ut cum Deus homo propter homines fieri vellet, non alia quam virgine matre nasceretur; cum virginem generare contingeret, non alium quam qui Deus esset Filium procrearet.
The nativity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, by which the Son of God, eternal before the ages, appeared in time as the son of man, Matthew the evangelist describes in a brief discourse indeed, but one full of truth. Having carried the generations of the fathers from Abraham down to Joseph the husband of Mary, and having shown that all were both begotten and begetting by the common order of human creation, then, as he was about to speak of Him, he disclosed how far His generation differed from the rest; namely, that the others were born into the world through the customary union of male and female, but He through a virgin, as being the Son of God. And indeed it was fitting in every way that, when God willed to become man for the sake of men, He should be born of none other than a virgin mother; and that, when it befell a virgin to give birth, she should bring forth no other son than One Who was God.
Cum esset, inquit, desponsata mater ejus M⟨ar⟩ia Joseph, a⟨n⟩tequam convenirent, invent⟨a⟩ est in utero habens de Spiritu sancto. Quo haec ordine, vel qua in civitate sit celebrata conceptio, Lucas evangelista sufficienter exponit; quod quia vestrae sanctitati constat esse notissimum, dicendum paucis de his quae Matthaeus scribit, notandumque in primis in eo verbo quod ait: Antequam convenirent, verbo conveniendi non ipsum concubitum, sed nuptiarum quae praecedere solent tempus insinuatum, quando ea quae prius sponsata fuerat, esse conjux incipit. Ergo antequam convenirent dicit, antequam nuptiarum solemnia rite celebrarent, inventa est in utero habens de Spiritu sancto. Si quidem memorato ordine postea convenerunt, quando Joseph ad praeceptum angeli accepit conjugem suam, sed non concumbebant, quia sequitur, Et non cognoscebat ⟨e⟩am. Inventa est autem in utero ⟨hab⟩ens a nullo alio quam Joseph, qui licentia maritali futurae uxoris pene omnia noverat, ideoque tumentem ejus uterum mox curioso deprehendit intuitu. Sequitur:
When, he says, His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit. In what order, or in what city, this conception took place, Luke the evangelist sets out sufficiently; and since this is certainly very well known to your holiness, a few words must be said about what Matthew writes, and it must be noted first of all, in the phrase he uses, Before they came together, that by the word "coming together" is signified not intercourse itself but the time of the marriage which usually comes first, when she who had previously been betrothed begins to be a wife. So he says, before they came together, that is, before they duly celebrated the solemnities of marriage, she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit. For in the order mentioned they did afterwards come together, when Joseph at the angel's command took his wife; but they did not lie together, since there follows: And he did not know her (Matt. 1:25). Now she was found to be with child by none other than Joseph, who by a husband's licence knew nearly everything about his future wife, and so soon noticed with an attentive look that her womb was swelling. There follows:
Joseph autem vir ejus cum esset vir justus, et nollet eam traducere, voluit occulte dimittere eam. Videns Joseph sponsam concepisse suam, quam bene noverat a nullo viro fuisse attactam, cum esset justus et juste omnia vellet agere, optimum duxit ut neque hoc aliis proderet, neque ipse eam acciperet uxorem, sed mutato occulte nuptiarum proposito, in conditione eam sponsae manere pateretur ut erat: nam et in Isaia legerat virginem de domo David concepturam
But Joseph her husband, since he was a just man and did not wish to expose her, decided to put her away secretly (Matt. 1:19). Joseph, seeing that his betrothed had conceived, whom he knew well had been touched by no man, since he was just and wished to do all things justly, judged it best neither to disclose this to others nor himself to take her as wife, but, secretly changing his purpose of marriage, to let her remain in the condition of a betrothed as she was: for he had also read in Isaiah that a virgin of the house of David would conceive
Editors' notes and page, col. 31
Page
- running head: 31 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III
- marginal letters: A ‹omnibus unigenitus Filius›; B ‹tempore filius apparuit›; C ‹seph, antequam convenirent›; D ‹conjugem suam, sed non›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: last word "conceptu-" is split at the column break; completed as "concepturam" from the top line of col. 32 ("ram") visible at the right edge of c31_1. Damaged/dotted type in the lemma and at "vel qua in civitate ... Lucas evangelista ... vestrae sanctitati ... quae Matthaeus ... in primis in eo verbo ... convenirent, verbo"; read, letters lost set in ⟨ ⟩. "⟨hab⟩ens": printed letters look like "naoens", taken as broken type. "Isaia": initial letter faint. The Gospel lemma is set with the homily heading as one paragraph.
et parituram Dominum, de qua etiam domo noverat genus duxisse Mariam, atque ideo non discredebat in ea prophetiam hanc fuisse complendam; sed si eam occulte dimitteret, neque acciperet conjugem, et illa sponsa pareret, nimirum perpauci essent qui eam virginem et non potius autumarent esse meretricem. Unde consilium Joseph repente consilio meliore mutatur, ut videlicet ad conservandam Mariae famam, ipse eam, celebrato nuptiarum convivio, conjugem acciperet, sed castam perpetuo custodiret. Maluit namque Dominus aliquos modum suae generationis ignorare, quam suae castitatem infamare genitricis. Nam sequitur:
and to bear the Lord, from which house he knew Mary also drew her descent, and so he did not disbelieve that this prophecy was to be fulfilled in her; but if he put her away secretly and did not take her as wife, and she gave birth as a betrothed, there would surely be very few who would reckon her a virgin rather than a harlot. Hence Joseph's plan is suddenly changed by a better plan: namely, to preserve Mary's good name, he would himself take her as wife with the celebration of a wedding feast, but would keep her chaste for ever. For the Lord preferred that some should not know the manner of His generation rather than that the chastity of His mother should be defamed. For there follows:
Haec autem eo cogitante, ecce angelus Domini in somnis apparuit ei, dicens: Joseph, fili David, noli timere accipere Mariam conjugem tuam. Quod enim in ea natum est, de Spiritu sancto est. Pariet autem Filium, et vocabis nomen ejus Jesum. Ipse enim salvum faciet populum suum a peccatis eorum. Quibus profecto verbis modus conceptionis simul et dignitas partus edocetur: quia videlicet de Spiritu sancto concepit, et paritura sit Christum; quem etsi aperta voce angelus Christum non appellat, in eo tamen quod etymologiam nominis Jesu exponens, ipsum salutis ostendit auctorem populique Salvatorem, cum populum ejus nuncupat, manifesta ratione quia sit Christus significat, ut per haec et quae nescierat discat Joseph, et a contactu Dei genitricis funditus mentem amoveat. Quam tamen dispensatione justae necessitatis accipere jubetur solo de nomine conjugem, ne videlicet quasi adultera lapidaretur a Judaeis, et ut in Aegyptum fugiens haberet solatium masculi, qui familiari cura, et tutor femineae fragilitatis, et testis esset ejus perpetuae virginitatis. Pro⟨dunt⟩ catholici expositores et alias causas quare Dei genitricem Joseph accipere debuerit conjugem, quas in suis qui vult inveniet locis. Adhibet autem evangelista partui virginali etiam prophetici sermonis exemplum, ut tantae miraculum majestatis eo certius crederetur, quo hoc non solum ipse factum praedicaret, sed etiam a propheta praedictum recoleret. Nam et huic evangelistae, id est Matthaeo moris est omnia quae narrat etiam propheticis affirmare testimoniis: scripsit namque Evangelium suum ob eorum vel maxime causam qui ex Judaeis crediderant, nec tamen a legis caeremoniis, quamvis renati in Christo, valebant evelli; et propterea satagebat eos a carnali legis et prophetarum sensu ad spiritualem, qui de Christo est, erigere, quatenus sacramenta fidei Christianae tanto securius perciperent, quando haec non alia esse quam quae prophetae praedixerant agnoscerent. Ecce virgo, inquit, in utero habebit, et pariet Filium, et vocabunt nomen ejus Emmanuel, quod est interpretatum Nobiscum Deus (Isa. vii). Nomen Salvatoris, quod nobiscum Deus a propheta vocatur, utramque naturam unius personae ipsius significat. Qui enim ante tempora natus ex Patre Deus est, ipse in plenitudine temporum Emmanuel, id est nobiscum Deus, in utero matris factus est,
But as he was thinking on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in sleep, saying: Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary your wife. For what is born in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she shall bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus. For He shall save His people from their sins (Matt. 1:20–21). By these words indeed both the manner of the conception and the dignity of the birth are taught: namely, that she conceived of the Holy Spirit, and was to bear the Christ; and though the angel does not call Him Christ in plain words, yet in setting out the meaning of the name Jesus he shows Him to be the author of salvation and the Saviour of the people, and when he calls the people His, he signifies by plain reasoning that He is the Christ, so that through these things Joseph might learn what he had not known, and might wholly withdraw his mind from contact with the mother of God. Yet by a dispensation of just necessity he is commanded to take her as wife in name only, namely so that she should not be stoned by the Jews as an adulteress, and so that in fleeing into Egypt she should have the comfort of a man, who would be both, with domestic care, the guardian of her womanly frailty and the witness of her perpetual virginity. Catholic expositors set out other reasons too why Joseph was bound to take the mother of God as wife, which whoever wishes will find in their places. And the evangelist adds to the virgin birth the example of a prophetic word as well, so that the miracle of such majesty might be believed the more surely, in that he not only proclaimed it as done himself but also recalled that it had been foretold by a prophet. For it is the custom of this evangelist, that is, Matthew, to confirm everything he narrates by prophetic testimonies as well: for he wrote his Gospel above all for the sake of those from among the Jews who had believed, and yet, although reborn in Christ, could not be torn away from the ceremonies of the law; and therefore he took pains to raise them from the carnal sense of the law and the prophets to the spiritual sense, which concerns Christ, so that they might receive the sacraments of the Christian faith the more securely when they recognized that these were nothing other than what the prophets had foretold. Behold, he says, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which is interpreted, God with us (Matt. 1:23; Isa. 7:14). The name of the Saviour by which He is called God with us by the prophet signifies both natures of His one person. For He Who, born of the Father before time, is God, the same in the fullness of time became Emmanuel, that is, God with us, in His mother's womb,
Editors' notes and page, col. 32
Page
- running head: 32 OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA.
- marginal letters: A ‹ram et parituram›; B ‹timere accipere Mariam›; C ‹gem; ne videlicet›; D ‹eorum vel maxime›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "ram", the end of "conceptu-ram" already set whole at the foot of col. 31; English for the fragment not repeated. Column ends with "fa-", split at the break; the rest is not in this column's images (likely "factus"); English carries the sense to "in His mother's womb". Damaged/dotted type at "conjugem, ne videlicet ... a Judaeis ... qui familiari ... fragilitatis, et testis ... Pro-": the line after "Pro-" begins with damaged letters read as "dunt" (Produnt) — UNSURE.
quia nostrae fragilitatem naturae in unitatem suae personae suscipere dignatus est, quando Verbum caro factum est et habitavit in nobis: mirum videlicet in modum incipiens esse quod nos sumus, et non desinens esse quod erat, sic assumens naturam nostram, ut quod erat ipse non perderet.
because He deigned to take up the frailty of our nature into the unity of His own person, when the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14): in a wonderful manner, that is, beginning to be what we are, and not ceasing to be what He was, so taking up our nature that He did not lose what He Himself was.
Exsurgens autem Joseph a somno, fecit sicut praecepit ei angelus Domini, et accepit conjugem suam, et non cognoscebat eam. Accepit eam ad nomen conjugis ob causas quas praediximus, et non cognoscebat eam ad opus conjugale ob arcana quae didicerat. Quod si quis huic nostrae expositioni obsistere, et contendere voluerit beatam Dei genitricem nunquam a Joseph celebratis nuptiis in nomen conjugis assumptam, exponat ipse melius hunc sancti Evangelii locum, pariterque ostendat licitum fuisse apud Judaeos ut sponsae suae quisque carnali copula misceretur, et sano ejus intellectui libenter cedimus: tantum ne erga matrem Domini quidquam gestum, quod publica opinio possit infamare, credamus. Quod vero additur, Donec peperit filium suum primogenitum, nemo ita intelligendum putet quasi post natum filium eam cognoverit, ut quidam perverse opinantur. Scire enim debet vestra fraternitas, quia fuere haeretici qui propter hoc quod dictum est, Non cognoscebat eam donec peperit filium, crederent Mariam post natum Dominum cognitam esse a Joseph, et inde ortos eos quos fratres Domini Scriptura appellat, assumentes et hoc in adjutorium sui erroris, quod primogenitus nuncupatur Dominus. Avertat Deus hanc blasphemiam a fide omnium nostrum, donetque nobis catholica pietate intelligere parentes nostri Salvatoris intemerata semper fuisse virginitate praeclaros, et non filios, sed cognatos eorum fratres Domini consueto Scripturarum more nuncupari, sed ob id evangelistam an post natum ei filium eam cognoverit dicere non curasse, quia nulli hoc ambigendum putaverit. Et revera nulli ambigendum est quod justi conjuges, quibus in virginitatis castimonia permanentibus Dei Filium nasci singulari gratia datum est, nullatenus ex eo castitatis jura temerare, et templum Dei sacrosanctum suae semine corruptionis attaminare potuerint. Notandum quoque est quod primogeniti non juxta haereticorum opinationem soli sint quos fratres sequuntur alii, sed juxta auctoritatem Scr⟨i⟩pturarum omnes qui primi vulvam aperiunt, sive fratres eos aliqui, seu nulli sequantur. Attamen Dominus speciali ratione potest primogenitus dictus intelligi, juxta hoc quod in Apocalypsi dicit de illo Joannes: qui est testis fidelis, primogenitus mortuorum, et princeps regum terrae (Apoc. I). Et apostolus Paulus: Nam quos praescivit et praedestinavit conformes fieri imaginis Filii sui, ut sit ipse primogenitus in multis fratribus (Rom. VIII). Primogenitus quippe mortuorum vocatur, quia post multos licet fratres incarnatus, primus omnium surrexit a mortuis, et viam de morte credentibus vitae coelestis aperuit. Primogenitus est in multis fratribus, quia quotquot receperunt eum, dedit eis potestatem filios Dei fieri,
And Joseph, rising from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and took his wife, and did not know her (Matt. 1:24–25). He took her in the name of wife for the reasons we have given before, and did not know her in the work of marriage because of the hidden things he had learned. But if anyone wishes to oppose this exposition of ours and to maintain that the blessed mother of God was never taken by Joseph into the name of wife with the celebration of a wedding, let him expound this passage of the holy Gospel better himself, and let him likewise show that it was lawful among the Jews for anyone to join in carnal union with his betrothed, and we gladly yield to his sound understanding: only let us not believe that anything was done regarding the mother of the Lord which public opinion could defame. But as for what is added, Until she bore her firstborn son (Matt. 1:25), let no one think it is to be understood as though he knew her after the son was born, as some perversely suppose. For your fraternity should know that there were heretics who, because of the words, He did not know her until she bore a son, believed that Mary was known by Joseph after the Lord was born, and that from this were sprung those whom Scripture calls the brothers of the Lord, taking up in support of their error this too, that the Lord is called firstborn. May God turn this blasphemy away from the faith of all of us, and grant us to understand with catholic piety that the parents of our Saviour were always distinguished by unstained virginity, and that not their sons but their kinsmen are called brothers of the Lord, after the customary manner of the Scriptures, but that the evangelist did not trouble to say whether he knew her after her son was born, because he thought this was a matter no one would doubt. And truly no one should doubt that the just spouses, to whom, abiding in the chastity of virginity, it was given by a singular grace that the Son of God should be born, could in no way thereafter violate the rights of chastity and defile the most holy temple of God with the seed of their corruption. It is also to be noted that, according to the authority of the Scriptures, firstborn are not only those whom other brothers follow, as the heretics suppose, but all who first open the womb, whether some brothers follow them or none. Yet the Lord can be understood to be called firstborn in a special sense, according to what John says of Him in the Apocalypse: Who is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth (Rev. 1:5). And the apostle Paul: For those whom He foreknew and predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers (Rom. 8:29). For He is called the firstborn of the dead because, though incarnate after many brothers, He was the first of all to rise from the dead, and opened to those who believe the way from death to the heavenly life. He is the firstborn among many brothers because to as many as received Him He gave power to become sons of God,
Editors' notes and page, col. 33
Page
- running head: 33 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I.
- marginal letters: A ‹ctus est, quia nostrae›; B ‹pariterque ostendat licitum›; C ‹mogenitus nuncupatur Dominus›; D ‹quos fratres sequuntur alii›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "ctus", the end of "fa-ctus" split from col. 32 (col. 32 sets only "fa-"; the whole word is "factus"). "Scr⟨i⟩pturarum": letter lost to damaged type.
quorum recte primogenitus appellatur, quia omnes adoptionis filios, etiam illos qui incarnationis ejus tempora nascendo praecesserunt, dignitate praegreditur. Si quidem illi possunt cum Joanne veracissime testari, quia qui post nos venit, ante nos factus est, id est, post nos quidem in mundo genitus, sed merito virtutis et regni primogenitus omnium nostrum jure vocatus. Qui et in ipsa divina nativitate non inconvenienter potest primogenitus dici, quia priusquam creaturam faciendo gigneret aliquam, coaeternum sibi Pater aeternus genuit Filium; priusquam verbo veritatis adoptionis sibi filios redimendo gigneret aliquos, coaeternum sibi Pater aeternus genuit Verbum: unde ipsum Verbum, ipse Dei Filius, videlicet virtus et sapientia loquitur: Ego ex ore Altissimi prodivi, primogenita ante omnem creaturam (Eccl. XXIV). Peperit ergo Maria Filium suum primogenitum, id est, suae substantiae filium; peperit eum qui et ante omnem creaturam Deus de Deo natus erat, et in ea qua creatus est humanitate omnem merito creaturam praeibat.
of whom He is rightly called the firstborn, because He goes before in dignity all the sons of adoption, even those who by their birth preceded the times of His incarnation. For they can most truly testify with John that He Who comes after us was made before us (John 1:15), that is, born in the world after us indeed, but by the merit of virtue and of kingship rightly called the firstborn of all of us. He can also, not unfittingly, be called firstborn in His divine nativity itself, because before He begot any creature by making it, the eternal Father begot the Son coeternal with Himself; before He begot any sons of adoption for Himself by redeeming them through the word of truth, the eternal Father begot the Word coeternal with Himself: whence the Word Himself, the very Son of God, namely the power and wisdom, says: I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, the firstborn before every creature (Sir. 24:5). Mary therefore bore her firstborn Son, that is, the son of her own substance; she bore Him Who both had been born God from God before every creature, and in the humanity in which He was created rightly went before every creature.
Et vocabis, inquit, nomen ejus Jesum. Jesus Hebraice, Latine Salutaris sive Salvator dicitur; cujus vocationem nominis prophetis liquet esse certissimam, unde sunt illa magno visionis ejus desiderio cantata: Anima autem mea exsultabit in Domino, et delectabitur in salutari ejus (Psal. XXXV). Defecit in Salutari tuo anima mea. Ego autem in Domino gloriabor (Psal. CXVIII). Gaudebo in Deo Jesu meo (Abac. iii). Et maxime illud: Deus in nomine tuo salvum me fac (Psal. LIII), ac si diceret: Nominis tui gloriam qui Salvator vocaris, in me salvando clarifi⟨c⟩a. Jesus ergo nomen est filii qui ex virgine natus est, angelo exponente, significans quod ipse salvet populum a peccatis eorum. Qui a⟨u⟩tem salvat a peccatis idem utique a corruptionibus mentis et corporis, quae ob peccata contigerunt, salvabit. Christus vero vocabulum est sacerdotalis vel regiae dignitatis. Nam et sacerdotes ac reges in lege a charismate, id est unctione olei sancti appellabantur Christi, significantes eum qui verus rex et pontifex apparens in mundo unctus est oleo laetitiae prae participibus suis. A qua unctione, id est charismate, ipse Christus; et ejusdem unctionis, id est gratiae spiritualis participes sunt Christiani vocati. Qui per id quod Salvator est, nos salvare a peccatis; per id quod pontifex est, nos reconciliare Deo Patri; per id quod rex est, regnum nobis Patris sui dare dignetur aeternum Jesus Christus Dominus noster, qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
And you shall call, he says, His name Jesus. Jesus in Hebrew is called in Latin Salutaris or Salvator, that is, Saviour; and it is clear that the giving of this name was most certain to the prophets, whence those words were sung with great longing for the sight of Him: But my soul shall exult in the Lord, and shall delight in His salvation (Ps. 34:9). My soul has fainted for Thy salvation (Ps. 118:81). But I will glory in the Lord. I will rejoice in God my Jesus (Hab. 3:18). And above all this: O God, save me in Thy name (Ps. 53:3), as if to say: Thou Who art called Saviour, glorify the glory of Thy name in saving me. Jesus, then, is the name of the son who was born of the virgin, signifying, as the angel explains, that He saves the people from their sins. And He Who saves from sins will surely also save from the corruptions of mind and body which have come about because of sins. Christ, on the other hand, is a word of priestly or royal dignity. For in the law priests and kings too were called christs from the chrism, that is, the anointing with holy oil, signifying Him Who, appearing in the world as true king and high priest, was anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows (Ps. 44:8). From this anointing, that is, chrism, He Himself is called Christ; and those who share the same anointing, that is, spiritual grace, are called Christians. May He Who, by being Saviour, saves us from sins; by being high priest, reconciles us to God the Father; by being king, deign to give us the eternal kingdom of His Father, Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, God, for all ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILIA VI. IN AURORA NATIVITATIS DOMINI. LUCAE II. In illo tempore pastores loquebantur ad invicem: Transeamus usque Bethleem, et videamus hoc verbum quod factum est, quod fecit Dominus et ostendit nobis, etc.
HOMILY VI. ON THE DAWN OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD. LUKE 2. At that time the shepherds said to one another: Let us go over to Bethlehem, and let us see this word which has come to pass, which the Lord has done and has shown to us (Luke 2:15), etc.
Nato in Bethleem Domino Salvatore, sicut sacra Evangelii testatur historia, pastoribus qui in regione eadem erant vigilantes et custodientes vigilias noctis
When the Lord the Saviour had been born in Bethlehem, as the sacred history of the Gospel testifies, to the shepherds who were in the same region keeping watch and guarding the watches of the night
Editors' notes and page, col. 34
Page
- running head: SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINAE. 34
- marginal letters: A ‹quorum recte primogenitus›; B ‹tissimi prodivi›; C ‹(Abac. iii). Et maxime›; D ‹sunt Christiani vocati›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column ends with "no-", split at the break; the rest is in col. 35 (presumably "noctis"); English renders "night watches". "clarifi⟨c⟩a", "a⟨u⟩tem": letters lost to damaged type. "Ego autem in Domino gloriabor" is printed under the Psalm cxviii reference but is from Hab. 3:18 (with "gaudebo"); left as printed.
super gregem suum, angelus Domini magna cum luce apparuit, exortumque mundo Solem justitiae non solum coelestis voce sermonis, verum etiam claritate divinae lucis astruebat. Nusquam enim in tota Veteris Instrumenti serie reperimus angelos, qui tam sedulo apparuere patribus, cum luce apparuisse; sed hoc privilegium recte hodierno tempori servatum est, quando exortum est in tenebris lumen rectis corde, misericors et justus Dominus. Verum ne parva unius angeli videretur auctoritas, postquam unus sacramentum novae nativitatis edocuit, statim multitudo coelestium agminum, quae gloriam Deo caneret, pacemque simul hominibus praedicaret, adfuit, aperte demonstrans quia per hanc nativitatem homines ad pacem unius fidei, spei et dilectionis, atque ad gloriam divinae laudationis essent convertendi. Significant autem mystice pastores isti gregum doctores quosque ac rectores fidelium animarum. Nox, cujus vigilias custodiebant super gregem suum, pericula tentationum indicat, a quibus se suosque subjectos omnes qui perfecte vigilant, custodire non desistunt. Et bene nato Domino pastores super gregem suum vigilant. Ille etenim natus est, qui dicit: Ego sum pastor bonus: bonus pastor animam suam dat pro ovibus suis (Joan. X). Sed et tempus imminebat quo idem pastor summe bonus, missis in mundum pastoribus, oves suas, quae longe lateque dispersae errabant, ad semper virentia coelestis vitae pascua revocaret. Quarum curam summo pastori praecepit: Si diligis me, pasce oves meas (Joan. XXI). Quod apertius aperiens, ait: Confirma fratres tuos (Luc. XXII).
over their flock, an angel of the Lord appeared with great light, and affirmed that the Sun of justice had risen upon the world not only by the voice of heavenly speech but also by the brightness of divine light. For nowhere in the whole course of the Old Testament do we find that the angels, who appeared so often to the fathers, appeared with light; but this privilege was rightly kept for the present time, when there arose in darkness a light for the upright of heart, the Lord, merciful and just (Ps. 111:4). But lest the authority of a single angel should seem slight, after the one had taught the mystery of the new nativity, at once a multitude of the heavenly hosts was present to sing glory to God and at the same time to proclaim peace to men, openly showing that through this nativity men were to be turned to the peace of one faith, hope and love, and to the glory of divine praise. In a mystical sense these shepherds of flocks signify all the teachers and rulers of faithful souls. The night, whose watches they kept over their flock, indicates the dangers of temptations, from which all who keep perfect watch do not cease to guard themselves and those subject to them. And fittingly, when the Lord is born, shepherds keep watch over their flock. For He was born Who says: I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd gives his life for his sheep (John 10:11). And the time was also approaching when the same supremely good shepherd, sending shepherds into the world, would call back His sheep, which were wandering scattered far and wide, to the ever-green pastures of the heavenly life. The care of them He commanded to the chief shepherd: If you love Me, feed My sheep (John 21:17). Disclosing this more openly, He says: Strengthen your brothers (Luke 22:32).
Et factum est: ut discesserunt ab eis angeli in coelum, pastores loquebantur adinvicem: Transeamus usque Bethleem, et videamus hoc verbum quod factum est, quod fecit Dominus, et ostendit nobis. Et venerunt festinantes, et invenerunt Mariam et Joseph, et infantem positum in praesepio. Pastores quidem illi felici gaudio festinarunt videre quod audierant: et quia ardenti amore quaesierunt, continuo Salvatorem quem quaesierunt invenire meruerunt. Sed et intellectualium pastores gregum, imo cuncti fideles qua mentis industria Christum quaerere debeant, dictis pariter suis ostenderunt et factis.
And it came to pass, when the angels had departed from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another: Let us go over to Bethlehem, and let us see this word which has come to pass, which the Lord has done and has shown to us. And they came in haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant laid in the manger (Luke 2:15–16). Those shepherds indeed hastened with happy joy to see what they had heard: and because they sought with burning love, they at once deserved to find the Saviour Whom they sought. And by their words and deeds alike they showed the shepherds of spiritual flocks, nay, all the faithful, with what diligence of mind they ought to seek Christ.
Transeamus, inquiunt, usque Bethleem, et videamus hoc verbum quod factum est. Transeamus ergo et nos, fratres charissimi, cogitando usque Bethleem civitatem David, et recolamus amando quod in ea Verbum caro factum est, atque ejus incarnationem dignis celebremus honoribus. Transeamus, abjectis concupiscentiis carnalibus, toto mentis desiderio usque Bethleem supernam, id est, domum panis vivi non manufactam, sed aeternam in coelis, et recolamus amando quia Verbum caro factum est. Illuc carne ascendit, ibi in dextra Dei Patris sedet. Illo eum tota virtutum instantia sequamur, et sollicita cordis et corporis castigatione procuremus, ut quem illi in praesepio videre vagientem, nos in Patris solio mereamur videre regnantem.
Let us go over, they say, to Bethlehem, and let us see this word which has come to pass. Let us too, then, dearest brethren, go over in thought to Bethlehem, the city of David, and let us recall with love that in it the Word was made flesh, and let us celebrate His incarnation with worthy honours. Let us go over, casting aside carnal desires, with the whole desire of the mind to the Bethlehem on high, that is, the house of the living bread, not made with hands but eternal in the heavens, and let us recall with love that the Word was made flesh. Thither He ascended in the flesh; there He sits at the right hand of God the Father. Let us follow Him there with the whole earnestness of the virtues, and with careful chastening of heart and body let us strive that Him Whom they saw crying in the manger we may deserve to see reigning on the Father's throne.
Et videamus, inquiunt, hoc verbum quod factum
And let us see, they say, this word which has come
Editors' notes and page, col. 35
Page
- running head: 35 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III
- marginal letters: A ‹ctis super gregem suum›; B ‹atque ad gloriam divinae›; C ‹tius aperiens, ait›; D ‹hoc verbum quod factum est. Transeamus›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "ctis", the end of "no-ctis" split from col. 34 (col. 34 sets only "no-"). Last line ("Et videamus ... verbum quod factum") is faint/damaged but legible.
est. Quam recta et pura fidei sanctae confessio, In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum! Hoc verbum natum ex Patre, non factum est, quia creatura Deus non est. In qua nativitate divina videri ab hominibus non potuit; sed ut videri posset, Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis. Videamus ergo, inquiunt, hoc Verbum quod factum est, quia antequam factum esset, hoc videre nequivimus. Quod fecit Dominus et ostendit nobis, quod incarnari fecit Dominus, et per hoc visibile nobis exhibuit.
to pass. How right and pure a confession of the holy faith is this: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1)! This Word was born of the Father, not made, for God is not a creature. In this divine nativity He could not be seen by men; but so that He might be seen, the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (John 1:14). Let us see, then, they say, this Word which has come to pass, because before it came to pass we could not see it. Which the Lord has done and has shown to us: which the Lord caused to become incarnate, and through this showed to us as visible.
Et venerunt festinantes, et invenerunt Mariam et Joseph, et infantem positum in praesepio. Venerunt pastores festinantes, et invenerunt Deum hominem natum, simul et ejusdem nativitatis ministros. Festinemus et nos, fratres mei, non passibus pedum, sed bonorum profectibus operum videre eamdem glorificatam humanitatem cum ejusdem ministris digna servitutis suae mercede remuneratis; festinemus videre illum in divina Patris ac sua majestate fulgentem. Festinemus, inquam, nam non est tanta beatitudo cum desidia ac torpore quaerenda, sed alacriter sunt Christi sequenda vestigia. Nam ipse cursum nostrum data manu juvare desiderat, delectaturque audire a nobis: Trahe nos post te, curremus in odorem unguentorum tuorum. Citius ergo virtutum gressibus sequamur, ut mereamur consequi. Nemo tardet converti ad Dominum, nemo differat de die in diem, ipsum per omnia et ante omnia precantes, ut gressus nostros dirigat secundum eloquium suum, et non dominetur nostri omnis injustitia.
And they came in haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant laid in the manger. The shepherds came in haste, and found God born as man, and with Him the ministers of that same nativity. Let us too hasten, my brethren, not with the steps of our feet but with the advances of good works, to see that same glorified humanity together with its ministers, rewarded with the worthy wage of their service; let us hasten to see Him shining in the divine majesty of the Father and His own. Let us hasten, I say, for so great a blessedness is not to be sought with sloth and sluggishness, but the footsteps of Christ are to be followed eagerly. For He Himself longs to help our course by giving us His hand, and delights to hear from us: Draw us after Thee, we will run in the fragrance of Thy ointments (Song 1:3). Let us therefore follow more swiftly with the steps of the virtues, so that we may deserve to reach Him. Let no one delay to turn to the Lord, let no one put it off from day to day, praying to Him through all things and before all things that He may direct our steps according to His word, and that no injustice may have dominion over us (Ps. 118:133).
Videntes autem cognoverunt de verbo quod dictum erat illis de puero hoc. Et nos, fratres dilectisimi, quae dicta sunt nobis de Salvatore nostro Deo vero et homine, interim pia fide percipere, et plena dilectione festinemus amplecti, ut haec in futuro perfectae cognitionis visu comprehendere valeamus. Haec etenim sola ac vera est beatorum non solum hominum, sed et angelorum vita, faciem perpetuo sui cernere Creatoris, quam desiderabat ardenter Psalmista, qui dicebat: Sitivit anima mea ad Deum vivum, quando veniam et apparebo ante faciem Dei (Psal. XLII)? Cujus solius visione non autem ulla terrenarum rerum affluentia desiderium suum satiari posse signavit, cum ait: Satiabor dum manifestabitur gloria tua (Psal. XVII.) Verum, quia non otiosi ac desides, sed qui virtutum operibus insudant, divina contemplatione sunt digni, sollicite praemisit: Ego autem cum justitia apparebo in conspectu tuo. Videntes ergo pastores cognoverunt de verbo quod dietum erat illis de Christo, quia visio Dei cognitio ejus est, et haec est sola beata hominis vita, homine ipso dicente ac testante, qui nos Patri commendans dicit inter alia: Haec est autem vita aeterna, ut cognoscant te esse verum et unum Deum, et quem misisti Jesum Christum (Joan. XVII).
And seeing, they understood concerning the word that had been spoken to them about this child (Luke 2:17). Let us too, dearly beloved brethren, hasten meanwhile to receive with devout faith, and to embrace with full love, the things that have been told us about our Saviour, true God and man, so that in the future we may be able to grasp them in the sight of perfect knowledge. For this is the one true life not only of blessed men but also of angels: to behold for ever the face of their Creator, which the Psalmist ardently desired when he said: My soul has thirsted for the living God; when shall I come and appear before the face of God (Ps. 41:3)? And he indicated that his desire could be satisfied by the sight of Him alone, and not by any abundance of earthly things, when he said: I shall be satisfied when Thy glory is made manifest (Ps. 16:15). But because it is not the idle and slothful but those who toil in the works of the virtues who are worthy of the divine contemplation, he carefully set before it: But I will appear in Thy sight in justice (Ps. 16:15). So the shepherds, seeing, understood concerning the word that had been spoken to them about Christ, because the vision of God is the knowledge of Him, and this alone is the blessed life of man, as the Man Himself says and testifies, Who, commending us to the Father, says among other things: Now this is eternal life, that they may know Thee to be the true and only God, and Jesus Christ Whom Thou hast sent (John 17:3).
Et omnes qui audierunt, mirati sunt, et de his quae dicta erant a pasteribus ad ipsos. Non celavere silentio pastores arcana quae divinitus agnoverant, sed
And all who heard wondered, and at the things that had been told them by the shepherds (Luke 2:18). The shepherds did not hide in silence the hidden things they had come to know from God, but
Editors' notes and page, col. 36
Page
- running head: 36 OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA.
- marginal letters: A ‹est. Quam recta›; B ‹nemus et nos, fratres mei›; C ‹non dominetur nostri›; D ‹posse signavit, cum ait›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "dietum" and "pasteribus" may be worn c/o rather than wrong sorts; UNSURE.
quibuscunque potuere dicebant; quia et spirituales Ecclesiae pastores in hoc maxime sunt ordinati, ut Verbi Dei mysteria praedicent, et mira quae in Scripturis didicerint miranda suis auditoribus ostendant. Non solum autem pastores, episcopi, presbyteri et diacones, vel etiam rectores monasteriorum sunt intelligendi, sed et omnes fideles, qui vel parvulae suae domus custodiam gerunt, pastores recte vocantur, in quantum eidem suae domui sollicita vigilantia praesunt. Et quicunque vestrum saltem uni aut duobus fratribus quotidiano regimine praeest, pastoris ejusdem debet officium implere. Quia in quantum sufficit, pascere hos verbi dapibus jubetur: imo unusquisque vestrum, fratres, qui etiam privatus vivere creditur, pastoris officium tenet, et spiritualem pascit gregem, vigiliasque noctis custodit super illum, si bonorum actuum cogitationumque mundarum sibi aggregans multitudinem, haec justo moderamine gubernare coelestibus Scripturarum pascuis nutrire, et pervigili solertia contra immundorum spirituum insidias servare contendit.
told them to whomever they could; because the spiritual shepherds of the Church too are ordained above all for this, to preach the mysteries of the Word of God, and to show their hearers as wonderful the wonderful things they have learned in the Scriptures. Not only are bishops, priests and deacons, or also the rulers of monasteries, to be understood as shepherds, but all the faithful as well, who have charge even of their own little household, are rightly called shepherds, inasmuch as they preside over that household of theirs with careful watchfulness. And whoever of you has daily charge over even one or two brothers is bound to fulfil the office of shepherd towards them. For he is commanded to feed them with the food of the word as far as he is able: nay, each one of you, brethren, even he who is thought to live as a private person, holds the office of shepherd, and feeds a spiritual flock, and keeps the watches of the night over it, if, gathering to himself a multitude of good deeds and pure thoughts, he strives to govern them with just control, to nourish them in the heavenly pastures of the Scriptures, and to guard them with wakeful skill against the snares of unclean spirits.
Maria autem conservabat omnia verba haec, conferens in corde suo. Maria virginalis pudicitiae jura custodiens, secreta Christi quae noverat nemini divulgare volebat, sed ipsum haec quando vellet, et quomodo vellet divulgare, reverenter exspectabat. Ipsa autem eadem secreta ore tacito, vigili tamen corde sedula scrutabatur. Et hoc est quod ait, Conferens in corde suo. Conferebat quippe ea quae acta videbat his quae agenda legerat. Videbat namque se de stirpe David ortam in Nazareth de Spiritu sancto Filium Dei concepisse. Legerat in propheta: Egredietur virga de radice Jesse, et Nazareus de radice ejus ascendet, et requiescet super eum Spiritus Domini (Isa. xi). Legerat et: Tu, Bethleem Ephrata, parvula es in millibus Juda, ex te enim egredietur qui sit dominator in Israel, et egressus ejus ab initio a diebus aeternitatis. Videbat se in Bethleem peperisse dominatorem Israel, qui aeternus ex Patre Deus ante saecula natus est; videbat se virginem concepisse et peperisse Filium, et vocasse nomen ejus Jesum. Legerat in prophetis: Ecce virgo concipiet, et pariet Filium, et vocabitur nomen ejus Emmanuel (Isa. vii). Legerat: Bos cognovit possessorem suum, et asinus praesepe domini sui. Videbat Dominum positum in praesepi, quo bos et asinus solent nutriendi advenire. Meminerat sibi dictum ab angelo: Spiritus sanctus superveniet in te, et virtus Altissimi obumbrabit tibi. Ideoque et quod nascetur ex te sanctum, vocabitur Filius Dei (Luc. I). Legerat modum nativitatis ejus, non nisi angelo revelante, potuisse cognosci, dicente Isaia: Generationem autem ejus quis enarrabit (Isa. liii)? Legerat: Et tu, turris gregis nebulosa, filia Sion, usque ad te veniet, et veniet potestas prima, regnum filiae Jerusalem (Mich. IV). Audiebat angelicas virtutes, quae sunt filiae supernae civitatis, apparuisse pastoribus in loco, qui a conventu pecorum antiquitus turris gregis vocabatur, et est uno milliario ad orientem Bethleem, ubi etiam nunc tria pastorum illorum monumenta
But Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart (Luke 2:19). Mary, guarding the rights of virginal modesty, wished to divulge to no one the secrets of Christ which she knew, but reverently waited for Him to divulge them when He wished and as He wished. She herself, however, with silent lips but wakeful heart, diligently searched into those same secrets. And this is what he says: Pondering in her heart. For she compared the things she saw done with those she had read were to be done. For she saw that she, sprung from the stock of David, had conceived the Son of God of the Holy Spirit in Nazareth. She had read in the prophet: There shall come forth a rod from the root of Jesse, and a Nazarene shall rise up from his root, and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him (Isa. 11:1–2). She had read too: You, Bethlehem Ephrathah, are little among the thousands of Judah, for out of you shall come forth he who is to be ruler in Israel, and his going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity (Mic. 5:2). She saw that she had given birth in Bethlehem to the ruler of Israel, Who, eternal God, was born of the Father before the ages; she saw that she, a virgin, had conceived and borne a Son, and had called His name Jesus. She had read in the prophets: Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and His name shall be called Emmanuel (Isa. 7:14). She had read: The ox knows its owner, and the ass its master's manger (Isa. 1:3). She saw the Lord laid in the manger, to which the ox and the ass are wont to come to be fed. She remembered that it had been said to her by the angel: The Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow you. And therefore also the holy one that shall be born of you shall be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). She had read that the manner of His nativity could not be known except by an angel's revealing it, as Isaiah says: But who shall declare His generation (Isa. 53:8)? She had read: And you, cloudy tower of the flock, daughter of Zion, to you it shall come, and the first dominion shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem (Mic. 4:8). She heard that angelic powers, who are the daughters of the city on high, had appeared to the shepherds in the place which from the gathering of the herds was called of old the tower of the flock, and is one mile to the east of Bethlehem, where even now the monuments of those three shepherds
Editors' notes and page, col. 37
Page
- running head: 37 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I.
- marginal letters: A ‹quibuscunque potuere›; B ‹pascit gregem, vigiliasque›; C ‹David ortam in Nazareth›; D ‹bos et asinus solent›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: last word "monu-" is split at the column break; completed as "monumenta" from the top line of col. 38 ("menta") visible at the right edge of c37_1. Latin "tria pastorum illorum monumenta": English renders "the monuments of those three shepherds".
in ecclesia monstrantur. Noverat tunc venisse in carne Dominum, cui una et aeterna est cum Patre potestas, qui regnum daret Ecclesiae, filiae scilicet coelestis Hierusalem. Conferebat ergo Maria ea quae flenda legerat, cum his quae jam facta cognovit: non haec tamen ore promens, sed clauso servans in corde suo.
are shown in a church. She knew that the Lord had now come in the flesh, Whose power with the Father is one and eternal, to give the kingdom to the Church, the daughter, that is, of the heavenly Jerusalem. So Mary compared the things she had read were to be wept over with those she now knew had been done: yet not uttering them with her lips, but keeping them shut in her heart.
Et reversi sunt pastores, glorificantes et laudantes Deum in omnibus quae audierant et viderant, sicut dictum est ad illos. Discamus et nos, fratres charissimi, a contemplatione dominicae dispensationis qua nobis pie subvenire dignatus est, ad agendas semper beneficiis ejus grati⟨a⟩s reverti. Si enim illi, sola adhuc nativitate ejus cognita, reversi sunt glorificantes et laudantes Deum in omnibus quae audierant et viderant, quanto magis oportet nos, qui totam incarnationis illius seriem ex ordine cognovimus, qui sacramentis illius imbuti sumus, in omnibus gloriam ejus ac laudem non solum verbo, sed etiam factis praedicare; neque unquam oblivisci quod ideo Deus homo natus est, ut nos ad imaginem et similitudinem suae divinitatis renascendo reficeret: ideo namque baptizatus est aqua, ut ad nostrorum ablutionem scelerum omnium fluenta fecundaret aquarum; ideo tentatus in eremo, ut vincendo tentatorem nobis quoque vincendi peritiam virtutemque tribueret; ideo mortuus, ut mortis destrueret imperium; ideo resurrexit et ascendit in coelum, ut nobis resurgendi a mortuis, atque in coelestibus perpetuo regnandi spem exemplumque praeberet. Pro quibus singulis reversi ad intuitum piissimae dispensationis ejus, glorificemus et laudemus ipsum Deum ac Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, qui vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, as it had been told them (Luke 2:20). Let us too, dearest brethren, learn from the contemplation of the Lord's dispensation, by which He deigned in His goodness to come to our help, to turn back always to giving thanks for His benefits. For if they, when only His nativity was as yet known, returned glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, how much more ought we, who have come to know the whole course of His incarnation in order, who have been steeped in His sacraments, to proclaim His glory and praise in all things not only by word but also by deeds; and never to forget that God was born man for this purpose, that He might remake us by rebirth to the image and likeness of His divinity: for this He was baptized with water, that He might make fruitful the streams of all waters for the washing away of our sins; for this He was tempted in the desert, that by conquering the tempter He might give us too the skill and strength to conquer; for this He died, that He might destroy the dominion of death; for this He rose again and ascended into heaven, that He might give us the hope and the example of rising from the dead and of reigning for ever in the heavens. For each of these, turning back to the contemplation of His most loving dispensation, let us glorify and praise our God and Lord Jesus Christ Himself, Who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for all ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILIA VII. IN DIE NATALI DOMINI. JOAN. I. In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum, etc.
HOMILY VII. ON THE DAY OF THE NATIVITY OF THE LORD. JOHN 1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1), etc.
Quia temporalem mediatoris Dei et hominum, hominis Jesu Christi nativitatem, quae hodierna die facta est, sanctorum verbis evangelistarum, Matthaei videlicet et Lucae, manifestatam cognovimus, libet etiam de Verbi, id est, divinitatis ejus, aeternitate in qua Patri manet semper aequalis, beati Joannis evangelistae dicta scrutari, qui singularis privi⟨l⟩egio meruit castitatis ut caeteris altius divinae Scripturae conditoribus divinitatis ipsius caperet simul et patefaceret arcanum. Neque enim frustra in coena supra pectus Domini Jesu recubuisse perhibetur, sed per hoc typice docetur quia coelestis haustum sapientiae caeteris excellentius de sanctissimo ejusdem pectoris fonte potaverit. Unde et merito in figura quatuor animalium aquilae volanti comparatur. Cunctis quippe avibus aquila celsius volare, cunctis animantibus clarius solis radiis infigere consuevit obtutus. Et caeteri evangelistae quasi in terra ambulant cum Domino, qui temporalem ejus generationem pariter et temporalia facta sufficienter exponentes, pauca de divinitate dixerunt: hic autem quasi ad coelum volat
Since we have come to know the temporal nativity of the mediator of God and men, the man Jesus Christ, which took place on this day, as made manifest by the words of the holy evangelists, namely Matthew and Luke, it is pleasing to search also the words of blessed John the evangelist concerning the eternity of the Word, that is, of His divinity, in which He abides ever equal to the Father; John, who by the privilege of singular chastity deserved both to grasp and to lay open the secret of that divinity more loftily than the other writers of divine Scripture. For not without reason is he said to have reclined at the supper on the breast of the Lord Jesus, but by this it is taught in figure that he drank the draught of heavenly wisdom more excellently than the others from the most holy fountain of that same breast. Hence too he is rightly compared, in the figure of the four living creatures, to a flying eagle. For the eagle is wont to fly higher than all birds, and to fix its gaze more clearly than all living things on the rays of the sun. And the other evangelists walk, as it were, on earth with the Lord, who, setting out sufficiently His temporal generation and likewise His deeds in time, said little about His divinity: but this one, as it were, flies to heaven
Editors' notes and page, col. 38
Page
- running head: SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINAE. 38
- marginal letters: A ‹menta in ecclesia›; B ‹rant, quanto magis›; C ‹intuitum piissimae›; D ‹gelistae dicta scrutari›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "menta", the end of "monu-menta" already set whole at the foot of col. 37; English for the fragment not repeated. "grati⟨a⟩s", "privi⟨l⟩egio": letters lost to damaged type. "flenda" (to be wept over) is as printed.
cum Domino, qui perpauca de temporalibus ejus actis edisserens, aeternam divinitatis ejus potentiam, per quam omnia facta sunt, sublimius mente volando, et limpidius speculando cognovit, ac nobis cognoscenda scribendo contradidit. Ergo alii evangelistae Christum ex tempore natum describunt, Joannes eumdem in principio jam fuisse testatur, dicens: In principio erat Verbum. Alii inter homines eum subito apparuisse commemorant, ille ipsum apud Deum semper fuisse declarat, dicens: Et Verbum erat apud Deum. Alii eum verum hominem, ille verum confirmat esse Deum, dicens: Et Deus erat Verbum. Alii hominem eum apud homines temporaliter conversatum, ille Deum apud Deum in principio manentem ostendit, dicens: Hoc erat in principio apud Deum. Alii magnalia quae in homine gessit perhibent, ille quod omnem creaturam visibilem et invisibilem per ipsum Deus Pater fecerit, ostendit, dicens: Omnia per ipsum facta sunt, et sine ipso factum est nihil. Et mire beatus Joannes in initio Evangelii sui de divinitate Salvatoris, et fidem recte credentium sublimiter imbuit, et haereticorum perfidiam potenter exsuperat. Fuere namque haeretici, qui dicerent: Si ergo natus est Christus, erat tempus quando ille non erat: quos primo sermone redarguit, cum ait:
with the Lord, who, in setting out very few of His deeds in time, came to know, by flying more loftily in mind and gazing more clearly, the eternal power of His divinity, through which all things were made, and handed it down to us in writing to be known. So the other evangelists describe Christ as born in time; John testifies that the same was already in the beginning, saying: In the beginning was the Word. The others record that He appeared suddenly among men; he declares that He was always with God, saying: And the Word was with God. The others confirm Him to be true man; he, that He is true God, saying: And the Word was God. The others show Him as a man living among men in time; he, as God abiding with God in the beginning, saying: The same was in the beginning with God. The others relate the mighty works which He did in the man; he shows that God the Father made every creature, visible and invisible, through Him, saying: All things were made through Him, and without Him was made nothing. And wonderfully does blessed John, at the opening of his Gospel, concerning the divinity of the Saviour, both instruct the faith of those who believe rightly in a lofty manner and mightily overcome the faithlessness of heretics. For there were heretics who said: If then Christ was born, there was a time when He was not; and these he refutes in his first sentence, when he says:
In principio erat Verbum. Neque vero ait, In principio coepit esse Verbum, sed in principio erat Verbum: ut videlicet eum non ex tempore ortum, sed in exortu temporum jam existentem, ac per hoc sine ullo temporis initio de Patre natum monstraret, juxta quod ipse loquitur in Proverbiis: Dominus possedit me initio viarum suarum, antequam quidquam faceret a principio, ab aeterno ordinatus sum (Prov. VIII). Item fuerunt haeretici qui, tres sanctae Trinitatis personas esse negantes, dicerent: Idem Deus quando vult, Pater est; quando vult, Filius est; quando vult, Spiritus sanctus est; ipse tamen unus est. Quorum destruens errorem, subjungit:
In the beginning was the Word. For he does not say, In the beginning the Word began to be, but in the beginning was the Word: that is, to show that He did not arise in time, but already existed at the rising of the times, and therefore was born of the Father without any beginning in time, according to what He Himself says in Proverbs: The Lord possessed me at the beginning of His ways, before He made anything, from the beginning; from eternity I was set up (Prov. 8:22–23). Again there were heretics who, denying that there are three persons of the Holy Trinity, said: The same God, when He wills, is Father; when He wills, is Son; when He wills, is Holy Spirit; yet He Himself is one. Destroying their error, he adds:
Et Verbum erat apud Deum. Si enim alius apud alium erat, duo sunt profecto Pater et Filius, et non unus. Ipse modo Pater, modo Filius, modo etiam Spiritus sanctus est: quasi mutabilis sit divinae substantiae natura, cum apertissime Jacobus dicat apostolus: Apud quem non est transmutatio, nec vicissitudinis obumbratio. (Jac. I). Item fuere quidam pravi dogmatis auctores, qui Christum hominem tantum confitentes, Deum prorsus esse non crederent: quos consequenter exprimit (Al., opprimit), cum ait:
And the Word was with God. For if one was with another, then surely the Father and the Son are two, and not one. [They say] He is now the Father, now the Son, now again the Holy Spirit: as though the nature of the divine substance were changeable, when the apostle James says most plainly: With whom there is no change, nor shadow of alteration (Jas. 1:17). Again there were certain authors of a perverse teaching who, confessing Christ to be man only, did not believe Him to be God at all; these he accordingly expresses (another reading: crushes), when he says:
Et Deus erat Verbum. Fuere alii qui Deum quidem illum, sed ex tempore incarnationis factum, non autem aeternum ante saecula natum a Patre putarent. Unde quidam talium dixisse commemoratur: Non invideo Christo facto Deo, quoniam et ego si volo, possum fieri secundum ipsum. Et horum nefandam refellit sententiam evangelista, cum ait.
And the Word was God. There were others who thought Him God indeed, but made so from the time of the incarnation, and not born of the Father eternal before the ages. Hence one of such men is recorded to have said: I do not envy Christ for being made God, since I too, if I will, can become as He is. And the evangelist refutes their abominable opinion when he says:
Hoc erat in principio apud Deum. Id est, hoc Verbum quod Deus est, non ex tempore coepit, sed in principio erat Deus apud Deum. Item fuere veritatis inimici qui Christum et ante partum Virginis jam
The same was in the beginning with God. That is, this Word which is God did not begin in time, but in the beginning was God with God. Again there were enemies of the truth who [did not deny] that Christ, even before the Virgin's childbearing, already
Editors' notes and page, col. 39
Page
- running head: 39 | BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA.
- marginal letters: A ‹cum Domino, qui perpauca›; B ‹Alii magnalia quae in homine›; C ‹quod ipse loquitur in Proverbiis›; D ‹tudinis obumbratio. (Jac. I).›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column ends mid-sentence at "jam"; column 40 opens "fuisse non negarent"; the English supplement [did not deny] anticipates that verb. "(Al., opprimit)" is Migne's variant in parentheses, kept as printed. "Ipse modo Pater..." states the heretics' view; [They say] supplied. Running head spans the page (cols 39–40).
fuisse non negarent, non tamen natum ex Patre Deum, sed factum a Patre, et ideo minorem Patre, quia creaturam, crederent. Etiam hos damnat evangelicus sermo, qui dicit:
existed, yet believed Him not God born of the Father, but made by the Father, and therefore less than the Father, because a creature. These too are condemned by the Gospel's word, which says:
Omnia per ipsum facta sunt, et sine ipso factum est nihil. Si enim nihil creaturarum sine ipso factum est, patet profecto quia ipse creatura non est per quem omnis creatura facta est. Et ne quis audiens factam per Dominum creaturam, mutabilem crederet ejus voluntatem, quasi qui subito vellet facere creaturam quam ab aeterno nunquam ante fecisset, manifeste docet evangelista factam quidem in tempore creaturam, sed in aeterna Creatoris sapientia, quando et qualis crearetur, semper fuisse dispositum. Et hoc est quod ait:
All things were made through Him, and without Him was made nothing. For if nothing among creatures was made without Him, it is surely plain that He through whom every creature was made is not Himself a creature. And lest anyone, hearing that the creation was made through the Lord, should believe His will changeable, as though He had suddenly willed to make a creation which from eternity He had never made before, the evangelist plainly teaches that the creation was indeed made in time, but that in the eternal wisdom of the Creator it was always disposed when and of what kind it should be created. And this is what he says:
Quod factum est, in ipso vita erat. Id est, quod factum in tempore, sive vivum sive vita carens, apparuit, omne hoc in spirituali factoris ratione, quasi semper vixerat et vivit. Non quia coaeternum est Creatori quod creavit, sed quia coaeterna est illi ratio voluntatis suae, in qua ab aeterno habuit et habet quid et quando crearet, qualiter creatum gubernet ut maneat, ad quem finem singula quae creavit perducat. Sequitur:
What was made, in Him was life. That is, whatever appeared, made in time, whether living or lacking life, all this in the spiritual design of its Maker had as it were always lived, and lives. Not because what He created is coeternal with the Creator, but because the design of His will is coeternal with Him, in which from eternity He had and has what He should create and when, how He should govern what was created so that it endures, and to what end He should bring each thing that He created. There follows:
Et vita erat lux hominum. Quo verbo aperte docetur quod ipsa vitalis ratio, per quam omnia disposita sunt et reguntur, non omnem creaturam, sed rationabilem tantum ut sapere possit, illuminat. Homines namque, qui ad imaginem Dei facti sunt, percipere sapientiam possunt, animalia non possunt. Sed et animalis quicunque est homo, non percipit ea quae sunt spiritus Dei. Unde bene cum dixisset: Et vita erat lux hominum, subjunxit, Et de his qui ab humanae conditionis honore procul recedentes comparati sunt jumentis insipientibus, et similes facti sunt illis, atque ideo recte veritatis lumine privantur.
And the life was the light of men. By this word it is openly taught that the living design itself, through which all things are disposed and governed, enlightens not every creature but the rational only, so that it may be wise. For men, who were made in the image of God, can receive wisdom; animals cannot. But even whatever man is animal does not receive the things that are of the Spirit of God. Hence, having fittingly said: And the life was the light of men, he added, And [this] concerning those who, departing far from the honour of the human condition, have been compared to senseless beasts and made like them, and therefore are rightly deprived of the light of truth.
Et lux, inquit, in tenebris lucet, et tenebrae eam non comprehenderunt. Lux quippe hominum est Christus, qui omnia quae illuminari merentur, corda hominum suae praesentia cognitionis illustrat: tenebrae autem stulti sunt et iniqui, quorum caeca praecordia lux aeternae sapientiae qualia sint manifeste cognoscit, quamvis, ipsos [Al., ipsi] radios ejusdem lucis nequaquam per intelligentiam capere possint: veluti si quilibet caecus jubare solis offundatur, nec tamen ipse solem, cujus lumine perfunditur, aspiciat. Sed non tamen tales omnino superna pietas despexit, verum medelam eis salutis, qua ad videndam lucem pervenire possent, adhibuit. Ipsa enim lux invisibilis, ipsa Dei sapientia, carnem, in qua videri posset, induta est, quae in hominis habitu apparens, et loquens hominibus paulatim fide purificata, eorum corda ad cognitionem suae divinae visionis proveheret. Missus est ante illum homo magni meriti, cujus testimonio pararentur omnes ad audiendam mox, ut appareret, ipsam Dei sapientiam, ad videndum ipsum solem justitiae, nube jam corporis tectum;
And the light, he says, shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. For Christ is the light of men, who by the presence of His knowledge illumines all the hearts of men that deserve to be enlightened; but the darkness is the foolish and the wicked, whose blind hearts the light of eternal wisdom plainly knows for what they are, although they [Al., they themselves] can by no means grasp by understanding the rays of that same light: as if some blind man were flooded with the brightness of the sun and yet did not himself see the sun with whose light he is bathed. But the heavenly mercy did not wholly despise such men; rather it applied to them the remedy of salvation, by which they might come to see the light. For the invisible light itself, the very wisdom of God, put on flesh in which it could be seen, so that, appearing in the guise of a man and speaking to men, it might little by little bring their hearts, purified by faith, to the knowledge of the vision of its divinity. There was sent before Him a man of great merit, by whose testimony all might be prepared to hear the very wisdom of God as soon as it appeared, to see the very Sun of justice, now covered by the cloud of a body;
Editors' notes and page, col. 40
Page
- running head: PARS III. — PARAENETICA. | 40
- marginal letters: A ‹fuisse non negarent›; B ‹Quod factum est, in ipso›; C ‹percipere sapientiam possunt›; D ‹quamvis, ipsos [Al., ipsi]›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "ratio voluntatis" — the final o of ratio is damaged and reads like e; set as ratio. "nube" printed with ligature "nubae"? read as nubæ in the scan; set nube, UNSURE (possibly printed nubae). "[Al., ipsi]" kept as printed; in English the variant is rendered in brackets. Column ends at a semicolon after "tectum".
id est, ad videndum audiendumque hominem, qui Deus esset, plenum gratiae et veritatis.
that is, to see and hear a man who was God, full of grace and truth.
Fuit, inquit, homo missus a Deo, cui nomen erat Joannes. Hic venit in testimonium, ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine, ut omnes crederent per illum. Non ait, ut omnes crederent in illum, Maledictus enim homo qui confidit in homine, et ponit carnem brachium suum (Jerem. XVII): sed ut omnes crederent per illum, hoc est, ut per illius testimonium crederent in lucem quam necdum videre noverant, Dominum videlicet Jesum Christum, qui de seipso testatur: Ego sum lux mundi: qui sequitur me, non ambulabit in tenebris, sed habebit lumen vitae (Joan. VIII). Sequitur:
There was, he says, a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came for a testimony, to bear witness concerning the light, that all might believe through him. He does not say, that all might believe in him, for Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm (Jer. 17:5); but that all might believe through him, that is, that through his testimony they might believe in the light which they did not yet know how to see, namely the Lord Jesus Christ, who testifies of Himself: I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life (John 8:12). There follows:
Non erat ille lux, sed ut testimonium perhiberet de lumine. Erat lux vera quae illuminat omnem hominem venientem in hunc mundum. Et sancti quidem homines lux sunt recte vocati, dicente ad eos Domino: Vos estis lux mundi (Matth. V), et apostolo Paulo: Fuistis aliquando tenebrae, nunc autem lux in Domino (Ephes. V). Sed multum distat inter lucem quae illuminatur, et lucem quae illuminat; inter eos qui participatione verae lucis accipiunt ut luceant, et ipsam lucem perpetuam, quae non solum lucere in seipsa, sed et sua praesentia quoscunque attigerit, illustrare sufficit. Ad cujus comparationem verae lucis non tantum minimi quilibet electi, verum etiam ipse Joannes, quo major inter natos mulierum nemo surrexit, lux non esse asseritur, ut videlicet Christus non esse, quod putabatur, monstretur. Ille enim, ut scriptum est: Erat lucerna ardens et lucens (Joan. V). Ardens scilicet fide et dilectione, lucens verbo et actione. Gratiam vero lucis peccatoribus [Al., pectoribus] infundere solius est ejus de quo dicitur:
He was not the light, but [came] to bear witness concerning the light. That was the true light which enlightens every man coming into this world. Holy men indeed are rightly called light, since the Lord says to them: You are the light of the world (Matt. 5:14), and the apostle Paul: You were once darkness, but now light in the Lord (Eph. 5:8). But there is a great difference between light that is enlightened and light that enlightens; between those who by sharing in the true light receive the power to shine, and the perpetual light itself, which is able not only to shine in itself but also to illumine by its presence whomever it touches. In comparison with this true light, not only any of the least of the elect, but even John himself, than whom no greater has arisen among those born of women, is declared not to be the light, so that it may be shown that he was not the Christ, as was supposed. For he, as it is written, Was a burning and shining lamp (John 5:35): burning, that is, with faith and love, shining with word and deed. But to pour the grace of light into sinners [Al., into hearts] belongs to Him alone of whom it is said:
Erat lux vera quae illuminat omnem hominem venientem in hunc mundum. Omnem videlicet, qui illuminatur sive naturali ingenio, sive sapientia divina. Sicut enim nemo a seipso esse, ita etiam nemo a seipso sapiens esse potest, sed illo illustrante de quo scriptum est: Omnis sapientia a Domino Deo est (Eccli. II). Cujus utramque naturam, et divinam scilicet, qua semper ubique totus manet, et humanam, ex qua in tempore natus loco inclusus apparuit, consequenter describit evangelista, dicens:
That was the true light which enlightens every man coming into this world. Every man, that is, who is enlightened, whether by natural talent or by divine wisdom. For just as no one can exist of himself, so too no one can be wise of himself, but only as He enlightens him of whom it is written: All wisdom is from the Lord God (Sir. 1:1). Both of His natures, namely the divine, by which He abides always and everywhere whole, and the human, by which, born in time, He appeared enclosed in a place, the evangelist next describes, saying:
In mundo erat, et mundus per ipsum factus est, et mundus eum non cognovit. In propria venit, et sui eum non receperunt. In mundo quippe erat, et mundus per ipsum factus est, quia Deus erat, quia totus ubique, quia suae praesentia majestatis sine labore regens, et sine onere continens quod fecit. Et mundus eum non cognovit, quia lux in tenebris lucet, et tenebrae eam non comprehenderunt. Mundum namque dicit hoc in loco homines mundi amore deceptos, atque inhaerendo creaturae a cognoscenda creatoris sui majestate reflexos. In propria venit, quia in mundo, quem per divinitatem fecit, per humanitatem natus apparuit: in propria venit, quia in
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. He was indeed in the world, and the world was made through Him, because He was God, because He is wholly everywhere, because by the presence of His majesty He rules without toil and holds together without burden what He made. And the world did not know Him, because the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. For in this place he calls the world men deceived by love of the world, and, by clinging to the creature, turned back from knowing the majesty of their Creator. He came to His own, because in the world which He made through His divinity He appeared born through His humanity: He came to His own, because in
Editors' notes and page, col. 41
Footnotes
(a) ‹anchor: not visible in the page-foot image (call above the rendered area)› · call in col 41 or 42 (not visible; to be fixed from the full page)
Cod. bibl. Arsen. Paris. add.: et supervacua ejus esset incarnatio.
The codex of the Arsenal Library, Paris, adds: and his incarnation would have been superfluous.
(printed under page 25)
Page
- running head: 41 | SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. H[OMIL. ...] (truncated at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹id est, ad videndum›; B ‹de lumine. Erat lux vera›; C ‹ptum est: Erat lucerna›; D ‹In mundo erat, et mundus›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
gente Judaea quam sibi prae caeteris nationibus speciali gratia copulaverat, incarnari dignatus est. In mundo ergo erat, et in mundum venit. In mundo erat per divinitatem, in mundum venit per incarnationem. Venire quippe vel abire humanitatis est, manere et esse divinitatis est. Quia ergo cum in mundo esset per divinitatem, mundus eum non cognovit, dignatus est venire in mundum per humanitatem, ut vel sic eum mundus cognosceret; sed videamus quod sequitur:
the Jewish nation, which He had joined to Himself by a special grace above the other nations, He deigned to become incarnate. He was therefore in the world, and He came into the world. He was in the world by His divinity; He came into the world by the incarnation. For to come or to go belongs to humanity; to abide and to be belongs to divinity. Since, then, when He was in the world by His divinity, the world did not know Him, He deigned to come into the world by His humanity, that even so the world might know Him; but let us see what follows:
In propria venit, et sui eum non receperunt. Quem enim in potentia deitatis cuncta creantem regentemque non cognoverunt, ipsum in carnis infirmitate miraculis coruscantem recipere noluerunt. Et quod est gravius, sui eum non receperunt, homines scilicet, quos ipse creavit. Judaei quos peculiarem sibi elegerat in plebem, quibus suae cognitionis revelaverat arcanum, quos mirificis patrum glorificaverat actis, quibus suae legis doctrinam contulerat, ex quibus se incarnandum promiserat, et in quibus se incarnatum, ut promiserat, ostendit, ipsi eum recipere venientem ex magna parte recusarunt. Neque enim omnes recusarunt, alioquin nullus esset salvus. Nunc autem multi eum ex utroque populo credendo receperunt, de quibus evangelista consequenter insinuat dicens:
He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. For Him whom they did not know creating and ruling all things in the power of the Godhead, they refused to receive when He shone with miracles in the weakness of the flesh. And what is graver, His own did not receive Him, that is, men, whom He Himself created. The Jews, whom He had chosen for Himself as a peculiar people, to whom He had revealed the secret of the knowledge of Himself, whom He had glorified by the wonderful deeds of the fathers, on whom He had bestowed the teaching of His law, from whom He had promised that He would become incarnate, and among whom He showed Himself incarnate as He had promised: these for the most part refused to receive Him when He came. For not all refused, otherwise none would be saved. But now many from both peoples have received Him by believing, of whom the evangelist accordingly makes mention, saying:
Quotquot autem receperunt eum, dedit eis potestatem filios Dei fieri, his qui credunt in nomine ejus. Consideremus, fratres charissimi, quanta gratia Redemptoris nostri, quam magna sit multitudo dulcedinis ejus. Unicus ex Patre natus est, et noluit remanere unus; descendit ad terram, ubi fratres sibi, quibus regnum Patris sui dare posset, acquireret: Deus ex Deo natus est, et noluit Dei tantum Filius manere; hominis quoque filius fieri dignatus est, non amittens quod erat, sed assumens quod non erat, ut per hoc homines in Dei filios transferret, gloriaeque suae faceret cohaeredes: ut quod ipse semper habebat per naturam, inciperent habere per gratiam. Consideremus quanta virtus est fidei, cujus merito potestas datur hominibus filios Dei fieri. Unde bene scriptum est, Quia justus ex fide vivit (Habac. II). Vivit enim justus ex fide, non illa quae labiorum tantum confessione profertur, sed ea quae per dilectionem operatur; alioquin fides si non habet opera, mortua est in semetipsa. Nullus seipsum despiciat, nullus de sua salute desperet: curramus omnes, curramus singuli, ut qui eramus longe, mereamur fieri prope in sanguine Christi. Videamus quod dicitur, Quia quotquot receperunt eum, dedit eis potestatem filios Dei fieri. Quotquot, inquit, receperunt: Non est enim personarum acceptor Deus, sed in omni gente, qui timet Deum et operatur justitiam, acceptus est illi (Act. X). Quo autem ordine credentes filii Dei possent fieri, et quantum haec generatio a carnali distet, subsecutus evangelista designat.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave power to become sons of God, to those who believe in His name. Let us consider, dearest brethren, how great is the grace of our Redeemer, how great the multitude of His sweetness. He was born the Only-begotten of the Father, and would not remain alone; He came down to earth to gain for Himself brothers to whom He could give the kingdom of His Father. God was born of God, and would not remain the Son of God only; He deigned to become also the son of man, not losing what He was, but taking up what He was not, so as thereby to bring men over into sons of God and make them co-heirs of His glory: so that what He Himself always had by nature, they might begin to have by grace. Let us consider how great is the power of faith, by whose merit power is given to men to become sons of God. Hence it is well written, For the just man lives by faith (Hab. 2:4). For the just man lives by faith, not that which is uttered by the confession of the lips alone, but that which works through love; otherwise faith, if it has not works, is dead in itself. Let no one despise himself, let no one despair of his salvation: let us run, all of us, let us run, each one of us, that we who were far off may be found worthy to be made near in the blood of Christ. Let us see what is said: For as many as received Him, to them He gave power to become sons of God. As many, he says, as received [Him]: For God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he who fears God and works justice is acceptable to Him (Acts 10:34–35). And in what order believers could become sons of God, and how far this generation differs from the carnal, the evangelist indicates next.
Qui non ex sanguinibus, neque ex voluntate carnis,
Who not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh,
Editors' notes and page, col. 42
Page
- running head: [SECT. I. HOMILIA]E. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINAE. | 42
- marginal letters: A ‹gente Judaea quam sibi›; B ‹cet, quos ipse creavit›; C ‹ptoris nostri, quam magna›; D ‹ratur; alioquin fides›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
neque ex voluntate viri, sed ex Deo nati sunt. Carnalis quippe nostra singulorum generatio ex sanguinibus, id est ex natura [Al., semine] maris et feminae, a complexu conjugii duxit originem: at vero spiritualis Spiritus sancti gratia ministratur, quam Dominus a carnali distinguens ait: Nisi quis renatus fuerit ex aqua et Spiritu sancto, non potest introire in regnum Dei (Joan. III). Quod natum est ex carne, caro est; et quod natum est ex spiritu, spiritus est. Verum ne quis hominum dubitet filium se Dei et cohaeredem Christi posse fieri, dat exemplum evangelista, quia et ipse Filius Dei homo fieri et inter homines habitare dignatus est, ut humanae particeps existendo fragilitatis, homines divinae virtutis suae donaret esse participes.
nor of the will of man, but are born of God. For the carnal generation of each of us has taken its origin from blood, that is, from the nature [Al., seed] of male and female, from the embrace of marriage; but the spiritual is ministered by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and the Lord, distinguishing it from the carnal, says: Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:5). That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. But lest any man doubt that he can become a son of God and a co-heir of Christ, the evangelist gives an example: that the Son of God Himself deigned to become man and to dwell among men, so that by becoming a sharer in human frailty He might grant men to be sharers in His divine power.
Et verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis. Quod est dicere: Et Filius Dei homo factus est, et inter homines conversatus est. Solet namque Scriptura modo animae, modo carnis vocabulo, totum designare hominem. Animae videlicet, ut scriptum est: Quia descendit Jacob in Aegyptum in animabus septuaginta (Gen. XLVI); carnis vero, ut rursus scriptum est: Et videbit omnis caro salutare Dei (Luc. III). Neque enim vel animae sine corporibus in Aegyptum descendere, vel caro sine anima videre aliquid potest; sed hic per animam totus homo, ibi signatur per carnem. Sic ergo hoc loco quo dicitur: Et Verbum caro factum est, nihil aliud debet intelligi quam si diceretur: Deus homo factus est, carnem videlicet induendo et animam; ut sicut quisque nostrum unus homo constat ex carne et anima, ita unus ab incarnationis tempore Christus ex divinitate carnis [Al., carne] et anima constet: Deus ab aeterno in aeternum existens verus ut erat, hominem ex tempore assumens in unitatem suae personae verum, quem non habuerat. Sequitur:
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us. That is to say: And the Son of God was made man, and lived among men. For Scripture is wont to designate the whole man now by the word soul, now by the word flesh. By soul, as it is written: For Jacob went down into Egypt with seventy souls (Gen. 46:27); by flesh, as again it is written: And all flesh shall see the salvation of God (Luke 3:6). For neither can souls go down into Egypt without bodies, nor can flesh see anything without a soul; but here the whole man is signified by the soul, there by the flesh. So then in this place where it is said: And the Word was made flesh, nothing else should be understood than if it were said: God was made man, that is, by putting on flesh and a soul; so that, just as each of us consists as one man of flesh and soul, so from the time of the incarnation the one Christ consists of divinity, of flesh [Al., flesh] and soul: God existing true, as He was, from eternity to eternity, taking in time into the unity of His person a true man whom He had not had before. There follows:
Et vidimus gloriam ejus, gloriam quasi unigeniti a Patre, plenum gratiae et veritatis. Gloriam Christi quam ante incarnationem videre non poterant homines, post incarnationem viderunt, aspicientes humanitatem miraculis refulgentem, et intelligentes divinitatem intus latitantem, illi maxime qui et ejus claritatem ante passionem transfigurati in monte sancto contemplari meruerunt, voce delapsa ad eum hujuscemodi a magnifica gloria: Hic est Filius meus dilectus, in quo mihi bene complacui (Matth. XVII): et post passionem resurrectionis ascensionisque ipsius gloria conspecta, Spiritus ejus sunt dono mirifice refecti; quibus omnibus manifeste cognoverunt quod hujusmodi gloria non cuilibet sanctorum, sed illi solum homini qui esset in divinitate unigenitus a Patre, conveniret. Quod autem sequitur:
And we saw His glory, the glory as it were of the Only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. The glory of Christ, which men could not see before the incarnation, they saw after the incarnation, beholding His humanity shining with miracles and understanding the divinity hidden within: those above all who were found worthy to contemplate His brightness, transfigured on the holy mountain before the passion, when a voice such as this came down to Him from the magnificent glory: This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matt. 17:5); and who, after the passion, having seen the glory of His resurrection and ascension, were wonderfully refreshed by the gift of His Spirit; by all of which they knew plainly that glory of this kind befitted not any one of the saints, but that man alone who in His divinity was the Only-begotten of the Father. As to what follows:
Plenum gratiae et veritatis. Gratiae plenus erat idem homo Christus Jesus, cui singulari munere prae caeteris mortalibus datum est, ut statim ex quo in utero virginis concipi, et homo fieri inciperet, verus esset et Deus; unde et eadem gloriosa semper virgo Maria non solum hominis Christi, sed et Dei genitrix
Full of grace and truth. Full of grace was that same man Christ Jesus, to whom by a singular gift above all other mortals it was given that from the moment He began to be conceived in the Virgin's womb and to become man, He was also true God; whence the same glorious ever-virgin Mary is rightly to be believed and confessed the mother not only of the man Christ, but also of God.
Editors' notes and page, col. 43
Page
- running head: 43 | BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA.
- marginal letters: A ‹neque ex voluntate viri›; B ‹Et verbum caro factum est›; C ‹nostrum unus homo constat›; D ‹meus dilectus, in quo mihi›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column ends with "geni-" hyphenated; column 44 opens "trix" (visible at the top of the facing column); set whole as "genitrix". "[Al., semine]" and "[Al., carne]" kept as printed. Head truncated at the image edge after "PARS II"; completed from the page's other half.
recte credenda et confitenda est. Idem veritatis plenus erat, et est ipsa videlicet Verbi divinitate, quae hominem illum singulariter electum, cum quo una Christi persona esset, assumere dignata est, non aliquid suae divinae substantiae, ut haeretici volunt, in faciendam hominis naturam commutans; sed ipsa apud Patrem manens, totum quod erat, totam de semine David naturam veri hominis, quam non habebat, suscipiens. Unde oportet, fratres charissimi, ut qui humanam Redemptoris nostri nativitatem hodie annua devotione recolimus, et divinam pariter et humanam ejus naturam non annuo, sed continuo semper amplectamur amore. Divinam, per quam creati sumus, cum non essemus; humanam, per quam recreati sumus, cum perditi essemus. Et quidem divina conditoris nostri virtus, sine assumptione humanitatis nos recreare erat idonea: humana autem ejusdem Redemptoris nostri infirmitas, sine assumente se, et inhabitante in se, et operante per se divinitate, nos recreare nequivit. Atque ideo Verbum caro factum est, id est, Deus homo factus est, et habitavit in nobis, ut per cognitum nobis hominis habitum nobis conversando congruere, nos alloquendo instruere, nobis vivendi viam praebere, pro nobis contra hostem confligere, nostram mortem moriendo ac resurgendo posset destruere: per coaeternam vero Patri divinitatem nos interius vivificando ad divina sustolleret, remissionem nobis peccatorum pariter ac Spiritus sancti dona concederet, et post bonorum perfectionem operum non solum nos ad videndam gloriam clarificatae suae perduceret humanitatis, sed et incommutabilem nobis essentiam suae divinae majestatis ostenderet, in qua vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
The same was full of truth, and is so, namely by the very divinity of the Word, which deigned to take up that man singularly chosen, with whom it should be the one person of Christ, not changing anything of its divine substance into the making of man's nature, as the heretics would have it, but itself abiding with the Father, wholly what it was, and taking up from the seed of David the whole nature of a true man, which it did not have. Hence, dearest brethren, it behoves us, who today recall with yearly devotion the human birth of our Redeemer, to embrace both His divine and His human nature with a love not yearly but continual and unceasing: the divine, through which we were created when we did not exist; the human, through which we were created anew when we were lost. And indeed the divine power of our Maker was able to create us anew without taking up humanity; but the human weakness of the same Redeemer of ours could not create us anew without the divinity taking it up, dwelling in it and working through it. And therefore the Word was made flesh, that is, God was made man, and dwelt among us, so that through the guise of a man known to us He might, by living among us, be suited to us, by speaking to us instruct us, offer us the way of life, fight for us against the enemy, and by dying and rising destroy our death; and through His divinity coeternal with the Father He might, quickening us inwardly, raise us up to divine things, grant us the remission of sins together with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and after the completion of good works not only bring us to see the glory of His glorified humanity, but also show us the unchangeable essence of His divine majesty, in which He lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit for all ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILIA VIII. IN DIE NATALI SANCTI JOANNIS BAPTISTAE. JOAN. XXI. In illo tempore dixit Jesus Petro, Sequere me. Conversus Petrus vidit illum discipulum quem diligebat Jesus, sequentem, qui et recubuit in coena super pectus ejus, et dixit: Domine, quis est qui tradet te? etc.
HOMILY VIII. ON THE FEAST OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST. JOHN 21. At that time Jesus said to Peter, Follow Me. Peter, turning, saw that disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also leaned at the supper on His breast and said: Lord, who is it that will betray Thee? etc.
Lectio sancti Evangelii quae nobis lecta est, fratres mei, tanto majori a nobis intentione debet per singula verba pensari, quanta magna gratiae supernae dulcedine tota redundat. Commendat enim nobis beatissimus evangelista et apostolus Joannes privilegium amoris praecipui, quo caeteris amplius meruit honorari a Domino: commendat testimonium evangelicae descriptionis, quod veritate divina subnixum nullus fidelium dubitare permittitur: commendat placidam suae carnis absolutionem, quam Domino specialiter se visitante percepit. Sed ut perfectae lectionis hujus principia considerare valeamus, libet superiora parumper attendere. Apparuit Dominus post resurrectionem discipulis septem, inter quos erat Petrus et Joannes, quibus frustra in piscando tota nocte laborantibus, et stans in littore copiosa rete eorum piscium multitudine implevit,
The reading of the holy Gospel which has been read to us, my brethren, ought to be weighed by us word by word with attention the greater, the more it overflows wholly with the great sweetness of heavenly grace. For the most blessed evangelist and apostle John commends to us the privilege of special love by which he was found worthy to be honoured by the Lord beyond the rest; he commends the testimony of the Gospel narrative, which, resting on divine truth, no one of the faithful is permitted to doubt; he commends the peaceful release from his flesh, which he received when the Lord visited him in particular. But that we may be able to consider the beginnings of this reading fully, it is good to attend for a little to what goes before. The Lord appeared after the resurrection to seven disciples, among whom were Peter and John; and when they had laboured in vain all night in fishing, He stood on the shore and filled their net abundantly with a multitude of fishes,
Editors' notes and page, col. 44
Page
- running head: [BEDAE VENERABILI]S OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. | 44
- marginal letters: A ‹trix recte credenda›; B ‹dem divina conditoris nostri›; C ‹et post bonorum perfectionem›; D ‹dulcedine tota redundat›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "trix", the end of "genitrix" begun in column 43 (set whole there). The homily title prints BAPTISTAE, but the Gospel (John 21) and the sermon concern John the Evangelist (27 December); set as printed and rendered as printed in English. Homily VIII heading, feast line and Gospel lemma set as one paragraph. Column ends mid-sentence at "implevit,".
moxque egressos ad terram invitavit ad prandium, et inter prandendum tertio Petrum an se amaret, interrogavit; ac tertio amorem confitenti, quia ter eum negaverat, ei tertio pascendas suas oves commisit: ac deinde quia pro earumdem ovium, id est, animarum fidelium cura pastorali usque ad martyrium crucis esset perventurus, intimavit dicens: Amen amen dico tibi, cum esses junior, cingebas te, et ambulabas ubi volebas: cum autem senueris, extendes manus tuas, et alius te cinget et ducet quo non vis. In manuum namque extensione designavit quod per mortem crucis martyrio coronandus; in cinctione alterius, quod vinciendus a persecutore; in ductu quo non vellet, quod tormenta passionis contra voluntatem esset passurus humanae fragilitatis. Sed ne gravis forte videretur Petro praedicta a Domino passio crucis, hanc suo confestim lenire curavit exemplo, ut cruciatum martyrii eo lenius [Al., levius] ferret, quo se meminisset similem suo Redemptori mortis excipere [Al., accipere] sententiam. Postquam enim significavit ei qua morte clarificaturus esset Deum, protinus adjungit quod in hujus capite lectionis audivimus.
and, when they had come out onto land, at once invited them to dine; and while they were dining He asked Peter three times whether he loved Him; and to him who three times confessed his love, because he had three times denied Him, He three times entrusted His sheep to be fed; and then, since for the pastoral care of those same sheep, that is, of the souls of the faithful, he was to come even to the martyrdom of the cross, He made it known, saying: Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger you girded yourself and walked where you would; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and lead you where you do not wish. For by the stretching out of the hands He signified that he was to be crowned with martyrdom through the death of the cross; by the girding by another, that he was to be bound by the persecutor; by being led where he would not, that he was to suffer the torments of the passion against the will of human frailty. But lest the passion of the cross foretold by the Lord should perhaps seem heavy to Peter, He took care at once to soften it by His own example, so that he might bear the torment of martyrdom the more gently [Al., lightly] for remembering that he was receiving [Al., accepting] a sentence of death like that of his Redeemer. For after He had signified to him by what death he would glorify God, He at once adds what we have heard at the head of this reading.
Et dicit ei: Sequere me. Ac si aperte dicat: Quia ipse prius pro tua redemptione crucis supplicium subire non timui, cur tu pro mei confessione nominis crucem pati formides? Qui eo gloriosiore martyrii palma clarificaberis, quod in hac promerenda magistri iter sequeris. Jam vero ab evangelista non subditur quid post haec dicta Dominus et discipuli fecerint, sed ex eo tamen innuitur quod subjungit, Conversus Petrus vidit illum discipulum quem diligebat Jesus, sequentem. Patet namque quia cum dixisset Petro, Sequere me, id est, crucem patiendo imitare, surrexit de loco convivii, et abire jam coepit. Secutus est autem eum Petrus etiam incessu pedum, cupiens implere quod audivit, Sequere me. Secutus est et ille discipulus quem diligebat Jesus. Neque enim arcendum se a consectatu Christi putabat, qui non minori se gratia dilectionis a Christo complexum noverat. Neque incredibile est ideo utrumque discipulum corporali gressu vestigia Domini secutum, quia necdum intellexerat quid significaverit in eo quod Petrum [Al., Petro] se sequi praecepit. Notum autem novi vestrae fraternitati qui sit ille discipulus quem diligebat Jesus, Joannes videlicet ipse, cujus hodie natalitia festa celebramus, qui hoc scripsit Evangelium, atque ideo suam personam maluit indiciis rerum accidentium, quam proprio designare vocabulo. Diligebat autem eum Jesus non exceptis caeteris singulariter solum, sed prae caeteris quos diligebat familiarius unum, quem specialis praerogativa castitatis ampliori dilectione fecerat dignum. Omnes quippe se diligere probat, quibus ante passionem loquitur: Sicut dilexit me Pater, et ego dilexi vos. Manete in dilectione mea (Joan. XV). Sed hunc prae omnibus diligit qui, virgo electus ab ipso, virgo in aevum permansit. Tradunt namque historiae quod eum de nuptiis volentem nubere vocaverit; et propterea quem a
And He says to him: Follow Me. As if He said openly: Since I Myself first did not fear to undergo the punishment of the cross for your redemption, why should you dread to suffer the cross for the confession of My name? You will be glorified with the palm of martyrdom the more gloriously, in that in earning it you follow the path of your Master. Now the evangelist does not add what the Lord and the disciples did after these words, but it is nevertheless hinted by what he subjoins: Peter, turning, saw that disciple whom Jesus loved following. For it is plain that when He had said to Peter, Follow Me, that is, imitate Me by suffering the cross, He rose from the place of the meal and was already beginning to go away. And Peter followed Him even with the steps of his feet, desiring to fulfil what he had heard, Follow Me. That disciple whom Jesus loved followed too. For he did not think he should be kept from following Christ, knowing himself embraced by Christ with no less grace of love. Nor is it incredible that both disciples followed the Lord's footsteps with bodily steps for this reason, that he had not yet understood what He meant in commanding Peter [Al., to Peter] to follow Him. Now I know it is known to your fraternity who that disciple is whom Jesus loved, namely John himself, whose birthday feast we celebrate today, who wrote this Gospel, and therefore chose to indicate his own person by the signs of what happened rather than by his own name. And Jesus loved him, not singly alone with the others excluded, but as the one whom, above the others whom He loved, He loved more intimately, whom the special prerogative of chastity had made worthy of a fuller love. For He shows that He loves all those to whom He speaks before the passion: As the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you. Abide in My love (John 15:9). But He loves this one above all, who, chosen by Him a virgin, remained a virgin for ever. For the histories relate that He called him from his wedding when he wished to marry; and therefore him whom
Editors' notes and page, col. 45
Page
- running head: 45 | SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. [HOM. GENUINAE.]
- marginal letters: A ‹moxque egressos ad terram›; B ‹Sed ne gravis forte›; C ‹rint, sed ex eo tamen›; D ‹vi vestrae fraternitati›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "intellexerat" printed singular with "utrumque discipulum"; set as printed. Bracketed variants [Al., levius], [Al., accipere], [Al., Petro] kept as printed. Column ends mid-sentence at "quem a".
carnali voluptate retraxerit, potiore sui amoris dulcedine donavit. Denique huic moriturus in cruce matrem suam commendavit, ut virginem virgo servaret, et ipso post mortem ac resurrectionem in coelos ascendente, non deesset ejus genitrici filius, cujus casta vita castis ejus tueretur obsequiis. Ponit et aliud suae personae beatus Joannes indicium, subjungens: Qui et recubuit in coena super pectus ejus, et dixit, Domine, quis est qui tradet te? Hoc quomodo gestum sit, superiora hujus Evangelii loca plenius ostendunt; quia videlicet in coena, quam ultimam ante passionem cum discipulis Salvator habuit, in qua eorum pedes lavit, eisque corporis ac sanguinis sui tradidit mysteria celebranda, discipulus ille quem diligebat supra pectus ejus recubuerit. Et cum dixisset eis, Amen amen dico vobis quia unus ex vobis tradet me, respondit ille discipulus, innuen⟨t⟩e Petro ut interrogaret et diceret ei, Domine, quis est? Ait [Al., At] Dominus, Ille est [Al. add. inquit] cui ego intinctum panem porrexero. Quod autem discipulus ille supra pectus magistri recubuit, non praesentis solummodo dilectionis, sed et futuri erat signum mysterii. Figurabatur etenim jam tunc Evangelium quod idem discipulus erat scripturus, uberius atque altius caeteris sacrae Scripturae paginis arcana divinae majestatis esse comprehensurum. Quia enim in pectore Jesu sunt omnes thesauri sapientiae et scientiae absconditi, merito supra pectus ejus recubat quem majore caeteris sapientiae et scientiae singularis munere donat. Caeteros quippe evangelistas novimus plura de miraculis nostri Salvatoris, pauciora de divinitate locutos: Joannes autem perpauca de humanis scribens actibus, potius se exponendis divinae naturae indidit arcanis, patenter insinuans quanta de pectore Jesu fluenta doctrinae coelestis, quae nobis ructaret hauserit. Sequitur:
He drew back from carnal pleasure He endowed with the higher sweetness of His love. Lastly, when about to die on the cross, He commended His mother to him, that a virgin might keep a virgin, and that, when He Himself had ascended into heaven after His death and resurrection, His mother should not lack a son whose chaste services would protect her chaste life. Blessed John gives yet another sign of his person, adding: Who also leaned at the supper on His breast, and said, Lord, who is it that will betray Thee? How this was done, earlier places of this Gospel show more fully: namely that at the supper which the Saviour had with His disciples last before the passion, at which He washed their feet and handed on to them the mysteries of His body and blood to be celebrated, that disciple whom He loved leaned upon His breast. And when He had said to them, Amen, amen, I say to you, that one of you will betray Me, that disciple, at Peter's beckoning that he should ask Him, said to Him, Lord, who is it? The Lord says [Al., But the Lord], It is he [Al. adds: He says] to whom I shall hand the bread I have dipped. That this disciple leaned on his Master's breast was a sign not only of present love but also of a mystery to come. For even then it was prefigured that the Gospel which the same disciple was to write would contain the secrets of the divine majesty more richly and more deeply than the other pages of sacred Scripture. For since in the breast of Jesus are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, rightly does he lean upon His breast whom He endows with a singular gift of wisdom and knowledge greater than the rest. For we know that the other evangelists spoke more of the miracles of our Saviour and less of His divinity; but John, writing very little of His human acts, gave himself rather to setting forth the secrets of the divine nature, plainly suggesting how great were the streams of heavenly doctrine he drew from the breast of Jesus, to pour forth to us. There follows:
Hunc ergo cum vidisset Petrus, dicit Jesu, Domine, hic autem quid? Quia se beatus Petrus audierat per passionem crucis clarificaturum esse Deum, voluit etiam de fratre et condiscipulo cognoscere qua esset ipse morte perpetuam transiturus ad vitam.
Peter therefore, seeing him, says to Jesus, Lord, and what of this man? Since blessed Peter had heard that he would glorify God through the passion of the cross, he wished to learn also of his brother and fellow disciple by what death he himself would pass to everlasting life.
Dicit ei Jesus, Sic [Al., Si] eum volo manere donec veniam; quid ad te? Tu me sequere. Non, inquit, eum per passionem martyrii volo consummari, sed absque violentia persecutoris diem exspectare novissimum, quando ipse veniens eum in aeternae beatitudinis mansione recipiam. Et quid hoc ad te? Tu tantum crucis patibulum subeundo mea te vestigia sequi debere memento. Et quidem hanc Domini responsionem fratres tunc temporis ita tractabant, quasi Joannes nunquam esset moriturus. Quod non ita esse intelligendum ipse Joannes admonere curavit, qui cum praemisisset exisse sermonem istum inter fratres, quia discipulus ille non moritur, solerter adjecit atque ait: Et non dixit ei Jesus, quia non moritur, sed, sic [Al., si] eum volo manere donec veniam; quid ad te? Non ergo pu⟨t⟩andum quia discipulus ille non sit mortuus in carne, quia nec Dominus hoc de illo futurum praedixit, et Psalmista ait: Quis est
Jesus says to him, So [Al., If] I will him to remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow Me. I do not will, He says, that he be consummated through the passion of martyrdom, but that without the persecutor's violence he await the last day, when I Myself, coming, shall receive him into the dwelling of eternal blessedness. And what is this to you? Only remember that you must follow My footsteps by undergoing the gibbet of the cross. And indeed the brethren at that time took this answer of the Lord as though John were never to die. That it is not to be so understood John himself took care to warn: for having first stated that this saying went out among the brethren, that that disciple does not die, he carefully added and said: Yet Jesus did not say to him that he does not die, but, So [Al., If] I will him to remain until I come, what is that to you? It is not therefore to be thought that that disciple did not die in the flesh, since the Lord did not foretell this of him, and the Psalmist says: Who is
Editors' notes and page, col. 46
Page
- running head: [SECT. I. HOMI]LIAE. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINAE. | 46
- marginal letters: A ‹carnali voluptate retraxerit›; B ‹eis, Amen amen dico vobis›; C ‹nere donat. Caeteros quippe›; D ‹violentia persecutoris diem›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "innuen⟨t⟩e" and "pu⟨t⟩andum": the t is lost in the type (gap); supplied in angle brackets. Bracketed variants [Al., At], [Al. add. inquit], [Al., Si], [Al., si] kept as printed. Column ends mid-sentence at "Quis est".
homo qui vivit, et non videbit mortem? (Psalm. LXXXVIII.) Sed ita potius intelligendum quod, caeteris Christi discipulis per passionem consummatis, ipse in pace Ecclesiae adventum vocationis exspectaverit. Et hoc est quod ait Dominus: Sic eum volo manere donec veniam, non quia non et ipse multos antea labores pro Domino pressurasque malorum toleraverit, sed quia ultimum in pace senium finierit, utpote Ecclesiis Christi per Asiam quam regebat jam longe lateque fundatis. Nam et in Actibus apostolorum cum caeteris apostolis flagellatus invenitur, quando ibant gaudentes a conspectu concilii, quoniam digni habiti sunt pro nomine Jesu contumeliam pati. Et a Domitiano Caesare in ferventis olei dolium missus, in ecclesiastica narratur historia, ex quo tamen divina se protegente gratia tam intactus exierit, quam fuerat a corruptione concupiscentiae carnalis extraneus. Nec multo post ab eodem principe propter insuperabilem evangelizandi constantiam in Pathmos insulam exsilio relegatur, ubi humano licet destitutus solatio, divinae tamen visionis et allocutionis meruit crebra consolatione revelari: denique ibidem Apocalypsim, quam ei Dominus de statu Ecclesiae praesenti vel futuro revelavit, manu sua conscribit [Al., conscripsit]. Unde constat promissionem sic manendi donec veniret Dominus, non eo pertinere quod sine labore certaminis victurus in mundo, sed illo potius quam sine dolore passionis transiturus esset e mundo. Sicut enim in Patrum litteris invenimus, cum longo confectus senio sciret imminere diem recessus sui, convocatis discipulis suis, post monita exhortationum ac missarum celebrationem, ultimum eis valefecit: deinde descendens in defossum sepulturae suae locum, facta oratione appositus est ad patres suos, tam liber a dolore mortis, quam a corruptione carnis invenitur alienus. Atque ita completa est veridica [Al. add. illa] Salvatoris sententia, quia sic eum voluerit manere donec ipse veniret. Possumus autem mystice in his quae Petro et Joanni a Domino praedicta atque in eis sunt gesta, duas Ecclesiae vitas quibus in praesenti exercetur, activam scilicet et contemplativam, designatas accipere, quarum activa communis populo Dei via vivendi est. Ad contemplativam vero perpauci, et in hoc sublimiores quique post resurrectionem [Al., perfectionem] piae actionis ascendunt. Activa quippe vita est studiosum Christi famulum justis insistere laboribus, et prius quidem seipsum ab hoc saeculo immaculatum custodire, mentem, manum, linguam, ac membra corporis caetera ab omni inquinamento culpae tentantis continere, ac divinis perpetuo subjugare servitiis. Deinde etiam proximi necessitatibus juxta vires occurrere [Al., succurrere], esurienti cibum, potum sitienti, algenti vestitum ministrando, egenos vagosque in domum recipiendo, infirmum visitando, mortuum sepeliendo, eripiendo inopem de manu fortioris ejus, egenum et pauperem a rapientibus eum; sed et erranti viam veritatis ostendendo, ac caeteris se mancipando fraternae dilectionis
man that shall live, and shall not see death? (Ps. 88:49). But it should rather be understood thus: that, when the other disciples of Christ had been consummated through the passion, he himself awaited the coming of his call in the peace of the Church. And this is what the Lord says: So I will him to remain until I come; not that he too did not endure many labours beforehand for the Lord, and the pressures of evils, but that he ended his last old age in peace, the Churches of Christ throughout Asia, which he governed, being by then founded far and wide. For in the Acts of the Apostles he is found to have been scourged with the other apostles, when they went rejoicing from the presence of the council, because they had been counted worthy to suffer insult for the name of Jesus. And by Domitian Caesar he was put into a vat of boiling oil, as is told in the ecclesiastical history; yet, divine grace protecting him, he came out of it as untouched as he had been a stranger to the corruption of carnal concupiscence. Not long after, he was banished into exile on the island of Patmos by the same emperor because of his invincible constancy in preaching the Gospel; and there, though deprived of human comfort, he was found worthy to be raised up by the frequent consolation of divine vision and converse: indeed it was there that he wrote down with his own hand [Al., wrote] the Apocalypse, which the Lord revealed to him concerning the present and future state of the Church. Hence it is clear that the promise of so remaining until the Lord should come does not refer to his being destined to live in the world without the labour of conflict, but rather to his being destined to pass out of the world without the pain of suffering. For, as we find in the writings of the Fathers, when, worn out by long old age, he knew that the day of his departure was at hand, he called his disciples together, and after words of exhortation and the celebration of Masses, bade them a last farewell; then, going down into the place dug out for his burial, having made his prayer, he was gathered to his fathers, found as free from the pain of death as he was a stranger to the corruption of the flesh. And so was fulfilled that truthful saying [Al. adds: that] of the Saviour, that He willed him so to remain until He Himself should come. Mystically, however, we may take what was foretold by the Lord to Peter and John, and what was done in them, as signifying the two lives of the Church in which she is exercised in the present, namely the active and the contemplative, of which the active is the common way of life for the people of God. To the contemplative very few ascend, and these the more sublime, after the resurrection [Al., perfection] of devout action. For the active life is for the zealous servant of Christ to apply himself to just labours: first indeed to keep himself unspotted from this world, to restrain mind, hand, tongue and the other members of the body from all defilement of tempting sin, and to subject them perpetually to the divine services; then also to meet [Al., succour] the needs of his neighbour according to his strength, by ministering food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, clothing to the cold, by receiving the needy and the wanderers into his house, by visiting the sick, burying the dead, delivering the poor man from the hand of him that is stronger, the needy and the poor from those who rob him; and also by showing the way of truth to the one who strays, and by devoting himself to others in the services of brotherly love;
Editors' notes and page, col. 47
Page
- running head: 47 | BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS I[II. — PARAENETICA.]
- marginal letters: A ‹homo qui vivit, et non›; B ‹se protegente gratia›; C ‹convocatis discipulis suis›; D ‹Activa quippe vita est›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
obsequiis, insuper et usque ad mortem pro justitia certando [Al., decertando]. Contemplativa autem vita est, cum longo quis bonae actionis exercitio edoctus, diutinae orationis dulcedine instructus, crebra lacrymarum compunctione assuefactus, a cunctis mundi negotiis vacare, et in sola dilectione oculum mentis intendere didicerit, gaudiumque perpetuae beatitudinis quod in futuro percepturus est, vita etiam in praesenti coeperit ardenter desiderando praegustare, et aliquando etiam, in quantum mortalibus fas est, in excessu mentis speculando sublimiter evolare. Haec autem vita divinae speculationis illos maxime recipit qui post longa monasticae rudimenta virtutis secreti ab hominibus degere norunt, eo liberiorem ad coelestia meditanda animum habentes, quo a terrenis separantur tumultibus. Namque activa non solis in coenobio monachis, sed et cuncto, ut diximus, populo Dei generaliter ingredienda proponitur. Et quidem utrumque apostolum, et Petrum videlicet et Joannem, quamvis inter homines positum, pro excellentis culmine gratiae constet in utraque vita fuisse perfectum, attamen una vita per Petrum, alia designatur per Joannem. In eo etenim quod ait Petro Dominus, Extendes manus tuas, et alius te cinget et ducet quo non vis, perfectionem exprimit activae conversationis, quae tentationum solet igne probari. Unde alibi de ea dicit apertius: Beati qui persecutionem patiuntur propter justitiam. Cui recte subjungit, dicens: Sequere me, quia nimirum juxta ejusdem Petri v⟨o⟩cem Christus passus est pro nobis, relinquens nobis exemplum, ut sequamur vestigia ejus. Quod autem dicit de Joanne, Sic eum volo manere donec venio, statum contemplativae virtutis insinuat, quae non per mortem finienda ut activa, sed per [Al., post] mortem est perfectius Domino veniente complenda. Activus namque labor cum morte deficit, mercedem post mortem accepturus aeternam. Quis enim in illa vita panem esurienti dat, ubi nemo esurit? quis aquam sitienti, ubi nemo sitit? quis mortuum sepelit, ubi terra viventium est? quis caetera opera misericordiae exercet, ubi nullus miser invenitur? Actionis ergo ibi labor nullus, sed solus praeteritae actionis perpetuus remanet fructus. Speculativa autem felicitas, quae hic inchoatur, illic sine fine perficitur, quando et supernorum civium et ipsius Domini praesentia non per speculum et in aenigmate, sicut nunc, sed facie ad faciem videbitur. Unde recte de ea sub typo discipuli quem diligebat, quemque supra pectus suum fecit discumbere, dicit Dominus: Sic eum volo manere donec venio. Ac si aperte dicat: Nolo gustum speculativae suavitatis, quam maxime in sanctis meis diligo, sperantibus in protectione alarum mearum, inebriatis ab ubertate domus meae, sicut laboriosae usum actionis lethi conditione finiri, sed post mortem sublimius me apparente, atque in meae conspectum majestatis illos perducente perfici. Sequitur:
and moreover by striving [Al., contending] even to death for justice. But the contemplative life is when someone, taught by long exercise in good action, schooled by the sweetness of prolonged prayer, accustomed to the frequent compunction of tears, has learned to be free of all the business of the world and to fix the eye of the mind on love alone, and has begun, by ardent desire, to foretaste even in the present life the joy of everlasting blessedness which he is to receive in the future, and sometimes even, so far as is permitted to mortals, to fly aloft in contemplation in ecstasy of mind. This life of divine contemplation receives above all those who, after long rudiments of monastic virtue, know how to live apart from men, having a mind the freer to meditate on heavenly things the more they are separated from earthly tumults. For the active life is set forth to be entered not only by monks in the monastery but, as we have said, by the whole people of God in general. And indeed it is certain that both apostles, namely Peter and John, though placed among men, were perfect in both lives by the height of their surpassing grace; yet the one life is signified by Peter, the other by John. For in what the Lord says to Peter, You will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and lead you where you do not wish, He expresses the perfection of the active way of life, which is wont to be proved by the fire of temptations. Hence elsewhere He speaks of it more openly: Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice' sake. To which He rightly adds, saying: Follow Me, since, as the same Peter says, Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow His steps. But what He says of John, So I will him to remain until I come, suggests the state of contemplative virtue, which is not to be ended by death like the active, but is to be completed more perfectly through [Al., after] death, when the Lord comes. For active labour fails with death, to receive an eternal reward after death. For who in that life gives bread to the hungry, where no one hungers? who gives water to the thirsty, where no one thirsts? who buries the dead, where it is the land of the living? who performs the other works of mercy, where no one wretched is found? There, then, there is no labour of action, but only the perpetual fruit of past action remains. But the happiness of contemplation, which is begun here, is perfected there without end, when the presence both of the heavenly citizens and of the Lord Himself will be seen, not through a glass and in a riddle, as now, but face to face. Hence rightly does the Lord say of it, under the figure of the disciple whom He loved and made to recline upon His breast: So I will him to remain until I come. As if He said openly: I do not will that the taste of contemplative sweetness, which I love most in My saints who hope under the protection of My wings and are inebriated with the plenty of My house, should be ended by the condition of death, as is the exercise of laborious action; but that it should be perfected after death, when I appear more sublimely and lead them into the sight of My majesty. There follows:
Hic est discipulus ille qui testimonium perhibet de
This is that disciple who bears witness concerning
Editors' notes and page, col. 48
Footnotes
(a) ‹anchor: "ubertate domus meae,"› · call in col 48
Cod. bibl. Arsen. Paris. add.: et torrente voluptatis meae potatis.
The codex of the Arsenal Library, Paris, adds: and given drink from the torrent of my delight.
(printed under page 28)
Page
- running head: [BEDAE VENERABILI]S OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. | 48
- marginal letters: A ‹lectionis obsequiis›; B ‹renis separantur tumultibus›; C ‹nobis exemplum, ut sequamur›; D ‹Domini praesentia non per speculum›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
his, et scripsit haec. Et scimus quia verum est testimonium ejus. Jam manifeste beatus Joannes suam personam designat ex officio, quam designare vitat ex vocabulo. Non autem praetereunter intuendum quod dicitur, Qui testimonium perhibet de his, et scripsit haec. Perhibuit quippe testimonium verbo Dei praedicando, perhibuit scribendo, perhibuit denuo eadem quae scripserat docendo: perhibet etiam nunc Evangelium, quod descripsit Ecclesiis legendum, pandendo. Siquidem a tempore Dominicae passionis, resurrectionis et ascensionis in coelum usque ad ultima Domitiani principis tempora, per annos circiter sexaginta quinque, absque ullo scribendi adminiculo verbum Dei praedicabat. At ubi a Domitiano, qui secundus post Neronem Christianorum persecutor exstitit, in exsilium missus est, irrumpentes in Ecclesiam haeretici, quasi in destituta pastore ovilia lupi, Marcion, et Cerinthus, et Hebion, caeterique Antichristi, qui Christum fuisse ante Mariam negabant, simplicitatem fidei evangelicae perversa maculavere doctrina. Sed dum ipse, post occisionem Domitiani, permittente pio principe Nerva, rediret Ephesum, compulsus est ab omnibus pene tunc Asiae episcopis, et multarum Ecclesiarum legationibus de coaeterna Patri divinitate Christi altius facere sermonem, eo quod in trium evangelistarum scriptis, Matthaei videlicet, Marci et Lucae, de humanitate ejus ac de his quae per hominem gessit, sufficiens sibi viderentur habere testimonium. Quod ille se non aliter facturum respondit, nisi indicto jejunio omnes in commune Dominum precarentur, ut ille digna scribere posset. Et hoc patrato instructus revelatione, ac sancti Spiritus gratia inebriatus, omnes haereticorum tenebras patefactae subito veritatis luce dispulit. In principio, inquiens, erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum. Similemque initiis totum sui sermonis circum [Al, cursum] faciens, Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum sicut verum hominem, vere ex homine temporaliter factum, ita etiam verum Deum, vere ex Deo Patre aeternaliter natum, vere cum Patre, et cum Spiritu sancto semper existentem clarissima assertione perdocuit, imo omnia divinae veritatis et verae divinitatis, quantum alteri mortalium nulli licuit, arcana reseravit. Et hoc virgini privilegium recte servabatur, ut ad scrutanda Verbi incorruptibilis sacramenta incorrupto ipse non solum corde sed et corpore proderet. De cujus dictorum veritate quam sit nemini ambigendum ipse quoque curavit ostendere, qui cum dixisset, Hic est discipulus qui testimonium perhibet de his, et scripsit haec, continuo subjecit, et ait: Et scimus quia verum est testimonium ejus. Quia ergo et nos cum caeteris fidelibus scimus verum esse testimonium ejus, curemus per omnia recta fide intelligendo, recta operatione exercendo quae docuit, ad dona sempiterna quae promisit pervenire, per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, qui vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
these things, and has written these things. And we know that his testimony is true (John 21:24). Here blessed John plainly indicates his own person by his office, while he avoids indicating it by his name. Nor should we look past in passing what is said: Who bears testimony about these things, and has written these things. For he bore testimony by preaching the word of God; he bore it by writing; he bore it again by teaching the same things that he had written; and he bears it even now by laying open the Gospel which he wrote down to be read in the Churches. For indeed, from the time of the Lord's passion, resurrection and ascension into heaven until the last times of the emperor Domitian, for about sixty-five years, he preached the word of God without any aid of writing. But when he was sent into exile by Domitian, who was the second persecutor of the Christians after Nero, heretics broke into the Church like wolves into sheepfolds bereft of their shepherd, Marcion and Cerinthus and Ebion and the other Antichrists who denied that Christ existed before Mary, and they stained the simplicity of the Gospel faith with perverse doctrine. But when he returned to Ephesus after the killing of Domitian, by permission of the pious emperor Nerva, he was urged by almost all the bishops of Asia at that time, and by delegations from many Churches, to speak more deeply about the divinity of Christ, co-eternal with the Father, because in the writings of the three evangelists, namely Matthew, Mark and Luke, they seemed to have sufficient testimony about His humanity and about the things He did as man. He replied that he would not do it unless a fast were proclaimed and all prayed to the Lord in common, so that he might be able to write things worthy. And when this was done, instructed by revelation and inebriated with the grace of the Holy Spirit, he dispelled all the darkness of the heretics with the light of the truth suddenly laid open. In the beginning, he says, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). And making the whole circuit [variant: course] of his discourse like its beginnings, he taught with the clearest assertion that our Lord Jesus Christ, just as He is true man, truly made in time from a human being, so also is true God, truly born eternally of God the Father, truly existing always with the Father and with the Holy Spirit; indeed, he unlocked all the secrets of divine truth and true divinity, as far as was permitted to no other mortal. And this privilege was rightly kept for the virgin, that, to search out the mysteries of the incorruptible Word, he himself should bring them forth incorrupt not only in heart but also in body. And how none should doubt the truth of his words he himself also took care to show: when he had said, This is the disciple who bears testimony about these things, and has written these things, he at once added, and said: And we know that his testimony is true. Since therefore we too, with the rest of the faithful, know that his testimony is true, let us take care, by understanding with right faith in all things and by practising with right action what he taught, to attain the everlasting gifts which he promised, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit for all ages of ages. Amen.
Editors' notes and page, col. 49
Page
- running head: 49 SECT. I. HOMILIÆ. — LIB. I. (cut at the image edge; continues over column 50)
- marginal letters: A ‹his, et scripsit hæc. Et scimus›; B ‹stitit, in exsilium missus est›; C ‹mune Dominum precarentur›; D ‹tanda Verbi incorruptibilis›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens mid-sentence (end of John 21:24 quotation); variant printed as "[ Al , cursum ]", the abbreviation point not visible; D sits between "hoc virgini privilegium" and "tanda Verbi" lines, placement UNSURE; homily ends in this column, the next homily's heading is in column 50
HOMILIA IX. IN DIE FESTO INNOCENTIUM. MATTH. II. In illo tempore angelus Domini apparuit in somnis Joseph, dicens: Surge et accipe puerum et matrem ejus, et fuge in Aegyptum, et esto ibi usque dum dicam tibi, etc.
HOMILY IX. ON THE FEAST DAY OF THE INNOCENTS. MATTHEW 2. At that time an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: Arise and take the child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be there until I tell you, etc. (Matt. 2:13).
De morte pretiosa martyrum Christi innocentium sacra nobis est, fratres charissimi, Evangelii lectio recitata, in qua tamen omnium Christi martyrum pretiosa mors est designata. Quod enim parvuli occisi sunt, significat per humilitatis meritum ad martyrii perveniendum gloriam, et quia nisi conversus fuerit quis, et effectus ut parvulus, non possit animam dare pro Christo. Quod in Bethleem et in omnibus finibus ejus occisi sunt, ostendit non solum in Judaea, unde Ecclesiae coepit origo, sed et in omnibus ejusdem Ecclesiae finibus quacunque per orbem diffusa est, persecutionem saevituram perfidorum, et piorum patientiam esse coronandam. Qui a bimatu occisi sunt, doctrina et operatione perfectos indicant; qui vero infra, simplices vel idiotas, fidei tamen non fictae constantia fortes aeque denuntiant. Quod illi quidem occisi sunt, sed Christus qui quaerebatur vivens evasit, insinuat corpora quidem [Al. add. martyrum] ab impiis posse perimi, sed Christum pro quo persecutio tota saevit, nullatenus eis vel viventibus vel occisis posse auferri, sed eos veraciter contestari, quia sive vivimus, Domino vivimus, sive morimur, Domino morimur. Sive enim vivimus sive morimur, Domini sumus. Quod juxta vaticinium Jeremiae: Vox in Rama, id est in excelso, audita est ploratus et ululatus (Jer. XXXI), manifeste denuntiat luctum sanctae Ecclesiae, quae de injusta membrorum suorum nece gemit, non ut hostes garriunt in vacuum cedere, sed usque ad solium ascendere superni judicis; et sicut protomartyris Abel, ita etiam sanguinem caeterorum martyrum de terra clamare ad Dominum, juxta illud viri sapientis: Non despicies preces pupilli, nec viduam, si effundat loquelam gemitus. Nonne lacrymae viduae ad maxillam descendunt, et exclamatio ejus super deducentem eas? A maxilla enim ascendunt usque ad coelum, et Dominus exauditor non ⟨d⟩e⟨l⟩ectabitur in illis (Eccli. XXXV). Quod Rachel plorasse dicitur filios suos, nec voluisse consolari, quia non sunt, significat Ecclesiam plorare quidem sanctorum de hoc saeculo ablationem, sed non ita velle consolari ut qui saeculum morte vicerunt, rursus ad saeculi certamina secum toleranda redeant, quia nimirum non sunt ultra revocandi in mundum, de cujus aerumnis semel evaserunt coronandi ad Christum. Rachel namque, quae ovis aut videns Deum dicitur, Ecclesiam figurate demonstrat, cujus tota intentio ut videre Deum mereatur, invigilat. Et ipsa est ovis centesima, quam pastor bonus relictis in coelo nonaginta novem ovibus angelicarum virtutum, abiit quaerere in terra, inventamque suis humeris imposuit, et sic reportavit ad gregem. Quaeritur autem juxta litteram quomodo Rachel plorasse dicitur filios suos, cum tribus Juda⟨e⟩ quae Bethleem tenebat, non de Rachel, sed de sorore
The holy reading of the Gospel, dearly beloved brethren, has been recited to us about the precious death of Christ's innocent martyrs, and yet in it the precious death of all Christ's martyrs is signified. For that little ones were killed signifies that it is through the merit of humility that one comes to the glory of martyrdom, and that unless someone has been converted and made like a little one, he cannot give his life for Christ (cf. Matt. 18:3). That they were killed in Bethlehem and in all its borders shows that not only in Judaea, where the Church had its origin, but also in all the borders of the same Church, wherever it is spread through the world, the persecution of the faithless would rage, and the patience of the godly would be crowned. Those killed from two years old signify those perfect in doctrine and in practice; but those below that age signify the simple or unlettered, who are nonetheless equally strong in the constancy of an unfeigned faith. That they indeed were killed, while Christ, Who was being sought, escaped alive, intimates that bodies [variant adds: of martyrs] can indeed be destroyed by the ungodly, but that Christ, for Whom the whole persecution rages, can in no way be taken from them, whether living or slain; rather, they truly bear witness that whether we live, we live to the Lord, or whether we die, we die to the Lord. For whether we live or die, we are the Lord's (Rom. 14:8). That, according to Jeremiah's prophecy, A voice in Rama, that is, on high, was heard, of weeping and wailing (Jer. 31:15), plainly declares the grief of holy Church, which groans over the unjust slaughter of her members, a grief that does not fall into emptiness, as her enemies chatter, but ascends right up to the throne of the Judge on high; and that, as the blood of Abel the first martyr, so also the blood of the other martyrs cries to the Lord from the earth, according to that saying of the wise man: You will not despise the prayers of the orphan, nor the widow, if she pours out the speech of her groaning. Do not the tears of the widow run down her cheek, and her cry against him who causes them to fall? For from the cheek they go up even to heaven, and the Lord, the hearer, will not take delight in them (Sir. 35:17–19). That Rachel is said to have wept for her children and not to have wished to be consoled, because they are not, signifies that the Church indeed weeps for the taking away of the saints from this world, but does not wish to be consoled in such a way that those who have conquered the world by death should return again to bear with her the contests of the world, because surely they are not to be called back into the world, from whose hardships they have once escaped to be crowned with Christ. For Rachel, whose name means sheep or seeing God, figuratively shows forth the Church, whose whole effort keeps watch that she may be found worthy to see God. And she is the hundredth sheep, which the good Shepherd, leaving in heaven the ninety-nine sheep of the angelic powers, went to seek on earth, and when He had found it He laid it on His shoulders, and so carried it back to the flock (cf. Luke 15:4–5). But it is asked, according to the letter, how Rachel is said to have wept for her children, since the tribe of Judah, which held Bethlehem, [was descended] not from Rachel but from her sister
Editors' notes and page, col. 50
Page
- running head: SECT. I. HOMILIÆ. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINÆ. 50 (left part of the head over column 49)
- marginal letters: A ‹HOMILIA IX.›; B ‹nibus ejusdem Ecclesiæ›; C ‹vaticinium Jeremiæ›; D ‹plorare quidem sanctorum›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "delectabitur" printed with damaged d and l (reads like "aeiectabitur"); "Judæ" at line end shows only "Juda" plus a broken mark, set Juda⟨e⟩, UNSURE whether a comma follows; column ends "sed de sorore", which looks like a complete word, but the next column was not seen
ejus Lia fuerat orta. Ubi tamen †facilis patet responsio, quia non tantum in Bethleem, verum etiam in omnibus finibus ejus pueri sunt omnes trucidati. Tribus autem Benjamin, quae de Rachel orta est, proxima fuit tribui Judae. Unde merito credi debet quod plaga crudelissimae necis non paucos etiam Benjaminaeae stirpis pueros involverit, quos progenies Rachel elata in excelsum voce ploraverit. Potest et aliter intelligi quia Rachel juxta Bethleem sepulta est, sicut titulus monumenti ejus manens usque hodie testatur, ad occidentem civitatis, ultra viam quae ducit Hebron: quod ea quae in loco eodem agebantur, ipsa egisse prophetico locutionis modo recte dicatur, cujus corpore et nomine locus ipse fuerat insignis. Quod Dominus ipse ne occideretur ab Herode sublatus est a parentibus in Aegyptum, significat electos saepius malorum improbitate suis effugandos [Al. add. e] sedibus, vel etiam exsilio damnandos. Ubi simul exemplum datur fidelibus, ne dubitent rabiem persequentium, ubi opportunum fuerit, declinare fugiendo, cum hoc Deum ac Dominum suum fecisse meminerint. Si quidem ipse qui erat suis praecepturus, Cum vos persecuti fuerint in civitate ista, fugite in aliam, prius fecit quod praecepit fugiendo hominem, quasi homo in terra, quem magis paulo ante monstravit stella de coelo. Quod occisis pro Domino pueris Herodes non longe post obiit, et Joseph monente angelo Dominum cum matre ad terram Israel reduxit, significat omnes persecutiones quae contra Ecclesiam erant movendae ipsorum persecutorum morte vindicandas, eisdemque mulctatis persecutoribus pacem Ecclesiae denuo reddendam, et sanctos qui latuerant ad sua loca fuisse reversuros. Herodes quoque in diabolo fremit, et auferri sibi iniquitatis suae regnum in his qui ad Christum transeunt ingemiscit. Unde si parvulos interficiat, Jesum sibi videtur occidere. Quod utique sine cessatione molitur, dum primordiis renatorum Spiritum sanctum arripere, et quamdam tenerae fidei infantiam tentat exstinguere. Possumus quoque odium Herodis quo perdere Jesum voluit, super persecutionibus quae apostolorum sunt temporibus factae in Judaea, specialiter accipere, quando invalescente invidia praedicatores verbi sunt pene omnes expulsi de provincia, et in gentibus praedicaturi sunt longe lateque dispersi. Sicque factum est ut gentilitas quae per Aegyptum figuratur, peccatis ante tenebrosa lumen verbi perciperet. Hoc est enim puerum Jesum et matrem ejus per Joseph in Aegyptum transferri, fidem scilicet Dominicae incarnationis et Ecclesiae societatem per doctores sanctos gentibus committi. Quod erant in Aegypto usque ad obitum Herodis indicat figurate fidem Christi in gentibus mansuram donec plenitudo gentium introeat, et sic omnis Israel salvus fiat. Obitus quippe Herodis terminum intentionis malitiosae, qua nunc contra Ecclesiam Judaea saevit, insinuat. Occisio parvulorum, mortem humilium spiritu, quos fugato a se Christo Judaei
Leah had been born. Yet here an easy answer lies open: that the boys were all slaughtered not only in Bethlehem but also in all its borders. And the tribe of Benjamin, which was born of Rachel, was next to the tribe of Judah. Hence it should rightly be believed that the stroke of that most cruel slaughter caught up not a few boys of Benjamin's stock as well, whom Rachel's offspring bewailed with voice raised on high. It can also be understood otherwise: since Rachel was buried near Bethlehem, as the inscription of her monument, remaining to this day, testifies, to the west of the city, beyond the road that leads to Hebron, it may rightly be said, in the prophetic manner of speaking, that she herself did the things that were done in that same place, which had been made notable by her body and her name. That the Lord Himself, lest He be killed by Herod, was carried off by His parents into Egypt signifies that the elect are often to be driven from their homes [variant adds: e, i.e. out of] by the wickedness of evil men, or even condemned to exile. Here at the same time an example is given to the faithful not to hesitate, when it is opportune, to avoid the rage of persecutors by flight, since they remember that their God and Lord did this. For He Who was to command His own, When they persecute you in this city, flee into another (Matt. 10:23), first did what He commanded, fleeing man as a man on earth, He Whom a little before a star from heaven had rather pointed out. That Herod died not long after the boys were killed for the Lord, and Joseph, at the angel's warning, brought the Lord back with His mother into the land of Israel, signifies that all the persecutions which were to be raised against the Church would be avenged by the death of the persecutors themselves, and that, once these same persecutors had been punished, peace would again be restored to the Church, and that the saints who had lain hidden would return to their places. Herod also rages in the devil, and groans that the kingdom of his iniquity is taken away from him in those who pass over to Christ. Hence, if he kills the little ones, he thinks he is killing Jesus. This indeed he strives at without ceasing, when he tries to seize the Holy Spirit in the first beginnings of the reborn and to extinguish a sort of infancy of tender faith. We can also take Herod's hatred, by which he wished to destroy Jesus, as referring specially to the persecutions which took place in Judaea in the times of the apostles, when, as envy grew strong, the preachers of the word were almost all driven out of the province and were scattered far and wide to preach among the gentiles. And so it came about that the gentile world, which is figured by Egypt, formerly darkened by sins, received the light of the word. For this is what it means that the child Jesus and His mother are carried into Egypt by Joseph: that faith in the Lord's incarnation and the fellowship of the Church are entrusted to the gentiles by holy teachers. That they were in Egypt until the death of Herod figuratively indicates that the faith of Christ will remain among the gentiles until the fullness of the gentiles comes in, and so all Israel is saved (Rom. 11:25–26). For the death of Herod intimates the end of the malicious intent with which Judaea now rages against the Church. The killing of the little ones [signifies] the death of the humble in spirit, whom, having driven Christ from themselves, the Jews
Editors' notes and page, col. 51
Footnotes
(a) ‹anchor: paulo ante› · call in col 51
Cod. bibl. Arsen. Paris. add.: adorandum quasi Deum.
The codex of the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, Paris, adds: "to be worshipped as God."
(printed under page 30)
Page
- running head: 51 BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS II (cut at the image edge; continues over column 52)
- marginal letters: A ‹ejus Lia fuerat orta›; B ‹ab Herode sublatus est›; C ‹persecutorum morte vindicandas›; D ‹dispersi. Sicque factum›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
peremere, designat. Quod autem defuncto Herode redit ad terram Israel [Al. add. Dominus], finem saeculi denuntiat, quando, Enoch et Elia praedicantibus Judaei, sopita modernae invidiae flamma, fidem veritatis accipient. Et bene cum Judaeam deserit, fugere, et hoc in nocte dicitur; cum vero revertitur in illam [Al., nulla] non solum fugae, sed nec noctis fit mentio: quia nimirum quos ob peccatorum tenebras olim persecutores reliquit, ipsos ob lucem fidei tandem se quaerentes revisit. Quod damnato licet Herode Joseph timore Archelai filii ejus in Judaeam, ubi metropolim habebat, ire formidans, monente angelo in Nazareth Galilaeae secedit, ultima praesentis Ecclesiae tempora designat, quando pro ea quae nunc est universali gentis illius caecitate, qua Christianos in quantum valet persequi non desistit, acrior in quibusdam Antichristi persecutio consurget. Et quidem plurimis ad praedicationem Enoch et Eliae a perfidia conversis, sed caeteris ad instinctum Antichristi tota intentione contra fidem dimicantibus. Pars igitur Judaeae in qua regnabat Archelaus, perfidos Antichristi sequaces ostendit. Porro Nazareth Galilaeae, quo Dominus transfertur, partem gentis ejusdem quae tunc temporis fidem Christi est susceptura, designat. Unde bene Galilaea perpetrata transmigratio, Nazareth flos aut virgultum ejus interpretatur; quia nimirum sancta Ecclesia, quo ardentiori desiderio ab his quae in terris videt ad coelestia promerenda transmigrat, eo majore spiritualium abundat flore atque germine virtutum. Unde oportet, fratres charissimi, quia primitias martyrum hodierna festivitate veneramur, de aeterna, quae in coelis est, martyrum festivitate sedulo cogitemus, eorumque vestigia in quantum possumus sequendo, et ipsi ejusdem festivitatis supernae participes existere curemus, testante Apostolo: quia si socii passionum fuerimus, simul et consolationum [Al., consolationis] erimus. Nec tam de morte eorum [Al. add. injusta] lugeamus, quam de justa palmae perceptione laetemur. Si quidem singulos eorum cum per tormenta pellerentur, ex hac vita Rachel gemebunda, id est, sancta Ecclesia quae gemit [Al., genuit], luctu lacrymisque prosecuta est: sed jam hinc expulsos superna Hierusalem, quae est mater omnium nostrum, mox in aliam vitam obviis laetitiae ministris excepit, atque in gaudium Domini sui perpetuo coronandos introduxit. Unde dicit Joannes: Stabant ante thronum, et in conspectu Agni amicti stolis albis, et palmae in manibus eorum (Apoc. VII). Stant enim modo ante thronum Dei coronati, qui quondam ante thronos judicum terrenorum jacebant poenis attriti. Stant in conspectu Agni nulla ratione illic a contemplanda ejus gloria separandi, a cujus hic amore nec supplicio poterant separari. Stolis fulgent albis, et palmas in manibus habent, quia praemia in operibus habent, dum corpora quae pro Domino ignibus et bestiis dilacerata [Al., dilacerari], flagris absumi, per praecipitia dissolvi, ungulis
to destroy, it signifies. But that, after Herod's death, He returns to the land of Israel [variant adds: the Lord] announces the end of the world, when, at the preaching of Enoch and Elijah, the Jews, the flame of their present envy laid to rest, will receive the faith of truth. And it is well said that when He leaves Judaea He flees, and this by night; but when He returns to it [variant: no] mention is made not only of flight but not even of night: because, surely, those whom He once left as persecutors because of the darkness of their sins, He visits again at last when they seek Him because of the light of faith. That Joseph, though Herod was condemned, feared to go into Judaea, where he had his capital, for fear of Archelaus his son, and at the angel's warning withdrew into Nazareth of Galilee, signifies the last times of the present Church, when, in place of the universal blindness of that nation which now exists, by which it does not cease to persecute Christians as far as it can, a fiercer persecution of Antichrist will rise up in some. And indeed very many will be converted from faithlessness at the preaching of Enoch and Elijah, but the rest will fight with their whole intent against the faith at the prompting of Antichrist. The part of Judaea, then, in which Archelaus reigned shows the faithless followers of Antichrist. But Nazareth of Galilee, to which the Lord is brought, signifies the part of the same nation which at that time is to receive the faith of Christ. Hence Galilee is well interpreted a migration accomplished, and Nazareth its flower or shoot; because surely holy Church, the more ardent the desire with which she migrates from the things she sees on earth to win heavenly things, abounds the more with the flower and the bud of spiritual virtues. Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, since in today's feast we venerate the first fruits of the martyrs, we ought to think earnestly of the eternal feast of the martyrs which is in heaven, and, by following their footsteps as far as we can, take care that we too become sharers of that same feast on high, as the Apostle testifies: that if we have been companions of the sufferings, we shall also be of the consolations [variant: of the consolation] (2 Cor. 1:7). Nor should we so much mourn their death [variant adds: unjust] as rejoice at the just receiving of the palm. For indeed, when each of them was being driven out of this life through torments, Rachel in her groaning, that is, holy Church, which groans [variant: which bore them], followed them with mourning and tears; but the Jerusalem on high, which is the mother of us all (Gal. 4:26), at once received them, driven out from here, into another life, with ministers of gladness coming to meet them, and brought them into the joy of their Lord to be crowned for ever. Hence John says: They were standing before the throne and in the sight of the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palms were in their hands (Rev. 7:9). For they now stand crowned before the throne of God, who once lay worn down by punishments before the thrones of earthly judges. They stand in the sight of the Lamb, by no means to be separated there from contemplating His glory, from Whose love here they could not be separated even by torture. They shine in white robes and have palms in their hands, because they have rewards for their works, since the bodies which for the Lord, torn by fires and beasts [variant: to be torn by fires and beasts], they suffered to be consumed by scourges, broken over precipices, scraped with hooks,
Editors' notes and page, col. 52
Page
- running head: BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — PARÆNETICA. 52 (left part of the head over column 51)
- marginal letters: A ‹peremere, designat›; B ‹Christianos in quantum valet›; C ‹oportet, fratres charissimi›; D ‹omnium nostrum, mox in aliam›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column ends with "un-" hyphenated across the break; next column not seen, so only the visible part "un" is set and the English stops at the break; first word "peremere" completes the sentence begun in column 51
abradi, omnimodo poenarum genere passi sunt dissipari, per resurrectionem glorificata recipiunt. Et clamabant, inquit, voce magna dicentes: Salus Deo nostro, qui sedet super thronum, et Agno (Apoc. VII). Magna voce salutem Deo decantant, qui magna gratiarum actione recolunt, non sua se virtute sed ipso auxiliante tribulationum impugnantium superasse certamina. Dicit iterum eorum et praeteritos agones et coronas describens perpetuas: Hi sunt qui venerunt de tribulatione magna, et laverunt stolas suas, et dealbaverunt eas in sanguine Agni (Ibid.). Stolas quippe martyres in sanguine Agni laverunt, dum membra sua, quae oculis insipientium visa sunt poenarum squalore foedari, sic potius fuso pro Christo sanguine ab omnibus mundavere contagiis: insuper et beata immortalitatis luce digna reddidere, quod est lotas etiam dealbasse stolas in sanguine Agni. Ideo sunt, inquit, ante thronum Dei, et serviunt ei die ac nocte in templo ejus. Non est laboriosa, sed amabilis et optanda servitus, in Dei laudibus perpetuo assistere: dies quippe et nox non vicissitudinem temporis proprie, sed perpetuitatem tropice significant. Nox enim non erit illic, sed dies una melior in atriis Christi super millia, in qua non plorat Rachel filios suos, sed absterget Deus omnem lacrymam ab oculis eorum; dantque [Al., datque] vocem laetitiae et salutis aeternae in tabernaculis justorum ei qui vivit et regnat Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
and scattered by every kind of punishment, they receive back glorified through the resurrection. And they cried, he says, with a loud voice, saying: Salvation to our God, Who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb (Rev. 7:10). They sing salvation to God with a loud voice who recall with great thanksgiving that they overcame the contests of assailing tribulations not by their own strength but with His help. Again he speaks, describing both their past struggles and their everlasting crowns: These are they who have come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb (ibid. 7:14). For the martyrs washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb when their limbs, which in the eyes of the foolish seemed to be defiled by the squalor of punishments, they rather cleansed from all contagion by the blood thus shed for Christ; and moreover they made them worthy of the blessed light of immortality, which is to have made white the robes they had washed in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are, he says, before the throne of God, and they serve Him day and night in His temple (ibid. 7:15). It is not a toilsome but a lovely and desirable service, to stand for ever in the praises of God: for day and night do not properly signify the alternation of time, but figuratively perpetuity. For there will be no night there, but one day in the courts of Christ better than thousands (cf. Ps. 83:11), in which Rachel does not weep for her children, but God will wipe away every tear from their eyes (Rev. 7:17); and they give [variant: and He gives] the voice of gladness and eternal salvation in the tabernacles of the just (cf. Ps. 117:15) to Him Who lives and reigns as God for all ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILIA X. IN DIE FESTO CIRCUMCISIONIS DOMINI. LUC. II. In illo tempore, cum consummati essent dies octo ut circumcideretur puer, vocatum est nomen ejus Jesus, etc.
HOMILY X. ON THE FEAST DAY OF THE CIRCUMCISION OF THE LORD. LUKE 2. At that time, when eight days were completed for the child to be circumcised, His name was called Jesus, etc. (Luke 2:21).
Sanctam venerandamque praesentis festi memoriam paucis quidem verbis evangelista comprehendit, sed non pauca coelestis mysterii virtute gravidam reliquit. Exposita namque nativitate Dominica, cujus gaudia mox angeli dignis laudibus extulerunt, pastores devota visitatione celebrarunt, omnes qui tunc audiere mirati sunt, nos quoque pro modulo nostro, prout potuimus, Christo Domino largiente, congruis missarum hymnorumque solemniis exegimus, subjunxit atque ait:
The holy and venerable memory of the present feast the evangelist has indeed comprised in few words, but he has left it pregnant with no little power of heavenly mystery. For having set forth the Lord's nativity, whose joys the angels at once extolled with worthy praises, the shepherds celebrated by a devout visit, all who heard of it then marvelled at, and we too, in our small measure, as far as we could, by the bounty of Christ the Lord, have kept with fitting solemnities of Masses and hymns, he went on and said:
Et postquam consummati sunt dies octo ut circumcideretur puer, vocatum est nomen ejus Jesus, quod vocatum est ab angelo, priusquam in utero conciperetur. Haec sunt festivitatis hodiernae gaudia veneranda, haec sacrae solemnitas diei, haec illa supernae pietatis munera sacrosancta, quae fidelium cordibus commendans Apostolus ait: Quia, ubi venit plenitudo temporis, misit Deus Filium suum factum ex muliere, factum sub lege, ut eos qui sub lege erant, redimeret, ut adoptionem filio⟨r⟩um reciperemus (Galat. IV). Magna namque dispensatione pietatis ad redemptionem generis humani Deus Pater non angelum, non archangelum, sed Filium suum unigenitum mittere dignatus est. Quem quia in divinitatis suae specie videre nequimus, magna rursum dilectionis arte providit ut hunc factum ex muliere, hoc est ex
And after eight days were completed for the child to be circumcised, His name was called Jesus, which was called by the angel before He was conceived in the womb (Luke 2:21). These are the venerable joys of today's feast, this is the solemnity of the sacred day, these are those most holy gifts of the goodness on high which the Apostle commends to the hearts of the faithful when he says: That when the fullness of time came, God sent His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons (Gal. 4:4–5). For by a great dispensation of goodness, for the redemption of the human race, God the Father deigned to send not an angel, not an archangel, but His only-begotten Son. And since we cannot see Him in the form of His divinity, He again provided with a great art of love that He should be made of a woman, that is, of
Editors' notes and page, col. 53
Page
- running head: 53 SECT. I. HOMILIÆ. — LIB. I. (cut at the image edge; continues over column 54)
- marginal letters: A ‹gulis abradi, omnimodo›; B ‹et beata immortalitatis›; C ‹LUC. II. In illo tempore›; D ‹catum est ab angelo›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "gulis" completes the word "un-" at the foot of column 52 (ungulis; the c52 file sets only "un", and its English should end "torn by hooks"); "filiorum" printed with a gap, "filio um", r supplied in ⟨ ⟩; "sacræ" printed with damaged æ; D sits between "cideretur puer" and "catum est" lines, placement UNSURE
maternae carnis substantia, sine virili admixtione conceptum, ad humanos verum hominem proferret aspectus: qui in divina virtute ac substantia manens, per omnia quod erat, veram naturae mortalis infirmitatem quam non habebat, indueret. Et ut nobis necessariam obediendi virtutem praecipuo commendaret exemplo, factum sub lege, Filium suum misit Deus in mundum: non quia ipse legi quidquam debeat, qui unus magister noster, unus est legislator et judex, sed ut eos qui sub lege positi legis onera portare nequiverant, sua compassione juvaret, ac de servili conditione, qui sub lege erant, ereptos in adoptionem filiorum, quae per gratiam est, sua largitate reduceret. Suscepit ergo circumcisionem lege decretam in carne, qui absque omni prorsus labe pollutionis apparuit in carne, et qui in similitudine carnis peccati, non autem in carne peccati advenit, remedium quo caro peccati consueverat mundari non respuit: sicut etiam unda baptismatis, qua novae gratiae populos a peccatorum sorde lavari voluit, ipse non necessitatis, sed exempli causa subiit. Scire etenim debet vestra fraternitas, quia idem salutiferae curationis auxilium circumcisio in lege contra originalis peccati vulnus agebat, quod nunc baptismus agere revelatae gratiae tempore consuevit, excepto quod regni coelestis januam necdum intrare poterant, donec adveniens benedictionem daret, qui legem dedit, ut videri posset Deus deorum in Sion, tantum in sinu Abrahae post mortem beata requie consolati supernae pacis ingressum spe felici exspectabant. Qui enim nunc per Evangelium suum terribiliter ac salubriter clamat: Nisi quis renatus fuerit ex aqua et spiritu, non potest introire in regnum Dei (Joan. III); ipse dudum per legem suam clamabat: Masculus cujus praeputii caro circumcisa non fuerit, peribit anima illa de populo suo, quia pactum meum irritum fecit (Gen. XVII), id est, quia pactum vitae in paradiso hominibus mandatum Adam praevaricante transgressus est, in quo omnes peccaverunt: peribit de coetu sanctorum, si non ei fuerit remedio salutari subventum. Utraque ergo purificatio, et circumcisionis videlicet in lege, et in Evangelio baptismatis, tollendae praevaricationis primae gratia posita est. Et ne cui saeculi labentis aetati superni respectus munera deessent, illi quoque qui a mundi exordio usque ad tempora datae circumcisionis vel post datam circumcisionem, de aliis nationibus Deo placuerunt, vel hostiarum oblationibus, vel certe sola fidei virtute suas suorumque animas Creatori commendantes, a primi reatus vinculis absolvere curabant. Sine fide enim impossibile est placere Deo: et sicut alias scriptum est: Justus autem ex fide vivit (Habac. II). Sed veniens in carne Dei Filius, qui solam carnis naturam, nullam autem peccati contagionem contraxit de Adam, et quia Spiritus sancti virtute de virgine conceptus et natus [Al. add. est], nullo eguit munere gratiae renascentis: utrumque genus purificationis subire dignatus est, et circumcisus videlicet a
the substance of a mother's flesh, conceived without union with a man, and should bring Him forth as true man before human eyes: so that He, remaining in divine power and substance, in all respects what He was, should put on the true weakness of mortal nature, which He did not have. And that He might commend to us by a signal example the virtue of obedience, so necessary to us, God sent His Son into the world made under the law: not because He Himself owed anything to the law, Who is our one Master, one Lawgiver and Judge (cf. Matt. 23:8; Jas. 4:12), but that He might by His compassion help those who, placed under the law, had been unable to bear the burdens of the law, and by His bounty bring those who were under the law, rescued from their servile condition, into the adoption of sons, which is through grace. He therefore received in the flesh the circumcision decreed by the law, He Who appeared in the flesh wholly without any stain of defilement; and He Who came in the likeness of sinful flesh, but not in sinful flesh (cf. Rom. 8:3), did not reject the remedy by which the flesh of sin was accustomed to be cleansed: just as He also underwent the wave of baptism, in which He willed the peoples of the new grace to be washed from the filth of sins, not for need but for example's sake. For your brotherhood should know that circumcision in the law performed against the wound of original sin the same help of saving cure which baptism is now accustomed to perform in the time of revealed grace, except that they could not yet enter the gate of the heavenly kingdom until He should come and give the blessing, Who gave the law, so that the God of gods might be seen in Sion (cf. Ps. 83:8); only, comforted after death by blessed rest in the bosom of Abraham, they awaited with happy hope their entry into peace on high. For He Who now cries through His Gospel, terribly and salutarily: Unless one has been reborn of water and the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:5), Himself formerly cried through His law: The male whose foreskin's flesh has not been circumcised, that soul shall perish from his people, because he has made My covenant void (Gen. 17:14); that is, because he transgressed, when Adam sinned, the covenant of life given to men in paradise, in whom all have sinned (Rom. 5:12): he will perish from the company of the saints if he is not helped by the saving remedy. Both purifications, then, that of circumcision in the law and that of baptism in the Gospel, were appointed for the sake of taking away the first transgression. And lest the gifts of regard from on high should be lacking to any age of the passing world, those too who from the beginning of the world until the times when circumcision was given, or after circumcision was given, pleased God from other nations, took care to free themselves from the chains of the first guilt, commending their own souls and those of their people to the Creator either by offerings of victims or at least by the power of faith alone. For without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6): and, as is written elsewhere: But the just man lives by faith (Hab. 2:4). But the Son of God, coming in the flesh, Who took from Adam only the nature of flesh but no contagion of sin, and Who, because He was conceived and born [variant adds: was] of the Virgin by the power of the Holy Spirit, needed no gift of the grace of rebirth, deigned to undergo both kinds of purification, being circumcised, namely,
Editors' notes and page, col. 54
Page
- running head: SECT. I. HOMILIÆ. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINÆ. 54 (left part of the head over column 53)
- marginal letters: A ‹maternæ carnis substantia›; B ‹prorsus labe pollutionis›; C ‹sum spe felici exspectabant›; D ‹tis ætati superni respectus›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column ends "circumcisus videlicet a", the phrase continues in column 55
parentibus octava die nativitatis, et tricesimo aetatis anno baptizatus a Joanne, imo etiam tertium salutaris hostiae munus ipse templi Dominus pro se non respuit offerri. Cujus die dehinc tricesima tertia, Domino opitulante, vestra charitas auditura simul est et celebratura mysterium. Cuncta, inquam, et legalis et evangelicae purificationis genera, qui nullo indiguit, Dominus suscipere non despexit, et [Al., ut] consummandae jam legis decreta suo tempore doceret esse saluberrima, et advenientis Evangelii cunctis fidelibus ostenderet aeque subeunda remedia. Sed et hoc quod eodem die suae circumcisionis nomen ut Jesus vocaretur, accepit, ad imitationem priscae fecit observationis, quam ex eo credimus sumptam quod Abraham patriarcha, qui primus circumcisionis sacramentum in testimonium suae magnae fidei et divinae ad eum promissionis accepit, eodem die suae suorumque circumcisionis etiam nominis amplificatione simul cum sua conjuge benedici promeruit, ut qui eatenus Abram pater excelsus dictus est, deinde Abraham, id est pater multarum gentium, vocaretur: quia patrem, inquit, multarum gentium constitui te. Quae fidelissima promissio tam late per orbem jam patet impleta, ut etiam nos ipsi de gentibus ad fidei illius devotionem vocati, ipsum nos patrem spiritualiter habere gaudeamus, dicente etiam nobis Apostolo: Si autem vos Christi, ergo semen Abrahae estis, secundum promissionem haeredes (Galat. III). Et Sarai, inquit, uxorem tuam, non vocabis Sarai, sed Saram, id est, non principem meam, sed principem: videlicet aperte docens ut eam quae tantae fidei particeps et socia facta est, non proprie principem suae domus, sed absolute principem, id est, omnium recte credentium feminarum vocaret, et intelligeret esse parentem. Unde beatus apostolus Petrus credentes de gentibus feminas ad humilitatis, castitatis et modestiae virtutem provocans, ejusdem matris nostrae Sarae debita cum laude meminit. Sicut Sara, inquit, obediebat Abrahae, dominum eum vocans, cujus estis filiae benefacientes, et non timentes ullam perturbationem (I Petr. III). Haec dilectionem vestram, fratres, admonere curavimus, ut singuli vestrum meminerint etiam seipsos percepta fide Christi cum patriarchis nominis excelsi meruisse consortium, si percepta in Christo purificatione, baptismi salutaris derivatum a nomine Christi, gaudeant mutuasse cognomen, et hoc usque ad finem firmum intemeratumque servare contendant, gaudentes in se illud Isaiae vaticinium esse completum: Et servos suos vocabit nomine alio (Isa. LXV), hoc est nomine Christiano, quo nunc omnes servi Christi se delectantur insigniri. Neque enim nomen aliud sub coelo datum est hominibus, in quo oporteat eos salvos fieri. Unde propheta consequenter adjungit: In quo benedicendus super terram, benedicetur in Domino, amen (Act. IV). Dicit et alias de eodem, multiplicandam etiam de gentibus Ecclesiam alloquens: Videbunt gentes justum tuum, et cuncti reges inclytum tuum, et vocabitur tibi nomen novum,
by His parents on the eighth day after His birth, and baptized by John in the thirtieth year of His age; indeed, the Lord of the temple Himself did not even refuse to have a third gift, a saving victim, offered for Himself. On the thirty-third day from this, with the Lord's help, your charity will both hear and celebrate that mystery. All the kinds, I say, of purification both of the law and of the Gospel the Lord, Who needed none, did not disdain to undergo, and [variant: so that] He might teach that the decrees of the law, now to be fulfilled, were most salutary in their own time, and might show all the faithful that the remedies of the coming Gospel were equally to be undergone. And this too, that on the same day as His circumcision He received the name, to be called Jesus, He did in imitation of an ancient observance, which we believe was taken from this: that Abraham the patriarch, who first received the sacrament of circumcision in testimony of his great faith and of God's promise to him, on the same day as his own circumcision and that of his household was found worthy, together with his wife, to be blessed also by the enlarging of his name, so that he who until then was called Abram, exalted father, should thenceforth be called Abraham, that is, father of many nations: because, it says, I have made you the father of many nations (Gen. 17:5). This most faithful promise now lies open, fulfilled so widely through the world, that we ourselves too, called from the gentiles to devotion to his faith, rejoice to have him spiritually as our father, since the Apostle also says to us: But if you are Christ's, then you are the seed of Abraham, heirs according to the promise (Gal. 3:29). And Sarai, it says, your wife, you shall not call Sarai, but Sara (Gen. 17:15), that is, not my princess, but princess: plainly teaching, that is, that he should call her who had been made partaker and companion of such great faith not the princess of his house only, but princess absolutely, that is, of all rightly believing women, and should understand her to be their mother. Hence the blessed apostle Peter, calling the believing women from the gentiles to the virtue of humility, chastity and modesty, recalls with due praise the same Sara, our mother. As Sara, he says, obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are, doing well and not fearing any disturbance (1 Pet. 3:6). These things, brethren, we have taken care to bring to the attention of your love, so that each of you may remember that you too, having received the faith of Christ, have been found worthy to share with the patriarchs an exalted name, if, having received purification in Christ, you rejoice to have taken the surname derived from the name of Christ in saving baptism, and strive to keep it firm and inviolate to the end, rejoicing that in you is fulfilled that prophecy of Isaiah: And He will call His servants by another name (Isa. 65:15), that is, by the name Christian, with which all the servants of Christ now delight to be marked. For there is no other name under heaven given to men in which they must be saved (cf. Acts 4:12). Hence the prophet adds in sequence: In which he who is to be blessed upon the earth shall be blessed in the Lord, amen (Isa. 65:16). He speaks of the same elsewhere too, addressing the Church that was to be multiplied also from the gentiles: The nations shall see your Just One, and all kings your glorious One, and you shall be called by a new name,
Editors' notes and page, col. 55
Page
- running head: 55 BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III (cut at the image edge; continues over column 56)
- marginal letters: A ‹parentibus octava die›; B ‹qui primus circumcisionis›; C ‹cipem meam, sed principem›; D ‹catione, baptismi salutaris›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Migne prints the reference "(Act. IV)" after the Isaiah 65:16 quotation, though it belongs to the preceding Acts 4:12 sentence; source kept as printed, English gives both references in their places; the quotation "Videbunt gentes..." continues in column 56
quod os Domini locutum est (Isa. LXV). Quare autem puer qui natus est nobis, et [Al. om. et] filius qui datus est nobis, Jesu, id est, Salvatoris nomen acceperit, non expositione ut a nobis possit intelligi, sed sollicita ac vigili eget intentione, ut etiam nos possimus ejusdem nominis participatione salvari. Legimus quippe, angelo interpretante, Quia ipse salvum faciet populum suum a peccatis eorum (Matth. I). Et indubitanter credimus ac speramus, qui a peccatis salvat, ipse etiam a corruptionibus, quae ob peccata contigerunt, et ab ipsa morte salvare non omittit, Psalmista testante, qui ait: Qui propitius fit omnibus iniquitatibus tuis, qui sanat omnes languores tuos (Psalm. CIII). Dimissis quippe omnibus iniquitatibus nostris ad integrum omnes languores nostri sanabuntur, cum resurrectionis apparente gloria novissima inimica destructa fuerit mors. Et haec est vera et plenaria nostra circumcisio, cum in die judicii cunctis simul animae carnisque corruptionibus exuti, mox peracto judicio ad videndam perpetuo Creatoris faciem, aulam regni coelestis ingredimur, typice designans parvulos circumcisos ad templum Domini Hierosolymam cum laudibus hostiarum munus acceptabile deferri. Vera enim circumcisione purgatus templum Domini cum muneribus ingreditur qui gloria resurrectionis ab omni labe mortalitatis excoctus, cum bonorum fructibus operum supernae civitatis gaudia sempiterna subit. Disrupisti, inquiens, vincula mea, tibi sacrificabo hostiam laudis. Vota mea Domino reddam in atriis dom⟨u⟩s Domini, in conspectu omnis populi ejus, in medio tui Hierusalem (Psalm. CXV). Quod desideratissimum tempus coelestis introitus illa dies octava, qua circumcisio celebratur, indicat. Sex etenim sunt hujus saeculi aetates notissimis temporum distinctae articulis, in quibus pro Deo laboribus insistere, et pro adipiscenda requie sempiterna ad tempus operari necesse est. Septima est aetas non in hac, sed in alia vita quiescentium usque ad tempus resurrectionis animarum. Octava autem aetas ipsa est dies resurrectionis sine ullo temporis fine beata, quando vera omnimodo circumcisionis gloria coruscante, non ultra corpus, quod corrumpitur, aggravat animam; non terrena inhabitatio deprimit sensum multa cogitantem, sed corpus jam corruptibile laetificat animam, et sublevat coelestis inhabitatio totum hominem visioni sui conditoris inhaerentem. Cujus aeterni diei beatitudinem Propheta in illo, cujus supra meminimus, psalmo consequenter exponit, animam suam ipse et omnes interioris sui hominis affectus ad benedicendum Dominum recordandasque omnes ejus retributiones excitans: Qui redimit de interitu, inquit, vitam tuam, qui satiat in bonis desiderium tuum, qui coronat te in miseratione et misericordia, renovabitur sicut aquilae juventus tua. Et ideo necesse est, fratres charissimi, ut qui ad hujus pulcherrimae renovationis, quasi summae circumcisionis, desideramus praemia pertingere, curemus interim primitivae circumcisionis et renovationis, quae quotidiano virtutum exercitio
which the mouth of the Lord has spoken (Isa. 62:2). But why the child who is born to us and [variant omits: and] the son who is given to us (cf. Isa. 9:6) received the name Jesus, that is, Saviour, needs no exposition for it to be understood by us, but it needs careful and watchful attention, so that we too may be saved by sharing in that same name. For we read, the angel interpreting it: That He will save His people from their sins (Matt. 1:21). And we believe and hope without doubting that He Who saves from sins does not fail also to save from the corruptions which have befallen us because of sins, and from death itself, as the Psalmist testifies, who says: Who is merciful to all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases (Ps. 102:3). For when all our iniquities have been forgiven, all our diseases will be wholly healed, when, as the glory of the resurrection appears, death, the last enemy, has been destroyed (cf. 1 Cor. 15:26). And this is our true and complete circumcision, when on the day of judgement, stripped at once of all the corruptions of soul and flesh, as soon as the judgement is completed we enter the hall of the heavenly kingdom to see the face of the Creator for ever; [and this is what is] typically signified by little circumcised children being brought to the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem with praises, an acceptable gift of victims. For he enters the temple of the Lord with gifts, purified by true circumcision, who, refined from every stain of mortality by the glory of the resurrection, comes into the everlasting joys of the city on high with the fruits of good works. Thou hast broken my bonds, he says; I will sacrifice to Thee the sacrifice of praise. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the courts of the house of the Lord, in the sight of all His people, in the midst of you, Jerusalem (Ps. 115:16–19). This most longed-for time of entry into heaven is indicated by that eighth day on which circumcision is celebrated. For there are six ages of this world, divided by the best-known junctures of time, in which it is necessary to persevere in labours for God and to work for a time to obtain everlasting rest. The seventh age is that of souls resting, not in this life but in another, until the time of the resurrection. But the eighth age is the very day of resurrection, blessed without any end of time, when, as the true glory of circumcision shines out in every way, the body, which is corrupted, no longer weighs down the soul; the earthly habitation no longer presses down the mind that thinks many things (cf. Wis. 9:15); but the body, now [in]corruptible, gladdens the soul, and the heavenly habitation raises up the whole man, cleaving to the vision of his Maker. The blessedness of this eternal day the Prophet sets out in sequence in that psalm which we mentioned above, rousing his own soul and all the affections of his inner man to bless the Lord and to remember all His recompenses: Who redeems your life from destruction, he says, Who satisfies your desire with good things, Who crowns you with compassion and mercy; your youth shall be renewed like the eagle's (Ps. 102:4–5). And therefore, dearly beloved brethren, it is necessary that we who desire to reach the rewards of this most beautiful renewal, the highest circumcision as it were, should meanwhile take care to undergo the remedies of the first circumcision and renewal, which takes place by the daily exercise of virtues.
Editors' notes and page, col. 56
Page
- running head: OPP. PARS III. — PARÆNETICA. 56 (left part of the head over column 55)
- marginal letters: A ‹quod os Domini locutum est›; B ‹sanabuntur, cum resurrectionis›; C ‹conspectu omnis populi ejus›; D ‹vat cœlestis inhabitatio›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column ends "exer-" hyphenated across the break; next column not seen, so only "exer" is set; "domus" printed with a damaged u; the reference "(Isa. LXV)" is printed for Isaiah 62:2, and "(Psalm. CIII)" for Vulgate Psalm 102, kept as printed; the "corruptibile" misprint is UNSURE (the sense requires incorruptibile, so the English supplies [in])
fit, subire remedia. Deponamus secundum pristinam conversationem veterem hominem, qui corrumpitur secundum desideria erroris, renovemur spiritu mentis nostrae, et induamus novum hominem, qui secundum Deum creatus est in justitia et sanctitate veritatis. Neque audientes circumcisionem in uno corporis nostri membro nos castigare, sufficere credamus: sed sicut idem alibi monet Apostolus: Mundemus nos ab omni labe et inquinamento carnis et spiritus, perficientes sanctificationem in timore Dei (II Cor. VII); relegamus Acta apostolorum, videamus beatissimum protomartyrem Stephanum Judaeis se cum Domino persequentibus terribiliter intonantem: Duri cervice, et incircumcisi cordibus et auribus, vos semper Spiritui sancto restitistis. Si ergo incircumcisi cordibus et auribus sunt, qui Spiritus sancti monitis resistunt, est utique cordium et aurium circumcisio. Et si est cordium et aurium, est et omnium exterioris interiorisque hominis nostri sensuum. Qui enim viderit mulierem ad concupiscendam eam, qui habuerit oculos sublimes, hujus incircumcisus est visus: quibus voce Veritatis dicitur: Qui est ex Deo, verbum Dei audit. Propterea nos non auditis, quia ex Deo non estis (Joan. VIII). Incircumcisi sunt auribus, incircumcisi lingua et manibus sunt, quorum os locutum est vanitatem, et dextera eorum dextera iniquitatis: qui loquuntur pacem cum proximo suo, mala autem sunt in cordibus eorum, et dextera eorum repleta est muneribus. Incircumcisi sunt gustu, quos propheta redarguit, dicens: Vae qui potentes estis ad bibendum vinum, et viri fortes ad miscendam ebrietatem (Isa. V). Incircumcisi olfactu et tactu, qui unguento et variis odoribus sunt delibuti; qui sequuntur amplexus meretricis, aspergentes cubile suum myrrha, et aloe et cinnamomo. Incircumcisi gressibus, de quibus Psalmista commemorat: Contritio et infelicitas in viis eorum, et viam pacis non cognoverunt (Psalm. XI). At qui omni custodia servant suum cor, qui avertunt oculos suos ne videant vanitatem, qui sepiunt aures suas spinis, ne audiant linguam nequam, qui gustant et vident quam suavis est Dominus, quam beati viri qui sperant in eo, qui custodiunt vias suas ut non delinquant in lingua sua, qui donec superest halitus in eis, et Spiritus Dei in naribus eorum, non loquuntur labiis iniquitatem, nec lingua eorum meditatur mendacium, qui levant manus suas ad mandata Dei quae diligunt, qui ab omni via mala prohibent pedes suos ut custodiant verbum Dei, isti omnes suos sensus petra spiritualis exercitii se ostendunt habere circumcisos. Petrinis quippe cultris circumcisionem fieri legimus: petra autem erat Christus, cujus fide, spe et charitate, non solum in baptismate, sed in omni prorsus actione devota purificantur corda bonorum. Quae et ipsa quotidiana nostra circumcisio, id est continua cordis mundatio, semper octavae diei sacramentum celebrare non desistit, quia nos in exemplum Dominicae resurrectionis, quae octava die, id est post septimam
Let us put off, according to our former manner of life, the old man, who is corrupted according to the desires of error; let us be renewed in the spirit of our mind, and put on the new man, who is created according to God in justice and holiness of truth (Eph. 4:22–24). Nor, hearing of circumcision, let us believe it enough to discipline ourselves in one member of our body; but, as the same Apostle admonishes elsewhere: Let us cleanse ourselves from every stain and defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting sanctification in the fear of God (2 Cor. 7:1). Let us read again the Acts of the Apostles; let us see the most blessed first martyr Stephen thundering terribly at the Jews who were persecuting him together with the Lord: Stiff-necked, and uncircumcised in hearts and ears, you have always resisted the Holy Spirit (Acts 7:51). If, then, those who resist the admonitions of the Holy Spirit are uncircumcised in hearts and ears, there is surely a circumcision of hearts and ears. And if there is one of hearts and ears, there is also one of all the senses of our outer and inner man. For he who has looked at a woman to lust after her (cf. Matt. 5:28), he who has had haughty eyes, has an uncircumcised sight: to such it is said by the voice of the Truth: He who is of God hears the word of God. For this reason you do not hear, because you are not of God (John 8:47). They are uncircumcised in ears, they are uncircumcised in tongue and hands, whose mouth has spoken vanity, and their right hand is a right hand of iniquity (cf. Ps. 143:8); who speak peace with their neighbour, but evils are in their hearts (cf. Ps. 27:3), and their right hand is full of bribes (cf. Ps. 25:10). They are uncircumcised in taste, whom the prophet rebukes, saying: Woe to you who are mighty to drink wine, and strong men to mix drunkenness (Isa. 5:22). Uncircumcised in smell and touch are those who are anointed with ointment and various perfumes; who pursue the embraces of a harlot, sprinkling their bed with myrrh and aloes and cinnamon (cf. Prov. 7:17). Uncircumcised in their steps are those of whom the Psalmist makes mention: Destruction and unhappiness are in their ways, and the way of peace they have not known (Ps. 13:3). But those who keep their heart with all watchfulness (cf. Prov. 4:23), who turn away their eyes lest they see vanity (cf. Ps. 118:37), who hedge their ears with thorns lest they hear a wicked tongue (cf. Sir. 28:28), who taste and see how sweet the Lord is, how blessed are the men who hope in Him (cf. Ps. 33:9), who guard their ways so as not to sin with their tongue (cf. Ps. 38:2), who, while breath remains in them and the Spirit of God is in their nostrils, do not speak iniquity with their lips, nor does their tongue meditate a lie (cf. Job 27:3–4), who lift up their hands to the commandments of God which they love (cf. Ps. 118:48), who restrain their feet from every evil way that they may keep the word of God (cf. Ps. 118:101): these all show that they have all their senses circumcised by the rock of spiritual exercise. For we read that circumcision was done with knives of stone (cf. Josh. 5:2): and the rock was Christ (1 Cor. 10:4), by faith, hope and charity in Whom the hearts of the good are purified not only in baptism but in every devout action whatever. And this our daily circumcision itself, that is, the continual cleansing of the heart, never ceases to celebrate the sacrament of the eighth day, because we, after the example of the Lord's resurrection, which on the eighth day, that is, after the seventh
Editors' notes and page, col. 57
Page
- running head: 57 SECT. I. HOMILIÆ. — LIB. I. (cut at the image edge; continues over column 58)
- marginal letters: A ‹citio fit, subire remedia›; B ‹incircumcisi cordibus et auribus›; C ‹cisi sunt gustu›; D ‹in eis, et Spiritus Dei›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "citio" completes the word "exer-" at the foot of column 56; the word is set whole ("exercitio") at the end of the c56 file, whose English also carries the clause "fit, subire remedia"; "(Psalm. XI)" is printed for Vulgate Psalm 13:3, kept as printed
sabbati, facta est, sanctificare consuevit, ut quomodo surrexit Christus a mortuis per gloriam Patris, ita et nos in novitate vitae ambulemus, praestante Deo qui vivit et regnat in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
of the sabbath, took place, is accustomed to sanctify us, so that as Christ rose from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4), by the gift of God, Who lives and reigns for ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILIA XI. IN DIE FESTO THEOPHANIAE. MATTH. III, MARC. I, LUC. III, JOANNIS I. In illo tempore venit Jesus a Galilaea in Jordanem ad Joannem, ut baptizaretur ab eo, etc.
HOMILY XI. ON THE FEAST DAY OF THE THEOPHANY. MATTHEW 3, MARK 1, LUKE 3, JOHN 1. At that time Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan, to John, to be baptized by him, etc. (Matt. 3:13).
Lectio sancti Evangelii, quam modo, fratres, audivimus, magnum nobis et in Domino et in servo dat perfectae humilitatis exemplum. In Domino quidem, quia cum sit Dominus non solum ab homine servo baptizari, sed etiam ipse ad hunc baptizandus venire dignatus est. In servo autem, quia cum sciret praecursorem se ac baptistam Salvatoris sui esse destinatum, memor tamen propriae fragilitatis injunctum sibi humiliter excusavit officium, dicens: Ego a te debeo baptizari, et tu venis ad me? Sed quia omnis qui se exaltat, humiliabitur, et qui se humiliat, exaltabitur, et Dominus qui in forma hominis propter homines instruendos humilis apparuit, mox a Deo Patre quantum super homines, imo etiam quantum super angelos, et super omne quod creatum est emineret, apparuit voce lapsa ad eum hujusmodi a magnifica gloria: Hic est Filius meus dilectus, in quo mihi complacui. Et fidelissimus atque humillimus servus ille Joannes, qui baptizari a Domino, quam Dominum baptizare magis adoptavit [Al., optavit], et ipsum baptizare Dominum, et apertis suae mentis oculis descendentem super eum Spiritum prae caeteris mortalibus videre promeruit. Verum quia breviter ista praelibavimus, latius jam cuncta exposituri ipsum sacrae lectionis videamus exordium.
The reading of the holy Gospel, brethren, which we have just heard, gives us a great example of perfect humility, both in the Lord and in the servant. In the Lord, because, though He is the Lord, He deigned not only to be baptized by a man, a servant, but even to come to him Himself to be baptized. In the servant, because, though he knew that he was destined to be the forerunner and baptist of his Saviour, yet, mindful of his own frailty, he humbly excused himself from the office enjoined on him, saying: I ought to be baptized by Thee, and comest Thou to me? (Matt. 3:14). But since everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted (Luke 14:11), the Lord too, Who in the form of man appeared humble for the instruction of men, was at once shown by God the Father how far He was raised above men, indeed how far above the angels and above everything that was created, when a voice of this kind came down to Him from the magnificent glory: This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased (Matt. 3:17; cf. 2 Pet. 1:17). And that most faithful and most humble servant John, who chose rather [variant: wished rather] to be baptized by the Lord than to baptize the Lord, was found worthy both to baptize the Lord Himself and, with the eyes of his mind opened, to see the Spirit descending upon Him, beyond the rest of mortals. But since we have touched on these things briefly beforehand, let us now look at the very beginning of the sacred reading, intending to expound everything more fully.
Tunc venit, inquit, Jesus a Galilaea in Jordanem ad Joannem, ut baptizaretur ab eo. Venit Filius Dei baptizari ab homine, non anxia necessitate abluendi alicujus sui peccati qui peccatum non fecit ullum, nec inventus est dolus in ore ejus, sed pia dispensatione abluendi omnis nostri contagionem peccati, qui in multis offendimus omnes, et si dixerimus quia peccatum non habemus, nos ipsos seducimus, et veritas in nobis non est. Venit baptizari in aquis ipsarum conditor aquarum ut nobis qui in iniquitatibus concepti, et in delictis sumus generati, secundae nativitatis, quae per aquam et spiritum celebratur, appetendum insinuaret mysterium. Dignatus est lavari aquis Jordanicis, qui erat mundus a sordibus cunctis, ut ad diluendas nostrorum sordes scelerum omnium fluenta sanctificaret aquarum. Sed quia humillimam Domini dispensationem ex lectione evangelica cognovimus, etiam servi humillimam obeditionem sollicita intentione videamus. Sequitur:
Then, it says, Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan, to John, to be baptized by him (Matt. 3:13). The Son of God came to be baptized by a man, not from an anxious need to wash away any sin of His own, He Who did no sin, nor was guile found in His mouth (1 Pet. 2:22), but by a loving dispensation, to wash away the contagion of all our sin, who all offend in many things (Jas. 3:2), and if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8). The Creator of the waters came to be baptized in those very waters, so that to us, who were conceived in iniquities and generated in sins (cf. Ps. 50:7), He might commend the mystery of the second birth, which is celebrated through water and the spirit, as something to be sought. He Who was clean from all filth deigned to be washed in the waters of the Jordan, so that He might sanctify the streams of all waters for washing away the filth of our sins. But since we have learned from the Gospel reading the most humble dispensation of the Lord, let us also look with careful attention at the most humble obedience of the servant. It follows:
Joannes autem prohibebat eum, dicens: Ego a te debco baptizari, et tu venis ad me? Expavit illum ad se venisse ut baptizaretur aqua, cui nulla inerat quae baptismo tergeretur culpa, imo qui per sui
But John forbade Him, saying: I ought to be baptized by Thee, and comest Thou to me? (Matt. 3:14). He was struck with fear that He had come to him to be baptized with water, in Whom there was no fault to be wiped away by baptism, indeed Who by His
Editors' notes and page, col. 58
Page
- running head: SECT. I. HOMILIÆ. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINÆ. 58 (left part of the head over column 57)
- marginal letters: A ‹sabbati, facta est›; B ‹venire dignatus est›; C ‹Domino, quam Dominum baptizare›; D ‹veritas in nobis non est›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: C sits between the "Domino, quam Dominum" and "[Al., optavit]" lines, placement UNSURE; column ends "per sui", the sentence continues in column 59
gratiam Spiritus cunctam credentibus mundi tolleret culpam. Unde recte intelligitur quod hic dicit Joannes, Ego a te debeo baptizari, hoc esse quod apud evangelistam Joannem illo ad se veniente dixisse narratur: Ecce Agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccata mundi (Joan. I.) Ab illo enim debemus omnes baptizari qui ad hoc venit in mundum ut peccata tolleret mundi. Ab illo debuit ipse Joannes baptizari, id est a peccati originalis contagione mundari, qui quamvis nullus [Al., nullo] inter natos mulierum major [Al., minor], tamen quasi natus ex muliere culpae naevo non carebat. Ideoque cum caeteris mulierum natis ab eo qui natus ex virgine Deus in carne apparuit, opus habebat ablui. Quoniam ergo scriptum est: Quid est homo ut immaculatus sit, et ut mundus appareat natus ex muliere (Job, XV)? jure timuit homo quamvis sanctus, natus tamen ex muliere, et ob id a culpae macula non immunis baptizare Dominum, quem ex virgine natum noverat, nullam prorsus habere maculam culpae. Sed quia vera humilitas ipsa est quam obedientia comes non deserit, quod prius officium expavit humiliter implevit. Nam sequitur:
grace of the Spirit, He might take away all the guilt of the world from those who believe. Hence it is rightly understood that what John says here, I ought to be baptized by Thee, is the same as what the evangelist John relates that he said when He came to him: Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him Who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). For we ought all to be baptized by Him Who came into the world for this, that He might take away the sins of the world. By Him John himself ought to have been baptized, that is, to be cleansed from the contagion of original sin, he who, although none [variant: no one] among those born of women was greater [variant: less], yet, as one born of a woman, was not without the blemish of guilt. And therefore, with the rest of those born of women, he had need to be washed by Him Who, born of a virgin, appeared as God in the flesh. Since, then, it is written: What is man, that he should be spotless, and that one born of a woman should appear clean? (Job 15:14), rightly did a man, holy indeed, yet born of a woman and for that reason not free from the stain of guilt, fear to baptize the Lord, Whom he knew to have been born of a virgin and to have no stain of guilt at all. But because true humility is that which obedience, its companion, does not forsake, the office which he first shrank from he humbly fulfilled. For there follows:
Respondens autem Jesus dixit ei: Sine modo, sic enim decet nos adimplere omnem justitiam: tunc dimisit eum. Id est, tunc demum dimisit, tunc consensit, tunc passus est eum a se baptizari, cum tali ordine cognovisset omnem justitiam debere compleri. Sine modo, inquit, sine me modo, ut jussi, a te baptizari in aqua, et tu postmodum a me quod quaeris, baptizaberis in spiritu. Sic enim decet nos praerogare exemplum implendae omnis justitiae, ut videlicet discant fideles neminem posse hominem absque unda baptismatis perfecte justum existere, et esse omnibus quamvis innocenter et juste viventibus necessarium vivificae regenerationis officium, cum me qui Spiritus sancti opere conceptus et natus [Al. add., sum] cognoverint secundae nativitatis subiisse, vel potius mihi [Al., sibi] consecrasse lavacrum. At [Al., ut] nulla personarum majorum contemnat ab humilibus meis in remissionem peccatorum baptizari, cum meminerit Dominum, qui in Spiritu sancto baptizans peccata dimittere solet, suum baptizandum in aqua submisisse servi manibus caput. Sequitur:
And Jesus answering said to him: Allow it now, for so it becomes us to fulfil all justice: then he allowed Him. That is, then at last he allowed it, then he consented, then he suffered Him to be baptized by him, when he had learned that all justice ought to be fulfilled in such an order. Allow it now, He says, allow Me now, as I have bidden, to be baptized by you in water, and you afterwards shall be baptized by Me in the spirit, as you ask. For so it becomes us to set beforehand the example of fulfilling all justice, so that, namely, the faithful may learn that no man can be perfectly just without the water of baptism, and that the office of life-giving regeneration is necessary for all, however innocently and justly they live, since they will know that I, Who was conceived and born by the working of the Holy Spirit [variant adds: am], underwent the washing of the second birth, or rather consecrated it for Myself [variant: for themselves]. But [variant: so that] let none of the greater persons disdain to be baptized for the remission of sins by My lowly ones, since he will remember that the Lord, Who in baptizing in the Holy Spirit is wont to forgive sins, submitted His own head, to be baptized in water, to the hands of a servant. There follows:
Baptizatus autem Jesus, confestim ascendit de aqua: et ecce aperti sunt ei coeli, et vidit Spiritum Dei descendentem sicut columbam, et venientem super se. Et hoc ad impletionem omnis justitiae pertinet quod baptizato Domino aperti sunt ei coeli, et Spiritus descendit super eum, ut hinc nimirum fides nostra confirmetur, per mysterium sacri baptismatis aperiri nobis introitum patriae coelestis, et sancti Spiritus gratia ministrari. Numquid enim credi decet Domino tunc primum coelestia patuisse secreta, cum recta fides habeat non minus tempore quo cum hominibus conversatus est, quam et post et antea in sinu Patris mansisse, et sedem tenuisse coelestem? Aut a tricesimo aetatis suae [Al. om. suae] anno, quando baptizatus est, Spiritus sancti dona percepit
And Jesus, being baptized, went up at once from the water: and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and coming upon Him. This too belongs to the fulfilment of all justice, that when the Lord had been baptized the heavens were opened to Him and the Spirit descended upon Him, so that hereby, assuredly, our faith may be confirmed that through the mystery of holy baptism the entrance to the heavenly fatherland is opened to us and the grace of the Holy Spirit is bestowed. For is it fitting to believe that the secrets of heaven were then for the first time laid open to the Lord, when the right faith holds that no less in the time when He lived among men than both after and before, He remained in the bosom of the Father and held the heavenly seat? Or that from the thirtieth year of His [variant omits: His] age, when He was baptized, He received the gifts of the Holy Spirit
Editors' notes and page, col. 59
Page
- running head: 59 BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS II (right half of the head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹gratiam Spiritus cunctam›; B ‹pareat natus ex muliere›; C ‹zaberis in spiritu›; D ‹Baptizatus autem Jesus›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "sequitur" in para 1 printed with a damaged t ("sequi ur"); set whole. Column ends mid-sentence at "percepit".
qui prima conceptione Spiritu sancto plenus semper exstitit? Nobis ergo, fratres charissimi, nobis sunt haec celebrata mysteria. Quia enim nobis Dominus sacrosancto sui corporis intinctu baptismi lavacrum dedicavit, nobis quoque post acceptum baptisma coeli aditum patere, et Spiritum sanctum dari monstravit. Et congrua multum distantia, quia primus Adam ab immundo spiritu deceptus per serpentem, gaudia regni coelestis amisit; secundus Adam a Spiritu sancto per columbam glorificatus ejusdem regni limina reseravit, flammamque vibrantem, qua ingressum paradisi expulso Adam primo Cherub custos interclusit. Secundus Adam hodierna die per aquam lavacri renascentis exstingui debere monstravit, ut unde ille cum sua conjuge ab hoste victus exiit, ibi iste cum sanctorum Ecclesia, sponsa videlicet sua, de hoste victor rediret, imo potiora redemptis a peccato vitae immortalis munera pater futuri saeculi princeps pacis donaret, quae praesentis nostri saeculi pater princeps discordiae venundatus sub peccato sua cum stirpe perdidit; quia nimirum vita illa beatissima, quam deseruit Adam, quamvis incomparabili luce et pace sublimis ab omnium curarum stimulantium nube serena crebra Dei et angelorum fuerit visione et allocutione glorificata, in terrae tamen hujus erat locis constituta terrenis, quamvis nullo labore quaesitis alenda fructibus: at haec quam Christus tribuit in coelorum est arce vita perennis non crebra, sed e [Al. om. e] continua divinae contemplationis luce refecta. Prima hominis vita beata ita fuit immortalis, ut posset in ea homo non mori, si se a peccati seductione cautus servaret; secunda vero ita fiet immortalis, ut non possit in ea homo mori, nec ulla peccati pulsantis seductione tentari. Bene autem Spiritus reconciliator in columba, quae multum simplex est avis, apparuit, ut et suae videlicet naturae simplicitatem per hujus speciem animalis ostenderet. Spiritus enim sanctus disciplinae effugiet fictum, ut eum in quem descendit mansuetum mitemque ac misericordiae supernae praeconem ministrumque doceret mundo esse futurum; simul et omnes qui sua gratia essent renovandi, simplices ac mundi corde [Al., misericordes] admoneret ingredi, juxta quod scriptum est: Sentite de Domino in bonitate, et in simplicitate cordis quaerite illum. Quoniam in malevolam animam non introibit sapientia, nec habitabit in corpore subdito peccatis (Sap. I). Hinc est quod Simon, qui in felle amaritudinis et obligatione iniquitatis permanere consensit, partem sortemque in hoc Spiritu habere nequivit. Illo enim spiritu plenus erat qui in serpente hominibus apparendo, quia ipse malitiae et insidiarum peste infectus esset corda diligenter edocuit. Sed descendente super Dominum Spiritu, videamus quid sequitur:
Who from His first conception was ever full of the Holy Spirit? For us, then, dearest brethren, for us were these mysteries celebrated. For since the Lord dedicated the washing of baptism for us by the dipping of His most holy body, He showed that for us too, after receiving baptism, the entrance of heaven lies open and the Holy Spirit is given. And the contrast is very fitting: the first Adam, deceived by the unclean spirit through the serpent, lost the joys of the heavenly kingdom; the second Adam, glorified by the Holy Spirit through the dove, unbarred the threshold of that same kingdom, and the quivering flame by which the Cherub, its guardian, closed off the entrance of paradise when the first Adam had been expelled. The second Adam showed this day that it was to be quenched through the water of the washing of rebirth, so that, whence the one went out with his wife, conquered by the enemy, thither the other, with the Church of the saints, that is, His bride, might return victor over the enemy; nay rather, that the Father of the world to come, the Prince of peace, might give to those redeemed from sin the better gifts of immortal life, which the father of this present world of ours, the prince of discord, sold under sin, lost together with his stock. For assuredly that most blessed life which Adam forsook, although, lofty in incomparable light and peace, cloudless of every cloud of goading cares, it was glorified by frequent vision and converse of God and the angels, was nevertheless set in earthly places of this earth, though it was to be nourished by fruits sought with no labour; but this, which Christ has granted, is the everlasting life in the citadel of the heavens, refreshed not by frequent but by [variant omits: by] continual light of divine contemplation. The first blessed life of man was immortal in such a way that man could not die in it, if he kept himself watchfully from the seduction of sin; but the second will be immortal in such a way that man cannot die in it, nor be tempted by any seduction of sin knocking at the door. Well, moreover, did the Spirit, the reconciler, appear in a dove, which is a very simple bird, so that through the form of this creature He might show the simplicity of His own nature too. For the Holy Spirit of discipline will flee from deceit; so that He might teach that He upon Whom He descended would be gentle and mild to the world, and the herald and minister of heavenly mercy; and at the same time might admonish all who were to be renewed by His grace to enter simple and clean of heart [variant: merciful], according to what is written: Think of the Lord in goodness, and seek Him in simplicity of heart. For wisdom will not enter into a malevolent soul, nor dwell in a body subject to sins (Wis. 1:1, 4). Hence it is that Simon, who consented to remain in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity, could have no part or lot in this Spirit. For he was full of that spirit which, by appearing to men in the serpent, carefully taught their hearts that it was itself infected with the plague of malice and snares. But now that the Spirit has descended upon the Lord, let us see what follows:
Et ecce vox de coelis dicens: Hic est Filius meus dilectus, in quo mihi complacui. Filius Dei baptizatur in homine, Spiritus Dei descendit in columba, Pater Deus in voce sanctae et individuae Trinitatis in baptismi declaratur mysterium [Al., mysterio]. Et recte
And behold a voice from heaven, saying: This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased. The Son of God is baptized in the man, the Spirit of God descends in the dove, God the Father in the voice: the mystery [variant: in the mystery] of the holy and undivided Trinity is declared in baptism. And rightly
Editors' notes and page, col. 60
Page
- running head: S OPP. PARS III. — PARÆNETICA. 60 (left half of the head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹qui prima conceptione›; B ‹iste cum sanctorum Ecclesia›; C ‹templationis luce refecta›; D ‹tate, et in simplicitate›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: last word hyphenated at the break, "re-|cte", completed from the first line of col. 61 and set whole here as "recte". "sed e [Al. om. e] continua" set as printed.
ut qui sacramentorum suorum dispensatoribus erat praecepturus docere omnes gentes, et baptizare eos [Al., eas] in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus sancti, primus ipse suo in baptismate totam personaliter panderet adesse Trinitatem. Quod ait vox paterna, hic est Filius meus dilectus, in quo mihi bene complacui, ad comparationem terreni hominis dicit, in quo peccante quodammodo sibi displicuisse Deus conditor insinuat, cum ait: Poenitet me hominem fecisse in terra (Gen. VI.). Poenitentia quidem in Deum nulla cadit, sed nostro more loquens, qui compungi poenitentia solemus, quando contra votum nostra opera verti videmus. Poenitere se dixit hominem fecisse in terra, quem a rectitudine suae facturae peccando degenerare [Al., deviare] conspexit. In Filio autem suo unigenito sibi singulariter complacuit, quia hunc hominem quem induerat a peccato immunem servare cognovit. Et in hac quoque voce Patris, sicut et in caeteris baptizati Domini mysteriis, omnis justitiae declaratur impletio. Coaeternus enim et consubstantialis Patri Filius, descendente super eum Spiritu, qui sit hominibus intimatur, ut per hoc discant homines per gratiam se baptismatis accepto Spiritu sancto de filiis diaboli in Dei filios [Al. add. se] posse transferri, sicut Apostolus edocet, fidelibus ita loquens: Accepistis Spiritum adoptionis filiorum, in quo clamamus, Abba pater (Rom. VIII). Et evangelista Joannes: Quotquot, inquit, receperunt eum, dedit eis potestatem filios Dei fieri, his qui credunt in nomine ejus (Joan. I). His de baptismo nostri Salvatoris, fratres charissimi, prout ipse donavit, commemoratis, ad nosipsos revertamur, et quia [Al., utique] humilitatem obedientiamque baptistae simul et baptizati audivimus, per humilem obedientiam baptisma quod suscepimus servare curemus, mundantes nos ob omni inquinamento carnis et spiritus, perficientes sanctificationem in timore Dei. Humiliter ergo ejus subeunda et servanda mysteria eis qui necdum in his sunt initiati suadeamus, et quotquot per gradum sacerdotalem ad dispensanda illorum sumus sacramenta promoti, humiliter injunctum nobis impleamus officium. Studeamus omnes solliciti, ut januam patriae coelestis, quae nobis est divinis patefacta mysteriis, humanis ipsi nobis non intercludamus illecebris. Neque enim frustra Dominum apud evangelistam Lucam post baptisma orasse, et sic coelo aperto Spiritum ac vocem Patris venisse commemoratur, qui etiam tribus consonantibus evangelistis baptizatus, mox jejunium quadraginta dierum solitarius exercuit; sed nos profecto docuit, nosque suo informavit exemplo, ut post acceptam in baptismo remissionem peccatorum, vigiliis, jejuniis, orationibus caeterisque Spiritus fructibus operam demus, ne nobis torpentibus minusque sollicitis immundus spiritus, qui de corde nostro expulsus in [Al. om. in] baptismo fuerat, redeat, nosque spiritualibus divitiis vacuos inveniens, septemplici peste deprimat et sint novissima nostra pejora prioribus. Caveamus seduli, ne ignem nobis ipsi, qui vitae iter occludat, nostrorum crebro
that He Who was to command the dispensers of His sacraments to teach all nations and to baptize them [variant: them, feminine] in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, might Himself first make known in His own baptism that the whole Trinity is present in Person. What the Father's voice says, This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased, it says by comparison with the earthly man, in whose sinning God the Creator intimates that He was in some manner displeased, when He says: It repents Me that I have made man on the earth (Gen. 6:7). Repentance, indeed, has no place in God; but speaking after our manner, who are wont to be pricked with repentance when we see our works turn out against our wish, He said that it repented Him to have made man on the earth, whom He saw degenerate [variant: stray] by sinning from the uprightness of his making. But in His only-begotten Son He was singularly well pleased, because He knew that He kept free from sin this man whom He had put on. And in this voice of the Father too, as in the other mysteries of the Lord's baptism, the fulfilment of all justice is declared. For when the Spirit descended upon Him, it is made known to men who He is, the Son coeternal and consubstantial with the Father, so that by this men may learn that through the grace of baptism, having received the Holy Spirit, they can be transferred [variant adds: themselves] from sons of the devil into sons of God, as the Apostle teaches, speaking thus to the faithful: You have received the Spirit of adoption of sons, in Whom we cry, Abba, Father (Rom. 8:15). And the evangelist John: As many as received Him, he says, He gave them power to become sons of God, to those who believe in His name (John 1:12). Having recalled these things about the baptism of our Saviour, dearest brethren, as He Himself has granted, let us return to ourselves; and since [variant: certainly] we have heard of the humility and obedience of the baptist and of the Baptized alike, let us take care to keep through humble obedience the baptism which we have received, cleansing ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting sanctification in the fear of God. Humbly, then, let us persuade those who are not yet initiated in them to undergo and to keep its mysteries; and as many of us as have been promoted through the priestly order to dispense their sacraments, let us humbly fulfil the office laid upon us. Let us all be zealous and careful not to shut against ourselves by human allurements the door of the heavenly fatherland, which has been opened to us by divine mysteries. For not in vain is it recorded in the evangelist Luke that the Lord prayed after baptism, and that so, heaven being opened, the Spirit and the voice of the Father came; He Who also, as three evangelists agree, being baptized, at once kept a fast of forty days in solitude. Rather He surely taught us, and formed us by His example, that after receiving in baptism the remission of sins we should give our labour to vigils, fasts, prayers and the other fruits of the Spirit, lest, while we are sluggish and less careful, the unclean spirit, who had been driven out of our heart in [variant omits: in] baptism, return, and finding us empty of spiritual riches, oppress us with a sevenfold plague, and our last state be worse than the first. Let us be diligently on our guard lest we ourselves, by frequent
Editors' notes and page, col. 61
Page
- running head: 61 SECT. I. HOMILIÆ. — LIB. I. (right half of the head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹cte, ut qui sacramentorum›; B ‹autem suo unigenito›; C ‹tres charissimi›; D ‹Neque enim frustra›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "cte", the end of "re-|cte" from col. 60, which is set whole there as "recte"; not repeated here. Column ends mid-sentence at "crebro".
accendamus fomitem vitiorum. Flammeus namque gladius qualiscunque ille est, qui paradisi ostia servat, singulis quibuscunque [Al., quibusque] fidelium fonte baptismatis exstinctus est, et ut redire possit homo ablatus, infidelibus autem manet semper immobilis. Sed et falsis [Al., falso] fidelibus vocatis quidem, sed non electis, dum post baptisma se criminibus implicare non metuunt, quasi post exstinctionem idem ignis reaccenditur; ne mereantur intrare regnum, quod ficto corde ac duplici requirunt, serpentino potius dente fraudulenti quam simplici oculo columbini, quem in Ecclesia sua multum se diligere Dominus ostendit, qui in amoris Cantico ait: Ecce tu pulchra es, amica mea, ecce tu pulchra: oculi tui columbarum (Cant. I). Unde quia nobis ad discendam Deo placitam simplicitatem columbae forma proponitur, diligentius ejus naturam videamus, ut per singula innocentiae ejus exempla, vitae nobis emendatioris instituta sumamus. Haec a malitia fellis prorsus aliena est. Et nos igitur a malitiae felle alienemur, omnisque amaritudo, et ira, et indignatio tollatur a nobis cum omni malitia. Ita [Al. om. Ita] nullum ore vel unguibus l⟨ae⟩dit, nec minimas quidem musculas, vel vermiculos, quibus minores pene omnes aviculae se suosque pullos nutriunt, inquirit. Videamus nos [Al. om. nos] ne dentes nostri sint arma et sagittae, ne mordentes et comedentes invicem, consumamur ab invicem. Contineamus manus a rapinis: qui furabatur, jam non furetur. Magis autem laboret operando manibus suis quod bonum est, ut habeat unde tribuat necessitatem patienti. Nam et columba saepe alienos quasi suos fertur alere pullos. Ipsa terrae fructibus et semine pascitur. Audiamus Apostolum: Bonum est non manducare carnem, et non bibere vinum (Rom. XIV). Et apostolus Petrus: Ministrate, inquit, in fide vestra virtutem, in virtute autem scientiam, in scientia autem abstinentiam, in abstinentia autem patientiam, in patientia autem pietatem, in pietate autem amorem fraternitatis (II Petr. I). Gemitum pro cantu habet. Miseri simus, et lugeamus, et ploremus coram Domino qui fecit nos. Risus noster in luctum convertatur, et gaudium in moerorem. Beati enim lugentes, quoniam ipsi consolabuntur. Super aquas sedere consuevit, ut venturi raptum accipitris praevisa in aquis umbra declinet. Et nos mundi simus, ac mundati Scripturarum fluentis seduli assidere curemus, quarum speculis edocti dignoscere et praecavere valeamus insidias hostis antiqui. Tales quippe amat Ecclesia, sponsa videlicet Christi, quae in amoris [Al., amatoris] sui laudibus cantat: Oculi ejus sicut columbae, quae lacte sunt lotae, et resident juxta fluenta plenissima. Nidificare solet in foraminibus petrae, in caverna maceriae. Petra Christus est, cujus in cruce clavis manus, latus est lancea perforatum, unde continuo sanguis et aqua, nostrae videlicet sanctificationis et ablutionis mysterium, exivit. Maceria ejus est virtus coadunata sanctorum, caverna in ea [Al. add. macerie] sinus paternae dilectionis, quo teneriores fidelium animos dum ad fidei, spei et dilectionis
kindle the tinder of vices. For the flaming sword, whatever it is, which guards the doors of paradise, has been quenched for each and every one of the faithful [variant: for each of the faithful] in the font of baptism, and taken away so that man may return; but for unbelievers it remains ever immovable. And for false [variant: falsely] faithful too, called indeed but not chosen, when after baptism they do not fear to entangle themselves in crimes, the same fire is, as it were, rekindled after its quenching, so that they do not deserve to enter the kingdom which they seek with a feigned and double heart, fraudulent with the tooth of the serpent rather than with the simple eye of the dove, which the Lord shows that He greatly loves in His Church, when He says in the Song of love: Behold, you are fair, My love, behold, you are fair: your eyes are doves' eyes (Song 1:14). Hence, since the form of the dove is set before us for learning the simplicity pleasing to God, let us look more carefully at its nature, so that through the several examples of its innocence we may take up the rules of a more amended life. It is wholly a stranger to the malice of gall. Let us too, then, be estranged from the gall of malice, and let all bitterness and anger and indignation be taken from us with all malice. So [variant omits: So] it hurts none with beak or claws, nor does it seek out even the tiniest little mice, or the little worms with which almost all the smaller birds feed themselves and their young. Let us see that our teeth be not weapons and arrows, lest, biting and devouring one another, we be consumed by one another. Let us keep our hands from plundering: he who stole, let him steal no more, but rather let him labour, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give to him who suffers need. For the dove too is said often to rear the young of others as its own. It feeds on the fruits and seed of the earth. Let us hear the Apostle: It is good not to eat flesh, and not to drink wine (Rom. 14:21). And the apostle Peter: Supply, he says, in your faith virtue, and in virtue knowledge, and in knowledge abstinence, and in abstinence patience, and in patience piety, and in piety love of the brotherhood (2 Pet. 1:5–7). It has a moan for a song. Let us be wretched, and mourn, and weep before the Lord Who made us. Let our laughter be turned into mourning, and our joy into sorrow. For blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. It is wont to sit above waters, so that, foreseeing in the waters the shadow of the hawk, it may escape its swoop as it comes. Let us too be clean, and, being cleansed, take care to sit diligently by the streams of the Scriptures, so that, taught by their mirrors, we may be able to discern and guard against the snares of the ancient enemy. Such, indeed, the Church loves, the bride of Christ, who in the praises of her love [variant: lover] sings: His eyes are as doves, which are washed with milk, and sit beside the fullest streams. It is wont to nest in the clefts of the rock, in the hollow of the wall. The rock is Christ, Whose hands were pierced with nails on the cross, His side with a lance, whence there came out at once blood and water, the mystery, that is, of our sanctification and washing. His wall is the united strength of the saints; the hollow in it [variant adds: the wall] is the bosom of fatherly love, in which, while they nourish the more tender minds of the faithful towards the perfection of faith, hope and love,
Editors' notes and page, col. 62
Page
- running head: Æ. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINÆ. 62 (left half of the head cut off in the image; the column numeral is blurred)
- marginal letters: A ‹accendamus fomitem vitiorum›; B ‹dam Deo placitam›; C ‹laboret operando›; D ‹praevisa in aquis umbra›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "laedit": the middle letters are lost to damaged type ("l·dit"); supplied as ⟨ae⟩. Last word hyphenated at the break, "di-|lectionis", completed from the first line of col. 63 and set whole here as "dilectionis".
perfectionem nutriendos suscipiunt, quasi nidificantibus columbis in se locum pandunt. Haec ergo fortiorum auxilia, qui adhuc pusilli in fide sumus, humiliter subeamus, his Dominicae passionis sacramentis semper sanctificari curemus. Talem namque omnium nostrum conversationem Dominus quaerit, talibus intentam studiis uniuscujusque nostrum vitam videre desiderat, talium voce suas laudes decantari ac praedicari gratulatur. Surge, inquit, amica mea, speciosa mea, et veni, columba mea, in foraminibus petrae, in caverna maceriae. Ostende mihi faciem tuam, sonet vox tua in auribus meis (Cant. II). Haec de natura columbae septem virtutis exempla commemorasse sufficiat. Et recte fortasse, quia Spiritus sancti, qui in columba descendit, septiformis est gratia. Verum ex omnibus quae de ejus natura moraliter interpretanda humana potest comperire solertia, restat unum quod de ejus actu mystico sacra narrat historia. Cum enim Dominus in figuram futuri baptismatis originalis mundi scelera diluvii aquis ablueret, transacta mundatione scire volens Noe qualiter se facies haberet terrae, emisit corvum, qui ad arcam redire contempsit, significans eos qui abluti licet unda baptismatis nigerrimum tamen veteris habitum hominis emendatius vivendo deponere negligunt, et ne sancti Spiritus unctione renovari mereantur, statim ab intima catholicae pacis et quietis unitate, exteriora, id est saeculi desideria, sequendo desciscunt. Emisit post eum columbam; at illa venit ad eum vespere, portans ramum olivae virentibus foliis, in ore suo. Animadvertitis credo, fratres, et me loquentem vestro intellectu praevenitis, ramum olivae virentibus foliis gratiam esse Spiritus sancti vitae verbis abundantem: de cujus plenitudine super Christum requiescente, psalmus ait: Unxit te Deus, Deus tuus, oleo laetitiae, prae consortibus tuis (Psalm. XLIV). De cujus dono consortibus Christi dato loquitur Joannes: Vos unctionem habetis a sancto, et nostis omnia (I Joan. II). Et pulcherrima comparatione umbra veritatis concinit. Ramum olivae columba corporalis ablutam diluvii aquis detulit in arcam, Spiritus sanctus in specie columbae corporalis baptizatum aqua Jordanis descendit in Dominum. Nos quoque Christi et Ecclesiae membra, quos non solum homines qui erant in arca cum Noe, sed et animantia quae arca continebat, et ipsa quoque ligna ex quibus eadem facta est arca, figurant post acceptum undae regenerationis lavacrum: per unctionem sacri chrismatis gratia Spiritus sancti signamur, quam conservare in nobis intemeratam dignetur ipse qui dedit Jesus Christus Dominus noster, qui vivit et regnat in aeternum. Amen.
they open a place in themselves, as it were, for nesting doves. Let us, then, who are still little ones in faith, humbly take refuge in these aids of the stronger, and take care always to be sanctified by these sacraments of the Lord's passion. For such is the conduct the Lord seeks of all of us; He desires to see the life of each one of us intent on such pursuits; He rejoices that His praises are sung and proclaimed by the voice of such. Arise, He says, My love, My beautiful one, and come, My dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the hollow of the wall. Show Me your face, let your voice sound in My ears (Song 2:13–14). Let it suffice to have recalled these seven examples of virtue from the nature of the dove. And rightly, perhaps, since the grace of the Holy Spirit, Who descended in the dove, is sevenfold. But of all that human skill can find out concerning its nature to be interpreted morally, there remains one thing which the sacred history relates of its mystical action. For when the Lord, in a figure of the baptism to come, washed away the crimes of the first world with the waters of the flood, Noah, wishing when the cleansing was past to know how the face of the earth stood, sent out a raven, which disdained to return to the ark, signifying those who, though washed in the water of baptism, neglect to put off the blackest habit of the old man by living more amendedly, and, so as not to deserve to be renewed by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, at once fall away from the inmost unity of catholic peace and quiet by following outward things, that is, the desires of the world. After it he sent out a dove; and it came to him at evening, carrying in its mouth an olive branch with green leaves. You perceive, I believe, brethren, and with your understanding you go before me as I speak, that the olive branch with green leaves is the grace of the Holy Spirit, abounding in the words of life; of whose fullness resting upon Christ the psalm says: God, Thy God, has anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows (Ps. 44:8). Of its gift, given to the fellows of Christ, John speaks: You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things (1 John 2:20). And the shadow accords with the truth in a most beautiful comparison. The bodily dove brought an olive branch into the ark washed by the waters of the flood; the Holy Spirit in the form of a bodily dove descended upon the Lord baptized in the water of the Jordan. We too, members of Christ and of the Church, whom not only the men who were in the ark with Noah, but also the living creatures which the ark held, and the very timbers of which that same ark was made, prefigure, after receiving the washing of the water of regeneration, are sealed by the anointing of the sacred chrism with the grace of the Holy Spirit; which may He Himself Who gave it, Jesus Christ our Lord, deign to keep inviolate in us, Who lives and reigns for ever. Amen.
HOMILIA XII. IN DOMINICA PRIMA POST EPIPHANIAM.
HOMILY XII. ON THE FIRST SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY.
Luc. II. In illo tempore cum factus esset Jesus annorum duodecim, ascendentibus illis Hierosolymam secundum consuetudinem diei festi, consummatisque diebus cum redirent, remansit puer Jesus in Hierusalem, etc.
Luke 2. At that time, when Jesus was twelve years old, as they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast day, and when the days were completed, as they returned, the boy Jesus remained in Jerusalem, etc. (Luke 2:42–43).
Aperta est nobis, fratres charissimi, sancti Evangelii
Open to us, dearest brethren, is the holy Gospel's
Editors' notes and page, col. 63
Page
- running head: 63 BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III (right half of the head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹lectionis perfectionem›; B ‹Verum ex omnibus›; C ‹enm vespere, portans›; D ‹homines qui erant in arca›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "lectionis", the end of "di-|lectionis" from col. 62, set whole there; not repeated here. The Gospel reference "LUC. II." is printed run-in at the head of the lemma, so it is set with the lemma rather than with the heading. Last word hyphenated at the break, "Evan-|gelii", completed from the first line of col. 64 (visible at the top of the facing column) and set whole here. "septem virtutis exempla" set as printed.
lectio recitata, neque opus est ut in ea quid exponendo loquamur. Describit namque infantiam pueritiamque nostri Redemptoris, qua nostrae particeps humanitatis dignatus est fieri: commemorat aeternitatem divinae majestatis, in qua Patri mansit ac manet semper aequalis; ut videlicet incarnationis ejus humilitate ad memoriam revocata, et ipsi contra omnium vulnera peccatorum medicamentum verae humilitatis curemus exercere, pio semper animo recolentes quantum nos pro divino amore, quantum pro nostra salute oporteat humiliari, qui terra sumus et cinis, si tantum summa illa potestas pro nobis humiliari non respuit ut ad suscipienda nostrae fragilitatis infirma descenderet. Item audita, credita et confessa divinitate Domini Salvatoris, qua Patri et Spiritui sancto consubstantialis semper et coaeternus perseverat, speremus nos per humanitatis ejus sacramenta quibus imbuti sumus, usque ad contemplandam divinitatis ejusdem gloriam posse pertingere, quam ipse suis fidelibus servis fideli pietate pollicetur, dicens: Qui habet mandata mea, et servat ea, ille est qui diligit me: qui autem diligit me, diligetur a Patre meo, et ego diligam eum, et manifestabo ei meipsum (Joan. XIV). Meipsum, inquit, manifestabo, id est, non qualem me omnes conspicere, qualem etiam infideles videre possunt et crucifigere, sed qualem in decore suo regem saeculorum soli videre possunt oculi mundi sanctorum, talem me ad rependendam vicem dilectionis his qui me diligunt, ostendam. Igitur speremus nos, ut diximus, per humanitatis ejus sacramenta ad videndam divinitatis speciem posse conscendere, si tamen eadem sacramenta digno justitiae et sanctitatis et veritatis honore, ut accepimus, illibata servemus, si humanae conversationis ejus exempla, si doctrinae, quam per hominem nobis ministravit, humiliter dicta sequamur. Nam qui humilitatis ejus vestigia sequi dedignatur, qua temeritate sperat se ad intuenda claritatis ejus gaudia posse penetrare? Quod ergo Dominus per omnes annos cum parentibus in Pascha Hierosolymam venit humanae nimirum est humilitatis indicium. Hominis est namque ad offerenda Deo sacrificiorum spiritualium vota concurrere, et auctorem suum orationibus lacrymisque sibi conciliare profusis. Fecit ergo Dominus inter homines homo natus quod faciendum hominibus per angelos imperaverat Deus. Servavit ipse legem quam dedit, ut nobis qui puri homines sumus, servandum per omnia quidquid Deus jubet, ostenderet. Sequamur igitur iter humanae conversationis ejus, si divinitatis gloriam delectamur intueri, si optamus habitare in domo ejus aeterna, in coelis omnibus diebus vitae nostrae, si juvat videre voluptatem Domini, et protegi a templo sancto ejus (Psalm. XXVI). Et ne ulla in aeternum malorum aura pulsemur, meminerimus praesentis Ecclesiae domum necessariis precum mundarum frequentare muneribus. Quod ipse duodenis in templo sedit in medio doctorum audiens et interrogans illos, humanae est humilitatis indicium, imo etiam
reading which has been read, and there is no need for us to say anything in expounding it. For it describes the infancy and boyhood of our Redeemer, by which He deigned to become a sharer of our humanity; it recalls the eternity of the divine majesty, in which He remained and remains ever equal to the Father; so that, the humility of His incarnation being called to mind, we too may take care to practise against the wounds of all sins the medicine of true humility, recalling ever with a devout mind how much we, who are earth and ashes, ought to be humbled for the love of God, how much for our own salvation, if that supreme Power did not refuse to be humbled for us so far as to descend to take up the weaknesses of our frailty. Again, having heard, believed and confessed the divinity of the Lord our Saviour, by which He continues ever consubstantial and coeternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit, let us hope that through the sacraments of His humanity, with which we have been imbued, we can attain even to the contemplation of the glory of that same divinity, which He Himself promises with faithful kindness to His faithful servants, saying: He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him (John 14:21). Myself, He says, I will manifest; that is, not such as all can behold Me, such as even unbelievers can see and crucify, but such as only the clean eyes of the saints can see the King of the ages in His beauty, such will I show Myself to those who love Me, in return for their love. Let us hope, then, as we have said, that through the sacraments of His humanity we can ascend to seeing the beauty of His divinity, provided that we keep those same sacraments unimpaired, as we received them, with a worthy honour of justice and holiness and truth; if we humbly follow the examples of His human conduct, and the sayings of the teaching which He ministered to us through the man. For he who disdains to follow the footsteps of His humility, with what rashness does he hope that he can penetrate to behold the joys of His glory? That the Lord, then, came every year with His parents to Jerusalem at the Pasch is assuredly a sign of human humility. For it is man's part to gather to offer to God the vows of spiritual sacrifices, and to win over his Maker to himself with prayers and tears poured out. The Lord, then, born a man among men, did what God had commanded through angels to be done by men. He Himself kept the law which He gave, so as to show us, who are mere men, that whatever God commands is to be kept in all things. Let us follow, then, the path of His human conduct, if we delight to behold the glory of His divinity, if we long to dwell in His eternal house, in heaven, all the days of our life, if it pleases us to see the delight of the Lord, and to be protected by His holy temple (Ps. 26:4). And that we may not be struck for ever by any breath of evils, let us remember to frequent the house of the present Church with the needful gifts of pure prayers. That He, at twelve years, sat in the temple in the midst of the teachers, hearing and questioning them, is a sign of human humility, nay even
Editors' notes and page, col. 64
Page
- running head: OPP. PARS III. — PARÆNETICA. 64 (left half of the head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹gelii lectio recitata›; B ‹et Spiritui sancto›; C ‹dam. Igitur speremus›; D ‹Fecit ergo Dominus›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "gelii", the end of "Evan-|gelii" from col. 63, set whole there; not repeated here. Column ends mid-sentence at "etiam".
eximium discendae humilitatis exemplum. Dei quippe virtus, Dei sapientia aeterna quae divinitus loquitur: Ego sapientia habito in consilio, et eruditis intersum cogitationibus. Meum est consilium et aequitas, mea est prudentia, mea est fortitudo, per me reges regnant, et conditores legum justa decernunt. Beatus homo qui audit me, et qui vigilat ad fores meas quotidie, et observat ad postes ostii mei (Prov. VIII). Ipsa homine induta ad audiendos homines advenire dignata est, ut nimirum hominibus, quamvis summo ingenio praeditis, necessariam discendi verbi formam praerogaret: ne si qui discipuli veritatis fieri refugerent, magistri efficerentur erroris. Et bene qui juvenis erat doctrinae subiturus officium, puerulus adhuc seniores audit et interrogat, ut videlicet eorum provida dispensatione compescat audaciam, qui non solum indocti, sed etiam impubes ad docendum prorumpere magis, quam ad discendum volunt submitti. Sequamur iter ejus humanitatis, si nos mansio divinae delectat visionis, memores semper illius praecepti: Audi, fili mi, disciplinam patris tui, et ne dimittas legem matris tuae, ut addatur gratia capiti tuo, et torques collo tuo (Prov. I). Per auditum quippe disciplinae paternae ac pro observantia maternae legis gratia capiti nostro, et collo torques additur: quia quanto quis divinis intentus fuerit auscultare praeceptis, quanto ea quae didicerit in unitate matris Ecclesiae diligentius observare studuerit, tanto et nunc dignius ad honorem praedicandi, et in futuro sublimius ascendet ad beatitudinem cum Christo sine fine regnandi. Verum ne quis autumet Dominum Salvatorem ob imperitiae necessitatem adiisse audisseque et interrogasse magistros, videamus quid sequitur:
an outstanding example of learning humility. For the power of God, the eternal Wisdom of God, which speaks with divine voice: I, Wisdom, dwell in counsel, and am present in learned thoughts. Counsel and equity are Mine, prudence is Mine, strength is Mine; by Me kings reign, and the makers of laws decree just things. Blessed is the man who hears Me, and who watches daily at My gates, and waits at the posts of My door (Prov. 8:12, 14–15, 34) — this same Wisdom, clothed in man, deigned to come to hear men, so that, assuredly, it might set before men, even those endowed with the highest talent, the necessary pattern of learning the word: lest any who shrank from becoming disciples of the truth should be made masters of error. And well does He Who as a young man was to undertake the office of teaching, while still a little boy hear and question the elders, so that, namely, by His provident dispensation He may check the boldness of those who, not only untaught but even under age, wish rather to break forth into teaching than to be submitted to learning. Let us follow the path of His humanity, if the dwelling of the divine vision delights us, ever mindful of that precept: Hear, my son, the discipline of your father, and forsake not the law of your mother, that grace may be added to your head, and a chain to your neck (Prov. 1:8–9). For through hearing the father's discipline, and in return for keeping the mother's law, grace is added to our head and a chain to our neck: because the more intent one has been to listen to the divine precepts, the more diligently one has striven to keep what one has learned in the unity of mother Church, so much the more worthily will one rise now to the honour of preaching, and the more sublimely hereafter to the blessedness of reigning with Christ without end. But lest anyone suppose that the Lord our Saviour went to the teachers, and heard and questioned them, from the need of ignorance, let us see what follows:
Stupebant autem omnes qui eum audiebant super prudentia et responsis ejus, et videntes mirati sunt. Qui enim idem verus homo et verus erat Deus, ad ostendendum quia homo erat, homines magistros humiliter audiebat, et ad comprobandum quia Deus erat eisdem loquentibus sublimiter respondebat. Quod matri quaerenti ac dicenti:
And all who heard Him were astonished at His prudence and His answers, and seeing Him they wondered. For He Who was at once true man and true God, to show that He was man, humbly heard men as teachers, and to prove that He was God, answered them loftily when they spoke. That to His mother, seeking Him and saying:
Fili, quid fecisti nobis sic? ecce pater tuus et ego dolentes quaerebamus te. Respondit: Et quid est quod me quaerebatis? An nesciebatis quia in his quae Patris mei sunt, oportet me esse? Divinae majestatis indicium fuit, de qua alibi dicit: Omnia quaecunque habet Pater, mea sunt; atque ideo rectissime templum non minus ad se quam ad Patrem pertinere testatur. Inventus quippe in templo dicit quia in his quae Patris mei sunt, oportet me esse: quia nimirum quorum una est majestas et gloria, horum etiam una sedes ac domus est; nec solum materialis Dei domus, quae ad adorandum eum temporaliter fieri solet, sed etiam domus intellectualis quae ad laudandum eum in aeternum construitur, aeque Patri ac Filio, imo etiam Spiritui sancto constat esse communis. Denique idem Dei Filius, qui de se ac Patre dilectori suo promittit: Veniemus ad eum, et mansionem apud eum faciemus (Joan. XIV), dicit de Spiritu
Son, why have You done so to us? Behold, Your father and I have been seeking You sorrowing — He answered: And why is it that you sought Me? Did you not know that I must be in the things that are My Father's? — this was a sign of the divine majesty, of which He says elsewhere: All things whatsoever the Father has are Mine; and therefore He bears witness most rightly that the temple belongs no less to Himself than to the Father. For, found in the temple, He says that I must be in the things that are My Father's: because, assuredly, those whose majesty and glory are one have also one seat and house; and not only the material house of God, which is wont to be made in time for worshipping Him, but also the intellectual house, which is being built for praising Him for ever, is plainly common alike to the Father and the Son, nay also to the Holy Spirit. In short, the same Son of God, Who promises concerning Himself and the Father to one who loves Him: We will come to him, and will make Our abode with him (John 14:23), says of the Spirit
Editors' notes and page, col. 65
Page
- running head: 65 SECT. I. HOMILIÆ. — LIB. I. (right half of the head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹eximium discendae›; B ‹vida dispensatione›; C ‹futuro sublimius›; D ‹cium fuit, de qua alibi›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Last word hyphenated at the break, "Sp-|ritu", completed from the first line of col. 66 (visible at the top of the facing column) and set whole here as "Spiritu".
Et ego rogabo Patrem, et alium Paracletum dabit vobis, ut maneat vobiscum in aeternum, Spiritum veritatis, qui apud vos manebit, et in vobis erit (Ibid.). Quia videlicet ejusdem sanctae Trinitatis, cujus una atque indivisibilis natura divinitatis est, mansio in cordibus electorum dispar esse non potest. Ergo quod Dominus in templo sedens dicit, In his quae Patris mei sunt oportet me esse, declaratio est consempiternae Deo Patri potestatis et gloriae. Quod autem rediens Nazareth erat subditus parentibus, humanae est veritatis indicium, simulque humilitatis exemplum. In ea namque natura subditus erat hominibus, in qua minor est Patre. Unde et ipse dicit: Vado ad Patrem, quia Pater major me est: in qua etiam minoratus est paulo minus ab angelis (Joan. XIV). In illa autem in qua ipse et Pater unum sunt, in qua non ex tempore vadit ad Patrem, sed semper in ipso est, omnia per ipsum facta sunt, et ipse est ante omnes. Cujus multum est miranda magnae dispensatio pietatis, qui dum parentes suos mysterium divinae suae majestatis necdum capere vidisset, exhibuit eis humanae subjectionem humilitatis, ut per hanc eos paulatim ad agnitionem divinitatis institueret. Cum enim dixisset, Quid est quod me quaerebatis? an nesciebatis quia in his quae Patris mei sunt, oportet me esse? et ipsi non intellexerunt verbum quod locutus est ad illos, sicut evangelista consequenter insinuat:
And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Paraclete, that He may abide with you for ever, the Spirit of truth, Who will remain with you, and will be in you (ibid. 14:16–17). For, namely, the dwelling in the hearts of the elect of the same holy Trinity, Whose nature of divinity is one and indivisible, cannot be unequal. What the Lord, then, says sitting in the temple, I must be in the things that are My Father's, is a declaration of the power and glory coeternal with God the Father. But that, returning to Nazareth, He was subject to His parents is a sign of the truth of His humanity, and at the same time an example of humility. For He was subject to men in that nature in which He is less than the Father. Hence He Himself also says: I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I (John 14:28); in which also He was made a little less than the angels. But in that nature in which He and the Father are one, in which He does not go to the Father in time but is always in Him, all things were made through Him, and He is before all. Greatly to be wondered at is the dispensation of His great kindness, Who, when He saw that His parents did not yet grasp the mystery of His divine majesty, showed them the subjection of human humility, that through it He might bring them by degrees to the knowledge of His divinity. For when He had said, Why is it that you sought Me? Did you not know that I must be in the things that are My Father's? they too did not understand the word which He spoke to them, as the evangelist next indicates:
Descendit cum eis, et venit Nazareth, et erat subditus illis. Dicebat ergo arcanum suae divinae virtutis parentibus humanae suae fragilitatis, matri suae scilicet verae suae carnis, et castissimo tutori castitatis illius, qui per id temporis, nec dum prola⟨t⟩a luce Evangelica, ab omnibus pene qui eos nosse poterant, carnali conjunctione vir ejus, carnali administratione pater aestimabatur simul et vocabatur ipsius Domini Salvatoris. Dicebat, inquam, his, Quia in iis quae Patris mei sunt, oportet me esse. Qui cum arcem tanti mysterii ascendere intelligendo non possent, neque aliter eum in iis quae vere patris ejus essent manere decernerent, nisi ut comprehendere nossent, descendit ipse cum ipsis ad inferiora conversationis eorum, coepitque manere in his quae illorum erant: et erat eis pia dispensatione subjectus, donec proficiente humilitatis magisterio, quantum omnibus creaturis esset praeferendus agnoscerent. Quid pro his nostra agat superbia obsecro paucis attendamus. Certe cum ea, quae non aeternaliter novimus, sed juvante Domino ex tempore didicimus, arcana Scripturarum, simpliciores quosque fratres loquentibus nobis intelligere non posse sentimus, statim extolli consuescimus, eisque despectis de nostra nos quasi singulari ac perplurima eruditione jactamus, quasi non sint perplures etiam nobis multo doctiores; et qui a doctioribus nolumus despici, ipsi indoctiores nobis despicere, imo etiam irridere gaudemus: neque reminisci curamus, quia non eis qui vel mysteria fidei, vel sui praecepta conditoris tantum meditando percipiunt, sed his potius qui ea quae discere
He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them. He spoke, then, the secret of His divine power to the parents of His human frailty: to His mother, namely, of His true flesh, and to the most chaste guardian of her chastity, who at that time, the light of the Gospel not yet brought forth, was thought by almost all who could know them to be her husband by carnal union, and by carnal provision the father of the Lord our Saviour Himself, and was at the same time so called. He said to these, I say, That I must be in the things that are My Father's. And since they could not rise by understanding to the citadel of so great a mystery, nor judged that He remained in the things that were truly His Father's other than as they knew how to comprehend, He Himself went down with them to the lower level of their way of life, and began to remain in the things that were theirs: and He was subject to them by a loving dispensation, until, as the teaching of humility advanced, they should recognize how far He was to be preferred to all creatures. What our pride does in the face of these things, let us, I beseech you, consider in a few words. Surely when we perceive that the simpler brethren cannot understand, when we speak, the things which we have not known from eternity but have learned in time by the Lord's help, the secrets of the Scriptures, we are wont at once to be lifted up, and, despising them, we boast of our own, as it were, singular and most abundant learning, as though there were not very many even far more learned than we; and we who do not wish to be despised by the more learned rejoice ourselves to despise, nay even to mock, those less learned than ourselves: nor do we take care to remember that not to those who only take in by meditation either the mysteries of the faith or the precepts of their Maker, but rather to those who the things which
Editors' notes and page, col. 66
Page
- running head: LIÆ. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINÆ. 66 (left part of the head cut off in the image; the column numeral is blurred)
- marginal letters: A ‹ritu: Et ego rogabo›; B ‹illa autem in qua›; C ‹tus illis. Dicebat›; D ‹ciente humilitatis magisterio›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "ritu", the end of "Sp-|ritu" from col. 65, set whole there; not repeated here. "prola a luce": a gap in the type where a letter stood; supplied as "prola⟨t⟩a" (UNSURE, the sense requires "prolata"). Column ends mid-sentence at "discere".
potuerunt operando exercent, regni coelestis aditus patet. Insuper etiam scienti bonum facere, et non facienti, peccatum est illi. Et sicut Dominus ipse testatur: Omni cum multum datum est, multum requiritur ab eo (Luc. XII). Ne nos ergo scientia inflet, sed charitas potius aedificet: sequamur exemplum apparentis in homine Filii Dei, qui eis quos se ad sublimia discenda sequi necdum valere conspexit, seipsum benigna humilitate subjecit, cujus exemplo imbutos eorum animos coelesti gratia dignos coelestis arcani redderet esse capaces.
could learn practise them in deeds, the entrance of the heavenly kingdom lies open. Moreover, to him who knows how to do good and does it not, to him it is sin. And as the Lord Himself testifies: To everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required of him (Luke 12:48). Let not knowledge, then, puff us up, but rather let charity build us up: let us follow the example of the Son of God appearing in man, Who subjected Himself in kindly humility to those whom He saw not yet able to follow Him in learning lofty things, so that by heavenly grace He might render their minds, imbued with His example, worthy to be capable of the heavenly secret.
Et mater, inquit, ejus conservabat omnia verba haec conferens in corde suo. Omnia quae de Domino vel a Domino dicta sive acta cognoverat mater Virgo, diligentius in corde retinebat, sollicite cuncta memoriae commendabat, ut cum demum tempus praedicandae sive scribendae incarnationis ejus adveniret, sufficienter universa, prout essent gesta, posset explicare quaerentibus. Imitemur et nos, fratres mei, piam Domini matrem, ipsi quoque omnia verba et facta Domini ac Salvatoris nostri fixo in corde conservando, horum meditatione diurna et nocturna importunos inanium nocentiumque cogitationum repellamus incursus: horum crebra collatione et nos et proximos nostros a fabulis supervacuis et male dulcoratis detractionum colloquiis castigare atque ad divinae frequentiam laudis accendere curemus. Si enim, fratres charissimi, in futuri beatitudine saeculi habitare in domo Domini, ac perpetuo illum laudare desideramus, oportet nimirum et in hoc saeculo, quod in futuro quaeramus, sollicite praemonstremus, frequentando videlicet Ecclesiae limina, et non solum in ea laudes Domini canendo, sed et in omni loco dominationis ejus ea quae ad laudem gloriamque conditoris nostri proficiant verbis pariter ac factis ostendendo.
And His mother, he says, kept all these words, pondering them in her heart. All that the Virgin mother had come to know as said or done about the Lord or by the Lord she kept the more diligently in her heart, carefully committed all to memory, so that when at length the time should come for preaching or writing of His incarnation, she might be able to set out all things sufficiently, as they had been done, to those who asked. Let us too, my brethren, imitate the Lord's loving mother, ourselves also keeping all the words and deeds of our Lord and Saviour fixed in our heart; by meditating on them day and night let us drive back the importunate assaults of vain and harmful thoughts; by frequent discussion of them let us take care to restrain both ourselves and our neighbours from idle tales and the ill-sweetened conversations of detraction, and to kindle them to frequent praise of God. For if, dearest brethren, we desire in the blessedness of the world to come to dwell in the house of the Lord and to praise Him for ever, assuredly we ought in this world too to show beforehand with care what we seek in the next, namely by frequenting the threshold of the Church, and not only by singing the praises of the Lord in it, but also by showing in every place of His dominion, in words and deeds alike, the things that serve the praise and glory of our Maker.
Et Jesus, inquit, proficiebat scientia, aetate et gratia apud Deum et homines. Natura verae humanitatis indicat, in qua proficere ad tempus voluit, qui in divinitate idem est, et anni ejus non deficient. Juxta hominis quippe naturam proficiebat sapientia, non quidem ipse sapientior ex tempore existendo, qui a prima conceptionis hora spiritu sapientiae plenus permanebat, sed eamdem qua plenus erat sapientiam caeteris ex tempore paulatim demonstrando. Juxta hominis naturam proficiebat aetate, quia de infantia ad pueritiam, de pueritia ad juventutem, consueto hominibus crescendi ordine pervenit. Juxta hominis naturam proficiebat gratia, non ipse per accessum temporis accipiendo quod non habebat, sed pandendo donum gratiae quod habebat. Et bene cum dictum esset quia Jesus proficiebat sapientia, aetate et gratia, adjunctum est, apud Deum et homines; quia quantum proficiente aetate hominibus sapientiae et gratiae quae sibi inerant dona patefaciebat, tantum eos ad laudem Dei patris semper excitare curabat, peragens ipse quod caeteris agendum praecepit: Luceat lux vestra coram hominibus, ut videant opera vestra bona, et glorificent Patrem vestrum, qui in coelis
And Jesus, he says, advanced in knowledge, age and grace before God and men. It points to the nature of true humanity, in which He willed to advance for a time, Who in His divinity is the same, and His years will not fail. For according to the nature of man He advanced in wisdom, not indeed by becoming Himself wiser with time, He Who from the first hour of His conception remained full of the spirit of wisdom, but by showing to others little by little, with time, the same wisdom of which He was full. According to the nature of man He advanced in age, because He came from infancy to boyhood, from boyhood to youth, by the order of growth usual to men. According to the nature of man He advanced in grace, not by receiving with the passing of time what He did not have, but by laying open the gift of grace which He had. And well, when it had been said that Jesus advanced in wisdom, age and grace, was it added, before God and men; because as far as, with advancing age, He disclosed to men the gifts of wisdom and grace that were in Him, so far did He always take care to rouse them to the praise of God the Father, Himself doing what He commanded others to do: Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father, Who is in heaven
Editors' notes and page, col. 67
Page
- running head: 67 BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS II (right part of the head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹potuerunt operando›; B ‹commendabat, ut cum demum›; C ‹laudare desideramus›; D ‹caeteris ex tempore›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Last word hyphenated at the break, "coe-|lis", completed from the first line of col. 68 (visible at the top of the facing column) and set whole here as "coelis". The lemma prints "proficiebat scientia" where the commentary reads "sapientia"; set as printed, not marked as a misprint.
est (Matth. V). Atque ideo non solum apud homines gratia et sapientia proficere dicitur, in quantum ipsi ejus sapientiam gratiamque potuere cognoscere, sed etiam apud Deum, in quantum ad ejus laudem gloriamque, sapientiam ac gratiam, quam in eo cognovere, retulerunt: cujus beneficiis ac muneribus aeternis sit laus et gratiarum actio in omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
(Matt. 5:16). And therefore He is said to advance in grace and wisdom not only before men, in so far as they could know His wisdom and grace, but also before God, in so far as they referred to His praise and glory the wisdom and grace which they knew in Him: for Whose eternal benefits and gifts be praise and thanksgiving for all ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILIA XIII. IN DOMINICA SECUNDA POST EPIPHANIAM.
HOMILY XIII. ON THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY.
Joann. II. In illo tempore nuptiae factae sunt in Cana Galilaeae, et erat mater Jesu ibi, etc.
John 2. At that time there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there, etc. (John 2:1).
Quod Dominus noster atque Salvator ad nuptias vocatus, non solum venire, sed et miraculum ibidem, quo convivas laetificaret, facere dignatus est, exceptis coelestium sacramentorum figuris, etiam juxta litteram recte fidem credentium confirmat. Porro Tatiani et Marciani caeterorumque qui nuptiis detrahunt perfidia quam sit damnabilis insinuat. Si enim toro immaculato et nuptiis debita castitate celebratis culpa inesset, nequaquam Dominus ad has venire, nequaquam eas signorum suorum initiis consecrare voluisset. Nunc autem, quia bona est castitas conjugalis, melior continentia vidualis, optima perfectio virginalis, ad comprobandam omnium electionem graduum, discernendum tamen singulorum meritum, ex intemerato Mariae virginis utero nasci dignatus est, a prophetico Annae viduae ore mox natus benedicitur, a nuptiarum celebratoribus jam juvenis invitatur, et hos suae praesentia vir⟨t⟩utis honorat. Sed nunc redeamus ad altiorem coelestium laetitiam figurarum. Miracula namque facturus in terra Dei Filius venit ad nuptias, ut ipsum se esse diceret de quo sub typo solis Psalmista praecinuit: Et ipse tanquam sponsus procedens de thalamo suo, exsultavit ut gigas ad currendam viam, a summo coelo egressio ejus (Psal. XVIII). Qui et ipse quodam loco de se suisque fidelibus ait: Nunquid possunt filii sponsi lugere quandiu cum illis est sponsus? Venient autem dies, cum auferetur ab eis sponsus, et tunc jejunabunt (Matth. IX). Quia nimirum incarnatio nostri Salvatoris ex quo patribus coepit promitti, multis est sanctorum lacrymis et luctu semper exspectata donec veniret. Similiter ex quo post resurrectionem ascendit ad Patrem, omnis sanctorum spes ad ejus pendet reditum. Solo autem quo cum hominibus conversatus est tempore, flere ac lugere nequiverunt, quia jam secum etiam corporaliter eum quem spiritualiter dilexerunt habebant. Sponsus ergo Christus, sponsa ejus est Ecclesia, filii sponsi vel nuptiarum singuli quique fidelium ejus sunt: tempus nuptiarum est tempus illud quando per incarnationis mysterium sanctam sibi Ecclesiam sociavit. Non igitur casu, sed certi gratia mysterii, venit ad nuptias in terra carnali more celebratas, qui ad copulandam sibi spirituali amore Ecclesiam de coelo descendit ad terram: cujus quidem thalamus incorruptae genitricis uterus fuit, in quo Deus humanae naturae conjunctus est, et ex quo ad sociandam
That our Lord and Saviour, invited to a wedding, deigned not only to come but also to work a miracle there to gladden the guests, apart from the figures of heavenly sacraments, rightly confirms, even according to the letter, the faith of believers. Further, it shows how damnable is the faithlessness of Tatian and Marcian and the rest who disparage marriage. For if there were guilt in an undefiled bed and in a wedding celebrated with due chastity, the Lord would by no means have willed to come to it, by no means to consecrate it with the beginnings of His signs. But now, since conjugal chastity is good, the continence of widows better, virginal perfection best, to approve the choice of all the grades, while yet distinguishing the merit of each, He deigned to be born of the undefiled womb of the Virgin Mary; as soon as He was born He was blessed by the prophetic mouth of Anna the widow; as a young man He was invited by those celebrating a wedding, and He honours them with the presence of His power. But now let us return to the higher joy of the heavenly figures. For the Son of God, about to work miracles on earth, came to a wedding, so as to say that He Himself was the one of whom, under the figure of the sun, the Psalmist sang beforehand: And He, as a bridegroom coming forth from His bridal chamber, has rejoiced as a giant to run the way; His going forth is from the height of heaven (Ps. 18:6–7). He Who also Himself in a certain place says of Himself and His faithful: Can the sons of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then they will fast (Matt. 9:15). For, assuredly, the incarnation of our Saviour, from the time it began to be promised to the fathers, was ever awaited with many tears and much mourning of the saints until it came. Likewise, from the time He ascended to the Father after the resurrection, all the hope of the saints hangs upon His return. Only in the time in which He lived among men could they not weep and mourn, because they had with them, even bodily, Him Whom they loved spiritually. The bridegroom, then, is Christ, His bride is the Church, the sons of the bridegroom or of the wedding are each and every one of His faithful: the time of the wedding is that time when through the mystery of the incarnation He joined the holy Church to Himself. Not by chance, then, but for the sake of a sure mystery, did He come to a wedding celebrated on earth after the fleshly manner, He Who came down from heaven to earth to unite the Church to Himself in spiritual love: Whose bridal chamber indeed was the womb of His incorrupt Mother, in which God was joined to human nature, and from which, to associate
Editors' notes and page, col. 68
Page
- running head: S OPP. PARS III. — PARÆNETICA. 68 (left part of the head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹lis est (Matth. V)›; B ‹exceptis coelestium›; C ‹jam juvenis invitatur›; D ‹post resurrectionem›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "lis", the end of "coe-|lis" from col. 67, set whole there; not repeated here. The Gospel reference "JOANN. II." is printed run-in at the head of the lemma, so it is set with the lemma rather than with the heading. "vir utis": a gap in the type, supplied as "vir⟨t⟩utis". "flere": the first letters look like "fi" in the scan (UNSURE whether a broken fl ligature or a misprint "fiere"); set as "flere". Column ends mid-sentence at "sociandam".
sibi Ecclesiam tanquam sponsus processit. Primus nuptiarum locus in Judaea exstitit, in qua Filius Dei homo fieri, et Ecclesiam sui corporis participatione consecrare, suique Spiritus pignore in fide confirmare dignatus est : sed vocatis ad fidem gentibus, usque ad fines orbis terrae earumdem nuptiarum votiva gaudia pervenerunt. Nec vacat a mysterio quod die tertia, post ea quae superior Evangelii sermo descripserat, nuptiae factae referuntur, sed tertio tempore saeculi Dominum ad aptandam sibi Ecclesiam venisse designat. Primum quippe saeculi tempus ante legem patriarcharum exemplo, secundum sub lege prophetarum scriptis, tertium sub gratia praeconiis evangelistarum, quasi tertii diei luce mundo refulsit, in quo Dominus et Salvator noster pro redemptione generis humani in carne natus apparuit. Sed et hoc quod in Cana Galilaeae, id est in zelo transmigrationis perpetratae, eaedem nuptiae factae perhibentur, typice denuntiat eos maxime gratia Christi dignos existere qui zelo fervere piae devotionis, et aemulari charismata majora, ac de vitiis ad virtutes, bona operando, de terrenis ad aeterna norunt sperando et amando transmigrare. Discumbente autem ad nuptias Domino, vinum defecit, ut vino meliori per ipsum mirabili ordine facto, manifestaretur gloria latentis in homine Dei, et credentium in eum fides aucta proficeret. Quod si mysterium quaerimus, apparente in carne Domino, meraca illa legalis sensus suavitas paulatim coeperat ob carnalem Pharisaeorum interpretationem, a prisca sua virtute deficere, qui mox ea quae carnalia videbantur mandata ad spiritualem convertit doctrinam, cunctamque litterae legalis superficiem evangelicae coelestis gratiae virtute mutavit, quod est vinum fecisse de aqua. Sed primo studeamus indagare quid sit cum deficiente vino diceret mater Jesu ad eum :
the Church to Himself, went forth as a bridegroom. The first place of the wedding was in Judaea, in which the Son of God deigned to become man, and to consecrate the Church by the sharing of His body, and to confirm her in faith by the pledge of His Spirit; but when the nations were called to faith, the longed-for joys of that same wedding reached to the ends of the earth. Nor is it without a mystery that the wedding is reported to have taken place on the third day, after the things which the earlier account of the Gospel had described; rather it signifies that the Lord came in the third age of the world to fit the Church to Himself. For the first age of the world shone upon the world before the law by the example of the patriarchs, the second under the law by the writings of the prophets, the third under grace by the proclamations of the evangelists, as by the light of a third day, in which our Lord and Saviour appeared, born in the flesh for the redemption of the human race. And this too, that the same wedding is said to have been held in Cana of Galilee, that is, in the zeal of a migration accomplished, signifies in figure that those are most worthy of the grace of Christ who know how to glow with the zeal of pious devotion, and to strive after the greater gifts, and to pass over from vices to virtues by doing good, from earthly things to eternal ones by hoping and loving. Now while the Lord reclined at the wedding, the wine failed, so that, when better wine had been made by Him in a wondrous order, the glory of God hidden in man might be made manifest, and the faith of those believing in Him might grow and advance. But if we seek the mystery: when the Lord appeared in the flesh, that pure sweetness of the law's meaning had begun little by little, because of the carnal interpretation of the Pharisees, to fall away from its ancient strength; and He soon turned the commandments that seemed carnal into spiritual teaching, and changed the whole surface of the letter of the law by the power of the heavenly grace of the Gospel, which is to have made wine out of water. But first let us strive to search out what it means that, when the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to Him:
Vinum non habent. Respondit : Quid mihi et tibi est, mulier? nondum venit hora mea. Neque enim matrem suam inhonoraret, qui nobis jubet honorare patrem et matrem : aut eam sibi esse matrem negaret, ex cujus carne virginea carnem suscipere non despexit, etiam Apostolo teste qui ait : Qui factus est ei ex semine David secundum carnem (Rom. I). Quomodo ex semine David secundum carnem, si non ex corpore Mariae secundum carnem, quae ex semine David descendit? Sed in eo quod miraculum facturus ait : Quid mihi et tibi est, mulier? significat se divinitatis, qua miraculum erat patrandum, non principium temporaliter accepisse de matre, sed aeternitatem semper habuisse de Patre. Quid mihi et tibi, inquit, est, mulier? cum divinitas, quam ex Patre semper habui, cum tua carne, ex qua carnem suscepi, communis non est. Nondum venit hora meo, ut fragilitatem sumptae ex te humanitatis moriendo demonstrem : prius est ut potentiam aeternae deitatis virtutes operando patefaciam. Veniet autem hora ut quid sibi et matri commune esset ostenderet, cum eam moriturus in cruce discipulo virgini virginem commendare curavit. Carnis namque infirma perpetiens,
They have no wine. He answered: What is it to Me and to you, woman? My hour has not yet come. For He would not dishonour His own mother, He who commands us to honour father and mother; nor would He deny that she was His mother, from whose virgin flesh He did not disdain to take flesh, as the Apostle too bears witness, who says: Who was made to Him of the seed of David according to the flesh (Rom. 1:3). How of the seed of David according to the flesh, if not from the body of Mary according to the flesh, who descended from the seed of David? But in saying, when about to work a miracle, What is it to Me and to you, woman? He signifies that He did not receive in time from His mother the beginning of the divinity by which the miracle was to be accomplished, but had always had its eternity from the Father. What is it to Me and to you, He says, woman? since the divinity which I have always had from the Father is not shared with your flesh, from which I took flesh. My hour has not yet come, to show by dying the frailty of the humanity taken from you: first I must make known the power of the eternal Godhead by working mighty deeds. But the hour would come for Him to show what He and His mother had in common, when, about to die on the cross, He took care to commend the virgin to the virgin disciple. For while suffering the weaknesses of the flesh,
Editors' notes and page, col. 69
Page
- running head: 69 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. (remainder of the head lies over the facing column)
- marginal letters: A ‹sibi Ecclesiam tanquam sponsus›; B ‹pro redemptione generis humani›; C ‹virtute deficere, qui mox›; D ‹corpore Mariae secundum carnem›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "com / mendare" is broken at a line end without a visible hyphen; set joined as commendare. "meo" in "Nondum venit hora meo" may be a worn a rather than a true misprint; UNSURE.
matrem, de qua haec suscepit, pie cognitam, ei, quem maxime diligebat, discipulo commendavit, quam divina facturus quasi incognitam se nosse dissimulat, quia hanc divinae nativitatis auctorem non esse recognoscit.
He commended the mother from whom He had taken these, lovingly acknowledged, to the disciple whom He loved most; she whom, when about to do divine works, He feigns not to know, as though unknown, because He acknowledges that she is not the author of His divine birth.
Erant autem ibi lapideae hydriae sex positae secundum purificationem Judaeorum, capientes singulae metretas binas vel ternas. Hydriae vocantur vasa aquarum receptui parata : Graece enim ὕδωρ aqua dicitur. Aqua autem Scripturae sacrae scientiam designat, quae suos auditores et a peccatorum sorde abluere et divinae cognitionis solet fonte potare. Vasa sex quibus continebatur aqua, corda devota sunt sanctorum, quorum perfectio vitae et fidei exemplum rec⟨t⟩e vivendi ac credendi proposita est generi humano per sex saeculi labentis aetates, id est, usque ad temp⟨u⟩s Dominicae passionis. Et bene lapidea sunt vasa : quia fortia sunt praecordia justorum, ut pote illius fide et dilectione solidata lapidis quem vidit Daniel praecisum de monte sine manibus, factumque in montem magnum, et implesse omnem terram, et de quo dicit Zacharias : In lapide uno septem oculi sunt (Zach. III); id est, in Christo universitas scientiae spiritualis inhabitat : cujus et apostolus Petrus meminit ita dicens : Ad quem accedentes lapidem vivum, et ipsi tanquam lapides vivi superaedificamini (I Petr. II). Bene secundum purificationem Judaeorum tantum positae sunt hydriae, quia Judaeorum tantum populo lex per Moysen data est. Nam gratia Evangelii et veritas non minus gentibus quam Judaeis per Jesum Christum facta est. Capientes, inquit, singulae metretas binas et ternas, quia Scripturae sanctae auctores et ministri prophetae, modo de Patre tantum loquuntur et Filio, ut est illud : Omnia in sapientia fecisti (Psalm. CIII). Virtus enim Dei in sapientia Christus est : modo etiam Spiritus sancti faciunt mentionem, juxta illud Psalmographi : Verbo Domini coeli firmati sunt, et spiritu oris ejus omnis virtus ecrum (Psalm. XXXII). Verbum Domini et spiritum totam, quae unus est Deus, intellige Trinitatem. Sed quantum inter aquam et vinum, tantum distare inter sensum illum quo Scripturae ante adventum Salvatoris intelligebantur, et eum quem veniens ipse revelavit apostolis, eorumque discipulis perpetuo sequendum reliquit. Et quidem potuit Dominus vacuas implere hydrias vino, qui in exordio humanae creationis cuncta creavit ex nihilo; sed maluit de aqua facere vinum, quo typice doceret non se ad solvendum improbandumque, sed ad implendum potius legem prophetasque venisse, neque alia se per evangelicam gratiam facere et docere quam quae legalis et prophetica Scriptura eum facturum docturumque signaret. Videamus ergo, fratres, sex hydrias Scripturarum aqua salutari repletas, videamus eamdem aquam in suavissimum vini odorem gustumque conversam. In prima aetate saeculi Abel justum frater invidens occidit : et ob hoc ipse perpetua martyrii gloria beatus, etiam in evangelicis et in apostolicis litteris justitiae laudem accepit, et fratricida impius aeternae maledictionis poenas
Now there were set there six stone water jars according to the purification of the Jews, each holding two or three measures. Water jars are what vessels prepared for receiving water are called: for in Greek water is called hydor. And water signifies the knowledge of sacred Scripture, which is wont both to wash its hearers from the filth of sins and to give them drink from the fountain of divine knowledge. The six vessels in which the water was held are the devout hearts of the saints, whose perfection of life and faith has been set before the human race as an example of living and believing rightly through the six ages of the passing world, that is, up to the time of the Lord's passion. And the vessels are fittingly of stone, because the hearts of the just are strong, being made firm, as they are, by faith in and love of that stone which Daniel saw cut from the mountain without hands, and become a great mountain, and filling the whole earth; and of which Zechariah says: Upon one stone are seven eyes (Zech. 3:9); that is, in Christ dwells the whole of spiritual knowledge; whom the apostle Peter also recalls, saying thus: Coming to Him, a living stone, be you yourselves also built up as living stones (1 Pet. 2:4–5). Fittingly the water jars were set according to the purification of the Jews only, because the law was given through Moses to the people of the Jews only. For the grace and truth of the Gospel came through Jesus Christ no less to the Gentiles than to the Jews. Holding, it says, each two and three measures, because the authors and ministers of holy Scripture, the prophets, at one time speak only of the Father and the Son, as in that saying: Thou hast made all things in wisdom (Ps. 103:24). For Christ is the power of God in wisdom; at another time they also make mention of the Holy Spirit, according to that saying of the Psalmist: By the Word of the Lord the heavens were made firm, and all their power by the spirit of His mouth (Ps. 32:6). In the Word of the Lord and the spirit understand the whole Trinity, which is one God. But as far as water is from wine, so far does the sense in which the Scriptures were understood before the coming of the Saviour differ from that which He Himself, coming, revealed to the apostles and left to their disciples to be followed for ever. And indeed the Lord, who in the beginning of man's creation created all things out of nothing, could have filled the empty jars with wine; but He preferred to make wine out of water, by which to teach in figure that He had come not to loosen and disapprove of the law and the prophets but rather to fulfil them, and that through the grace of the Gospel He did and taught nothing other than what the Scripture of the law and the prophets had signified that He would do and teach. Let us see then, brethren, the six jars of the Scriptures filled with saving water; let us see that same water changed into the sweetest fragrance and taste of wine. In the first age of the world his envious brother killed Abel the just: and for this he himself, blessed with the everlasting glory of martyrdom, received the praise of righteousness even in the Gospels and in the writings of the apostles, and the impious fratricide paid the penalty of eternal malediction.
Editors' notes and page, col. 70
Page
- running head: SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINAE. 70
- marginal letters: A ‹matrem, de qua haec suscepit›; B ‹sex saeculi labentis aetates›; C ‹Christum facta est›; D ‹quidem potuit Dominus›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "rec e" and "temp s" show a gap of one letter in the type: set rec⟨t⟩e and temp⟨u⟩s. "ut pote" printed as two words. The column ends with "poe-" (poenam?) split at the break; set the visible part, since the next column's top was not yet read; English ends "pu-[nishment]" accordingly.
luit. Quicunque his auditis metuunt cum impiis damnari, cupientes benedici cum piis, omnium odiorum et invidiae fomitem abjiciunt, Deo placere per sacrificium justitiae, modestiae, innocentiae ac patientiae curant, vas plenum aqua in Scriptura inveniunt, unde salubriter abluti potatique gaudeant. Sed si intellexerint Cain homicidam Judaeorum esse perfidiam, occisionem Abel passionem esse Salvatoris, terram quae aperuit os suum, et suscepit ejus sanguinem de manu Cain, Ecclesiam esse, quae effusum a Judaeis Christi sanguinem in mysterium suae renovationis accepit, nimirum aquam in vinum mutatam repererunt, quia sacrae dicta legis sacratius intelligunt. Secunda aetate saeculi inchoante deletus est aquis diluvii mundus ob magnitudinem peccatorum, sed solus Noe propter justitiam est cum domo sua liberatus in arca. Hujus plagae audita vastatione horribili, paucorumque liberatione mirabili, quisquis emendatius vivere coeperit, liberari desiderans cum electis, timens exterminari cum reprobis, hydriam profecto aquae, qua mundaretur vel reficeretur, invenit. At vero cum altius respicere coeperit, et in arca Ecclesiam, in Noe Christum, in aqua delente peccatores aquam baptismi, quae peccata diluit, in hominibus vel in animalibus, quae arca continebat, multifariam baptizatorum differentiam, in columba, quae post diluvium ramum olivae intulit in arcam, unctionem Spiritus sancti qua baptizati imbuuntur, intellexerit, vinum profecto de aqua factum miratur, quia in veteris historia facti suam ablutionem, sanctificationem, justificationem prophetari contemplatur. Tertia aetate saeculi Deus tentans obedientiam Abrahae, filium unicum ejus quem diligit in holocaustum sibi offerri praecepit. Non differt Abraham facere quod jubetur, sed pro filio immolatur aries, ipse tamen pro obedientiae virtute eximia perpetuae benedictionis haereditate donatur. Ecce habes hydriam tertiam. Audiens enim quanta sit virtus obedientiae, quanta mercede remuneretur, et ipse obedientiam discere atque habere satagis. Quod si immolationem filii unici dilecti passionem ejus intelligis, de quo dicit Pater : Hic est Filius meus dilectus, in quo mihi bene complacui (Matth. III); in qua quia divinitate impassibili permanente, sola humanitas mortem passa est et dolorem, quasi filius offertur, sed aries mactatur. Si intelligis benedictionem, quae promissa est Abrahae, in te de gentibus credendis munus esse completum, nimirum tibi de aqua vinum fecit, quia spiritualem sensum, cujus nova fragrantia inebriaris, aperuit. Quartae aetatis initiis David pro salute regnum Israeliticae gentis sortitur, humilis, innocens et mitis, exsul pro illo cujus injusta diu persecutione cruciabatur. Ecce hydria quarta fonte salutari repleta. Quisquis haec audiens humilitati atque innocentiae studere, et superbiam coeperit atque invidiam suo de corde repellere, quasi haustum aquae limpidissimae, quo reficiatur, invenit. At si in Saule Judaeos persequentes, in David Christum et Ecclesiam significari cognoverit,
Whoever, having heard these things, fear to be condemned with the impious, desiring to be blessed with the pious, cast away the tinder of all hatreds and envy, and take care to please God by the sacrifice of righteousness, modesty, innocence and patience, find in Scripture a vessel full of water, whereby they may rejoice to be wholesomely washed and given drink. But if they understand that Cain the murderer is the faithlessness of the Jews, that the slaying of Abel is the passion of the Saviour, that the earth which opened its mouth and received his blood from the hand of Cain is the Church, which received the blood of Christ shed by the Jews into the mystery of her renewal, then surely they have found water changed into wine, because they understand the words of the sacred law more sacredly. At the beginning of the second age of the world the world was destroyed by the waters of the flood because of the greatness of its sins, but Noah alone, for his righteousness, was delivered with his house in the ark. Whoever, having heard of the horrible devastation of this plague and the wonderful deliverance of the few, begins to live more amended a life, desiring to be delivered with the elect and fearing to be destroyed with the reprobate, has surely found a jar of water by which to be cleansed or refreshed. But when he begins to look more deeply, and understands in the ark the Church, in Noah Christ, in the water destroying sinners the water of baptism, which washes away sins, in the men and the animals which the ark contained the manifold difference of the baptized, in the dove, which after the flood brought an olive branch into the ark, the anointing of the Holy Spirit with which the baptized are imbued, then he surely marvels at wine made from water, because in the history of an ancient deed he beholds his own washing, sanctification and justification foretold. In the third age of the world God, testing the obedience of Abraham, commanded that his only son, whom he loved, be offered to Him as a holocaust. Abraham does not delay to do what he is commanded, but a ram is sacrificed in place of the son, and he himself, for the excellent virtue of obedience, is endowed with the inheritance of an everlasting blessing. Behold, you have the third jar. For hearing how great is the virtue of obedience, with how great a reward it is repaid, you too busy yourself to learn and to have obedience. But if you understand the sacrifice of the only, beloved son as the passion of Him of whom the Father says: This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased (Matt. 3:17), in which, because the divinity remained impassible and the humanity alone suffered death and pain, the son as it were is offered but the ram is slain; if you understand that the blessing which was promised to Abraham has been fulfilled as a gift in you, from among the Gentiles who were to believe, then surely He has made wine for you out of water, because He has opened the spiritual sense, by whose new fragrance you are made drunk. At the beginning of the fourth age David obtains the kingdom for the salvation of the Israelite nation, humble, innocent and meek, an exile on account of him by whose unjust persecution he was long tormented. Behold the fourth jar, filled from the saving fountain. Whoever, hearing these things, begins to be zealous for humility and innocence, and to drive pride and envy from his heart, has found as it were a draught of the clearest water by which to be refreshed. But if he has learned that in Saul are signified the persecuting Jews, in David Christ and the Church,
Editors' notes and page, col. 71
Page
- running head: 71 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III (rest of the head lies over the facing column)
- marginal letters: A ‹nas luit. Quicunque his›; B ‹sed solus Noe propter justitiam›; C ‹ctificationem, justificationem›; D ‹humanitas mortem passa est›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: The column opens with "nas", the end of "poe-/nas" (poenas) split from col. 70, where only "poe-" was set; the English of col. 70 ends "pu-" and this column's begins "-nishment". The column ends "cognove-", completed as "cognoverit" at the top of col. 72 (visible beside it as "rit,"); set here as printed; the English renders the whole clause.
illorum ob perfidiam, et carnale simul imperium et spirituale destructum, Christi autem et Ecclesiae regnum semper esse mansurum, poculum utique vini de aqua factum sentiet; quia se suamque vitam et regnum, sed et ipsum regem ibi scriptum legere novit, ubi prius quasi de aliis veterem legebat historiam. Quinta aetate saeculi populus peccans, captivante Nabuchodonosor, in Babyloniam transmigrat : sed post septuaginta annos poenitens et correctus, in patriam per Jesum sacerdotem magnum reducitur, ubi domum Dei, quae incensa est, et civitatem sanctam, quae destructa est, reaedificat. Haec legens sive audiens quisque cum peccandi metum corripit, et ad poenitendi remedium confugit, aqua hydriae purificantis ablutus est. Si vero intelligere didicerit Hierusalem et templum Dei Ecclesiam Christi, Babylonem confusionem peccatorum, Nabuchodonosor diabolum, Jesum sacerdotem magnum, verum aeternumque pontificem esse Jesum Christum, septuaginta annos bonorum plenitudinem operum, quae per Spiritus sancti dona largiuntur, videlicet propter decalogum et septiformem ejusdem Spiritus gratiam, videritque hoc quotidie fieri, aliis nimirum a diabolo de Ecclesia peccando raptis, aliis gratia Spiritus sancti per Christum resipiscendo ac poenitendo reconciliatis, vinum de aqua factum habet; quia ad se pertinere quae scripta sunt intelligens, magno mox compunctionis ardore, quasi musto incalescens, quidquid sibi peccati captivantis inesse deprehenderit, per Christi gratiam liberari deposcit. Sexta inchoante saeculi aetate Dominus in carne apparens octava die nativitatis juxta legem circumcisus est, tricesima et tertia post haec ad templum delatus, et legalia pro eo sunt munera oblata. Haec intuentes ad litteram, aperte discimus quanta nobis diligentia sunt evangelicae fidei subeunda mysteria, quando ipse benedictionem gratiae afferens, qui legem litterae dedit, veterum primo caeremoniarum ritu consecrari, quo cuncta divinitus consecrat, et sic nova gratiae sacramenta suscipere simul et tradere curavit. Ecce hydria sexta ad abluenda peccati contagia, ad potanda vitae gaudia mundiorem caeteris afferens undam. Verum si in octavi diei circumcisione baptisma, quod in mysterium Dominicae resurrectionis a peccatorum nos morte redemit, intelligens, in inductione in templum et oblatione hostiae purificantis figuratum cognoscis, fideles quosque de baptisterio ad altare sanctum ingredi, ac Dominici corporis et sanguinis victima singulari debere consecrari, vino quidem de aqua facto, et quidem meracissimo donatus es. Porro si circumcisionis diem ad generalem huma⟨n⟩i generis resurrectionem, quando mortalis propago cessabit, et mortalitas tota in immortalitatem mutabitur, interpretaris : et circumcisos induci in templum cum hostiis intellexeris, quando post resurrectionem universali expleto judicio sancti jam incorruptibiles facti, ad contemplandam perpetuo speciem divinae majestatis cum bonorum operum muneribus intrabunt : mirandum profecto, vinum de aoua fieri videbis,
that, because of their faithlessness, both the carnal and the spiritual dominion of those [persecutors] has been destroyed, but that the kingdom of Christ and of the Church will abide for ever, he will surely taste a cup of wine made from water; because he knows that he reads himself, his own life and kingdom, and indeed the King Himself, written there where before he used to read an ancient history as though about others. In the fifth age of the world the sinning people, taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar, migrates into Babylonia; but after seventy years, penitent and corrected, it is led back into its homeland by Jesus the great priest, where it rebuilds the house of God, which was burned, and the holy city, which was destroyed. Anyone who, reading or hearing this, seizes the fear of sinning and flees to the remedy of penance, has been washed with the water of the purifying jar. But if he has learned to understand that Jerusalem and the temple of God are the Church of Christ, Babylon the confusion of sins, Nebuchadnezzar the devil, that Jesus the great priest is the true and eternal High Priest Jesus Christ, the seventy years the fullness of good works, which are bestowed through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, namely on account of the decalogue and the sevenfold grace of that same Spirit; and if he sees this happening daily, some being carried off from the Church by the devil through sinning, others reconciled through Christ by the grace of the Holy Spirit through repenting and doing penance, he has wine made from water; because, understanding that the things written pertain to himself, soon with a great ardour of compunction, as though growing warm with new wine, he begs to be freed through the grace of Christ from whatever captivating sin he has found within himself. At the beginning of the sixth age of the world the Lord, appearing in the flesh, was circumcised according to the law on the eighth day after His birth; on the thirty-third day after this He was brought to the temple, and the offerings of the law were offered for Him. Looking on these things according to the letter, we learn plainly with how great diligence we must undergo the mysteries of the Gospel faith, when He Himself, bringing the blessing of grace, He who gave the law of the letter, took care first to be consecrated by the rite of the old ceremonies, with which He divinely consecrates all things, and so at once to receive and to hand on the new sacraments of grace. Behold the sixth jar, bringing a purer wave than the rest for washing away the contagions of sin and for drinking the joys of life. But if, understanding in the circumcision of the eighth day the baptism which, unto the mystery of the Lord's resurrection, has redeemed us from the death of sins, you recognize figured in the bringing into the temple and the offering of the purifying victim that all the faithful must go from the baptistery to the holy altar and be consecrated by the singular victim of the Lord's body and blood, you have indeed been given wine made from water, and wine of the purest. Further, if you interpret the day of circumcision of the general resurrection of the human race, when mortal propagation will cease and all mortality will be changed into immortality; and if you understand the circumcised being brought into the temple with victims as the time when, after the resurrection, the universal judgement being completed, the saints, now made incorruptible, will enter with the gifts of good works to contemplate for ever the beauty of the divine majesty: then surely you see, a thing to be wondered at, water made into wine,
Editors' notes and page, col. 72
Page
- running head: [BEDAE VENERABILI]S OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 72
- marginal letters: A ‹rit, illorum ob perfidiam›; B ‹Hierusalem et templum Dei›; C ‹rit, per Christi gratiam›; D ‹catorum nos morte redemit›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "huma i" shows a one-letter gap: set huma⟨n⟩i. "aoua" may be a damaged q rather than a true misprint; UNSURE. The column opens with "rit", the end of "cognove-/rit" from col. 71. It ends "vide-" split at the break (next column not yet read); set as printed, and the English renders the sense "you see".
cujus conditori recte protesteris et dicas : Et poculum tuum inebrians quam praeclarum est! Ergo Dominus vinum in gaudia nuptiarum non de nihilo facere voluit, sed hydrias sex impleri aqua praecipiens, hanc mirabile convertit in vinum, quia sex mundi aetates sapientiae salutaris largitate donavit, quam tamen ipse veniens sublimioris sensus virtute fecundavit. Nam quae carnales carnaliter tantum sapiebant, ipse spiritualiter sentienda reseravit. Vultis audire, fratres, qualiter de aqua fecerit vinum? Apparuit post resurrectionem suam duobus discipulis ambulantibus in via, ibatque cum illis, et incipiens a Moyse et omnibus prophetis, interpretabatur illis in omnibus Scripturis quae de ipso erant. Vultis iterum audire quomodo eodem sunt vino inebriati? Postmodum cognoscens quis esset qui eis verbum vitae propinabat, dicebant ad invicem : Nonne cor nostrum ardens erat in nobis, cum loqueretur in via et aperiret nobis Scripturas? (Luc. XXIV.)
to whose Maker you may rightly declare and say: And Thy cup that inebriates, how goodly it is! So the Lord did not wish to make the wine for the joys of the wedding out of nothing, but, commanding six jars to be filled with water, He wondrously turned it into wine, because He had endowed the six ages of the world with a bounty of saving wisdom, which nevertheless He Himself, coming, made fruitful by the power of a loftier sense. For what carnal men understood only carnally, He opened up to be perceived spiritually. Do you wish to hear, brethren, how He made wine from water? After His resurrection He appeared to two disciples walking on the way, and He went with them, and beginning from Moses and all the prophets He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things that were about Himself. Do you wish to hear again how they were made drunk with that same wine? Afterwards, recognizing who it was that had been pouring them the word of life, they said to one another: Was not our heart burning within us, while He spoke on the way and opened the Scriptures to us? (Luke 24:32)
Dicit ergo Jesus ministris : Implete hydrias aqua. Et impleverunt eas usque ad summum. Quid per ministros qui haec jubentur facere, nisi Christi signantur discipuli, qui impleverunt hydrias aqua? Non quidem ipsi praeteritas mundi aetates legalibus ac propheticis implendo scriptis, sed ipsi intelligendo prudenter et aperiendo fideliter, quia Scriptura, quae a prophetis ministrata est, et salubris esset ad haustum sapientiae coelestis, et ad operum castigationem utilis. Impleverunt autem eas usque ad summum, quia recte intellexerunt nullum fuisse tempus saeculi a sanctis alienum doctoribus, qui sive verbis, sive exemplis, sive etiam Scripturis viam vitae mortalibus panderent.
So Jesus says to the servants: Fill the jars with water. And they filled them up to the brim. What is signified by the servants who are commanded to do these things, if not the disciples of Christ, who filled the jars with water? Not indeed by themselves filling the past ages of the world with the writings of the law and the prophets, but by themselves understanding prudently and opening faithfully [that] the Scripture which was ministered by the prophets was both wholesome for drawing heavenly wisdom and useful for the correction of works. And they filled them up to the brim, because they rightly understood that no age of the world had been without holy teachers, who by words, or by examples, or also by Scriptures laid open the way of life to mortals.
Et dicit eis : Ite, et haurite nunc, et ferte architriclino. Et tulerunt. Architriclinus aliquis legis peritus illius temporis est, fortasse Nicodemus vel Gamaliel, vel discipulus tunc ejus Saulus, nunc autem magister totius Ecclesiae Paulus apostolus. Et dum talibus verbum Evangelii creditur quod in littera legis et prophetiae latebat occultum, vinum utique architriclino de aqua factum propinatur. Unde convenienter perhibetur quod architriclinus vocato sponso dixerit :
And He says to them: Go, and draw now, and bear it to the chief steward. And they bore it. The chief steward is some man learned in the law of that time, perhaps Nicodemus or Gamaliel, or his disciple of that time Saul, but now the teacher of the whole Church, Paul the apostle. And when the word of the Gospel, which lay hidden in the letter of the law and of prophecy, is entrusted to such men, wine made from water is surely poured for the chief steward. Hence it is fittingly reported that the chief steward, calling the bridegroom, said:
Omnis homo primum bonum vinum ponit, et cum inebriati fuerint, tunc id quod deterius est. Tu autem servasti bonum vinum usque adhuc. Quia doctorum est cognoscere distantiam legis et Evangelii, veritatis et umbrae, cunctisque veteribus institutis, cunctis regni terreni promissis, novam evangelicae fidei gratiam, et perpetua coelestis patriae dona proferre.
Every man sets out the good wine first, and when they have drunk freely, then that which is worse. But you have kept the good wine until now. For it belongs to teachers to know the distance between the law and the Gospel, between truth and shadow, and to prefer the new grace of the Gospel faith to all the old institutions, to all the promises of an earthly kingdom, and the everlasting gifts of the heavenly homeland.
Hoc fecit initium signorum Jesus in Cana Galilaeae, et manifestavit gloriam suam. Manifestavit hoc signo quia ipse esset rex gloriae, et ideo sponsus Ecclesiae, qui ut homo communis veniret ad nuptias, sed quasi Dominus coeli et terrae elementa prout voluisset, converteret. Pulchra autem rerum convenientia, qui initio signorum quae mortalis adhuc mortalibus erat ostensurus, aquam convertit in vinum : ipse initio signorum
This beginning of signs Jesus made in Cana of Galilee, and He manifested His glory. He manifested by this sign that He Himself was the King of glory, and therefore the Bridegroom of the Church, who came to the wedding as an ordinary man, but as Lord of heaven and earth turned the elements as He willed. And it is a beautiful fittingness of things that He who, at the beginning of the signs which, while still mortal, He was to show to mortals, turned water into wine, He Himself at the beginning of the signs
Editors' notes and page, col. 73
Page
- running head: 73 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. [HOM. GENUINAE.] (rest lies over the facing column)
- marginal letters: A ‹bis, cujus conditori›; B ‹Postmodum cognoscens quis esset›; C ‹a sanctis alienum doctoribus›; D ‹inebriati fuerint, tunc id quod›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Opens with "bis", the end of "vide-/bis" (videbis) from col. 72. "mirabile convertit" is printed so (adverbial use), kept. Printer's signature "PATROL. XCIV." at the foot, excluded. Ends "signo-" split at the break; next column not yet read.
quae immortalis jam per resurrectionem effectus, immortalis vitae studia sola sectantibus ostenderet, carnalem prius et quasi insipidam mentem eorum sapore scientiae coelestis imbuit. Nam et primo consistens in terra, sui Spiritus munere aperuit illis sensum, ut intelligerent Scripturas : et postmodum misso eodem de coelis majorem superni amoris simul et sapientiae spiritualis flagrantiam eorum cordibus infudit, data insuper omnium cognitione linguarum, quibus universo orbi eam, quam perceperant, vitae gratiam propinare sufficerent. Has ergo Christi et Ecclesiae nuptias, fratres charissimi, quae et tunc una in civitate figurabantur, et nunc universo celebrantur in orbe terrarum, tota mente diligamus, harum gaudiis coelestibus indefessa bonorum operum intentione jungamur. Has quia per fidem vocati intravimus m⟨u⟩ndo dilectionis habitu, celebrare curemus, nostraeque actionis simul et cogitationis maculas ante diem extremi discriminis ipsi sollicite examinando dilu⟨a⟩mus; ne forte tunc ingrediens rex, qui suo filio nuptias fecit, si viderit nos nuptialem charitatis vestem non habere, ejiciat nos, et ligatis a bene agendi facultate pedibus nostris ac manibus exteriores mittat in tenebras. Mundemus fide fortia cordium nostrorum vascula secundum purificationem praeceptorum coelestium, impleamus haec aqua scientiae salutaris, sacrae lectioni crebrius attendendo. Rogemus Dominum ut ipsam quam nobis scientiae gratiam contulit (ne forte inflet) charitatis suae fervore calefaciat, et ad superna quaerenda sola ac sapientia convertat, quatenus spiritualiter inebriati, possimus et ipsi cum Propheta cantare : Potasti nos vino compunctionis (Psalm. LIX). Sicque fit ut nobis quoque bene proficientibus, et nunc ex parte prout capere sufficimus, et in futuro perfecte Jesus manifestet gloriam suam, in qua vivit et regnat cum patre in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
which, now made immortal through the resurrection, He was to show to those alone who follow the pursuits of immortal life, imbued their mind, at first carnal and as it were tasteless, with the savour of heavenly knowledge. For first, while still abiding on earth, He opened their understanding by the gift of His Spirit, that they might understand the Scriptures; and afterwards, having sent that same Spirit from heaven, He poured into their hearts a greater ardour of heavenly love and at once of spiritual wisdom, giving them besides the knowledge of all tongues, by which they might be able to pour out to the whole world that grace of life which they had received. Let us therefore, dearest brethren, love with our whole mind this wedding of Christ and the Church, which was then figured in one city and is now celebrated throughout the whole world; let us join ourselves to its heavenly joys by an unwearied application to good works. Since, called through faith, we have entered it, let us take care to celebrate it in the clean garment of love, and let us ourselves, by examining carefully, wash away the stains of our action and of our thought before the day of the last judgement; lest perhaps the King, who made a wedding for His Son, coming in then, should see that we do not have the wedding garment of charity, and cast us out, and, our feet and hands bound from the power of doing good, send us into the outer darkness. Let us cleanse by faith the strong vessels of our hearts according to the purification of the heavenly commandments; let us fill them with this water of saving knowledge by attending more often to sacred reading. Let us ask the Lord that He would warm with the fervour of His charity the very grace of knowledge which He has conferred on us (lest perhaps it puff up), and turn it, and wisdom, to seeking heavenly things alone, so that, spiritually inebriated, we too may be able to sing with the Prophet: Thou hast given us to drink the wine of compunction (Ps. 59:5). And so it comes about that, as we too advance well, Jesus manifests His glory, now in part, as far as we are able to grasp it, and in the future perfectly, in which He lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, through all ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILIA XIV. IN DOMINICA TERTIA POST THEOPHANIAM. JOAN. I, MATTH. III, MARC. I, LUC. III. In illo tempore vidit Joannes Jesum venientem ad se, et ait : Ecce Agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccata mundi, etc.
HOMILY XIV. ON THE THIRD SUNDAY AFTER THE THEOPHANY. JOHN 1, MATTHEW 3, MARK 1, LUKE 3. At that time John saw Jesus coming to him, and said: Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who takes away the sins of the world, etc.
Joannes Baptista, et praecursor Domini Salvatoris, quem diu venturum populis verbo praedicaverat, ipsum jam venientem ad se, sicut ex lectione sancti Evangelii, fratres, modo cum legeretur, audistis, mox digito demonstravit, dicens :
John the Baptist and forerunner of the Lord Saviour, as you have heard, brethren, from the reading of the holy Gospel when it was read just now, at once pointed out with his finger Him whom he had long preached to the peoples in word as about to come, now coming to him Himself, saying:
Ecce Agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccata mundi. Ecce Agnus Dei, ecce innocens et ab omni peccato immunis, utpote qui os quidem de ossibus Adam, et caro [Al., carnem] de carne Adam, sed nullam de carne peccatrice traxit maculam culpae. Ecce qui tollit peccata mundi, ecce qui justus inter peccatores, mitis inter impios, hoc est, quasi agnus inter lupos apparens, etiam peccatores et impios justificandi habet potestatem. Quomodo autem peccata mundi tollat, quo ordine justificet impios, apostolus Petrus ostendit, qui ait : Non corruptibilibus argento vel auro redempti estis de vana vestra conversatione paternae traditionis, sed pretioso sanguine quasi Ag⟨n⟩i incontaminati
Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who takes away the sins of the world. Behold the Lamb of God, behold the innocent One, free from all sin, inasmuch as He, bone indeed of the bones of Adam and flesh [variant: taking flesh] of the flesh of Adam, yet drew from the sinful flesh no stain of guilt. Behold Him who takes away the sins of the world, behold Him who, appearing just among sinners, meek among the impious, that is, as a lamb among wolves, has the power to justify even sinners and the impious. But how He takes away the sins of the world, in what order He justifies the impious, the apostle Peter shows, who says: You were redeemed from your vain manner of life, of your fathers' tradition, not with corruptible things, silver or gold, but with the precious blood as of a Lamb undefiled
Editors' notes and page, col. 74
Page
- running head: [SECT. I. HOMILI]AE. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINAE. 74
- marginal letters: A ‹rum quae immortalis jam›; B ‹gamur. Has quia per fidem›; C ‹liter inebriati, possimus›; D ‹sancti Evangelii, fratres›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Opens with "rum", the end of "signo-/rum" from col. 73. One-letter gaps set as m⟨u⟩ndo, dilu⟨a⟩mus, Ag⟨n⟩i. Ends "in-" split at the break (next column not yet read). Page signature "3" at foot excluded. The homily heading, feast line and Gospel lemma set as one paragraph per the coordinator's rule.
et immaculati Jesu Christi (I Petr. I). Et in Apocalypsi, Joannes apostolus, cujus est hoc Evangelium : Qui dilexit nos, inquit, et lavit nos a peccatis nostr⟨i⟩s in sanguine suo (Apoc. I). Non solum autem lavit nos a peccatis nostris in sanguine suo, quando sanguinem suum dedit in cruce pro nobis, vel quando unusquisque nostrum mysterio sacrosanctae passionis illius baptismo aquae ablutus est, verum etiam quotidie tollit peccata mundi. Lavat itaque nos a peccatis nostris quotidie in sanguine suo, cum ejusdem beatae passionis ad altare memoria replicatur, cum panis et vini creatura in sacramentum carnis et sanguinis ejus ineffabili Spiritus sanctificatione transfertur : sicque corpus et sanguis illius non infidelium manibus ad perniciem ipsorum funditur et occiditur, sed fidelium ore suam sumitur in salutem. Hujus [Al., cujus] recte figuram agnus in lege paschalis ostendit, qui semel populum de Aegyptia servitute liberans, in memoriam ejusdem liberationis, per omnes annos immolatione sua populum eumdem sanctificare solebat, donec veniret ipse cui talis hostia testimonium dabat, oblatusque Patri pro nobis in hostiam odoremque suavitatis, mysterium suae passionis oblato agno in creaturam panis vinique transferret, sacerdos factus in aeternum, secundum ordinem Melchisedech. Sequitur :
and spotless, Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 1:18–19). And in the Apocalypse John the apostle, whose Gospel this is: Who loved us, he says, and washed us from our sins in His blood (Rev. 1:5). And He not only washed us from our sins in His blood when He gave His blood on the cross for us, or when each one of us was washed in the water of baptism by the mystery of His most sacred passion, but He also takes away the sins of the world daily. So He washes us from our sins daily in His blood, when the memory of that same blessed passion is renewed at the altar, when the created things of bread and wine are transferred into the sacrament of His flesh and blood by the ineffable sanctification of the Spirit; and thus His body and blood are not poured out and slain by the hands of unbelievers to their own destruction, but are taken by the mouth of the faithful unto their salvation. Rightly does the paschal lamb in the law show the figure of this [variant: whose figure]; which, having once freed the people from Egyptian bondage, was wont every year by its sacrifice to sanctify the same people in memory of that same deliverance, until He should come Himself to whom such a victim bore witness, and, offered to the Father for us as a victim and an odour of sweetness, should transfer the mystery of His passion, the lamb having been offered, into the created things of bread and wine, made a priest for ever according to the order of Melchizedek. There follows:
Joannes testimonium perhibens de Domino, Hic est, inquit, de quo dixi : Post me venit vir qui ante me factus est, quia prior me erat. Post me venit vir, post me natus est in mundo, post me praedicare inc⟨i⟩piet mundo qui ante me factus est, qui me potentia majestatis tantum quantum sol luciferum, licet post apparens, antecellit, quia prior me erat, quia In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum. Post me ven⟨i⟩t vir, tempus humanae nativitatis, quo Joanne posterior est, intellige. Qui ante me factus est, primatum regiae potestatis, quo etiam angelis praesidet, intuere. Quia prior me erat, aeternitatem divinae majestatis, qua Patri est aequalis, intellige. Post me venit vir qui ante me factus est, quia prior me erat. Post me ven⟨i⟩t humanitate, qui ideo me praecellit dignitate, quia prior me erat divinitate.
John, bearing witness of the Lord, says: This is He of whom I said: After me comes a man who was made before me, because He was before me. After me comes a man: after me He was born into the world, after me He will begin to preach to the world, He who was made before me, who, though appearing after me, surpasses me in the power of majesty as much as the sun surpasses the morning star; because He was before me, because In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). After me comes a man: understand the time of His human birth, in which He is later than John. Who was made before me: behold the primacy of royal power, by which He rules even over the angels. Because He was before me: understand the eternity of the divine majesty, in which He is equal to the Father. After me comes a man who was made before me, because He was before me. He comes after me in humanity, who therefore surpasses me in dignity, because He was before me in divinity.
Et ego nesciebam eum, inquit. Certum est quia sciebat Dominum Joannes, cui testimonium perhibere missus est, quem judicem omnium venturum praedicabat, dicens : Cujus ventilabrum in manu sua, et permundabit aream suam (Matth. III); a quo Spiritum sanctum dari debere testabatur, Ipse vos baptizabit, inquiens, Spiritu sancto, a quo seipsum ablui desiderabat, dicens : Ego a te debeo baptizari, et tu venis ad me? Quomodo ergo dicit : Et ego nesciebam eum, nisi quia eum quem antea noverat, perfectius jam cum baptizaretur agnovit? Quem mundi Salvatorem et judicem noverat, hujus potentiam majestatis altius
And I did not know Him, he says. It is certain that John knew the Lord, to whom he was sent to bear witness, whom he preached as the coming Judge of all, saying: Whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly cleanse His floor (Matt. 3:12); by whom he testified that the Holy Spirit was to be given, saying: He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit; by whom he desired to be washed himself, saying: I ought to be baptized by Thee, and comest Thou to me? How then does he say: And I did not know Him, unless because Him whom he had known before he now recognized more perfectly when He was baptized? Him whom he had known as Saviour and Judge of the world, the power of His majesty he
Editors' notes and page, col. 75
Footnotes
(a) ‹anchor: tantum quantum› · call in col 75
Al. : tantum quantum praeconem judex, tantum quantum sol, etc.
Other copies: "as much as the judge [excels] the herald, as much as the sun," etc.
(printed under page 42)
(b) ‹anchor: not visible in the page-foot image› · call in col 75 or 76 (above the rendered foot)
Al. : acceperit, adeo ut, etc.
Other copies: "he received, so much so that," etc.
(printed under page 42)
Page
- running head: 75 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III (rest lies over the facing column)
- marginal letters: A ‹contaminati et immaculati›; B ‹ipsorum funditur et occiditur›; C ‹factus est, quia prior me erat›; D ‹Et ego nesciebam eum, inquit›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
Spiritu sanc⟨t⟩o super eum descendente agnovit. Neque enim dubitandum est quia beatus Joannes cum Spiritum sanctum licet corporali specie videre, cum vocem Patris licet corporaliter sonantem meruisset audire, multum ex hoc visu et auditu profecerit, multum de divinae potestatis excellentia revelatis oculis mentis scientiae coelestis acceperit a Deo, ut ad comparationem intelligentiae qua tunc illustrari coeperit, eatenus illum quantus esset omnimodis sibi videretur ignorasse. Qui testimonium, in quod missus est, Domino diligenter perhibens, adjungit :
recognized more deeply when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him. For there is no doubt that blessed John, when he had been found worthy to see the Holy Spirit, albeit in bodily form, and to hear the voice of the Father, albeit sounding bodily, profited much from this sight and hearing, and received much heavenly knowledge from God concerning the excellence of the divine power, the eyes of his mind being opened, so that, in comparison with the understanding by which he then began to be enlightened, he seemed to himself until then to have been wholly ignorant of how great He was. And he, diligently bearing to the Lord the witness for which he was sent, adds:
Sed ut manifestaretur in Israel, propterea veni ego in aqua baptizans. Quod est aperte dicere : Non ideo veni in aqua baptizans, quia peccata mundi baptizando toll⟨e⟩re possum, sed ut eum baptizando ac praedicando manifestarem populo Israel, qui in Spiritu sancto baptizans ad tollenda peccata non solum Israel, sed totius mundi, si ei credere voluerint, idoneus est. Propterea veni ego in aqua [Al., poenitentiam] baptizans, ut sic baptizando illi viam praepararem qui baptizaret in remissionem peccatorum.
But that He might be made manifest in Israel, therefore have I come baptizing in water. Which is to say plainly: I have not come baptizing in water because I am able by baptizing to take away the sins of the world, but that by baptizing and preaching I might make Him manifest to the people of Israel, who, baptizing in the Holy Spirit, is able to take away the sins not only of Israel but of the whole world, if they are willing to believe in Him. Therefore have I come baptizing in water [variant: unto repentance], that by so baptizing I might prepare the way for Him who would baptize unto the remission of sins.
Et testimonium perhibuit Joannes, dicens : Quia vidi Spiritum descendentem quasi columbam de coelo, et mansit super eum. Bene in columbae specie descendit super Dominum Spiritus, ut discant fideles non aliter ejus Spiritu se posse impleri, nisi simplices fuerint, nisi veram cum fratribus habuerint pacem, quam significant oscula columbarum. Habent autem oscula et corvi, sed laniant, quod columba omnino non facit : significantes eos qui loquuntur pacem cum proximo suo, mali autem sunt in cordibus eorum. Columbae autem natura, quae a laniatu innocens est, illis innocentibus aptissime congruit qui pacem sequuntur cum omnibus et sanctimoniam, solliciti servare unitatem Spiritus in vinculo pacis. Atque ideo Spiritus in columba descende⟨n⟩do non suam tantummodo, vel ejus in quem descendit innocenti⟨a⟩m simplicitatemque designat, sed eorum aeque qui sentiunt de illo in bonitate, et in simplicitate cordis quaerunt illum. Quorum unanimem pietatem ae mansuetudinem spirituali gratia donatam, Dominus ipse laudans loquitur : Una est columba mea, una matri suae, electa genitrici suae (Cant. VI). Matrem quippe ac genitricem Ecclesiae Spiritus gratiam vocat, qua inspirante percepit ut ipsa quoque possit columba recte nuncupari. Denique Hebraeo sermone, quo Scriptura sancta est edita, spiritus genere feminino appellatur. Propter quod convenienter Ecclesia una Christi columba, et haec matri ac genitrici suae electa nominatur : quia nimirum quod in unitate fidei Christianae multis de gentibus congregatur, quod columbina ad invicem pace laetatur, quod electionis sorte beatur, non suo habet merito, sed dono accepit gratiae spiritualis.
And John bore witness, saying: For I saw the Spirit descending as a dove from heaven, and He remained upon Him. Fittingly did the Spirit descend upon the Lord in the form of a dove, that the faithful may learn that they cannot be filled with His Spirit otherwise than if they are simple, than if they have true peace with their brethren, which the kisses of doves signify. Ravens too have kisses, but they tear, which the dove does not do at all: signifying those who speak peace with their neighbour, but evil is in their hearts. But the nature of the dove, which is innocent of tearing, fits most aptly those innocent ones who follow peace with all men, and holiness, careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. And therefore the Spirit, by descending in a dove, signifies not only His own innocence and simplicity, or that of Him upon whom He descended, but equally that of those who think of Him in goodness and seek Him in simplicity of heart. Praising their single-minded piety and gentleness, given by spiritual grace, the Lord Himself says: One is My dove, the only one of her mother, the chosen of her that bore her (Song 6:8). For He calls the grace of the Spirit the mother and bearer of the Church, by whose inspiration she has received that she too may rightly be called a dove. Indeed, in the Hebrew tongue, in which holy Scripture was published, spirit is named in the feminine gender. For this reason the Church is fittingly called Christ's one dove, and chosen of her mother and bearer: because indeed that she is gathered from many nations in the unity of the Christian faith, that she rejoices in dovelike peace among her members, that she is blessed with the lot of election, she has not of her own merit, but has received by the gift of spiritual grace.
Et ego, inquit, nesciebam eum. Subaudis tam subtiliter
And I, he says, did not know Him. Understand: as finely as I came to know Him
Editors' notes and page, col. 76
Footnotes
(c) ‹anchor: non aliter› · call in col 76
Al. : non aliter se membra ejus fieri, non aliter ejus, etc.
Other copies: "that they do not otherwise become his members, not otherwise his," etc.
(printed under page 42)
Page
- running head: [BEDAE VENERABILI]S OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 76
- marginal letters: A ‹Spiritu sancto super eum›; B ‹zando tollere possum›; C ‹oscula et corvi, sed laniant›; D ‹ac genitricem Ecclesiae›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
quam Spiritum in eum descendentem, cognovi.
by the Spirit descending upon Him.
Sed qui misit me baptizare in aqua, ille mihi dixit : Super quem videris Spiritum descendentem, et manentem super eum, hic est qui baptizat in Spiritu sancto. Baptizat Dominus in Spiritu sancto per Spiritus sancti gratiam peccata dimittendo. Sive enim ipse aqua aliquos discipulorum suorum primus baptizaverit, per quos ad caeteros fideles baptismi rivus proflueret, eosdem etiam Spiritu baptizabat peccata illis relaxando, et Spiritus dona ministrando, sive fideles ejus invocato nomine ipsius aqua baptizent electos, et chrismate sacro perungant, eosdem nihilominus ipse Spiritu sancto baptizat, quia nemo praeter ipsum peccatorum nexus solvere, aut Spiritus sancti valet dona tribuere. Unde evangelista Joannes cum dixisset : Audierunt pharisaei quia Jesus plures discipulos facit et baptizat quam Joannes, protinus adjunxit : (quanquam Jesus non baptizaret, sed discipuli ejus), aperte dicens [Al., docens] quia etsi discipuli Jesu in nomine ejus aqua baptizant, ipse tamen magis baptizare intelligendus est qui peccata dimittit. Baptizat quoque Dominus in Spiritu sancto cum per afflationem ejusdem Spiritus corda fidelium suorum fervore sui [Al., suae] sive fraternae charitatis accendit. Charitas enim, inquit, Dei diffusa est in cordibus nostris per Spiritum sanctum, qui datus est nobis. Baptizat in Spiritu sancto, cum cuilibet electorum dat manifestationem Spiritus ad utilitatem virtutes operando [Al., operandi]. De quo baptismate ascensurus in coelum, dixit discipulis : Vos autem baptizabimini in Spiritu sancto non post multos hos dies (Act. I). Sed diligentius intuendum est quia cum dixisset : Super quem videris Spiritum descendentem, addidit, Et manentem super eum; in sanctos enim ejus Spiritus descendit. Verum quia quandiu sunt in corpore, peccato carere nequeunt, quia coelestium contemplationi semper oculum mentis intendere non sufficiunt, sed saepius hunc ad terrenae curam conversationis inflectunt, in eorum proculdubio cordibus Spiritus aliquando venit, aliquando recedit. Unde dictum est : Spi⟨r⟩itus ubi vult spirat, et vocem ejus audis, sed non scis unde veniat, aut quo vadat (Joan. III). Venit quippe ad sanctos, vadit a sanctis Spiritus, ut quem semper habere idonei non sunt, ejus per tempora redeuntis crebra luce reficiantur. In solo autem mediatore Dei et hominum homine Jesu Christo Spiritus perpetuo veraciter manet, in quo nec sordidae cogitationis maculam, quam refugeret, ullam invenit. Mansit autem totus in illo non ex eo solum tempore quo hunc Joannes super eum vidit descendentem, sed ex quo homo fieri incipiens ejus ministerio et opere conceptus est. Unde etiam potestatem dandi hominibus Spiritum non minus habet ipse quam Pater, ipso attestante qui ait : Paracletus autem Spiritus sanctus, quem mittet Pater in nomine meo, ille vos docebit omnia (Joan. XIV). Et in alio loco quod ipse hunc mittat, ostendit, dicens : Si enim non abiero,
But He who sent me to baptize in water said to me: He upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining upon Him, He it is who baptizes in the Holy Spirit. The Lord baptizes in the Holy Spirit by forgiving sins through the grace of the Holy Spirit. For whether He Himself first baptized some of His disciples with water, through whom the stream of baptism might flow out to the rest of the faithful, and baptized these same also with the Spirit, by remitting their sins and bestowing the gifts of the Spirit; or whether His faithful, calling upon His name, baptize the elect with water and anoint them with the sacred chrism, He Himself nonetheless baptizes these same with the Holy Spirit, because no one but He is able to loose the bonds of sins or to bestow the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Hence the evangelist John, having said: The Pharisees heard that Jesus makes and baptizes more disciples than John, at once added: (though Jesus did not baptize, but His disciples) (John 4:1–2), saying plainly [variant: teaching] that, although the disciples of Jesus baptize with water in His name, yet He is rather to be understood as baptizing who forgives sins. The Lord also baptizes in the Holy Spirit when, by the breathing of that same Spirit, He kindles the hearts of His faithful with the fervour of love for Himself [variant: of His own love] or for their brethren. For the charity of God, he says, is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us (Rom. 5:5). He baptizes in the Holy Spirit when He gives to any of the elect the manifestation of the Spirit unto profit, by working mighty deeds [variant: of working]. Of this baptism, when about to ascend into heaven, He said to the disciples: But you shall be baptized in the Holy Spirit not many days hence (Acts 1:5). But it is to be considered more carefully that, having said: He upon whom you see the Spirit descending, He added: And remaining upon Him; for His Spirit descends upon the saints. But because, as long as they are in the body, they cannot be without sin, because they are not able always to fix the eye of the mind on the contemplation of heavenly things but more often bend it to the care of earthly life, the Spirit without doubt at times comes into their hearts and at times withdraws. Hence it is said: The Spirit breathes where He will, and you hear His voice, but you do not know whence He comes or whither He goes (John 3:8). For the Spirit comes to the saints and goes from the saints, so that those who are not fit to have Him always may be refreshed by the frequent light of His returning from time to time. But in the one mediator of God and men, the man Jesus Christ, the Spirit abides truly for ever, for in Him He found no stain of sordid thought at all from which to flee. And He abode wholly in Him not only from the time when John saw Him descending upon Him, but from when, beginning to become man, He was conceived by His ministry and working. Hence He Himself has the power of giving the Spirit to men no less than the Father, as He Himself attests, who says: But the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things (John 14:26). And in another place He shows that He Himself sends Him, saying: For if I do not go away,
Editors' notes and page, col. 77
Page
- running head: 77 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. [HOM. GENUINAE.] (rest lies over the facing column)
- marginal letters: A ‹tiliter quam Spiritum›; B ‹dona tribuere. Unde evangelista›; C ‹in coelum, dixit discipulis›; D ‹quem semper habere idonei›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
Paracletus non veniet ad vos; si autem abiero, mittam eum ad vos (Joan. XVI). Quia nimirum una est in divinitate substantia, inseparabilis operatio Patris, et Filii, et ejusdem Spiritus sancti. Nam et de ipso Spiritu, quod sua sponte veniat ubi velit, sua potestate operetur quae velit, testatur Filius ubi ait, quod et supra memoravi : Spiritus ubi vult spirat. Haec autem omnia, inquit Apostolus, operatur unus atque idem Spiritus, dividens singulis pro⟨u⟩t vult (I Cor. XI). Hic †rco autem super eum, in quo semper manebat, baptizatum Spiritus descendere ostenditur, ut et Baptista ipse celsius jam quem praedicaret [Al., praediceret], agnosceret, et credentibus daret indicium nequaquam se nisi baptizatos aqua, Spi⟨r⟩itus ejusdem posse baptisma mereri. Quaerendum interea quomodo speciale Filii Dei agnoscendi s⟨i⟩gnum fuerit, quod super eum descenderit et manserit Spiritus, cum etiam discipulis ipse promittat, dicens : Et ego rogabo Patrem, et al⟨i⟩um Paracletum dabit vobis, ut maneat vobiscum in aeternum, Spiritum veritatis (Joan. XIV). Et paulo post : Quia apud vos manebit, et in vobis erit. Si enim apud servos Dei electos manet, et in illis erit Spiritus, quid magni est Filio Dei quod in ipso manere Spiritus astruatur? Notandumque quod semper in Domino manserit Spiritus sanctus, in sanctis autem hominibus, quandiu mortale corpus gestaverint, partim manet in aeternum, partim rediturus secedat. Manet quippe apud eos, ut bonis insistant actibus, voluntariam paupertatem diligant, mansuetudinem consequantur, pro aeterno desiderio lugeant, esuriant et sitiant justitiam, misericordiam, munditiam cordis, et tranquillitatem pacis amplectantur : sed et pro observatione justitiae persecutionem pati non vereantur, eleemosynis, orationibus et jejuniis, caeterisque Spiritus fructibus insistere desiderent. Recedit autem ad tempus, ne semper infirmos curandi, mortuos suscitandi, daemones ejiciendi, vel etiam prophetandi habeant facultatem. Manet semper, ut possint habere virtutem qua mirabiliter ipsi vivant; venit ad tempus, ut etiam aliis per miraculorum signa quales sint intus, effulgeant.
the Paraclete will not come to you; but if I go away, I will send Him to you (John 16:7). Because indeed there is in the Godhead one substance, an inseparable working of the Father and of the Son and of the same Holy Spirit. For of the Spirit Himself also, that He comes of His own accord where He wills and works by His own power what He wills, the Son bears witness where He says, as I have recalled above: The Spirit breathes where He will. But all these things, says the Apostle, one and the same Spirit works, dividing to each as He wills (1 Cor. 12:11). Here, then, the Spirit is shown descending upon Him, once baptized, in whom He always abode, so that both the Baptist himself might now recognize more loftily Him whom he was preaching [variant: was foretelling], and might give a sign to believers that they could by no means merit the baptism of that same Spirit unless they were baptized with water. Meanwhile it must be asked how it was a special sign for recognizing the Son of God that the Spirit descended and remained upon Him, since He Himself promises it to the disciples also, saying: And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Paraclete, that He may remain with you for ever, the Spirit of truth (John 14:16–17). And a little after: For He will remain with you, and will be in you (John 14:17). For if the Spirit remains with the chosen servants of God, and will be in them, what great thing is it for the Son of God that the Spirit is affirmed to remain in Him? And it is to be noted that the Holy Spirit always remained in the Lord, but in holy men, as long as they bear a mortal body, He in part remains for ever, in part withdraws, to return. For He remains with them so that they may persevere in good deeds, love voluntary poverty, attain meekness, mourn out of desire for the eternal, hunger and thirst for righteousness, embrace mercy, cleanness of heart and the tranquillity of peace; and moreover not fear to suffer persecution for keeping righteousness, and desire to persevere in almsgiving, prayers and fasting, and the other fruits of the Spirit. But He withdraws for a time, lest they should always have the power of healing the sick, raising the dead, casting out demons, or even prophesying. He remains always, so that they may have the virtue by which they themselves live wondrously; He comes for a time, so that they may shine forth to others also, through the signs of miracles, as what they are within.
Et ego vidi, inquit, et testimonium perhibui, quia hic est Filius Dei. Supra dixerat, Post me venit vir qui ante me factus est, nunc testimonium perhibet, Quia hic est Filius Dei, utriusque naturae veritatem, humanae videlicet et divinae, in una eademque Christi persona manifeste designans. Erubescat Manichaeus audiens, Venit vir; conticescat Photinus audiens, Hic est Filius Dei. Audiant mansueti et laetentur, quia venit vir post Joannem fortior Joanne, qui baptizat in Spiritu sancto, et quia hic est Filius Dei. Quia enim per superbiam recessimus homines a Deo, filius Dei per misericordiam factus est homo, ut idem ipse et per divinitatem Patri, et per humanitatem congrueret nobis : per humanitatem similem nobis pro nobis cum hoste confligere, per divinitatem Patri consubstantialem ad imaginem nos Dei et similitudinem,
And I saw, he says, and bore witness that this is the Son of God. Above he had said: After me comes a man who was made before me; now he bears witness: That this is the Son of God, plainly signifying the truth of each nature, namely the human and the divine, in one and the same person of Christ. Let the Manichaean blush when he hears: There comes a man; let Photinus fall silent when he hears: This is the Son of God. Let the meek hear and rejoice, because there has come a man after John, mightier than John, who baptizes in the Holy Spirit, and because this is the Son of God. For since we men withdrew from God through pride, the Son of God through mercy became man, so that He, one and the same, might agree both with the Father through His divinity and with us through His humanity: through a humanity like ours He might fight the enemy for us; through a divinity consubstantial with the Father [He might restore] us to the image and likeness of God,
Editors' notes and page, col. 78
Footnotes
(g) ‹anchor: suscitandi, [call] daemones ejiciendi› · call in col 78 (the in-text call reads like "a" at this resolution; the note is lettered g)
Al. add. leprosos mundandi.
Other copies add: "of cleansing lepers."
(printed under page 43)
Page
- running head: [SECT. I. HOMILI]AE. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINAE. 78
- marginal letters: A ‹Paracletus non veniet ad vos›; B ‹modo speciale Filii Dei›; C ‹diligant, mansuetudinem›; D ‹ante me factus est, nunc›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
quam peccando amisimus, posset digne recreare: per mortem nostrae fragilitatis destruere eum qui habebat mortis imperium, et per impassibilem suae divinitatis potentiam reconciliaret nos Deo Patri, cum quo vivit et regnat Deus in unitate Spiritus sancti, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
which we lost by sinning, He might worthily restore: through the death of our frailty He might destroy him who held the dominion of death, and through the impassible power of His divinity He might reconcile us to God the Father, with whom He lives and reigns, God, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, through all ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILIA XV. IN PURIFICATIONE BEATAE MARIAE. LUC. II. In illo tempore, postquam impleti sunt dies purgationis Mariae secundum legem Moysi, tulerunt Jesum, etc.
HOMILY XV. ON THE PURIFICATION OF BLESSED MARY. LUKE 2. At that time, after the days of Mary's purification according to the law of Moses were fulfilled, they took Jesus, etc. (Luke 2:22).
Solemnitatem nobis hodiernae celebritatis, quam quadragesimo dominicae nativitatis die debitis veneramur officiis, maxime ejusdem Domini Salvatoris nostri, simul et intemeratae genitricis ejus humilitate dedicatum sacra Evangelii lectio designat, exponens eos qui legi nihil debuerant, implendis se legalibus per omnia subdidisse decretis. Sicut enim modo cum Evangelium legeretur, audivimus, Postquam impleti sunt dies purgationis ejus (videlicet matris illius) secundum legem Moysi, tulerunt illum in Jerusalem, ut sisterent eum Domino, sicut scriptum est in lege Domini, quia omne masculinum adaperiens vulvam, sanctum Domino vocabitur. Praecepit namque lex ut mulier quae suscepto semine peperisset filium, immunda esset septem diebus, et in die octavo circumcideret puerum [Al., infantulum], nomenque aptaret: deinde etiam alios triginta tres dies ab ingressu templi ac viri toro abstineret, donec quadragesimo nativitatis die filium cum hostiis ad templum Domini deferret: primogenitum autem omnis masculini sexus sanctum Domino vocari, atque ideo munda quaeque offerri Deo, immunda autem mundis mutari, vel occidi, et [Al. add. omne] primogenitum hominis quinque siclis argenti debere redimi. Si autem feminam peperisset mulier, immunda fieri jussa est quatuordecim diebus, et sexaginta sex aliis diebus a templi ingressu suspendi, donec octogesimo nativitatis die, quae dies purgationis ejus vocabatur, illa se suamque sobolem hostiis sanctificatura veniret, ac sic demum ad torum viri libera redire deberet. Intueamur, fratres charissimi, diligentius verba legis quae proposuimus, et videbimus apertissime quam beatissima Dei genitrix, et perpetua virgo Maria, simul cum Filio quem genuit, ab omni fuerit legis subjectione liberrima. Cum enim dicat lex, mulierem quae suscepto semine peperisset, immundam decerni, et per longa tempora simul cum prole quam genuisset oblatis victimis debere mundari, patet profecto quia illam quae sine virilis susceptione seminis virgo peperit, una cum Filio qui natus est ei, neque immundam describat, neque per hostias salutares doceat esse mundandam. Sed sicut Dominus ac Salvator noster, qui divinitatis legem dedit, apparens in homine, fieri voluit sub lege, ut eos qui sub lege erant, redimeret, ut adoptionem filiorum reciperemus; ita etiam beata genitrix illius, quae singulari privilegio supra legem fuit, pro ostendendo tamen humilitatis exemplo, legalibus subdi non refugit institutis
The sacred reading of the Gospel shows that the solemnity of today's celebration, which we honour with due offices on the fortieth day after the Lord's nativity, is dedicated above all to the humility of the same Lord our Saviour, and together with it of His undefiled mother, setting forth how those who owed nothing to the law submitted themselves in all things to the fulfilling of the decrees of the law. For as we heard just now when the Gospel was read, After the days of her purification (that is, of His mother) were fulfilled according to the law of Moses, they took Him to Jerusalem, to present Him to the Lord, as it is written in the law of the Lord, that every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord (Luke 2:22–23). For the law commanded that a woman who had conceived seed and borne a son should be unclean seven days, and on the eighth day should circumcise the boy [variant: the little child] and give him a name; and then for another thirty-three days should keep away from entering the temple and from her husband's bed, until on the fortieth day after the birth she should bring the son with offerings to the temple of the Lord; and that the firstborn of every male sex should be called holy to the Lord, and therefore every clean thing should be offered to God, while the unclean should be exchanged for clean, or killed, and that the [variant adds: every] firstborn of man must be redeemed for five shekels of silver. But if the woman had borne a female, she was ordered to be unclean fourteen days, and for sixty-six other days to be kept back from entering the temple, until on the eightieth day after the birth, which was called the day of her purification, she should come to sanctify herself and her offspring with offerings, and so at last be free to return to her husband's bed. Let us look more carefully, dearest brethren, at the words of the law which we have set out, and we shall see most plainly how entirely free from all subjection to the law was the most blessed mother of God and perpetual virgin Mary, together with the Son whom she bore. For since the law says that a woman who had conceived seed and given birth is declared unclean, and must for a long time be cleansed together with the offspring she bore by offering victims, it is clear indeed that it neither describes as unclean her who as a virgin gave birth without receiving the seed of a man, together with the Son who was born to her, nor teaches that she must be cleansed by saving offerings. But just as our Lord and Saviour, who gave the law as God, appearing as man willed to be made under the law, that He might redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons (Gal. 4:4–5); so also His blessed mother, who by a singular privilege was above the law, yet to show an example of humility did not refuse to be made subject to the ordinances
Editors' notes and page, col. 79
Page
- running head: 79 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. (continued on the facing column; the page's column number at left read as 79)
- marginal letters: A ‹quam peccando amisimus›; B ‹dicatum sacra Evangelii lectio›; C ‹nativitatis die filium cum hostiis›; D ‹Maria, simul cum Filio quem genuit›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: last word "in-|stitutis" completed from the first line of the facing column (visible at top right of c79_1), set whole as "institutis"; the English breaks off "to the ordinances" and continues in col. 80 with "of the law".
juxta illud viri sapientis: Quanto magnus es, tanto humilia te in omnibus (Eccli. III).
according to that saying of the wise man: The greater you are, the more humble yourself in all things (Sir. 3:20).
Et ut darent, inquit, hostiam secundum quod dictum est in lege Domini, Par turturum, aut duos pullos columbarum. Hostia haec pauperum erat. Praecepit quippe Dominus in lege ut qui posset, agnum pro filio vel filia, simul et turturem sive columbam offerret; qui vero non sufficeret ad offerendum agnum, duos jam turtures, vel duos columbae pullos offerret. Ergo Dominus nostrae per omnia memor salutis, non solum homo fieri, cum Deus esset, sed etiam cum dives esset, pauper fieri dignatus est pro nobis, ut nos sua paupertate, simul et humanitate divitiarum, et divinitatis suae donaret esse participes. Sed libet paulisper intueri cur hae maxime volucres in hostiam Domini jubentur offerri. Nam et Abraham patriarcha tanto ante legem tempore has in holocaustum Domino legitur obtulisse, et in plerisque legis caeremoniis, qui mundandus esset, per has jubebatur mundari. Columba ergo simplicitatem, turtur indicat castitatem; quia et columba simplicitatis, et castitatis amator est turtur, ita ut si conjugem casu perdiderit, non aliam ultra quaerere curet. Unde in laudibus Ecclesiae loquitur Dominus: Pulchrae sunt genae tuae, sicut turturis (Cant. I). Et iterum: Ecce tu pulchra es, amica mea, ecce tu pulchra, oculi tui columbarum. Genas quippe ut [Al. om. ut] turturis habet, qui ab omni impudicitiae peste castum se custodit et immunem; oculos habet columbarum, qui nulli nocere desiderans, etiam inimicos simplici amore contuetur. Sed utraque avis memorata, quia gemitum pro cantu edere solet, sanctorum in hoc saeculo designat ploratum, de quo Dominus memorat, dicens: Amen, amen, dico vobis, quia plorabitis et flebitis vos, mundus autem gaudebit: vos autem contristabimini, sed tristitia vestra vertetur in gaudium (Joan. XVI). Et rursus: Beati lugentes [Al., qui lugent], quoniam ipsi consolabuntur (Matth. V). Merito ergo turtur et columba Domino offeruntur in hostiam: quia nimirum simplex et pudica fidelium conversatio gratum est illi sacrificium justitiae: quia qui laborat in gemitu suo, qui lacrymis stratum suum singulas per noctes abluit, acceptissimam [Al. add. prorsus] Deo victimam mactat. Cum vero utraque avis ista propter consuetudinem gemendi praesentes sanctorum luctus et desideria superna designet, hoc tamen differunt quod turtur solivagus, columba autem gregatim gemere consuevit; et ob id ista secretas orationum lacrymas, illa publicos Ecclesiae conventus insinuat. Bene autem puer Jesus primo circumciditur, ac sic interpositis diebus Hierosolymam cum hostia defertur, quia et ipse jam juvenis prius omnem carnis corruptionem moriendo aut resurgendo calcavit, ac deinde interpositis diebus cum ipsa carne jam immortali, quam pro nostra salute hostiam Deo fecerat, ad gaudia supernae civitatis ascendit. Et unusquisque nostrum prius aqua baptismi a peccatis omnibus, quasi vera circumcisione purgatur, ac sic proficiente gratia novae lucis, ad altare
And that they might give, it says, an offering according to what is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtle-doves, or two young pigeons (Luke 2:24). This was the offering of the poor. For the Lord commanded in the law that whoever was able should offer a lamb for a son or a daughter, and with it a turtle-dove or a pigeon; but whoever had not means enough to offer a lamb should offer two turtle-doves or two young pigeons. So the Lord, mindful in all things of our salvation, deigned not only to become man, though He was God, but also, though He was rich, to become poor for our sake, that by His poverty and at once by His humanity He might grant us to be sharers in riches and in His divinity. But it is worth considering for a little why these birds above all are ordered to be offered as an offering to the Lord. For the patriarch Abraham too, so long a time before the law, is read to have offered them as a holocaust to the Lord, and in very many ceremonies of the law whoever was to be cleansed was ordered to be cleansed through them. The dove, then, signifies simplicity, the turtle-dove chastity; for the dove is a lover of simplicity, and the turtle-dove of chastity, so much so that if it chance to lose its mate, it does not care to seek another afterwards. Hence the Lord speaks in praise of the Church: Your cheeks are beautiful, as the turtle-dove's (Song 1:9). And again: Behold, you are beautiful, my love, behold, you are beautiful, your eyes are doves' eyes (Song 1:14). For he has cheeks like [variant omits: like] the turtle-dove's who keeps himself chaste and untouched by every plague of unchastity; he has the eyes of doves who, desiring to harm no one, looks even upon his enemies with simple love. But each of the birds named, since it is wont to utter a moan in place of a song, signifies the weeping of the saints in this world, of which the Lord speaks, saying: Amen, amen, I say to you, that you shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy (John 16:20). And again: Blessed are the mourning [variant: those who mourn], for they shall be comforted (Matt. 5:5). Rightly, then, are the turtle-dove and the dove offered to the Lord as an offering: because the simple and modest manner of life of the faithful is indeed a pleasing sacrifice of justice to Him; because he who labours in his groaning, who every night washes his bed with tears, slays a victim most acceptable [variant adds: wholly] to God. Now while each of these birds, because of its habit of moaning, signifies the present mourning of the saints and their longing for things above, they differ in this, that the turtle-dove is wont to moan alone, but the dove in flocks; and for this reason the one suggests the secret tears of prayer, the other the public assemblies of the Church. And fittingly the child Jesus is first circumcised, and then, after an interval of days, is carried to Jerusalem with an offering, because He too, now a young man, first trampled on all the corruption of the flesh by dying and rising, and then, after an interval of days, with that same flesh now immortal, which He had made an offering to God for our salvation, ascended to the joys of the heavenly city. And each of us is first cleansed from all sins by the water of baptism, as by a true circumcision, and so, as the grace of the new light advances, to the altar
Editors' notes and page, col. 80
Page
- running head: BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 80
- marginal letters: A ‹stitutis: juxta illud viri sapientis›; B ‹hostiam Domini jubentur offerri›; C ‹qui nulli nocere desiderans›; D ‹avis ista propter consuetudinem›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column opens with "stitutis:", the end of "in-stitutis" set whole in col. 79; this file begins at "juxta". "oculi tui" and "amore" slightly damaged in the type but legible. Scripture in the Song of Songs given with modern verse numbers (1:9, 1:14).
sanctum salutari hostia Dominici corporis et sanguinis consecrandus ingreditur. Nam et ipsa singulariter simplex et casta nostri Salvatoris humanitas, quae oblata est Deo Patri pro nobis, non incongrue per immolationem columbae sive turturis potest figuraliter exprimi. Sed et omnis in fine mundi Ecclesia primo communi resurrectione cunctam terrenae labem mortalitatis et corruptionis exuet, ac deinceps in regnum coelestis Hierusalem bonorum victimis operum Domino commendata transferetur. Quod autem Simeon et Anna, provectae videlicet aetatis vir et femina, devotis confessionum officiis Dominum, quem corpore parvum vident, sed magnum divinitate intelligunt, excipiunt, illam profecto populi Judaeorum synagogam figurate denuntiant, quae longa incarnationis ejus exspectatione fatigata, promptissime [Al., promptis] illum mox, ut advenit, et piarum ulnis actionum, et fidei non fictae vocibus exaltare ac magnificare studuit, acclamans illi et dicens: Dirige me in veritate tua, et doce me, quia tu es Deus salvator [Al., salutaris] meus, et te sustinui tota die (Psalm. XXIV). Sed et hoc dicendum quia merito uterque sexus ei gratulabundus occurrerit, qui utriusque redemptor apparebat. Magno sane metu, fratres mei, audienda sunt verba quibus idem Simeon de Domino prophetans matrem ejus alloquitur:
enters, to be consecrated by the saving offering of the Lord's body and blood. For the very humanity of our Saviour too, singularly simple and chaste, which was offered to God the Father for us, can not unfittingly be expressed in figure by the sacrifice of a dove or turtle-dove. And the whole Church also, at the end of the world, will first in the common resurrection put off all the stain of earthly mortality and corruption, and thereafter, commended to the Lord by the victims of good works, will be carried over into the kingdom of the heavenly Jerusalem. That Simeon and Anna, a man and a woman of advanced age, receive with devout offices of praise the Lord, whom they see small in body but understand to be great in divinity, figuratively proclaims that synagogue of the Jewish people which, wearied by long expectation of His incarnation, as soon as He came was most ready [variant: ready] to exalt and magnify Him both with the arms of pious deeds and with the words of unfeigned faith, crying out to Him and saying: Direct me in Thy truth, and teach me, for Thou art God my saviour [variant: my salvation], and on Thee have I waited all the day (Ps. 24:5). And this too must be said, that both sexes rightly ran to meet Him with thanksgiving, since He appeared as the redeemer of each. With great fear indeed, my brethren, are we to hear the words with which the same Simeon, prophesying of the Lord, addresses His mother:
Ecce positus est hic in ruinam et resurrectionem multorum in Israel, et in signum cui contradicetur. Et tuam ipsius animam pertransibit gladius, ut revelentur ex multis cordibus cogitationes. Desideranter namque multum auditur, quod positus dicitur Dominus in resurrectionem multorum, quia sicut in Adam omnes moriuntur, ita et in Christo omnes vivificabuntur; quia et ipse dicit: Ego sum resurrectio et vita, qui credit in me, etiam si mortuus fuerit, vivet: et omnis qui vivit et credit in me, non morietur in aeternum (Joan. XI). Sed non minus terribiliter sonat quod praemittitur, Ecce positus est hic in ruinam. Infelix namque satis est, qui agnita resurrectionis gloria deterius cadit, qui visa luce veritatis gravioribus peccatorum nebulis obcaecatur. Unde curandum nobis summopere est ut recta quae cognovimus, operando semper exercere meminerimus, ne de nobis dicatur illud apostoli Petri: Quia melius erat eis viam veritatis non agnoscere, quam post agnitionem retrorsum converti ab eo quod traditum est illis sancto mandato.
Behold, this one is set for the fall and the rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be spoken against. And a sword shall pierce through your own soul, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed (Luke 2:34–35). For it is heard with great longing that the Lord is said to be set for the rising of many, because as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive (1 Cor. 15:22); for He Himself also says: I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me, even if he is dead, shall live: and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall not die for ever (John 11:25–26). But no less terribly sounds what is put first, Behold, this one is set for the fall. For wretched enough is he who, having known the glory of the resurrection, falls into worse, who, having seen the light of truth, is blinded by the heavier clouds of sins. Hence we must take the greatest care to remember always to practise in deed the right things we have come to know, lest that saying of the apostle Peter be spoken of us: For it was better for them not to know the way of truth, than after knowing it to turn back from that holy commandment which was delivered to them (2 Pet. 2:21).
Et in signum, inquit, cui contradicetur. Signo Dominicae crucis multi saepe Judaeorum exterius, multi contradixere gentilium; multi, quod est gravius, falsi fratres hoc interius professionis superficie sequuntur, sed se [Al. om. se] veritate pravae actionis nimium persequuntur, dicentes se nosse Deum, factis autem negantes.
And for a sign, it says, which shall be spoken against. Against the sign of the Lord's cross many of the Jews often spoke outwardly, many of the gentiles; many, what is graver, false brethren follow it inwardly by the surface of their profession, but by the truth of their wicked conduct they [variant omits: they] greatly persecute it, saying that they know God, but denying Him by their deeds (Titus 1:16).
Et tuam ipsius animam pertransibit gladius. Gladium appellat affectum [Al., effectum] Dominicae passionis et mortis in cruce, qui Mariae animam pertransivit: quia non sine acerbo dolore potuit crucifixum
And a sword shall pierce through your own soul. He calls a sword the feeling [variant: the effect] of the Lord's passion and death on the cross, which pierced through Mary's soul: for not without bitter grief could she see crucified
Editors' notes and page, col. 81
Page
- running head: 81 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I.
- marginal letters: A ‹sanctum salutari hostia›; B ‹incarnationis ejus exspectatione›; C ‹Et tuam ipsius animam pertransibit gladius, ut reve-›; D ‹de nobis dicatur illud apostoli›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: last word "cruci-|fixum" completed from the first line of the facing column (visible at top right of c81_1), set whole as "crucifixum"; the English sentence completes in col. 82. In "sed se ... persequuntur" the Latin is elliptical (hoc ... sequuntur / se ... persequuntur); rendered as printed sense, "it" supplied.
morientemque videre, quem licet resurrecturum a morte quasi Deum nullatenus ambigebat, tamen quasi sua e carne procreatum mori pavida dolebat.
and dying Him whom, though she in no way doubted that as God He would rise from death, yet as one begotten of her own flesh she grieved in fear to see die.
Ut revelentur ex multis cordibus cogitationes. Ante incarnationem Dominicam velatae erant cogitationes multorum, nec late patebat quis aeternorum amore flagraret, quis coelestibus bonis temporalia mente praeferret: sed nato coeli rege in terra confestim pius quisque gaudebat, Herodes autem turbatus est, et omnis Hierosolyma cum illo. Praedicante et miracula faciente, omnes turbae et timebant, et glorificabant Deum Israel: Pharisaei autem et Scribae dicta ac facta ejus salutaria rabido ore carpebant. Passo in cruce impii laetitia stulta, pii tristitia justa replebantur; sed resurgente a mortuis, et ascendente in coelum horum laetitia moerore, illorum est moestitia gaudio mutata perenni: sicque juxta prophetiam beati Simeonis apparente in carne Domino, revelatae sunt ex multis cordibus cogitationes. Non haec autem disparium revelatio cogitationum tunc solum acta in Judaea, sed nunc etiam [Al., et non etiam nunc] apud nos credenda est actitari. Et nunc enim Domino apparente revelantur ex multis cordibus cogitationes, cum lecto vel praedicato verbo salutis, alii audientium libenter auscultant, gaudentes perficere actu quae auditu didicerint; alii, fastidientes quae audiunt, non haec agendo patrare, sed his potius insultando nituntur contraire. Unde oportet, fratres, ut quoties verbum doctrinae coelestis aliquid contrarium a duris [Al., nostris] auditoribus pati senserimus, imitemur tristitiam cordis eorum qui passim in carne Dei verbum digno dolore compassionis tenebant: quoties vero idem verbum in auditorum fidelium mente per dilectionem resurgere, atque ad gloriam conditoris nostri per bona opera proficere viderimus, gaudeamus cum eis qui Christum resurrexisse a mortuis atque ad coelos ascendere votis aspexere felicibus. Sane quoniam castas, simplices et gemebundas aves Domino offerri consuevisse cognovimus, quibus nostra sobrietas, simplicitas et compunctio cordis auctori nostro semper offerenda signat [Al., signatur], oportet intueri diligentius: quia non frustra duo turtures, aut duo pulli columbae, et unus ex his pro peccato, alter in holocaustum offerri debere praecipitur. Duo sunt namque genera compunctionis, quibus semetipsos Domino fideles in ara cordis immolant: quia nimirum, sicut ex Patrum dictis accepimus, Deum sitiens anima prius timore compungitur, postea amore. Prius enim sese in lacrymis afficit, quia dum malorum suorum recolit, pro his perpeti supplicia aeterna pertimescit, quod est unum turturem sive pullum columbae pro peccatis offerre; at dum longa moeroris anxietate fuerit formido consumpta, quaedam jam de praesumptione veniae securitas nascitur, et in amorem coelestium gaudiorum animus inflammatur. Et qui prius flebat ne duceretur ad supplicium, postmodum flere amarissime incipit, quia differtur a regno, quod est de altero turture sive pullo columbino
That the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. Before the Lord's incarnation the thoughts of many were veiled, and it was not widely evident who burned with love of eternal things, who in his mind preferred temporal things to heavenly goods; but when the King of heaven was born on earth, every pious man at once rejoiced, but Herod was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him (Matt. 2:3). When He preached and worked miracles, all the crowds both feared and glorified the God of Israel; but the Pharisees and Scribes carped with rabid mouth at His saving words and deeds. When He suffered on the cross the impious were filled with foolish gladness, the pious with just sorrow; but when He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, the gladness of the former was changed into grief, the sadness of the latter into everlasting joy: and so, according to the prophecy of blessed Simeon, when the Lord appeared in the flesh, the thoughts of many hearts were revealed. Yet this revealing of unlike thoughts must be believed not to have taken place then only in Judaea, but to be carried on now also [variant: and not also now] among us. For now too, when the Lord appears, the thoughts of many hearts are revealed, when, the word of salvation being read or preached, some of the hearers listen gladly, rejoicing to accomplish in deed what they have learned by hearing; others, scorning what they hear, strive not to carry it out by doing it, but rather to oppose it by mocking it. Hence, brethren, whenever we perceive the word of heavenly doctrine to suffer some opposition from hard [variant: our] hearers, we ought to imitate the sadness of heart of those who held the Word of God suffering in the flesh with the fitting grief of compassion: but whenever we see the same word rise again through love in the mind of faithful hearers, and advance through good works to the glory of our Creator, let us rejoice with those who with happy longing beheld Christ risen from the dead and ascending to the heavens. Indeed, since we have learned that chaste, simple and moaning birds were wont to be offered to the Lord, by which he signifies [variant: is signified] that our sobriety, simplicity and compunction of heart must always be offered to our Maker, we ought to consider more carefully why it is not for nothing commanded that two turtle-doves, or two young pigeons, must be offered, one of them for sin, the other as a holocaust. For there are two kinds of compunction by which the faithful sacrifice themselves to the Lord on the altar of the heart: for indeed, as we have received from the sayings of the Fathers, the soul thirsting for God is pierced first by fear, afterwards by love. For first it afflicts itself in tears, because, while it recalls its evil deeds, it greatly fears to suffer eternal punishment for them; and this is to offer one turtle-dove or young pigeon for sins. But when, through long anxiety of grief, dread has been consumed, a certain security is born from the confident hope of pardon, and the mind is set aflame with love of heavenly joys. And he who before wept lest he be led to punishment, afterwards begins to weep most bitterly because he is kept back from the kingdom; and this is, of the other turtle-dove or young pigeon,
Editors' notes and page, col. 82
Page
- running head: [BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — SECT. I. HOMILI]AE. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINAE. 82
- marginal letters: A ‹fixum morientemque videre›; B ‹dente in coelum horum laetitia›; C ‹aliquid contrarium a duris›; D ‹holocaustum offerri debere›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens "fixum", the end of "cruci-|fixum" set whole in col. 81; this file begins at "morientemque". The page's running head spans both columns; only its right part is visible here.
holocaustum facere: holocaustum namque totum incensum dicitur. Et holocaustum se ipse Domino facit qui, spretis omnibus terrenis, solo supernae beatitudinis desiderio aestuare, solam hanc per luctum ac lacrymas quaerere dulce habet. Contemplatur etenim mens, qui sint illi angelorum chori, quae ipsa societas beatorum spirituum, quae majestas aeternae visionis Dei, et amplius plangit, quia a [Al. om. a] bonis perennibus deest, quam flebat prius, cum mala aeterna metuebat. Utramque autem nostrae compunctionis hostiam gratanter accipere dignetur, qui et pro peccato lugentibus atque afflictis clementer errata dimittit; et pro ingressu vitae coelestis tota mentis intentione ferventes aeternae suae visionis luce reficit Jesus Christus Dominus noster, qui vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
to make a holocaust: for a holocaust is called wholly burnt. And he makes himself a holocaust to the Lord who, having scorned all earthly things, finds it sweet to burn with desire for heavenly blessedness alone, and to seek this alone through mourning and tears. For the mind contemplates what those choirs of angels are, what the very fellowship of blessed spirits, what the majesty of the eternal vision of God, and laments more because it is absent from [variant omits: from] everlasting goods than it wept before, when it feared eternal evils. May He deign to receive gladly both offerings of our compunction, Jesus Christ our Lord, who mercifully forgives their errors to those who mourn and are afflicted for sin, and refreshes with the light of His eternal vision those who burn with the whole intent of the mind to enter the heavenly life, who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, through all ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILIA XVI. IN QUADRAGESIMA. JOAN. V. Erat dies festus Judaeorum, et ascendit Jesus Hierosolymam.
HOMILY XVI. IN LENT. JOHN 5. There was a feast day of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem (John 5:1).
Duo pariter miracula humanae sanationis hodierna nobis sancti Evangelii lectio tradit; unum invisibiliter per angelicam administrationem, alterum per Dominicam praesentiam visibiliter exhibitum: sed utriusque nobis sunt breviter exponenda mysteria, ne prolixae lectionis prolixa quoque explanatio cuiquam forte gravis existat. Probatica piscina quae quinque porticibus cingebatur, populus est Judaeorum, legis undique custodia, ne peccare debeat, munitus. Recte etenim lex quae quinque libris Moysi descripta est quinario numero figuratur: recte populus qui in quibusdam munditiam vitae servare, in quibusdam vero solebat immundorum spirituum tentamentis agitari, per aquam signatur piscinae, quae nunc placida ventis stare, nunc eis irruentibus turbari consueverat. Et bene piscina eadem probatica vocatur. Probaton quippe Graece oves dicuntur: quia nimirum in illo populo qui dicere Domino possent: Nos autem populus tuus et oves gregis tui confitebimur tibi in saecula (Psal. LXXVIII). Vulgo autem probatica, id est pecualis piscina fertur appellata, quod in ea sacerdotes hostias lavare consueverint. Multitudo languentium quae in memoratis porticibus jacebat, eorum catervas significat qui legis verba audientes, suis se hanc viribus implere non posse dolebant, atque ideo Dominicae auxilium gratiae totis animae affectibus implorabant. Caeci erant, qui necdum perfectum fidei lumen habebant; claudi, qui bona quae noverant operandi gressibus implere nequibant; aridi, qui quamlibet oculum scientiae habentes, pinguedine tamen spei et dilectionis egebant. Tales in quinque porticibus jacebant, sed non nisi in piscina angelo veniente sanabantur, quia per legem cognitio peccati, gratia autem remissionis nonnisi per Jesum Christum facta est. Hunc designat angelus qui invisibiliter descendens in piscinam ad suggerendam vim sanandi movebat aquam. Descendit enim carne indutus magni consilii angelus, id
The reading of the holy Gospel today hands down to us two miracles alike of human healing; one shown invisibly through the ministry of an angel, the other visibly through the Lord's presence: but the mysteries of both must be briefly expounded to us, lest a long explanation of a long reading should perhaps be burdensome to anyone. The sheep-pool, which was surrounded by five porches, is the people of the Jews, fenced on every side by the guard of the law, so that it ought not to sin. For rightly is the law, which was written down in the five books of Moses, figured by the number five: rightly is the people, which in some things was wont to keep purity of life, but in others to be tossed by the temptations of unclean spirits, signified by the water of the pool, which was wont now to lie calm from the winds, now to be troubled when they rushed upon it. And well is the same pool called the sheep-pool. For in Greek sheep are called probata: because indeed in that people were those who could say to the Lord: But we are Thy people and the sheep of Thy flock, we will give thanks to Thee for ever (Ps. 78:13). Commonly, however, it is said to have been called probatica, that is, the cattle-pool, because the priests were wont to wash the victims in it. The multitude of the sick that lay in the porches mentioned signifies the throngs of those who, hearing the words of the law, grieved that they could not fulfil it by their own strength, and therefore implored the help of the Lord's grace with all the affections of the soul. The blind were those who did not yet have the perfect light of faith; the lame, those who could not accomplish with the steps of action the good things they knew; the withered, those who, though having the eye of knowledge, yet lacked the fatness of hope and love. Such lay in the five porches, but they were not healed except in the pool, when the angel came, because through the law comes the knowledge of sin, but the grace of remission came only through Jesus Christ. Him the angel signifies who, descending invisibly into the pool, moved the water to supply it with the power of healing. For the angel of great counsel, clothed in flesh, descended, that
Editors' notes and page, col. 83
Page
- running head: 83 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III.
- marginal letters: A ‹holocaustum facere›; B ‹vivit et regnat cum Patre›; C ‹munitus. Recte etenim lex›; D ‹jacebat, eorum catervas significat›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "quia nimirum in illo populo qui dicere Domino possent" is elliptical as printed (no main verb); rendered "were those who". Column ends at "id" (whole word). Psalm cited as printed LXXVIII; the verse is Vulgate 78:13.
est paternae voluntatis nuntius in populum Judaeorum, et movit peccatores factis ac doctrina sua, ut occideretur ipse qui sua morte corporali non solum spiritualiter languentes sanare, sed et mortuos vivificare sufficeret. Motus ergo aquae passionem Domini quae mota turbataque Judaeorum gente facta est insinuat. Et quia per eamdem passionem redempti sunt credentes a maledicto legis, quasi descendentes in aquam piscinae turbatam sanabantur qui eatenus jacuerant in porticibus aegroti. Legis siquidem littera, quae nescientes quid agendum, quid vitandum esset edocuit, nec tamen edoctos ut sua decreta complerentur adjuvit, quasi eductos de sedibus ignorantiae prioris in porticibus suis continebat, nec sanabat languidos. Gratia autem Evangelii quae per fidem ac mysterium Dominicae passionis sanat omnes languores iniquitatum nostrarum, a quibus in lege Moysi non potuimus justificari, quasi ejectos de porticibus legis aegrotos in aquam piscinae turbidam immittit, ut sanari possint: quia a peccatis quae lex ostenderat per aquam baptismatis abluit, testante Apostolo, quia quicunque baptizati sumus in Christo Jesu, in morte ipsius baptizati sumus. Consepulti enim sumus cum illo per baptismum in mortem, ut quomodo surrexit Christus a mortuis per gloriam patris, ita et nos in novitate vitae ambulemus (Rom. VI). Bene autem dicitur quia qui primus descendisset post motum aquae sanus fiebat a quocunque languore detineretur, quia unus Dominus, una fides, unum baptisma, unus Deus: et qui in unitate catholica Christi mysteriis imbuitur sanus fit a quocunque peccatorum languore detineatur: quisquis autem ab unitate discrepat, salutem quae ab uno est, consequi non valet.
is, the messenger of the Father's will to the people of the Jews, and by His deeds and teaching He moved sinners to kill Him, who by His bodily death was able not only to heal the spiritually sick but also to give life to the dead. The moving of the water, then, suggests the Lord's passion, which took place when the Jewish nation was moved and troubled. And because through that same passion believers were redeemed from the curse of the law, those who had until then lain sick in the porches were healed, as it were, by going down into the troubled water of the pool. For the letter of the law, which taught those who did not know what was to be done and what avoided, yet did not help those so taught to fulfil its decrees, kept the sick, as it were, in its porches, led out from the seats of their former ignorance, and did not heal them. But the grace of the Gospel, which through faith and the mystery of the Lord's passion heals all the sicknesses of our iniquities, from which we could not be justified in the law of Moses, sends the sick, cast out as it were from the porches of the law, into the troubled water of the pool, so that they may be healed: for it washes away through the water of baptism the sins which the law had shown, as the Apostle testifies, that all of us who were baptized in Christ Jesus were baptized in His death. For we were buried together with Him through baptism into death, that as Christ rose from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also may walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:3–4). And well is it said that whoever went down first after the moving of the water was made whole of whatever sickness he was held by, because there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God (Eph. 4:5–6): and he who is imbued with the mysteries of Christ in catholic unity is made whole of whatever sickness of sins he is held by: but whoever dissents from unity cannot attain the salvation which is from the One.
Haec de primo evangelicae lectionis miraculo quod Dominus dedit locuti, nunc de secundo quod ipse dederit fraternitati vestrae loquamur: in quo etiam ipse unus commendatur sanatus, non quia omnipotentis pietas Salvatoris omnes quos ibi languentes invenit sanare nequiverit, sed ut doceret praeter unitatem catholicae fidei nullum cuilibet patere locum salutis.
Having spoken thus of the first miracle of the Gospel reading, which the Lord granted, let us now speak to your fraternity of the second, which He Himself granted: in which also only one man is recorded as healed, not because the loving-kindness of the almighty Saviour could not heal all the sick He found there, but to teach that apart from the unity of the catholic faith no place of salvation lies open to anyone.
Erat autem quidam homo ibi, inquit, triginta et octo annos habens in infirmitate sua. Homo iste multorum infirmitate detentus annorum significat peccatorem quemlibet enormi scelerum magnitudine vel numerositate depressum, cujus significando reatui etiam modus temporis quo iste languebat congruit. Nam duodequadraginta annos habebat in infirmitate. Quadragenarius autem numerus qui denario quater ducto conficitur pro perfectione rectae conversationis solet in Scripturis accipi; quia quisquis perfectae conversationis opera egerit, legis profecto decalogum per quatuor S. Evangelii libros implet: a qua nimirum perfectione duo minus habet, qui a Dei et proximi dilectione, quam legis pariter et Evangelii scriptura commendat, vacuus incedit. Quod etiam Dominus mystice sanans infirmum docuit, cum ait: Surge, tolle grabatum tuum et ambula. Surge cum dicitur, vitiorum t⟨o⟩rporem in quibus diu languebas
And there was a certain man there, it says, who had been thirty-eight years in his infirmity (John 5:5). This man, held for many years by infirmity, signifies any sinner weighed down by the enormous greatness or number of his crimes, and to signifying his guilt even the measure of the time in which he lay sick is fitting. For he had been thirty-eight years in infirmity. Now the number forty, which is made up of ten taken four times, is wont in the Scriptures to be taken for the perfection of right living; because whoever has done the works of perfect living indeed fulfils the decalogue of the law through the four books of the holy Gospel: from which perfection he certainly falls short by two who goes about empty of the love of God and of neighbour, which the scripture of the law and of the Gospel alike commends. This the Lord also taught when He mystically healed the sick man, saying: Arise, take up your bed and walk (John 5:8). When it is said, Arise, [it means:] the torpor of the vices in which you long lay sick
Editors' notes and page, col. 84
Page
- running head: [BEDAE VENERABILIS] OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 84
- marginal letters: A ‹est paternae voluntatis nuntius›; B ‹fidem ac mysterium Dominicae passionis›; C ‹baptisma, unus Deus: et qui in unitate›; D ‹torem quemlibet enormi scelerum›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "t⟨o⟩rporem": the second letter is broken in the type. "Consepulti" partly damaged but legible. Column ends mid-sentence at "languebas"; English supplements "[it means:]" for the construction that completes in col. 85.
excute, et ad exercitium virtutum quibus perpetuo salveris, erigere. Tolle grabatum tuum: porta diligens proximum tuum, patienter ejus infirma tolerando, qui te adhuc tentationum fasce depressum diu patienterque sustinuit. Alter enim alterius onera portate, et sic adimplebitis legem Christi (Gal. VI). Et sicut alibi dicit: Supportantes invicem in charitate, solliciti servare unitatem Spiritus in vinculo pacis (Ephes. IV). Ambula autem: toto corde, tota anima, tota virtute Deum dilige: et ut ad ejus visionem pertingere merearis, quotidianis bonorum operum passibus de virtute in virtutem progredere, nec fratrem, quem sufferendo ducas, ob amorem ejus ad quem pergis deserens, nec ob fratris amorem ab illo quaerendo cum quo manere desideras intentionem recti incessus avertens; sed ut perfecte possis salvari, Surge, tolle grabatum tuum et ambula, id est, relinque peccata pristina, necessitatibus fratrum succurre, et in universis quae agis vide ne in hoc saeculo mentem figas, sed ad videndam faciem tui festines Redemptoris. Surge bona operando, porta grabatum diligendo proximum, et ambula exspectando beatam spem et adventum gloriae magni Dei. Sed mira perfidorum dementia, qui ad tam inopinatam diu languentis sanationem credere ac spiritualiter sanari debuerant, e contra scandalizantur, et salvato pariter ac Salvatori calumnias struunt: salvato quidem, quia sabbato grabatum tulerit; Salvatori autem, quia sabbato et illum salvari, et grabatum tolli praeceperit, quasi melius ipsi de sabbato quam tanta divinitatis potentia nosset.
shake off, and rise up to the exercise of the virtues by which you may be saved for ever. Take up your bed: carry your neighbour by loving him, patiently bearing his infirmities, who long and patiently bore with you while you were still weighed down by the burden of temptations. For bear one another's burdens, and so you will fulfil the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2). And as he says elsewhere: Bearing with one another in charity, careful to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:2–3). And walk: love God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength: and that you may deserve to attain to His vision, advance from virtue to virtue by the daily steps of good works, neither deserting the brother whom you lead by bearing with him, for love of Him to whom you are going, nor, for love of your brother, turning aside the purpose of your right course from seeking Him with whom you desire to abide; but that you may be perfectly saved, Arise, take up your bed and walk, that is, leave your former sins, help the needs of the brethren, and in all that you do see that you do not fix your mind on this world, but hasten to see the face of your Redeemer. Arise by doing good, carry your bed by loving your neighbour, and walk by awaiting the blessed hope and the coming of the glory of the great God (Titus 2:13). But wonderful is the madness of the faithless, who at so unexpected a healing of one long sick ought to have believed and been spiritually healed, but on the contrary are scandalized, and contrive false charges against the one saved and the Saviour alike: against the one saved, because he carried his bed on the sabbath; against the Saviour, because on the sabbath He commanded both that the man be saved and that the bed be taken up, as if they themselves knew better about the sabbath than so great a power of divinity.
Dicebant ergo Judaei illi qui sanatus fuerat: Sabbatum est, non licet tibi tollere grabatum tuum. Litteram legis stulte defendebant, ignorando dispensationem ejus qui legis quondam edicta per servum decernens, nunc ipse adveniens eamdem legem gratia mutare disposuit, ut quod juxta litteram diu carnales carnaliter observabant, deinceps spirituales spiritualiter observandum cognoscerent. Sabbato quippe carnali, quod juxta litteram custodiebatur, populus ab omni opere servili die septima vacare praeceptus est; spirituale autem sabbatum est in luce gratiae spiritualis, quae septiformis accipitur, non una, sed omni die, nos ab omni inquietudine vitiorum manere feriatos. Si enim juxta vocem Dominicam, omnis qui facit peccatum servus est peccati, patet liquido quia peccata recte opera servilia intelliguntur, a quibus quasi in die septima in perceptione gratiae spiritualis immunes incedere jubemur: nec solum a pravis continere, sed et bonis insistere factis. Quod in hac quoque lectione Dominus typice ostendit, cum eum qui duodequadraginta annos languebat, in die sabbati non solum surgere, verum etiam grabatum tollere et ambulare praecepit: videlicet insinuans eos qui longo vitiorum languore tabescunt, et Dei ac proximi dilectionis inanes, quasi a perfecta virtutum summa duo minus habent, jam per donum sancti Spiritus a vitiis posse resurgere, eorumque discusso torpore, cum fraternae dilectionis
So the Jews said to him who had been healed: It is the sabbath, it is not lawful for you to take up your bed (John 5:10). They foolishly defended the letter of the law, not knowing the dispensation of Him who, having once decreed the edicts of the law through a servant, now, coming Himself, arranged to change that same law by grace, so that what carnal men had long observed carnally according to the letter, spiritual men should thenceforth know was to be observed spiritually. For by the carnal sabbath, which was kept according to the letter, the people was commanded to rest from all servile work on the seventh day; but the spiritual sabbath is that in the light of spiritual grace, which is understood as sevenfold, we remain free, not on one day but on every day, from all the restlessness of vices. For if, according to the Lord's word, everyone who commits sin is the servant of sin (John 8:34), it is clearly evident that sins are rightly understood as servile works, from which, as on the seventh day, in the receiving of spiritual grace, we are commanded to go free: and not only to refrain from wicked deeds, but also to press on with good ones. This the Lord showed figuratively in this reading also, when He commanded him who had lain sick thirty-eight years not only to rise on the sabbath day, but also to take up his bed and walk: suggesting, that is, that those who waste away in a long sickness of vices, and, empty of the love of God and neighbour, fall short as it were by two of the perfect sum of the virtues, can now through the gift of the Holy Spirit rise again from their vices, and, their torpor shaken off, with the [burden] of brotherly love
Editors' notes and page, col. 85
Page
- running head: 85 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. H[OM. GENUINAE.]
- marginal letters: A ‹excute, et ad exercitium›; B ‹vari, Surge, tolle grabatum›; C ‹tanta divinitatis potentia›; D ‹feriatos. Si enim juxta vocem›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: several words lightly broken in the type ("excute", "salveris", "tuum", "saeculo", "nunc") but legible. "nosset" ends with a mark read as a full stop. Column ends at "dilectionis"; the English supplies "[burden]" for the noun that follows in col. 86 — check against col. 86 (onere).
onere ad visionem debere sui properare Conditoris. Quod autem is qui sanatus est Jesum non in turba adhuc positus, sed post in templo cognoscit, mystice nos instruit ut si vere Conditoris nostri gratiam cognoscere, si ejus amore confirmari, si ad ejus visionem pervenire desideramus, fugiamus sollicite turbam non solum nos turbantium cogitationum affectuumque pravorum, verum etiam hominum nequam qui nostrae sinceritatis possint impedire propositum, vel malum videlicet exemplum suum monstrando, vel bona opera nostra deridendo, aut etiam prohibendo. Confugiamus seduli ad domum orationis, ubi secreta libertate Dominum invocantes, et de perceptis ab eo beneficiis gratias agamus, et de percipiendis humili devotione precemur: imo etiam templum Dei sanctum, in quo venire et mansionem facere dignetur, existere curemus, audientes ab Apostolo, quia corpora vestra templum est Spiritus sancti qui in vobis est (I Cor. VI). Inter quae diligentius intuendum, fratres mei, quod inveniens in templo quem sanaverat Dominus, ait illi: Ecce sanus factus es, jam noli peccare, ne deterius tibi aliquid contingat. Quibus verbis aperte monstratur quia propter peccata languebat, nec nisi dimissis eisdem poterat sanari: sed qui foris ab infirmitate, ipse etiam intus salvavit a scelere: unde et caute praemonuit ne amplius peccando gravioris sibi sententiam damnationis contraheret: quod non ita sentiendum est, quasi omnis qui infirmatur ob peccata infirmetur; quinque etenim modis in Scripturis infirmitas corporalis data reperitur: peccatoribus videlicet, ut vel corrigantur per poenitentiam, vel si corrigi non merentur, etiam in hac vita qualiter aeterna morte damnandi sint appareat; justis vero, ut vel majorem patientiae palmam percipiant, vel infirmitatibus admoniti humilius justitiae meritum servent. Plerisque autem ob hoc aliquoties infirmitas datur carnis, ut in eorum sanatione vel Domini Salvatoris vel sanctorum ejus latius gloria, vel utriusque patescat. Nam quod peccatores ob quaerendam mentis incolumitatem infirmitate plectantur corporis, testatur hodierna lectio, ubi sanatus qui languebat audivit: Ecce sanus factus es, jam noli peccare, ne deterius tibi aliquid contingat: testatur et illa in qua sanando paralytico Dominus ait: Confide, fili, remittuntur tibi peccata tua. Quod hi qui gravioribus sunt flagitiis involuti, neque ad veniam pervenire merentur, aliquoties etiam in praesenti initium sempiternae damnationis accipiant, poena prodit Herodis regis, qui ob reatum blasphemiae ante oculos viventium consumptus a vermibus exspiravit, illo utique post mortem properans, ubi vermis ejus non moreretur, et ignis ejus non exstingueretur. Quod justi ad amplificandam patientiae suae palmam doloribus afficiantur corporeis, beati Job indicat historia, cui cum nullus esset similis super terram, poenas corporis quas adversarius immanis graviores poterat excogitare, non pro diluendis reatibus, sed pro augendis meritis mira constantiae virtute superavit. Quod item justi ob custodiam humilitatis disciplinae feriantur
to hasten with the burden to the vision of their Creator. That the man who was healed recognizes Jesus not while he is still placed in the crowd, but afterwards in the temple, mystically instructs us that, if we truly desire to know the grace of our Creator, to be strengthened in His love, to come to His vision, we should carefully flee the crowd not only of the wicked thoughts and affections that trouble us, but also of worthless men who could hinder the purpose of our sincerity, whether by showing their own bad example, or by mocking our good works, or even by forbidding them. Let us flee diligently to the house of prayer, where, calling on the Lord in secret freedom, we may both give thanks for the benefits received from Him and pray with humble devotion for those yet to be received: nay more, let us take care to be ourselves the holy temple of God, into which He may deign to come and make His dwelling, hearing from the Apostle that your bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you (1 Cor. 6:19). Among these things, my brethren, we must consider more carefully that the Lord, finding in the temple the man He had healed, said to him: Behold, you are made whole; sin no more, lest something worse befall you (John 5:14). By these words it is openly shown that he was sick because of his sins, and could not be healed unless they were forgiven: but He who healed him outwardly from infirmity also saved him inwardly from crime: and hence He warned him beforehand with care not to bring on himself the sentence of a heavier damnation by sinning further: which is not to be understood as if everyone who is sick is sick because of sins; for bodily infirmity is found in the Scriptures to be given in five ways: to sinners, that is, either that they may be corrected by penance, or, if they do not deserve to be corrected, that it may appear even in this life how they are to be damned with eternal death; but to the just, either that they may receive a greater palm of patience, or that, admonished by infirmities, they may more humbly keep the merit of justice. But to very many infirmity of the flesh is sometimes given for this reason, that in their healing the glory of the Lord Saviour, or of His saints, or of both, may be more widely revealed. For that sinners are struck with bodily infirmity so that they may seek soundness of mind, today's reading testifies, where he who was sick, when healed, heard: Behold, you are made whole; sin no more, lest something worse befall you: and that reading testifies also in which the Lord, healing the paralytic, says: Take heart, son, your sins are forgiven you (Matt. 9:2). That those who are entangled in graver crimes, and do not deserve to attain pardon, sometimes receive even in the present the beginning of everlasting damnation, the punishment of King Herod makes known, who for the guilt of blasphemy expired before the eyes of the living, consumed by worms (Acts 12:23), hastening, surely, after death to the place where his worm should not die and his fire should not be quenched (Mark 9:43). That the just are afflicted with bodily pains to increase the palm of their patience, the history of blessed Job shows, who, though there was none like him on earth, overcame with wonderful strength of constancy the pains of the body, the heaviest that the savage adversary could devise, not for the washing away of guilt, but for the increase of merit. That likewise the just, for the keeping of the discipline of humility, are struck
Editors' notes and page, col. 86
Page
- running head: [SECT. I. HOMILIA]E. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINAE. 86
- marginal letters: A ‹onere ad visionem debere›; B ‹in quo venire et mansionem›; C ‹infirmitas corporalis data reperitur›; D ‹tuntur tibi peccata tua›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column ends with the hyphenated "ferian-"; the next column's top was not in view, so the visible part is set (almost certainly "ferian-|tur", i.e. feriantur); English "are struck" renders the whole word. Several letters lightly broken but legible ("cognoscit", "sinceritatis", "damnationis").
aegritudine, ostendit Apostolus qui ait: Et ne magnitudo revelationum extollat me, datus est mihi stimulus carnis meae angelus Satanae qui me colaphizet (II Cor. XII) Unde iterum dicit: Libenter gloriabor in infirmitatibus meis, ut inhabitet in me virtus Christi (Ibid. 9). Quod ob ostendendam Conditoris sanctorumque ejus gloriam nonnulli saepe languescant, ipse manifestat, qui de caeco nato sciscitantibus discipulis ait: Neque hic peccavit, neque parentes ejus ut caecus nasceretur, sed ut manifestentur opera Dei in illo (Joan. IX). Et de Lazaro languente sororibus, Infirmitas, inquit, haec non est ad mortem, sed pro gloria Dei, ut glorificetur Filius Dei per eam (Joan. XI). Verum quia nobis utrum propter augenda merita bona, an propter mala minoranda puniamur incertum est, curandum summopere est ut quoties molestia corporali pulsamur, ad discutienda protinus mentis nostrae interna redeamus, et quidquid in nobis contra voluntatem auctoris nostri egisse reperimus, digna poenitentiae castigatione mundemus; nec prius corpori medelam quaeramus quam nos ad interioris hominis puritatem pervenisse cognoverimus, ne forte exterius adhibitae curationi carnis obstet latens intrinsecus valetudo mentis. Discamus flagellis pii conditoris humiliter substerni, arbitrantes minus pati quam meremur, semper illius sententiae memores, quia beatus homo qui corripitur a Domino (Job V). Et ipse in Apocalypsi, Ego, inquit, quos amo arguo et castigo (Apoc. III).
with sickness, the Apostle shows, who says: And lest the greatness of the revelations should exalt me, there was given me a goad of my flesh, an angel of Satan to buffet me (2 Cor. 12:7). Hence he says again: Gladly will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may dwell in me (ibid. 9). That some often fall sick to show the glory of the Creator and of His saints, He Himself makes plain, who, when the disciples asked about the man born blind, says: Neither has this man sinned, nor his parents, that he should be born blind, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him (John 9:3). And of Lazarus in his sickness He says to the sisters: This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it (John 11:4). But since it is uncertain to us whether we are punished to increase good merits or to lessen evils, we must take the greatest care that, whenever we are struck by bodily trouble, we at once return to search out the inner places of our mind, and whatever we find we have done in ourselves against the will of our Maker, we cleanse it with the worthy chastisement of penance; and let us not seek a remedy for the body before we know that we have come to purity of the inner man, lest perhaps a hidden sickness of the mind within should hinder the cure applied outwardly to the flesh. Let us learn to lie humbly under the scourges of our loving Creator, judging that we suffer less than we deserve, ever mindful of that saying, that blessed is the man who is corrected by the Lord (Job 5:17). And He Himself says in the Apocalypse: Those whom I love I rebuke and chastise (Rev. 3:19).
Longaevo autem languenti interius exteriusque sanato, eodem et a flagellis apertae castigationis et a peccatis quibus haec merebatur erepto, Judaei e contra male intus languidi jam deterius aegrotare incipiunt, persequendo videlicet Jesum, quia haec faceret in sabbato. Persequebantur autem eum, quasi legis auctoritatem simul et divinae operationis exempla seculi: quia et Dominus sex diebus mundi perfecta creatione, septimo requieverit ab omnibus operibus suis, et populum sex diebus operari, septimo vacare praeceperit, non intelligentes quia carnalia legis decreta paulatim erant spirituali interpretatione mutanda, apparente illo qui non tantum legislator, sed et finis legis est Christus ad justitiam omni credenti: neque animadvertentes quia conditor in die septima non ab opere mundanae gubernationis et annuae, imo quotidianae rerum creatarum substitutionis, sed a nova creaturarum institutione cessavit; sed nec maximum illud sabbati mysterium cognoscentes, quo vel ipse Dominus sexta feria crucifixus operatusque salutem nostram in medio terrae, id est, carnis quam assumpserat, septima requieturus erat in sepulcro, donec octava resurgeret, vel quo sancti illius post sex hujus saeculi aetates in quibus bona operando laborant, septimam quietis animarum in alia vita percipiunt, donec in octava resurrectionis corporum quoque incorruptibilium receptione donentur. Verum indoctis legis defensoribus quid ipse gratiae simul et legis auctor respondeat, qua cervicem eorum rationis virtute frangat audiamus.
But when the long-ailing man had been healed within and without, and rescued both from the scourges of open chastisement and from the sins by which he deserved them, the Jews on the contrary, sick within with evil, now begin to be worse diseased, that is, by persecuting Jesus because He did these things on the sabbath (John 5:16). And they persecuted Him as though following the authority of the law and at the same time the example of the divine working: because the Lord, having finished the creation of the world in six days, rested on the seventh from all His works, and commanded the people to work six days and to rest on the seventh; not understanding that the carnal decrees of the law were gradually to be changed by spiritual interpretation, when He appeared who is not only the lawgiver but also the end of the law, Christ, unto justice for everyone who believes (Rom. 10:4): nor observing that on the seventh day the Creator ceased, not from the work of governing the world and of the yearly, nay daily, replacing of created things, but from the new establishing of creatures; nor yet knowing that greatest mystery of the sabbath, by which either the Lord Himself, crucified on the sixth day and having worked our salvation in the midst of the earth, that is, of the flesh which He had assumed, was to rest on the seventh in the tomb until He rose on the eighth, or by which His saints, after the six ages of this world in which they labour in doing good, receive the seventh, of the rest of souls, in another life, until on the eighth they are endowed with the reception of their bodies also, raised incorruptible. But let us hear what the Author of grace and of the law alike answers to these unlearned defenders of the law, and by what power of reason He breaks their neck.
Editors' notes and page, col. 87
Page
- running head: 87 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS I[II.]
- marginal letters: A ‹tur aegritudine, ostendit Apostolus›; B ‹curandum summopere est›; C ‹nato, eodem et a flagellis›; D ‹non ab opere mundanae gubernationis›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column opens with "tur", the second half of "ferian-|tur" (feriantur); per the unit rule the word is set whole at the end of col. 86, so this column's text begins with "aegritudine". "(II Cor. XII)" is printed with no full stop after it. "exempla seculi": at this resolution the print may read "secuti" (the sense, and the English "following"); set as the file had it, UNSURE (Q2).
Pater meus, inquit, usque modo operatur, et ego operor. Quod non ita dictum est, quasi Patre eatenus operante, ipse tunc post Patrem operari inciperet; sed ita potius quia ab initio creaturarum Patre semper operante, ipse eadem opera cum eo pariter semper operetur. Ut enim scias Deum Patrem non primis tantum sex diebus, sed usque modo operari, lege illud ad prophetam: Priusquam te formarem in utero novi te (Jerem. I). Et in Psalmo: Qui finxit singillatim corda eorum (Psal. XXXIII). Et alibi: Qui operit coelum nubibus, et parat terrae pluviam, qui producit in montibus fenum (Psal. CXLVII), et caetera hujusmodi. Notandum quippe quod non praeteriti temporis verbum posuit dicens: Qui operuit, et paravit, et produxit: sed praesentis, operit, parat, producit, ut quotidie Patrem operari demonstraret, nec minus sabbato, quam caeteris diebus. Ut Filium pariter cuncta operari non dubites, recole illud Psalmistae: Dixit, et venit cynomia et scyniphes. Dixit, et venit locusta et bruchus. Dixit, et stetit spiritus procellae (Psal. CV). Si enim ipse dixit et facta sunt, per verbum utique fecit. Verbum autem Patris Filius est, de quo Joannes ait: Omnia per ipsum facta sunt (Joan. I). Item Psalmista cum non solum primordialem mundi creationem, sed et quotidianam creaturae gubernationem ad laudem Creatoris referret, ait inter caetera: Omnia in sapientia fecisti (Psal. CIV). Si autem Christum Dei virtutem et Dei sapientiam recte confitemur, et omnia in sapientia fecit ac regit Deus, constat nimirum quia Pater usque modo operatur, operatur et Filius. Ergo Pater meus, inquit, non sex solum, ut putatis, diebus prius operatus est: verum usque modo operatur (Joan. V), non novum creaturae genus instituendo, sed quae in principio creaverat, ne deficiant, propagando. Et ego operor, subauditur usque modo, cum ea cuncta disponens, regens, accumulans, ac si aperte dicat: Quid mihi invidetis? Cur me vituperatis, caeci legislatores, quod in forma hominis sabbato salutem unius hominis operatus sum, qui in natura divinitatis una cum Deo Patre totum genus humanum, imo totam mundi machinam, et cuncta visibilia et invisibilia quietus semper operor? Sed ipsi talis ac tanti mysterii minus capaces, propterea magis quaerebant eum interficere, quia non solum solvebat sabbatum, sed et patrem suum dicebat Deum, aequalem se faciens Deo. In eo maxime dolebant, quia his qui verum ex infirmitate carnis hominem cognoverant; verum se Dei filium credi voluisset, id est, non gratia adoptatum ut caeteros sanctos, quibus loquitur Propheta: Ego dixi: Dii estis, et filii excelsi omnes (Psal. LXXXII); sed natura Patri per omnia aequalem, illum videlicet de quo Pater ipse loquitur in aspectu filiis suis, id est, prophetis, gratia videlicet adoptatis in filios. Ipse invocavit me: Pater meus es tu, Deus meus et susceptor salutis meae. Et ego primogenitum ponam illum excelsum prae regibus terrae (Psal. LXXXIX). Intelligebant enim interfectores Christi Judaei, quod confessores nominis Christi intelligere nequeunt Ariani in eo quod ait Christus: Pater meus usque modo operatur,
My Father, He says, works until now, and I work (John 5:17). This was not said as if, the Father having worked until then, He Himself then began to work after the Father; but rather in this sense, that, the Father always working from the beginning of creatures, He Himself always works the same works equally with Him. For that you may know that God the Father works not only in the first six days but until now, read that word to the prophet: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you (Jer. 1:5). And in the Psalm: Who fashioned their hearts one by one (Ps. 32:15). And elsewhere: Who covers the heaven with clouds, and prepares rain for the earth, who brings forth grass on the mountains (Ps. 146:8), and other things of this kind. For it is to be noted that he did not use a verb of past time, saying: Who covered, and prepared, and brought forth; but of the present, covers, prepares, brings forth, to show that the Father works daily, and no less on the sabbath than on other days. That you may not doubt that the Son likewise works all things, recall that word of the Psalmist: He spoke, and there came the dog-fly and the gnats. He spoke, and there came the locust and the caterpillar (Ps. 104:31, 34). He spoke, and the stormy wind stood up (Ps. 106:25). For if He spoke and they were made, He certainly made them through the Word. But the Word of the Father is the Son, of whom John says: All things were made through Him (John 1:3). Likewise the Psalmist, when he referred not only the first creation of the world but also the daily governing of creation to the praise of the Creator, says among other things: Thou hast made all things in wisdom (Ps. 103:24). But if we rightly confess Christ to be the power of God and the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:24), and God has made and rules all things in wisdom, it is certainly clear that as the Father works until now, so the Son also works. Therefore, He says, My Father has not worked only in six days before, as you think: but He works until now (John 5:17), not by establishing a new kind of creature, but by propagating what He had created in the beginning, lest they fail. And I work, understood: until now, with Him ordering, ruling and increasing all these things; as if He said openly: Why do you envy Me? Why do you blame Me, blind lawgivers, because in the form of man I worked the salvation of one man on the sabbath, who in the nature of the Godhead, together with God the Father, always work, while at rest, the whole human race, nay the whole fabric of the world, and all things visible and invisible? But they, little able to grasp a mystery of such a kind and so great, sought the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the sabbath but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal to God (John 5:18). What grieved them most was that He had willed that He, whom they had known from the weakness of the flesh to be true man, should be believed to be the true Son of God; that is, not adopted by grace like the other saints, to whom the Prophet speaks: I have said: You are gods, and all sons of the Most High (Ps. 81:6); but by nature equal to the Father in all things, namely Him of whom the Father Himself speaks in a vision to His sons, that is, the prophets, adopted, namely, as sons by grace: He shall call upon Me: Thou art my Father, my God, and the upholder of my salvation. And I will make Him the firstborn, high above the kings of the earth (Ps. 88:27–28). For the Jews, the slayers of Christ, understood what the Arians, confessors of the name of Christ, cannot understand in Christ's saying: My Father works until now,
Editors' notes and page, col. 88
Page
- running head: [BEDAE VENERABILI]S OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 88
- marginal letters: A ‹Pater meus, inquit, usque modo›; B ‹quotidie Patrem operari demonstraret›; C ‹quia Pater usque modo operatur›; D ‹suum dicebat Deum, aequalem se faciens›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Migne's psalm numerals in this column follow the Hebrew count (XXXIII, CXLVII, CV, CIV, LXXXII, LXXXIX); set as printed, given in Vulgate numbering in the English. "(Psal. CV)" stands after the third clause, though "stetit spiritus procellae" is Ps 106:25 Vulg. "Ipse invocavit me" is printed in roman, the rest of that quotation in italic; the punctuation "cognoverant; verum" is as printed. "(Psal. CXLVII)" and the final "operatur" are slightly damaged but legible. "Thou" kept in the psalm verses addressed to God.
et ego operor (Joan. V), aequalem se Deo Patri praedicasse, quia quorum una eademque operatio, eorum esset aequalis et majestas. Verum ad unum finem ⟨u⟩trorumque tendit impietas, quorum uni quid diceret Dominus intelligentes, vera eum dixisse negabant: alteri vera quidem de se Dominum testatum fatentur, sed in his sensum veritatis sequi et comprehendere detrectant: quorum finem teterrimum ut vitare queamus, necesse est, fratres charissimi, ut et verba nostri Salvatoris veritate plena credamus, et haec recte intelligere curemus, insuper in his spem nostrae salutis omnem ponere studeamus. Credamus veraciter se esse Patri aequalem potestate, gloria, aeternitate, et regno, praedicasse: et bene agendo satagamus ad unam utriusque visionem pervenire: de qua roganti Philippo ac dicenti: Domine, ostende nobis Patrem, et sufficit nobis (Joan. XIV), respondit ipse Dominus dicens: Qui videt me, videt et Patrem meum. Notandum sane quod dictum est aequalem se faciens Deo, a Judaeorum persona dictum, qui putabant Dominum Jesum praedicando se facere quod non esset, et non veraciter intimare quid esset. Nos autem, fratres, qui fidei catholicae sacramentis et doctrina sumus imbuti, credamus et confiteamur Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum et in humanitate nobis factum natura aequalem, et in divinitate Patri mansisse semper aequalem. Neque in utralibet natura se fecisse fingendo quod non erat; sed in utraque monstrasse veraciter praedicando quod erat, qui nos ad videndam perpetuo gloriam suae majestatis introducere dignetur, in qua vivit et regnat una cum Patre et Spiritu sancto Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
and I work (John 5:17), had proclaimed Himself equal to God the Father, since those whose working is one and the same must also be equal in majesty. But the impiety of both comes to one end: the one party understood what the Lord was saying, and denied that He had said what was true; the other confesses indeed that the Lord testified true things about Himself, but refuses to follow and grasp the sense of the truth in them. That we may be able to avoid their most foul end, it is necessary, dearest brethren, that we both believe the words of our Saviour to be full of truth, and take care to understand them rightly, and moreover be zealous to place in them all the hope of our salvation. Let us believe that He truly proclaimed Himself to be equal to the Father in power, glory, eternity and kingdom; and by doing good let us strive to come to the one vision of them both, concerning which, when Philip asked and said, Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us (John 14:8), the Lord Himself answered, saying: He who sees Me sees also My Father (John 14:9). It is to be noted, certainly, that the words making Himself equal to God were said in the person of the Jews, who thought that the Lord Jesus by His preaching was making Himself what He was not, and was not truly declaring what He was. But let us, brethren, who have been instructed in the sacraments and teaching of the catholic faith, believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ was both made equal to us in nature in His humanity, and remained ever equal to the Father in His divinity; and that in neither nature did He make Himself, by pretence, what He was not, but in both showed truly, by preaching, what He was; may He deign to bring us in to behold for ever the glory of His majesty, in which He lives and reigns, God, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, through all ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILIA XVII. POST THEOPHANIAM. JOAN. I. In illo tempore voluit Jesus exire in Galilaeam, et invenit Philippum, et dicit illi Jesus, Sequere me.
HOMILY XVII. AFTER THE THEOPHANY. JOHN 1. At that time Jesus wished to go out into Galilee, and He found Philip, and Jesus said to him, Follow Me (John 1:43).
Audivimus ex lectione Evangelii, fratres charissimi, benignam Redemptoris nostri gratiam, quia non solum nos misericorditer ad se sequendum vocare, sed et venientes grate suscipere, atque ad cognoscendam divinitatis suae claritatem pie consuevit provehere. Audivimus devotam discipulorum fidem, charitatem et operationem, quibus nimirum tribus vitae coelestis virtutibus tota praesentis Ecclesiae perfectio consistit, quia et sine fide impossibile est placere Deo, et fides sine operibus otiosa est; et quibuslibet quis sit praeditus virtutibus, quantalibet fide profecerit, si charitatem non habuerit, nihil illi prodest. Quod enim vocantem se Jesum Philippus non tantum ipse sequitur, verum etiam Nathanaeli sequendum praedicat, fides profecto est quae per dilectionem operatur: fides videlicet, quia in Jesum credere non distulit, quem Christum esse cognovit: opus autem dilectionis, quia quantum diligeret quem cognovit, mox sequendo patefecit; quantum etiam proximi amore flagraret, eidem evangelizando perdocuit. Ipse quoque proximus ejus Nathanael quantum curae ac dilectionis erga magistrum veritatis haberet ostendit. Ad quem mox vocatus venire non tardavit,
We have heard from the reading of the Gospel, dearest brethren, of the kindly grace of our Redeemer: that He is wont not only mercifully to call us to follow Him, but also to receive us graciously when we come, and lovingly to lead us on to know the brightness of His divinity. We have heard of the devoted faith, charity and working of the disciples, in which three virtues of the heavenly life the whole perfection of the present Church indeed consists; for without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6), and faith without works is idle (Jas. 2:20); and with whatever virtues one may be endowed, however far one may have advanced in faith, if one has not charity, it profits one nothing (1 Cor. 13:2–3). For that Philip not only himself follows Jesus who calls him, but also proclaims Him to Nathanael as One to be followed, is surely faith that works through love (Gal. 5:6): faith, namely, because he did not delay to believe in Jesus, whom he had recognized to be the Christ; and the work of love, because how much he loved the One he had recognized he at once made plain by following Him, and how much he burned also with love of his neighbour he showed fully by bringing him the good news. His neighbour Nathanael too showed how much care and love he had towards the Master of truth. Called, he did not delay to come to Him at once,
Editors' notes and page, col. 89
Page
- running head: 89 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I.
- marginal letters: A ‹et ego operor (Joan. V), aequalem›; B ‹de qua roganti Philippo›; C ‹introducere dignetur›; D ‹fectio consistit, quia et sine fide›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: line 4 opens with a damaged letter, read 'utrorumque' (first letter set ⟨u⟩); heading printed 'POST THEOPHANIAM' with a broken O; 'vocantem' printed with a broken n; scripture references in the English supplied with verse numbers where Migne gives chapter only or none
quantum ejus magnitudinem fidei perfectione caperet intimavit: quem continuo Filium Dei et regem Israel, id est Christum, aperta voce confessus est. Verum quia ista breviter praelibavimus, libet ab exordio repetentes totam evangelicae lectionis seriem latius scrutando percurrere.
he made known how far he grasped His greatness by the perfection of his faith: for he at once confessed Him with open voice the Son of God and King of Israel, that is, the Christ. But since we have touched on these things briefly beforehand, it is pleasing to go back to the beginning and run through the whole course of the Gospel reading, examining it more broadly.
Voluit Jesus, inquit, exire in Galilaeam, et invenit Philippum, et dicit ei, Sequere me. Jam patet ex superioribus unde voluerit Jesus exire in Galilaeam, videlicet a Judaea, ubi erat Joannes baptizans, et testimonium illi perhibens quod esset agnus Dei. Duos ex discipulis suis ad eum sequendum provocavit, e quibus unus Andreas ad illum etiam fratrem Petrum adduxit. Patet juxta sensum spiritualem, et crebra expositione vestrae fraternitati jam cognitum est quid sit Dominum sequi. Sequitur namque Dominum, qui imitatur: sequitur Dominum, qui quantum fragilitas humana patitur ea quae in homine monstravit Filius Dei, humilitatis exempla non deserit: sequitur, qui socius passionum existendo, ad consortium resurrectionis ejus et ascensionis pertingere sedulus exoptat. Sed non sine certi ratione mysterii refertur quod dicturus Philippo Jesus Sequere me, voluit exire in Galilaeam. Galilaea namque transmigratio facta dicitur, profectum fidelium designans, quo vel de vitiis ad virtutum celsitudinem transmigrare, vel in ipsius virtutibus paulatim proficere, ac de minoribus ad majora quotidie subire contendunt, quo usque de hac valle lacrymarum ad arcem laetitiae coelestis Domino auxiliante perveniant. In eo autem quod revelationem sonat, ipsam vitae aeternae beatitudinem, pro qua in praesenti laborant insinuans, cujus utramque interpretationem nominis Psalmista uno versiculo comprehendit, ubi ait: Ambulabunt de virtute in virtutem, videbitur Deus deorum in Sion (Psal. LXXXIII). Haec namque visio de qua dicit Apostolus: Nos autem revelata facie gloriam Domini speculantes, in eamdem imaginem transformamur a gloria in gloriam tanquam a Domini Spiritu (II Cor. III). Bene ergo vocaturus ad sequendum se discipulum voluit exire in Galilaeam, id est, in transmigrationem factam sive revelationem, ut videlicet sicut ipse, teste Evangelio, proficiebat aetate et sapientia et gratia apud Deum et homines, sicut passus est et resurrexit, et ita intravit in gloriam suam; sic etiam suos sequaces ostenderet proficere virtutibus, ac per passiones transitorias ad aeternorum dona gaudiorum transmigrare debere.
Jesus wished, it says, to go out into Galilee, and He found Philip, and said to him, Follow Me. It is already plain from what precedes from where Jesus wished to go out into Galilee, namely from Judaea, where John was baptizing and bearing witness to Him that He was the Lamb of God. He had called two of his disciples to follow Him, of whom one, Andrew, brought to Him his brother Peter as well. It is plain according to the spiritual sense, and already known to your fraternity by frequent exposition, what it is to follow the Lord. For he follows the Lord who imitates Him; he follows the Lord who, so far as human frailty allows, does not forsake the examples of humility which the Son of God showed in His manhood; he follows who, by being a partner of His sufferings, earnestly longs to attain to fellowship in His resurrection and ascension. But it is not without the reason of a definite mystery that it is related that Jesus, when about to say to Philip, Follow Me, wished to go out into Galilee. For Galilee is said to mean a migration accomplished, signifying the progress of the faithful, by which they strive either to migrate from vices to the height of the virtues, or to advance little by little in the virtues themselves, and to rise daily from lesser to greater things, until by the Lord's help they come from this valley of tears to the citadel of heavenly joy. And inasmuch as it means revelation, it suggests the very blessedness of eternal life, for which they labour in the present; both interpretations of this name the Psalmist embraced in one little verse, where he says: They shall go from virtue to virtue; the God of gods shall be seen in Sion (Ps. 83:8). For this is the vision of which the Apostle says: But we, beholding the glory of the Lord with unveiled face, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Cor. 3:18). Well then, when about to call a disciple to follow Him, He wished to go out into Galilee, that is, into a migration accomplished or a revelation, so that, just as He Himself, as the Gospel witnesses, advanced in age and wisdom and grace with God and men (Luke 2:52), as He suffered and rose again and so entered into His glory (Luke 24:26), so He might also show that His followers must advance in virtues, and through passing sufferings migrate to the gifts of eternal joys.
Erat autem Philippus a Bethsaida civitate Andreae et Petri. Non est putandus evangelista fortuitu et absque ratione mystica nomen civitatis de qua esset Philippus, et quod eadem Andreae quoque et Petri esset voluisse monstrare: sed per nomen civitatis typice qualis tunc animo Philippus, qualis officio esset futurus, qualis etiam Petrus et Andreas ostenderet curasse. B⟨e⟩thsaida quippe domus venatorum dicitur, et venatores utique erant qui audiebant a Domino: Venite post me et faciam vos fieri piscatores hominum (Matth. IV): Venator et ille qui antequam
Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. The evangelist is not to be thought to have wished, by chance and without a mystical reason, to show the name of the city from which Philip came, and that it was also the city of Andrew and Peter; rather, through the name of the city, he took care to show figuratively what sort of man Philip then was in mind, what sort he would be in office, and what sort Peter and Andrew were too. For Bethsaida is said to mean house of hunters, and hunters indeed were those who heard from the Lord: Come after Me, and I will make you become fishers of men (Matt. 4:19). A hunter too was he who, before
Editors' notes and page, col. 90
Page
- running head: SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINAE. 90 (spanning the page; this column's half reads 'LIB. I. HOM. GENUINAE. 90')
- marginal letters: A ‹quantum ejus magnitudinem›; B ‹est quid sit Dominum sequi›; C ‹arcem laetitiae coelestis›; D ‹et resurrexit, et ita intravit›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column ends 'ante-' hyphenated; completed as 'antequam' from the first line of col. 91. 'Duos', 'Spiritu', 'gaudiorum' printed with broken letters; 'Bethsaida' printed with the e lost (set ⟨e⟩). Psal. LXXXIII = Vulgate Ps 83:8.
ad praedicationis officium ordinaretur a Domino, quantum capiendis ad vitam animabus esset intentus, mox sponte praedicando monstravit. Invenit enim Nathanael, et dicit ei: Quem scripsit Moyses in lege et prophetae invenimus, Jesum a Nazareth. Videamus quantum rete fidei, quam capacibus devotae praedicationis maculis intextum invento fratri circumdet: quem ad aeternam cupit providus captare salutem. Illum dicit inventum quem Moyses et prophetae venturum suis scriptis signaverint, ut eo cunctis sequentibus intelligatur, quod ipse sit cujus adventui praeconando universa veterum scripta servierint. Ideo nuncupat, quod nomen Christi futurum prophetarum oracula concinebant. Dicit namque Habacuc per gratiam ejus salvari desiderans, Ego autem in Domino gloriabor, gaudebo in Deo Jesu me⟨o⟩ (Habac. III). Sed et Zacharias tentationis in qua diabolum vicit mentionem faciens, et ostendit, inquit, mihi Jesum sacerdotem magnum, et stabat coram angelo Domini, et Satan stabat a dextris ejus, ut adversaretur ei (Zach. III). Item Jacob patriarcha mysterium incarnationis ejus a longe salutans, et exspectans, Salutare tuum, inquit, exspectabo, Domine (Gen. XLVIII). Quod enim Hebraice Jesu, Latine dicitur Salutaris sive Salvator. Item Psalmista aeternam ejus visionem fidelium populo promittens, dicit ex persona Dei Patris: Longitudine dierum replebo eum, et ostendam illi Salutare meum (Psal. XC). Simeon quoque venerabilis ille senex ac Novi Testamenti propheta, cum eum parvum corpore in manibus acciperet, sed magnum divinitate mente sentiret, eodem spiritu instructus, ita gratias egit: Nunc dimitte servum tuum, Domine, secundum verbum tuum in pace, quia viderunt oculi mei Salutare tuum (Luc. II). Filium Joseph appellat, non ut hunc ex conjunctione maris et feminae natum asseveret, quem de virgine nasciturum in prophetis didicerat; sed de domo ac familia David unde noverat Joseph ortum, secundum vaticinia prophetarum eum venisse doceret. Neque enim mirandum si Philippus eum filium Joseph quem intemeratae genitricis illius virum noverat vocet, cum ipsa genitrix intemerata semper virgo consuetudinem vulgi s⟨e⟩quens, sic locuta legatur: Fili, quid fecisti nobis sic? Ecce pater tuus et ego dolentes quaerebamus te (Luc. II). Addit et patriam a Nazareth, ut ipsum esse signaret de quo legerant in prophetis quoniam Naz⟨a⟩raeus vocab⟨i⟩tur. Non ergo mirum si mox ad consensum credendi ac veniendi ad Christum captavit Philippus Nathanael, cui tantos undique veritatis casses praetendit, quem scripsit Moyses in lege, et prophetae, invenimus Jesum filium Joseph a Nazareth (Joan. I). Neque immerito Bethsaida, id est domo venatorum, oriundus asseritur, qui tantam Deo dilectae venationis curam pariter et gratiam accepisse monstratur. Nam sequitur:
he was ordained by the Lord to the office of preaching, showed at once, by preaching of his own accord, how intent he was on capturing souls for life. For he found Nathanael and said to him: We have found Him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth (John 1:45). Let us see how great a net of faith, woven with the capacious meshes of devout preaching, he throws around the brother he has found, whom in his foresight he longs to catch for eternal salvation. He says that he has found Him whose coming Moses and the prophets had marked out in their writings, so that by this all that follows might be understood: that He is the One whose coming all the writings of the ancients served in proclaiming. He names Him so because the oracles of the prophets sang in concert that the name of Christ would be Jesus. For Habakkuk, desiring to be saved through His grace, says: But I will glory in the Lord, I will rejoice in God my Jesus (Hab. 3:18). And Zechariah too, making mention of the temptation in which He conquered the devil, says: And he showed me Jesus the great priest, and he was standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan was standing at his right hand to oppose him (Zech. 3:1). Likewise the patriarch Jacob, greeting from afar the mystery of His incarnation and awaiting it, says: I will wait for Thy salvation, O Lord (Gen. 49:18). For what in Hebrew is Jesus is in Latin called Salutaris, that is, Saviour. Likewise the Psalmist, promising the vision of Him to the people of the faithful, says in the person of God the Father: With length of days I will fill him, and I will show him My salvation (Ps. 90:16). Simeon too, that venerable old man and prophet of the New Testament, when he received Him, small in body, into his hands, but perceived Him in mind great in divinity, taught by the same Spirit, gave thanks thus: Now Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word in peace, for my eyes have seen Thy salvation (Luke 2:29–30). He calls Him the son of Joseph, not to assert that He was born of the union of a man and a woman, since he had learnt from the prophets that He would be born of a virgin, but to teach that He had come, according to the prophecies of the prophets, from the house and family of David, from which he knew Joseph had sprung. Nor is it to be wondered at if Philip calls Him the son of Joseph, whom he knew to be the husband of His undefiled mother, since the undefiled mother herself, ever a virgin, following the common usage, is read to have spoken thus: Son, why have you done this to us? Behold, your father and I were seeking you in sorrow (Luke 2:48). He adds also His home town, of Nazareth, to mark Him out as the One of whom they had read in the prophets that He shall be called a Nazarene (Matt. 2:23). It is no wonder, then, that Philip quickly caught Nathanael into consenting to believe and to come to Christ, when he spread before him on every side such nets of truth: Him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets wrote, we have found, Jesus the son of Joseph of Nazareth (John 1:45). Nor is he declared without reason to be a native of Bethsaida, that is, the house of hunters, who is shown to have received both the care and the grace of a hunt so dear to God. For there follows:
Et dixit ei Nathanael: A Nazareth potest aliquid boni esse? Nazareth munditiae, sive flos ejus, aut separata interpretatur. Annuens ergo verbis evangelizantis sibi Philippi Nathanael, A Nazareth, inquit,
And Nathanael said to him: Can anything good be from Nazareth? (John 1:46) Nazareth is interpreted as of cleanness, or his flower, or set apart. Nathanael, then, assenting to the words of Philip as he brought him the good news, said: From Nazareth
Editors' notes and page, col. 91
Page
- running head: 91 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS ... (spanning the page; rest of the head lies over col. 92)
- marginal letters: A ‹quam ad praedicationis officium›; B ‹in Domino gloriabor›; C ‹cum eum parvum corpore›; D ‹Addit et patriam a Nazareth›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Gen. XLVIII printed; the verse is Gen 49:18 (English gives the modern reference). Letters lost to broken type set ⟨ ⟩ in me⟨o⟩, s⟨e⟩quens, Naz⟨a⟩raeus, vocab⟨i⟩tur; 'aliquid' printed with a broken d.
potest aliquid boni esse? Ac si aperte dicat: Potest fieri ut a civitate tanti nominis aliquid summae gratiae nobis oriatur? Vel ipse videlicet mundi Salvator Dominus qui singulariter sanctus est, innocens, impollutus, segregatus a peccatoribus, quique loquitur in Canticis canticorum, Ego flos campi et lilium convallium; et de quo propheta, exiet, inquit, virga de radice Jesse (Esa. II), et Nazaraeus, id est flos de radice ejus, ascendet, vel certe aliquis doctor eximius, qui florem nobis virtutum munditiamque sanctitatis praedicare sit missus. Possumus hunc locum et ita recte intelligere, quod dicente Philippo, quem scripsit Moyses in lege et prophetae invenimus Jesum filium Joseph a Nazareth, Nathanael bene intellexerit, miratus sit autem quomodo a Nazareth Christum venisse dixerit, quem de domo David et de Bethleem civitate, ubi erat David, venturum prophetae canebant; ideoque admirando responderit a Nazareth; sed continuo reminiscens quantum etiam vocabulum Nazareth mysteriis Christi congrueret, caute assenserit praedicanti, potest, inquit, aliquid boni esse? Utrique sensui potest convenire quod sequitur:
can anything good be? As if he were saying openly: Can it be that from a city of so great a name something of the highest grace should arise for us? Either, namely, the Saviour of the world Himself, the Lord, who alone is holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners (Heb. 7:26), and who says in the Song of Songs, I am the flower of the field and the lily of the valleys (Song 2:1); and of whom the prophet says, There shall come forth a rod from the root of Jesse (Isa. 11:1), and a Nazarene, that is, a flower, shall rise up from his root; or at least some excellent teacher, who has been sent to preach to us the flower of the virtues and the cleanness of holiness. We can also rightly understand this passage thus: that when Philip said, Him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets wrote, we have found, Jesus the son of Joseph of Nazareth, Nathanael understood him well, but wondered how he could have said that the Christ had come from Nazareth, whom the prophets sang would come from the house of David and from Bethlehem, the city where David was; and therefore answered in wonder, From Nazareth; but at once remembering how well the very name of Nazareth accorded with the mysteries of Christ, he cautiously assented to the preacher: Can anything good, he said, be? What follows can fit either sense:
Dicit ei Philippus: Veni et vide. Ipsum namque venire et videre monebat, ut si quid ei ad verba praedicantis ambi⟨g⟩ui in corde resedisset, totum hoc visio et allocutio praesens ejus quem praedicabat abstergeret. Nec distulit pius auditor praedicatum sibi lumen veritatis sollicite quaerendo ac pie pulsando, ut percipere mereretur insistere: unde mox Dominus satiare in bonis desiderium ejus accelerans, salutaria ejus coepta provida laudatione remunerat, ut hunc paulatim ad altiora quaerenda simul et capienda provehat.
Philip said to him: Come and see. For he urged him to come and see Him himself, so that if anything of doubt had remained in his heart at the words of the preacher, the sight and the present speech of Him whom he preached might wipe it all away. Nor did the devout hearer delay to press on, by anxiously seeking and devoutly knocking, that he might be worthy to receive the light of truth preached to him: whence the Lord, hastening to satisfy his desire with good things, at once rewards his salutary beginnings with a far-seeing praise, to lead him on little by little to seek and at the same time to grasp higher things.
Vidit namque eum venientem ad se, et dixit de eo: Ecce vere Israelita in quo dolus non est. Ubi notandum quod laudans hominem qui novit corda Deus, non eum absque peccato, sed absque dolo exstitisse confirmat. Non est enim homo justus in terra qui faciat bonum et non peccet: multi autem sine dolo incessisse, id est simplici et mundo corde conversati esse leguntur: imo cuncti fideles taliter vivere docentur, dicente Scriptura, Sentite de Domino in bonitate, et in simplicitate cordis quaerite illum (Sap. I). Et ipse Dominus: Estote, inquit, prudentes sicut serpentes, et simplices sicut columbae (Matth. X). Talis erat exemplar patientiae Job, de quo scriptum est: Erat autem vir ille simplex et rectus (Job I). Talis Jacob patriarcha, de quo dictum est: Jacob autem vir simplex habitabat in tabernaculis (Gen. XXV); qui quoniam puritate conscientiae simplicis Deum videre meruit, etiam Israel, id est vir videns Deum, appellatus est. Talis iste Nathanael quem Dominus ob parilitatem innoxiae conversationis, ejusdem patriarchae meritis simul et nomine dignum ducit, Ecce, inquiens, vere Israelita, in quo dolus non est (Joan. I). Ecce qui vere a patriarcha Deum vidente genus ducit, cui sicut et ipsi patriarchae doli duplicitas nulla inesse probatur. O quam pulchrum auspicium venienti ad Deum et videre illum cupienti! Ecce vere
For He saw him coming to Him, and said of him: Behold, truly an Israelite in whom there is no guile (John 1:47). Here it is to be noted that God, who knows hearts, in praising the man affirms that he was not without sin, but without guile. For there is no just man on earth who does good and does not sin (Eccl. 7:21); but many are read to have walked without guile, that is, to have lived with a simple and clean heart; indeed all the faithful are taught to live so, as Scripture says: Think of the Lord in goodness, and seek Him in simplicity of heart (Wis. 1:1). And the Lord Himself says: Be wise as serpents, and simple as doves (Matt. 10:16). Such was Job, the pattern of patience, of whom it is written: Now that man was simple and upright (Job 1:1). Such was the patriarch Jacob, of whom it was said: But Jacob, a simple man, dwelt in tents (Gen. 25:27); who, since by the purity of a simple conscience he was worthy to see God, was also called Israel, that is, a man seeing God. Such was this Nathanael, whom the Lord, for the likeness of his innocent way of life, accounts worthy at once of the merits and of the name of the same patriarch, saying: Behold, truly an Israelite, in whom there is no guile (John 1:47). Behold, one who truly draws his descent from the patriarch who saw God, in whom, as in the patriarch himself, no doubleness of guile is found to be. O how fair an omen for one coming to God and longing to see Him! Behold, truly
Editors' notes and page, col. 92
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- running head: ... OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 92 (this column's half of the page head 'BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA.')
- marginal letters: A ‹potest aliquid boni esse?›; B ‹nisse dixerit, quem de domo David›; C ‹Dominus satiare in bonis›; D ‹serpentes, et simplices sicut columbae›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: 'ambigui' printed with a broken g (set ⟨g⟩); 've-/nienti' at a line end with the hyphen not visible, joined 'venienti'; 'distulit' printed with a broken i.
Israelita in quo dolus non est. Beati mundo corde, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt (Matth. V). Et hic videre Deum desiderans, non ab alio, sed ab ipso qui scrutatur renes et corda Deo, mundus corde laudatur et Israelita, hoc est a viro Deum vidente generatus astruitur. O quam magna nobis quoque, qui de gentibus ad fidem venimus, in hac sententia nostri Redemptoris spes aperitur salutis! Si enim vere Israelita est qui doli nescius incedit, jam perdidere Judaei nomen Israelitarum, quamvis carnaliter nati de Israel quotquot doloso corde a simplicitate patriarchae sui degeneraverunt, et asciti sumus ipsi in semen Israelitarum, qui quamlibet aliis de nationibus genus carnis habentes, fide tamen veritatis et munditia mentis ac corporis vestigia sequimur Israel juxta illud Apostoli: Non enim omnes qui ex Israel, hi sunt Israelitae. Neque quia semen sunt Abrahae, omnes filii, sed in Isaac vocabitur tibi semen (Rom. IX), id est, non qui filii carnis, hi filii Dei; sed qui filii sunt repromissionis aestimantur in semine. Sequitur:
an Israelite in whom there is no guile. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God (Matt. 5:8). And here one who desires to see God is praised as clean of heart, not by another, but by God Himself, who searches the reins and hearts (Ps. 7:10), and is declared an Israelite, that is, one begotten of the man who saw God. O how great a hope of salvation is opened in this saying of our Redeemer to us also, who have come to the faith from the Gentiles! For if he is truly an Israelite who walks without knowledge of guile, then the Jews, all who with guileful heart have fallen away from the simplicity of their patriarch, have already lost the name of Israelites, although born of Israel according to the flesh; and we ourselves have been taken into the seed of the Israelites, who, though we have the descent of our flesh from other nations, yet by the faith of truth and by cleanness of mind and body follow the footsteps of Israel, according to that saying of the Apostle: For not all who are of Israel are Israelites; nor, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all sons; but in Isaac shall your seed be called (Rom. 9:6–7); that is, not those who are sons of the flesh are the sons of God, but those who are sons of the promise are reckoned as the seed (Rom. 9:8). There follows:
Dicit ei Nathanael: Unde me nosti? Respondit Jesus et dixit ei: Priusquam te Philippus vocaret cum esses sub ficu, vidi te. Respondit ei Nathanael, et ait: Rabbi, tu es filius Dei, tu es rex Israel. Quia cognovit Nathanael vidisse et nosse Dominum quae alio in loco gererentur, id est quomodo et ubi vocatus sit a Philippo, cum ipse ibi corporaliter non esset, divinae hic majestatis intuitum considerans, protinus eum non solum Rabbi, id est magistrum, sed et Filium Dei ac regem Israel, id est Christum confessus est. Et libet intueri quam prudens laudanti Domino confessio respondet servi. Ille vere hunc Israelitam, id est virum qui Deum videre posset, eo quod dolum minime habet, astruxit; iste eum non magistrum tantummodo qui utilia praeciperet, verum etiam Filium Dei qui coelestia dona tribueret, et regem Israel, id est populi Deum videntis, religiosa devotione fatetur, ut hac confessione suum quoque hunc regem, et se ejus regni militem significet. Potest autem haec Domini sententia, qua dixit se Nathanael, priusquam vocaretur a Philippo cum esset sub ficu, vidisse, super electionem spiritualis Israel, id est populi Christiani, mystice intelligi, quem Dominus necdum se videntem, necdum per apostolos ejus ad fidei gratiam vocatum, sed sub tegmine adhuc peccati prementis abditum misericorditer videre dignatus est, Paulo attestante, qui ait: Qui benedixit nos in omni benedictione spirituali in coelestibus in Christo, sicut elegit nos in ipso ante mundi constitutionem, ut essemus sancti et immaculati in conspectu ejus in charitate (Eph. I). Et quidem fici arbor aliquando in Scripturis dulcedinem supernae dilectionis insinuat, unde scriptum est: Qui servat ficum, comedit fructum ejus; et qui custos est Domini sui, glorificabitur (Prov. XXVII); sed quia primi parentes nostri, reatu praevaricationis confusi, de fici sibi foliis succinctoria fecerunt, potest arbor fici non incongrue male dulcoratam generi humano consuetudinem peccandi signare, sub qua positos electos suos adhuc, sed
Nathanael said to Him: How do you know me? Jesus answered and said to him: Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Nathanael answered Him and said: Rabbi, You are the Son of God, You are the King of Israel (John 1:48–49). Because Nathanael recognized that the Lord had seen and known what was done in another place, that is, how and where he had been called by Philip, though He Himself was not there in body, perceiving here the gaze of the divine majesty, he at once confessed Him not only Rabbi, that is, master, but also Son of God and King of Israel, that is, the Christ. And it is pleasing to observe how wise a confession of the servant answers the Lord who praises him. He declared this man truly an Israelite, that is, a man who could see God, because he has no guile at all; this man acknowledges Him with religious devotion not only as a master who would teach useful things, but also as the Son of God who would bestow heavenly gifts, and as King of Israel, that is, of the people that sees God, so that by this confession he signifies that this is his King too, and he himself a soldier of His kingdom. This saying of the Lord, however, in which He said that He had seen Nathanael when he was under the fig tree before he was called by Philip, can be understood mystically of the election of the spiritual Israel, that is, of the Christian people, whom the Lord in His mercy deigned to see while it did not yet see Him, while it was not yet called to the grace of faith through His apostles, but was still hidden under the covering of oppressing sin; as Paul bears witness, who says: Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and spotless in His sight in charity (Eph. 1:3–4). And indeed the fig tree in the Scriptures sometimes suggests the sweetness of heavenly love, whence it is written: He who keeps the fig tree shall eat its fruit; and he who is the guardian of his lord shall be glorified (Prov. 27:18). But because our first parents, confounded by the guilt of their transgression, made themselves girdles of fig leaves (Gen. 3:7), the fig tree can not unfittingly signify the habit of sinning, sweetened to the harm of the human race; placed under which, still, His elect, but
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- running head: 93 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. H[OM. GENUINAE.] (spanning the page)
- marginal letters: A ‹Israelita in quo dolus non est›; B ‹illud Apostoli: Non enim omnes›; C ‹lium Dei ac regem Israel›; D ‹fidei gratiam vocatum, sed sub tegmine›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: reference printed 'Pror. XXVII' with a broken or wrong v; set 'Prov.' — UNSURE whether the type is damaged or a misprint. 'necdum', 'Christiani', 'potest' printed with broken letters.
necdum electionis suae gratiam cognoscentes, quasi sub ficu constitutum, nec se jam videntem Dominus videt Nathanael. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt ejus; quorum salvationi ipsum quoque nomen Nathanael aptissime convenit. Nathanael namque donum Dei interpretatur, et nisi dono Dei quisque vocatus, nunquam reatum primae transgressionis, nunquam male blandientia algescentium quotidie peccatorum umbracula evadit, nunquam salvandus venire meretur ad Christum. Unde dicit Apostolus: Gratia enim salvati estis per fidem. Et hoc non ex vobis, sed Dei donum est, non ex operibus, ut ne quis glorietur (Ephes. II). Sequitur:
not yet knowing the grace of their election, as if set under the fig tree, the Lord sees, as He sees Nathanael, who did not yet see Him. For the Lord knows who are His (2 Tim. 2:19); and to their salvation the very name Nathanael is most aptly suited. For Nathanael is interpreted gift of God; and unless one is called by the gift of God, one never escapes the guilt of the first transgression, never the evilly alluring shades of sins that grow cold each day, and never deserves to come to Christ to be saved. Whence the Apostle says: For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this not of yourselves, but it is the gift of God; not of works, lest anyone should glory (Eph. 2:8–9). There follows:
Respondit Jesus, et dixit ei: Quia dixi tibi: Vidi te sub ficu, credis. Majus his videbis. Quid sit majus de quo dicit, ipse subsequenter aperit futuram credentibus spondendo apertionem regni coelestis, et praedicandam mundo utramque unius suae naturam personae, quod revera multo excellentius est arcanum, quam quod nos in peccati adhuc umbra positos a se illuminandos praevidit. Majus est enim quod nos salvatos gratia suae cognitionis imbuit, quod coeli nobis gaudia pandit, quod praedicatores suae fidei in mundo dispersit, quam quod nos salvandos potentia suae majestatis ante saecula praescivit.
Jesus answered and said to him: Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, you believe; you shall see greater things than these (John 1:50). What the greater thing is of which He speaks, He Himself discloses afterwards, by promising to believers the future opening of the heavenly kingdom, and that both natures of His one Person were to be preached to the world; which is indeed a far more excellent secret than that He foresaw that we, still set in the shadow of sin, were to be enlightened by Him. For it is a greater thing that He has filled us, once saved, with the grace of the knowledge of Him, that He opens to us the joys of heaven, that He has scattered the preachers of His faith through the world, than that by the power of His majesty He foreknew before the ages that we were to be saved.
Amen, amen, inquit, dico vobis, videbitis coelum apertum et angelos Dei ascendentes et descendentes supra Filium hominis. Jam completum cernimus promissi hujus effectum: vidimus etenim coelum apertum, quia postquam coelum Deus homo penetravit, etiam nobis in nomine ejus credentibus supernae patriae patefactum cognoscimus ingressum. Videmus angelos Dei ascendentes et descendentes supra Filium hominis, quia praedicatores sanctos novimus sublimitatem divinitatis Christi simul et humanitatis ejus infirma nuntiare. Ascendunt supra Filium hominis angeli, cum docent doctores quia in principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apud Deum, et Deus erat Verbum (Joan. I). Descendunt super Filium hominis angeli, cum adjungunt iidem quia Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis. Neque immerito praedicatores sancti typice angeli vocantur, quibus consuete derivatum ab angelis nomen evangelistarum conceditur, ut sicut hi nuntii, ita et illi propter idem summae praedicationis officium boni nuntii cognominentur. Et notandum quod Dominus seipsum Filium hominis nuncupat, Nathanael eumdem Filium Dei praedicat. Cui simile est quod apud alios evangelistas ipse discipulos interrogat, quem eum dicant esse homines Filium hominis; responditque Petrus: Tu es Christus Filius Dei vivi (Matth. XVI). Et quidem justo dispensationis moderamine actum est, ut cum utraque ejusdem mediatoris Dei et Domini nostri vel ab ipso Domino, vel ab homine puro esset commemoranda substantia, Deus homo fragilitatem assumptae a se humanitatis, purus homo virtutem aeternae in eo divinitatis astrueret; ipse suam humilitatem, ille ejus fateretur altitudinem. Notandum etiam quod Dominus qui beatum Nathanael vere Israelitam nuncupat,
Amen, amen, He says, I say to you, you shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man (John 1:51). We already see the fulfilment of this promise accomplished: for we have seen heaven opened, since, after God made man entered heaven, we know that entrance into the heavenly fatherland has been laid open to us too who believe in His name. We see the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man, since we know that the holy preachers proclaim both the loftiness of Christ's divinity and the weaknesses of His humanity. The angels ascend upon the Son of man when the teachers teach that in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God (John 1:1). The angels descend upon the Son of man when the same men add that the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (John 1:14). Nor without reason are the holy preachers figuratively called angels, to whom the name of evangelists, derived from angels, is customarily granted, so that, as these are messengers, so those, because of the same office of the highest preaching, are named messengers of good. And it is to be noted that the Lord calls Himself the Son of man, while Nathanael proclaims the same to be the Son of God. Like this is that among the other evangelists He Himself asks the disciples who men say that He, the Son of man, is; and Peter answered: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matt. 16:13–16). And indeed it was done by the just governance of the dispensation that, since each substance of the same Mediator, our God and Lord, was to be called to mind either by the Lord Himself or by a mere man, the God-man should declare the frailty of the humanity He had assumed, and the mere man the power of the eternal divinity in Him; He His own lowliness, the other His height. It is to be noted also that the Lord, who calls blessed Nathanael truly an Israelite,
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in hoc quoque verbo quod ait, Videbitis coelum apertum, et angelos Dei ascendentes et descendentes supra Filium hominis (Joan. I), visionem Jacob patriarchae qui per benedictionem vocatus est Israel ad memoriam reducit. Is namque cum volens in quodam loco requiescere lapidem capiti suo subposuisset, vidit in somnis scalam stantem super terram, et cacumen illius tangens coelum; angelos quoque Dei ascendentes et descendentes per eam, et Dominum innixum scalae, dicentem sibi, Ego sum Deus Abraham patris tui, et Deus Isaac; surgensque mane, et debito cum pavore laudes Domino reddens, tulit lapidem ipsum, et erexit in titulum fundens oleum desuper. Hujus ergo loci Dominus facit mentionem, et de se ac suis fidelibus figuratum manifestissime testatur. Scala quippe quam vidit Ecclesia est, nativitatem de terra, sed conversationem habens in coelis, per quam ascendunt et descendunt angeli, cum evangelistae nunc perfectis auditoribus supereminentia divinitatis ejus arcana, nunc rudibus adhuc humanitatis ejus infirma denuntiant. Vel certe ascendunt cum ipsi ad coelestia contemplanda mente transeunt. Descendunt vero cum auditores suos qualiter in terris vivere debeant instruunt. Lapis sub capite Jacob Dominus est, in quo tanto magis omni intentione debemus inniti, quanto nobis certum liquet quia sine ipso nihil facere possumus. Unxit lapidem Jacob et erexit in titulum, quia verus Israelita intelligit Redemptorem nostrum unctum a Patre oleo laetitiae prae consortibus suis; a qua unctione, id est chrismate, Christus nomen accipit, cujus mysterium Incarnationis nostrae profecto est titulus redemptionis. Et bene cum lapis in terra ungitur atque in titulum erigitur, Dominus in coelo revelatur, quia nimirum ipse in tempore apparuit inter homines homo, qui aeternus permanet apud Patrem Deus; qui morte devicta ascendit super coelos coelorum ad orientem, ipse in titulum nostrae salvationis manet nobiscum omnibus diebus usque ad consummationem saeculi, corpus quidem assumptum de terra coelo transferens, sed praesentia divinitatis terram pariter complectens et coelos. Igitur Dominus veterem nobis exponens historiam in Israel simplicitatem populi fidelis, cujus membrum erat Nathanael, figuratam demonstrat; in lapide super quem angeli ascendebant et descendebant, se significatum revelat, cujus utramque naturam vicissim magistri spirituales annuntiant. Nam quasi lapidem ungit Israel oleo, cum confitetur Nathanael quomodo unxit Jesum Deus Spiritu sancto et virtute dicens, Rabbi, tu es Filius Dei, tu es rex Israel (Joan. I). Patet jam, exposita lectione sancti Evangelii, fratres mei, quod non sine ratione magni mysterii in capite ipsius praedictum sit quia voluerit Jesus exire in Galilaeam, ac deinde subjunctum quomodo vel Philippum ipse vocaverit, vel vocatum ab eo Nathanael susceperit, ac luce veritatis instruxerit. Galilaea namque, ut diximus, Transfiguratio facta vel Revelatio interpretatur. Et recte in Galilaeam voluisse exire dictus est, cum sacramenta suae majestatis
in this word too, where He says, You shall see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man (John 1:51), recalls to memory the vision of the patriarch Jacob, who through a blessing was called Israel. For he, when wishing to rest in a certain place he had put a stone under his head, saw in his sleep a ladder standing upon the earth, and its top touching heaven; and the angels of God ascending and descending by it, and the Lord leaning upon the ladder, saying to him: I am the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac (Gen. 28:12–13); and rising in the morning, and rendering praises to the Lord with due fear, he took the stone itself and set it up for a monument, pouring oil upon it (Gen. 28:18). The Lord therefore makes mention of this passage, and testifies most plainly that it was a figure of Himself and of His faithful. For the ladder which he saw is the Church, which has its birth from the earth but its way of life in heaven (Phil. 3:20), by which the angels ascend and descend, when the evangelists announce, now to perfect hearers the surpassing secrets of His divinity, now to those still untaught the weaknesses of His humanity. Or at least they ascend when they themselves pass over in mind to contemplate heavenly things; but they descend when they instruct their hearers how they ought to live on earth. The stone under Jacob's head is the Lord, on whom we ought to lean with all our intent the more, the more certainly it is plain to us that without Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). Jacob anointed the stone and set it up for a monument, because the true Israelite understands that our Redeemer was anointed by the Father with the oil of gladness above His fellows (Ps. 44:8); from which anointing, that is, chrism, Christ takes His name; the mystery of whose Incarnation is indeed the monument of our redemption. And fittingly, when the stone is anointed on earth and set up for a monument, the Lord is revealed in heaven, because He who remains eternal God with the Father appeared in time as a man among men; He who, having conquered death, ascended above the heavens of heavens to the east (Ps. 67:34), Himself remains with us as the monument of our salvation all days even to the consummation of the world (Matt. 28:20), carrying indeed into heaven the body taken from the earth, but by the presence of His divinity embracing earth and heavens alike. So the Lord, expounding to us the ancient history, shows that the simplicity of the faithful people, of which Nathanael was a member, was prefigured in Israel; and reveals that He Himself was signified in the stone upon which the angels ascended and descended, both of whose natures the spiritual masters announce in turn. For Israel anoints the stone, as it were, with oil when Nathanael confesses how God anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit and with power (Acts 10:38), saying: Rabbi, You are the Son of God, You are the King of Israel (John 1:49). It is now plain, my brethren, the reading of the holy Gospel having been expounded, that it was not without the reason of a great mystery that at its head it was said beforehand that Jesus wished to go out into Galilee, and then added how He both called Philip and received Nathanael when called by him, and instructed him with the light of truth. For Galilee, as we have said, is interpreted a migration accomplished, or revelation. And rightly He is said to have wished to go out into Galilee when the sacraments of His majesty
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- marginal letters: A ‹pat, in hoc quoque verbo›; B ‹Scala quippe quam vidit›; C ‹bus suis; a qua unctione›; D ‹lapide super quem angeli›
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fidelibus revelare dignatus est: ad quorum perfectam cognitionem, quae est sola hominis vita beata, tanto tunc sublimius ascendemus, quanto nunc instantius de terrenis ad coelestia transmigrare, ac per gradus virtutum proficere curamus, adjuvante ipso qui bonorum desideria ascendere, provehere, et coronare consuevit, Jesu Christo Domino nostro, qui vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
He deigned to reveal to the faithful; to the perfect knowledge of which, which alone is the blessed life of man, we shall then ascend the more loftily, the more earnestly we now take care to migrate from earthly things to heavenly, and to advance by the steps of the virtues, with the help of Him who is wont to raise up, to further and to crown the desires of the good, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, through all ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILIA XVIII. IN DOMINICA SECUNDA QUADRAGESIMAE. MATTH. XVII, MARC. IX, LUC. IX. In illo tempore assumpsit Jesus Petrum et Jacobum et Joannem fratrem ejus et duxit illos in montem excelsum deorsum, et transfiguratus est ante eos, etc.
HOMILY XVIII. ON THE SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT. MATTHEW 17, MARK 9, LUKE 9. At that time Jesus took Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain apart, and He was transfigured before them, etc. (Matt. 17:1–2).
Quia Dominus ac Redemptor noster electos suos per hujus vitae labores ad illam, quae laborem nescit, vitam futurae beatitudinis introducere disposuit, modo per Evangelium suum sudores certaminum temporalium, modo aeternorum describit palmam praemiorum: ut auditis videlicet agonum necessitatibus meminerint sibi requiem in hac vita nequaquam esse petendam; audita rursum dulcedine futurae retributionis levius ferant mala transeuntia, quae bonis speraverint remuneranda perpetuis. Cum enim suas suorumque passiones paulo superius commemorasset, confestim ea quae modo cum legeretur, audivimus, adjunxit dicens:
Because our Lord and Redeemer has ordained to bring His elect, through the labours of this life, into that life of future blessedness which knows no labour, He describes through His Gospel now the sweat of the temporal contests, now the palm of the eternal rewards: so that, having heard of the hard necessities of the struggles, they may remember that rest is by no means to be sought in this life; and having heard in turn of the sweetness of the future recompense, they may bear more lightly the passing evils which they hope will be repaid with everlasting goods. For when He had a little earlier recalled His own sufferings and those of His followers, He at once added what we heard just now when it was read, saying:
Filius enim hominis venturus est in gloria Patris sui cum angelis suis, et tunc reddet unicuique secundum opera ejus. Ubi aptissime [Al., apertissime] diem extremi designat examinis, quando in potestate magna et majestate veniet judicaturus de mundo, qui quondam in humilitate et abjectione venerat judicandus a mundo, quando cum judiciaria districtione quaeret operum perfectionem ab eis quibus misericordiae [Al., misericordi] largitate praerogaverit suorum gratiam munerum, quando reddens singulis secundum opera eorum, electos in regnum Patris sui perducet, reprobos autem cum diabolo in ignem rejiciet sempiternum. Et pulchre dicitur quia Filius hominis venturus est in gloria Patris sui. Filius quippe hominis in gloria Dei Patris venturus est, quia qui in hominis natura minor est Patre, ipse in divinitate unius ejusdemque est gloriae cum Patre verus homo, per omnia verus existens et Deus. Merito autem laetificat pios, merito terret contumaces, quod sequitur. Et tunc reddet unicuique secundum opera ejus: quia qui nunc bona operantes pressuris malorum affliguntur iniquis, laetanti nimirum animo tempus exspectant illud, quando per judicem justum non solum ab injustorum liberentur injuriis, sed et justitiae ac patientiae suae mercedem percipiant. Qui vero male viventes patientiam judicis negligentiam putant, juste [Al. justa] sero poenitentes aeternae damnationis sententia feriuntur. Concinit huic evangelicae sententiae quod ait Psalmista: Misericordiam et judicium cantabo tibi, Domine (Psalm. C). Primo quippe misericordiam, ac deinde judicium se cantare perhibet: quia nimirum
For the Son of man is to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will render to each according to his works (Matt. 16:27). Here He most aptly [or, most openly] marks out the day of the last trial, when He who once had come in lowliness and abasement to be judged by the world will come in great power and majesty to judge the world; when with judicial strictness He will seek perfection of works from those to whom, by the bounty of His mercy [or, merciful bounty], He had granted beforehand the grace of His gifts; when, rendering to each according to their works, He will lead the elect into the kingdom of His Father, but cast the reprobate with the devil into everlasting fire. And it is beautifully said that the Son of man is to come in the glory of His Father. For the Son of man is to come in the glory of God the Father, because He who in the nature of man is less than the Father is Himself in His divinity of one and the same glory with the Father, being true man and in all things true God also. Rightly, then, what follows gladdens the devout and rightly terrifies the stubborn: And then He will render to each according to his works. For those who now, doing good, are afflicted by the wicked oppressions of evil men, await with rejoicing mind that time when, through the just Judge, they will not only be freed from the wrongs of the unjust but will also receive the reward of their justice and patience. But those who, living evilly, think the Judge's patience to be negligence, repenting too late, are justly [or, by the just sentence] struck by the sentence of eternal damnation. With this Gospel saying accords what the Psalmist says: Mercy and judgement I will sing to Thee, O Lord (Ps. 100:1). For he declares that he sings first mercy, and then judgement: because indeed
Editors' notes and page, col. 96
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- running head: [BEDAE VENERABIL]IS OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 96 (this column's half of the spanning head)
- marginal letters: A ‹statis fidelibus revelare›; B ‹Quia Dominus ac Redemptor noster›; C ‹sui cum angelis suis›; D ‹demque est gloriae cum Patre›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column ends 'nimi-' hyphenated; completed as 'nimirum' from the first line of col. 97. '[Al., apertissime]' printed with the full stop faint. 'Psalm. C' printed 'Psal n. C' with broken type; set 'Psalm.' — UNSURE whether Migne prints 'Psal.' or 'Psalm.'. 'laetanti', 'mercedem', 'perducet' printed with broken letters.
Dominus, quod primo suo adventu dispositum nobis benigne contulit, hoc in secundo districtus exiget. Sed perversus quisque qui misericordiam largientis contemnit, jure judicium discutientis Domini pertimescit. At qui gratiam misericordiae grate se meminit suscepisse, gaudens utique judicii discrimen exspectat, ideoque libera modulatione suo judici misericordiam et judicium cantat. Verum quia incertum est omnibus tempus universalis judicii, incerta singulis sui exitus hora, et poterat longa videri praesens afflictio nescientibus quando requies promissa veniret, voluit pius magister aliquibus discipulorum suorum adhuc in terra degentibus aeternae repromissionis gaudia praemonstrare: quatenus et ipsi qui vidissent, et omnes qui audire possint, levius adversa praesentia tolerarent, reducto saepius ad mentem futurae retributionis munere quod exspectarent. Unde sequitur:
the Lord will strictly require at His second coming what He kindly bestowed on us, as He had ordained, at His first. But every perverse man who despises the mercy of the Giver rightly dreads the judgement of the Lord who examines. But he who remembers that he has gratefully received the grace of mercy awaits the decision of the judgement with gladness indeed, and therefore sings to his Judge with free melody of mercy and judgement. But since the time of the universal judgement is uncertain to all, and the hour of his own departure uncertain to each, and the present affliction could seem long to those who did not know when the promised rest would come, the loving Master willed to show beforehand the joys of the eternal promise to some of His disciples while they were still living on earth: so that both they who had seen, and all who could hear, might bear present adversities more lightly, often bringing back to mind the reward of the future recompense which they were awaiting. Whence there follows:
Amen dico vobis, sunt quidam de hic stantibus, qui non gustabunt mortem, donec videant Filium hominis venientem in regno suo. Venientem quippe in regno suo viderunt discipuli, quia in ea claritate viderunt fulgentem in monte, in qua peracto judicio ab omnibus sanctis in regno suo videbitur. Sed quod mortales adhuc et corporales discipulorum oculi sufferre nequiverunt, tunc per resurrectionem jam facta incorruptibilis potenter tueri sufficiet omnis Ecclesia sanctorum, de qua scriptum est: Regem in decore suo videbunt oculi ejus (Isa. XXXIII).
Amen I say to you, there are some of those standing here who shall not taste death until they see the Son of man coming in His kingdom (Matt. 16:28). For the disciples saw Him coming in His kingdom, because they saw Him shining on the mountain in that brightness in which, when the judgement is accomplished, He will be seen by all the saints in His kingdom. But what the still mortal and bodily eyes of the disciples could not bear, the whole Church of the saints, made incorruptible then by the resurrection, will be strong enough to gaze upon mightily; of which it is written: Its eyes shall see the King in His beauty (Isa. 33:17).
Et post sex dies assumpsit Jesus Petrum et Jacobum, et Joannem fratrem ejus, et ducit illos in montem excelsum. Ostensurus gloriam suam discipulis, in montem eos ducit excelsum, ut doceat omnes qui hanc videre desiderant, non in infimis jacere voluptatibus, non illecebris servire carnalibus, non cupiditatibus adhaerescere terrenis, sed aeternorum amore ad superna semper erigi: angelicae munditiae, pietatis, pacis, dilectionis, et justitiae vitam, quantum mortalibus possibile est, semper imitari debere juxta eum qui dixit: Nostra autem conversatio in coelis est, unde etiam Salvatorem exspectamus Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum (Philipp. III). Ostensurus gloriam suae majestatis, in montem discipulos ducit, ut discant ipsi, discant omnes qui hanc videre sitiunt, non eam sibi in hujus saeculi profundo, sed in regno supernae beatitudinis esse quaerendam. Et bene cum diceret, quia ducit illos in montem excelsum, addidit seorsum: quia justi et nunc cum pravorum vicinia premuntur, animo tamen sunt toto atque intentione fidei separati ab illis, et in futuro funditus seorsum abducuntur ab eis, cum abscondet eos in abscondito vultus sui a conturbatione hominum, proteget eos in tabernaculo suo a contradictione linguarum. Quod autem post dies sex ex quo promisit discipulis, claritatem suae visionis ostendit, significat sanctos in die judicii regnum percepturos quod eis promisit qui non mentitur Deus ante tempora saecularia. Tempora quippe saecularia sex aetatibus constant, quibus completis audient
And after six days Jesus took Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain (Matt. 17:1). About to show His glory to the disciples, He leads them up a high mountain, to teach all who desire to see it not to lie in the lowest pleasures, not to serve the enticements of the flesh, not to cling to earthly desires, but always to be raised up to things above by love of things eternal; that they ought always to imitate, as far as is possible for mortals, the life of angelic purity, devotion, peace, love and justice, according to him who said: But our way of life is in heaven, whence also we await the Saviour, Jesus Christ our Lord (Phil. 3:20). About to show the glory of His majesty, He leads the disciples up a mountain, so that they themselves may learn, and all who thirst to see it may learn, that it is to be sought by them not in the depth of this world but in the kingdom of heavenly blessedness. And well, when He said that He leads them up a high mountain, He added apart: because the just, even now when they are pressed by the nearness of the wicked, are yet separated from them with their whole mind and the intention of their faith, and in the future are led away wholly apart from them, when He will hide them in the secret of His face from the disturbance of men, and protect them in His tabernacle from the contradiction of tongues (Ps. 30:21). And that He showed the brightness of His vision six days after He made the promise to the disciples signifies that on the day of judgement the saints will receive the kingdom which God, who does not lie, promised them before the times of the ages (Titus 1:2). For the times of the ages consist of six ages, at whose completion they will hear
Editors' notes and page, col. 97
Page
- running head: 97 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. [HOM. GENUINAE.] (spanning the page)
- marginal letters: A ‹rum Dominus, quod primo suo adventu›; B ‹levius adversa praesentia tolerarent›; C ‹bum, et Joannem fratrem ejus›; D ‹hanc videre sitiunt, non eam sibi›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column ends 'au-' hyphenated; completed as 'audient' from the first line of col. 98 (visible at the right edge of this page). 'excelsum' in the lemma printed 'excclsum' with a broken e. The lemma here prints 'ducit' (present).
ipso dicente: Venite, benedicti Patris mei, possidete paratum vobis regnum a constitutione mundi (Matth. XXV). Possunt dies sex promissae Dominicae visionis et gloriae bonorum perfectione [Al. perfectionem] operum designari [Al. designare], sine quibus ad contemplandam conditoris sui majestatem quisque aliquid agere valet, pervenire non valet. Quia enim Dominus sex diebus rerum creaturam formavit, septima requievit ab operibus suis, recte per sex dies opera bona quibus ad requiem pervenire debeamus, exprimuntur. Et quia qui Deum videre, qui ad gloriam beatae resurrectionis pertingere concupiscit, debet agere bona quae novit, recte post dies sex gloriam sui regni, quam spopondit discipulis Salvator, ostendit. Sequitur:
Him saying: Come, you blessed of My Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (Matt. 25:34). The six days of the promised vision and glory of the Lord can be signified by the perfection [or, the perfection is signified] of good works, without which, whatever else one may be able to do, one is not able to come to contemplate the majesty of one's Creator. For since the Lord formed the creation of things in six days, and on the seventh rested from His works (Gen. 2:2), rightly by six days are expressed the good works by which we must come to rest. And because he who longs to see God, who longs to attain to the glory of the blessed resurrection, ought to do the good he knows, rightly the Saviour showed after six days the glory of His kingdom which He had promised to the disciples. There follows:
Et transfiguratus est ante eos, et resplenduit facies ejus sicut sol: vestimenta autem ejus facta sunt alba sicut nix. Transfiguratus est ante discipulos Dominus, et sui corporis gloriam, qua per resurrectionem erat illustrandus, significat, et electorum omnium quantae claritatis post resurrectionem sint corpora futura, manifestat. Nam et de his alibi dicit: Tunc justi fulgebunt sicut sol in regno Patris eorum (Matth. XIII), et hic in exemplum futurae clarificationis ipsius resplenduit facies ejus sicut sol. Non quia Domini et sanctorum ejus aequalis possit esse claritas et gloria, cum et de iisdem sanctis dicat Apostolus: Stella autem a stella differt in claritate, sic et resurrectio mortuorum (I Cor. XV): sed quia nihil sole clarius videre novimus, non solum Domini, sed et sanctorum in resurrectionis gloria solis aspectui comparatur, quia clarius sole aliquid unde exemplum daretur hominibus, minime potuit inveniri. Hanc autem glorificam Dominici corporis majestatem, hanc sanctorum corporum claritatem nullus in judicio reproborum videre putandus est. Tantum videbunt in quem transfixerunt, et plangent se super eum omnes tribus terrae. At cum peracto judicio sublati fuerint impii, ne videant gloriam Dei, tunc justi ad contemplandam perpetuo gloriam regni ejus, et ipsi pro modulo suo incorruptionis luce transfigurati intrabunt: unde dicit Apostolus: Qui reformabit corpus humilitatis nostrae, configuratum corpori claritatis suae (Philip. III). Si autem quaerit aliquis quid vestimenta Domini, quae facta sunt alba sicut nix, typice designant [Al. designent], possumus recte intelligere sanctorum ejus Ecclesiam per haec esse monstratam, de quibus Isaias ait: Omnibus his velut ornamento vestieris (Isa. XLIX): et Apostolus: Quotquot enim, inquit, in Christo baptizati estis, Christum induistis (Galat. III). Qui in tempore resurrectionis [Al. add. ab] omni labe iniquitatis simul et ab omni mortalitatis obscuritate castificantur. Unde pulchre de vestimentis Domini dicit evangelista Marcus: Quia facta sunt splendida candidaque nimis velut nix, qualia fullo super terram non potest candida facere (Marc. IX); quia quod omnibus patet, nemo est qui sine corruptione ac dolore vivere possit super terram. Quod omnibus sapientibus patet,
And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun; and His garments became white as snow (Matt. 17:2). The Lord was transfigured before the disciples, and He signifies the glory of His own body, with which He was to be made glorious through the resurrection, and makes plain of how great brightness the bodies of all the elect will be after the resurrection. For of them too He says elsewhere: Then the just shall shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father (Matt. 13:43); and here, as a pattern of His future glorification, His face shone like the sun. Not that the brightness and glory of the Lord and of His saints can be equal, since the Apostle says of these same saints: For star differs from star in brightness; so also is the resurrection of the dead (1 Cor. 15:41–42); but because we know of nothing brighter to see than the sun, the glory not only of the Lord but also of the saints in the resurrection is compared to the sight of the sun, since nothing brighter than the sun could be found from which a pattern might be given to men. But none of the reprobate is to be thought to see, in the judgement, this glorious majesty of the Lord's body, this brightness of the bodies of the saints. They will only see Him whom they pierced, and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over Him (Rev. 1:7). But when, the judgement accomplished, the wicked have been taken away, lest they see the glory of God (Isa. 26:10), then the just will enter to contemplate for ever the glory of His kingdom, they too transfigured, according to their measure, by the light of incorruption; whence the Apostle says: Who will refashion the body of our lowliness, made like to the body of His brightness (Phil. 3:21). But if anyone asks what the garments of the Lord, which became white as snow, signify figuratively [or, may signify], we can rightly understand that the Church of His saints is shown by them, of whom Isaiah says: With all these you shall be clothed as with an ornament (Isa. 49:18); and the Apostle says: For as many of you as have been baptized in Christ have put on Christ (Gal. 3:27). These at the time of the resurrection are made pure from [or, adds 'from'] every stain of iniquity and at the same time from all the darkness of mortality. Hence the evangelist Mark beautifully says of the Lord's garments: That they became shining and exceedingly white as snow, such as no fuller on earth can make white (Mark 9:2); because, as is plain to all, there is no one who can live on earth without corruption and pain. What is plain to all the wise,
Editors' notes and page, col. 98
Page
- running head: [SECT. I. HOMIL]IAE. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINAE. 98 (this column's half of the spanning head)
- marginal letters: A ‹dient ipso dicente›; B ‹Et transfiguratus est ante eos›; C ‹sole clarius videre novimus›; D ‹aliquis quid vestimenta Domini›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with 'dient', the second half of 'au-dient' set whole at the end of col. 97; the English for that word is in col. 97. 'paratum', 'constitutione', 'perfectione', 'aliquid', 'Transfiguratus', 'claritate', 'solis', 'configuratum' printed with broken or lost letters, read from context.
licet haeretici contradicant. Nemo est qui sine attactu alicujus peccati vivere possit super terram. Sed quod fullo, id est, doctor animarum sive mundator aliquis sui corporis eximius super terram non potest, Dominus faciet in coelo emundans Ecclesiam [Al. add., vestem] videlicet suam ab omnibus inquinamentis carnis et spiritus, insuper et aeterna carnis ac spiritus beatitudine ac luce reficiens. Sequitur:
though heretics contradict it. There is no one who can live upon earth without the touch of some sin. But what a fuller, that is, a teacher of souls or any outstanding cleanser of his own body, cannot do upon earth, the Lord will do in heaven, cleansing His Church [another reading adds: garment], that is, from all defilements of flesh and spirit, and moreover refreshing it with the eternal beatitude and light of flesh and spirit. There follows:
Et ecce apparuit illis Moyses et Elias cum eo loquentes. Quales apparuerint, et quid locuti sunt cum eo, Lucas manifestius scribit, dicens: Erant autem Moyses et Elias visi in majestate, et dicebant excessum ejus, quem completurus erat in Jerusalem (Luc. IX). Moyses ergo et Elias qui locuti sunt cum Domino in monte, et passionem ejus ac resurrectionem dicebant, oracula legis et prophetiae designant, quae in Domino completa et nunc doctis quibusque patent, et electis omnibus in futuro manifestius patebunt. Qui bene visi in majestate dicuntur, quia tunc apertius videbitur, quando [Al., quanta] veritatis dignitate omnis divinorum eloquiorum, non solum sensus, sed et sermo fuerit prolatus: quamvis in Moyse et Elia omnes qui cum Domino regnaturi sunt recte intelligi possunt. In Moyse quidem qui mortuus ac sepultus est, hi qui in judicio resuscitandi a morte; in Elia vero, qui necdum mortis debitum solvit, hi qui in adventu judicis vivi inveniendi sunt in carne. Qui utrique pariter in uno eodemque momento rapti in nubibus obviam Domino in aere mox peracto judicio ad vitam inducuntur aeternam. Quibus apte convenit quod Moyses et Elias in majestate fuisse visi perhibentur; per excellentiam namque majestatis insigne muneris quo sunt coronandi, monstratur. Bene convenit et hoc quod excessum ejus, quem completurus erat in Jerusalem, dixisse memorantur: quia nimirum unica laudis materia fidelibus suis fit passio redemptoris: qui quanto magis meruerint ejus se gratia esse redemptos, tanto suae reparationis memoriam devoto semper in pectore versant, devota confessione testantur. Verum quia cum [Al., quo] amplius quisque vitae coelestis dulcedinem degustat, eo amplius fastidit omnia quae placebant in infimis, merito Petrus, visa Domini et sanctorum ejus majestate, repente cuncta quae noverat terrena obliviscitur, solis iis quae vidit perpetuo delectatur adhaerere, dicens:
And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah talking with Him. Of what kind they appeared, and what they spoke of with Him, Luke writes more plainly, saying: And Moses and Elijah were seen in majesty, and they spoke of His departure, which He was to accomplish in Jerusalem (Luke 9:31). Moses and Elijah, then, who spoke with the Lord on the mountain and told of His passion and resurrection, signify the oracles of the law and of prophecy, which were fulfilled in the Lord and now lie open to all the learned, and in the future will lie open more plainly to all the elect. They are rightly said to have been seen in majesty, because it will then be seen more openly when [another reading: with how great] dignity of truth not only the sense but also the wording of all the divine utterances was brought forth: although in Moses and Elijah all who are to reign with the Lord can rightly be understood. In Moses, indeed, who died and was buried, those who at the judgement are to be raised from death; in Elijah, who has not yet paid the debt of death, those who at the coming of the Judge are to be found alive in the flesh. Both of these, caught up together in one and the same moment in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, are, as soon as the judgement is completed, led into eternal life. To them it fittingly applies that Moses and Elijah are reported to have been seen in majesty; for by the excellence of majesty is shown the distinction of the reward with which they are to be crowned. This too is fitting, that they are recorded to have spoken of His departure which He was to accomplish in Jerusalem: because surely the one matter of praise for His faithful is the passion of the Redeemer: and the more they deserve to have been redeemed by His grace, the more they turn over the memory of their restoration ever in a devout heart, and bear witness to it in devout confession. But since the more each one tastes the sweetness of the heavenly life, the more he loathes all things that pleased him in the lowest things, rightly does Peter, having seen the majesty of the Lord and of His saints, suddenly forget all the earthly things he had known, and delight to cling for ever to those alone which he saw, saying:
Domine, bonum est nos hic esse, si vis, faciamus hic tria tabernacula, tibi unum, Moysi unum, et Eliae unum. Et quidem beatus Petrus, sicut alius evangelista testatur (Luc. IX), nesciebat quid diceret, in eo quod coelesti conversatione tabernacula facienda putavit. In illa namque coelestis vitae gloria domus necessaria non erit, ubi divinae contemplationis luce omnia pacificante, aura adversitatis alicujus timenda nulla remanebit, testante apostolo Joanne, qui ejusdem supernae civitatis claritatem
Lord, it is good for us to be here; if Thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for Thee, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. And indeed blessed Peter, as another evangelist testifies (Luke 9:33), did not know what he was saying, in that he thought tabernacles were to be made for the heavenly way of life. For in that glory of the heavenly life a house will not be necessary, where, with the light of divine contemplation bringing peace to all things, no breath of any adversity will remain to be feared, as the apostle John testifies, who [describing] the brightness of that same city on high
Editors' notes and page, col. 99
Footnotes
(a) ‹anchor: tanto suae reparationis› · call in col 99
Al., Quanto magis meminerint absque gratia illius se salvari nequivisse, tanto majorem ejusdem gratiae memoriam, etc.
Another reading: "The more they remember that without his grace they could not have been saved, the greater the memory of that same grace," etc.
(printed under page 54)
Page
- running head: 99 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. 100
- marginal letters: A ‹licet haeretici contradicant›; B ‹nem dicebant, oracula legis›; C ‹cuntur aeternam. Quibus apte›; D ‹repente cuncta quae noverat›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
describens, inter alia dicit: Et templum non vidi in ea, Dominus enim omnipotens templum illius est et Agnus (Apoc. XXI). Sed bene noverat quid diceret, cum ait: Domine, bonum est nobis hic esse, quia revera solum hominis bonum intrare in gaudium Domini sui, et huic contemplando in aeternum assistere. Unde merito nihil unquam veri boni habuisse putandus est, cui reatu suo exigente contingit nunquam sui faciem videre Creatoris. Quod si beatus Petrus glorificatam Christi humanitatem contemplatus tanto afficitur gaudio, ut nullatenus ab ejus intuitu velit secerni, quid putamus, fratres charissimi, esse beatitudinis, qui divinitatis ejus altitudinem videre meruerunt? Et si cum duobus tantum sanctis, Moyse videlicet et Elia, transfiguratam [Al., transfigurati] in monte hominis Christi speciem videre bonum maximum duxit, qui sermo explicare, quis sensus valet comprehendere, quanta sint gaudia justorum cum accesserint ad Sion montem, et ad civitatem Dei viventis Jerusalem, et multorum millium angelorum frequentiam, ipsumque civitatis ejusdem artificem et conditorem Deum non per speculum et in aenigmate sicut nunc, sed facie ad faciem conspexerint? De qua visione dicit ipse Petrus, loquens de Domino fidelibus: In quem nunc quoque non videntes credetis, quem cum videritis, exsultabitis laeti in inenarrabili et glorificata (I Petr. I). Sequitur:
describing, says among other things: And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord almighty is its temple, and the Lamb (Rev. 21:22). But he knew well what he was saying when he said: Lord, it is good for us to be here, because truly the only good of man is to enter into the joy of his Lord, and to stand before Him for ever in contemplation. Hence he is rightly to be thought never to have had anything of true good to whom, as his guilt demands, it befalls never to see the face of his Creator. But if blessed Peter, contemplating the glorified humanity of Christ, is affected with such joy that he wishes in no way to be parted from the sight of it, what, dearest brethren, do we think is the beatitude of those who have been found worthy to see the height of His divinity? And if he thought it the greatest good to see, with only two saints, namely Moses and Elijah, the transfigured [another reading: of the man Christ transfigured] appearance of the man Christ on the mountain, what speech can unfold, what sense can comprehend, how great are the joys of the just when they have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, Jerusalem, and to the throng of many thousands of angels, and have beheld God Himself, the builder and founder of that same city, not through a glass and in a riddle as now, but face to face? Of this vision Peter himself speaks, telling the faithful of the Lord: In whom, though even now you do not see Him, you will believe; and when you see Him, you will exult, rejoicing with joy unspeakable and glorified (1 Pet. 1:8). There follows:
Adhuc eo loquente, ecce nubes lucida obumbravit eos, et ecce vox de nube dicens: Hic est Filius meus dilectus, in quo mihi bene complacui, ipsum audite. Quia tabernacula facere quaerebant, obtectu lucidae nubis admonentur in illa vitae coelestis habitatione domos non esse necessarias, ubi omnia Dominus aeterna suae lucis obumbratione protegit. Qui enim populum per deserta gradientem, nec per diem sol, nec luna ureret per noctem, quadraginta annos expandit nubem in protectionem eorum, quanto magis inhabitantes in tabernaculo regni coelestis in saecula sanctarum velamento proteget alarum? Scimus enim docente Apostolo: Quia si terrestris domus nostra hujus habitationis dissolvatur, quod aedificationem ex Deo habemus, domum non manufactam aeternam in coelis (II Cor. V). Quia vero resplendentem Filii hominis faciem cernere desiderabant, adfuit Pater in voce, decens eumdem esse Filium suum dilectum, in quo sibi bene complacuisset: ut discerent ab humanitatis ejus gloria quam videbant, ad divinitatis qua aequalis est illi contemplandam suspirare praesentiam. Quod autem ait vox paterna de Filio, In quo mihi bene complacui, hoc est quod ejus Filius alibi testatur: Et qui me misit, mecum est: et non reliquit me solum, quia ego quae placita sunt ei, facio semper (Joan. VIII). Et quod adjunxit, Ipsum audite, admonuit eum esse de quo Moyses idem populum cui legem dedit, praemonebat: Quia prophetam vobis suscitabit Dominus Deus vester de fratribus vestris, tanquam me ipsum audietis juxta omnia quaecunque
While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice from the cloud, saying: This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear Him. Because they sought to make tabernacles, they are reminded by the covering of the bright cloud that in that dwelling of the heavenly life houses are not necessary, where the Lord protects all things with the eternal overshadowing of His light. For He who, for the people journeying through the desert, so that neither the sun should burn them by day nor the moon by night, spread out a cloud for forty years for their protection, how much more will He protect with the covering of His holy wings those who dwell for ever in the tabernacle of the heavenly kingdom? For we know, as the Apostle teaches: That if our earthly house of this dwelling is dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens (2 Cor. 5:1). And because they desired to see the shining face of the Son of Man, the Father was present in a voice, teaching that this same was His beloved Son, in whom He was well pleased: that they might learn from the glory of His humanity which they saw to sigh for the contemplation of the presence of the divinity by which He is equal to Him. And what the Father's voice says of the Son, In whom I am well pleased, is what His Son testifies elsewhere: And He who sent Me is with Me; and He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him (John 8:29). And by adding, Hear Him, He admonished that He was the one of whom the same Moses forewarned the people to whom he gave the law: That the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet from among your brethren; you shall hear him as myself in all things whatsoever
Editors' notes and page, col. 100
Page
- running head: 99 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 100
- marginal letters: A ‹describens, inter alia dicit›; B ‹transfigurati] in monte hominis›; C ‹Quia tabernacula facere›; D ‹voce, decens eumdem esse›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
locutus fuerit vobis (Deut. XVIII). Neque enim Moysen et Eliam, id est legem et prophetas, audiri vetat, sed omnibus his auditionem Filii, qui legem aut prophetas venit adimplere, praeferendam insinuat, cunctisque Veteris Instrumenti typis et aenigmatibus lucem evangelicae veritatis anteponendam intimat. Et quidem pia dispensatione fides discipulorum, ne crucifixo Domino titubet, solidatur, dum imminente crucis articulo et humanitas ejus, qualiter per resurrectionem sit sublimanda coelesti luce monstratur: et quia coaeternus sit in divinitate Patri Filius, coelesti ejusdem Patris voce probatur, quatenus adveniente hora passionis minus morientem dolerent, quem post mortem mox glorificandum in homine, in divinitate autem semper a Deo Patre glorificatum meminissent. Verum discipuli quasi carnales adhuc [Al., add. et] substantiae fragilis, audita Dei voce, timentes in faciem ceciderunt. Dominus autem quasi pius per omnia magister, verbo simul eos et tactu consolatur et erigit.
he shall speak to you (Deut. 18:15). For He does not forbid Moses and Elijah, that is, the law and the prophets, to be heard, but suggests that the hearing of the Son, who came to fulfil the law or the prophets, is to be preferred to all these, and makes known that the light of the gospel truth is to be set before all the types and riddles of the Old Instrument. And indeed by a merciful dispensation the faith of the disciples is made firm, lest it waver when the Lord is crucified, while, as the moment of the cross draws near, both His humanity is shown by heavenly light, how it is to be exalted through the resurrection, and that the Son is coeternal with the Father in divinity is proved by the heavenly voice of that same Father, so that when the hour of the passion came they might grieve the less at His dying, remembering that He was soon after death to be glorified in His manhood, but in His divinity was always glorified by God the Father. But the disciples, being as yet carnal [another reading adds: and] of frail substance, on hearing the voice of God fell on their faces in fear. But the Lord, as a master merciful in all things, both comforts and raises them up by word and touch together.
Et descendentibus, inquit, illis de monte, praecepit Jesus, dicens: Nemini dixeritis visionem, donec Filius hominis a mortuis resurgat. Visionem ostensae suae majestatis ad tempus taceri praecepit, ne si palam vulgaretur in populos, aut dispensationem passionis illius iidem populi principibus repugnando impedirent, et sic humanae salutis effectus, qui per sanguinem ejus erat futurus, retardaretur; aut certe hi qui eamdem visionem audientes credidissent, viso crucis opprobrio scandalizarentur. Opportunius autem completa passione, resurrectione et ascensione ejus in coelum, repletis Spiritu sancto apostolis praedicata est, quatenus omnes qui sacramentis ejus initiari voluissent, non solum effectum resurrectionis credere, sed etiam modum ejusdem resurrectionis ab his qui videbant [Al., viderant], potuissent ediscere, nec non et aeternitatem divinae nativitatis, quam a Patre audierant, cunctis pariter credendam amandamque praedicarent. Exposita igitur lectione Dominicae transfigurationis, ad nostram, fratres charissimi, conscientiam revertamur, et si Domini gloriam videre delectat, transitis carnalibus desideriis, subeamus in montem virtutum. Si ad vestimenta Domini candidissima pertinere volumus, mundemus nos ab omni inquinamento carnis et spiritus, perficientes sanctificationem in timore Dei. Si vocem Dei Patris audire, si consubstantialis ejus Filii majestatem desideramus intueri, studeamus solliciti perversa et inutilia mortalium verba declinare; studeamus a supervacuis saeculi fallentis oculos avertere spectaculis, quatenus resurrectionis nostrae gloria coruscante, et ipsi quidem quae modo nequimus, magnalia nostri conditoris videre simul et dicere mereamur, praestante ipso qui vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus, etc. Amen.
And as they were coming down, it says, from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying: Tell the vision to no one until the Son of Man rises from the dead. He commanded that the vision of the majesty He had shown be kept silent for a time, lest, if it were spread openly among the peoples, either those same peoples, by resisting their rulers, should hinder the dispensation of His passion, and so the accomplishment of human salvation, which was to come through His blood, should be delayed; or at least those who, hearing of that vision, had believed, should be scandalized on seeing the shame of the cross. But more fittingly, when His passion, resurrection and ascension into heaven were completed, it was preached by the apostles filled with the Holy Spirit, so that all who wished to be initiated into His sacraments might be able not only to believe the fact of the resurrection, but also to learn the manner of that same resurrection from those who saw [another reading: had seen] it, and also that they might preach to all alike that the eternity of the divine birth, which they had heard from the Father, was to be believed and loved. Having therefore expounded the reading of the Lord's transfiguration, let us turn back, dearest brethren, to our own conscience, and if it delights us to see the Lord's glory, let us pass beyond carnal desires and go up into the mountain of the virtues. If we wish to have a share in the Lord's most white garments, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting sanctification in the fear of God. If we desire to hear the voice of God the Father, if we desire to behold the majesty of His consubstantial Son, let us carefully strive to turn aside from the perverse and useless words of mortals; let us strive to turn our eyes away from the empty spectacles of the deceiving world, so that, when the glory of our resurrection shines forth, we too may be found worthy both to see and to tell the mighty works of our Maker which now we cannot, by the gift of Him who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, etc. Amen.
Editors' notes and page, col. 101
Page
- running head: 101 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. 102
- marginal letters: A ‹cunque locutus fuerit vobis›; B ‹Patre glorificatum meminissent›; C ‹autem completa passione›; D ‹mundemus nos ab omni›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "cunque", the second half of "quae-|cunque" split from col. 100 (c100 sets only "quae-"; the whole word is quaecunque). Set here as printed so no letters are lost; join at assembly. Damaged letters read as obvious: "El am"→Eliam, "dic ns"→dicens. Homily ends at foot of this column with "Amen."; rest of column blank. Right-hand column number of head not visible in crop; assumed 102.
HOMILIA XIX. IN DOMINICA SECUNDA QUADRAGESIMAE. MATTH. XV, LUC. XIX, MARC. VII. In illo tempore egressus Jesus secessit in partes Tyri et Sidonis. Et ecce mulier Chananaea a finibus illis egressa, clamavit, dicens ei: Miserere mei, Domine, fili David: filia mea male a daemonio vexatur, etc.
HOMILY XIX. ON THE SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT. MATTHEW 15, LUKE 19, MARK 7. At that time Jesus went out and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman came out from those borders and cried out, saying to Him: Have mercy on me, Lord, son of David: my daughter is grievously troubled by a demon, etc.
In lectione sancti Evangelii, quae [Al. add. nobis] modo lecta est, fratres charissimi, audivimus magnam mulieris fidem, patientiam, constantiam et humilitatem. Cujus [Al. add. eo] magis est admiranda mentis devotio, qua [Al., quo] ipsa quidem utpote gentilis a divinorum eloquiorum funditus erat segregata doctrinis, nec tamen illis quae [Al., quas] eadem eloquia praedicant, sit privata virtutibus. Habebat [Al., habet] namque magnam fidei perfectionem, quae pietatem Salvatoris implorans ait:
In the reading of the holy Gospel which [another reading adds: to us] has just been read, dearest brethren, we have heard of the great faith, patience, constancy and humility of a woman. The devotion of her mind is the more [another reading adds: for this] to be admired, in that she, being a gentile, was wholly cut off from the teachings of the divine utterances, and yet was not deprived of the virtues which [another reading: which] those same utterances proclaim. For she had [another reading: has] a great perfection of faith, who, imploring the Saviour's mercy, says:
Miserere mei, Domine, fili David. Cum enim eumdem Dominum filium David appellat, profecto patet quia verum hunc hominem, verum credit et Deum. Cum pro filia rogans, non illam secum adducit, non Dominum ad eam venire precatur, constat apertissime quod eum verbo salutem posse dare confidit, cujus praesentiam corporis nullam requirit. Sed [Al. add. et] in hoc quod eum post multas lacrymas tandem prostrata adorat, dicens: Domine, adjuva me, nequaquam se de ejus divina majestate ambiguam docet, cujus adorandam ut Dei didicit esse potentiam. Habet patientiae virtutem non exiguam, quae Domino ad primam petitionem ejus non respondente verbum, nequaquam a precibus cessat, sed ampliori instantia auxilium, quod coeperat, pietatis ejus implorat. Respondere autem ei differt Dominus, non quia misericors medicus miserorum preces despicit, de quo veracissime scriptum est: Desiderium pauperum exaudivit Dominus (Psalm. ix), sed ut perseverantiam mulieris nobis semper imitabilem demonstret, quae quo magis contempta videbatur a Domino, eo ardentius coeptis instabat [Al., perstabat in] precibus. Respondere differt, ut discipulorum quoque suorum misericordes animos (qui quasi homines ad clamorem mulieris publice eos persequentis erubescebant) ad postulandum simul cum ea provocaret. Nam ipse temperamentum misericordiae suae noverat, qui omnia in mensura, et numero et pondere disposuit [Al., disponit]. Respondere distulit, ne daretur occasio Judaeis calumniandi, quod gentiles in docendo vel sanando praetulit [Al., praetulerit], ideo [Al., ideoque] ipsi fidem ejus suscipere juste recusaverint. Et hoc est quod ait:
Have mercy on me, Lord, son of David. For when she calls this same Lord son of David, it is surely plain that she believes Him to be true man and also true God. When, asking on behalf of her daughter, she does not bring her with her, does not beg the Lord to come to her, it is most clearly evident that she trusts He can give health by a word, since she asks for no bodily presence of His. But [another reading adds: also] in that, after many tears, she at last prostrates herself and worships Him, saying: Lord, help me, she shows that she is in no way doubtful of His divine majesty, whose power she has learned is to be worshipped as God's. She has no small virtue of patience, who, when the Lord answers not a word to her first petition, by no means ceases from her prayers, but with greater insistence implores the help of His mercy which she had begun to seek. And the Lord delays to answer her, not because the merciful physician despises the prayers of the wretched, He of whom it is most truly written: The Lord has heard the desire of the poor (Ps. 9:38), but in order to show us the woman's perseverance, ever to be imitated, who, the more she seemed to be scorned by the Lord, the more ardently she pressed on with [another reading: persisted in] the prayers she had begun. He delays to answer so that He might also stir the merciful hearts of His disciples (who, as men, were embarrassed at the clamour of a woman following them publicly) to petition together with her. For He Himself knew the measure of His mercy, He who disposed [another reading: disposes] all things in measure and number and weight. He put off answering, lest occasion be given to the Jews to make false charges, that He had preferred [another reading: preferred] the gentiles in teaching or healing, and that therefore [another reading: and therefore] they had justly refused to receive His faith. And this is what He says:
Non sum missus nisi ad oves quae perierunt domus Israel. Quia per se ipse solus docebat Judaeos, qui per suos discipulos etiam gentibus ad fidei gratiam vocavit, de quibus alibi dicit: Et alias oves habeo, quae non sunt ex hoc ovili, et illas oportet me adducere, et vocem meam audient, et fiet unum ovile, et unus pastor (Joan. X). Hinc est quod unam per se in corpore gentilem sanaturus puellam, non hoc, antequam probata omnibus incomparabili fide matris perficit. Habet autem eadem mater etiam constantiae et humilitatis
I was not sent except to the sheep that have perished of the house of Israel. For by Himself He alone taught the Jews, He who through His disciples called the gentiles too to the grace of faith, of whom He says elsewhere: And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold, and them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice, and there will be one fold and one shepherd (John 10:16). Hence it is that, being about to heal in person, in the body, one gentile girl, He does not accomplish this before the mother's incomparable faith had been proved to all. And the same mother also has a distinguished and outstanding mark of constancy and humility,
Editors' notes and page, col. 102
Page
- running head: 101 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINAE. 102
- marginal letters: A ‹HOMILIA XIX.›; B ‹Salvatoris implorans ait›; C ‹nequaquam a precibus cessat›; D ‹[Al., disponit]. Respondere›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: UNSURE homily numeral: printed "X?X" with the middle letter damaged; read as XIX. "LUC. XIX" is as printed (the pericope is not in Luke). Damaged letters read as obvious: "Je us"→Jesus, "mu ier"→mulier, "egressu"→egressa (final letter looks like u; UNSURE whether damaged a or a misprint), "c jus"→cujus, "Habe:"→Habet, "cessa:"→cessat, "d retur"→daretur, "im tabilem"→imitabilem. Column ends with "humi-" hyphenated across the break; only the visible part is set (humilitatis). The c101 file's head comment lacks "HOM. GENUINAE."
insigne praecipuum, quae canibus comparata a Domino, nec sic quidem ab instantia precandi desistit, vel a sperando pietatis munere mentem revocat, sed susceptam libenter complexata contumeliam, non solum canibus se similem non negat, sed et catellis seipsa aequiparandam adjungit, prudentique argumento Domini sententiam confirmat, nec coeptae a se tamen petitionis improbitate quiescit. Confirmat namque sententiam Domini, cui dicenti:
who, compared by the Lord to dogs, does not even so desist from her insistence in praying, nor call her mind back from hoping for the gift of His mercy, but willingly embracing the insult she has received, not only does not deny that she is like the dogs, but adds that she herself is to be ranked with the little dogs, and with a shrewd argument confirms the Lord's sentence, and yet does not rest from the persistence of the petition she has begun. For she confirms the Lord's sentence, answering Him when He says:
Non est bonum sumere panem filiorum, et mittere canibus, respondit: Etiam, Domine. Id est, veraciter ut asseris, ita est: quia non est bonum sumere salutem plebis [Al., plebi] Israel coelitus destinatam, et dare eam gentibus; sed cum addit:
It is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs, she answered: Yes, Lord. That is, truly, as Thou dost assert, so it is: for it is not good to take the salvation destined from heaven for the people [another reading: to the people] of Israel and give it to the gentiles; but when she adds:
Nam et catelli edunt de micis quae cadunt de mensa dominorum suorum. Prudentissime demonstrat quantam humilitatem, quantam intus gerat pectoris constantiam, quae indigna quidem sit integris Domini doctrinis [Al., Dominicae doctrinae], quibus [Al., qua] Judaei utebantur epulis refici, sed quantulacunque ei a Domino foret impartita gratia, hanc sibi ad salutem proficere posse putaverit. Unde recte a pio Salvatore, qui preces illius non superba dedignatione, sed dispensatione provida ad tempus distulit, audire meruit:
For the little dogs also eat of the crumbs that fall from their masters' table, she shows most shrewdly how great a humility, how great a constancy of heart she bears within, who, though unworthy indeed to be fed with the whole feasts of the Lord's teachings [another reading: of the Lord's teaching], which [another reading: which] the Jews enjoyed, yet thought that however little grace were imparted to her by the Lord, it could avail her for salvation. Hence rightly she was found worthy to hear from the merciful Saviour, who put off her prayers for a time not with proud disdain but with provident dispensation:
O mulier, magna est fides tua, fiat tibi sicut vis. Magnam quippe satis habebat fidem, quae nec prophetarum antiqua, nec recentia ipsius Domini miracula, praecepta vel promissa cognoscens, insuper a Domino toties contempta perseverat in precibus: et quem fama tantum vulgante didicerat Salvatorem, rogando pulsare non omittit. Propter quod et magnum suae postulationis consequitur effectum, cum Domino dicente, Fiat tibi sicut vis, sanata est filia ejus ex illa hora. Merito autem haec mulier, natura quidem gentilis, sed corde constans et credula, congregatae de gentibus Ecclesiae fidem devotionemque significat, quem [Al., quam] expulsi de Judaea praedicatores sancti, verbo simul et mysteriis gratiae coelestis imbuerunt. Relegamus namque superiorem sancti Evangelii lectionem, et inveniemus quia venientes ab Jerosolymis Scribae et Pharisaei, gravissimis Dominum et discipulos ejus perfidiae suae pulsavere tumultibus, quos ipse mox digna invectione coercitos reliquit. Et egressus inde, secessit in partes Tyri et Sidonis. Ubi manifeste praefiguratur quod post passionem resurrectionemque suam Dominus in praedicatoribus suis, Judaeorum perfida corda relicturus, et in partes gentium exterarum esset secessurus. Tyrus quippe et Sidon, quae civitates fuere gentilium, monumenta doctrinae ac vitae gentilis, in quibus stulti confidunt, indicant. Unde bene mulier, quae Dominum credula precatur, a finibus illis egressa perhibetur, quia nisi priscae conversationis habitacula vana reliquisset, ad Christi [Al., Christum] Ecclesiam [Al., Ecclesia] nunquam veniret; nisi antiqui dogmata anathematizasset erroris, nequaquam novam fidei gratiam suscipere posset [Al., nosset]. Unde beatus Paulus cum in
O woman, great is your faith; be it done to you as you will. Great enough indeed was the faith she had, who, knowing neither the ancient miracles of the prophets nor the recent ones of the Lord Himself, nor His precepts or promises, and moreover so often scorned by the Lord, perseveres in her prayers; and Him whom she had learned to be the Saviour only by the spreading of report, she does not cease to knock upon by asking. For this reason she also obtains the great fulfilment of her petition, when, at the Lord's word, Be it done to you as you will, her daughter was healed from that hour. And rightly this woman, a gentile by nature but constant and believing in heart, signifies the faith and devotion of the Church gathered from the gentiles, which [another reading: which] the holy preachers, driven out of Judaea, instructed by the word and the mysteries of heavenly grace together. For let us read again the earlier reading of the holy Gospel, and we shall find that the scribes and Pharisees, coming from Jerusalem, assailed the Lord and His disciples with the most grievous tumults of their faithlessness, and He soon left them, curbed by a fitting rebuke. And going out from there, He withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon. Here it is plainly prefigured that after His passion and resurrection the Lord, in His preachers, was to leave the faithless hearts of the Jews and to withdraw into the regions of the foreign gentiles. For Tyre and Sidon, which were cities of the gentiles, indicate the monuments of gentile teaching and life in which fools trust. Hence the woman who prays to the Lord in belief is fitly said to have come out from those borders, because unless she had left the vain dwellings of her former way of life, she would never come to the Church of Christ [another reading: to Christ, the Church]; unless she had anathematized the dogmas of the ancient error, she could [another reading: would know how to] by no means receive the new grace of faith. Hence blessed Paul, when in
Editors' notes and page, col. 103
Page
- running head: 103 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 104
- marginal letters: A ‹litatis insigne praecipuum›; B ‹dominorum suorum. Prudentissime›; C ‹quem fama tantum vulgante›; D ‹partes Tyri et Sidonis. Ubi›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "litatis", the second half of "humi-|litatis" split from col. 102 (c102 sets only "humi-"); join at assembly. Damaged letters read as obvious: "cgressus"→egressus. Head's continuation beyond PARS III. not visible in crop; assumed as on the facing page of cols 99–100. Column ends mid-sentence.
Judaismo profecisset, postea vocatus in Ecclesia Dei profecit ultra coaetaneos suos. Filia daemoniosa, pro qua postulat, anima quaelibet est in Ecclesia, malignorum spirituum magis deceptionibus quam conditoris sui mancipata praeceptis: pro qua necesse est mater Ecclesia Dominum sollicite interpellet, ut quam ipsa foris monendo, obsecrando, increpando corrigere non valet, ille interius aspirando corrigat, atque ab errorum tenebris conversam, ad agnitionem verae lucis exerceat [Al., excitet]. Verumetiam si ad primas rogantis Ecclesiae lacrymas Dominus respondere, id est, postulatam errantibus sospitatem mentis dare distulerit, nec sic quidem a petendo, quaerendo, pulsando desistendum est, neque impetrandi subeunda est desperatio: sed tanta potius perseverandum instantia, tam obstinato frequentandus clamore Salvator, tantum etiam sanctorum ejus inter litanias appetenda suffragia, donec et ipsi de coelis Domino pro audienda supplicent Ecclesia. Sicque fit ut si mentem ab intentione proposita non mutaverit, nequaquam fructu petitionis fraudetur; sed sive pro sua fragilitate quis, seu pro aliis intervenerit, desiderato potiatur effectu. Nam etsi quis nostrum conscientiam habet avaritiae, elationis, vanae gloriae, indignationis, iracundiae vel invidiae, caeterorumve vitiorum sorde pollutam, filiam profecto habet male a daemonio vexatam, pro cujus sanatione supplex ad Dominum currat: quia nimirum de corde cogitationem progenitam diabolica tolerat arte dementatam, cujus emendationem a pio conditore crebris, imo continuis debeat flagitare lamentis et precibus. Si quis bona quae gessit, forte perjurii, furti, blasphemiae, detractionis, rixae, vel etiam corporalis immunditiae, caeterorumve hujusmodi peste foedavit, filiam habet immundi spiritus furiis agitatam, quia videlicet actionem quam bene laborando ediderat, jam diaboli fraudibus serviendo stulte disperdidit. Ideoque necesse est cum reatum suum cognoverit, mox ad preces lacrymasque confugiat, sanctorum crebris intercessionibus auxilia quaerat, qui pro [Al. add. animae] ejus salute rogantes Domino dicant: Precamur, Domine, miserator et misericors, patiens et multae miserationis (Psalm. lxxxv), dimitte eam, quia clamat post nos: dimitte reatum, et dona gratiam, nostrum [Al., qui sanctorum] intimo affectu quaerit pronus suffragium. Necesse est debita submissus humilitate, non jam se ovium Israeliticarum, id est, mundarum consortio dignum judicet animarum, sed potius eum comparandum, et coelestibus indignum arbitretur esse muneribus. Nec tamen desperando a precandi quiescat instantia, sed indubitata mente de largitoris summi bonitate confidat: quia qui de latrone confessorem, de persecutore apostolum, de publicano evangelistam, de lapidibus potuit facere filios Abrahae, ipse etiam canem impudentissimum convertere Israeliticam possit in ovem: cui merito donatae castitatis etiam vitae aeternae pascua largiatur, id est, peccatorem conversum a via sua mala justum facere dignetur, quem
had advanced in Judaism, afterwards, called in the Church of God, advanced beyond his contemporaries. The demon-possessed daughter, for whom she pleads, is any soul in the Church that is enslaved more to the deceptions of malignant spirits than to the precepts of its Maker: for which Mother Church must needs earnestly entreat the Lord, that the soul which she herself cannot correct outwardly by admonishing, beseeching and rebuking, He may correct inwardly by His inspiration, and, turned from the darkness of errors, may exercise [another reading: rouse] it to the knowledge of the true light. Yet even if the Lord should delay to answer the first tears of the Church as she asks, that is, to give to the erring the soundness of mind that is asked for, not even so must we desist from asking, seeking, knocking, nor must despair of obtaining be entertained: but rather we must persevere with such great insistence, the Saviour must be besought with such obstinate crying, the intercessions of His saints too must be sought so earnestly in the litanies, until they themselves from heaven also plead with the Lord that the Church be heard. And so it comes about that if one has not changed one's mind from the purpose set before it, one is in no way cheated of the fruit of one's petition; but whether one intercedes for one's own frailty or for others, one obtains the desired effect. For if any one of us has a conscience polluted with the filth of avarice, pride, vainglory, indignation, wrath or envy, or of the other vices, he surely has a daughter grievously troubled by a demon, for whose healing he should run as a suppliant to the Lord: because indeed he endures a thought born of his heart driven mad by the devil's art, whose amendment he ought to demand of the merciful Maker with frequent, nay continual, laments and prayers. If anyone has defiled the good things he has done with the plague perhaps of perjury, theft, blasphemy, detraction, strife, or even of bodily uncleanness, or of other such things, he has a daughter driven by the furies of an unclean spirit, because, that is, the action which by labouring well he had brought forth, he has now foolishly squandered by serving the devil's frauds. And therefore, when he has recognized his guilt, he must at once take refuge in prayers and tears, and seek the help of the saints by their frequent intercessions, who, asking for the salvation of his [another reading adds: soul], may say to the Lord: We pray, Lord, compassionate and merciful, patient and of great mercy (Ps. 85:15), send her away, for she cries after us: remit the guilt and grant grace, for with inmost affection she bows down and seeks our [another reading: who seeks the saints'] intercession. He must, brought low by due humility, judge himself no longer worthy of the company of the sheep of Israel, that is, of pure souls, but rather consider that he is to be compared to that [dog], and is unworthy of the heavenly gifts. Yet let him not, by despairing, rest from insistence in prayer, but with undoubting mind trust in the goodness of the supreme Giver: because He who could make of a thief a confessor, of a persecutor an apostle, of a publican an evangelist, of stones sons of Abraham, can Himself also convert a most shameless dog into an Israelite sheep: and to it, its chastity having been rightly given, He may also bestow the pastures of eternal life, that is, He may deign to make just the sinner turned from his evil way, whom
Editors' notes and page, col. 104
Page
- running head: 103 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA 104
- marginal letters: A ‹Judaismo profecisset›; B ‹perseverandum instantia›; C ‹crebris, imo continuis›; D ‹et dona gratiam, nostrum›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: UNSURE "sed potius eum comparandum": printed "eum" (one might expect "cani"); set as printed, English supplies [dog] from context. "cui merito donatae castitatis ... pascua largiatur" is obscure; translated literally. Damaged letters read as obvious: "fraudetu;"→fraudetur, "qu rat"→quaerat, "sanctoru n"→sanctorum, "pe secutore"→persecutore. No period after PARAENETICA in the head. Column ends mid-sentence.
merito bonae actionis ad regnum coeleste perducat. Vidensque Dominus tantum fidei nostrae ardorem, tam pertinacem orandi perseverantiam, tandem miserebitur, et nobis quoque sicut volumus fieri, concedet: ut videlicet expulsis vitiosarum tumultibus cogitationum, dimissis peccatorum nexibus, et pura nobis serenitas mentis, et perfectio boni redintegretur operis. Notandum interea quod haec orandi pertinacia ita solum meretur esse fructifera, si quod ore precamur, hoc etiam mente meditemur, neque alio clamore labiorum quam cogitationum scindatur intuitus. Sunt enim qui intrantes ecclesiam multis psalmodiam vel orationem sermonibus perlegant [Al., perlongant], sed alibi corde intendentes [Al., intendendo], nec ipsi quid dicant recolunt: ore quidem orantes, sed mente foris vagantes, omni se orationis fructu privant [Al., privantes]: putantes a Deo precem exaudiri, quam nec ipsi, qui fundunt, audiunt, quod antiqui hostis instinctu fieri, nemo est qui animadvertere nequeat. Sciens enim utilitatem orandi, et invidens hominibus gratiam impetrandi, immittit hominibus multimoda cogitationum levium, et aliquando etiam turpium nocentiumque phantasmata, quibus orationem impediat, adeo ut nonnunquam tales tantosque discurrentium cogitationum fluctus prostrati in oratione toleremus, quales nec in lecto resupini jacentes tolerare noverimus. Unde necesse est, fratres charissimi, ut agnitam diaboli curemus superare malitiam; et ipsi videlicet animum ab hujusmodi nebulis quas hostis aspergere gaudet, in quantum possumus servando [Al., serenando], et pii defensoris perpetuum flagitando praesidium, qui potens est quamvis indignis peccatoribus [Al., precatoribus] et pure orandi et perfecte impetrandi concedere gratiam. Multum autem juvat orationis puritas [Al., puritatem], si in omni loco vel tempore nos ab actibus temperamus illicitis; si semper ab otiosis sermocinationibus auditum pariter castigemus et linguam; si in lege Dei ambulare, et testimonia ejus assuescamus toto corde scrutari. Quaecunque enim saepius agere, loqui vel audire solemus, eadem necesse est saepius ad animum quasi solitam propriamque recurrant ad sedem; et sicut volutabra sues palustria, columbae limpida solent frequentare fluenta, ita cogitationes impurae mentem immundam perturbant, castam spirituales sanctificant. Sane si ad exemplum Chananaeae mulieris, in orando perstamus, fixique manemus, aderit gratia Conditoris nostri, quae cuncta in nobis errata corrigat, immunda sanctificet, turbulenta serenet. Fidelis namque et justus est, ut remittat nobis peccata nostra, et mundet nos ab omni iniquitate, si ad illum sedula mentis voce clamemus, qui vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
may bring, by the merit of good action, to the kingdom of heaven. And the Lord, seeing so great an ardour of our faith, so persistent a perseverance in prayer, will at last have mercy, and will grant to us too that it be done as we will: that is, that the tumults of vicious thoughts being driven out and the bonds of sins loosed, both a pure serenity of mind and the perfection of good work may be restored to us. Meanwhile it is to be noted that this persistence in prayer deserves to be fruitful only if what we ask with the mouth we also meditate in the mind, and if the gaze of our thoughts is not divided by a different cry from that of the lips. For there are some who, entering the church, read through [another reading: prolong] psalmody or prayer with many words, but, attending in heart to something else [another reading: attending], do not themselves recall what they are saying: praying indeed with the mouth, but wandering outside in mind, they deprive themselves [another reading: depriving themselves] of all the fruit of prayer: thinking that a prayer is heard by God which not even they who pour it forth hear; and that this happens at the instigation of the ancient enemy there is no one who cannot perceive. For knowing the usefulness of prayer, and grudging men the grace of obtaining, he sends into men manifold phantasms of light thoughts, and sometimes even of base and harmful ones, by which to hinder prayer, so much so that sometimes, prostrate in prayer, we endure such and so great waves of thoughts running about as we would not know how to endure lying on our backs in bed. Hence it is necessary, dearest brethren, that we take care to overcome the malice of the devil once recognized; namely by ourselves guarding [another reading: making serene] the mind, as far as we can, from such clouds as the enemy delights to scatter over it, and by begging the perpetual protection of the merciful Defender, who is able to grant to sinners [another reading: to those who pray], however unworthy, the grace both of praying purely and of obtaining perfectly. And it greatly helps the purity of prayer [another reading: helps purity], if in every place and time we restrain ourselves from unlawful acts; if we always chasten both hearing and tongue alike from idle talk; if we accustom ourselves to walk in the law of God and to search His testimonies with the whole heart. For whatever we are used to doing, saying or hearing more often, these things must more often return to the mind as to their accustomed and proper seat; and as swine are used to frequent marshy wallows, and doves clear streams, so impure thoughts disturb an unclean mind, and spiritual ones sanctify a chaste one. Surely if, after the example of the Canaanite woman, we persist in praying and remain steadfast, the grace of our Maker will be present, to correct all errors in us, sanctify what is unclean, make serene what is troubled. For He is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all iniquity, if we cry to Him with the earnest voice of the mind, He who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Editors' notes and page, col. 105
Page
- running head: 105 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. H[OM. GENUINAE.] 106
- marginal letters: A ‹merito bonae actionis›; B ‹orantes, sed mente foris›; C ‹quantum possumus servando›; D ‹ita cogitationes impurae›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: printer's signature "PATROL. XCIV." at column foot excluded. Homily ends with "Amen." followed by a rule; rest of column blank. "[A..," read as "[Al.," (damaged l, UNSURE). Damaged letters read as obvious: "assnescamus"→assuescamus. Head beyond "LIB. I. H" not visible in crop.
HOMILIA XX. IN DOMINICA TERTIA QUADRAGESIMAE. JOAN. VIII. In illo tempore pervenit Jesus in montem Oliveti, et diluculo iterum venit in templum, et omnis populus venit ad eum, et sedens docebat eos.
HOMILY XX. ON THE THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT. JOHN 8. At that time Jesus came to the Mount of Olives, and at daybreak He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him, and sitting down He taught them.
Praesentem sancti Evangelii lectionem tanto intentius considerare, fratres charissimi, debemus ac semper reminisci, quanto maximam nobis commendat gratiam nostri Conditoris. Ecce enim, ut audivimus, oblatam sibi ab impiis accusatoribus mulierem peccatricem, non juxta legis praeceptum lapidare, sed ipsos accusatores primo semetipsos considerare, et sic in peccantem sententiam dare praecepit, ut ex consideratione propriae frigilitatis, qualiter aliis misereri debuissent, agnoscerent. Sed quia moris esse solet Scripturarum ut aliquando a statu temporis, aliquando a statu loci, aliquando ab utroque qualia sint post narranda significent, relaturus evangelista temperatam legis districtionem misericordia Redemptoris, praemisit quia Jesus perrexit in montem Oliveti, et diluculo iterum venit in templum. Mons quippe Oliveti sublimitatem Dominicae pietatis et misericordiae designat, quia Graece oleos misericordia, olivetum vocatur oleon, et ipsa unctio olei fessis ac dolentibus membris solet afferre levamen. Sed et hoc quod oleum et virtute ac puritate praeminet, et quemcunque ei liquorem superfundere volueris, confestim hunc transcendere eique superferri consuevit, gratiam misericordiae coelestis non inconvenienter insinuat, de qua scriptum est, Suavis Dominus universis, et miserationes ejus super omnia opera ejus (Psal. CXLIV). Tempus quoque diluculi exortum ejusdem gratiae, qua, remota legis umbra, lux evangelicae veritatis erat revelanda demonstrat. Pergit ergo Jesus in montem Oliveti, ut arcem misericordiae in se constare denuntiet; venit iterum diluculo in templum, ut eamdem misericordiam cum incipiente Novi Testamenti lumine fidelibus, templo videlicet suo pandendam praebendamque significet.
We ought, dearest brethren, to consider the present reading of the holy Gospel the more attentively, and always to remember it, the more it commends to us the very great grace of our Maker. For behold, as we have heard, when a sinful woman was brought to Him by impious accusers, He commanded not that she be stoned according to the precept of the law, but that the accusers themselves first consider themselves, and so pass sentence on the sinner, so that from the consideration of their own frailty they might recognize how they ought to have had mercy on others. But since it is the custom of the Scriptures sometimes from the circumstance of time, sometimes from the circumstance of place, sometimes from both, to signify of what kind the things to be narrated afterwards are, the evangelist, being about to relate the strictness of the law tempered by the mercy of the Redeemer, said first that Jesus went to the Mount of Olives, and at daybreak came again into the temple. For the Mount of Olives designates the height of the Lord's loving-kindness and mercy, because in Greek mercy is eleos and an olive grove is called elaion, and the very anointing with oil is wont to bring relief to tired and aching limbs. And this too, that oil excels both in power and in purity, and that whatever liquid you choose to pour over it, it is wont at once to rise above it and be borne on top of it, not unfittingly suggests the grace of heavenly mercy, of which it is written: The Lord is sweet to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works (Ps. 144:9). The time of daybreak, too, shows the rising of that same grace by which, the shadow of the law being removed, the light of gospel truth was to be revealed. Jesus therefore goes to the Mount of Olives, to declare that the citadel of mercy stands firm in Him; He comes again at daybreak into the temple, to signify that this same mercy, with the dawning light of the New Testament, was to be opened and offered to the faithful, that is, to His temple.
Et omnis, inquit, populus venit ad eum, et sedens docebat eos. Sessio Domini humilitatem incarnationis ejus, pro qua nobis misereri dignatus est, insinuat; unde etiam nobis praecipitur: Surgite postquam sederitis (Psal. CXXVI), ac si aperte dicatur: Non ante sed posteaquam vera vos humilitate castigaveritis, praemium supernae exaltationis vos accepturos sperate. Bene autem dicitur, quia cum sedens doceret Jesus, omnis populus venit ad eum: quia postquam humilitate suae incarnationis proximus hominum factus est, libentius est a multis ejus sermo receptus: a multis, inquam, est ejus sermo receptus, namque a pluribus est superba impietate contemptus. Audierunt namque mansueti et laetati sunt, magnificantes Dominum cum Psalmista, et exaltantes nomen ejus ad invicem. Audierunt invidi, et dissoluti sunt, nec compuncti sunt; tentaverunt eum et deriserunt, derisum striderunt in eum dentibus suis. Denique tentantes adduxerunt mulierem in adulterio deprehensam, interrogantes quid de ea fieri
And all the people, it says, came to Him, and sitting down He taught them. The Lord's sitting suggests the humility of His incarnation, by which He deigned to have mercy on us; hence we too are commanded: Rise after you have sat down (Ps. 126:2), as if it were openly said: Not before, but after you have chastened yourselves with true humility, hope to receive the reward of exaltation on high. And it is well said that when Jesus taught sitting, all the people came to Him: because after He became the neighbour of men through the humility of His incarnation, His word was more gladly received by many: by many, I say, was His word received, for by more it was despised with proud impiety. For the meek heard and rejoiced, magnifying the Lord with the Psalmist, and exalting His name together. The envious heard, and were broken up, and were not pricked to the heart; they tempted Him and mocked Him, and with mockery gnashed their teeth at Him. At length, tempting Him, they brought a woman caught in adultery, asking what should be done
Editors' notes and page, col. 106
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- running head: 105 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINAE. 106
- marginal letters: A ‹HOMILIA XX.›; B ‹solet Scripturarum ut aliquando›; C ‹nienter insinuat, de qua›; D ‹ante sed posteaquam vera›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: printer's signature "4" at column foot excluded. "oleos" / "oleon" are Bede's Latin transliterations of Greek eleos / elaion; English gives the Greek words. "praeminet" as printed (UNSURE whether misprint or a variant spelling). Column ends mid-sentence.
juberet; quoniam Moyses talem lapidare mandaverit, ut si et ipse hanc lapidandam decerneret, deriderent eum quasi misericordiae, quam semper doceret, oblitum; si lapidari vetaret, striderent in eum dentibus suis, et quasi fautorem scelerum legisque contrarium velut merito damnarent. Sed absit ut terrena stultitia quid diceret inveniret, et coelesti sapientiae quid responderet deficeret. Absit ut impietas caeca soli justitiae ne mundo luceret obsisteret.
He would order to be done with her; since Moses had commanded such a one to be stoned, so that if He too decreed that she be stoned, they might mock Him as having forgotten the mercy He always taught; if He forbade her to be stoned, they might gnash their teeth at Him, and condemn Him, as though deservedly, as an abettor of crimes and an opponent of the law. But far be it that earthly folly should find something to say and heavenly wisdom lack something to answer. Far be it that blind impiety should stand in the way of the Sun of justice, so that He should not shine on the world.
Jesus autem inclinans se deorsum, digito scribebat in terra. Per inclinationem Jesu humilitas, per digitum qui articulorum compositione flexibilis est, subtilitas discretionis exprimitur; porro per terram cor humanum, quod vel bonarum vel actionum malarum solet reddere fructus, ostenditur. Postulatus ergo Dominus judicare de peccatrice, non statim dat judicium, sed prius inclinans se deorsum digito scribit in terra, ac sic demum quia obnixe rogatur judicat: nos videlicet, nos typice instituens, ut cum qualibet proximorum errata conspicimus, non haec antea reprehendendo judicemus quam ad conscientiam nostram humiliter reversi digito eam discretionis solerter exsculpamus, et quid in ea Conditori placeat, quidvo displiceat, sedula examinatione dirimamus, juxta illud Apostoli, Fratres, etsi praeoccupatus fuerit homo in aliquo delicto, vos qui spirituales estis, instruite hujusmodi in spiritu mansuetudinis ejus, considerans te ipsum ne et tu tenteris (Gal. VI).
But Jesus, bending Himself down, wrote with His finger on the ground. By the bending of Jesus humility is expressed; by the finger, which is flexible through the joining of its joints, the subtlety of discernment; further, by the ground is shown the human heart, which is wont to yield the fruits of either good or evil actions. The Lord, then, being asked to judge concerning the sinful woman, does not at once give judgement, but first, bending Himself down, writes with His finger on the ground, and only then, because He is earnestly asked, does He judge: instructing us, namely, us, figuratively, that when we see any errors of our neighbours, we should not judge them by reproving them before we have humbly returned to our own conscience and skilfully carved it out with the finger of discernment, and by careful examination have determined what in it pleases the Maker and what displeases Him, according to that saying of the Apostle: Brethren, even if a man has been overtaken in some fault, you who are spiritual, instruct such a one in the spirit of his meekness, considering yourself, lest you too be tempted (Gal. 6:1).
Cum autem perseverarent interrogantes eum, erexit se, et dixit eis: Qui sine peccato est vestrum, primus in illam lapidem mittat. Quia hinc et inde Domino Scribae et Pharisaei tendebant laqueos insidiarum, putantes eum vel immisericordem futurum in judicando, vel injustum: praevidens ille dolos, quasi fila transit araneae, et judicium justitiae per omnia, et mansuetudinem pietatis ostendens: completumque est in eis illud Psalmistae quod diximus, quia dissoluti sunt, nec compuncti sunt (Psal. XXXIV). Dissoluti sunt, namque ne Dominum insidiis concluderent; nec compuncti sunt, ut eum dilectionis sequerentur officiis. Vis enim audire temperantiam miserendi? qui sine peccato est vestrum. Vis iterum audire justitiam judicandi? primus in illam lapidem mittat. Si Moyses, inquit, mandavit vobis mulierem hujusmodi lapidare, videte quia non hoc peccatores, sed justos facere praecepit. Primo vos ipsi justitiam legis implete, et sic innocentes manibus et mundo corde ad lapidandam ream concurrite. Primo spiritualia legis edicta fidem, misericordiam, et charitatem perficite, et sic ad carnalia judicanda divertite.
But when they persisted in questioning Him, He raised Himself up and said to them: Let him who is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone at her. Because the scribes and Pharisees were setting snares of ambush for the Lord on this side and on that, thinking that He would be either unmerciful in judging or unjust: He, foreseeing their tricks, passes through them as through the threads of a spider's web, showing in all things both the judgement of justice and the meekness of loving-kindness: and in them was fulfilled that saying of the Psalmist which we quoted, that they were broken up and were not pricked to the heart (Ps. 34:16). They were broken up, for they did not trap the Lord in their snares; and they were not pricked to the heart, so as to follow Him with the offices of love. Do you wish, then, to hear the measure of showing mercy? He who is without sin among you. Do you wish again to hear the justice of judging? Let him be the first to cast a stone at her. If Moses, He says, commanded you to stone such a woman, see that he commanded not sinners but the just to do this. First fulfil yourselves the justice of the law, and so, innocent in hands and clean of heart, run together to stone the guilty woman. First accomplish the spiritual edicts of the law, faith, mercy and charity, and so turn aside to judging carnal things.
Dato autem judicio, Dominus iterum se inclinans scribebat in terra. Et quidem juxta morem consuetudinis humanae potest intelligi quod ideo Dominus coram tentatoribus improbis inclinari et scribere in terra voluerit, ut alio vultum intendens, liberum eis daret exire arbitrium, quos sua responsione percussos citius exituros, quam plura interrogaturos esse praeviderat.
And when judgement had been given, the Lord, again bending Himself down, wrote on the ground. And indeed, according to the manner of human custom, it can be understood that the Lord chose to bend down and write on the ground before the wicked tempters for this reason: that by turning His face elsewhere He might give them free choice to go out, since He had foreseen that, struck by His answer, they would go out sooner than ask more questions.
Editors' notes and page, col. 107
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- running head: 107 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS II[I.]
- marginal letters: A ‹juberet; quoniam Moyses›; B ‹malarum solet reddere fructus›; C ‹se, et dixit eis›; D ‹Moyses, inquit, mandavit vobis›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "quidvo" as printed (= quidve; possibly a misprint, UNSURE). "ut eum dilectionis sequerentur" read as printed. Damaged letters read as obvious: "D ssoluti"→Dissoluti, "exire ar bitrium"→arbitrium. Head beyond "PARS II" not visible in crop. Column ends at a paragraph end.
Denique audientes unus post unum exibant incipientes a senioribus. Sed figurate nos admonet in eo quod ante datam et post datam sententiam inclinans se scribit in terra, et ut priusquam peccantem proximum corripiamus, et postquam debitae castigationis illi ministerium reddiderimus nos ipsos digna humilitatis investigatione perpendamus, ne forte aut eisdem quae in ipsis reprehendimus, aut aliis quibuslibet simus facinoribus irretiti. Evenit enim saepe ut qui, verbi gratia, homicidam publice peccantem judicant, pejus odiorum malum quo ipsi in secreto depopulantur non sentiant; qui fornicatorem accusant, pestem superbiae, qua ipsi de sua castitate extolluntur, ignorent; qui ebriosum condemnent, virus invidiae quo exeduntur ipsi non videant. Quid ergo nobis in hujusmodi periculis remedii, quid restat salutis? nisi ut cum peccantem conspicimus alium, mox inclinemur deorsum, id est, quam dejecti ex nostrae conditione fragilitatis simus, si non nos divina pietas sustentet, humiliter inspiciamus. Digito scribamus in terra, id est discrimine solerti pensemus, an cum beato Job dicere possimus, neque enim reprehendit nos cor nostrum in omni vita nostra (Job. XXVII); et meminerimus seduli quia si reprehenderit nos cor nostrum, major est Deus corde nostro, et novit omnia. Possumus autem et ita recte intelligere quod veniam peccatrici daturus, digito Dominus in terra scribere voluerit, ut ipsum se esse monstraret qui legis decalogum suo digito, id est, Spiritus sancti opere, quondam scripsit in lapide. Et bene lex in lapide scripta est, quae ad edomanda duri et contumacis populi praecordia dabatur. Bene in terra scripsit Dominus, gratiam remissionis daturus contritis et humilibus corde, qui fructum ferre possent salutis. Bene inclinans se deorsum digito scribit in terra, qui quondam sublimem se ostendens in monte digito scribebat in lapide, quia per humiliationem susceptae humanitatis, Spiritum gratiae fructiferis fidelium cordibus infudit, qui excelsus in angelo apparens, duris dura quondam dedit mandata populis. Bene qui inclinatus scribit in terra, erectus misericordiae verba depromit, quia quod per humanae infirmitatis societatem promisit, per divinae virtutem potentiae hominibus donum pietatis impendit.
Then, hearing this, they went out one by one, beginning with the elders. But figuratively He admonishes us, in that both before and after giving sentence He bends down and writes on the ground, that both before we rebuke a sinning neighbour, and after we have rendered him the service of due correction, we should weigh ourselves with a fitting searching of humility, lest perhaps we be entangled either in the same crimes which we reprove in them, or in any others. For it often happens that those who, for example, judge a murderer who sins publicly, do not perceive the worse evil of hatreds by which they themselves are laid waste in secret; that those who accuse a fornicator are unaware of the plague of pride by which they themselves are puffed up over their own chastity; that those who condemn a drunkard do not see the poison of envy by which they themselves are eaten away. What remedy, then, what salvation remains for us in such perils? Only that, when we see another sinning, we at once bend down, that is, humbly consider how cast down we should be by the condition of our frailty, if the divine loving-kindness did not sustain us. Let us write with the finger on the ground, that is, weigh with skilful discernment whether we can say with blessed Job: For my heart does not reproach me in all my life (Job 27:6); and let us earnestly remember that if our heart reproaches us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. We can also rightly understand it thus: that the Lord, being about to grant pardon to the sinful woman, chose to write with His finger on the ground in order to show that He was the very One who once wrote the decalogue of the law with His finger, that is, by the work of the Holy Spirit, on stone. And rightly was the law written on stone, which was given to tame the hearts of a hard and stubborn people. Rightly did the Lord write on the ground, being about to give the grace of forgiveness to the contrite and humble of heart, who could bear the fruit of salvation. Rightly does He who once, showing Himself on high upon the mountain, wrote with His finger on stone, now bend Himself down and write with His finger on the ground, because through the humiliation of the humanity He assumed He poured the Spirit of grace into the fruitful hearts of the faithful, He who once, appearing exalted in an angel, gave hard commandments to hard peoples. Rightly does He who writes on the ground bending down bring forth words of mercy when raised up, because what He promised through fellowship in human weakness, He bestows on men as the gift of loving-kindness through the strength of divine power.
Erigens, inquit, se Jesus, dixit ei: Mulier, ubi sunt qui te accusabant? Nemo te condemnavit? Quae dixit: Nemo, Domine. Nemo condemnare ausus est peccatricem, quia in se singuli cernere coeperant quod magis damnandum cognoscerent. Sed qui accusantium turbam prolato justitiae pondere fugavit, videamus accusatam quanto misericordiae munere sublevet. Sequitur:
Raising Himself up, it says, Jesus said to her: Woman, where are those who accused you? Has no one condemned you? She said: No one, Lord. No one dared to condemn the sinful woman, because each had begun to see in himself what he recognized to be more deserving of condemnation. But let us see with how great a gift of mercy He who put to flight the crowd of accusers by bringing forth the weight of justice raises up the accused woman. There follows:
Dixit autem Jesus: Nec ego te condemnabo, vade et amplius jam noli peccare. Impleta est hoc loco sententia Psalmographi, qui in Domini laudibus canit: Prospere procede et regna, propter veritatem et mansuetudinem et justitiam, et deducet te mirabiliter dextra tua (Psal. XLIV). Propter veritatem quippe
And Jesus said: Neither will I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more. In this place is fulfilled the saying of the Psalmist, who sings in the Lord's praises: Go forward prosperously and reign, because of truth and meekness and justice, and Thy right hand shall lead Thee wonderfully (Ps. 44:5). For because of truth
Editors' notes and page, col. 108
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- running head: [107 BEDAE VENERABILI]S OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 108
- marginal letters: A ‹Denique audientes unus post unum›; B ‹ergo nobis in hujusmodi periculis›; C ‹Et bene lex in lapide›; D ‹pendit.›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "seduli" as printed (adverbial sense, = sedulo; UNSURE whether misprint). The 1 John 3:20 quotation carries no printed reference. Damaged letters read as obvious: "qui.l"→quod, "s mus"→simus, "deprom.t"→depromit, "Sequi:ur"→Sequitur. Column ends mid-sentence.
regnat, quia viam veritatis mundo praedicando catervis credentium regni sui gloriam dilatat. Propter mansuetudinem et justitiam regnat, quia plures ideo se regno subjiciunt illius, quod eum mansuetum in liberandis a peccato poenitentibus, et justum in damnandis pro peccato contumacibus esse cognoscunt: mansuetum in largienda gratia fidei et virtutum coelestium, justum in reddenda mercede perpetua pro fidei et coelestium certamine virtutum. Deduxit eum mirabiliter dextra sua, quia habitans in homine Deus mirabilem eum in omnibus quae faceret et doceret ostendit; sed insidias quas astuti hostes excogitare poterant, mirabili prudentia semper ducentem monstravit. Nec ego te, inquit, condemnabo. Vade, et amplius jam noli peccare. Quoniam misericors et pius est et justitiam diligit, ne amplius peccet interdicit. Verum quia poterant dubitare aliqui an posset Jesus, quem verum hominem noverant, dimittere peccata, dignatur ipse apertius qui divinitus valeat ostendere. Post repulsam namque tentatorum nequitiam, post solutam peccatricis culpam, iterum loquitur eis dicens:
reigns, because by preaching the way of truth to the world He spreads the glory of His kingdom with throngs of believers. He reigns because of meekness and justice, because many subject themselves to His kingdom for this reason, that they know Him to be meek in setting free from sin those who repent, and just in condemning those who are stubborn in sin: meek in bestowing the grace of faith and of the heavenly virtues, just in rendering an everlasting reward for the contest of faith and of the heavenly virtues. His right hand led Him wonderfully, because God dwelling in the man showed Him wonderful in all that He did and taught; and showed Him always, by a wonderful prudence, leading [past] the snares which cunning enemies could devise. "Neither will I condemn you," He says. "Go, and sin no more now." Because He is merciful and kind and loves justice, He forbids her to sin any more. But because some could doubt whether Jesus, whom they knew to be a true man, could forgive sins, He Himself deigns to show more openly Who He is by divine power. For after He had repelled the wickedness of the tempters, after He had loosed the guilt of the sinful woman, He speaks to them again, saying:
Ego sum lux mundi, qui sequitur me non ambulat in tenebris; sed habebit lumen vitae. Ubi manifeste docet, non solum qua auctoritate mulieri peccata dimiserit; sed quid etiam figuraliter expresserit ipse pergendo in montem Oliveti, quid diluculo iterum veniendo in templum, quid digito scribendo in terra: arcem videlicet se esse misericordiarum, et Deum totius consolationis, praeconem simul et largitorem lucis indeficientis, legis pariter latorem et gratiae. Ego sum, inquit, lux mundi. Ac si aperte dicat: Ego sum lux vera, quae illuminat omnem hominem venientem in mundum: ego sol justitiae qui timentibus Deum orior, etsi nube carnis ad tempus videor tegi. Tegor enim nube carnis, non ut abscondar quaerentibus, sed ut temperer infirmis. Sanent oculos mentis, fide purificent corda sua, ut meipsum mereantur intueri: Beati enim mundo corde, quoniam ipsi Deum videbant (Matth. V).
"I am the light of the world; he who follows Me does not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." Here He teaches plainly not only by what authority He forgave the woman her sins, but also what He expressed figuratively by going Himself to the Mount of Olives, what by coming again into the temple at dawn, what by writing on the ground with His finger: namely, that He is the stronghold of mercies and the God of all consolation, at once the herald and the giver of unfailing light, the bearer alike of the law and of grace. "I am," He says, "the light of the world." As if He were to say openly: I am the true light, which enlightens every man coming into the world (John 1:9); I am the sun of justice, who rise for those who fear God (Mal. 4:2), though for a time I seem to be covered by the cloud of the flesh. For I am covered by the cloud of the flesh, not to be hidden from those who seek, but to be tempered for the weak. Let them heal the eyes of the mind, let them purify their hearts by faith, that they may deserve to behold Me: "For blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God" (Matt. 5:8).
Qui sequitur me non ambulabit in tenebris, sed habebit lumen vitae. Qui meis modo jussis et exemplis obsequitur, non timebit in futuro tenebras damnationis, sed lucem potius vitae, ubi nunquam prorsus moriatur, habebit. Sequamur igitur, fratres, modo lucem justitiae fide quae per dilectionem operatur, ut eam tunc consequi mereamur specie, quae dilectionis meritum et remuneret et addat, ipso attestante, qui ait: Qui autem diligit me, diligetur a Patre meo, et ego diligam eum, et manifestabo ei meipsum (Joan. XIV). Veniamus tota mentis intentione ad eum qui in invisibili monte Oliveti locum habet: unxit enim eum Deus, Deus ejus, oleo laetitiae prae consortibus ejus, ut et nos consortes ejusdem suae unctionis, id est gratiae spiritualis dignetur facere participes. Quod non tamen aliter quam diligendo justitiam et odiendo iniquitatem adipisci merebimur. Nam et de ipso psalmus qui haec loquitur praemisit: Dilexisti justitiam et odisti iniquitatem (Psal. XLIV), ut praedicando videlicet
"He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." He who now obeys My commands and examples will not fear the darkness of damnation in the future, but will rather have the light of life, where he shall never die at all. Let us therefore, brethren, follow now the light of justice by the faith that works through love, so that we may then deserve to attain it in sight, which both rewards and increases the merit of love, as He Himself bears witness, who says: "But he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him" (John 14:21). Let us come with the whole bent of the mind to Him who has His place on the invisible Mount of Olives: for "God, His God, has anointed Him with the oil of gladness above His fellows" (Ps. 44:8), that He may deign to make us too fellows in that same anointing of His, that is, partakers of spiritual grace. Yet we shall deserve to obtain this in no other way than by loving justice and hating iniquity. For the psalm that says these things of Him set first: "Thou hast loved justice and hated iniquity" (Ps. 44:8), so that, namely, by preaching
Editors' notes and page, col. 109
Page
- running head: 109 SECT. I. HOMILIÆ. — LIB. I. (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A regnat, quia viam veritatis; B est et justitiam diligit; C torem lucis indeficientis; D tur, habebit. Sequamur igitur
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "unxit enim eum Deus": the e/c of "eum" is blurred and may be printed "cum"; set "eum". "ducentem" set as printed (sense: leading [past] the snares); UNSURE whether a word is missing. Column ends mid-sentence ("videlicet").
gloriam capitis, membra quae ad hoc pertinere possent qualiter conversari debeant ostenderet. Reminiscamur quia ipse diluculo venit in templum, atque inter docendum peccatricem solvit a crimine, et studeamus ipsi templum existere nostri Conditoris, studeamus discussis vitiorum tenebris in luce proficere virtutum, quatenus etiam nostra praecordia visitare Dominus, nos coelestibus instruere disciplinis, et quidquid in nobis sordidum repererit protinus emundare dignetur, qui vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum.
the glory of the Head, it might show the members who could belong to it how they ought to live. Let us remember that He Himself came into the temple at dawn, and in the midst of teaching set the sinful woman free from her crime; and let us strive ourselves to be a temple of our Maker, let us strive, the darkness of vices being shaken off, to advance in the light of the virtues, so that the Lord may deign to visit our hearts too, to instruct us in heavenly disciplines, and straightway to cleanse whatever He finds unclean in us, who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for all ages of ages.
HOMILIA XXI IN QUADRAGESIMA. JOAN. VI, LUC. IX, MARC. VI, MATTH. XIX. In illo tempore abiit Jesus trans mare Galilaeae, quod est Tiberiadis. Et sequebatur eum multitudo magna, quia viderant signa quae faciebat super his, qui infirmabantur, etc.
HOMILY XXI. IN LENT. JOHN 6, LUKE 9, MARK 6, MATTHEW 19. At that time Jesus went across the sea of Galilee, which is that of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed Him, because they had seen the signs which He did on those who were sick, etc.
Qui signa et miracula Domini ac Salvatoris recte, cum legunt vel audiunt, accipiunt, non tam in his quid foris stupeant attendunt, quam quid horum exemplo intus agere, quid in his mysticum perpendere debeant inspiciunt. Ecce enim appropinquante Pascha, die festo Judaeorum, sequentem se multitudinem Dominus verbo salutis pariter et ope curationis erigebat. Nam sicut alius evangelista scribit, loquebatur illis de regno Dei, et eos qui cura indigebant sanabat, eademque doctrina et sanatione completa, paucis de cibariis abundantissime refecit. Et nos ergo, fratres charissimi, hujus exemplo facti propinquante Pascha die festo nostrae redemptionis, adjuncta fratrum caterva Dominum toto corde sequamur, quoque actionum itinere ingressus sit diligentissime contemplemur, ut vestigia ejus sequi mereamur. Qui enim dicit, se in Christo manere, debet sicut ille ambulavit et ipse ambulare. Quidquid in nobis imperitiae nocentis inesse deprehenderimus, crebra verbi illius auditione tergamus, et quidquid vitii tentantis morbi, videlicet spiritualis, nos interius vastare senserimus, solitae pietatis illius munere postulemus emundari. Sed etsi ei unitos nos coelestis vitae dulcedine conspexerimus, ejus gratiam flagitemus: ut necessariae nos compunctionis et caeterarum virtutum spiritualium donis satiare dignetur, quatenus tempore sacrosanctae resurrectionis illius interius exteriusque decenter ornati, sacramenta nostrae salutis puro corpore simul et corde sumamus. Verum quia breviter ista praelibavimus, libet diligentius totam sacrae seriem lectionis intueri, et quidquid in ea mysticum indagare valeamus, vestrae pandere charitati.
Those who rightly receive the signs and miracles of the Lord and Saviour when they read or hear them do not so much attend to what they should marvel at outwardly in them, as look into what they ought to do inwardly after their example, what mystical meaning they ought to weigh in them. For see, as the Pasch drew near, the feast day of the Jews, the Lord was raising up the multitude that followed Him with the word of salvation and the help of healing alike. For as another evangelist writes, He spoke to them of the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing (Luke 9:11); and when that teaching and healing were complete, He refreshed them most abundantly from a few provisions. Let us too, then, dearest brethren, after the example of this deed, as the Pasch draws near, the feast day of our redemption, follow the Lord with our whole heart, joined with the throng of the brethren, and let us most diligently consider by what path of actions He went, so that we may deserve to follow His footsteps. For he who says that he abides in Christ ought himself also to walk just as He walked (1 John 2:6). Whatever harmful ignorance we detect to be in us, let us wipe away by frequent hearing of His word; and whatever vice, that is, of a tempting spiritual sickness, we feel ravaging us within, let us ask to be cleansed of it by the gift of His wonted kindness. But even if we see ourselves united to Him by the sweetness of the heavenly life, let us beg His grace: that He may deign to fill us with the gifts of needful compunction and of the other spiritual virtues, so that at the time of His most holy resurrection, fittingly adorned within and without, we may receive the sacraments of our salvation with body and heart pure alike. But since we have touched on these things briefly, it is good to look more diligently at the whole course of the sacred reading, and to lay open to your charity whatever mystical meaning we can trace out in it.
Abiit Jesus trans mare Galilaeae, quod est Tiberiadis. Primo dicendum, juxta historiam, quia mare Galilaeae, quod multis pro diversitate circumjacentium regionum vocabulis distinguitur, illis tantum in locis Tiberiadis vocatur, ubi Tiberiadem civitatem aquis, ut aiunt, calidis salubrem ab occidente praemonstrat habitationem. Siquidem interfluente Jordane, duodeviginti passuum millibus in longum, et
"Jesus went across the sea of Galilee, which is that of Tiberias." First it must be said, according to the history, that the sea of Galilee, which is distinguished by many names according to the diversity of the surrounding regions, is called that of Tiberias only in those places where it shows on the west the city of Tiberias, a dwelling made healthful, as they say, by hot waters. For with the Jordan flowing through it, eighteen thousand paces in length, and
Editors' notes and page, col. 110
Page
- running head: SECT. I. HOMILIÆ. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINÆ. 110
- marginal letters: A gloriam capitis, membra; B pore abiit Jesus trans mare Galilaeae (lemma); C quante Pascha die festo; D tempore sacrosanctae resurrectionis
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "inesse" appears printed "ine-se" with a damaged or missing s; set "inesse". "MATTH. XIX" set as printed (the feeding is Matt. 14). "HOMILIA XXI" printed without a full stop. "eademque doctrina" set as printed. Column ends mid-sentence ("et").
quinque extenditur in latum. Mystice autem mare turbida ac tumentia hujus saeculi volumina significat, in quibus pravi quilibet injuste delectati, quasi profundis diditi pisces mentem ad superna gaudia non intendunt. Unde bene idem mare Galilaeae, id est, rota cognominatur; quia nimirum amor [Al. labor] labentis saeculi quasi in vertiginem corda mittit, quae ad perennis vitae desideria erigi non permittit. De quibus Psalmista: In circuitu, inquit, impii ambulant (Psalm. XI). Sed abeuntem trans mare Galilaeae Jesum multitudo maxima sequebatur, quae doctrinae sanationis et refectionis ab eo coelestis summa munera perciperet, quia priusquam Dominus in carne appareret, sola illum gens Judaea sequebatur, credendo; postquam vero per incarnationis suae dispensationem fluctus vitae corruptibilis adiit, calcavit et transiit, maxima mox eum multitudo credentium secuta est nationum, spiritualiter instrui, sanari ac satiari desiderans, et cum Psalmista deprecans: Domine, ad te confugi, doce me facere voluntatem tuam; et: Miserere mei, Domine, quoniam infirmus sum; sana me, Domine, quoniam conturbata sunt ossa mea (Psalm. I, II). Et iterum de percipiendis ab eo vitae perpetuae alimentis confisa: Dominus, inquit, pascit me, et nihil mihi deerit, in loco pascuae ibi me collocavit (Palm. XXIII). Quod autem subiens in montem Jesus ibi sedebat cum discipulis suis, sed veniente ad eum multitudine descendit, atque haec in inferioribus [Al. superioribus] refecit quae in superioribus [Al., inferioribus] paulo ante curaverat, nequaquam frustra factum credamus, sed ad significandum mystice quia doctrinam et charismata sua Dominus juxta percipientium capacitatem distribuit, infirmis quidem adhuc mentibus ac parvulis spiritu simpliciora credens sacramenta, celsioribus autem quibusque et perfectioribus sensu secretiora suae majestatis arcana reserans, arctiora devotae conversationis itinera suggerens, et altiora praemiorum coelestium dona promittens. Denique cuidam sciscitanti quid faciens vitam aeternam possideret, quasi inferius adhuc posito communia suae dona largitatis impendit dicens: Non occides, non moechaberis, non furtum facies, non falsum testimonium dices, honora patrem tuum et matrem. Cui postmodum majora quaerenti, et velut ad montem virtutum ascendere cupienti, Si vis, inquit, perfectus esse, vade, vende omnia quae habes, et da pauperibus, et habebis thesaurum in coelo, et veni sequere me. Cujus discretionem moderaminis non solum per se Dominus in carne docens exhibuit, verum nunc quoque per verbi sui ministros exhibere non cessat. Unde de eisdem sub unius boni servi persona testatur, quia dare debeant conservis in tempore tritici mensuram, id est, pro captu audientium opportune et mensurate verbi dapes suggerere. Quod vero appropinquante Pascha Dominus turbas docet, sanat et relicit, possumus ita mystice interpretari, quia Pascha transitus dicitur, et quoscunque Dominus interna munerum suorum suavitate recuperat, ad salubrem profecto transitum
five in breadth. Mystically, however, the sea signifies the turbulent and swelling rollings of this world, in which all the wicked, unjustly delighted, like fish dispersed in the deep, do not direct the mind to the joys above. Hence the same sea is well named "of Galilee", that is, "wheel"; because, to be sure, the love [variant: the toil] of the passing world sends hearts as it were into a whirling, and does not allow them to be raised to the desires of the everlasting life. Of whom the Psalmist says: "The wicked walk round about" (Ps. 11:9). But a very great multitude followed Jesus as He went across the sea of Galilee, to receive from Him the highest gifts of teaching, of healing and of heavenly refreshment, because before the Lord appeared in the flesh, the Jewish people alone followed Him by believing; but after, through the dispensation of His incarnation, He came to the waves of corruptible life, trod them and passed over, a very great multitude of believers from the nations soon followed Him, desiring to be spiritually instructed, healed and filled, and praying with the Psalmist: "Lord, to Thee have I fled, teach me to do Thy will" (Ps. 142:9–10); and: "Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am weak; heal me, Lord, for my bones are troubled" (Ps. 6:3). And again, trusting to receive from Him the nourishment of perpetual life: "The Lord," it says, "feeds me, and I shall lack nothing; in a place of pasture there has He set me" (Ps. 22:1–2). But that Jesus, going up into the mountain, sat there with His disciples, but came down when the multitude came to Him, and refreshed in the lower places those whom a little before He had cured in the higher [variant: refreshed in the higher those whom He had cured in the lower], let us by no means believe was done in vain, but to signify mystically that the Lord distributes His teaching and gifts of grace according to the capacity of those who receive them: to minds still weak and little ones in spirit entrusting the simpler sacraments, but to all those higher and more perfect in understanding unlocking the more secret mysteries of His majesty, suggesting the narrower paths of devout living, and promising the loftier gifts of the heavenly rewards. Thus to a certain man who asked what he should do to possess eternal life, as to one still placed lower, He bestowed the common gifts of His bounty, saying: "You shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honour your father and mother" (Matt. 19:18–19). To him, when afterwards he sought greater things and desired as it were to climb the mountain of the virtues, He said: "If you will be perfect, go, sell all that you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven, and come, follow Me" (Matt. 19:21). This discretion in governing the Lord not only showed by teaching in person in the flesh, but even now does not cease to show through the ministers of His word. Hence He testifies of them under the person of one good servant that they ought to give their fellow servants their measure of wheat in due season (Luke 12:42), that is, to set before them the dishes of the word fittingly and in measure according to the grasp of the hearers. But that the Lord teaches, heals and feeds the crowds as the Pasch draws near, we can interpret mystically thus: because Pasch means passing over, and all whom the Lord recovers by the inward sweetness of His gifts He surely prepares for a saving passage
Editors' notes and page, col. 111
Page
- running head: 111 BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A quinque extenditur in latum; B sationem fluctus vitae corruptibilis; C quaquam frustra factum credamus; D pienti, Si vis, inquit
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "(Psalm. I, II)" set as printed; the verses are Ps. 142:9–10 and Ps. 6:3 (Vulgate), so given so in the English. "(Psalm. XI)" is Vulgate 11:9. "(Palm. XXIII)" quotes Vulgate Ps. 22:1–2 (Hebrew 23); English gives Vulgate. "credens" (simpliciora credens sacramenta) set as printed, rendered "entrusting"; UNSURE whether it is a misprint (e.g. for tradens). English for the final clause supplies "prepares" from the next column (praeparat, visible at the edge of the facing column).
praeparat, ut carnis videlicet concupiscentias mentis sublimitate transcendant, infirma mundi desideria prospera pariter et adversa coelesti spe et amore conculcent: etsi necdum anima vel carne ad superna valeant pertingere, quia hoc nimirum in futuro promittitur, quidquid tamen carnales quasi altum complecti conspiciunt, comparatione aeternorum quasi nihilum despiciant; juxta exemplum illius qui videns imperium superexaltatum et elevatum super cedros Libani, transiit temporalia contemplando, et quasi non esse videbat quem cito tollendum praevidebat. Quod sublevasse oculos Jesus, et venientem ad se multitudinem vidisse perhibetur, divinae pietatis indicium est, quia videlicet cunctis ad se venire quaerentibus [Al., currentibus] gratia misericordiae coelestis occurrere consuevit. Et ne quaerendo errare possint, lucem sui Spiritus aperire quaerentibus solitus est. Nam quod oculi Jesu dona Spiritus ejus mystice designent, testatur in Apocalypsi Joannes, qui figurate loquens de illo: Et vidi, inquit, Agnum stantem tanquam occisum, habentem cornua septem, et oculos septem, qui sunt septem spiritus Dei missi in omnem terram (Apoc., V). Quod tentans Philippum Dominus, Unde, inquit, ememus panes ut manducent hi? provida utique dispensatione facit, non ut ipse quae non noverat discat, sed ut Philippus tarditatem suae fidei, quam in magistro sciente ipse nesciebat, tentatus agnoscat, et miraculo facto castiget. Neque enim dubitare debuerat praesente rerum creatore, qui educit panem de terra, et vino laetificat cor hominis, paucorum denariorum panes sufficere turbarum millibus non paucis, ut unusquisque sufficienter acciperet, et jam saturatus abiret. Quinque autem panes, quibus multitudinem populi saturavit, quinque sunt libri Moysi, quibus spirituali intellectu patefactis, et abundantiore jam sensu multiplicatis, auditorum fidelium quotidie corda reficit. Qui bene hordeacei fuisse referuntur, propter nimirum austeriora legis edicta, et tegumenta litterae grossioris, quae interiorem spiritualis sensus quasi medullam celabant [Al., celant]. Duo autem pisces quos addidit, psalmistarum non inconvenienter et prophetarum scripta significant, quorum unum canendo, alterum colloquendo suis auditoribus futura Christi et Ecclesiae sacramenta narrabant. Et bene per aquatilia animantia figurantur illius aevi praecones, in quo populus fidelium sine aquis baptismi vivere nullatenus posset. Puer qui quinque panes et duos pisces habuit, nec tamen eos esurientibus turbis distribuit, sed Domino distribuendos obtulit, populus est Judaeorum litterali sensu puerilis, qui Scripturarum dicta clausa secum tenuit, quae tamen Dominus in carne apparens accepit, et quid intus haberent utilitatis ac dulcedinis ostendit, quam multiplici Spiritus gratia, quae pauca ac despecta videbantur, exuberarent, patefecit, et haec per apostolos suos apostolorumque successores cunctis nationibus ministrando porrexit. Unde bene alii referunt evangelistae quia panes et pisces Dominus discipulis,
for the passing over, namely, so that they may rise above the lusts of the flesh by the loftiness of the mind, and trample on the weak desires of the world, its prosperity and adversity alike, by heavenly hope and love: even if they cannot yet reach the things above in soul or in flesh, since this, to be sure, is promised in the future, yet whatever carnal men look upon as something high to embrace, they should despise as nothing in comparison with eternal things; after the example of him who, seeing the wicked exalted above measure and lifted up above the cedars of Lebanon, passed over the temporal things by contemplating, and saw as though he were not him whom he foresaw would soon be taken away (Ps. 36:35–36). That Jesus is said to have lifted up His eyes and seen the multitude coming to Him is a sign of divine kindness, because, namely, the grace of heavenly mercy is wont to come to meet all who seek to come to Him [variant: run to Him]. And lest they go astray in seeking, He is wont to open the light of His Spirit to those who seek. For that the eyes of Jesus mystically signify the gifts of His Spirit, John testifies in the Apocalypse, who, speaking figuratively of Him, says: "And I saw a Lamb standing as though slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth" (Rev. 5:6). That the Lord, testing Philip, says, "Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?" (John 6:5), He does by a provident dispensation indeed, not that He Himself might learn what He did not know, but that Philip, being tested, might recognize the slowness of his own faith, which he himself did not know of though his Master knew it, and might correct it when the miracle was done. For he ought not to have doubted, in the presence of the Creator of things, who brings bread out of the earth and gladdens the heart of man with wine (Ps. 103:14–15), that loaves worth a few denarii could suffice for not a few thousands of the crowds, so that each might receive sufficiently and go away now filled. Now the five loaves with which He filled the multitude of the people are the five books of Moses, by which, when they are opened by spiritual understanding and multiplied now by a more abundant sense, He daily refreshes the hearts of the faithful hearers. And these are well related to have been of barley, because, to be sure, of the more austere edicts of the law and the coverings of the coarser letter, which concealed [variant: conceal] as it were the inner marrow of the spiritual sense. But the two fishes which He added fitly signify the writings of the psalmists and of the prophets, of whom the one by singing, the other by speaking, told their hearers the mysteries of Christ and the Church to come. And the heralds of that age are well figured by creatures of the water, an age in which the people of the faithful could by no means live without the waters of baptism. The boy who had the five loaves and two fishes, and yet did not distribute them to the hungry crowds but offered them to the Lord to be distributed, is the people of the Jews, childish in its literal sense, which kept the sayings of the Scriptures shut up with itself; yet the Lord, appearing in the flesh, received them, and showed what usefulness and sweetness they had within, made plain how they abounded by the manifold grace of the Spirit, though they seemed few and despised, and held them out to all the nations by ministering them through His apostles and the successors of the apostles. Hence the other evangelists well relate that the Lord [gave] the loaves and fishes to the disciples,
Editors' notes and page, col. 112
Page
- running head: BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — PARÆNETICA. 112 (left part of the head cut off; supplied from column 111)
- marginal letters: A praeparat, ut carnis videlicet; B diae coelestis occurrere consuevit; C creatore, qui educit panem; D et Ecclesiae sacramenta narrabant
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column opens with "praeparat", which completes the last clause of column 111 ("ad salubrem profecto transitum"); the English repeats "for the passing over" to carry the sense across. "evangelistae": the g at the line start is faint; set whole. Column ends mid-sentence ("discipulis,"); "[gave]" supplied in the English.
discipuli autem ministraverunt turbis. Cum enim mysterium [Al., ministerium] humanae salutis initium coepisset enarrari per Dominum ab eis qui audierunt, in nobis confirmatum est. Quinque siquidem panes et duos pisces fregit et distribuit discipulis suis, quando aperuit illis sensum, ut intelligerent omnia quae scripta essent in lege Moysi et prophetis et Psalmis de ipso. Discipuli apposuerunt turbis, quando profecti praedicaverunt ubique, Domino cooperante et sermonem confirmante sequentibus signis. Fenum in quo discumbens turba reficitur, concupiscentia carnis intelligitur, quam calcare et premere debet omnis, qui spiritualibus alimentis satiari desiderat. Omnis enim caro fenum, et omnis gloria ejus tanquam flos feni. Discumbat ergo super fenum ut florem feni conterat, id est, castiget corpus suum, et servituti subjiciat, voluptates carnis edomet, luxuriae fluxa restringat quisquis panis vivi cupit suavitate refici; quisquis supernae gratiae dapibus renovari amat, ne infima vetustate deficiat, caveat. Quinque millia viri qui manducaverunt, perfectionem eorum qui verbo vitae reficiuntur, insinuant. Virorum quippe nomine solent in Scripturis perfectiores quique figurari, quos feminea mollities nulla corrumpit, quales cupit eos esse quibus dicit Apostolus: Vigilate, state in fide, viriliter agite et confortamini (I Cor. XVI). Millenarius autem numerus, ultra quem nulla nostra computatio succrescit, plenitudinem rerum de quibus agitur indicare consuevit; quinario vero numero quinque notissimi corporis nostri sensus exprimuntur, visus videlicet, auditus, olfactus, gustus et tactus. In quibus singulis quicunque [Al. add. viriliter] agere et confortari satagunt, sobrie et pie et juste vivendo, ut coelestis sapientiae mereantur dulcedine recreari, hi nimirum quinque millibus virorum, quos Dominus mysticis dapibus satiavit, figurantur. Nec praetereundum quod refecturus multitudinem gratias egit. Egit quippe gratias, ut et nos doceret de perceptis coelestibus [Al., coelitus] muneribus gratias semper agere, et ipse quantum de nostris profectibus gratuletur, de nostra spirituali refectione gaudeat intimaret. Vultis enim nosse, fratres, quantum nostrae congaudeat saluti? Narrat evangelista Lucas dedisse eum discipulis potestatem calcandi supra omnem virtutem inimici, eorumque nomina scripta esse [Al. om. esse] indicasse in coelis, et statim infert, In ipsa hora exsultavit in Spiritu sancto, et dixit: Confiteor tibi, Pater, Domine coeli et terrae, quia abscondisti haec a sapientibus et prudentibus, et revelasti ea parvulis. Claret ergo quia saluti ac vitae fidelium congratuletur, qui Patrem gratias agendo collaudat, quod ea quae superbientibus abscondit, humilibus spiritu secreta revelaverit. Quod autem saturata multitudine jussit discipulos colligere quae superaverant fragmenta ne perirent, hoc signat profecto quia pleraque sunt arcana divinorum eloquiorum quae vulgi sensus non capit, nonnulla quae per se quidem minus docti
and the disciples ministered them to the crowds. For when the mystery [variant: ministry] of human salvation, having begun to be told by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard it (Heb. 2:3). For He broke the five loaves and two fishes and distributed them to His disciples when He opened their understanding, that they might understand all the things that were written of Him in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the Psalms (Luke 24:44–45). The disciples set them before the crowds when they went forth and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word with the signs that followed (Mark 16:20). The grass on which the crowd reclines and is refreshed is understood as the lust of the flesh, which everyone who desires to be filled with spiritual nourishment ought to tread on and press down. "For all flesh is grass, and all its glory as the flower of the grass" (Isa. 40:6). Let him therefore recline on the grass so as to crush the flower of the grass, that is, let him chastise his body and bring it into subjection (1 Cor. 9:27), tame the pleasures of the flesh, restrain the looseness of wantonness, whoever desires to be refreshed by the sweetness of the living bread; whoever loves to be renewed by the dishes of grace from above, let him beware lest he fail through the oldness of base things. The five thousand men who ate signify the perfection of those who are refreshed by the word of life. For by the name of men the more perfect are wont to be figured in the Scriptures, whom no womanish softness corrupts, such as the Apostle desires those to be to whom he says: "Watch, stand fast in the faith, act manfully and be strengthened" (1 Cor. 16:13). Now the number a thousand, beyond which no reckoning of ours grows, is wont to indicate the fullness of the things that are treated of; while by the number five the five best known senses of our body are expressed, namely sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch. All who strive to act [variant adds: manfully] and to be strengthened in each of these, by living soberly and piously and justly (Titus 2:12), so that they may deserve to be refreshed by the sweetness of heavenly wisdom, these, to be sure, are figured by the five thousand men whom the Lord filled with mystical dishes. Nor must it be passed over that, when He was about to refresh the multitude, He gave thanks. He gave thanks, indeed, both to teach us always to give thanks for the heavenly [variant: heavenly-sent] gifts we receive, and to make known how much He Himself rejoices in our progress, how glad He is of our spiritual refreshment. For do you wish to know, brethren, how much He rejoices in our salvation? The evangelist Luke relates that He gave His disciples power to tread upon all the might of the enemy, and pointed out that their names are written [variant omits: are] in heaven, and at once adds: "In that same hour He rejoiced in the Holy Spirit, and said: I confess to Thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones" (Luke 10:19–21). It is clear, then, that He rejoices in the salvation and life of the faithful, who praises the Father, giving thanks that He has revealed to the humble in spirit the secrets which He hid from the proud. But that, when the multitude was filled, He bade the disciples gather up the fragments that were left over, lest they be lost, signifies surely that there are many hidden things of the divine utterances which the understanding of the common people does not grasp, some which the less learned by themselves indeed
Editors' notes and page, col. 113
Footnotes
(a) ‹viri› · call in col 113
Ita edit. Basil. et mss.
So the Basel edition and the manuscripts.
(printed under page 61)
Page
- running head: 113 SECT. I. HOMILIÆ. — LIB. I. (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A discipuli autem ministraverunt turbis; B fenum ut florem feni conterat; C corporis nostri sensus exprimuntur; D inimici, eorumque nomina scripta
- old-edition numerals: (none)
assequi nequeunt, sed a doctioribus exposita mox intelligere queunt. Haec ergo necesse est ut qui valent diligentius scrutando colligant, et ad eruditionem minorum suorum dicto vel scripto faciant pervenire, ne alimenta verbi illorum desidia pereant, plebibusque tollantur, qui haec Domino donante interpretando colligere norunt. Collegerunt, inquit, et impleverunt duodecim cophinos fragmentorum. Quia duodenario numero solet perfectionis cujuslibet summa figurari, recte per duodecim cophinos fragmentorum plenos omnis spiritualium doctorum chorus exprimitur, qui obscura Scripturarum, quae per se turbae nequeunt, et meditando colligere, et meditata et mandata litteris suo pariter et turbarum usui conservare jubentur. Hoc ipsi fecere apostoli et evangelistae, non pauca legis et prophetarum dicta mystica suis interpretatione addita inserendo opusculis. Hoc sequaces eorum Ecclesiae toto orbe magistri, etiam integros nonnulli utriusque Testamenti libros diligentiori explanatione discutiendo: qui quamvis hominibus despecti, coelestis tamen gratiae sunt pane fecundi. Nam servilia cophinis solent opera fieri. Unde de populo, qui in luto quondam ac lateribus serviebant in Aegypto, dicit Psalmista: Manus ejus in cophino servierunt (Psal. LXXX). Illi ergo homines cum vidissent, quod fecerat signum, dicebant: Quia hic est vere propheta qui venturus est in mundum. Recte quidem dicebant Dominum prophetam magnum, magnae salutis praeconem jam mundo futurum. Nam et ipse prophetam se vocare dignatur, ubi ait: Quia non capit perire prophetam extra Hierusalem. Sed necdum plena fide proficiebant, qui hunc etiam Dominum dicere nesciebant. Ergo illi videntes signum quod fecerat Jesus, dicebant: Quia hic est vere propheta qui venturus est in mundum. Nos certiori cognitione veritatis et fidei videntes mundum, quem fecit Jesus, et signa quibus illum replevit, dicamus: Quia hic est vere mediator Dei et hominum, qui implet mundum divinitate, et mundus per ipsum factus est, qui in propria venit, genus humanum quaerere et salvare, quod perierat, ac recreare mundum, quem fecerat, qui cum suis fidelibus per praesentiam divinitatis est in mundo omnibus diebus usque ad consummationem saeculi, qui in consummatione saeculi per humanitatem venturus est in mundum, ut reddat singulis secundum opera eorum: impios quidem et peccatores aeternum projiciens in ignem, justos autem in vitam introducens aeternam, in qua vivit cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
cannot attain, but can soon understand when they are expounded by the more learned. It is necessary, therefore, that those who are able should gather these by more diligent searching, and should make them reach the instruction of those less than themselves by word or writing, lest the nourishment of the word perish through their sloth and be taken away from the peoples, they who know how to gather these by interpreting, the Lord granting it. "They gathered," it says, "and filled twelve baskets with fragments" (John 6:13). Because the sum of any perfection is wont to be figured by the number twelve, by the twelve baskets full of fragments the whole choir of spiritual teachers is rightly expressed, who are bidden both to gather by meditation the obscure things of the Scriptures, which the crowds cannot gather by themselves, and to keep what they have meditated and committed to writing for their own use and that of the crowds alike. This the apostles and evangelists themselves did, inserting into their works not a few mystical sayings of the law and the prophets, with an interpretation added. This their followers, the teachers of the Church throughout the world, [did], some even discussing whole books of either Testament with more diligent exposition: who, though despised by men, are yet fruitful with the bread of heavenly grace. For servile works are wont to be done with baskets. Hence the Psalmist says of the people who once served in clay and bricks in Egypt: "His hands served in the basket" (Ps. 80:7). Those men, then, when they had seen the sign that He had done, said: "This is truly the prophet who is to come into the world" (John 6:14). They rightly called the Lord a great prophet, the herald of a great salvation now to be for the world. For He Himself deigns to call Himself a prophet, where He says: "For it cannot be that a prophet perish outside Jerusalem" (Luke 13:33). But they were not yet advancing in full faith, who did not know to call Him Lord as well. So they, seeing the sign which Jesus had done, said: "This is truly the prophet who is to come into the world." Let us, seeing with a surer knowledge of truth and faith the world which Jesus made, and the signs with which He has filled it, say: This is truly the mediator of God and men (1 Tim. 2:5), who fills the world with His divinity, and the world was made through Him, who came to His own (John 1:10–11) to seek and to save the human race which had perished (Luke 19:10), and to make anew the world which He had made; who by the presence of His divinity is with His faithful in the world all days even to the consummation of the age (Matt. 28:20); who at the consummation of the age will come into the world in His humanity to render to each according to their works (Matt. 16:27): casting the wicked and sinners into eternal fire, but bringing the just into eternal life, in which He lives with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for all ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILIA XXII IN FERIA SECUNDA QUADRAGESIMAE. JOAN. II. In illo tempore descendit Jesus Capharnaum ipse, et mater ejus, et fratres ejus, et discipuli ejus, et ibi remanserunt non multis diebus.
HOMILY XXII. ON MONDAY IN LENT. JOHN 2. At that time Jesus went down to Capharnaum, He and His mother and His brethren and His disciples, and they remained there not many days.
Solet movere quosdam quod in exordio lectionis hujus evangelicae dictum est, quia descendente Capharnaum
It is wont to trouble some that it is said at the beginning of this gospel reading that, as the Lord was going down to Capharnaum,
Editors' notes and page, col. 114
Page
- running head: [SECT. I. HOMI]LIÆ. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINÆ. 114 (left part cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A assequi nequeunt, sed a doctioribus; B et evangelistae, non pauca legis; C se vocare dignatur, ubi ait; D turus est in mundum, ut reddat
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the last word is split at the column break, "Ca-"; the next column's top was not in hand when this file was written, so only the visible part is set (almost certainly "Capharnaum"). "HOMILIA XXII" printed without a full stop. "(Psal. LXXX)" is Vulgate 80:7. "[did]" supplied in the English for the verbless sentence "Hoc sequaces eorum ... magistri".
Domino, non solum mater et discipuli, sed et fratres ejus secuti sunt eum. Nec defuerunt haeretici qui Joseph virum beatae semper virginis Mariae putarent ex alia uxore genuisse eos quos fratres Domini Scriptura appellat. Alii majori perfidia hos eum ex ipsa Maria post natum Dominum generasse putarunt. Sed nos, fratres charissimi, absque ullius scrupulo quaestionis scire et confiteri oportet, non tantum beatam Dei Genitricem, sed et beatissimum castitatis ejus testem atque custodem Joseph ab omni prorsus actione conjugali mansisse semper immunem; nec natos, sed cognatos eorum, more Scripturis usitato, fratres sororesve Salvatoris vocari. Denique Abraham hoc modo loquitur ad Lot: Ne quaeso sit jurgium inter me et te, et pastores meos et pastores tuos; fratres enim sumus. Et Laban ad Jacob: Num quia frater meus es, gratis servies mihi? (Gen. XXIX.) Et quidem constat quia Lot filius Aran fratris Abraham et Jacob sit filius Rebeccae sororis Laban, sed propter cognationem sunt fratres nuncupati. Hac ergo regula in Scripturis sanctis, ut dixi, frequentissima, etiam cognatos Mariae vel Joseph fratres Domini appellatos oportet intelligi. Quod autem propinquante Pascha Jesus ascendit Hierosolymam, nobis profecto dat exemplum quanta animi vigilantia Dominicis subjici debeamus imperiis, cum ipse in hominis infirmitate apparens, eadem quae ex divinitatis auctoritate statuit decreta custodiat. Ne enim putarent servi absque crebris orationum bonorumque actuum victimis vel flagella evadere, vel praemia se posse percipere, et ipse inter servos ad orandum immolandumque Dei Filius ascendit: qui veniens Hierosolymam quid ibi gerentes invenerit, quid ibidem ipse gesserit videamus.
not only His mother and disciples but also His brethren followed Him. Nor have there been lacking heretics who supposed that Joseph, the husband of the blessed ever-virgin Mary, begot of another wife those whom Scripture calls the brethren of the Lord. Others, with greater faithlessness, supposed that he begot them of Mary herself after the Lord was born. But we, dearest brethren, must know and confess without the scruple of any question that not only the blessed Mother of God, but also Joseph, the most blessed witness and guardian of her chastity, remained always wholly free from every conjugal act; and that not their children but their kinsfolk are called the brothers or sisters of the Saviour, in the manner usual in the Scriptures. Thus Abraham speaks to Lot in this way: "Let there be no quarrel, I pray, between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren" (Gen. 13:8). And Laban to Jacob: "Because you are my brother, shall you serve me for nothing?" (Gen. 29:15). And yet it is certain that Lot was the son of Aran, the brother of Abraham, and Jacob the son of Rebecca, the sister of Laban; but because of kinship they are called brethren. By this rule, then, which, as I have said, is very frequent in the holy Scriptures, we must understand the kinsfolk of Mary or of Joseph also to be called the brethren of the Lord. But that Jesus went up to Jerusalem as the Pasch drew near surely gives us an example of how great watchfulness of mind we ought to submit to the Lord's commands, since He Himself, appearing in the weakness of man, keeps the same decrees which He established by the authority of His divinity. For lest the servants should think that they could escape the scourges or receive the rewards without frequent sacrifices of prayers and good works, the Son of God Himself also goes up among the servants to pray and to offer sacrifice: let us see what He found them doing there when He came to Jerusalem, and what He Himself did in the same place.
Et invenit, inquit, in templo vendentes boves et oves, et columbas, et nummularios sedentes. Et cum fecisset quasi flagellum de funiculis, omnes ejecit de templo, boves quoque et oves, et nummulariorum effudit aes, et mensas subvertit. Boves, oves, et columbae ad hoc emebantur ut offerrentur in templo. Nummularii ad hoc sedebant ad mensas, ut inter emptores venditoresque hostiarum prompta esset pecuniae taxatio. Videbantur ergo licite vendi in templo quae ad hoc emebantur ut offerrentur in eodem templo Domino; sed nolens ipse Dominus aliquid in domo sua terrenae negotiationis, nec ejus quidem quae honesta putaretur exhiberi, dispulit negotiatores injustos, et foras omnes simul cum his quae negotiabantur ejecit. Quid ergo, fratres mei, quid putatis faceret Dominus, si rixis dissidentes, si fabulis vacantes, si risu dissolutos, vel alio quolibet scelere reperiret irretitos, qui hostias quae sibi immolarentur ementes in templo vidit, et eliminare festinavit? Haec propter illos diximus qui ecclesiam ingressi non solum intentionem orandi negligunt, verum etiam ea pro quibus orare debuerant augent, insuper et arguentes se pro hujusmodi stultitia conviciis odiisque vel etiam detractionibus insequuntur: addentes videlicet peccata peccatis, et quasi funem longissimum incauta eorum
"And He found," it says, "in the temple those selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money-changers sitting. And when He had made as it were a scourge of little cords, He cast them all out of the temple, the oxen also and the sheep, and poured out the money-changers' coin, and overturned the tables" (John 2:14–15). Oxen, sheep and doves were bought for this purpose, that they might be offered in the temple. The money-changers sat at the tables for this purpose, that between the buyers and sellers of the victims the reckoning of money might be ready to hand. It seemed, then, that things were lawfully sold in the temple which were bought for this purpose, that they might be offered to the Lord in that same temple; but the Lord Himself, not wishing any earthly trading to be carried on in His house, not even that which might be thought honest, drove away the unjust traders, and cast them all out together with the things they were trading. What then, my brethren, what do you think the Lord would do if He found people at odds in quarrels, idling in gossip, dissolute in laughter, or ensnared in any other wickedness, He who saw people buying in the temple victims that were to be offered to Himself, and hastened to drive them out? We have said these things on account of those who, having entered the church, not only neglect the intention of praying, but even increase those things for which they ought to have prayed, and moreover pursue those who rebuke them for such folly with insults and hatred or even with detractions: adding, namely, sins to sins, and as it were a very long rope their heedless
Editors' notes and page, col. 115
Page
- running head: 115 BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS II[I] (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A pharnaum Domino, non solum; B et pastores tuos; fratres enim sumus; C praemia se posse percipere; D renae negotiationis, nec ejus
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column opens with "pharnaum", completing "Ca-" at the foot of column 114: the word across the break is "Capharnaum" (c114 sets only the visible "Ca-"). Column ends mid-sentence ("eorum").
augmentatione texentes, nec timentes ex eo districti judicis examinatione damnari. Nam bis quidem in sancto Evangelio legimus quod veniens in templo Dominus hujusmodi negotiatores ejecerit, nunc videlicet, id est tertio ante passionem suam anno, sicut ex Evangelii sequentibus scriptis agnoscimus, et ipso quo passus est anno, cum ante quinque dies Paschae sedens asino Hierosolymam venisset. Sed hoc idem eum in templo, sanctae Ecclesiae examine quotidianae visitationis agere, omnis qui recte sapit intelligit: unde multum tremenda sunt haec, dilectissimi, et digno expavescenda timore, sedulaque praecavendum industria, ne veniens improvisus perversum quid in nobis unde merito flagellari ac de ecclesia ejici debeamus inveniat: et maxime in illa quae specialiter domus orationis vocatur observandum, ne quid ineptum geramus, ne cum Corinthiis audiamus ab Apostolo, nunquid domos non habetis ad agenda vel loquenda temporalia, aut ecclesiam Dei contemnitis? Et a propheta cum Judaeis: Dilectus meus in domo mea fecit scelera multa (Jerem. XI). Et quidem gaudendum est quia ipsi sumus in baptismo templum Dei facti, teste Apostolo qui ait: Templum enim sanctum est, quod estis vos (I Cor. III). Ipsi civitas regis magni, de qua canitur: Fundamenta ejus in montibus sanctis (Psalm. LXXXVII), id est fundamenta Ecclesiae in soliditate fidei apostolorum et prophetarum; sed nimis tremendum, quia praemisit Apostolus dicens: Si quis autem templum Dei violaverit, disperdet illum Deus (I Cor. III). Et ipse Judex justus, disperdam, inquit, de civitate Domini qui operantur iniquitatem (Psalm. C). Gaudendum, quia in nobis Paschae solemnitas celebratur, cum de vitiis ad virtutes transire satagimus. Pascha quippe transitus dicitur. Gaudendum quia Dominus nostra pectora, civitatem videlicet suam visitare, quia idem Pascha nostrae bonae actionis praesentia suae pietatis illustrare dignatur, sed timendum satis ne nos in civitate sua aliud quam ipse diligit agentes inveniat, et ipse se nobis qualem non diligimus districtus redditor ostendat, ne nos in templo nummularios, ne venditores boum, ovium, columbarumve reperiens damnet. Boves quippe doctrinam vitae coelestis, oves opera munditiae et pietatis, columbae Spiritus sancti dona designant, quia nimirum boum juvamine solet ager exerceri. Ager autem est Domini cor coelesti excultum doctrina, et suscipiendis verbi Dei praeparatum rite seminibus. Oves innocentes sua vellera vestiendis hominibus praestant. Spiritus super Dominum in columbae specie descendit. Vendunt autem boves, qui verbum Evangelii non divino amore, sed terreni quaestus intuitu audientibus impendunt, quales reprehendit Apostolus quia Christum annuntiarent non sincere. Vendunt oves, qui humanae gratia laudis opera pietatis exercent, de quibus Dominus ait: quia receperunt mercedem suam (Matth. VI). Vendunt columbas, qui acceptam Spiritus gratiam, non gratis, ut praeceptum est, sed ad praemium dant, qui impositionem manus qua Spiritus accipitur, etsi
weaving with its growth, and not fearing to be condemned for it by the examination of the strict judge. For we read twice in the holy Gospel that the Lord, coming into the temple, cast out traders of this kind: now, namely, that is, in the third year before His passion, as we learn from what is written later in the Gospel, and in the very year in which He suffered, when five days before the Pasch He had come to Jerusalem seated on an ass. But everyone who is rightly wise understands that He does this same thing in the temple by the scrutiny of His daily visitation of holy Church: hence these things are much to be trembled at, beloved, and dreaded with fitting fear, and we must guard beforehand with careful diligence lest, coming unforeseen, He find in us something perverse for which we deserve to be scourged and cast out of the church: and especially in that [church] which is specially called the house of prayer we must take care to do nothing unfitting, lest with the Corinthians we hear from the Apostle: Have you not houses for doing or speaking of temporal things, or do you despise the church of God? (1 Cor. 11:22). And from the prophet, with the Jews: "My beloved has done many wicked things in My house" (Jer. 11:15). And indeed we must rejoice that we ourselves have been made the temple of God in baptism, as the Apostle bears witness, who says: "For the temple is holy, which you are" (1 Cor. 3:17). We ourselves are the city of the great king, of which it is sung: "Its foundations are in the holy mountains" (Ps. 86:1), that is, the foundations of the Church in the solidity of the faith of the apostles and prophets; but it is greatly to be trembled at, because the Apostle said first: "But if anyone violates the temple of God, God will destroy him" (1 Cor. 3:17). And the just Judge Himself says: "I will destroy from the city of the Lord those who work iniquity" (Ps. 100:8). We must rejoice that the solemnity of the Pasch is celebrated in us when we strive to pass over from vices to virtues. For Pasch means passing over. We must rejoice that the Lord deigns to visit our breasts, that is, His city, because He deigns to make bright that same Pasch of our good action with the presence of His kindness; but we must greatly fear lest He find us doing in His city something other than what He loves, and show Himself to us, as a strict requiter, in such a way as we do not love, lest, finding us money-changers in the temple, sellers of oxen, sheep or doves, He condemn us. For the oxen signify the teaching of the heavenly life, the sheep works of purity and piety, the doves the gifts of the Holy Spirit; because, to be sure, a field is wont to be worked with the help of oxen. Now the Lord's field is the heart cultivated by heavenly teaching and duly prepared to receive the seeds of the word of God. Innocent sheep provide their fleeces for clothing men. The Spirit came down upon the Lord in the form of a dove. They sell oxen, then, who bestow the word of the Gospel on their hearers not out of divine love but with an eye to earthly gain, such as the Apostle rebukes because they proclaimed Christ not sincerely (Phil. 1:17). They sell sheep who perform works of piety for the sake of human praise, of whom the Lord says: "for they have received their reward" (Matt. 6:2). They sell doves who give the grace of the Spirit they have received not freely, as is commanded (Matt. 10:8), but for a reward; who [give] the laying on of the hand by which the Spirit is received, even if
Editors' notes and page, col. 116
Page
- running head: [BEDÆ VENERABILI]S OPP. PARS III. — PARÆNETICA. 116 (left part cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A augmentatione texentes; B specialiter domus orationis vocatur; C justus, disperdam, inquit; D dona designant, quia nimirum
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "veniens in templo" set as printed. "(Psalm. LXXXVII)" set as printed; the verse is Vulgate Ps. 86:1, so given so in the English. "(I Cor. III)" for "Templum enim sanctum est" is 1 Cor. 3:17. Column ends mid-sentence ("etsi"); "[give]" supplied in the English.
non ad quaestum pecuniae, ad vulgi tamen favorem tribuunt, qui sacros ordines non ad vitae meritum, sed ad gratiam largiuntur. Nummos mutuo dant in templo, qui non simulate coelestibus, sed aperte terrenis rebus in Ecclesia deserviunt, sua quaerentes non quae Jesu Christi. Verum hujusmodi operarios fraudulentos quae merces maneat ostendit Dominus, cum facto de funiculis flagello, omnes ejecit de templo. Ejiciuntur enim de parte sortis sanctorum, qui interpositi vel ficte bona vel aperte faciunt mala opera. Oves quoque et boves ejecit, quia talium vitam pariter et doctrinam ostendit esse reprobam. Funiculi quibus flagellando impios de templo expulit, crementa sunt actionum malarum, de quibus materia damnandi reprobos districto judici datur: hinc etiam dicit Isaias: Vae qui trahitis iniquitatem in funiculis vanitatis (Isa., V). Et in Proverbiis Salomon: Iniquitates, inquit, suae capiunt impium, et funibus peccatorum suorum constringitur (Prov. V). Qui enim peccata peccatis pro quibus acrius damnetur accumulat, quasi funiculos quibus ligetur ac flagelletur paulatim augendo prolongat. Nummulariorum quoque quos expulsat effudit aes, et mensas subvertit, quia damnatis in fine reprobis etiam ipsarum quas dilexere rerum tollet figuram, juxta quod scriptum est: Et mundus transivit et concupiscentia ejus.
not for monetary gain, yet bestow it for the favour of the crowd; who confer holy orders not for merit of life but for favour. They lend money in the temple who in the Church serve not heavenly things in pretence but earthly things openly, seeking their own things, not those of Jesus Christ (Phil. 2:21). But what reward awaits fraudulent workmen of this kind the Lord showed when, having made a scourge of little cords, He cast them all out of the temple. For they are cast out from the share of the lot of the saints who, placed among them, do either good works feignedly or evil works openly. He cast out the sheep also and the oxen, because He showed that the life and the teaching of such men alike are reprobate. The little cords with which He drove the wicked out of the temple by scourging are the increments of evil actions, from which matter for condemning the reprobate is given to the strict Judge: hence Isaiah too says: "Woe to you who draw iniquity with cords of vanity" (Isa. 5:18). And Solomon in the Proverbs: "His own iniquities," he says, "take the wicked man, and he is bound fast with the ropes of his sins" (Prov. 5:22). For he who heaps sins on sins, for which he is to be more sharply condemned, lengthens as it were, by increasing them little by little, the cords with which he is to be bound and scourged. He also poured out the coin of the money-changers whom He drove out, and overturned the tables, because when the reprobate are condemned at the end He will take away the very form of the things they loved, according to what is written: "And the world has passed away, and its lust" (1 John 2:17).
Et eis qui columbas vendebant dixit: Auferte ista hinc, et nolite facere domum Patris mei domum negotiationis. Venditionem columbarum de templo auferri praecepit, quia gratiam Spiritus qui gratis accepit gratis debet dare: unde Simon Magus ille qui hanc pecunia emere voluit, ut majore pretio venderet, audivit: Pecunia tua tecum sit in perditione, non est tibi pars, neque sors in sermone hoc. Notandum autem quod non soli venditores sunt columbarum, et domum Dei faciunt domum negotiationis, qui sacros ordines largiendo pretium pecuniae vel laudis vel etiam honoris inquirunt. Verum hi quoque qui gradum vel gratiam in Ecclesia spiritualem, quam Domino largiente percepere, non simplici intentione, sed cujuslibet humanae causa retributionis exercent, contra illud apostoli Petri: Qui loquitur, quasi sermones Dei; qui ministrat, tanquam ex virtute quam administrat Deus, ut in omnibus honorificetur Deus per Jesum Christum (I Pet. IV). Quicunque ergo tales sunt, si nolunt veniente Domino de Ecclesia auferri, auferant ista de suis actibus, ne faciant domum Dei domum negotiationis. Nec praetereundum quia sollicite nobis Scriptura utramque Salvatoris nostri naturam, et humanam videlicet commendat et divinam. Ut enim verus Dei Filius intelligatur, audiamus quod ipse dicit: Nolite facere domum Patris mei domum negotiationis. Aperte namque se Filium Dei Patris ostendit, qui templum Dei domum Patris sui cognominat. Et rursum ut verus Filius hominis sentiatur, recolamus quod in hujus capite lectionis descendens in Capharnaum, matrem habuisse perhibetur. Sequitur:
"And to those who sold doves He said: Take these things hence, and do not make the house of My Father a house of trade" (John 2:16). He commanded the selling of doves to be taken away from the temple, because whoever has received the grace of the Spirit freely ought to give it freely: hence that Simon Magus, who wished to buy it with money so as to sell it at a greater price, heard: "Your money go with you to perdition; you have no part nor lot in this word" (Acts 8:20–21). But it must be noted that they are not the only sellers of doves, and make the house of God a house of trade, who in conferring holy orders seek a price of money or of praise or even of honour; but those also who exercise a rank or a spiritual grace in the Church, which they received by the Lord's bounty, not with a single intention but for the sake of some human return, against that saying of the apostle Peter: "He who speaks, [let him speak] as the words of God; he who ministers, as from the strength which God supplies, that in all things God may be honoured through Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 4:11). Whoever, then, are such, if they do not wish to be taken away from the Church when the Lord comes, let them take these things away from their actions, lest they make the house of God a house of trade. Nor must it be passed over that Scripture carefully commends to us both natures of our Saviour, namely the human and the divine. For that He may be understood as the true Son of God, let us hear what He Himself says: "Do not make the house of My Father a house of trade." For He openly shows Himself the Son of God the Father, who names the temple of God the house of His Father. And again, that He may be perceived as the true Son of man, let us recall that at the head of this reading, going down to Capharnaum, He is said to have had a mother. There follows:
Recordati vero sunt discipuli ejus, quia scriptum est: Zelus domus tuae comedit me. Zelo domus Patris Salvator
"And His disciples remembered that it is written: The zeal of Thy house has eaten Me up" (John 2:17). With zeal for the house of the Father the Saviour
Editors' notes and page, col. 117
Page
- running head: 117 SECT. I. HOMILIÆ. — LIB. I. (cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A non ad quaestum pecuniae; B funiculis vanitatis (Isa., V); C gratis debet dare: unde Simon; D niente Domino de Ecclesia
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the last word is split at the column break, "Sal-"; the facing column's first line ("vator e…", visible at the edge of the image) completes it, so it is set whole as "Salvator". "(Prov. V)" is Prov. 5:22. "expulsat" set as printed.
ejecit impios de templo. Zelemus et nos, fratres charissimi, domum Dei, et quantum possumus, ne quid in ea pravum geratur insistamus. Si viderimus fratrem qui ad domum Dei pertinet superbia tumidum, si detractionibus assuetum, ebrietati servientem, luxuria enervatum, si iracundia turbidum, si alio cuiquam vitio substratum, studeamus in quantum facultas suppetit castigare, polluta ac perversa corrigere, et si quid de talibus emendare nequimus, non sine acerrimo mentis sustinete dolore, et maxime in ipsa domo orationis, ubi corpus Domini consecratur, ubi angelorum praesentia semper adesse non dubitatur, ne quid ineptum fiat, ne quid quod nostram fraternamve orationem impediat, totis viribus id agamus. Sequitur:
cast the wicked out of the temple. Let us too, dearest brethren, be zealous for the house of God, and as far as we can let us press on so that nothing wicked be done in it. If we see a brother who belongs to the house of God swollen with pride, or given to detraction, a slave to drunkenness, enervated by wantonness, or troubled by anger, or laid low by any other vice, let us strive, as far as our ability allows, to chastise him, to correct what is polluted and perverse; and if we cannot amend anything in such men, to bear it not without the sharpest grief of mind; and especially in the very house of prayer, where the body of the Lord is consecrated, where the presence of angels is never doubted to be at hand, let us bring it about with all our strength that nothing unfitting be done, nothing that may hinder our prayer or our brother's. There follows:
Responderunt ergo Judaei, et dixerunt ei: Quod signum ostendis nobis quia haec facis? Respondit Jesus, et dixit eis: Solvite templum hoc, et in tribus diebus excitabo illud. De quo templo diceret Evangelista, post aperuit, videlicet de templo corporis sui, quod ab illis passione solutum ipse post triduum excitavit de morte. Quia ergo signum quaerebant a Domino, quare solita commercia projicere debuerit e templo, respondit ideo se rectissime impios exterminare de templo, quia ipsum templum significaverit templum corporis sui, in quo nulla esset prorsus alicujus macula peccati. Neque immerito typicum purgaverit a sceleribus templum, qui verum Dei templum ab hominibus morte solutum divinae potentia majestatis excitare posset a mortuis.
"The Jews therefore answered and said to Him: What sign dost Thou show us, seeing that Thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said to them: Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2:18–19). Of what temple He spoke the Evangelist made plain afterwards, namely of the temple of His body, which, destroyed by them in the passion, He Himself raised from death after three days. Since, then, they asked of the Lord a sign why He should have cast the customary commerce out of the temple, He answered that He was most rightly driving the wicked out of the temple for this reason, that the temple itself signified the temple of His body, in which there was no stain of any sin at all. Nor was it without good reason that He purged the figurative temple of wicked deeds, who could raise from the dead, by the power of the divine majesty, the true temple of God destroyed by men through death.
Dixerunt ergo Judaei: Quadraginta et sex annis aedificatum est hoc templum, et tu tribus diebus excitabis illud? Quomodo intellexerunt, ita responderunt: sed ne nos quoque spiritualem Domini sermonem carnaliter sentiremus, Evangelista consequenter de quo templo loqueretur exposuit: Quod autem aiunt templum quadraginta et sex annis aedificatum, non primam, sed secundam illius aedificationem significant. Primus enim Salomon templum in maxima regni sui pace citissimo septem annorum opere perfecit, quod destructum a Chaldaeis post septuaginta annos ad jussionem Cyri Persae, relaxata captivitate, reaedificari coeptum est: sed filii transmigrationis opus quod sub principibus Zorobabel et Jesu faciebant, propter impugnationem gentium vicinarum ante quadraginta et sex annos implere nequiverunt. Qui etiam numerus annorum perfectioni Dominici corporis aptissime congruit. Tradunt etenim naturalium scriptores rerum formam corporis humani tot dierum spatio perfici, quia videlicet primis sex a conceptionis diebus lactis habeat similitudinem; sequentibus novem convertatur in sanguinem, deinde duodecim solidetur; reliquis decem et octo formetur usque ad perfecta lineamenta omnium membrorum; et hinc reliquo jam tempore usque ad tempus partus magnitudine augeatur. Sex autem et novem et duodecim et decem et octo quadraginta quinque faciunt, quibus si adjecerimus unum, id est ipsum diem quo discretum per membra corpus crementum sumere incipit, tot nimirum
"The Jews therefore said: Forty-six years was this temple in building, and wilt Thou raise it up in three days?" (John 2:20). As they understood, so they answered: but lest we too should take the Lord's spiritual saying carnally, the Evangelist next explained of what temple He spoke. Now when they say that the temple was forty-six years in building, they signify not its first but its second building. For Solomon first completed the temple, in the very great peace of his reign, by a very swift work of seven years; and after it had been destroyed by the Chaldeans, after seventy years, at the command of Cyrus the Persian, when the captivity was loosed, it began to be rebuilt: but the sons of the transmigration could not complete the work which they were doing under the princes Zorobabel and Jesus [Joshua], because of the attacks of the neighbouring nations, until forty-six years [had passed]. And this number of years also fits most aptly the perfecting of the Lord's body. For the writers on natural things relate that the form of the human body is perfected in a space of so many days: namely, that in the first six days from conception it has the likeness of milk; in the following nine it is turned into blood; then in twelve it is made solid; in the remaining eighteen it is formed, up to the complete lineaments of all the members; and from then on, for the rest of the time until the time of birth, it increases in size. Now six and nine and twelve and eighteen make forty-five; and if we add one to these, that is, the very day on which the body, distinguished into members, begins to take on growth, we find surely as many
Editors' notes and page, col. 118
Page
- running head: [SECT. I. HOMILI]Æ. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINÆ 118 (left part cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A [Sal]vator ejecit impios de templo; B Responderunt ergo Judaei; C excitare posset a mortuis; D impugnationem gentium vicinarum
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column opens with "vator", the end of "Sal-vator" split from column 117; c117 sets the word whole, so this file starts at "ejecit". The last word is split at the column break, "nimi-"; the next column was not in hand, so only the visible part is set (almost certainly "nimirum"); the English supplies "[to be sure,]". "ante quadraginta et sex annos" rendered "until forty-six years [had passed]".
dies in aedificatione corporis Domini, quot in fabrica templi annos invenimus. Et quia templum illud manufactum sacrosanctam Domini carnem quam ex Virgine sumpsit, ut ex hoc loco discimus, figurabat; quia aeque corpus ejus quod est Ecclesia, quia uniuscujusque fidelium corpus animamque designabat, ut in plerisque Scripturarum locis invenimus, libet aliqua de templi ipsius factura commemorare, quibus vestra fraternitas quomodo omnia quae de eo scripta sunt Christo et Ecclesiae conveniant agnoscat. Conversum stabat ad orientem, habens ostium contra ortum solis, qui statim exortus cuncta ejus interiora suo jubare perfunderet. Et Ecclesia sancta totam mentis intentionem ad illius dirigit gratiam, de quo Zacharias ait: Visitavit nos oriens ex alto illuminare his qui in tenebris et in umbra mortis sedent (Luc. I). Memorque semper promissi ipsius quo dicit, Dilata os tuum, et ego adimplebo illud (Psal. LXXX); laeta respondet: Os meum aperui et attraxi spiritum, quia mandata tua desiderabam (Psal. CXVIII); quod est dicere: Devotionem cordis mei aperui, et lucem tui spiritus haurire promerui, quia non alia in mundo quam observationem mandatorum tuorum observare didici. Foris albo lapide constructum parebat, intus laquearia, parietes, pavimentum, trabes, ostia, et quidquid erat vasorum aurum tegebat obrisum. Et Ecclesia foris quidem omnibus fortitudinem perfectae monstrat actionis; sed soli qui hanc pie considerando intrare didicerint, quot animae virtutibus praemineat interius, quanta in singulis his charitatis luce flagret intelligunt. Ipsae auri laminae cedrinis sunt tabulis affixae vel abiegnis, vel certe de lignis olivarum paratis: quae omnia ligna esse egregie constat. Et fulgor Dominicae dilectionis per memoriam sacratissimae passionis ipsius, quae pretioso crucis ligno consummata est, fidelium cordibus, ne labatur imprimitur. Templum ipsum velamento medii parietis discretum est, domusque exterior sanctuarium, interior autem ubi arca testamenti posita erat, sanctum sanctorum vocabatur. Et Ecclesia partim in terris peregrinatur a Domino, partim cum Domino regnat in coelis. Medius namque paries ipsum intelligitur coelum, arca testamenti Dominus, qui solus paternorum conscius arcanorum, coeli interna penetravit. Ascensus qui in superiorem et tertiam domum ducebat per viscera meridiani parietis quasi invisibili gressu factus est, ita ut initium tantum ejusdem ascensus ab orientali angulo memorati parietis appareret, profectum vero ascensionis ipsius solus qui scanderet nosset, cujus Scriptura ita meminit: Ostium autem lateris medii in parte erat domus dextrae, et per cochleam ascendebant in medium coenaculum et a medio in tertium (I Reg. VI). Passo in cruce Domino, unus militum lancea latus ejus aperuit, et continuo exivit sanguis et aqua. Haec est aqua baptismi qua abluimur, et hic sanguis calicis Domini quo sanctificamur. Per haec sancti mysteria lateris merito invisibilis fidei ascendimus de praesenti Ecclesiae vita, quae peregrinatur in terris, in vitam supernae beatitudinis
days in the building of the Lord's body as years in the construction of the temple. And since that temple made with hands prefigured the most holy flesh of the Lord which He took from the Virgin, as we learn from this passage; since it designated equally His body which is the Church, since it designated the body and soul of each one of the faithful, as we find in very many places of the Scriptures, it is pleasing to recall some things about the making of the temple itself, by which your brotherhood may recognize how all the things that are written about it agree with Christ and the Church. It stood facing the east, having its door towards the rising of the sun, so that the sun, as soon as it had risen, might flood all its interior with its radiance. And the holy Church directs the whole intent of her mind to the grace of Him of whom Zachary says: The dayspring from on high has visited us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death (Luke 1:78–79). And ever mindful of His promise, in which He says, Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it (Ps. 80:11), she joyfully answers: I opened my mouth and drew in the spirit, because I longed for Thy commandments (Ps. 118:131); that is to say: I opened the devotion of my heart and was found worthy to drink in the light of Thy spirit, because I learned to observe nothing else in the world than the observance of Thy commandments. Outside it appeared built of white stone; inside, refined gold covered the panelled ceilings, the walls, the floor, the beams, the doors, and whatever vessels there were. And the Church outwardly shows to all the strength of perfect action; but only those who have learned to enter it by devout consideration understand with how many virtues of souls she excels within, with what light of charity she burns in each of them. The gold plates themselves were fixed to boards of cedar or of fir, or at any rate made of olive wood: all of which are known to be excellent woods. And the splendour of the Lord's love is impressed on the hearts of the faithful, lest they fall, through the memory of His most sacred passion, which was accomplished on the precious wood of the cross. The temple itself was divided by the veil of a middle wall, and the outer house was called the sanctuary, but the inner, where the ark of the covenant had been placed, the holy of holies. And the Church is partly on pilgrimage away from the Lord on earth, partly reigns with the Lord in heaven. For the middle wall is understood to be heaven itself, the ark of the covenant the Lord, Who alone, sharing the secrets of the Father, has penetrated the inner places of heaven. The ascent which led to the upper and third house was made through the inside of the south wall as if by an invisible stairway, so that only the beginning of that ascent appeared, at the east corner of the said wall, but the progress of the ascent itself was known only to him who climbed it; of which Scripture makes mention thus: The door of the middle side was on the right side of the house, and they went up by a winding stair into the middle chamber, and from the middle into the third (1 Kgs. 6:8). When the Lord had suffered on the cross, one of the soldiers opened His side with a lance, and at once there came out blood and water. This is the water of baptism by which we are washed, and this the blood of the Lord's chalice by which we are sanctified. Through these holy mysteries of the side, by the merit of invisible faith, we ascend from the present life of the Church, which is on pilgrimage on earth, into the life of heavenly blessedness
Editors' notes and page, col. 119
Page
- running head: 119 BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS II (rest of head beyond the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹rum dies in aedificatione›; B ‹nare his qui in tenebris›; C ‹mineat interius, quanta›; D ‹Ascensus qui in superiorem›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "rum", the tail of a word hyphenated from col. 118 (not seen); set as printed, English marked [...]. Last word "beati-" completed as "beatitudinis" from "tudinis" visible at the head of col. 120. "obrisum" (for obryzum) and "quia aeque" set as printed.
qua exutae corporibus fruuntur animae justorum. Sed et de illa vita receptis in resurrectione corporibus, usque ad supernam perpetuae felicitatis gloriam ejusdem Dominicae passionis fide praevia transimus; de qua nimirum gloria dicit Isaias: In terra sua duplicia possidebunt, laetitia sempiterna erit eis (Isa. LXI), id est, in terra viventium, quae sola sanctorum terra est, carnis simul et animae felicis gaudia aeterna percipient. Inferior ergo domus praesentem sanctorum conversationem significat, superior requiem animarum quae post hanc vitam percipitur, suprema gloriam resurrectionis quae nullo unquam fine mutabitur; ostium lateris medii, quod in parte domus dextrae positum iter ad superiora pandebat, fides est passionis Christi, cujus dextrum latus foratum in cruce nobis emanavit sacramenta, quibus imbuti ad coelestis vitae gaudia possimus ascendere. Septem annis et totidem mensibus prima templi structura perfecta est, octavo autem anno, et octavo mense ex quo aedificari coepit, dedicationis solemnitas secuta est; et Ecclesia per totum praesens saeculum, quod septem diebus volvitur, spiritualia suorum sumere non desinit incrementa membrorum usque ad tempora futurae resurrectionis aeterna, quando cum pacifico rege festa suae dedicationis introibit. Nam quia Dominus octava die, id est post septimam sabbati a morte surrexit, merito hic numerus etiam nostrae resurrectionis futura gaudia designat.
which the souls of the just, stripped of their bodies, enjoy. But from that life too, when our bodies have been received back in the resurrection, we pass over to the heavenly glory of perpetual happiness, with faith in the same passion of the Lord going before; of which glory indeed Isaiah says: In their land they shall possess double, everlasting joy shall be theirs (Isa. 61:7); that is, in the land of the living, which alone is the land of the saints, they shall receive the eternal joys of flesh and of blessed soul together. The lower house, then, signifies the present life of the saints; the upper, the rest of souls which is received after this life; the highest, the glory of the resurrection, which will never be changed by any end. The door of the middle side, which, set in the right side of the house, opened the way to the upper parts, is faith in the passion of Christ, Whose right side, pierced on the cross, poured out for us the sacraments, imbued with which we may ascend to the joys of the heavenly life. In seven years and as many months the first building of the temple was completed, but in the eighth year, and the eighth month from when it began to be built, the solemnity of the dedication followed; and the Church through the whole present age, which revolves in seven days, does not cease to receive the spiritual increase of her members until the eternal times of the future resurrection, when she will enter with the peaceable king into the feast of her dedication. For since the Lord rose from death on the eighth day, that is, after the seventh of the sabbath, rightly does this number also signify the future joys of our resurrection.
Haec de factura pauca ex pluribus commemorasse sufficiat, ut quam cuncta spirituali intellectu refulgeant clarius appareat. Sed finituri sermonem redeamus ad Domini sententiam, qua quaerentibus signum Judaeis dicit: Solvite templum hoc, et in tribus diebus excitabo illud (Joan. II), agamusque gratias misericordiae ejus, qui mysterium suae passionis et excitationis a mortuis, quod tentantibus se infidelibus clauso sermone proposuit, nobis jam in se credentibus clara luce reseravit. Et quia jam prope est tempus quo solutionem ejusdem templi venerabilis quae facta est a perfidis, simul et excitationem, quam ipse tertia die, sicut ipse promisit, mirabiliter exhibuit, annua solemnitate celebrare desideramus, mundemus templa corporum cordiumve nostrorum, ut Spiritus Dei habitare dignetur in nobis, et juxta quod Apostolus admonet, abjectis operibus tenebrarum induamus nos arma lucis, sicut in die honeste ambulemus, non in comessationibus et ebrietatibus, non in cubilibus et impudicitiis, non in contentione et aemulatione, sed induamus nos Dominum Jesum Christum (Rom. XIII), qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat Deus ante omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
Let it suffice to have recalled these few things out of many about the construction, so that it may appear more clearly how all of it shines with spiritual meaning. But as we are about to end the sermon, let us return to the Lord's saying, in which He says to the Jews seeking a sign: Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up (John 2:19), and let us give thanks to His mercy, Who has now opened in clear light to us who believe in Him the mystery of His passion and of His raising from the dead, which He set forth in veiled speech to the unbelievers who were testing Him. And since the time is now near when we desire to celebrate with yearly solemnity the destruction of that same venerable temple which was brought about by the faithless, and also its raising, which He Himself wonderfully displayed on the third day, as He Himself had promised, let us cleanse the temples of our bodies or hearts, so that the Spirit of God may deign to dwell in us, and, as the Apostle admonishes, having cast off the works of darkness let us put on the armour of light; let us walk honourably as in the day, not in revelling and drunkenness, not in chambering and impurities, not in strife and envy, but let us put on the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 13:12–14), Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, God, before all ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILIA XXIII. IN DOMINICA PALMARUM.
HOMILY XXIII. ON PALM SUNDAY.
MATTH. XXI, MARC. XI, LUC. XIX, JOAN. XII. In illo tempore cum appropinquasset Jesus Hierosolymis, et venisset Bethphage ad montem Oliveti, tunc misit duos de discipulis suis dicens eis: Ite in castellum,
MATTHEW 21, MARK 11, LUKE 19, JOHN 12. At that time, when Jesus had drawn near to Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then He sent two of His disciples, saying to them: Go into the village,
Editors' notes and page, col. 120
Page
- running head: OPP. PARS III. — PARÆNETICA. 120 (start of head beyond the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹tudinis, qua exutae›; B ‹latus foratum in cruce›; C ‹Haec de factura pauca›; D ‹ut Spiritus Dei habitare›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "tudinis", the tail of "beatitudinis", which is set whole at the end of col. 119; not repeated here. The Gospel reference line runs on into the Gospel lemma in one printed paragraph, so it is set with the lemma rather than with the heading; the lemma continues into col. 121 (Matt. 21:1–2).
quod contra vos est, et statim invenietis asinam alligatam et pullum cum ea, solvite et adducite mihi, etc.
which is over against you, and at once you will find an ass tied and a colt with her; loose them and bring them to Me, etc. (Matt. 21:2).
Mediator Dei et hominum, homo Christus Jesus, qui pro humani generis salute passurus de coelo descenderat ad terras, appropinquante hora passionis, appropinquare voluit loco passionis, ut etiam per hoc claresceret quia non invitus sed sponte pateretur. In asino venire, et a turbis rex appellari et laudari voluit, ut etiam per hoc eruditus quisque agnosceret [Al., cognosceret] ipsum esse Christum, quem sic illo venturum prophetia olim praemissa signaverat. Ante quinque dies paschae venire voluit, sicut ex Joannis Evangelio didicimus, ut etiam per hoc ostenderet se esse Agnum immaculatum qui peccata tolleret mundi. Agnus quippe paschalis cujus immolatione populus Israel est ab Aegyptia servitute liberatus, ante quinque dies paschae, id est quarta decima luna, ad vesperam jussus est immolari: significans eum qui nos suo sanguine redempturus ante quinque dies paschae, id est, hodierno die magno praecedentium sequentiumque populorum gaudio ac laudatione [Al., ad laudationem] deductus, venit in templum Dei, et erat quotidie doc⟨e⟩ns in eo. Quinta demum peracta die, ubi veteris paschae sacramenta hactenus observata consummavit, ac nova deinceps observanda discipulis sacramenta contradidit, egressus in montem Oliveti, tentus est a Judaeis, et mane crucifixus, ipsa nos die a daemoniaca dominatione redemit, qua antiquus ille Hebraeorum populus immolatione agni jugum Aegyptiae servitutis abjecit. Ergo Dominus instar agni paschalis ante quinque dies, quam pati inciperet, locum passionis adiit, ut se insinuaret esse illum de quo praedixit Isaias: Sicut ovis ad occisionem ducetur, et quasi agnus coram tondente se obmutescet, et non aperiet os suum (Isa., LIII). Et paulo superius: Ipse autem vulneratus est propter iniquitates nostras, et livore ejus sanati sumus. Sed invidorum corda principum in cunctis, quae provide gessit, eum persequi quam in eum credere maluerunt, et multum miseri vitae auctorem morti potius dare, quam per eum ipsi vivificari studebant. Verum nos perfidorum caecitate declinata eorum magis exempla qui fideliter Dominum laudavere, se⟨q⟩uamur, et iter ejus mysticum mystica, ut decet, interpretatione scrutemur. Asina et pullus ejus, quibus sedens Hierosolymam venit, utriusque populi, Judaei videlicet et gentilis, simplicia corda designant, quibus ille praesidens quaeque a noxia libertate suo frenans imperio ad visionem supernae pacis perducit. Hierosolyma etenim visio pacis interpretatur. Et bene cum ad montem Oliveti venisset Dominus, discipulos qui haec animalia adducerent, misit: quia non nostris ad eum meritis, sed sola ipsius gratia largiente, pervenimus, Joanne attestante, qui ait: Et in hoc charitas est, non quasi nos dileximus Deum, sed quia ipse prior dilexit nos (I Joan. IV). Mons namque Oliveti celsitudinem Dominicae dilectionis, qua nos misericorditer illustrare ac salvare dignatus est, insinuat; non solum qui olei
The Mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, Who for the salvation of the human race had come down from heaven to earth in order to suffer, as the hour of His passion drew near, willed to draw near to the place of His passion, so that by this too it might become clear that He suffered not unwillingly but of His own accord. He willed to come on an ass, and to be called king and praised by the crowds, so that by this too every instructed person might recognize [Al., know] that He was the Christ, Whose coming in this way prophecy sent before had long ago marked out. He willed to come five days before the Pasch, as we have learned from the Gospel of John, so that by this too He might show that He was the spotless Lamb Who would take away the sins of the world. For the paschal lamb, by whose sacrifice the people of Israel was freed from Egyptian slavery, was ordered to be set apart five days before the Pasch, and to be sacrificed on the fourteenth day of the moon, towards evening: signifying Him Who, being about to redeem us with His blood, five days before the Pasch, that is, on this present day, was led with great joy and praise [Al., to praise] by the crowds going before and following, came into the temple of God, and was teaching in it daily. Then, when the fifth day was over, when He had brought to fulfilment the sacraments of the old Pasch observed until then, and had handed over to the disciples the new sacraments to be observed from then on, He went out to the Mount of Olives, was seized by the Jews, and, crucified in the morning, on that very day redeemed us from the dominion of the demons, on which that ancient people of the Hebrews by the sacrifice of a lamb threw off the yoke of Egyptian slavery. So the Lord, like the paschal lamb, five days before He began to suffer, went to the place of His passion, to make known that He was the one of whom Isaiah foretold: He shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer He shall be dumb, and shall not open His mouth (Isa. 53:7). And a little before: But He was wounded for our iniquities, and by His bruise we are healed (Isa. 53:5). But the hearts of the envious chiefs, in all that He did with forethought, chose rather to persecute Him than to believe in Him, and, most wretched, they strove rather to give the author of life to death than to be given life themselves through Him. But let us, turning aside from the blindness of the faithless, follow rather the example of those who faithfully praised the Lord, and let us search out His mystical journey by a mystical interpretation, as is fitting. The ass and her colt, sitting on which He came to Jerusalem, signify the simple hearts of both peoples, namely the Jewish and the Gentile, over which He presides, curbing each from harmful licence by His command, and leads them on to the vision of the heavenly peace. For Jerusalem is interpreted "vision of peace". And well, when the Lord had come to the Mount of Olives, did He send disciples to bring these animals: because we have come to Him not by our own merits, but by His grace alone bestowing it, as John bears witness, who says: And in this is charity, not as though we loved God, but because He first loved us (1 John 4:10). For the Mount of Olives suggests the loftiness of the Lord's love, by which He deigned mercifully to enlighten and to save us; not only [the mount] which of oil
Editors' notes and page, col. 121
Page
- running head: 121 SECT. I. HOMILIÆ. — LIB. I.
- marginal letters: A ‹quod contra vos est›; B ‹schalis cujus immolatione›; C ‹Hebraeorum populus immolatione›; D ‹mystica, ut decet›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "doc⟨e⟩ns in eo": the e of docens is lost in the type, and the e of eo is broken but legible. In "se⟨q⟩uamur" the q is lost. "insinuat" is badly struck but certain. The column ends mid-clause after "olei", with no hyphen. The English for "ad vesperam jussus est immolari" is extended ("set apart … sacrificed") to make the sense; see the Latin.
natura lucis ministra est, et laborum dolorumque solamen, verum etiam quia cunctis quibus immiscetur, solet excellere liquoribus. Et Apostolus de charitate locuturus: Adhuc, inquit, excellentiorem vobis viam demonstro (I Cor. XII). Ad montem igitur Oliveti veniens Dominus, asinos sibi quibus Hierosolymam petat, praecepit exhiberi, figurate significans hoc quod alibi dicit aperte: Quia sic Deus dilexit mundum, ut Filium suum unigenitum daret, ut omnis qui credit in ipsum non pereat, sed habeat vitam aeternam (Joan. III). Duos ad exhibenda sibi jumenta misit discipulos, ut significaret in utrumque populum, circumcisionis videlicet et praeputii, praedicatores esse destinandos. Vel certe duos misit, ut eosdem praedicatores doctrina simul et operatione perfectos esse moneret: ne vel erroris verba indocti veritati miscerent, vel ea quae recte docuissent perverse vivendo negarent.
by its nature is a servant of light and a solace of labours and pains, but also because it is wont to rise above all the liquids with which it is mixed. And the Apostle, when about to speak of charity, says: I show you a yet more excellent way (1 Cor. 12:31). Coming, then, to the Mount of Olives, the Lord ordered asses to be brought to Him on which He might make for Jerusalem, signifying in figure what He says openly elsewhere: For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him may not perish, but may have eternal life (John 3:16). He sent two disciples to bring the beasts to Him, to signify that preachers were to be sent to both peoples, namely of the circumcision and of the uncircumcision. Or else He sent two to warn those same preachers to be perfect in teaching and in working alike: so that they should neither, being untaught, mingle words of error with the truth, nor deny by living perversely what they had rightly taught.
Invenietis, inquit, asinam alligatam et pullum cum ea, solvite et adducite mihi. Pullum quoque alligatum fuisse alii evangelistae testantur. Uterque enim populus funibus peccatorum erat circumplexus, et solutione divina opus habebat; iste lege quam acceperat male utendo, ille nunquam accipiendo peccaverat. Unde bene dicit Apostolus: Quia non est distinctio: omnes enim peccaverunt et egent gloria Dei, justificati per gratiam ipsius gratis. Et pulchre alii tres evangelistae, qui gentibus scripserunt, pullum solummodo Domino adductum memorant. Matth⟨ae⟩us autem evangelista, qui ex Hebraeis et Hebraeo sermone scripsit Evangelium, etiam asinae facit mentionem, provida utraque dispensatione, ut quorum salutem scribendo quaesierunt, hos salvandos a Domino mystice docerent esse figuratos [Al., futuros].
You will find, He says, an ass tied and a colt with her; loose them and bring them to Me. The other evangelists testify that the colt too was tied. For each people was bound round with the cords of sins and had need of divine loosing; the one had sinned by using ill the law which it had received, the other by never receiving it. Hence the Apostle well says: For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and lack the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace (Rom. 3:22–24). And the other three evangelists, who wrote for the Gentiles, fittingly record only that the colt was brought to the Lord. But the evangelist Matthew, who was of the Hebrews and wrote his Gospel in the Hebrew tongue, makes mention also of the ass, each by a provident dispensation, so that they might teach mystically that those whose salvation they sought by writing had been prefigured [Al., were going] to be saved by the Lord.
Et si quis vobis, inquit, aliquid dixerit, dicite quia Dominus his opus habet, et confestim dimittet eos. Et doctoribus praecipitur, ut si quid eis obstiterit adversitatis, si quis prohibuerit peccatores a laqueis diaboli solvi, et per confessionem fidei Domino adduci, non tamen praedicando desistant, sed constanter insinuent quia Dominus ad aedificandam Ecclesiam talibus opus habet. Quamvis enim saevus sit persecutor et immanis, non potest eorum obsistere salvationi quos novit Dominus, quia sint ejus quos ad vitam praeordinavit aeternam. Adhibetur autem huic facto prophetae testimonium, ut appareat Dominum quidem in omnibus quae de ipso erant scripta complesse, sed invidia caecatos Scribas et Pharisaeos ea quae ipsi legebant intelligere nequivisse.
And if anyone says anything to you, He says, say that the Lord has need of them, and at once he will let them go (Matt. 21:3). Teachers too are instructed that, if any adversity stands in their way, if anyone forbids sinners to be loosed from the snares of the devil and to be brought to the Lord through the confession of faith, they should nevertheless not desist from preaching, but should steadfastly make known that the Lord has need of such for building up the Church. For however savage and monstrous the persecutor may be, he cannot stand in the way of the salvation of those whom the Lord knows to be His, whom He has foreordained to eternal life. Now the testimony of the prophet is joined to this deed, so that it may appear that the Lord indeed fulfilled all things that had been written of Him, but that the Scribes and Pharisees, blinded by envy, were unable to understand what they themselves read.
Dicite, filiae Sion, Ecce rex tuus venit tibi mansuetus, sedens super asinam et pullum filium subjugalis. Filia Sion Ecclesia est fidelium, pertinens ad supernam Jerusalem, quae est mater omnium nostrum, cujus portio tunc non minima erat in populo Israel regem habens mansuetum: quia non terrena immitibus, sed mansuetis coelestia regna dare consuevit dicens: Discite a me, quia mitis sum et humilis corde, et invenietis requiem animabus vestris (Matth. XI). De quibus Psalmista: Mansueti, inquit, possidebunt terram,
Say to the daughter of Sion: Behold, your king comes to you, meek, sitting upon an ass and a colt, the foal of a beast of burden (Matt. 21:5). The daughter of Sion is the Church of the faithful, belonging to the heavenly Jerusalem, which is the mother of us all, of which no small portion was then in the people of Israel, having a meek king: for He is wont to give not earthly kingdoms to the harsh, but heavenly ones to the meek, saying: Learn of Me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matt. 11:29). Of whom the Psalmist says: The meek shall possess the land,
Editors' notes and page, col. 122
Page
- running head: [...]Æ. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINÆ. 122 (start of head beyond the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹natura lucis ministra›; B ‹dem praedicatores doctrina›; C ‹autem evangelista, qui ex›; D ‹vitam praeordinavit aeternam›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "Matth⟨ae⟩us": letters lost in the type. "Dicite, filiae Sion" and "omnium nostrum" set as printed. Scripture references in the English for Romans 3, Matthew 21:3 and 21:5, which Migne does not print, are supplied in modern form. The column ends mid-sentence after "terram," and the quotation (Psalm 36:11) runs on into col. 123.
et delectabuntur in multitudine pacis (Psalm. XXXVI). Rex vero mansuetus mansuetis, id est humi⟨l⟩ibus corde, terram pacis tribuit, quos in terra belli et tribulationum quondam rex impius, id est diabolus, superbiae vulnere stravit. Sedens, inquit (Isai. LXVI), super asinam et pullum filium subjugalis, quia requiescit in corde humilium et quietorum et trementium verba ejus, sive eorum qui in synagoga jugum legis trahere noverunt: seu illorum qui gentili diu libertate effrenes, ejusdem synagogae instantia ad fidei et veritatis sunt gratiam conversi.
and shall delight in abundance of peace (Ps. 36:11). And the meek King gives the land of peace to the meek, that is, to the humble of heart, whom once, in the land of war and tribulations, the wicked king, that is, the devil, laid low with the wound of pride. Sitting, He says (Isa. 66:2), upon an ass and a colt, the foal of a beast of burden, because He rests in the heart of the humble and the quiet and of those who tremble at His words, whether of those who in the synagogue knew how to draw the yoke of the law, or of those who, long unbridled in Gentile licence, were converted to the grace of faith and truth by the earnestness of that same synagogue.
Adducentes autem asinam et pullum discipuli, imposuerunt super eos vestimenta sua, et Dominum desuper sedere fecerunt. Vestimenta discipulorum opera sunt justitiae, Psalmista teste, qui ait: Sacerdotes tui induantur justitiam [Al., justitia]. (Psalm. CXXXI.) Asinos quos nudos inveniunt discipuli, suis sternunt vestimentis, et ita desuper Dominum imponunt, cum praedicatores sancti quoslibet a sanctitatis habitu vacuos inveniunt, hosque virtutum suarum exemplis ad suscipiendam fidem et dilectionem sui conditoris imbuunt. Non enim nudam Dominus asinam, non nudum voluit ascendere pullum, quia sive Judaeus sive gentilis, nisi sanctorum fuerit dictis ornatus et actis, non potest Dominum habere rectorem, sed regnat potius peccatum in mortali ejus corpore ad obediendum concupiscentiis ejus.
And the disciples, bringing the ass and the colt, put their garments on them and made the Lord sit thereon (Matt. 21:7). The garments of the disciples are the works of justice, as the Psalmist witnesses, who says: Let Thy priests be clothed with justice [Al., in justice] (Ps. 131:9). The asses which the disciples find bare they cover with their own garments, and so set the Lord upon them, when holy preachers find any who are empty of the habit of holiness, and by the examples of their own virtues imbue them to receive the faith and the love of their Creator. For the Lord did not will to mount a bare ass or a bare colt, because whether Jew or Gentile, unless he has been adorned with the words and deeds of the saints, he cannot have the Lord as his ruler, but rather sin reigns in his mortal body, so that he obeys its lusts (Rom. 6:12).
Plurima autem turba straverunt vestimenta sua in via. Plurima haec turba innumerabilem martyrum designat exercitum, qui corpora sua, animarum videlicet tegumenta, pro Domino dabant, quo sequentibus electis planiorem recte vivendi callem facerent: ne qui videlicet dubitarent ibi pedem bonae actionis ponere in pace, ubi non paucos viderent in bello praecessisse martyrii.
And a very great crowd spread their garments in the way (Matt. 21:8). This very great crowd signifies the innumerable army of the martyrs, who gave their bodies, the coverings, that is, of their souls, for the Lord, so as to make for the elect who followed a smoother path of right living: so that, namely, they should not hesitate to set the foot of good action in peace where they saw that not a few had gone before in the war of martyrdom.
Alii autem caedebant ramos de arboribus, et sternebant in via. Rami arborum dicta sunt Patrum praecedentium exempla. Et quisquis in exemplum recte credendi sive operandi quid prophetae, quid apostoli, quidve caeteri sancti dixerunt seu fecerunt, pandit: ramos profecto de arboribus caedit, quibus iter asini Dominum portantis complanet, quia sententias de sanctorum libris excerpit, per quas simplicium Christi corda ne in via veritatis errent, aedificet.
And others cut branches from the trees and spread them in the way (Matt. 21:8). The branches of the trees are the sayings and examples of the Fathers who went before. And whoever lays open, as an example of right believing or acting, what the prophets, what the apostles, or what the other saints said or did, truly cuts branches from the trees with which to level the road of the ass that carries the Lord, because he draws out sentences from the books of the saints by which to build up the hearts of Christ's simple ones, so that they may not stray on the way of truth.
Turbae autem, quae praecedebant et quae sequebantur, clamabant dicentes: Hosanna filio David! Una eademque confessionis et laudationis voce Dominum, qui praeibant et qui sequuntur exaltant: quia una nimirum fides est eorum qui ante incarnationem Dominicam, et qui postea fuere probati, quamvis sacramenta habuerint pro temporum ratione disparia, Petro attestante, qui ait: Sed per gratiam Domini Jesu credimus salvari quemadmodum et illi (Act. XV). Quod autem aiunt, Hosanna filio David, hoc est quod in psalmo legitur: Domini est salus, et super populum tuum benedictio tua (Psalm. III), hoc est, quod in magnae devotione laudis in Apocalypsi sanctorum chorus resonat: Salus Deo nostro, qui sedit super thronum, et Agno (Apoc. VII).
And the crowds that went before and that followed cried out, saying: Hosanna to the son of David! (Matt. 21:9). Those who went before and those who follow exalt the Lord with one and the same voice of confession and praise: because there is indeed one faith of those who were approved before the Lord's incarnation and of those who were approved afterwards, although they had sacraments differing according to the order of the times, as Peter bears witness, who says: But through the grace of the Lord Jesus we believe that we are saved, in the same way as they also (Acts 15:11). And what they say, Hosanna to the son of David, is what is read in the psalm: Salvation is the Lord's, and Thy blessing is upon Thy people (Ps. 3:9); that is what the choir of the saints sounds forth in the Apocalypse in the devotion of great praise: Salvation to our God, Who sat upon the throne, and to the Lamb (Rev. 7:10).
Editors' notes and page, col. 123
Page
- running head: 123 BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS I[...] (rest of head beyond the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹et delectabuntur in multitudine›; B ‹tui induantur justitiam›; C ‹designat exercitum›; D ‹Turbae autem, quae praecedebant›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "humi⟨l⟩ibus": the l is lost in the type. "(Isai. LXVI)" is set where Migne prints it, after "Sedens, inquit"; it refers to the "requiescit…" clause (Isaiah 66:2). "(Psalm. CXXXI.)" is set with its stop inside the parenthesis as printed. "sequuntur" is set as printed, though the narrative tense would be sequebantur. Gospel and Romans references not printed by Migne are supplied in the English.
Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. In nomine Domini, in nomine Dei Patris significat, quod ipse alibi Judaeis non credentibus dicit: Ego veni in nomine Patris mei, et non recepistis me; si alius veniet in nomine suo, illum recipietis (Joan. V). Venit enim Christus in nomine Dei Patris, quia in omnibus quae gessit et dixit Patrem glorificare et glorificandum hominibus praedicare curavit. Veniet Antichristus in nomine suo, qui cum sit homo omnium nequissimus et diabolo comite plenus, non [Al. om. non] dedignabitur se Filium Dei cognominari: adversatur enim et extollitur super omne quod dicitur Deus, aut quod colitur. Assumunt autem versiculum laudis turbae de psalmo centesimo decimo septimo, quem de Domino cantatum nemo qui dubitet. Unde pulchre de ipso in eodem psalmo praemittitur: Lapidem quem reprobaverunt aedificantes, hic factus est in caput anguli; quia videlicet Christus, quem reprobaverunt Judaei aedificantes suarum decreta traditionum, factus est in munimentum utriusque populi credentis, Judaei scilicet et gentilis. Quod enim in psalmo lapis angularis vocatur Christus, hoc est utique quod in Evangelio praecedentium sequentiumque collaudatur voce turbarum. Quod autem in eisdem laudis prosecutione subjungitur, Hosanna, id est, salus sive salvifica in altissimis, perspicue docet adventum Domini in carne, non solum humani generis in terra, sed et angelorum in coelis esse salutem: quia †dum nos redempti ad superna perducimur, eorum profecto numerus, qui Satana cadente erat minoratus, impletur. Hic enim Paulus ait instaurari omnia in Christo, quae in coelis et quae in terra sunt in ipso (Ephes. I). Recte igitur Hosanna in altissimis in ejus laudem canitur, cujus tota incarnationis dispensatio pro implenda gloria patriae coelestis aderat. Proinde necesse est, fratres mei, ut ad promissam nobis patriam tota mentis devotione tendamus, semper recordantes quia, etsi angusta est via qua ingredimur, beata est mansio ad quam festinamus. Felicius quippe est per asperum iter ad regnum, quam per amoenum planumque ad supplicium duci. Felicius est continentia carnis temporali gaudium perenne mereri, quam pro lascivia parvi temporis aeternam lucrare vindictam. Ecce jejunium quadragesimale, Domino auxiliante, jam plurima ex parte complevimus, testis est unicuique conscientia sua; quia quanto districtius se sanctis his diebus Domino mancipasse meminit, tanto amplius gaudens sanctum Dominicae resurrectionis tempus exspectat. At si quem forte adhuc conscientia minus perfecte castigata accusat, nulli dubium quin pavidus ac tremens tantae solemnitatis praestolatur adventum. Nec tamen hic talis de salute diffidat, ne aliqua suorum numerositate vel enormitate scelerum confusus, barathrum desperatione incidat, juxta illud Salomonis: Impius cum venerit in profundum malorum, contemnet (Prov. XVIII): sed sollicite perpendat, quia si tempus annuae festivitatis, qua de auctoris nostri resurrectione laetamur, tanto vel gaudio castos, vel
Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord (Matt. 21:9). By "in the name of the Lord" he means "in the name of God the Father", as He Himself says elsewhere to the Jews who did not believe: I have come in the name of My Father, and you have not received Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive (John 5:43). For Christ came in the name of God the Father, because in all that He did and said He took care to glorify the Father and to proclaim Him to men as One to be glorified. Antichrist will come in his own name, who, being the most wicked of all men and filled with the devil as his companion, will not [Al. omits "not"] disdain to be called the Son of God: for he opposes and is exalted above all that is called God or that is worshipped (2 Thess. 2:4). Now the crowds take the verse of praise from the hundred and seventeenth psalm, which no one doubts was sung of the Lord. Hence it is fittingly said of Him earlier in the same psalm: The stone which the builders rejected, this has become the head of the corner (Ps. 117:22); because, namely, Christ, Whom the Jews rejected as they built up the decrees of their traditions, has become the bulwark of both believing peoples, namely the Jewish and the Gentile. For what Christ is called in the psalm, the corner stone, is indeed what He is praised as in the Gospel by the voice of the crowds going before and following. And what is added in the course of that same praise, Hosanna, that is, salvation, or "save", in the highest, plainly teaches that the coming of the Lord in the flesh is the salvation not only of the human race on earth, but also of the angels in heaven: because while we, redeemed, are led to the heights, their number, which had been diminished by the fall of Satan, is truly filled up. For this is why Paul says that all things are restored in Christ, those that are in heaven and those that are on earth, in Him (Eph. 1:10). Rightly then is Hosanna in the highest sung in praise of Him the whole dispensation of Whose incarnation was there to fill up the glory of the heavenly fatherland. Therefore, my brothers, we must strive towards the fatherland promised us with the whole devotion of our mind, always remembering that, though the way by which we go in is narrow, the dwelling to which we hasten is blessed. For it is happier to be led by a rough road to a kingdom than by a pleasant and level one to punishment. It is happier to earn everlasting joy by the temporal restraint of the flesh than to gain eternal vengeance for the wantonness of a short time. See, by the Lord's help we have now completed the greater part of the Lenten fast; each one's conscience is his witness; for the more strictly he remembers that he has given himself over to the Lord in these holy days, the more joyfully he awaits the holy time of the Lord's resurrection. But if his conscience perhaps still accuses someone as less perfectly chastened, no one doubts that he awaits the coming of so great a solemnity in fear and trembling. Yet let not such a one despair of salvation, lest, confounded by the number or the enormity of his crimes, he fall into the abyss through despair, according to that saying of Solomon: The wicked man, when he has come into the depth of evils, despises (Prov. 18:3); but let him weigh carefully that, if the time of the yearly festival in which we rejoice in the resurrection of our Author affects either the chaste with such great joy, or
Editors' notes and page, col. 124
Page
- running head: [...]S OPP. PARS III. — PARÆNETICA. 124 (start of head beyond the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹Benedictus qui venit›; B ‹chre de ipso in eodem›; C ‹fecto numerus, qui Satana›; D ‹gesimale, Domino auxiliante›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "†dum": the type looks like "duas" or a damaged "dum". The sense requires dum, so it is set and marked uncertain. "lucrare" (for lucrari) and "in eisdem laudis prosecutione" are set as printed. The 2 Thessalonians and Matthew references in the English are supplied. The column ends mid-sentence after "vel"; the verb, which continues in col. 125, is supplied as [finds].
impuros metu et confusione afficitur, multo magis in tempore districti examinis, quando generalis omnium resurrectio celebratur, et jam audita judicis sententia, hos conscientia munda excusans laetificat, illos noxia accusans in perpetuum damnat. Quicunque ergo, fratres dilectissimi, continentiae carnis armis accincti ab initio jam quadragesimali [Al., Quadragesimae] cum tentatore superbo certare coeperunt, videant caute ne coepta deserant, priusquam hoste prostrato ministeriis donentur angelicis. Qui vero hactenus armatura virtutum se non induit, vel hodie incipiat, hodie cum turbis illis fidelibus fidei opera assumat, imploret pietatem ejus qui in nomine Patris adveniens benedictionem mundo attulit, [Al., add. et] Hosanna in altissimis proclamans, salvari se superna in patria flagitet. Sternat [Al., sternet] vestimenta sua in via, id est, membra sui corporis humiliet in praesenti, ut exaltet Deus in futuro, memor illius Davidici quia exsultabunt ossa humiliata. Ramos de arboribus caedat, et sibi sternat in via, id est, sanctorum scripta sedulus ad memoriam revocet, quibus stantes ne cadant roborant, lapsos ne diutius jaceant hortantur, resurgentes ut virtutibus exerceantur instruunt, exercitatos virtutibus praemia in coelis ut sperent, erigunt: sicque [Al., hisque] gressus suae actionis, ne in lapidem offensionis et petram scandali offendant, praemuniat, ac sic etiam ipse cum caeteris fidelibus redemptoris sui vestigia sequatur, passionisque ac resurrectionis ejus mysteria digna mentis puritate veneretur, qui [Al., quae] electis omnibus membris videlicet suis in remedium vulnerum simul et coelestium gaudiorum pignus dare dignatus est Jesus Christus Dominus noster, qui vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
the impure with fear and confusion, much more [will] the time of the strict examination, when the general resurrection of all is celebrated, and, the judge's sentence now heard, a clean conscience excusing these makes them glad, a guilty one accusing those condemns them for ever. Whoever, then, dearly beloved brothers, girt with the arms of the restraint of the flesh, have from the very beginning of Lent [Al., of the Lent] begun to contend with the proud tempter, let them see carefully that they do not abandon what they have begun before, the enemy laid low, they are granted the ministry of angels. But he who until now has not put on the armour of the virtues, let him begin at least today; today let him take up the works of faith with those faithful crowds, let him implore the goodness of Him Who, coming in the name of the Father, brought blessing to the world, and [Al., adds "and"] crying Hosanna in the highest, let him pray earnestly to be saved in the heavenly fatherland. Let him spread [Al., he will spread] his garments in the way, that is, let him humble the members of his body in the present, so that God may exalt him in the future, mindful of that saying of David's, that the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice (Ps. 50:10). Let him cut branches from the trees and spread them for himself in the way, that is, let him diligently call to memory the writings of the saints, which strengthen those who stand so that they do not fall, exhort the fallen not to lie longer, instruct those who rise again to be exercised in the virtues, and lift up those exercised in the virtues to hope for rewards in heaven: and thus [Al., and with these] let him fortify the steps of his action, so that they do not strike against the stone of stumbling and the rock of offence, and so let him too, with the rest of the faithful, follow the footsteps of his Redeemer, and venerate with fitting purity of mind the mysteries of His passion and resurrection, which [Al., which] Jesus Christ our Lord deigned to give to all the elect, namely His members, as a remedy for wounds and at the same time a pledge of heavenly joys, Who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, through all ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILIA XXIV. IN FERIA SECUNDA POST DOMINICAM PALMARUM.
HOMILY XXIV. ON THE MONDAY AFTER PALM SUNDAY.
JOAN. XII. In illo tempore ante sex dies paschae venit Jesus Bethaniam, ubi fuerat Lazarus mortuus, quem suscitavit Jesus, etc.
JOHN 12. At that time, six days before the Pasch, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus had died, whom Jesus raised, etc. (John 12:1).
Moris esse prudentium solet, non solum ex eis, quae recte apprehenderint [Al., ac prudenter], verum etiam ex illis quae aliter gesta seu dicta cognoverint, prudentiae discere virtutem: haec nimirum ut imitentur sequendo, illa ne incurrant devitando. Quod nos, fratres dilectissimi, in hodierna sancti Evangelii lectione facere ratio cogit, non tantum videlicet devotionem amatorum Christi ad exemplum discere virtutis, sed [Al. add. et] perfidiam considerare, et consideratam citius declinare persequentium. Sequamur enim necesse est illarum prudentiam feminarum quas tanta fide et dilectione Domino adhaesisse cognovimus; fugiamus insipientiam pontificum et Pharisaeorum, qui sapientiam Dei circumvenire insidiis et interficere quaerebant; caveamus dementiam eorum qui sanctificandi propter pascha Hierosolymam ascenderant, sed obliti sanctificationis, in ipsa domo orationis de Salvatoris nece tractabant. Imminebat pascha, quo sanctificatum quemque ac
It is the custom of the prudent to learn the virtue of prudence not only from those things which they have rightly grasped [Al., and prudently], but also from those which they have come to know were done or said otherwise: the former, namely, so as to imitate them by following, the latter so as not to fall into them by avoiding them. This, dearly beloved brothers, reason compels us to do in today's reading of the holy Gospel: namely, not only to learn the devotion of the lovers of Christ as an example of virtue, but [Al. adds "also"] to consider the faithlessness of the persecutors and, having considered it, to turn from it all the sooner. For we must follow the prudence of those women whom we know to have clung to the Lord with such great faith and love; let us flee the folly of the chief priests and Pharisees, who sought to circumvent the Wisdom of God with snares and to kill Him; let us beware the madness of those who had gone up to Jerusalem to be sanctified for the Pasch, but, forgetful of sanctification, in the very house of prayer were plotting the Saviour's death. The Pasch was at hand, at which each one, sanctified and
Editors' notes and page, col. 125
Page
- running head: 125 SECT. I. HOMILIÆ. — LIB. I. (page number badly struck)
- marginal letters: A ‹impuros metu et confusione›; B ‹mans, salvari se superna›; C ‹ejus mysteria digna›; D ‹imitentur sequendo›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "Imminebat": the type is broken but the word is legible. The Gospel reference line is printed on the same paragraph as the lemma, so it is set with the lemma. The Psalm 50:10 and John 12:1 references in the English are supplied. The column ends mid-sentence after "ac".
mundum ad esum agni venire oporteret: et ipsi qui sanctificandi ad templum ascenderant, sordidiores jam de conspiratione effundendi sanguinis descendebant. Curemus solerter [Al., sollicite], quia paschae nostri tempus appropiat. In [Al., Ut] illo jam veniente sanctificati ad altare Dominicum accedamus, non agni carnes comesuri, sed nostri Redemptoris mysteria sancta sumpturi. Mundemus nos ab omni inquinamento carnis et spiritus, perficientes sanctificationem in timore Dei. Nemo domum orationis convertat in speluncam latronum, nemo membris Christi mortis laqueos substernat, nemo manens adhuc in morte ad accipienda vitae mysteria praesumat accedere: qui enim non diligit, manet in morte. Diligamus Christum in seipso, diligamus in membris ejus, quaeramus Dominum, et vivet anima nostra, quaeramus autem eum, non sicut impii ad occidendum, sed ut fideles ad perpetuo fruendum. Quaerebant, inquit, Jesum, et colloquebantur adinvicem in templo stantes. Quid putatis, quia non venit ad diem festum? Quaerebant enim Judaei Jesum, sed male: quaerebant eum ut venientem ad diem festum interficerent. Quaeramus autem nos illum stantem in templo Dei, et perseverantes unanimiter in oratione, et colloquamur adinvicem psalmis, hymnis, canticis spiritualibus, in gratia postulantes ipsum, ut venire ad diem festum nostrum, et sua nos praesentia illustrare, sua ipse nobis dona sanctificare dignetur.
clean should come to eat the lamb: and the very men who had gone up to the temple to be sanctified were already coming down fouler from the conspiracy to shed blood. Let us take careful [Al., anxious] heed, for the time of our Pasch draws near. When [Al., That] it now comes, let us approach the Lord's altar sanctified, not to eat the flesh of a lamb, but to receive the holy mysteries of our Redeemer. Let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting sanctification in the fear of God (2 Cor. 7:1). Let no one turn the house of prayer into a den of robbers; let no one lay the snares of death under the members of Christ; let no one, still abiding in death, presume to approach to receive the mysteries of life: for he who does not love abides in death (1 John 3:14). Let us love Christ in Himself, let us love Him in His members; let us seek the Lord, and our soul shall live (Ps. 68:33); but let us seek Him not as the wicked did, to kill Him, but as the faithful, to enjoy Him for ever. They sought Jesus, it says, and spoke with one another as they stood in the temple: What do you think? That He has not come to the feast day? (John 11:56). For the Jews sought Jesus, but wickedly: they sought Him so as to kill Him when He came to the feast day. But let us seek Him standing in the temple of God, and persevering with one mind in prayer, and let us speak with one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual canticles, in grace, asking Him to deign to come to our feast day, to enlighten us with His presence, and Himself to sanctify His gifts for us.
Dederant autem pontifices et Pharisaei mandatum, ut si quis cognoverit ubi sit, indicet, ut apprehendant eum. Demus et nos invicem mandatum, fratres mei, ut si quis cognoverit in cujus corde fratris uberiora sint viscera misericordiae, major humilitas, benignitas, modestia, potentia, caeterarumque abundantior copia virtutum, praesentis videlicet indicia Christi, indicet confestim ubi sit talis, ut vestigia Christi quae apud eum sunt inventa fideliter imitando teneamus. Sciens autem Dominus conspirasse de se occidendo Judaeos, non fugit insidiantium manus, sed certus de gloria resurrectionis primo venit Bethaniam, proximam Hierosolymis civitatem, ubi Lazarum suscitaverat a mortuis, deinde etiam Hierosolymam, ubi ipse pateretur et resurgeret a mortuis: Hierosolymam quidem, ut ipse ibi moreretur; Bethaniam vero, ut suscitatio Lazari cunctorum memoriae arctius imprimeretur, et magis magisque confunderentur, atque inexcusabiles convincerentur impii principes, qui occidere non timerent eum qui suscitare possit a mortuis, et nec beneficiis suscitationis provocati, nec divina suscitantis virtute perterriti, animos ab injusta caede retraherent. Et ne dicerent machinatores calumniarum, phantastice suscitatum fuisse Lazarum, facta ibi Domino coena, et ipse unus erat ex discumbentibus cum eo, ut dum viventem, loquentem, epulantem, cum suis familiariter conversantem viderent sive audirent, vel suscitantis potentiam agnoscerent, et acciperent gratiam, vel obdurato corde nolentes veritati acquiescere, incurrerent poenam. Mystice autem coena
Now the chief priests and Pharisees had given an order that, if anyone knew where He was, he should tell, so that they might seize Him (John 11:57). Let us too, my brothers, give one another an order, that if anyone knows in the heart of which brother there are richer bowels of mercy, greater humility, kindness, modesty, power, and a more abundant store of the other virtues, which are the signs, namely, of Christ present, he should tell at once where such a one is, so that by faithfully imitating we may hold to the footsteps of Christ that are found in him. Now the Lord, knowing that the Jews had conspired to kill Him, did not flee the hands of those lying in wait, but, certain of the glory of the resurrection, came first to Bethany, the town nearest to Jerusalem, where He had raised Lazarus from the dead, and then also to Jerusalem, where He was to suffer and rise again from the dead: to Jerusalem, that He Himself might die there; to Bethany, that the raising of Lazarus might be imprinted more firmly on the memory of all, and the wicked rulers might be more and more confounded and convicted without excuse, who did not fear to kill Him Who could raise from the dead, and who, neither won by the benefits of the raising nor terrified by the divine power of Him Who raised, would draw back their minds from unjust slaughter. And lest the contrivers of slanders should say that Lazarus had been raised in appearance only, a supper was made there for the Lord, and he was one of those reclining with Him (John 12:2), so that, when they saw or heard him living, speaking, feasting, conversing familiarly with his own, they might either acknowledge the power of Him Who raised him and receive grace, or, unwilling with hardened heart to yield to the truth, incur punishment. But mystically the supper
Editors' notes and page, col. 126
Page
- running head: [...]Æ. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINÆ. 126 (start of head beyond the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹mundum ad esum agni›; B ‹ejus, quaeramus Dominum›; C ‹ut si quis cognoverit ubi sit›; D ‹retur; Bethaniam vero›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "potentia" in the list of virtues is set as printed; patientia may have been meant. The last word, "coena", is badly struck but legible. Scripture references in the English are supplied; Migne prints none in this column.
haec Dominica, ubi Martha ministrabat, et Lazarus inter alios discumbebat, fides est Ecclesiae quae per dilectionem operatur: unde alibi Dominus de credituris in se populis dicit ad discipulos: Ego cibum habeo manducare, quem vos nescitis (Joan. IV). Et hoc exponens adjunxit: Meus cibus est, ut faciam voluntatem ejus qui misit me, ut perficiam opus ejus. In qua coena Martha ministrat, cum anima quaeque fidelis operam Domino suae devotionis impendit; Lazarus vero unus fit ex discumbentibus cum Domino, cum etiam ii qui post peccatorum mortem resuscitati ad justitiam sunt, una cum eis qui in sua permansere justitia, de praesentia veritatis exsultant, poenitentes simul cum innocentibus coelestis gratiae muneribus aluntur. Et bene eadem coena in Bethania celebratur, quae est civitas in latere montis Oliveti, et interpretatur domus obedientiae. Domus namque obedientiae Ecclesia est, quae fideliter Domini jussis obtemperat: et ipsa est civitas, quae super montem misericordiae constituta, nunquam potest abscondi, ipsaque de sui latere constructa Redemptoris, id est, aqua ablutionis et sanguine sanctificationis, quae de ipsius latere pro se morientis exiere, imbuta est: ubi etiam altera soror Lazari Maria in magnae indicium dilectionis, sicut sequentia monstrant evangelicae lectionis, accepit libram unguenti nardi pistici pretiosi, et unxit pedes Jesu, et extersit capillis suis pedes ejus. Quo facto non solum suae dat indicium devotionis, sed et aliarum fidelium Deo animarum signat pietatis obsequium. Sed prius notandum quod, sicut narrantibus Matthaeo et Marco didicimus, non solum pedes Domini Maria, sed et caput nardo perfudit. Nec dubitandum est quin et ipsa sit mulier, quae, sicut evangelista Lucas refert (Luc. VII), quondam peccatrix ad Dominum cum alabastro venit unguenti, et stans retro secus pedes ejus, lacrymis coepit rigare pedes ejus, et capillis capitis sui tergebat, et osculabatur pedes ejus, et unguento ungebat. Eadem ergo est mulier, sed ibi pedes solum Domini prona unguebat, et hoc inter poenitentiae lacrymas, hic autem [Al. add. inter] gaudia justae operationis et pedes ungere, et ad caput quoque ungendum non dubitavit erigi. Ibi quippe rudimenta poenitentium, hic justitiam perfectarum designat animarum, unde recte tunc mensura unguenti non dicitur, nunc autem libra fuisse perhibetur. Quid namque per libram unguenti, nisi perfectio justitiae exprimitur? Tunc quale fuerit unguentum tacetur, nunc quia nardi pistici, id est fidelis neque extraneis speciebus adulterati, sed pretiosi fuerit indicatur, ut perfectae fidei et actionis quae sit castitas intimetur. Per caput autem Domini quod unxit Maria, sublimitas divinitatis ejus, per pedes humilitas incarnationis exprimitur. Et pedes ungimus ejus, cum mysterium susceptae incarnationis debita laude praedicamus; caput ungimus, cum excellentiam divinitatis digna verbi opinione veneramur. Quid enim per unguentum, nisi bonus odor opinionis insinuatur? Paulo attestante, qui ait: Deo autem gratias, qui semper triumphat nos in Christo Jesu, et odorem
this supper of the Lord, at which Martha served and Lazarus reclined among the others, is the faith of the Church which works through love: hence elsewhere the Lord, speaking of the peoples who were to believe in Him, says to the disciples: I have food to eat which you do not know (John 4:32). And explaining this, He added: My food is to do the will of Him Who sent Me, that I may accomplish His work (John 4:34). At this supper Martha serves when each faithful soul spends the labour of its devotion on the Lord; and Lazarus becomes one of those reclining with the Lord when those also who after the death of sins have been raised again to justice exult in the presence of the Truth together with those who remained in their justice, and penitents are fed with the gifts of heavenly grace together with the innocent. And well is this supper held in Bethany, which is a town on the side of the Mount of Olives and is interpreted "house of obedience". For the house of obedience is the Church, which faithfully obeys the Lord's commands: and she is the city which, set upon the mount of mercy, can never be hidden, and which, built from the side of her Redeemer, has been imbued, that is, with the water of washing and the blood of sanctification which came out of the side of Him Who died for her: where also the other sister of Lazarus, Mary, as a sign of great love, as the sequel of the Gospel reading shows, took a pound of ointment of precious spikenard, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair (John 12:3). By this deed she not only gives a sign of her own devotion, but also marks the dutiful service of the other souls faithful to God. But first it should be noted that, as we have learned from the narratives of Matthew and Mark, Mary poured the nard not only on the feet of the Lord but on His head as well. Nor is it to be doubted that she is the same woman who, as the evangelist Luke relates (Luke 7:37–38), formerly a sinner, came to the Lord with an alabaster box of ointment, and standing behind at His feet, began to wash His feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with ointment. It is the same woman, then; but there she anointed only the feet of the Lord, bowed down, and that amid the tears of penitence, while here [Al. adds "amid"] the joys of just working she both anointed His feet and did not hesitate to rise up to anoint His head too. For there she signifies the beginnings of penitents, here the justice of perfected souls; hence rightly the measure of the ointment is not stated then, but now it is said to have been a pound. For what is expressed by a pound of ointment but the perfection of justice? Then, what kind of ointment it was is passed over in silence; now it is indicated that it was of spikenard, that is, faithful and not adulterated with foreign kinds, and precious, so that the purity of perfect faith and action may be made known. By the head of the Lord which Mary anointed is expressed the sublimity of His divinity, by the feet the humility of His incarnation. And we anoint His feet when we proclaim the mystery of the incarnation He assumed with due praise; we anoint His head when we venerate the excellence of His divinity with a worthy esteem of the Word. For what is suggested by the ointment but the good odour of esteem? As Paul bears witness, who says: But thanks be to God, Who always triumphs over us in Christ Jesus, and the odour
Editors' notes and page, col. 127
Page
- running head: 127 BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS I[...] (rest of head beyond the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹haec Dominica, ubi Martha›; B ‹tur domus obedientiae›; C ‹tibus Matthaeo et Marco›; D ‹tur. Quid namque per libram›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "nos" in "triumphat nos" is blurred in the type but legible. Gospel and 2 Corinthians references in the English are supplied where Migne prints none. The column ends mid-quotation (2 Corinthians 2:14).
notitiae suae manifestat per nos in omni loco (II ⟨Cor⟩. II). Potest quoque per caput Domini [Al. add. ipse] mediator Dei et hominum, qui est caput Ecclesiae, recte significari; per pedes autem ultima quaelibet membra ejus non inconvenienter intelligi, de quibus in fine dicturus est: Quandiu fecistis uni de his fratribus meis minimis, mihi fecistis (Matth. XXV). Et caput ungimus Domini, cum divinitatis [Al. add. pariter et humanitatis] ejus gloriam digna fidei, spei, charitatis dulcedine complectimur, cum laudem nominis ejus bene vivendo dilatamus. Pedes ungimus Domini, cum pauperes ejus verbo consolationis ne desperare in pressuris debeant, refovemus. Eosdem capillis nostris extergimus, cum de rebus quae nobis superfluunt egentium necessitati communicamus: fitque de nobis quod sequitur:
of His knowledge He makes manifest through us in every place (2 Cor. 2:14). By the head of the Lord too the [Al. adds "very"] mediator of God and men, Who is the head of the Church, may rightly be signified; and by the feet His least members, whoever they are, may not unfittingly be understood, of whom He will say at the end: As long as you did it to one of these My least brothers, you did it to Me (Matt. 25:40). And we anoint the Lord's head when we embrace the glory of His divinity [Al. adds "and humanity alike"] with the worthy sweetness of faith, hope and charity, when we spread the praise of His name by living well. We anoint the Lord's feet when we revive His poor with a word of consolation, so that they may not despair in their afflictions. We wipe those same feet with our hair when we share what we have to spare with the need of the destitute: and there comes about in us what follows:
Et domus impleta est ex odore unguenti. Quia pro modulo nostro mundus impletur [Al., implebitur] ex opinione devotionis, qua Deum et proximum simplici puroque corde venerari ac diligere probamur: fitque quod in amoris Cantico sponsa gloriatur, dum esset rex in accubitu suo, nardus mea dedit odorem suum. Ubi aperte quid Maria semel fecerit, typice autem quid omnis Ecclesia, quid anima quaeque perfecta semper faciat, ostenditur.
And the house was filled with the odour of the ointment (John 12:3). Because, in our small measure, the world is filled [Al., will be filled] with the repute of the devotion by which we are shown to venerate and love God and neighbour with a simple and pure heart: and there comes about what the bride glories in, in the Song of love: While the king was at his couch, my spikenard gave forth its odour (Song 1:11). In which is shown openly what Mary once did, but in figure what the whole Church and every perfect soul always does.
Dixit ergo unus ex discipulis ejus Judas Iscariotes, qui erat eum traditurus: Quare hoc unguentum non vendidit [Vulg., veniit] trecentis denariis, et datum est egenis? Vae impio traditori, vae complicibus nequitiae ejus, etiam nunc membra Christi persequentibus, qui famam virtutis, quam ipsi habere non merentur, proximis, qui hanc habent, invidere non cessant! Et quidem putare possemus Judam cura pauperum haec fuisse locutum, sed prodit mentem illius testis verax, qui ait:
Then one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was about to betray Him, said: Why did she not sell [Vulg., was it not sold for] this ointment for three hundred denarii, and it was given to the needy? (John 12:4–5). Woe to the wicked betrayer, woe to the accomplices of his wickedness who even now persecute the members of Christ, who do not cease to envy their neighbours who have it the repute of virtue which they themselves do not deserve to have! And indeed we might suppose that Judas said this out of care for the poor, but the truthful witness reveals his mind, who says:
Dixit autem hoc, non quia de egenis pertinebat ad eum, sed quia fur erat, et loculos habens, ea quae mittebantur, exportabat [Vulg., portabat]. Non ergo tunc Judas periit, quando pecunia corruptus Dominum prodidit, sed jam perditus Dominum sequebatur, qui loculos habens Dominicos, ea quae mittebantur in iis non solum in ejus ministerio portare, sed etiam furto exportare solebat. Videns enim Dominus cor Judae cupiditatis jam sorde pollutum, praevidens pejoris proditionis sorde polluendum, commisit ejus fidei quidquid habebat in sacculis, eumque de his quae vellet facere, permisit, ut vel collati honoris, vel habitae memoria pecuniae mentem ab ipsius venditione revocaret. Verum quia semper avarus eget, neque unquam beneficiorum perfidus meminit, impius a furto pecuniae quam portabat pervenit ad traditionem Domini qui commendabat.
Now he said this, not because he cared for the needy, but because he was a thief, and having the purse, he carried off [Vulg., carried] what was put in (John 12:6). So Judas did not perish at the moment when, corrupted by money, he betrayed the Lord; he was already lost when he followed the Lord, for, having the Lord's purse, he was accustomed not only to carry what was put into it for His service but also to carry it off by theft. For the Lord, seeing the heart of Judas already defiled with the filth of greed, and foreseeing that it would be defiled with the filth of a worse betrayal, entrusted to his good faith whatever He had in the bags, and allowed him to do with it what he wished, so that the memory either of the honour conferred or of the money held might call his mind back from selling Him. But because the greedy man is always in want, and the faithless man never remembers benefits, the wicked one went on from the theft of the money he carried to the betrayal of the Lord Who had entrusted it to him.
Dixit ergo Jesus: Sine illam, ut in diem sepulturae meae servet illud. Quasi innocenter interroganti Judae Dominus simpliciter et mansuete, quo ministerium Mariae pertineret, exposuit: quia ipse videlicet moriturus, et ad sepeliendum aromatibus esset ungendus. Ideoque Mariae, cui ad unctionem mortui corporis ejus, quamvis multum desideranti pervenire
Then Jesus said: Let her be, that she may keep it for the day of My burial (John 12:7). To Judas, as though he were asking innocently, the Lord simply and gently explained what Mary's service signified: namely, that He was to die and to be anointed with spices for burial. And so to Mary, who, though she greatly desired to come to the anointing of His dead body,
Editors' notes and page, col. 128
Page
- running head: [...]S OPP. PARS III. — PARÆNETICA. 128 (start of head beyond the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹notitiae suae manifestat›; B ‹de nobis quod sequitur›; C ‹ejus, etiam nunc membra›; D ‹proditionis sorde polluendum›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "(II ⟨Cor⟩. II)": the abbreviation Cor is lost in damaged type; II … II are legible. "de egenis pertinebat" is set as printed. Gospel and Song references in the English are supplied. The column ends mid-sentence after "pervenire".
n⟨o⟩n liceret, donatum sit viventi adhuc impendere obsequium, quod post mortem celeri resurrectione praeventa nequiret: unde bene Marcus Dominum de illa dixisse testatur: Quod habuit, haec fecit: praevenit ungere corpus meum in s⟨e⟩pulturam (Marc. XIV). Quod est aperte dicere: Quia corpus meum jam defuncti tangere non poterit, solum quod nunc potuit, fecit, praevenit vivum adhuc funerandi officio donare.
it was not permitted, it was granted her to render to Him while still living the service which, forestalled by His swift resurrection, she could not render after His death. Hence Mark rightly testifies that the Lord said of her: "What she had, she has done: she has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial" (Mark 14:8). This is to say plainly: Since she will not be able to touch My body once it is dead, she has done the only thing she now could; she has come beforehand to bestow on it, while still living, the office of burial.
Pauperes enim semper habetis vobiscum, me autem non semper habetis. Et hic magnae moderamine patientiae Dominus non Judam arguit avaritiae, et non pauperum gratia de pecunia loqui, sed ex ratione demonstrat non esse culpandos eos qui ei inter homines conversanti de facultatibus suis ministrarent, cum tam parvo tempore ipse apud Ecclesiam corporaliter mansurus, pauperes autem, quibus eleemosyna fieri posset, in ea semper essent habendi.
"For the poor you have always with you, but Me you do not always have." Here too, with the restraint of great patience, the Lord does not accuse Judas of avarice and of speaking about the money not for the sake of the poor, but shows by reason that those who ministered to Him from their means while He lived among men were not to be blamed, since He Himself was to remain bodily with the Church for so short a time, whereas the poor, to whom alms could be given, would always be found in her.
Cognovit ergo turba multa ex Judaeis quia illic esset, et venerunt non propter Jesum tantum, sed ut Lazarum viderent, quem suscitavit a mortuis. Curiositas hos, non charitas, adduxit ad Jesum. Sed nos versa vice, fratres charissimi, si cognoscimus ubi Jesus est, ubi mansionem facit, ubi Bethaniam, id est, domum animae obedientis in qua habitet, invenit, veniamus illuc contemplatione, non propter hominem tantum, quem a morte animae suscitatum spiritualiter vivere donavit, sed ut bonam hominis vitam imitando per hoc ad visionem Jesu pertingere mereamur: quia pro certo cognovimus ubi Jesus est. Resurrexit enim post mortem, et ascendit in coelum, ibi habet mansionem perpetuam. Ipsa est vera Bethania, civitas scilicet coelestis, quam nullus valet nisi obediens intrare. Studeamus igitur venire illuc internis cordis affectibus, suspiremus illuc ipsum domus illius conditorem, petamus omnes, petamus singuli, ut inhabitemus in domo ejus omnibus diebus vitae nostrae, non ut Lazarum ibi videamus quem suscitavit a mortuis, sed ut ipsi cum Lazaro et caeteris sanctis resuscitati a mortuis, videamus voluntatem Domini, et protegamur a templo sancto ejus.
"So a great crowd of the Jews learned that He was there, and they came not only on account of Jesus, but that they might see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead." Curiosity, not charity, brought these to Jesus. But let us, the other way about, dearly beloved brethren, if we know where Jesus is, where He makes His dwelling, where He finds a Bethany, that is, a house of the obedient soul, in which to dwell, come there in contemplation, not on account of the man only, whom, raised from the death of the soul, He has granted to live spiritually, but so that by imitating the man's good life we may through this deserve to attain to the vision of Jesus: for we know for certain where Jesus is. For He rose again after death and ascended into heaven; there He has an everlasting dwelling. That is the true Bethany, namely the heavenly city, which no one can enter unless he is obedient. Let us strive, then, to come there with the inward affections of the heart; let us sigh thither for the very founder of that house; let us ask all together, let us ask each one, that we may dwell in His house all the days of our life (Ps. 26:4), not that we may see there Lazarus whom He raised from the dead, but that we ourselves, raised from the dead with Lazarus and the other saints, may see the will of the Lord and be protected by His holy temple (Ps. 26:4).
Cogitaverunt autem principes sacerdotum, ut [Al, add. et] Lazarum interficerent: quia multi propter illum abibant ex Judaeis, et credebant in Jesum. O caeca caecorum versutia, occidere velle suscitatum, quasi non possit suscitare occisum, qui poterat defunctum! Et quidem se utrumque posse docuit, qui et Lazarum defunctum, et seipsum suscitavit occisum. Sed nos, fratres, relicta malitia perfidorum, sequamur devotionem fidelium, abeamus ab impiorum contubernio, non sedeamus in consilio vanitatis, et cum iniqua gerentibus non introemus; credamus in eum qui non tantum corpus, sed et animam salvat a morte, servemusque operando quod credimus, ut credentes vitam aeternam habeamus in nomine ejus, qui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
"But the chief priests planned to kill Lazarus [also]: because on his account many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus." O blind cunning of the blind, to wish to kill one raised up, as though He could not raise up one slain who could raise one dead! And indeed He showed that He could do both, Who raised both Lazarus when dead and Himself when slain. But let us, brethren, leaving behind the malice of the faithless, follow the devotion of the faithful; let us go away from the fellowship of the ungodly; let us not sit in the council of vanity, and let us not go in with those who do iniquity (Ps. 25:4); let us believe in Him Who saves from death not only the body but also the soul, and let us keep by our works what we believe, so that believing we may have eternal life in His name, Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Editors' notes and page, col. 129
Footnotes
(a) ‹anchor: internis cordis affectibus› · call in col 129
Al. : totis animi viribus tendamus illuc.
Another reading: let us strive thither with all the strength of the mind.
(printed under page 69)
Page
- running head: SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. H[...] (right part of the head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹non liceret, donatum sit›; B ‹cum tam parvo tempore›; C ‹pro certo cognovimus ubi Jesus›; D ‹caeca caecorum versutia›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
HOMILIA XXV. IN COENA DOMINI. JOANN. XIII. Ante diem festum Paschae, sciens Jesus quia venit hora ejus ut transeat ex hoc mundo ad Patrem, cum dilexisset suos qui erant in mundo, in finem dilexit eos. Et coena facta, cum diabolus jam misisset in cor, ut traderet eum Judas Simonis Iscariotae, etc.
HOMILY XXV. ON THE LORD'S SUPPER. JOHN 13. Before the festival day of the Pasch, Jesus, knowing that His hour had come that He should pass out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, loved them to the end. And when supper was over, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Him, etc. (John 13:1–2).
Scripturus evangelista Joannes memorabile illud Domini mysterium, quo discipulis in Pascha, priusquam ad passionem iret, pedes lavare dignatus est, primo ipsum nomen Paschae, quid mystice significaret aperire curavit, ita incipiens: Ante diem festum Paschae, sciens Jesus quia venit hora ejus, ut transeat ex hoc mundo ad Patrem, cum dilexisset suos qui erant in mundo, in finem dilexit eos. Pascha quippe transitus interpretatur, nomen ex eo vetus habens quod transierit in eo Dominus per Aegyptum, percutiens primogenita Aegypti, et filios Israel liberans, et quod ipsi filii Israel transierint illa nocte de Aegyptia servitute, ut venirent ad terram promissae olim haereditatis et pacis. Mystice autem significans quod in eo Dominus transiturus esset ex hoc mundo ad Patrem, et quod ejus exemplo fideles abjectis temporalibus desideriis, abjecta vitiorum servitute, continuis virtutum studiis transire debeant ad promissionem patriae coelestis. Quomodo autem transierit Jesus ex hoc mundo ad Patrem, pulchro sermone designat Joannes evangelista, cum dicit: Cum dilexisset suos qui erant in mundo, in finem dilexit eos, id est in tantum dilexit, ut ipsa dilectione vitam ad tempus finiret corporalem, mox de morte ad vitam, de hoc mundo transiturus ad Patrem. Majorem namque hac dilectionem nemo habet, ut animam suam quis ponat pro amicis suis. Unde recte uterque transitus, et legalis videlicet et evangelicus, sanguine consecratus est. Ille agui paschalis, iste ejus de quo dicit Apostolus: Etenim pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus (I Cor. V). Iste sanguine fuso in cruce, ille in crucis modum medio limine, et superluminari mediis asperso in postibus.
The evangelist John, about to write of that memorable mystery of the Lord in which, at the Pasch, before He went to His passion, He deigned to wash His disciples' feet, took care first to disclose what the very name of the Pasch signified mystically, beginning thus: "Before the festival day of the Pasch, Jesus, knowing that His hour had come that He should pass out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, loved them to the end." For Pasch is interpreted "passing over", the old feast having its name from the fact that on it the Lord passed through Egypt, striking the firstborn of Egypt and setting free the children of Israel, and that the children of Israel themselves passed over that night out of Egyptian slavery, that they might come to the land of the inheritance and peace promised of old. Mystically, however, it signifies that on it the Lord was to pass over out of this world to the Father, and that by His example the faithful, casting off temporal desires, casting off the slavery of the vices, ought to pass over by continual pursuit of the virtues to the promised heavenly fatherland. And how Jesus passed over out of this world to the Father, John the evangelist marks out in fine words when he says: "Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end", that is, He loved them so much that by that very love He ended for a time His bodily life, being soon to pass over from death to life, from this world to the Father. For greater love than this no one has, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13). Hence both passings over, namely the one of the Law and the one of the Gospel, were rightly consecrated with blood: the former with that of the paschal lamb, the latter with that of Him of Whom the Apostle says: "For Christ our pasch has been sacrificed" (1 Cor. 5:7). The latter by the blood shed on the cross; the former by blood sprinkled in the form of a cross, on the middle of the lintel and the upper doorpost, and in the middle of the side posts.
Et coena, inquit, facta, cum diabolus jam misisset in cor ut traderet eum Judas Simonis Iscariotae, sciens quia omnia dedit ei Pater in manus, et quia a Deo exivit, et ad Deum vadit, surgit a coena, et ponit vestimenta sua. Locuturus de maxima humilitate assumptae humanitatis prius commemorat aeternitatem divinae potestatis, ut et ipsum verum Deum hominemque demonstret, et ut nos illius praecepti admoneat, ut quanto magni sumus, humiliemur in omnibus. Homo namque erat verus, qui hominum pedes tangere ac lavare, per hominem tradi, atque ab hominibus poterat crucifigi: Deus erat verus, cui omnia dedit Pater in manus, quia a Deo exivit, et ad Deum rediit. Sciebat ergo Dominus quia diabolus jam miserat in corde Judae, ut traderet eum, sciebat quia omnia dedit ei Pater in manus: inter quae omnia et ipsum traditorem, et eos quibus tradendus erat, et mortem quam erat passurus, ut de his omnibus quae vellet,
"And when supper was over," he says, "the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Him, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He came forth from God and goes to God, He rises from supper and lays aside His garments." Being about to speak of the very great humility of the humanity He assumed, he first recalls the eternity of His divine power, both to show Him to be true God and man, and to remind us of that precept, that the greater we are, the more we should humble ourselves in all things (Sir. 3:20). For He was true man, Who could touch and wash men's feet, be betrayed by a man, and be crucified by men; He was true God, into Whose hands the Father had given all things, since He came forth from God and returned to God. The Lord knew, then, that the devil had already put it in the heart of Judas to betray Him; He knew that the Father had given all things into His hands: among all these, the betrayer himself, and those to whom He was to be betrayed, and the death which He was to suffer, so that of all these whatever He willed
Editors' notes and page, col. 130
Page
- running head: SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. I. HOM. GENUINAE.
- marginal letters: A ‹HOMILIA XXV.›; B ‹transitus interpretatur›; C ‹id est in tantum dilexit›; D ‹menta sua. Locuturus›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column ends mid-sentence after "quae vellet,". "eum" in "ut traderet eum, sciebat" is blotted but legible.
faceret, malumque eorum sua potentia converteret in bonum. Sciebat quia per humilitatem incarnationis a Deo exivit, et per victoriam resurrectionis ad Deum erat rediturus, nec Deum cum inde exiret, nec nos deserens cum rediret. Sciebat quidem omnia haec, et tamen in magnae suae indicium pietatis, in magnae nostrae exemplum humilitatis surgit a coena, et ponit vestimenta sua, lavit pedes discipulorum, non Dei Domini, sed hominis servi implens officium, ut ejus quoque pedes humiliter ablueret, cujus manus in sua traditione noverat procaciter esse polluendas. Quod si altiori indagine mysterium hoc humillimum nostri Salvatoris pertractare delectat, coena haec sacrosancta, in qua cum discipulis recubuit Dominus, tempus significat universum, quo corporaliter in Ecclesia demoratus, et dapibus verbi salutaris ac miraculorum suorum dulcedine cunctos longe lateque pavit, et ipse audientium fide ac dilectione pastus est: quia quotquot ad gratiam veritatis convertit, per hos nimirum corporis sui, quod est Ecclesia, quasi more vescentium fecit augmentum. Surrexit autem a coena, et posuit vestimenta sua, quando temporaliter cum hominibus amplius conversari desistens, membra corporis assumpti deposuit in cruce. Accepto linteo praecinxit se, quando accepto a Patre mandato patiendi, pro nobis in ipso passionis exercitio sua membra circumdedit. Solet namque per linteum, quod multifario tormentorum labore conficitur, afflictio passionum figurari. Et Dominus ponens vestimenta linteo praecingitur, ut significet se habitum corporis, quem induit, non sine pressura dolorum, sed longa crucis tribulatione deponere. Misit aquam in pelvim, et coepit lavare pedes discipulorum, et extergere linteo quo erat praecinctus, quando defunctus in cruce aquam una cum sanguine de latere suo profundit in terram, quibus credentium opera mundaret, eademque opera non solum passionis sacramentis sanctificare, sed etiam ejusdem exemplis confirmare dignatus est. Quod autem, inchoata pedum lavatione, dicitur, Venit ergo ad Simonem Petrum, non ita intelligendum est, quasi post aliquos ad illum venerit, sed quia ab illo qui primus apostolorum erat, coeperit, et ille tale ministerium, quia mysterium nesciebat, non frustra horruerit. Quod etiam quilibet eorum acturus fuisse non dubitatur, si non illa terreretur sententia, qua Petro dictum est:
might do, and turn their evil into good by His power. He knew that through the humility of the incarnation He had come forth from God, and through the victory of the resurrection was to return to God, neither leaving God when He came forth from there, nor deserting us when He returned. He knew all these things indeed, and yet, as a sign of His own great lovingkindness and as an example of great humility for us, He rises from supper and lays aside His garments; He washed the disciples' feet, fulfilling the office not of God the Lord but of a human servant, so as humbly to wash the feet even of him whose hands He knew would be shamelessly defiled in betraying Him. But if it pleases us to treat this most humble mystery of our Saviour by a deeper inquiry, this most holy supper, at which the Lord reclined with His disciples, signifies the whole time during which, dwelling bodily in the Church, He fed all far and wide with the feasts of the saving word and the sweetness of His miracles, and was Himself fed by the faith and love of His hearers: for through all whom He converted to the grace of the truth He made, as it were in the manner of those who eat, an increase of His body, which is the Church. He rose from supper and laid aside His garments when, ceasing to converse any longer in time with men, He laid down on the cross the members of the body He had assumed. Taking a towel, He girded Himself, when, having received from the Father the command to suffer, He wrapped His members for us in the very exercise of His passion. For by linen, which is made by manifold labour of tortures, the affliction of sufferings is commonly figured. And the Lord, laying aside His garments, is girded with a towel, to signify that He laid aside the clothing of the body which He had put on, not without the pressure of pains, but through the long tribulation of the cross. He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded, when, dead on the cross, He poured out on the earth water together with blood from His side, with which He might cleanse the works of believers; and He deigned not only to sanctify those same works by the sacraments of His passion, but also to strengthen them by its examples. But as for the saying, once the washing of the feet had begun, "He came then to Simon Peter", it is not to be understood as though He came to him after some others, but that He began with him who was first of the apostles, and that he, because he did not know the mystery, not without reason shrank from such a service. Which, it is not doubted, any one of them would also have done, had he not been daunted by that sentence which was spoken to Peter:
Si non lavero te, non habebis partem mecum. Ubi aperte monstratur quod haec pedum lavatio spiritualem carnis et animae purificationem, sine qua ad consortium Christi pervenire non potest, insinuat. Unde Petrus haec audiens, solito mox amoris divini fervore correptus, respondit,
"If I do not wash you, you shall have no part with Me." Where it is plainly shown that this washing of the feet intimates the spiritual purification of flesh and soul, without which one cannot attain to fellowship with Christ. Hence Peter, hearing this, seized at once by his usual fervour of divine love, answered:
Domine, non tantum pedes meos, sed et manus et caput. Ac si aperte dicat: Quia, jam te docente intelligo, quod lavando pedes meos errata mea te mundare significas, non solum pedes, sed et manus et caput tibi lavandum offero; quia non solum incessu, sed etiam actu, visu quoque, auditu, gustu, olfactu et tactu, multa me committere, quae a te debeant
"Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head." As if he said plainly: Since, now that Thou teachest me, I understand that by washing my feet Thou signifiest that Thou cleansest my faults, I offer to Thee to be washed not only my feet but also my hands and head; for not only in walking, but also in acting, and in seeing too, in hearing, tasting, smelling and touching, [I know] that I commit many things which ought by Thee to
Editors' notes and page, col. 131
Page
- running head: BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS I[...] (right part of the head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹faceret, malumque eorum›; B ‹demoratus, et dapibus›; C ‹corporis, quem induit›; D ‹etiam quilibet eorum›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column ends "debeant"; the next column opens "dimitti" (seen in the neighbouring column of the image), no word split.
dimitti, non ambigo. Sed fervido amatori quid respondeat Dominus, quomodo hunc ad intelligentiam mysticae lavationis paulatim provocet, audiamus.
be forgiven, I do not doubt. But let us hear what the Lord answers to the ardent lover, how He draws him on little by little to the understanding of the mystical washing.
Qui lotus est, inquit, non indiget, nisi ut pedes lavet, sed est mundus totus. Manifeste denuntiat quod lavatio pedum illa remissionem quidem peccatorum designaret, non tamen ea quae semel in baptismate datur, sed illa potius qua quotidiani fidelium reatus, sine quibus in hac vita non vivit, quotidiana ej⟨u⟩s gratia mundantur. Pedes namque, quibus incede⟨n⟩tes terram tangimus, ideoque eos a contagio pulver⟨i⟩s, sicut reliquum corpus, immunes custodire nequimus, ipsam terrenae inhabitationis necessitatem designant, qua in quantum quotidie desides nos et negligentes afficimur, in tantum etiam ut magni quique et summae conversationis viri a coelesti, quam maxime diligunt, contemplatione revocantur, ut si dixerimus, Quia peccatum non habemus, nos ips⟨o⟩s seducamus, et veritas non sit in nobis (I Joan. I). Qui ergo lotus est, non indiget nisi ut pedes lavet, sed est mundus totus; quia qui ablutus est fonte baptismatis in remissionem omnium peccatorum, non indiget rursus, imo non potest eodem modo ablui, sed quotidiana tantum mundanae conversation⟨i⟩s cont⟨a⟩gia necesse habet, quotidiana sui Redemptoris indulgentia tergantur. Est enim toto actionum suarum corpore mundus, exceptis duntaxat iis quae menti necessitate curae temporalis adhaeserunt, ob quorum quotidianam sordidationem simul et emundationem quotidie dicimus orantes, Et dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris (Matth. VI, Luc. XI). Verum haec de apostolis eorumque similibus dicta sunt: Beati videlicet et immaculati, qui timentes Dominum ambulant in viis ejus (Psal. CXIX). At, nos, qui, divini saepe timoris obliti, iter laevum incedimus, non illa levi et quotidiana orationum solemnitate possumus ab erratuum nostrorum sorde liberari, sed major necesse est inquinatio majori orationum, vigiliarum vel jejuniorum, lacrymarum atque eleemosynarum exercitio purgetur; ipso nimirum interius vestigia cordis nostri mundante, qui sedens in dextra Dei per assumptae habitum humanitatis quotidie interpellat pro nobis. Postquam vero lavit pedes discipulorum Dominus, accepit vestimenta sua, et cum recubuisset, iterum aperuit verbo ministerium lavationis, quod eis paulo ante facto necdum scientibus exhibuerat. Quia postquam patiendo in cruce lavacrum nobis remissionis consecravit, accepit membra jam immortalia quae mortalia posuerat; ac cum post resurrectionem apparuisset discipulis, ac familiariter cum eis esset etiam in convescendo per dies quadraginta conversatus, exposuit eis utilitatem suae passionis, cujus eatenus, quia virtutem mysticam nesciebant, eventum satis timebant (Act. I).
"He who has been washed," He says, "has no need except to wash his feet, but is wholly clean." He declares plainly that that washing of the feet signified the remission of sins, yet not the one that is given once in baptism, but rather that by which the daily faults of the faithful, without which there is no living in this life, are cleansed by His daily grace. For the feet, with which we touch the ground as we walk, and which for that reason we cannot keep free of the contagion of dust as we can the rest of the body, signify the very necessity of our earthly dwelling, by which we are each day made slothful and negligent to such a degree that even all great men of the highest way of life are called back from the heavenly contemplation which they love most, so that if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8). He, then, who has been washed has no need except to wash his feet, but is wholly clean; because one who has been washed in the font of baptism for the remission of all sins has no need to be washed again, indeed cannot be washed again in the same way, but needs only that the daily contagions of worldly life be wiped away by the daily forgiveness of his Redeemer. For he is clean in the whole body of his actions, except only those things which have clung to the mind through the necessity of temporal care, on account of whose daily soiling and also cleansing we say each day as we pray: "And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors" (Matt. 6:12; Luke 11:4). But these things are said of the apostles and those like them: "Blessed," namely, "and undefiled, who, fearing the Lord, walk in His ways" (Ps. 118:1). But we who, often forgetful of the fear of God, walk the crooked way, cannot be freed from the filth of our errors by that light and daily solemnity of prayers; rather the greater defilement must be purged by a greater exercise of prayers, vigils or fasts, tears and almsgiving; He Himself, of course, cleansing inwardly the footsteps of our heart, Who, sitting at the right hand of God, through the clothing of the humanity He assumed intercedes daily for us. Now after the Lord had washed the disciples' feet, He took His garments, and when He had reclined again, He disclosed in word the ministry of the washing which He had shown them by deed a little before when they did not yet understand. For after by suffering on the cross He had consecrated for us the bath of remission, He took back, now immortal, the members which He had laid down mortal; and when after the resurrection He had appeared to His disciples, and had lived familiarly with them for forty days, even eating with them, He explained to them the benefit of His passion, whose outcome they had until then greatly feared, because they did not know its mystical power (Acts 1:3).
Si ergo, inquit, lavi vestros pedes, Dominus et magister, et vos debetis alter alterius lavare pedes. Quae videlicet sententia et ad litteram et ad mysticum sensum recte accipi, et devote debet impleri: ad litteram quidem, ut per charitatem serviamus invicem,
"If, then," He says, "I, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet." This saying ought both to be rightly understood and devoutly fulfilled according to the letter and according to the mystical sense: according to the letter, that through charity we serve one another,
Editors' notes and page, col. 132
Page
- running head: [...]S OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. (left part of the head cut off in the image; continues the head of col. 131)
- marginal letters: A ‹dimitti, non ambigo›; B ‹et summae conversationis›; C ‹quotidie dicimus orantes›; D ‹sua, et cum recubuisset›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
non solum in lavando pedes fratrum, sed etiam in quibuslibet eorum necessitatibus adjuvandis; ad mysticum vero intellectum, ut sicut Dominus nobis peccata poenitentibus dimittere consuevit, ita etiam nos peccantibus in nos fratribus dimittere festinemus (Matth. VI, Marc. XI). Sicut ille lavit nos a peccatis nostris interpellando Patrem pro nobis, ita et nos, si scimus fratrem nostrum peccare peccatum non ad mortem, petamus ut detur ei vita peccanti non ad mortem (I Joan. V). Et sicut Jacobus apostolus admonet, Confiteamur alterutrum peccata nostra, et oremus pro invicem, ut salvemur (Jac. V): sicut ille pro nobis animam suam posuit, sic et nos instante temporis articulo pro fratribus animas ponamus (I Joan. III). Sequitur,
not only in washing the feet of the brethren but also in helping them in any of their needs; according to the mystical understanding, that as the Lord is accustomed to forgive us our sins when we repent, so we too should hasten to forgive the brethren who sin against us (Matt. 6:14; Mark 11:25). As He washed us from our sins by interceding with the Father for us, so we too, if we know that our brother is sinning a sin not unto death, should ask that life be given to him who sins not unto death (1 John 5:16). And as the apostle James admonishes, let us confess our sins to one another and pray for one another, that we may be saved (Jas. 5:16): as He laid down His life for us, so we too, when the moment of the time presses, should lay down our lives for the brethren (1 John 3:16). There follows:
Amen dico vobis, non est servus major domino suo, neque apostolus major eo qui misit illum. Hoc ideo dixit quia laverat pedes servorum suorum Dominus, et ipse qui misit eorum quos misit. Apostolus Graece, Latine dicitur missus, ut ostenderet ea quae excelsus fecit humiliter, multo magis humilibus et infirmis humiliter esse facienda. Sed ut hoc in loco spiritualis intellectus commoneret, quia si ipse qui peccatum non fecit, nec inventus est dolus in ore ejus (I Pet. II, Isa. LIII), interpellat pro nostris excessibus, multo magis ipsi debeamus orare pro invicem. Sed etsi dimittit nobis ille cui non habemus quod dimittamus, multo magis oportet nos alterutrum dimittere nobis
"Amen I say to you, a servant is not greater than his lord, nor is an apostle greater than he who sent him." He said this because He, the Lord, had washed the feet of His servants, and He Who sent had washed the feet of those whom He sent. "Apostle" in Greek is in Latin "one sent": He said it to show that what the exalted One had done humbly must much more be done humbly by the humble and weak. But in this place [He said it] to remind [us] of the spiritual sense: that if He Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth (1 Pet. 2:22; Isa. 53:9), intercedes for our transgressions, much more ought we ourselves to pray for one another. And if He forgives us, Whom we have nothing to forgive, much more ought we to forgive one another
LIBER SECUNDUS. HOMILIAE ITEM GENUINAE.
BOOK II. HOMILIES, LIKEWISE GENUINE.
HOMILIA PRIMA. IN VIGILIA PASCHAE. MATTH. XXVIII. MARC. XVI. LUC. XXIV. JOAN. XX. In illo tempore, vespere autem Sabbati quae lucescit in prima Sabbati, venit Maria Magdalena, et altera Maria videre sepulcrum. Et ecce terraemotus factus est magnus. Angelus enim Domini descendit de coelo, et accedens revolvit lapidem, et sedebat super eum, etc.
HOMILY I. ON THE VIGIL OF EASTER. MATTHEW 28. MARK 16. LUKE 24. JOHN 20. At that time, in the evening of the Sabbath, which dawns into the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the sepulchre. And behold, there was a great earthquake. For an angel of the Lord came down from heaven, and coming, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it, etc. (Matt. 28:1–2).
Vigilias nobis hujus sacratissimae noctis, sicut ex lectione evangelica audivimus, fratres charissimi, resurrectio Domini ac Salvatoris nostri dedicavit. Juste etenim hanc pro ejus amore vigiliis celebramus et hymnis, qui pro nostro amore in ea dormire in mortem, ac de morte voluit excitari; nam sicut Apostolus ait: Mortuus est propter delicta nostra, et resurrexit propter justificationem nostram (Rom. IV). Quod ipso quoque statum temporis quod vel mortuus est in cruce, vel a mortuis resurrexit, ostendit. Circa horam quippe nonam, cum inclinata jam esset ad vesperam dies, et tepefactus a meridiano fervore radius solis, mysterium victoriosissimae passionis consummavit evidenter se insinuans propter auferenda scelera, quibus a divina luce et dilectione in hujus mortem peregrinationis incidimus, crucis subisse patibulum. Surrexit mane prima Sabbati, quae nunc dies Dominica vocatur, manifeste docens se
The vigils of this most holy night, as we have heard from the Gospel reading, dearly beloved brethren, the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour has dedicated to us. For rightly do we celebrate this night with vigils and hymns for love of Him Who for love of us willed in it to sleep in death and to be roused from death; for as the Apostle says: "He died for our sins, and rose again for our justification" (Rom. 4:25). This He showed also by the very [state of the] time at which He either died on the cross or rose from the dead. For about the ninth hour, when the day was already declining towards evening and the ray of the sun had cooled from the midday heat, He consummated the mystery of His most victorious passion, plainly intimating that He had undergone the gibbet of the cross to take away the crimes by which we fell from the divine light and love into the death of this pilgrimage. He rose in the morning on the first day of the week, which is now called the Lord's Day, showing plainly that He
Editors' notes and page, col. 133
Page
- running head: SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE.
- marginal letters: A ‹cem, non solum in lavando›; B ‹Amen dico vobis›; C ‹HOMILIA PRIMA.›; D ‹Quod ipso quoque statum›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "cem," at the top completes "invi-" at the foot of col. 132 (invicem). The end of Homily XXV runs on at the top of col. 134 ("debita nostra ... Amen.") above the full-width rule; the book heading "LIBER SECUNDUS. / HOMILIAE ITEM GENUINAE." is printed across both columns below that rule and is set once here, where the new book begins in col. 133 (text seen across the c133 and c134 images). UNSURE: "statum temporis" set as printed; the sense wants "statu" (ablative), but it is not clearly a wrong letter, so it is not logged as a misprint.
debita nostra. Quod ipsum Apostolus quoque praecipiens, ait, Estote autem invicem benigni, misericordes, donantes invicem, sicut et Deus in Christo donavit vobis (Eph. IV).
our debts. The Apostle too, enjoining this very thing, says: "But be kind to one another, merciful, forgiving one another, as God also in Christ has forgiven you" (Eph. 4:32).
Si haec, inquit, scitis, beati eritis si feceritis ea. Salutaris haec mu⟨l⟩tum nostri Salvatoris, et sedulo est cogitanda sententia, quia beati erimus sciendo coelestia praecepta, si tamen ea quae novimus operando sectemur. Qui enim cognita ejus mandata servare negligit beatus esse non valet; qui haec vel c⟨o⟩gnoscere contemnit, multo longius a beatorum sorte secluditur. Congruit his Psalmista, qui mortalium corda perpendens, aeque omnes beatitudinem amare, sed paucos ubi est quaerere conspiciens, ipse quae sit maxima in hac vita hominis beatitudo manifeste protestatus est, dicens, Beati immaculati in via, qui ambulant in lege Domini (Psal. CXIX). Et ne putaretur haec via immaculatorum ac beatorum ab imperitis passim et rudibus posse comprehendi, consequenter adjunxit et ait, Beati qui scrutantur testimonia ejus; in toto corde exquirunt eum. Quapropter, charissimi, rogemus ejus clementiam, qui mandavit mandata sua custodiri nimis, ut dirigat ipse vias nostras ad custodiendas justificationes suas, ipse post custodiam mandatorum suorum ad beatitudinem nos suae perpetuae visionis inducat Jesus Christus Dominus noster, qui vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
"If you know these things," He says, "blessed shall you be if you do them." This saying of our Saviour is very salutary and is to be pondered carefully: that we shall be blessed in knowing the heavenly precepts, provided that we pursue in deed the things we know. For one who neglects to keep His commandments once known cannot be blessed; one who disdains even to know them is shut off much further from the lot of the blessed. The Psalmist agrees with this, who, weighing the hearts of mortals and seeing that all alike love blessedness but few seek where it is, himself plainly declared what is the greatest blessedness of man in this life, saying: "Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord" (Ps. 118:1). And lest it be thought that this way of the undefiled and the blessed could be grasped by the unskilled and the untaught at large, he added next, saying: "Blessed are they who search His testimonies; with their whole heart they seek Him" (Ps. 118:2). Wherefore, beloved, let us beg the clemency of Him Who commanded that His commandments be kept most diligently, that He Himself may direct our ways to keep His justifications (Ps. 118:4–5), and that, after the keeping of His commandments, He Himself may lead us to the blessedness of His everlasting vision, Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit for ever and ever. Amen.
nos a morte animae resuscitaturum, et in lucem perpetuae felicitatis esse perducturum. Sed et aliud nobis memorabile mysterium tempore suae passionis, sepulturae et resurrectionis intimare curavit. Sexta quippe feria crucifixus est, Sabbato quievit in sepulcro, Dominica resurrexit a mortuis, significans electis suis per sex hujus saeculi aetates, inter pericula persecutionum bonis operibus insudandum. In alia autem vita quasi in Sabbato perpetuo requiem animarum sperandam: porro in die judicii quasi in die Dominica, corporum quoque immortalium receptionem esse celebrandam, in quibus deinceps animae superno gaudio sine fine fruantur. Quod autem in lectione evangelica dictum est, quia sanctae mulieres vespere Sabbati, quae lucescit in prima Sabbati, venerint [Al., venerunt] videre sepulcrum, ita intelligendum est: quia vespere quidem venire coeperint [Al., coeperunt], sed lucescente mane in primam Sabbati ad sepulcrum pervenerunt, id est, vespere aromata paraverunt, quibus corpus Domini ungere desiderabant, sed parata vespere aromata mane ad sepulcrum detulerint [Al., detulerunt]. Quod Matth⟨ae⟩us quidem brevitatis causa obscurius posuit, sed alii evangelistae quo ordine sit factum evidentius ostendunt. Sepulto namque sexta feria Domino, reversae
would raise us from the death of the soul and lead us into the light of everlasting happiness. But He took care to intimate to us another memorable mystery also by the time of His passion, burial and resurrection. For He was crucified on the sixth day, rested in the sepulchre on the Sabbath, and rose from the dead on the Lord's Day, signifying to His elect that through the six ages of this world they must toil at good works amid the perils of persecutions; that in the other life, as in a perpetual Sabbath, the rest of souls is to be hoped for; and further that on the day of judgement, as on the Lord's Day, the receiving back of the bodies too, now immortal, is to be celebrated, in which souls may thereafter enjoy heavenly joy without end. As for what is said in the Gospel reading, that the holy women came in the evening of the Sabbath, which dawns into the first day of the week, to see the sepulchre, it is to be understood thus: that they began to come in the evening, but arrived at the sepulchre as the morning was dawning into the first day of the week; that is, in the evening they prepared the spices with which they wished to anoint the Lord's body, but the spices prepared in the evening they brought to the sepulchre in the morning. Matthew indeed set this down rather obscurely for the sake of brevity, but the other evangelists show more plainly in what order it was done. For when the Lord had been buried on the sixth day, the women, having returned
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Page
- running head: [...]E. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE. (left part cut off; full head SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE.)
- marginal letters: A ‹debita nostra›; B ‹protestatus est, dicens›; C ‹nos a morte animae›; D ‹nerint [Al., venerunt]›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the end of Homily XXV runs above the full-width rule; the book heading printed across both columns is set once, in col. 133. The column ends "re-"; the next column opens "versae", seen in the c135 image, so the word is set whole here as "reversae" and the fragment is not repeated at the head of col. 135. Letters in ⟨ ⟩ are blotted type (multum, cognoscere, Matthaeus). "(Psal. CXIX)" set as printed; the verses are Ps. 118:1–2 in the Vulgate.
a monumento mulieres paraverunt aromata et unguenta quandiu operari licebat, et Sabbato quidem siluerunt secundum mandatum, sicut Lucas aperte designat. Cum autem transisset Sabbatum, vesperaque adveniente tempus operandi redisset, mox prompte ad devotionem emerunt, quae minus paraverant aromata, sicut Marcus commemorat, ut venientes ungerent eum, et valde mane una Sabbatorum veniunt [Al., venerunt] ad monumentum. Quaerendum autem cur noctem Dominicae resurrectionis evangelista describens ait:
from the tomb, prepared spices and ointments while it was permitted to work, and on the Sabbath they kept quiet according to the commandment, as Luke plainly indicates (Luke 23:56). But when the Sabbath was past and, with evening coming on, the time for work had returned, they at once readily bought for their devotion the spices they had prepared too little of, as Mark relates, that they might come and anoint Him; and very early on the first day of the week they come to the tomb (Mark 16:1–2). But it is to be asked why the evangelist, describing the night of the Lord's resurrection, says:
Vespere autem Sabbati, quae lucescit in prima Sabbati. Cum consuetus ordo temporum habeat, vesperam magis tenebrescere in noctem, quam in diem lucescere. Sed mystice loquens evangelista quantum dignitatis haec sacratissima nox de gloria devictae mortis accepit [Al., acceperit], insinuare studuit, dum ejus exordium quo devotae Christo feminae in obsequium illius vigilare coeperunt, in sequentem jam diem lucescere perhibuit. Nam Dominus auctor et ordinator temporum, qui in ultima noctis hujus parte surrexit, totam eam nimirum ejusdem resurrectionis luce festivam reddidit et coruscam. Siquidem ab exordio mundanae creationis usque huc, ita temporum cursus distinguebatur, ut dies noctem praecederet, juxta ordinem videlicet primae conditionis. Hac autem nocte per mysterium resurrectionis Domini temporum ordo mutatus est. Nam quia nocte resurrexit a mortuis, die vero sequenti ejusdem resurrectionis effectum discipulis ostendit, ac participato cum eis convivio, veritatem virtutis ejus mirantibus simul et gaudentibus astruxit, rectissime nox illa sequentis diei conjuncta est luci, ac si [Al., sic] temporum ordo statutus est, ut dies noctem sequatur. Et quidem aptissime quondam diem sequebatur nox, quia homo a luce paradisi peccando lapsus, in hujus saeculi tenebras aerumnasque decidit; aptissime nunc dies sequitur noctem, quando per fidem resurrectionis a peccati tenebris et umbra mortis ad lucem vitae Christo largiente reducimur. Quapropter necesse est, fratres charissimi, ut quia [Al., qui] noctem hanc praecipuam gratia Dominicae resurrectionis illustratam cognovimus, ipsi quoque sollicite curemus, ne qua ejus particula nostro in corde tenebrescat, sed tota lucescat in diem, et nunc videlicet nobis vigilias ejus digne devotione laudis agentibus, et completis quoque vigiliis sobria ac pura conscientia, diei Dominici paschalia festa expectantibus.
"In the evening of the Sabbath, which dawns into the first day of the week." For the usual order of the times has it that evening grows dark into night rather than dawns into day. But the evangelist, speaking mystically, sought to intimate how much dignity this most holy night received from the glory of death overcome, when he declared that its beginning, at which the women devoted to Christ began to keep vigil in His service, was already dawning into the following day. For the Lord, the author and ordainer of the times, Who rose in the last part of this night, made the whole of it festive and shining, no doubt, with the light of that same resurrection. For from the beginning of the world's creation until then the course of the times was so divided that day preceded night, namely according to the order of the first making. But on this night the order of the times was changed through the mystery of the Lord's resurrection. For since He rose from the dead in the night, and on the following day showed the effect of that resurrection to His disciples, and, sharing a meal with them, established the truth of His power to them as they marvelled and rejoiced together, that night was most rightly joined to the light of the following day, and so the order of the times was established that day should follow night. And indeed most fittingly night once followed day, because man, fallen by sinning from the light of paradise, sank into the darkness and hardships of this world; most fittingly now day follows night, when through faith in the resurrection we are led back, by Christ's bounty, from the darkness of sin and the shadow of death to the light of life. Therefore, dearly beloved brethren, since we know that this night is made illustrious above all by the grace of the Lord's resurrection, it is needful that we ourselves too take careful heed that no part of it grow dark in our heart, but that the whole of it dawn into day: both now, namely, as we keep its vigils worthily with the devotion of praise, and also, when the vigils are completed, as we await with a sober and pure conscience the paschal feast of the Lord's Day.
Venit, inquit, Maria Magdalena, et altera Maria videre sepulcrum. Duae unius nominis ejusdemque amoris ac devotionis feminae, quae Dominicum venerunt invisere sepulcrum, duas fidelium plebes, Judaicam, scilicet, et gentilem designant, quae una atque indissimili studio passionem resurrectionemque sui Redemptoris quacunque ejus Ecclesia per orbem diffusa est celebrare desiderant. Quod autem terraemotus, resurgente Domino de sepulcro sicut etiam moriente in cruce, factus est magnus, significat
"There came," he says, "Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre." The two women of one name and of the same love and devotion, who came to visit the Lord's sepulchre, signify the two peoples of the faithful, namely the Jewish and the Gentile, which with one and undivided zeal desire to celebrate the passion and resurrection of their Redeemer wherever His Church is spread throughout the world. And that there was a great earthquake when the Lord rose from the sepulchre, as also when He died on the cross, signifies
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Page
- running head: BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA.
- marginal letters: A ‹versae a monumento›; B ‹victae mortis accepit›; C ‹participato cum eis›; D ‹corde tenebrescat›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column opens with "versae", the second half of "re-versae", which is set whole at the foot of col. 134 and is not repeated here. The column ends "signifi-"; the next column opens "cat" (seen in the c136 image), so the word is set whole here as "significat". "ac si [Al., sic]" set as printed.
terrena prius corda et coelesti spe dejecta per fidem passionis ac resurrectionis ejus concutienda ad poenitentiam, ac saluberrimo pavore permota, ad vitam sublimanda perpetuam. Quod angelus advenit, obsequium servitutis suae quod Domino debuit, exsolvit. Quia enim Christus Deus et homo est, inter acta humanitatis ejus semper angelorum ministeria Deo debita non desunt, sicut inquisita sancti Evangelii copiosissime probat historia. Revolvit autem lapidem, non ut egressuro Domino januam pandat, sed ut egressus ejus jam facti praestet hominibus indicium. Qui enim mortalis adhuc clauso virginis utero potuit nascendo mundum ingredi, ipse absque ulla dubietate jam factus immortalis, clauso licet sepulcro, potuit resurgendo exire de mundo. Nec praetereundum quare testis Dominicae resurrectionis angelus sedens apparuerit, cum is qui nativitatis ejus mundo gaudium evangelizabat, juxta pastores stetisse legatur. Stare quippe pugnantis est, sedere autem [Al. om. autem] regnantis. Et recte stans apparuit angelus qui adventum Domini in mundo praedicabat, ut etiam stando signaret, quia is quem praedicabat, ad debellandum mundi principem veniret. Recte praeco resurrectionis ejus sedisse memoratur, ut etiam sedendo figuraret eum superato mortis auctore, sedem regni jam conscendisse perpetui. De qua ipse paulo post discipulis apparens ait: Data est mihi omnis potestas in coelo et in terra (Matth. XXVIII). Et Evangelista Marcus: Et Dominus quidem Jesus, inquit, postquam locutus est eis, assumptus est in coelum, et sedet [Al., sedit] a dextris Dei (Marc. XVI). Sedebat autem super lapidem revolutum, quo ostium monumenti claudebatur, ut claustra inferorum sua illum virtute dejecisse ac superasse doceret, quatenus omnes quos ibi suos invenisset ad paradisi lucem requiemque sublevaret, juxta illud propheticum: Tu quoque in sanguine testamenti eduxisti vinctos [Al. add. tuos] de lacu, in quo non est aqua (Zach. IX).
that hearts once earthly and cast down from heavenly hope were to be shaken to repentance through faith in His passion and resurrection, and, stirred by a most wholesome fear, to be raised to eternal life. That the angel came, he discharged the service of his servitude which he owed to the Lord. For because Christ is God and man, among the acts of His humanity the ministries of angels due to God are never lacking, as the history of the holy Gospel, when searched, proves most abundantly. He rolled back the stone, not to open a door for the Lord to go out, but to give men evidence that His going out had already taken place. For He Who, while still mortal, could enter the world by being born from the closed womb of a virgin, could without any doubt, once made immortal, go out from the world by rising, even though the sepulchre was closed. Nor should we pass over why the angel who was witness of the Lord's resurrection appeared seated, when the one who announced the joy of His nativity to the world is read to have stood beside the shepherds. For to stand belongs to one who fights, to sit to one who reigns. And rightly the angel who proclaimed the Lord's coming into the world appeared standing, so as to signify even by standing that He Whom he proclaimed was coming to vanquish the prince of the world. Rightly the herald of His resurrection is recorded to have sat, so as to figure even by sitting that He, having overcome the author of death, had now ascended the seat of the everlasting kingdom. Of which He Himself, appearing to the disciples a little later, says: "All power has been given to Me in heaven and on earth" (Matt. 28:18). And the evangelist Mark: "And the Lord Jesus," he says, "after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God" (Mark 16:19). And he sat upon the stone rolled back, with which the door of the tomb had been closed, to teach that He had cast down and overcome the bars of hell by His power, so as to raise up all whom He found there to be His own to the light and rest of paradise, according to that saying of the prophet: "Thou also by the blood of the covenant hast brought forth the prisoners out of the pit in which there is no water" (Zech. 9:11).
Erat [Al. add. autem] aspectus ejus sicut fulgur, et vestimenta ejus sicut nix. Ut ipso quoque habitu et vultu significaret, quia is, cujus gloriam resurrectionis nuntiabat, et terribilis ad damnandum reprobos, et benignus esset ac blandus ad consolandum electos. In fulgure etenim terror timoris, in nive autem blandimentum candoris exprimitur. In cujus indicium divinae discretionis ipse quoque angelus apparet, et custodes sepulcri impios timore perterret [Al., perterruit], ac mortuorum instar terrae prosternit, et visitatrices ejusdem sepulcri piissimas benigna consolatione refovet, ac ne paveant confortat. Insuper etiam familiari affatu prior ipse, quia sciret eos Jesum quaerere, dicit, et quia jam surrexit addit, mox etiam ipsas honorifico ac laetissimo subditas ministerio gaudium resurrectionis ejus evangelizare praecipit. Et quam felices feminae, quae angelico doctae oraculo triumphum resurrectionis mundo annuntiare meruerunt, atque mortis, quam Eva serpentino seducta afflatu contraxit, imperium praedicare dirutum. Quanto feliciores animae
"His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment like snow." So that by his very dress and face also he might signify that He Whose glorious resurrection he was announcing was both terrible in condemning the reprobate and kind and gentle in consoling the elect. For in lightning the terror of fear is expressed, in snow the gentleness of whiteness. In token of this divine discernment the angel himself also appears, and terrifies the ungodly guards of the sepulchre with fear and lays them on the ground like dead men, and comforts with kind consolation the most devout women who visited that same sepulchre, and strengthens them so that they may not be afraid. Moreover, addressing them first himself in familiar speech, he says that he knows they seek Jesus, and adds that He has already risen; and then he commands them too, now made subject to an honourable and most joyful ministry, to announce the good news of His resurrection. And how happy the women, who, taught by an angelic oracle, were found worthy to announce to the world the triumph of the resurrection, and to proclaim the overthrow of the dominion of death, which Eve contracted when led astray by the serpent's breath. How much happier the souls
Editors' notes and page, col. 136
Page
- running head: [...] OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. (left part cut off; full head BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA.)
- marginal letters: A ‹cat terrena prius corda›; B ‹praetereundum quare testis›; C ‹inquit, postquam locutus›; D ‹blandimentum candoris›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column opens with "cat", the second half of "signifi-cat", which is set whole at the foot of col. 135 and is not repeated here. "quia sciret eos" (masculine, of the women) set as printed.
virorum pariter et feminarum, quotquot in die judicii percussis pavore ac digna ultione reprobis, ipsae coelesti gratia adjutae triumphare de morte, et gaudium beatae resurrectionis intrare meruerint. Currentibus autem eis evangelizare discipulis occurrit Jesus, easque salutat, ostendens se omnibus iter virtutum inchoantibus, ut ad salutem perpetuam [Al. om. perpetuam] pervenire queant, adjuvando occurrere.
of men and women alike, as many as on the day of judgement, when the reprobate are struck with dread and fitting vengeance, shall themselves, aided by heavenly grace, be found worthy to triumph over death and to enter the joy of the blessed resurrection. And as they ran to bring the good news to the disciples, Jesus met them and greeted them, showing that He comes to meet all who begin the way of the virtues, helping them so that they may attain to everlasting salvation.
Illae autem accesserunt et tenuerunt pedes ejus. Videamus, fratres, in Domino resurgente a mortuis veritatem nostrae carnis, videamus gloriam novae incorruptionis. Superius quippe lectum est quia clauso surrexit monumento: nunc autem legitur quia mulieres tenuerunt pedes ejus, et adoraverunt eum. Surrexit enim clauso ostio monumenti, et exiit, ut immortale jam factum doceret esse corpus, quod in monumento clausum fuerat mortuum. Tenendas mulieribus praebuit plantas, ut veram se habere [Al., ostendere] carnem, quae a mortalibus tangi posset [Al., possit] intimaret.
"And they came up and took hold of His feet." Let us see, brethren, in the Lord rising from the dead the reality of our flesh; let us see the glory of the new incorruption. For above it was read that He rose with the tomb closed; but now it is read that the women took hold of His feet and worshipped Him. For He rose with the door of the tomb closed, and went out, to teach that the body which had been shut up dead in the tomb was now made immortal. He offered His feet to the women to hold, to intimate that He had real flesh, which could be touched by mortals.
Ite, inquit, nuntiate fratribus meis, ut eant in Galilaeam, ibi me videbunt. O mira pietas Salvatoris, mira benignitas! Quos ante passionem discipulos, et aliquando etiam servos vocare consueverat, hos post resurrectionem fratres appellat, ut et ejusdem se humanitatis, quam et ante habuerat, habitum resurgendo resumpsisse monstraret, et illos quoque ad promerendam sperandamque in sua carne coronam immortalitatis qua ipse jam praeminebat erigeret. Sane quod se in Galilaea videndum a discipulis praedixit, et sicut sequentia sancti Evangelii declarant, exhibuit etiam in hoc mystice, et veritatem suae resurrectionis et nostrae profectum vitae spiritualis insinuat. Galilaea quippe transmigratio facta interpretatur. Et bene in Galilaea videtur a discipulis, qui jam de morte ad vitam, de corruptione ad incorruptionem, de poena transmigraverat ad gloriam, ut victoriam resurrectionis non solum ostensione corporis et exhortatione sermonis, sed nomine quoque loci in quo appareret et loqueretur commendaret. Sed et ipsi gaudio resurrectionis ejus ita solum tunc frui valemus, si nunc de corruptela vitiorum ad virtutum opera transmigrare satagimus. Unde curandum summopere est, fratres mei, ut quia resurrectionis Domini et Salvatoris nostri tempus agnovimus, quia ejus solemnia celebramus, continuis bonorum operum profectibus ad contemplandam ejus celsitudinem transmigremus, quia nostrae resurrectionis tempus ignoramus, quod tamen futurum nullo modo ambigimus, et omni quidem, et in hac praecipua nocte, sollicitas pro ejus exspectatione vigilias agamus. Obsecremus misericordiam illius, qui susceptam pro nobis humiliter mortem mox sublimiter superavit, ut nostrae nos tempore resurrectionis de morte ad vitam transmigrare concedat. Rogemus eum qui pa⟨s⟩cha nostrum immolatus est Christus, ut et inchoata paschalis gaudii solemnia nos digne peragere, et per haec contingere ad gaud⟨i⟩a praestet aeterna. Inter haec
"Go," He says, "tell My brethren that they go into Galilee; there they shall see Me." O wondrous lovingkindness of the Saviour, wondrous kindness! Those whom before the passion He had been accustomed to call disciples, and sometimes even servants, He calls brethren after the resurrection, both to show that by rising He had taken up again the clothing of the same humanity which He had had before, and to raise them also to merit and to hope for in their own flesh the crown of immortality in which He already stood pre-eminent. Truly, in foretelling that He would be seen by the disciples in Galilee, and, as the following parts of the holy Gospel declare, in showing Himself there, in this too He mystically intimates both the truth of His resurrection and the progress of our spiritual life. For Galilee is interpreted "a migration made". And well is He seen by the disciples in Galilee, Who had already passed over from death to life, from corruption to incorruption, from punishment to glory, so that He might commend the victory of the resurrection not only by the showing of His body and the exhortation of His words, but also by the name of the place in which He appeared and spoke. And we too shall only be able to enjoy the joy of His resurrection then, if we now strive to pass over from the corruption of the vices to the works of the virtues. Hence, my brethren, we must take the utmost care that, since we know the time of the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, since we celebrate its solemnities, we pass over by continual progress in good works to the contemplation of His loftiness; and since we do not know the time of our resurrection, which nevertheless we in no way doubt is to come, let us keep anxious vigils in expectation of it at every time, and on this night above all. Let us beseech the mercy of Him Who, having humbly undergone death for us, soon sublimely overcame it, that He may grant us at the time of our resurrection to pass over from death to life. Let us ask Him Who, Christ, was sacrificed as our pasch, that He may grant us both to complete worthily the solemnities of paschal joy now begun, and through them to attain to eternal joys. Among these things
Editors' notes and page, col. 137
Page
- running head: SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE.
- marginal letters: A ‹virorum pariter et feminarum›; B ‹Surrexit enim clauso ostio›; C ‹Sane quod se in Galilaea›; D ‹mopere est, fratres mei›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "Do mini" is broken across a line end without a hyphen; joined as "Domini". Letters in ⟨ ⟩ are gaps in the type (pascha, gaudia). The printer's signature "PATROL. XCIV." at the foot of the column is not set.
vero notandum quod hujus sacratissimae noctis ac redemptionis nostrae, quam colimus, solemnitas jam olim est in antiquo Dei populo mystice designata. Cum enim idem populus diu fuisset Aegyptia servitute gravatus, nec eum dimittere vellent Aegyptii ad liberum sui Conditoris exire servitium, tandem praecepit ei Dominus in celebratione paschae immolare agnum, ejusque carnes hac nocte assare et edere, et ex ejus sanguine, qui esset effusus in limine, postem domorum suarum utrumque ac superliminare perungere, atque intus paratum ac vigilantem, horam suae redemptionis exspectare: quod dum faceret, ecce noctis hujus medio Dominus adveniens, percussis Aegyptiorum primogenitis, liberavit populum suum a pondere longae servitutis, atque ad terram promissae olim patriae perduxit, jubens eum hanc noctem in memoriam suae salvationis omnibus annis immolatione agni paschalis agere solemnem. Quae profecto redemptio populi illius spiritualis nostrae redemptionis, quae resurgente a mortuis Domino hac nocte completa est, typum gessit, sicut etiam carnales ejusdem populi oppressores Aegyptii diriora nequitiae spiritualis arma designant, quibus subjectum sibi genus humanum impia damnatione premebat. Sed veniens Agnus immaculatus dignatus est immolari pro nobis, dedit sanguinem suum nostrae salutis pretium, qui, morte ad tempus suscepta, mortis imperium perpetuo damnavit, mirandoque ac desiderabili spectaculo agnus innocenter occisus, leonis qui occiderat vires potenter attrivit. Agnus qui tollit peccata mundi, leonem qui intulit peccata mundo confregit: Agnus, qui nos suae carnis et sanguinis libamine ne pereamus reficit, leonem qui nos rugiens circuit, et quem de nobis perdat inquirit, interficit Agnus, qui suae mortis signum frontibus nostris ad decutienda tela mortiferi hostis imposuit. Nam et ideo sanguis agni legalis in limine superliminari et utroque poste domorum in quibus edebatur jussus est poni, ut etiam quadripartita sanguinis distinctio quadrifidum dominicae passionis vexillum, quo nos signati liberamur exprimeret, dejecit adversarium nostrae libertatis et pacis, qui insidiatur nobis in occulto, sicut leo in cubili suo. Sicuti ergo nocte hac immolato agno in Aegypto, signatis ejus sanguine domibus fidelium, comestis ejus carnibus venit Dominus repente, et eos qui mysterii coelestis exortes manebant puniens, e contra populum quem sacramentis salutaribus imbutum vidit, redemit: ita nimirum Dominus ac Redemptor noster cum suum pro nobis corpus et sanguinem hostiam Patri obtulisset, subvertit potentiam diaboli, et satellitum ejus, spirituum, videlicet, immundorum, audaciam comm⟨i⟩nuit. Disjecit claustra inferni, electos qui ibidem quamvis in tranquillitatis sinu tenebantur eruit, et hac ipsa nocte resurgens a mortuis ad coelestis regni gaudia reduxit, impleta prophetia quae dixit (Psal. LXVII): Ascendens in altum captivam duxit captivitatem), [Al., om. haec omnia] nec ⟨j⟩ustos solum quos apud inferos invenit, abstulit, verum
But it is to be noted that the solemnity of this most holy night and of our redemption, which we keep, was long ago mystically signified in the ancient people of God. For when that people had long been weighed down by Egyptian slavery, and the Egyptians would not let them go out to the free service of their Creator, the Lord at last commanded them, in the celebration of the pasch, to sacrifice a lamb, to roast and eat its flesh on this night, and with its blood, which had been poured out on the threshold, to smear both posts of their houses and the lintel, and, ready and watchful within, to await the hour of their redemption: and while they were doing this, behold, in the middle of this night the Lord came, struck the firstborn of the Egyptians, freed His people from the weight of long slavery, and brought them to the land of the fatherland promised of old, commanding them to keep this night solemnly every year, in memory of their salvation, with the sacrifice of the paschal lamb (Exod. 12). That redemption of that people truly bore the type of our spiritual redemption, which was completed on this night when the Lord rose from the dead; just as the Egyptians too, the carnal oppressors of that same people, signify the more cruel weapons of spiritual wickedness, with which [the enemy] was oppressing the human race, made subject to himself, with ungodly condemnation. But the spotless Lamb, coming, deigned to be sacrificed for us; He gave His blood as the price of our salvation, He Who, having undergone death for a time, condemned the dominion of death for ever; and by a wonderful and desirable spectacle the lamb, innocently slain, mightily crushed the strength of the lion that had slain. The Lamb Who takes away the sins of the world broke the lion who brought sins into the world: the Lamb Who refreshes us with the offering of His flesh and blood lest we perish slays the lion who goes about us roaring and seeks whom of us he may destroy (1 Pet. 5:8); the Lamb Who set the sign of His death on our foreheads to strike off the darts of the deadly enemy. For this reason, too, the blood of the lamb of the Law was commanded to be put on the threshold, the lintel and both posts of the houses in which it was eaten, so that the fourfold distribution of the blood might also express the four-armed standard of the Lord's passion, by which, being signed, we are set free; He cast down the adversary of our freedom and peace, who lies in wait for us in secret like a lion in his den (Ps. 9:30 [10:9]). As, then, on this night, when the lamb had been sacrificed in Egypt, the houses of the faithful signed with its blood, and its flesh eaten, the Lord came suddenly, and punishing those who remained without share in the heavenly mystery, on the other hand redeemed the people whom He saw imbued with the saving sacraments: so, no doubt, our Lord and Redeemer, when He had offered His body and blood for us as a victim to the Father, overthrew the power of the devil and crushed the boldness of his attendants, namely the unclean spirits. He broke down the bars of hell, rescued the elect who were held there, albeit in a bosom of tranquillity, and on this very night, rising from the dead, brought them back to the joys of the heavenly kingdom, fulfilling the prophecy which said (Ps. 67:19): "Ascending on high, He led captivity captive"; nor did He carry off only the just whom He found in hell, but
Editors' notes and page, col. 138
Page
- running head: [...]E. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE. (left part cut off; full head SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE.)
- marginal letters: A ‹vero notandum quod›; B ‹promissae olim patriae›; C ‹qui tollit peccata mundi›; D ‹signatis ejus sanguine›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column ends with "ve-" hyphenated across the break; the next column was not supplied, so the visible part is set and the English ends at "but". "Ascendens ... captivitatem)," with the closing parenthesis and "[Al., om. haec omnia]" set as printed. The first letter of "justos" prints like "i", probably a damaged j, so it is set ⟨j⟩ustos. Letters in ⟨ ⟩ are gaps or damage in the type (comminuit). "dejecit adversarium" follows "ut ... exprimeret" without a connecting word (the subject shifts back to the Lamb); set as printed, and the English starts a new clause with "He". The printer's signature "5" at the foot is not set.
etiam eis [Al., eos] quos in carne adhuc positos suos esse cognovit, necnon et nobis, quos in se credituros in fine temporum praevidit, remedium salutis morte sua ac resurrectione procuravit. Nobis etiam antequam crearemur spiritualem vitae alimoniam qua recrearemur [Al., recreamur] sacravit, signum victoriae quo ab hostium insidiis muniremur paravit, vitae perennis iter quod sequamur aperuit. Unde et ipsi merito nocte hac redemptionis nostrae memores, vigiliis Deo dignis instamus et precibus lectionibusque divinis, quae datae nobis gratiae munera narrant, audiendis operam damus, novam adoptionis plebem spiritualis Aegypti Domino subtractam, uni vero Domino fonte regenerationis sacramus, missarum solemnia celebramus, corpus sacrosanctum et pretiosum Agni nostri sanguinem, quo a peccatis redempti sumus, denuo Deo in profectum nostrae salutis immolamus. Et quia de resurrectionis dominicae simul et creptionis nostrae mysteriis annua solemnitate laetamur, studeamus, charissimi, haec eadem mysteria interno mentis amore complecti, haec vivendo semper tenere, haec quasi munda animalia nunc oris locutione ruminanda, nunc cordis penetralibus retractanda servemus, et ante omnia talibus vitam ducere curemus actibus, quibus nostrae quoque resurrectionis eventum laetantes mereamur aspicere, ut cum tuba novissima totum genus humanum excitans ad tribunal justi judicis advocaverit, nos a sorte reproborum secernat, signum ejusdem judicis nostri, quo sacramur, a poena negligentium secernant vigiliae quibus adventum ejus exspectamus, eisque digna ultione multatis ipse nos ad mansionem supernae pacis, quam ante saecula promisit, inducat, qui vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
He procured the remedy of salvation by His death and resurrection also for those [Al., them] whom He knew, while they were still set in the flesh, to be His own, and also for us, whom He foresaw would believe in Him at the end of the times. For us too, before we were created, He consecrated the spiritual nourishment of life by which we might be refreshed [Al., by which we are refreshed]; He prepared the sign of victory by which we might be fortified against the snares of enemies; He opened the way of everlasting life which we are to follow. Hence we ourselves also, rightly mindful of our redemption on this night, persevere in vigils worthy of God, and give our attention to hearing the prayers and divine readings which tell of the gifts of the grace given to us; the new people of adoption, withdrawn from the spiritual Egypt for the Lord, we consecrate to the one true Lord in the font of regeneration; we celebrate the solemnities of masses; the most holy body and precious blood of our Lamb, by which we have been redeemed from sins, we offer again to God for the advance of our salvation. And since we rejoice with a yearly solemnity in the mysteries of the Lord's resurrection and of our deliverance together, let us strive, dearly beloved, to embrace these same mysteries with the inward love of the mind, to hold them always by our living; let us keep them, like clean animals, to be chewed over now in the speech of the mouth, now to be handled again in the inner recesses of the heart; and above all let us take care to lead our life in such deeds that we may deserve to behold with rejoicing the outcome of our own resurrection also, so that, when the last trumpet, rousing the whole human race, has summoned it to the tribunal of the just Judge, the sign of that same Judge of ours, by which we are consecrated, may set us apart from the lot of the reprobate, and the vigils in which we await His coming may set us apart from the punishment of the negligent; and, when these have been punished with fitting vengeance, may He Himself lead us into the mansion of supernal peace which He promised before the ages, Who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God through all ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILIA II. IN VIG⟨I⟩LIA PASCHAE. LUC. XXIV. JOAN. XX. In illo tempore, stetit Jesus in medio discipulorum suorum, et dicit eis: Pax vobis, ego sum, nolite timere, etc.
HOMILY II. ON THE VIGIL OF EASTER. LUKE 24. JOHN 20. At that time Jesus stood in the midst of His disciples and said to them: Peace be to you; it is I, do not be afraid, etc.
Gloriam suae resurrectionis Dominus et Redemptor noster paulatim discipulis et [Al. om. et] per incrementum temporis ostendit, quia nimirum tanta erat virtus miraculi, ut hanc repente totam capere fragilia mortalium pectora non possent. Consulens igitur ipse imbecillitati quaerentium, primo venientibus ad monumentum et feminis suo amore ferventibus et viris, revolutum lapidem, et ablato suo corpore linteamina, quibus involutum erat, sola posita monstravit: deinde curiosius inquirentibus feminis, et de eo quod invenerant mente consternatis angelorum visionem ostendit, qui illum resurrexisse certa manifestatione patefacerent, ae sic praecurrente fama patratae resurrectionis, tandem ipse Dominus virtutum et rex gloriae apparens, quanta potentia mortem quam ad horam gustaverat devicisset, aperuit. Et quidem quantum et evangelicae serie lectionis invenimus, quinquies ipsa qua resurrexit die, visus est hominibus prima Mariae Magdalenae ad monumentum,
Our Lord and Redeemer showed the glory of His resurrection to the disciples gradually and [Al. omits and] by increase of time, because indeed so great was the power of the miracle that the frail breasts of mortals could not grasp it whole all at once. Taking thought, therefore, for the weakness of those who sought Him, to those who came first to the tomb, both the women fervent with love of Him and the men, He showed the stone rolled away and, His body having been taken away, the linen cloths in which it had been wrapped lying by themselves; then to the women, who inquired more searchingly and were dismayed in mind at what they had found, He showed a vision of angels, who were to make plain by sure manifestation that He had risen; and so, with the report of the accomplished resurrection running ahead, at length the Lord of hosts Himself and King of glory appeared and revealed with what power He had overcome the death He had tasted for an hour. And indeed, as far as we find also from the sequence of the gospel reading, on the very day on which He rose He was seen by men five times: first by Mary Magdalene at the tomb,
Editors' notes and page, col. 139
Page
- running head: 139 BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS II[…] (right part of the head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹rum etiam eis [Al., eos]›; B ‹sum Agni nostri sanguinem›; C ‹stri, quo sacramur›; D ‹fragilia mortalium pectora›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with the word-end "rum" of a word split from col. 138; not completed here. "VIG LIA" in the heading has a lost letter (set ⟨I⟩). Handwritten marginal bars in the scan ignored.
quando ei desideranti pedes ejus amplecti [Al. complecti] dictum est: Noli me tangere, nondum enim ascendi ad Patrem meum (Joan. XX). Deinde duabus a monumento currentibus nuntiare discipulis quae ab angelis de perfecta ejus resurrectione did⟨i⟩cerant, de quibus scriptum est: Quia accesserunt, et tenuerunt pedes ejus, et adoraverunt eum (Matth. XXVIII). Apparuit ipso die advesperascente duobus euntibus in castellum Emaus [Al., Emmaus], qui eum ad hospitium vocantes in panis fractione cognoverunt; apparuit et Petro (Luc. XXIV). Quod si evangelista quando vel ubi factum sit, minime designaverit, tamen quia factum sit non tacet, scribens quia cum praefati duo discipuli, cognito Domino in Emaus, statim redissent Hierusalem, invenerunt congregatos undecim, et eos qui cum ipsis erant, dicentes: Quia surrexit Dominus vere, et apparuit Simoni. Ac deinde subjungit: Et ipsi narrabant quae gesta erant in via, et quomodo cognoverunt eum in fractione panis. Statimque annectit quintam ejus apparitionem, de qua modo cum [Al. add. Evangelium] legeretur audivimus, ita incipiens:
when, as she desired to embrace [variant: clasp] His feet, it was said to her: Do not touch Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father (John 20:17). Then to the two women running from the tomb to announce to the disciples what they had learned from the angels about His perfected resurrection, of whom it is written: That they came up, and took hold of His feet, and worshipped Him (Matt. 28:9). On the same day, as evening drew on, He appeared to two who were going to the village of Emaus [variant: Emmaus], who, inviting Him to lodge with them, recognized Him in the breaking of bread; He appeared also to Peter (Luke 24:34). For although the evangelist did not indicate when or where this happened, yet he does not keep silent that it happened, writing that when the two disciples mentioned before, having recognized the Lord in Emaus, had returned at once to Jerusalem, they found the eleven gathered together, and those who were with them, saying: The Lord has truly risen, and has appeared to Simon. And then he adds: And they told what had happened on the way, and how they recognized Him in the breaking of bread. And at once he joins to it His fifth appearance, of which we have just heard when it [variant adds: the Gospel] was read, beginning thus:
Dum haec autem loquuntur, Jesus stetit in medio eorum, et dicit [Al., dixit] eis: Pax vobis, ego sum, nolite timere. Ubi primo notandum et diligenter memoriae commendandum est, quod de se loquentibus discipulis Dominus astare in medio, et praesentiam suae visionis revelare dignatus est. Hoc est enim quod fidelibus cunctis alibi promisit, dicens: Ubi sunt duo vel tres congregati in nomine meo, ibi sum in medio eorum (Matth. XVIII). Ad confirmandam namque fidei nostrae constantiam, quod semper agit praesentia divinae pietatis, aliquando etiam praesentia voluit corporalis ostendere visionis. Nam et de nobis quamvis porro infra apostolorum pedes jacentibus hoc ipsum ejus misericordia fieri confidere debemus, ipsum, videlicet, esse in medio nostri, quotie⟨s⟩cunque convenientes in nomine illius congregamur. Nomen qu⟨i⟩ppe illius Jesus, id est, Salvator est. Et cum de acquisitione perpetuae salutis locuturi convenimus, constat nimirum quia in nomine Jesu congregamur. Nec dubitare fas est de his quae ipse amat conferentibus nobis eum esse praesentem, et tanto utique verius, quanto ea quae ore proferimus perfectiori corde retinemus. Deinde videndum quod apparens Salvator discipulis pacis statim eis gaudia mandat, id ipsum celebrata immortalitatis gloria iterans, quod ad passionem iturus mortis quasi pignus eis speciale salutis accurate commendaverat dicens: Pacem relinquo vobis, pacem meam do vobis (Joan. XIV). Cujus gratiam muneris eo quoque nato visi mox pastoribus angeli praedicabant laudantes Deum, et dicentes: Gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis (Luc. II), quia nimirum tota Redemptoris nostri in carne dispensatio, mundi est reconciliatio. Ad hoc quippe incarnatus, ad hoc passus, ad hoc est resuscitatus a mortuis, ut nos qui peccando iram Dei incidimus, ipse reconciliando ad Dei pacem reduceret. Unde recte et a propheta Pater futuri saeculi, Princeps pacis, nominatur (Isai. IX). Et Apostolus
But while they were saying these things, Jesus stood in the midst of them, and says [variant: said] to them: Peace be to you; it is I, do not be afraid. Here it must first be noted, and carefully committed to memory, that the Lord deigned to stand in the midst of the disciples as they spoke of Him, and to reveal the presence of the sight of Himself. For this is what He promised elsewhere to all the faithful, saying: Where two or three are gathered in My name, there am I in the midst of them (Matt. 18:20). For to strengthen the constancy of our faith, what He always does by the presence of divine kindness He willed at times to show also by the presence of bodily sight. For of us too, though we lie far beneath the feet of the apostles, we ought to trust that this very thing is done by His mercy, namely, that He Himself is in our midst whenever we come together and are gathered in His name. For His name Jesus means Saviour. And when we come together to speak of the gaining of perpetual salvation, it is plain indeed that we are gathered in the name of Jesus. Nor is it right to doubt that He is present with us when we confer on the things He loves, and all the more truly, the more perfect the heart with which we retain what we utter with the mouth. Next we must see that the Saviour, appearing to the disciples, at once commends to them the joys of peace, repeating, now that the glory of immortality has been celebrated, the very thing which, when about to go to His passion and death, He had carefully commended to them as a special pledge, as it were, of salvation, saying: Peace I leave to you, My peace I give to you (John 14:27). The grace of this gift the angels, seen by the shepherds as soon as He was born, also proclaimed, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will (Luke 2:14), since indeed the whole dispensation of our Redeemer in the flesh is the reconciliation of the world. For to this end He became incarnate, to this end He suffered, to this end He was raised from the dead: that we, who by sinning fell into the wrath of God, He Himself, by reconciling, might lead back to the peace of God. Hence rightly is He also named by the prophet Father of the age to come, Prince of peace (Isa. 9:6). And the Apostle
Editors' notes and page, col. 140
Page
- running head: [OPP.] PARS III. — PARÆNETICA. 140 (left part of the head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹quando ei desideranti›; B ‹cum ipsis erant, dicentes›; C ‹eorum (Matth. XVIII)›; D ‹discipulis pacis statim›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: lost letters set in ⟨ ⟩: "did cerant", "quotie:cunque" (damaged s), "qu ppe".
de eo scribens his qui ex gentibus crediderant, ait: Et veniens evangelizavit pacem vobis qui longe fuistis, et pacem his qui prope, quoniam per ipsum habemus accessum ambo in uno spiritu ad Patrem (Ephes. II). Apparente autem sibi Domino, conturbati et conterriti discipuli, existimabant se spiritum videre. Agnoscentes quidem Dominum esse qui apparuit, sed putantes quia non in corporis eum, sed in spiritus sui substantia viderunt [Al., viderent], id est, quia non corpus ipsius quod defunctum et sepultum noverant, jam resuscitatum a morte conspicerent, sed spiritum potius quem, relicto corpore, in manus patris commendaverat, prae oculis haberent. Sed hunc eorum errorem simul et pavorem, quo ad novam incognitamque visionem fuerant perculsi, benigna [Al., benigne] magister piissimus gratia consolationis et admonitionis abstergere curavit.
writing of Him to those who had believed from among the gentiles, says: And coming, He preached peace to you who were far off, and peace to those who were near, since through Him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father (Eph. 2:17–18). But when the Lord appeared to them, the disciples, troubled and terrified, supposed that they saw a spirit. They recognized indeed that it was the Lord who had appeared, but they thought that they saw [Al., were seeing] Him not in the substance of His body but in that of His spirit; that is, that they were not beholding His body, which they knew to have died and been buried, now raised from death, but rather had before their eyes the spirit which, leaving the body, He had commended into the hands of the Father. But this error of theirs, and with it the fear by which they had been struck at a new and unknown sight, the most loving Master took care to wipe away by the kindly [Al., kindly] grace of consolation and admonition.
Quid, inquiens, turbati estis, et cogitationes ascendunt in corda vestra? Videte manus meas et pedes, quia ego ipse sum. Non autem sine causa manus suas potius ac pedes, quam vultum quem aeque noverant, eos videre ac recognoscere jubet, sed ut, visis clavorum signis quibus cruci erat affixus, non solum corpus esse quod videbant, sed ut ipsum Domini sui corpus quod crucifixum noverant intelligere possent. Unde bene Joannes, dominicae apparitionis memoriam faciens, latus quoque suum, quod a milite fuerat vulneratum, discipulis eum ostendisse perhibet, ut quo plura notissimae passionis ac susceptae mortis indicia cognoscerent, eo certiori patratae jam resurrectionis ac dirutae mortis fide gauderent. Qui ut illos per omnia de fide resurrectionis certos redderet, non tantum oculis intuendum, sed attrectandum quoque manibus corpus, quod immortale illis ostendebat, exhibuit dicens:
Why, He says, are you troubled, and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? See My hands and feet, that it is I Myself. Not without cause does He bid them see and recognize His hands and feet rather than His face, which they knew equally well, but so that, seeing the marks of the nails by which He had been fastened to the cross, they might understand not only that it was a body they saw, but that it was the very body of their Lord which they knew to have been crucified. Hence John, recording the Lord's appearance, rightly relates that He showed the disciples His side also, which had been wounded by the soldier, so that the more tokens they recognized of the passion they knew so well and of the death He had undergone, the surer the faith with which they might rejoice in the resurrection now accomplished and in death overthrown. And to make them certain in every way about faith in the resurrection, He presented the body which He was showing them as immortal not only to be gazed on with the eyes but also to be handled with the hands, saying:
Palpate et videte, quia spiritus carnem et ossa non habet, sicut me videtis habere. Quatenus gloriam resurrectionis praedicaturi, modum quoque nobis resuscitati corporis qualis esset sperandus absque omni valerent ambiguitate monstrare. Unde cum magna fiducia beatus Joannes apostolus auditores suos ad sequenda fidei et veritatis, quam didicit, arcana provocat dicens: Quod fuit ab initio, quod audivimus et vidimus oculis nostris, quod perspeximus, et manus nostrae tentaverunt de Verbo vitae (I Joan. II). Solent autem gentiles hoc in loco simplicitati fidei nostrae deceptionum laqueos tendere dicendo: Qua temeritate confiditis quia Christus quem colitis vestra de pulvere corpora possit incorrupta reducere, qui nec suorum vulnerum, quae in cruce suscepit, potuit cicatrices obducere, sed resuscitato, ut dicitis, suo corpore a mortuis, signa adhuc mortis inesse non celavit? Quibus respondemus, quia Christus, cum omnipotens sit Deus, et nostra, ut promisit, corpora de corruptione ad incorruptionem, de morte ad vitam, de terrae pulvere coelestem suscitavit ad gloriam, et suum quod moriendo exuerat corpus quale voluit revocavit ad vitam. Quod cum abolitis passionis
Handle and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see that I have. So that, being about to preach the glory of the resurrection, they might be able to show us without any ambiguity also what manner of risen body was to be hoped for. Hence with great confidence the blessed apostle John calls his hearers to follow the hidden things of the faith and truth which he had learned, saying: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard and have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life (1 John 1:1). But the gentiles are accustomed at this place to set snares of deception for the simplicity of our faith, saying: With what rashness do you trust that Christ, whom you worship, can bring back your bodies incorrupt from the dust, when He could not even close up the scars of His own wounds, which He received on the cross, but, His body having been raised, as you say, from the dead, did not hide that marks of death were still in it? To them we answer that Christ, since He is almighty God, both raises our bodies, as He promised, from corruption to incorruption, from death to life, from the dust of the earth to heavenly glory, and recalled to life His own body, which He had put off in dying, in such form as He willed. And whereas, with the [marks] of the passion abolished,
Editors' notes and page, col. 141
Page
- running head: 141 SECT. I. HOMILIÆ. — LIB. II.
- marginal letters: A ‹de eo scribens›; B ‹gna [Al., benigne] magister›; C ‹ceptae mortis indicia›; D ‹et vidimus oculis nostris›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: final word "pas-|sionis" split at the column break, completed from the first line of col. 142 visible in the top image. The reference printed "(I Joan. II)" is to 1 John 1:1; English gives the verse. "suscitavit" printed (perfect where a future would be expected); English renders it as present/general "raises".
indiciis ostendere discipulis posset, certe [Al., certae] utique dispensationis gratia passionis in eo maluit indicia reservare. Primo, videlicet, ut discipuli, qui haec videbant, manifeste possent dignoscere non spiritum sine corpore, sed corpus esse spirituale quod videbant, certamque fidem peractae resurrectionis ejus, certam spem futurae omnium hominum resurrectionis mundo praedicarent. Deinde, ut ipse Dominus et Deus noster Jesus Christus, qui in humilitate [Al., humanitate] Patrem interpellat pro nobis, ostensis vulnerum suorum cicatricibus, quantum pro humana salute laboraverit, ei perpetuo demonstret, miroque et ineffabili nobis ordine eum qui nil unquam potest oblivisci, qui semper misereri paratus est, absque intermissione admoneat [Al., commoneat] quam congrue [Al., juste] hominibus misereatur, quorum particeps naturae, doloris et passionis ipse Dei Filius effectus sit, pro quibus ipse confligens, mortis imperium moriendo prostravit. Tertio, ut omnes electi perpetua beatitudine suscepti, videntes in Deo ac Domino suo signa passionis, nunquam illi gratias agere desistant, per cujus mortem se vivere cognoscunt, sicque fieri valeat quod voce totius Ecclesiae cantat propheta in Psalmis: Misericordias Domini [Al., tuas, Domine] in aeternum cantabo (Psal. LXXXVIII). Ad extremum ut etiam reprobi in judicio signa ejusdem passionis aspiciant, sicut scriptum est: Videbunt in quem transfixerunt (Joan. XIX), ac se justissime damnandos intelligant, non solum hi qui ei impias intulere manus, sed et illi qui vel suscepta ejus mysteria pro nihilo contemnunt, vel sibi oblata nunquam suscipere curarunt, vel etiam majore impietate in eos qui susceperant odiis ac persecutionibus exstinguere aut corrumpere laborant. Non ergo fallit [Al. add. nos] fides resurrectionis Christi, non decipit nos spes resurrectionis nostrae, quia Deus Pater et Dominum suscitavit, et nos suscitabit per virtutem suam (Rom. VIII). Et sicut alibi idem Apostolus ait: Quod si spiritus ejus, inquit [Al. om. inquit], qui suscitavit Jesum a mortuis, habitat in vobis, qui suscitavit Jesum Christum a mortuis, vivificabit et mortalia corpora vestra per inhabitantem Spiritum ejus in vobis (Rom. VIII). Quod de electis specialiter dictum constat, quoniam quidem omnes resurgemus, non autem omnes immutabimur, sed soli qui nunc spiritus sancti inhabitatione reguntur, tunc in aeternae vitae beatitudine [Al., beatitudinem] majori ejusdem [Al., etiam] spiritus gratia sublevantur. Igitur Dominus, ad confirmandam resurrectionis fidem, se ipsum vivum discipulis praebuit, verba exhortationis attulit, vestigia passionis non solum intuenda, sed et palpanda demonstravit. Sed infirma adhuc eorum praecordia novitatem tantae potentiae capere nequeunt, magisque mirari prae gaudio quod videbant, quam credere quod docebantur incipiunt. Verum Dominus ne quid in eorum mente resideret ambigui, sumptis etiam epulis, comedit coram eis, ut si visibus oculorum, si suorum tactibus non crederent digitorum,
he could show to the disciples, surely [Al., by a sure] dispensation of grace He preferred to keep in it the tokens of the passion. First, namely, so that the disciples who saw these things might plainly discern that what they saw was not a spirit without a body, but a spiritual body, and might preach to the world a sure faith in His accomplished resurrection and a sure hope of the future resurrection of all men. Next, so that our Lord and God Jesus Christ Himself, Who in humility [Al., in humanity] intercedes with the Father for us, by showing the scars of His wounds may perpetually demonstrate to Him how much He laboured for human salvation, and, in an order wonderful and ineffable to us, may without ceasing remind [Al., put in mind] Him Who can never forget anything, Who is always ready to have mercy, how fittingly [Al., justly] He has mercy on men, whose nature, pain and passion the Son of God Himself was made to share, and for whom He Himself, contending, overthrew by dying the dominion of death. Third, so that all the elect, received into everlasting blessedness, seeing in their God and Lord the marks of the passion, may never cease to give thanks to Him through Whose death they know that they live, and so that thus may come to pass what the prophet sings in the Psalms with the voice of the whole Church: The mercies of the Lord [Al., Thy mercies, O Lord] I will sing for ever (Ps. 88:2). Lastly, so that the reprobate too may behold at the judgement the marks of that same passion, as it is written: They shall look on Him Whom they pierced (John 19:37), and may understand that they are most justly to be condemned: not only those who laid impious hands on Him, but also those who either hold His mysteries, once received, in contempt as nothing, or never cared to receive them when offered, or even, with greater impiety, labour by hatred and persecution to extinguish or corrupt those who had received them. Faith in the resurrection of Christ, therefore, does not deceive [Al. adds us], the hope of our resurrection does not cheat us, for God the Father both raised up the Lord and will raise us up by His power (Rom. 8). And as the same Apostle says elsewhere: But if His Spirit, he says [Al. omits he says], Who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He Who raised Jesus Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit dwelling in you (Rom. 8:11). This plainly is said specially of the elect, since indeed we shall all rise, but we shall not all be changed; only those who are now ruled by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit will then be raised up into the blessedness of eternal life by a greater grace of that same [Al., also] Spirit. The Lord, therefore, to confirm faith in the resurrection, presented Himself alive to the disciples, brought them words of exhortation, and showed the traces of the passion not only to be gazed on but also to be handled. But their hearts, still weak, cannot grasp the newness of such great power, and they begin rather to marvel for joy at what they saw than to believe what they were taught. But the Lord, so that nothing doubtful might remain in their mind, took food also and ate before them, so that if they did not believe the sight of their eyes, if they did not believe the touch of their fingers,
Editors' notes and page, col. 142
Page
- running head: [HOMILI]Æ. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINÆ. 142 (left part of the head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹sionis indiciis ostendere›; B ‹commoneat] quam congrue›; C ‹non solum hi qui›; D ‹stat, quoniam quidem›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column opens with "sionis", the end of "pas-|sionis" split from col. 141, where the word is set whole; not repeated here. The first "(Rom. VIII)" stands on words that are 1 Cor 6:14; English keeps the printed chapter.
vel alimentorum carnalium perceptione carnem esse quae apparuit cognoscerent. Qua in re, fratres [Al. add. charissimi], cavenda est haeresis stulta Cerinthianorum, ne quis videlicet pueriliter desipiens aestimet vel Mediatoris Dei et Domini nostri corpus excitatum a mortuis, sustentaculo eguisse ciborum, vel nostra post resurrectionem corpora in vita et conversatione spirituali escis reficienda carnalibus, ubi divinae contemplatio claritatis esurire et sitire, sicut et bonorum caeterorum penuriam pati nullatenus sinit. Unde ardentissimus vitae illius amator de sua certus devotione, Deo spe laetabundus loquitur: Ego autem cum justitia apparebo in conspectu tuo, satiabor dum manifestabitur gloria tua (Psal. XVI). Et Philippus eodem fervens amore: Domine, inquit, ostende nobis Patrem, et sufficit nobis (Joan. XIV). Simpliciter itaque et pie sentiendum est resuscitatum a morte, et immortale jam factum corpus dominicum, nullam quidem necessitatem, attamen facultatem habuisse vescendi; ideoque ubi opportunitas probandae substantiae naturalis exigebat, cibis esse refectum, qui nimirum cibi nullum saginae adjumentum, ut mortalium corporibus solent, illi praebuerint, sed quomodo in ignem missa aqua, ita mox comesti spirituali ejus sint virtute absumpti. Sed et nostra post resurrectionem corpora coelesti gloria praedita, credendum est ad quidquid voluerint agendum esse potentia, ad perveniendum ubicunque libuerit esse promptissima; sed quia tunc nulla manducandi necessitas vel utilitas aliunde potest incurrere [Al. inferri], nullatenus immortale saeculum cibis mortalibus esse fruiturum, ubi filiis resurrectionis non aliud esca et potus quam vita et salus, gaudium, pax, et omnia bona, quam illud nimirum sit quod in psalmo canitur: Beati qui habitant in domo tua, Domine, in saecula saeculorum [Al., saeculum saeculi] laudabunt te (Psal. LXXXIII). Et iterum: Videbitur Deus deorum in Sion (Ibid.). Unde et Apostolus illius saeculi arcana scribens [Al., describens], ait: Quando erit Deus omnia in omnibus (I Cor. XV). Expleta autem refectione Dominus adhuc exhortationis monita subjunxit, dicens:
or by their taking of fleshly food they might recognize that what had appeared was flesh. In this matter, brethren [Al. adds dearly beloved], we must beware of the foolish heresy of the Cerinthians, lest anyone, childishly losing his wits, should suppose either that the body of the Mediator of God and our Lord, raised from the dead, needed the support of foods, or that our bodies after the resurrection, in the spiritual life and way of living, are to be refreshed with fleshly foods, where the contemplation of the divine brightness by no means allows one to hunger and thirst, as neither to suffer want of any other good things. Hence the most ardent lover of that life, sure of his devotion, speaks to God, rejoicing in hope: But I shall appear in Thy sight with justice; I shall be satisfied when Thy glory is made manifest (Ps. 16:15). And Philip, burning with the same love: Lord, he says, show us the Father, and it is enough for us (John 14:8). Simply and piously, therefore, we must hold that the Lord's body, raised from death and now made immortal, had no necessity indeed, yet had the faculty, of eating; and that therefore, where the occasion of proving its natural substance required, it was refreshed with food; which food indeed gave it no help of nourishment, as foods do to the bodies of mortals, but, like water cast into fire, was consumed at once, as soon as eaten, by its spiritual power. And our bodies too after the resurrection, endowed with heavenly glory, are, we must believe, powerful to do whatever they will, and most ready to arrive wherever they please; but since then no necessity or usefulness of eating can come upon them [Al. be brought] from anywhere, the immortal age will by no means enjoy mortal foods, where for the sons of the resurrection there is no other food and drink than life and salvation, joy, peace and all good things, than that indeed which is sung in the psalm: Blessed are they who dwell in Thy house, O Lord; for ages of ages [Al., for age of age] they shall praise Thee (Ps. 83:5). And again: The God of gods shall be seen in Sion (Ps. 83:8). Hence the Apostle too, writing [Al., describing] the hidden things of that age, says: When God shall be all in all (1 Cor. 15:28). And when the meal was finished the Lord added further counsels of exhortation, saying:
Haec sunt verba quae locutus sum ad vos, cum adhuc essem vobiscum. Id est, cum mortali adhuc et passibili carne vestri essem similis.
These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you. That is, when I was still like you in mortal and passible flesh.
Quoniam necesse est impleri omnia quae scripta sunt in lege Moysi et Prophetis et Psalmis de me. Omnem Magister veritatis tollit scrupulum simulationis, undique veritatis jura confirmat. Videtur, palpatur, reficitur, sermo exhortationis per singula praebetur, et ne solum ejus testimonium minus sufficere putaretur, etiam Moysi et prophetarum auctoritas, qui ejus incarnationem, passionem et resurrectionem suis praesignaverunt scriptis, ad medium producitur. Ne vero ad intelligenda horum mystica dicta, tardi forte remanerent, sensum quoque illis quo haec intelligere possent aperuit: quo facto, nil ultra priscae dubietatis in eorum mente residere permisit, nec tamen [Al., tunc] illis adhuc rationem passionis
For all things must be fulfilled that are written in the law of Moses and in the Prophets and in the Psalms concerning Me. The Master of truth removes every doubt of pretence, and confirms on every side the rights of truth. He is seen, He is handled, He takes food, a word of exhortation is given point by point; and lest His testimony alone should be thought less than sufficient, the authority also of Moses and the prophets, who foreshadowed His incarnation, passion and resurrection in their writings, is brought forward. And lest they should perhaps remain slow to understand the mystical sayings of these men, He opened to them also the understanding by which they might grasp these things; and when this was done, He allowed nothing more of their former doubt to remain in their mind; yet [Al., then] He did not still
Editors' notes and page, col. 143
Page
- running head: 143 BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III[…] (right part of the head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹vel alimentorum carnalium›; B ‹ostende nobis Patrem›; C ‹necessitas vel utilitas›; D ‹passibili carne vestri›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: final word "pas-|sionis" split at the column break, completed from the first line of col. 144 visible in the top image. The English of the last sentence runs on into col. 144 ("…the reason of the passion").
ac resurrectionis suae reddere ⟨d⟩esistit [Al., destitit]. Nam sequitur:
cease to render to them the reason of His passion and resurrection [Al., ceased]. For there follows:
Et dixit illis: Quoniam sic scriptum est, et sic oportebat Christum pati, et resurgere a mortuis die tertia, et praedicari in nomine ejus poenitentiam et remissionem peccatorum in omnes gentes. Ideo autem Christum pati et resurgere oportebat a mortuis, quia impossibile erat mundum salvari nisi Deus homo veniret, qui in hominis habitu apparens, et homines quae essent divina instrueret, et mortem ut homo suscipiens divina virtute revinceret, sicque in se credentes, et ad contemptum subeundae mortis accenderet, et certitudine sperandae resurrectionis ac vitae perpetis animaret. Quo enim aptius exemplo poterant homines ad fidem participandae gloriae, et promerendae vitae immortalis erigi, quam cum ipsum Deum cognoscerent [Al., agnoscerent] humanitatis ac mortalitatis suae factum [Al., add. fuisse] participem? Quo efficacius ordine ad toleranda pro sua salute adversa quaeque provocarentur, quam cum auctorem suum didicissent pro eorum [Al., ipsorum] salute [Al. add. et] innumera ab impiis genera probrorum, et ipsam mortis subiisse sententiam? Qua ratione congruentius spem resurrectionis acciperent, quam cum ejus se sacramentis ablutos et sanctificatos, ejus corpori adunatos esse meminissent, qui, pro ipsis morte gustata, citius exemplum resurgendi a morte praeberet? Oportebat itaque pati Christum, et resurgere a mortuis die tertia, et praedicari, inquit, in nomine ejus poenitentiam, et remissionem [Al. add. peccatorum] in omnes gentes. Qui [Al., quia] nimirum ordo erat necessarius, ut prius pro salute mundi sanguis funderetur Christi, postquam [Al. om. postquam] per [Al. add. quem] ejus resurrectionem et ascensionem patefieret hominibus coelestis janua regni; et sic demum mitterentur qui cunctis per orbem nationibus verbum vitae praedicarent, ac sacramenta fidei, quibus salvari atque ad gaudia supernae patriae possent attingere, ministrarent, cooperante ipso Mediatore Dei et hominum, homine Jesu Christo, qui vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
And He said to them: For thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and the remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations. Now it behoved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead for this reason: because it was impossible for the world to be saved unless God came as man, Who, appearing in the guise of a man, should both instruct men in the things that are divine, and, taking on death as man, should overcome it by divine power, and so should both kindle those who believe in Him to contempt of the death they must undergo, and quicken them with the certainty of the resurrection and everlasting life to be hoped for. For by what more fitting example could men be raised up to faith in sharing glory and in meriting immortal life than when they knew [Al., recognized] that God Himself had been made [Al. adds had been] a sharer in their humanity and mortality? By what more effective order could they be roused to bear all adversities for their own salvation than when they had learned that their Author had undergone for their [Al., their own] salvation [Al. adds and] countless kinds of insults from the impious, and the very sentence of death? By what reasoning could they more fittingly receive the hope of resurrection than when they remembered that they had been washed and sanctified by His sacraments and united to the body of Him Who, having tasted death for them, quickly gave an example of rising from death? Thus it behoved Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and, He says, that repentance and remission [Al. adds of sins] should be preached in His name to all nations. Which [Al., because] order was indeed necessary: that first the blood of Christ should be shed for the salvation of the world, after which [Al. omits after which] through [Al. adds which] His resurrection and ascension the gate of the heavenly kingdom should be opened to men; and so at last those should be sent who would preach the word of life to all nations throughout the world, and would minister the sacraments of faith by which they could be saved and attain to the joys of the supernal fatherland, the Mediator of God and men, the man Jesus Christ, Himself working with them, Who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, through all ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILIA III. IN FERIA SEXTA INTER OCTAVAM PASCHAE. MATTH. XXVIII. In illo tempore undecim discipuli abierunt in Galilaeam, in montem ubi consti⟨t⟩uerat illis Jesus. Et videntes eum adoraverunt, etc.
HOMILY III. ON THE FRIDAY WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF EASTER. MATTHEW 28. At that time the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had appointed them. And seeing Him they worshipped, etc.
Evangelica lectio, fratres charissimi, quam modo audivimus, et juxta litteram gaudio plena refulget, quia triumphum Redemptoris nostri, simul et redemptionis nostrae dona plano sermone describit. Et si hanc enucleatius pertractare velimus, gratiorem in littera fructum spiritualis sensus inditum esse comperimus. Sermo etenim Dei, aromatum more, quo subtilius quasi terendo et cernendo discutitur, eo majorem internae suae virtutis fragrantiam [Al., flagrantiam] reddit. Planum namque est et dulce ad audiendum piis, quod:
The gospel reading, dearly beloved brethren, which we have just heard, shines full of joy even according to the letter, since it describes in plain speech the triumph of our Redeemer and with it the gifts of our redemption. And if we wish to handle it more thoroughly, we find a more pleasing fruit of spiritual sense set within the letter. For the word of God, in the manner of spices, the more finely it is sifted, as it were by grinding and sieving, the greater the fragrance [Al., burning] of its inward power it gives forth. For it is plain and sweet for the devout to hear that:
Discipuli abierunt in Galilaeam in montem ubi constituerat
The disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had appointed
Editors' notes and page, col. 144
Page
- running head: [… VENERABILI]S OPP. PARS III. — PARÆNETICA. 144 (left part of the head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹sionis ac resurrectionis›; B ‹promerendae vitae immortalis›; C ‹in nomine ejus poenitentiam›; D ‹IN FERIA SEXTA INTER OCTAVAM PASCHAE›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column opens with "sionis", the end of "pas-|sionis" set whole in col. 143; not repeated here. "Jesistit" printed with a damaged initial letter, set ⟨d⟩esistit. "consti.uerat" in the heading has a lost letter. The column ends "con-", a word split at the break whose completion (doubtless con|stituerat) is not in this column's images: visible part set; col. 145 should complete it.
illis Jesus, et videntes eum adoraverunt. Sed non vacat [Al. add. a] mysterio, quod Dominus in Galilaea post resurrectionem, vel quod in monte discipulis apparuit. In monte etenim apparuit, ut significaret quia corpus, quod de communi generis terra nascendo susceperat, resurgendo jam super terrena omnia sublevatum coelesti virtute induerit. In monte apparuit, ut admoneret fideles, si illic celsitudinem resurrectionis ejus cupiunt videre, hic ab infimis cupiditatibus ad superna studeant desideria transire. Nomen vero Galilaeae quid mysterii salutaris contineat, crebra Patrum expositione notissimum est. Sed non ab re est saepius verbo [Al., verbum] repetere, quod semper necesse est animo retinere. Galilaea quippe transmigratio facta, vel revelatio, dicitur. Utraque autem [Al., enim] interpretatio nominis ad unum finem respicit. Siquidem supra legimus dixisse angelum mulieribus: Ite, dicite discipulis ejus quia surrexit, et ecce praecedet vos in Galilaeam, ibi eum videbitis. Et nunc, evangelista narrante, cognovimus quia
them; and seeing Him they worshipped. But it is not without [Al. adds a] mystery that the Lord, after the resurrection, appeared to the disciples in Galilee, and that He appeared on a mountain. For He appeared on a mountain to signify that the body which He had taken by being born from the common earth of our race, He had now, by rising, raised above all earthly things and clothed with heavenly power. He appeared on a mountain to admonish the faithful that, if they long to see there the height of His resurrection, they should strive here to pass from the lowest desires to longings for things above. What saving mystery the name of Galilee contains is very well known from the frequent exposition of the Fathers. But it is not beside the point to repeat rather often in word [Al., the word] what must always be retained in the mind. For Galilee is said to mean a migration accomplished, or revelation. And both interpretations of the name look to one end. For above we read that the angel said to the women: Go, tell His disciples that He has risen, and behold, He will go before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. And now, the evangelist narrating, we learn that
Abierunt discipuli in Galilaeam, et videntes eum adoraverunt. Quid est ergo quod Dominus Jesus praecedit discipulos in Galilaeam, ut videatur ab eis, sequuntur illi et videntes eum adorant, nisi quia surrexit Christus a mortuis, primitiae dormientium (I Cor. XV)? Sequuntur autem hi qui sunt Christi, et ipsi in suo ordine ad vitam de morte transmigrant, ibique eum videntes adorant, quia [Al., quem] in specie suae divinitatis contemplantes sine fine collaudant. Cui visioni congruit illud, quod Galilaea etiam revelatio interpretatur. Tunc etenim revelata facie, sicut Apostolus testatur, gloriam Domini speculantes, in eamdem imaginem transformamur, quicunque modo revelamus ad eum viam nostram, ejusque vestigia fide sequimur non ficta.
The disciples went into Galilee, and seeing Him they worshipped. What then does it mean that the Lord Jesus goes before the disciples into Galilee to be seen by them, and they follow and, seeing Him, worship, unless that Christ has risen from the dead, the firstfruits of those who sleep (1 Cor. 15:20)? And those who are Christ's follow, and they too, each in his own order, migrate from death to life, and there, seeing Him, worship, because [Al., Whom], contemplating Him in the form of His divinity, they praise without end. With this vision agrees the fact that Galilee is also interpreted revelation. For then, with face unveiled, as the Apostle testifies, beholding the glory of the Lord, we are transformed into the same image, whoever of us now reveal our way to Him and follow His footsteps with faith unfeigned.
Et videntes, inquit, eum adoraverunt: quidam autem dubitaverunt. Si quaerimus unde dubitaverint, qui videntes Dominum adoraverunt, nulla magis causa occurrit, quam ea cujus Lucas meminit cum ipso resurrectionis suae die discipulis eum apparuisse narraret, conturbati vero [Al. add. inquit] et conterriti existimabant se spiritum videre (Luc. XXIV). Videntes ergo Dominum cognoscunt, et quia hunc Deum esse didicerant, dimissis in terram vultibus adorant. Sed inerat mentibus eorum non contemnenda dubietas, quia se non corpus in quo passus est resuscitatum, sed spiritum, quem finita passione tradidit, solum videre putabant. Unde confestim Magister pius et eos qui jam crediderunt in fide confortat, et illos qui adhuc dubitaverunt ad fidei gratiam convocat, omnibus, scilicet, intimans, ad quantam gloriae magnificentiam assumpta pro hominibus et morti data humanitas resurgendo pervenerit.
And seeing Him, he says, they worshipped; but some doubted. If we ask why they doubted who, seeing the Lord, worshipped, no cause suggests itself more than that which Luke records when he relates that He appeared to the disciples on the very day of His resurrection: but they were troubled [Al. adds he says] and terrified, and supposed that they saw a spirit (Luke 24:37). Seeing the Lord, then, they recognize Him, and because they had learned that He was God, they worship with their faces bowed to the ground. But there was in their minds a doubt not to be despised, because they thought they were seeing, not the body in which He suffered raised up, but only the spirit which He gave up when the passion was ended. Hence at once the loving Master both strengthens in faith those who already believed and calls to the grace of faith those who still doubted, making known to all, namely, to what magnificence of glory the humanity, assumed for men and given over to death, had attained by rising.
Data est mihi, inquit, omnis potestas in coelo et in terra. Non enim hoc [Al., haec] de coaeterna Patri divinitate, sed de assumpta loquitur humanitate, quam suscipiendo minoratus est paulo minus ab angelis,
All power, He says, has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. For He says this [Al., these things] not of the divinity co-eternal with the Father, but of the humanity He assumed, in taking which He was made a little less than the angels,
Editors' notes and page, col. 145
Page
- running head: 145 SECT. I. HOMILIÆ. — LIB. II. [HOM. GENUINÆ.] (right part of the head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹stituerat illis Jesus›; B ‹citur. Utraque autem›; C ‹collaudant. Cui visioni›; D ‹Deum esse didicerant›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column opens with "stituerat", completing "con-" at the end of col. 144, where only the visible part was set (joined word: constituerat). The final word "au-|gelis" is completed from the first line of col. 146 visible in the top image (angelis). "ergo" in "Videntes ergo" is printed with a defective final letter.
et in qua resurgendo a mortuis, gloria et honore coronatus est, et constitutus super opera manuum Patris, omniaque subjecta sub pedibus ejus (Psal. VIII). Interque [Al., inter quae] omnia etiam mors ipsa, quae ei ad tempus praevalere visa est, ejus pedibus substrata est. Quod ergo Psalmista de Domino resurgente a mortuis ait Patri: Omnia subjecisti sub pedibus ejus, hoc est utique quod resurgens ipse Dominus ait discipulis:
and in which, rising from the dead, He was crowned with glory and honour, and set over the works of the Father's hands, and all things were put in subjection under His feet (Ps. 8:6–8). And among [Al., among which] all these, death itself too, which seemed for a time to prevail over Him, was laid beneath His feet. What, then, the Psalmist says to the Father of the Lord rising from the dead: Thou hast put all things in subjection under His feet, is surely this which the Lord Himself, rising, says to the disciples:
Data est mihi omnis potestas in coelo et in terra. Et quidem etiam priusquam a morte resurgeret, noverant angelicae in coelo virtutes jure [Al. add. se] subditas homini, quem a suo Conditore specialiter assumptum esse videbant; sed caeci in terra homines dedignabantur ei subjici, quem communi secum mortalitate cognoverant indutum. Contemnebant ejus virtutem in miraculis intelligere divinam, cui infirmitatem in passionibus inesse cernebant humanam. Propter quod benigne Mediator ipse Dei et hominum, etiam hominibus in terra notum fieri volens quia data sit ei omnis potestas in coelo et in terra, quatenus et ipsis [Al., ipsi] cum angelis in coelo vitam possent habere perennem, misit doctores qui cunctis per orbem nationibus verbum vitae praedicarent.
All power has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. And indeed, even before He rose from death, the angelic powers in heaven knew that they [Al. adds themselves] were rightly subject to the man Whom they saw to have been specially assumed by their Creator; but blind men on earth disdained to be subject to Him Whom they had known to be clothed in a mortality common with their own. They scorned to understand as divine the power in the miracles of Him in Whom they saw human weakness in His sufferings. For this reason the Mediator of God and men Himself, kindly willing that it should be made known also to men on earth that all power had been given to Him in heaven and on earth, so that they too [Al., they themselves] might have everlasting life with the angels in heaven, sent teachers who would preach the word of life to all nations throughout the world.
MATTH. ULT. MARC. XVI. Euntes, inquit, docete omnes gentes, baptizantes eos in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus sancti, docentes eos servare omnia quaecunque mandavi vobis. Rectissimus autem ordo praedicandi et modernis quoque praedicatoribus Ecclesiae diligentissime sectandus, ut primo quidem doceatur auditor, deinde fidei sacramentis imbuatur, deinde servandis Domini mandatis ex tempore liberius instruatur. Quia neque indoctus quisque et ignarus Christianae fidei potest ejusdem fidei sacramentis ablui, neque lavacro baptismi a peccatis emundari sufficit, si non post baptisma studeat quisque bonis operibus insistere. Prius ergo docere gentes, id est, scientia veritatis instruere, ac sic baptizare praecipit, quia et: Sine fide impossibile est placere Deo (Hebr. XI); et: Nisi quis renatus fuerit ex aqua et Spiritu sancto, non potest introire in regnum Dei (Joan. III). Ad extremum vero subjungit:
MATTHEW 28. MARK 16. Going, He says, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all things whatsoever I have commanded you. Now this is the most right order of preaching, and one to be followed most diligently by the preachers of the Church in our own day too: that the hearer should first be taught, then imbued with the sacraments of faith, then in due time instructed more freely in keeping the Lord's commandments. For neither can anyone untaught and ignorant of the Christian faith be washed with the sacraments of that same faith, nor is it enough to be cleansed from sins by the laver of baptism if one does not strive after baptism to persevere in good works. He commands, therefore, first to teach the nations, that is, to instruct them with the knowledge of the truth, and so to baptize, because both: Without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6); and: Unless one has been born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5). And lastly He adds:
Docentes eos servare omnia quaecunque mandavi vobis. Quia sicut corpus sine spiritu mortuum est, ita et fides sine operibus mortua est. Quanta autem merces piae conversationis, quale pignus futurae beatitudinis etiam in praesenti fidelibus [Al., fideles] maneat, subsequenter insinuat, dicens:
Teaching them to keep all things whatsoever I have commanded you. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. And how great a reward of devout living, what a pledge of future blessedness awaits the faithful [Al., awaits them faithful] even in the present, He then makes known, saying:
Et ecce ego vobiscum sum omnibus diebus usque ad consummationem saeculi. Libet autem conferre huic testimonio quod Marcus ait: Et Dominus quidem postquam locutus est eis, assumptus est in coelum, et sedet a dextris Dei (Marc. XVI). Quia enim ipse Deus et homo est, assumptus est in coelum humanitate, quam de terra susceperat; manet cum sanctis in terra divinitate, qua terram pariter implet et coelum: manet autem omnibus diebus usque ad consummationem saeculi. Ex quo intelligitur, quod usque
And behold, I am with you all days even to the consummation of the age. It is pleasing, moreover, to compare with this testimony what Mark says: And the Lord indeed, after He had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God (Mark 16:19). For since He Himself is God and man, He was taken up into heaven in the humanity which He had taken from the earth; He remains with the saints on earth in the divinity by which He fills earth and heaven alike; and He remains all days even to the consummation of the age. From which it is understood that until
Editors' notes and page, col. 146
Page
- running head: [SECT. I. HOMILIA]E. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINÆ. 146 (left part of the head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹gelis, et in qua›; B ‹mortalitate cognoverant indutum›; C ‹dicandi et modernis›; D ‹bis. Quia sicut corpus›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column opens with "gelis", the end of "au-|gelis" set whole in col. 145; not repeated here. The column ends "us-", a word split at the break whose completion is not in this column's images (doubtless us|que): visible part set; col. 147 should complete it. "MATTH. ULT." = the last chapter of Matthew (28).
ad finem saeculi non sunt defuturi in mundo, qui divina mansione et inhabitatione sint digni. Nec dubitandum eos post hujus saeculi certamina manere cum Christo in regno, qui in saeculo certantes Christum in sui cordis hospitio meruerunt habere mansorem. Notandum interea quod praesens ubique divina Majestas aliter electis suis, aliter adest reprobis. Adest enim reprobis potentia naturae incomprehensibilis, qua omnia cognoscit novissima et antiqua, intelligit cogitationes a longe, et omnes vias singulorum praevidet. Adest electis gratia piae protectionis, qua illos specialiter per praesentia dona vel flagella quasi filios pater erudit, atque ad possessionem futurae haereditatis erudiendo provehit (Psal. CXXXVIII). Adest electis, ut scriptum est: Juxta est Dominus his qui tribulato sunt corde, et humiles spiritu salvabit (Psal. XXXIV). Adest reprobis, ut praemissum est: Vultus autem Domini super facientes mala, ut perdat de terra memoriam eorum (Ibid.). Unde necesse est ut semper in operibus nequam paveant mali, quorum etiam cogitationes singulae conspectui districti judicis patent, semper in operatione justitiae et in his quae propter justitiam patiuntur gaudeant boni, quibus Deum diligentibus omnia cooperantur in bonum (Rom. VIII), et in quacunque tribulatione positis nunquam ejus pietas abest, cui canitur in psalmo: Tibi enim derelictus est pauper, pupillo tu eris adjutor. Contere brachium peccatoris et maligni (Psal. IX). Quam pietatis suae praesentiam non tantum nobis verbo promisit, sed et evidentibus designavit indiciis, cum post resurrectionem suam discipulis saepius, usque ad diem quo coelos petiit, apparuit, eorumque animos admonendo, increpando, Spiritus sancti donum tribuendo, roboravit. E quibus quidem apparitionibus decem solummodo in evangelistarum scriptis invenimus, sed plures fuisse docet Apostolus, dicens: Et resurrexit tertia die secundum Scripturas, et visus est Cephae, et post haec undecim. Deinde visus est plus quam quingentis fratribus simul, deinde visus est Jacobo, d⟨e⟩inde apostolis omnibus; novissime autem omnium, tanquam abortivo, visus est et mihi (I Cor. XV). Quibus enim locis vel temporibus factae sint visiones quas commemorat ignoramus: tantum scimus quia quod sibi novissime visum esse Dominum confirmat, post ascensionem ejus factum est, vel quando illum de coelo alloquens de persecutore doctorem ecclesiae fecit (Act. IX); vel quando in paradisum et tertium coelum raptus audivit arcana verba quae non licebat homini loqui (I Cor. XII). Et, sicut alibi dicit Mysterium Evangelii, quod ab homine non accepit, per revelationem Jesu Christi didicit (Galat. I). Decies vero visum, ut diximus, post resurrectionem Dominum Evangeliorum nobis et Actuum apostolorum prodit historia, ubi ipso resurrectionis suae die quinquies apparuisse legitur.
the end of the age there will not be lacking in the world those who are worthy of the divine abiding and indwelling. Nor must we doubt that those remain with Christ in the kingdom after the struggles of this age who, struggling in the age, deserved to have Christ as a dweller in the lodging of their heart. Meanwhile it is to be noted that the divine Majesty, present everywhere, is present in one way to His elect and in another to the reprobate. For He is present to the reprobate by the power of His incomprehensible nature, by which He knows all things, the newest and the ancient, understands thoughts from afar, and foresees the ways of each. He is present to the elect by the grace of loving protection, by which, as a father his sons, He instructs them specially through present gifts or scourges, and by instructing advances them to the possession of the inheritance to come (Ps. 138). He is present to the elect, as it is written: The Lord is near to those who are of troubled heart, and the humble of spirit He will save (Ps. 33:19). He is present to the reprobate, as is said before that: But the face of the Lord is upon those who do evil, to destroy their memory from the earth (Ps. 33:17). Hence it must be that the wicked are ever afraid in their worthless works, since even their every thought lies open to the gaze of the strict Judge; and that the good ever rejoice in the doing of justice and in what they suffer for justice's sake, since for them who love God all things work together for good (Rom. 8:28), and His kindness is never absent from them, in whatever tribulation they are set, to Whom it is sung in the psalm: For to Thee the poor man is left; Thou wilt be a helper to the orphan. Break the arm of the sinner and the malicious (Ps. 9:35–36). This presence of His kindness He not only promised us in word but also showed by evident tokens, when after His resurrection He appeared often to the disciples, up to the day on which He went up to heaven, and strengthened their minds by admonishing, by rebuking, by bestowing the gift of the Holy Spirit. Of these appearances we find only ten in the writings of the evangelists, but the Apostle teaches that there were more, saying: And He rose on the third day according to the Scriptures, and was seen by Cephas, and after that by the eleven. Then He was seen by more than five hundred brethren at once; then He was seen by James, then by all the apostles; and last of all, as by one untimely born, He was seen also by me (1 Cor. 15:4–8). In what places or at what times the visions he records took place we do not know; we know only that what he affirms, that the Lord was seen by him last, took place after His ascension, either when, addressing him from heaven, He made him from a persecutor a teacher of the Church (Acts 9), or when, caught up into paradise and the third heaven, he heard secret words which it was not lawful for a man to utter (2 Cor. 12:4). And, as he says elsewhere, the Mystery of the Gospel, which he did not receive from man, he learned through the revelation of Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:12). But the narrative of the Gospels and of the Acts of the apostles relates to us that the Lord was seen ten times, as we have said, after the resurrection, where we read that on the very day of His resurrection He appeared five times.
Primo quidem Mariae Magdalenae flenti ad monumentum; deinde, eidem Mariae, et alteri ejusdem nominis feminae, regredientibus a monumento nuntiare
First, to Mary Magdalene weeping at the tomb; then to the same Mary and another woman of the same name, as they returned from the tomb to announce
Editors' notes and page, col. 147
Page
- running head: 147 BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS I[II…] (right part of the head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹que ad finem saeculi›; B ‹ritu salvabit (Psal. XXXIV)›; C ‹sentiam non tantum›; D ‹sibi novissime visum›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column opens with "que", completing "us-" at the end of col. 146, where only the visible part was set (joined word: usque). The final word "nun-|tiare" is completed from the first line of col. 148 visible in the top image. "d inde" has a lost letter. References: printed "(Psal. XXXIV)" and "(Ibid.)" stand on Ps 33 (Vulgate) and are given so in English; printed "(I Cor. XII)" stands on words of 2 Cor 12:4, given so in English; printed "(Psal. CXXXVIII)" kept as Ps 138.
discipulis quae ibi compererant, occurrens apparuit; tertio, Simoni Petro; quarto, Cleophae [Al., Cleopae] et socio ejus, cum quibus ipse gradiens in Emaus, ibidem in panis fractione cognitus est. Qui mox reversi Hierosolymam, invenerunt discipulos loquentes: Quia surrexit Dominus vere, et apparuit Simoni. Nam plenius alibi quando Simoni apparuerit, non legitur. Quinto, apparuit eis in eodem loco januis clausis, ubi non erat [Al., aberat] Thomas. Sexto, post dies octo, quando erat cum eis et Thomas. Septimo, piscantibus ad mare Tiberiadis. Octavo, in monte Galilaeae, quod hodierna lectione audivimus. Nono, recumbentibus illis undecim apparuit, die quo ascendit in coelum. Decimo, viderunt eum ipsa die non jam in terra positum, sed elevatum in aera, coelosque petentem dicentibus sibi angelis: Sic veniet quemadmodum vidistis eum euntem in coelum. (Marc. XVI; Joan. XX; Matth. XXVIII; Luc. XXIV; Joan. XX; Joan. XXI; Matth. XXVIII; Marc. XVI, Act. I; Marc. XVI.)
the things they had learned there to the disciples, He appeared, meeting them; third, to Simon Peter; fourth, to Cleophas [Al., Cleopas] and his companion, with whom, walking Himself to Emaus, He was recognized there in the breaking of bread. And they, soon returning to Jerusalem, found the disciples saying: The Lord has truly risen, and has appeared to Simon. For when He appeared to Simon is not read more fully elsewhere. Fifth, He appeared to them in the same place with the doors shut, where Thomas was not [Al., was absent]. Sixth, after eight days, when Thomas too was with them. Seventh, to them as they fished at the sea of Tiberias. Eighth, on the mountain of Galilee, as we have heard in today's reading. Ninth, He appeared to the eleven as they reclined at table, on the day on which He ascended into heaven. Tenth, on that same day they saw Him no longer set on the earth but lifted up into the air and going to heaven, while angels said to them: So He will come as you have seen Him going into heaven. (Mark 16; John 20; Matt. 28; Luke 24; John 20; John 21; Matt. 28; Mark 16, Acts 1; Mark 16.)
Hac ergo frequentia corporalis suae manifestationis ostendere voluit Dominus, ut diximus, in omni loco se bonorum desideriis divinitus esse praesentem. Apparuit namque ad monumentum lugentibus (Marc. XVI; Joan. XX); aderit et nobis absentiae ejus recordatione salubriter contristatis. Occurrit revertentibus a monumento, ut agnita resurrectionis gaudia praedicarent (Matth. XXVIII); aderit et nobis, dum bona quae novimus proximis fideliter annuntiare gaudemus. Apparuit in fractione panis his qui se peregrinum esse putantes ad hospitium vocaverunt (Luc. XXIV); aderit et nobis cum peregrinis et pauperibus, quaecunque possumus, bona libenter impendimus. Aderit et nobis in fractione panis, cum sacramenta corporis ejus, videlicet, panis vivi [Al. om. vivi], casta ac simplici conscientia sumimus. Apparuit in abdito de sua resurrectione loquentibus; adest et nobis modo ejus dono idem agentibus. Aderit nobis semper cum, ab externis [Al., extrinsecus] operibus ad tempus vacantes, de ejus gratia locuturi convenimus (Joan. I). Apparuit, cum foribus clausis intus Judaeorum metu residerent (Joan. XX). Apparuit cum minorato eodem metu apertis eum gressibus in montis vertice [Al., verticem] quaererent (Act. I). Adfuit quondam confortaturus suo Spiritu Ecclesiam, cum ab infidelibus premeretur. Ad [Al., prem. et ad] publicum venire ac dilatari prohiberetur. Adest eidem et nunc cum inclinato ad fidem culmine regali terror quievit persecutionis, et omnis mundi sublimitas apostolicis est subdita vestigiis. Apparuit piscantibus (Joan. XXI), eisque [Al., eosque] apparens divinis adjuvit beneficiis: aderit et nobis, cum necessaria vitae temporalis recta intentione curamus, justisque nostris laboribus subsidium suae pietatis adjungit [Al., subjunxit]. Apparuit recumbentibus (Marc. XVI), aderit et nobis, cum, juxta Apostoli monita, s⟨i⟩ve manducamus, sive bibimus, sive aliud quid agamus [Al., agimus], omnia in gloriam [Al., gloria] Dei facimus (I Cor. X). Apparuit primo in Judaea (Act. I),
By this frequency of His bodily manifestation, then, the Lord willed to show, as we have said, that He is divinely present in every place to the desires of the good. For He appeared at the tomb to those who mourned (Mark 16; John 20); He will be present to us too when we are wholesomely saddened by the remembrance of His absence. He met those returning from the tomb, so that they might proclaim the joys of the resurrection they had learned (Matt. 28); He will be present to us too while we rejoice to announce faithfully to our neighbours the good things we know. He appeared in the breaking of bread to those who, thinking Him a stranger, invited Him to lodge with them (Luke 24); He will be present to us too when we gladly spend what good things we can on strangers and the poor. He will be present to us too in the breaking of bread, when we receive the sacraments of His body, that is, of the living [Al. omits living] bread, with a chaste and simple conscience. He appeared in a hidden place to those speaking of His resurrection; He is present to us too now, as by His gift we do the same. He will always be present to us when, free for a time from outward [Al., external] works, we come together to speak of His grace (John 1). He appeared when they sat within with the doors shut for fear of the Jews (John 20). He appeared when, that same fear lessened, they sought Him with open steps on the top [Al., to the top] of the mountain (Acts 1). He was present once to strengthen His Church with His Spirit when it was oppressed by unbelievers. It was forbidden to come into [Al., oppressed and into] public view and to spread abroad. He is present to it now too, when, the royal summit having bowed to the faith, the terror of persecution has ceased, and all the loftiness of the world has been made subject to the apostles' footsteps. He appeared to those who were fishing (John 21), and, appearing to them [Al., them], helped them with divine benefits: He will be present to us too when we take care of the necessities of temporal life with right intention, and He adds [Al., added] the help of His kindness to our just labours. He appeared to them as they reclined at table (Mark 16); He will be present to us too when, according to the Apostle's counsels, whether we eat or drink or do [Al., we do] anything else, we do all things for the glory [Al., in the glory] of God (1 Cor. 10:31). He appeared first in Judaea (Acts 1),
Editors' notes and page, col. 148
Page
- running head: [… VENERABIL]IS OPP. PARS III. — PARÆNETICA. 148 (left part of the head cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹tiare discipulis quae ibi›; B ‹aera, coelosque petentem›; C ‹demus. Apparuit in fractione›; D ‹quondam confortaturus suo Spiritu›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column opens with "tiare", the end of "nun-|tiare" set whole in col. 147; not repeated here. "s ve" has a lost letter. The printed reference "(Joan. I)" after "convenimus" is set as printed (its fit is unclear).
deinde in Galilaea, post haec rursum in Judaea die quo ascendit in coelum. Aderat Ecclesiae, cum primo solius Judaeae terminis clauderetur, adest modo, cum Judaeis ob culpam perfidiae derelictis transmigravit ad gentes. Aderit in futuro, cum ante finem saeculi revertetur ad Judaeam, et, sicut Apostolus ait, intrante gentium multitudine, sic omnis Israel salvus erit (Rom. XI). Novissime illis apparuit ascendens in coelum (Act. I). Aderit et nobis, ut eum post mortem sequi mereamur ad coelos, si ante mortem eum in Bethaniam unde ascendit, id est, in domum obedientiae, sequi curamus (Marc. XVI). Ipse etenim coelos [Al., coelum] ascensurus Bethaniam venit, quia, sicut Apostolus ait, Factus est obediens usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis, propter quod et Deus illum exaltavit (Philipp. II). Venimus ibidem et nos, si quod ille monet agimus, quod promisit intendimus. Esto, ait [Al., autem], fidelis usque ad mortem, et dabo ti⟨b⟩i coronam vitae (Apoc. II). Fitque, ipsius gratia largiente, ut qui nobiscum usque ad vitae hujus terminum manet, post hanc nos vitam ad videnda secum vitae coelestis praemia sublevet, in qua vivit et regnat cum Patre, Deus, in unitate Spiritus sancti, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
then in Galilee, after this again in Judaea on the day on which He ascended into heaven. He was present to the Church when at first it was enclosed within the borders of Judaea alone; He is present now, when, the Jews having been abandoned for the fault of their faithlessness, it has passed over to the gentiles. He will be present in the future, when before the end of the world it will return to Judaea, and, as the Apostle says, when the multitude of the gentiles has entered in, so all Israel will be saved (Rom. 11:25–26). Last of all He appeared to them as He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9). He will be present to us also, so that after death we may be worthy to follow Him to the heavens, if before death we take care to follow Him into Bethany, from which He ascended, that is, into the house of obedience (Mark 16:19). For He Himself, when about to ascend to the heavens [another reading: heaven], came to Bethany, because, as the Apostle says, He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, on account of which God also has exalted Him (Phil. 2:8–9). We too come to the same place if we do what He counsels, if we strive towards what He has promised. Be faithful, He says [another reading: but], unto death, and I will give you the crown of life (Rev. 2:10). And it comes about, by the bounty of His grace, that He who remains with us up to the end of this life lifts us up after this life to see with Him the rewards of the heavenly life, in which He lives and reigns with the Father, God, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for all ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILIA IV. INFRA OCTAVAS PASCHAE. LUC. XXIV.
HOMILY IV. WITHIN THE OCTAVE OF EASTER. LUKE 24.
In illo tempore. Una Sabbati valde diluculo venerunt mulieres ad monumentum portantes quae paraverunt aromata, et invenerunt lapidem revolutum a monumento, et ingressae non invenerunt corpus Domini Jesu.
At that time. On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, and going in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
Aperta nobis est, fratres, de resurrectione Domini et Salvatoris nostri lectio recitata; neque exponendo laborare opus est, ubi notissima fidei nostrae mysteria evangelicis replicantur oraculis, sed breviter oportet intimare quae nobis sint ex ejus lectionis imitatione facienda.
The reading that has been recited to us, brethren, concerning the resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, is plain; nor is there need to labour in expounding it, where the best-known mysteries of our faith are unfolded in the oracles of the Gospel; but we ought briefly to set out what we must do in imitation of this reading.
Una, inquit, Sabbati valde diluculo venerunt mulieres ad monumentum. Una Sabbati prima est dies post diem Sabbati, quam nunc ob reverentiam Dominicae resurrectionis Dominicam vocare solemus. Sic enim secunda Sabbati, tertia Sabbati, et caeteri ex ordine dies in Scriptura sacra nomen a nume⟨r⟩o sortiuntur. Idipsum autem significat, ubi una Sabbatorum legitur, unam, videlicet, sive primam diem post Sabbatorum, hoc est, requietionum diem ostendens. Quod autem mulieres Dominum quaesiturae valde diluculo venerunt ad monumentum, magnam sui amoris erga illum devotionem demonstrant, ad cujus obsequium mox ut noctis umbra discessit, ut luce apparente facultas eundi dabatur, festinare contendunt. Sed et nobis typicum praebent exemplum, ut si Dominum invenire, si angelorum desideramus praesentia confortari, abjiciamus opera tenebrarum, et induamus nos arma lucis, sicut in die honeste ambulemus. Decet autem nos sicut operum bonorum luce fulgidos, ita etiam spiritualium orationum gratia refertos qu⟨ae⟩rere Dominum. Unde bene mulieres quae ad monumentum venerunt, aromata
On the first, it says, of the Sabbath, very early in the morning, the women came to the tomb. The first of the Sabbath is the first day after the day of the Sabbath, which now, out of reverence for the Lord's resurrection, we are accustomed to call the Lord's Day. For so the second of the Sabbath, the third of the Sabbath, and the other days in order take their name in Holy Scripture from their number. And the same is meant where one reads "the first of the Sabbaths", indicating, that is, the one or first day after the day of the Sabbaths, that is, of the rests. That the women, about to seek the Lord, came very early in the morning to the tomb shows the great devotion of their love towards Him, in whose service they strive to hasten as soon as the shadow of night has departed, as soon as, with the light appearing, the opportunity of going was given. But they also give us a figurative example, that if we desire to find the Lord, if we desire to be strengthened by the presence of angels, we should cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light, and walk honestly as in the day. And it befits us to seek the Lord, as shining with the light of good works, so also filled with the grace of spiritual prayers. Hence well did the women who came to the tomb [bring] spices
Editors' notes and page, col. 149
Footnotes
(a) ‹anchor: HOMILIA IV› · call in col 149
Thes. Anecd. Marten., tom. V, hom. 8.
Martène, Thesaurus novus anecdotorum, vol. V, homily 8.
(printed under page 79)
Page
- running head: 149 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. H[OMILIA IV.] (right side of head cut off in image)
- marginal letters: A deinde in Galilaea; B exaltavit (Philipp. II); C Aperta nobis est; D post Sabbatorum
- old-edition numerals: (none)
quae paraverant secum portasse referuntur. Aromata etenim nostrarum voces sunt orationum, quibus desideria cordis nostri Domino commendamus, attestante apostolo Joanne, qui mundissima sanctorum praecordia mystice describens, habebant, inquit, phialas aureas plenas odoramentorum, quae sunt orationes sanctorum (Apoc. V). Quae enim Graece aromata, Latine odoramenta vocantur. Diluculo igitur aromata ad monumentum Domini ferimus, cum memores passionis ac mortis quam pro nobis suscepit, et actionum bonarum proximis foris lucem monstramus, et suavitate purae compunctionis intus in corde fervemus: quod et omnibus horis, et tunc maxime fieri oportet, cum ecclesiam oraturi ingredimur, cum appropiamus altari Dominici corporis et sanguinis mysteria sumpturi. Si enim mulieres tanta cura corpus Domini mortuum quaerebant, quanto magis nos convenit, qui eum resurrexisse a morte, qui ad coelos ascendisse, qui potentia divinae majestatis ubique praesentem cognovimus, cum omni reverentia ejus astare conspectibus, ejus mysteria celebrare? Bene autem dicitur: Portantes quae paraverant aromata. Aromata namque quae ad obsequium Domini portemus prius parasse, est ad eum cor ante tempus orationis a supervacuis expurgare cogitationibus, ut in ipso tempore orandi nihil sordium mente recipere, nihil rerum labentium cogitare, nulla praeter ea quae precamur, et ipsum cui supplicamus meminisse noverimus, juxta exemplum ejus qui ait: Paratum cor meum, Deus, paratum cor meum; cantabo, et psalmum dicam Domino (Psal. CVII). Nam qui ad orandum ecclesias ingressus inter verba obsecrationis consuetudinem superfluae cogitationis ab animo repellere negligit, quasi Deum quaerens, minus parata secum aromata detulit.
bring with them, it is related, the spices which they had prepared. For spices are the voices of our prayers, by which we commend the desires of our heart to the Lord, as the apostle John attests, who, describing mystically the most pure hearts of the saints, says: they had golden bowls full of odours, which are the prayers of the saints (Rev. 5:8). For what in Greek are called aromata are called in Latin odoramenta. So we bring spices at dawn to the Lord's tomb when, mindful of the passion and death which He underwent for us, we both show outwardly to our neighbours the light of good actions and glow inwardly in the heart with the sweetness of pure compunction: which ought to be done at all hours, and most of all when we enter a church to pray, when we approach the altar to receive the mysteries of the Lord's body and blood. For if the women sought the dead body of the Lord with such care, how much more is it fitting for us, who know that He has risen from death, that He has ascended to the heavens, that He is present everywhere by the power of the divine majesty, to stand with all reverence in His sight and to celebrate His mysteries? And well is it said: Bringing the spices which they had prepared. For to have first prepared the spices which we bring for the Lord's service is to cleanse the heart before the time of prayer from idle thoughts, so that in the very time of praying we may know how to admit nothing defiling into the mind, to think of nothing among passing things, to remember nothing except those things for which we pray and Him to whom we make supplication, after the example of him who says: My heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready; I will sing, and I will say a psalm to the Lord (Ps. 107:2). For he who, having entered a church to pray, neglects to drive from his mind, amid the words of supplication, the habit of superfluous thought, has, as one seeking God, brought spices with him that were less than prepared.
Invenerunt autem mulieres lapidem revolutum a monumento, et ingressae non invenerunt corpus Domini Jesu. Notum juxta historiam est, narrante evangelista Matthaeo, quia descendens de coelo angelus revolvit lapidem ab ostio monumenti, non quidem ut exeunti Domino viam faceret, sed ut apertus vacuusque monumenti locus hominibus eum resurrexisse proderet. Mystice autem revolutio lapidis sacramentorum est revelatio divinorum, quae quondam littera legis claudebantur occulta. Lex enim in lapide scripta est. Etenim et nobis singulis cum fidem Dominicae passionis et resurrectionis agnovimus, monumentum profecto illius, quod clausum fuerat, apertum est. Ingredimur et ipsi monumentum, nec corpus Domini invenimus, cum ordinem incarnationis ac passionis illius sedulo corde retractantes, resurrexisse illum a mortuis, neque ultra in carne mortali videndum esse recolimus. At vero Judaeis ac paganis, qui mortem quidem Redemptoris nostri quam credunt irrident, triumphum verae resurrectionis ejus prorsus credere recusant, quasi clausum lapide adhuc monumentum permanet, nec valent ingredi, ut cernentes ablatum resurgendo
And the women found the stone rolled away from the tomb, and going in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. It is known according to the history, as the evangelist Matthew relates, that an angel descending from heaven rolled back the stone from the door of the tomb, not indeed to make a way for the Lord as He went out, but so that the open and empty place of the tomb might show men that He had risen. Mystically, however, the rolling back of the stone is the revealing of the divine sacraments, which were once kept shut away and hidden by the letter of the law. For the law was written on stone. And indeed for each of us too, when we have come to know the faith of the Lord's passion and resurrection, His tomb, which had been closed, is assuredly opened. We ourselves also enter the tomb and do not find the Lord's body when, going over with attentive heart the order of His incarnation and passion, we call to mind that He has risen from the dead and is no longer to be seen in mortal flesh. But for Jews and pagans, who mock the death of our Redeemer which they do believe, [but] utterly refuse to believe the triumph of His true resurrection, the tomb remains as it were still closed with the stone, and they are not able to go in, so that, seeing [His body] taken away by rising
Editors' notes and page, col. 150
Page
- running head: SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE. 150 (left side of head cut off in image)
- marginal letters: A quae paraverant secum; B sanguinis mysteria sumpturi; C ejus qui ait; D dam littera legis
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column ends mid-sentence at "resurgendo"; "[His body]" supplied in English.
corpus Domini resipiscant, quia duritia suae infidelitatis repelluntur ne animadvertant quia non potest in terris inveniri mortuus, qui, destructo mortis aditu, jam coelorum alta penetravit. Hoc quoque quod mulieres non invento corpore Domini mente consternabantur, nos congruit imitari. Meminisse etenim continue debemus, quia corpus Domini nostri in terris invenire nequimus; et eo magis humiliari, quo nos constat de profundis clamare ad eum qui habitat in coelo, eo amplius mente consternari, quo nos videmus longe adhuc peregrinari ab illo in cujus solum praesentia beate vivere valemus, omnique nisu virtutis agere, ut magis peregrinari a saeculo et praesentes esse mereamur ad illum. Moestis autem de ablato corpore Jesu mulieribus apparuerunt angeli, qui illis, patefacta ejus resurrectione, consolationis remedia ferrent: quod nunc quoque invisibiliter nobiscum agi minime dubitare oportet, cum de longitudine praesentis incolatus, ac de absentia nostri Conditoris salubriter afflicti, repente supernorum civium quae sint gaudia aeterna recolimus, ac recordata illorum beatitudine, in qua etiam nos futuros speramus, exsilii quam patimur aerumnam levius ferre incipimus; et quo resurgens a morte Redemptor noster ascendit; illo nos quoque quos redimere dignatus est, sequi posse confidimus. Nec latet angelos crebro electis invisibili adesse praesentia, ut eos vel ab hostis callidi defendant insidiis, vel majori coelestis desiderii gratia sustollant, Apostolo attestante, qui ait: Nonne omnes administratorii sunt spiritus in ministerium missi propter eos qui haereditatem capient salutis (Hebr. I)? Maxime tamen angelici nobis spiritus adesse credendi sunt, cum divinis specialiter mancipamur obsequiis, id est, cum ecclesiam ingressi vel lectionibus sacris aurem accommodamus, vel psalmodiae operam damus, vel orationi incumbimus, vel etiam missarum solemnia celebramus. Unde monet Apostolus mulieres in ecclesia velamen habere super caput propter angelos. Et propheta ait: In conspectu angelorum ps⟨a⟩llam tibi (Psal. CXXXVII). Nec dubitare licet ubi corporis et sanguinis Dominici mysteria geruntur, supernorum civium adesse conventus, qui monumentum quo corpus ipsum venerabile positum fuerat, et unde resurgendo abscesserat, tam sedulis servant excubiis. Unde studendum solerter, fratres mei, ut cum ecclesiam vel ad divinae laudis debita solvenda, vel ad agenda missarum solemnia intramus, semper angelicae praesentiae memores, cum timore ac veneratione competenti coeleste compleamus officium in exemplum feminarum Deo devotarum, quae apparentibus ad monumentum angelis timuisse, ac vultum declinasse narrantur in terram. Notandum vero quidnam sit quod in hac lectione angeli secus mulieres stetisse perhibentur, qui apud alios evangelistas sedentes eas alloqui memorantur.
may come to their senses, perceiving the body of the Lord taken away by His rising; for they are driven back by the hardness of their unbelief from noticing that He cannot be found dead on earth who, having destroyed the approach of death, has already passed into the heights of heaven. This too, that the women were dismayed in mind when the body of the Lord was not found, it is fitting for us to imitate. For we ought continually to remember that we are unable to find the body of our Lord on earth; and to be humbled the more, the more it is evident that we cry from the depths to Him who dwells in heaven; to be dismayed in mind the more, the more we see that we are still far away on pilgrimage from Him in whose presence alone we are able to live blessedly; and to strive with every effort of virtue that we may rather be worthy to be pilgrims from the world and present to Him. Now to the women, sorrowful over the taking away of the body of Jesus, angels appeared, to bring them the remedies of consolation by revealing His resurrection: and we must in no way doubt that this is done invisibly with us also now, when, wholesomely afflicted by the length of our present sojourning and by the absence of our Maker, we suddenly call to mind what are the eternal joys of the citizens above, and, having recalled their blessedness, in which we hope that we too shall be, we begin to bear more lightly the hardship of the exile which we suffer; and we trust that we also, whom He deigned to redeem, can follow to the place where our Redeemer, rising from death, ascended. Nor is it hidden that angels frequently attend the elect with an invisible presence, either to defend them from the snares of the cunning enemy or to lift them up by a greater grace of heavenly desire, as the Apostle attests, who says: Are they not all ministering spirits, sent to minister for the sake of those who shall receive the inheritance of salvation (Heb. 1:14)? Yet most of all are the angelic spirits to be believed to be present with us when we are given over in a special way to the divine service, that is, when, having entered a church, we either lend our ear to the sacred readings, or give our attention to psalmody, or apply ourselves to prayer, or also celebrate the solemnities of Masses. Hence the Apostle admonishes women to have a veil over their head in church because of the angels. And the prophet says: In the sight of the angels I will sing psalms to Thee (Ps. 137:1). Nor is it permitted to doubt that, where the mysteries of the Lord's body and blood are performed, the assembly of the citizens above is present, who keep such diligent watches over the tomb in which that venerable body had been laid and from which it had departed by rising. Hence we must strive earnestly, my brethren, that when we enter a church, either to pay the debt of divine praise or to perform the solemnities of Masses, we, always mindful of the angelic presence, may fulfil the heavenly office with fitting fear and veneration, after the example of the women devoted to God, who, when the angels appeared at the tomb, are related to have been afraid and to have bowed their faces to the ground. But we must note what it means that in this reading the angels are said to have stood beside the women, who in the other evangelists are related to have spoken to them sitting.
Editors' notes and page, col. 151
Footnotes
(a) ‹anchor: geruntur,› · call in col 151
Sic Chrysostomus, lib. vi de Sacerdotio, cap. 4 : Per id tempus et angeli sacerdoti assident.... et locus altari vicinus in illius honorem qui immolatur angelorum choris plenus est. Vide Joannem Moschum, Prat. Spirit., cap. 1[?]9.
So Chrysostom, On the Priesthood, book 6, chapter 4: "At that time angels too sit by the priest.... and the place near the altar is full of choirs of angels in honour of him who is sacrificed." See John Moschus, The Spiritual Meadow, chapter 1[?]9. [The middle digit of the chapter number is blurred in the scan; possibly 199.]
(printed under page 80)
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- running head: 151 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS I[I]... (right side of head cut off in image)
- marginal letters: A corpus Domini resipiscant; B ribus apparuerunt angeli; C omnes administratorii; D bile positum fuerat
- old-edition numerals: (none)
Sedere quippe in throno regis est stare ad aram pontificis. Quia igitur Redemptor noster Rex nobis pariter et Sacerdos fieri dignatus est; Sacerdos, videlicet, ut nos a peccatis hostia suae passionis emundet; Rex, ut regnum nobis perenne tribuat, apparent angeli sedentes, qui resurrectionis ejus gloriam nuntiant, ut hunc significent sedem regni coelestis devicta morte petiisse; apparent et stantes, ut eum in secreto Patris etiam pro nobis quasi pontificem interpellare demonstrent, juxta quod de illo loquens Apostolus ait: Qui est ad dexteram Dei, qui etiam interpellat pro nobis (Rom. VIII).
For to sit is proper to a king on his throne, to stand to a high priest at the altar. Since, therefore, our Redeemer deigned to become for us both King and Priest alike — Priest, that is, to cleanse us from sins by the victim of His passion; King, to grant us an everlasting kingdom — angels appear sitting, who announce the glory of His resurrection, to signify that He, having conquered death, has gone to the seat of the heavenly kingdom; they appear also standing, to show that in the secret place of the Father He intercedes for us too as a high priest, according to what the Apostle says, speaking of Him: Who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us (Rom. 8:34).
Dixerunt angeli mulieribus: Quid quaeritis viventem cum mortuis? Non est hic, sed surrexit. Quod aperte est dicere: Quid quaeritis in tumulo, qui locus est proprie mortuorum, eum qui ad vitam jam surrexit a mortuis? Recordamini qualiter locutus est vobis, cum adhuc in Galilaea esset dicens: Quia oportet Filium hominis tradi in manus peccatorum hominum, et crucifigi, et die tertia resurgere (Luc. XXIV). Plana sunt haec verba angelorum et cunctis nota fidelibus, utpote sine quorum scientia nullatenus possunt esse fideles. Sed est quod in illis fraternitatem vestram una nobiscum admonere debeamus, ut, juxta quod angeli praecipiunt, recordemur saepius, ac sollicita mente versemus, quia Filius Dei hominis fieri dignatus est filius, ut nos in se credentes Dei faceret filios. Traditus est in manus hominum peccatorum, ut nos a consortio hominum peccatorum segregaret, simul a spirituum malignorum potestate liberaret. Crucifixus die tertia resurrexit, ut nobis virtutem pro se patiendi, et spem in se resurgendi, ac secum vivendi donaret. Haec dominicae dispensationis arcana et semper nos animo decet retinere, et intentius solito ubi beatissimae passionis sacramenta conficiuntur, ubi mors Salvatoris nostri quam citissima resurrectionis virtute in aeternum conculcavit, mysticis in altari renovatur officiis. Nec sine discussione praetereundum quare Dominus ac Redemptor noster tertia die resurgere, hoc est, duabus noctibus et una die voluit in sepulcro quiescere: siquidem sexta Sabbati, qua passus est, sero positus est in monumento, mane prima Sabbati surrexit. Duabus etenim mortibus natura humana tenebatur obnoxia, animae, videlicet, et carnis: animae quidem, propter peccatum; carnis vero, propter poenam peccati. Mors namque animae est cum propter peccatum suum deseritur a Deo qui est vita ejus; mors corporis cum per judicium divinum deseritur ab anima, quae est vita illius. Sicut etiam resurrectio animae est, abjecta labe peccati, in se recipere Deum; ita resurrectio est carnis soluta poena corruptionis in se recipere animam. His itaque duabus mortibus a primo parente generis nostri tenebamur obnoxii; sed venit Mediator Dei et hominum homo Christus Jesus: suscepit unam misericorditer, et juste utramque damnavit.
The angels said to the women: Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Which is plainly to say: Why do you seek in the grave, which is properly the place of the dead, Him who has already risen from the dead to life? Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying: The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again (Luke 24:5–7). These words of the angels are plain and known to all the faithful, since without the knowledge of them they can in no way be faithful. But there is something in them of which we ought, together with ourselves, to admonish your fraternity: that, as the angels command, we should remember more often, and turn over with an attentive mind, that the Son of God deigned to become the son of man, so that He might make us, believing in Him, sons of God. He was delivered into the hands of sinful men, so that He might separate us from the fellowship of sinful men and at the same time free us from the power of evil spirits. Crucified, He rose on the third day, so that He might give us the strength to suffer for Him, and the hope of rising in Him and of living with Him. It befits us both always to keep these secrets of the Lord's dispensation in mind, and more attentively than usual where the sacraments of the most blessed passion are celebrated, where the death of our Saviour, which He trampled underfoot for ever by the most swift power of His resurrection, is renewed in the mystical rites at the altar. Nor should it be passed over without discussion why our Lord and Redeemer willed to rise on the third day, that is, to rest in the tomb for two nights and one day: for on the sixth day of the week, on which He suffered, He was laid in the tomb in the evening, and early on the first day of the week He rose. For human nature was held liable to two deaths, namely of the soul and of the flesh: of the soul, on account of sin; of the flesh, on account of the punishment of sin. For the death of the soul is when on account of its sin it is forsaken by God, who is its life; the death of the body, when by divine judgement it is forsaken by the soul, which is its life. And just as the resurrection of the soul is, the stain of sin cast away, to receive God into itself, so the resurrection of the flesh is, the punishment of corruption undone, to receive the soul into itself. To these two deaths, then, we were held liable from the first parent of our race; but there came the Mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus: He took upon Himself the one in mercy, and justly condemned both.
Editors' notes and page, col. 152
Page
- running head: [BEDAE VENERABILI]S OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 152 (left side of head cut off in image)
- marginal letters: A morantur. Sedere quippe; B cus est proprie mortuorum; C liberaret. Crucifixus; D animae, videlicet
- old-edition numerals: (none)
Sola namque carne mortuus, sola carne surrexit, quia animae suae vitam, quam poenitendo reciperet, nunquam peccando amisit, ut et omne genus humanum in judicio de morte carnis surrecturum, exemplo suae resurrectionis ostenderet, et omnes electos ante judicium de morte animae suscitand⟨i⟩s sacramento ejusdem suae resurrectionis intimaret. Qui ergo sua simpla morte duplam nostram destruxit, recte duabus noctibus et una inter has die in monumento jacuit, ut per ipsum quoque tempus suae sepulturae signaret quia tenebras nostrae duplae mortis suae simplae mortis luce discuteret.
For He died in the flesh alone, and in the flesh alone He rose, because He never lost by sinning the life of His soul, which He would have to recover by repenting; so that by the example of His resurrection He might show that the whole human race will rise at the judgement from the death of the flesh, and by the sacrament of that same resurrection of His might make known that all the elect are to be raised before the judgement from the death of the soul. He, then, who by His single death destroyed our double one, rightly lay in the tomb for two nights and one day between them, so that by the very time of His burial He might signify that by the light of His single death He would scatter the darkness of our double death.
Regressae autem mulieres a monumento, nuntiaverunt apostolis quae ibi viderant, vel ab angelis audierant. Quod divinae pietatis actum dispensatione cognoscitur, ut a sexu femineo primae praevaricationis tolleretur opprobrium. Ecce enim mortem, quam una mulier mundo a diabolo seducta intulerat, plures ab angelis edoctae jam destructam praedicant. Una egrediens a coelestibus gaudiis iter aperuit; multi egredientes de exsilio praesenti ad patriam supernam repetendi januam jam reseratam astruunt. Sed quia non immerito movet eos qui simplicia tantum monumenta norunt quomodo factum fuerit monumentum illud dominicum, ut tot homines una cum angelis caperet, opportunum putamus simpliciter charitati vestrae quae de illo comperimus explicare, juxta relationem illorum qui nostra aetate Hierosolymis fuerunt, quaeque ibi viderunt redeuntes nobis scripta reliquerunt. Domus igitur rotunda erat, excisa in petra, tantae altitudinis, ut qui in medio staret manu culmen tangere posset. Habebat autem introitum ab Oriente, cui lapis ille magnus, de quo Evangelia narrant, appositus est. Hanc ingredientibus erat a dexteris ille locus qui specialiter dominici corporis receptui paratus est, septem quidem pedum longus, trium vero mensura palmorum reliquo pavimento eminentior, qui non vulgarium more sepulcrorum desuper, sed a latere meridiano per totum factus est patulus, unde corpus posset imponi. Et hoc est quod evangelista Marcus ait, quia introeuntes in monumentum mulieres viderunt juvenem sedentem a dextris, quia nimirum angelus qui ad locum dominici corporis sedebat intrantibus erat a dextris, sed et ipse eidem loco sepulcri dexter sedebat. Cuncta autem haec continuata et non ab invicem erant separata, ut pote in una eademque petra excisa. Talem quidem dominici monumenti primo positionem fuisse percepimus. At nunc tradunt ecclesiam ibi esse rotundam eximii operis, triplici pariete distinctam, in cujus medio sit monumentum, et hoc deforis marmorum crustis usque ad summa culminis tecta; ipsum vero culmen auro vestitum auream crucem gestare non modicam, cujus ad Orientem ecclesiae Golgothana est ecclesia, quae inter alia ornamenta tali loco congrua crucem
But the women, returning from the tomb, announced to the apostles what they had seen there or had heard from the angels. This is recognized to have been done by the dispensation of the divine goodness, so that the reproach of the first transgression might be taken away from the female sex. For behold, the death which one woman, led astray by the devil, had brought upon the world, many women, taught by angels, now proclaim destroyed. One, going out from the heavenly joys, opened the way; many, going out from the present exile, declare that the gate for returning to the fatherland above is now unbarred. But since it not undeservedly troubles those who know only simple tombs how that tomb of the Lord was made, so that it could hold so many people together with angels, we think it opportune simply to explain to your charity what we have learned about it, according to the account of those who were at Jerusalem in our own time and who, on returning, left us in writing what they saw there. The chamber, then, was round, hewn in the rock, of such a height that one standing in the middle could touch the roof with his hand. It had its entrance from the east, against which that great stone was set of which the Gospels tell. On the right of those entering was the place which was prepared specially to receive the Lord's body, seven feet long and raised three palms in measure above the rest of the floor, which was open, not from above in the manner of common tombs, but along the whole of its south side, from where the body could be laid in it. And this is what the evangelist Mark says, that the women, entering the tomb, saw a young man sitting on the right; because, to be sure, the angel who sat by the place of the Lord's body was on the right of those entering, and he also sat on the right side of that same place of the tomb. And all these things were continuous and not separated from one another, being hewn in one and the same rock. Such, at least, we have learned was the original arrangement of the Lord's tomb. But now they relate that there is a round church there of excellent workmanship, divided by a triple wall, in the middle of which stands the tomb, and this covered outside with slabs of marble up to the very top of its roof; and the roof itself, clothed with gold, bears a golden cross of no small size; to the east of this church is the church of Golgotha, which among other ornaments fitting to such a place [bears] a cross
Editors' notes and page, col. 153
Footnotes
(a) ‹anchor: a coelestibus gaudiis› · call in col 153
Videtur esse legendum iter mortis aperuit.
It seems we should read: "opened the way of death."
(printed under page 81)
(b) ‹anchor: relationem illorum› · call in col 153
Scilicet, Arculfi episcopi Galli, cujus narrationes, sacrorumque locorum descriptiones litterarum monumentis mandavit Adamnanus abbas Scotus, cujus opus editum habes apud Mabillonium, saeculo III Bened., part. I, p. 502, ubi dominici sepulcri figura delineata repraesentatur. Idem opus compendio redegit ipse Beda in libello de Locis sanctis.
That is, of Arculf, a Gallic bishop, whose accounts and descriptions of the holy places Adomnán, the Scottish abbot, committed to writing. You have his work edited in Mabillon, third Benedictine century, part 1, p. 502, where a drawing of the Lord's tomb is shown. Bede himself abridged the same work in his little book On the Holy Places.
(printed under page 81)
(c) ‹anchor: Domus igitur› · call in col 153
Ita fere loquitur Beda lib. de Locis sanctis, cap. 2.
Bede speaks in nearly these words in his book On the Holy Places, chapter 2.
(printed under page 81)
Page
- running head: 153 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. H[OM. GENUINAE.] (right side of head cut off in image)
- marginal letters: A navit. Sola namque; B cognoscitur, ut a sexu; C petra, tantae altitudinis; D dem loco sepulcri
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "ut pote" is printed as two words and is set so.
argenteam habet pergrandem in loco quo Dominus crucifigi pro nostra est salute dignatus; pendente magno pharo desuper, id est aerea rota cum lampadibus, quae ipsam crucem debita lucis veneratione coronent. Sed et hujus ad Orientalem plagam ecclesiae proxima est ecclesia Constantiniana, quae alio nomine Martyrium vocatur; ubi crux Dom⟨i⟩ni ab Helena Constantini matre reperta est, et ob id ipse ibidem ecclesiam magnifico ac regio cultu construxit. His de sanctorum situ locorum, prout dicere potuimus explanatis, libet intueri adimpletam esse prophetiam Isaiae, quam de sepultura ac resurrectione dominica simul et de nostra fide ac salute praedixit: In die illa radix Jesse qui stat in signum populorum, ipsum gentes deprecabuntur, et erit sepulcrum ejus gloriosum (Isai. XI, 10). Radix quippe Jesse Dominus est, natus quidem ex stirpe Jesse secundum humanitatem, sed conditor ipsius Jesse secundum divinitatem, qui stat in signum populorum, quia signum salutis quo credentium populi a callidi hostis malitia muniuntur, ipsius est passione sacratum. Ipsum gentes deprecabuntur, quia non solum Judaeos, sed et nos qui de finibus terrae ad eum clamare noscimur, gratia suae visitationis advocavit. Et est sepulcrum ejus gloriosum, quia locum in quo regnum mortis diruit, palmae perennis indiciis memorabilem servavit. Quapropter, dilectissimi, tota ad ipsum mente conversi deprecemur, ut nos signo suae protectionis ab hostium liberet insidiis, ipse nos et redemptionis nostrae sacramenta digne celebrare et ad beatae resurrectionis tribuat gaudia pervenire Jesus Christus Dominus noster, qui vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
of silver, very large, in the place where the Lord deigned to be crucified for our salvation; a great pharos hangs above, that is, a bronze wheel with lamps, which crown that cross with the veneration of light due to it. And next to this church, on its eastern side, is the Constantinian church, which by another name is called the Martyrium; where the cross of the Lord was found by Helena, the mother of Constantine, and for that reason he himself built a church there with magnificent and royal adornment. Having explained these things about the situation of the holy places as far as we were able, it is pleasing to observe that the prophecy of Isaiah has been fulfilled, which he foretold concerning the Lord's burial and resurrection and at the same time concerning our faith and salvation: In that day the root of Jesse, who stands as a sign of the peoples, him the gentiles shall entreat, and his tomb shall be glorious (Isa. 11:10). For the root of Jesse is the Lord, born indeed of the stock of Jesse according to His humanity, but the maker of Jesse himself according to His divinity; who stands as a sign of the peoples, because the sign of salvation, by which the peoples of believers are protected from the malice of the cunning enemy, was consecrated by His passion. Him the gentiles shall entreat, because by the grace of His visitation He has called not only the Jews but also us, who are known to cry to Him from the ends of the earth. And His tomb is glorious, because He has kept the place in which He overthrew the kingdom of death memorable by the tokens of an everlasting palm of victory. Wherefore, dearly beloved, let us, turned to Him with our whole mind, entreat that He may deliver us from the snares of our enemies by the sign of His protection, and that He Himself, Jesus Christ our Lord, may grant us both to celebrate worthily the sacraments of our redemption and to come to the joys of the blessed resurrection; who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for all ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILIA V. IN DOMINICA SECUNDA POST OCTAVAS PASCHAE. JOAN. XVI.
HOMILY V. ON THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER THE OCTAVE OF EASTER. JOHN 16.
In illo tempore, dixit Jesus discipulis suis: Modicum et jam non videbitis me, et iterum modicum et videbitis me, quia vado ad Patrem, etc.
At that time Jesus said to His disciples: A little while and you will no longer see Me, and again a little while and you will see Me, because I go to the Father, etc.
Laeta Domini et Salvatoris nostri promissa, fratres charissimi, laeto cordis auditu percipere debemus, sedulaque intentione persistere, quatenus ad haec contingere mereamur. Quid est enim quod merito laetius audiatur quam perveniri posse ad gaudium quod nunquam possit auferri? Notandum autem quod tota lectionis hujus evangelicae series illis convenit qui eam praesentes audierunt a Domino: pars autem illius etiam nobis, qui post passionem et resurrectionem dominicam ad fidem venimus, aptissime congruit. Quod ergo ait:
The joyful promises of our Lord and Saviour, dearest brethren, we ought to receive with a joyful hearing of the heart, and to persevere with diligent attention, so that we may be worthy to attain to them. For what can rightly be heard more joyfully than that one can come to a joy which can never be taken away? But it must be noted that the whole course of this Gospel reading suits those who heard it in His presence from the Lord; but a part of it fits most aptly us also, who have come to the faith after the Lord's passion and resurrection. What He says, then:
Modicum et... ad patrem. Ad illos specialiter pertinet, qui ejus discipulatui praedicantis in carne adhaesere, et post tristitiam passionis visa resurrectione et ascensione ejus laetificari meruerunt. Nam quia haec illa qua tradebatur nocte locutus est, modicum erat, id est, ejusdem noctis et diei sequentis
A little while and... to the Father, pertains specially to those who clung as disciples to Him as He preached in the flesh, and who, after the sorrow of the passion, were worthy to be gladdened by seeing His resurrection and ascension. For since He spoke these things on the night on which He was betrayed, it was a little while, that is, [the remainder] of that same night and of the following day
Editors' notes and page, col. 154
Page
- running head: [SECT. I. HOMILIA]E. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE. 154 (left side of head cut off in image)
- marginal letters: A argenteam habet pergrandem; B (Isai. XI, 10); C gaudia pervenire; D tem quod tota
- old-edition numerals: (none)
tempus, usque ad horam qua illum non videre inciperent. Tentus enim nocte illa a Judaeis, et in crastinum crucifixus, cum sero factum esset depositus est de cruce, et intra septa sepulcri ab humanis seclusus obtutibus. Et iterum modicum erat, usque dum illum viderent; resurrexit enim a mortuis die tertia, et apparuit eis in multis argumentis per dies quadraginta. Quare autem modicum esset et non viderent eum, et iterum modicum et viderent, annectit causam, dicens:
time, up to the hour at which they would begin not to see Him. For, seized by the Jews that night and crucified on the morrow, when evening had come He was taken down from the cross and shut away from human sight within the enclosure of the tomb. And again it was a little while until they should see Him; for He rose from the dead on the third day, and appeared to them in many proofs through forty days. And why it should be a little while and they would not see Him, and again a little while and they would see Him, He adds the reason, saying:
Quia vado ad Patrem. Ac si aperte dicat: Ideo post modicum a vestris aspectibus in monumenti claustris abscondor, et iterum post modicum, destructo mortis imperio, vobis intuendus appareo, quia tempus est ut, expleta dispensatione assumptae mortalitatis cum resurrectionis triumpho, jam revertar ad Patrem. Potest et aliter intelligi quod ait:
Because I go to the Father. As if He were saying plainly: For this reason after a little while I am hidden from your sight in the enclosure of the tomb, and again after a little while, the dominion of death destroyed, I appear to be seen by you, because it is time that, the dispensation of the mortality I assumed being completed, I should now return to the Father with the triumph of the resurrection. What He says can also be understood otherwise:
Modicum et jam non videbitis me, et iterum modicum et videbitis me. Modicum quippe tempus futurum erat, quo eum non viderent, illud, scilicet, triduum quo erat quieturus in monumento. Et iterum modicum erat futurum quo viderent eum, illi, videlicet, dies quadraginta, in quibus eis post passionem suam saepius usque ad tempus ascensionis apparuit. Quod autem subjunxit:
A little while and you will no longer see Me, and again a little while and you will see Me. For there was to be a little time in which they would not see Him, namely the three days in which He was to rest in the tomb. And again there was to be a little while in which they would see Him, namely those forty days in which after His passion He appeared to them often until the time of the ascension. As for what He added:
Quia vado ad Patrem. Juxta hunc sensum, ad illud specialiter respicit quod praemisit: Et iterum modicum, et videbitis me. Ac si aperte diceret: Propterea me resuscitatum a mortuis modico tempore videbitis, quia non semper in terra corporaliter mansurus, sed per humanitatem quam assumpsi jam sum ascensurus in coelum. Haec quidem verba Domini, ut diximus, illis specialiter qui ejus resurrectionem videre potuerunt conveniunt. Quod vero illis quaerentibus exponendo subjungit:
Because I go to the Father: according to this sense, it looks specially to what He said before: And again a little while, and you will see Me. As if He were saying plainly: You will see Me raised from the dead for a little time for this reason, that I am not to remain always on earth in the body, but in the humanity which I have assumed I am now about to ascend into heaven. These words of the Lord, as we have said, suit specially those who were able to see His resurrection. But what He adds, explaining to them when they asked:
Amen, amen dico vobis quia plorabitis et flebitis vos, mundus autem gaudebit. Vos autem contristabimini, sed tristitia vestra vertetur in gaudium. Et ipsorum, et totius Ecclesiae statui congruit. Plorabant quippe et flebant amatores Christi cum illum comprehendi ab hostibus, ligari, ad concilium duci, damnari, flagellari, derisui haberi, ad ultimum crucifigi, lanceari, et sepeliri viderent. Gaudebant mundi amatores, quos ob infimas cogitationes mundum vocat Dominus, cum morte turpissima condemnarent illum, qui gravis erat eis etiam ad videndum. Contristabantur discipuli posito in morte Domino, sed, ⟨a⟩gnita ejus resurrectione, tristitia illorum versa est in gaudium: visa ascensionis potentia, jam majori gaudio sublevati laudabant et benedicebant Dominum, ut Lucas evangelista testatur (Luc. XXIV). Sed et cunctis fidelibus hic sermo Domini convenit, qui per lacrymas pressurasque praesentes ad gaudia aeterna pervenire contendunt. Qui merito in praesenti plorant, flent, et tristes sunt, quia necdum valent videre quem diligunt. Quia quandiu sunt in corpore, peregrinari se a sua patria et regno cognoscunt, quia per labores et certamina ad coronam sibi perveniendum esse non dubitant. Quorum tristitia
Amen, amen I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be made sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy: this fits the state both of them and of the whole Church. For the lovers of Christ wept and lamented when they saw Him seized by His enemies, bound, led to the council, condemned, scourged, held in derision, and at the last crucified, pierced with a lance, and buried. The lovers of the world rejoiced, whom the Lord calls "the world" because of their base thoughts, when they condemned to a most shameful death Him who was burdensome to them even to look upon. The disciples were made sorrowful when the Lord was laid in death, but, when His resurrection was known, their sorrow was turned into joy; and having seen the power of His ascension, lifted up now by a greater joy, they praised and blessed the Lord, as the evangelist Luke testifies (Luke 24:52–53). But this saying of the Lord also suits all the faithful, who strive to come through present tears and afflictions to eternal joys. They rightly weep, lament and are sorrowful in the present, because they are not yet able to see Him whom they love; because they know that as long as they are in the body they are on pilgrimage from their fatherland and kingdom; because they do not doubt that they must come to the crown through labours and contests. Their sorrow
Editors' notes and page, col. 155
Page
- running head: 155 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS I[II. — PARAENETICA.] (right side of head cut off in image)
- marginal letters: A tempus, usque ad horam; B mortalitatis cum resurrectionis; C mansurus, sed per humanitatem; D lum, qui gravis erat
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "⟨a⟩gnita": first letter damaged in the type (prints like "ngnita"). Column ends mid-sentence at "tristitia".
vertetur in gaudium, cum finito agone vitae hujus bravium vitae perennis accipiunt, de quo dicitur in psalmo: Qui seminant in lacrymis, in gaudio metent (Psal. CXXV). Flentibus autem et contristatis fidelibus, mundus gaudet, quia jure in praesentibus qualecunque gaudium habent, qui alterius vitae, vel nulla esse gaudia sperant, vel se ad haec pertingere posse desperant. Quod tamen specialiter de persecutoribus fidei Christianae potest intelligi, quia cruciatis occisisque martyribus, ad tempus se praevaluisse gaudebant. Sed non post multum illis in occulto coronatis, ipsi poenas perfidiae suae simul et homicidii subibant aeternas. Quibus divina increpatione recte dicitur per prophetam: Ecce servi mei laetabuntur, vos autem confundemini. Ecce servi mei exsultabunt in laetitia, vos autem clamabitis prae dolore cordis vestri, et prae contritione spiritus ululabitis (Isai. LXIII). Sequitur:
will be turned into joy when, the contest of this life being finished, they receive the prize of everlasting life, of which it is said in the psalm: Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy (Ps. 125:5). But while the faithful lament and are made sorrowful, the world rejoices, because those who either hope that there are no joys of another life, or despair of being able to attain to them, rightly have some sort of joy in present things. This, however, can be understood specially of the persecutors of the Christian faith, because when the martyrs had been tortured and slain they rejoiced that they had prevailed for a time. But not long after, when those had been crowned in secret, they themselves underwent the eternal punishments of their faithlessness and of their murder alike. To them it is rightly said by the divine rebuke through the prophet: Behold, My servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put to shame. Behold, My servants shall exult in gladness, but you shall cry out for sorrow of your heart, and shall howl for anguish of spirit (Isa. 65:13–14). There follows:
Mulier cum parit, tristitiam habet, quia venit hora ejus. Mulierem dicit sanctam Ecclesiam, videlicet, propter fecunditatem bonorum operum, et quia spirituales Deo filios gignere nunquam desinit. De qua et alibi dicitur: Simile est regnum coelorum fermento, quod acceptum mulier abscondit in farinae sata tria, donec fermentaretur totum (Matth. XIII; Luc. XIII). Mulier quippe fermentum accepit, cum Ecclesia vim supernae dilectionis et fidei, Domino largiente, consecuta est. Abscondit hoc in farinae sata tria, donec fermentaretur totum, cum Asiae, Europae, et Africae partibus verbum vitae ministravit, donec omnes terrarum termini regni coelestis amore flagrarent. Ad hujus mulieris membra se pertinere signabat, qui, recedentibus quibusdam a castitate fidei, tristis aiebat: Filioli mei, quos iterum parturio, donec formetur Christus in vobis (Galat. IV). Ad hujus se membra pertinere testantur, qui coelestibus desideriis accensi, in Conditoris sui laude proclamabant: A timore tuo, Domine, concepimus et parturivimus, et peperimus spiritum (Isai XXVI). Haec mulier cum parit, tristitiam habet, quia venit hora ejus. Cum autem pepererit puerum, jam non meminit pressurae propter gaudium, quia natus est homo in mundum. Quia nimirum sancta Ecclesia quandiu in mundo spiritualium virtutum profectibus insistit, nunquam mundi tentationibus exerceri desistit; at cum, devicto laborum certamine, ad palmam pervenerit, jam non meminit pressurae praecedentis propter gaudium perceptae retributionis: Non sunt enim condignae passiones hujus temporis ad superventuram gloriam, quae revelabitur in nobis (Rom. VIII).
A woman when she gives birth has sorrow, because her hour has come. He calls the holy Church a woman, that is, on account of the fruitfulness of good works, and because she never ceases to bring forth spiritual sons to God. Of her it is also said elsewhere: The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, until the whole was leavened (Matt. 13:33; Luke 13:21). For the woman took the leaven when the Church, by the Lord's bounty, obtained the power of heavenly love and faith. She hid it in three measures of meal until the whole was leavened when she ministered the word of life to the regions of Asia, Europe and Africa, until all the ends of the earth should burn with love of the heavenly kingdom. He showed that he belonged to the members of this woman who, when some were withdrawing from the chastity of the faith, said sorrowfully: My little children, of whom I am in labour again until Christ be formed in you (Gal. 4:19). They testify that they belong to her members who, kindled with heavenly desires, cried out in praise of their Maker: From fear of Thee, O Lord, we have conceived and been in labour, and have brought forth the spirit (Isa. 26:18). This woman, when she gives birth, has sorrow, because her hour has come. But when she has borne the child, she no longer remembers the anguish for joy, because a man is born into the world. For indeed, as long as the holy Church presses on in the world in the advances of spiritual virtues, she never ceases to be tried by the temptations of the world; but when, the contest of her labours being won, she has come to the palm, she no longer remembers the anguish that went before, for joy at the reward received: For the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, which shall be revealed in us (Rom. 8:18).
Non meminit, inquit, pressurae propter gaudium, quia natus est homo in mundum. Sicut enim mulier nato in hunc mundum homine laetatur, ita Ecclesia nato in vitam futuram fidelium populo, digna exsultatione repletur, pro qua ejus nativitate multum laborans et gemens, in praesenti quasi parturiens dolet. Nec novum debet cuiquam videri si natus dicatur, qui ex hac vita migraverit. Quomodo enim consuete nasci dicitur, cum quis de utero matris
She does not remember, He says, the anguish for joy, because a man is born into the world. For as a woman rejoices when a man is born into this world, so the Church is filled with fitting exultation when the people of the faithful is born into the life to come, for whose birth, labouring and groaning much in the present, she is in pain as one in labour. Nor ought it to seem new to anyone if one who has departed from this life is said to be born. For just as one is customarily said to be born when he [comes forth] from his mother's womb
Editors' notes and page, col. 156
Page
- running head: [BEDAE VENERABILI]S OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 156 (left side of head cut off in image)
- marginal letters: A vertetur in gaudium; B exsultabunt in laetitia; C donec omnes terrarum; D mundi tentationibus
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "(Isai XXVI)" printed without the period after Isai; set as printed. Column ends mid-sentence at "matris"; "[comes forth]" supplied in English.
procedens hanc in lucem egreditur, ita etiam rectissime potest natus appellari, qui solutus a vinculis carnis ad lucem sublimatur aeternam. Unde mos obtinuit ecclesiasticus ut dies beatorum martyrum, sive confessorum Christi, quibus de saeculo transierunt, natales vocitemus, eorumque solemnia non funebria, sed natalitia, dicantur. Sequitur Dominus exponens ipse paradigma, quod de muliere proposuit:
comes forth into this light, so too he can most rightly be called born who, loosed from the bonds of the flesh, is raised up to the eternal light. Hence the custom of the Church has prevailed that we call the days of the blessed martyrs or confessors of Christ, on which they passed from the world, their birthdays, and that their solemnities are called not funerals but birthday feasts. The Lord follows, Himself explaining the comparison which He set forth about the woman:
Et vos igitur nunc quidem tristitiam habetis, iterum autem videbo vos, et gaudebit cor vestrum, et gaudium vestrum nemo tollet a vobis. Quod de ipsis quidem discipulis facile intelligitur, quia tristitiam habuerunt passo ac sepulto Domino; sed, peracta resurrectionis gloria, gavisi sunt viso Domino. Et gaudium eorum nemo tollit ab eis, quia etsi postmodum persecutiones pro Christi nomine ac tormenta passi sunt, spe tamen resurrectionis et visionis illius accensi, libenter quaeque adversa ferebant: imo omne gaudium existimabant cum in tentationes varias inciderent. Denique caesi a principibus sacerdotum, ut scriptum est, Ibant gaudentes a conspectu concilii, quoniam digni habiti sunt pro nomine Jesu contumeliam pati (Act. V). Gaudium eorum nemo tollit ab eis, quia talia patiendo pro Christo meruerunt regnare sine fine cum Christo. Sed et omnis Ecclesia per hujus vitae labores et angustias, ad aeterna coelestium tendit praemia gaudiorum, attestante Apostolo: Quia per multas tribulationes oportet nos intrare in regnum Dei (Act. XIV). Quod autem ait:
And you therefore now indeed have sorrow, but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and your joy no one will take from you. This is easily understood of the disciples themselves, because they had sorrow when the Lord had suffered and been buried; but when the glory of the resurrection was accomplished, they rejoiced at seeing the Lord. And their joy no one takes from them, because, even though afterwards they suffered persecutions and torments for the name of Christ, yet, kindled by the hope of the resurrection and of the vision of Him, they gladly bore every adversity: indeed they counted it all joy when they fell into various temptations. Finally, when they had been beaten by the chief priests, as it is written, They went rejoicing from the presence of the council, because they had been counted worthy to suffer insult for the name of Jesus (Acts 5:41). Their joy no one takes from them, because by suffering such things for Christ they were worthy to reign without end with Christ. But the whole Church too, through the labours and straits of this life, strives towards the eternal rewards of heavenly joys, as the Apostle attests: That through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God (Acts 14:21). And as for what He says:
Iterum videbo vos, et gaudebit cor vestrum. Videbo vos, dixit: eripiam vos ab adversariis, coronabo vos victores, me vos decertantes semper vidisse probabo. Quando enim non videret suos maxime pressuris circumventos, cum quibus se ipse omnibus diebus saeculi manere promisit? Sed morientibus inter tormenta fidelibus, arbitrabantur eos tortores divino carere praesidio, dicentes: Ubi est Deus eorum (Psal. CXIII)? Unde quidam ex his circumseptus aerumnis aiebat: Vide, Domine, afflictionem meam, quoniam ⟨e⟩rectus est inim⟨i⟩cus meus (Psal. LXXVIII). Quod est aperte dicere: Quoniam inimicus insequens cervicem superbiae contra tuos humiles attollit, tuo nos auxilio, Conditor omnipotens, subleva, te victis ac repulsis hostibus nostros semper agones vidisse, tibi hos placuisse, comproba. Videt itaque electos post tristitiam Dominus, cum eorum patientiam damnato impugnatore remunerat. Potest et ita intelligi quod ait: Iterum autem videbo vos, quasi diceret: Iterum vobis videntibus appareo, quo modo dixit Abrahae: Nunc cognovi quod timeas Dominum (Gen. XXII), pro eo ut diceret: Nunc cognoscere homines feci quod timeas Deum, qui hactenus nesciebant, quod apud me semper habui certum. Si ergo, charissimi, salubri tristitia nunc afficimur, si juxta hortamenta Apostoli: spe gaudentes, in tribulatione existimus patientes (Rom. XII), si nostra errata, si miserias proximorum debita lamentatione deflemus, videbit nos iterum Dominus, id est, videndum se
I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice. I will see you, He said: I will rescue you from your adversaries, I will crown you as victors, I will prove that I always saw you as you fought. For when would He not see His own, above all when they are beset by afflictions, He who promised that He would remain with them all the days of the world? But when the faithful were dying amid torments, the torturers thought that they lacked divine protection, saying: Where is their God (Ps. 113:10)? Hence one of them, hemmed in by hardships, said: See, O Lord, my affliction, because my enemy is lifted up (Lam. 1:9). Which is plainly to say: Because the enemy, pursuing us, lifts up the neck of pride against Thy humble ones, raise us up by Thy help, almighty Maker; when the enemies have been conquered and driven back by Thee, show that Thou hast always seen our struggles, that they have pleased Thee. So the Lord sees His elect after their sorrow when, having condemned their assailant, He rewards their patience. What He says can also be understood thus: But I will see you again, as if He said: I appear again with you seeing Me; in the way that He said to Abraham: Now I know that you fear the Lord (Gen. 22:12), meaning to say: Now I have made men know that you fear God, who until now did not know what I always held as certain with Me. If, then, dearest brethren, we are now touched by a wholesome sorrow, if according to the exhortations of the Apostle we are rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation (Rom. 12:12), if we bewail our own errors and the miseries of our neighbours with due lamentation, the Lord will see us again, that is, [will grant] that He be seen
Editors' notes and page, col. 157
Page
- running head: 157 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. [HOM. GENUINAE.] (right side of head cut off in image)
- marginal letters: A procedens hanc in lucem; B eorum nemo tollit; C Iterum videbo vos; D te victis ac repulsis
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "⟨e⟩rectus" (prints like "crectus") and "inim⟨i⟩cus": letters damaged or lost in the type. "Vide, Domine, afflictionem meam…" is Lam. 1:9, though Migne prints "(Psal. LXXVIII)"; set as printed, English gives the true place. "Ubi est Deus eorum" given as Ps. 113:10 (Clementine continuous numbering). Column ends mid-sentence at "se"; "[will grant]" supplied in English.
nobis ostendet in futuro, qui quondam vos videre, idem fidei suae nobis agnitionem largiri dignatus est. Videbit ut coronet, qui quondam vidit ut vocaret. Videbit et gaudebit cor nostrum, et gaudium nostrum nemo tollet a nobis, quia haec est vera et unica merces eorum, qui secundum Deum contristantur de perpetua ejus visione gaudere. Quam profecto mercedem promisit ipse sublimiter cum ait: Beati mundo corde, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt (Matth. V). Quam desiderabat ardenter Psalmista cum dicebat: Sitivit anima mea ad te Deum vivum, quando veniam et apparebo ante faciem Dei (Psal. XLI). Quam se Apostolus cum suis similibus accepturum esse gratulatur, qui certaminum suorum conscius confidenter protestatur, dicens: Videmus nunc per speculum in aenigmate, tunc autem facie ad faciem (I Cor. XIII). Quam nos quoque et fideliter quaerere, et veraciter apprehendere donec ipse certantium auxiliator, et vincentium remunerator, Jesus Christus Dominus noster, qui vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti, Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
to us in the future, He who once deigned to see you, the same who deigned to grant us the knowledge of His faith. He will see in order to crown, who once saw in order to call. He will see, and our heart will rejoice, and our joy no one will take from us, because this is the true and only reward of those who are made sorrowful according to God: to rejoice in the everlasting vision of Him. This reward He Himself promised in lofty words when He said: Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God (Matt. 5:8). This the Psalmist ardently desired when he said: My soul has thirsted for Thee, the living God; when shall I come and appear before the face of God (Ps. 41:3)? This the Apostle rejoices that he, with those like him, will receive, who, conscious of his contests, confidently declares, saying: We see now through a mirror in an enigma, but then face to face (1 Cor. 13:12). May He grant that we too both faithfully seek it and truly lay hold of it, He Himself, the helper of those who strive and the rewarder of those who conquer, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for all ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILIA VI. IN TERTIA DOMINICA POST SANCTUM PASCHA. JOANNIS XVI.
HOMILY VI. ON THE THIRD SUNDAY AFTER HOLY EASTER. JOHN 16.
In illo tempore, dixit Jesus discipulis suis: Vado ad eum qui me misit, et nemo ex vobis interrogat me: Quo vadis? Sed quia haec locutus sum vobis, tristitia implevit cor vestrum, etc.
At that time Jesus said to His disciples: I go to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me: Where are you going? But because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart, etc.
Sicut ex lectione evangelica, fratres charissimi, audivimus, Dominus ac Redemptor noster, imminente suae passionis articulo, discipulis et gloriam ascensionis, qua ipse post mortem et resurrectionem erat clarificandus, et adventum Spiritus sancti, quo illi erant illustrandi, patefecit, quatenus instante hora passionis ejusdem, minus pro illius morte dolerent, quem post mortem ad coelos sublevandum non dubitarent; minus de sua desolatione trepidarent, quos, abeunte licet Domino, Spiritus sancti gratia consolandos esse sperarent.
As we have heard from the Gospel reading, dearest brethren, our Lord and Redeemer, when the moment of His passion was at hand, revealed to the disciples both the glory of the ascension, by which He was to be glorified after His death and resurrection, and the coming of the Holy Spirit, by which they were to be enlightened; so that, when the hour of that passion came, they might grieve the less for the death of Him whom they did not doubt was to be lifted up to the heavens after death, and might tremble the less at their own desolation, since they hoped that, though the Lord was departing, they were to be consoled by the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Vado, inquit, ad eum qui me misit, et nemo ex vobis interrogat me: Quo vadis? Ac si aperte dicat: Revertor ascendendo ad eum, qui me incarnari constituit, et tanta tamque manifesta erit ejusdem ascensionis claritas, ut nemini vestrum opus sit interrogare quo vadam, videntibus cunctis quia ad coelos pergam. Bene autem cum de ascensione sua dixisset: Vado ad eum qui me misit, addidit: Et nemo ex vobis interrogat me: Quo vadis? Superius namque cum de sua passione protestaretur, dicens: Quo ego vado, vos non potestis venire, interrogavit eum Petrus, et ait: Domine, quo vadis? Responsumque est ei: Quo ego vado, non potes me modo sequi, sequeris autem postea. Quia nimirum passionis mortisque ejus mysterium necdum intelligere, necdum poterant imitari; majestatem vero ascensionis statim ut videre cognoverunt, totisque animi votis ut sequi mererentur, optabant.
I go, He says, to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me: Where are you going? As if He were saying plainly: I return by ascending to Him who appointed that I should become incarnate, and so great and so manifest will be the brightness of that ascension that none of you will need to ask where I am going, since all will see that I am going to the heavens. And it is well that, when He had spoken of His ascension, saying: I go to Him who sent Me, He added: And none of you asks Me: Where are you going? For earlier, when He was declaring His passion, saying: Where I am going you cannot come, Peter asked Him and said: Lord, where are you going? And it was answered him: Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow afterwards. For indeed they were not yet able to understand, not yet able to imitate the mystery of His passion and death; but the majesty of the ascension, as soon as they came to see it, they longed with all the desires of their soul to be worthy to follow.
Sed quia haec locutus sum vobis, tristitia implevit cor vestrum. Sciebat Dominus ipse quid haec sua verba in discipulorum cordibus agerent, quia videlicet,
But because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. The Lord Himself knew what these words of His were doing in the hearts of the disciples: namely,
Editors' notes and page, col. 158
Page
- running head: [SECT. I. HOMILI]AE. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE. 158 (left side of head cut off in image)
- marginal letters: A nobis ostendet in futuro; B speculum in aenigmate; C nente suae passionis; D pergam. Bene autem
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the page prints "qui quondam vos videre" (vos, against the nobis/nostrum around it); set as printed, English "you". "donec ipse…" makes no construction and is taken as a misprint for "donet", translated so. Column ends with "vi-" split across the break (not completed here); English stops at "because".
tristitiam magis de abcessu, quo eos desereret, quam de ascensu quo Patrem peteret, laetitiam generarent. Unde benigne consolando subjunxit:
that His departure, by which He was leaving them, produced sorrow in them rather than His ascent, by which He was going to the Father, produced joy. Hence, kindly consoling them, He added:
Sed ego veritatem dico vobis, Expedit vobis ut ego vadam. Expedit ut forma servi vestris subtrahatur aspectibus, quatenus amor divinitatis arctius vestris infigatur mentibus. Expedit ut notam vobis formam coe⟨l⟩o inferam, quatenus majori pro hoc desiderio illuc suspiretis, sicque, suspensis ad superna cordibus vestris, ad accipienda jam Spiritus sancti dona capaces fiatis.
But I tell you the truth: it is expedient for you that I go. It is expedient that the form of a servant be withdrawn from your sight, so that love of the Godhead may be fixed more firmly in your minds. It is expedient that I bear into heaven the form known to you, so that with greater longing for it you may sigh towards that place, and so, with your hearts lifted up to things above, you may become capable of now receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Si enim non abiero, Paracletus non veniet ad vos; si autem abiero, mittam eum ad vos. Non quia non poterat ipse in terra positus dare Spiritum discipulis, haec loquitur, cum aperte legatur quia post resurrectionem apparens eis insufflavit et dixit eis: Accipite Spiritum sanctum (Joan. XX). Sed quia ipso in terra posito, et corporaliter conversante cum eis, non valebant illi erigere mentem ad sitienda munera gratiae coelestis; ascendente autem ipso ad coelos, et illi pariter omne desiderium suum illo transferebant, juxta hoc quod alibi aud⟨i⟩erunt: Ubi enim est thesaurus tuus, ibi et cor tuum erit (Matt. VI). Ideoque capaces Spiritus jam facti erant, non ultra de morte ejus contristati, sed de promissionis ejus munere laetati, Luca attestante qui ait: Et factum est dum benediceret illis, recessit ab eis, et ferebatur in coelum. Et ipsi adorantes regressi sunt in Hierusalem cum gaudio magno, et erant semper in templo laudantes et benedicentes Deum (Luc. XXIV). Patet autem, nec laboriosa expositione indiget, cur eumdem Spiritum paracletum, id est, consolatorem cognominet, quia nimirum corda discipulorum, quae recessus ipsius moesta reddidisset, hujus consolaretur et recrearet adventus. Sed et singulis quibusque fidelium vel de peccati perpetratione moerentibus, vel communi hujus saeculi afflictione laborantibus, dum spem veniae et misericordiae coelestis inspirat, profecto ab angore tristitiae mentem illustrando sublevat. Quia vero Spiritus eidem menti, quam replet, non solum vim divinae charitatis infundit interius, verum etiam, carnali timore depulso, ad increpandam pravitatem malorum foris fiduciam praestat, recte subditur:
For if I do not go away, the Paraclete will not come to you; but if I go away, I will send Him to you. He says this not because He could not, while set on earth, Himself give the Spirit to the disciples, since it is plainly read that after the resurrection, appearing to them, He breathed on them and said to them: Receive the Holy Spirit (John 20:22). But because, while He was set on earth and dwelling bodily with them, they were not able to raise their minds to thirst for the gifts of heavenly grace; but when He ascended to the heavens, they too likewise carried all their desire over to that place, according to what they had heard elsewhere: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matt. 6:21). And therefore they had now been made capable of the Spirit, no longer saddened over His death, but gladdened by the gift of His promise, as Luke testifies, who says: And it came to pass, while He was blessing them, He withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven. And they, worshipping, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were always in the temple, praising and blessing God (Luke 24:51–53). It is plain, moreover, and needs no laborious exposition, why He names this same Spirit the Paraclete, that is, the Consoler: because, of course, the hearts of the disciples, which His departure had made sorrowful, His coming would console and refresh. But also for each one of the faithful, whether grieving over the commission of sin or toiling under the common affliction of this world, when He breathes into them the hope of pardon and of heavenly mercy, He assuredly lifts the mind from the anguish of sorrow by enlightening it. And because the Spirit not only pours inwardly into the same mind that He fills the power of divine charity, but also, once carnal fear has been driven out, gives it confidence outwardly to rebuke the depravity of the wicked, it is rightly added:
Et cum venerit ille, arguet mundum de peccato, et de justitia, et de judicio. Claret namque quod ipse Filius Dei Dominus noster Jesus Christus, cum esset in mundo, arguebat mundum, id est, sectatores mundi, de peccato suae incredulitatis; arguebat de justitia, quia, videlicet, justitiam fidelium nollent imitari; arguebat de judicio, videlicet, quare diabolum, qui jam judicatus ac damnatus erat, sequerentur. Sed non sine causa Spiritum cum venerit hoc idem dicit acturum, quia profecto per hujus inspirationem corroborandus erat animus discipulorum, ne mundum, qui contra se fremebat, arguere timerent. Exponens ergo sententiam suam Dominus, adjunxit:
And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement. For it is clear that the Son of God Himself, our Lord Jesus Christ, when He was in the world, convicted the world, that is, the followers of the world, of the sin of their unbelief; He convicted them of righteousness, namely because they would not imitate the righteousness of the faithful; He convicted them of judgement, namely as to why they followed the devil, who had already been judged and condemned. But not without cause does He say that the Spirit, when He comes, will do this same thing, because assuredly through His inspiration the mind of the disciples was to be strengthened, so that they should not fear to convict the world, which raged against them. So the Lord, explaining His meaning, added:
Editors' notes and page, col. 159
Page
- running head: 159 BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS I[I] (head cut off at right in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹delicet, tristitiam magis›; B ‹lis, hæc loquitur›; C ‹templo laudantes et›; D ‹Et cum venerit ille› (approximate; D sits between "subditur :" and "Et cum venerit")
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "coe⟨l⟩o" and "aud⟨i⟩erunt": letters not visible in the type (cœ o, aud erunt).
De peccato quidem, quia non credit in me. Peccacatum incredulitatis quasi speciale posuit, quia sicut fides origo virtutum, ita solidamentum est vitiorum in incredulitate persistere, Domino terribiliter attestante, qui dicit: Qui autem non credit jam judicatus est, quia non credit in nomine unigeniti Filii Dei (Joan. III). At contra justus ex fide vivit.
Of sin, indeed, because he does not believe in Me (John 16:9). He set down the sin of unbelief as if it were a special one, because just as faith is the origin of the virtues, so to persist in unbelief is the foundation of the vices, as the Lord fearfully testifies, who says: But he who does not believe is already judged, because he does not believe in the name of the only-begotten Son of God (John 3:18). But on the contrary, the just man lives by faith (Rom. 1:17).
De justitia vero, quia ad Patrem vado, et jam non videbitis me. Justitia discipulorum Christi confessio erat, quod Dominum, quem verum hominem cernebant, verum quoque Dei Filium esse crediderunt; et quem sibi corporaliter ablatum noverant, certo semper amore colebant. Justitia caeterorum fidelium, id est, eorum qui Dominum in carne non viderunt, haec est, quod eum quem corporali intuitu nunquam viderunt, Deum et hominem verum corde credunt ac diligunt. De qua profecto justitia fidei arguuntur infideles, cur ipsi, videlicet, cum similiter verbum vitae audierint, noluerunt credere ad justitiam. Neque enim nequitia malorum ex sua solum fortitudine, verum etiam ex comparatione rectorum, quam sit damnanda monstratur. Hinc etenim scriptum est: Probata autem virtus corripit insipientes (Sap. I). Arguit ergo mundum Spiritus sanctus de peccato suo, quia non crediderit in Christum; arguit et de justitia credentium, quia exemplum eorum sequi noluerint, qui hunc ad Patrem ascendisse, neque ultra corporaliter in terris conversaturum esse, sciebant, nec tamen ab ejus dilectione poterant ulla ratione separari; hoc est enim quod ait: Quia ad Patrem vado, et jam non videbitis me. Non videbitis me postquam ascendero, qualem nunc videre soletis, carne mortali et corruptibili circumdatum, sed in majestate ad judicium venientem, et peracto judicio in majore gloria sanctis apparentem. Sequitur:
Of righteousness, however, because I go to the Father, and you will see Me no longer (John 16:10). The righteousness of Christ's disciples was their confession, in that they believed that the Lord, whom they saw to be true man, was also the true Son of God; and Him whom they knew to have been bodily taken from them, they worshipped always with steadfast love. The righteousness of the rest of the faithful, that is, of those who did not see the Lord in the flesh, is this: that Him whom they never saw with bodily sight they believe and love with the heart as God and true man. By this righteousness of faith the unbelievers are assuredly convicted, namely as to why they, when they had likewise heard the word of life, would not believe unto righteousness. For the wickedness of the evil is shown how damnable it is not only from its own strength but also from comparison with the upright. For hence it is written: But virtue, when proved, rebukes the foolish (Wis. 1:3). The Holy Spirit therefore convicts the world of its sin, because it has not believed in Christ; He convicts it also of the righteousness of believers, because it would not follow the example of those who knew that He had ascended to the Father and would no longer dwell bodily on earth, and yet could by no means be separated from His love; for this is what He says: Because I go to the Father, and you will see Me no longer. You will not see Me, after I have ascended, such as you are now accustomed to see Me, clothed in mortal and corruptible flesh, but coming in majesty to judgement, and, when the judgement is completed, appearing to the saints in greater glory. There follows:
De judicio autem, quia princeps mundi hujus judicatus est. Principem mundi diabolum dicit, quia principatur eis qui ordine perverso mundum potius quam mundi Conditorem diligunt. Qui judicatus est a Domino, qui ait: Videbam Satanam sicut fulgur de coelo cadentem (Luc. X). Judicatus est ab eo, cum et ipse daemonia ejiceret, et discipulis daret potestatem calcandi super omnem virtutem inimici. Arguitur itaque mundus de judicio, quo diabolus est judicatus, quando homines ne Dei voluntati resistere praesumant, exemplo damnati propter superbiam terrentur archangeli. Arguit mundum Spiritus sanctus de judicio, quo princeps mundi judicatus est, cum loquens in spiritu sancto Judas apostolus ad corrigendam hominum pravorum nequitiam poenam superbientium commemorat angelorum dicens: Angelos vero, qui non servaverunt suum principatum, sed reliquerunt suum domicilium, in judicium magni diei vinculis aeternis sub caligine reservavit. Sequitur:
Of judgement, however, because the prince of this world has been judged (John 16:11). He calls the devil the prince of the world, because he rules over those who, in perverse order, love the world rather than the world's Maker. He was judged by the Lord, who says: I saw Satan like lightning falling from heaven (Luke 10:18). He was judged by Him when He both cast out demons Himself and gave the disciples power to tread upon all the might of the enemy (cf. Luke 10:19). The world is therefore convicted of the judgement by which the devil has been judged, when men, lest they presume to resist the will of God, are terrified by the example of the archangel condemned for pride. The Holy Spirit convicts the world of the judgement by which the prince of the world has been judged, when the apostle Jude, speaking in the Holy Spirit, to correct the wickedness of depraved men recalls the punishment of the angels who grew proud, saying: And the angels who did not keep their principality, but abandoned their own dwelling, He has kept under darkness in everlasting chains for the judgement of the great day (Jude 6). There follows:
Adhuc multa habeo vobis dicere, sed non potestis portare modo. Cum autem venerit ille Spiritus veritatis, docebit vos omnem veritatem. Certum est quidem, quia, veniente desuper Spiritu, apostoli majorem
I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will teach you all truth (John 16:12–13). It is certain indeed that, when the Spirit came from above, the apostles [attained] a [much] greater
Editors' notes and page, col. 160
Page
- running head: [BEDÆ VENERABILI]S OPP. PARS III. — PARÆNETICA. 160
- marginal letters: A ‹De peccato quidem, quia›; B ‹viderunt, Deum et hominem›; C ‹ratione separari; hoc est›; D ‹itaque mundus de judicio›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "Peccacatum" (line 1–2, "Pecca-|catum") is a printed dittography for "Peccatum", kept as printed; column ends mid-sentence at "majorem"; the bracketed words in the English ("attained", "much") anticipate the next column (consecuti sunt, multo).
multo scientiam veritatis quam carnales eatenus potuere consecuti sunt, majori desiderio certandi pro veritate succensi sunt. Non tamen putandum est in hac vita quempiam omnem veritatem posse comprehendere, cum haec fidei nostrae merces in alia sit vita promissa, ipsa veritate dicente: Haec est autem vita aeterna, ut cognoscant te solum verum Deum, et quem misisti Jesum Christum (Joan. XVII). Et alibi ad Judaeos: Si manseritis in verbo meo, vere discipuli mei eritis, et cognoscetis veritatem (Joan. VIII). Unde et Apostolus, qui ad tertium coelum raptus audivit arcana verba quae non licebat homini loqui: Ex parte, inquit, cognoscimus, et ex parte prophetamus (I Cor. XIII). Intelligendum est ergo quod ait de Spiritu: Docebit vos omnem veritatem, quasi diceret: Diffundet in cordibus vestris charitatem, cujus magisterio intus edocti proficiatis de virtute in virtutem, dignique efficiamini pervenire ad vitam, in qua vobis aeterna claritas summae veritatis et verae sublimitatis, id est, contemplatio vestri Conditoris appareat.
knowledge of the truth than they had been able to reach while still carnal, and were fired with a greater desire to contend for the truth. Yet it must not be thought that anyone in this life can comprehend all truth, since this reward of our faith is promised in another life, as the Truth Himself says: Now this is eternal life, that they may know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent (John 17:3). And elsewhere to the Jews: If you remain in My word, you will truly be My disciples, and you will know the truth (John 8:31–32). Hence the Apostle too, who, caught up to the third heaven, heard secret words which it was not lawful for a man to speak, says: We know in part, and we prophesy in part (1 Cor. 13:9). What He says of the Spirit, then, He will teach you all truth, is to be understood as if He said: He will pour charity into your hearts, so that, taught within by its instruction, you may advance from virtue to virtue and be made worthy to come to the life in which the eternal brightness of the supreme truth and of true sublimity, that is, the contemplation of your Maker, may appear to you.
Non enim loquetur a semetipso, sed quaecunque audiet loquetur. Non loquitur Spiritus a semetipso, id est, sine Patris et Filii communione, neque enim divisus ac a se partitus est Spiritus, sed quaecunque audiet loquetur; audiet videlicet per unitatem substantiae, et proprietatem scientiae. Non loquitur a semetipso, quia non est a semetipso. Pater quippe solus, de alio non est. Nam et Filius de Patre natus est, et Spiritus sanctus de Patre procedit. Ab ipso autem audiet Spiritus, a quo procedit, quia non est a seipso, sed ab illo a quo procedit. A quo illi est essentia, ab illo utique et scientia. Ab illo igitur audientia, quod nihil est aliud quam scientia. Quod vero adjunxit:
For He will not speak of Himself, but whatever He hears He will speak. The Spirit does not speak of Himself, that is, without communion with the Father and the Son; for the Spirit is not divided and parted from Them, but whatever He hears He will speak; He will hear, namely, through unity of substance and the property of knowledge. He does not speak of Himself, because He is not from Himself. For the Father alone is not from another. For the Son too is born of the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. And the Spirit will hear from Him from whom He proceeds, because He is not from Himself, but from Him from whom He proceeds. From whom He has His being, from Him assuredly He has also His knowledge. From Him, therefore, is His hearing, which is nothing other than knowledge. But as to what He added:
Et quae futura sunt annuntiabit vobis. Constat innumeros fidelium per donum sancti Spiritus praenosse ac praedixisse ventura. Sed quia sunt nonnulli qui, Spiritus gratia⟨e⟩ pleni, infirmos curant, mortuos suscitant, daemonibus imperant, multis virtutibus coruscant, ipsi angelicam in terris vitam gerunt, nec tamen quae sibi sint ventura Spiritus ejusdem revelatione cognoscunt. Potest hic Domini sermo etiam sic accipi, quia Spiritus adveniens quae ventura sunt nobis annuntiat, cum gaudia nobis patriae coelestis ad memoriam reducit, cum festa illa supernae civitatis per donum nobis suae aspirationis innotescit. Ventura nobis annuntiat, cum nos a delectatione praesentium abstrahens, promissi in coelis regni desideriis inflammat.
And the things that are to come He will announce to you. It is well established that countless of the faithful, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, have foreknown and foretold things to come. But there are some who, full of the grace of the Spirit, heal the sick, raise the dead, command demons, shine with many mighty works, and themselves lead an angelic life on earth, and yet do not know by revelation of the same Spirit the things that are to come upon them. This saying of the Lord can also be taken thus: that the Spirit, coming, announces to us the things that are to come when He brings back to our memory the joys of the heavenly homeland, when, through the gift of His inspiration, He makes known to us those festivals of the city above. He announces to us things to come when, drawing us away from delight in present things, He inflames us with desires for the kingdom promised in heaven.
Ille me clarificabit, quia de meo accipiet, et annuntiabit vobis. Spiritus clarificavit Christum, quia per eum tanta charitas in cordibus discipulorum accensa est, ut, abjecto timore carnali, effectum resurrectionis ejus constantes praedicarent, a quo tempore passionis pavidi fugerunt. Unde scriptum est: Et repleti sunt omnes Spiritu sancto, et loquebantur verbum Dei cum fiducia (Act. IV). Spiritus clarificavit Christum, cum impleti gratia spirituali doctores
He will glorify Me, because He will receive of what is Mine, and will announce it to you. The Spirit glorified Christ, because through Him so great a charity was kindled in the hearts of the disciples that, casting off carnal fear, they steadfastly preached the accomplishment of His resurrection, from whom at the time of the passion they had fled in fear. Hence it is written: And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with confidence (Acts 4:31). The Spirit glorified Christ when teachers filled with spiritual grace
Editors' notes and page, col. 161
Page
- running head: 161 SECT. I. HOMILIÆ. — LIB. II. [cut off at right in the image]
- marginal letters: A ‹multo scientiam veritatis›; B ‹tatem, cujus magisterio›; C ‹ipso autem audiet Spiritus›; D ‹coelestis ad memoriam› (approximate)
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "gratia⟨e⟩": the final letter is a smudge like a semicolon. Column ends mid-sentence at "doctores".
sancti tot et tanta miracula in nomine Christi fecerunt, quibus orbem totum ad fidem Christi converterent, tot ac tanta pro Christi nomine passionum certamina pertulerunt, donec ipsa etiam superborum colla persecutorum suavissimo Christi jugo submitterent. Spiritus clarificat Christum, cum sua nos inspiratione ad diligendam ejus visionem accendit, cum illum Patri in divinitate aequalem esse credendum fidelium cordibus intimat.
holy, worked so many and such great miracles in the name of Christ, by which they converted the whole world to the faith of Christ, and endured so many and such great contests of sufferings for the name of Christ, until they bowed even the necks of proud persecutors to the most sweet yoke of Christ. The Spirit glorifies Christ when by His inspiration He kindles us to love the sight of Him, when He makes known to the hearts of the faithful that He is to be believed equal to the Father in Godhead.
Quia de meo, inquit, accipiet, et annuntiabit vobis. De Patre accipit Spiritus sanctus, unde accipit et Filius, quia in hac trinitate de Patre natus est Filius, de Patre procedit Spiritus sanctus. Qui autem de nullo natus sit, de nullo procedat, Pater est solus. Omnia quaecunque habet Pater, mea sunt; propterea dixi quia de meo accipiet et annuntiabit vobis. De his dixit quae ad ipsam Patris divinitatem pertinent, in quibus illi est aequalis, omnia quae habet Pater habendo. Neque enim Spiritus sanctus de creatura quae Patri est subjecta et Filio erat accepturus, quod ait: De meo accipiet, sed utique de Patre de quo procedit Spiritus, de quo natus est et Filius. Sed quia, donante Domino, lectionem sancti Evangelii, Patrum vestigia sequentes, exponendo transcurrimus, restat vestram fraternitatem, charissimi, mecum pariter admonere, ut ejus memoriam sollicita semper intentione servemus, ejus suavitatem et devoto pectore scrutemur, et casto saepius ore ruminemus. Quid enim prodest ad audiendum Dei verbum convenire, et expleto auditu ad inania mox et saecularia colloquia vel acta converti? Recolamus ergo juxta quod eadem admonet lectio, quia Dominus noster, expleta passione, rediit ad Patrem a quo missus est, nec Patrem, cum ad nos veniret, nec nos deserens, cum rediret. Illuc ejus vestigia toto mentis nisu sectemur, et ut illo pervenire, et illius regni januam mereamur intrare, perpendamus magnopere quibus actionum gressibus in terra degens incesserit. Qui enim dicit se in Christo manere, debet sicut ipse ambulavit et ipse ambulare. Certe ipse per agones passionum ad coronam pervenit gloriae; merito ergo intimatur et nobis quia per multas tribulationes oportet nos intrare in regnum Dei. Unde et apostolus Petrus, obsessus fervore tentationum, quibusdam fratribus consolans aiebat: Nolite pavere, quasi novi aliquid contingat, sed communicantes Christi passionibus gaudete, ut et in revelatione gloriae ejus gaudeatis exsultantes (I Pet. IV). Revocemus ad mentem quia gratiam Spiritus discipulis et se missurum esse promisit, et misit; et curemus omni vigilantia ne cogitationibus illecebrosis contristemus Spiritum sanctum Dei, in quo signati sumus in diem redemptionis. Sic enim scriptum est: Spiritus sanctus disciplinae effugiet fictum, et auferet se a cogitationibus, quae sunt sine intellectu (Sap. I): unde provide Psalmista, cum hujus spiritus accendi desiderio flagraret, prius cordis mundi hospitium, in quo hunc recipere posset, et sic demum tanti hospitis ingressum quaerebat. Cor mundum,
For He will receive of what is Mine, He says, and will announce it to you. The Holy Spirit receives from the Father, from whom the Son also receives, because in this Trinity the Son is born of the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father. But He who is born of none and proceeds from none is the Father alone. All things whatsoever the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He will receive of what is Mine and will announce it to you. He spoke of the things that belong to the very Godhead of the Father, in which He is equal to Him, by having all that the Father has. For the Holy Spirit was not going to receive from a creature, which is subject to the Father and the Son, when He says: He will receive of what is Mine; but assuredly from the Father, from whom the Spirit proceeds and from whom the Son also is born. But since, by the Lord's gift, following the footsteps of the Fathers, we have run through the reading of the holy Gospel in exposition, it remains for me, dearly beloved, to admonish your brotherhood together with myself that we keep its memory always with careful attention, search out its sweetness with a devout heart, and ruminate on it often with a chaste mouth. For what does it profit to come together to hear the word of God, and, the hearing over, to turn at once to empty and worldly talk or deeds? Let us call to mind, then, as this same reading admonishes, that our Lord, His passion accomplished, returned to the Father by whom He was sent, neither leaving the Father when He came to us nor leaving us when He returned. Let us follow His footsteps thither with every effort of the mind, and, so that we may deserve to arrive there and to enter the gate of that kingdom, let us weigh carefully by what steps of action He walked while dwelling on earth. For he who says that he abides in Christ ought himself to walk just as He walked. Certainly He came through the contests of sufferings to the crown of glory; rightly therefore it is made known to us too that through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God. Hence the apostle Peter also, beset by the heat of temptations, said in consoling certain brethren: Do not be afraid, as though something new were happening, but rejoice as sharers in the sufferings of Christ, so that at the revelation of His glory you too may rejoice exultantly (1 Pet. 4:12–13). Let us recall to mind that He both promised that He would send the grace of the Spirit to the disciples and sent it; and let us take care with all vigilance not to sadden the Holy Spirit of God, in whom we have been sealed for the day of redemption, with seductive thoughts. For thus it is written: The Holy Spirit of discipline will flee from deceit, and will withdraw himself from thoughts that are without understanding (Wis. 1:5): hence the Psalmist, with foresight, when he burned with desire to be kindled by this Spirit, first sought the lodging of a clean heart in which he could receive Him, and so at last the entry of so great a guest. A clean heart,
Editors' notes and page, col. 162
Page
- running head: [SECT. I. HOMILIÆ.] — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINÆ. 162
- marginal letters: A ‹sancti tot et tanta›; B ‹pterea dixi quia de meo›; C ‹Dei verbum convenire›; D ‹vore tentationum›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "Cor mun-" hyphenated at the column end; completed as "mundum" from the first line of col. 163 ("dum, inquit"). The period after "quaerebat" is faint.
inquit, crea in me, Deus, et spiritum rectum innova in visceribus meis (Psal. L). Prius quippe cor mundum in se creari, ac deinde spiritum rectum in suis visceribus precabatur innovari, quia utique sciebat spiritum rectum in corde polluto sedem habere non posse. Retineamus sedulo corde quia idem Spiritus arguit mundum de peccato, et de justitia, et de judicio. Caveamus ne ima quaerendo ad mundum pertineamus, quia mundus transibit, et concupiscentia ejus. Quae sursum sunt quaeramus, quae sursum sunt sapiamus, ubi Christus est in dextera Dei sedens. Conversationem nostram cum Apostolo habeamus in coelis, et ne de peccato incredulitatis arguamur, exerceamus operando quod credimus; fides enim sine operibus otiosa est. Ne ex comparatione justorum, quos imitari noluerimus, acrius judicemur, solerti animo memoremus quod de contemptoribus suae gratiae Dominus ait: Regina Austri surget in judicio cum generatione ista, et condemnabit eam, quia venit a finibus terrae audire sapientiam Salomonis, et ecce plus quam Salomon hic (Luc. XI). Ne cum mundi principe damnemur, resistamus illi fortes in fide, et fugiet a nobis. Loquamur veritatem in corde nostro, nec faciamus dolum in lingua nostra, ut Spiritus veritatis magis magisque diffundendo charitatem in cordibus nostris, ducat nos ad agnitionem omnis veritatis. Hujus Spiritus gratiam in cunctis actibus nostris, charissimi, hujus precemur auxilium, dicamus singuli Domino, dicamus omnes: Spiritus tuus bonus deducet me in terram rectam. Sicque fit ut qui Apostolus superveniens ea quae ventura erant annuntiavit, nostris quoque mentibus venturae vitae gaudia patefaciat, nos ad haec inquirenda benignus incendat, cooperante ipso qui hunc et polliceri suis fidelibus, et dare consuevit Jesu Christo Domino nostro, qui vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate ejusdem Spiritus sancti Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
he says, create in me, O God, and renew a right spirit within my inmost parts (Ps. 50:12). For he prayed first that a clean heart be created in him, and then that a right spirit be renewed within his inmost parts, because he certainly knew that a right spirit cannot have its seat in a polluted heart. Let us keep with a diligent heart that the same Spirit convicts the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement. Let us beware lest, by seeking the things below, we belong to the world, for the world will pass away, and its concupiscence. Let us seek the things that are above, let us savour the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Let us have our way of life in heaven with the Apostle, and, lest we be convicted of the sin of unbelief, let us put into practice by working what we believe; for faith without works is idle. Lest we be judged more severely by comparison with the just whom we would not imitate, let us remember with a watchful mind what the Lord says of those who despise His grace: The queen of the South will rise in the judgement with this generation and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, a greater than Solomon is here (Luke 11:31). Lest we be condemned with the prince of the world, let us resist him, strong in faith, and he will flee from us. Let us speak truth in our heart and do no deceit with our tongue, so that the Spirit of truth, pouring charity more and more into our hearts, may lead us to the knowledge of all truth. Let us pray, dearly beloved, for the grace of this Spirit in all our actions, for His help; let us each say to the Lord, let us all say: Thy good Spirit will lead me into the right land. And so it comes about that He who, coming upon the Apostles, announced the things that were to come, may also open to our minds the joys of the life to come, and may kindly kindle us to seek them, with the cooperation of Him who is wont both to promise Him to His faithful and to give Him, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the same Holy Spirit, God, for all ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILIA VII. IN QUARTA DOMINICA POST SANCTUM PASCHA. JOAN. XVI. In illo tempore dixit J⟨e⟩sus discipul⟨i⟩s suis: Amen, amen dico vobis, si quid petieritis Patr⟨e⟩m in nomine meo, dubit vobis. Usque modo non petistis quidquam in nomine meo, etc.
HOMILY VII. ON THE FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER HOLY EASTER. JOHN 16. At that time Jesus said to His disciples: Amen, amen I say to you, if you ask the Father anything in My name, He will give it to you. Until now you have not asked anything in My name, etc.
Potest movere infirmos auditores quomodo in capite lectionis hujus evangelicae discipulis Salvator promittat: Amen, amen, dico vobis, si quid, inquiens, petieritis Patrem in nomine meo, dabit vobis, cum non solum nostri similes multa quae Patrem in Christi nomine videntur petere non accipiant, verum etiam ipse apostolus Paulus tertio Dominum rogaverit, ut a se angelus Satanae, a quo tribulabatur, abscederet, nec impetrare potuerit. Sed hujus motio quaestionis antiqua jam Patrum explanatione reserata est, qui veraciter intellexerunt illos solum in nomine Salvatoris petere, qui ea quae ad salutem perpetuam pertinent petunt; ideoque apostolum non in nomine Salvatoris petisse aiunt, ut tentatione careret, quam ob custodiam humilitatis acceperat, quia si hac caruisset,
It may trouble weak hearers how, at the head of this Gospel reading, the Saviour promises the disciples: Amen, amen, I say to you, if you ask the Father anything, He says, in My name, He will give it to you; since not only do people like us fail to receive many things which they seem to ask of the Father in Christ's name, but even the apostle Paul himself asked the Lord three times that the angel of Satan, by whom he was afflicted, might depart from him, and could not obtain it. But the raising of this question has long since been unlocked by the explanation of the Fathers, who truly understood that only those ask in the name of the Saviour who ask for the things that pertain to everlasting salvation; and therefore they say that the apostle did not ask in the name of the Saviour that he might be free of the temptation which he had received for the safeguarding of humility, because if he had been free of it,
Editors' notes and page, col. 163
Page
- running head: 163 BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS I[II…] (head cut off at right in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹dum, inquit, crea in me›; B ‹justorum, quos imitari›; C ‹que fit ut qui Apostolus›; D ‹pite lectionis hujus›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column opens "dum," which completes "Cor mun-" at the foot of col. 162; the whole word is set there, so this column's text starts at "inquit". "J⟨e⟩sus", "discipul⟨i⟩s", "Patr⟨e⟩m": letters lost to damaged type in the pericope line. "Satanae" is followed by a mark like a semicolon; set as a comma.
salvus esse non posset, ipso affirmante cum ait: Ne magnitudo revelationum extollat me, datus est mihi stimulus carnis meae angelus Satanae, qui me colaphizet (II Cor. XII). Quotiescunque ergo petentes non exaudimur, ideo fit, quia vel contra auxilium nostrae salutis petimus, ac propterea a misericorde Patre beneficii gratia nobis quod inepte petimus negatur, quod eidem apostolo Paulo contigisse probatur, cui ter petenti responsum est: Sufficit tibi gratia mea, nam virtus in infirmitate perficitur; vel utilia quidem, et quae ad veram salutem respiciant petimus, sed ipsi male vivendo auditum a nobis justi Judicis avertimus, incidentes in illud Salomonis: Qui avertit aurem suam ne audiat legem, oratio ejus erit exsecrabilis; vel dum pro peccantibus quibusdam, ut resipiscant, oramus, et si salubriter petimus, atque ex nostro merito digni sumus audito, ipsorum tamen perversitas ne impetremus obsistit. Fit etiam aliquando ut salutaria prorsus et precibus sollicitis, et devotis quaeramus actionibus, nec tamen statim obtineamus quae petimus, sed in futurum petitionis nostrae differatur effectus, sicut cum genibus flexis quotidie rogamus Patrem, dicentes: Adveniat regnum tuum, idem tamen regnum non mox oratione finita, sed tempore congruo sumus accepturi. Quod pia provisione nostri Conditoris constat actitari, ut, videlicet, desideria nostrae devotionis dilatione crescant, et incremento quotidiano magis magisque provecta, tandem perfectius capiant gaudia quae requirunt. Inter quae notandum quia cum pro peccantibus oramus, et si eorum salvationem impetrare nequimus, nequaquam tamen fructu precis nostrae privamur, quia etsi illi digni non sunt salvari, nos tamen amoris quem illis impendimus mercede donabimur, sicque in tali petitione implebitur nobis illa Domini promissio, qua ait:
he could not be saved, as he himself affirms when he says: Lest the greatness of the revelations exalt me, there was given me a sting of my flesh, an angel of Satan, to buffet me (2 Cor. 12:7). Whenever, then, we ask and are not heard, it happens for this reason: either because we ask for something against the help of our salvation, and therefore what we ask unfittingly is denied us by the merciful Father as a favour, which is shown to have happened to the same apostle Paul, to whom, when he asked three times, the answer was given: My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness; or we do ask for useful things, which look to true salvation, but by living badly we ourselves turn away from us the hearing of the just Judge, falling into that saying of Solomon: He who turns away his ear so as not to hear the law, his prayer will be abominable; or when we pray for certain sinners that they may come to their senses, even if we ask in a salutary way and by our own merit are worthy of being heard, their perversity nevertheless stands in the way of our obtaining it. It also happens sometimes that we seek things wholly salutary both with earnest prayers and with devout actions, and yet do not at once obtain what we ask, but the effect of our petition is deferred to the future; as when, with bended knees, we daily ask the Father, saying: Thy kingdom come, and yet we are to receive that same kingdom not as soon as the prayer is finished, but at the fitting time. This is clearly done by the loving providence of our Maker, so that the desires of our devotion may grow by delay and, advanced more and more by daily increase, may at length lay hold more perfectly of the joys they seek. Among these things it is to be noted that when we pray for sinners, even if we cannot obtain their salvation, we are by no means deprived of the fruit of our prayer, because, although they are not worthy to be saved, we shall nevertheless be presented with the reward of the love we spend on them; and so in such a petition that promise of the Lord will be fulfilled for us, in which He says:
Si quid petieritis Patrem in nomine meo, dabit vobis. Intuendum enim quia non ait simpliciter dabit, sed dabit, inquit, vobis, quia etsi non eis pro quibus petimus dabit, nobis tamen, cum pro aliorum erratibus misericorditer intervenimus, praemium nostrae benignitatis restituet. Sequitur:
If you ask the Father anything in My name, He will give it to you. For it is to be observed that He does not say simply He will give, but He will give, He says, to you, because, even if He does not give to those for whom we ask, yet to us, when we mercifully intercede for the errors of others, He will render the reward of our kindness. There follows:
Usque modo non petistis quidquam in nomine meo. Non petierunt eatenus in nomine Salvatoris, quia dum ipsum Salvatorem visibili praesentia complecterentur, minus ad invisibilia salutis dona mentis intuitum erexerant. Sed et nostra fragilitas Patrem petens non in nomine Jesu, id est, Salvatoris petit, dum contra rationem suae petit salutis, non ut apostolorum simplicitas corporali visu sui Salvatoris ab aeternae salutis petitione sit retardata, sed obstaculo propriae cupiditatis ab intuitu dominicae voluntatis impedita. Quid autem principaliter petendum, ac sine ulla dubietate eis qui fideliter in petendo persistiterunt sit parandum a Patre, Dominus subdendo manifestat, dicens:
Until now you have not asked anything in My name. They had not until then asked in the name of the Saviour, because while they embraced the Saviour Himself in His visible presence, they had raised the gaze of the mind less to the invisible gifts of salvation. But our frailty too, asking the Father, does not ask in the name of Jesus, that is, of the Saviour, when it asks against the reckoning of its own salvation; not that, like the simplicity of the apostles, it has been held back from asking for eternal salvation by the bodily sight of its Saviour, but it is hindered from regarding the Lord's will by the obstacle of its own covetousness. But what is to be asked for above all, and what is without any doubt prepared by the Father for those who have persisted faithfully in asking, the Lord makes plain by adding:
Petite et accipietis ut gaudium vestrum sit plenum. Ordo quippe sensus est: Petite ut gaudium vestrum sit plenum, et accipietis. Plenum ergo gaudium beatitudinem
Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full. For the order of the sense is: Ask that your joy may be full, and you will receive. Full joy, therefore, He calls the blessedness
Editors' notes and page, col. 164
Page
- running head: [BEDÆ VENERABILI]S OPP. PARS III. — PARÆNETICA. 164
- marginal letters: A ‹salvus esse non posset›; B ‹mus, et si salubriter›; C ‹dum quia cum pro peccantibus› (approximate; C sits between this line and "salvationem"); D ‹dum ipsum Salvatorem›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "bea-" hyphenated at the column end; completed as "beatitudinem" from the first line of col. 165. "persistiterunt" is as printed (cf. "perstiteritis" in col. 165); not marked as a misprint. "nostri" before "Conditoris" has a damaged i.
perpetuae pacis appellat. Nam ut taceamus de gaudio reproborum, quo sibi luctum mercantur aeternum, habent sancti etiam in praesenti gaudium de spe coelestium bonorum, cum pro Domino terrenis exercentur adversis: habent gaudium cum amore fraternitatis suadente, discunt gaudere cum gaudentibus, et flere cum flentibus. Sed non est plenum gaudium quod fletu variante miscetur. Plenum quippe gaudium fit, ubi, nemine flente, cum solis datur gaudere gaudentibus. Ait itaque:
of everlasting peace. For, to say nothing of the joy of the reprobate, by which they purchase for themselves eternal mourning, the saints have joy even in the present from the hope of heavenly goods, when for the Lord's sake they are exercised by earthly adversities: they have joy when, with the love of brotherhood persuading them, they learn to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep. But joy is not full which is mingled with weeping by turns. For joy becomes full where, no one weeping, it is granted to rejoice with those alone who rejoice. And so He says:
Petite et accipietis, ut gaudium vestrum sit plenum. Ac si patenter dicat: Non fluxa saeculi gaudia, quae et moerore semper mista, et certo sunt fine obnoxia, sed illud singulare gaudium a Patre petite, cujus plenitudo nullo cujuslibet inquietudinis attactu minuitur, aeternitas nullo unquam termino dissolvitur. Si enim perstiteritis in petendo, procul dubio quae petitis accipietis. De cujus plenitudine gaudii Petrus fidelibus scribit, dicens: Credentes autem exsultabitis laetitia inenarrabili et glorificata, reportantes finem fidei vestrae salutem animarum vestrarum (I Petr. II). Petere autem hujusmodi gaudium est, non verbis tantummodo patriae coelestis introitum flagitare, sed et digna operatione pro ejus perceptione certare. Neque enim quidpiam utilitatis affert bene orando superna quaerere, qui non desistit perverse vivendo infimis implicari.
Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full. As if He said openly: Ask of the Father not the fleeting joys of the world, which are both always mixed with grief and subject to a sure end, but that singular joy whose fullness is lessened by no touch of any disquiet, whose eternity is dissolved by no end ever. For if you persist in asking, without doubt you will receive what you ask. Of this fullness of joy Peter writes to the faithful, saying: But believing, you will exult with joy unspeakable and glorified, carrying off the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls (1 Pet. 1:8–9). To ask for joy of this kind, moreover, is not only to demand entry into the heavenly homeland with words, but also to strive for its attainment with worthy working. For it brings no profit to seek the things above by praying well, for one who does not cease to be entangled in the lowest things by living perversely.
Haec in proverbiis locutus sum vobis. Venit hora, cum jam non in proverbiis loquar vobis, sed palam de Patre annuntiabo vobis. Illam nimirum horam significat, qua eis, peracta sua passione ac resurrectione, Spiritus sancti erat gratiam daturus. Tunc etenim spiritualiter intus instructi, spirituali dilectione succensi, quo perfectius omnia quae de agnitione divinitatis mortalibus erant capienda, ceperant, eo ardentius sola quae ad ejus visionem promerendam juvarent, petere ac desiderare curarent. Hoc est enim quod subjunxit:
These things I have spoken to you in proverbs. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in proverbs, but will tell you plainly of the Father. He means, of course, that hour in which, His passion and resurrection accomplished, He was to give them the grace of the Holy Spirit. For then, instructed spiritually within and fired with spiritual love, the more perfectly they had grasped all that mortals could grasp of the knowledge of the Godhead, the more ardently they would take care to ask for and desire only the things that would help towards meriting the sight of it. For this is what He added:
Illo die in nomine meo petetis. Possumus horam quam pollicetur in futura vita intelligere, in qua palam de Patre annuntiat, id est, palam Patrem ostendet electis, quando, sicut Apostolus ait: Videbimus eum facie ad faciem (I Cor. XIII). De qua annuntiatione dicit et Joannes: Charissimi, nunc filii Dei sumus, et nondum apparuit quid erimus. Scimus enim quia, cum apparuerit, similes ei erimus, videbimus enim eum sicuti est (I Joan. III). Ubi veraciter in nomine Jesu petunt electi, dum pro nostra fragilitate intercedunt, quatenus ad suae salvationis sortem pertingamus, a qua adhuc inter insidias hostium peregrinamur in terris, quam sanctorum petitionem aptissime in die futura promisit: Illo, inquiens, die in nomine meo petetis. In die etenim petunt, quia non in tenebris pressurarum, ut nostra in praesenti, sed in luce sempiternae pacis, et gloriae beatorum spirituum pro nobis intercessio funditur. Possunt autem idem spiritus electorum in illa coelesti civitate positi, etiam pro seipsis in nomine Salvatoris petere intelligi, quia, videlicet, tempus universali⟨s⟩ judicii et resurrectionis
In that day you will ask in My name. We can understand the hour which He promises of the future life, in which He tells plainly of the Father, that is, will show the Father plainly to the elect, when, as the Apostle says: We shall see Him face to face (1 Cor. 13:12). Of this telling John too says: Dearly beloved, we are now children of God, and it has not yet appeared what we shall be. For we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2). There the elect truly ask in the name of Jesus, when they intercede for our frailty, that we may attain to the lot of their salvation, from which we are still exiles on earth amid the snares of enemies; and this petition of the saints He most fittingly promised for the day to come: In that day, He says, you will ask in My name. For they ask in the day, because the intercession of the blessed spirits is poured out for us not in the darkness of tribulations, like ours in the present, but in the light of everlasting peace and glory. Those same spirits of the elect, set in that heavenly city, can also be understood to ask for themselves in the name of the Saviour, namely because the time of the universal judgement and of the resurrection
Editors' notes and page, col. 165
Page
- running head: 165 SECT. I. HOMILIÆ. — LIB. II. [cut off at right in the image]
- marginal letters: A ‹titudinem perpetuae pacis›; B ‹nuitur, aeternitas nullo›; C ‹ficat, qua eis, peracta› (approximate; C sits between this line and "Patre annuntiabo"); D ‹mus, et nondum apparuit›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column opens "titudinem", which completes "bea-" at the foot of col. 164; the whole word is set there. The printed reference "I Petr. II" is set as printed; the English gives the verse's modern place, 1 Peter 1:8–9. "universali⟨s⟩": the final s is damaged (looks like a semicolon).
corporum in quibus pro Domino certavere, venire desiderant. Unde et Joannes ait: Vidi sub altare Dei animas interfectorum propter verbum Dei, et propter testimonium quod habebant (Apoc. VI). Et clamabant voce magna dicentes: Usquequo, Domine, sanctus et verus, non judicas et vindicas sanguinem nostrum de his qui habitant in terra? Ubi continuo subinfertur: Et datae sunt illis singulae stolae albae, et dictum est illis ut requiescerent tempus adhuc modicum, donec implerentur conservi eorum, et fratres eorum. Singulas quippe stolas albas nunc habent animae, cum sola sua felicitate fruuntur; binas tunc accipient cum, impleto in fine numero fratrum, corporum quoque immortalium receptione laetantur.
of the bodies in which they fought for the Lord, they long to come. Hence John too says: I saw under the altar of God the souls of those slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held (Rev. 6:9). And they cried out with a loud voice, saying: How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? Where it is at once added: And there were given to them each a white robe, and it was said to them that they should rest yet a little while, until their fellow servants and their brethren should be filled up. For the souls now have a single white robe each, when they enjoy their own happiness alone; they will receive two then, when, the number of the brethren being filled up at the end, they rejoice also in the receiving of immortal bodies.
Et non dico vobis quia ego rogabo Patrem de vobis. Quia enim Dominus noster Jesus Christus, et Deus et homo est, modo summa deitatis, modo humanitatis humilia loquendo designat. Quod enim dicit non rogaturum se Patrem, de discipulis propter consubstantialem Patri divinitatis suae potentiam dicit, in qua non Patrem ipse rogare, sed rogatum cum Patre consuevit donare. Quod vero Petro ait: Ego autem rogavi pro te, ut non deficiat fides tua (Luc. 22); et de illo Joannes: Advocatum, inquit, habemus apud Patrem, Jesum Christum justum (I Joan. II); propter dispensationem dictum est assumptae humanitatis, cujus cum triumphum Patris ostendit oculis, pro nostra infirmitate propitius intervenit. Potest et ita non inconvenienter accipi quod ait: Et non dico vobis, quia ego rogabo Patrem de vobis, quia non de praesenti rogo, sed de futuro tempore posuit rogabo, quod, sanctis in interna pace receptis, non opus sit jam aliquid rogari de illis, quia nimirum tanta beatitudine donati sunt, quae amplior esse non potest.
And I do not say to you that I will ask the Father for you. For because our Lord Jesus Christ is both God and man, He signifies in speaking now the highest things of the Godhead, now the lowly things of the manhood. For when He says that He will not ask the Father for the disciples, He says it on account of the power of His Godhead, consubstantial with the Father, in which He is accustomed not Himself to ask the Father, but, being asked, to give together with the Father. But what He says to Peter: But I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail (Luke 22:32); and what John says of Him: We have an Advocate, he says, with the Father, Jesus Christ the just (1 John 2:1); this is said on account of the dispensation of the manhood He assumed, whose triumph, when He shows it to the Father's eyes, He graciously intercedes for our weakness. What He says can also be taken, not unfittingly, thus: And I do not say to you that I will ask the Father for you; because He put not the present I ask but the future I will ask, since, once the saints have been received into the inner peace, there is no longer need for anything to be asked for them, because they have been endowed with so great a blessedness that it cannot be greater.
Ipse enim Pater amat vos, quia vos me amastis, et credidistis quia a Deo exivi. Non ita intelligendum est, quasi amor et credulitas discipulorum praecesserit amorem quo illos Pater amaret, meritumque humanum prius sit muneribus gratiae coelestis, cum apertissime dicat Apostolus: Aut quis prior dedit illi, et retribuetur ei? Quoniam ex ipso, et per ipsum, et in ipso sunt omnia (Rom. XI); sed ita potius, quia Pater illos gratuito amore praevenerit, atque ad amandum credendumque Filium amando sustulerit, et quia ipsi agnitam filii dilectionem ac fidem pio et sollicito corde servaverint, majoribus eos donis paternae dilectionis esse remuneratos. Non autem arbitrandum quia Pater sine Filio et Spiritu sancto amare, vel amoris possit munera dare. Nec rursus aestimandum quia Filius sine Patre et Spiritu sancto valeat amari vel credi. Quod ergo ait: Ipse enim Pater amat vos, intelligendum est una cum Filio et Spiritu sancto amare, quos amore dignos judicat. Et quod adjunxit: quia vos me amastis, eadem ratione sentiendum est, quia quicunque Filium recte amat, hunc cum Patre et amborum Spiritu amat, quia quorum inseparabilis est natura divinitatis, horum una eademque sunt dona virtutis.
For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from God. This is not to be understood as though the love and belief of the disciples preceded the love with which the Father loved them, and human merit came before the gifts of heavenly grace, since the Apostle says most plainly: Or who first gave to Him, and it shall be repaid him? For from Him and through Him and in Him are all things (Rom. 11:35–36); but rather thus: that the Father went before them with a freely given love, and by loving them raised them up to love and believe in the Son, and that because they kept the love and faith of the Son, once known, with a devout and careful heart, they were rewarded with greater gifts of the Father's love. But it must not be thought that the Father can love, or give the gifts of love, without the Son and the Holy Spirit. Nor again must it be supposed that the Son can be loved or believed without the Father and the Holy Spirit. What He says, then: For the Father Himself loves you, is to be understood that He loves, together with the Son and the Holy Spirit, those whom He judges worthy of love. And what He added: because you have loved Me, is to be taken in the same way: that whoever rightly loves the Son loves Him with the Father and the Spirit of both, because those whose nature of Godhead is inseparable have one and the same gifts of power.
Exivi a Patre, et veni in mundum. Iterum relinquo
I came forth from the Father and came into the world. Again I leave
Editors' notes and page, col. 166
Page
- running head: [SECT. I. HOMILI]Æ. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINÆ. 166
- marginal letters: A ‹corporum in quibus pro›; B ‹Quia enim Dominus noster›; C ‹vobis, quia ego rogabo›; D ‹agnitam filii dilectionem›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "(Luc. 22)" is printed with an Arabic numeral; set as printed. The mark after "Patre" in the last line looks like a full stop; set as a comma (UNSURE). "filii" printed lower-case.
mundum, et vado ad Patrem. Exivit a Patre et venit in mundum, quia mundo visibilis apparuit in humanitate, qui erat invisibilis apud Patrem in divinitate. Exivit a Patre, quia non in ea forma qua aequalis est Patri, sed in assumpta creatura minor apparuit. Et venit in mundum, quia in forma servi quam accepit, etiam mundi hujus amatoribus se videndum praebuit. Iterum reliquit mundum, et rediit ad Patrem, quia ab aspectu amatorum mundi quod viderant abstulit, et se amatoribus suis aequalem Patri esse credendum docuit. Reliquit mundum, et rediit ad Patrem, quia humanitatem quam induit per ascensionem ad invisibilia perduxit. Haec quidem verba Domini mystica, et sicut ipse testatur, in proverbiis sunt dicta; sed discipuli quibus dicebantur adeo carnales adhuc erant, ut eorum profunditatem minime caperent, et non solum arcana dictorum, sed nec ipsam ignorantiam suam intelligerent, putantes simpliciter et dilucide prolata, quae non intelligentibus proverbia erant. Unde continuo responderunt:
the world, and I go to the Father. He came forth from the Father and came into the world, because He who was invisible with the Father in Godhead appeared visible to the world in manhood. He came forth from the Father, because He appeared not in that form in which He is equal to the Father, but lesser in the creature He assumed. And He came into the world, because in the form of a servant which He received He offered Himself to be seen even by the lovers of this world. Again He left the world and returned to the Father, because He took away from the sight of the lovers of the world what they had seen, and taught those who love Him that He is to be believed equal to the Father. He left the world and returned to the Father, because through the ascension He brought the manhood He had put on to the invisible things. These words of the Lord are indeed mystical and, as He Himself testifies, were spoken in proverbs; but the disciples to whom they were spoken were still so carnal that they did not at all grasp their depth, and understood not only not the hidden meaning of the sayings but not even their own ignorance, thinking that things had been put simply and clearly which, to those who did not understand, were proverbs. Hence they at once answered:
Ecce nunc palam loqueris, et proverbium nullum dicis. Palam igitur eum loqui autumabant, cujus mysteria dictorum necdum comprehendere valebant. Quod autem adjungitur:
Behold, now You speak plainly, and speak no proverb. They supposed, then, that He was speaking plainly, though they were not yet able to comprehend the mysteries of His sayings. But as for what is added:
Nunc scimus quia scis omnia, et non opus est tibi ut quis te interroget. In hoc credimus quia a Deo existi, aperte ostendunt quia loquens ad eos Dominus de his maxime disputabat quae illos delectabat audire, et quae illi interrogare volebant, haec ipsa praeveniens eis ultro proferebat. Unde merito illum scire omnia quasi Deum, et quasi Dei Filium a Deo venisse credunt et confitentur. Apertum namque divinitatis indicium est, cogitationum nosse secreta, Salomone affirmante, qui Deo supplicans ait: Tu enim solus nosti corda omnium fil⟨i⟩orum hominum (I Reg. VIII). Unde etiam Hieremias ait: Tu autem, Domine Sabaoth, qui judicas juste, et probas renes et cor (Jerem. XI). Neque haec transeunter aut negligenter commemoranda, sed solerter invigilandum est, fratres mei, ut non verba tantum, et opera nostra, sed ipsa quoque cordium secreta divinis aspectibus digna reddamus. Non in templo nostri pectoris odiorum flamma, non invidiae rubigo resideat, non inde turpis vel contumeliosi sermonis radix oriatur, non ibi meditatio facti nocentis innascatur: memores simus dominicae comminationis, qua dicitur: Ego enim opera et cogitationes eorum venio ut congregem (Isai. LXVI). Et expulsis vitiorum ruderibus, talem cordis nostri paremus mansionem, cujus ipse d⟨i⟩gnetur inesse mansor, qui ejus inevitabilis inspector et judex est. Sciendum autem quia triplex est modus cogitationum nequam: unus earum quae deliberatione, et proposito peccandi mentem contaminant; alius earum quae delectatione quidem peccati mentem perturbant, nec tamen hanc ad peccandi consensum pertrahunt; tertius earum quae naturali motu mentem percurrentes, non tamen
Now we know that You know all things, and You have no need that anyone should question You. By this we believe that You came forth from God: they show openly that the Lord, in speaking to them, was discoursing above all on the things they delighted to hear, and that the very things they wished to ask, He anticipated and set before them of His own accord. Hence they rightly believe and confess that He knows all things as God, and that as the Son of God He came from God. For to know the secrets of thoughts is a manifest sign of Godhead, as Solomon affirms, who, praying to God, says: For Thou alone knowest the hearts of all the children of men (1 Kgs. 8:39). Hence Jeremiah too says: But Thou, O Lord of hosts, who judgest justly and triest the reins and the heart (Jer. 11:20). Nor are these things to be recalled in passing or carelessly; rather, we must keep careful watch, my brethren, to render not only our words and our works but also the very secrets of our hearts worthy of the divine gaze. Let no flame of hatreds, no rust of envy, settle in the temple of our breast; let no root of base or insulting speech spring up from there; let no thought of a harmful deed be born there: let us be mindful of the Lord's threat, in which it is said: For I come to gather their works and their thoughts (Isa. 66:18). And, the rubble of the vices cast out, let us prepare such a dwelling of our heart that He may deign to be its indweller who is its inescapable inspector and judge. It must be known, moreover, that the manner of wicked thoughts is threefold: one, of those which defile the mind with deliberation and the purpose of sinning; another, of those which disturb the mind with delight in sin, yet do not draw it to consent to sin; a third, of those which, running through the mind by a natural motion, yet do not
Editors' notes and page, col. 167
Page
- running head: 167 BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III[. — PARÆNETICA.] (head cut off at right in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹mundum, et vado ad Patrem›; B ‹tur adeo carnales adhuc›; C ‹et quae illi interrogare› (approximate; C sits between this line and "niens eis ultro"); D ‹resideat, non inde turpis› (approximate; D sits between this line and "radix oriatur")
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "fil⟨i⟩orum" and "d⟨i⟩gnetur": letters lost to damaged type. The right-hand column of this page begins a new homily (heading "LUC. X[I]…" visible at the edge); it belongs to col. 168.
hanc ad perpetranda vitia illiciunt, quam a bonis quae cogitare debuit impediunt, veluti est cum phantasmata rerum, quae aliquando supervacue gesta vel dicta novimus, ad memoriam reducimus: quarum crebra retractatio, quasi importuna muscarum improbitas, cordis oculos circumvolare ac spiritualem ejus aciem inquietare magis quam excaecare consuevit. A cunctis autem his cogitationum nequam generibus castigari, monuit Salomon cum dicit: Omni custodia serva cor tuum, quoniam ex ipso vita procedit (Prov. IV). Cujus monita sequentes agamus solliciti, ut si quid consensu perpetrandi facinoris in animo deliquimus, cito hoc confessione et dignis poenitentiae fructibus abstergamus. Si delectatione peccandi nos tentari senserimus, noxiam delectationem crebris precibus ac lacrymis, crebra amaritudinis perpetuae recordatione pellamus; et si nos solos ad hanc propulsandam sufficere non posse viderimus, fratrum quaeramus auxilia, ut quod nostris viribus nequivimus, illorum consilio et intercessione sumamus. Multum enim valet deprecatio justi assidua; et, sicut idem praemisit, oratio fidei salvabit infirmum, et alleviabit eum Dominus, et si in peccatis sit, dimittentur ei. Quia supervacuis cogitationibus ad integrum carere non valemus, has in quantum possumus, immissione bonarum cogitationum, et maxime frequenti Scripturarum meditatione fugemus, juxta exemplum Psalmistae, qui dicit: Quomodo dilexi legem tuam, Domine, tota die meditatio mea est (Psal. CXVIII). Petamus supernam clementiam, quod est vere in nomine Salvatoris petere, ut et cordis munditiam, et boni operis praestet efficaciam, et ante omnia illam sedula mente recolamus horam, illam citius venire optemus, in qua non jam per Scripturas loquatur nobis Dominus, sed palam de Patre annuntiet nobis, cum quo vivit et regnat Deus in unitate Spiritus sancti, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
entice it to commit vices so much as hinder it from the good things it ought to think, as when we bring back to memory the images of things which we know to have been done or said idly at some time: their frequent recurrence, like the troublesome impudence of flies, is wont to fly round the eyes of the heart and to disturb its spiritual sight rather than to blind it. Solomon admonished that we be chastened from all these kinds of wicked thoughts when he says: Keep your heart with all watchfulness, for from it life proceeds (Prov. 4:23). Following his admonitions, let us act with care, so that if we have sinned in mind by consent to committing a crime, we may quickly wipe it away by confession and worthy fruits of penance. If we feel ourselves tempted by the delight of sinning, let us drive out the harmful delight with frequent prayers and tears, with frequent remembrance of everlasting bitterness; and if we see that we alone are not sufficient to repel it, let us seek the help of the brethren, so that what we could not do by our own strength we may obtain by their counsel and intercession. For the assiduous prayer of a just man avails much; and, as the same writer said before, the prayer of faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will relieve him, and if he is in sins, they will be forgiven him. Since we cannot be wholly free of idle thoughts, let us put them to flight as far as we can by bringing in good thoughts, and above all by frequent meditation on the Scriptures, after the example of the Psalmist, who says: How have I loved Thy law, O Lord! it is my meditation all the day (Ps. 118:97). Let us ask the mercy on high, which is truly to ask in the name of the Saviour, that it may grant both purity of heart and effectiveness in good work; and above all let us call to mind with diligent mind that hour, let us long for it to come quickly, in which the Lord will no longer speak to us through the Scriptures but will tell us plainly of the Father, with whom He lives and reigns, God, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for all ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILIA VIII. IN LITANIA MAJORE. LUC. XI. In illo tempore dixit Jesus discipulis suis: Petite, et dabitur vobis; quaerite, et inven⟨i⟩etis; pulsate, et aperietur vobis. Omnis enim qui petit accipit, et qui quaerit invenit, et pulsanti aperietur, etc.
HOMILY VIII. ON THE GREATER LITANY. LUKE 11. At that time Jesus said to His disciples: Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened, etc.
Dominus et redemptor noster ad coelestis regni gaudia nos pervenire desiderans, et nos eadem gaudia a se petere docuit, et nobis petentibus se ha⟨e⟩c daturum esse promisit. Petite, inquit, et dabitur vobis; quaerite, et invenietis; pulsate, et aperietur vobis. Quae nobis sunt verba Domini nostri, fratres charissimi, magnopere ac toto corde pensanda, quia, videlicet, regnum coelorum non otiosis et vacantibus, sed petentibus, quaerentibus, pulsantibus dandum, inveniendum et aperiendum, esse testatur. Petenda est ergo janua regni orando, quaerenda recte vivendo, pulsanda perseverando. Non enim sufficit verbo tantummodo rogare, si non etiam quaesierimus
Our Lord and Redeemer, desiring that we should come to the joys of the heavenly kingdom, both taught us to ask these same joys of Him and promised that He would give them to us when we ask. Ask, He says, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. These words of our Lord, dearest brethren, are to be weighed by us greatly and with the whole heart, because, namely, He testifies that the kingdom of heaven is to be given, found and opened not to the idle and the unoccupied but to those who ask, seek and knock. The gate of the kingdom, then, is to be asked for by praying, sought by living rightly, knocked at by persevering. For it is not enough to ask in word only, if we have not also sought
Editors' notes and page, col. 168
Footnotes
(a) ‹anchor: HOMILIA VIII› · call in col 168
Thes. nov. Anecd. Marten., tom. V, hom. 9.
Martène, Thesaurus novus anecdotorum, vol. V, homily 9.
(printed under page 88)
Page
- running head: [BEDÆ VENERABILIS] OPP. PARS III. — PARÆNETICA. 168 (printed "PAR.ENETICA", the Æ damaged; "168" partly broken)
- marginal letters: A ‹hanc ad perpetranda vitia›; B ‹nem crebris precibus›; C ‹tatio mea est (Psal.› (approximate; C sits between this line and "Quomodo dilexi"); D ‹tur, etc.› (beside the last line of the pericope)
- old-edition numerals: (none)
diligentius, et qualiter nobis sit vivendum ut digni simus impetrare quae poscimus, ipso attestante qui ait: Non omnis qui dicit mihi: Domine, Domine, intrabit in regnum coelorum; sed qui facit voluntatem Patris mei qui in coelis est, ipse intrabit in regnum coelorum (Matth. VII). Non aliquid prodest bona inchoasse, si non quisque studeat ea quae bene inchoaverat usque ad finem firma perducere; quin imo melius erat non cognoscere viam justitiae, quam post agnitionem retrorsum converti; unde necesse est, fratres mei, ut petamus seduli, sine intermissione oremus, et procidamus ante Dominum, ploremus coram Domino, qui fecit nos. Et ut exaudiri mereamur, videamus sollicite qualiter nos vivere velit, quid nos facere jusserit qui fecit nos. Quaeramus Dominum et confirmemur, quaeramus faciem ejus semper; et ut hunc invenire et videre mereamur, mundemus nos ab omni inquinamento carnis et spiritus, quia nonnisi casto corpore in die resurrectionis ad coelos sublevari, nonnisi mundo corde gloriam valent divinae Majestatis intueri. Pulsemus et infatigabili desiderio aeternae beatitudinis aures pii Conditoris, nec deficiamus a coeptis priusquam, illo aperiente, de carcere mortis hujus eripi ac portam mereamur patriae coelestis ingredi. Nemo sibi de innocentia blandiatur, nullus suis actibus quasi qui misericordia justi judicis non egeat a precibus cesset; quin potius, etiam cum se aliquid boni quis egisse cognoverit, quia qua hoc districtione judicetur ignorat, tremens cum Propheta proclamet: Ne intres in judicium cum servo tuo, quia non justificabitur in conspectu tuo omnis vivens (Psal. CXLII). Et cum beato Job: Si justificare me voluero, os meum condemnabit me; si innocentem ostendero, pravum me comprobabit (Job. IX). Memor illius semper apostolici sermonis, quia si confiteamur peccata nostra, fidelis et justus est, ut remittat nobis peccata nostra, et emundet nos ab omni iniquitate. Si dixerimus quoniam non peccavimus, mendacem facimus eum, et verbum ejus non est in nobis (I Joan. I). Neque rursus quispiam, considerata peccatorum suorum qualitate, seu quantitate, ab appetenda venia mentem desperando revocet. Neminem visa suorum putredine vulnerum, sui magnitudo languoris a salute quaerenda retrahat. Magnam praebeat obtinendae sanitatis fiduciam quod ipse Conditor noster medicus nobis fieri, ipse ad nos venire in carne, ipse infirmitates nostras suscipere ut sanaret, dolores nostros ut auferret, portare dignatus est. Ipse suum sanguinem pro nobis fudit, pro vita nostra mortem obtulit, ipse magis peccantium admissis poenitentiae remedia ostendit, dicens per praecursorem suum: Genimina viperarum, quis ostendit vobis fugere a ventura ira? Facite ergo fructus dignos poenitentiae (Luc. III). Et paulo post: Qui habet, inquit, duas tunicas, det non habenti; et qui habet escas, similiter faciat (Luc. III). Ipse levioribus quotidianisque nostris erratibus, sine quibus haec vita transigi non potest, quotidiana confessionis et intercessionis mutuae medicamenta concessit, dicens
more diligently, and how we must live so as to be worthy to obtain what we ask, as He Himself bears witness who says: Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 7:21). It profits nothing to have begun good things, if each one does not strive to carry through firmly to the end the things he had well begun; nay rather, it were better not to know the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back; wherefore it is necessary, my brethren, that we ask diligently, that we pray without ceasing, and fall down before the Lord, and weep before the Lord who made us. And that we may deserve to be heard, let us see carefully how He wishes us to live, what He who made us has commanded us to do. Let us seek the Lord and be strengthened, let us seek His face evermore; and that we may deserve to find and to see Him, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, since only with a chaste body can they be raised up to heaven on the day of the resurrection, only with a pure heart can they behold the glory of the divine Majesty. Let us knock also with unwearied longing for eternal blessedness at the ears of our loving Maker, and let us not fall away from what we have begun before, as He opens, we deserve to be snatched from the prison of this death and to enter the gate of the heavenly fatherland. Let no one flatter himself about his innocence, let no one cease from prayers on account of his deeds as though he had no need of the mercy of the just Judge; but rather, even when someone knows that he has done some good, since he does not know with what strictness it will be judged, let him cry out trembling with the Prophet: Enter not into judgement with Thy servant, for in Thy sight shall no man living be justified (Ps. 142:2). And with blessed Job: If I would justify myself, my own mouth shall condemn me; if I would show myself innocent, it shall prove me perverse (Job 9:20). Let him be ever mindful of that apostolic saying, that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all iniquity. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us (1 John 1:9–10). Nor again let anyone, having considered the nature or the number of his sins, call back his mind in despair from seeking pardon. Let not the sight of the putrefaction of his wounds, nor the greatness of his sickness, draw anyone back from seeking health. Let it give us great confidence of obtaining healing that our Maker Himself deigned to become our physician, Himself to come to us in the flesh, Himself to take up our infirmities that He might heal them, to bear our sorrows that He might take them away. He Himself shed His own blood for us, offered His death for our life, He Himself showed rather the remedies of penance for the misdeeds of sinners, saying through His forerunner: Brood of vipers, who has shown you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear therefore fruits worthy of penance (Luke 3:7–8). And a little after: He who has two tunics, He says, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise (Luke 3:11). He Himself granted for our lighter and daily faults, without which this life cannot be passed, the daily medicines of confession and of mutual intercession, saying
Editors' notes and page, col. 169
Page
- running head: 169 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. I[...] (right part of the head is cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹sierimus diligentius›; B ‹mus Dominum et confirmemur›; C ‹intres in judicium / bitur in conspectu›; D ‹quaerenda retrahat. Magnam›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column opens with the tail of a word split from col. 168, printed 'sierimus' (presumably quae-sierimus); set only the visible part. Printer's signature 'PATROL. XCIV.' at the foot omitted.
per apostolum Jacobum: Confitemini alterutrum peccata vestra, et orate pro invicem ut salvemini (Jac. V). Ipse rogari ut praestet admonet, qui animos inopum ad se rogandum largus donator erigit, Omnis, inquiens, qui petit accipit, et qui quaerit invenit, et pulsanti aperietur. Non ergo dubitandum quod petentes accipimus, quaerentes invenimus, pulsantibus nobis aperietur, quia nimirum fallere non potuit Veritas quae promisit. Sed hoc est vigilantius intuendum, quia non omnes qui coram hominibus orare videntur, in conspectu aeterni arbitri petere, vel quaerere, vel coelestis regni aditum pulsare probantur. Neque enim Propheta diceret: Prope est Dominus omnibus invocantibus eum in veritate (Psal. CXLIV), si non aliquos invocare Dominum, sed non in veritate, cognosceret. Invocant quippe Dominum in veritate, qui in hoc quod orando dicunt vivendo non contradicunt; invocant Dominum in veritate, qui suas ei preces oblaturi primo jussa illius implere satagunt, qui dicturi ei in oratione: Et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris (Matth. VI), illud ejus mandatum impleverunt quod dicit: Et cum stabitis ad orandum, remittite si quid habetis adversus aliquem, ut et Pater vester, qui in coelis est, dimittat vobis peccata vestra (Marc. XI); unde de talibus apte Propheta subjungit: Voluntatem timentium se faciet, et orationes eorum exaudiet, et salvos faciet eos (Psal. CXLIV). Illi itaque in veritate Dominum invocant, qui eum timere comprobantur. Horum ipse, cum clamaverint, orationes exaudiet. Horum, cum ad se suspiraverint pia devotione, perficit. Hos, cum ex hac vita transierint, ad salutem sustollet aeternam. At contra sunt qui Deum, sed non in veritate invocant; quos redarguens Jacobus ait: Petitis et non accipitis, eo quod male petatis (Jac. IV). Male namque petunt, qui perseverantes in peccatis pro eisdem peccatis, quae ipsi minime dimittunt, ut sibi a Domino dimittantur, imprudenter exorant, quales ipse per Isaiam reprobat dicens: Et cum extenderitis manus vestras, avertam oculos meos a vobis; et cum multiplicaveritis orationem, non exaudiam: manus enim vestrae sanguine plenae sunt (Isai. I). Quibus adhuc consulendo qua oratione possent impetrare quae poscerent ostendit cum subdidit: Lavemini, mundi estote, auferte malum cogitationum vestrarum ab oculis meis (Ibid.). Male petunt qui vocem Domini jubentis venire, audire obtemperando contemnunt; et nihilominus Dominum suam vocem supplicantium exaudire miserando deposcunt: quos ipse repellens in Evangelio loquitur: Quid autem vocatis me, Domine, Domine, et non facitis quae dico (Luc. VI). De quibus et Salomon in Proverbiis: Qui declinat, inquit, aurem suam ne audiat legem, oratio ejus erit exsecrabilis (Prov. XXVIII). Male petunt, quia non supernae mercedis intuitu, sed ad exemplum Pharisaeorum humanae gratia laudis longis incubant precibus, de quibus ipse testis et judex terribilis terribiliter protestatur quia receperunt mercedem suam. Male petunt et ipsi qui terrena magis in oratione
through the apostle James: Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be saved (Jas. 5:16). He Himself admonishes us to ask Him that He may grant, He who as a generous giver raises up the minds of the needy to ask of Him, saying: Everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it shall be opened. We must not doubt, then, that asking we receive, seeking we find, and knocking it shall be opened to us, since assuredly the Truth who promised could not deceive. But this must be considered more watchfully, that not all who are seen to pray before men are shown to ask, or to seek, or to knock at the entrance of the heavenly kingdom in the sight of the eternal Judge. For the Prophet would not say: The Lord is near to all who call upon Him in truth (Ps. 144:18), unless he knew that some call upon the Lord, but not in truth. Those indeed call upon the Lord in truth who do not contradict by their living what they say in praying; they call upon the Lord in truth who, about to offer Him their prayers, first take care to fulfil His commands, who, being about to say to Him in prayer: And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors (Matt. 6:12), have fulfilled that commandment of His which says: And when you stand to pray, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also, who is in heaven, may forgive you your sins (Mark 11:25); wherefore the Prophet fittingly adds concerning such: He will do the will of those who fear Him, and He will hear their prayers, and He will save them (Ps. 144:19). Those, therefore, call upon the Lord in truth who are proved to fear Him. Their prayers He Himself will hear when they cry out. Theirs He fulfils when they sigh to Him in loving devotion. These, when they pass from this life, He will raise up to eternal salvation. But on the other hand there are those who call upon God, but not in truth; whom James rebukes, saying: You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss (Jas. 4:3). For they ask amiss who, persevering in sins, imprudently beg that those same sins, which they themselves by no means forgive, may be forgiven them by the Lord; such as He Himself reproves through Isaiah, saying: And when you stretch out your hands, I will turn away My eyes from you; and when you multiply prayer, I will not hear: for your hands are full of blood (Isa. 1:15). Yet counselling them still, He showed by what prayer they might obtain what they asked when He added: Wash yourselves, be clean, take away the evil of your thoughts from before My eyes (Isa. 1:16). They ask amiss who scorn to hear and obey the voice of the Lord bidding them come; and nonetheless demand that the Lord should in mercy hear their voice as suppliants: whom He Himself repels, saying in the Gospel: But why do you call Me, Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say? (Luke 6:46). Of whom Solomon too says in Proverbs: He who turns away his ear so as not to hear the law, his prayer shall be abominable (Prov. 28:9). They ask amiss because they apply themselves to long prayers not with a view to the heavenly reward, but after the example of the Pharisees, for the sake of human praise; concerning whom He Himself, the witness and terrible Judge, terribly declares that they have received their reward. They also ask amiss who in prayer [seek] earthly things rather
Editors' notes and page, col. 170
Page
- running head: SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE. 170
- marginal letters: A ‹per apostolum Jacobum›; B ‹Invocant quippe Dominum›; C ‹ad se suspiraverint›; D ‹estote, auferte malum›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column ends mid-sentence at 'in oratione'; the English supplies '[seek]' provisionally. Printer's signature 'G' at the foot omitted.
quam coelestia bona requirunt, quorum preces Apostolus in ipsa, de qua loquimur sententia, specialiter reprehendit. Cum enim dixisset: Petitis, et non accipitis, eo quod male petatis, adjunxit continuo, ut in concupiscentiis vestris insumatis (Jac. IV). Neque autem prohibentur cives patriae coelestis in terra peregrinantes pro pace temporum, pro salute corporum, pro ubertate frugum, pro serenitate aurarum, pro caeteris vitae hujus necessariis Dominum petere, si tantum haec minime petantur, et si ob hoc solummodo petantur, ut, abundante viatico in praesenti, liberius ad futura dona tendatur: sed quia sunt qui temporalem quietem et prosperitatem a suo Creatore requirunt, non quidem ut eidem devotioribus animis obediant, sed ut abundantius commessationibus et ebrietatibus vacent, ut securius et licentius suis concupiscentiis, suae carnis serviant illecebris, merito tales male petere dicuntur. Verum quod omnes hujusmodi petitiones, eo quod male petunt, accipere non merentur, studeamus nos, dilectissimi, et bene petere, et digni ad obtinenda quae petimus existere: quod ita fit, si ea quae Dominus jussit orando quaerimus, et quales nos ipse fieri docuit, tales ad orandum procedimus, et intenti in precibus donec impetremus insistimus. Si autem scire cupimus quae ipse nos petere velit, audiamus nos illud evangelicum: Quaerite primum regnum Dei et justitiam ejus, et haec omnia adjicientur vobis (Matth. VI). Regnum autem Dei et justitiam ejus quaerere est et coelestis patriae dona desiderare, et quibus justitiae meritis ad haec pervenire debeatur indesinenter inquirere, ne si a via forte quae illuc ducit oberremus, pervenire quo nitimur minime queamus. Quod si verba Domini et Salvatoris nostri quibus nos de exemplo terreni parentis ad rogandum Deum Patrem hortatur, diligenter inspicimus, citius agnoscimus quae sit justitia, maxime quae iter nobis coelestis regni aperiat. Quis, inquit, ex vobis patrem petit panem, nunquid lapidem dabit illi? aut si piscem, nunquid pro pisce serpentem dabit illi? aut si petierit ovum, nunquid porriget illi scorpionem? Aperta etenim est comparatio haec et cunctis audientibus ad intelligendum facillima, quia si homo quilibet mortalis ac fragilis et peccati adhuc carne gravatus petentibus se filiis, quos diligit, quae bona habet, quamvis terrena et fragilia dare non denegat; multo magis Pater coelestis petitoribus suis, suo timore et amore praeditis, non defectiva in coelis bona largitur. Juxta typicam intelligentiam, panis dilectionem significat, quia sicut ille principalis est cibus, ita ut sine eo mensa inops esse videatur, ita dilectio principalis est virtus, ita ut sine illa virtutes reliquae spiritales virtutes esse videri nequeant, quia nimirum quidquid boni agitur in sola dilectione perficitur; unde dicit Apostolus quia si linguis hominum loqueretur et angelorum, et si habuerit prophetiam, et noscet mysteria omnia et omnem scientiam, et si habuerit omnem fidem, ita ut montes transferret, et si distribueret omnes facultates suas in cibos pauperum, et si traderet corpus suum,
than heavenly goods, whose prayers the Apostle especially rebukes in the very sentence of which we are speaking. For when he had said: You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, he added at once: that you may spend it on your lusts (Jas. 4:3). Nor indeed are the citizens of the heavenly fatherland, while sojourning on earth, forbidden to ask the Lord for peaceful times, for bodily health, for abundant harvests, for fair weather, and for the other necessities of this life, provided only that these are not asked for above all, and that they are asked for only so that, with ample provision for the journey in the present, one may strive more freely towards the gifts to come: but since there are those who seek temporal quiet and prosperity from their Creator, not indeed that they may obey Him with more devoted minds, but that they may give themselves more abundantly to revelling and drunkenness, that they may serve their lusts and the enticements of their flesh more securely and more licentiously, such are rightly said to ask amiss. But since all petitions of this kind, because they ask amiss, do not deserve to receive, let us, dearly beloved, strive both to ask well and to be worthy to obtain what we ask: and this comes about if in praying we seek the things the Lord has commanded, and if we come to prayer such as He Himself has taught us to become, and persist intently in our prayers until we obtain. And if we desire to know what He wishes us to ask, let us hear that saying of the Gospel: Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you (Matt. 6:33). Now to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness is both to desire the gifts of the heavenly fatherland and unceasingly to inquire by what merits of righteousness one ought to attain them, lest, if perhaps we stray from the way that leads there, we be quite unable to arrive where we are striving. And if we look carefully at the words of our Lord and Saviour, in which He exhorts us by the example of an earthly parent to ask God the Father, we more quickly recognize what righteousness it is that above all opens to us the road to the heavenly kingdom. Which of you, He says, asks his father for bread, will he give him a stone? Or if a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he hand him a scorpion? (Luke 11:11–12). For this comparison is plain and very easy for all who hear it to understand: that if any man, mortal and frail and still weighed down by the flesh of sin, does not refuse to give the sons he loves, when they ask him, the good things he has, though earthly and frail; much more does the heavenly Father bestow good things that do not fail, in heaven, on those who ask Him, endowed with His fear and love. According to the figurative understanding, bread signifies love, because just as it is the chief food, so that without it a table seems poor, so love is the chief virtue, so that without it the remaining spiritual virtues cannot seem to be virtues, since assuredly whatever good is done is perfected in love alone; whence the Apostle says that if he should speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and if he should have prophecy, and should know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if he should have all faith, so as to remove mountains, and if he should distribute all his goods to feed the poor, and if he should deliver his body,
Editors' notes and page, col. 171
Page
- running head: 171 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS. I[...] (right part of the head is cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹quam coelestia bona requirunt›; B ‹ebrietatibus vacent›; C ‹dona desiderare / pervenire debeatur›; D ‹bona habet, quamvis terrena›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: 'virtutes reliquae spiritales virtutes' set as printed.
ita ut arderet, charitatem autem non haberet, nihil illi prodest (I Cor. XIII). Charitas vera est, qua et Deum ex toto corde, tota anima, tota virtute, et proximum tanquam nos diligere praecipimur. Nec tantum proximis et amicis, verum etiam inimicis perfectus quisque beneficium dilectionis impendere debet, Domino dicente: Diligite inimicos vestros, benefacite his qui oderunt vos. Orate pro persequentibus et calumniantibus vos, ut sitis filii Patris vestri qui in coelis est (Matth. V). In pisce autem fides non ficta exprimitur. Quomodo enim piscis sub tegmento aquarum nascitur, vivit, et alitur; sic et fides quae in Deum est, quae alterius vitae gaudia per lamenta praesentia fletusque requirit, invisibiliter in corde gignitur, invisibili gratia Spiritus per aquam baptismatis consecratur, invisibili auxilio divinae protectionis ne deficiat nutritur, invisibilium praemiorum intuitu quaeque valet bona operatur, memor illius apostolici quia ea quae videntur temporalia sunt, quae autem non videntur aeterna sunt (II Cor. IV). Possumus et in hoc dicere, quia piscis in eo fidei typum teneat, quod sicut illecebris [F., inquietis] maris fluctibus tunditur, nec perimitur, ita fides firma, quantislibet adversantis mundi pressuris impugnetur, inconvulsa persistat, imo etiam de certamine gloriosior existat, adjuvante illo qui missis ad praedicanda ejusdem fidei dona discipulis ait: In mundo pressuram habebitis, sed confidite, ego vici mundum (Joan. XVI). Porro per ovum spei nostrae certitudo figuratur, quia in ovo nondum fetus cernitur, sed futurae avis fetus speratur; et fideles quique nondum in praesenti supernae patriae gloriam, quam credunt, intuentur, sed futuram sperando praestolantur. Unde dicit Apostolus: Si autem quod non videmus speramus, per patientiam exspectamus (Rom. VIII). Haec igitur sunt, fratres charissimi, bona quae principaliter a Deo petere, haec justitia regni quam ante omnia quaerere debeamus, fides, videlicet, spes, charitas, quia sicut scriptum est: Justus ex fide vivit (Rom. I). Sperantes autem in Domino misericordia circumdabit (Psal. XXXI), et: Plenitudo legis est dilectio (Rom. XIII). Omnis enim lex in uno sermone impletur: Diliges proximum tuum sicut teipsum (Gal. V). Et iterum: Dilectio proximi malum non operatur (I Cor. XIII). Non est autem metuendum ne si gratiam dilectionis a Domino pia devotione quaeramus, si intimo ex corde dicamus: Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie (Luc. XI); illorum cor nostrum rigore odiorum constringi permittat. Hunc etenim rigorem per duritiam lapidis insinuat, cum dicit: Quis autem ex vobis patrem petit panem, nunquid lapidem dabit illi? (Luc. XVII.) Non est formidandum ne si fortitudinem fidei contra hostis antiqui tentamenta precemur, toto ex corde dicentes: Domine, auge nobis fidem, ille nos infidelitatis sinat interire venenis. Jure enim nomine serpentis virus infidelitatis, quod per ipsum generi humano aspersum est, exprimitur, cum dicitur: Aut si piscem petit, nunquid pro pisce serpentem dabit illi? Non est timendum ne si spem bonorum coelestium, per quam praesentia
so that it burned, but had not charity, it profits him nothing (1 Cor. 13:1–3). True charity is that by which we are commanded to love both God with all the heart, all the soul, all the strength, and our neighbour as ourselves. And everyone who is perfect ought to bestow the kindness of love not only on neighbours and friends, but even on enemies, as the Lord says: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Pray for those who persecute and slander you, that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven (Matt. 5:44–45). In the fish, moreover, unfeigned faith is expressed. For as a fish is born, lives and is nourished under the covering of the waters, so also the faith that is in God, which seeks the joys of the other life through present lamentations and weeping, is begotten invisibly in the heart, is consecrated by the invisible grace of the Spirit through the water of baptism, is nourished by the invisible help of divine protection lest it fail, and works whatever good it can with a view to invisible rewards, mindful of that apostolic saying, that the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Cor. 4:18). We may also say in this respect that the fish bears a figure of faith, in that, just as it is beaten by the enticing [or, restless] waves of the sea and does not perish, so firm faith, however much it is assailed by the pressures of a hostile world, remains unshaken, nay rather comes forth from the contest more glorious, by the help of Him who said to the disciples, when He sent them to preach the gifts of that same faith: In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world (John 16:33). Further, by the egg the certainty of our hope is figured, because in the egg the young is not yet seen, but the young of the bird to come is hoped for; and all the faithful do not yet in the present behold the glory of the heavenly fatherland which they believe, but await it as future by hoping. Whence the Apostle says: But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience (Rom. 8:25). These therefore, dearest brethren, are the goods which we ought chiefly to ask from God, this the righteousness of the kingdom which we ought to seek before all things, namely faith, hope, charity, because, as it is written: The just man lives by faith (Rom. 1:17). And mercy shall surround those who hope in the Lord (Ps. 31:10), and: Love is the fullness of the law (Rom. 13:10). For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: You shall love your neighbour as yourself (Gal. 5:14). And again: Love of neighbour works no evil (Rom. 13:10). And we need not fear that, if we seek the grace of love from the Lord with loving devotion, if we say from the depth of the heart: Give us this day our daily bread (Luke 11:3), He will allow our heart to be bound fast with the hardness of hatreds. For He suggests this hardness by the hardness of the stone, when He says: But which of you asks his father for bread, will he give him a stone? (Luke 11:11.) We need not be afraid that, if we pray for strength of faith against the temptations of the ancient enemy, saying with all our heart: Lord, increase our faith, He will let us perish by the poisons of unbelief. For rightly the venom of unbelief, which was sprinkled upon the human race through him, is expressed by the name of the serpent, when it is said: Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? We need not fear that if the hope of heavenly goods, through which present
Editors' notes and page, col. 172
Page
- running head: [...] OPP. PARS. III. — PARAENETICA. 172 (left part of the head is cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹ita ut arderet›; B ‹matis consecratur›; C ‹ovo nondum fetus / speratur›; D ‹metuendum ne si gratiam›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: last word 'prae-' completed as 'praesentia' from the top of col. 173. Migne's references '(I Cor. XIII)' for 'Dilectio proximi malum non operatur' (= Rom. 13:10) and '(Luc. XVII.)' for 'Quis autem ex vobis...' (= Luke 11:11) set as printed; the English gives the correct places. '[F., inquietis]' is Migne's bracketed variant, kept.
adversa simul et prospera contemnere possimus, a Domino postulemus; ille auditum avertat et nos desperatione futurorum retro respicere, id est, ea quae reliquimus patiatur labentis saeculi commoda virentia requirere. Recte namque immutatio boni propositi nociva, et concupiscentiae carnalis repetitio, veneno scorpionis, quod retro est, quod in cauda gestat, comparatur, cum dicitur: Aut si petierit ovum, nunquid porriget ei scorpionem? Haec itaque petamus a Domino, fratres, ut, scilicet, alimentum nobis purae charitatis, sincerae fidei, certae spei tribuat, ut duritiam odiorum, ut perfidiae virus, et aculeum nobis desperationis qui ad vitam caducam retrahere solet auferat, et absque ulla dubietate quod petimus accipiemus. Ait enim veridica voce Joannes apostolus, quia quodcunque petierimus secundum voluntatem ejus, audit nos; sed et ipse Dominus certam nobis fiduciam dat impetrandi quae recte petimus, cum subjungit: Si ergo vos cum sitis mali, nostis bona data dare filiis vestris, quanto magis Pater vester de coelo dabit spiritum bonum petentibus se? Malos autem discipulos vocat, qui utique, quantum ad humanum judicium spectat, boni erant, quia nimirum nemo est qui in hac vita a cunctis valeat immunis esse delictis, Salomone attestante qui ait: Quia non est homo justus in terra qui faciat bonum et non peccet (Eccle. VII). Unde providens qui gravibus peccantium reatibus grandiora poenitendi medicamenta demonstrat, ipse quotidianos electorum erratus, qui verbo maxime vel cogitatu contingunt, quotidianis orationum studiis docet debere curare: quos inter alia sic orare praecipit: Et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris (Matth. VI). Vel certe malos appellat discipulos, quia in comparatione divinae bonitatis omnis creatura mala esse probatur, dicente Domino: Nemo bonus nisi unus Deus (Marc. X), cum tamen participatione ejusdem bonitatis divinae rationabilis creatura bona fieri posse cognoscitur; unde et Dominus pia promissione testatur, quia Pater de coelo dabit spiritum bonum petentibus se (Luc. XI); ut profecto ostendat, quia qui seipsis mali sunt, per acceptam Spiritus gratiam boni possunt effici. Spiritum bonum petentibus dandum a Patre pollicetur, quia sive fidem, spem, charitatem, sive alia quaelibet bona coelestia desideramus adipisci, non aliter nobis haec quam per sancti Spiritus donum tribuuntur. Hinc est enim quod idem Spiritus in Isaia Spiritus sapientiae et intellectus, Spiritus consilii et fortitudinis, Spiritus scientiae et pietatis, Spiritus timoris Domini, et in alio loco Spiritus dilectionis et pacis, Spiritus gratiae et precum nominatur, quia nimirum quidquid boni veraciter habemus, quidquid bene agimus, hoc eodem Spiritu largiente percipimus: quod intelligens Propheta, cum cordis munditiam quaereret dicens: Cor mundum crea in me, Deus, continuo subjunxit: Spiritum rectum innova in visceribus meis (Psal. L), quia si non interiora nostra Spiritus Domini rectus impleverit, cor in nobis
things, adverse and prosperous alike, we may be able to despise, we ask of the Lord, He will turn away His hearing and allow us, through despair of the things to come, to look back, that is, to seek again the flourishing comforts of the passing world which we have left behind. For rightly a harmful change of good purpose and a return to carnal lust is compared to the poison of the scorpion, which is behind, which it carries in its tail, when it is said: Or if he asks for an egg, will he hand him a scorpion? Let us therefore ask these things of the Lord, brethren, namely that He grant us the nourishment of pure charity, sincere faith and sure hope, that He take away from us the hardness of hatreds, the venom of faithlessness, and the sting of despair which is wont to draw us back to the perishing life; and without any doubt we shall receive what we ask. For John the apostle says with truthful voice that whatever we ask according to His will, He hears us; and the Lord Himself also gives us sure confidence of obtaining what we rightly ask, when He adds: If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from heaven give the good spirit to those who ask Him? (Luke 11:13). He calls the disciples evil, who certainly, as far as human judgement goes, were good, since assuredly there is no one in this life who can be free from all faults, as Solomon bears witness, who says: For there is no just man on earth who does good and does not sin (Eccl. 7:21). Wherefore He who in His providence points out the greater medicines of penance for the grave guilt of sinners teaches that the daily faults of the elect, which occur chiefly in word or thought, must be tended by daily diligence in prayer: whom among other things He commands to pray thus: And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors (Matt. 6:12). Or certainly He calls the disciples evil because in comparison with the divine goodness every creature is proved to be evil, as the Lord says: No one is good but God alone (Mark 10:18), while yet it is acknowledged that the rational creature can become good by participation in that same divine goodness; whence the Lord also testifies with a loving promise that the Father from heaven will give the good spirit to those who ask Him (Luke 11:13); so as indeed to show that those who are evil of themselves can be made good through the grace of the Spirit received. He promises that the good Spirit will be given by the Father to those who ask, because whether we desire to obtain faith, hope and charity, or any other heavenly goods, these are granted to us in no other way than through the gift of the Holy Spirit. For this is why that same Spirit is named in Isaiah the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and fortitude, the Spirit of knowledge and godliness, the Spirit of the fear of the Lord, and in another place the Spirit of love and peace, the Spirit of grace and prayers, because assuredly whatever good we truly have, whatever we do well, we receive by the bounty of this same Spirit: understanding which, the Prophet, when he sought purity of heart, saying: Create a clean heart in me, O God, at once added: Renew a right spirit within my bowels (Ps. 50:12), because if the right Spirit of the Lord does not fill our inner parts, the heart in us
Editors' notes and page, col. 173
Page
- running head: 173 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. [...] (right part of the head is cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹sentia adversa simul›; B ‹apostolus, quia quodcunque›; C ‹tus, qui verbo maxime / tidianis orationum›; D ‹fidem, spem, charitatem›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column opens with the tail 'sentia' of 'prae-sentia' split from col. 172 (set whole there); here only the visible part is set.
mundum unde sit non habet. Cum in operibus bonis profectum concupiscens dixisset: Domine, ad te confugi, doce me facere voluntatem tuam (Psal. CXLII), statim quo hunc ordine consequi deberet ostendit cum dicit: Spiritus tuus bonus deducet me in viam rectam, cujus vestigiis juxta modulum nostrum, fratres charissimi, adhaerentes, petamus Deum Patrem, ut Spiritus sui gratia nos in viam rectae fidei, quae per dilectionem operatur, inducat. Et ut optata mereamur obtinere, taliter vivere studeamus, ne tanto Patre simus indigni, quin potius mysterium regenerationis quo in baptismate filii Dei sumus electi, illibato semper corpore pariter et mente servemus. Certum namque est, quasi summi Patris mandata sectamur, remunerabit nos haereditate sempiternae benedictionis, quam nobis ante saecula paravit, per Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum qui cum eo vivit et regnat Deus in unitate Spiritus sancti per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
has nothing whereby it may be clean. When, longing for progress in good works, he had said: Lord, to Thee have I fled, teach me to do Thy will (Ps. 142:9–10), he at once showed by what order he ought to attain it, when he says: Thy good Spirit shall lead me into the right way; and, cleaving to his footsteps according to our small measure, dearest brethren, let us ask God the Father that by the grace of His Spirit He may lead us into the way of right faith, which works through love. And that we may deserve to obtain what we long for, let us strive so to live that we may not be unworthy of so great a Father, but rather may keep ever unsullied, in body and mind alike, the mystery of regeneration by which in baptism we were chosen to be sons of God. For it is certain that, if we follow the commands of the most high Father, He will reward us with the inheritance of everlasting blessing, which He prepared for us before the ages, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with Him lives and reigns, God, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.
HOMILIA IX. IN ASCENSIONE DOMINI. LUC. XXIV. In illo tempore dixit Jesus discipulis suis: Haec sunt verba quae locutus sum ad vos cum adhuc essem vobiscum, quoniam necesse est impleri omnia quae scripta sunt in lege Moysi et prophetis et psalmis de me.
HOMILY IX. ON THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD. LUKE 24. At that time Jesus said to His disciples: These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which are written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the psalms concerning Me (Luke 24:44).
Ascensurus in coelum Dominus primo discipulos de mysterio suae fidei diligenter instruere curavit, ut tanto certius hanc mundo praedicarent, quanto eam et ab ipso veritatis ore percepissent, et prophetarum ore jamdudum praesignatam fuisse cognoscerent. Apparens enim post resurrectionis triumphum, juxta hoc quod modo, cum Evangelium legeretur, audivimus: Haec sunt, inquit, verba quae locutus sum ad vos cum essem vobiscum, id est, cum simile vobis adhuc corpus corruptibile ac mortale gestarem, quoniam necesse est impleri omnia quae scripta sunt in lege Moysi et prophetis et psalmis de me. Impleta in se dicit sacramenta quae Moyses, prophetae et psalmista praedicaverunt: unde liquido patet quia una est Ecclesia in omnibus sanctis ejus, eadem fides electorum omnium, praecedentium videlicet et subsequentium carnalem ejus adventum, quia nimirum sicut nos per fidem transactae incarnationis, passionis ac resurrectionis illius salvamur, ita et illi futuram ipsam incarnationem, passionem ac resurrectionem certissime credentes, per eumdem vitae auctorem salvari sperabant: quod bene duo viri illi qui botrum de terra repromissionis ad populum in deserto exspectantem in vecte portabant, insinuant (Num. XIII). Botrus quippe vecti impositus Dominus est in cruce exaltatus, qui dicit: Ego sum vitis vera (Joan. XV). Et alibi poculum vini discipulis porrigens: Hic est calix, inquit, novum testamentum in meo sanguine, quod pro vobis fundetur (Luc. XXII). De quo et Ecclesia: Botrus Cypri, inquit, dilectus meus mihi (Cant. I). Portant autem botrum in vecte duo viri, per quem populo ubertatem terrae repromissionis astruant, quia praedicatores utriusque testamenti, qui gloriam patriae coelestis Domino revelante didicerunt, iidem
The Lord, about to ascend into heaven, first took care to instruct the disciples diligently in the mystery of His faith, so that they might preach it to the world the more surely, the more they had both received it from the very mouth of the Truth and knew it to have been foreshown long before by the mouth of the prophets. For appearing after the triumph of the resurrection, according to what we heard just now when the Gospel was read: These are, He says, the words which I spoke to you when I was with you, that is, when I still bore a body corruptible and mortal like yours, that all things must be fulfilled which are written in the law of Moses and in the prophets and in the psalms concerning Me. He says that the mysteries which Moses, the prophets and the psalmist proclaimed have been fulfilled in Him: whence it is clearly evident that the Church is one in all His saints, the faith of all the elect the same, namely of those who went before and of those who follow His coming in the flesh, because assuredly, just as we are saved through faith in His incarnation, passion and resurrection accomplished, so they too, most surely believing in that same incarnation, passion and resurrection to come, hoped to be saved through the same Author of life: which those two men well signify who carried on a pole the cluster of grapes from the land of promise to the people waiting in the desert (Num. 13:24). For the cluster laid upon the pole is the Lord lifted up on the cross, who says: I am the true vine (John 15:1). And elsewhere, offering the cup of wine to the disciples: This is the cup, He says, the new testament in My blood, which shall be shed for you (Luke 22:20). Of Him the Church also says: My beloved is to me a cluster of Cyprus (Song 1:13). And two men carry the cluster on the pole, by which they might assure the people of the fruitfulness of the land of promise, because the preachers of both testaments, who learned the glory of the heavenly fatherland by the Lord's revealing, these same
Editors' notes and page, col. 174
Page
- running head: [...] — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE. 174 (left part of the head is cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹mundum unde sit non habet›; B ‹benedictionis, quam nobis›; C ‹ore jamdudum praesignatam / parens enim›; D ‹incarnationem, passionem›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: 'Certum namque est, quasi summi Patris mandata sectamur' set as printed; the sense requires 'quia si' (UNSURE whether a misprint), and the English follows that sense. Homily VIII ends and Homily IX begins in this column; the Gospel lemma is set with the heading as one paragraph.
passionis illius arcanum populis intimare non cessant, quo per hoc conjici possit quanta fidelibus praemia sit daturus in coelis, qui pro illorum salute Filium suum unigenitum passurum misit ad terras. Quod autem duo portantes botrum similiter quidem eum portare, sed non similiter valebant intueri, hoc nimirum significat, quod Salvator ipse discipulis suae visionis gratia glorificatis ait: Beati oculi qui vident quae vos videtis. Dico enim vobis, quia multi prophetae et reges voluerunt videre quae vos videtis, et non viderunt, et audire quae auditis, et non audierunt (Matth. XIII). Vel certe illud quod unum eumdemque Dominicae crucis triumphum prius prophetae et Moyses quam apostoli noverant et praedicabant; sed prophetae aliquoties hoc figuratis velatisque sermonibus; apostoli autem apostolorumque successores, patefacta luce Evangelii, semper aperte praedicabant, ita ut nunc omnis populus Christianus scire et confiteri debeat fidem quam eo tempore pauci admodum et perfectiores quique noverant, quamvis omnis populus etiam tunc ejusdem mysteria fidei in legalibus caeremoniis typice portaret; unde hic dicitur quia Dominus, consummatis incarnationis suae sacramentis, aperuit discipulis suis sensum ut intelligerent Scripturas. Aperuit discipulis sensum, ut ea quae obscure prophetae dixerunt, ipsi palam intelligere, atque intelligenda credentibus tradere possent. Aperuit illis sensum ut intelligerent, quia quaecunque ille in carne gessit vel docuit, haec eadem eum prophetae acturum docturumque esse praedixerant.
continue to make known to the peoples the secret of His passion, so that by this it may be inferred how great rewards He will give to the faithful in heaven, who for their salvation sent His only-begotten Son to the earth to suffer. And that the two who carried the cluster were able to carry it alike, but not able alike to look upon it, signifies this, assuredly, which the Saviour Himself said to the disciples who were glorified by the grace of seeing Him: Blessed are the eyes which see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it (Matt. 13:16–17; Luke 10:23–24). Or certainly this: that the prophets and Moses knew and proclaimed one and the same triumph of the Lord's cross before the apostles did; but the prophets at times did so in figurative and veiled words, while the apostles and the successors of the apostles, the light of the Gospel having been revealed, always proclaimed it openly, so that now the whole Christian people ought to know and confess the faith which at that time only very few, and the more perfect, knew, although even then the whole people carried the mysteries of that same faith in figure in the ceremonies of the law; whence it is said here that the Lord, the mysteries of His incarnation having been accomplished, opened the understanding of His disciples, that they might understand the Scriptures. He opened the understanding of the disciples, so that the things which the prophets spoke obscurely they themselves might understand plainly, and might hand them on to believers to be understood. He opened their understanding that they might understand that whatever He did or taught in the flesh, the prophets had foretold that He would do and teach these very things.
Et dixit eis: Quoniam sic scriptum est, et sic oportebat pati Christum, et resurgere a mortuis die tertia, et praedicari in nomine ejus poenitentiam et remissionem peccatorum in omnes gentes, incipientibus ab Hierosolyma. Nomen Christi et ante passionem resurrectionemque illius jam olim prophetarum, ut diximus, patrumque fides noverat, Petro attestante, qui de eisdem loquens ait: Sed per gratiam Jesu credimus salvari quemadmodum et illi (Act. XV). Peracta autem passione ac resurrectione, sed et ascensione ejus ad coelos, ejusdem nominis illius fides non solum posteris eorum, genti videlicet Judaeae, latius apertiusque praedicatur, sed et exteris nationibus eadem superna miseratione revelatur. Ideo ergo Christum venire in carne, pati, ac resurgere oportebat, quia genus humanum aliter ad vitam institui, a morte redimi, ad spem resurrectionis informari, quam per ipsius praesentiam, passionem, et resurrectionem, minime valebat. Bene autem praedicatio poenitentiae et remissionis peccatorum in confessione nominis Christi ab Hierosolymis incipit, ut ubi doctrinae et virtutum ejus magnificentia, ubi passionis triumphus, ubi resurrectionis et ascensionis sunt gaudia perfecta, ibi prima fidei illius radix ederetur, primus Ecclesiae nascentis quasi magnae cujusdam vineae surculus plantaretur: quae perinde, multiplicato verbi germine, in totam mundi latitudinem doctrinae suae palmites extenderet, completo Isaiae vaticinio quo dixit quia de Sion exibit lex, et verbum Domini de
And He said to them: For thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that penance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem (Luke 24:46–47). The faith of the prophets, as we have said, and of the fathers long ago knew the name of Christ even before His passion and resurrection, as Peter bears witness, who, speaking of them, says: But we believe that we are saved through the grace of Jesus, just as they also are (Acts 15:11). But once His passion and resurrection, and also His ascension into heaven, had been accomplished, faith in that same name of His is not only preached more widely and more openly to their descendants, namely the Jewish nation, but is also revealed to foreign nations by the same heavenly compassion. Therefore it behoved Christ to come in the flesh, to suffer and to rise again, because the human race could in no other way be established in life, redeemed from death, and formed to the hope of resurrection than through His presence, passion and resurrection. And fittingly the preaching of penance and of the remission of sins in the confession of Christ's name begins from Jerusalem, so that where the magnificence of His teaching and of His mighty works, where the triumph of His passion, where the joys of His resurrection and ascension were accomplished, there the first root of faith in Him might be put forth, there the first shoot of the newborn Church might be planted, as of some great vine: which thereafter, the seed of the word being multiplied, should stretch out the branches of its teaching over the whole breadth of the world, fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah in which he said that out of Sion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from
Editors' notes and page, col. 175
Page
- running head: 175 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS II[I...] (right part of the head is cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹passionis illius arcanum›; B ‹stoli autem apostolorumque›; C ‹acturum docturumque / Et dixit eis›; D ‹Christum venire in carne›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: 'pati' in the lemma has a damaged letter in the scan (reads 'pa.i'); set as 'pati'.
Hierusalem, et judicabit gentes, et arguet populos multos (Isai. II). Bene autem praedicatio poenitentiae et remissionis peccatorum, quae in gentes idololatras et variis pollutas sceleribus erat evangelizanda, ab Hierosolymis sumit initium, ne ullus scilicet, suorum magnitudine facinorum perterritus, de impetranda venia, si dignum poenitentiae fructum faceret, dubitaret, quando etiam Hierosolymitis, qui Filium Dei blasphemavere et crucifixere indultum esse constaret.
Jerusalem, and He shall judge the nations, and rebuke many peoples (Isa. 2:3–4). And fittingly the preaching of penance and of the remission of sins, which was to be proclaimed as good news to the idolatrous nations, polluted with various crimes, takes its beginning from Jerusalem, so that no one, terrified by the greatness of his misdeeds, should doubt of obtaining pardon, if he brought forth fruit worthy of penance, since it was evident that pardon had been granted even to the people of Jerusalem, who blasphemed and crucified the Son of God.
Vos autem, inquit, estis testes horum; et ego mitto promissum Patris mei in vos. Promissum Patris gratiam dicit Spiritus sancti, de quo in Evangelio Joannis multa illis ante passionem suam locutus est, ex quibus est illud: Cum autem venerit Paracletus, quem ego mittam vobis a Patre, Spiritum veritatis, qui a Patre procedit, ille testimonium perhibebit de me, et vos testimonium perhibebitis (Joan. XV). Et in Actibus Apostolorum: Praecepit eis ab Hierosolymis ne discederent, sed exspectarent promissionem Patris, quam audistis, inquit, per os meum, quia Joannes quidem baptizavit aqua, vos autem baptizabimini Spiritu sancto non post multos hos dies (Act. I). De cujus promissi exspectatione hic quoque subinfertur cum dicitur:
And you, He says, are witnesses of these things; and I send the promise of My Father upon you (Luke 24:48–49). By the promise of the Father He means the grace of the Holy Spirit, of whom He spoke much to them before His passion in the Gospel of John, among which is this: But when the Paraclete comes, whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of Me, and you will bear witness (John 15:26–27). And in the Acts of the Apostles: He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which you have heard, He says, by My mouth, for John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence (Acts 1:4–5). Of the waiting for this promise it is added here also, when it is said:
Vos autem sedete in civitate quoadusque induamini virtute ex alto. Virtutem autem eis ex alto superventuram pollicetur, quia quamvis et antea Spiritum sanctum habuerint, plenius tamen hunc, illo ad coelos ascendente, perceperunt. Nam et ante passionem ejus per Spiritus sancti potentiam multa daemonia ejiciebant, multos sanabant aegrotos, verbum vitae quibus valuere praedicabant, et ipso resurgente a mortuis specialius sunt ejusdem Spiritus gratia recreati, quando sicut Joannes scribit: Insufflavit et dixit eis: Accipite Spiritum sanctum: quorum remiseritis peccata, remittuntur eis (Joan. XX). Sed majori ejus virtute sunt ex alto induti, cum post decem dies Assumptionis Dominicae, hunc in linguis igneis susceperunt, et tanta per eum sunt fiducia fortitudinis inflammati, ut nullis principum terroribus, quin omnibus in nomine Jesu loquerentur, possent prohiberi.
But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:49). He promises that power will come upon them from on high, because, although they had the Holy Spirit even before, they nevertheless received Him more fully when He ascended into heaven. For even before His passion they cast out many demons through the power of the Holy Spirit, they healed many sick, they preached the word of life to whom they could; and when He rose from the dead they were refreshed in a more special way by the grace of the same Spirit, when, as John writes: He breathed on them and said to them: Receive the Holy Spirit: whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven them (John 20:22–23). But they were clothed from on high with His greater power when, ten days after the Lord's Assumption, they received Him in tongues of fire, and were so inflamed through Him with confidence of fortitude that by no terrors of rulers could they be prevented from speaking to all in the name of Jesus.
Eduxit autem eos foras in Bethaniam, et elevatis manibus suis benedixit eis. Quia Redemptor noster in carne apparuit, ut peccata tolleret, meritum primae maledictionis auferret, haereditatem credentibus perpetuae benedictionis donaret, recte cuncta quae in mundo gessit, in verba benedictionis conclusit, ostendens seipsum esse de quo dictum est: Etenim benedictionem dabit qui legem dedit (Psal. LXXXI). Et bene eos quibus benediceret, in Bethaniam, quae domus obedientiae interpretatur, eduxit, quia nimirum contemptus et superbia maledictionem, obedientia meruit benedictionem. Nam et ipse Dominus, ut amissam benedictionis gratiam mundo restitueret, factus est obediens Patri usque ad mortem, et solis eis, qui in sancta Ecclesia divinis student obtemperare praeceptis, benedictio vitae coelestis tribuitur. Nec praetereundum est quod Bethania in latere montis Oliveti posita narratur. Sicut enim Bethania obedientem Domini mandatis Ecclesiam,
And He led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up His hands He blessed them (Luke 24:50). Since our Redeemer appeared in the flesh to take away sins, to remove the desert of the first curse, and to give to believers the inheritance of everlasting blessing, rightly did He close all that He did in the world with words of blessing, showing that He Himself is the one of whom it was said: For He who gave the law will give blessing (Ps. 83:8). And fittingly He led those whom He was to bless to Bethany, which is interpreted 'house of obedience', because assuredly contempt and pride deserved the curse, obedience the blessing. For the Lord Himself, too, that He might restore to the world the lost grace of blessing, became obedient to the Father unto death, and the blessing of heavenly life is granted to those alone who in holy Church strive to obey the divine precepts. Nor must it be passed over that Bethany is said to be situated on the side of the Mount of Olives. For just as Bethany [signifies] the Church obedient to the Lord's commands,
Editors' notes and page, col. 176
Page
- running head: [...] OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 176 (left part of the head is cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹Hierusalem, et judicabit gentes›; B ‹Patre procedit, ille testimonium›; C ‹ejiciebant, multos sanabant›; D ‹tibus perpetuae benedictionis›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: '(Psal. LXXXI)' for 'Etenim benedictionem dabit qui legem dedit' set as printed; the verse is Ps. 83:8 (Vulgate), so the English cites that. Damaged letters in 'Paracletus', 'per os' and 'possent' read from context.
ita mons Oliveti ipsam Redemptoris nostri personam multum decenter exprimit, qui in carne apparens, et altitudine dignitatis, et spiritualis gratia virtutis, omnes qui puri homines sunt sanctos antecellit; unde et illi canitur in Psalmis, quia unxit te Deus Deus tuus oleo laetitiae prae consortibus tuis (Psal. XLIV). Et ipse, sicut etiam praesens sancti Evangelii lectio testatur, ejusdem sanctae unctionis munus suis consortibus, hoc est fidelibus promisit, nec multo post tempore, sicut novimus, quod promiserat misit. Si autem quem delectat audire quomodo domus obedientiae, id est, Ecclesia sancta in ejusdem montis Oliveti sit latere constructa, legamus Evangelium Joannis, ubi, passione ejus in cruce completa, unus militum lancea latus ejus aperuit, et continuo exivit sanguis et aqua. Haec sunt etenim sacramenta quibus Ecclesia in Christo nascitur et nutritur: aqua, videlicet, baptismatis, qua abluitur a peccatis, et sanguis calicis Dominici, quo confirmatur in donis. Quae quia Spiritus quoque sancti chrismate, ut perfici valeat in die redemptionis, signatur, recte mons in cujus latere civitas sancta sita est, in quo benedictionis gratia datur, mons Olivarum vocatur.
so the Mount of Olives very fittingly expresses the very person of our Redeemer, who, appearing in the flesh, surpasses all the saints who are mere men both in the height of His dignity and in the grace of spiritual power; whence it is sung to Him in the Psalms that God, Thy God, has anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows (Ps. 44:8). And He Himself, as the present reading of the holy Gospel also testifies, promised the gift of that same holy anointing to His fellows, that is, to the faithful, and not long after, as we know, He sent what He had promised. And if it pleases anyone to hear how the house of obedience, that is, holy Church, is built on the side of that same Mount of Olives, let us read the Gospel of John, where, His passion on the cross having been accomplished, one of the soldiers opened His side with a lance, and at once there came out blood and water. For these are the sacraments by which the Church is born and nourished in Christ: namely the water of baptism, by which she is washed from sins, and the blood of the Lord's cup, by which she is strengthened in gifts. And since she is also sealed with the chrism of the Holy Spirit, that she may be brought to perfection on the day of redemption, rightly is the mount on whose side the holy city is set, on which the grace of blessing is given, called the Mount of Olives.
Et factum est, inquit, dum benediceret illis, recessit ab eis, et ferebatur in coelum. Notandum quod, benedictione discipulis data, Salvator ascendit ad coelos, simulque memoriae commendandum quod sicut in Actibus eorum legimus, ipsis ascensum ejus aspectantibus apparentes angeli dixerunt: Sic veniet quemadmodum vidistis eum euntem in coelum (Act. I), atque omni instantia laborandum, ut sicut in eadem carnis forma ac substantia qua ascendit Dominus ad judicandum descendet, sic etiam qui benedicens apostolis abiit, benedictione sua nos, cum redierit, dignos efficiat, eorumque in sorte collocet, quibus ad dextram stantibus dicturus est: Venite, benedicti Patris mei, percipite regnum (Matth. XXV).
And it came to pass, it says, while He was blessing them, He withdrew from them and was carried up into heaven (Luke 24:51). It is to be noted that the Saviour ascended into heaven after giving His blessing to the disciples; and at the same time it is to be committed to memory that, as we read in their Acts, angels appeared to them as they watched His ascension and said: He will come in the same way as you have seen Him going into heaven (Acts 1:11); and we must labour with all earnestness that, just as the Lord will come down to judge in the same form and substance of flesh in which He ascended, so also He who departed blessing the apostles may, when He returns, make us worthy of His blessing and place us in the lot of those to whom, standing at His right hand, He will say: Come, blessed of My Father, receive the kingdom (Matt. 25:34).
Et ipsi adorantes regressi sunt in Hierusalem cum gaudio magno, et erant semper in templo, laudantes et benedicentes Deum. Et semper, et in hoc maxime loco, fratres charissimi, meminisse nos decet sermonis Domini, quo discipulos glorificans, sicut paulo superius retulimus: Beati, inquit, oculi qui vident quae vos videtis (Matth. XIII). Quis etenim dicere, quis digne valeat cogitare quam beata compunctione oculos ad terram deflexerint, quibus ipsum quem adorabant coeli Regem, devicta mortalitate quam assumpserat ad paternae claritatis solium jam redire conspexerint! quam dulces lacrymas, quanta spe ac laetitia ferventes, pro ingressu patriae coelestis fuderint, quo Deum ac Dominum suum partem suae naturae jam ferre cernebant! Merito ergo tali spectaculo refecti, postquam adoraverunt in loco ubi steterunt pedes ejus, postquam vestigia quae novissime fixit lacrymis rigavere profusis, confestim rediere Hierosolymam, ubi adventum sancti Spiritus exspectare
And they, worshipping, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and they were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God (Luke 24:52–53). Always, and in this place most of all, dearest brethren, it befits us to remember the Lord's saying by which, glorifying the disciples, as we reported a little above, He said: Blessed are the eyes which see what you see (Matt. 13:16). For who could tell, who could worthily imagine, with what blessed compunction they turned to the earth those eyes with which they had seen the very King of heaven whom they were worshipping now returning, the mortality He had assumed overcome, to the throne of His Father's glory! What sweet tears, glowing with what great hope and joy, they shed for that entrance into the heavenly fatherland, to which they saw their God and Lord now carrying a part of their own nature! Rightly, then, refreshed by such a sight, after they had worshipped in the place where His feet had stood, after they had watered with streaming tears the footprints He had last set down, they returned at once to Jerusalem, where they had been commanded to await the coming of the Holy Spirit
Editors' notes and page, col. 177
Footnotes
(a) ‹anchor: quae novissime› · call in col 177
Hic Beda respicere videtur ad illa beati Paulini Nolani episcopi verba, epist. 31, ad Severum: « Mirum vero inter haec, quod in basilica Ascensionis.... impressam divinorum pedum venerationem arena conservat, ut vere dici possit: Adoramus in loco ubi steterunt pedes ejus. »
Here Bede seems to have in view those words of blessed Paulinus, bishop of Nola, Letter 31, to Severus: "But amid all this it is a wonder that in the basilica of the Ascension.... the sand keeps the veneration of the print of the divine feet, so that it can truly be said: We adore in the place where his feet stood."
(printed under page 93)
Page
- running head: 177 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. [...] (right part of the head is cut off in the image)
- marginal letters: A ‹ita mons Oliveti›; B ‹sanguis et aqua. Haec sunt›; C ‹atque omni instantia (between 'quemadmodum vidistis' and 'atque')›; D ‹digne valeat cogitare›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
sunt jussi, et ut digni promissis coelestibus existerent, erant semper in templo laudantes, et benedicentes Deum, scientes certissime quia illa solummodo corda Spiritus sanctus invisere et inhabitare dignatur, quae locum orationis frequentantia, quae laudi et benedictioni divinae viderit esse dedita. Unde in Actibus apostolorum legitur de ipsis: Hi omnes erant perseverantes unanimiter in oratione (Act. I). Quod nobis est testimonium operis apostolici solerter imitandum, videlicet, ut qui coelestia promissa habemus, qui pro his accipiendis sedulo supplicare praecipimur, et omnes ad orandum conveniamus, et in oratione persistamus, et unanimi Dominum devotione precemur. Nec dubitandum est quod sic nobis orantibus pius Conditor auditum accommodare, et Spiritus sui gratiam nostris quoque cordibus infundere dignabitur, quod nostros quoque beatos faciet oculos, etsi non ut apostolorum, qui commorantem in mundo Dominum, qui docentem et miracula facientem, qui post triumphum mortis resurrexisse atque ad coelos redeuntem videre meruerunt; certe ut eorum de quibus Thomae apostolo dicit: Quia vidisti me, credidisti; beati qui non viderunt et crediderunt (Joan. XXVIII). Cunctis etenim credentibus, sive illis qui incarnationis ejus tempora nascendo praecesserunt, sive his qui eum in carne viderunt, sive nobis qui post ejus ascensionem credimus, communis est illa piissima ejus repromissio qua dicit: Beati mundo corde, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt (Matth. V).
and that they might be worthy of the heavenly promises they were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God, knowing most surely that the Holy Spirit deigns to visit and to dwell in those hearts only which He sees frequenting the place of prayer, which He sees given to the praise and blessing of God. Whence it is read of them in the Acts of the apostles: All these were persevering with one mind in prayer (Acts 1:14). This testimony of the apostles' work we must skilfully imitate, namely that we, who have heavenly promises, who are commanded to pray diligently that we may receive them, should all come together to pray, and persist in prayer, and beseech the Lord with devotion of one mind. Nor must we doubt that, when we pray thus, our loving Maker will deign to lend His ear and to pour the grace of His Spirit into our hearts too, so that He will make our eyes also blessed, even if not as the eyes of the apostles, who deserved to see the Lord dwelling in the world, teaching and working miracles, risen after the triumph over death and returning to heaven; yet surely as those of whom He says to the apostle Thomas: Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are they who have not seen and have believed (John 20:29). For to all believers, whether to those who by their birth preceded the times of His incarnation, or to those who saw Him in the flesh, or to us who believe after His ascension, that most loving promise of His is common in which He says: Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God (Matt. 5:8).
Haec de lectione Evangelii, prout potuimus, exponendo transcurrimus; sed quia in eadem lectione apertum discipulis sensum ad intelligendum Scripturas audivimus, libet de ipsis prophetarum scripturis aliqua ad memoriam reducere, gaudiumque evangelicae solemnitatis etiam propheticae assertionis accumulare ac condire praeconiis. Loquitur ergo de hac solemnitate Psalmista: Ascendit Deus in jubilatione: Dominus in voce tubae (Psal. XLVI). Ascendit quippe in jubilatione, quia laetantibus de sublevationis ejus gloria discipulis, coelum petit. Ascendit et in voce tubae, quia praeconantibus angelis reditum ejus ad judicandos vivos et mortuos, sedem regni coelestis adiit. Qualiter autem Deus ascenderit, qui semper ubique praesens de loco ad locum mutabilis non est, idem alibi testatur dicens: Qui ponit nubem ascensum, qui ambulat super omnes pennas ventorum (Psal. CIII). Nubem namque dicit substantiam humanae fragilitatis qua se Sol justitiae ut ab hominibus ferri posset induit. Unde dicit Isaias: Ecce Dominus ascendet super nubem levem, et ingredietur Aegyptum, et commovebuntur simulacra Aegypti a facie ejus (Isai. XIX). Super nubem quippe levem Dominus ascendit, ut ingressus Aegyptum ejus simulacra subverteret, quia Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis (Joan. I), quia immune ab omni sorde iniquitatis corpus assumpsit, in quo mundum ingrediens, idololatriae
These things from the reading of the Gospel we have run through in exposition, as far as we were able; but since in that same reading we heard of the understanding opened to the disciples to understand the Scriptures, it is pleasing to recall to memory some things from those very writings of the prophets, and to heap up and season the joy of the Gospel feast with the praises of prophetic affirmation as well. The Psalmist, then, speaks of this feast: God has ascended with jubilation, the Lord with the sound of the trumpet (Ps. 46:6). He ascended indeed with jubilation, because He sought heaven while the disciples rejoiced in the glory of His being lifted up. And He ascended with the sound of the trumpet, because He went to the throne of the heavenly kingdom while angels proclaimed His return to judge the living and the dead. But how God ascended, who, being always everywhere present, is not changeable from place to place, the same Psalmist testifies elsewhere, saying: Who makes the cloud His ascent, who walks upon all the wings of the winds (Ps. 103:3). For by the cloud he means the substance of human frailty, which the Sun of righteousness put on so that He could be borne by men. Whence Isaiah says: Behold, the Lord will ascend upon a light cloud, and will enter Egypt, and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at His presence (Isa. 19:1). The Lord ascended upon a light cloud, that entering Egypt He might overthrow its idols, because the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14), because He took a body free from all stain of iniquity, in which, entering the world, He might destroy the rite of idolatry
Editors' notes and page, col. 178
Page
- running head: [...]AE. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE. 178 (left part of the head cut off; the page number is blurred and could be read as 173)
- marginal letters: A ‹sunt jussi›; B ‹tiam nostris quoque cordibus›; C ‹Haec de lectione Evangelii›; D ‹idem alibi testatur›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the foot of this column carries the run-on of footnote (a) of col 177 ("impressam ... pedes ejus. »"), recorded whole in n177. Migne's "(Joan. XXVIII)" for "Quia vidisti me, credidisti" is wrong (John has 21 chapters); it is John 20:29, as the English gives.
ritum destrueret, nigrisque ac tenebrosis gentilium cordibus verum divinitatis lumen aperiret. Per naturae humanae nubem de loco ad locum venire dignatus est qui loco non clauditur: in hac irrisiones, et flagella, et mortem quoque voluit pati qui impassibilis semper in divinitate permanet; per hanc resurrectionis virtute coronatam ascendit in coelum qui potentia divinitatis coelum implet et terram. Hanc super pennas ventorum evexit, cum assumptam de terris non solum super universa aeris hujus spatia, sed etiam aetheris altitudinem sustollens, in majestatis paternae dextra collocavit. De hac assumptae humanitatis gloria etiam Amos ait: Qui aedificat in coelum ascensionem suam, et promissionem suam super terram fundit (Amos IX). In coe⟨l⟩um quippe ascensionem suam aedificavit qui humanam sibi carnem et animam, in qua coelum subire posset, ipse creavit. Promissionem vero suam super terram fudit, quia, misso desuper Spiritu, omnes terrarum fines gratia suae fidei, ut promiserat, implevit: cujus gratiam promissionis Psalmista et venturam in Spiritu praevidens, et citius venire desiderans, ait: Exaltare super coelos, Deus, et super omnem terram gloria tua (Psal. LVI). Ubi aperte significat quia priusquam Redemptor noster, assumpta mortali carne, mortis regnum dirueret, notus tantum in Judaea erat Deus, in Israel magnum nomen ejus. At ubi resurgens a mortuis coeli alta Deus homo penetravit, toto jam terrarum orbe nominis ejus gloria praedicatur et creditur.
and open to the black and darkened hearts of the gentiles the true light of the Godhead. Through the cloud of human nature He who is not enclosed by place deigned to come from place to place: in it He who abides ever impassible in His Godhead willed to suffer mockeries and scourges, and death as well; through it, crowned with the power of the resurrection, He who by the might of His Godhead fills heaven and earth ascended into heaven. This [cloud] He carried up upon the wings of the winds, when, lifting the [nature] He had taken from the earth not only above all the spaces of this air but even to the height of the aether, He set it at the right hand of the Father's majesty. Of this glory of the humanity He assumed Amos too says: He who builds His ascent into heaven, and pours out His promise upon the earth (Amos 9:6). For He built His ascent into heaven who Himself created for Himself the human flesh and soul in which He might go up into heaven. And He poured out His promise upon the earth because, having sent the Spirit from above, He filled all the ends of the earth with the grace of His faith, as He had promised: and the Psalmist, foreseeing in the Spirit that the grace of this promise would come, and longing for it to come sooner, says: Be Thou exalted above the heavens, O God, and Thy glory above all the earth (Ps. 56:6). Here he plainly signifies that before our Redeemer, having taken mortal flesh, overthrew the kingdom of death, God was known only in Judaea, His name was great in Israel. But when, rising from the dead, God made man passed into the heights of heaven, the glory of His name is now preached and believed throughout the whole world.
Nec verbis solummodo prophetae, verum etiam gestis ejusdem Dominicae ascensionis praedicavere mysterium. Nam et septimus ab Adam Enoch translatus de mundo, et Elias in coelum sublevatus aerium, asconsuro super coelos Domino testimonium praebuerunt. Et quidem Enoch in eo quod septimus ab Adam progenitus est figuravit Dominum, non consueto mortalis naturae ordine, sed Spiritus sancti potentia concipiendum et nasciturum, Spiritus sancti gratiam omnem, quae septiformis a propheta describitur, in eo singulariter requieturam, ipsum in Spiritu sancto baptizaturum, et ejusdem Spiritus dona credentibus esse daturum. In eo autem quod trecentis sexaginta quinque annis priusquam transferretur apud homines vixit, qui est numerus dierum anni solaris, ejus futuram in carne conversationem designavit, qui ascensurus ad coelos unicam se mundi lucem esse monstravit. Ego sum, inquiens, lux mundi; qui sequitur me non ambulat in tenebris, sed habebit lumen vitae (Joan. VIII). Unde a Propheta sol mystice vocatur, quia ipse nimirum cunctas mundi partes a solis Ortu usque ad Occasum, ab Aquilone usque ad Meridiem, gratia fidei et veritatis illustrare dignatus est. Porro hoc quod Enoch, qui translatus est Dedicatio, interpretatur, significat eum qui resurgens a mortuis ascendit in coelum, et nunc ad consecranda corda fidelium pignus sui Spiritus dare, et in futuro perfectam ex omni parte Ecclesiam in gaudio resurrectionis et perpetuae solemnitatis inducere dignatur.
Not by words alone, but also by deeds, did the prophets proclaim the mystery of the same ascension of the Lord. For both Enoch, the seventh from Adam, taken out of the world, and Elijah, lifted up into the heaven of the air, bore witness to the Lord who was to ascend above the heavens. And indeed Enoch, in being begotten seventh from Adam, prefigured the Lord, who was to be conceived and born not by the customary order of mortal nature but by the power of the Holy Spirit; on whom all the grace of the Holy Spirit, which the prophet describes as sevenfold, was to rest in a singular way; who was Himself to baptize in the Holy Spirit and to give the gifts of the same Spirit to those who believe. And in living among men three hundred and sixty-five years before he was taken away, which is the number of the days of the solar year, he signified His future life in the flesh, who, when He was about to ascend to the heavens, showed Himself to be the one light of the world. I am, He says, the light of the world; he who follows Me does not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life (John 8:12). Hence He is mystically called the sun by the Prophet, because He it is indeed who has deigned to illumine all the parts of the world, from the rising of the sun to its setting, from the north to the south, with the grace of faith and truth. Further, the fact that Enoch, who was taken away, is interpreted Dedication signifies Him who, rising from the dead, ascended into heaven, and now deigns to give the pledge of His Spirit to consecrate the hearts of the faithful, and in the time to come to lead the Church, made perfect in every part, into the joy of the resurrection and of the everlasting feast.
Editors' notes and page, col. 179
Page
- running head: 179 BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III (rest of head cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹ritum destrueret, nigrisque›; B ‹ficavit qui humanam sibi›; C ‹gestis ejusdem Dominicae›; D ‹futuram in carne conversationem›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
At vero Elias abundantiore miraculo figuram hujus Dominicae festivitatis praetulit. Cum enim instaret tempus quo tolleretur de mundo, venit ad Jordanem cum discipulo Eliseo, et involuto pallio suo percussit aquas: quae divisae sunt, et transierunt ambo per siccum, dixitque ad Eliseum: Postula quid vis ut faciam tibi antequam tollar a te. At ille: Obsecro, inquit, ut fiat duplex spiritus tuus in me (IV Reg. II). Cum incedentes sermocinarentur, ecce curru igneo repente raptus, Elias, ut Scriptura ait, ascendit quasi usque in coelum. Qua adjectione significatur quod Elias non in ipsum coelum ut Dominus noster, sed in alta tantum aeris hujus sublevatus est, ac deinde invisibiliter ad paradisi gaudia relatus. Levavitque Eliseus pallium Eliae quod ceciderat ei. Et veniens ad Jordanem percussit eo aquas, atque invocato Deo Eliae, divisit et transiit. Notet ergo dilectio vestra, fratres mei, quam ordinate figura concinat veritati. Venit Elias ad Jordanem, et exutus pallio suo percussit aquas ac divisit. Venit Dominus ad fluvium mortis, quo genus humanum mergi consueverat, et exuens se ad tempus habitu carnis quam assumpserat, mortem moriendo percussit, ac vitae nobis iter resurgendo patefecit. Recte etenim per Jordanem fluxus nostrae mortalitatis ac defectus exprimitur, quia et Jordanis Latine Descensus eorum dicitur, et ipse fluvius in mare Mortuum influens laudabiles suas ibi perdit aquas. Transit autem Elias diviso amne per siccum, transit et Eliseus, qu⟨i⟩a resurgens a mortuis Salvator fidelibus suis quoque spem resurgendi tribuit. Transito Jordane, Elias dedit optionem Eliseo postulandi quae vellet; et Dominus, impleta resurrectionis gloria, plenius discipulorum sensibus inseruit quod et antea promisit: Qu⟨i⟩a quodcunque petieritis in nomine meo, hoc faciam (Joan. XV). Petiit Eliseus ut fieret spiritus Eliae duplex in se, et edocti a Domino discipuli promissam Spiritus gratiam accipere desiderabant: quam non uni tantum genti Judaeae, quam ipse praesens in carne docuit, sed et cunctis per orbem nationibus praedicare sufficerent. Annon duplicem Spiritus sui gratiam pollicebatur, cum ait: Qui credit in me, opera quae ego facio et ipse faciet, et majora horum faciet (Joan. XIV)? Sermocinantibus Elia et Eliseo subito currus et equi ignei rapuerunt Eliam quasi usque ad coelum: qui profecto cur⟨r⟩us et equi angelicae sunt intelligendae virtutes, de quibus scriptum est: Qui facit angelos suos spiritus, et ministros suos ignem urentem (Psal. CXIII). Horum namque Elias subsidio, utpote homo purus, quo a terra tolli posset egebat, et Dominus cum apostolis colloquens subito videntibus illis elevatus est, etsi non angelico fultus auxilio, angelico tamen comitatus obsequio, vereque assumptus est in coelum, angelis quoque ad ipsum attestantibus, qui illis dixerunt: Hic Jesus qui assumptus est a vobis in coelum (Act. I). Sublevatus ad coelum, Elias dimisit Eliseo pallium quo erat indutus. Ascendens in coelum, Dominus sacramenta humanitatis assumptae discipulis, imo omni
But Elijah set forth the figure of this feast of the Lord by a more abundant miracle. For when the time drew near at which he was to be taken from the world, he came to the Jordan with his disciple Elisha, and, having rolled up his mantle, he struck the waters: and they were divided, and both crossed over on dry ground, and he said to Elisha: Ask what you will that I should do for you before I am taken from you. And he said: I beseech you, let your spirit be doubled in me (2 Kgs. 2:9). As they went on talking, behold, suddenly caught up by a chariot of fire, Elijah, as Scripture says, went up as it were into heaven. By this addition it is signified that Elijah was not lifted into heaven itself, as our Lord was, but only into the heights of this air, and was then borne invisibly to the joys of paradise. And Elisha took up the mantle of Elijah which had fallen from him. And coming to the Jordan he struck the waters with it, and, having called upon the God of Elijah, he divided them and crossed over. Let your charity therefore mark, my brethren, how fittingly the figure accords with the truth. Elijah came to the Jordan, and, having taken off his mantle, struck the waters and divided them. The Lord came to the river of death, in which the human race was wont to be drowned, and, putting off for a time the garment of the flesh He had assumed, by dying He struck death, and by rising He opened to us the way of life. For rightly is the flowing and failing of our mortality expressed by the Jordan, since Jordan in Latin is called Their Descent, and the river itself, flowing into the Dead Sea, there loses its praiseworthy waters. Elijah crossed over on dry ground when the river was divided, and Elisha crossed too, because the Saviour, rising from the dead, gave His faithful also the hope of rising. When the Jordan had been crossed, Elijah gave Elisha the choice of asking what he would; and the Lord, the glory of the resurrection being fulfilled, implanted more fully in the minds of the disciples what He had also promised before: That whatever you ask in My name, this I will do (John 14:13). Elisha asked that the spirit of Elijah might be doubled in him, and the disciples, taught by the Lord, longed to receive the promised grace of the Spirit, so that they might be equal to preaching not to the one Jewish nation only, which He Himself taught while present in the flesh, but also to all the nations throughout the world. Was He not promising a double grace of His Spirit when He said: He who believes in Me, the works that I do he also shall do, and greater than these shall he do (John 14:12)? As Elijah and Elisha talked, suddenly a chariot and horses of fire caught Elijah up as it were to heaven: and that chariot and those horses are surely to be understood as the angelic powers, of which it is written: Who makes His angels spirits, and His ministers a burning fire (Ps. 103:4). For Elijah, being a mere man, needed their help to be taken up from the earth; and the Lord, while talking with the apostles, was suddenly lifted up as they looked on, not supported by angelic aid, but yet attended by angelic service, and was truly taken up into heaven, the angels too bearing witness to it, who said to them: This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven (Acts 1:11). Lifted up to heaven, Elijah left to Elisha the mantle with which he had been clothed. Ascending into heaven, the Lord [left] the sacraments of the humanity He had assumed to the disciples, nay to the whole
Editors' notes and page, col. 180
Footnotes
(a) ‹anchor: Mortuum influens› · call in col 180
Plinii verba sunt haec, lib. V Hist. natur., c. 15, quem vide, si lubet.
These are Pliny's words, Natural History book 5, chapter 15; see it, if you please.
(printed under page 94)
Page
- running head: OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 180 (head shared across the page with col. 179)
- marginal letters: A ‹At vero Elias abundantiore›; B ‹ad Jordanem percussit eo›; C ‹a mortuis Salvator fidelibus›; D ‹rapuerunt Eliam quasi›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Migne's references wrong here, set as printed in the source: "(Joan. XV)" for "Quia quodcunque petieritis in nomine meo, hoc faciam", which is John 14:13 (the English gives 14:13); "(Psal. CXIII)" for "Qui facit angelos suos spiritus", which is Ps. 103:4 in the Vulgate (the English gives 103:4).
Ecclesiae, quibus sanctificaretur et in virtute dilectionis calefieret, reliquit. Assumens Eliseus pallium Eliae percussit eo aquas Jordanis, et ubi invocavit Deum Eliae, divisae sunt, et transiit. Assumpserunt apostoli, assumpsit instituta per eos Ecclesia sacramenta sui Redemptoris, quibus spiritualiter erudita, abluta, et consecrata; ipsa quoque, invocato nomine Dei Patris, impetum mortis superare, ejusque obstaculo contempto, ad vitam transire didicit sempiternam.
Church, by which it might be sanctified and warmed in the power of love. Taking up the mantle of Elijah, Elisha struck with it the waters of the Jordan, and when he called upon the God of Elijah they were divided, and he crossed over. The apostles took up, and the Church founded through them took up, the sacraments of its Redeemer, by which it has been spiritually instructed, washed and consecrated; and it too, calling upon the name of God the Father, has learned to overcome the onslaught of death and, despising its barrier, to pass over to everlasting life.
Hanc ergo Dominicae ascensionis gloriam, fratres charissimi, quae prius prophetarum et dictis signabatur et gestis, et post in ipso Mediatore nostro completa est, tota devotione veneremur, et ipsi quoque ut ejus vestigia sequi, atque ad coelos mereamur ascendere, interim salubriter humiliemur in terra, memores semper quia, sicut Salomon ait, Superbum sequitur ignominia, et humilem spiritu sequitur gloria (Prov. XXIX). Ecce in ascensione Redemptoris nostri, quo nostra sit omnis intentio dirigenda didicimus; ecce, ascendente ad coelos Mediatore Dei et hominum, patefactam hominibus coelestis patriae januam cognov⟨i⟩mus. Ad hujus ergo patriae perpetuam felicitatem omni studio festinemus. In hac quia necdum corpore possumus, desiderio semper et mente versemur. Juxta vocem egregii praedicatoris, quae sursum sunt quaeramus, ubi Christus est in dextra Dei sedens, quae sursum sunt sapiamus, non quae super terram. Quaeramus illum et confirmemur spe inventionis. Quaeramus faciem ejus semper, ut cum ipse qui placidus ascendit terribi⟨l⟩is redierit, nos paratos inveniat, quos se⟨c⟩um ad festa supernae civitatis introdu⟨c⟩at Jesus Christus Dominus noster, qui vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
This glory of the Lord's ascension, then, dearly beloved brethren, which was first signified by both the words and the deeds of the prophets and was afterwards fulfilled in our Mediator Himself, let us venerate with all devotion; and, that we too may deserve to follow His footsteps and to ascend to the heavens, let us meanwhile be humbled, to our salvation, on earth, ever mindful that, as Solomon says, Disgrace follows the proud, and glory follows the humble in spirit (Prov. 29:23). Behold, in the ascension of our Redeemer we have learned whither all our aim must be directed; behold, as the Mediator of God and men ascends to the heavens, we have come to know that the gate of the heavenly fatherland has been opened to men. To the everlasting happiness of this fatherland, then, let us hasten with all zeal. Since we cannot yet be there in body, let us dwell there always in desire and in mind. According to the word of the excellent preacher, let us seek the things that are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God; let us mind the things that are above, not those that are upon the earth. Let us seek Him and be strengthened by the hope of finding [Him]. Let us seek His face always, so that when He who ascended gently returns in terror He may find us ready, whom He may lead with Him into the feasts of the city above, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit for all ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILIA X. IN DOMINICA POST ASCENSIONEM DOMINI. JOANN. XV. In illo tempore dixit Jesus discipulis suis: Cum venerit Paracletus, quem ego mittam vobis a Patre, Spiritum veritatis, qui a Patre procedit, ille testimonium perhibebit de me, etc.
HOMILY X. ON THE SUNDAY AFTER THE ASCENSION OF THE LORD. JOHN 15. At that time Jesus said to His disciples: When the Paraclete comes, whom I shall send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of Me, etc.
Ex multis sancti Evangelii locis invenimus quia discipuli ante adventum Spiritus sancti minus capaces erant ad intelligenda arcana divinae sublimitatis, minus fortes ad toleranda adversa humanae pravitatis, sed eis adveniente Spiritu cum augmento divinae cognitionis, data est etiam constantia vincendae humanae persecutionis. Unde illis Dominica promissione nunc dicitur:
From many places of the holy Gospel we find that before the coming of the Holy Spirit the disciples were less able to understand the secrets of the divine sublimity, and less strong to bear the adversities of human wickedness; but when the Spirit came upon them, together with an increase of divine knowledge there was given them also the constancy to overcome human persecution. Hence it is now said to them by the Lord's promise:
Cum venerit Paracletus, quem ego mittam vobis a Patre, Spiritum veritatis, qui a Patre procedit, ille testimonium perhibebit de me. Et vos testimonium perhibebitis. Notandum autem imprimis quod Dominus Spiritum veritatis, et a se mittendum esse testatur, et eumdem mox a Patre procedere subjungit, non quia idem Spiritus aliter a Patre procedit quam a Filio mittitur, aut alio tempore a Patre procedit [Al. om. quam a Filio... procedit], quam cum a Filio mittitur, sed ideo Filius cum a se mitti, et a Patre
When the Paraclete comes, whom I shall send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of Me. And you will bear witness (John 15:26–27). It is to be noted first of all that the Lord both testifies that the Spirit of truth is to be sent by Himself, and then adds that the same Spirit proceeds from the Father; not because the same Spirit proceeds from the Father in another way than He is sent by the Son, or proceeds from the Father at another time [Another reading omits "than He is sent by the Son ... proceeds"] than when He is sent by the Son; but the Son, when [He says that the Spirit] is sent by Himself and from the Father
Editors' notes and page, col. 181
Page
- running head: 181 SECT. I. HOMILIÆ. — LIB. II.
- marginal letters: A ‹Ecclesiae, quibus sanctificaretur›; B ‹cendere, interim salubriter›; C ‹qui placidus ascendit›; D ‹minus fortes ad toleranda›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: ⟨i⟩ in cognov⟨i⟩mus, ⟨l⟩ in terribi⟨l⟩is, ⟨c⟩ in se⟨c⟩um and introdu⟨c⟩at: letters lost to damaged type. Homily IX ends and Homily X begins in this column; heading and Gospel lemma (JOANN. XV.) set as one paragraph. The reference after the lemma repeated in the text paragraph is supplied in the English only (John 15:26–27), not printed there. Column ends mid-sentence at "a Patre"; the English bracket "[He says that the Spirit]" anticipates col. 182, UNSURE.
dicit procedere, ut aliam Patris, aliam esse suam personam designet, atque ut [Al. om. ut] in eadem distinctione personarum unam esse operationem, ac voluntatem suam cum Patris voluntate et operatione denuntiet. Cum enim ejusdem Spiritus gratia datur hominibus, mittitur profecto Spiritus a Patre, mittitur et a Filio; procedit a Patre, procedit et a Filio, quia et ejus missio ipsa processio est qua ex Patre procedit et Filio. Venit et sua sponte, quia sicut coaequalis est Patri et Filio, ita eamdem habet voluntatem cum Patre et Filio communem. Spiritus enim ubi vult spirat (Joan. III). Et sicut Apostolus, enumeratis donis coelestibus, ait: Haec autem omnia operatur unus atque idem Spiritus, dividens singulis prout vult (I Cor. XII). Adveniens autem Spiritus testimonium perhibuit de Domino, quia discipulorum cordibus [Al. add. pro Deo] aspirans, omnia quae de illo erant scienda mortalibus, clara illis luce revelavit: quod videlicet aequalis et consubstantialis erat Patri ante saecula, quod consubstantialis nobis factus est in fine saeculorum, quod de Virgine natus sine peccato vixit in mundo, quod quando voluit et qua voluit morte transivit de mundo, quod veraciter resurgendo mortem destruxit, quod [Al. om. quod] veram in qua passus et resurrexit carnem ad coelos ascendendo levavit atque in paternae gloriae dextera constituit, quod omnia prophetarum scripta illi testimonium perhibent, quod confessio nominis ejus usque ad fines erat propaganda terrarum, caeteraque fidei illius mysteria Spiritus sancti testimonio sunt reserata discipulis. Neque illis tantummodo, sed et omnibus qui per verbum eorum credunt in Dominum, quidquid recte sapiunt, ejusdem Spiritus est munere concessum. Ille ergo, inquit, testimonium perhibebit de me, et vos testimonium perhibebitis, quia quae Spiritu intus docente perceperunt, haec abjecto timore pristino foris loquendo et aliis ministrabant. Ipse namque Spiritus corda eorum et scientia veritatis illustravit, et ad docenda quae nossent cu⟨l⟩mine virtutis erexit: unde recte apud Isaiam: Spiritus idem fortitudinis et scientiae nuncupatur (Isa. XI). Est enim Spiritus scientiae, quia per ipsum quae recte agere, vel etiam cogitare debeamus, agnoscimus; est et fortitudinis, quia etiam per ipsum, ut quae bene novimus operemur, accipimus, ne adversitate aliqua a bonis quae cepimus repellamur.
says that He proceeds, so as to show that the person of the Father is one and His own another, and to declare that within this same distinction of persons His operation and will are one with the will and operation of the Father. For when the grace of the same Spirit is given to men, the Spirit is indeed sent by the Father, and is sent also by the Son; He proceeds from the Father, and proceeds also from the Son, because His very sending is the procession by which He proceeds from the Father and the Son. He comes also of His own accord, because, as He is coequal with the Father and the Son, so He has the same will in common with the Father and the Son. For the Spirit breathes where He wills (John 3:8). And as the Apostle says, having enumerated the heavenly gifts: But all these things one and the same Spirit works, dividing to each as He wills (1 Cor. 12:11). And the Spirit, when He came, bore witness of the Lord, because, breathing into the hearts of the disciples [another reading adds "for God"], He revealed to them in clear light all that mortals were to know of Him: namely, that He was equal and consubstantial with the Father before the ages; that He was made consubstantial with us at the end of the ages; that, born of the Virgin, He lived without sin in the world; that when He willed, and by what death He willed, He passed out of the world; that by truly rising He destroyed death; that [another reading omits "that"] by ascending He raised to the heavens the true flesh in which He suffered and rose, and set it at the right hand of the Father's glory; that all the writings of the prophets bear Him witness; that the confession of His name was to be spread to the ends of the earth; and the other mysteries of faith in Him were unlocked to the disciples by the witness of the Holy Spirit. And not to them only, but also to all who through their word believe in the Lord, whatever they rightly understand has been granted by the gift of the same Spirit. He, then, He says, will bear witness of Me, and you will bear witness, because what they had received from the Spirit teaching within, this, casting away their former fear, they also ministered to others by speaking outwardly. For the Spirit Himself both enlightened their hearts with the knowledge of the truth, and raised them up to the height of strength to teach what they knew: hence rightly in Isaiah the same is called the Spirit of fortitude and of knowledge (Isa. 11:2). For He is the Spirit of knowledge, because through Him we come to know what we ought to do, or even think, aright; and He is also [the Spirit] of fortitude, because through Him too we receive [the power] to carry out what we rightly know, lest by any adversity we be driven back from the good we have taken up.
Et vos, inquit, testimonium perhibebitis quia ab initio mecum es⟨t⟩is. Nam [Al., Cum] data Spiritus gratia etiam hoc fiduciam discipulorum ju⟨v⟩it quod ab initio erant cum Domino, ideoque quae apud illum viderunt et audierunt, absque ulla ambiguitate praedicare valebant. Unde bene Petrus alium pro Juda ordinare volens apostolum, non hunc neophytum, sed probatum ex tempore curavit eligere dicens: Oportet ergo ex his viris, qui nobiscum congregati sunt in omni tempore quo intravit et exivit inter nos Dominus Jesus, testem resurrectionis ejus nobiscum fieri unum ex istis (Act. I). Hinc ipse gentibus Christum evangelizans, confidenter
And you, He says, will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning (John 15:27). For [another reading: When] the grace of the Spirit had been given, this too helped the confidence of the disciples, that they had been with the Lord from the beginning, and therefore they were able to preach without any uncertainty what they had seen and heard with Him. Hence Peter, wishing to ordain another apostle in place of Judas, rightly took care to choose not a neophyte but one proved over time, saying: Of these men, therefore, who have been gathered with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, one of these must become with us a witness of His resurrection (Acts 1:21–22). Hence he himself, preaching Christ to the gentiles, confidently
Editors' notes and page, col. 182
Page
- running head: [HOMILI]Æ. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINÆ. 182 (head shared across the page with col. 181)
- marginal letters: A ‹dicit procedere, ut aliam›; B ‹testimonium perhibuit de Domino›; C ‹que fidei illius mysteria›; D ‹novimus operemur, accipimus›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: ⟨l⟩ in cu⟨l⟩mine (printed shape looks like "cui-", taken as a broken l, UNSURE), ⟨t⟩ in es⟨t⟩is, ⟨v⟩ in ju⟨v⟩it: letters lost to damaged type. "cepimus" kept as printed (possibly for coepimus). "constituit" has a faint o. The reference John 15:27 in the English of the second paragraph is supplied, not printed. Column ends mid-sentence at "confidenter".
aiebat: Hunc Deus suscitavit tertia die, et dedit eum manifestum fieri non omni populo, sed testibus praeordinatis a Deo, nobis qui manducavimus et bibimus cum illo postquam resurrexit a mortuis (Act. X). Sed quia crescentibus electorum meritis statim crescere solet antiqui hostis invidia, qua vel per seipsum latenter, vel per homines suae malignitati subditos patenter, inchoata pietatis germina conatur obruere, recte Dominus promissa discipulis praedicandi fiducia persecutionem quoque eorum qui eidem praedicationi resisterent pariter exorturam ostendit cum subdidit:
used to say: Him God raised up on the third day, and granted that He should be made manifest, not to all the people, but to witnesses foreordained by God, to us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead (Acts 10:40–41). But since, as the merits of the elect grow, the envy of the ancient enemy is wont at once to grow too, by which, either secretly by himself or openly through men subject to his malice, he tries to smother the budding shoots of godliness, rightly did the Lord, having promised the disciples confidence in preaching, show also that the persecution of those who would resist that preaching would arise along with it, when He added:
Haec locutus sum vobis, ut non scandalizemini. Absque synagogis facient vos. Curavit namque pius magister futura discipulis pravorum bella praedicere, quo minus haec eos venientia possent offendere, quia solent nimirum levius ferri adversa quae possunt ante praenosci. Nam quae imparato ac non praevidenti animo mala ingeruntur, gravius hunc saepe ab integritatis suae statu dejiciunt. Unde bene Salomon admonet dicens: Fili, accedens ad servitutem Dei, sta in justitia et timore Domini, et praepara animam tuam ad tentationem. Non solum vero discipulos Salvator a contribulium societate pellendos, sed ab eis etiam mortis pericula passuros fuisse praemonuit. Nam sequitur:
These things I have spoken to you, that you may not be scandalized. They will put you out of the synagogues (John 16:1–2). For the loving Master took care to foretell to the disciples the wars of the wicked that were to come, so that these might the less be able to stumble them when they came, since adversities that can be known beforehand are indeed wont to be borne more lightly. For the evils that are thrust upon a mind unprepared and not foreseeing them often cast it down more heavily from the state of its integrity. Hence Solomon rightly admonishes, saying: Son, when you come to the service of God, stand in justice and in the fear of the Lord, and prepare your soul for temptation (Sir. 2:1). And the Saviour forewarned the disciples not only that they would be driven out of the fellowship of their kinsmen, but that they would also suffer perils of death from them. For there follows:
Sed venit hora ut omnis qui interficit vos, arbitretur obsequium se praestare Deo. Arbitrabantur autem obsequium se Deo praestare Judaei in eo quod ministros Novi Testamenti odiis insequebantur et mortibus: quia, sicut illis testimonium perhibet Apostolus, Aemulationem Dei habent, sed non secundum scientiam (Rom. X). Et de seipso [Al., se ipse] loquitur: Et ego quidem existimaveram me adversus nomen Jesu Nazareni debere multa contraria agere, quod et feci Hierosolymis (Act. XXVI). Praedictis ergo pressuris adversantium repente quasi consolans discipulos adjunxit:
But the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God (John 16:2). And the Jews thought they were offering a service to God in pursuing the ministers of the New Testament with hatred and with death: because, as the Apostle bears them witness, They have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge (Rom. 10:2). And of himself [another reading: he himself] he speaks: And I indeed had thought that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth, which I also did in Jerusalem (Acts 26:9–10). Having foretold, then, the oppressions of the adversaries, He at once added, as if consoling the disciples:
Sed venit hora ut omnis qui interficit vos, arbitretur obsequium se praestare Deo. Ac si aperte dicat: Bella quidem tribulationum a contribulibus vestris estis passuri, sed eo tolerabilius haec suscipite, quo non tam odio vestri, quam divinae legis aemulatione vobis ingerentur. Cujus memor admonitionis beatus martyr Stephanus, flexis genibus pro his qui se interficiebant, pia voce supplicabat, dicens: Domine, ne statuas illis hoc peccatum (Act. VII). Arbitrabantur ergo legis aemulatores obsequium se praestare Deo, dum praeconibus gratiae neces inferrent: sed frustra legem quae per famulum data est, defendunt, qui gratiam quam ipse Filius offert, accipere renuunt. Incassum se Deo Patri placere aestimant, qui Dei Filium contemnere, imo etiam persequi ac blasphemare laborant. Unde recte subjungitur:
But the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. As if He were saying plainly: You are indeed going to suffer wars of tribulation from your kinsmen, but bear them the more patiently in that they will be thrust upon you not so much out of hatred of you as out of zeal for the divine law. Mindful of this admonition, the blessed martyr Stephen, on bended knees, prayed with a loving voice for those who were killing him, saying: Lord, do not lay this sin to their charge (Acts 7:60). So the zealots for the law thought they were offering a service to God when they put the heralds of grace to death: but in vain do they defend the law that was given through a servant, who refuse to accept the grace which the Son Himself offers. In vain do they think they please God the Father, who strive to despise the Son of God, nay even to persecute and blaspheme Him. Hence it is rightly added:
Et haec facient vobis, quia non noverunt Patrem, neque me. Quia enim Filius in Patre, et Pater est in Filio, et qui videt Filium, videt et Patrem (Joan. XIV), patet profecto quod quicunque Filii credulitati obstinata mente resistunt, nec Patrem nosse probantur.
And these things they will do to you, because they have not known the Father, nor Me (John 16:3). For since the Son is in the Father and the Father is in the Son, and he who sees the Son sees the Father also (John 14:9–10), it is surely plain that whoever with obstinate mind resist belief in the Son are shown not to know the Father either.
Editors' notes and page, col. 183
Page
- running head: 183 BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS I[II] (head cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹aiebat: Hunc Deus suscitavit›; B ‹quo minus haec eos venientia›; C ‹Novi Testamenti odiis insequebantur›; D ‹ficiebant, pia voce supplicabat›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: The lemma "Sed venit hora ut omnis qui interficit vos ..." is printed twice in this column, the second time as the words added to console the disciples; set as printed both times. The Ecclesiasticus quotation carries no printed reference; English reference (Ecclesiasticus 2:1) and the John 16 references for the lemmata are supplied in the English only. Column ends with the hyphen-split "pro-" (probably pro[bantur]); set the visible part; the English rendering of the ending is UNSURE until col. 184.
Unde etiam idem Joannes veritatem divinae unitatis insinuans, ait: Omnis qui negat Filium, nec Patrem habet: qui confitetur Filium, et Patrem habet (I Joan. II). Et iterum: Et omnis qui diligit eum qui genuit, diligit eum qui natus est ex eo (I Joan. V). Verum quia discipuli, qui Patrem bene noverant et Filium, multa pro ejusdem scientiae defensione ac propalatione fuerant passuri, provida Dominus admonitione subjungit:
Hence also the same John, conveying the truth of the divine unity, says: Everyone who denies the Son has not the Father either: he who confesses the Son has the Father also (1 John 2:23). And again: And everyone who loves Him who begot loves Him who was born of Him (1 John 5:1). But since the disciples, who knew the Father and the Son well, were to suffer much for the defence and spreading of this same knowledge, the Lord adds with a provident admonition:
Sed haec locutus sum vobis, ut cum venerit hora eorum, reminiscamini quia ego dixi vobis. Magnopere pensandum est, quod ait, Ego dixi vobis, ego qui pro vestra vita ac salute moriturus sum, qui vos meo sanguine redempturus, qui vos in tribulatione semper adjuturus, qui aeterna vobis praemia post tribulationem daturus sum. Magnum qu⟨i⟩ppe certantibus levamen, magnam consolationis gratiam praestat, quando ille certamina eadem futura praedixisse reminiscitur, qui et milites suos ne vinci possent adjuvare, et ne incassum vincant immortalem post praelia solet rependere palmam. Qui enim hic horam persecutionis [Al., iniquorum persecutionem] venturam praemonuit, ipse paulo post in eadem persecutione suum fidelibus auxilium pollicetur, dicens, In mundo pressuram habebitis; sed confidite: ego vici mundum; ipse alibi legitime certantibus coronam vitae repromittit, dicens: Beati qui persecut⟨i⟩onem patiuntur propter justitiam, quoniam ipsorum est regnum coelorum (Matth. V). Haec de evangelica lectione, fratres charissimi, breviter explanando transcurrimus, nunc libet de ipsa, quam colimus, Quinquagesimae solemnitate subtilius aliquid loqui. Sicut enim imminentibus solemniis paschalibus Quadragesimam jejuniorum observantia celebravimus, sic eisdem peractis, Quinquagesimam non sine certi causa mysterii festa devotione agimus. Nam quia sancta Ecclesia in quibusdam suis membris adhuc pro ⟨ae⟩terna requie laborat in terris, in quibusdam vero omni finito labore cum Chr⟨i⟩sto jam regnat in coelis, in memoriam utriusque vitae constituere patres nostri gemina haec congruae religionis solemnia, Quadragesimam videlicet afflictionis et jejuniorum, instante jam Dominicae resurrectionis tempore, gaudiisque paschalibus, ut per eam nobis saepius ad memoriam revocarent: quia per labores et continentiam, per vigilias et orationes, et per caetera, quae Apostolus commemorat (II Cor. VI), arma justitiae, ad vitae immortalis praemia debeamus attingere. Porro Quinquagesimam ab ipso Dominicae resurrectionis die inchoare, et gaudiis potius laudibusque divinis, quam jejuniis voluerunt esse celebrem, quatenus annuis ejus festis dulcius admoneremur, desiderium nostrum ad obtinenda festa, quae non sunt annua sed continua, non terrena sed coeles⟨t⟩ia, semper accendere fixumque tenere, quia non in tempore mortalitatis hujus, sed in aeternitate futurae incorruptionis vera nobis quaerenda felicitas, vera est invenienda solemnitas, ubi, cessantibus cunctis languoribus, tota in Dei visione ac
But these things I have spoken to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you (John 16:4). We must weigh carefully that He says, I told you: I who am to die for your life and salvation, who am to redeem you with My blood, who am ever to help you in tribulation, who am to give you everlasting rewards after tribulation. For it gives a great relief to those who strive, a great grace of consolation, when they remember that those very contests were foretold by Him who both helps His soldiers so that they cannot be overcome and, so that they may not conquer in vain, is wont to repay them after the battles with an immortal palm. For He who here forewarned that the hour of persecution [another reading: the persecution of the wicked] would come, Himself a little later promises His help to the faithful in that same persecution, saying: In the world you will have distress; but take courage: I have overcome the world (John 16:33); He Himself elsewhere promises the crown of life to those who strive lawfully, saying: Blessed are they who suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 5:10). These things from the Gospel reading, dearest brethren, we have run through in brief explanation; now it is pleasing to say something more searching about the very feast of Pentecost which we keep. For as, when the paschal solemnities were at hand, we celebrated Lent with the observance of fasts, so, these being completed, we keep Pentecost with festal devotion, not without a reason in a definite mystery. For since holy Church in some of her members still labours on earth for eternal rest, while in others, all labour ended, she already reigns with Christ in heaven, our fathers instituted, in memory of each life, these twin solemnities of fitting religion: namely Lent, of affliction and fasts, when the time of the Lord's resurrection and the paschal joys are now at hand, that through it they might more often recall to our memory that through labours and continence, through vigils and prayers, and through the other arms of justice which the Apostle mentions (2 Cor. 6:4–7), we must attain to the rewards of immortal life. Pentecost, further, they willed to begin from the very day of the Lord's resurrection and to be celebrated with joys and divine praises rather than with fasts, so that by its yearly feasts we might be the more sweetly admonished ever to kindle and hold fixed our desire for obtaining the feasts which are not yearly but continual, not earthly but heavenly; because not in the time of this mortality but in the eternity of the incorruption to come is true happiness to be sought by us, true solemnity to be found, where, all ailments ceasing, the whole [life] in the vision of God and
Editors' notes and page, col. 184
Page
- running head: [OPP.] PARS III. — PARÆNETICA. 184 (head shared across the page with col. 183)
- marginal letters: A ‹bantur. Unde etiam idem›; B ‹bulationem daturus sum›; C ‹ctione, fratres charissimi›; D ‹memoriam revocarent: quia›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: The column opens with "bantur", completing "pro-" at the foot of col. 183 (pro-bantur); col. 183's file sets "pro-" as seen there. ⟨i⟩ in qu⟨i⟩ppe, persecut⟨i⟩onem, Chr⟨i⟩sto; ⟨ae⟩ in ⟨ae⟩terna; ⟨t⟩ in coeles⟨t⟩ia: letters lost to damaged type. "Quinquagesima" (the fifty days to Pentecost) is rendered Pentecost. The John 16:4 and 16:33 references are supplied in the English only. Column ends mid-sentence at "ac"; the English supplement "[life]" is UNSURE until col. 185.
laude vita geri⟨t⟩ur. Juxta hoc quod Propheta corde pariter et carne in Deum vivum exsultans, aiebat: Beati qui habitant in domo tua, Domine; in saecula saeculorum laudabunt te (Psal. LXXXIII). Unde merito Quinquagesimae diebus in memoriam hujus nostrae quietissimae ac felicissimae actionis crebrius ac festivius Alleluia canere solemus. Alleluia namque Hebraeus sermo est, et interpretatur Latine: Laudate Dominum. Denique in psalmis ubi nos canimus Laudate Dominum, pro hoc verbo apud Hebraeos semper Alleluia canitur: quod evangelista Joannes in Apocalypsi sua (Cap. XIX) coelestium agmina virtutum cantantia se audisse perhibet. Sed et venerabilis pater Tobias ex visione angelica intelligens qualis supernorum civium gloria, quanta ipsius Hierusalem coelestis sit claritas, haec mystica voce dicebat: Ex lapide pretioso et mundo omnes plateae ejus sternentur, et per vicos ejus Alleluia cantabitur (Tob. XIII). Rectissime autem et pulcherrime generalis sanctae Ecclesiae mos inolevit, ut hoc divinae laudationis carmen, propter reverentiam primae auctoritatis, a cunctis per orbem fidelibus Hebraea voce cantetur. Quod ideo fit ut per talis consonantiam devotionis admoneatur Ecclesia quia et nunc in una fidei confessione ac dilectione Christi consistere debeat, et ad illam in futuro patriam festinare, in qua nulla diversitas mentium, nulla est dissonantia linguarum. Nam quomodo in Hierosolymis quondam multitudinis credentium in Dominum erat cor unum et anima una, et erant illis omnia communia, ita in illa summae pacis visione multitudinis videntium Deum, erit cor unum et anima una, videlicet diligendi ac laudandi eum, cujus se gratia viderint esse salvatos: et ibi veraciter erunt omnibus omnia communia, quia sicut Apostolus ait, Erit Deus omnia in omnibus (I Cor. XV). In cujus typum temporis ac laudabundae nostrae quietis, ultimi eidem psalmi, qui specialiter in Domini laudem canuntrr, Alleluia titulo praenotantur. Sep⟨t⟩ima quippe dies Sabbati, id est requiei, per legem vocari et haberi praecepta est. Et ap⟨t⟩e liber psalmorum post tanta coelestium praeceptorum instituta, tot arcanorum spiritualium mysteria decantata, tantas saluberrimae confessionis ac deprecationis humillimae voces editas, semper Alleluia titulis finitur: quia quidquid in hac vita boni gerimus, quidquid in obsequium Redemptoris nostri lingua exsultante proferimus, quidquid pro aeternae patriae desiderio cogitamus, cuncta haec nimirum ea nobis mercede recompensantur, ut in requie sempiterna et audire vocem laudis ejus, et ipsi cum sanctis eum benedicere, gloriam regni ejus dicere, et potentiam virtutis ejus loqui mereamur. Idcirco autem plures magistri Ecclesiae decantationem Alleluia tempore Quadragesimae intermittendam esse sanxerunt, quamvis in Ecclesia nunquam a divina laude cessatur, sed aliis verbis quae id ipsum perfecte significant, ejus quotidie dona canuntur, ut nova ejus repetitio majorem gratioremque paschalibus solemniis honorificentiam reddat et splendorem. Sed et hoc in eo mysterium maxime designare voluerunt,
praise, life is lived. According to that which the Prophet said, exulting in heart and flesh alike in the living God: Blessed are they who dwell in Thy house, O Lord; they shall praise Thee for ages of ages (Ps. 83:5). Hence rightly on the days of Pentecost, in memory of this most restful and most happy activity of ours, we are wont to sing Alleluia more often and more festively. For Alleluia is a Hebrew word, and is interpreted in Latin: Praise the Lord. Indeed, in the psalms where we sing Praise the Lord, Alleluia is always sung for this word among the Hebrews: and the evangelist John in his Apocalypse (Rev. 19) declares that he heard the hosts of the heavenly powers singing it. And the venerable father Tobias too, understanding from an angelic vision what the glory of the citizens above is like, and how great the brightness of the heavenly Jerusalem itself, said this with a mystical voice: All its streets shall be paved with precious and clean stone, and through its lanes Alleluia shall be sung (Tobit 13:22). And most rightly and most beautifully has the general custom of holy Church grown up, that this song of divine praise, out of reverence for its first authority, is sung by all the faithful throughout the world in the Hebrew tongue. This is done so that by the harmony of such devotion the Church may be admonished that even now she ought to stand together in one confession of faith and love of Christ, and to hasten to that fatherland hereafter in which there is no diversity of minds, no discord of tongues. For as once in Jerusalem the multitude of those who believed in the Lord had one heart and one soul, and they had all things in common, so in that vision of supreme peace the multitude of those who see God will have one heart and one soul, namely of loving and praising Him by whose grace they will see that they have been saved: and there truly all things will be common to all, because, as the Apostle says, God will be all in all (1 Cor. 15:28). As a type of this time and of our rest full of praise, the last psalms of the same [book], which are sung especially in praise of the Lord, are headed with the title Alleluia. For the seventh day was commanded by the law to be called and held the Sabbath, that is, of rest. And fittingly the book of psalms, after so many institutions of heavenly precepts, so many mysteries of spiritual secrets sung, so many utterances of most wholesome confession and most humble entreaty given forth, ends always with the titles Alleluia: because whatever good we do in this life, whatever we utter with exulting tongue in the service of our Redeemer, whatever we think out of longing for the eternal fatherland, all these are surely repaid to us with this reward, that in everlasting rest we may deserve both to hear the voice of His praise and ourselves with the saints to bless Him, to tell the glory of His kingdom, and to speak of the might of His power. For this reason, moreover, many masters of the Church ordained that the singing of Alleluia should be interrupted in the time of Lent; although in the Church there is never a ceasing from divine praise, but His gifts are sung daily in other words that signify that very thing perfectly; so that its renewed repetition may give greater and more welcome honour and splendour to the paschal solemnities. But they also wished this mystery above all to be signified in it,
Editors' notes and page, col. 185
Page
- running head: 185 SECT. I. HOMILIÆ. — LIB. II. [HOM. GENUINÆ.] (head cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹laude vita geritur›; B ‹coelestis sit claritas›; C ‹erant illis omnia communia›; D ‹in hac vita boni gerimus›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: ⟨t⟩ in geri⟨t⟩ur, Sep⟨t⟩ima, ap⟨t⟩e: letters lost to damaged type. The column continues col. 184's "Dei visione ac" (confirming "[life]" there). Column ends with the hyphen-split "volue-" (probably volue[runt]); set the visible part.
quod in hujus exsilii peregrinatione, sicut ex parte novimus, et ex parte prophetamus, ita etiam ex parte Dominum laudamus, dicentes cum Propheta: Quomodo cantabimus canticum Domini in terra aliena? (Psal. CXXXVI.) Cum vero nostram patriam, terram scilicet viventium, domumque regni coelestis nobis olim a Domino repromis⟨s⟩am intrare meruerimus, tunc ut illum et perfecte intueri, sic etiam perfecte valebimus laudare, juxta illud Psalmis⟨t⟩ae: Et in templo ejus omnes dicent gloriam (Psal. XXXVIII). Unde et alibi dicit: Coeli enarrant gloriam Dei. Coel⟨i⟩s quippe coelestis patriae cives appellat. Et quidem terrigenae gloriam Dei narrare possunt, non autem hanc enarrare nisi coeli cives sufficiunt, qui quo hanc vicinius vident, eo certius valent eloqui. Utramque sane hanc solemnitatem, scilicet et Quadragesimae et Quinquagesimae, non quorumlibet hominum, sed ipsius Domini ac Salvatoris nostri prima nobis sanxit auctoritas: Quadragesimam videlicet, in eo quod quadraginta diebus et quadraginta noctibus jejunavit in deserto, victaque tentatoris versutia, ministeriis fruebatur angelicis: ubi suo nos informavit exemplo, quia per macerationem carnis adversarii spiritualis machinas evitare, et ad angelorum debeamus pervenire consortium. Porro Quinquagesimae nobis gaudia in eo servanda monstravit, quod post resurrectionem seipsum discipulis vivum in multis argumentis per dies quadraginta praebuit, apparens eis, et loquens de regno Dei et convescens, ut in eorum Actibus legimus, quia illos suae frequentia visitationis laetabundum hoc tempus habere fecit ac festivum. Sed et in coelum ascendens nequaquam eis priscae suae praesentiae dulcedinem abstulit, sed eamdem potius promisso Spiritus sancti charismate cumulavit. Denique cum promitteret eos Spiritu sancto baptizandos post dies non multos, eisque benedicens ascenderet ac ferretur in coelum, quadragesimo utique die suae resurrectionis, mox illi adorantes regressi sunt in Hierusalem cum gaudio magno, et erant semper in templo laudantes et benedicentes Deum. Hoc quoque nobis gaudio, ac laude, et benedictione coelesti, qua Spiritus sancti praestolabantur adventum usque ad diem quinquagesimum, quem Graeci Pentecosten appellant, solemnitatis hujus laetitiam docuerunt esse protelandam. Inter haec vero solertius intuendum, fratres charissimi, quod Dominus hac quadraginta [Al., Quadragesimae] dierum conversatione cum discipulis, non solum futuri saeculi gaudia, quae cum illo sumus habituri praesignavit, verum etiam ineffabilem circa nos suae pietatis ostendit affectum, qui, deposita jam infirmitate corporis, imo jam [Al. om. jam] finita, et per resurrectionis virtutem in coelestem gloriam commutata, dignatur tamen adhuc discipulorum interesse convivio, ut eos socios habere possit in coelo, ut praecepta, quibus ad regnum Dei perveniant, vivacius ipsa familiaritate commendet. Quid enim, fratres mei, quid sibi vult horum conjunctio verborum, qua dicitur, « Apparens eis et loquens de regno Dei, et convescens, » nisi quia patenter ostenditur
that in the pilgrimage of this exile, as we know in part and prophesy in part, so also we praise the Lord in part, saying with the Prophet: How shall we sing the song of the Lord in a strange land? (Ps. 136:4.) But when we have deserved to enter our fatherland, the land of the living, namely, and the house of the heavenly kingdom promised us long ago by the Lord, then, as we shall be able to behold Him perfectly, so shall we also be able to praise Him perfectly, according to that word of the Psalmist: And in His temple all shall speak His glory (Ps. 28:9). Hence he says elsewhere too: The heavens tell the glory of God (Ps. 18:2). For he calls the citizens of the heavenly fatherland heavens. And indeed the earth-born can relate the glory of God, but only the citizens of heaven are equal to telling it fully, who, the nearer they see it, the more surely are able to utter it. Both these solemnities, namely of Lent and of Pentecost, were first sanctioned for us by the authority not of any men whatever, but of our Lord and Saviour Himself: Lent, that is, in that He fasted forty days and forty nights in the desert, and, having overcome the cunning of the tempter, enjoyed the ministrations of angels: wherein He taught us by His example that through the mortification of the flesh we ought to avoid the devices of the spiritual adversary and to come to the fellowship of the angels. And He showed that the joys of Pentecost are to be kept by us in that after the resurrection He presented Himself alive to the disciples by many proofs through forty days, appearing to them, and speaking of the kingdom of God, and eating with them, as we read in their Acts, since by the frequency of His visits He made them hold this time joyful and festive. And even in ascending into heaven He in no way took from them the sweetness of His former presence, but rather heaped it up with the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. Then, when He had promised that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days after, and, blessing them, ascended and was carried into heaven, on the fortieth day indeed after His resurrection, they straightway, worshipping, returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were always in the temple praising and blessing God. By this joy too, and praise and heavenly blessing, with which they awaited the coming of the Holy Spirit until the fiftieth day, which the Greeks call Pentecost, they taught us that the gladness of this solemnity is to be prolonged. Amid these things, however, we must observe more carefully, dearest brethren, that by this converse of forty [another reading: of Lent's] days with the disciples the Lord not only foreshadowed the joys of the age to come which we shall have with Him, but also showed the ineffable affection of His loving-kindness towards us: who, having now laid aside the infirmity of the body, nay, it being now [another reading omits "now"] ended and changed by the power of the resurrection into heavenly glory, yet still deigns to be present at the meal of the disciples, so that He may have them as companions in heaven, so that by this very familiarity He may commend the more vividly the precepts by which they may come to the kingdom of God. For what, my brethren, what does the joining of these words mean, in which it is said, « Appearing to them and speaking of the kingdom of God, and eating with them, » unless that it is plainly shown
Editors' notes and page, col. 186
Page
- running head: [HOMILI]Æ. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINÆ. 186 (head shared across the page with col. 185)
- marginal letters: A ‹runt, quod in hujus exsilii›; B ‹solemnitatem, scilicet et Quadragesimae›; C ‹gimus, quia illos suae›; D ‹dam. Inter haec vero›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Column opens with "runt", completing "volue-" at the foot of col. 185. ⟨s⟩ in repromis⟨s⟩am, ⟨t⟩ in Psalmis⟨t⟩ae, ⟨i⟩ in Coel⟨i⟩s: letters lost to damaged type. "(Psal. XXXVIII)" set as read; the quotation is Psalm 28:9 (Vulgate), so the print may be a misprint for XXVIII, UNSURE whether the scan shows two or three x's; English gives Psalm 28:9. "Coeli enarrant" carries no printed reference; (Psalm 18:2) supplied in English only.
quod ob hoc maxime convictui sociabatur eorum cum de regno Dei loquere⟨t⟩ur, ut terrenas inter eos sumens epulas, quibus coeleste corpus suum [Al. om. suum] monstrabat, arctius eos vinculis suae charitatis obligaret, atque illius temporis memoria roboraret, de quo eis ante passionem suam promittendo praedixerat: Et ego dispono vobis, sicut disposuit mihi Pater meus regnum, ut edatis et bibatis super mensam meam in regno meo (Luc. XXII). Merito ergo sacrosanctis diebus his nos quoque majoribus epulis atque hymnis coelestibus vacamus, ob reverentiam nimirum Dominicae resurrectionis, ob memoriam Domini cum discipulis simul comedentis, et ob spem futurae nostrae quietis ac vitae immortalis. Sed et genu in oratione minime juxta morem flectimus, quia pro certo genuum inflexio poenitentiae et luctus indicium est. Quod etiam in omnibus Dominicis diebus observandum propter ejusdem resurrectionis, vel Dominicae vel nostrae sacramenta patres instituerunt. De sacramento autem quinquagenarii vel quadragenarii numeri multipliciter a Patribus disputatum est. Sed quia nos in longum duximus sermonem, breviter modo fraternitati vestrae dicere sat est quod recte jejuniorum caeremoniae quadragenario dierum numero observantur, ut scilicet per hoc insinuetur quod toto hujus vitae tempore pro aeternae vitae perceptione laborare debeamus. Quater enim deni quadraginta sunt, et vita praesens congrue quaternario numero figuratur, vel quia quatuor annuis temporibus tota variatur, vel quia mundus ipse in quo vivimus quatuor elementis subsistit, videlicet igne, aere, aqua et terra. Futurae autem vitae beatitudo denario numero non inconvenienter exprimitur. Hinc est enim quod Dominus operarios vineae denario renumeratos esse perhibet. Operarii quippe vineae cultores sunt sanctae Ecclesiae. Denarius autem vitae coelestis perfectionem designat, in qua gloriam Dei, summi videlicet regis, speculantes, in eamdem imaginem transformamur, non solum in eo [Al. om. in eo] quod regis imaginem habet et inscriptionem, verum etiam in eo quod decem obolis, qui perfectus est numerus, constat, unde et nomen accepit. Recte ergo quadragenario, hoc est quater denario dierum numero, jejunium annue celebramus, ut per hoc specialius admoneatur, quia quandiu vivimus in mundo, pro coelestium praemiorum adoptione semper laborare debeamus. Recte etiam quinquagenario dierum numero statum futurae nostrae beatitudinis in imagine [Al., et imaginem] veneramur, jejunia videlicet relaxando, Alleluia canendo, stantes orando, quae sunt aptissima perpetuae quietis, resurrectionis et laudis praesagia. Septies enim septem quadraginta novem faciunt. Et quidem per septem saepe requiem designari luce clarius est. Septem vero septies ducta ejusdem requiei perfectionem insinuant, quae nullo unquam fine clauditur, nulla labe maculatur, sed ubi dies judicii universalis ac resurrectionis advenerit, ampliori corporum receptorum gratia perficitur.
that He joined in their fellowship at table above all for this reason: that while He spoke of the kingdom of God, taking earthly food among them, by which He showed His heavenly body [another reading omits "His"], He might bind them more closely with the bonds of His charity, and strengthen them with the memory of that time of which, before His passion, He had foretold to them in promise: And I appoint to you, as My Father has appointed to Me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom (Luke 22:29–30). Rightly, then, on these most holy days we too give ourselves to larger meals and heavenly hymns: out of reverence, namely, for the Lord's resurrection, in memory of the Lord eating together with the disciples, and in hope of our future rest and of immortal life. And we do not bend the knee in prayer according to custom, because the bending of the knees is certainly a sign of penitence and mourning. This the fathers ordained should be observed on all Sundays as well, on account of the mysteries of the same resurrection, both the Lord's and ours. Concerning the mystery of the number fifty, or of the number forty, the Fathers have discoursed in many ways. But since we have drawn out our sermon at length, it is enough to say briefly now to your fraternity that the ceremonies of fasts are rightly observed by a number of forty days, so that by this it may be conveyed that through the whole time of this life we ought to labour for the attainment of eternal life. For four tens are forty, and the present life is fittingly figured by the number four, either because it is wholly varied by the four seasons of the year, or because the very world in which we live consists of four elements, namely fire, air, water and earth. And the blessedness of the life to come is not unfittingly expressed by the number ten. Hence it is that the Lord declares the labourers of the vineyard to have been paid a denarius. For the labourers of the vineyard are the tillers of holy Church. And the denarius signifies the perfection of the heavenly life, in which, beholding the glory of God, that is, of the supreme King, we are transformed into the same image; [it does so] not only in that it bears the King's image and inscription [another reading omits "in that"], but also in that it consists of ten obols, which is a perfect number, whence also it received its name. Rightly, then, do we celebrate the fast yearly with a number of forty days, that is, four times ten, so that by this it may be the more particularly impressed upon us that, as long as we live in the world, we ought always to labour for the obtaining of heavenly rewards. Rightly also by a number of fifty days do we venerate in image [another reading: and the image] the state of our future blessedness: by relaxing fasts, that is, by singing Alleluia, by praying standing, which are most apt foretokens of everlasting rest, of resurrection and of praise. For seven times seven make forty-nine. And indeed that rest is often signified by seven is clearer than daylight. And seven multiplied seven times conveys the perfection of the same rest, which is closed by no end at all, stained by no blemish, but, when the day of the universal judgement and resurrection has come, is perfected by the fuller grace of the bodies received again.
Editors' notes and page, col. 187
Footnotes
(unlettered) ‹anchor: not visible; the note is printed without a call letter and no call mark appears in the visible text of the page foot› · call in col 187 (note printed under col 187)
Al., dominici convictus cum discipulis, simul.
Other copies: "of the Lord's living together with the disciples, at the same time."
(printed under page 98)
Page
- running head: 187 BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS II[I] (head cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹quod ob hoc maxime convictui›; B ‹dicium est. Quod etiam›; C ‹vimus quatuor elementis›; D ‹specialius admoneatur, quia›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
Quod enim ad septem septimanas monas additur, id est, ipsa dies Dominica Pentecostes, qua Spiritum sanctum accepit Ecclesia primitiva, et ita quinquagenarius numerus perfecte completur, ipsum judicii et resurrectionis omnium tempus ostendit, quando sanctarum requies animarum, quae nunc in illa vita geritur, etiam corporum immortalium receptione geminabitur, et ille Apostoli sermo adimplebitur: Quod si Spiritus ejus qui suscitavit Jesum a mortuis, habitat in vobis, qui suscitavit Jesum Christum a mortuis, convivificabit [Al., vivificabit] et mortalia corpora vestra, per inhabitantem Spiritum ejus in vobis (Rom. VIII). Verum hoc quoque quod non statim peracta die quinquagesima genu ad adorandum curvamus, sed et illa adhuc septimana [Al. om. septimana] stantes Domino supplicamus, et quamvis intermissa repetentes jejunia, tamen Alleluia quotidie personamus, nemo absque discretione apta et congrua ratione mysterii putet actitari. Quia enim Spiritus sancti septiformis est gratia, jure solemnitas adventus ejus per septem dies laude hymnorum debita, simul et missarum celebratione colitur. Quia enim [Al. om. enim] tempore Pentecostes Ecclesia toto orbe novos semper Deo populos per aquam regenerationis aggregare consuevit, merito saluti eorum congaudentes, quousque al⟨b⟩is induuntur stolis, et nitorem purificatae mentis splendore habitus praemonstrant, hymnum Deo devotae laudis offerimus, juxta praeceptum ipsius piissimi Pastoris ac Redemptoris nostri, quo ait: Congratulamini mihi, quia inveni ovem meam quae perierat (Luc. XV). Merito ergo nunc [Al., etiam tunc] stantes oramus, ob significantiam videlicet liberationis eorumdem, quia per donum Spiritus sancti de morte animae ad vitam resuscitari ac resurgere meruerunt; cujus donante gratia, etiam carnis immortalitate nos in novissimo die vestiendos, atque ad gaudia beatae resurrectionis perducendos esse speramus, juxta hoc quod paulo ante Apostolo teste docuimus. Quod vero inter haec jejuniorum castigatio repetitur, de ipsorum apostolorum exemplo sumptum credere debemus, qui accepto Spiritu, quo perfectius nova coelestium bonorum suavitate fruebantur, eo altius mentem a memoria deliciarum abstulere terrestrium. Jam enim advenerat tempus illud de quo Dominus praedixit, quia discipuli ipso secum conversante jejunare non possent, ablato autem eo jejunarent. Nam cum interrogarent eum discipuli Joannis, dicentes: Quare nos et Pharisaei jejunamus frequenter, discipuli autem tui non jejunant? ait illis: Nunquid possunt filii sponsi lugere, quandiu cum illis est sponsus? Venient autem dies, cum auferetur ab eis sponsus, et tunc jejunabunt. Quia ergo et ante passionem et post resurrectionem Dominicam propter ipsius Domini praesentiam lugere ac jejunare nequiverant, constat profecto quia post ablationem ejus spontaneis sese subdidere jejuniis. Namque ubi sancti Spiritus sunt acceptione recreati, sicut a coeteris mundialibus illecebris,
For the unit that is added to the seven weeks, that is, the Lord's day of Pentecost itself, on which the primitive Church received the Holy Spirit, and so the number fifty is perfectly completed, shows the very time of the judgement and resurrection of all, when the rest of holy souls, which is now lived in that life, will be doubled also by the receiving again of immortal bodies, and that saying of the Apostle will be fulfilled: But if the Spirit of Him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised up Jesus Christ from the dead will quicken together [another reading: will quicken] your mortal bodies also, through His Spirit who dwells in you (Rom. 8:11). And this too, that we do not bend the knee in worship as soon as the fiftieth day is completed, but for that week still pray to the Lord standing [another reading omits "week"], and, though resuming the interrupted fasts, yet sing Alleluia every day, let no one think is done without fitting discernment and a suitable reason in the mystery. For since the grace of the Holy Spirit is sevenfold, rightly is the solemnity of His coming kept for seven days with the due praise of hymns, and with the celebration of Masses as well. For since [another reading omits "since"] at the time of Pentecost the Church throughout the world is ever wont to gather new peoples to God through the water of regeneration, rightly, rejoicing together in their salvation, for as long as they are clothed in white robes and show forth the brightness of the purified mind by the splendour of their dress, we offer to God a hymn of devout praise, according to the precept of our most loving Shepherd and Redeemer Himself, in which He says: Rejoice with Me, for I have found My sheep that was lost (Luke 15:6). Rightly, then, do we now [another reading: then also] pray standing, as a sign, namely, of their deliverance, because by the gift of the Holy Spirit they have deserved to be raised and to rise from the death of the soul to life; by whose gift of grace we hope that we too shall be clothed on the last day with the immortality of the flesh, and be brought to the joys of the blessed resurrection, according to what we showed a little earlier on the Apostle's witness. And that the chastening of fasts is resumed amid these things, we must believe was taken from the example of the apostles themselves, who, having received the Spirit, the more perfectly they enjoyed the new sweetness of heavenly goods, the higher did they lift their mind from the memory of earthly delights. For that time had now come of which the Lord had foretold that the disciples could not fast while He Himself was with them, but when He was taken away they would fast. For when the disciples of John questioned Him, saying: Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but Your disciples do not fast? He said to them: Can the sons of the bridegroom mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then they will fast (Matt. 9:14–15). Since, then, both before the passion and after the Lord's resurrection they had been unable to mourn and fast because of the presence of the Lord Himself, it is surely clear that after He was taken away they subjected themselves to voluntary fasts. For when they had been refreshed by the receiving of the Holy Spirit, as from all other worldly allurements,
Editors' notes and page, col. 188
Page
- running head: [OPP.] PARS III. — PARÆNETICA. 188 (head shared across the page with col. 187)
- marginal letters: A ‹citur. Quod enim ad septem›; B ‹ptimana] stantes Domino›; C ‹ptoris nostri, quo ait›; D ‹advenerat tempus illud›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Column opens with "citur", completing "perfi-" at the foot of col. 187 (perfi-citur); English marks the join [...]ed. ⟨b⟩ in al⟨b⟩is: letter lost to damaged type (UNSURE; only "a" and "l" clearly legible). "personamus" read through a damaged letter. "coeteris" set as printed (œ). The Matthew quotation carries no printed reference; (Matthew 9:14–15) supplied in English only. Column ends with the hyphen-split "ille-" (probably ille[cebris]); set the visible part.
sic et ab epularum appetitu mentem prorsus averterant: animae potius quam corporis alimonia gaudentes, et prae memoria patriae coelestis orationibus ac lacrymis insistentes salubribus. Denique Luca referente, cognovimus de illis tribus millibus virorum, qui ipso die Pentecostes, Petro praedicante, crediderunt, quam parco victu contenti fuerint, quam sobriam coelestemque in terris egerint vitam. Erant, inquit, perseverantes in doctrina apostolorum, et communicatione fractionis panis, et orationibus (Act. II). Et paulo post: Quotidie quoque perdurantes unanimiter in templo, et frangentes circa domos panem, sumebant cibum cum exsultatione et simplicitate cordis. collaudantes Deum, et caetera hujusmodi. Ad quorum nos exemplum, vitam moresque solerter aptare necesse est, quia perfectum vitae magisterium est, Ecclesiae primitivae semper actus imitari, illamque aedificii spiritualis normam ad finem usque servare quam ab ipsis apostolis in fundamento fidei liquet esse propositam. Nec dubitandum quia quorum nunc vestigia sequimur, ad eorum in futuro sumus praemia [Al., vestigia] perventuri. Et quidem, fratres mei, pulcherrimam etiam in praesenti futurae beatitudinis figuram gerimus, de qua modo aliquanta perstrinximus: sed ita nobis vivendum est ut quae exterius in imagine colimus, ante interni arbitri oculos veraci corde servemus. Perseveremus ergo et nos in doctrina sanctorum, ut [Al., et] videlicet discendo, et operibus exercendo quae docent, orationibus incumbamus assiduis, Dominici panis communione digni satagamus existere, unanimiter in ecclesia horis persistamus canonicis, panem indigenti proximo, vel quidquid valemus piae consolationis porrigamus [Al. add. affectu], et ita cibum corpori indulgeamus, ut memoria vivi panis potius mentis intima laetificet, simplicitatem cordis in omnibus teneamus, quod est sola intentione supernae retributionis bona operari: et quod praesentia festa maxime decet, hymnum divinae laudis consona voce simul et mente personemus. Sic enim solummodo Deo nostro jucunda fit laudatio, si quod ore canimus, non impugnamus opere: si cum labiis Alleluia proferimus, a turpi et maligna cogitatione praecordia casta gestamus. Ea tamen ratione suavis erit ei laudatio nostra, si non in rebus caducis et infimis, sed delectemur in Domino. Quod ipse praestare dignetur, qui tanta nobis tamque praeclara beneficiorum pignora per paschalia sacramenta praerogavit Jesus Christus Dominus noster, qui vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
so also they had turned their mind wholly away from the appetite for feasting: rejoicing in the nourishment of the soul rather than of the body, and, for the memory of the heavenly homeland, persevering in wholesome prayers and tears. Indeed, from Luke's account we learn of those three thousand men who believed on the very day of Pentecost, when Peter preached, how content they were with sparing fare, how sober and heavenly a life they led on earth. They were, he says, persevering in the teaching of the apostles, and in the communion of the breaking of bread, and in prayers (Acts 2:42). And a little after: Daily also continuing with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they took their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God, and the rest of this kind (Acts 2:46–47). To their example we must skilfully fit our life and conduct, because it is the perfect teaching of life always to imitate the acts of the primitive Church, and to keep to the very end that pattern of the spiritual building which it is clear was laid down by the apostles themselves in the foundation of the faith. Nor is it to be doubted that we shall come in the future to the rewards [variant: footsteps] of those whose footsteps we now follow. And indeed, my brethren, even in the present we bear a most beautiful figure of future blessedness, of which we have just now touched on a few things: but we must so live that what we celebrate outwardly in image we keep with a truthful heart before the eyes of the inward Judge. Let us therefore also persevere in the teaching of the saints, so that [variant: and], namely, by learning and by carrying out in works what they teach, we may apply ourselves to assiduous prayers, strive to be worthy of the communion of the Lord's bread, persist with one accord in the church at the canonical hours, hold out to a needy neighbour bread, or whatever we can of loving comfort [variant adds: with affection], and so indulge the body with food that the memory of the living bread may rather gladden the inmost parts of the mind; let us keep simplicity of heart in all things, that is, do good with the sole intention of the heavenly reward: and, as best befits the present feasts, let us sound forth the hymn of divine praise with harmonious voice and mind together. For only so does praise become pleasing to our God, if what we sing with the mouth we do not contradict in deed: if, when we utter Alleluia with the lips, we bear a heart kept chaste from base and malicious thought. Yet our praise will be sweet to Him only on this condition, that we delight not in fleeting and lowly things, but in the Lord. May He deign to grant this, Who through the paschal sacraments has bestowed on us such great and such splendid pledges of His benefits, Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.
HOMILIA XI. IN VIGILIA PENTECOSTES.
HOMILY XI. ON THE VIGIL OF PENTECOST.
JOANN. XIV. In illo tempore dixit Jesus discipulis suis: Si diligitis me, mandata mea servate. Et ergo rogabo Patrem, et alium Paracletum dabit vobis, ut maneat vobiscum in aeternum, Spiritum veritatis, quem mundus non potest accipere: quia non videt eum, nec scit eum, etc.
JOHN 14. At that time Jesus said to His disciples: If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Paraclete, that He may abide with you for ever, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive: because it does not see Him, nor know Him, etc. (John 14:15–17).
Quia sancti Spiritus hodie, fratres charissimi,
Because today, dearest brethren, we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit,
Editors' notes and page, col. 189
Page
- running head: 189 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. (the rest of the page head lies over the facing column, not seen)
- marginal letters: A ‹celebris, sic et ab epularum›; B ‹aptare necesse est›; C ‹munione digni satagamus›; D ‹laudatio nostra, si non›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column opens on "celebris", the end of "il-|lecebris", which per the unit rule is set whole at the end of col. 188; this column's text begins with "sic". "cordis. collaudantes" is printed with a full stop and is kept as printed. "alium" in the lemma looks like "olium" at this resolution; set alium, UNSURE. "Et ergo rogabo" in the lemma is as printed (Vulgate "ego"). "maneat" read as printed. "bona operari" may print as "eperari" at this resolution (ink); set operari, UNSURE. The column ends mid-sentence.
celebramus adventum, debemus ipsi congruere solemnitati quam colimus. Hoc etenim ordine tantum [Al., tantae] festivitatis hujus digne gaudia celebramus, si nos quoque Domino opitulante aptos reddiderimus, ad quos Spiritus sanctus advenire, et in quibus habitare dignetur. Ea autem solummodo ratione adventu et illustratione sancti Spiritus apti existimus, si et corda nostra divino amore repleta, et corpora sint Dominicis mancipata praeceptis. Unde in exordio lectionis hujus Evangelicae discipulis Salvator [Al., Veritas] ait.
we ought ourselves to be in keeping with the solemnity which we observe. For in this way only [variant: so great] do we worthily celebrate the joys of this feast, if we too, with the Lord's help, render ourselves fit for the Holy Spirit to deign to come to us and dwell in us. And we are fit for the coming and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit only on this condition: if both our hearts are filled with divine love and our bodies are made subject to the Lord's precepts. Hence at the beginning of this Gospel reading the Saviour [variant: the Truth] says to the disciples:
Si diligitis me, mandata mea servate. Et ego rogabo Patrem, et alium Paracletum dabit vobis. Paracletus quippe consolator interpretatur. Et Spiritus sanctus recte Paracletus vocatur, quia corda fidelium, ne inter hujus saeculi adversa deficiant, coelestis vitae desideriis sublevat ac reficit. Unde in Actibus apostolorum, crescente sancta Ecclesia, dicitur: Et aedificabatur ambulans in timore Domini, et consolatione sancti Spiritus replebatur (Act. IX). Quod ergo ait, Si diligitis me, mandata mea servate. Et ego rogabo Patrem, et alium Paracletum dabit vobis, in ipsis quidem discipulis, quos eum vere dilexisse, vere mandatis ejus obediisse non dubitatur [Al., qui eum ... dubitantur], hodierna die completum est, quando illis in coenaculo orantibus, repente Spiritus sanctus in igneis linguis apparuit, eosque et in ore per diversitatem linguarum docuit, et in corde per amoris sui consolationem roboravit. Habebant autem et prius Paracletum, ipsum videlicet Dominum secum in carne commorantem, cujus et miraculorum dulcedine, et ope praedicationis, ne infidelium persecutione scandalizari possent, erigi et confortari solebant. Verum quia ille post resurrectionem ascendens in coelum eos corporaliter deseruit, quibus tamen divinae praesentia majestatis nunquam abfuit, recte de hoc Paracleto, id est, Spiritu sancto subjunxit:
If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Paraclete (John 14:15–16). For Paraclete is interpreted "comforter". And the Holy Spirit is rightly called the Paraclete, because He lifts up and refreshes the hearts of the faithful with longings for the heavenly life, so that they may not faint amid the adversities of this world. Hence in the Acts of the Apostles, as holy Church grew, it is said: And it was built up, walking in the fear of the Lord, and was filled with the consolation of the Holy Spirit (Acts 9:31). What He says, then, If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Paraclete, was fulfilled on this day in the disciples themselves, who, it is not doubted, truly loved Him and truly obeyed His commandments [variant: who ... are not doubted to have], when, as they prayed in the upper room, the Holy Spirit suddenly appeared in tongues of fire (cf. Acts 2:1–4), and both taught them in the mouth through the diversity of tongues and strengthened them in the heart through the consolation of His love. Yet they had a Paraclete before as well, namely the Lord Himself dwelling with them in the flesh, by the sweetness of Whose miracles and the help of Whose preaching they were wont to be lifted up and strengthened, so that they might not be made to stumble by the persecution of unbelievers. But because, ascending into heaven after the resurrection, He left them bodily, though the presence of the divine majesty was never absent from them, He rightly added concerning this Paraclete, that is, the Holy Spirit:
Ut maneat vobiscum in aeternum. In aeternum namque manet cum sanctis, quos et in hac vita semper invisibiliter intus illustrat, et in futuro ad contemplandum perpetuo speciem suae majestatis introducit. Sed et nos, fratres charissimi, si Christum perfecte diligimus, ita ut ejusdem dilectionis veritatem mandatorum ejus [Al., munda] observatione probemus, rogabit etiam pro nobis Patrem, et alium Paracletum dabit nobis Pater. Rogabit Patrem per humanitatem, qui dabit cum Patre per divinitatem. Neque enim putandum est quia ante passionem suam tantummodo pro Ecclesia rogaverit, et non etiam nunc post ascensionem roget, cum dicat de illo Apostolus: Qui est ad dexteram Dei, qui etiam interpellat pro nobis (Rom. VIII). Habemus autem et nos Paracletum, Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum, quem etsi corporaliter videre nequimus, ea tamen quae in corpore gessit et docuit, in Evangeliis scripta tenemus. Et si his audiendis, legendis, invicem conferendis, corde et opere conservandis curam impendimus, constat nimirum quod aerumnas
That He may abide with you for ever (John 14:16). For He abides for ever with the saints, whom He both always enlightens invisibly within in this life, and in the life to come brings in to contemplate perpetually the beauty of His majesty. But we too, dearest brethren, if we love Christ perfectly, so as to prove the truth of that love by the observance of His commandments [variant: by a clean observance], He will ask the Father for us also, and the Father will give us another Paraclete. He will ask the Father through His humanity, Who will give with the Father through His divinity. For it must not be thought that He prayed for the Church only before His passion, and does not pray now also after His ascension, since the Apostle says of Him: Who is at the right hand of God, Who also intercedes for us (Rom. 8:34). And we too have a Paraclete (cf. 1 John 2:1), our Lord Jesus Christ, Whom, although we cannot see Him bodily, yet we hold written in the Gospels the things He did and taught in the body. And if we take care to hear these things, to read them, to discuss them with one another, to keep them in heart and deed, it is surely certain that [we overcome] the hardships
Editors' notes and page, col. 190
Page
- running head: SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE. 190
- marginal letters: A ‹celebramus adventum›; B ‹lium, ne inter hujus›; C ‹prius Paracletum›; D ‹tatem mandatorum ejus›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column ends mid-sentence at "aerumnas".
saeculi facillime, quasi Domino nobiscum perpetuo commorante ac nos consolante, vincamus. Si ergo hunc Paracletum diligimus, ejusque mandata servamus, rogabit Patrem, et alium Paracletum dabit nobis, id est, Spiritus sui gratiam nostris cordibus clementer infundet, quae nos inter adversa praesentis exsilii, patriae coelestis exspectatione laetificet, ita ut cum Propheta possimus dicere: Secundum multitudinem dolorum meorum in corde meo paracleses (id est consolationes) tuae, Domine, laetificaverunt animam meam (Psal. XCIII). Alium ergo, inquit, Paracletum dabit vobis, ut maneat vobiscum in aeternum. Et addidit:
of the world most easily, as though the Lord were dwelling with us perpetually and consoling us. If, then, we love this Paraclete and keep His commandments, He will ask the Father, and He will give us another Paraclete; that is, He will mercifully pour into our hearts the grace of His Spirit, which may gladden us amid the adversities of our present exile with the expectation of the heavenly homeland, so that we can say with the Prophet: According to the multitude of my sorrows in my heart, Thy paracleses (that is, consolations), O Lord, have gladdened my soul (Ps. 93:19). Another Paraclete, then, He says, He will give you, that He may abide with you for ever. And He added:
Spiritum veritatis, quem mundus non potest accipere. Mundum autem appellat homines mundi hujus amori deditos, sicut e contra sancti qui coelesti desiderio flagrant coeli recte vocantur, dicente Psalmista: Et annuntiabunt coeli justitiam ejus populo qui nascetur (Psal. XXI), quod est dicere: Et annuntiabunt excelsi mente, voce, actione, doctores justitiam ejus populo, qui ad fidem veniendo nuper in illo nasci desiderat. Quisquis igitur consolationem foris in mundi rebus inquirit, hic divinae consolationis munere intus reformari non valet. Quisquis infimis delectationibus inhiat, non potest accipere Spiritum veritatis. Fugit enim Spiritus veritatis cor quod vanitati subditum cernit, solosque hos quos mandata veritatis per dilectionem operari conspicit, adventus sui luce reficit. Unde bene cum diceret, Quem mundus non potest accipere, mox addidit dicens:
The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive. By the world He means men given over to the love of this world, just as, on the contrary, the saints who burn with heavenly desire are rightly called the heavens, as the Psalmist says: And the heavens shall declare His justice to a people that shall be born (Ps. 21:32), which is to say: And the teachers, exalted in mind, voice and action, shall declare His justice to the people which, coming newly to the faith, desires to be born in Him. Whoever, then, seeks consolation outwardly in the things of the world cannot be renewed inwardly by the gift of divine consolation. Whoever gapes after the lowest delights cannot receive the Spirit of truth. For the Spirit of truth flees the heart which He sees subject to vanity, and refreshes with the light of His coming only those whom He sees working the commandments of truth through love. Hence, having well said, Whom the world cannot receive, He soon added, saying:
Quia non vidit eum, nec scit eum. Vos autem cognoscetis eum, quia apud vos manebit, et in vobis erit. Dominum namque Salvatorem, et infideles ante passionem in carne viderunt, sed quia Dei Filius esset, quia Paracletus a Deo missus in mundum, non nisi fideles scire potuerunt. Spiritum autem sanctum neque oculis videre infideles, neque animo valebant cognoscere, quia non indutus humanitate discipulis apparuit, sed ita ad eos venire, ita apud eos maluit manere, ut in ipsis eorum cordibus gratissimam sibi sedem consecraret. Hoc est enim quod ait, Vos autem cognoscetis eum, qui apud vos manebit, et in vobis erit. Qui autem invisibiliter in hac vita manet cum electis, invisibiliter utique eis gratiam suae cognitionis exhibet.
Because it has not seen Him, nor knows Him. But you shall know Him, because He shall abide with you, and shall be in you. For even unbelievers saw the Lord and Saviour in the flesh before the passion; but that He was the Son of God, that He was the Paraclete sent by God into the world, none but the faithful could know. The Holy Spirit, however, unbelievers could neither see with the eyes nor know with the mind, because He did not appear to the disciples clothed in humanity, but chose so to come to them, so to abide with them, as to consecrate for Himself a most welcome seat in their very hearts. For this is what He says, But you shall know Him, Who shall abide with you, and shall be in you. And He Who abides invisibly with the elect in this life surely shows them invisibly the grace of knowing Him.
Non relinquam vos orphanos, veniam ad vos. Videbatur in fidelibus, quia moriens cruce Dominus discipulos relinqueret orphanos: sed non reliquit orphanos, quibus et praebuit seipsum [Al. om. seipsum] vivum post passionem suam in multis argumentis, per dies quadraginta apparens eis [Al. om. apparens eis], et post dies decem assumptionis suae, hoc est hodierna die, Spiritus sancti illos de coelo charismate donavit. Ubi ipsum Christum ad eos venisse nullus ambigit, qui inseparabilem sanctae Trinitatis naturam, virtutem et operationem esse cognovit. Quod ipsum latius exsequens, quantum
I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. It seemed to the faithful [or: to unbelievers] that the Lord, dying on the cross, was leaving His disciples orphans: but He did not leave them orphans, for He both showed Himself [variant omits: Himself] alive to them after His passion by many proofs, appearing to them for forty days [variant omits: appearing to them], and ten days after His assumption, that is, on this day, He endowed them from heaven with the gift of the Holy Spirit. Here no one doubts that Christ Himself came to them who has learned that the nature, power and operation of the Holy Trinity are inseparable. Setting out this very point more broadly, He declares how far
Editors' notes and page, col. 191
Page
- running head: 191 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS I (the rest of the page head lies over the facing column, not seen)
- marginal letters: A ‹saeculi facillime›; B ‹amori deditos›; C ‹ceret, Quem mundus›; D ‹hac vita manet cum electis›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column opens mid-sentence; its first word "saeculi" continues "aerumnas" at the end of col. 190. "Videbatur in fidelibus" is printed as two words; the sense may call for "infidelibus" (one word); set as printed, UNSURE whether this is a space misprint. "quia apud vos manebit" in the lemma, "qui apud vos manebit" in the repetition: both as printed. The column ends mid-sentence.
causa illorum de gente non sancta sit discreta denuntiat.
their cause has been set apart from an unholy nation.
Adhuc modicum, et mundus me jam non videt. Vos autem videtis me, quia ego vivo, et vos vivetis. Nam quia haec ad passionem iturus loquebatur, modicum erat usque ad tempus expletae passionis, ex quo illum reprobi nunquam videre valebant. Soli etenim justi qui morte illius erant contristati, gaudium resurrectionis videre meruerunt. At qui visa morte ejus exsultabant, nequaquam ipsi visa ejus resurrectione laetari, sed audita conturbari ac dolere prout decebat, habebant.
Yet a little while, and the world no longer sees Me. But you see Me, because I live, and you shall live. For since He spoke these things as He was about to go to His passion, it was a little while until the time of the completed passion, from which the reprobate were never able to see Him. For only the just, who had been saddened by His death, were found worthy to see the joy of the resurrection. But those who exulted at the sight of His death had by no means to rejoice at the sight of His resurrection, but, as was fitting, to be troubled and to grieve on hearing of it.
Vos autem videtis me, inquit, quia ego vivo, et vos vivetis. Ego vivo praesentis temporis verbo posuit, et vos vivetis futuri, quia nimirum in proximo esse cernebat: ideoque quasi praesentem nominabat horam, in qua ipse, morte destructa, in aeternam resurgeret vitam: illorum vero vitam in futurum noverat esse differendam, quos et usque ad praefinitum mortis suae tempus singulos pro ingressu vitae perennis agonizari, et usque ad finem saeculi resurrectionem sui corporis exspectare oportebat. Ait ergo: Adhuc modicum, et mundus me jam non videt: vos autem videtis me, quia ego vivo, et vos vivetis. Ac si aperte dicat: Adhuc modicum, et mundi amatores me mortalem ultra videre desistunt, resurgentem vero a mortuis cernere nequeunt: quia illam nesciunt vitam, cujus soli amatores gloriam meae resurrectionis merentur intueri. Vos autem ideo me post haec videre valetis, quia et ego vivo resuscitatus a mortuis, et vos digni estis meae resurrectionis exemplo confortari, qui et ipsi [Al., quia ips⟨i⟩] ad perpetuam vitam, et beatae resurrectionis estis gaudia venturi.
But you see Me, He says, because I live, and you shall live. I live He put in the present tense, and you shall live in the future, because He saw that it was surely close at hand: and so He named as though present the hour in which He Himself, death destroyed, would rise again to eternal life; but their life, He knew, was to be deferred to the future, for each of them had to struggle for entrance into everlasting life up to the appointed time of his own death, and to await the resurrection of his body until the end of the world. He says, then: Yet a little while, and the world no longer sees Me: but you see Me, because I live, and you shall live. As if He said openly: Yet a little while, and the lovers of the world cease to see Me any longer as a mortal, and cannot behold Me rising from the dead: because they do not know that life whose lovers alone are found worthy to gaze on the glory of My resurrection. But you are able to see Me after these things, because I too live, raised from the dead, and you are worthy to be strengthened by the example of My resurrection, you who yourselves also [variant: because ... yourselves] are to come to everlasting life and to the joys of a blessed resurrection.
In illo die vos cognoscetis quia ego in Patre meo, et vos in me, et ego in vobis. Noverant etiam tunc apostoli Christum esse in Patre per unitatem individuae divinitatis, noverant se esse in Christo per susceptionem fidei et sacramentorum ejus, noverant in se esse Christum per dilectionem et observantiam mandatorum ejus. Dixit enim eis ipse: Si quis diligit me, sermonem meum servabit, et Pater meus diliget eum, et ad eum veniemus, et mansionem apud eum faciemus. Haec utique et tunc imbuti a Christo noverant apostoli, et nunc apostolicis imbuta litteris, novit omnis Ecclesia Christi. Sed in illo nimirum die quo veraciter vivere incipiunt, longe melius ea justi cognoscunt, hoc est, in die resurrectionis, quando eo perfectius cuncta quae scienda sunt sciunt, quo ipsum scientiae fontem vicinius sine fine conspiciunt. Quod etiam de quibusdam perfectioribus sanctis, et ante tempus resurrectionis fieri dubium non est, illis videlicet, qui fiducia bonorum operum dicere cum Apostolo [Al., Paulo] valent: Cupio dissolvi, et esse cum Christo: mihi enim vivere Christus est, et mori lucrum (Philipp. I). Haec quidem omnia Dominus quasi apostolis specialiter dicere videtur, sed ne putaremus eum illis solummodo, et non etiam nobis, si illorum exempla sequeremur, beatitudinem divinae cognitionis polliceri, generalem post haec sententiam
On that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. Even then the apostles knew that Christ is in the Father through the unity of the undivided Godhead; they knew that they were in Christ through the reception of faith and of His sacraments; they knew that Christ was in them through love and the observance of His commandments. For He Himself had said to them: If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word, and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and will make Our abode with him (John 14:23). These things, indeed, the apostles knew even then, taught by Christ, and now the whole Church of Christ knows them, taught by the apostolic writings. But on that day, surely, on which they begin truly to live, that is, on the day of resurrection, the just know these things far better, when they know all that is to be known the more perfectly, the more closely they behold without end the very fount of knowledge. That this happens also in the case of certain more perfect saints even before the time of the resurrection is not in doubt: those, namely, who in the confidence of good works can say with the Apostle [variant: Paul]: I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ: for to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Phil. 1:23, 21). All these things the Lord seems to say as though specially to the apostles; but lest we should think that He promised the blessedness of divine knowledge to them only, and not to us also if we followed their examples, He added after this a general sentence,
Editors' notes and page, col. 192
Page
- running head: BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 192
- marginal letters: A ‹causa illorum de gente›; B ‹nebat: ideoque quasi›; C ‹valetis, quia et ego›; D ‹Ecclesia Christi. Sed in illo›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column opens and ends mid-sentence. In the variant "[Al., quia ips⟨i⟩]" the last letter is lost to damaged type. The page head here reads PARS III. — PARAENETICA, while col. 189-190's page reads SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE; both as printed.
subintulit, et omnibus se diligentibus eadem suae visionis et cognitionis praemia promittit, dicens:
and promises to all who love Him the same rewards of seeing and knowing Him, saying:
Qui habet mandata mea, et servat ea, ille est qui diligit me. Qui autem diligit me, diligetur a Patre meo: et ego diligam eum, et manifestabo ei meipsum. Ubi omni intentione considerandum quia Christum vere diligere est non ipsam dilectionem labiis profiteri, sed mandata Christi, quae discendo habemus, operando servare. Unde et Joannes admonens, ait: Filioli mei, non diligamus verbo neque lingua, sed opere et veritate (II Joan. III). Omni gaudio amplectendum est nobis [Al. om. nobis], quia merces verae nostrae dilectionis illa erit qua esse major nulla poterit, nos scilicet a Patre et Filio diligi, nobis contemplandam perpetuo Filii Dei gloriam revelari. Non autem dubitandum quia quibus gloria Filii revelabitur, eisdem quoque Patris et Spiritus sancti liceat adesse conspectui, quia quorum una est divinitas, una utique et inseparabilis visio est. Hinc etenim dicit: Qui me videt, videt et Patrem (Joan. XIV). Et notandum quia cum praesentis temporis verbo diceret: Qui autem diligit me: adjecit de futuro, diligetur a Patre meo; et ego diligam eum, et manifestabo ei meipsum. Diligit namque etiam nunc dilectores suos cum Patre Filius, sed nunc diligit ad hoc ut recte vivant per fidem [Al., ex fide] quae per dilectionem operatur; tunc ad hoc diligit ut perveniant ad visionem veritatis, quam per fidem gustaverant, et pro qua ad mortem usque certaverant. Non autem frustra cum additamento ait: Et manifestabo ei meipsum. Se enim cunctis hominibus, seipsum vero solis manifestabit electis. Nam et reprobi in judicio Christum videbunt, sed, sicut scriptum est, videbunt in quem transfixerunt (Joan. XIX), soli autem regem in decore suo videbunt oculi justorum. Beati enim mundo corde, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt. Haec de lectione evangelica, fraternitati vestrae, charissimi, prout Dominus dedit, exponendo diximus. Videtur autem opportunum de solemnitate adhuc hodierna [Al., ordine] breviter aliqua disserere. Imprimis autem sciendum est quod haec solemnitas non evangelicis tantum consecrata charismatibus, verum etiam jam olim legalibus praesignata est mysteriis, ac Domino jubente, per omnes annos sacris observata caeremoniis. Hodierna etenim die, ut novimus, positis in coenaculo discipulis, factus est repente de coelo sonus, et Spiritus sanctus in visione ignis apparens, scientiam illis omnium linguarum tradidit. Facta autem hac voce, convenere viri religiosi, qui de diversis nationibus Hierosolymam paschalis festivitatis gratia confluxerant, stupebantque mirantes, quoniam audiebat unusquisque lingua sua illos loquentes magnalia Dei. Exponentibus autem discipulis quia Spiritus sancti esset gratia, quam cernebant, olim quidem voce prophetarum promissa, tunc autem Christi munere missa, crediderunt ex eis tria millia virorum, et baptizati acceperunt etiam ipsi donum Spiritus sancti. Haec est diei hujus annua celebritas, haec gratiae coelestis semper grata festivitas. Ob hujus memoriam fidelium cordibus arctius
He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father: and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him (John 14:21). Here we must consider with all attention that truly to love Christ is not to profess that love with the lips, but to keep in deed the commandments of Christ which we have by learning. Hence John too admonishes, saying: My little children, let us not love in word nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth (1 John 3:18). We [variant omits: we] must embrace with all joy the fact that the reward of our true love will be that than which none can be greater: namely, that we are loved by the Father and the Son, and that the glory of the Son of God is revealed to us to contemplate for ever. Nor is it to be doubted that those to whom the glory of the Son will be revealed will also be allowed to stand in the sight of the Father and the Holy Spirit, because those whose Godhead is one have surely one and inseparable vision. For hence He says: He who sees Me sees the Father also (John 14:9). And it should be noted that, while He said in the present tense: And he who loves Me, He added in the future: shall be loved by My Father; and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him. For even now the Son with the Father loves those who love Him; but now He loves them to this end, that they may live rightly by the faith [variant: from the faith] which works through love; then He loves them to this end, that they may come to the vision of the truth which they had tasted by faith, and for which they had striven even unto death. And not without purpose does He say with an addition: And I will manifest Myself to him. For He will manifest Himself to all men [as Judge?], but His very Self to the elect alone. For the reprobate too will see Christ in the judgement, but, as it is written, they will look on Him whom they pierced (John 19:37); yet only the eyes of the just will see the King in His beauty. For blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God (Matt. 5:8). These things on the Gospel reading, dearest ones, we have spoken to your fraternity by way of exposition, as the Lord has granted. But it seems timely to discourse briefly on some points of today's solemnity [variant: order] as well. First of all it should be known that this solemnity was not only consecrated by the gifts of the Gospel, but was long ago foreshadowed by the mysteries of the Law, and, at the Lord's command, observed every year with sacred ceremonies. For on this day, as we know, when the disciples were gathered in the upper room, there came suddenly a sound from heaven, and the Holy Spirit, appearing in the likeness of fire, gave them knowledge of all tongues. And when this sound was heard, devout men came together, who had flocked to Jerusalem from diverse nations for the paschal feast, and they were amazed and wondered, because each one heard them speaking in his own tongue the wonderful works of God. And when the disciples explained that it was the grace of the Holy Spirit which they saw, promised of old by the voice of the prophets, but now sent by the gift of Christ, three thousand men of them believed, and being baptized they too received the gift of the Holy Spirit. This is the yearly celebration of this day, this the ever welcome feast of heavenly grace. To impress the memory of it more closely on the hearts of the faithful,
Editors' notes and page, col. 193
Page
- running head: 193 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. (the rest of the page head lies over the facing column, not seen)
- marginal letters: A ‹subintulit, et omnibus›; B ‹bitandum quia quibus gloria›; C ‹minibus, seipsum vero›; D ‹die, ut novimus, positis›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column opens and ends mid-sentence. "Se enim cunctis hominibus, seipsum vero solis manifestabit electis" is set as printed; the sense contrasts "se" (as Judge, in some form) with "seipsum"; the English supplies "[as Judge?]" as an UNSURE gloss only. "Beati enim mundo corde ... videbunt" is printed in roman without a reference; the English gives (Matt. 5:8).
imprimendam pulcherrimus sanctae Ecclesiae mos inolevit, ut annis singulis in ea baptismatis mysteria celebrentur, ablutisque fonte salutari credentibus, supervenienti Spiritu sancto templum venerabile paretur. Ac per hoc non solum veteris facti recordatio, verum etiam in novos adoptionis filios novus in ea Spiritus sancti celebretur adventus. Attendat ergo charitas vestra, fratres mei, qualiter huic nostrae festivitati legalis festi typus et figura concinat. Liberati de Aegyptiaca servitute filii Israel, per immolationem agni paschalis exierunt in desertum, ut venirent ad terram repromissionis, perveneruntque ad montem Sinai; et descendens Dominus in igne super montem, comitante sonitu buccinae, tonitruis ac fulgoribus, quinquagesimo die peracti Paschae, legis decalogum eis aperta voce disposuit, atque in memoriam datae legis statuit, eodem die per annos singulos sacrificium sibi novum de frugibus ejusdem anni, panes videlicet primitiarum duos ad altare deferri. Quae autem sit agni paschalis immolatio, quae Aegyptiacae servitutis absolutio, cunctis legentibus liquet, quia videlicet Pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus, et ipse verus est agnus, qui abstulit peccata mundi, qui sui sanguinis pretio nos a peccatorum servitute redemit, suae resurrectionis exemplo nobis spem vitae et perpetuae libertatis ostendit. Quinquagesimo vero die post occisionem agni data est lex, descendente Domino super montem in igne, et quinquagesima aeque die post resurrectionem nostri Redemptoris, quae est hodie, data est gratia Spiritus sancti discipulis in coenaculo constitutis, quae, apparente foris igne visibili, invisibiliter eorum pectora luce scientiae irradiavit, ac inexstinguibili charitatis ardore succendit. Et hic autem altitudo coenaculi, et ibi cacumen montis, sublimitatem praeceptorum et donorum indicat coelestium; et quia nemo infimis adhuc desideriis inhaerens, vel divinis obtemperare mandatis, vel supernis possit dignus existere donis, sed hic in majoris signum perfectionis omnes qui accipiebant Spiritum, in coenaculo erant positi; illic ad designanda infirmorum corda auditorum, populus quidem omnis infra montem stabat, at pauci seniorum montis partem conscenderant. Solus autem Moyses in ipsum ejus verticem, ubi in igne et caligine divina majestas praefulgebat, ascendit; quia, nimirum, altiora et intima legis arcana perfectiores solum capere et servare noverunt: populus vero carnalis litterae superficie contentus, quasi exterius et infra positus verbi coelestis astabant auditui; at nunc data latius gratia sancti Spiritus, ad intelligenda sublimius simul et implenda perfectius sancti Evangelii dicta fidelium corda sublevantur. Ibi inter flammas ignium et micantia fulgura, fragor quoque tonitruorum, et clangor sonabat buccinae, hic cum ignearum visione linguarum sonitus pariter de coelo tanquam spiritus vehementis advenit. Sed cum in utraque datione, et legis videlicet et gratiae, foris audiretur sonitus, hic tamen ampliori miraculo cum auditu sonitus adfuit virtus doni coelestis, quae intus sine sono
a most beautiful custom of holy Church has grown up, that every year the mysteries of baptism are celebrated in it, and, when believers have been washed in the saving font, a venerable temple is made ready for the Holy Spirit coming upon them. And by this not only is the memory of the old event celebrated in it, but also a new coming of the Holy Spirit upon new sons of adoption. Let your charity therefore attend, my brethren, to how the type and figure of the feast of the Law harmonizes with this our festival. The children of Israel, freed from slavery in Egypt through the sacrifice of the paschal lamb, went out into the desert to come to the land of promise, and arrived at Mount Sinai; and the Lord, descending upon the mountain in fire, with the sound of the trumpet, thunders and lightnings accompanying, on the fiftieth day after the Pasch was completed, set out the decalogue of the Law to them with open voice, and in memory of the giving of the Law He ordained that on the same day every year a new sacrifice should be brought to the altar for Him from the fruits of that same year, namely two loaves of first-fruits. What the sacrifice of the paschal lamb is, and what the release from Egyptian slavery, is plain to all who read: namely, that Christ our Pasch has been sacrificed (1 Cor. 5:7), and He is the true lamb, Who took away the sins of the world, Who redeemed us from the slavery of sins at the price of His blood, and by the example of His resurrection showed us the hope of life and of everlasting liberty. Now on the fiftieth day after the slaying of the lamb the Law was given, when the Lord descended upon the mountain in fire; and likewise on the fiftieth day after the resurrection of our Redeemer, which is today, the grace of the Holy Spirit was given to the disciples assembled in the upper room; and this grace, while a visible fire appeared outwardly, invisibly irradiated their breasts with the light of knowledge and kindled them with the unquenchable ardour of charity. Here the height of the upper room, and there the summit of the mountain, signifies the sublimity of the heavenly precepts and gifts; and because no one still clinging to the lowest desires can either obey the divine commandments or be worthy of the gifts from above, here, as a sign of greater perfection, all who were receiving the Spirit were placed in the upper room; there, to signify the weak hearts of the hearers, the whole people stood below the mountain, while a few of the elders had climbed part of the mountain. But Moses alone went up to its very summit, where the divine majesty shone forth in fire and darkness; because, surely, only the more perfect have known how to grasp and keep the higher and inmost secrets of the Law, while the carnal people, content with the surface of the letter, stood as though outside and below to hear the heavenly word; but now, the grace of the Holy Spirit being given more widely, the hearts of the faithful are lifted up to understand more sublimely and at the same time to fulfil more perfectly the sayings of the holy Gospel. There, amid flames of fire and flashing lightnings, the crash of thunders also and the blast of the trumpet sounded; here, together with the sight of fiery tongues, a sound likewise came from heaven as of a mighty wind. But though in both givings, namely of the Law and of grace, a sound was heard outwardly, here nevertheless, by a greater miracle, together with the hearing of the sound there was present the power of the heavenly gift, which inwardly, without sound,
Editors' notes and page, col. 194
Page
- running head: SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE. 194
- marginal letters: A ‹imprimendam pulcherrimus›; B ‹calogum eis aperta voce›; C ‹in coenaculo constitutis›; D ‹gine divina majestas›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column opens mid-sentence and ends on the hyphenated "so-"; per the unit rule the word is set whole as "sono" at the end of this column (col. 195's file begins after it, with "discipulorum"). The completion "no" was inferred from the sense and col. 195's file, not read from the col. 195 image (Q2). "Pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus" is italic without a reference in the print.
discipulorum corda doceret. Ibi, auditis legalibus edictis, respondet omnis populus una voce, dicentes: Omnia verba quae locutus est Dominus, et audiemus et faciemus (Exod. XIX). Hic accepta illustratione spiritus nascentis Ecclesiae, coetus omnium nationum linguis Dei magnalia loquebatur, certe utique discretionis gratia: quia legis observatio uni tantum genti Judaeae data sit, verbum vero Evangelii cunctis per orbem gentibus praedicandum, cunctorum linguis populorum Christianae fidei essent praeconia dicenda, impleta prophetia quae dicit: A solis ortu usque ad occasum laudabile nomen Domini, excelsus super omnes gentes Dominus (Psal. CXII). Sed et hoc quod in venerationem acceptae legis omnibus annis sacrificium novum Domino Dei Pentecostes offerri jussum est, in nostra quoque festivitate spiritualiter agi ex acceptae gratiae tempore nunquam desiit. Novum quippe in ea sacrificium offert Ecclesia, cum sabbato incipientis sanctae Pentecostes, novum adoptionis populum per baptisma Domino consecrat ritu vere decentissimo, sicut et supra monuimus, ut non solum populis Christianis veteris facti memoria innovetur, sed et in novam renatorum sobolem, nova Paracleti a Patre missio celebretur. Novum in ea sacrificium Domino ipsi quoque apostoli, mox accepto dono Spiritus obtulerunt, cum evangelizantes his qui convenerant, plurimos converterunt ad fidem, et hos fonte baptismatis renatos, ac Spiritus gratia sanctificatos vivas utique Novi Testamenti primitias ad communionem Dominici altaris obtulerunt. Bene autem duo panes primitiarum de novis frugibus jubebantur offerri, quia nimirum Ecclesia de utroque populo, Judaeorum scilicet et gentium colligit, quos in novam sui Redemptoris familiam consecret. Inter haec vero solerter intuendum est quod non sine magno mysterio quinquagenarius numerus in datione vel legis vel gratiae observatus est. Nam quinquagesima die Paschae, et illa in monte populo data, et haec discipulis in coenaculo missa est. Sed hoc nimirum numero perpetuitas futurae quietis ostenditur, in quo recte vel legis decalogus mandatur, vel Spiritus sancti gratia datur hominibus, ut aperte monstraretur quia quicunque divinae legis jussa, juvante Spiritus gratia, perficiunt, ad veram profecto requiem tendunt. Quia enim quinquagesimus annus in lege Jubilaeus, id est, dimittens sive mutatus appellari jussus est, in quo populus ab omni operatione quiesceret, omnium debita laxarentur, servi liberi redirent, annus ipse majoribus solemniis ac laudibus divinis eminentior caeteris existeret, merito per hunc numerum illa summae pacis tranquillitas indicatur, quando, sicut Apostolus ait: Canente novissima tuba mortui resurgent, et nos immutabimur in gloriam (I Cor. XV); ubi cessantibus hujus saeculi laboribus et aerumnis, dimissis omnium culparum debitis, in sola divinae visionis contemplatione cunctus electorum populus in aeternum gaudebit, impleto illo desiderabili Domini ac Salvatoris nostri mandato, Vacate
taught the hearts of the disciples. There, when the edicts of the Law had been heard, all the people answered with one voice, saying: All the words which the Lord has spoken, we will both hear and do (Exod. 24:3, 7). Here, having received the enlightenment of the Spirit, the assembly of the newborn Church spoke the wonderful works of God in the tongues of all nations, assuredly for the sake of a distinction: because the observance of the Law was given to the one Jewish nation only, but the word of the Gospel was to be preached to all nations throughout the world, the proclamations of the Christian faith were to be spoken in the tongues of all peoples, fulfilling the prophecy which says: From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised; the Lord is high above all nations (Ps. 112:3–4). And this too, that in honour of the Law received a new sacrifice was commanded to be offered every year to the Lord on the day of Pentecost, has never ceased to be done spiritually in our festival also, from the time when grace was received. For on it the Church offers a new sacrifice, when on the Saturday at the beginning of holy Pentecost she consecrates to the Lord through baptism a new people of adoption, by a truly most fitting rite, as we noted above, so that not only is the memory of the old event renewed for Christian peoples, but a new sending of the Paraclete from the Father is also celebrated upon the new offspring of the reborn. On it the apostles too offered a new sacrifice to the Lord, as soon as they had received the gift of the Spirit, when, preaching the Gospel to those who had gathered, they converted very many to the faith, and brought these, reborn in the font of baptism and sanctified by the grace of the Spirit, as truly living first-fruits of the New Testament to the communion of the Lord's altar. And well were two loaves of first-fruits from the new crops commanded to be offered, because the Church gathers from both peoples, namely of the Jews and of the Gentiles, those whom she is to consecrate into the new household of her Redeemer. Among these things it should be carefully observed that not without a great mystery was the number fifty kept in the giving both of the Law and of grace. For on the fiftieth day of the Pasch the one was given to the people on the mountain, and the other was sent to the disciples in the upper room. Surely by this number the perpetuity of the future rest is shown, and rightly in it either the decalogue of the Law is commanded or the grace of the Holy Spirit is given to men, so that it might be openly shown that whoever fulfil the commands of the divine Law, with the help of the Spirit's grace, are indeed tending to true rest. For since the fiftieth year in the Law was ordered to be called the Jubilee, that is, remitting or changed, in which the people was to rest from all work, the debts of all were to be released, slaves were to return free, and the year itself was to stand out above the rest with greater solemnities and divine praises, rightly by this number is signified that tranquillity of supreme peace when, as the Apostle says: At the sound of the last trumpet the dead shall rise, and we shall be changed into glory (1 Cor. 15:52); when, the labours and hardships of this world ceasing and the debts of all faults forgiven, the whole people of the elect will rejoice for ever in the sole contemplation of the divine vision, that longed-for command of our Lord and Saviour being fulfilled: Be still
Editors' notes and page, col. 195
Page
- running head: 195 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III (the rest of the page head lies over the facing column, not seen)
- marginal letters: A ‹nitu discipulorum corda›; B ‹costes offerri jussum est›; C ‹nici altaris obtulerunt›; D ‹tendunt. Quia enim›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column opens with "nitu", the end of "so-nitu" split from col. 194; per the rule the whole word "sonitu" belongs to col. 194, whose file sets only "so-" (the completion was not seen when it was written): col. 194's last word should read "sonitu" ("without sound"). The column ends on "Va-", completed as "Vacate" from the first line of col. 196 seen at the right edge of this page. "Exod. XIX" as printed; the words answered stand in Exod. 24:3, 7.
et videte quoniam ego sum Deus. Ad quam profecto vacationem et visionem incommutabilis Veritatis, quia non nisi per observantiam praeceptorum coelestium ac Spiritus sancti donum pertingitur, recte et legem decalogi, et ejusdem Spiritus gratiam in eo dierum numero qui requiem designaret, dari decebat. Neque hoc praetereundum quod ideo numerus quinquagenarius significationi internae quietis aptatur, quia ex septem septimanis et monade perficitur. Sex quippe diebus in lege populus operari, septima quiescere; sex annis arare et metere, septimo jussus est cessare, quia et Dominus sex diebus mundi ornatum perfecerit, septimo ab opere suo cessaverit. Quibus omnibus mystice admonemur quod hi qui in hoc saeculo, quod sex aetatibus constat, bonis operibus pro Domino instant, in Sabbatum in futuro, id est, in requiem a Domino inducuntur aeternam. Quod autem septem dies vel anni septies ducuntur, multiplicem ejusdem requiei abundantiam designant, in qua praemium illud sublime datur electis, de quo Apostolus ait: Quod oculus non vidit, nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit, quae praeparavit Deus diligentibus se (I Cor. II). Cujus praemii cognitionem quia in cor hominis, id est, humana adhuc sapientis, ascendere non posse testatur, aperit subsequenter unde hoc diligentibus Deum possit ostendi: Nobis autem, inquit, revelavit Deus per Spiritum suum. Per Spiritum ergo revelatur praemii magnitudo perennis, quia dum ipse corda quae implet appetitu invisibilium inflammat, eadem bona invisibilia quam sint praeclara, quam terrenis omnibus praeferenda, manifestat. Unde bene ejusdem Spiritus gratia septiformis a propheta describitur, quia nimirum et per ejus inspirationem ad requiem pervenitur, et in ejus plena perceptione ac visione requies vera possidetur. Porro ipse dies vel annus quinquagesimus, qui septem septimanis superest, et majore prae caeteris erat solemnitate venerabilis, tempus futurae resurrectionis indicat, in quo illa requies qua nunc animae fruuntur electorum, corporum quoque receptorum gloria cumulabitur. Ubi sollicitius induendum est, fratres mei, quia Spiritus sanctus non solum in futuro perfectam, sed et in praesenti maximam justis quietem tribuit, cum eorum mentes coelesti igne charitas accendit. Dicit namque Apostolus: Spes autem non confundit, quia charitas Dei diffusa est in cordibus nostris per Spiritum sanctum, qui datus est nobis (Rom. V). Et haec est vera, imo haec est sola in hac vita requies animarum, divina dilectione repleri, spe supernae retributionis prospera mundi simul et adversa contemnere, terrena a se desideria funditus exstirpare, concupiscentiis renuntiare saecularibus, illatis pro Christo contumeliis et persecutionibus gaudere, et cum Apostolo dicere posse: Et gloriamur in spe gloriae filiorum Dei; non solum autem, sed et gloriamur in tribulationibus. Nam qui in rerum mundanarum delectationibus et opulentia se requiescere posse confidit, fallitur, etenim et creberrimis ejusdem mundi per-
and see that I am God (Ps. 45:11). Since indeed this leisure and vision of the unchangeable Truth is reached only through the observance of the heavenly precepts and the gift of the Holy Spirit, it was fitting that both the Law of the decalogue and the grace of that same Spirit should be given on that number of days which signified rest. Nor should it be passed over that the number fifty is fitted to signify inward rest for this reason, that it is made up of seven weeks and one. For in the Law the people was commanded to work six days and rest on the seventh; to plough and reap six years, and to cease in the seventh; because the Lord too completed the adornment of the world in six days, and on the seventh ceased from His work. By all these things we are mystically admonished that those who in this world, which consists of six ages, press on in good works for the Lord, are brought by the Lord in the future into the Sabbath, that is, into eternal rest. And that seven days or years are multiplied seven times signifies the manifold abundance of that same rest, in which that sublime reward is given to the elect of which the Apostle 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). And since he testifies that knowledge of this reward cannot enter into the heart of man, that is, of one still wise with human wisdom, he subsequently discloses whence it can be shown to those who love God: But to us, he says, God has revealed it through His Spirit (1 Cor. 2:10). Through the Spirit, then, the greatness of the everlasting reward is revealed, because, while He inflames the hearts He fills with the desire of things invisible, He makes plain how splendid those same invisible goods are, how much to be preferred to all earthly things. Hence the grace of that same Spirit is well described by the prophet as sevenfold, because surely it is both through His inspiration that rest is reached, and in the full reception and vision of Him that true rest is possessed. Further, the fiftieth day or year itself, which is left over after the seven weeks, and was venerable above the rest for its greater solemnity, signifies the time of the future resurrection, in which that rest which the souls of the elect now enjoy will be crowned also with the glory of the bodies they receive again. Here, my brethren, we must consider [printed: put on] more carefully that the Holy Spirit grants the just not only perfect rest in the future, but very great rest even in the present, when charity kindles their minds with heavenly fire. For the Apostle says: And hope does not confound, because the charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, Who has been given to us (Rom. 5:5). And this is the true, nay this is the only rest of souls in this life: to be filled with divine love, in the hope of the heavenly reward to despise alike the prosperity and the adversity of the world, to root out earthly desires utterly from oneself, to renounce worldly lusts, to rejoice in the insults and persecutions inflicted for Christ, and to be able to say with the Apostle: And we glory in the hope of the glory of the sons of God; and not only so, but we glory also in tribulations (Rom. 5:2–3). For he who trusts that he can rest in the delights and wealth of worldly things is deceived, for both by the most frequent [disturbances] of that same world
Editors' notes and page, col. 196
Page
- running head: BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 196
- marginal letters: A ‹cate et videte quoniam›; B ‹stat, bonis operibus›; C ‹quae implet appetitu›; D ‹mentes coelesti igne›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column opens with "cate", the end of "Va-cate" split from col. 195, which sets the whole word; this file therefore starts at "et videte". It ends on the hyphenated "per-", whose completion is at the head of col. 197 and was not seen when this file was written; set as the visible part. "Vacate et videte" (Ps. 45:11) and Rom. 5:2-3 carry no reference in the print.
et ipso fine convincitur quia super arenam fundamentum suae quietis posuerit. At quicunque sancto afflati Spiritu, suavissimum illud Dominicae dilectionis jugum super se levaverint, atque exemplo illius mites esse et humiles corde didicerint, nonnulla etiam in praesenti futurae quietis imagine fruuntur, dum a conturbatione hominum saecularium tota mente secreti, vultum sui conditoris semper reminisci gaudent, atque ad perfectam ejus contemplationem pertingere sitiunt, dicentes sibi cum apostolo Joanne: Scimus quia cum apparuerit, similes ei erimus, videbimus enim eum sicuti est (I Joan. III). Ad cujus praemium visionis si pervenire desideramus, oportet, fratres charissimi, ut hujus evangelicae lectionis perpetuo memores, a mundi nos illecebris immunes exhibeamus, quatenus ad percipiendam Spiritus sancti gratiam, quam mundus non potest accipere, digni existere valeamus. Diligamus Christum, ejusque mandata quae habemus incipiendo, servemus perseverando. Fit enim justa mercede, ut illum diligendo diligi amplius mereamur a Patre, sed et ipse majorem dilectionis suae gratiam praestare dignabitur in futurum. Dat enim nunc diligendo nos, ut credentes speremus in eum: tunc autem ut videamus eum facie ad faciem; manifestabitque seipsum nobis, hoc est in claritate quam habuit priusquam mundus esset apud Patrem, cum quo vivit et regnat Deus in unitate Spiritus sancti, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
and by the very end it is proved that he laid the foundation of his rest upon sand. But whoever, breathed upon by the Holy Spirit, have taken up upon themselves that most sweet yoke of the Lord's love, and have learned by His example to be meek and humble of heart, enjoy even in the present some image of the future rest, while, withdrawn with their whole mind from the turmoil of worldly men, they rejoice always to remember the face of their Maker, and thirst to attain to the perfect contemplation of Him, saying to themselves with the apostle John: We know that when He appears we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:2). If we desire to come to the reward of this vision, it behoves us, dearest brethren, ever mindful of this Gospel reading, to show ourselves free from the allurements of the world, so that we may be worthy to receive the grace of the Holy Spirit, which the world cannot receive. Let us love Christ, and keep by persevering the commandments which we have by beginning. For it comes about by a just reward that by loving Him we merit to be loved the more by the Father, and He Himself too will deign to grant in the future a greater grace of His love. For now, by loving us, He grants that believing we may hope in Him; but then, that we may see Him face to face; and He will manifest Himself to us, that is, in the glory which He had with the Father before the world was, with Whom He lives and reigns, God, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.
HOMILIA XII. IN OCTAVA PENTECOSTES.
HOMILY XII. ON THE OCTAVE OF PENTECOST.
JOAN. III. In illo tempore erat homo ex Pharisaeis, Nicodemus nomine, princeps Judaeorum, etc.
JOHN 3. At that time there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, etc. (John 3:1).
Sicut ex lectione sancti Evangelii, fratres charissimi, audistis, princeps Judaeorum venit ad Dominum nocte, cupiens secreta ejus allocutione plenius discere mysteria fidei, cujus aperta ostensione signorum aliquatenus jam rudimenta perceperat. Qui quoniam prudenter ea quae ab illo fieri videbat, intelligere curavit, subtiliter [Al., sublimiter] ea quae ab illo quaerebat investigare promeruit.
As you have heard from the reading of the holy Gospel, dearest brethren, a ruler of the Jews came to the Lord by night, wishing to learn more fully, through private converse with Him, the mysteries of the faith, whose first rudiments he had already in some measure received through the open display of signs. And because he took care to understand wisely the things he saw done by Him, he merited to search out subtly [variant: sublimely] the things he was asking of Him.
Rabbi, inquit, scimus quia a Deo venisti magister. Nemo enim potest haec signa facere quae tu facis, nisi fuerit Deus cum eo. A Deo igitur Jesum venisse ad magisterium coeleste mundo adhibendum confessus est, Deum cum illo fuisse [Al., dum cum illo e⟨u⟩m fuisse] miraculis prodentibus intellexit, necdum tamen ipsum Deum esse cognovit. Sed quia quem magistrum noverat veritatis, studiose docendus adiit, merito ad agnitionem divinitatis ejus perfecte doctus subiit, merito utriusque nativitatis ejus, divinae scilicet et humanae, sed et passionis atque ascensionis ipsius arcana percepit: necnon etiam modum [Al. om. modum] secundae generationis, et ingressum regni coelestis, aliaque perplura doctrinae evangelicae sacramenta, Domino revelante, didicit.
Rabbi, he says, we know that You have come from God as a teacher. For no one can do these signs which You do, unless God be with him (John 3:2). He confessed, then, that Jesus had come from God to bring a heavenly teaching to the world; he understood, as the miracles disclosed it, that God was with Him [variant: while [he understood] that He was with Him], and yet he did not yet know that He was Himself God. But because he approached, eager to be taught, Him Whom he knew to be the teacher of truth, he rightly came, perfectly taught, to the knowledge of His divinity; rightly he received the secrets of both His births, namely the divine and the human, and also of His passion and ascension: and he learned, too, the manner [variant omits: the manner] of the second birth, and the entrance into the heavenly kingdom, and very many other sacraments of the Gospel teaching, by the Lord's revelation.
Respondit Jesus, et dixit ei: Amen amen dico tibi, nisi quis natus fuerit denuo, non potest videre regnum Dei. Quae sententia tanto apertius cunctis fidelibus
Jesus answered and said to him: Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3). This sentence shines the more openly to all the faithful,
Editors' notes and page, col. 197
Page
- running head: 197 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. (the rest of the page head lies over the facing column, not seen)
- marginal letters: A ‹turbationibus, et ipso fine›; B ‹nos illecebris immunes›; C ‹IN OCTAVA PENTECOSTES›; D ‹est, Deum cum illo fuisse›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column opens with "turbationibus", the end of "per-turbationibus" split from col. 196, whose file sets only "per-" (the completion was not seen when it was written): col. 196's last word should read "perturbationibus" ("by the most frequent disturbances of that same world"). This file therefore starts at "et ipso fine". In the variant "[Al., dum cum illo e⟨u⟩m fuisse]" one letter is lost to damaged type. The column ends mid-sentence.
lucet, quanto constat quia sine hujus luce fideles esse nequeunt. Quis etenim sine lavacro regenerationis remissionem peccatorum consequi, et regnum valet intrare coelorum? Sed Nicodemus, qui nocte venit ad Dominum, necdum lucis mysteria capere noverat. Nam et nox in qua venit, ipsam ejus qua premebatur ignorantiam designat. Necdum enim eorum numero sociatus erat, de [Al. om. de] quibus ait Apostolus: Fuistis aliquando tenebrae, nunc autem lux in Domino (Ephes. V); sed inter eos potius remanebat, quibus loquitur Isaias: Surge, illuminare, Hierusalem, quia venit lumen tuum, et gloria Domini super te orta est (Isa. LX).
inasmuch as it is certain that without its light they cannot be faithful. For who, without the washing of regeneration, can obtain the remission of sins and enter the kingdom of heaven? But Nicodemus, who came to the Lord by night, did not yet know how to grasp the mysteries of light. For the night in which he came signifies the very ignorance by which he was weighed down. For he was not yet joined to the number of those of [variant omits: of] whom the Apostle says: You were once darkness, but now light in the Lord (Eph. 5:8); but he still remained rather among those to whom Isaiah speaks: Arise, be enlightened, Jerusalem, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you (Isa. 60:1).
Respondit Nicodemus: Quomodo potest homo nasci, cum sit senex? Nunquid potest in ventrem matris suae iterato introire et nasci? Quia enim secundae nativitatis adhuc nescius perseverabat, de salute autem sua jam sollicitus exstiterat, necessario de una quam noverat nativitate, an posset iterari, vel quo ordine regeneratio posset impleri, quaerebat, ne hujus expers remanendo, vitae coelestis particeps esse nequiret. Notandum autem quia quod de carnali dixit, hoc etiam de spirituali est generatione sentiendum, nequaquam videlicet eam postquam semel expleta fuerit, posse repeti. Sive enim haereticus, sive schismaticus, sive facinorosus quisque in confessione sanctae Trinitatis baptizet, non valet ille qui ita baptizatus est a bonis catholicis rebaptizari, ne confessio vel invocatio tanti nominis videatur annullari. Et quia Nicodemus ad primam Domini responsionem sollicitus, quomodo sit intelligenda diligenter inquirit, meretur jam plenius discere [Al., planius instrui], et quia secunda nativitas non carnalis, sed spiritualis sit, audire.
Nicodemus answered: How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? (John 3:4). For since he still remained ignorant of the second birth, but had already become anxious for his salvation, he necessarily asked about the one birth that he knew, whether it could be repeated, or in what order a regeneration could be accomplished, lest, remaining without it, he could not share in the heavenly life. And it should be noted that what he said of the carnal birth must be understood of the spiritual birth also: namely, that once it has been accomplished it can by no means be repeated. For whether a heretic, or a schismatic, or any criminal baptizes in the confession of the Holy Trinity, he who has been so baptized cannot be rebaptized by good catholics, lest the confession or invocation of so great a name should seem to be annulled. And because Nicodemus, anxious at the Lord's first answer, diligently inquires how it is to be understood, he now merits to learn more fully [variant: to be instructed more plainly], and to hear that the second birth is not carnal but spiritual.
Respondit namque illi Jesus: Amen, amen dico tibi, nisi quis renatus fuerit ex aqua et Spiritu sancto, non potest introire in regnum Dei. Cujus nativitatis modum subsequenter exponens, prorsusque a carnali distinguens, ait:
For Jesus answered him: Amen, amen, I say to you, unless one is reborn of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:5). And setting out next the manner of this birth, and distinguishing it altogether from the carnal, He says:
Quod natum est ex carne, caro est: et quod natum est ex spiritu, spiritus est. Natura spiritus invisibilis, carnis visibilis est; atque ideo carnalis generatio visibiliter administratur visibilibus incrementis: qui in carne nascitur, per aetatum momenta proficit, spiritualis autem regeneratio tota invisibiliter agitur. Nam videtur quidem baptizandus in fontem descendere, videtur aquis intingi, videtur de aquis ascendere; quid autem in illo lavacrum regenerationis egerit, minime potest videri. Sola hoc fidelium novit pietas quia peccator in fontem descendit, sed purificatus ascendit: filius mortis descendit, sed filius resurrectionis ascendit; filius praevaricationis descendit, sed filius reconciliationis ascendit; filius irae descendit, sed filius misericordiae ascendit; filius diaboli descendit, sed filius Dei ascendit. Sola haec Ecclesia mater quae generat novit: caeterum oculis inspicientium [Al., insipientium] videtur talis exire de fonte qualis intravit, totumque ludus esse quod agitur. Unde in fine videntes gloriam sanctorum dicent
What is born of the flesh is flesh: and what is born of the spirit is spirit (John 3:6). The nature of spirit is invisible, that of flesh visible; and therefore carnal generation is carried on visibly by visible increments: one who is born in the flesh advances by the stages of the ages; but spiritual regeneration is wrought wholly invisibly. For the one to be baptized is indeed seen to go down into the font, is seen to be dipped in the waters, is seen to come up from the waters; but what the washing of regeneration has wrought in him cannot be seen at all. The piety of the faithful alone knows this: that a sinner goes down into the font, but comes up purified; a son of death goes down, but a son of the resurrection comes up; a son of transgression goes down, but a son of reconciliation comes up; a son of wrath goes down, but a son of mercy comes up; a son of the devil goes down, but a son of God comes up. Mother Church, who gives birth, alone knows these things: but to the eyes of onlookers [variant: of the foolish] he seems to come out of the font such as he went in, and the whole thing that is done seems a game. Hence at the end, seeing the glory of the saints, they will say,
Editors' notes and page, col. 198
Page
- running head: SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE. 198
- marginal letters: A ‹lucet, quanto constat›; B ‹iterato introire et nasci›; C ‹sollicitus, quomodo sit›; D ‹Nam videtur quidem baptizandus›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column opens mid-sentence and ends on the hyphenated "di-", whose completion is at the head of col. 199, not in this batch; set as the visible part.
gementes in tormentis : Hi sunt quos aliquando habuimus in derisum, et in similitudinem proverbii [Vulg., improperii] (Sap. V). Quomodo ergo computati sunt inter filios Dei? Et apostolus Joannes : Charissimi, inquit, nunc filii Dei sumus, et nondum apparuit quid erimus (I Joan. III). Quod ergo natum est ex Spiritu, spiritus est : quia qui ex aqua et Spiritu regeneratur, invisibiliter in novum hominem mutatur, et de carnali efficitur spiritualis. Qui ideo recte non solum spiritualis, sed etiam spiritus vocatur, quia sicut substantia spiritus invisibilis est nostris aspectibus, ita is qui per gratiam Dei renovatur invisibiliter, fit spiritualis et Dei filius, cum visibiliter omnibus caro et Fi⟨l⟩ius hominis appareat. Sequitur :
groaning in torments: "These are they whom we once held in derision, and as a byword [Vulgate: of reproach]" (Wis. 5:3). How then are they counted among the sons of God? And the apostle John says: "Dearly beloved, we are now sons of God, and it has not yet appeared what we shall be" (1 John 3:2). That, then, which is born of the Spirit is spirit: because he who is regenerated of water and the Spirit is invisibly changed into a new man, and from carnal is made spiritual. And he is rightly called not only spiritual but even spirit, because, just as the substance of spirit is invisible to our sight, so he who is invisibly renewed through the grace of God becomes spiritual and a son of God, though to all he visibly appears as flesh and a son of man. There follows:
Non mireris quia dixi tibi, Oportet vos nasci denuo. Spiritus ubi vult spirat, et vocem ejus audis : sed non scis unde veniat, aut quo vadat. Sic est omnis qui natus est ex spi⟨r⟩itu. Spiritus ubi vult spirat, quia ipse habet in potestate illum [Al. om. illum] cujus cor gratia suae visitationis illustret. Et vocem ejus audis, cum te praesente loquitur is qui Spiritu sancto repletus est, sed non scis unde veniat, et quo vadat : quia etiamsi te praesente quempiam Spiri⟨t⟩us ad horam impleverit, non potes videre quomodo in eum intraverit, vel quomodo redierit, qui natura est invisibilis. Sic est omnis qui natus est ex Spiritu. Et ipse enim invisibiliter agente Spiritu incipit esse quod non erat, ita ut infideles nesciant unde veniat, aut quo vadat, id est, quia a gratia regenerationis venit in adoptionem filiorum Dei, et vadit in perceptionem regni coelestis. Quaerente autem adhuc Nicodemo quomodo possint fieri, subjungit Dominus dicens :
"Do not wonder that I said to you, You must be born anew. The Spirit breathes where He wills, and you hear His voice, but you do not know whence He comes or whither He goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit." The Spirit breathes where He wills, because He Himself has it in His power whose heart He will illuminate by the grace of His visitation [another reading omits "it"]. And you hear His voice when one who is filled with the Holy Spirit speaks in your presence; but you do not know whence He comes and whither He goes, because, even if the Spirit fills someone for an hour in your presence, you cannot see how He entered into him or how He went back, since He is invisible by nature. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit. For he too, by the invisible working of the Spirit, begins to be what he was not, so that unbelievers do not know whence he comes or whither he goes; that is, that from the grace of regeneration he comes into the adoption of the sons of God, and goes into the receiving of the heavenly kingdom. And when Nicodemus still asked how these things could be, the Lord added, saying:
Tu es magister in Israel, et haec ignoras. Non quasi insultare volens ei qui magister vocetur, cum sit ignarus sacramentorum coelestium, sed ad humilitatis illum viam provocans, sine qua janua coelestis non potest inveniri.
"You are a teacher in Israel, and you do not know these things?" Not as though wishing to mock one who is called a teacher while ignorant of the heavenly sacraments, but calling him to the way of humility, without which the heavenly gate cannot be found.
Si terrena dixi vobis, et non creditis, quomodo, si dixero vobis coelestia, credetis? Terrena illis dixit, ut in superiori lectione invenimus, cum de passione ac resurrectione sui corporis, quod de terra assumpserat, loqueretur dicens : Solvite templum hoc, et in tribus diebus excitabo illud (Joan. II). Non tamen credebant verbo quod dixit, sed ne hoc quidem intelligere valebant, quia non de alio quidem quam de templo corporis sui diceret. Qui ergo terrena audientes non capiebant, quanto minus ad coelestia, id est, divinae generationis capienda mysteria sufficiunt! Addit autem adhuc Dominus et de coelestibus sacramentis, et de terrenis instruere eum, quem videt sapienter ac diligenter his quae audit intendere. Coelestis namque est ascensio ejus ad vitam sempiternam, terrena vero exaltatio ejus ad mortem temporalem. Dicit ergo de coelestibus :
"If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?" He told them earthly things, as we find in an earlier reading, when He spoke of the passion and resurrection of His body, which He had taken from the earth, saying: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2:19). Yet they did not believe the word that He spoke; indeed they could not even understand it, because He was speaking of nothing other than the temple of His body. How much less, then, are those who did not grasp earthly things when they heard them equal to grasping heavenly things, that is, the mysteries of the divine generation! Yet the Lord goes on to instruct him both in the heavenly sacraments and in the earthly ones, since He sees him attending wisely and diligently to what he hears. For His ascension to eternal life is heavenly, but His lifting up to temporal death is earthly. So He says of heavenly things:
Et nemo ascendit in coelum, nisi qui de coelo descendit, Filius hominis, qui est in coelo. Subjungit vero de terrenis :
"And no one has ascended into heaven except He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven." And of earthly things He adds:
Et sicut Moy⟨s⟩es exaltavit serpentem in deserto, ita
"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so
Editors' notes and page, col. 199
Page
- running head: 199 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS II (rest of head cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹cent gementes in tormentis›; B ‹Spiritus ubi vult spirat, et vocem›; C ‹ceptionem regni coelestis›; D ‹credebant verbo quod dixit›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens mid-word ("cent", end of a word split from col. 198, probably "dicent"); English supplies "[they will] say". Damaged letters supplied in ⟨ ⟩: Fi⟨l⟩ius, spi⟨r⟩itu, Spiri⟨t⟩us, Moy⟨s⟩es. Several other letters faint but legible (impleverit, infideles, sacramentorum, ejus, exaltatio). Column ends mid-sentence.
exaltari oportet Filium hominis. Merito autem quaeritur, quomodo dicatur Filius hominis vel descendisse de coelo, vel eo tempore quo haec loquebatur in terra jam fuisse in coelo. Nota est namque confessio fidei catholicae, quia descendens de coelo Filius Dei, Filium hominis in utero virginali suscepit, eumque completa dispensatione passionis suae resuscitavit a mortuis, et assumpsit in coelum. Non ergo caro Christi descendit de coelo, neque ante tempus ascensionis erat in coelo. Et qua ratione dicitur, nemo ascendit in coelum [Al., om. nem. asc. in c.] nisi qui descendit de coelo, Filius hominis, qui est in coelo, nisi quia una Christi persona est in duabus existens naturis? Atque ideo Filius hominis recte dicitur et descendisse de coelo, et ante passionem fuisse in coelo, quia quod in sua natura habere non potuit, hoc in Filio Dei a quo assumptus est, habuit : sicut propter eamdem unius Christi personam quae ex duabus erat [Al., exstat] naturis, Apostolus ait : Vos Spiritus sanctus posuit episcopos regere Ecclesiam Dei, quam acquisivit sanguine suo (Act. XX). Neque enim Deus in sua substantia, sed in homine assumpto sanguinem quem pro Ecclesia funderet, habuit. Hinc etiam Psalmista dicit : Ascendit Deus in jubilatione (Psal. XLVI). Quomodo enim Deus nisi in homine assumpto ascenderet, qui in suae natura majestatis semper ubique praesens adest? Sed et hoc quaerendum quomodo dictum sit : Et nemo ascendit in coelum, nisi qui descendit de coelo, cum omnes electi veraciter confidant ascensuros se in coelum, promittente sibi Domino, Quia ubi ego sum, illic et minister meus erit (Joan. XII). Cujus tamen nodum quaestionis apertissima ratio solvit, quia videlicet mediator Dei et hominum homo Christus Jesus electorum omnium caput est : itemque omnes electi ejusdem capitis membra sunt, dicente Apostolo : Et ipsum dedit caput supra omnem Ecclesiam (Ephes. I); et rursum : Vos enim estis corpus Christi, et membra de membro (I Cor. XII). Nemo ergo ascendit in coelum, nisi qui descendit de coelo, Filius hominis, qui est in coelo, quod est aperte dicere : Nemo ascendit in coelum, nisi Christus in corpore suo, quod est Ecclesia, qui in seipso quidem primum cernentibus apostolis eminentioribus nimirum membris suis ascendit, et exinde in electis suis quotidie ascendens se colligit in coelum. Hinc est enim quod ipsum corpus ejus inter adversa praesentis saeculi deprehensum gloriatur et dicit : Nunc autem exaltavit caput meum super inimicos meos (Psal. XXVI), ac si aperte dicat : Qui occisum a Judaeis Christum, caput videlicet meum suscitavit a mortuis, ac frustratis omnibus inimicorum insidiis sublevavit in coelum, spero me etiam de praesentibus periculis eruens meo capiti jungat in regno. Quia ergo nemo ascendit in coelum, nisi qui descendit de coelo, quisquis in coelum ascendere desiderat, ei qui descendit de coelo [Al. add. de vera], fidei dilectionisque unitate conjungat, aperte intelligens quia nullo alio ordine, nisi per eum qui descendit de coelo, potest ascendere in coelum : unde alias ipse
must the Son of Man be lifted up." It is rightly asked how the Son of Man is said either to have descended from heaven, or, at the time when He was saying these things on earth, to have been already in heaven. For the confession of the catholic faith is well known: that the Son of God, descending from heaven, took up the Son of Man in the virginal womb, and, when the dispensation of His passion was completed, raised him from the dead and took him up into heaven. The flesh of Christ, then, did not descend from heaven, nor was it in heaven before the time of the ascension. By what reasoning, then, is it said, "No one has ascended into heaven [another reading omits "no one has ascended into heaven"] except He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven", unless it is because the one person of Christ exists in two natures? And therefore the Son of Man is rightly said both to have descended from heaven and to have been in heaven before the passion, because what he could not have in his own nature he had in the Son of God, by whom he was assumed; just as, on account of the same one person of Christ, which was [another reading: stands] of two natures, the Apostle says: "The Holy Spirit has made you bishops to rule the Church of God, which He acquired with His own blood" (Acts 20:28). For God had the blood which He was to shed for the Church not in His own substance but in the man He had assumed. Hence the Psalmist too says: "God has ascended with jubilation" (Ps. 46:6). For how would God ascend except in the man He had assumed, since in the nature of His majesty He is always present everywhere? But this too must be asked: how was it said, "And no one has ascended into heaven except He who descended from heaven", when all the elect truly trust that they will ascend into heaven, since the Lord promises them: "Where I am, there also shall My servant be" (John 12:26)? Yet a most evident reason unties the knot of this question: namely, that the mediator of God and men, the man Christ Jesus, is the head of all the elect, and likewise all the elect are members of the same head, as the Apostle says: "And He gave Him as head over the whole Church" (Eph. 1:22); and again: "For you are the body of Christ, and members of member" (1 Cor. 12:27). No one, then, has ascended into heaven except He who descended from heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven; which is to say plainly: no one has ascended into heaven except Christ in His body, which is the Church. He ascended first in Himself, while the apostles, the more eminent members of His body, looked on, and from then on He daily ascends in His elect and gathers Himself into heaven. For this is why His very body, caught amid the adversities of the present world, glories and says: "But now He has lifted up my head above my enemies" (Ps. 26:6); as if it were saying plainly: He who raised from the dead Christ, my head, slain by the Jews, and, frustrating all the snares of His enemies, lifted Him up into heaven, will, I hope, also rescue me from present dangers and join me to my head in the kingdom. Since, then, no one has ascended into heaven except He who descended from heaven, whoever desires to ascend into heaven, let him join himself to Him who descended from heaven [another reading adds "of true"] in the unity of faith and love, clearly understanding that by no other order than through Him who descended from heaven can he ascend into heaven; hence elsewhere He Himself
Editors' notes and page, col. 200
Page
- running head: BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 200
- marginal letters: A ‹exaltari oportet Filium hominis›; B ‹quia quod in sua natura›; C ‹dant ascensuros se in coelum›; D ‹suis quotidie ascendens›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens mid-sentence (continuing "ita" at the foot of col. 199) and ends mid-sentence. The full page head shows "PARS III", so the head recorded for col. 199 ("PARS II", cut off) should read BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. Printed text is one paragraph throughout the column.
dicit : Nemo venit ad Patrem, nisi per me (Joan. XIV). Haec ideo Nicodemo et cunctis dicuntur catechumenis, ut discant ejus membris renascendo incorporari per quem possint ascendere in regnum Dei. Et quia ascensio vel ingressus regni coelorum non potest fieri absque fide et sacramentis Dominicae passionis, recte subjungitur :
says: "No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). These things are said to Nicodemus and to all catechumens so that they may learn, by being reborn, to be incorporated into the members of Him through whom they can ascend into the kingdom of God. And because the ascent into, or entrance to, the kingdom of heaven cannot come about without faith in, and the sacraments of, the Lord's passion, it is rightly added:
Et sicut Moyses exaltavit serpentem in deserto, ita exaltari oportet Filium hominis : ut omnis qui credit in ipsum, non pereat, sed habeat vitam aeternam. Magna magisterii coelestis arte Dominus magistrum legis Mosaicae ad spiritualem legis ejusdem sensum inducit, recordans historiae veteris, et hanc in figuram suae passionis atque humanae salvationis factam edisserens. Narrat quippe liber Numerorum quia pertaesus in eremo populus Israel itineris longi ac laboris, murmuraverint contra Dominum et Moysen, ideoque Dominus immiserit in illum ignitos serpentes : ad quorum plagas et mortes plurimorum, cum clamarent ad Moysen, et ille oraret pro eis, jussit eum Dominus facere serpentem aeneum, et ponere pro signo : Qui percussus, inquit, aspexerit in eum, vivet, et ita factum est. Plagae igitur serpentium ignitorum venena sunt et incentiva vitiorum, quae animam quam tangunt spirituali morte perimunt. Et bene murmurans contra Dominum populus serpentium morsibus sternebatur, ut ex ordine flagelli exterioris agnosceret quantam intus perniciem murmurando pateretur. Exaltatio autem serpentis aenei quem dum percussi aspicerent, sanabantur, passio nostri Redemptoris est in cruce, in cujus solum fide regnum mortis et peccati superatur. Recte etenim per serpentes peccata quae animam simul et corpus ad interitum trahunt, exprimuntur, non solum quia igniti, quia virulenti, quia ad perimendum sunt astuti, verum etiam quia per serpentem primi parentes nostri ad peccandum persuasi ac de immortalibus sunt peccando mortales effecti. Recte per serpentem aeneum Dominus ostenditur, quia venit in similitudine carnis peccati, quia sicut aeneus serpens effigiem quidem ignitis serpentibus similem, sed nullum prorsus in suis membris habuit ardorem veneni nocentis, quin potius percussos a serpentibus sua exaltatione sanabat : sic nimirum, sic Redemptor humani generis non carnem peccati, sed similitudinem induit carnis peccati, in qua mortem crucis patiendo credentes in se ab omni peccato et ab ipsa etiam morte liberaret. Sicut ergo Moyses exaltavit serpentem in deserto, ita, inquit, oportet exaltari Filium hominis, quia sicut illi qui exaltatum pro signo serpentem aeneum aspiciebant, sanabantur ad tempus a corporali morte et plaga quam serpentium morsus intulerat, ita et qui mysterium Dominicae passionis credendo, confitendo, sinceriter imitando aspiciunt, salvantur in perpetuum ab omni morte quam peccando in animo pariter et carne contraxerant; unde recte subjungitur : Ut omnis qui credit in ipso, non pereat, sed habeat vitam aeternam. Cujus quidem verbi patet sensus, quia qui credit in Christum,
"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may not perish but have eternal life." With the great art of a heavenly teacher the Lord leads the teacher of the law of Moses to the spiritual sense of that same law, recalling the ancient history and explaining that it was done as a figure of His passion and of human salvation. For the book of Numbers relates that the people of Israel, weary in the wilderness of the long journey and of toil, murmured against the Lord and against Moses, and that therefore the Lord sent fiery serpents among them; and when, at their wounds and the deaths of very many, they cried out to Moses and he prayed for them, the Lord commanded him to make a bronze serpent and to set it up for a sign: "Whoever is struck," He said, "and looks upon it shall live"; and so it was done (Num. 21:4–9). The wounds of the fiery serpents, then, are the poisons and incitements of the vices, which destroy with spiritual death the soul they touch. And fittingly the people murmuring against the Lord was laid low by the bites of serpents, so that from the manner of the outward scourge it might recognize how great a ruin it was suffering within by murmuring. But the lifting up of the bronze serpent, by looking at which the stricken were healed, is the passion of our Redeemer on the cross, by faith in which alone the kingdom of death and sin is overcome. For sins, which drag soul and body together to destruction, are rightly expressed by serpents, not only because they are fiery, because venomous, because cunning to destroy, but also because it was through a serpent that our first parents were persuaded to sin and, by sinning, were made mortal from immortal. Rightly is the Lord shown forth by the bronze serpent, because He came in the likeness of sinful flesh; for just as the bronze serpent had a form like the fiery serpents but had in its members no burning of harmful venom at all, but rather by its lifting up healed those who had been struck by the serpents, so indeed, so the Redeemer of the human race put on not sinful flesh but the likeness of sinful flesh, in which, by suffering the death of the cross, He might free those who believe in Him from all sin and even from death itself. "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert," then, "so," He says, "must the Son of Man be lifted up"; because, just as those who looked upon the bronze serpent lifted up for a sign were healed for a time of bodily death and of the wound which the serpents' bite had inflicted, so also those who look upon the mystery of the Lord's passion by believing, confessing and sincerely imitating it are saved for ever from every death which they had contracted by sinning in soul and flesh alike. Hence it is rightly added: "That whoever believes in Him may not perish but have eternal life." The sense of this saying is plain: that whoever believes in Christ
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- marginal letters: A ‹dicit : Nemo venit ad Patrem›; B ‹pertaesus in eremo populus›; C ‹nostri Redemptoris est in cruce›; D ‹nem induit carnis peccati›
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non solum perditionem evadit poenarum, sed et vitam percipit aeternam. Et hoc [Al., homo] inter figuram distat et veritatem, quia per illam vita protelabatur corporis, per hanc vita donatur sine ⟨f⟩ine mansura. Sed curandum solerter est ut quod intellectus bene sentit, operatio condigna perficiat, quatenus confessio rectae nostrae fidei pie et sobrie conversando ad perceptionem promissae nobis vitae mereatur attingere. Verum quia haec de Filio hominis dicuntur qui exaltari in cruce, et mortem potuit pati, ne putaret Nicodemus Filium tantum hominis esse eum a quo vita esset exspectanda perpetua, curavit ei Dominus etiam divinitatis suae patefacere sacramentum, unumque et eumdem Filium Dei et Filium hominis mundi ostendere Salvatorem. Nam sequitur : Sic enim dilexit Deus mundum, ut Filium suum unigenitum daret, ut omnis qui credit in eum, non pereat, sed habeat vitam aeternam (Joan. III). Unde notandum est quod eadem de Filio Dei unigenito replicat, quae de Filio hominis in cruce exaltato praemiserat, dicens : Ut omnis qui credit in eum, non pereat, sed habeat vitam aeternam. Quia profecto idem Redemptor et Conditor noster Filius Dei ante saecula existens, Filius hominis factus est in fine saeculorum, ut qui per divinitatis suae potentiam nos creaverat, ad perfruendam vitae beatitudinem perennis, ipse per fragilitatem humanitatis nostrae, nos restauraret, ad recipiendam quam perdidimus vitam, unde nobis satagendum est, fratres charissimi, ut divinis beneficiis vicem rependentes, diligamus toto corde, tota anima, tota virtute, Deum Patrem, qui nos tanto amore prior dilexit, ut proprio suo Filio non parceret, sed pro nobis omnibus traderet illum. Diligamus ipsum Filium, qui cum in forma Dei esset, nostrae libertatis et vitae gratia formam servi accepit, factusque est obediens Patri [Al. om. Patri] usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis; et sicut de eo dicit Joannes apostolus : Qui dilexit nos, et lavit nos a peccatis nostris in sanguine suo (Apoc. I). Diligamus sanctum ejusdem Patris et Filii Spiritum, cujus gratia renati, cujus unctione signati sumus in die redemptionis, qui ubi vult spirat, et ubicunque spirat, continuo flammam ejusdem divinae dilectionis accendit. Credamus ipsum Patrem, et Filium et Spiritum sanctum unum esse Deum et Dominum nostrum, ac debitis laudibus exaltemus nomen ejus invicem, cui est gloria, imperium et potestas, etc.
not only escapes the perdition of punishment, but also receives eternal life. And this is the difference [another reading: man] between the figure and the truth: that through the former the life of the body was prolonged, through the latter a life is given that will endure without end. But we must take careful pains that what the understanding rightly perceives, a worthy practice may accomplish, so that the confession of our right faith, by living devoutly and soberly, may deserve to attain to the receiving of the life promised to us. But because these things are said of the Son of Man, who could be lifted up on the cross and suffer death, lest Nicodemus should think that He from whom eternal life was to be awaited was only a son of man, the Lord took care to disclose to him also the sacrament of His divinity, and to show one and the same Son of God and Son of Man as the Saviour of the world. For there follows: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him may not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Here it must be noted that He repeats of the only-begotten Son of God the same words that He had said before of the Son of Man lifted up on the cross: "That whoever believes in Him may not perish but have eternal life." For indeed our same Redeemer and Creator, the Son of God existing before the ages, was made Son of Man at the end of the ages, so that He who by the power of His divinity had created us to enjoy the blessedness of everlasting life might Himself, through the frailty of our humanity, restore us to receive again the life we had lost. Therefore we must take pains, dearest brethren, to repay the divine benefits, so that we love with all our heart, all our soul, all our strength, God the Father, who first loved us with so great a love that He did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all. Let us love the Son Himself, who, "though He was in the form of God", for the sake of our freedom and life "took the form of a servant, and became obedient to the Father [another reading omits "to the Father"] unto death, even the death of the cross" (Phil. 2:6–8); and, as the apostle John says of Him: "Who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood" (Rev. 1:5). Let us love the Holy Spirit of the same Father and Son, by whose grace we have been reborn, by whose anointing we have been sealed for the day of redemption, who breathes where He wills, and wherever He breathes at once kindles the flame of the same divine love. Let us believe that the Father Himself, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one God and our Lord, and with due praises let us together exalt His name, to whom is glory, dominion and power, etc.
HOMILIA XIII. IN VIGILIA SANCTI JOANNIS BAPTISTAE. LUC. I. Fuit in diebus Herodis regis Judaeae sacerdos quidam, nomine Zacharias, etc.
HOMILY XIII. ON THE VIGIL OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST. LUKE 1. "There was in the days of Herod, king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zechariah," etc.
Venturus in carne Dominus et Redemptor noster multos dispensationis suae testes praemisit et nuntios, qui diversis temporibus diversis Israeliticae plebis tribubus orti, non diversa fide, sed uno eodemque per omnia sensu, ejusdem incarnationis mysterium prophetando praecinerent. Horum ultimus et quasi limes quidam legis et Evangelii, figurae et veritatis Joannes apparuit, Domino attestante qui ait : Lex
Being about to come in the flesh, our Lord and Redeemer sent ahead many witnesses and messengers of His dispensation, who, sprung at different times from different tribes of the Israelite people, not with differing faith but with one and the same mind in all things, foretold by prophesying the mystery of that same incarnation. The last of these, and as it were a kind of boundary between the law and the Gospel, between the figure and the truth, was John, as the Lord bears witness, saying: "The law
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- marginal letters: A ‹non solum perditionem evadit›; B ‹sequitur : Sic enim dilexit›; C ‹ficiis vicem rependentes›; D ‹Deum et Dominum nostrum›
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et prophetae usque ad Joannem, ex eo regnum Dei evangelizatur (Matth. XI). Unde etiam plus quam propheta dictus est, quia quem caeteri a longe prophetando solum praedixerant, ille et primo venturum prophetando signavit, et mox venientem ostendendo monstravit. Qui certe gratia dispensationis non solum justis, sed et de pontificali stirpe ortis parentibus natus asseritur.
and the prophets were until John; from then the kingdom of God is preached" (Matt. 11:13; Luke 16:16). Hence he was also called more than a prophet, because Him whom the others had only foretold from afar by prophesying, he both first marked out by prophecy as about to come, and soon after showed, pointing Him out as He came. And indeed, by the grace of the dispensation, he is declared to have been born of parents who were not only just but also sprung from the high-priestly stock.
Fuit enim sacerdos, sicut ex lectione evangelica audivimus, nomine Zacharias, de vice Abia, et uxor illi de filiabus Aaron, et nomen ejus Elisabeth. Erant autem justi ambo ante Dominum. Justis quippe parentibus est genitus, ut eo confidentius justitiae praecepta populis daret, quo haec ipse non quasi novitia didicisset, sed velut haereditario jure a progenitoribus accepta servaret. De sacerdotali prosapia ortus est, ut eo potentius imitationem sacerdotii praeconaretur, quo ipsum ad sacerdotale genus pertinere claresceret. Redemptor etenim noster in carne apparens, sicut rex nobis fieri dignatus est regnum coeleste tribuendo, ita etiam pontifex factus est semetipsum pro nobis offerendo Deo hostiam in odorem suavitatis. Unde scriptum est : Juravit Dominus et non poenitebit eum (Psalm. CIX), tu es sacerdos in aeternum secundum ordinem Melchisedech (Gen. XIV). Melchisedech quippe, ut legimus, sacerdos Dei summi, longe legalis sacerdotii tempora praecessit, offerens Deo panem et vinum. Et ideo Redemptor noster sacerdos esse dicitur secundum ordinem Melchisedech, quia ablatis victimis legalibus, idem sacrificii genus in mysterium sui corporis et sanguinis in Novo Testamento offerendo instituit. Quis ergo congruentius translationem legalis, ut substitutionem evangelici sacerdotii, quam summi juxta legem sacerdotis filius prophetaret? Qui cum et ipse summus sacerdos secundum legem existere videretur posse, maluit docente intrinsecus incommutabili ratione veritatis novi sacerdotis praeco, quam successor et haeres existere veteris. Maluit doctus in spiritu vocatis in desertum populis Novi Testamenti sacramenta praedicare, quam ad se venientibus in templum, gloriosissimo illo tunc temporis sacerdotii veteris officio praeesse. Praetulit longam solitudinis sitim et esuriem continuis hostiarum solemniis, pilis camelorum et cinctui zonae pelliceae, auro textas pontificum postposuit stolas. Ut quid enim haec, fratres mei, nisi ut is qui merito justitiae perfectioris auctoritatem sibi praedicandi asciverat, ipse etiam neglecto ordine [Al., neglectu, om. ordine] paterni pontificatus ostenderet quia non dubie melioris pontificatus praeco et praecursor existeret? Si vero fraternitatem vestram audire delectat quis sit Abia, de cujus vice Zacharias genus duxisse perhibetur, hic temporibus David regis summus erat sacerdos. Siquidem jubente Domino per Moysen, primo unus in lege pontifex Aaron est constitutus, post cujus mortem Eleazar filius ejus sacerdotium suscepit. Et hoc quoque mortuo, Phinees filius ejus sacerdotii successor exstitit, et sic usque ad tempora
For there was a priest, as we have heard from the Gospel reading, "named Zechariah, of the course of Abijah, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both just before the Lord" (Luke 1:5–6). He was born of just parents, so that he might give the precepts of justice to the peoples with the greater confidence, inasmuch as he had not learned them as a novice but kept them as received from his forebears by hereditary right, as it were. He was sprung from priestly lineage, so that he might herald the change of the priesthood the more powerfully, inasmuch as it was plain that he himself belonged to the priestly race. For our Redeemer, appearing in the flesh, just as He deigned to become our king by granting us the heavenly kingdom, so also became high priest by offering Himself for us to God as a sacrifice for an odour of sweetness. Hence it is written: "The Lord has sworn and will not repent (Ps. 109:4): You are a priest for ever according to the order of Melchizedek" (Gen. 14:18). For Melchizedek, as we read, priest of the most high God, long preceded the times of the legal priesthood, offering bread and wine to God. And therefore our Redeemer is said to be a priest according to the order of Melchizedek, because, the legal victims having been taken away, He instituted the same kind of sacrifice to be offered in the New Testament in the mystery of His body and blood. Who, then, could more fittingly prophesy the transfer of the legal priesthood, that is, the substitution of the evangelical, than the son of a high priest according to the law? Though it seemed that he too could become high priest according to the law, he preferred, taught inwardly by the unchangeable reason of truth, to be the herald of the new priesthood rather than the successor and heir of the old. Taught in the spirit, he preferred to preach the sacraments of the New Testament to the peoples called out into the desert rather than to preside, for those who came to him in the temple, over the office of the old priesthood, then so very glorious. He preferred the long thirst and hunger of the wilderness to the continual solemnities of the sacrifices; for camel's hair and the girding of a leather belt he set aside the gold-woven robes of the high priests. For why these things, my brethren, unless that he who by the merit of a more perfect justice had taken to himself the authority of preaching might also, by neglecting the order [another reading: by neglect, omitting "order"] of his father's high priesthood, show that he was without doubt the herald and forerunner of a better high priesthood? And if your brotherhood is glad to hear who Abijah was, from whose course Zechariah is said to have drawn his descent: he was high priest in the times of King David. For at the Lord's command through Moses, first Aaron alone was appointed high priest under the law; after his death Eleazar his son received the priesthood. And when he too had died, Phinehas his son became successor to the priesthood, and so on until the times
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- marginal letters: A ‹et prophetae usque ad Joannem›; B ‹a progenitoribus accepta servaret›; C ‹galibus, idem sacrificii genus›; D ‹liceae, auro textas pontificum›
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David per annos circiter quadringentos septuaginta, unus post unum exstitere pontificatus haeredes. At vero David cum magno fervens studio religionis templum Domino condere desiderasset, Dominus autem magis hoc per filium ejus Salomonem vellet impleri, nihilominus ipse David omnia quae ad futuram ejusdem templi constructionem vel reverentiam pertinerent, sollicitus praeparare curavit. Unde etiam cantores statuit qui tempore sacrificii quotidie psalmos cum melodia resonarent, atque animos populi circumstantis ad memoriam amoremque coelestium, non solum sublimitate verborum quae dicebantur, sed etiam suavitate sonorum qua dicebantur, erigerent. Volensque ut crescente cultu et magnificentia templi, decus quoque ministerii illius et ministrantium cresceret coetus, convocavit omnem progeniem filiorum Aaron, et eos videlicet qui de Eleazar, et illos qui de Ithamar stirpe descenderant, divisitque hos in partes viginti quatuor, ac de his singulis singulos pontifices eligens, caeteros qui in partibus erant sacerdotii minoris, qui nunc presbyteratus vocatur, officio fungi praecepit, ea videlicet provisione ut dum quilibet pontificum vita decederet, quicunque in ejus parte optimus putaretur, ei in pontificatu succederet. Quas videlicet partes taliter ordinavit ut singuli pontifices cum subjectis sibi sacerdotibus, per octonos dies, hoc est a sabbato usque ad sabbatum [Al. om. h. e. a s. u. ad s.], ministrarent. Et cum omnes gradu sacerdotali essent aequales, unus tantum [Al., tamen] in eis qui dignior videretur, speciali reverentia ac potestate praeeminens, summi sacerdotis nomen haberet. Qui autem ordo partium earumdem servari deberet, missa coram David rege et principibus familiarum sacerdotalium, et Levitarum sorte quaerebatur. In quarum distributione sortium, Abia, de cujus vice et genere Zacharias oritur, octavo loco positus invenitur. Et recte praeco Novi Testamenti, in quo gloria resurrectionis mundo declaratur, loco octavae sortis nascitur : quia et Dominus noster una sabbati, quae est a die conditionis octava, resurrexit a mortuis, et nobis post sex hujus saeculi aetates, ac septimam quietis animarum, quae est in alia vita, octava jam aetas perpetuae resurrectionis in fine promittitur.
of David, for about four hundred and seventy years, heirs of the high priesthood arose one after another. But when David, burning with great zeal for religion, had desired to build a temple for the Lord, and the Lord willed rather that this be accomplished through his son Solomon, David himself none the less took anxious care to prepare everything that pertained to the future construction of that temple or to its reverence. Hence he also appointed singers to make psalms resound with melody daily at the time of sacrifice, and to raise the minds of the people standing round to the remembrance and love of heavenly things, not only by the sublimity of the words that were spoken but also by the sweetness of the sounds with which they were spoken. And wishing that, as the worship and magnificence of the temple grew, the splendour of that ministry and the company of those ministering should grow too, he called together all the progeny of the sons of Aaron, both those who descended from the stock of Eleazar and those from the stock of Ithamar, and divided them into twenty-four parts; and choosing one high priest from each of these, he commanded the rest who were in the parts to perform the office of the lesser priesthood, which is now called the presbyterate, with this provision: that whenever any of the high priests departed this life, whoever was thought best in his part should succeed him in the high priesthood. These parts he ordered in such a way that each high priest, with the priests subject to him, should minister for eight days, that is, from sabbath to sabbath [another reading omits "that is, from sabbath to sabbath"]. And though all were equal in priestly rank, one only [another reading: yet] among them, who seemed the worthier, pre-eminent in special reverence and power, bore the name of chief priest. And the order in which those parts should serve was sought by casting lots before King David and the heads of the priestly families and of the Levites. In the distribution of these lots Abijah, from whose course and family Zechariah springs, is found placed in the eighth place (1 Chron. 24:10). And rightly the herald of the New Testament, in which the glory of the resurrection is declared to the world, is born in the place of the eighth lot: because our Lord too rose from the dead on the first day of the week, which is the eighth from the day of creation; and to us, after the six ages of this world and the seventh, of the rest of souls, which is in the other life, an eighth age, that of the everlasting resurrection, is promised at the end.
Erant autem justi ambo ante Deum, incedentes in omnibus mandatis et justificationibus Domini sine querela. Saepe contingit ut hi qui jam perfecti hominum aestimatione judicantur, adhuc in oculis interni arbitri, minus aliquid perfectionis habeant; et rursus evenire solet ut nonnulli quibusdam virtutum operibus immoderatius studendo, dum sine scientia Deo placere appetunt, proximorum oculos offendant. A qua utraque reprehensione parentes beati Joannis immunes esse declarantur, de quibus cum dictum esset, Erant autem justi ambo, continuo subnectitur, ante Deum; et cum adjunctum esset, Incedentes in omnibus mandatis et justificationibus Domini, mox infertur, sine querela. Ac si aperte dicatur, Adeo se in actibus pariter et cogitationibus suis
"And they were both just before God, walking in all the commandments and justifications of the Lord without blame." It often happens that those who are already judged perfect in the estimation of men still have something less of perfection in the eyes of the inward Judge; and again it is apt to happen that some, by applying themselves too immoderately to certain works of virtue while they seek to please God without knowledge, give offence to the eyes of their neighbours. The parents of blessed John are declared free of both these reproaches: for when it had been said of them, "And they were both just", there is added at once, "before God"; and when "walking in all the commandments and justifications of the Lord" had been added, there is brought in straightway, "without blame". As if it were said plainly: so [carefully] did they [keep] themselves in their deeds and in their thoughts alike
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- marginal letters: A ‹David per annos circiter›; B ‹tium cresceret coetus›; C ‹speciali reverentia ac potestate›; D ‹Erant autem justi ambo ante Deum›
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- other: column opens and ends mid-sentence; the English of the last clause supplies "[carefully]" and "[keep]" pending the verb in col. 205 (adjust when joined). The 1 Chron. 24:10 reference is supplied in the English only.
circumspecte agebant, ut et divinis obtutibus in occulto, et humano foris judicio placerent, juxta illud Apostoli : Providemus enim bona non solum coram Deo, sed etiam coram hominibus (II Cor. VIII).
circumspectly did they act, that they might please both the divine gaze in secret and human judgement outwardly, according to that saying of the Apostle: "For we provide good things not only before God but also before men" (2 Cor. 8:21).
Et non erat illis filius, eo quod esset Elisabeth sterilis, et ambo processissent in diebus suis. Divinitus est procuratum ut sterili matre et utroque parente provectioris aetatis Joannes nasceretur, quatenus etiam ipso ortus ejus miraculo patesceret virum magnae virtutis futurum esse qui nascebatur, ubi desinente omni lascivia concupiscentiae carnalis constaret quia nulla in conceptione causa voluptatis, sed sola cogitata sit spiritualis gratia prolis. Sic Isaac filius promissionis, qui in figuram Redemptoris nostri factus est obediens patri usque ad mortem, de veteranis parentibus et sterili diu matre natus est : sic Jacob et Joseph patriarchae, sic Samson fortissimus ducum, et prophetarum eximius Samuel steriles diu corpore, sed fecundas semper virtutibus habuere genitrices, ut miraculo nativitatis, natorum dignitas nosceretur, et probarentur sublimes in vita futuri, qui in ipso vitae exortu conditionis humanae jura transcenderent; quod vero sequitur :
"And they had no son, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in their days" (Luke 1:7). It was divinely arranged that John should be born of a barren mother and of parents both of more advanced age, so that by the very miracle of his birth it might become plain that he who was being born would be a man of great virtue, since, when all wantonness of carnal concupiscence had ceased, it was clear that in the conception no motive of pleasure but only the spiritual grace of offspring had been in mind. So Isaac, the son of the promise, who as a figure of our Redeemer became obedient to his father unto death, was born of aged parents and of a mother long barren; so the patriarchs Jacob and Joseph, so Samson, the bravest of leaders, and Samuel, the most eminent of the prophets, had mothers long barren in body but always fruitful in virtues, so that by the miracle of their birth the dignity of the children might be known, and those who at the very beginning of life transcended the laws of the human condition might be proved to be destined for greatness in life. But as for what follows:
Factum est autem, cum sacerdotio fungeretur Zacharias in ordine vicis ante Deum, secundum consuetudinem sacerdotii, sorte exiit ut incensum poneret, ingressus in templum Domini. Claret quidem omnibus quia jam redeunte ex ordine septimana vicis suae, quae ei de vice Abia contigerat, templum ministraturus intravit; sed forte aliquibus obscurum est, quia Scriptura tacere videtur quo haec sint anni tempore gesta. Quibus intimandum quia nec hoc Scriptura praetermisit, sed ex eo quod addidit latenter innuit;
"And it came to pass, while Zechariah was exercising the priesthood before God in the order of his course, according to the custom of the priesthood, the lot fell to him to put in the incense, going into the temple of the Lord" (Luke 1:8–9). It is clear to all that, when the week of his course, which had fallen to him from the course of Abijah, came round again in order, he entered the temple to minister; but perhaps it is obscure to some, because Scripture seems to be silent as to the time of year at which these things were done. They must be told that Scripture did not pass over this either, but hinted at it covertly by what it added,
Et omnis, inquiens, multitudo erat populi orans foris hora incensi. Una etenim tantummodo per annum solemnitas erat, in qua pontifice ad orandum Sancta sanctorum intrante, nullum prorsus hominum intra fores templi remanere liceret, sed omnes tempore oblationis exterius juberentur orare. Haec autem erat statuta solemnitas septimo a Pascha [Al., Paschae] mense, decima die mensis, quae dies propitiationis sive expiationis vocabatur, quia videlicet oblatis in altari holocausti victimis, sanguis in Sancta sanctorum ad expiandum inferebatur. Nec solum sanguis ibi aspergebatur, sed et thymiama adolebatur, quod in praesenti lectione Zacharias fecisse memoratur. Dicit ergo de hac solemnitate Dominus Moysi : Mense septimo, decima die mensis affligetis animas vestras, nullumque facietis opus (Levit. XVI). Expiabit autem pontifex sanctuarium, et tabernaculum testimonii, atque altare, sacerdotes quoque et universum populum : eritque hoc vobis legitimum sempiternum, ut oretis pro filiis Israel, et pro cunctis peccatis eorum semel in anno. Et paulo superius, cum ritum ejusdem expiationis doceret, ait inter alia : Nullus hominum sit in tabernaculo, quando pontifex ingreditur sanctuarium, ut roget pro se, et
saying: "And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense" (Luke 1:10). For there was only one solemnity in the year in which, when the high priest entered the Holy of Holies to pray, no man at all was permitted to remain within the doors of the temple, but all were ordered to pray outside at the time of the offering. And this solemnity was appointed for the seventh month from the Pasch [variant: of the Pasch], on the tenth day of the month, which was called the day of propitiation or expiation, because, namely, when the victims of holocaust had been offered on the altar, blood was brought into the Holy of Holies to make expiation. And not only was blood sprinkled there, but incense too was burned, which in the present reading Zechariah is recorded to have done. So the Lord says to Moses of this solemnity: "In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and you shall do no work" (Lev. 16:29). "And the high priest shall expiate the sanctuary and the tabernacle of the testimony and the altar, the priests also and all the people; and this shall be to you an everlasting ordinance, that you pray for the children of Israel and for all their sins once in the year" (Lev. 16:33–34). And a little above, when He was teaching the rite of that same expiation, He says among other things: "Let no man be in the tabernacle when the high priest enters the sanctuary to pray for himself and
Editors' notes and page, col. 205
Page
- running head: 205 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. (rest cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹circumspecte agebant›; B ‹tem, de veteranis parentibus›; C ‹turus intravit ; sed forte›; D ‹cet oblatis in altari›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens and ends mid-sentence. The head of the opening clause in col. 204 should be read with "circumspecte agebant": "so circumspectly did they act in their deeds and thoughts alike". Lev. 16:33–34 and 16:17 references supplied in English only, where Migne prints one reference (Levit. XVI).
pro domo sua, et pro universo coetu Israel, donec egrediatur (Ibid.). Longum est de singulis hujus diei caeremoniis Scripturae testimonia ponere, longius multo singula sufficienter, quomodo nunc spiritualiter in Ecclesia agantur, exponere. Unde hoc maxime libet vestrae fraternitatis auribus intimare, quam convenienter electum sit tempus, in quo praecursoris Domini nativitas, et virtus futura nuntiaretur. Septimus quippe mensis, et decima hujus dies sacratissimo huic oraculo dedicatur, quia nimirum ille nasciturus praedicabatur qui consummationem observantiae legalis, et evangelicae gratiae praedicaret initium : quia ortus monstrabatur illius, qui primus omnium et venire, et jam adesse ostenderet Dominum salvatorem, de quo scriptum est : Finis enim legis Christus ad justitiam omni credenti (Rom. X). Nam et septenario propter sabbatum, et denario numero propter decalogum, legis adimpletio recte figuratur. Dies haec propitiationis erat et expiationis, in qua populus omnis ab operibus vacare, et per orationes atque abstinentiam affligi et castigari praeceptus est. Quod beati Joannis et vitae et praedicationi multum congruit, qui et ipse a mundanis vacans operibus, coelestibus solum studiis ac desideriis animum dabat, et convenientes ad se turbas a malis operibus abstinere, ac per poenitentiam fidemque expiari, et Christo consecrari docebat : quia tempus jam divinae propitiationis instaret, in quo cunctis pie quaerentibus regni coelestis pateret ingressus. Quod autem hac die pontifex sanctuarium et tabernaculum testimonii, atque altare, sacerdotes quoque et universum populum expiare jussus est, Joannes ipse quis sit iste pontifex, quae haec expiatio manifestat, cum illo veniente ad baptismum suum loquitur, dicens : Ecce Agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccata mundi (Joan. I). Quae videlicet expiatio semel in anno celebrari statuta est, quia, sicut Apostolus ait, Christus semel oblatus est ad multorum exhaurienda peccata, secundo sine peccato apparebit exspectantibus se in salutem (Hebr. IX). Quod autem pontifice ad rogandum ingrediente sanctuarium, nemini hominum in tabernaculo esse licebat donec exiret, infirmitatem sanctae Ecclesiae designat, quae pro fide ejus pati necdum erat idonea. Quod in ipsis patefactum est apostolis qui, inchoata eadem passione illius, omnes relicto eo fugerunt. Egrediebatur autem expleta expiatione pontifex, ut et aliis tabernaculum intrandi facultas daretur, quia perfecto suae sacrificio passionis, apparuit discipulis Christus : et data Spiritus sancti grat⟨i⟩a, ad offerendas Deo hostias non solum devotione [Al., devoti] operis et orationis, sed et proprii sanguinis, eorum quoque corda roboravit. Haec de observantia festivitatis legalis latius exposuimus, ut agnosceret charitas vestra quam congruenter in ea nova gratiae praeconia sumpserint exordium, in qua tam multipliciter opus ejusdem gratiae et totius mundi redemptio significabatur.
for his house and for the whole congregation of Israel, until he comes out" (ibid.; Lev. 16:17). It would be long to set out the testimonies of Scripture on each of the ceremonies of this day, much longer to explain adequately how each is now carried out spiritually in the Church. So I wish above all to make known to the ears of your brotherhood how fittingly the time was chosen at which the birth and future virtue of the Lord's forerunner were announced. For the seventh month, and its tenth day, is dedicated to this most sacred oracle, because indeed he was being proclaimed as about to be born who would preach the consummation of the observance of the law and the beginning of the grace of the Gospel; because there was being shown the rising of him who, first of all, would show that the Lord and Saviour was both coming and already present, of whom it is written: "For Christ is the end of the law unto justice for everyone who believes" (Rom. 10:4). For the fulfilment of the law is rightly figured both by the number seven, on account of the sabbath, and by the number ten, on account of the decalogue. This was the day of propitiation and expiation, on which all the people were commanded to rest from works and to be afflicted and chastened through prayers and abstinence. This agrees closely with both the life and the preaching of blessed John, who himself, resting from worldly works, gave his mind only to heavenly pursuits and desires, and taught the crowds gathering to him to abstain from evil works, to be expiated through penance and faith, and to be consecrated to Christ: because the time of divine propitiation was now at hand, in which the entrance to the heavenly kingdom would lie open to all who devoutly sought it. And as for the high priest being commanded on this day to expiate the sanctuary and the tabernacle of the testimony and the altar, the priests also and all the people, John himself makes plain who that high priest is, and what this expiation is, when, as He comes to his baptism, he speaks, saying: "Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29). And this expiation was appointed to be celebrated once in the year because, as the Apostle says, "Christ was offered once to take away the sins of many; He will appear a second time without sin to those who await Him unto salvation" (Heb. 9:28). And that, while the high priest entered the sanctuary to pray, no man was permitted to be in the tabernacle until he came out, signifies the weakness of holy Church, which was not yet fit to suffer for faith in Him. This was made plain in the apostles themselves, who, when His passion had begun, all forsook Him and fled. But the high priest came out when the expiation was completed, so that others too might be given leave to enter the tabernacle; because, when the sacrifice of His passion was accomplished, Christ appeared to the disciples, and, giving the grace of the Holy Spirit, strengthened their hearts too for offering to God sacrifices not only by the devotion [another reading: of devout] of work and prayer but also of their own blood. We have set out these things about the observance of the legal festival at some length so that your charity might recognize how fittingly the new proclamations of grace took their beginning on that day in which the work of that same grace and the redemption of the whole world were signified in so many ways.
Apparuit autem oranti Zachariae angelus, stans a
"And there appeared to Zechariah as he prayed an angel, standing at
Editors' notes and page, col. 206
Page
- running head: AE. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE. 206 (page head across cols 205–206: SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE.)
- marginal letters: A ‹pro domo sua, et pro universo›; B ‹legis Christus ad justitiam›; C ‹ingressus. Quod autem hac die›; D ‹Quod in ipsis patefactum est›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens and ends mid-sentence. Damaged letter supplied: grat⟨i⟩a.
dextris altaris incensi. Quo notandum quod non solum virtute sermonum quos [Al., quos vox] protulit, verum etiam statu temporis, et loci situ in quo apparuit, gratiae quam evangelizare venerat, testimonium perhibet. Tempore quippe oblationis sacerdotii apparuit, ut verum se aeternumque pontificem veram pro mundi salute hostiam venturam praedicare signaret. Stabat juxta altare incensi, ut Novi Testamenti praeconem se venisse doceret. Duo namque altaria erant in templo, quae duo Testamenta signant in Ecclesia. Primum altare holocausti aere coopertum, et ante fores templi ad offerendas victimas et sacrificia positum, quod carnales Veteris Testamenti cultores significat. Deinde altare incensi auro tectum, prope ostium Sancti sanctorum, ad adolenda thymiamata erat statutum, quod interiorem perfectioremque Novi Testamenti et cultorum illius gratiam designat. Stabat etiam a dextris ejusdem altaris, ut non terrena et infima, sed gaudia coelestis et sempiternae beatitudinis, quae per dextram solent figurari, hominibus se promittere monstraret : illis maxime qui per cordis sui munditiam ipsi altare aureum effici, qui prope ingressum regni coelestis sedula cogitatione assistere, qui aromata orationum per ignem amoris Deo incendere, qui dicere possunt cum Propheta : Dirigatur oratio mea sicut incensum in conspectu tuo (Psalm. CXL). Quod autem ait Zachariae :
the right of the altar of incense" (Luke 1:11). Here it should be noted that not only by the force of the words which he [another reading: which his voice] uttered, but also by the circumstance of the time and the position of the place in which he appeared, he bears witness to the grace which he had come to announce. For he appeared at the time of the priestly offering, to signify that he was proclaiming that the true and eternal high priest, the true victim for the salvation of the world, was to come. He stood beside the altar of incense, to show that he had come as herald of the New Testament. For there were two altars in the temple, which signify the two Testaments in the Church. The first, the altar of holocaust, covered with bronze and set before the doors of the temple for offering victims and sacrifices, signifies the carnal worshippers of the Old Testament. Next, the altar of incense, overlaid with gold, had been set near the entrance of the Holy of Holies for burning incense; it signifies the more inward and more perfect grace of the New Testament and of its worshippers. He stood, moreover, at the right of that same altar, to show that he was promising to men not earthly and lowly things but the joys of heavenly and everlasting blessedness, which are wont to be figured by the right hand: above all to those who through the purity of their hearts are themselves made a golden altar, who with diligent thought stand near the entrance of the heavenly kingdom, who burn to God the spices of prayer through the fire of love, who can say with the Prophet: "Let my prayer be directed as incense in Thy sight" (Ps. 140:2). But as for his saying to Zechariah:
Quia exaudita est deprecatio tua, et uxor tua Elizabeth pariet tibi filium, non est arbitrandum quod pontifex, qui pro populo oraturus intraverat, mutato repente animo, pro privatis negotiis coeperit rogare, maxime pro liberis, a quorum generatione in tantum homo senex ac decrepitus spem totam averterat, ut neque angelo promittente crederet nasci sibi filium posse. Sed hoc certissime sciendum quia pro populi salvatione rogabat, quem et maximo peccatorum languore vexatum, et insuper alienigenae regis dominio pressum noverat. Unde angelico oraculo et se exauditum cognovit a Domino, et quo ordine salus quam quaerebat esset adventura didicit : quia videlicet nasceretur sibi filius qui propheta et doctor eximius existens, eumdem populum ad viam veritatis spemque promerendae salutis converteret, et mox sequeretur ipse Salvator, qui ei [Al. om. ei] regni coelestis dona [Al., gaudia] praestaret.
"Because your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth shall bear you a son" (Luke 1:13): it is not to be supposed that the high priest, who had entered to pray for the people, suddenly changed his mind and began to ask for private concerns, above all for children, from the begetting of whom he, an old and decrepit man, had so wholly turned away his hope that he did not believe, even at the promise of an angel, that a son could be born to him. But this must be known with full certainty: that he was praying for the salvation of the people, which he knew to be both afflicted with the very great sickness of sins and, besides, oppressed by the dominion of a foreign king. Hence by the angelic oracle he learned both that he had been heard by the Lord and in what order the salvation he was seeking would come: namely, that a son would be born to him who, being a prophet and an outstanding teacher, would turn that same people to the way of truth and to the hope of attaining salvation, and that soon after would follow the Saviour Himself, who would bestow on it [another reading omits "on it"] the gifts [another reading: joys] of the heavenly kingdom.
Et vocabis, inquit, nomen ejus Joannes, et erit tibi gaudium et exsultatio, et multi in nativitate ejus gaudebunt. Magnae laudis est et virtutis indicium, quoties in Scripturis hominibus a Deo nomen imponitur vel mutatur. Bene autem praecursor Redemptoris nostri Joannes voca⟨r⟩i jubetur, Joannes quippe Domini gratia, sive In quo est gratia, dicitur, quia et ipse specialem prae caeteris sanctis ejusdem praecursionis gratiam accepit, et inauditam eatenus mundo coelestis ingressus gratiam praedicare advenit. Qui ergo et gratia plenus exstitit, et caeteris Dei gratiam evangelizavit, recte praeconium gratiae ipso etiam
"And you shall call his name John," he says, "and he shall be to you joy and exultation, and many shall rejoice at his birth" (Luke 1:13–14). It is a sign of great praise and virtue whenever in the Scriptures a name is given to men by God or changed. And rightly is the forerunner of our Redeemer commanded to be called John, for John means "the grace of the Lord", or "in whom is grace", because he both received, beyond the other saints, the special grace of this forerunning, and came to preach to the world the grace of entrance into heaven, unheard of until then. He, then, who was both full of grace and announced the grace of God to others, rightly [bore] the proclamation of grace even in his very
Editors' notes and page, col. 207
Page
- running head: 207 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III (rest cut off at the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹dextris altaris incensi›; B ‹adolenda thymiamata erat statutum›; C ‹beth pariet tibi filium›; D ‹lutis converteret, et mox›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens and ends mid-sentence; the English of the last clause supplies "[bore]" pending the verb in col. 208 (adjust when joined). Damaged letter supplied: voca⟨r⟩i. "Elizabeth" is printed with z here (Elisabeth elsewhere), set as printed.
suo nomine signavit. Meritoque in ejus nativitate multis exsultandum praedicitur, per quem suae regenerationis mundo auctor ostenditur.
name signified. And rightly it is foretold that many are to exult at the birth of him through whom the Author of its regeneration is shown to the world.
Erit enim magnus coram Domino. Notandum quod idem laudis praeconium Joanni ab angelo quod ab evangelista parentibus fertur illius. Et illi enim justi ante Deum, et hic coram Domino magnus esse perhibetur. Quam magnus autem coram Domino fuerit, ipse qui solus virtutem magnitudinis ejus et donavit et novit, Dominus insinuat, dicens : Non surrexit inter natos mulierum major Joanne Baptista (Matth. XI). Sed et angelus multifariam ejus coram Domino magnitudinem subsequenter exposuit :
"For he shall be great before the Lord" (Luke 1:15). It should be noted that the same proclamation of praise is given to John by the angel as is given by the evangelist to his parents. For they are said to be just before God, and he to be great before the Lord. And how great he was before the Lord, the Lord Himself, who alone both gave and knew the virtue of his greatness, makes known, saying: "There has not risen among those born of women a greater than John the Baptist" (Matt. 11:11). But the angel too then set out in many ways his greatness before the Lord,
Et vinum, inquiens, et siceram non bibet, et Spiritu sancto replebitur adhuc ex utero matris suae, et multos filiorum Israel convertet ad Dominum Deum ipsorum. Siquidem in eo quod illum a vino et sicera, id est ab omni quod inebriare potest, continentiam habiturum asseruit, patenter indicavit, quia ab omnibus vitiis et mundi illecebris, quae statum mentis solent avertere [Al., evertere], futurus esset immunis; in eo autem quod illum adhuc ex utero matris Spiritu sancto replendum esse memoravit, profecto quia natus in mundum, cunctis virtutum fructibus esset clarificandus ostendit. Quid enim viventi et conversanti inter homines poterat deesse virtutis, qui etsi ut homo in iniquitatibus conceptus est, contra morem tamen humanae conditionis non in delictis eum praevaricationis, sed in gratia remissionis mater sua peperit? Neque enim dubitandum est quia Spiritus sanctus qui eum replevit etiam a peccatis omnibus absolvit. Constat quippe veridica Patrum sententia quia lege non stringitur Spiritus sancti donum. Et propterea qui Cornelium et domum ejus ante perceptionem baptismi sua gratia consecravit, ipse utique Joannem non solum ante circumcisionem, sed et ante nativitatem ejusdem gratiae munere perfudit, ita ut officium suae praecursionis Domino adhuc in utero positus, quia loquendo nondum poterat, jam gratulando praeberet, quando sicut sequentia sancti Evangelii testantur, intrante beata Dei genitrice, et salutante Elizabeth, exsultavit in gaudio infans in utero ejus. Sed et in eo quod illum multos filiorum Israel ad Dominum Deum ipsorum conversurum asseverat, manifeste angelus quam magnus coram Domino esset futurus indicat, quem optimo genere conversandi vitam peracturum esse declarat. Quae enim inter homines sublimior, et Deo gratior esse conversatio potest, quam eorum qui se castigant [Al., abdicant] a vitiis, qui virtutum studiis animum subjugant, insuper etiam alios quotidiano exercitio ad auctoris sui gratiam student convertere, et crebra animarum fidelium acquisitione gaudium semper patriae coelestis augere?
saying: "And he shall drink no wine nor strong drink, and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb, and he shall turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God" (Luke 1:15–16). For in declaring that he would keep himself from wine and strong drink, that is, from everything that can inebriate, he plainly indicated that he would be free of all the vices and allurements of the world, which are wont to turn aside [another reading: overturn] the state of the mind; and in recalling that he was to be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb, he showed that, once born into the world, he would certainly be made illustrious by all the fruits of the virtues. For what virtue could be lacking to him in living and dwelling among men, whom, although as a man he was conceived in iniquities, yet, contrary to the custom of the human condition, his mother bore not in the offences of transgression but in the grace of remission? Nor can it be doubted that the Holy Spirit, who filled him, also absolved him from all sins. For it is the established and truthful judgement of the Fathers that the gift of the Holy Spirit is not bound by law. And therefore He who consecrated Cornelius and his household by His grace before they received baptism, He surely poured the gift of the same grace upon John not only before circumcision but even before birth, so that, while still placed in the womb, he already rendered to the Lord the office of his forerunning by rejoicing, since he could not yet do so by speaking, when, as what follows in the holy Gospel testifies, as the blessed Mother of God entered and Elizabeth greeted her, the infant in her womb leapt for joy. And in declaring that he would turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, the angel plainly indicates how great he would be before the Lord, declaring that he would lead his life in the best manner of living. For what way of life among men can be more sublime and more pleasing to God than that of those who chasten [another reading: renounce] themselves from vices, who subject their minds to the pursuit of the virtues, and who besides strive by daily exercise to turn others too to the grace of their Author, and by the frequent winning of faithful souls ever to increase the joy of the heavenly fatherland?
Et ipse praecedet ante illum in spiritu et virtute Eliae. Joannes in spiritu et virtute Eliae Dominum praecedere dicitur, quia sicut Elias in magna virtute spiritus secundum ejus adventum praeveniet, ita Joannes non minore spiritus potentia praeditus praevenit primum.
"And he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17). John is said to go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah because, just as Elijah in great power of the spirit will precede His second coming, so John, endowed with no less power of the spirit, preceded His first.
Editors' notes and page, col. 208
Page
- running head: S OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 208 (page head across cols 207–208: BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA.)
- marginal letters: A ‹suo nomine signavit›; B ‹filiorum Israel convertet›; C ‹sanctus qui eum replevit›; D ‹severat, manifeste angelus›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column ends with the hyphenated "pri-", completed in col. 209 (not seen); set the visible part only; the English "fir[st]" is provisional. The column opens mid-sentence: the last clause of col. 207 should read "rightly signified the proclamation of grace even by his very name" when the columns are joined. "Elizabeth" printed with z, set as printed.
Sicut ille praecursor futurus est judicis, ita iste praecursor factus est Redemptoris. Nec solum adventus ordine, sed doctrinae quoque similitudine Joannes in spiritu et virtute Eliae Dominum praecessit. Nam sicut de Joanne angelus subjungit.
As that one is to be the forerunner of the Judge, so this one was made the forerunner of the Redeemer. Not only in the order of his coming but also in the likeness of his teaching did John go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah. For as the angel adds concerning John:
Ut convertat corda patrum in filios, et incredibiles ad prudentiam justorum. Ita et Dominus per prophetam non disparem de Eliae praedicatione sententiam protulit, dicens: Ecce ego mittam vobis Eliam prophetam, antequam veniat dies Domini magnus et horribilis, ut convertat [Al., et convertet] corda patrum ad filios, et cor filiorum ad patres eorum (Malach. IV). Unum igitur atque idem utriusque opus est, fidem scilicet atque intellectum, quem habuere patres, filiorum mentibus praedicando infundere. Nam patres et justi appellantur veteres sancti, de quibus Salvator ait discipulis: Multi prophetae et justi cupierunt videre quae vos videtis, et non viderunt. Filii vero et incredibiles illius aevi homines, quo vel Elias praedicaturus est, vel Joannes praedicabat, vocantur. Convertit autem Joannes corda patrum in filios, quia sapientiam quam habuerunt patres Christum credentes ac desiderantes in carne venire, transfudit in filios docendo eos credere et gaudere, Christum in carne venisse. Convertit incredibiles ad prudentiam justorum, quia eos quos sine fide Christi invenit de operibus legis frustra gloriantes, docuit credere in Christum, ejusque se gratiae tota intentione submittere, ac praecedentium justorum imitari prudentiam, qui et legem perficere diligentissime studebant, et nihilominus in gratia Domini Jesu, non autem in operum suorum justitia, salutem sperare didicerant. Hinc namque unus ex eis dicit, Justus autem ex fide vivit; unde et aperte subjungitur:
To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the unbelieving to the wisdom of the just. So too the Lord, through the prophet, uttered a not dissimilar statement about the preaching of Elijah, saying: Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes, that he may turn [Another reading: and he shall turn] the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers (Mal. 4:5–6). One and the same, therefore, is the work of both: namely, by preaching to pour into the minds of the children the faith and understanding which the fathers had. For the saints of old are called fathers and just, of whom the Saviour says to the disciples: Many prophets and just men desired to see the things that you see, and did not see them. But the men of that age in which either Elijah is to preach or John was preaching are called children and unbelieving. Now John turned the hearts of the fathers to the children, because the wisdom which the fathers had, believing in and longing for Christ to come in the flesh, he poured over into the children, teaching them to believe and to rejoice that Christ had come in the flesh. He turned the unbelieving to the wisdom of the just, because those whom he found without faith in Christ, glorying in vain in the works of the law, he taught to believe in Christ, and to submit themselves with their whole intent to His grace, and to imitate the wisdom of the just who went before, who both strove most diligently to fulfil the law and nonetheless had learned to hope for salvation in the grace of the Lord Jesus, and not in the righteousness of their own works. For hence one of them says: But the just man lives by faith; whence it is also openly added:
Parare Domino plebem perfectam. Haec etenim pulcherrima Dominicae plebis perfectio est, quam et Joannes suo tempore praedicando parabat, et nunc Dominus ipse donando per orbem latius adimplet, cum nos evangelicis et verbis instituti et imbuti mysteriis eamdem fidem ac dilectionem habere discimus, quam legalibus praeceptis edocti patres habuisse probantur. Hoc perfectissimum sanctae Ecclesiae decus est, cum ad eadem quae illos intrasse constat supernae pacis gaudia suspiramus, atque ut haec etiam nos intrare mereamur, coelestem in terris exercere vitam contendimus, cum eorum exemplo nulla quae facimus vel percipimus bona nostris meritis ascribimus, sed ad auctoris nostri per omnia gratiam respicimus. De quo illorum quoque testimoniis edocemur, quia ipse est Deus, ipse fecit nos et non ipsi nos, non solum scilicet ut homines simus, verum etiam ut sancti et beati homines simus. Cujus dona gratiae si puro semper et infatigabili corde sectamur, ipse juxta eorumdem patrum promissa propitius sit omnibus iniquitatibus nostris, ipse satiet in bonis desiderium nostrum, ipse non in operibus justitiae quae ex nobis habere potuimus, sed in miseratione et misericordia quam ipse donavit, nos in vitam coronet
To make ready for the Lord a perfect people. For this is the most beautiful perfection of the Lord's people, which John in his own time was preparing by preaching, and which the Lord Himself now fulfils more widely throughout the world by giving, when we, both instructed by the words of the Gospel and imbued with its mysteries, learn to have the same faith and love which the fathers, taught by the precepts of the law, are shown to have had. This is the most perfect glory of holy Church, when we sigh for the same joys of heavenly peace which it is certain they have entered, and, that we too may deserve to enter them, strive to lead a heavenly life on earth; when, after their example, we ascribe to our own merits none of the good things we do or receive, but in all things look back to the grace of our Maker. Concerning Whom we are also taught by their testimonies that He is God, He made us and not we ourselves: not only, that is, that we should be men, but also that we should be holy and blessed men. If we always pursue the gifts of His grace with a pure and untiring heart, may He, according to the promises of these same fathers, be merciful to all our iniquities, may He satisfy our desire with good things, may He, not in works of righteousness which we could have of ourselves, but in the compassion and mercy which He Himself has given, crown us unto life
Editors' notes and page, col. 209
Page
- running head: 209 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II.
- marginal letters: A ‹mum. Sicut ille praecursor›; B ‹praedicando infundere. Nam patres›; C ‹sime studebant, et nihilominus›; D ‹pacis gaudia suspiramus›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "mum.", the end of a word broken from col. 208 (probably "primum"); set as printed. Last word "co-" completed as "coronet" from the first line of col. 210 (same page). "exercere": c/e indistinct in the scan (looks like "exereere"); set as exercere. "judicis" read as printed (sense: forerunner of the Judge).
aeternam qui vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus, etc.
eternal, Who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, etc.
HOMILIA XIV. IN NATIVITATE SANCTI JOANNIS BAPTISTAE. LUC. I. In illo tempore, Elizabeth impletum est tempus pariendi, et peperit filium. Et audierunt vicini et cognati ejus, quia magnificavit Dominus misericordiam suam cum illa, et congratulabantur ei, etc.
HOMILY XIV. ON THE NATIVITY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST. LUKE 1. At that time, Elizabeth's time to bring forth was fulfilled, and she bore a son. And her neighbours and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had magnified His mercy with her, and they rejoiced with her, etc.
Praecursoris Domini nativitas sicut sacratissima lectionis evangelicae prodit historia, multa miraculorum sublimitate refulget: quia nimirum decebat ut ille quo major inter natos mulierum nemo surrexit, majore prae caeteris sanctis in ipso mox ortu virtutum jubare claresceret. Senes ac diu infecundi parentes dono nobilissimae prolis exsultant, ipsi patri quem incredulitas mutum reddiderat, ad salutandum novae praeconem gratiae os et lingua reseratur. Nec solum facultas Deum benedicendi restituitur, sed de eo etiam prophetandi virtus augetur. Excitati fama facti omnes vicini admiratione ac metu percelluntur, omnium qui audiere, circumquaque ad adventum novi prophetae corda praeparantur. Unde merito sancta per orbem Ecclesia, quae tot beatorum martyrum victorias, quibus ingressum regni coelestis meruere frequentat, hujus tantummodo post Dominum etiam nativitatis diem celebrare consuevit. Quod nullatenus sine evangelica auctoritate in consuetudinem venisse credendum est: sed attentius animo recondendum quia sicut nato Domino pastoribus apparens angelus ait: Ecce evangelizo vobis gaudium magnum, quod erit omni populo, quia natus est vobis hodie Salvator, qui est Christus Dominus: ita etiam angelus nasciturum Zachariae praedicans Joannem, Et erit, inquit, gaudium tibi et exsultatio, et multi in nativitate ejus gaudebunt. Erit enim magnus coram Domino. Jure igitur utriusque nativitas festa devotione celebratur, sed in illius tanquam in Christi Domini, tanquam in Salvatoris mundi, tanquam in Filii Dei omnipotentis, tanquam in solis justitiae nativitate, omni populo gaudium evangelizatur. In hujus autem tanquam in praecursoris Domini, in servi Dei eximii, in lucernae ardentis et lucentis exortu multi gavisuri [Al. add. esse] memorantur. Iste magnus coram Domino esse narratur: de illo Propheta testatur: Quoniam magnus Dominus et laudabilis nimis, et magnitudinis ejus non erit finis (Psalm. XLVII). Iste, peccatorum consortia declinans, ab omni quod inebriari [Al., inebriare] potest abstinebat; ille inter peccatores conversatus peccati omnis immunis permansit. Hic adhuc ex utero matris Spiritu sancto repletus est, in illo habitat omnis plenitudo divinitatis corporaliter, quam [Al., qui] dono sui Spiritus sedem sibi uteri virginalis in quo carnem susciperet, ipse consecravit. Iste multos filiorum Israel ad Dominum suo tempore praedicando convertit; ille multos quotidie de universis per orbem nationibus ad suam fidem et charitatem interius illustrando convertere non desistit. Hic in spiritu et virtute Eliae praecessit ante illum, ut plebem ejus aqua baptizans ad suscipiendum eum, ubi appareret,
The nativity of the Lord's forerunner, as the history of the most sacred Gospel reading makes known, shines with a great sublimity of miracles: for indeed it was fitting that he, than whom no one greater has arisen among those born of women, should grow bright at his very birth with a radiance of powers greater than that of the other saints. Parents old and long barren exult in the gift of a most noble offspring; to the father himself, whom unbelief had made dumb, mouth and tongue are unlocked to greet the herald of the new grace. Not only is the faculty of blessing God restored, but the power of prophesying about the child is also added. Roused by the report of the deed, all the neighbours are struck with wonder and fear; the hearts of all who heard, round about, are prepared for the coming of a new prophet. Hence holy Church throughout the world, which keeps so frequently the victories of so many blessed martyrs by which they merited entrance to the heavenly kingdom, has been accustomed, after the Lord, to celebrate the day of the nativity of this man alone as well. This must by no means be believed to have come into custom without the authority of the Gospel; rather it must be laid up the more attentively in the mind, because, just as the angel appearing to the shepherds when the Lord was born says: Behold, I bring you good news of a great joy, which shall be to all the people, for to you is born this day a Saviour, Who is Christ the Lord: so also the angel, foretelling to Zechariah the John who was to be born, says: And you shall have joy and gladness, and many shall rejoice at his nativity. For he shall be great before the Lord. Rightly, then, is the nativity of each celebrated with festal devotion; but in the nativity of the One, as of Christ the Lord, as of the Saviour of the world, as of the Son of God almighty, as of the Sun of righteousness, joy is announced to all the people. In the rising of the other, however, as of the Lord's forerunner, of God's eminent servant, of the burning and shining lamp, many are recorded as about to rejoice [Another reading adds: to be]. This one is told to be great before the Lord; of that One the Prophet testifies: For the Lord is great and exceedingly to be praised, and of His greatness there shall be no end (Ps. 47). This one, shunning the company of sinners, abstained from everything that can intoxicate [Another reading: intoxicate (active)]; that One, living among sinners, remained free of all sin. This one was filled with the Holy Spirit while still in his mother's womb; in that One dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, Who [Another reading: who] by the gift of His Spirit Himself consecrated as His seat the virginal womb in which He was to take flesh. This one in his own time turned many of the children of Israel to the Lord by preaching; that One does not cease daily to turn many from all the nations throughout the world to His faith and love by enlightening them within. This one went before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, so that, baptizing His people with water, he might teach them to be made perfect for receiving Him when He should appear;
Editors' notes and page, col. 210
Page
- running head: SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE. 210
- marginal letters: A ‹ronet aeternam qui vivit›; B ‹dono nobilissimae prolis›; C ‹ait: Ecce evangelizo vobis›; D ‹Dominus et laudabilis nimis›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "ronet", the end of "coronet", set whole at the foot of col. 209; not repeated here. Last word "appa-" completed as "appareret" from the first line of col. 211. Psalm reference printed XLVII; the wording also matches Ps. 144:3 (Vulgate). The English of "quam [Al., qui]" follows the sense "Who"; the variant is noted as printed.
doceret esse perfectam; huic successit ille in spiritu et virtute Dei Patris, ut plebem suam Spiritu sancto et igni baptizans ad videndam faciem Patris sui donaret esse perfectam. Joanne nato congratulabantur vicini et cognati genitrici illius, quia magnificavit Dominus misericordiam suam cum illa; Domino autem nato congratulabantur Ecclesiae, quia venit tempus miserandi ejus, spiritus angelici qui sunt vicini ejus et cognati, cives videlicet ejusdem patriae coelestis, quam et ipsa exspectat [Al., ipsi exspectant] qui hymnum gloriae Deo canendo quid illa per orbem esset actura, priores ipsi de coelis admonebant. Recte igitur nativitas celebratur illius qui talis potentia magnitudinis Dominicis propinquabat operibus. Recte ortus illius solemnitas colitur, cujus tanta est vitae sublimitas, ut quidquid illo sublimius est, hoc jam hominis naturam transcendere dubium non sit. Siquidem Dominus cum majorem eo neminem in natis mulierum esse dixisset, mox subdidit dicens, Qui autem minor est in regno coelorum, major est illo, seipsum videlicet insinuans, qui humana nativitate posterior Joanne, sed coelestis regni esset apice praestantior. Nec vacat a mysterio quod Joannis nativitas cum dies decrescere, Domini autem cum dies crescere inchoant [Al., inchoat], facta memoratur. Hujus etenim secretum distantiae revelat ipse Joannes, qui cum prae magnitudine virtutum Christus crederetur a turbis, Dominus autem prae infirmitate carnis a quibusdam non Christus, sed esse propheta putaretur, Illum, inquit, oportet crescere, me autem minui. Crevit quippe Dominus, quia per totum orbem fidelibus quod Christus esset, qui propheta credebatur, innotuit. Decrevit ac minoratus est Joannes, quia qui Christus aestimabatur, quod non Christus ipse, sed praeco Christi esset apparuit. Ideoque jure nato Joanne lux diurna minorari incipit, cujus fama divinitatis desitura, et baptismus [Al., baptismum] in brevi erat finem accepturus [Al., accepturum]. Jure etiam nascente Domino abbreviata dies ad incrementum luminis redit [Al., rediit], quia ille nimirum apparuit qui lucem suae cognitionis, quam prius solet [Al., sola] Judaea, et hoc ex parte habebat, cunctis gentibus aperiret, suae calorem dilectionis in totam mundi latitudinem diffunderet. Notandum autem quod haec eadem beati Joannis nativitas nonnullam habet similitudinem adventus Dominici, et gratiae quam praedicare veniebat. Nam et congruum valde est ut cui omnes prophetae priores et patriarchae, vel nascendo, vel moriendo, vel vivendo, vel praedicando testimonium perhibuerunt, hunc multo amplius praecursor suus, qui plus quam propheta exstitit, non tantum in vita et passione, sed in ipsa quoque sua nativitate designet. Quid est enim quod veteranis parentibus natus est Joannes, nisi quia illius mox secutura nativitas signabatur, qui spiritualia Novi Testamenti proferens arcana, carnalem legis et sacerdotii veteris observantiam jam terminandam esse doceret? Quod enim antiquatur et senescit, prope interitum est. Quid quod muto patre,
that one succeeded him in the spirit and power of God the Father, so that, baptizing His people with the Holy Spirit and with fire, He might grant them to be made perfect for seeing the face of His Father. When John was born, the neighbours and kinsfolk rejoiced with his mother because the Lord had magnified His mercy with her; but when the Lord was born, the angelic spirits rejoiced with the Church because the time of His showing mercy had come: they are His neighbours and kinsfolk, citizens namely of the same heavenly homeland which she too awaits [Another reading: which they themselves await], who, singing the hymn of glory to God, were themselves the first to make known from heaven what she would do throughout the world. Rightly, therefore, is the nativity celebrated of him who with such power of greatness drew near to the works of the Lord. Rightly is the solemnity of his birth kept, whose life is of such sublimity that whatever is more sublime than he, there can be no doubt that it already transcends the nature of man. For when the Lord had said that among those born of women there was no one greater than he, He at once added, saying: But he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he, hinting, that is, at Himself, Who by human birth was later than John, but by the summit of the heavenly kingdom was more excellent. Nor is it without mystery that John's nativity is recorded to have taken place when the days begin to decrease, but the Lord's when the days begin to increase [Another reading: when the day begins]. For John himself reveals the secret of this difference: when, by reason of the greatness of his powers, he was believed by the crowds to be the Christ, while the Lord, by reason of the weakness of the flesh, was thought by some to be not the Christ but a prophet, he said: He must increase, but I must decrease. For the Lord increased, because throughout the whole world it became known to the faithful that He Whom they believed a prophet was the Christ. John decreased and was lessened, because he who was reckoned the Christ was shown to be not the Christ himself but the herald of Christ. And so rightly, when John is born, the light of day begins to lessen, since the repute of divinity about him was to cease, and his baptism [Another reading: and (he was to bring) his baptism] was shortly to come to its end [Another reading: to an end]. Rightly too, when the Lord is born, the shortened day returns [Another reading: returned] to an increase of light, for indeed He appeared Who was to open to all the nations the light of the knowledge of Himself, which formerly Judaea was accustomed [Another reading: alone] to have, and that only in part, and to pour out the warmth of His love over the whole breadth of the world. It is to be noted, moreover, that this same nativity of blessed John bears some likeness to the Lord's coming and to the grace he came to preach. For it is altogether fitting that He to Whom all the former prophets and patriarchs bore witness, by being born, by dying, by living, or by preaching, should be signified far more fully by His own forerunner, who was more than a prophet, not only in his life and passion but also in his very nativity. For what does it mean that John was born of aged parents, if not that the nativity soon to follow was being signified, of Him Who, bringing forth the spiritual secrets of the New Testament, was to teach that the carnal observance of the law and of the old priesthood must now be brought to an end? For what is growing old and decaying is near its end. What of the fact that, his father being dumb,
Editors' notes and page, col. 211
Page
- running head: 211 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA.
- marginal letters: A ‹reret, doceret esse perfectam›; B ‹tanta est vitae sublimitas›; C ‹me autem minui. Crevit quippe›; D ‹Notandum autem quod haec›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "reret", the end of "appareret", set whole at the foot of col. 210; not repeated here. "potentia magnitudinis": final letter of "potentia" faint; read as "potentia" (UNSURE whether "potentiae"). "Notandum autem" may begin a new paragraph (indent not clear in the scan); kept within one paragraph.
principe videlicet tunc sacerdotum, ortus est praecursor Domini, nisi quia, ipso apparente Domino, lingua jam sacerdotii veteris magna ex parte a doctrina sensus spiritualis obmutuerat, solam litterae custodiam curantibus ac docentibus scribis et legisperitis, imo et ipsam litteram plerisque in locis per suas traditiones corrumpentibus, juxta quod eis Dominus in Evangelio saepius improperare probatur? Et quid quod diu sterili genitrice nascitur, nisi quia lex, quae auxilio sacerdotalis officii spiritualem Deo sobolem gignere jussa est, neminem ad perfectum adduxit, quia nimirum suis cultoribus regni coelestis januas aperire non potuit? Sed factus sub lege auctor ipse legis sterilitatis opprobrium legi abstulit, qui hanc spiritualiter intelligendam monstravit, et supernae beatitudinis gratiam, quae in Evangelio nunc apertissime lucet, in ea jam olim praefiguratam et quasi conceptam fuisse docuit
a chief, that is, of the priests of that time, the forerunner of the Lord was born, if not because, when the Lord Himself appeared, the tongue of the old priesthood had already for the most part fallen silent from teaching the spiritual sense, the scribes and lawyers caring for and teaching only the keeping of the letter, nay even corrupting the letter itself in many places by their traditions, as the Lord is shown to reproach them often in the Gospel? And what of his being born of a mother long barren, if not because the law, which was bidden to beget spiritual offspring for God with the help of the priestly office, brought no one to perfection, since indeed it could not open the gates of the heavenly kingdom to its worshippers? But the very Author of the law, made under the law, took away from the law the reproach of barrenness, for He showed that it must be understood spiritually, and taught that the grace of heavenly blessedness, which now shines most openly in the Gospel, had long since been prefigured and as it were conceived in it.
Et factum est, inquit, in die octavo, venerunt circumcidere puerum, et vocabant eum nomine patris ejus Zachariam. Et respondens mater ejus dixit, Nequaquam, sed vocabitur Joannes. Joannes interpretatur Domini gratia, sive In quo est gratia. Quo nomine et totam evangelicae dispensationis gratiam quam praedicat, et ipsum specialiter Dominum signat, per quem eadem gratia mundo donata est. Qui vero natum puerum patris Zachariae nomine magis quam Joannem vocandum esse decernebant, eos profecto figurant qui, Domino nova gratiae munera declarante, cuperent eum potius consueta sacerdotii veteris edicta praedicare. Unde bene Zacharias Memor Domini interpretatur, quia videlicet memoriam antiquae observationis, quae utique a Domino data est, figurate denuntiat. Contendebant ergo de nomine nati prophetae hi qui convenerant, et Zachariam hunc vocari satagebant: at contra mater verbis, et pater scriptis, quia Joannes magis appellandus est, astruebant. Quia fuere nonnulli coelestium sacramentorum minus periti, qui in primordiis Evangelii coruscantis carnalia adhuc legalis sacerdotii statuta simul observanda esse decernerent, quos profecto ipsa legis doctrina de suscipienda gratia Christi, quasi Elizabeth de nomine Joannis viva voce confirmat dicendo per legislatorem: Prophetam vobis suscitabit Deus vester de fratribus vestris; tanquam meipsum audietis, juxta omnia quaecunque locutus fuerit vobis (Deut. XVIII). Ipsum quoque legale sacerdotium tacitis caeremoniarum suarum typis, quasi mutis litterarum figuris, Zacharias eidem gratiae nascenti testimonium perhibet, quia nihil prorsus in omnibus sacerdotii veteris observationibus actum vel dictum esse credendum est, quod non Evangelii gratiam, si recte intelligatur, expresserit. Quod autem declarato postmodum et confirmato nomine Joannis apertum est os Zachariae, et loquebatur benedicens Deum, patet utique quia manifestata per apostolos gratia Novi Testamenti, multa etiam turba sacerdotum obediebat fidei, relictaque taciturnitate nociva, ad confitenda, laudanda et praedicanda sui dona Redemptoris se devota submittebat. Et quidem
And it came to pass, he says, on the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child, and they called him by his father's name, Zechariah. And his mother answered and said: Not so, but he shall be called John. John is interpreted the grace of the Lord, or, In whom is grace. By this name he signifies both the whole grace of the Gospel dispensation which he preaches, and in particular the Lord Himself, through Whom that same grace was given to the world. Those who decided that the newborn child should be called by his father's name, Zechariah, rather than John, surely figure those who, when the Lord was declaring the new gifts of grace, would have wished Him rather to preach the customary ordinances of the old priesthood. Hence Zechariah is aptly interpreted Mindful of the Lord, because he figuratively announces the remembrance of the ancient observance, which was certainly given by the Lord. Those who had come together, then, were disputing about the name of the newborn prophet and were busy to have him called Zechariah; but against them the mother by words and the father by writing affirmed that he must rather be named John. For there were some less skilled in the heavenly sacraments who, at the beginnings of the shining Gospel, decided that the carnal statutes of the legal priesthood must still be observed along with it; and these the very teaching of the law about receiving the grace of Christ refutes with a living voice, as Elizabeth did about the name of John, saying through the lawgiver: Your God will raise up for you a prophet from among your brethren; you shall hear him as myself, in all things whatsoever he shall speak to you (Deut. 18). The legal priesthood itself also, Zechariah, by the silent types of its ceremonies, as by the mute figures of letters, bears witness to that same grace at its birth; for nothing at all must be believed to have been done or said in all the observances of the old priesthood which did not, if rightly understood, express the grace of the Gospel. And that, once the name of John had afterwards been declared and confirmed, the mouth of Zechariah was opened and he spoke, blessing God, plainly shows that when the grace of the New Testament had been made manifest through the apostles, a great crowd of the priests also was obedient to the faith, and, leaving its harmful silence, devoutly submitted itself to confessing, praising and preaching the gifts of its Redeemer. And indeed
Editors' notes and page, col. 212
Page
- running head: BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 212
- marginal letters: A ‹principe videlicet tunc sacerdotum›; B ‹beatitudinis gratiam, quae in Evangelio›; C ‹care. Unde bene Zacharias›; D ‹stris; tanquam meipsum audietis›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the first paragraph ends "docuit" with no stop printed; the English supplies the full stop. "quasi Elizabeth ... confirmat" rendered "refutes" for sense; the Latin is set as printed (UNSURE whether "confirmat" is a corruption, e.g. for "confutat").
in die circumcisionis Joannis, quando et nomen accepit:
on the day of John's circumcision, when he also received his name:
Factus est timor super omnes vicinos eorum, et super omnia montana Judaeae divulgabantur omnia verba haec. Porro in tempore Dominicae resurrectionis, ubi misso desuper Spiritu gloria nominis ejus per apostolos mundo innotuit, timor continuo saluberrimus non solum Judaeorum qui erant vicini vel situ videlicet loci, vel scientia legis, sed et exterarum usque ad fines terrae gentium corda concussit. Nec tantum montana cuncta Judaeae, verum etiam omnia mundani regni mundanaeque sapientiae culmina virtutis ejus fama transcendit, ita ut relicta ubique cultura ac vita priori ad percipienda fidei illius sacramenta confluerent. Recte etenim circumcisionis dies [Al., circumcisio] Dominicae resurrectionis imaginem praefert, quia et haec octava die, hoc est post sabbatum, facta est; et sicut illa a reatu perpetuae mortis absolvere solebat, ita ista perfectam vitae immortalis novitatem et in auctore nostro exhibuit, et in nobis sperandam monstravit. Quod vero inter haec Zacharias impletur Spiritu sancto, ac de Redemptore nostro simul et nostra redemptione prophetat, significat mystice quia multi de stirpe sacerdotali, qui a confessione Christi diutius ora continuerant, postmodum per susceptionem fidei illius Spiritus sancti virtute replendi, dono prophetiae sublimandi, et magisterii pastoralis officio populis essent praeferendi. Quamvis eadem acceptione spiritus et prophetia Zachariae hoc quoque convenienter figurari credendum est, quia tunc instaret tempus quo fidelibus panderetur omnes legalis sacerdotii ritus et caeremonias spirituali intus scientia et propheticis exuberare mysteriis, quae mediatoris Dei et hominum hominis Jesu Christi vel dispensatione [Al., dispensationi] temporariae vel aeternae divinitati testimonium ferrent, juxta quod ipse Judaeorum duritiam increpans, dicit: Si crederetis Moysi, crederetis forsitan et mihi. De me enim ille scripsit (Joan. V). Quid autem prophetans, et benedicens Deum Zacharias dixerit, audiamus.
And fear came upon all their neighbours, and all these words were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea. So too, at the time of the Lord's resurrection, when the Spirit had been sent from above and the glory of His name became known to the world through the apostles, a most wholesome fear at once struck the hearts not only of the Jews, who were neighbours either by the situation of the place or by knowledge of the law, but also of foreign nations to the ends of the earth. And the fame of His power passed beyond not only all the hill country of Judaea but also all the summits of the world's kingdom and of the world's wisdom, so that everywhere, leaving their former worship and life, they flocked together to receive the sacraments of His faith. For rightly does the day of circumcision [Another reading: circumcision] bear the image of the Lord's resurrection, since this too took place on the eighth day, that is, after the sabbath; and as the former used to absolve from the guilt of everlasting death, so the latter both displayed in our Author the perfect newness of immortal life and showed that it is to be hoped for in us. And that Zechariah meanwhile is filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesies at once of our Redeemer and of our redemption mystically signifies that many of priestly stock, who had long kept their mouths shut from confessing Christ, were afterwards, through receiving His faith, to be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, raised up by the gift of prophecy, and set over the peoples in the office of pastoral teaching. Although it is also to be believed that by this same receiving of the spirit and prophecy of Zechariah this too is fittingly figured: that the time was then at hand when it would be disclosed to the faithful that all the rites and ceremonies of the legal priesthood abound within in spiritual knowledge and prophetic mysteries, which bore witness either to the temporal dispensation [Another reading: to the temporal dispensation (dative)] or to the eternal divinity of the Mediator of God and men, the man Jesus Christ; as He Himself, rebuking the hardness of the Jews, says: If you believed Moses, you would perhaps believe Me also. For he wrote of Me (John 5:46). But let us hear what Zechariah said in prophesying and blessing God.
Benedictus Dominus Deus Israel, quia visitavit et fecit redemptionem plebis suae. In quibus profecto verbis notandum quia beatus Zacharias quod inchoatum et proxime futurum in spiritu praeviderat, prophetico more quasi jam factum esse narrabat. Visitavit enim nos apparens in carne Dominus, quasi longius a se recedentes, quos in peccatis positos quaerere et justificare curavit. Visitavit quasi medicus aegrotos, qui ut inveteratum superbiae nostrae languorem sanaret, novum nobis suae humilitatis exemplum adhibuit. Fecit redemptionem plebis suae, qui nos venundatos sub peccato, et antiqui hostis servitio addictos, dato sui sanguinis pretio liberavit. Unde benigne nos hortatur Apostolus, dicens: Empti estis pretio magno, glorificate et portate Deum in corpore vestro (I Cor. VI). Plebis autem suae dicit, non utique quam veniens plebem suam reperit, sed quam visitando et redimendo suam fecit. Vultis etenim audire, fratres mei, qualem invenerit eam, qualem reddiderit. Finis cantici
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and wrought the redemption of His people. In these words it is surely to be noted that blessed Zechariah, after the manner of prophecy, was telling as though already done what he had foreseen in the spirit as begun and soon to come. For the Lord, appearing in the flesh, visited us who had as it were withdrawn far from Him, being careful to seek and to justify us, set as we were in our sins. He visited us as a physician visits the sick, applying to us the new example of His humility to heal the inveterate sickness of our pride. He wrought the redemption of His people, for He set us free, who had been sold under sin and bound over to the service of the ancient enemy, by paying the price of His own blood. Hence the Apostle kindly exhorts us, saying: You were bought with a great price; glorify and bear God in your body (1 Cor. 6:20). He says "of His people", not indeed the people which He found to be His at His coming, but the people He made His own by visiting and redeeming it. For would you hear, my brethren, what sort of people He found it, and what sort He made it? The end of this canticle
Editors' notes and page, col. 213
Page
- running head: 213 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II.
- marginal letters: A ‹in die circumcisionis Joannis›; B ‹cumcisio] Dominicae resurrectionis›; C ‹quo fidelibus panderetur›; D ‹more quasi jam factum esse›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: last word "can-" completed as "cantici" from the first line of col. 214 (same page).
hujus, quod ob notitiam simul et prolixitatem sui totum charitati vestrae recensere et explanare longum duximus, aperte denuntiat, dicens:
of this, which, because it is both well known and long, we have thought it too lengthy to go through and explain in full to your charity, plainly declares it, saying:
Visitavit nos oriens ex alto, illuminare his qui in tenebris et in umbra mortis sedent, ad dirigendos pedes nostros in viam pacis. Invenit ergo nos sedentes in tenebris et in umbra mortis, hoc est, longa peccatorum et ignorantiae caecitate depressos, atque hostis antiqui fraude deceptos obsessosque erroribus. Ipse etenim recte mors et mendacium, sicut e contra Dominus veritas vocatur et vita. Attulit autem nobis veram cognitionis suae lucem, exclusisque errorum tenebris certum nobis iter patriae coelestis aperuit: direxit gressus operum nostrorum, quatenus per viam veritatis, quam monstravit incedere, atque ad mansionem perpetuae pacis possimus intrare, quam promisit. Haec igitur dona, fratres charissimi, supernae bonitatis, haec aeternorum donorum promissa habentes, benedicamus et nos Dominum in omni tempore, quia visitavit et fecit redemptionem plebis suae. Semper laus ejus in ore nostro versetur, semper ejus et memoriam retineamus, et in invicem annuntiemus virtutes [Al. add. ejus], qui de tenebris nos vocavit in admirabile lumen suum. Ejus continue flagitemus auxilium, ut lucem scientiae quam contulit in nobis ipse conservet, atque ad perfectum usque diem perducat. Et ut digni simus exaudiri precantes, abjiciamus ipsi opera tenebrarum, et induamus nos arma lucis. Sic etenim supplicantes concite quae desideramus accipimus, quia nimirum verba divinae orationis adjuvat manus piae operationis. Et quia beati praecursoris hodie natalitia celebramus, oportet ut quem salutis aeternae praeconem suscepimus, hunc etiam nostrae orationis adjutorem quaeramus; ipsum itaque intercedendo rogemus impetrare, ut ad eum cui testimonium perhibuit, lucem, vitam et veritatem pervenire mereamur Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum qui vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti, etc.
The Dayspring from on high has visited us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. He found us, then, sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, that is, weighed down by the long blindness of sins and of ignorance, and deceived by the fraud of the ancient enemy and beset by errors. For he is rightly called death and falsehood, as on the contrary the Lord is called truth and life. But He brought us the true light of the knowledge of Himself, and, shutting out the darkness of errors, opened to us a sure road to the heavenly homeland; He guided the steps of our works, so that we might walk by the way of truth which He showed, and enter the mansion of everlasting peace which He promised. Having, then, dearest brethren, these gifts of the goodness from above, having these promises of eternal gifts, let us too bless the Lord at all times, because He has visited and wrought the redemption of His people. Let His praise be ever in our mouth, let us ever keep His memory, and let us proclaim to one another the mighty works [Another reading adds: of Him] of Him Who called us out of darkness into His marvellous light. Let us continually entreat His help, that He Himself may preserve in us the light of knowledge which He has bestowed, and bring it on to the perfect day. And that we may be worthy to be heard when we pray, let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light. For so, when we make supplication, we swiftly receive what we desire, since indeed the hand of devout working aids the words of holy prayer. And because today we celebrate the birthday of the blessed forerunner, it is fitting that him whom we have received as herald of eternal salvation we should seek also as helper of our prayer; let us therefore ask him to obtain by his intercession that we may deserve to come to Him to Whom he bore witness, the Light, the Life and the Truth, Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, etc.
HOMILIA XV. IN VIGILIA BEATORUM APOSTOLORUM PETRI ET PAULI. JOAN. XXI. In illo tempore dixit Jesus Petro: Simon Joannis, diligis me plus his? etc.
HOMILY XV. ON THE VIGIL OF THE BLESSED APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL. JOHN 21. At that time Jesus said to Peter: Simon son of John, do you love Me more than these? etc.
Virtutem nobis perfectae dilectionis praesens sancti Evangelii lectio commendat. Perfecta etenim dilectio est, qua Deum ex toto corde, tota anima, tota virtute, proximum autem tanquam nosmetipsos diligere jubemur. Et neutra harum dilectio sine altera valet esse perfecta, quia nec Deus vere sine proximo, nec sine Deo vere potest proximus amari. Unde Dominus toties interrogato Petro, an se diligeret, et illo respondente, quod eum ipso teste diligeret, adjungebat per singula, ita concludens: Pasce oves meas, sive [Al. add. Pasce] agnos meos. Ac si aperte diceret: Haec sola et vera est probatio integri in Deum amoris, si erga fratres studueris curam solliciti exercere laboris. Nam quicunque fratri opus pietatis quod valet impendere negligit, minus justo se Conditorem
The present reading of the holy Gospel commends to us the virtue of perfect love. For perfect love is that by which we are commanded to love God with the whole heart, the whole soul, the whole strength, and our neighbour as ourselves. And neither of these loves can be perfect without the other, since neither can God truly be loved without the neighbour, nor the neighbour truly without God. Hence the Lord, when Peter had been asked so many times whether he loved Him, and had answered that he loved Him, with Himself as witness, added each time, concluding thus: Feed My sheep, or [Another reading adds: Feed] My lambs. As if He said openly: This is the one true proof of an undivided love for God, if you are zealous to exercise the care of anxious labour towards the brethren. For whoever neglects to bestow on a brother the work of kindness that he is able shows that he loves his Maker less than is right,
Editors' notes and page, col. 214
Page
- running head: SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE. 214
- marginal letters: A ‹tici hujus, quod ob notitiam›; B ‹mansionem perpetuae pacis›; C ‹adjuvat manus piae operationis›; D ‹Virtutem nobis perfectae›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "tici", the end of "cantici", set whole at the foot of col. 213; not repeated here. Last word "Con-" completed as "Conditorem" from the first line of col. 215.
diligere ostendit, cujus mandatum in sustentanda proximi necessitate contemnit. Quae profecto charitas, quoniam sine divinae gratia inspirationis minime possit haberi, tacite quodammodo Dominus insinuat, qui Petrum de illa interrogans, Simonem eum Joannis, quod nusquam alias, cognominat. Simon, inquit, Joannis, diligis me plus his? Ubi quamvis simpliciter mentio facta terreni parentis ejus possit intelligi, non tamen ab re est si quis nomine Joannis donum supernae generationis mystyce indicatum velit accipere, de quo apostolus Joannes admonendo testatur: Charissimi, diligamus invicem, quoniam charitas ex Deo est; et omnis qui diligit ex Deo natus est, et cognoscit Deum (I Joan. IV). Simon namque Obediens, Joannes dicitur Dei gratia. Et propterea recte primus apostolorum, cum de amore suo requiritur, Simon Joannis, id est, Obediens Dei gratiae [Al., gratia] vocatur, ut liquido cunctis ostendatur hoc quod majore prae caeteris obedientia Domini jussis obsequitur, quod ardentiori illum charitate amplectitur, non humani meriti, sed muneris esse divini. Unde et apostolus Paulus eadem gratia confortatus aiebat: Quia charitas Dei diffusa est in cordibus nostris, per Spiritum sanctum qui datus est nobis (Rom. V). Qui ergo caeteris flagrantius Dominum amare probatur, filius Joannis cognominatur, quia nimirum virtus ejusdem amoris non nisi per gratiam Spiritus percipitur. Qui tamen ipse (notandum) quam caute et circumspecte testimonium reddat suo amatori, cum, Domino sciscitante an se plus aliis diligeret, non est ausus respondere, Tu scis quia amo te plus his, sed temperata ac simplici voce, Etiam, inquit, Domine, tu scis quia amo te. Quod est aperte dicere: Scio quidem, quia ipse te, ut tu melius nosti, integro corde diligo: quantum vero te alii diligant, mihi quidem ignotum, sed tibi omnia sunt nota. Cujus cautela responsionis nostrae profecto est institutio locutionis simul et cogitationis, ut videlicet ejus exemplo discamus minus de nostrae conscientiae puritate praesumere, minus temere de fraternae conscientiae occultis judicare, in dubiis maxime rebus, et [Al. om. et] quae qua intentione vel necessitate gerantur, inspicere nequimus. Nam de apertis fratrum erratibus, non solum potestatem, sed et praeceptum judicandi ut corrigantur habemus, dicente Domino: Si peccaverit frater tuus, increpa illum: et si poenitentiam egerit, dimitte illi (Matth. XVIII). Ambigua autem eorum gesta, et quae in quamlibet partem interpretari possunt, divino potius examine reservare jubemur. Dicit namque Apostolus: Nolite ante tempus judicare, quoadusque veniat Dominus, qui et illuminabit abscondita tenebrarum, et manifestabit consilia cordium (I Cor. IV). Siquidem et ipse Petrus idcirco se in hac Dominica interrogatione cautius respondendo cohibebat, quia meminit se pridem imminente ejus passione plus sibi constantiae tribuisse quam haberet, spondendo videlicet se esse paratum et in carcerem et in mortem ire cum illo, qui necdum erat
whose commandment he despises in relieving his neighbour's need. That this charity cannot be had at all without the grace of divine inspiration the Lord tacitly hints in a certain way when, questioning Peter about it, He surnames him Simon son of John, which He does nowhere else. Simon son of John, He says, do you love Me more than these? Although here a simple mention of his earthly parent can be understood, yet it is not beside the point if someone should wish to take the name of John as mystically indicating the gift of the heavenly birth, of which the apostle John bears witness in admonishing: Dearly beloved, let us love one another, for charity is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God (1 John 4:7). For Simon means Obedient, John is called the grace of God. And therefore the first of the apostles, when he is asked about his love, is rightly called Simon son of John, that is, Obedient to the grace of God [Another reading: Obedient by the grace of God], so that it may be plainly shown to all that his following the Lord's commands with greater obedience than the others, and his embracing Him with more ardent charity, is not of human merit but of divine gift. Hence the apostle Paul too, strengthened by the same grace, said: For the charity of God is poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us (Rom. 5:5). He, then, who is shown to love the Lord more fervently than the rest is surnamed son of John, because indeed the virtue of this love is received only through the grace of the Spirit. Yet note how cautiously and circumspectly he himself renders testimony to the One he loves: when the Lord inquired whether he loved Him more than the others, he did not dare to answer, You know that I love You more than these, but with a measured and simple voice he says: Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. This is to say openly: I know indeed that I myself love You, as You know better, with an undivided heart; but how much others love You is unknown to me, while to You all things are known. The caution of this answer is surely a lesson to us in speech and in thought alike, namely that by his example we should learn to presume less of the purity of our own conscience, and to judge less rashly of the hidden things of a brother's conscience, above all in doubtful matters, and [Another reading omits: and] in things of which we cannot see with what intention or under what necessity they are done. For concerning the open faults of the brethren we have not only the power but also the command to judge, so that they may be corrected, since the Lord says: If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him (Matt. 18). But their ambiguous deeds, which can be interpreted either way, we are commanded rather to reserve to the divine judgement. For the Apostle says: Do not judge before the time, until the Lord comes, Who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and make manifest the counsels of hearts (1 Cor. 4:5). Indeed Peter himself restrained himself in answering the Lord's question the more cautiously for this reason, that he remembered how, shortly before, when the Lord's passion was imminent, he had attributed to himself more constancy than he had, promising that he was ready to go with Him both to prison and to death, he who was not yet
Editors' notes and page, col. 215
Page
- running head: 215 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA.
- marginal letters: A ‹ditorem diligere ostendit›; B ‹gratia. Et propterea recte›; C ‹citante an se plus aliis›; D ‹non solum potestatem›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "ditorem", the end of "Conditorem", set whole at the foot of col. 214; not repeated here. "divinae gratia inspirationis": the scan appears to print "gratia" (UNSURE; "gratiae" possible). The Matth. XVIII reference is as printed (the wording is closer to Luke 17:3).
idoneus instante periculo saltem confiteri quia nosset illum vel quia fuisset aliquando cum illo. Instructus ergo periculo priore cautius loqui cum Domino, quem bene didicerat humanae conscientiae statum melius nosse quam ipsa se conscientia ullatenus nosse sufficeret. De fraterni quidem cordis occultis nil prorsus audet definire; de sui autem amoris integritate non suimet solius, sed et ipsius qui interrogabat Domini testimonium pandit etiam inquiens: Domine, tu scis quia amo te. O quam felix, et pura conscientia, quae Conditori suo, cujus nuda oculis et aperta omnia novit, dicere non metuit, Domine, tu scis quia amo te! Quam casta et sancta anima, quae et suam cogitationem Domino patere non dubitat, et se nil aliud quam ea quae Dominus approbat cogitare non ignorat! Unde bene in Apocalypsi sanctorum corda phialis aureis comparantur, dicente Joanne: Et habebant singuli citharas, et phialas aureas plenas odoramentorum, quae sunt orationes sanctorum. Citharas quippe aureas habent electi, quia omnis eorum sermo, omne quod de illorum actibus ad notitiam proximorum fama vulgante personuerit, purae dilectionis luce rutilum apparet. Phialas quoque habent aureas, quae sunt vasa patula amplitudine diffusa, quia corda sua quo verius solo ejusdem dilectionis sentiunt igne splendescere, eo latius haec divinis gaudent pandere conspectibus. Unde recte subjungitur: Plenas odoramentorum, quae sunt orationes sanctorum. Phialae namque aureae odoramentorum plenitudine redundant, cum fulgida charitate justorum praecordia, virtutum quoque spiritualium opinione proximis innotescunt. Et pulchre ipse qui haec videbat Joannes interpretando subdidit, Quae sunt orationes sanctorum. Odoramenta etenim phialarum sunt orationes sanctorum, quia quidquid boni operantur aut dicunt, qui simplici intentione Deo deserviunt, totum hoc profecto vicem pro eis orationis adimplet, quando devotionem mentis eorum divinis commendat aspectibus. Neque aliter vero apostolicum illud praeceptum quo ait: Sine intermissione orate, perficere valeamus [Al., valemus], nisi omnes actus, sermones, cogitatus, ipsa etiam silentia nostra ita Domino donante dirigamus, ut singula haec cum timoris illius respectu temperentur, cuncta perpetuae nostrae saluti proficua [Al., perspicua] reddantur. Provida autem pietate Dominus, tertio Petrum an se diligat interrogat, ut ipsa trina confessione vincula quae illum ter negando ligaverant, absolvat: et quoties territus ejus passione, quod eum nosset, negaverat, toties ejus resurrectione recreatus, quod illum toto amet corde testetur. Provida dispensatione tertio confitenti amorem, tertio aeque pascendas suas oves commendat, quia decebat ut quoties in pastoris fide titubaverat, toties cum renovata fide pastoris membra quoque ejusdem pastoris jubeatur curare. Quod enim hic dicit ei, Pasce oves meas; hoc est utique quod ei ante passionem apertius dixerat: Ego autem rogavi pro te, ut non deficiat fides tua: et tu aliquando conversus, confirma fratres tuos (Luc. XXII).
able, when danger pressed, even to confess that he knew Him, or that he had ever been with Him. Taught, then, by the former danger, he speaks more cautiously with the Lord, Who, he had well learned, knows the state of the human conscience better than the conscience itself could in any way know itself. Of the hidden things of his brothers' hearts he dares to define nothing at all; but concerning the integrity of his own love he discloses the testimony not of himself alone but also of the Lord Himself Who was questioning him, saying: Lord, You know that I love You. O how happy and pure the conscience which does not fear to say to its Maker, to Whose eyes it knows all things are naked and open: Lord, You know that I love You! How chaste and holy the soul which neither hesitates to lay open its thought to the Lord, nor is unaware that it thinks nothing other than what the Lord approves! Hence in the Apocalypse the hearts of the saints are fitly compared to golden bowls, as John says: And they had each one harps, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. The elect indeed have golden harps, because all their speech, everything of their deeds that report has spread abroad to the knowledge of their neighbours, appears glowing with the light of pure love. They have golden bowls also, which are open vessels spread out in breadth, because the more truly they feel their hearts to shine with the fire of that same love alone, the more widely they rejoice to lay them open to the divine sight. Hence it is rightly added: Full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. For golden bowls overflow with a fullness of incense when the hearts of the just, shining with charity, become known to their neighbours also by the repute of spiritual virtues. And John himself, who saw these things, beautifully added by way of interpretation: Which are the prayers of the saints. For the incense of the bowls is the prayers of the saints, because whatever good is done or said by those who serve God with a single intention, all of it surely fulfils for them the office of prayer, since it commends the devotion of their mind to the divine sight. Nor indeed could we [Another reading: can we] fulfil otherwise that apostolic precept in which he says: Pray without ceasing, unless, by the Lord's gift, we so direct all our acts, words, thoughts, even our very silences, that each of them is tempered with regard for His fear, and all are made profitable [Another reading: clear] to our everlasting salvation. Now the Lord with provident kindness asks Peter a third time whether he loves Him, so that by this threefold confession He may loose the bonds with which he had bound himself by denying three times; and that as often as, terrified by His passion, he had denied that he knew Him, so often, restored by His resurrection, he might testify that he loves Him with his whole heart. With provident dispensation, to him who three times confessed his love He three times likewise commends His sheep to be fed, because it was fitting that as often as he had wavered in faith in the Shepherd, so often, with his faith in the Shepherd renewed, he should be bidden also to care for the members of that same Shepherd. For what He says to him here, Feed My sheep, is surely what He had said to him more openly before the passion: But I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brethren (Luke 22:32).
Editors' notes and page, col. 216
Page
- running head: BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 216
- marginal letters: A ‹idoneus instante periculo›; B ‹bene in Apocalypsi›; C ‹dant, cum fulgida charitate›; D ‹luti proficua [Al., perspicua]›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: (none)
Pascere ergo oves Christi est credentes Christo, ne a fide deficiant, confirmare, et ut in fide magis magisque proficiant instanter operam dare. Quamvis solertius intuendum quod eadem pastio gregis Dominici non uniformi, sed multimoda est sollicitudine gerenda. Nam et terrena subsidia necesse est ut subditis rector ne desint diligenter praevideat, et exempla virtutis simul cum verbo praedicationis eisdem sollicitus impendat; et si quos aut spiritualibus, aut etiam communibus eorum commodis adversantes deprehenderit, horum violentiae quantum valet obsistat: ipsos quoque cum forte erraverint subjectos, juxta Psalmistae vocem: Corripiat justus in misericordia et increpet, neque oleo noxiae consensionis eorum corda demulceat (Psalm. CXL). Et hoc enim ad pii pastoris officium pertinet. Nam qui subditorum errata corrigere, et vulnera in eis peccatorum in quantum sufficit curare neglexerit, inter pastores ovilium [Al., ovium] Christi qua fronte se annumerare praesumit? Sed et hoc pastori est fixo corde tenendum ut eos quibus praeest non quasi suos proprios, sed ut Domini sui gregem tractare meminerit, juxta illud quod Petro dicitur: Si diligis me, pasce oves meas (Joan. XXI). Meas, inquit, non tuas. Meas tibi oves commendatas scito, et has quasi meas regere, si me perfecte amas, recole: ut meam videlicet in eis gloriam, meum dominium, mea lucra, non tua propria quaeras. Sunt enim qui oves Christi non amore Christi, sed suae vel gloriae, vel dominationis, vel quaestus gratia pascunt. Quorum multitudinem dolens apostolus Paulus, ait Philippensibus: Spero autem in Domino Jesu Timotheum me cito mittere ad vos, ut et ego bono animo sim, cognitis quae circa vos sunt. Neminem enim habeo tam unanimem, qui sincera affectione pro vobis sollicitus sit. Omnes enim quae sua sunt quaerunt, non quae Jesu Christi (Philipp. II). Unde Dominus in Evangelio tales non pastores, sed mercenarios potius vocat dicens, quia, lupo veniente, mercenarius fugit, quia mercenarius est, et non pertinet ad eum de ovibus (Joan. X). Veri autem pastoris, et cui sincera est cura de ovibus evidens ac speciale indicium est, cum quisquis [Al., quisque] non solum commodis omnibus vitae temporalis carere, sed ipsam quoque vitam pro grege Christi ponere in promptu habet. Unde nunc ipse postquam pascendas oves suas Petro, hoc est, plebes docendas gubernandasque, commisit, subsequenter addidit, dicens: Amen, amen dico tibi, cum esses junior, cingebas te, et ambulabas ubi volebas: cum autem senueris, extendes manus tuas, et alius te cinget, et ducet quo tu non vis (Joan. XXI). In extensione etenim manuum positionem membrorum ejus, qua cruci erat aptandus, insinuat; in cinctione alterius, impositionem vinculorum quibus a persecutione [Al., persecutore] arcendus erat, exprimit; in ductu quo nollet, ipsam mortis ac passionis acerbitatem indicat, quam corporalis ejus infirmitas horrebat, cujus animi firmitas spiritualis etiam adversa pro Domino laetabatur cuncta sufferre. Neque enim voluntatem
To feed the sheep of Christ, then, is to strengthen those who believe in Christ so that they do not fall away from the faith, and to labour earnestly that they may advance more and more in faith. Yet it must be observed more carefully that this same feeding of the Lord's flock is to be carried on with a care not of one form but of many. For the ruler must both diligently provide that his subjects do not lack earthly support, and attentively bestow on them examples of virtue together with the word of preaching; and if he finds any opposing their spiritual or even their common interests, he must resist their violence as far as he can; and his subjects themselves, when they happen to go astray, he must, according to the Psalmist's words, Let the just man correct in mercy and reprove, not soothe their hearts with the oil of harmful assent (Ps. 140:5). For this too belongs to the office of a devout shepherd. For he who neglects to correct the errors of his subjects, and, as far as he is able, to heal the wounds of sins in them, with what face does he presume to number himself among the shepherds of the sheepfolds [Another reading: of the sheep] of Christ? But the shepherd must also hold this with a fixed heart, that he remember to treat those over whom he is set not as his own, but as the flock of his Lord, according to what is said to Peter: If you love Me, feed My sheep (John 21). Mine, He says, not yours. Know that My sheep are entrusted to you, and bear in mind, if you love Me perfectly, that you rule them as Mine: that is, that you seek in them My glory, My dominion, My gains, not your own. For there are those who feed the sheep of Christ not for love of Christ but for the sake of their own glory, or dominion, or gain. Grieving at their multitude, the apostle Paul says to the Philippians: I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be of good heart when I know how things are with you. For I have no one so like-minded who is anxious for you with sincere affection. For all seek their own, not the things of Jesus Christ (Phil. 2:19–21). Hence the Lord in the Gospel calls such men not shepherds but rather hirelings, saying that when the wolf comes the hireling flees, because he is a hireling and has no concern for the sheep (John 10:12–13). But it is a clear and special sign of the true shepherd, and of one who has a sincere care for the sheep, when anyone [Another reading: each one] is ready not only to go without all the advantages of temporal life but even to lay down life itself for the flock of Christ. Hence now He Himself, after He had committed His sheep to Peter to be fed, that is, the peoples to be taught and governed, went on to add, saying: Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you would; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and lead you where you do not wish (John 21:18). For by the stretching out of the hands He hints at the position of his limbs in which he was to be fitted to the cross; by the girding by another He expresses the putting on of the bonds by which he was to be held fast by the persecution [Another reading: by the persecutor]; by the leading where he would not, He indicates the very bitterness of death and passion, which his bodily weakness shrank from, while the spiritual firmness of his mind rejoiced to bear all adversities for the Lord. For he did not seek his own will
Editors' notes and page, col. 217
Page
- running head: 217 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II.
- marginal letters: A ‹Pascere ergo oves Christi›; B ‹enim ad pii pastoris officium›; C ‹nem dolens apostolus Paulus›; D ‹quam pascendas oves suas›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the column ends "Neque enim voluntatem", completed at the head of col. 218 ("suam, sed voluntatem quaerebat..."); the English carries the sense across the break.
suam, sed voluntatem quaerebat ejus qui misit eum. Christi. Praemissa igitur Dominus ovium suarum pastione, adjungit mox eidem primo pastorum [Al., pastori] etiam passionis suae triumphum. Extendes, inquiens, manus tuas, et alius te cinget et ducet quo tu non vis. Ac si patenter dicat: Quanta me charitate diligas, hinc liquido probabis, cum pro parvulorum meorum vita usque ad mortem certando perveneris; et ut illi in corpore possint pariter et mente salvari, ipse tormenta corporis omnia quae adversarium infligere libet forti mentis constantia toleraveris. Quod ipse quoque evangelista subsequenter insinuat cum ait:
but the will of Him Who sent him, Christ. Having first, then, spoken of the feeding of His sheep, the Lord at once adds for this same first of the shepherds [Another reading: for this same first shepherd] the triumph of his passion also. You will stretch out your hands, He says, and another will gird you and lead you where you do not wish (John 21:18). As if He said plainly: How great the charity is with which you love Me you will clearly prove by this, when, striving for the life of My little ones, you have gone even to death; and when, so that they may be saved in body and mind alike, you yourself have endured with strong constancy of mind all the torments of the body that it pleases the adversary to inflict. This the evangelist himself also next hints at when he says:
Hoc autem dixit, significans qua morte clarificaturus esset Deum. Clarificavit quippe Petrus morte sua Deum, quando hoc indicio cunctis quantum Deus esset colendus amandusque monstravit, dum ipse data optione mallet crucis subire tormentum quam a coelestis verbi praedicatione cessare. Qui notandum quod non solum morte, sed et vita sua et passionibus quae mortem praecesserant, Deum clarificavit. Clarificavit namque vita Deum, qui per omnia quae gessit non suam propriam, sed Conditoris sui voluntatem laudesque quaerebat. Clarificavit et passionibus quem a propositis superni amoris obsequiis nulla persequentium valuit revocare pressura. Verum quia cum memoria beati Petri etiam coapostoli ejus Pauli hodie natalitia celebramus, videamus, fratres charissimi, utrum et ipse vel vita, vel passionibus, vel morte clarificaverit Deum. Clarificavit utique et ipse. Testatur enim Lucas evangelista, qui librum Actuum apostolorum maxima ex parte, agones ipsius et labores pro Christo describendo complevit: testatur hoc et ipse qui opus scriptorum suorum quod quatuordecim Epistolis conclusit, solo, ut ita dixerim, Christi odore respersit. Quidquid enim ibi legeris, aut fidei arcana revelat, aut bonorum operum fructus ostendit, aut coelestis regni gaudia promittit, aut quod [Al., quid] ipse tribulationum hic praedicans sustinuerit pandit, aut quod [Al., quid] inter tribulationes divinae consolationis acceperit, refert; aut generali exhortatione, quod omnibus qui pie volunt vivere in Christo, persecutiones deesse non possunt, insinuat. Testatur quantum vita sua Deum clarificaverit, cum in vinculis positus, et appropinquans passioni, Timotheo per Epistolam exemplum sui operis proponit, dicens: Bonum certamen certavi, cursum consummavi, fidem servavi (II Tim. IV). Monstravit quali morte clarificaturus esset Deum cum praemisit, Ego enim jam immolor, et tempus resolutionis meae instat. O quam pretiosa in conspectu Domini mors sancti illius, qui apertissime noverat, qui libera voce praedixerat, se occidi pro Domino, non aliud esse quam gratissimam Deo mundissimamque hostiam offerri. Clarificavit ergo et Paulus Deum, clarificaverunt et caeteri apostoli, quia et ipsi puro corde Christum diligebant, ipsi sincera intentione oves Christi curabant. Quod enim Petro dictum est, Pasce oves meas, omnibus utique dictum est.
And this He said, signifying by what death he was to glorify God (John 21:19). Peter indeed glorified God by his death, when by this sign he showed all how greatly God is to be worshipped and loved, since, when the choice was given him, he preferred to undergo the torment of the cross rather than cease from preaching the heavenly word. And it is to be noted that he glorified God not only by his death but also by his life and by the sufferings that preceded his death. For he glorified God by his life, since in all that he did he sought not his own will but the will and the praises of his Maker. He glorified Him also by his sufferings, since no pressure of persecutors could call him back from the services of heavenly love he had set before himself. But since, together with the memory of blessed Peter, we celebrate today the birthday also of his fellow apostle Paul, let us see, dearest brethren, whether he too glorified God by his life, or by his sufferings, or by his death. He too certainly glorified Him. For Luke the evangelist bears witness to it, who filled the book of the Acts of the Apostles for the most part with describing his struggles and labours for Christ; he himself bears witness to it too, who sprinkled the work of his writings, which he completed in fourteen Epistles, with the fragrance, so to speak, of Christ alone. For whatever you read there either reveals the secrets of faith, or shows the fruits of good works, or promises the joys of the heavenly kingdom, or makes known what [Another reading: what (interrogative)] tribulations he himself endured here in preaching, or relates what [Another reading: what (interrogative)] divine consolation he received amid tribulations; or by a general exhortation hints that persecutions cannot be lacking to all who wish to live devoutly in Christ (cf. 2 Tim. 3:12). He bears witness how greatly he glorified God by his life when, placed in chains and drawing near to his passion, he sets before Timothy by letter the example of his own work, saying: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith (2 Tim. 4:7). He showed by what death he was to glorify God when he said beforehand: For I am already being offered, and the time of my dissolution is at hand (2 Tim. 4:6). O how precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of that saint (cf. Ps. 115:15), who knew most plainly, and had foretold with free voice, that to be slain for the Lord was nothing other than to be offered as a victim most pleasing and most pure to God. Paul too, then, glorified God, and the other apostles glorified Him, because they too loved Christ with a pure heart, they too cared for the sheep of Christ with a sincere intention. For what was said to Peter, Feed My sheep (John 21:17), was surely said to all.
Editors' notes and page, col. 218
Page
- running head: SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE. 218
- marginal letters: A ‹suam, sed voluntatem quaerebat›; B ‹Deum, quando hoc indicio›; C ‹Testatur enim Lucas evangelista›; D ‹clarificaverit, cum in vinculis›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: the first line prints a full stop after "eum" and "Christi." follows as if a separate sentence; set as printed, and the English reads the evident sense (the will of him who sent him, Christ). "Qui notandum quod" is set as printed (UNSURE: possibly a misprint for "Ubi" or "Quin"); the English renders the sense. The column ends at a sentence end ("omnibus utique dictum est.").
Hoc namque erant caeteri apostoli quod fuit Petrus, sed primatus Petro datur, ut unitas Ecclesiae commendetur. Pastores sunt omnes, sed grex unus ostenditur, qui et ab apostolis omnibus tunc unanimi consensione pascebatur, et deinceps a successoribus eorum communi cura pascitur: quorum plurimi Conditorem suum morte, omnes autem vita sua clarificare probantur. Non solum autem maxima illa Ecclesiae luminaria, sed et reliqua electorum turba, vel vivendo, vel moriendo Deum suo quique tempore clarificat. Quorum vestigia nos quoque, fratres mei, nostro tempore sequi oportet, et vitae videlicet nostrae ordinem ad exempla bonorum dirigendo, et in proposita vitae rectitudine ad mortem usque persistendo, ut socii conversationis eorum existentes, socii etiam remunerationis mereamur effici. Hoc autem ita perficiemus, si juxta hujus sacratissimae lectionis tenorem, et Redemptorem nostrum debito affectu complectimur, et erga proximorum salutem fraterna sollicitudine vigilamus, ipso opitulante qui haec et nos facere jubet, et se facta remunerare pollicetur, Jesu Christo Domino nostro qui vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
For the other apostles too were what Peter was, but the primacy is given to Peter so that the unity of the Church may be commended. All are shepherds, but the flock is shown to be one, which was then fed by all the apostles with unanimous consent, and thereafter is fed by their successors with common care: of whom very many are shown to have glorified their Creator by their death, and all by their life. And not only those greatest lights of the Church, but also the rest of the multitude of the elect, each in his own time, glorifies God either by living or by dying. Their footsteps we too, my brethren, ought to follow in our own time, both by directing the order of our life to the examples of the good, and by persevering in the uprightness of life we have undertaken even unto death, so that, being companions of their way of life, we may deserve to be made companions also of their reward. And we shall accomplish this if, according to the tenor of this most sacred reading, we both embrace our Redeemer with due affection and keep watch over the salvation of our neighbours with brotherly solicitude, by the help of Him Who both commands us to do these things and promises to reward them when done, Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
HOMILIA XVI. IN NATALE BEATORUM APOSTOLORUM PETRI ET PAULI. MATTH. XVI, MARC. VIII, LUC. IX. In illo tempore venit Jesus in partes Caesareae Philippi, et interrogavit discipulos suos, dicens: Quem dicunt homines esse Filium hominis? etc.
HOMILY XVI. ON THE FEAST OF THE BLESSED APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL. MATTHEW 16, MARK 8, LUKE 9. At that time Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, and asked His disciples, saying: Whom do men say that the Son of Man is? etc.
Lectio sancti Evangelii, quam modo, fratres, audistis, tanto intentius cogitanda, ac sine oblivione est jugiter retinenda, quanto constat quia magnam nobis fidei perfectionem commendat, magnum ejusdem perfectae fidei contra omnia tentamenta robur aeque demonstrat. Si enim scire volumus quomodo in Christum credi oporteat, quid lucidius eo quod ait ad eum Petrus, Tu es Christus Filius Dei vivi. Rursus, si audire delectat quantum haec fides valeat, quid apertius eo quod ait Dominus de Ecclesia quae super eum aedificanda erat, Et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversus eam? Sed haec suis in locis plenius exponentur. Nunc autem revertentes ad explanandam ex ordine lectionem Dominicam, primo videamus de loco in quo habita memoratur.
The reading of the holy Gospel which you have just heard, brethren, is to be pondered the more attentively and kept continually without forgetting, inasmuch as it is plain that it commends to us a great perfection of faith, and equally shows the great strength of that same perfect faith against all temptations. For if we wish to know how one ought to believe in Christ, what is clearer than what Peter says to Him: Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God? Again, if it pleases us to hear how much this faith avails, what is plainer than what the Lord says of the Church that was to be built upon him: And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it? But these things will be expounded more fully in their places. Now, however, returning to explain the Lord's reading in order, let us first consider the place in which it is recorded to have been held.
Venit, inquit, Jesus in partes Caesareae Philippi. Philippus, ut Lucas testatur (Cap. III), erat tetrarcha Ituriae et Traconitidis regionis. Hic ergo statuens civitatem in loco ubi Jordanis ad radices oritur Libani montis, et est terminus Judaeae contra septentrionem, appellavit eam Caesaream Philippi, in memoriam videlicet sui nominis, pariterque honorem Tiberii Caesaris, sub quo ipse regnabat.
Jesus came, it says, into the parts of Caesarea Philippi. Philip, as Luke testifies (Luke 3:1), was tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis. He, then, founding a city in the place where the Jordan rises at the foot of Mount Lebanon, and where the boundary of Judaea lies towards the north, called it Caesarea Philippi, namely in memory of his own name, and likewise in honour of Tiberius Caesar, under whom he himself reigned.
In cujus partes veniens Jesus, interrogabat discipulos suos dicens: Quem dicunt homines esse Filium hominis? Non autem quasi nesciens sententiam de se, vel discipulorum, vel extraneorum inquirit, sed ideo discipulos quid de se sentiant interrogat, ut confessionem rectae fidei illorum digna mercede
Coming into its parts, Jesus asked His disciples, saying: Whom do men say that the Son of Man is? Not, however, as if not knowing, does He inquire the opinion about Himself, whether of the disciples or of outsiders; but He asks the disciples what they think of Him for this reason, that the confession of their right faith with a worthy reward
Editors' notes and page, col. 219
Page
- running head: 219 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS II. (right part of head cut off in image)
- marginal letters: A ‹Hoc namque erant caeteri›; B ‹existentes, socii etiam›; C ‹Lectio sancti Evangelii›; D ‹co in quo habita memoratur›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column ends mid-sentence at "mercede"; "Traconitidis" read through slightly damaged type (looks like Tracouitidis)
remuneret. Nam sicut interrogatis generaliter omnibus Petrus respondit unus pro omnibus, ita quod Petro Dominus respondit, in Petro omnibus respondit. Ideo quid alii de se sentiant inquirit, ut expositis primo sententiis errantium, discipuli probarentur veritatem suae confessionis non de opinione vulgata, sed de ipso percepisse Dominicae revelationis arcano. Quem, inquit, dicunt homines esse Filium hominis? Pulchre homines appellat eos qui de Filio hominis tantum loqui noverant, quia divinitatis ejus arcana nesciebant. Nam qui divinitatis ejus mysteria capere norunt, merito supra homines esse dicuntur, Apostolo attestante, qui ait: Quod oculus non vidit, nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit, quae praeparavit Deus diligentibus se (I Cor. II; Isa. LXIV). Qui cum haec de hominibus [Al., hominis], hoc est, humana solum sapienti⟨bu⟩s [Al., sapientis] corde, aure et oculo praemitteret, mox de se ac de suis similibus, qui generalem humanitatis scientiam transcenderant, adjecit: Nobis autem revelavit Deus per spiritum suum (Ibid.). Cui simile est quod hic Dominus, cum interrogasset discipulos quem eum dicerent homines esse, et illi diversas diversorum opiniones praemisissent, dicit illis:
might reward. For just as, when all were asked in general, Peter answered alone for all, so what the Lord answered to Peter He answered to all in Peter. He therefore inquires what others think of Him, so that, the opinions of those in error having first been set out, the disciples might be shown to have received the truth of their confession not from common opinion but from the very secret of the Lord's revelation. Whom, He says, do men say that the Son of Man is? Fittingly He calls men those who knew only how to speak of the Son of Man, because they did not know the secrets of His divinity. For those who know how to grasp the mysteries of His divinity are rightly said to be above men, as the Apostle bears witness, who says: What eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither has it ascended into the heart of man, what God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Cor. 2:9; Isa. 64:4). And when he had set this down first concerning men [variant: concerning man], that is, concerning those wise [variant: wise] only with a human heart, ear and eye, he presently added concerning himself and those like him, who had gone beyond the general knowledge of humanity: But to us God has revealed it through His Spirit (1 Cor. 2:10). Like this is what the Lord here, when He had asked the disciples whom men said He was, and they had first set out the various opinions of various people, says to them:
Vos autem quem me esse dicitis? Quasi ab hominum generalitate illos sequestrans, et deos ac Dei filios per adoptionem factos insinuans, juxta illud Psalmistae: Ego dixi, dii estis, et filii excelsi omnes (Psal. LXXXI).
But whom do you say that I am? As if separating them from the generality of men, and intimating that they had been made gods and sons of God by adoption, according to that word of the Psalmist: I said, you are gods, and all sons of the Most High (Ps. 81:6).
Respondens Simon Petrus, dixit: Tu es Christus Filius Dei vivi. Deum vivum appellat ad distinctionem falsorum deorum, quos vario delusa errore gentilitas, vel de mortuis sibi hominibus instituit, vel majore dementia de insensibili materia quos adoraret, creavit, de qualibus canitur in Psalmo: Simulacra gentium argentum et aurum, opera manuum hominum. Os habent et non loquentur, etc. (Psal. CXV). Notet autem dilectio vestra quam miranda distinctione sit factum ut cum de utraque ejusdem Domini et Salvatoris nostri natura ab ipso Domino et a fideli ejus discipulo esset proferenda sententia, Dominus ipse humilitatem assumptae humanitatis profiteatur, discipulus excellentiam divinae aeternitatis ostendit. Dominus de se quod minus est, discipulus de Domino intimat quod majus est. Dominus de se quod factus est propter nos, discipulus declarat de Domino quia ipse est qui fecit nos. Sic et in Evangelio Dominus multo crebrius se Filium hominis quam Filium Dei appellare consuevit ut nos admoneat dispensationis quam pro nobis suscepit. Sed nos necesse est tanto humilius divinitatis ejus alta venerari, quanto illum meminimus pro nostra exaltatione ad humanitatis infirma descendisse. Si enim inter sacramenta incarnationis ejus quibus redempti sumus, potentiam divinitatis qua creati sumus, pia semper mente recolimus, fit ut ipsi quoque cum Petro supernae beatitudinis mercede donemur. Nam confitente illo Christum Filium Dei vivi, videamus quid sequitur:
Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. He calls God living to distinguish Him from the false gods which heathendom, deluded by manifold error, either set up for itself out of dead men, or, with greater madness, fashioned out of insensible matter to worship; of such it is sung in the Psalm: The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the works of men's hands. They have a mouth and will not speak, etc. (Ps. 134:15–16). But let your charity note by how wonderful a distinction it came about that, when a statement was to be made concerning each nature of the same our Lord and Saviour, by the Lord Himself and by His faithful disciple, the Lord Himself professes the lowliness of the humanity He assumed, and the disciple shows the excellence of the divine eternity. The Lord intimates concerning Himself what is less; the disciple concerning the Lord what is greater. The Lord declares concerning Himself what He was made for our sake; the disciple declares concerning the Lord that He is the One Who made us. So also in the Gospel the Lord was accustomed to call Himself the Son of Man far more often than the Son of God, to remind us of the dispensation which He undertook for us. But we must venerate the heights of His divinity the more humbly, the more we remember that He descended to the weakness of humanity for our exaltation. For if, amid the mysteries of His incarnation by which we have been redeemed, we always recall with devout mind the power of the divinity by which we were created, it comes about that we too, with Peter, are granted the reward of heavenly blessedness. For when he had confessed Christ the Son of the living God, let us see what follows:
Editors' notes and page, col. 220
Page
- running head: [BEDAE VENERABILI]S OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 220
- marginal letters: A ‹remuneret. Nam sicut›; B ‹Qui cum haec de hominibus›; C ‹Filius Dei vivi. Deum vivum›; D ‹discipulus de Domino intimat›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "sapienti⟨bu⟩s": letters damaged in the type, reading sure from context. Migne's "(Psal. CXV)" is Hebrew numbering for Ps 115; the words quoted are Vulgate Ps 134:15–16 (cf. 113:12–13), so the English gives the Vulgate reference. No paragraph break visible before "Quem, inquit" (UNSURE).
Respondens autem Jesus, dixit: Beatus es, Simon Bar Jona. Constat ergo quia post veram Christi confessionem, vera beatitudinis praemia restant. Sed intueamur attente, quale quantumve sit nomen illud, quo [Al., quod] perfectum sui nominis confessorem glorificat: ut hujus etiam nos veraciter eum confitendo mereamur esse consortes. Beatus es, inquit, Simon Bar Jona. Bar Jona Syriace, Latine dicitur filius columbae. Filius autem columbae recte vocatur apostolus Petrus, quia videlicet columba multum simplex est animal, et ipse prudenti ac pia simplicitate Dominum sequebatur, memor illius praecepti quod cum suis condiscipulis ab eodem magistro simplicitatis ac veritatis accepit: Estote prudentes sicut serpentes, et simplices sicut columbae (Matth. X). Vel certe, quia Spiritus sanctus super Dominum in columbae specie descendit, recte filius columbae nuncupatur, qui spirituali gratia plenus exstitisse monstratur. Et justa laude dilectorem confessoremque suum Dominus remunerat, cum eum sancti Spiritus filium esse testatur a quo ipse Filius Dei vivi asseveratur, quamvis hoc ipsum multum dissimiliter fieri nullus fidelium dubitat. Dominus enim Christus Filius Dei per naturam, Petrus, sicut et caeteri electi, filius est sancti Spiritus per gratiam. Christus Filius Dei vivi, quia de ipso natus est; Petrus filius Spiritus sancti, quia de ipso renatus est. Christus filius Dei ante tempora, ipse est enim Dei virtus et Dei sapientia quae dicit: Dominus possedit me ab initio viarum suarum, antequam quidquam faceret a principio (Prov. VIII). Petrus filius Spiritus sancti ex eo tempore quo ab ipso illuminatus gratiam divinae cognitionis accepit. Et quia una voluntas, eadem est operatio sanctae Trinitatis, recte cum dixisset, Beatus es, Simon Bar Jona, id est, filius gratiae spiritualis, protinus adjunxit:
And Jesus answered and said: Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jona. It is plain, then, that after the true confession of Christ the true rewards of blessedness remain. But let us consider attentively of what kind and how great is that name with which [variant: which] He glorifies the perfect confessor of His name, so that we too, by truly confessing Him, may deserve to be sharers in it. Blessed are you, He says, Simon Bar Jona. Bar Jona in Syriac is in Latin called son of the dove. And the apostle Peter is rightly called son of the dove, because the dove is a very simple creature, and he followed the Lord with prudent and devout simplicity, mindful of that precept which he received with his fellow disciples from the same Master of simplicity and truth: Be prudent as serpents, and simple as doves (Matt. 10:16). Or certainly, because the Holy Spirit descended upon the Lord in the form of a dove, he is rightly named son of the dove who is shown to have been full of spiritual grace. And with just praise the Lord rewards His lover and confessor, when He testifies that he is son of the Holy Spirit, by whom He Himself is declared Son of the living God, although none of the faithful doubts that this very thing comes about in a very different way. For the Lord Christ is Son of God by nature; Peter, like the rest of the elect, is son of the Holy Spirit by grace. Christ is Son of the living God because He was born of Him; Peter is son of the Holy Spirit because he was reborn of Him. Christ is Son of God before all times, for He is the power of God and the wisdom of God, which says: The Lord possessed me in the beginning of His ways, before He made anything from the beginning (Prov. 8:22). Peter is son of the Holy Spirit from that time when, enlightened by Him, he received the grace of divine knowledge. And because the will of the Holy Trinity is one and its working the same, rightly, when He had said, Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jona, that is, son of spiritual grace, He at once added:
Quia caro et sanguis non revelavit tibi, sed Pater meus qui in coelis est. Pater quippe filio columbae revelavit, quia una est gratia Patris et Spiritus sancti, eadem quoque et Filii, quod facillimis sacrae Scripturae probabitur exemplis. Dicit namque de Patre Apostolus: Misit Deus Spiritum Filii sui in corda nostra (Gal. IV). Dicit ipse Filius de Spiritu sancto: Cum autem venerit Paracletus, quem ego mittam vobis a Patre (Joan. XV). Dicit de Spiritu sancto Apostolus: Haec autem omnia operatur unus atque idem Spiritus, dividens singulis prout vult (I Cor. XII). Pater ergo mittit Spiritum, Filius mittit Spiritum: Spiritus ipse ubi vult, spirat: quia profecto ut diximus, una est voluntas et operatio Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus sancti. Et propterea convenienter dicitur quia Pater qui in coelis est revelaverit Filio columbae mysterium fidei, quod ei caro et sanguis revelare nequibat. Caro autem et sanguis recte intelliguntur homines sapientia carnis inflati, columbinae simplicitatis nescii, ideoque a sapientia Spiritus omnimodis aversi. De quibus supra dictum est, quia Christum non intelligentes, alii Joannem Baptistam, alii autem Eliam, alii vero Jeremiam, aut unum ex prophetis [Al. add.
For flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but My Father Who is in heaven. The Father indeed revealed it to the son of the dove, because the grace of the Father and of the Holy Spirit is one, and the same also is that of the Son, as will be proved by the plainest examples of sacred Scripture. For the Apostle says of the Father: God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts (Gal. 4:6). The Son Himself says of the Holy Spirit: But when the Paraclete comes, whom I will send you from the Father (John 15:26). The Apostle says of the Holy Spirit: But all these things one and the same Spirit works, dividing to each as He wills (1 Cor. 12:11). The Father therefore sends the Spirit, the Son sends the Spirit: the Spirit Himself breathes where He wills; because assuredly, as we have said, the will and working of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is one. And therefore it is fittingly said that the Father Who is in heaven revealed to the son of the dove the mystery of faith which flesh and blood could not reveal to him. And by flesh and blood are rightly understood men puffed up with the wisdom of the flesh, ignorant of dovelike simplicity, and therefore turned away in every respect from the wisdom of the Spirit. Of them it was said above that, not understanding Christ, some [thought Him] John the Baptist, others Elijah, others again Jeremiah, or one of the prophets [variant adds:
Editors' notes and page, col. 221
Page
- running head: 221 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. (right part of head cut off in image)
- marginal letters: A ‹Respondens autem Jesus›; B ‹quia Spiritus sanctus super Dominum›; C ‹(Prov. VIII). Petrus filius›; D ‹Haec autem omnia operatur›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column ends inside the bracketed variant "[Al. add." which closes at the top of col. 222 ("eum]"); set only what is printed here
eum] esse dicerent; de qualibus dicit Apostolus: Carnalis autem homo non percipit ea quae sunt Spiritus Dei (I Cor. II). Sequitur:
Him] to be; of such the Apostle says: But the carnal man does not perceive the things that are of the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 2:14). There follows:
Et ego dico tibi quia tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam. Petrus qui Simon antea dicebatur, ob fortitudinem fidei et confessionis suae constantiam, a Domino Petri nomen accepit, quia videlicet illi firma ac tenaci mente adhaesit de quo scriptum est: Petra autem erat Christus (I Cor. X). Et supra hanc petram, id est super Dominum Salvatorem, qui fideli suo cognitori, amatori, confessori participium sui nominis donavit, ut videlicet a petra Petrus vocaretur: supra quam [Al. om. supra quam] aedificatur Ecclesia, quia non nisi per fidem et dilectionem Christi, per susceptionem sacramentorum Christi, per observantiam mandatorum Christi, ad sortem electorum et aeternam pertingitur vitam, Apostolo attestante, qui ait: Fundamentum enim aliud nemo potest ponere praeter id quod positum est, quod est Christus Jesus (II Cor. III).
And I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church. Peter, who before was called Simon, received the name Peter from the Lord on account of the strength of his faith and the constancy of his confession, because, namely, he clung with firm and tenacious mind to Him of Whom it is written: And the rock was Christ (1 Cor. 10:4). And upon this rock, that is, upon the Lord the Saviour, Who granted to His faithful knower, lover and confessor a share in His own name, so that from petra, rock, he should be called Peter: upon which [variant omits: upon which] the Church is built, because only through faith in and love of Christ, through the reception of the sacraments of Christ, through the keeping of the commandments of Christ, does one attain to the lot of the elect and to eternal life, as the Apostle bears witness, who says: For other foundation no one can lay than that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus (1 Cor. 3:11).
Et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversus eam. Portae inferi doctrinae sunt nequam, quae seducendo imprudentes ad inferos trahunt. Portae quoque inferi et tormenta et blandimenta sunt persecutorum, quae infirmos quosque deterrendo vel emolliendo a stabilitate fidei introitum eis aeternae mortis aperiunt. Sed et prava fidelium [Al., infidelium] opera ineptaque colloquia portae utique sunt inferi, in quantum suis vel fautoribus vel sequacibus iter perditionis ostendunt. Nam et fides si non habeat opera, mortua est in semetipsa (Jacob. II); et: Corrumpunt bonos mores colloquia mala (I Cor. XV). Multae sunt itaque portae inferi, sed harum nulla Ecclesiae quae supra petram fundata est, praevalet, quia qui fidem Christi intimo cordis amore perceperit, omne quidquid exterius periculi tentantis ingruerit, facillime contemnit. At quicunque credentium fidem vel opere vel negatione depravatus prodiderit, non hic supra petram Domino cooperante domum suae professionis aedificasse, sed juxta alterius loci parabolam (Matth. VII), super arenam sine fundamento posuisse credendus est, hoc est, non simplici ac vera intentione Christum sequi, sed terrenam quamlibet fragilemque ob causam habitum praetendisse Christiani. Sequitur.
And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. The gates of hell are wicked doctrines, which by leading the unwary astray drag them down to hell. The gates of hell are also both the torments and the blandishments of persecutors, which, by frightening or softening the weak away from the steadfastness of faith, open to them the entrance of eternal death. But the depraved works and foolish talk of the faithful [variant: of unbelievers] are also certainly gates of hell, inasmuch as they show the road to perdition to their supporters or followers. For faith too, if it has not works, is dead in itself (Jas. 2:17); and: Evil communications corrupt good manners (1 Cor. 15:33). Many, then, are the gates of hell, but none of them prevails against the Church which is founded upon the rock, because whoever has received the faith of Christ with the inmost love of the heart very easily despises every danger of temptation that assails him from without. But whoever among believers, corrupted, has betrayed the faith, whether by deed or by denial, must be believed not to have built the house of his profession here upon the rock with the Lord working with him, but, according to the parable of another place (Matt. 7:26), to have set it upon the sand without foundation; that is, not to have followed Christ with a simple and true intention, but to have put on the garb of a Christian for some earthly and fragile cause. There follows.
Et tibi dabo claves regni coelorum. Qui regem coelorum majori prae caeteris devotione confessus est, merito prae caeteris ipse collatis clavibus regni coelestis donatus est, ut constaret omnibus quia absque ea confessione et fide regnum coelorum nullus posset intrare. Claves autem regni coelorum ipsam discernendi scientiam potentiamque nominat, qua dignos recipere in regnum, indignos secludere deberet a regno. Unde manifeste subjungit:
And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. He who confessed the King of heaven with greater devotion than the rest was deservedly endowed, before the rest, with the conferring of the keys of the heavenly kingdom, so that it might be plain to all that without that confession and faith no one could enter the kingdom of heaven. And by the keys of the kingdom of heaven He means the very knowledge and power of discerning, by which he was to receive the worthy into the kingdom and shut the unworthy out of the kingdom. Hence He plainly adds:
Et quodcunque ligaveris super terram, erit ligatum et in coelis: et quodcunque solveris super terram, erit solutum et in coelis. Quae solvendi atque ligandi potestas, quamvis soli Petro videatur a Domino data, absque ulla tamen dubietate noscendum est quia et caeteris apostolis datur ipso teste qui post passionis
And whatever you bind upon earth shall be bound also in heaven: and whatever you loose upon earth shall be loosed also in heaven. This power of loosing and binding, although it seems to have been given by the Lord to Peter alone, must nevertheless be known beyond any doubt to be given to the other apostles also, as He Himself bears witness, Who after [His] passion's
Editors' notes and page, col. 222
Page
- running head: [SECT. I. HOMIL]IAE. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE. 222
- marginal letters: A ‹eum] esse dicerent›; B ‹Christi, per observantiam›; C ‹semetipsa (Jacob. II)›; D ‹Et tibi dabo claves›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "eum]" closes the variant "[Al. add." begun at the foot of col. 221. The closing bracket of "[Al. om. supra quam]" looks like "[" in the scan (damage or misprint; set as "]", UNSURE). Column ends mid-phrase "post passionis".
resurrectionisque suae triumphum, apparens eis insufflavit, et dixit eis [Al., omnibus]: Accipite Spiritum sanctum. Quorum remiseritis peccata, remittuntur eis: et quorum retinueritis, retenta sunt (Joan. XX). Necnon etiam nunc in episcopis ac presbyteris omni Ecclesiae officium idem committitur, ut videlicet agnitis peccantium causis, quoscunque humiles ac vere poenitentes aspexerit, hos jam a timore perpetuae mortis miserans absolvat; quos vero in peccatis quae egerint persistere cognoverit, illos perennibus suppliciis obligandos insinuet. Unde alias Dominus de correpto semel et iterum, ac tertio, sed non poenitente fratre praecipit, dicens: Si autem Ecclesiam non audierit, sit tibi sicut ethnicus et publicanus (Matth. XVIII). Et ne leve quisquam putaret Ecclesiae judicio condemnari, mox terribiliter adjunxit: Amen dico vobis, quaecunque ligaveritis super terram, erunt ligata et in coelo: et quaecunque solveritis super terram, erunt soluta et in coelo. Omni igitur electorum Ecclesiae juxta modum culparum vel poenitentiae ligandi ac solvendi datur auctoritas. Sed ideo beatus Petrus qui Christum vera fide confessus, vero est amore secutus, specialiter claves regni coelorum et principatum judiciariae potestatis accepit, ut omnes per orbem credentes intelligant quia quicunque ab unitate fidei vel societatis illius quolibet modo semetipsos segregant, tales nec vinculis peccatorum absolvi, nec januam possint regni coelestis ingredi. Unde nos necesse est tota intentione, fratres charissimi, et fidei quam docuit, sacramenta discere, et congruentia fidei opera demonstrare. Necesse est omni vigilantia multiplices subtilesque portarum inferi cavere insidias, quatenus juxta Psalmistae vocem, de his adjuvante Domino eripi, atque ad annuntiandas ejus laudes, portas filiae Sion, hoc est gaudia supernae civitatis mereamur intrare. Nec sufficere nobis ad salutem arbitremur, si turbis negligentium, vel quorumlibet indoctorum fide vel actibus adaequamur, quibus in litteris sacris unica est credendi pariter et vivendi regula praescripta; sed quotiescunque nobis errantium ingeruntur exempla, nos confestim avertentes oculos mentis nostrae ne videant vanitatem, magis quid veritas ipsa decernit, sedulo corde scrutemur, sequentes exemplum beati Petri qui, spretis errantium sectis, verae fidei arcanum quod cognoverat, indubia oris confessione protulit, insuperabili cordis cura servavit. Nam de fiducia confessionis hoc loco cognovimus, de virtute autem unicae in Christum dilectionis ipse alibi testatur, qui cum discederent ab eo quidam discipulorum ejus, diceretque ille ad duodecim: Nunquid et vos vultis abire? respondit ei Petrus, dicens: Domine, ad quem ibimus? Verba vitae aeternae habes, et nos cognovimus et credidimus quia tu es Christus Filius Dei (Joan. VI). Hujus ergo, fratres mei, pro modulo nostro exemplum si imitari satagimus, et nos cum illo beati et appellari et esse valebimus: nobis quoque Simonis, hoc est obedientis Christo, nomen congruet, nosque propter simplicitatem fidei non fictae, acceptamque a Domino
the triumph of His resurrection, appearing to them, He breathed on them and said to them [variant: to all]: Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose you retain, they are retained (John 20:22–23). And even now the same office is committed in the bishops and priests to the whole Church, namely that, the cases of sinners being known, whomever it sees humble and truly penitent, these it should in compassion absolve from the fear of everlasting death; but those whom it knows to persist in the sins they have committed, it should declare to be bound over to everlasting punishments. Hence elsewhere the Lord, concerning a brother rebuked once and again and a third time but not repenting, commands, saying: But if he will not hear the Church, let him be to you as a heathen and a publican (Matt. 18:17). And lest anyone should think it a light thing to be condemned by the judgement of the Church, He at once added terribly: Amen I say to you, whatever you bind upon earth shall be bound also in heaven; and whatever you loose upon earth shall be loosed also in heaven (Matt. 18:18). To the whole Church of the elect, therefore, is given the authority of binding and loosing according to the measure of faults or of penance. But the reason why blessed Peter, who confessed Christ with true faith and followed Him with true love, received in a special way the keys of the kingdom of heaven and the primacy of judicial power, is that all believers throughout the world may understand that whoever in any way separate themselves from the unity of faith or from his fellowship can neither be loosed from the bonds of sins nor enter the gate of the heavenly kingdom. Hence it is necessary for us, dearest brethren, with all our intent both to learn the mysteries of the faith which he taught and to show works befitting the faith. It is necessary with all vigilance to beware of the manifold and subtle snares of the gates of hell, so that, according to the voice of the Psalmist, we may deserve to be rescued from these by the Lord's help and, to proclaim His praises, to enter the gates of the daughter of Sion, that is, the joys of the city above. Nor let us think it sufficient for our salvation if we are made equal in faith or in deeds to crowds of the negligent or of any unlearned folk, for whom in the sacred writings one single rule of believing and likewise of living is prescribed; but whenever the examples of those in error are thrust upon us, let us at once turn away the eyes of our mind lest they behold vanity, and rather search with diligent heart what the truth itself decrees, following the example of blessed Peter, who, spurning the sects of those in error, brought forth with the undoubting confession of his mouth the secret of the true faith which he had come to know, and kept it with the unconquerable care of his heart. For of the boldness of his confession we have learnt in this place; but of the virtue of his singular love for Christ he himself testifies elsewhere, when some of His disciples went away from Him, and He said to the twelve: Will you also go away? Peter answered Him, saying: Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life, and we have known and believed that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God (John 6:68–70). If therefore, my brethren, we strive according to our small measure to imitate his example, we too shall be able, together with him, both to be called and to be blessed: to us too will the name of Simon, that is, one obedient to Christ, be fitting, and on account of the simplicity of unfeigned faith, and the [grace] received from the Lord
Editors' notes and page, col. 223
Page
- running head: 223 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS II[I.] (right part of head cut off in image)
- marginal letters: A ‹resurrectionisque suae triumphum›; B ‹condemnari, mox terribiliter›; C ‹congruentia fidei opera›; D ‹quod cognoverat, indubia›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "simplicitatem" read through damaged type (looks like "simolicitatem"); left edge of several lines in the top third is clipped in the image (correpto, poenitente, audierit, XVIII, condemnari, vobis, ligata, terram) but the words are certain. Column ends mid-sentence at "a Domino"; the noun governing "acceptam" falls in col. 224 ("gratiam" seen at the top of the facing column), supplied in English in brackets.
gratiam, virtutum filii columbae vocabimur, congaudensque ipse spiritualibus animae nostrae profectibus dicet: Quam pulchra es, amica mea! quam pulchra es, oculi tui columbarum (Cant. IV)! Sicque fit ut nobis supra petram fidei, aurum, argentum, lapides pretiosos, hoc est perfecta virtutum opera construentibus, nil tribulationum ignis detrimenti afferat, nulli tentationum turbines praevaleant: quin potius adversitatibus probati, accipiamus coronam vitae quam ipse nobis ante saecula promisit, qui vivit et regnat Deus cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
grace, we shall be called sons of the dove of the virtues, and He, rejoicing in the spiritual progress of our soul, will say: How beautiful you are, My love! how beautiful you are, your eyes are doves' eyes (Song 4:1)! And so it comes about that, as we build upon the rock of faith gold, silver, precious stones, that is, perfect works of the virtues, the fire of tribulations brings no loss, no whirlwinds of temptations prevail; but rather, proved by adversities, we receive the crown of life which He promised us before the ages, Who lives and reigns, God, with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.
HOMILIA XVII. IN NATALE SANCTI BENEDICTI EPISCOPI. MATTH. XIX, LUC. XVIII, MARC. X. In illo tempore dixit Simon Petrus ad Jesum: Ecce nos reliquimus omnia, et secuti sumus te. Quid ergo erit nobis? etc.
HOMILY XVII. ON THE FEAST OF SAINT BENEDICT, BISHOP. MATTHEW 19, LUKE 18, MARK 10. At that time Simon Peter said to Jesus: Behold, we have left all things and have followed You. What then shall we have? etc.
Audiens a Domino Petrus quia dives difficile intraret in regnum coelorum, sciensque secum suis condiscipulis ad integrum mundi fallentis sprevisse delicias, voluit agnoscere quid vel ipsi, vel caeteri mundi contemptores pro majore mentis virtute majoris praemii sperare deberent. Et respondens Domino ait:
Peter, hearing from the Lord that a rich man would hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven, and knowing that he with his fellow disciples had entirely spurned the delights of the deceiving world, wished to learn what they themselves, or the other despisers of the world, ought to hope for of greater reward for greater virtue of mind. And answering the Lord he says:
Ecce nos reliquimus omnia, et secuti sumus te. Ubi solerter intuendum quod non solum se omnia reliquisse, sed et Dominum sequi gloriatur: quia stultum profecto est, juxta Platonem et Diogenem, et quosdam alios philosophos, vitae quidem hujus divitias calcare, et non haec pro aeterna adipiscenda vita, sed pro inani agere mortalium laude captanda: stultum praesentes labores ultro, absque spe futurae subire quietis et pacis. Perfectus autem ille est qui abiens vendit omnia quae habet, et dat pauperibus, ac veniens sequitur Christum. Habebit enim thesaurum non deficientem in coelis. Unde bene interrogante Petro, dixit talibus Jesus:
Behold, we have left all things and have followed You. Here it must be carefully observed that he glories not only in having left all things but also in following the Lord: for it is surely foolish, after the manner of Plato and Diogenes and certain other philosophers, to trample on the riches of this life, and to do this not for the gaining of eternal life but for the catching of the empty praise of mortals: foolish to undergo present labours of one's own accord without hope of future rest and peace. But he is perfect who goes and sells all that he has and gives to the poor, and comes and follows Christ. For he will have a treasure that does not fail in heaven. Hence, at Peter's question, Jesus well said to such men:
Amen dico vobis, quod vos qui secuti estis me, in regeneratione cum sederit Filius hominis in sede majestatis suae, sedebitis et vos super sedes duodecim, judicantes duodecim tribus Israel. In hac quippe vita pro ejus nomine laborantes, in alia praemium sperare docuit, id est in regeneratione, cum videlicet in vitam immortalem fuerimus resurgendo regenerati, qui in vitam caducam mortaliter eramus geniti. Et justa prorsus retributio ut qui hic pro Christo humanae gloriam celsitudinis neglexerunt, illic a Christo judices glorificati singulariter cum eo humanae conversationis assideant; et qui a sequendis ejus vestigiis nulla ratione poterant avelli, usque ad fastigium judiciariae potestatis illum sequendo perveniant. Nemo autem putet duodecim tantum apostolos, quia pro Juda praevaricante Matthias electus est, tunc esse judicaturos, sicut nec duodecim solae sunt tribus Israel judicandae. Alioquin tribus Levi, quae tertia decima est, injudicata recedit; et Paulus qui tertius decimus est apostolus, quia pro Juda praevaricante Matthias electus est, judicandi sorte
Amen I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit on the throne of His majesty, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. For He taught those labouring for His name in this life to hope for a reward in another, that is, in the regeneration, namely when we, who were mortally begotten into a perishable life, shall have been regenerated by rising again into immortal life. And it is an altogether just recompense that those who here for Christ's sake neglected the glory of human eminence should there, glorified by Christ as judges, sit with Him in singular honour over human conduct; and that those who could by no means be torn away from following His footsteps should, by following Him, come even to the summit of judicial power. But let no one think that only twelve apostles, because Matthias was chosen in place of the transgressor Judas, will then judge, just as neither are the twelve tribes of Israel alone to be judged. Otherwise the tribe of Levi, which is the thirteenth, goes away unjudged; and Paul, who is the thirteenth apostle, because Matthias was chosen in place of the transgressor Judas, [would be deprived] of the lot of judging
Editors' notes and page, col. 224
Page
- running head: [BEDAE VENERABILI]S OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 224
- marginal letters: A ‹gratiam, virtutum filii›; B ‹MATTH. XIX, LUC. XVIII›; C ‹tias calcare, et non haec›; D ‹rati, qui in vitam caducam›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column number in the head is damaged (reads like 221); position fixes it as 224. Column ends mid-sentence at "sorte"; the governing verb lies in col. 225, so the English supplies it in brackets provisionally.
privabitur, cum ipse dicat: Nescitis quoniam angelos judicabimus, quanto magis saecularia? (I Cor. VI.) Sciendum namque est, omnes qui ad exemplum apostolorum sua reliquerunt omnia, et secuti sunt Christum, judices cum eo venturos, sicut etiam omne mortalium genus esse judicandum. Quia enim duodenario saepe numero solet in Scripturis universitas designari, per duodecim sedes apostolorum omnium numerositas judicantium, et per duodecim tribus Israel universitas eorum qui judicandi sunt, ostenditur. Unde notandum quod duo sunt ordines electorum in judicio futuri: unus judicantium cum Domino, de quibus hoc loco memorat, qui reliquerunt omnia, et secuti sunt illum; alius judicatorum a Domino qui non quidem omnia sua pariter reliquerunt, sed de his tamen quae habebant quotidianas dare eleemosynas Christi pauperibus curabant. Unde et audituri sunt in judicio: Venite, benedicti Patris mei, possidete praeparatum vobis regnum a constitutione mundi. Esurivi enim, et dedistis mihi manducare; sitivi, et dedistis mihi bibere (Matth. XXV), et caetera, quorum et in superioribus hujus lectionis Dominus meminit, cum principe quodam interrogante, quid boni faciendo vitam possideret aeternam [Al., possit habere perpetuam]: Si vis, inquit, ad vitam ingredi, serva mandata. Non homicidium facies, non furtum [Al., non adulterabis, non facies furtum], non falsum testimonium dices: vel honora patrem et matrem, et diliges proximum tuum sicut teipsum (Matth. XIX). Ergo qui mandata Domini servat, ad vitam ingreditur aeternam: qui autem non solum mandata servat, verum etiam consilium Domini, quod pro [Al., de] contemnendis divitiis mundi a [Al., ac] luxibus tribuit, sequitur, non tantum vitam ipse percipiet, sed etiam de vita aliorum cum Domino judicabit: atque ita fit ut in judicio, ut diximus, duo sint ordines bonorum. Sed et reproborum duos ibi futuros ordines Domino narrante comperimus: unum eorum qui fidei Christianae mysteriis initiati, opera fidei exercere contemnunt, quibus [Al. add. dicendum] in judicio testatur: Discedite a me maledicti in ignem aeternum, qui praeparatus est diabolo et angelis ejus. Esurivi enim, et non dedistis mihi manducare, et caetera (Matth. XXV). Alterum eorum qui fidem et mysteria Christi vel nunquam suscepere, vel susceptam per apostasiam deseruere, de quibus dicit: Qui autem non credit, jam judicatus est, quia non credit in nomine unigeniti Filii Dei (Joan. III). Qui quoniam nec verbo tenus Christum colere voluerunt, nec verba saltem ejus quibus coarguantur [Al. add. in] judicio, merentur audire. sed ad hoc tantum veniunt in judicium, ut cum eis qui judicantur peccatoribus, in damnationem mittantur aeternam. Verum his cum timore et pavore debite [Al., debito] paulisper commemoratis, ad laetissima potius Domini et Salvatoris nostri promissa convertamus auditum. Videamus quae tantae gratiae [Al., videamusque quantae gratia] pietatis, non aeternae tantummodo vitae praemia suis
will be deprived, since he himself says: Do you not know that we shall judge angels? how much more the things of this world? (1 Cor. 6:3.) For it must be known that all who after the example of the apostles have left all their possessions and followed Christ will come with Him as judges, just as the whole race of mortals is also to be judged. For since in the Scriptures the whole is often designated by the number twelve, by the twelve thrones of the apostles is shown the whole number of those who judge, and by the twelve tribes of Israel the whole of those who are to be judged. Hence it is to be noted that there will be two orders of the elect at the judgement: one of those judging with the Lord, of whom He makes mention in this place, who left all things and followed Him; the other of those judged by the Lord, who did not indeed likewise leave all their possessions, but who nevertheless took care to give daily alms to the poor of Christ out of what they had. Hence they too will hear at the judgement: Come, blessed of My Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me to drink (Matt. 25:34–35), and the rest; of which the Lord also made mention in the earlier part of this reading, when a certain ruler asked by doing what good he might possess eternal life [variant: might have everlasting life]: If you will enter into life, He says, keep the commandments. You shall not kill, you shall not steal [variant: you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal], you shall not bear false witness: or, honour your father and mother, and you shall love your neighbour as yourself (Matt. 19:17–19). He, then, who keeps the commandments of the Lord enters into eternal life; but he who not only keeps the commandments but also follows the counsel of the Lord which He gave for [variant: concerning] despising the riches of the world and its [variant: and] luxuries, will not only himself receive life, but will also judge with the Lord concerning the life of others: and so it comes about that at the judgement, as we have said, there are two orders of the good. But we find, from the Lord's account, that there will also be two orders of the reprobate there: one of those who, initiated into the mysteries of the Christian faith, disdain to practise the works of faith, to whom [variant adds: it is to be said] He testifies at the judgement: Depart from Me, you cursed, into eternal fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you did not give Me to eat, and the rest (Matt. 25:41–42). The other of those who either never received the faith and mysteries of Christ, or deserted the faith once received through apostasy, of whom He says: But he who does not believe is already judged, because he does not believe in the name of the only-begotten Son of God (John 3:18). These, since they would not worship Christ even in word, do not deserve to hear even His words by which they are convicted [variant adds: in the] judgement; but they come to the judgement only for this, to be sent into eternal damnation together with the sinners who are judged. But having briefly recalled these things with due [variant: due] fear and trembling, let us rather turn our hearing to the most joyful promises of our Lord and Saviour. Let us see of what great grace [variant: and let us see of how great grace] of loving-kindness [He is], that not only the rewards of eternal life to His own
Editors' notes and page, col. 225
Page
- running head: 225 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. (right part of head cut off in image)
- marginal letters: A ‹privabitur, cum ipse dicat›; B ‹querunt, sed de his tamen›; C ‹mini servat, ad vitam›; D ‹xxv). Alterum eorum›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column ends mid-sentence at "suis"; English of the last clause is provisional pending col. 226
sequacibus, sed et praesentis munera pollicetur eximia.
followers, but also promises the excellent gifts of the present [life].
Et omnis, inquit, qui reliquerit domum, vel fratres, aut sorores, aut patrem, aut matrem, aut uxorem, aut filios, aut agros propter nomen meum, centuplum accipiet et vitam aeternam possidebit. Qui enim terrenis affectibus sive possessionibus pro Christi discipulatu renuntiaverit, quo plus in ejus amorem [Al., amore] profecerit, eo plures inveniet qui se interno suscipere affectu, et suis gaudeant sustentare substantiis: ejus nimirum professionibus vitaeque consortes, qui se pro Christo pauperem factum in suis domibus agrisque recipere, et majore prorsus quam uxor, parens, frater, aut filius carnalis devotione charitatis refovere delectentur. Centuplum namque quod ait, non numerum amantium in Christo, et servientium pro Christo fidelibus, sed universitatem perfectionemque qua per charitatem invicem serviunt, ostenditur. Cujus rei et in nobis ipsis, fratres charissimi, saepe exemplum sumpsimus, cum alicubi pro rerum necessitate digredientes cuncta nobis monasteriorum habitacula, quasi propria, patere cognovimus, cunctos in nostrum obsequium sincerissima devotione pronos aspeximus, et maxime in beatae memoriae Patre nostro beato Benedicto, cujus hodie venerandam assumptionis diem debita solemnitate recolimus, totum lectionis hujus tenorem videmus perfectissime compleri. Derelictis enim omnibus secutus est Christum, quando spretis eis quae in monasterio regali acquisierat vel acquirere valebat, cum esset nobilis natu, ad beatorum apostolorum limina [Al. add. Romam] peregrinaturus advolavit, ut quia rudis adhuc in gente Anglorum fides et Ecclesiarum institutio florebat, ibi potius perfectam vivendi formam sumeret ubi per summos Christi apostolos totius Ecclesiae caput eminet eximium. Ibi ergo eruditus in Christo, illis in partibus attonsus, ibi est monasterialibus imbutus institutis: ibidem totum vitae suae tempus erat exacturus, si non apostolica Domini papae prohibuisset [Al., prohiberet] auctoritas, qui eum propter ducendum in [Al. om. in] Britanniam sanctae recordationis archiepiscopum Theodorum in patriam redire praecepit. Nec longo post tempore etiam reges [Al., per reges] saeculi, cognito virtutum ejus studio, locum eis [Al., ei; al., ejus] construendi monasterii non ab aliqua minorum personarum ablatum, sed de suis propriis donatum dare [Al. om. dare] curabant. Quem ille acceptum mox perfectissime juxta regularem disciplinam interius exteriusque instituit, non pro suo captu decreta nobis statuens, sed antiquorum statuta certissima monasteriorum, quae in peregrinatione didicerat, sibi suisque observanda proponens. Nec cuilibet vestrum, fratres, grave debet videri, si nota loquamur, sed delectabile potius aestimare, quia vera loquimur, quando Patris nostri spiritualia gesta narramus, cui manifesto miraculo Dominus, quod fidelibus suis promisit, adimplevit: quia omnis qui reliquerit domum, vel fratres, aut
And everyone, He says, who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold and shall possess eternal life. For whoever has renounced earthly affections or possessions for the discipleship of Christ, the more he has advanced in His love [variant: in love], the more people he will find who rejoice to receive him with inward affection and to support him from their own substance: sharers, that is, in his profession and life, who delight to receive into their homes and lands one who has made himself poor for Christ, and to cherish him with a devotion of charity altogether greater than a wife, parent, brother or son after the flesh. For the hundredfold of which He speaks shows not the number of the faithful who love in Christ and serve for Christ, but the totality and perfection with which they serve one another through charity. Of this we too ourselves, dearest brethren, have often had an example, when, travelling somewhere as affairs required, we found all the dwellings of the monasteries open to us as if our own, and saw all inclined to our service with the most sincere devotion; and above all in our Father of blessed memory, the blessed Benedict, whose venerable day of assumption we keep today with due solemnity, we see the whole tenor of this reading most perfectly fulfilled. For he left all things and followed Christ when, spurning what he had acquired or was able to acquire in the royal service, being of noble birth, he hastened as a pilgrim to the thresholds of the blessed apostles [variant adds: at Rome], so that, since the faith and the ordering of churches in the nation of the English was still rude and newly flourishing, he might rather take up the perfect form of living there, where through the chief apostles of Christ the excellent head of the whole Church stands pre-eminent. There, then, instructed in Christ, in those parts he was tonsured, there he was imbued with monastic institutions: there he would have spent the whole time of his life, had not the apostolic authority of the lord pope forbidden it [variant: were forbidding it], who ordered him to return to his homeland for the purpose of bringing into [variant omits: into] Britain the archbishop of holy memory, Theodore. And not long afterwards the kings [variant: through the kings] of the world too, having learnt of his zeal for the virtues, took care to give them [variant: him; another: his] a site for building a monastery, not taken away from any persons of lesser standing but granted from their own property [variant omits: to give]. Having received it, he at once ordered it most perfectly within and without according to the regular discipline, not laying down decrees for us after his own fancy, but setting before himself and his own, to be observed, the most sure statutes of the ancient monasteries which he had learnt in his pilgrimage. Nor ought it to seem burdensome to any of you, brethren, if we speak of things known; rather you should reckon it delightful, because we speak true things when we narrate the spiritual deeds of our Father, in whom by a manifest miracle the Lord fulfilled what He promised to His faithful: that everyone who has left house, or brothers, or
Editors' notes and page, col. 226
Page
- running head: [SECT. I. HOMILI]AE. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE. 226
- marginal letters: A ‹sequacibus, sed et praesentis›; B ‹plum namque quod ait›; C ‹spretis eis quae in monasterio›; D ‹per reges] saeculi›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "plures" read through damaged type; "in monasterio regali" rendered "in the royal service" (Bede's ministerio/monasterio question not resolved; set as printed). No paragraph indent visible before "Quem ille acceptum" (UNSURE).
sorores, aut patrem, aut matrem, aut uxorem, aut filios, aut agros propter nomen meum, centuplum accipiet in hoc tempore, et in saeculo futuro vitam aeternam. Reliquit quippe cognatos, quando patriam deseruit: accepit vero centuplum, quia non solum a cunctis in hac terra pro virtutum industria merita veneratione habitus est, sed et in Gallia atque Italia, Romae atque in maris insulis, ab omnibus qui eum nosse potuerunt dilectus, adeo ut ipse papa apostolicus ad profectum monasterii hujus quod illum nuper fundasse gaudebat, Joannem illi abbatem atque archicantorem Romanae Ecclesiae, sicut charitas vestra bene meminit, in Britanniam a Roma deducendum praestaret, per quem idem monasterium morem canendi ac ministrandi canonicum juxta ritum sanctae Romanae atque apostolicae Ecclesiae perciperet. Reliquit domos et agros quos habuerat, pro Christo, de [Al., a] quo agrum semper virentis paradisi, et domum non manufactam, sed aeternam in coelis se accipere sperabat. Reliquit uxorem et filios, non quidem uxorem acceptam, et filios ex ea carne natos, sed uxorem prorsus accipere, ex qua filios habere posset, castitatis amore contempsit, malens ad illa centum quadraginta quatuor millia electorum pertinere, qui cantant canticum novum ante sedem Dei et Agni, quod nemo potest dicere nisi illi: Hi enim sunt qui cum mulieribus non sunt coinquinati, et sequuntur Agnum quocunque abierit (Apoc. XIV). Et accepit centuplum, quando non in his solummodo, sed et in transmarinis eum partibus plurimi in domos suas recipere viantem, suorum fructibus agrornm reficere desiderabant, quando matronae perplures illi, quando viri Deo devoti pro animi constantis excellentia, non minori quam conjugibus aut parentibus propriis, dilectionis instantia serviebant. Accepit centuplum domus et agros, quando loca haec in quibus monasteria construeret, adeptus est. Uxorem si dimisisset pro Christo et hoc centuplum acciperet, quia nimirum centuplum majus esset tunc meritum charitatis inter continentes propter fructum spiritus, quam inter lascivientes quondam propter desiderium carnis. Filios, quos carnaliter habere despexit, centuplum accipere meruit spirituales. Centenarius quippe numerus, ut saepe dictum est, perfectionem figurate significat. Nos namque sumus filii ejus, quos in hanc monachicae devotionis domum pius provisor induxit: nos sumus filii ejus [Al. om. ejus], si iter virtutum ejus imitando tenemus; nos sumus filii ejus, quos diversis carnaliter editos parentibus in unam sanctae professionis familiam spiritualiter fecit aggregari; nos sumus filii ejus, si non a semita regulari, quam docuit, torpendo deflectimus. Meminimus namque, fratres, qui illum nosse potuimus; didicere crebro auditu, quos post obitum illius in nostrae fraternitatis consortium pietas superna congregavit, quia quandiu sospes erat corpore, pro gloria sanctae Dei Ecclesiae, et maxime pro hujus monasterii pace, honore et quiete semper laborare perstabat:
sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold in this time, and in the world to come eternal life. For he left his kinsfolk when he forsook his homeland; but he received a hundredfold, because not only was he held in deserved veneration by all in this land for the diligence of his virtues, but also in Gaul and Italy, at Rome and in the islands of the sea, he was loved by all who were able to know him, so much so that the apostolic pope himself, for the advancement of this monastery which he rejoiced that he had lately founded, granted him John, abbot and archcantor of the Roman Church, as your charity well remembers, to be brought from Rome into Britain, through whom the same monastery might receive the canonical manner of singing and ministering according to the rite of the holy Roman and apostolic Church. He left for Christ the houses and lands which he had had, from [variant: from] Whom he hoped to receive the land of the ever-green paradise, and a house not made with hands but eternal in heaven. He left wife and children: not indeed a wife already taken and children born of her in the flesh, but out of love of chastity he altogether disdained to take a wife from whom he might have children, preferring to belong to those hundred and forty-four thousand of the elect who sing a new song before the throne of God and of the Lamb, which no one can say but they: For these are they who have not been defiled with women, and they follow the Lamb wherever He goes (Rev. 14:4). And he received a hundredfold when, not only in these parts but also in lands overseas, very many desired to receive him into their homes as he journeyed and to refresh him with the fruits of their lands; when very many matrons, when men devoted to God, for the excellence of his steadfast mind, served him with an urgency of love no less than they gave to their own spouses or parents. He received houses and lands a hundredfold when he obtained these places in which to build monasteries. Had he put away a wife for Christ, he would have received this too a hundredfold, because the merit of charity among the continent for the sake of the fruit of the Spirit would then surely be a hundredfold greater than it once was among the wanton for the sake of the desire of the flesh. The children whom he disdained to have after the flesh he deserved to receive a hundredfold as spiritual children. For the number one hundred, as has often been said, figuratively signifies perfection. For we are his sons, whom the devout provider led into this house of monastic devotion: we are his sons [variant omits: his], if we hold to the way of his virtues by imitating it; we are his sons, whom, born in the flesh of different parents, he caused to be gathered spiritually into one family of holy profession; we are his sons, if we do not through sloth turn aside from the regular path which he taught. For we remember, brethren, who were able to know him; and those whom heavenly goodness gathered after his death into the fellowship of our brotherhood have learnt it by frequent hearing, that as long as he was sound in body he persisted in labouring always for the glory of the holy Church of God, and above all for the peace, honour and quiet of this monastery:
Editors' notes and page, col. 227
Page
- running head: 227 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. (right part of head cut off in image)
- marginal letters: A ‹sorores, aut patrem›; B ‹juxta ritum sanctae Romanae›; C ‹nis eum partibus plurimi›; D ‹significat. Nos namque›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column ends at a colon; sentence continues in col. 228
toties mari transiit, nunquam, ut est consuetudinis quibusdam, vacuus et inutilis rediit, sed nunc librorum copiam sanctorum, nunc reliquiarum beatorum martyrum Christi, munus venerabile detulit, nunc architectos ecclesiae fabricandae, nunc vitrifactores ad fenestras ejus decorandas ac muniendas, nunc cantandi, et in ecclesia per totum annum ministrandi secum magistros adduxit, nunc epistolam privilegii a domino papa missam, qua nostra libertas ab omni extrinseca incursione tutaretur, apportavit, nunc picturas sanctarum historiarum, quae non ad ornatum solummodo ecclesiae, verum etiam ad instructionem intuentium proponerentur, advexit, videlicet ut qui litterarum lectione non possent opera Domini et Salvatoris nostri, per ipsarum contuitum discerent imaginum. Qui in his et in hujusmodi rebus ideo tam plura laborare studuit, ne nobis sic laborandi remaneret necessitas; ideo toties transmarina loca adiit, ut nos omnibus scientiae salutaris dapibus abundantes, intra monasterii claustra quiescere, et cum secura libertate Christo servire queamus. Qui etiam cum corporis infirmitate corriperetur premereturque acerbius, semper inter Deo debitas gratiarum actiones de monasteriorum quas didicerat docueratque regulis servandis, semper de ecclesiasticis observationibus, quas per omnes civitates et maxime Romae viderat, semper de locis sanctis, quae se lustrasse juvenem meminit, loqui et iterare delectabile habebat. Sic longis virtutum studiis exercitatus, longo insuper animo semper [Al., annosae] infirmitatis martyrio excoctus, post centupla gratiae praesentis munera ad vitam transivit aeternam. Unde necesse est, fratres charissimi, ut tanquam boni filii et tanto parente digni, exempla ac praecepta illius in omnibus servare curemus, neque ulla nos a vestigiis tanti ductoris [Al., doctoris] sequendis animae vel carnis illecebra revocet; quatenus et ipsi qui carnales affectus substantiamque reliquimus terrenam, qui uxores ducere ac filios carnaliter procreare angelicae conversationis amore fastidivimus, augescente spiritualium virtutum merito, et in praesenti centuplum accipere de societate sanctorum, et in saeculo venturo vitam possidere mereamur aeternam, praestante gratia Redemptoris nostri, qui vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
as often as he crossed the sea, he never came back empty and unprofitable, as is the custom of some; but now he brought a store of holy books, now the venerable gift of relics of the blessed martyrs of Christ; now he brought back with him builders for constructing a church, now glass-makers for adorning and protecting its windows, now masters of singing and of ministering in the church through the whole year; now he carried home a letter of privilege sent by the lord pope, by which our freedom might be protected from every outside encroachment; now he brought pictures of the holy histories, to be set up not only for the adornment of the church but also for the instruction of those who look upon them, so that those who could not [learn them] by reading letters might learn the works of our Lord and Saviour by beholding the images themselves. He was eager to labour at so many things of this and the like kind for this reason, that the need of labouring so might not remain for us; he went so often to lands overseas for this reason, that we, abounding in all the dishes of saving knowledge, might be able to rest within the cloister of the monastery and to serve Christ in secure freedom. Even when he was seized and more bitterly oppressed by bodily infirmity, always, amid the thanksgivings owed to God, he held it a delight to speak and to repeat himself about keeping the rules of the monasteries which he had learnt and taught, always about the ecclesiastical observances which he had seen through all the cities and above all at Rome, always about the holy places which he remembered having visited as a young man. Thus, exercised by long pursuit of the virtues, and moreover refined by the martyrdom of long [variant: of years-long] infirmity, borne always with a [patient] mind, after the hundredfold gifts of present grace he passed over to eternal life. Hence it is necessary, dearest brethren, that as good sons and worthy of so great a parent we take care to keep his examples and precepts in all things, and that no enticement of soul or flesh call us back from following the footsteps of so great a leader [variant: teacher]; so that we too, who have left carnal affections and earthly substance, who out of love of the angelic way of life have disdained to marry wives and beget children after the flesh, may, as the merit of spiritual virtues grows, deserve both to receive a hundredfold in the present from the fellowship of the saints, and in the world to come to possess eternal life, by the grace of our Redeemer, Who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
HOMILIA XVIII. IN NATALE SANCTI JACOBI APOSTOLI. MATTH. XX, MARC. X. In illo tempore accessit ad Jesum mater filiorum Zebedaei cum filiis suis adorans, et petens aliquid ab eo, etc.
HOMILY XVIII. ON THE FEAST OF SAINT JAMES THE APOSTLE. MATTHEW 20, MARK 10. At that time the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, worshipping and asking something of Him, etc.
Dominus Jesus Christus conditor ac redemptor noster, vulnera superbiae nostrae sanare desiderans, et ipse cum in forma Dei esset, forma hominis assumpta, humiliavit semetipsum, factus obediens usque ad mortem: et nos quoque, si culmen verae sublimitatis conscendere volumus, iter humilitatis
The Lord Jesus Christ, our Maker and Redeemer, desiring to heal the wounds of our pride, both Himself, though He was in the form of God, took the form of man and humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death; and we too, if we wish to climb the summit of true loftiness, [must take] the road of humility
Editors' notes and page, col. 228
Page
- running head: [BEDAE VENERABILI]S OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 228
- marginal letters: A ‹toties mari transiit›; B ‹tuitum discerent imaginum›; C ‹tutum studiis exercitatus›; D ‹demptoris nostri, qui vivit›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column ends mid-sentence at "humilitatis"; English verb supplied in brackets provisionally pending col. 229
arripere praemonet; nos, si veram vitam videre cupimus, et adversa quaeque praesentis saeculi, et ipsam quoque mortem patienter ferre praecepit. Promisit nobis dona gloriae, sed praemisit certamina pugnae. Dixit promittens: Erit merces vestra magna, et eritis filii Altissimi (Luc. VI); sed praedixit jubens, Diligite inimicos vestros, benefacite, [Al. add. et] mutuum date, nihil inde sperantes. Ita igitur praemia pollicetur electis, ut et digna praemiis merita praemonstret: sic vitam donat aeternam, ut per angustam portam, et arctam viam ad hanc perveniendum esse decernat; unde ait: Contendite intrare per angustam portam (Luc. XIII). Contentione etenim non parva opus est, si quis ad alta velit ascendere. Nam cum tanto sudore vertices montium subeamus, quantum necesse est conari ut conversationem in coelis habere et in monte sancto Domini, de quo canit Psalmista, mereamur quiescere. Unde etiam in hodierna Evangelii sancti lectione cum filii Zebedaei ab eo sedes regni peterent, confestim illos ad bibendum calicem suum, hoc est, ad imitandum passionis suae agonem revocat, ut meminissent quia coelestium summa petere non nisi per abjecta et aspera terrestrium deberent.
forewarns us to seize; us, if we desire to see true life, He has commanded to bear patiently all the adversities of the present world, and even death itself. He has promised us the gifts of glory, but He has sent ahead the contests of the fight. He said in promising: Your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High (Luke 6:35); but He said beforehand in commanding: Love your enemies, do good, [another reading adds: and] lend, hoping for nothing from it. Thus, then, He promises rewards to the elect in such a way as also to show beforehand the merits worthy of the rewards; so He grants eternal life as to decree that it must be reached through the narrow gate and the strait way; whence He says: Strive to enter by the narrow gate (Luke 13:24). For there is need of no small striving if anyone wishes to ascend to the heights. For as we climb the peaks of mountains with great sweat, so much must we strive that we may merit to have our way of life in heaven and to rest on the holy mountain of the Lord, of which the Psalmist sings. Hence also in today's reading of the holy Gospel, when the sons of Zebedee were asking Him for seats in the kingdom, He at once calls them back to drinking His cup, that is, to imitating the agony of His passion, so that they might remember that they ought to seek the summit of heavenly things only by way of the lowly and harsh things of earth.
Accessit, inquit, ad eum mater filiorum Zebedaei cum filiis suis adorans, et petens aliquid ab eo. Qui dixit ei: Quid vis? Ait illi: Dic ut sedeant hi duo filii mei, unus ad dextram tuam, et unus ad sinistram in regno tuo. Nemo autem aestimet matrem haec pro filiis absque illorum consensu ac voto petisse, sed potius intelligat unanimi omnium consilio eorum fuisse dispositum ut per matrem quam maxime dilectam Domino noverant, suum illi desiderium discipuli patefacerent. Unde haec referens evangelista Marcus, tacito matris interventu, discipulorum vero solummodo, quorum cordis appetitum sciebat, facit mentionem. Et accedunt, inquit, ad eum Jacobus et Joannes, filii Zebedaei, dicentes: Magister, volumus ut quodcunque petierimus, facias nobis. At ille dixit eis: Quid vultis ut faciam vobis? Et dixerunt: Da nobis ut unus ad dextram tuam, et alius ad sinistram sedeamus in gloria tua (Marc. X). Illos ergo tantum accedere [Al., ascendere] ad Dominum, et eum rogare asserit, quorum voluntatem in rogando potiorem conspicit, et quorum hortatu matrem ad rogandum novit esse commonitam [Al., commotam]. Credendum est autem quod illa maxime causa, vel muliebrem matris affectum, vel carnales adhuc discipulorum animos ad haec postulanda concitaverit, quia meminissent sermonis Domini, quem ait: Cum sederit Filius hominis in sede majestatis suae, sedebitis et vos super sedes duodecim judicantes duodecim tribus Israel (Matth. XIX), nossentque se inter discipulos specialius a Domino diligi, se specialius cum beato Petro conscios saepe factos arcanorum, quae ignorarent caeteri, quod frequens sancti Evangelii textus indicat. Hinc est enim quod ipsis quoque, quomodo Petro, novum ab illo nomen imponitur, ut sicut ille qui prius Simon dicebatur, per [Al., pro]
There came to Him, it says, the mother of the sons of Zebedee with her sons, worshipping and asking something of Him. And He said to her: What do you wish? She said to Him: Say that these my two sons may sit, one at Thy right hand and one at Thy left, in Thy kingdom. But let no one suppose that the mother asked this for her sons without their consent and wish; rather let him understand that it had been arranged by the united counsel of them all that the disciples should disclose their desire to Him through the mother whom they knew to be most especially beloved by the Lord. Hence the evangelist Mark, in relating these things, passes over the mother's intervention in silence and makes mention only of the disciples, whose heart's craving he knew. And there came to Him, he says, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, saying: Master, we wish that whatever we ask, Thou do for us. But He said to them: What do you wish that I do for you? And they said: Grant us that we may sit, one at Thy right hand and the other at Thy left, in Thy glory (Mark 10:35–37). He asserts, then, that only those came [another reading: went up] to the Lord and asked Him whose will he saw to be the stronger in the asking, and at whose urging he knew the mother to have been prompted [another reading: moved] to ask. And it is to be believed that this was the chief cause that stirred either the womanly affection of the mother or the still carnal minds of the disciples to ask these things: that they remembered the word of the Lord in which He said: When the Son of Man sits on the throne of His majesty, you also will sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matt. 19:28); and they knew that among the disciples they were loved by the Lord more especially, that they, more especially with blessed Peter, had often been made sharers in secrets which the others did not know, as the text of the holy Gospel frequently shows. For this is why a new name is also given by Him to them, as to Peter, so that, just as he who was formerly called Simon, through [another reading: for]
Editors' notes and page, col. 229
Page
- running head: 229 | SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II.
- marginal letters: A ‹arripere praemonet›; B ‹quantum necesse est›; C ‹potius intelligat›; D ‹gandum novit esse›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "promitiens"/"Promisi t" read as promittens/Promisit (broken type). Column ends at "[Al., pro]"; next column continues.
fortitudinem [Al., fortitudine] ac stabilitatem [Al., stabilitate] fidei impugnabilis vocabulum Petri meruit, ita et isti Boanerges, hoc est filii tonitrui, vocarentur: quia videlicet et vocem Patris super Dominum in monte clarificatum una cum Petro audirent, et plura aliis discipulis mysteriorum secreta cognoscerent: quodque ad rem plurimum pertinebat, se integro corde Domino adhaerere, et maxima illum dilectione sentiebant amplecti. Ideoque non discredebant fieri posse ut circa eum vicinius ipsi in regno sederent, praesertim cum viderent Joannem pro singulari puritate mentis et corporis tanto amore habitum, ut in coena in sinu ipsius recumberet. Sed quid eis dignitatem sedium quaerentibus ipse cognitor meritorum ac sedium distributor responderit, audiamus.
the strength [another reading: by the strength] and steadfastness [another reading: by the steadfastness] of an unassailable faith merited the name of Peter, so these too should be called Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder: because, namely, they heard together with Peter the voice of the Father over the Lord when He was glorified on the mountain, and knew more of the secrets of the mysteries than the other disciples; and, what bore most on the matter, they felt that they clung to the Lord with an undivided heart and that He embraced them with the greatest love. And therefore they did not disbelieve that it could come about that they themselves would sit nearer to Him in the kingdom, especially since they saw John held in such love, for his singular purity of mind and body, that at the supper he reclined on His bosom. But let us hear what He Himself, the knower of merits and the distributor of seats, answered them when they sought the dignity of the seats.
Respondens autem Jesus, dixit: Nescitis quid petatis? Nesciebant etenim quid peterent, qui in regno coelestis patriae quemquam ad sinistram Christi sessurum esse putabant, cum in illa discretione novissimi examinis omnes electi ad dextram summi regis ac judicis legantur esse statuendi. Nil quippe sinistrum vita illa, nil habet felicitas aeterna reprobum, nil pax sempiterna recipit caducum. Sinistra autem Christi cum in bono accipitur, praesens sanctae Ecclesiae vita intelligitur, unde scriptum est: Longitudo dierum in dextra ejus, in sinistra ejus divitiae et gloria (Proverb. III). Longitudo quippe dierum in dextra, sapientia videlicet nostri Redemptoris est, quia in illa supernae habitationis patria electis, et angelis, et hominibus, lux indefectiva donatur. In sinistra illius divitiae et gloria, quia et in hujus exsilio peregrinationis divitiis virtutum et gloria fidei, donec ad aeterna perveniamus, reficimur. De qua videlicet gloria dicit Apostolus: Et gloriamur in spe gloriae filiorum Dei: non solum autem, sed et gloriamur in tribulationibus (Rom. V). De quibus item divitiis: Quia in omnibus, inquit, divites facti estis in illo, in omni verbo et in omni scientia (I Cor. I). Nesciebant quid peterent, quia autumabant humano arbitrio praeelegi [Al., praelegi] posse, quibus quisque sedibus in futuro, qua retributione donetur. Et potius Dominum precabantur ut fiduciam et gloriam spei quam habebant usque ad finem firmum bene merendo perducerent, scientes quia quidquid boni agerent, ipse inaestimabili mercede remuneraret. Et quidem laude digna est pia simplicitas eorum, qui fiducia devotae mentis sedere in regno circa Dominum poscebant, sed multo dignius laudabitur prudens humilitas ejus, qui conscientia [Al., conscius] propriae fragilitatis aiebat, Elegi abjectus esse in domo Dei mei magis, quam habitare in tabernaculis peccatorum. Nesciebant quid peterent, qui sublimitatem potius praemiorum a Domino, quam operum perfectionem quaerebant. Sed coelestis eos magister quid primo quaerendum esset insinuans, revocat ad viam laboris qua ad bravium pertingere possint retributionis.
But Jesus answered and said: You do not know what you ask. For they did not know what they were asking, who thought that in the kingdom of the heavenly fatherland anyone would sit at Christ's left, when in that separation at the last examination all the elect are read to be set at the right hand of the supreme King and Judge. For that life has nothing on the left, eternal happiness has nothing reprobate, everlasting peace admits nothing perishable. But the left hand of Christ, when it is taken in a good sense, is understood as the present life of holy Church; whence it is written: Length of days is in her right hand, in her left hand riches and glory (Prov. 3:16). For length of days is at the right hand, namely of the wisdom of our Redeemer, because in that fatherland of the dwelling on high unfailing light is given to the elect, both angels and men. In her left hand are riches and glory, because in the exile of this pilgrimage too we are refreshed with the riches of the virtues and the glory of faith, until we come to the things eternal. Of which glory the Apostle says: And we glory in the hope of the glory of the sons of God; and not only so, but we glory also in tribulations (Rom. 5:2–3). And of these riches likewise: For in all things, he says, you have been made rich in Him, in all speech and in all knowledge (1 Cor. 1:5). They did not know what they were asking, because they supposed it could be chosen beforehand [another reading: chosen] by human judgement with which seats each would be rewarded in the future, with what recompense. And they should rather have prayed the Lord that by well-deserving they might carry through to the end, firm, the confidence and glory of the hope that they had, knowing that whatever good they did He would reward with a reward beyond reckoning. And indeed the devout simplicity of those is worthy of praise who, in the confidence of a devoted mind, were asking to sit near the Lord in the kingdom; but much more worthily will be praised the prudent humility of him who, from the consciousness [another reading: conscious] of his own frailty, said: I have chosen to be abject in the house of my God rather than to dwell in the tents of sinners. They did not know what they were asking, who sought from the Lord the loftiness of rewards rather than the perfection of works. But the heavenly Master, intimating what was to be sought first, calls them back to the way of labour by which they could attain the prize of recompense.
Potestis, inquit, bibere calicem quem ego bibiturus
Can you, He says, drink the cup that I am about to drink
Editors' notes and page, col. 230
Page
- running head: LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE. 230
- marginal letters: A ‹fortitudinem›; B ‹distributor responderit›; C ‹est, quia in illa›; D ‹merendo perducerent›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Psalm 83:11 quotation has no printed reference; none supplied. Column ends mid-sentence at "bibiturus".
sum? Calicem suum dicit amaritudinem passionis, quae infidelium acerbitate crebro justis offertur. Nam hanc quisquis humiliter, patienter, gaudenter pro Christo suscipit, merito cum illo sublimiter regnabit. Quia ergo filii Zebedaei dum illo sedere desiderabant, admonet eos primo passionis suae sequi exempla, et ita demum aptare [Al., optare] majestatis culmen appetere. Quem vivendi ordinem cunctis fidelibus sequendum docet Apostolus, dicens: Si enim complantati facti sumus similitudini mortis ejus, simul etiam et resurrectionis ejus erimus (Rom. VI).
? He calls His cup the bitterness of the passion, which through the harshness of unbelievers is often offered to the just. For whoever takes this up humbly, patiently, gladly for Christ will deservedly reign on high with Him. Since, then, the sons of Zebedee desired to sit with Him, He admonishes them first to follow the examples of His passion, and only so to fit themselves [another reading: to wish] to seek the summit of majesty. This order of living the Apostle teaches is to be followed by all the faithful, saying: For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall also be [in the likeness] of His resurrection (Rom. 6:5).
Dicunt illi: Possumus. Mentem quidem devotionemque suam, qualis in praesenti erat, simpliciter Domino pandebant, dum se calicem ejus bibere posse testabantur: qui tamen quantae infirmitatis adhuc essent, postmodum patenter ostendebant, dum adveniente tempore quo ipse Dominus eumdem calicem biberet, etiam illi cum caeteris discipulis ejus relicto [Al. add. eo] fugerunt. Sed non diu metus idem bibendi calicis eorum corda premebat, quin potius qui passuro Domino fugerunt, eo resurgente ocius redierunt: et quia passionis turbine terrente trepidaverunt [Al., trepidaverant], fulgente resurrectionis ejus triumpho confirmati [Al., castigati] sunt: atque accepta sancti Spiritus gratia firmum de reliquo pectus ad bibendum Domini calicem tenebant, quia ad patiendum moriendumque pro illo jam invincibiles esse coeperunt, impleta ejus promissione qua dixit eos calicem suum esse bibituros. Nam sequitur.
They say to Him: We can. They were simply laying open to the Lord their mind and devotion such as it was at present, when they declared that they could drink His cup; yet how great their weakness still was they showed plainly afterwards, when, at the coming of the time at which the Lord Himself was to drink that same cup, they too fled with His other disciples, leaving [another reading adds: Him]. But that same fear of drinking the cup did not long weigh upon their hearts; rather, those who fled from the Lord when He was about to suffer swiftly returned when He was rising again; and since they had trembled when the storm of the passion terrified them, they were strengthened [another reading: chastened] when the triumph of His resurrection shone forth; and having received the grace of the Holy Spirit, they held thereafter a firm heart for drinking the Lord's cup, for they now began to be invincible in suffering and dying for Him, His promise being fulfilled by which He said that they would drink His cup. For there follows.
Ait illis: Calicem quidem meum bibetis, sedere autem ad dextram meam et sinistram, non est meum dare vobis, sed quibus paratum est a Patre meo. Sedet ad dextram Salvatoris, qui in superna beatitudine de praesenti ejus visione laetatur; sedet ad sinistram, qui in hac peregrinatione sanctae ejus Ecclesiae sacerdotali regimine praesidet. Sed intuendum solertius quomodo se petentibus discipulis dicat verax magister, Non est meum dare vobis, sed quibus paratum est a Patre meo, cum alibi dixerit ipse: Omnia mihi tradita sunt a Patre meo (Matth. XI), ideoque constet quia quaecunque Pater dederit, vel paraverit dona fidelibus, haec eadem una cum eo Filium parare sive dare. Nam et rursum dicit de Patre Dominus: Quaecunque enim ille fecerit, haec et Filius similiter facit (Joan. V). Si ergo omnia quaecunque Pater fecerit, haec et Filius similiter facit, quomodo dicit Filius, Non est meum dare vobis, sed quibus paratum est a Patre meo, nisi quia idem Filius et Deus et homo est? Ideoque per Evangelium suum aliquando ex voce divinae majestatis, quae aequalis est Patri, aliquando ex voce loquitur humanae assumptionis, qua aequalis factus est nobis. In hac autem lectione quia humilitatis formam erat praebiturus hominibus, cuncta maxime ex assumpti [Al., assumpta] hominis natura loquitur. Nam et in principiis, ut mater ad eum cum filiis petitura advenit, quaesivit ad ea quid vellet, interrogans quasi homo, quasi nescius occultorum,
He says to them: My cup you shall indeed drink, but to sit at My right hand and left is not Mine to give to you, but to those for whom it has been prepared by My Father. He sits at the Saviour's right hand who in the beatitude on high rejoices in the present vision of Him; he sits at His left who in this pilgrimage presides over His holy Church in priestly government. But it must be considered more carefully how the truthful Master says to the disciples asking Him: It is not Mine to give to you, but to those for whom it has been prepared by My Father, when elsewhere He Himself said: All things have been delivered to Me by My Father (Matt. 11:27), and therefore it is certain that whatever gifts the Father has given or prepared for the faithful, these same the Son prepares or gives together with Him. For again the Lord says of the Father: For whatever He does, these the Son also does likewise (John 5:19). If, then, whatever the Father does, these the Son also does likewise, how does the Son say: It is not Mine to give to you, but to those for whom it has been prepared by My Father, unless because the same Son is both God and man? And therefore throughout His Gospel He speaks sometimes with the voice of the divine majesty, in which He is equal to the Father, sometimes with the voice of the human nature assumed, in which He was made equal to us. And in this reading, since He was to offer men a pattern of humility, He speaks all things chiefly from the nature of the man assumed [another reading: the assumed nature of man]. For at the beginning too, when the mother came to Him with her sons to make her request, He asked her what she wanted, questioning as a man, as one ignorant of hidden things,
Editors' notes and page, col. 231
Page
- running head: 231 | BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS I
- marginal letters: A ‹sum? Calicem suum›; B ‹posse testabantur›; C ‹esse bibituros›; D ‹dare. Nam et rursum›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Column opens with "sum?", completing "bibiturus sum?" from col. 230. "da e" (dare) and "m co" (meo) read as broken type, not misprints. Running head cut at right edge; "PARS I..." partial.
quasi ignarus futurorum, qui in aeternitate divinae potentiae omnia novit antequam fiant. Et quia illa in precibus humanitatis ejus, potius quam divinitatis memoriam praetulit, postulans sedem filiis a dextris ejus et sinistris, qui in habitu corporeo dextram habuit et sinistram, sed in divina majestate nulla membrorum est compositione formatus, consequenter et ipse tacita impassibilis gloria deitatis memoriam passionis, quam humanitus erat suscepturus, in medium protulit, atque hanc discipulis imitandam proposuit, cum devotam eorum sponsionem sua etiam attestatione confirmasset, dicens: Calicem quidem meum bibetis, sedere autem ad dextram meam et sinistram, non est meum dare vobis, sed quibus paratum est a Patre meo. Ac si aperte diceret: Passionem quidem quam secundum carnem subeo, vos patiendo estis secuturi: sed non est meum secundum ipsam in qua patior humanae fragilitatis substantiam, donorum coelestium vobis munera dare, quae dignis quibusque ad percipiendum sunt a Patre parata, me pariter cum illo in divinitate cum illo parante ac dante, quia omnia quaecunque ille fecerit, haec et ipse per divinitatem [Al., per divinae unitatem pot.] potentiae similiter facio. Quia vero iidem filii Zebedaei promptum gerebant animum ad bibendum calicem Domini, constat eos cum caeteris apostolis dignitatem sedium, quam quaerebant, accepisse: non tamen [Al., tantum] ea distinctione qua [Al., quam] petebant, ut unus a dextris in regno ejus, alter sederet a sinistris, sed juxta quod supra exposuimus, ambo prius ad sinistram ejus ad tempus, ambo nunc ad dextram ejus sedere perpetuo meruerunt. A sinistris quippe Christi sedebant, cum regendis in hac vita fidelium populis apostolico jure praesiderent, illo nimirum in regno, de quo ipse ait: Regnum Dei intra vos est (Luc. XVII). Sedent a dextris [Al. add. ejus] nunc in illa, quae mortem nescit, vita, judices mundi cum illo, utramque hanc sedem illis ipso Filio cum Patre parante. Neque enim largitio donorum in eis separari potest, in quibus unitas naturae semper inseparabilis manet, eodem Filio attestante qui ait: Ego et Pater unum sumus (Joan. X). Neque enim hoc sine consideratione transeundum quomodo dixerit Dominus indifferenter filios Zebedaei calicem suum bibituros, cum noverimus unum ex his, Jacobum scilicet, per effusionem sanguinis vitam finisse; alium vero, id est, Joannem, in pace Ecclesiae quievisse. Nam de Jacobi martyrio Lucas aperte testatur, quia misit Herodes rex manus, ut affligeret quosdam de ecclesia, occidit [Al. add. autem] Jacobum Joannis fratrem gladio. De cujus passione etiam historia ecclesiastica (Euseb. II, 9) rem quamdam dignam memoria refert. Quandoquidem, inquit, et ei [Al., is] qui obtulerat eum judici ad martyrium, Jacobum scilicet, motus etiam ipse confessus est se esse Christianum, ducti sunt, inquit, ambo pariter ad supplicium. Et dum ducerentur in via, rogavit Jacobum dare sibi remissionem. At ille parumper deliberans, Pax tibi, inquit, et osculatus est eum. Et ita ambo
as though unaware of things to come, He Who in the eternity of divine power knows all things before they come to be. And since she in her petitions put forward the remembrance of His humanity rather than of His divinity, asking for her sons a seat at His right and left, He Who in His bodily condition had a right hand and a left, but in the divine majesty is formed by no composition of members, He Himself in consequence, keeping silent the impassible glory of His deity, brought forward the remembrance of the passion which He was to undergo as man, and set it before the disciples to be imitated, after He had confirmed their devoted pledge with His own attestation also, saying: My cup you shall indeed drink, but to sit at My right hand and left is not Mine to give to you, but to those for whom it has been prepared by My Father. As if He were saying openly: The passion which I undergo according to the flesh you shall follow by suffering; but it is not Mine, according to that very substance of human frailty in which I suffer, to give you the gifts of heavenly bounties, which have been prepared by the Father for all the worthy to receive, I equally with Him in the divinity preparing and giving them with Him, since whatever He does, these I also likewise do through the divinity [another reading: through the unity of divine power] of power. But since these same sons of Zebedee bore a ready mind for drinking the Lord's cup, it is certain that they, with the other apostles, received the dignity of the seats which they were seeking; not, however [another reading: only], with the distinction with which [another reading: which] they asked, that one should sit at the right in His kingdom and the other at the left, but, according to what we have explained above, both first merited to sit at His left for a time, and both now at His right for ever. For they sat at Christ's left when by apostolic right they presided over the peoples of the faithful who were to be governed in this life, in that kingdom, assuredly, of which He Himself says: The kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21). They sit now at the right [another reading adds: His] in that life which knows not death, judges of the world with Him, the Son Himself together with the Father having prepared both these seats for them. For the bestowal of gifts cannot be separated in Those in Whom the unity of nature ever remains inseparable, as the same Son attests, Who says: I and the Father are one (John 10:30). Nor indeed is it to be passed over without consideration how the Lord said without distinction that the sons of Zebedee would drink His cup, when we know that one of them, namely James, ended his life by the shedding of blood, but the other, that is John, rested in the peace of the Church. For of James's martyrdom Luke testifies openly that Herod the king stretched out his hands to afflict certain of the church; he killed [another reading adds: moreover] James the brother of John with the sword (Acts 12:1–2). Concerning whose passion the ecclesiastical history also (Eusebius II, 9) relates something worthy of remembrance. Since, it says, the man who had brought him before the judge for martyrdom, namely James, being himself moved, also confessed that he was a Christian, both, it says, were led together to punishment. And while they were being led on the way, he asked James to grant him forgiveness. And he, after deliberating a little, said: Peace to you, and kissed him. And so both
Editors' notes and page, col. 232
Page
- running head: S OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 232
- marginal letters: A ‹quasi ignarus futurorum›; B ‹cundum carnem subeo›; C ‹stram ejus ad tempus›; D ‹bituros, cum noverimus›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "et ei [Al., is] qui obtulerat" set as printed; English follows the variant sense. Acts 12:1–2 reference supplied in English only for the unreferenced quotation? — supplied as modern reference though Migne prints none; remove if the house rule forbids.
simul capite plexi sunt. Porro de Joanne narrant historiae fideles quia cum sciret sibi supervenisse diem recessus sui, convocatis discipulis suis in Epheso, per multa signorum experimenta promens Christum, descenderit in defossum sepulturae suae locum, et facta oratione positus sit ad patres suos, tam extraneus a dolore mortis, quam a corruptione carnis invenitur alienus. Quomodo ergo calicem Domini bibere dictus est, de quo constat quia nequaquam per mortem passionis de corpore exivit; nisi quia duobus modis idem calix bibitur, uno videlicet cum a persecutore illata mors patienter suscipitur; alio, cum mens ad passionem prompta habetur, cum vita martyrio digna geritur? Nam et Joannes ipse quoniam [Al., quam] sit paratus ad potandum pro Domino mortis calicem docuit, quando cum caeteris apostolis, sicut in Actibus eorum legimus, carcerem et verbera gaudenti animo tolerabat, quando propter verbum Dei et testimonium Jesu in Pathmos insulam exsilio relegatus est, quando, sicut historia ecclesiastica narrat, a Domitiano principe missus est in ferventis olei dolium, de quo tamen propitio Domino tam sospes et mundus exstitit [Al., exivit], quam fuerat mente et vita castissimus: et in exsilium ab eodem missus [Al., exsilio perstante ipso], quo magis humano solatio destitutus esse videbatur, eo ampliori supernorum civium meruit frequentia consolari. Unde ipse quoque veraciter calicem Domini cum fratre Jacobo, qui occisus est gladio, bibisse intelligitur, quia qui tanta pro veritate sustinuit, quam promptus etiam ipsam mortem si offerretur, exciperet ostendit. Sed et nos, fratres charissimi, etiamsi nil tale perpetiamur, si non vincula, non verbera, non carceres, non supplicia corporis alia, non ullam hominum persecutionem, propter justitiam toleremus, calicem tamen salutaris accipere, et martyrii palmam obtinere valemus, si castigare corpus nostrum et servituti subjicere curamus, si in spiritu humilitatis et animo contrito Domino supplicare assuescimus, si illatas a proximo contumellas placida mente suscipere satagimus, si et eos qui nos odio habent, qui injurias nobis inferunt, diligere, his bene facere, pro horum vita et sospitate studemus exorare, si cum virtute patientiae bonorum quoque operum fructibus adornari contendimus. Taliter enim conservantibus nobis, et corpora nostra, juxta Apostoli vocem, hostiam viventem, sanctam, Deo placentem exhibentibus, Domino largiente dabitur, ut communi cum eis qui membra sua in mortem pro Christo dederunt gloria remuneremur: quia sicut mors illorum, sic et vita nostra pretiosa fit in conspectu Domini, diruptisque vinculis carnis, et ipsi atria supernae civitatis intrare, atque inter choros beatorum martyrum vota gratiarum Redemptori nostro reddere merebimur, qui vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen
were beheaded together. Furthermore, faithful histories relate of John that, when he knew that the day of his departure had come upon him, having called together his disciples at Ephesus and setting forth Christ through many proofs by signs, he went down into the place dug for his burial and, having made his prayer, was gathered to his fathers, found as much a stranger to the pain of death as he was free from the corruption of the flesh. How then is he said to drink the Lord's cup, of whom it is certain that he by no means went out of the body through the death of a passion, unless because the same cup is drunk in two ways: one, namely, when death inflicted by a persecutor is patiently accepted; the other, when the mind is held ready for the passion, when a life worthy of martyrdom is led? For John himself too showed how [variant: how much] he was prepared to drink the cup of death for the Lord, when with the other apostles, as we read in their Acts, he endured prison and scourging with a rejoicing mind; when for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus he was banished in exile to the island of Patmos; when, as the ecclesiastical history relates, he was put by the emperor Domitian into a vat of boiling oil, from which nevertheless, by the Lord's favour, he came forth [variant: went out] as unharmed and clean as he had been most chaste in mind and life; and, sent by the same man into exile [variant: while he himself remained in exile], the more he seemed to be deprived of human comfort, the more abundantly he merited to be consoled by the company of the citizens on high. Hence he too is understood truly to have drunk the cup of the Lord with his brother James, who was killed by the sword, because he who endured such things for the truth showed how readily he would have received even death itself had it been offered. But we too, dearest brethren, even if we suffer nothing of the kind, if we endure for righteousness' sake no chains, no scourges, no prisons, no other bodily punishments, no persecution of men, are nevertheless able to take the cup of salvation and to obtain the palm of martyrdom, if we take care to chastise our body and bring it into subjection, if we accustom ourselves to pray to the Lord in a spirit of humility and with a contrite mind, if we strive to receive with a calm mind the insults inflicted by a neighbour, if we are eager to love those also who hold us in hatred, who do us wrongs, to do good to them, to pray earnestly for their life and safety, if together with the virtue of patience we strive to be adorned also with the fruits of good works. For if we keep ourselves so, and present our bodies, according to the Apostle's word, a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God, it will be granted by the Lord's bounty that we be rewarded with a glory shared with those who gave their members to death for Christ; for as their death, so also our life becomes precious in the sight of the Lord, and, the bonds of the flesh being broken, we too shall merit to enter the courts of the city on high and, among the choirs of the blessed martyrs, to render vows of thanks to our Redeemer, Who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for all ages of ages. Amen
Editors' notes and page, col. 233
Page
- running head: 233 | SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II.
- marginal letters: A ‹simul capite plexi›; B ‹potandum pro Domino›; C ‹nuit, quam promptus›; D ‹liter enim conservantibus›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Homily ends at foot of this column ("Amen" printed without full stop). Printer's signature "PATROL. XCIV." at page foot, omitted. Facing column 234 opens a new homily (Marc. VII, surdus et mutus). "contumellas" is a misprint for "contumelias", kept as printed.
HOMILIA XIX. IN DOMINICA XII POST PENTECOSTEN. MARCI VII. In illo tempore, exiens Jesus de finibus Tyri, venit per Sidonem ad mare Galilaeae inter medios fines Decapoleos. Et reliqua.
HOMILY XIX. ON THE TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST. MARK 7. At that time, Jesus, going out from the borders of Tyre, came through Sidon to the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the borders of Decapolis. And the rest.
Surdus ille et mutus, quem mirabiliter curatum a Domino modo cum Evangelium legeretur, audivimus, genus designat humanum, in his qui ab errore diabolicae deceptionis divina merentur gratia liberari. Obsurduit namque homo ab audiendo vitae verbo, postquam mortifera serpentis verba contra Deum tumidus audivit: mutus a laude Conditoris effectus est, ex quo cum seductore colloquium habere praesumpsit. Et merito clausit aures ab audienda inter angelos laude Creatoris, quas ad audiendam ejusdem Creatoris vituperationem sermonibus hostis incautus aperuit. Merito clausit os a praedicanda cum angelis laude Creatoris, quod velut ad meliorandum ejusdem opus Creatoris, cibi vetiti praevaricatione superbus implevit. Et heu miser generis humani defectus! quod in radice vitiosum germinavit, vitiosius multo dilatari coepit in propagine ramorum, ita ut veniente in carne Domino, exceptis paucis de Judaea fidelibus, totus pene mundus ab agnitione et confessione veritatis surdus erraret et mutus! Sed ubi abundavit peccatum, superabundavit et gratia. Venit namque Dominus ad mare Galilaeae, ubi noverat aegrotare quem sanaret. Venit suae gratia pietatis ad tumentia, turbida et instabilia gentium corda, in quibus noverat esse qui ad suam gratiam pertinerent. Et bene inter medios fines Decapoleos ad mare Galilaeae, ubi aegrotum sanaret, venisse perhibetur, quia relicto ob perfidiam populo, qui decalogi mandata acceperat, exteras venit ad gentes, ut, sicut Joannes ait, filios Dei qui erant dispersi, congregaret in unum.
That deaf and dumb man, whom we heard just now, while the Gospel was being read, wonderfully healed by the Lord, signifies the human race in those who merit to be set free by divine grace from the error of the devil's deceit. For man became deaf to hearing the word of life after, puffed up, he listened to the deadly words of the serpent against God; he was made dumb from the praise of his Maker from the moment he presumed to hold converse with the seducer. And rightly did he close his ears to hearing the praise of the Creator among the angels, which he had incautiously opened to hearing, in the enemy's words, the disparagement of that same Creator. Rightly did he close his mouth to proclaiming the praise of the Creator with the angels, which in his pride he had filled, by transgressing in the forbidden food, as though to improve upon the work of that same Creator. And alas, the wretched failing of the human race! What sprouted faulty in the root began to spread far more faultily in the propagation of the branches, so that when the Lord came in the flesh, apart from a few faithful in Judaea, almost the whole world wandered deaf and dumb to the knowledge and confession of the truth! But where sin abounded, grace also abounded the more. For the Lord came to the sea of Galilee, where He knew there was one sick whom He would heal. By the grace of His goodness He came to the swelling, turbulent and unstable hearts of the Gentiles, among whom He knew there were those who belonged to His grace. And well is He said to have come to the sea of Galilee through the midst of the borders of Decapolis, where He was to heal the sick man, because, leaving on account of its faithlessness the people that had received the commandments of the Decalogue, He came to the foreign nations, so that, as John says, He might gather into one the children of God who were scattered.
Et adducunt, inquit, ei surdum et mutum, et deprecantur eum, ut imponat illi manum. Quia ipse surdus Salvatorem agnoscere, mutus rogare nequibat, adducunt eum amici, et pro ejus salute Domino supplicant. Sic nimirum, sic in spirituali necesse est curatione geratur, ut si quis humana industria ad auditum confessionemque veritatis converti non potest, divinae pietatis offeratur aspectibus, atque ad sanandum eum supernae manus flagitetur auxilium. Nec tardat coelestis misericordia medici, si intenta precantum non haesitat, nec deficit oratio, unde statim subinfertur:
And they bring to Him, it says, a deaf and dumb man, and they beseech Him to lay His hand upon him. Since, being deaf, he could not recognize the Saviour, and being dumb could not ask, his friends bring him and supplicate the Lord for his health. So assuredly, so must it be done in spiritual healing: if anyone cannot by human effort be turned to the hearing and confession of the truth, let him be offered to the sight of the divine goodness, and let the help of the hand on high be earnestly besought for healing him. Nor is the mercy of the heavenly Physician slow, if the earnest prayer of those who pray does not waver nor fail; whence it is immediately added:
Quia apprehendens aegrotum Jesus de turba seorsum, misit digitos suos in auriculas ejus, et exspuens tetigit linguam ejus. Digitos quippe surdo [Al., surdis] in auriculas mittit ut audiat [Al., audiant], cum per dona gratiae spiritualis diu non credentes ad auditum sui verbi convertit. Exspuens, linguam muti, ut loqui valeat, tangit, cum per ministerium praedicationis rationem fidei, quam confiteri debeat, praestat. Per digitos namque Domini Spiritus sancti dona significari et ipse docet dicens: Si ego in digito Dei ejicio daemonia (Luc. XI); quod alius evangelista manifestius ponit, Si ego in Spiritu Dei ejicio daemones (Matth. XII); et Psalmista ubi ait: Quoniam videbo
That Jesus, taking the sick man aside from the crowd, put His fingers into his ears, and spitting touched his tongue. For He puts His fingers into the ears of the deaf man [another reading: of the deaf] that he may hear [another reading: that they may hear] when through the gifts of spiritual grace He turns those long unbelieving to the hearing of His word. Spitting, He touches the tongue of the dumb man so that he may be able to speak, when through the ministry of preaching He bestows the reason of the faith which he ought to confess. For that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are signified by the fingers of the Lord He Himself also teaches, saying: If I by the finger of God cast out demons (Luke 11:20); which another evangelist puts more plainly: If I by the Spirit of God cast out demons (Matt. 12:28); and the Psalmist, where he says: For I shall see
Editors' notes and page, col. 234
Page
- running head: LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE. 234
- marginal letters: A ‹HOMILIA XIX. (heading)›; B ‹aperuit. Merito clausit›; C ‹aegrotum sanaret›; D ‹precantum non haesitat›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: New homily (XIX) begins at the top of this column. "Quia apprehendens" printed thus (Gospel has "Et apprehendens"); kept as printed, not marked a misprint. Printer's signature "8" at foot omitted.
coelos opera digitorum tuorum (Psal. VIII), id est, videbo sanctos non suae merito virtutis, sed tui munere spiritus a terrenis suspensos, et coelesti factos conversatione sublimes. Sputum quoque capitis et oris Domini verbum est Evangelii, quod ex invisibili divinitatis arcano sumptum, visibiliter mundo ut sanari posset, ministrare dignatus est. Notandum sane quod Dominus, priusquam auriculas linguamque sanandi tangeret aegroti, apprehendens eum seorsum duxit e turba. Prima namque salutis spes est, quemlibet assuetos vitiorum tumultus turbasque deserere, et sic ad suscipienda sanitatis munera humiliter caput inclinare. Neque ullatenus salvari posse [Al. om., posse) putandus est, quandiu quis inordinatis moribus adhaerere, supervacuis verbis delectari, turbulentis cogitationibus non timet devastari [Al., devastari, ut]. At qui miserante et adjuvante jam Domino turbidam priscae conversationis vitam mutavit, qui inspirationem divinae gratiae corde concepit, qui verbo doctrinae coelestis confessionem verae didicit fidei, restat ut confestim optata sanitatis gaudia consequatur. Unde bene postquam de turba segregat infirmum Dominus, postquam mittit digitos in auriculas, postquam sputo tangit linguam illius, continuo [Al. om. continuo] subfertur:
the heavens, the works of Thy fingers (Ps. 8:4), that is, I shall see the saints, not by the merit of their own virtue but by the gift of Thy Spirit, lifted up from earthly things and made sublime by a heavenly way of life. The spittle, too, from the head and mouth of the Lord is the word of the Gospel, which, taken from the invisible secret of the divinity, He deigned to minister visibly to the world so that it might be healed. It is to be noted, indeed, that the Lord, before He touched the ears and tongue of the sick man who was to be healed, took him and led him aside from the crowd. For the first hope of salvation is for anyone to forsake the accustomed tumults and crowds of vices, and so humbly to bow the head to receive the gifts of health. Nor is anyone to be thought able [another reading omits: able] to be saved at all, so long as he does not fear to cling to disordered habits, to delight in idle words, to be laid waste by turbulent thoughts [another reading: to be laid waste, as]. But he who, the Lord now pitying and helping him, has changed the turbid life of his former way of living, who has conceived in his heart the inspiration of divine grace, who by the word of heavenly teaching has learned the confession of the true faith, it remains that he should at once obtain the longed-for joys of health. Hence it is well added, after the Lord separates the infirm man from the crowd, after He puts His fingers into his ears, after He touches his tongue with spittle, immediately [another reading omits: immediately]:
Suspiciens in coelum ingemuit, et ait illi, Ephpheta, quod est adaperire: et statim apertae sunt aures ejus, et solutum est vinculum linguae ejus. Et recte sanaturus aegrotum Dominus suspicit in coelum et ingemuit, ut ubi nobis speranda salus, et qua compunctionis vel lacrymarum sit devotione quaerenda, ac petenda significet. Suspiciens in coelum ingemuit, quia nos quos ad coelestia possidenda creavit, longe in terrestria dejectos esse doluit. Suspiciens in coelum ingemuit, ut nobis qui a coelestibus gaudiis per terrena oblectamenta discessimus, ad haec per gemitus et suspiria insinuaret esse redeundum. Quod autem ait Ephpheta, id est, adaperire, propter aures dicit sanandas, quas surditas diutina clauserat, sed ad audiendum jam tactus patefecit ipsius; unde credo mos increbuerit Ecclesiae, ut sacerdotes illius his quos percipiendis baptismi sacramentis praeparant prius inter caetera consecrationis exordia de saliva oris sui nares tangant et aures, dicentes Ephpheta: Per [Al. om. per] salivam quidem oris sui, gustum quo initiandi sunt supernae sapientiae designantes; per tactum vero narium, ut, abjectis delectationibus noxiis, solum Christi semper amplectantur odorem, de quo dicit Apostolus: Christi bonus odor sumus Deo in omni loco (II Cor. II), et ut meminerint se juxta exemplum beati Job, Donec superest halitus in eis, et spiritus Dei in naribus eorum, non loqui iniquitatem labiis, nec lingua mendacium meditari debere. Porro per tactum aurium, ut relicto auditu linguae nequam, audiant verba Christi et faciant ea, similes viro prudenti qui aedificavit domum suam supra petram. Et unusquisque nostrum, fratres charissimi, qui baptisma Christi rite suscepit, hoc ordine
Looking up to heaven He groaned, and said to him: Ephphatha, which is, Be opened; and immediately his ears were opened, and the bond of his tongue was loosed. And rightly the Lord, about to heal the sick man, looks up to heaven and groaned, to signify to us where salvation is to be hoped for, and with what devotion of compunction or of tears it is to be sought and asked. Looking up to heaven He groaned, because He grieved that we, whom He created to possess heavenly things, had been cast down far into earthly things. Looking up to heaven He groaned, to intimate to us, who through earthly delights have departed from the heavenly joys, that we must return to them through groans and sighs. And when He says Ephphatha, that is, Be opened, He says it on account of the ears to be healed, which long deafness had closed, but which His touch now opened for hearing; whence, I believe, the custom has grown up in the Church that her priests, among the other beginnings of the consecration, first touch with the saliva of their mouth the nostrils and ears of those whom they are preparing to receive the sacraments of baptism, saying Ephphatha: by [another reading omits: by] the saliva of their mouth signifying the taste of heavenly wisdom into which they are to be initiated; and by the touching of the nostrils, that, casting away harmful delights, they may always embrace the fragrance of Christ alone, of which the Apostle says: We are the good fragrance of Christ to God in every place (2 Cor. 2:15); and that they may remember that, after the example of blessed Job, as long as breath remains in them and the spirit of God in their nostrils, they must not speak iniquity with their lips nor devise falsehood with their tongue. And by the touching of the ears, that, forsaking the hearing of a wicked tongue, they may hear the words of Christ and do them, like the prudent man who built his house upon the rock. And each one of us, dearest brethren, who has duly received the baptism of Christ, in this order
Editors' notes and page, col. 235
Page
- running head: 235 | BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS
- marginal letters: A ‹coelos opera digitorum›; B ‹timet devastari›; C ‹muit, ut ubi nobis›; D ‹oris sui nares tangant›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "hoc or-" at column foot completed as "ordine" from the facing column's first word "dine", visible at the right edge of the image.
consecratus est. Omnes quidem qui salutare lavacrum vel proximo hoc paschae tempore, vel aliquando alias rite suscepturi sunt, ipso sunt ordine consecrandi. Unde multum necesse est ut quod Dominus in nobis propitius abluere et sanctificare dignatus est, ipsi passim contaminare, et pro nihilo profanare timeamus. Sed etsi qui in coenum nequitiae sordidantis incidimus, festinemus rursum lacrymarum et poenitentiae fonte mundari. Renovemus aurium puritatem, quam nobis auditu fidei divinitus constat fuisse collatam, caventes illud Apostoli, quod quibusdam exprobrans, ait: Et a veritate quidem auditum avertent, ad fabulas autem convertentur (II Tim. IV). Cohibeamus linguam a malo, quae confessione fidei sanctificata est; timeamus in ipsa, in [Al. om. in] qua benedicimus Deum, et Patrem, maledicere homines, qui ad imaginem Dei facti sunt. Qui enim putat se religiosum esse, non refraenans linguam suam, hujus vana est religio. Ecce enim dicitur quia apertae sunt aures ejus, et solutum est vinculum linguae ejus, et loquebatur recte. Qui ergo recte loqui baptismatis nostri tempore didicimus, corde credendo ad justitiam, ore autem confessionem faciendo ad salutem, curandum summopere est ne post baptisma ad injusta et noxia verba declinemus. Si enim, ipso judice attestante, omne verbum otiosum quod locuti fuerint homines, reddent rationem de eo in die judicii, quid putamus fieri de illis, qui non solum otiosa, sed et criminosa loquuntur, qui impudicitiae, jactantiae, blasphemiae, et quod maxime miseros libet detractionum sermonibus servire non timent, qui proferunt mendacia, testes fallaces, qui seminant inter fratres discordias? Non solum autem a malis aures linguamque satis est castigare loquelis, si non etiam juxta Psalmistam inclinemus aurem nostram in verba (Al., verbo] oris Dei, si non os nostrum loquatur sapientiam, et meditatio cordis nostri prudentiam. Sed et cunctos simul interioris exteriorisque hominis nostri sensus, quia cuncti in baptismo abluti sunt, oportet mundos ac bonis operibus servemus [Al. add. insuper] semper ornatos. Curato autem surdo et muto, videamus quid sequitur:
has been consecrated. All, indeed, who are duly to receive the saving washing, whether at this approaching Easter season or at some other time, are to be consecrated in this same order. Hence there is great need that we should fear ourselves to defile on every side, and to profane as a thing of nothing, what the Lord graciously deigned to wash and sanctify in us. But if any of us have fallen into the mire of defiling wickedness, let us hasten to be cleansed again in the fountain of tears and penitence. Let us renew the purity of our ears, which it is certain was conferred on us from heaven by the hearing of faith, beware of that word of the Apostle which he says in reproach of certain people: And they will indeed turn away their hearing from the truth, but will be turned aside to fables (2 Tim. 4:4). Let us restrain from evil the tongue, which has been sanctified by the confession of faith; let us fear with that [another reading omits: with] by which we bless God and the Father to curse men, who have been made in the image of God. For if anyone thinks himself religious, not bridling his tongue, his religion is vain. For see, it is said that his ears were opened, and the bond of his tongue was loosed, and he spoke rightly. We, then, who at the time of our baptism learned to speak rightly, believing with the heart unto righteousness and making confession with the mouth unto salvation, must take the greatest care not to turn aside after baptism to unjust and harmful words. For if, as the Judge Himself testifies, men will render account in the day of judgement for every idle word that they have spoken, what do we suppose will become of those who speak not only idle things but criminal ones, who do not fear to serve in words of impurity, of boasting, of blasphemy, and, what most pleases the wretched, of detraction; who utter lies as false witnesses, who sow discord among brethren? Yet it is not enough to restrain ears and tongue from evil speech, if we do not also, according to the Psalmist, incline our ear to the words [another reading: to the word] of the mouth of God, if our mouth does not speak wisdom and the meditation of our heart prudence. But all the senses together of our inner and outer man as well, since all were washed in baptism, we must keep clean and always adorned [another reading adds: moreover] with good works. Now that the deaf and dumb man has been healed, let us see what follows:
Et praecepit, inquit, illis, ne cui dicerent. Quanto autem eis praecipiebat, tanto magis plus praedicabant, et eo amplius admirabantur dicentes: Bene omnia fecit, et surdos fecit audire, et mutos loqui. Quare, fratres charissimi, haec acta credamus? Nunquid nam [Al., non] aestimandum est quod unigenitus Dei Filius signum faciens, et abscondi hoc voluerit, et contra voluntatem illius sit patefactum in turbas, nec potuerit silentio signum tegere si vellet quod potuit facere cum voluit? An forte nobis exemplum dare voluit, ut virtutum opera facientes, vitium jactantiae per omnia gloriamque vitemus humanam, ne bona nostra actio per inanem vulgi favorem supernae retributionis munere privetur. Et tamen sciamus opera nostra, si digna imitatione sunt, nullatenus posse celari, sed ad utilitatem fraternae correctionis
And He charged them, it says, to tell no one. But the more He charged them, so much the more did they proclaim it, and were the more astonished, saying: He has done all things well; He has made both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak. Why, dearest brethren, are we to believe these things were done? Is it really [another reading: not] to be supposed that the only-begotten Son of God, in working a sign, both wished it to be hidden and it was made known to the crowds against His will, and that He could not cover with silence, had He wished, a sign which He could perform when He willed? Or perhaps He wished to give us an example, that in doing works of virtue we should in all things avoid the vice of boasting and human glory, lest our good action be deprived of the gift of the heavenly recompense through the empty favour of the crowd. And yet let us know that our works, if they are worthy of imitation, can by no means be hidden, but for the benefit of fraternal correction
Editors' notes and page, col. 236
Page
- running head: S OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 236
- marginal letters: A ‹dine consecratus est›; B ‹[Al. om. in] qua benedicimus›; C ‹maxime miseros libet›; D ‹autem eis praecipiebat›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Column opens with "dine", the end of "or-dine" already set whole in col. 235, so the source here begins at "consecratus". Column ends "corre-" (hyphenated across the break); next column's first line not seen, so the visible part is set and the English is likewise broken ("correc-").
ipso dispensante patefieri, qui dicit: Non potest civitas abscondi super montem posita (Matth. V). Et alibi: Quoniam quae in tenebris dixistis, in lumine dicentur (Luc. XII). Et revera ita omnimode, ita intelligenda est dominici dispensatio praecepti. Quod non ita tamen dictum quis aestimet, quasi bona facientes fraternos cavere debeamus aspectus, cum Dominus dicat: Luceat lux vestra coram hominibus, ut videant opera vestra bona (Matth. V); sed ut per opera quae fratribus ostendimus, non laudem ab illis, sed profectum quaeramus, hoc est enim quod sequitur: Et glorificent Patrem vestrum, qui in coelis est. Nam qui ea intentione bona ostendunt opera, ut ipsi solum laudentur, non autem ut laudantes in bono proficiant, neque ut Pater, qui in coelis est, glorificetur, tales sunt nimirum illa terribili increpatione plectendi, qua dicitur: Amen, amen dico vobis, receperunt mercedem suam (Matth. VI). Sed et hoc dicendum quia si illi virtutes dominicas tacere nequeunt, qui tacendi praeceptum acceperunt, multo amplius sit nobis divinae gratiae praeconiis semper insistendum, qui quotidianis invicem nos verbis ac coelestibus alimoniis reficere praecipimur, dicente apostolo Joanne: Qui audit dicat, Veni (Apoc. XXII), id est, qui gratiam supernae aspirationis mente concepit, qui verbum exhortationis, quo utiliter proximum confortare valeat, dicit, nequaquam quod novit silentio abscondat, sed seipsum protinus fratribus aperiendo communicet. Si enim ea quae novimus benigne proximis dicere bona non negligimus, aderit ille in quo sunt omnes thesauri sapientiae et scientiae absconditi (Colos. XX), et quod nunc ex parte cognovimus, ad perfectum nobis lumen veritatis intimare dignabitur Jesus Christus, Dominus noster, unigenitus Patris, qui cum eo vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
are made manifest by the dispensing of Him Who says: A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden (Matt. 5:14). And elsewhere: For what you have said in darkness shall be spoken in the light (Luke 12:3). And truly thus, in every way thus, is the dispensation of the Lord's command to be understood. Yet let no one suppose this was said as though in doing good we ought to shun the eyes of our brethren, since the Lord says: Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works (Matt. 5:16); but rather that through the works which we show to our brethren we should seek not praise from them but their progress; for this is what follows: And may glorify your Father, Who is in heaven. For those who show good works with the intention that they alone may be praised, and not that those who praise may advance in good, nor that the Father Who is in heaven may be glorified, such men are assuredly to be struck with that terrible rebuke in which it is said: Amen, amen, I say to you, they have received their reward (Matt. 6:2). But this too must be said: that if those who received the command to be silent could not keep silent about the Lord's mighty works, much more must we always persevere in proclaiming divine grace, we who are commanded to refresh one another with daily words and heavenly nourishment, as the apostle John says: Let him who hears say, Come (Rev. 22:17); that is, let him who has conceived in his mind the grace of the inspiration from on high, who speaks a word of exhortation by which he can profitably strengthen his neighbour, by no means hide in silence what he knows, but share himself at once with his brethren by opening himself to them. For if we do not neglect kindly to tell our neighbours the good things that we know, He will be present in Whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:3), and what we now know in part Jesus Christ our Lord, the Only-begotten of the Father, will deign to make known to us in the perfect light of truth, Who with Him lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for all ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILIA XX. IN DECOLLATIONE SANCTI JOANNIS BAPTISTAE. MATTH. XIV, MARC. VI, LUC. IX. In illo tempore, audivit Herodes tetrarcha famam Jesu, et ait pueris suis: Hic est Joannes Baptista, etc.
HOMILY XX. ON THE BEHEADING OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST. MATTHEW 14, MARK 6, LUKE 9. At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report of Jesus, and said to his servants: This is John the Baptist, etc.
Natalem, fratres charissimi, beati Joannis diem celebrantes, oportet ut non solum constantiam passionis illius pia devotione recolamus, sed et eorum a quibus passus est malitiam nobis in arma vertamus salutis. Tunc etenim Scripturis sanctis utiliter animum intendimus, cum non solum in eis virtutes ac praemia justorum, verum etiam vitia, vindictamque reproborum ad incitamentum nobis bene agendi proponimus. Hoc siquidem et ipsius Domini docemur exemplo, qui ut humanae superbiae cervicem frangat, ac sublime nobis humilitatis jugum imponat, non suae tantum humilitatis formam quam sequamur, insinuat dicens: Discite a me, quia mitis sum, et humilis corde (Matth. XI), sed etiam angelicae superbiae dejectionem, quam caveamus ad memoriam nobis revocat, dicens: Videbam Satanam quasi fulgur de coelo cadentem (Luc. X), quatenus non solo [Al., non solum] nos suae divinae bonitatis, sed et daemoniacae
Celebrating, dearest brethren, the heavenly birthday of blessed John, we ought not only to recall with devout piety the constancy of his passion, but also to turn the malice of those by whom he suffered into weapons of salvation for ourselves. For we then apply our mind profitably to the holy Scriptures when we set before ourselves in them, as an incitement to well-doing, not only the virtues and rewards of the just but also the vices and the punishment of the reprobate. This indeed we are taught by the example of the Lord Himself, Who, to break the neck of human pride and to lay upon us the sublime yoke of humility, not only sets before us the pattern of His own humility for us to follow, saying: Learn of Me, for I am meek and humble of heart (Matt. 11:29), but also recalls to our memory the casting down of the angelic pride, that we may beware of it, saying: I saw Satan like lightning falling from heaven (Luke 10:18), so that not only [another reading: not only] by His divine goodness, but also by the demonic
Editors' notes and page, col. 237
Page
- running head: 237 | SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II
- marginal letters: A ‹tionis ipso dispensante›; B ‹rificetur, tales sunt›; C ‹ille in quo sunt›; D ‹a quibus passus est›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Column opens with "tionis", completing "corre-" at the foot of col. 236 (correptionis); merge when assembling. Homily XIX ends and Homily XX begins in this column. "Natalem ... diem" rendered as the saint's heavenly birthday (day of death).
pravitatis exemplo ad observantiam summae virtutis accendat.
depravity He may kindle us to the observance of the highest virtue.
Audivit ergo Herodes tetrarcha famam Jesu, et ait pueris suis: Hic est Joannes Baptista, ipse surrexit a mortuis, et ideo virtutes operantur in eo. Qui bene intellexit mortuum posse hominem resuscitari ad vitam, bene de resurrectionis gloria sensit, qui justos post resurrectionem majoris potentiae quos [Al., quam] mortalis fragilitas capit, futuros esse perspexit: sed misere desipuit, qui quod de homine puro sponte credere potuit, hoc de Deo homine credere tot miraculis attestantibus, tantis praedicatorum praeconiis consonantibus, nulla ratione consensit. Quare hoc, fratres charissimi, nisi ut nos aperte intelligamus, non incredibile resurrectionis miraculum, sed pravorum animos a credendi gratia peccatis obstantibus esse praepeditos, majoresque Illi gratias referamus, qui nostris cordibus, ablato erroris velamine, lucem veritatis aperire dignatus est.
So Herod the tetrarch heard the report of Jesus, and said to his servants: This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works are at work in him. He who understood well that a dead man could be raised to life thought well about the glory of the resurrection, he who perceived that the just after the resurrection would be of greater power than those whom [another reading: than] mortal frailty contains; but he was wretchedly foolish, who what he could of his own accord believe of a mere man, he would by no means consent to believe of the God-man, though so many miracles bore witness and such great proclamations of preachers agreed. Why this, dearest brethren, unless that we may clearly understand that it is not the miracle of the resurrection that is incredible, but that the minds of the wicked are hindered from the grace of believing by the obstacle of their sins, and that we may render the greater thanks to Him Who, removing the veil of error, has deigned to open the light of truth to our hearts?
Herodes enim tenuit Joannem, et alligavit eum, et posuit in carcerem, propter Herodiadem uxorem fratris sui. Dicebat enim illi Joannes: Non licet tibi habere eam. Impletum videmus in Joanne quod de illo angelus Zachariae priusquam nasceretur, praedixit: quia praecederet ante Dominum in spiritu et virtute Eliae. Ambo namque continenter viventes, ambo habitu inculti, ambo in solitudine degentes, ambo praecones veritatis, ambo regis et reginae persecutionem propter justitiam perpessi sunt: ille Achab et Jezabel, iste Herodis et Herodiadis. Ille ne ab impiis occideretur, igneo curru est raptus in coelum; iste ne ab impiis vinceretur, perfecto martyrii certamine spiritu coelestia regna petivit, angelorum utique subvectus auxilio, de quibus scriptum est: Currus Dei decem millia multiplex millia laetantium, Dominus in illis (Psal. LXVIII). Et iterum: Qui facit angelos suos spiritus, et ministros suos ignem urentem (Psal. CIII). Sed quaerit forte aliquis quis sit iste Herodes, quive frater ejus, quae etiam Herodias, de quibus sermo iste? Herodes iste qui et Joannem decollavit, et in passionem Redemptoris nostri Pilato assensum praebuit, filius est Herodis illius sub quo Dominus natus est: qui cum post nativitatem dominicam pauco tempore regnaret, sicut evangelica testatur historia, Archelaus ejus filius successit in regnum; quo cum vix decem annis potiretur, accusantibus insolentiam ejus Judaeis (Matth. II), pulsus est regno ab Augusto ac perpetuo damnatus exsilio. Deinde Augustus, ut regni Judaici minueret potentiam, divisa in quatuor partes provincia, quatuor fratres Archelai eidem regendae praefecit, qui singuli a principatu quartae partis Graeco sermone sunt tetrarchae vocati. E quibus Philippus Herodiadem, filiam Arethae regis Arabum, accepit uxorem, quam idem Aretha postmodum ablatam ab eo dedit Herodi, eo quod ipse esset majoris potestatis et famae, factumque est adulterium publicum. Sicut perfidis causa est pereundi, ita fidelissimo praeconi nostrae redemptionis materia triumphandi, qui prohibendo regis injusti scelera,
For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison, on account of Herodias, his brother's wife. For John was saying to him: It is not lawful for you to have her. We see fulfilled in John what the angel foretold of him to Zechariah before he was born: that he would go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah. For both lived continently, both were rough in dress, both dwelt in the wilderness, both were heralds of the truth, both suffered persecution from a king and queen for righteousness' sake: the one from Ahab and Jezebel, the other from Herod and Herodias. The one, lest he be killed by the wicked, was caught up into heaven in a fiery chariot; the other, lest he be overcome by the wicked, having completed the contest of martyrdom, sought the heavenly kingdom in spirit, borne up, surely, by the help of the angels, of whom it is written: The chariot of God is ten thousand manifold, thousands of them that rejoice; the Lord is among them (Ps. 67:18). And again: Who makes His angels spirits, and His ministers a burning fire (Ps. 103:4). But perhaps someone asks who this Herod is, or who his brother, and who Herodias, of whom this account speaks. This Herod, who both beheaded John and gave assent to Pilate in the passion of our Redeemer, is the son of that Herod under whom the Lord was born; and when he had reigned a short time after the Lord's birth, as the Gospel history attests, Archelaus his son succeeded to the kingdom; and when he had held it scarcely ten years, the Jews accusing his insolence (Matt. 2:22), he was driven from the kingdom by Augustus and condemned to perpetual exile. Then Augustus, to lessen the power of the Jewish kingdom, divided the province into four parts and set four brothers of Archelaus over the governing of it, who each, from ruling a fourth part, were called tetrarchs in the Greek tongue. Of these Philip took to wife Herodias, daughter of Aretas king of the Arabs, whom the same Aretas afterwards took from him and gave to Herod, because he was of greater power and fame; and a public adultery was committed. As for the faithless it is a cause of perishing, so for the most faithful herald of our redemption it is matter for triumph, who, by forbidding the crimes of the unjust king,
Editors' notes and page, col. 238
Page
- running head: LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE. 238
- marginal letters: A ‹pravitatis exemplo›; B ‹vorum animos a credendi›; C ‹iste Herodis et Herodiadis›; D ‹Archelaus ejus filius›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Migne prints "(Psal. LXVIII)" for the Currus Dei verse, which is Vulgate Ps 67:18; source kept as printed, English gives Vulgate numbering. "Matth. II" reference stands after "Judaeis" as printed.
morte quidem injusta meruit plecti, sed post mortis gustum a rege justitiae cui testimonium perhibebat, justam vitae perennis coronam accepit. Dicebat ergo illi Joannes :
he deserved to be punished by an unjust death indeed, but after the taste of death he received from the King of justice, to Whom he bore witness, the just crown of everlasting life. So John was saying to him:
Non licet tibi habere eam. Et volens, inquit, illum occidere, timuit populum, quia sicut prophetam eum habebant. Non populus tantum, sed ipse etiam Herodes Joannem sicut prophetam habebat, teste evangelista Marco, qui dicit : Herodes enim metuebat Joannem, sciens eum virum justum et sanctum, et custodiebat eum (Marc. VI). Et audito eo multa faciebat, et libenter eum audiebat. Sed vicit amor mulieris, eumque in illum quem sanctum esse noverat et justum manus mittere coegit. Qui quoniam noluit cohibere luxuriam, ad homicidii reatum prolapsus est, minusque illi peccatum majoris erat causa peccati : cui districto Dei judicio contigit ut propter appetitum adulterae quam detestandam sciebat, sanguinem funderet prophetae, quem Deo acceptum esse cognoverat. Haec namque est illa divini dispensatio examinis, de qua dicitur : Qui nocet, noceat adhuc : et qui in sordibus est, sordescat adhuc (Apoc. XXII). At contra quod sequitur, Et sanctus sanctificetur adhuc, ad beati Joannis personam convenienter aptatur, qui sanctus existens sanctificabatur adhuc, dum per officium evangelizandi ad martyrii palmam pervenit.
It is not lawful for you to have her. And wishing, it says, to kill him, he feared the people, because they held him as a prophet. Not the people only, but Herod himself also held John as a prophet, as the evangelist Mark witnesses, who says: For Herod feared John, knowing him to be a just and holy man, and kept him (Mark 6:20). And when he had heard him he did many things, and he heard him gladly. But love of the woman conquered, and compelled him to lay hands on the man whom he had known to be holy and just. Because he would not restrain his lust, he slid into the guilt of murder, and the lesser sin was for him the cause of a greater sin: by the strict judgement of God it befell him that, for the sake of his desire for an adulteress whom he knew to be detestable, he shed the blood of a prophet whom he had recognized to be acceptable to God. For this is that dispensation of the divine judgement of which it is said: He who does harm, let him do harm still; and he who is in filth, let him be filthy still (Rev. 22:11). But, on the other hand, what follows, And let the holy be sanctified still, is fittingly applied to the person of blessed John, who, being holy, was sanctified still, while through the office of preaching the Gospel he came to the palm of martyrdom.
Die autem natalis Herodis saltavit filia Herodiadis in medio, et placuit Herodi. Unde cum juramento pollicitus est ei dare quodcunque postulasset ab eo. Tria pariter impiorum scelera audivimus : celebrationem natalis infaustam, saltationem puellae lascivam, juramentum regis temerarium, quibus singulis oportet nos, ne talia geramus, instrui. Non enim festis diem nostri natalis in memoriam revocare, non ullum tempus illecebris indulgere carnalibus, sed diem potius exitus nostri debemus lacrymis, precibus, crebrisque praevenire jejuniis, hinc etenim vir sapiens admonet, dicens : In omnibus operibus tuis memorare novissima tua, et in aeternum non peccabis (Eccli. VII). Sed nec membra nostra quae jam Domino consecrata sunt, lusibus atque ineptis dare motibus decet. Dicit namque Apostolus : Nescitis quoniam corpora vestra membra sunt Christi (I Cor. VI)? Tollens ergo membra Christi, faciam membra meretricis? Absit. Unde et alibi obsecrat per misericordiam Dei, ut exhibeamus corpora nostra hostiam viventem, sanctam, Deo placentem. Quantum vero temeritatem jurandi vitare debeamus, et ipse in Evangelio Dominus (Matth. V), et Jacobus in Epistola sua docet, dicens : Ante omnia autem, fratres mei, nolite jurare neque per coelum, neque per terram, neque aliud quodcunque juramentum. Sit autem sermo vester, Est est, Non non, ut non sub judicio decidatis (Jacob. V); illo videlicet judicio sub quo decidit Herodes, ut vel pejerare, vel ob perjurium cavendum aliud necesse haberet patrare flagitium. At si aliquid incautius forte nos jurasse contigerit, quod observatum scilicet pejorem vergat in exitum, libere illud consilio salubriore mutandum noverimus, ac magis instante
But on Herod's birthday the daughter of Herodias danced in the midst, and pleased Herod. Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatever she should ask of him. We have heard three crimes of the ungodly together: the ill-omened celebration of a birthday, the wanton dancing of a girl, the rash oath of a king; by each of which we ought to be instructed not to do such things. For we ought not to recall the day of our birth to memory with feasts, nor to indulge any time in carnal allurements, but rather to forestall the day of our departure with tears, prayers and frequent fasts; for hence the wise man admonishes, saying: In all your works remember your last end, and you will never sin (Sir. 7:40). Nor is it fitting to give our members, which are already consecrated to the Lord, to sports and foolish movements. For the Apostle says: Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ (1 Cor. 6:15)? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? God forbid. Hence also elsewhere he beseeches by the mercy of God that we present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God. And how much we ought to avoid rashness in swearing, both the Lord Himself teaches in the Gospel (Matt. 5:34), and James in his Epistle, saying: But above all things, my brethren, do not swear, neither by heaven, nor by earth, nor any other oath whatever. But let your speech be, Yes, yes, No, no, that you may not fall under judgement (Jas. 5:12); that judgement, namely, under which Herod fell, so that he must either forswear himself or, to avoid perjury, commit another crime. But if it should perhaps happen that we have sworn something rather incautiously, which, if kept, would tend to a worse outcome, let us know that it is freely to be changed by more wholesome counsel, and rather, under pressing
Editors' notes and page, col. 239
Page
- running head: 239 BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS (rest beyond the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹morte quidem injusta meruit plecti›; B ‹illi peccatum majoris erat causa peccati›; C ‹natalis infaustam, saltationem›; D ‹Unde et alibi obsecrat per misericordiam›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column ends mid-sentence at "instante"; the English "under pressing" anticipates the next column
necessitate pejerandum nobis, quam pro vitando perjurio in aliud crimen gravius esse divertendum : Denique juravit David per Dominum occidere Nabal virum stultum et impium, atque omnia quae ad illum pertinent demoliri : sed ad primam intercessionem Abigail feminae prudentis, mox remisit minas, revocavit ensem in vaginam, neque aliquid culpae se tali perjurio contraxisse doluit (I Reg. XXV). Juravit Herodes dare saltatrici quodcunque postulasset ab eo, et ne perjurus diceretur a convivis, ipsum convivium sanguine polluit, dum prophetae mortem saltationis praemium fecit. Non solum [Al., add. autem] in jurando, sed in omni quod agimus, haec est moderatio solertius observanda, ut si talem forte lapsum versuti hostis inciderimus insidiis, ex quo sine aliquo peccati contagio surgere non possimus, illum potius evadendi aditum petamus in quo minus periculi nos perpessuros esse cernimus : juxta exemplum eorum qui hostilibus clausi muris, dum evadere desiderant, sed portarum omnium accessum sibi interdictum considerant, ibi necesse est desiliendi locum eligant ubi muro existente breviore minimum periculi cadentes incurrant. Sequitur :
necessity we must forswear ourselves, rather than, to avoid perjury, turn aside into another and graver crime. Thus David swore by the Lord to kill Nabal, a foolish and impious man, and to destroy all that belonged to him; but at the first intercession of Abigail, a prudent woman, he at once remitted his threats, put back his sword into its sheath, and did not grieve that he had incurred any guilt by such a perjury (1 Sam. 25). Herod swore to give the dancer whatever she should ask of him, and so as not to be called a perjurer by his guests, he polluted the banquet itself with blood, making the death of a prophet the reward of a dance. Not only [Another reading adds: however] in swearing, but in everything we do, this moderation is to be observed the more carefully: that if perhaps by the snares of the crafty enemy we should fall into such a pass that we cannot rise from it without some contagion of sin, we should rather seek that way of escape in which we see that we shall suffer less danger; after the example of those who, shut in by hostile walls, when they long to escape but see that access to all the gates is barred to them, must choose a place to leap down where, the wall being lower, they may incur the least danger in falling. It follows:
At illa, praemonita a matre sua, Da mihi, inquit, hic in disco caput Joannis Baptistae : et contristatus est rex. Tristitia regis non absolutio est, sed confessio sceleris. Haec etenim est superni justitia judicii, ut plerumque reprobi et agnoscant se, et fateantur errasse, certamque erroris sui poenitudinem gerant, nec tamen ab errore quiescant, quatenus eadem confessione ac poenitentia contra se ipsi testimonium dent : quia non nescii delinquunt, dum a peccato quod culpant prohibere [Al., prohiberi] detrectant, eoque justius pereant quo foveam perditionis quam praevidere valuerant declinare neglexerant [Al., neglexerunt]. Talis quippe est tristitia Herodis, qualis poenitentia Pharaonis et Judae : quorum quisque facinora sua postquam accusante conscientia invitus prodidit, vecors augmentavit. Itaque Herodes caput Joannis petitus, tristitiam quidem praetendebat in vultu, qua se ipse damnaret, ostendendo cunctis liquide quia insontem et sanctum noverat quem erat neci daturus. Verum si diligentius cor nefandum inspicimus, laetabatur occulte quod ea petebantur quae et antea facere, si excusabiliter posset, disponebat. Qui si caput Herodiadis peteretur, nulli dubium quoniam illud dare veraciter tristis abnueret.
But she, instructed beforehand by her mother, said: Give me here on a dish the head of John the Baptist; and the king was saddened. The king's sorrow is not an acquittal but a confession of the crime. For this is the justice of the judgement on high, that the reprobate often both recognize and confess that they have erred, and feel a certain repentance for their error, and yet do not cease from the error, so that by that very confession and repentance they bear witness against themselves: because they do wrong not unknowingly, while they refuse to restrain [themselves] [another reading: to be restrained] from the sin they blame, and they perish the more justly in that they had neglected [another reading: neglected] to turn aside from the pit of perdition which they had been able to foresee. Such indeed is the sorrow of Herod as was the repentance of Pharaoh and of Judas: each of whom, after he had unwillingly betrayed his crimes at the accusation of conscience, senselessly increased them. So Herod, being asked for John's head, put on indeed a sorrow in his face, by which he condemned himself, showing clearly to all that he knew the man he was about to give to death to be innocent and holy. But if we look more carefully at the wicked heart, he was secretly glad that those things were being asked which he had been disposed to do even before, if he could do so excusably. If the head of Herodias had been asked, no one doubts that he would truly, in sorrow, have refused to give it.
Propter juramentum autem, et eos qui pariter recumbebant, jussit dari : misitque, et decollavit Joannem in ca⟨r⟩cere, et allatum est caput ejus in disco. Indignum quidem natali suo rex spectaculum praebuit, qui convocatis ad epulas principibus, tribunis ac ducibus gentis, spectandum in disco caput occisi protulit. Indignique convivae, an [Al., ac] potius invitatori suo condigni, e quibus nullus inventus est qui hominem inter festa discumbentium puniri, qui ab adulteris justum, qui judicem a reis capite plecti vetaret : praesertim cum rex assumpta specie moestitiae, coactum se hoc facere protestaretur, essetque
But because of the oath, and of those who reclined with him, he commanded it to be given; and he sent and beheaded John in prison, and his head was brought on a dish. An unworthy spectacle indeed the king presented on his birthday, who, having called to the feast the princes, tribunes and leaders of the nation, brought out the head of the slain man on a dish to be looked at. And the guests were unworthy, or [another reading: and] rather fully worthy of their host, among whom not one was found to forbid that a man be punished amid the feasting of the diners, a just man by adulterers, a judge by the guilty, with loss of his head: especially since the king, putting on a show of grief, protested that he was compelled to do this, and there was
Editors' notes and page, col. 240
Page
- running head: 240 BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS III. — PARÆNETICA.
- marginal letters: A ‹necessitate pejerandum nobis›; B ‹sine aliquo peccati contagio surgere›; C ‹nec tamen ab errore quiescant›; D ‹quae et antea facere, si excusabiliter›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "ca cere": the r of carcere is not visible in the type, set ⟨r⟩. "spectaculum": the t is faint but read. "Joannis petitus" set as printed. Column ends mid-sentence at "essetque".
opportunum quod hortatu convivantium a promisso scelere revocari deberet, si non illum haec de industria praestruxisse cognoscerent, imo ipsos quoque par ejusdem sceleris amor irretiret. Sed dignam supernis aspectibus virtutem sui certaminis beatus praecursor dominicae nativitatis, praedicationis et mortis ostendit, qui ut Scriptura ait : Et si coram hominibus tormenta passus est, spes illius immortalitate plena est (Sap. III). Cujus diem natalis merito festa celebritate repetimus, quem ipse propria passione nobis solemnem reddidit, quem roseo sanguinis sui fulgore decoravit : merito memoriam illius cum spirituali gaudio veneramur, qui testimonium quod [Al. add. pro] Domino perhibuit, martyrii signaculo conclusit. Neque enim dubitandum est quia beatus Joannes pro Redemptoris nostri, quem praecurrebat, testimonio, carcerem et vincula sustinuit, pro ipso et animam posuit : cui non est dictum a persecutore ut Christum negaret, sed ut veritatem reticeret, et tamen pro Christo occubuit. Quia enim Christus ipse ait : Ego sum veritas (Joan. XIV), ideo utique pro Christo, quia pro veritate sanguinem fudit : et cui nascituro, praedicaturo, baptizaturo, prius nascendo, praedicando ac baptizando testimonium perhibebat, hunc etiam passurum prior ipse patiendo signavit. Quorum tamen passiones diverso ordine consummari, certa supernae provisionis dispensatione gestum est : ut videlicet Redemptor noster extra portam civitatis cuncto assistente populo, sublevaretur in crucem ; praecursor vero ejus collectis in domum convivii magistratibus atque optimatibus plebis, misso tantum spiculatore, in abdito carceris, capite truncaretur. Et quidem congruum videbatur ut mysterium dominicae crucis crucifixus praefiguraret Joannes ; sed quia idem Joannes testimonium Domino perhibens aiebat : Illum oportet crescere, me autem minui, hoc est, illum quem prophetam magnum esse miramini, Christum Dominum, ac Deum verum oportet intelligi, me autem quem Christum esse arbitramini, non Christum, sed esse prophetam Christi patebit [Al. add. et], disparem utriusque qualitatem, dispar modus passionis insinuat, non in carnificum potestate constitutus, sed coelesti ratione provisus. Quia enim iterum dicit idem Joannes : Qui est de terra, de terra est, et de terra loquitur : qui autem de coelo venit, super omnes est (Ibid.), praefatam minorationem ejus qui de terra est, decollatio illa in carcere et in obscuro patrata capitis ablatio designat. Porro crementum ejus qui de coelo venit, et supra omnes est, illa in cruce exaltatio quae sub divo et omni spectante populo facta est, aperte denuntiat. Exaltatus quippe in cruce, caput erectum ad coelos tenuit, manus super terras ad aquilonem tetendit et austrum, ut et coeli se esse Dominum, et universam terram omnesque potestates aereas suae ditioni subditas ipso etiam corporis situ figuraret. Infima crucis ipsius terrae abdita penetrabant, ut inferorum regnum passione illius transfixum ac destructum esse signaretur. Rege⟨m⟩ hunc e⟨s⟩se
fitting that at the urging of his fellow guests he should be called back from the crime he had promised, had they not known that he had contrived these things on purpose, nay rather, had not an equal love of the same crime ensnared them too. But the blessed forerunner of the Lord's birth, preaching and death showed in his combat a virtue worthy of the eyes on high, he of whom, as Scripture says: Though he suffered torments before men, his hope is full of immortality (Wis. 3:4). Rightly do we keep his birthday with festal celebration, which he himself made solemn for us by his own passion, which he adorned with the rosy splendour of his blood; rightly do we venerate with spiritual joy the memory of him who sealed with the seal of martyrdom the testimony which he bore [another reading adds: on behalf of] the Lord. For it is not to be doubted that blessed John endured prison and chains for the testimony of our Redeemer, Whom he went before, and for Him also laid down his life: he was not told by the persecutor to deny Christ, but to keep silent about the truth, and yet he died for Christ. For since Christ Himself says: I am the truth (John 14:6), therefore he shed his blood for Christ precisely because he shed it for the truth; and to Him to Whom, about to be born, to preach, to baptize, he had borne witness by first being born, preaching and baptizing, he himself, suffering first, also gave the sign of His coming passion. Yet that their passions were accomplished in a different manner was done by a sure dispensation of the providence on high: so that our Redeemer, outside the gate of the city, with all the people standing by, should be lifted up on the cross; but His forerunner, the magistrates and the chief men of the people having been gathered into the banqueting house, and only an executioner sent, should be beheaded in the hidden part of a prison. And indeed it seemed fitting that John, crucified, should prefigure the mystery of the Lord's cross; but since this same John, bearing witness to the Lord, said: He must increase, but I must decrease, that is, He Whom you marvel at as a great prophet must be understood to be Christ the Lord and true God, while I, whom you suppose to be the Christ, shall be shown to be not the Christ but [another reading adds: and] the prophet of Christ, the unequal manner of their passion, not settled by the power of executioners but provided by heavenly reason, intimates the unequal nature of the two. For since the same John says again: He who is of the earth is of the earth, and speaks of the earth; but He Who came from heaven is above all (John 3:31), that beheading in prison, the taking away of the head done in darkness, signifies the aforesaid decrease of him who is of the earth. But the increase of Him Who came from heaven and is above all is openly proclaimed by that exaltation on the cross which was done in the open air with all the people looking on. For, exalted on the cross, He held His head raised towards the heavens, He stretched out His hands over the earth to the north and the south, so that by the very position of His body He might figure that He is Lord of heaven, and that the whole earth and all the powers of the air are subject to His dominion. The lowest part of the cross penetrated the hidden places of the earth, so that it might be signified that the kingdom of the underworld was pierced and destroyed by His passion. That He is the King
Editors' notes and page, col. 241
Page
- running head: 241 SECT. I. HOMILIÆ. — LIB. II. (rest beyond the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹opportunum quod hortatu convivantium›; B ‹quia beatus Joannes pro Redemptoris›; C ‹pulo, sublevaretur in crucem›; D ‹Joannes : Qui est de terra›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: last line damaged: "Rege n hunc e-so" set as Rege⟨m⟩ hunc e⟨s⟩se. "Illum oportet crescere" (John 3:30) carries no printed reference; "(Ibid.)" printed after John 3:31, given its modern reference. Column ends mid-sentence.
credendum scripto in cruce titulo, astantes Hebraei, Graeci et Romani legebant, ut videlicet ejus imperium appareret per omnes gentes esse dilatandum. Quae cuncta Apostolus breviter una sententia complectitur, dicens : Factus est obediens usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis. Propter quod et Deus illum exaltavit, et donavit illi nomen quod est super omne nomen, ut in nomine Jesu omne genu flectatur, coelestium, terrestrium, et inferorum : et omnis lingua confiteatur quia Dominus Jesus Christus in gloria est Dei Patris. Decollato autem Joanne, et allato capite ejus in disco, sequitur :
to be believed, the Hebrews, Greeks and Romans standing by read in the title written on the cross, so that, namely, it might appear that His empire was to be spread through all nations. All of which the Apostle briefly embraces in a single sentence, saying: He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. For which reason God also exalted Him, and gave Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth; and every tongue confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father. John having been beheaded, and his head brought on a dish, there follows:
Et datum est puellae, et detulit matri suae. Et accedentes discipuli ejus, tulerunt corpus ejus, et sepelierunt illud. Et hoc ad minorationem praecursoris Domini pertinet, quod corpus ejus sepulturae absque capite datur. Namque ut in ecclesiasticis invenimus historiis (Joseph., Ant., XVIII, 10; Eus. I, 13), corpus ejus in civitate Samaria, quae nunc Sebaste vocatur, caput autem in Hierosolymis humatum est : decollatus vero est in castello quodam Arabiae quod Macherunta nominant. In quibus videlicet historiis hoc quoque reperimus quod caput ejus sanctissimum, longo post decollationem tempore, ab ipso revelatum sit duobus monachis Orientalibus, qui orationis gratia venerant Hierosolymam, atque inde in Edessam [Al., Emessam] Phoeniciae civitatem perlatum, debito fidelium sit honore frequentatum. At vero os⟨s⟩a ejus, tempore procedente, de Samaria Hierosolymam translata, ac mox Alexandriam missa, nunc ibidem in ecclesia quae nominis ipsius est honore consecrata, servantur. Quod divina providentia constat actum, ut scilicet per plura loca deportatis beati martyris reliquiis plura virtutum signa fierent, pluresque per memoriam doctrinae et vitae illius ad fidem ac dilectionem ejus quem praedicabat, confluerent. Inter haec sane considerandum est, et attentius memoriae commendandum quomodo omnipotens Deus electos dilectosque suos famulos, quos ad vitam regnumque praedestinavit aeternum, in tantum in hac vita pravorum patitur persecutione conteri, tot ac tantis poenarum mortiumque generibus consumi, quatenus perspectis perfectorum virorum passionibus, minus de his quae nobis forte adversa contigerint, doleamus, ac potius discamus omne gaudium existimare, cum in tentationes varias inciderimus : memoria retinentes quia quem diligit Dominus, castigat ; flagellat autem omnem filium quem recipit. Nam etsi principali sententia constat quia in multis offendimus omnes, quis tamen nostrum dicere audeat beatum Joannem in actu, vel dicto, vel habitu, vel victu peccasse? cujus austeritatem indumenti, cujus parcimoniam alimenti evangelica laudat historia, cujus omne quod loquitur, aut veritati testimonium reddit, aut eos qui contradicunt redarguit, cujus opera justitiae etiam qui non amabant venerationi habebant? Quis in eis [Al., ejus] praecordiis peccato poterat esse locus, quae [Al., quem] et ante nativitatem Spiritus sancti consecravit adventus? Quando saltem humanae conversationis
And it was given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came and took his body, and buried it. This too belongs to the decrease of the Lord's forerunner, that his body is given to burial without the head. For, as we find in the ecclesiastical histories (Josephus, Antiquities XVIII.10; Eusebius I.13), his body was buried in the city of Samaria, which is now called Sebaste, but his head in Jerusalem; and he was beheaded in a certain fortress of Arabia which they call Machaerus. In these same histories we also find that his most holy head, a long time after the beheading, was revealed by him to two Eastern monks who had come to Jerusalem for the sake of prayer, and that, carried from there to Edessa [another reading: Emesa], a city of Phoenicia, it was visited with the honour due from the faithful. But his bones, as time went on, were translated from Samaria to Jerusalem, and soon sent to Alexandria, and are now kept there in the church consecrated in honour of his name. It is clear that this was done by divine providence, so that, the relics of the blessed martyr being carried to many places, more signs of power might be done, and more people might flock, through the memory of his teaching and life, to faith in and love of Him Whom he preached. Among these things it is surely to be considered, and committed more attentively to memory, how almighty God allows His chosen and beloved servants, whom He has predestined to eternal life and the kingdom, to be crushed in this life by the persecution of the wicked to such a degree, to be consumed by so many and such great kinds of punishments and deaths, so that, having looked upon the passions of perfect men, we may grieve less over those things that perhaps befall us adversely, and may rather learn to count it all joy when we fall into various temptations: keeping in memory that whom the Lord loves He chastises, and scourges every son whom He receives. For though it is established by a chief sentence that in many things we all offend, which of us would yet dare to say that blessed John sinned in deed, or word, or dress, or food? he whose austerity of clothing, whose sparingness of food the Gospel history praises, all whose speaking either bears witness to the truth or refutes those who contradict it, whose works of justice even those who did not love him held in veneration? What place could there be for sin in that breast [another reading: his breast] which [another reading: whom] the coming of the Holy Spirit consecrated even before his birth? When at least, in regard to human converse,
Editors' notes and page, col. 242
Page
- running head: 242 (SECT. I. HOMILIÆ.) — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINÆ.
- marginal letters: A ‹credendum scripto in cruce titulo›; B ‹pertinet, quod corpus ejus sepulturae›; C ‹mox Alexandriam missa›; D ‹ac potius discamus omne gaudium›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "os a ejus": a visible gap in the type, set os⟨s⟩a. Last word printed "con-" at the column end, completed "conversationis" from the first line of col. 243.
intuitu valuit a virtutis via vel ad modicum deflecti, qui totam ab ineunte pueritia vitam solitarius peregit? Et tamen talis ac tantus vir praesentis vitae terminum post longam vinculorum afflictionem sanguinis effusionem [Al., effusione] suscepit. Ille qui libertatem supernae pacis evangelizabat, ab impiis in vincula conjicitur; clauditur obscuritate carceris, qui venit testimonium perhibere de lumine : quique ab ipsa luce, quae Christus est, lucerna ardens et lucens appellari meruit, quo in natis mulierum major nemo est, ad petitionem mulierum turpissimarum capite plectitur : et ipse proprio cruore baptizatur, cui redemptorem mundi baptizare, cui vocem Patris super illum audire, cui Spiritus sancti gratiam in eum descendentis videre donatum est. Sed non erat grave, imo leve ac desiderabile erat talibus tormenta pro veritate temporalia perpeti, quae perpetuis noverant remuneranda gaudiis. Optabile habebat mortem quae naturae necessitate inevitabilis imminebat, confesso Christi nomine cum palma vitae perennis excipere. Unde bene dicit Apostolus : Quia vobis donatum est a Christo, non solum ut in eo credatis, sed etiam ut pro illo patiamini (Philip. I). Qui ideo donum esse dicit Christi, ut pro illo patiantur electi, quia sicut idem dicit : Non sunt condignae passiones hujus temporis ad superventuram gloriam quae revelabitur in nobis (Rom. VIII). Cum ergo tam eximios regni coelestis haeredes tanta in hujus exsilio mortalitatis pati viderimus quid nobis inter haec, fratres charissimi, restat agendum, nisi ut tanto magis humiliemur in conspectu pii Conditoris et Redemptoris nostri, quanto nos patenter animadvertimus eos, nec vitae imitatione sequi posse, nec mortis? Itaque juxta vocem primi pastoris, humiliemur sub potenti manu Dei, ut nos exaltet in tempore visitationis : humiliemur cum Joanne, jejunemus et obsecrationes faciamus assiduas : exsultemus minui coram hominibus, exerceamur et deficiat paulisper spiritus noster utique [Al., spiritus, noster utique], id est carnalis et superbus, qui solebat inflari, ut bonae actionis perfectibus ante illum crescere, et cum illo exaltari valeamus, qui de coelo ad terras venire dignatus est, ut nos qui de terra sumus sublevaret ad coelos Jesus Christus Dominus noster, qui vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
he was able even slightly to be turned aside from the way of virtue, he who spent his whole life from earliest boyhood in solitude? And yet so great and such a man received the end of the present life by the shedding of his blood [another reading: with the shedding of his blood] after a long affliction of chains. He who preached the freedom of heavenly peace is thrown into chains by the ungodly; he who came to bear witness to the light is shut in the darkness of a prison; and he who deserved to be called by the Light Himself, which is Christ, a burning and shining lamp, than whom among those born of women there is none greater, is beheaded at the request of the most shameful women; and he is baptized in his own blood, to whom it was granted to baptize the Redeemer of the world, to hear the voice of the Father over Him, to see the grace of the Holy Spirit descending upon Him. But it was not grievous, nay it was light and desirable for such men to endure temporal torments for the truth, which they knew were to be rewarded with everlasting joys. He held it desirable to receive the death which, by the necessity of nature, hung over him inevitably, with the palm of everlasting life, having confessed the name of Christ. Hence the Apostle says well: For it has been granted to you by Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him (Phil. 1:29). He says it is a gift of Christ that the elect suffer for Him because, as he likewise says: The sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that will be revealed in us (Rom. 8:18). Since, then, we see such excellent heirs of the heavenly kingdom suffer such things in the exile of this mortality, what remains for us to do amid these things, dearest brethren, but to be humbled the more in the sight of our loving Maker and Redeemer, the more plainly we perceive that we cannot follow them, either in the imitation of their life or of their death? Therefore, according to the voice of the first shepherd, let us humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt us in the time of visitation; let us be humbled with John, let us fast and make constant supplications; let us rejoice to be lessened before men; let us be exercised, and let our spirit fail for a while, that is, the carnal and proud spirit [another reading punctuates: our spirit, wholly], which used to be puffed up, so that by the advances of good action we may be able to grow before Him and be exalted with Him Who deigned to come from heaven to earth, that He might raise us who are of the earth to heaven, Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
HOMILIA XXI. IN DEDICATIONE ECCLESIAE. JOAN. X. In illo tempore, facta sunt encaenia in Hierosolymis, et hiems erat, et ambulabat Jesus in templo, in porticu Salomonis, etc
HOMILY XXI. ON THE DEDICATION OF A CHURCH. JOHN 10. At that time the Encaenia took place in Jerusalem, and it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in Solomon's porch, etc.
Audivimus ex lectione evangelica, fratres charissimi, quia facta sunt encaenia in Hierosolymis. Encaenia autem vocabantur solemnia dedicationis templi, quae populus Dei ex antiqua Patrum traditione per annos singulos celebrare consueverat. Quorum vestigia nos hodie juxta morem Christiani orbis sequentes, annuam dedicationis ecclesiae nostrae diem divinis laudibus et vigiliis studuimus agere solemnem.
We have heard from the Gospel reading, dearest brethren, that the Encaenia took place in Jerusalem. Now the Encaenia was the name for the solemnities of the dedication of the temple, which the people of God had been accustomed to celebrate every year by the ancient tradition of the Fathers. Following their footsteps today according to the custom of the Christian world, we have been eager to keep the yearly day of the dedication of our church solemn with divine praises and vigils.
Editors' notes and page, col. 243
Page
- running head: 243 BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS I(II.) (rest beyond the image edge; B of BEDÆ broken, reads REDÆ)
- marginal letters: A ‹versationis intuitu valuit›; B ‹Sed non erat grave, imo leve›; C ‹magis humiliemur in conspectu›; D ‹et regnat cum Patre in unitate›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "versationis", the second half of "con-versationis", which is set whole at the end of col. 242. "etc" printed without a full stop. Column ends at a paragraph end.
Et hanc nos festivitatem eo majore devotione celebrare oportet, quo eam Redemptori nostro gratissimam esse cognovimus, adeo ut in illa ipse templum ingredi, et sermonem facere ad populum, ac divinitatis suae sacramenta pandere dignatus sit.
And we ought to celebrate this festival with the greater devotion, the more we have come to know that it is most pleasing to our Redeemer, so much so that on it He Himself deigned to enter the temple, to speak to the people, and to lay open the mysteries of His divinity.
Facta sunt, inquit, encaenia in Hierosolymis, et hiems erat, et ambulabat Jesus in templo, in porticu Salomonis. Si ergo voluit in templo ambulare, in quo caro et sanguis brutorum animalium offerebatur, multo magis nostram orationis domum, ubi carnis ipsius ac sanguinis sacramenta celebrantur, visitare gaudebit. Si perambulare non despexit porticum, in quo rex quondam mortalis ac terrenus, quamvis potentissimus et sapientissimus, ad orandum stare solebat, quanto magis penetralia cordium nostrorum invisere atque illustrare desiderat, si tamen ea porticum esse Salomonis, hoc est, si ea timorem suum quod est initium sapientiae habere perspexerit! Neque enim putandum est quia domus solummodo, ad quam [Al., in qua] ad orandum, vel ad mysteria celebranda convenimus, templum sit Domini, et non ipsi qui in nomine Domini convenimus, multo amplius templum ejus et appellemur, et simus, cum manifeste dicat Apostolus : Vos enim estis templum Dei vivi (II Cor. VI), sicut dicit Deus, Inhabitabo in eis, et inter illos ambulabo (Levit. XXVI). Si ergo templum Dei sumus, curemus solerter, et bonis actibus satagamus, ut in eodem suo templo saepius ipse et venire, et mansionem facere dignetur. Caveamus hiemis exemplum, ne, videlicet, corda nostra Dominus adveniens a charitatis ardore torpentia reperiat, et ideo ea citius aversatus relinquat. Quid enim pertinuit ad Evangelistam hiemis tempus commemorare, nisi quia duritiam perfidiae Judaeorum per asperitatem aurarum voluit designare brumalium ; et quia plurimis eorum quos tunc in templo invenit, congruebat sermo quem dixit : Quoniam abundavit [Al., abundabit] iniquitas, refrigescet charitas multorum (Matth. XXIV)? Sicut etiam subsequenter aperte denuntiat, dicens :
The Encaenia, it says, took place in Jerusalem, and it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in Solomon's porch. If, then, He was willing to walk in the temple in which the flesh and blood of brute animals were offered, much more will He rejoice to visit our house of prayer, where the sacraments of His own flesh and blood are celebrated. If He did not disdain to walk through the porch in which a king, once mortal and earthly, though most powerful and most wise, used to stand to pray, how much more does He desire to visit and illumine the inmost places of our hearts, if only He perceives them to be Solomon's porch, that is, if He perceives that they have His fear, which is the beginning of wisdom! For it is not to be thought that only the house to which [another reading: in which] we come together to pray or to celebrate the mysteries is the temple of the Lord, and not that we ourselves, who come together in the name of the Lord, are much more both called and are His temple, since the Apostle plainly says: For you are the temple of the living God (2 Cor. 6:16), as God says, I will dwell in them, and walk among them (Lev. 26:12). If, then, we are the temple of God, let us take careful thought, and busy ourselves with good deeds, that He Himself may deign more often both to come into this His temple and to make His abode there. Let us beware of the example of winter, lest, namely, the Lord at His coming should find our hearts numb, fallen from the ardour of charity, and so turn away from them and leave them the sooner. For why did it concern the Evangelist to mention the season of winter, unless he wished to signify the hardness of the faithlessness of the Jews by the harshness of the wintry winds; and because the word He spoke fitted very many of those whom He then found in the temple: Because iniquity has abounded [another reading: will abound], the charity of many will grow cold (Matt. 24:12)? As he also openly declares next, saying:
Circumdederunt ergo eum Judaei, et dicebant : Quousque animam nostram tollis ? Si tu es Christus, dic nobis palam. Non enim haec veritatem fidei quaerendo, sed illi quem interrogabant insidiando, et calumniam struendo dicebant. Christum namque, quem fides orthodoxa verum Deum, verum confitetur et hominem, illi purum tantummodo hominem futurum, non autem et Deum esse credebant : memores, videlicet, quia de humanitate illius juravit Dominus David de fructu ventris ejus sedere super sedem suam ; sed obliti quod ipse de divinitate sua per eumdem David cecinit dicens : Dominus dixit ad me : Filius meus es tu (Psal. II). Credebant ergo Christum de stirpe David nasciturum, et regem caeteris omnibus excellentiorem esse venturum ; qua etiam dementia posteri eorum usque in praesens tempus, et donec Antichristum pro Christo suscipiant, errare non cessant. Et si se Dominus Jesus Christum esse responderet, cogitabant eum tradere potestati praesidis puniendum, quasi contra Augustum
So the Jews surrounded Him, and said: How long will You take away our soul? If You are the Christ, tell us openly. For they said this not seeking the truth of faith, but laying snares for Him Whom they were questioning, and contriving a false charge. For Christ, Whom the orthodox faith confesses to be true God and true man, they believed would be a mere man only, and not also God: mindful, namely, that concerning His humanity the Lord swore to David that of the fruit of his womb one would sit upon his throne; but forgetful that He Himself, concerning His divinity, sang through the same David, saying: The Lord said to me: You are My Son (Ps. 2:7). They believed, then, that the Christ would be born of the stock of David, and would come as a king more excellent than all others; and in this madness their descendants do not cease to err even to the present time, and until they receive Antichrist in place of Christ. And if the Lord Jesus answered that He was the Christ, they planned to hand Him over to the governor's power to be punished, as if, resisting Augustus,
Editors' notes and page, col. 244
Page
- running head: 244 (BEDÆ VENERABILIS) OPP. PARS III. — PARÆNETICA (R broken, reads PAI ÆNETICA)
- marginal letters: A ‹Et hanc nos festivitatem›; B ‹illustrare desiderat, si tamen ea›; C ‹stra Dominus adveniens›; D ‹quem fides orthodoxa verum Deum›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "in quo rex" (porticum) set as printed. Last word printed "Augu-", completed "Augustum" from the first line of col. 245.
repugnans, illicitum sibi usurparet imperium. Sed ipse nostrae saluti consulens, prop⟨t⟩er quos haec scribenda erant, ita responsum temperavit suum, ut et calumniatorum ora concluderet, et quia Christus est fidelibus aperta voce proderet. Illi enim de homine Christo quaerebant, ipse autem divinitatis suae qua aequalis est Patri, palam mysteria narrat. Circumdemus ergo et nos eum, charissimi, non sicut Judaei insidiis appetendo, sed ut fidelissima domus ejus placidam illi in nobis sedem parando, de quibus merito dicatur : Sanctificavit tabernaculum suum Altissimus, Deus in medio ejus non commovebitur (Psal. XLV). Petamus eum non ut illi insaniendo, [Al. add., qui dicunt :] Quousque animam nostram tollis? si tu es Christus, dic nobis palam (quid enim vesanius quam ut Magistrum veritatis ideo sibi animam tolleret, quaererent [Al., tollere quererentur], quia non eis incredulis et contradicentibus aperte suae majestatis arcana reseravit) ; sed, ut Scriptura admonet, sentiendo de illo in bonitate et [Al. add., in] simplicitate cordis quaerendo illum ; quoniam invenitur ab his qui non tentant eum, apparet autem illis qui fidem habent in illum. Dicamus ei supplices, quia tu es Christus, te Filium unigenitum Dei, Patri et Spiritui sancto coaeternum esse, et consubstantialem in divinitate [Al. add., te] nostrae substantiae participem, ex tempore factum esse cognovimus, da ut quod interim pia fide veneramur, plena in futuro visione speculemur. Haec est etenim unica animae nostrae salus et vita, tuum perpetuum vultum, tuam cernere lucem. Nec dubitandum quia rogantes exaudiet nos, quando quod ipse praecepit rogamus : quod dare ipse desiderat, intenta mente poscimus. Quomodo enim pie supplicantibus famulis negare credendus est bona [Al., dona], quae etiam rebellibus ultra quam petebant, aperire non renuit? Qui cum illum an homo, an Christus esset, interrogarent, ipse non hominem tantum, sed etiam Deum Christum, et Dei Filium se esse non tacuit. Respondit enim eis, dicens :
he were usurping a power not lawful for him. But He, taking thought for our salvation, for whose sake these things were to be written, so tempered His answer as both to stop the mouths of the slanderers and to declare with open voice to the faithful that He is the Christ. For they were asking about Christ as a man, but He openly tells the mysteries of His divinity, in which He is equal to the Father. Let us also, then, surround Him, dearly beloved, not as the Jews did, attacking Him with snares, but preparing for Him a peaceful seat in ourselves as His most faithful house, of whom it may rightly be said: The Most High has sanctified His tabernacle; God is in the midst of it, it shall not be moved (Ps. 45:5–6). Let us entreat Him, not raving as they did, [another reading adds: who say:] How long will You take away our soul? If You are the Christ, tell us openly (for what is more insane than that they should complain that the Master of truth took away their soul [another reading: complained that He took it away], because He did not openly unlock the secrets of His majesty to them in their unbelief and contradiction); but, as Scripture admonishes, thinking of Him in goodness and seeking Him in [another reading adds: in] simplicity of heart; since He is found by those who do not tempt Him, and He shows Himself to those who have faith in Him. Let us say to Him as suppliants: Since Thou art the Christ, since we have come to know that Thou, the only-begotten Son of God, coeternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit and consubstantial in divinity, [another reading adds: Thou] wast made in time a partaker of our substance, grant that what meanwhile we venerate with loving faith we may behold in the future with full vision. For this is the one salvation and life of our soul: to see Thy everlasting face, Thy light. Nor is it to be doubted that He will hear us when we ask, since we ask what He Himself commanded; we beg with intent mind what He Himself desires to give. For how is He to be believed to refuse good things [another reading: gifts] to servants who devoutly entreat Him, when He did not refuse to disclose them, beyond what they asked, even to rebels? When they asked Him whether He was a man or the Christ, He did not keep silent that He was not only a man but also God, the Christ, and the Son of God. For He answered them, saying:
Loquor vobis, et non creditis. Opera quae ego facio in nomine Patris mei, haec testimonium perhibent de me. Sed vos non creditis, quia non estis ex ovibus meis. Qui ergo se in nomine Patris opera sua facere testatur, profecto quia Filius Dei sit, credendus insinuat. Sed illi duplici r⟨e⟩atu tenentur obnoxii, qui nec verbis quae locutus est, nec factis, quibus veritatem verborum astruebat, ad fidem poterant invitari. Meritoque ex ovibus ejus non esse dicuntur, quia non ovina simplicitate pastorem bonum sequi, sed ferina potius rabie satagebant persequi. Verum, quia sunt nonnulli, qui fidem verbo tenus servant, et habitu ovium belluina corda praetexunt, subsequenter ipse pastor, quae ovium suarum vita, quae sit merces edocet :
I speak to you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in the name of My Father, these bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep. He, then, who testifies that He does His works in the name of the Father intimates that He is surely to be believed to be the Son of God. But they are held liable to a double guilt, who could be drawn to faith neither by the words He spoke nor by the deeds by which He confirmed the truth of His words. And rightly are they said not to be of His sheep, because they took pains not to follow the good shepherd with the simplicity of sheep, but rather to pursue Him with the rage of wild beasts. But since there are some who keep the faith in word only, and cloak beastly hearts with the garb of sheep, the shepherd Himself next teaches what the life of His sheep is, and what their reward:
Oves meae vocem meam audiunt, et ego agnosco eas, et sequuntur me, et ego vitam aeternam do eis, et non peribunt in aeternum. Quicunque ergo aeternum declinare interitum, ac vitam desiderat videre perpetuam,
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me, and I give them eternal life, and they shall not perish for ever. Whoever, then, desires to avoid eternal destruction and to see everlasting life,
Editors' notes and page, col. 245
Page
- running head: 245 SECT. I. HOMILIÆ. — LIB. II. (rest beyond the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹stum repugnans, illicitum sibi›; B ‹mam tolleret, quaererent›; C ‹tuam cernere lucem. Nec dubitandum›; D ‹testatur, profecto quia Filius Dei›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "stum", the second half of "Augu-stum", set whole at the end of col. 244. "prop.e'": letter lost, set prop⟨t⟩er. "r atu": letter lost, set r⟨e⟩atu. Last word printed "perpe-", completed "perpetuam" from the first line of col. 246.
vocem Christi necesse est non solum audiendo et credendo, sed et bene vivendo sequatur. Quod autem se oves suas cognoscere dicit, eligere utique, et ad regnum coeleste praedestinare significat. Unde Salomon ait : Vias quae a dextris sunt, novit Dominus (Prov. IV). Et e contrario de reprobis Apostolus : Qui autem ignorat, inquit, ignorabitur (I Cor. XIV). Pulchre autem de his qui audirent vocem ejus, et sequerentur, ait : Et ego vitam aeternam do eis, et non peribunt in aeternum (Sap. III). Visi sunt namque martyres oculis insipientium mori, visi sunt perire, cum mortalem vitam diversis poenarum generibus subacti amitterent : sed non peribant in aeternum, non videbant mortem in aeternum : qui mox soluti carcere carnis, debita suo certamini praemia sortiuntur ; de quibus adhuc aperte subditur :
must follow the voice of Christ not only by hearing and believing, but also by living well. And when He says that He knows His sheep, He means that He chooses them and predestines them to the heavenly kingdom. Hence Solomon says: The ways that are on the right hand the Lord knows (Prov. 4:27). And on the contrary, of the reprobate the Apostle says: But he who does not know, will not be known (1 Cor. 14:38). And beautifully He says of those who would hear His voice and follow: And I give them eternal life, and they shall not perish for ever (Wis. 3). For the martyrs seemed in the eyes of the foolish to die, they seemed to perish, when, subdued by various kinds of punishments, they lost their mortal life: but they did not perish for ever, they did not see death for ever; for, soon freed from the prison of the flesh, they obtain the rewards due to their combat; of whom it is further openly added:
Non rapiet eas quisquam de manu mea. Nitebantur quippe persecutores impii r⟨a⟩pere pios Christi confessores de manu ejus, quando vel eos ad negandam fidem tormentis cogebant, ut animas e⟨o⟩rum alienas redderent a Christo, vel a morientibus victi nihilominus exanima eorum corpora, aut in aquas dissolvenda, aut in ignem comburenda, jactabant, ut quasi Christo resuscitandi ea facultatem tollerent. Sed nemo rapiebat eas de manu ejus, cui sicut ipse alibi ait : Omnia mihi tradita sunt a Patre (Matth. XI), quia et certantes ut vincant adjuvat, et victores ut perpetuo regnent coronat, et eisdem etiam carnem in qua certaverunt, immortalem suo tempore reddet. Quibus verbis eorum quoque temeritatem, qui sibi laqueos mortis parabant redarguit : manifeste insinuans quia stultissime de ejus perditione dolis agerent, qui vitam dare posset immortalem, cui nemo raperet aliquem de his quos suos esse ante saecula praenosset. Sed ne haec loquendo suam videretur gloriam quaerere, totam suam potentiam ad Patris gloriam refert, cum subjungit ;
No one shall snatch them out of My hand. For the ungodly persecutors strove to snatch the godly confessors of Christ out of His hand, when they either forced them by torments to deny the faith, so as to make their souls estranged from Christ, or, though defeated by the dying, nonetheless threw their lifeless bodies either into the waters to be dissolved or into the fire to be burned, as if to take away from Christ the power of raising them again. But no one snatched them out of His hand, to Whom, as He Himself says elsewhere: All things have been delivered to Me by the Father (Matt. 11:27); for He both helps those who strive, that they may conquer, and crowns the conquerors, that they may reign for ever, and in His own time will restore to them, immortal, even the flesh in which they strove. By these words He also refutes the rashness of those who were preparing the snares of death for themselves, plainly intimating that they were acting most foolishly with their tricks for the destruction of Him Who could give immortal life, from Whom no one could snatch any of those whom He had foreknown before the ages to be His. But lest by saying these things He should seem to seek His own glory, He refers all His power to the glory of the Father, when He adds:
Pater meus quod dedit mihi, majus omnibus est. Majus autem omnibus quod Mediatori Dei et hominum homini Jesu Christo Pater dedit, hoc est, ut sit unigenitus ejus filius in nullo gignenti, vel natura dissimilis, vel virtute inferior, vel tempore posterior. Quam videlicet aequalitatem ipse Dominus in divinitate habuit, priusquam mundus esset apud Patrem, nec [Al., ipse] in humanitate ex tempore incarnationis accepit.
What My Father has given Me is greater than all. And the thing greater than all that the Father gave to the Mediator of God and men, the man Jesus Christ, is this: that He should be His only-begotten Son, in nothing unlike the One Who begets Him, either in nature, or inferior in power, or later in time. This equality the Lord Himself had in His divinity with the Father before the world was, and did not [another reading: He Himself] receive it in His humanity from the time of the incarnation.
Et nemo potest rapere de manu Patris mei. Supra de ovibus suis dicit : Non rapiet eas quisquam de manu mea ; et nunc subjungit : Et nemo potest rapere de manu Patris mei ; aperte dans intelligi unam atque indissimilem esse manum, hoc est, virtutem suam et Patris, atque ideo Christum se fore [Al., esse] credendum, qui non sicut caeteri sanctificatus per gratiam ex tempore, sed verus semper exstiterit Dei Filius. Quod etiam sequenti sententia luce clarius aperit, dicens :
And no one can snatch them out of the hand of My Father. Above He says of His sheep: No one shall snatch them out of My hand; and now He adds: And no one can snatch them out of the hand of My Father; plainly giving it to be understood that His hand and the Father's, that is, His power and the Father's, is one and not unlike, and that therefore He is to be believed to be [another reading: is] the Christ, Who was not, like the rest, sanctified by grace in time, but has always been the true Son of God. This He discloses more clearly than light in the following sentence, saying:
Ego et Pater unum sumus. Unum, inquit, sumus, una nobis substantia, una divinitas, una aeternitas, perfecta aequalitas, dissimilitudo nulla. Quibus profecto
I and the Father are one. We are one, He says: one substance is ours, one divinity, one eternity, perfect equality, no unlikeness. By these words, indeed,
Editors' notes and page, col. 246
Page
- running head: 246 (SECT. I. HOMILIÆ.) — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINÆ.
- marginal letters: A ‹tuam, vocem Christi necesse est›; B ‹tur ; de quibus adhuc aperte subditur›; C ‹laqueos mortis parabant redarguit›; D ‹Patrem, nec [Al., ipse] in humanitate›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "tuam", the second half of "perpe-tuam", set whole at the end of col. 245. "r.pere" and "e rum": letters lost, set r⟨a⟩pere, e⟨o⟩rum. "eisdem" printed with a faint i, read. "(Sap. III)" printed after John 10:28; it points to the Wisdom 3:2 allusion that follows. "subjungit ;" printed with a semicolon. Last word printed "pro-", completed "profecto" from the first line of col. 247.
verbis non praesentem solummodo Judaeorum quaestionem, quia an ipse esset Christus interrogabant, explicavit ; sed etiam haereticorum perfidiam, quam futuram praevidit, quantum sit exsecranda monstravit. Fotinus [Al., Photinus] enim dicit : Christus homo est tantum, Deus non est. At cum ipse dicat : Ego et Pater unum sumus ; manifeste patet quia unum cum Deo Patre substantialiter homo purus esse non potest. Et quia Christus idem quod Pater est, cavenda haeresis Fotini, qui hunc credi Deum prohibet. Arius autem : Christus, inquit, factus a Deo, non ex Deo natus est ; et ideo minor Patre credendus est. Cui contradicens ipse : Ego, inquit, et Pater unum sumus. Quis enim non facile viderit quia nulla creatura unum cum illo qui omnia creavit naturaliter existere possit? Et quia naturaliter Christus unum cum Patre est, damnanda est Arii pervicacia, qui illum creaturam affirmat. Porro Sabellius : Non sunt, inquit, duae personae Patris et Filii confitendae, sed ipse Pater quando vult, Pater est ; quando vult, Filius est ; quando vult, Spiritus sanctus est, ipse tamen unus est. Quem memorata sententia Filius ipse condemnat. Constat enim quia ego et Pater de una persona dici non potuit, sumus de uno dici non congruit. Quapropter etiam Sabellii errore cum caeteris abjecto, sequenda nobis est apostolica beati Petri fides, qua Dominum confessus ait : Tu es Christus, Filius Dei vivi (Matth. XVI). Haec de lectione evangelica, prout Dominus donavit, explanando transcurrimus, sed libet adhuc de encaeniorum solemnitate, quam et tunc Hierosolymitae, et nos hodie celebramus, fraternitati vestrae latius disserere. Hoc autem in primis notandum est, quod encaenia, quae in lectione evangelica facta cognovimus, non ad primam dedicationem templi, sed ad ultimam pertinent, quod ex eo facile colligitur, quia hieme facta referuntur. Prima siquidem ejus dedicatio a Salomone, tempore autumni ; media a Zorobabel, et a Jesu sacerdote, tempore veris ; ultima a Juda Machabaeo, tempore hiemis est facta, quando specialiter constitutum esse legitur, ut eadem dedicatio per omnes annos in memoriam solemnibus revocaretur officiis, juxta quod ad tempus dominicae incarnationis observatum fuisse, modo cum legeretur Evangelium, audivimus. Haec autem fuit causa secundae et tertiae dedicationis, quia Salomon quidem templi opus, quod Domino Deo condidit, septem annis perfecit ; octavo autem anno, hoc est, decima die mensis septimi, qui a nobis October appellatur, in magna regni gloria dedicavit : quae, videlicet, dies et antea per legem erat statuta solemnis, ita ut in ea tabernaculum omne per singulos annos majoribus hostiis expiari deberet. Denique Zacharias pater beati Joannis Baptistae, eisdem expiationibus ad altare deserviens, adveniente angelo de dominicae mysterio nativitatis gaudioque humanae salvationis instruitur. Sed templum hoc post annos quadringentos triginta incenderunt
He not only resolved the present question of the Jews, who were asking whether He was the Christ, but also showed how execrable is the faithlessness of the heretics, which He foresaw would come. For Fotinus [another reading: Photinus] says: Christ is only a man, He is not God. But since He Himself says: I and the Father are one, it is manifestly clear that a mere man cannot be one in substance with God the Father. And because Christ is the same as the Father is, the heresy of Fotinus, who forbids Him to be believed God, is to be shunned. Arius, however, says: Christ was made by God, not born of God; and therefore He is to be believed less than the Father. Contradicting him, He Himself says: I and the Father are one. For who would not easily see that no creature can by nature exist as one with Him Who created all things? And because Christ is by nature one with the Father, the obstinacy of Arius, who asserts Him to be a creature, is to be condemned. Further, Sabellius says: Two persons, of the Father and of the Son, are not to be confessed, but the Father Himself, when He wills, is the Father; when He wills, is the Son; when He wills, is the Holy Spirit; yet He Himself is one. Him the Son Himself condemns by the sentence mentioned. For it is clear that "I and the Father" could not be said of one person, and "are" is not fittingly said of one. Wherefore, the error of Sabellius being cast away with the rest, we must follow the apostolic faith of blessed Peter, by which he confessed the Lord, saying: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matt. 16:16). These things we have run through in explaining the Gospel reading, as the Lord granted; but it pleases us to discourse further to your fraternity on the solemnity of the Encaenia, which both the people of Jerusalem kept then and we celebrate today. Now this is to be noted first of all, that the Encaenia which we learned in the Gospel reading took place belong not to the first dedication of the temple, but to the last; which is easily gathered from the fact that they are reported to have taken place in winter. For its first dedication was made by Solomon in the season of autumn; the middle one by Zerubbabel and Jeshua the priest, in the season of spring; the last by Judas Maccabaeus, in the season of winter, when we read that it was specially established that the same dedication should be recalled to memory every year with solemn offices; and that this was observed up to the time of the Lord's incarnation we heard just now when the Gospel was read. Now this was the cause of the second and third dedications: Solomon completed in seven years the work of the temple which he built for the Lord God; and in the eighth year, that is, on the tenth day of the seventh month, which we call October, he dedicated it in the great glory of the kingdom: which day, namely, had also before been appointed solemn by the law, so that on it the whole tabernacle had to be expiated every year with greater sacrifices. Thus Zacharias, the father of blessed John the Baptist, serving at the altar in these same expiations, is instructed by the coming of the angel concerning the mystery of the Lord's nativity and the joy of human salvation. But this temple, after four hundred and thirty years, was burned by
Editors' notes and page, col. 247
Page
- running head: 247 BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS II(I.) (rest beyond the image edge)
- marginal letters: A ‹fecto verbis non praesentem›; B ‹nia creavit naturaliter existere›; C ‹huc de encaeniorum solemnitate›; D ‹cum legeretur Evangelium, audivimus›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "fecto", the second half of "pro-fecto", set whole at the end of col. 246. Last word printed "incen-", completed "incenderunt" from the first line of col. 248 visible at the image edge. "tempore veris" (spring) and "decima die mensis septimi" set as printed.
Chaldaei, et, Hierosolymorum urbe destructa, populum Israel in Babyloniam adduxere captivum : qui post annos septuaginta, regnantibus Persis, in patriam remissus, rursusque aedificatum est templum per annos quadraginta sex, et tertia die mensis duodecimi, quem nos Martium vocamus, opus ad finem usque perductum. Cui, videlicet, tunc operi praefuerunt duces plebis strenuissimi, ut diximus, Zorobabel de regio genere, et Jesus sacerdos magnus ; sed et prophetae Aggaeus et Zacharias adjuvantes eos, atque adversus insidias hostium opus impedientium cor populi roborantes. Inde post annos fere trecentos et quinquaginta sex, rex Graecorum nefandissimus Antiochus, fraude capta Hierusalem, templum idem sordibus idolorum profanavit, auferens inde et confringens altare Domini aureum, mensam propositionis, candelabrum luminis, et caetera templi vasa aurea, quae invenire potuit ; sed et in templo Jovis simulacrum statuens, populumque tormentis ad sacrificandum idolis cogens. Qua persecutione multi de populo pro divinae legis custodia trucidati sunt, inter quos et mater illa septem filiorum merito famosa nobilissimam pro Domino cum sobole martyrii meruit coronam. Sed Judas Machabaeus cum de genere esset sacerdotali (II Mac. VII), collecto exercitu Justorum adversus Antiochi duces, arma arripiens, eosque de Judaea expellens (I Mac. IV) persecutioni gravissimae finem imposuit, ac templum ab idolorum imaginibus emundans, nova rursus altaria, et caetera vasa, vel ornamenta faciens, atque in templo imponens dedicavit ea simul cum templo quod purificavit, et renovavit vicesima quinta die mensis noni, qui apud nos vocatur December, et ad hiemem pertinere nulli dubium constat ; statuitque decretum, ut praediximus, annis singulis diem Encaeniorum, id est, innovationis dedicationis templi festa devotione celebrari. Quae profecto omnia, sicut Apostolus docet, in figura facta sunt nostri (I Cor. X), et propter nos utique scripta, ideoque nobis solertius spiritali ratione discutienda. Salomon quippe rex, qui interpretatur pacificus, ipsum Redemptorem nostrum typice designat, de quo Isaias ait : Multiplicabitur ejus imperium, et pacis non erit finis (Isai. IX). Templum quod aedificavit, catholica ejus Ecclesia est, quam de universis per orbem credentibus, quasi de vivis lapidibus in unam suae fidei et charitatis compaginem aggregat. Quod autem septem annis aedificatum est templum significat ; quia per totum hujus saeculi tempus, quod septem diebus volvitur, sanctae structura ecclesiae crescere nunquam desinit. Quod autem octavo anno dedicatum est, et celeberrima illa ac maxima solemnitas a Salomone rege cunctis filiis Israel tempore completae dedicationis exhibita, insinuat mystice quia, perfecto in fine mundi numero electorum, diu desideratae immortalitatis est futura festivitas ; et peracto universalis resurrectionis miraculo, mox omnes qui ad pacifici Regis verissimi Salomonis regnum
the Chaldaeans, and, the city of Jerusalem being destroyed, they led the people of Israel captive into Babylonia: which people, after seventy years, under the rule of the Persians, was sent back to its homeland, and the temple was built again over forty-six years, and on the third day of the twelfth month, which we call March, the work was brought to its completion. Over this work there then presided, as we have said, most vigorous leaders of the people, Zerubbabel of the royal line and Jeshua the high priest; and the prophets Haggai and Zechariah also helped them, and strengthened the heart of the people against the snares of the enemies who hindered the work. Then, after about three hundred and fifty-six years, the most wicked king of the Greeks, Antiochus, having taken Jerusalem by fraud, profaned the same temple with the filth of idols, carrying off from it and breaking up the golden altar of the Lord, the table of the showbread, the lampstand of light, and the other golden vessels of the temple that he could find; and he also set up an image of Jupiter in the temple, and forced the people by torments to sacrifice to idols. In this persecution many of the people were slain for keeping the divine law, among whom that mother of seven sons, deservedly famous, merited with her offspring the most noble crown of martyrdom for the Lord. But Judas Maccabaeus, since he was of priestly stock (2 Macc. 7), gathered an army of the just against the generals of Antiochus, took up arms, and driving them out of Judaea (1 Macc. 4) put an end to the most grievous persecution; and cleansing the temple of the images of idols, making new altars again and the other vessels or ornaments, and placing them in the temple, he dedicated them together with the temple, which he purified and renewed on the twenty-fifth day of the ninth month, which with us is called December, and which no one doubts belongs to winter; and he established a decree, as we have said, that the day of the Encaenia, that is, of the renewal of the dedication of the temple, should be celebrated every year with festal devotion. All these things, indeed, as the Apostle teaches, were done as a figure of us (1 Cor. 10:6), and were surely written for our sake, and are therefore to be examined by us the more carefully by spiritual reasoning. For King Solomon, whose name means peaceable, typically signifies our Redeemer Himself, of Whom Isaiah says: His empire shall be multiplied, and of peace there shall be no end (Isa. 9:7). The temple which he built is His Catholic Church, which He gathers from all believers throughout the world, as from living stones, into the one structure of His faith and charity. That the temple was built in seven years signifies that through the whole time of this world, which revolves in seven days, the structure of holy Church never ceases to grow. That it was dedicated in the eighth year, and that most celebrated and greatest solemnity was held by King Solomon for all the children of Israel at the time of the completed dedication, mystically intimates that, when the number of the elect is completed at the end of the world, there will be the festival of the long-desired immortality; and, the miracle of the universal resurrection being accomplished, at once all who to the kingdom of the peaceable King, the most true Solomon,
Editors' notes and page, col. 248
Page
- running head: 248 (BEDÆ VENERABILIS) OPP. PARS III. — PARÆNETICA.
- marginal letters: A ‹derunt Chaldaei, et, Hierosolymorum›; B ‹auferens inde et confringens altare›; C ‹atque in templo imponens dedicavit›; D ‹ejus Ecclesia est, quam de universis›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "derunt", the second half of "incen-derunt", set whole at the end of col. 247. Last word "regnum" smudged but legible. Column ends mid-sentence.
pertinent, aeterna cum Deo gaudia patriae coelestis intrabunt
pertain, will enter with God into the eternal joys of the heavenly fatherland.
HOMILIA XXII. IN NATALE SANCTI MATTHAEI APOSTOLI. MATTH. IX. MARC. II. LUCAE V. In illo tempore, cum transiret Jesus, vidit hominem sedentem in telonio, Matthaeum nomine, et ait illi: Sequere me. Et surgens secutus est eum, etc.
HOMILY XXII. On the birthday of Saint Matthew the apostle. Matt. 9:9; Mark 2:14; Luke 5:27–28. At that time, as Jesus was passing by, He saw a man sitting at the tax-booth, Matthew by name, and He said to him: Follow Me. And rising up, he followed Him, etc.
Legimus, Apostolo dicente: Quia omnes peccaverunt
We read, the Apostle saying: That all have sinned
Editors' notes and page, col. 249
Footnotes
(a) Hic terminatur ed. Basil., nec tamen certum habui an non Beda hic finem homiliae ipse fecisset. Inter Lectiones, quas e Codicibus excerpsi, hoc quod sequitur fragmentum (Ex Cod. ms. Biblioth. Arsenalis Paris., saec. X) finem homiliae in dedicatione Ecclesiae justum imponit. « Nam quia Dominus noster octava die, id est, post septimam Sabbati resuscitari a morte voluit, recte numerus octonarius nostrae quoque resurrectionis festa ventura designat. Quod templum ab hostibus incensum rursum, Domino miserante, construitur, quod ab idololatriis coinquinati denuo supernae pietatis auxilio mundatur, varios sanctae Ecclesiae insinuat eventus, quae nunc infidelium persecutione premitur, nunc, a persecutionibus reddita liberior, tranquilla Domino servitute famulatur; nunc in quibusdam suis membris, hostis antiqui periclitatur insidiis, nunc, instante solertia doctorum fidelium, quos ad horam perdere videbatur, per poenitentiam jam castigatos recipit. Quod vero templum secundo quadraginta et sex annis aedificatum est, ad significationem dominici corporis quod de virgine assumpsit, specialiter respicit, de quo ipse Judaeis: Solvite, inquit, templum hoc, et in tribus diebus excitabo illud; quia videlicet solutum passione corpus suum ipse die tertia resuscitavit ad vitam. Ferunt siquidem quia corpus hominis quadragesimo sexto die post conceptionis initium in membrorum distinctione formatur; atque ideo non casu gestum, sed divinitus procuratum est, ut eo annorum numero templum aedificaretur, quo dierum numero corpus dominicum, quod per templum figurabatur, in utero virginali perfici oportebat. Quod autem Encaenia per omnes annos celebrare sancitum est, hoc profecto nos admonet, ut memoriam et dominicae resurrectionis, quam jam factam credimus, et nostrae, quam futuram speramus, semper animo retineamus, taliterque nos agamus, ut non ad judicium, sed sicut Dominus his qui bona egerint promisit, resurgere mereamur ad vitam. Nec sine discussione praetereundum, quod dedicans templum Salomon ubi complevit preces, descendit ignis e coelo, et devoravit holocausta et victimas. Holocausta namque et victimae veri Salomonis nos sumus, holocausta et victimae summi Regis omnes electi ejus sunt, de quibus ait apostolus Petrus quia et Christus semel pro peccatis nostris mortuus est, justus pro injustis, ut nos offerret Deo mortificatos carne, vivificatos autem spiritu (I Petr. III). Ignis autem coelestis fervor est eximiae dilectionis, qua supernae cives patriae et in sua alterutrum beatitudine, et in sui Conditoris conspecta claritate semper ardere laetantur. Hinc est quod quaedam coelestium virtutum agmina, quae ex singulari propinquitate Conditoris sui incomparabili ardent amore, speciali nomine seraphin, id est, ardentes vel incendentes, vocantur. Completa autem dedicatione templi, ignis e coelo descendens oblatas Domino hostias devorat, quia, expleto tempore nostrae resurrectionis, cum introierint in gaudium Domini sui fideles servi, flagrantia veri amoris, quo nunc angelicae virtutes inflammantur, eorum quoque mentes visa specie sui Redemptoris absorbet. Qua quidem face dilectionis etiam nunc plurimos electorum in superna illa civitate plene absorptos esse non dubium est; sed tunc nimirum hoc multo perfectius adimplebitur, cum recepta sua [continues in the lower half of col. 250; see n250]
(a) Here the Basel edition ends; yet I have not been certain whether or not Bede himself made the end of the homily here. Among the readings which I excerpted from the codices, the fragment that follows (from a manuscript codex of the Arsenal Library, Paris, tenth century) puts a fitting end to the homily on the dedication of the church. « For since our Lord willed to be raised from death on the eighth day, that is, after the seventh day, the Sabbath, the number eight rightly signifies also the coming festival of our resurrection. That the temple, burned by enemies, is built again by the Lord's mercy, and that, having been defiled by idolaters, it is cleansed anew by the help of the goodness from above, intimates the various fortunes of holy Church, which is now oppressed by the persecution of unbelievers, now, made freer from persecutions, serves the Lord in tranquil service; now in some of its members is imperilled by the snares of the ancient enemy, now, through the pressing skill of faithful teachers, receives back, already chastened by penance, those whom he seemed for a time to destroy. That the temple was built the second time in forty-six years refers especially to the signification of the Lord's body, which He took from the Virgin, of which He Himself said to the Jews: Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up; because, namely, He Himself raised to life on the third day His own body, destroyed by the passion. For they say that the human body is formed in the distinction of its members on the forty-sixth day after the beginning of conception; and therefore it was not done by chance but provided by God, that the temple should be built in the same number of years as the number of days in which the Lord's body, which was figured by the temple, was to be perfected in the virginal womb. That it was ordained that the Encaenia be celebrated every year surely admonishes us always to keep in mind the memory both of the Lord's resurrection, which we believe already accomplished, and of our own, which we hope is to come, and so to conduct ourselves that we may merit to rise not to judgement but, as the Lord promised to those who have done good, to life. Nor should it be passed over without discussion that when Solomon, dedicating the temple, had finished his prayers, fire came down from heaven and devoured the burnt offerings and the victims. For we are the burnt offerings and victims of the true Solomon; all His elect are the burnt offerings and victims of the supreme King, of whom the apostle Peter says that Christ also died once for our sins, the just for the unjust, that He might offer us to God, put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit (1 Pet. 3:18). The heavenly fire is the fervour of surpassing love, with which the citizens of the fatherland above rejoice ever to burn, both in one another's blessedness and in the beheld brightness of their Maker. Hence it is that certain hosts of the heavenly powers, which by their singular nearness to their Maker burn with incomparable love, are called by the special name of seraphim, that is, burning or kindling. And when the dedication of the temple was completed, fire coming down from heaven devours the victims offered to the Lord, because, when the time of our resurrection is fulfilled, when the faithful servants have entered into the joy of their Lord, the blaze of true love with which the angelic powers are now inflamed will absorb their minds also, once the beauty of their Redeemer has been seen. With this torch of love, indeed, there is no doubt that even now very many of the elect in that city above are fully absorbed; but then surely this will be fulfilled far more perfectly, when, having received back their own [continued under n250]
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- running head: SECT. I. HOMILIÆ. — LIB. II. [right part on facing column] (249)
- marginal letters: A ‹pertinent, aeterna cum Deo›; B ‹septimam Sabbati resuscitari› (in footnote block); C ‹corpus hominis quadragesimo sexto› (in footnote block); D ‹semel pro peccatis nostris› (in footnote block)
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: The page is split by a blank band. Above it: the end of the homily on the dedication (ending "intrabunt", footnote call a; no full stop visible after it), then HOMILIA XXII. Below it, across the lower halves of cols 249 and 250: footnote (a), the editor's note (signed "» GILLES." at its close in col. 250) quoting a fragment from an Arsenal manuscript. It is editors' matter, so it is set here and in n250, not in the source column. "coinquinati" (for coinquinatum) is printed so in the footnote and kept.
et egent gloria Dei, justificati gratis per gratiam ipsius. Qui et iterum inaestimabilem ejusdem gratiae magnitudinem commendans, ait: Ubi autem abundavit peccatum, superabundavit et gratia (Rom. V); quia nimirum quanto graviorem Dominus in electis suis peccatorum languorem curavit, tanto ampliorem cunctis gratiae medentis potentiam monstravit. Unde et ex lectione evangelica audivimus quia sedentem
and are in need of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace. And again, commending the inestimable greatness of that same grace, he says: But where sin abounded, grace has abounded yet more (Rom. 5:20); because, surely, the graver the sickness of sins the Lord has cured in His elect, the more ample the power of His healing grace that He has shown to all. Hence also we have heard from the Gospel reading that, as he sat
Editors' notes and page, col. 250
Footnotes
(a, continued from col. 249) carne immortali, receptis in eamdem beatitudinem conservis suis et fratribus cunctis, quos adhuc in terris certare conspiciunt, non habebunt ultra quo intuitum cogitationis foras vel ad modicum mittant, habentes secum intus Deum de cujus visione sempiterna gaudeant, habentes et proximos quorum felicitate sempiterna congaudeant. Ubi illud primum et maximum Domini mandatum ad integrum perficietur, ad cujus perfectionem in hac vita justi pro suis quoque viribus accinguntur: Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo, et ex tota anima tua, et in tota mente tua, et diliges proximum tuum sicut teipsum, quia quo vicinius praesentem Domini vultum cernunt, eo ardentius ejus dilectioni se totos impendunt. Quo proximos suos omnes esse electos ac Deo dilectos agnoscunt, quo corda illorum non minus quam sua sincero amore refecta perspiciunt, eo illos ipsi non minus quam seipsos amare delectantur. Sed et hoc notandum quia, exposita dedicatione ac festivitate subsecuta, ita Scriptura conclusit: Et dimisit Salomon populos, qui benedicentes regi profecti sunt in tabernacula sua laetantes et alacri corde super omnibus bonis quae fecerat David servo suo Dominus et Israel populo suo. Dimittet enim, peracto resurrectionis munere, Dominus electos suos in aeterna tabernacula laetantes, non eos utique ulterius a sua praesentia removens, sed a discrimine judicii quod in aere futurum Apostolo docente novimus in habitationem patriae coelestis immittens, ut pro suis quique meritis promissam regni sedem percipiant. Quod enim hic populi in tabernacula sua profecti esse dicuntur, hoc est profecto quod in Evangelio Dominus ait: Multae mansiones in domo Patris mei sunt. Bene autem dicitur, quia benedicentes regi profecti sunt in tabernacula sua, quia haec est nimirum sola actio quietissima ac felicissima civium supernorum hymnos gratiarum suo dicere conditori; hinc enim scriptum est: Beati qui habitant in domo tua, in saeculum saeculi laudabunt te; hinc idem propheta ultimos septem psalmos in laudis divinae suavitate complevit. Porro octavum ante finem Psalterii de victoria pugnae qua gigantem straverat, Dominum benedicendo confecit. Ubi aperte indicat quia omnes qui hic maligni hostis certamina superant, illic in requie vera laudem sui Redemptoris et adjutoris decantant. Benedicentes, inquit, regi, profecti sunt in tabernacula sua laetantes et alacri corde super omnibus bonis quae fecerat Dominus David servo suo, et Israel populo suo. Laetantes quippe justi super bonis quae a Domino accipiunt, tabernacula introeunt coelestium mansionum, quia quamvis graves hujus saeculi, quamvis longi fuerint labores, breve nimirum videtur et leve totum quidquid aeterna beatitudine finitur. Unde oportet, charissimi, ut in aedificatione domus Dei unusquisque nostrum exhortando, obsecrando, increpando, ipse piis actibus desudando, quantum valet, insistat; ne, si quempiam rex coelestis nunc desidem in opere sui templi conspexerit, hunc in tempore dedicationis magnae suae solemnitatis reddat exsortem. Satagamus mutuo charitatis auxilio, ut omnes nos alacri corde et indefessos in operibus quae ipse praecepit inveniens, omnes ad praemia quae promisit perpetuae visionis introducat Jesus Christus Dominus noster, qui vivit et regnat cum Patre Deus in unitate Spiritus sancti, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen. » GILLES.
(a, continued) flesh, now immortal, and when their fellow servants and all their brethren, whom they now see still contending on earth, have been received into the same blessedness, they will no longer have anything towards which to send the gaze of their thought outward even for a little, having God with them within, in the everlasting vision of whom they rejoice, and having also neighbours in whose everlasting happiness they rejoice together. There that first and greatest commandment of the Lord will be fulfilled entire, to the fulfilling of which the just gird themselves in this life according to their strength: You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, and with your whole soul, and with your whole mind, and you shall love your neighbour as yourself; for the nearer they behold the present face of the Lord, the more ardently they spend themselves wholly in love of Him. The more they recognize all their neighbours to be elect and beloved of God, the more they perceive the hearts of those others to be filled, no less than their own, with sincere love, the more they delight to love them no less than themselves. But this too is to be noted: that when the dedication had been set out and the festival had followed, Scripture concluded thus: And Solomon dismissed the peoples, who, blessing the king, went away to their tents rejoicing and glad of heart for all the good things that the Lord had done for David His servant and for Israel His people. For when the gift of the resurrection has been accomplished, the Lord will dismiss His elect, rejoicing, into the eternal tents, not by any means removing them any further from His presence, but sending them from the ordeal of the judgement, which we know from the Apostle's teaching is to take place in the air, into the dwelling of the heavenly fatherland, so that each according to his merits may receive the promised seat in the kingdom. For what is said here, that the peoples went away to their tents, is in truth what the Lord says in the Gospel: In My Father's house there are many mansions. And it is well said that, blessing the king, they went away to their tents, because this is surely the only activity, most restful and most happy, of the citizens on high: to sing hymns of thanks to their Maker; for hence it is written: Blessed are they who dwell in Your house; for ever and ever they shall praise You; hence the same prophet completed the last seven psalms in the sweetness of divine praise. Further, the eighth from the end of the Psalter, on the victory in the fight in which he had laid low the giant, he finished by blessing the Lord. By this he openly shows that all who here overcome the combats of the malignant enemy will there, in true rest, sing out the praise of their Redeemer and Helper. Blessing the king, it says, they went away to their tents rejoicing and glad of heart for all the good things that the Lord had done for David His servant and for Israel His people. For the just, rejoicing over the good things they receive from the Lord, enter the tents of the heavenly mansions; because, however heavy, however long the labours of this world have been, whatever is ended in eternal blessedness surely seems wholly brief and light. Therefore, dearly beloved, it behoves each of us to persevere, as far as he is able, in building the house of God, by exhorting, by beseeching, by rebuking, and by toiling himself in good works; lest, if the heavenly King now sees anyone idle in the work of His temple, He make him without share in the time of the dedication of His great solemnity. Let us take pains by the mutual help of charity, so that Jesus Christ our Lord, finding us all glad of heart and unwearied in the works He has commanded, may lead us all to the rewards of everlasting vision that He has promised, Who lives and reigns with the Father, God in the unity of the Holy Spirit, through all the ages of ages. Amen. » GILLES.
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- running head: [left part on facing column] Æ. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINÆ. 250
- marginal letters: A ‹runt et egent gloria Dei›; B ‹et maximum Domini mandatum› (in footnote block); C ‹movens, sed a discrimine› (in footnote block); D ‹inquit, regi, profecti› (in footnote block)
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: The page is split by a blank band. The upper block (eight lines, "runt et egent ... sedentem") is main text, continuing the upper block of col. 249; "runt" completes "peccave-" at the foot of col. 249's upper block, set whole there. The lower block ("carne immortali ... Amen. » GILLES.") is the continuation of footnote (a) from the lower half of col. 249: the editor's note quoting an Arsenal-manuscript ending for the dedication homily, closed by the guillemet and the editor's name. It is editors' matter, so it is set here in the notes and not in the source column (Q1, 2026-10-04; resolves the earlier UNSURE).
in telonio Matthaeum, ac temporalibus curis intentum, repente miseratus Dominus vocavit, et de publicano justum, de telonario discipulum fecit: quem etiam proficientibus ejusdem gratiae incrementis, de communi discipulorum numero ad apotolatus gradum promovit, nec solum praedicandi, verum etiam scribendi Evangelium illi ministerium commisit, ut qui curam terrestrium omiserat negotiorum, coelestium talentorum dispensator esse inciperet. Quod ob id utique providentia superna fieri disposuit, ut nullum enormitas peccatorum suorum, nullum numerositas scelerum, a speranda venia revocaret, cum hunc tantis mundi nexibus absolutum, tam coelestem factum conspiceret, ut, communicato cum angelicis spiritibus vocabulo, evangelista nominaretur et esset.
at the tax-booth and intent upon temporal cares, Matthew was called by the Lord, who suddenly took pity on him; and out of a publican He made a just man, out of a tax-gatherer a disciple: whom also, as the increases of that same grace went forward, He promoted from the common number of the disciples to the rank of the apostolate, and committed to him the ministry not only of preaching but also of writing the Gospel, so that he who had laid aside the care of earthly business might begin to be a steward of heavenly talents. Which the providence above disposed to be done for this reason above all: that the enormity of his own sins should call no man back from hoping for pardon, nor the multitude of his crimes, when he saw this man loosed from such great bonds of the world and made so heavenly that, sharing a title with the angelic spirits, he should be called an evangelist and should be one.
Vidit, inquit, Jesus hominem sedentem in telonio, Matthaeum nomine, et ait illi: Sequere me. Vidit autem non tam corporei intuitus, quam internae miserationis aspectibus, quibus et Petrum negantem ut reatum suum cognoscere ac deflere posset, respicere dignatus est: quibus populum suum Aegyptia servitute depressum, ut eriperet aspexit, dicens ad Moysen: Videns vidi afflictionem populi mei, qui est in Aegypto, et gemitum ejus audivi, et descendi liberare eum (Exod. III). Vidit ergo hominem et miseratus est eum qui, humanis tantum studiis deditus, necdum angelico nomine dignus exstiterat. Vidit sedentem in telonio, pertinaci, videlicet, animo temporalibus lucris inhiantem, Matthaeum, inquit, nomine. Matthaeus Hebraice, Latine dicitur donatus: quod profecto nomen illi apte congruit qui tantum gratiae supernae munus accepit. Nec praetereundum est quod idem Matthaeus erat binomius, nam et Levi vocabatur, quod etiam nomen eidem gratiae, qua donatus est, testimonium perhibet. Interpretatur enim additus, sive assumptus, significans quia assumptus est per electionem a Domino, et additus ad numerum gradus apostolici. Hoc autem illum nomine Marcus et Lucas in hac electione magis appellare voluerunt, ne consortem operis evangelici de prisca conversatione palam notabilem redderent. At vero ubi ad describendum duodecim apostolorum catalogum pervenerunt, tacito Levi vocabulo, Matthaeum illum aperte nuncupaverunt. Porro ipse Matthaeus, juxta hoc quod scriptum est, justus prior accusator est sui, venit amicus ejus et investigavit eum, vulgato se nomine vocat, cum de telonio vocatum narrat. Sed et in decalogo [Al., catalogo] apostolorum cum additamento se publicanum cognominat. Thomas, inquit, et Matthaeus publicanus, quatenus majorem per hoc publicanis et peccatoribus adipiscendae salutis confidentiam praebeat. Quam docendi formulam Paulus quoque secutus, ait: Quia Christus Jesus venit in hunc mundum peccatores salvos facere, quorum primus ego sum. Sed ideo misericordiam consecutus sum, ut in me primo ostenderet Christus Jesus omnem patientiam, ad exemplum eorum qui credituri sunt illi in vitam aeternam (I Tim. I). Vidit ergo Jesus publicanum, et quia miserando atque eligendo vidit, ait illi,
He saw, it says, a man sitting at the tax-booth, Matthew by name, and He said to him: Follow Me. He saw, however, not so much with the gaze of bodily sight as with the looks of inward mercy, the looks with which He deigned also to look back upon Peter as he denied Him, so that he might recognize and weep for his guilt; with which He looked upon His people, crushed by Egyptian slavery, in order to rescue them, saying to Moses: I have surely seen the affliction of My people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them (Exod. 3:7–8). He saw the man, then, and had mercy on him who, given over only to human pursuits, had not yet become worthy of the angelic name. He saw him sitting at the tax-booth, that is, gaping with stubborn mind after temporal gains; Matthew, it says, by name. Matthew in Hebrew is in Latin called donatus [given]: a name that surely suits well the one who received so great a gift of grace from above. Nor should it be passed over that this same Matthew had two names, for he was also called Levi; and this name too bears witness to the same grace with which he was gifted. For it is interpreted added, or taken up, signifying that he was taken up by the Lord through election, and added to the number of the apostolic rank. Mark and Luke, however, chose rather to call him by this name in the account of this election, so as not to make their partner in the work of the Gospel openly marked out for his former way of life. But when they came to write out the list of the twelve apostles, they passed over the name Levi and openly named him Matthew. Matthew himself, on the other hand, according to what is written, The just man is first his own accuser; his friend comes and searches him out, calls himself by his well-known name when he tells of his call from the tax-booth. And in the decalogue [Al., catalogue] of the apostles too he gives himself, with an addition, the surname publican: Thomas, he says, and Matthew the publican, so as to give publicans and sinners through this a greater confidence of obtaining salvation. Following this manner of teaching, Paul also says: That Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners, of whom I am the first. But I obtained mercy for this reason, that in me first Christ Jesus might show all patience, as an example to those who would believe in Him unto life eternal (1 Tim. 1:15–16). So Jesus saw the publican, and because He saw him in pitying and choosing him, He said to him,
Editors' notes and page, col. 251
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- running head: 251 BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS I [right part on facing column]
- marginal letters: A ‹in telonio Matthaeum, ac temporalibus›; B ‹Vidit, inquit, Jesus hominem›; C ‹profecto nomen illi apte congruit›; D ‹hoc quod scriptum est, justus prior›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "apotolatus" (for apostolatus) is printed so and kept. The imported text (R0562) had only the first paragraph; the rest of the column ("Vidit, inquit ... ait illi,") was set from the page by Q1, 2026-10-04.
Sequere me. Sequere autem dixit imitare. Sequere dixit non tam incessu pedum, quam executione morum. Qui enim dicit se in Christo manere, debet sicut ille ambulavit, et ipse ambulare: quod est non ambire terrena, non caduca lucra sectari, fugere honores, contemptum mundi omnem pro coelesti gloria libenter amplecti, cunctis prodesse, amare, injurias nulli inferre, at sibi illatas patienter sufferre, sed et inferentibus a Domino veniam postulare, nonnunquam [Al., nunquam] suam, sed Conditoris semper gloriam quaerere, quotquot valet secum ad amorem supernorum erigere. Haec est hujusmodi gerere, Christi est vestigia sequi.
Follow Me. By "follow" He meant "imitate". He said "follow" not so much by the going of the feet as by the carrying out of conduct. For he who says that he abides in Christ ought himself also to walk as He walked: that is, not to strive after earthly things, not to pursue perishing gains, to flee honours, willingly to embrace all contempt of the world for the sake of heavenly glory, to be of help to all, to love, to inflict injuries on no one, but patiently to bear those inflicted on oneself, and even to ask pardon from the Lord for those who inflict them, sometimes [Al., never] to seek one's own glory, but always the Maker's, to raise up with oneself as many as one can to the love of things above. To do things of this kind, this is to follow the footsteps of Christ.
Et surgens, inquit, secutus est eum. Non est mirandum quod publicanus ad primam jubentis Domini vocem terrena quae curabat lucra reliquerit, opibusque neglectis, illius comitatui, quem nil divitiarum habere cernebat, adhaeserit. Ipse enim Dominus, qui eum foris verbo vocavit, intus invisibili instinctu ut sequeretur edocuit, infundens menti illius lumen gratiae spiritualis, qua intelligeret, quia is a temporalibus vocabat [Al., vacabat] in terris, incorruptibiles in coelis dare thesauros valeret. Surgens, inquit, secutus est eum. Surrexit, ut sequeretur; dimisit caduca quae gerebat, ut consequeretur aeterna, ad quae illum veritas invitabat, quale est illud Ephes. V [Al., Isaiae]: Surge, qui dormis, et exsurge a mortuis, et illuminabit te Christus.
And rising, it says, he followed Him. It is not to be wondered at that the publican, at the first word of the Lord's command, left the earthly gains he was tending and, his riches disregarded, attached himself to the company of Him whom he saw to have nothing of wealth. For the Lord Himself, who called him outwardly by a word, taught him inwardly by an invisible prompting to follow, pouring into his mind the light of spiritual grace, by which he might understand that He who was calling him [Al., who was free] from temporal things on earth was able to give incorruptible treasures in heaven. Rising, it says, he followed Him. He rose, in order to follow; he let go the perishing things he was handling, in order to obtain the eternal things to which the Truth was inviting him; as in that saying of Ephesians 5:14 [Al., of Isaiah]: Rise, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.
Et factum est discumbente eo in domo, ecce [Al. add. multi] publicani et peccatores venientes discumbebant cum Jesu et discipulis ejus. Unius publicani conversio multis exemplum poenitentiae ac indulgentiae publicanis et peccatoribus tribuit. Non enim dubitandum quia publicani ac peccatores esse desierant, qui cum Jesu et discipulis ejus discumbebant; nec si in peccatis perseverare decernerent, ei qui sine peccato est, convesci auderent. Publicani quippe vocantur, qui vel publice sceleribus foedantur, vel publicis implicantur negotiis, quae sine peccato aut vix aut nullatenus valent administrari. Et pulchro satis praesagio, qui Apostolus et doctor gentium erat futurus, in prima sua conversione peccantium post se gregem trahit ad salutem, officiumque evangelizandi, quod proficiente merito virtutum erat expleturus, a primis jam fidei suae rudimentis incipit. Neque enim solum qui fratrem verbo erudit, sed etiam qui exemplo ad meliora convertit, ministerium gerit doctoris. Denique iidem publicani non tunc solummodo cum Domino discumbebant, verum et deinceps, abjectis saecularibus negotiis, ad imitationem Matthaei illum sequi gaudebant, teste evangelista Marco, qui dicit: Multi publicani et peccatores discumbebant cum Jesu et discipulis ejus (Marc. II). Erant enim multi qui et sequebantur eum. Notandum autem quod Lucas haec referens dicit quia Dominus in domo ejusdem Matthaei cum publicanis discubuerit, et quia ipse convivium illi magnum paraverit. Qui quidem Matthaeus, quantum ad generale judicium respicit, congruam beneficiis coelestibus vicem rependit, ut a quo perennia
And it came to pass, as He was reclining at table in the house, behold, [Al. adds: many] publicans and sinners came and reclined with Jesus and His disciples. The conversion of one publican gave to many publicans and sinners an example of repentance and of pardon. For it is not to be doubted that those who reclined with Jesus and His disciples had ceased to be publicans and sinners; nor, if they had resolved to persevere in sins, would they have dared to eat with Him who is without sin. For those are called publicans who are either publicly defiled by crimes or entangled in public business, which can be administered either scarcely or not at all without sin. And by a quite beautiful presage, he who was to be an apostle and teacher of the gentiles, at his first conversion draws after him a flock of sinners to salvation, and begins the office of evangelizing, which he was to fulfil as the merit of his virtues advanced, already from the first rudiments of his faith. For not only he who instructs a brother by word, but also he who turns him to better things by example, discharges the ministry of a teacher. Finally, these same publicans did not recline with the Lord only then, but also afterwards, having cast off worldly business, they rejoiced to follow Him in imitation of Matthew, as the evangelist Mark witnesses, who says: Many publicans and sinners were reclining with Jesus and His disciples (Mark 2:15). For there were many who also followed Him. But it is to be noted that Luke, relating these things, says that the Lord reclined at table with publicans in the house of this same Matthew, and that Matthew himself prepared a great banquet for Him. This Matthew, indeed, as regards the general judgement, made a fitting return for the heavenly benefits, so that to Him from whom he was hoping for everlasting goods
Editors' notes and page, col. 252
Page
- running head: [left part on facing column] S OPP. PARS III. — PARÆNETICA. 252
- marginal letters: A ‹Sequere me. Sequere autem›; B ‹vocem terrena quae curabat›; C ‹add. multi] publicani›; D ‹primis jam fidei suae›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Column ends with "pe-" broken at the column foot; it is completed by "rennia" at the top of col. 253 (checked, Q1), and set whole here as "perennia". "is a temporalibus vocabat [Al., vacabat]": construed as "He who was calling him from temporal things"; the variant vacabat ("was free") is rendered as such. UNSURE of the intended sense.
bona sperabat, illi sua temporalia commodaret, eumque corporalibus epulis reficeret, quo ipse donante gustum spiritualis acceperat suavitatis. Porro si altiore intellectu, quae gesta sunt indagare cupimus, non tantum in domo sua terrestri convivium Domino corporale exhibuit, sed multo gratius illi convivium in domo pectoris sui per fidem ac dilectionem paravit, ipso attestante qui ait: Ecce ego sto ad ostium, et pulso (Apoc. III). Si quis audierit vocem meam, et aperuerit januam, intrabo ad illum, et coenabo cum illo, et ipse mecum. Stat quippe ad ostium Dominus et pulsat, cum memoriam suae voluntatis vel per os docentis hominis, vel per suam intus inspirationem nostro cordi infundit. Audita autem voce ejus, januam ut recipiatur aperimus, quando illius sive secretis sive apertis admonitionibus libenter assensum praebemus, et his perficiendis quae facienda cognovimus operam damus. Intrat vero, ut et ille nobiscum, et nos cum illo coenemus, quia in cordibus electorum per amoris sui gratiam inhabitat, ut et ea semper luce suae praesentiae reficiat, quatenus ad superna desideria magis magisque proficiant, et studiis eorum coelestibus quasi gratissimis dapibus ipse pascatur. Sequitur:
he should lend his own temporal goods, and should refresh with bodily feasts Him by Whose giving he had himself received a taste of spiritual sweetness. Moreover, if we desire to search out with a deeper understanding the things that were done, not only in his earthly house did he set out a bodily banquet for the Lord, but he prepared for Him a far more pleasing banquet in the house of his own breast, through faith and love — He Himself bearing witness Who says: Behold, I stand at the door and knock (Rev. 3:20). If anyone shall hear My voice and open the door, I will come in to him, and I will sup with him, and he with Me. For the Lord stands at the door and knocks, when He pours into our heart the remembrance of His will, either through the mouth of a man who teaches, or through His own inward inspiration. And when His voice has been heard, we open the door that He may be received, when we willingly give assent to His admonitions, whether secret or open, and give our labour to the carrying out of those things which we have come to know ought to be done. And He comes in so that both He may sup with us and we with Him, because He dwells in the hearts of the elect through the grace of His love, so that He may ever refresh them with the light of His presence, to the end that they may go forward more and more towards heavenly desires, and that He Himself may be fed by their heavenly pursuits as by the most welcome banquet. There follows:
Et videntes Pharisaei, dicebant discipulis ejus: Quare cum peccatoribus et publicanis manducat Magister vester? Duplici errore tenebantur Pharisaei, cum magistro veritatis de susceptione peccatorum detrahebant [Al., derogabant]: quia et se justos arbitrabantur, qui superbiae fastu a justitia longe discesserant; et eos criminabantur injustos, qui resipiscendo a peccatis non parum jam justitiae propinquabant. Invidia namque fraternae salutis obcaecati recolebant, quia publicanus erat Matthaeus, publicani et peccatores erant multi alii, qui cum Domino discumbebant, sed meminisse nolebant quia idem Matthaeus, sicut Lucas scribit, relictis omnibus quae gerebat, secutus est eum. Sed et alii publicani ac peccatores eo animo cum illo discumbebant, quod illi deinceps adhaerere disponebant. Errabant ergo Pharisaei, qui nec aliena, nec sua saltem corda noverant. Sed qui novit occulta cordis, qui venit quaerere et salvum facere quod perierat, et eos quos jam poenitentes susceperat, amplius in fide confortat, et eos quos adhuc superbos tolerat et impios, ad humilitatis gratiam ac pietatis provocat; nam sequitur:
And the Pharisees, seeing it, said to His disciples: Why does your Master eat with sinners and publicans? The Pharisees were held by a double error when they disparaged [Al., belittled] the Master of truth over His receiving of sinners: for they both thought themselves just, who by the haughtiness of pride had departed far from justice, and accused as unjust those who, by coming to their senses from their sins, were already drawing not a little near to justice. For, blinded by envy of their brothers' salvation, they recalled that Matthew was a publican, and that many others who reclined with the Lord were publicans and sinners; but they would not remember that this same Matthew, as Luke writes, left all that he was handling and followed Him. And the other publicans and sinners too were reclining with Him in this mind, that they were resolving to cling to Him from then on. So the Pharisees erred, who knew neither the hearts of others nor even their own. But He who knows the secrets of the heart, who came to seek and to save what had been lost, both strengthens further in faith those whom He had already received as penitents, and calls those whom He still bears with, proud and impious, to the grace of humility and of piety; for there follows:
[Al. add.: At Jesus audiens ait:] Non est opus valentibus medico, sed male habentibus. In eo etenim quod male habentibus medicum se advenisse testatur, auget spem obtinendae sanitatis et vitae eis qui, de peccatorum suorum languore turbati, Salvatoris ac vivificatoris magisterium jam sequi coeperant. In eo autem quod valentibus non opus esse medico dicit, illorum temeritatem redarguit qui, de sua justitia praesumentes, gratiae coelestis auxilium quaerere detrectabant. Quis namque justus esse poterit, ut divina opitulatione non egeat, cum ille, quo in natis mulierum major nemo est, de se Joannes apertissime dicat: Non potest homo a se accipere quidquam,
[Al. add.: But Jesus, hearing it, said:] They that are well have no need of a physician, but they that are sick. For in that He testifies that He has come as a physician to those who are sick, He increases the hope of obtaining health and life for those who, troubled by the sickness of their own sins, had already begun to follow the teaching of the Saviour and giver of life. But in that He says that they who are well have no need of a physician, He refutes the rashness of those who, presuming upon their own justice, refused to seek the help of heavenly grace. For who will be able to be just, so as not to need the divine assistance, when that man, than whom among those born of women there is none greater, John, says of himself most plainly: A man cannot receive anything of himself,
Editors' notes and page, col. 253
Page
- running head: 253 SECT. I. HOMILIÆ. — LIB. II. [right part on facing column]
- marginal letters: A ‹rennia bona sperabat›; B ‹illius sive secretis sive apertis›; C ‹tur, qui superbiae fastu›; D ‹adhuc superbos tolerat›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Opening "rennia" completes "pe-" at the foot of col. 252, set whole there. The imported text (R0562) lacked the paragraph "Et videntes Pharisaei ... nam sequitur:"; set from the page by Q1, 2026-10-04.
nisi ei datum fuerit de coelo (Joan. III)? Dum vero subjungit:
unless it has been given him from heaven (John 3:27)? But when He adds:
Euntes autem discite quid est: Misericordiam volo, et non sacrificium? Iisdem Pharisaeis de falsa justitia tumentibus etiam consilium correctionis ostendit. Admonet namque eos ut per opera misericordiae sibimet ipsis supernae misericordiae praesidia conquirant, et, non contemptis pauperum necessitatibus, per oblationem se sacrificiorum Dominum placare confidant. Proposuit autem eis testimonium de propheta, et hoc illos euntes discere jussit: euntes videlicet a temeritate stultae vituperationis, ad diligentiorem Scripturae sanctae meditationem, ut qui eum peccatores suscipientem contra Scripturarum decreta facere calumniabantur, ipsi se potius intelligerent, quae essent Dei praecepta nescisse, vel agnita non fecisse. Qui enim quotidianis in templo oblationibus instantes, nulla delinquentibus compassione miserabantur, patet profecto quia contra sermonem propheticum sacrificium potius quam misericordiam quaerebant. At vero Dominus, qui, sicut scriptum est, pertransivit benefaciendo et sanando omnes oppressos a diabolo, et quoties templum intravit, magis verbo [Al., inibi] languentes curare, erudire nescios, contumaces redarguere, vel etiam foras deturbare, quam victimas studuit offerre, liquet utique quia voluntatis divinae, quam propheta monebat, jussa perfecit, misericordiae, scilicet, opus exsequendo, et non sacrificium celebrando. Qui etiam reprehensoribus suis quare cum publicanis et peccatoribus manducaret, rationem reddere non despexit, ut vel sic eos a supervacua murmuratione cohiberet, atque ad sequenda suae pietatis dona provocaret. Non enim, inquit, veni vocare justos, sed peccatores. Idcirco igitur peccatorum convivia frequentabat, ut insidiatores suos docendo coelestes invitaret ad epulas. Sed movet forte aliquem quomodo Dominus dixerit non se venisse ad justos, sed magis ad peccatores vocandos, cum cunctis legentibus constet quod etiam illos quos secundum Mosaicae legis instituta justos invenit, ad evangelicae perfectionis culmen plurimos vocavit. Si enim solos peccatores, et non etiam justos vocaret, nequaquam Nathanael discipulatus illius consors existeret, quem ad se primo venientem tanta laude dignum putavit, ut diceret: Ecce vere Israelita, in quo dolus non est. Si non justos vocaret, Petrum et Andream in apostolatus arce non haberet, qui quanto amore justitiae flagraverint, docuerunt cum ad testimonium praecursoris continuo Dominum videre et audire gavisi sunt. Quomodo ergo non venit vocare justos, sed peccatores, nisi quia, sicut Lucas haec referens apertius dicit, Non veni vocare justos, sed peccatores in poenitentiam (Luc. V)? Omnes namque electos ad regnum coeleste Dominus vocat, sed illos solum ad poenitentiam vocat, quos peccatis gravioribus involutos invenit. Quos vero justitiae operibus deditos reperit, non eos ad poenitentiam praeteritae conversationis, sed ad profectum magis vitae perfectioris invitat. Vocat peccatores,
But go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, and not sacrifice? To these same Pharisees, swollen with a false righteousness, He shows also a counsel of correction. For He admonishes them to obtain for themselves the protection of mercy from on high through works of mercy, and not, scorning the needs of the poor, to trust that they appease the Lord by the offering of sacrifices. And He set before them a testimony from the prophet, and bade them go and learn this: go, that is, from the rashness of foolish censure to a more careful meditation on Holy Scripture, so that they who slandered Him as acting against the decrees of the Scriptures in receiving sinners might rather understand that they themselves had not known what the precepts of God were, or, knowing them, had not done them. For those who, intent on the daily offerings in the temple, felt no pity or compassion for wrongdoers, plainly sought, against the prophetic word, sacrifice rather than mercy. But the Lord, who, as it is written, went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, and who, as often as He entered the temple, was more eager to cure the sick by a word [Al., there], to teach the ignorant, to rebuke the stubborn, or even to drive them out, than to offer victims, clearly fulfilled the commands of the divine will that the prophet urged, namely by carrying out the work of mercy and not by celebrating sacrifice. He also did not disdain to give an account to those who blamed Him for eating with publicans and sinners, so that even thus He might restrain them from needless murmuring and call them forth to follow the gifts of His loving-kindness. For I came not, He says, to call the righteous, but sinners. For this reason, then, He frequented the banquets of sinners, that by teaching He might invite those who lay in wait for Him to the heavenly feast. But perhaps it troubles someone how the Lord said that He had come not to call the righteous but rather sinners, when it is clear to all who read that He called very many of those also whom He found righteous according to the ordinances of the Mosaic law to the summit of Gospel perfection. For if He called only sinners and not the righteous as well, Nathanael would by no means have become a sharer in His discipleship, whom, when he first came to Him, He thought worthy of such praise as to say: Behold, truly an Israelite, in whom there is no guile. If He did not call the righteous, He would not have Peter and Andrew in the citadel of the apostolate, who showed with how great a love of righteousness they burned when, at the testimony of the forerunner, they rejoiced at once to see and hear the Lord. How then did He not come to call the righteous but sinners, unless because, as Luke, relating these things, says more plainly: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32)? For the Lord calls all the elect to the heavenly kingdom, but He calls to repentance only those whom He finds entangled in graver sins. Those, however, whom He finds devoted to works of righteousness He invites not to repentance for their former way of life, but rather to progress in a more perfect life. He calls sinners,
Editors' notes and page, col. 254
Page
- running head: [left part on facing column] Æ. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINÆ. 254
- marginal letters: A ‹nisi ei datum fuerit de coelo›; B ‹intelligerent, quae essent Dei praecepta›; C ‹reprehensoribus suis quare cum publicanis›; D ‹venientem tanta laude dignum›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Column ends with "pecca-" broken at the foot; it is completed by "tores" at the top of col. 255 (checked, Q1), and set whole here as "peccatores".
ut per poenitentiam corrigantur; vocat justos, ut magis magisque justificentur. Quamvis et ita recte possit intelligi quod ait: Non veni vocare justos, sed peccatores, quia non illos vocaverit qui, suam justitiam volentes constituere, justitiae Dei non sunt subjecti, sed eos potius qui fragilitatis suae conscii non erubescunt profiteri, quia in multis offendimus omnes. Si quos autem et de illis qui fallaciter sunt justi correctos vocat ad veniam, etiam in illis implebitur ejus sermo, quia non venerit vocare justos, sed peccatores, id est, non elatos, sed humiles; non de sua justitia inflatos, sed ei qui justificat impium devota mente substratos. Nam et tales ubi convertuntur, nequaquam se justos, sed peccatores necesse est sincero corde testentur. Libet autem meminisse, fratres charissimi, ad quantam Dominus arcem justitiae Matthaeum, quem de publicanis actibus elegit, ut spem remissionis peccatoribus ampliaret, advexerit. Qualis namque sit factus, ipse apostolorum numerus cui insertus est, docet: docet et ipsa gens Aethiopum, quam de finibus terrae ultimis ad sanctae Ecclesiae societatem praedicando convertit, ablutamque fonte baptismatis, de fusca formosam reddidit, quia vitiorum nigredinem exuit, ac virtutum decoravit ornatu: docet ipsum Evangelium, in quo scribendo Novi Testamenti consecravit exordium, cui speciali privilegio donatum est ut dominicae incarnationis mysteria, quae cuncti a saeculo prophetae futura praecinebant, ipse primus omnium jam facta descripserit, et credentibus legenda transmiserit. Quod, videlicet, Evangelium ad aedificandam fidem Ecclesiae primitivae, quae ex Hebraeorum maxime populo collecta est, Hebraeo sermone composuit. Dilatata autem per orbem Ecclesia, et Graecis ac Barbaris in ejusdem fidei unitatem confluentibus, curaverunt praesules fidelium, ut idem etiam [Al. add. in] Graecum, Latinumque transferretur eloquium: quomodo etiam Marci, Lucae et Joannis Evangelia, quae deinceps Graeca lingua ediderunt, mox in Latinum transfudere sermonem, quatenus haec omnes per orbem nationes legere et intelligere possent. Testatur et Ezechiel propheta, quantum idem Matthaeus inter praecipua sanctae Ecclesiae membra effulserit, dum sub figura quatuor animalium admirabiles omnium Evangelistarum virtutes, quas coelesti visione didicerat, plenissimo sermone describit. Sed et Joannes Apostolus, qui erat unus ex eis, et ipse visione doctus spirituali, inter prima ecclesiae sacramenta eorumdem evangelistarum facit mentionem. Tantae quippe erant dignitatis illi qui Redemptoris nostri facta et dicta scribendo memoriae tradiderunt, ut non solum prophetico, sed et apostolico essent testimonio commendandi. Tantae erant dignitatis, ut utriusque Testamenti Scriptura eis merito testimonium daret, eorumque gloriam coeli cives non ante exortum tantummodo eorum, verum etiam post inchoatum vel expletum sanctissimi munus operis, hominibus ad memoriam referret, et quanti apud Deum habeantur ostenderent. Multa ergo de illis Ezechiel,
that they may be corrected through penitence; He calls the just, that they may be justified more and more. Although what He says may also rightly be understood in this way: I came not to call the just, but sinners, because He did not call those who, wishing to establish their own justice, are not subject to the justice of God, but rather those who, conscious of their own frailty, do not blush to confess that in many things we all offend. And if He calls some even of those who are falsely just, once corrected, to pardon, in them too His word will be fulfilled, that He came not to call the just, but sinners — that is, not the lifted up, but the humble; not those puffed up over their own justice, but those laid low with a devout mind before Him Who justifies the ungodly. For such men also, when they are converted, must needs testify with a sincere heart that they are in no way just, but sinners. And it is a pleasure to recall, dearest brethren, to how great a citadel of justice the Lord carried up Matthew, whom He chose out of a publican's dealings that he might enlarge the hope of remission for sinners. For what sort of man he was made, the very number of the apostles into which he was inserted teaches; and that same nation of the Ethiopians teaches it, whom from the uttermost bounds of the earth he converted by preaching to the fellowship of the holy Church, and, washing her in the font of baptism, made her from dusky to be beautiful, because he stripped off the blackness of vices and adorned her with the ornament of virtues; his very Gospel teaches it, in the writing of which he consecrated the beginning of the New Testament — to whom it was granted by a special privilege that the mysteries of the Lord's incarnation, which all the prophets from the beginning of the world sang beforehand as things to come, he first of all should describe as things already done, and should hand them on to be read by believers. Which Gospel, that is, he composed in the Hebrew tongue for the building up of the faith of the primitive Church, which was gathered chiefly out of the people of the Hebrews. But when the Church had been spread abroad through the world, and Greeks and barbarians were flowing together into the unity of that same faith, the leaders of the faithful took care that the same Gospel should be translated also into [Al. add. in] the Greek and the Latin speech: just as also the Gospels of Mark, of Luke and of John, which they afterwards published in the Greek tongue, they soon poured over into the Latin speech, so that all nations throughout the world might be able to read and to understand these things. The prophet Ezekiel too bears witness how greatly the same Matthew shone out among the chief members of holy Church, when under the figure of the four living creatures he describes in fullest speech the admirable powers of all the Evangelists, which he had learned in a heavenly vision. And John the Apostle also, who was one of them, himself likewise taught by a spiritual vision, makes mention of those same evangelists among the first mysteries of the Church. For those men were of such great dignity, who by writing handed down to memory the deeds and the sayings of our Redeemer, that they were to be commended not only by prophetic but also by apostolic testimony. They were of such great dignity that the Scripture of both Testaments deservedly bore them witness, and that the citizens of heaven reported their glory to the memory of men, not only before their rising, but also after the most holy office of their work was begun or completed, and showed of how great account they are held with God. Much, therefore, concerning them did Ezekiel,
Editors' notes and page, col. 255
Page
- running head: 255 BEDÆ VENERABILIS OPP. PARS I [right part on facing column]
- marginal letters: A ‹tores, ut per poenitentiam›; B ‹fratres charissimi, ad quantam›; C ‹videlicet, Evangelium ad aedificandam›; D ‹Evangelistarum virtutes, quas coelesti›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Opening "tores" completes "pecca-" at the foot of col. 254, set whole there. "justi iae" on the page (broken type) is read as justitiae.
multa eximius ipsorum commemoravit Joannes; sed nos in praesenti, quia sermo claudendus est, unum Joannis testimonium commemorare sufficiat: Et cum darent, inquit, quatuor animalia gloriam et honorem, et benedictionem sedenti super thronum, viventi in saecula saeculorum, procidebant viginti quatuor seniores ante sedentem in throno, et adorabant viventem in saecula saeculorum, et mittebant coronas suas ante thronum. Oportet namque ut quoties Regis aeterni magnificentiam in sanctis Evangeliorum libris praedicari cognoverimus, procidamus humiles ante illius misericordiam, et devotis precibus imploremus, et quidquid boni operis habere possumus, non nostris hoc meritis, sed ejus gratiae semper tribuamus qui sedens in throno Patris una cum Spiritu sancto vivit et regnat Deus per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
and much did John, the most eminent of them, relate; but for us at present, since the discourse must be closed, let it suffice to recall one testimony of John: And when, he says, the four living creatures were giving glory and honour and blessing to Him Who sits upon the throne, Who lives for ever and ever, the four and twenty elders fell down before Him Who sits on the throne, and adored Him Who lives for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne. For it behoves us that, as often as we come to know the magnificence of the eternal King proclaimed in the holy books of the Gospels, we should fall down humbly before His mercy, and implore Him with devout prayers, and that whatever of good work we may be able to have, we should always ascribe this not to our own merits but to His grace — Who, sitting on the throne of the Father, together with the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, God, through all ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILIA XXIII. IN NATALE SANCTI ANDREAE APOSTOLI JOAN. I. In illo tempore, stabat Joannes, et ex discipulis ejus duo; et respiciens Jesum ambulantem, dicit: Ecce Agnus Dei: et audierunt eum duo discipuli loquentem, et secuti sunt Jesum. Conversus autem Jesus, et videns eos sequentes se, dixit eis: Quid quaeritis? Qui dixerunt ei: Rabbi, quod dicitur interpretatum MAGISTER, ubi habitas? etc.
HOMILY XXIII. On the birthday of Saint Andrew the apostle. John 1:35–38. At that time John was standing, and two of his disciples; and looking upon Jesus as He walked, he says: Behold the Lamb of God. And the two disciples heard him speaking, and they followed Jesus. And Jesus, turning and seeing them following Him, said to them: What do you seek? They said to Him: Rabbi (which is to say, being interpreted, MASTER), where do You dwell? etc.
Tanta ac talis est divinae Scripturae sublimitas, ut non solum verba, quae a sanctis vel ab ipso Domino dicta referuntur, sed etiam circumstantia rerum, quae simpliciter posita videntur, spiritualibus sint plena mysteriis. Ecce enim, narrante evangelista, fratres charissimi, audivimus, quia stabat Joannes, et discipuli ejus duo, et respiciens Jesum ambulantem, dicit: Ecce Agnus Dei, statimque cognovimus, imo jam notum ad memoriam revocavimus, quare Jesum praecursor suus Agnum Dei vocaverit; quia, videlicet, eum prae caeteris mortalibus singulariter innocentem, hoc est, ab omni peccato mundum novit, quia nos sanguine suo redempturum (quia dona sui velleris sponte largiturum, ex quo vestem nobis nuptialem facere possimus, id est, exempla vivendi nobis relicturum) praevidit, quibus in dilectione calefieri deberemus. Hoc est ergo testimonium praecursoris Domini, quia facile patet fidelibus cum amoris intimi fomitem audientium cordibus infundit. Sed non est putandum quia sine certi ratione mysterii hoc relaturus evangelista praemiserit, stetisse Joannem cum discipulis, Jesum vero ambulasse, et illo utique ambulasse, ubi sequentibus se discipulis Joannis mansionem in qua habitabat ostenderet; caeteraque hujusmodi, quae sequentia lectionis evangelicae commemorant, si enucleatius discutiatur, inveniemus coelestibus redundare mysteriis. Stabat enim Joannes, et respexit Jesum, quia in magno jam culmine perfectionis animi gressum fixerat, unde jure celsitudinem divinae Majestatis mereretur intueri. Stabat, quia illam virtutum arcem conscenderat, a qua nullis tentationum posset improbitatibus
So great and of such a kind is the sublimity of divine Scripture that not only the words which are reported as spoken by the saints or by the Lord Himself, but also the circumstances of the events, which seem to be set down simply, are full of spiritual mysteries. For behold, dearest brethren, as the evangelist narrated, we have heard that John was standing, and two of his disciples, and looking upon Jesus as He walked, he says: Behold the Lamb of God; and at once we recognized, or rather called back to memory what was already known, why His forerunner called Jesus the Lamb of God: namely, because he knew Him to be singularly innocent above all other mortals, that is, clean from every sin, because he foresaw that He would redeem us by His blood (because He would freely bestow the gifts of His fleece, from which we might make for ourselves the wedding garment, that is, that He would leave us examples of living), by which we ought to be warmed in love. This, then, is the testimony of the Lord's forerunner, which readily lies open to the faithful, when it pours the kindling of inmost love into the hearts of those who hear. But it is not to be thought that it was without the reason of a certain mystery that the evangelist, about to relate this, set down first that John was standing with his disciples, but Jesus was walking, and walking indeed to the place where He would show the disciples of John, who followed Him, the dwelling in which He lived; and the other things of this kind which the following parts of the Gospel reading record, if the matter is examined more closely, we shall find to overflow with heavenly mysteries. For John was standing, and looked upon Jesus, because he had already fixed the step of his mind on a great summit of perfection, from which he might rightly merit to behold the height of the divine Majesty. He was standing, because he had climbed that citadel of virtues from which by no wanton assaults of temptations could he
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- running head: [left part on facing column] S OPP. PARS III. — PARÆNETICA. 256
- marginal letters: A ‹multa eximius ipsorum›; B ‹vivit et regnat Deus›; C ‹dicta referuntur, sed etiam›; D ‹cursoris Domini, quia facile›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Homily XXII ends at "Amen."; a blank band follows, then the heading HOMILIA XXIII, the feast line (no full stop printed after APOSTOLI) and the Gospel line, run in as one paragraph. "MAGISTER" is in small capitals. "qu a" on the page (broken type) is read as quia; "dilection :" as dilectione. "certi ratione" is printed so and kept. The imported text (R0562) ended at "Amen."; the heading and the paragraph "Tanta ac talis ... improbitatibus" were set from the page by Q1, 2026-10-04.
dejici. Stabant cum illo et discipuli, quia magisterium ejus corde sequebantur immobili.
to be cast down. His disciples too were standing with him, because they followed his teaching with an unmoved heart.
Et respiciens, inquit, Jesum ambulantem, dicit: Ecce Agnus Dei. Ambulatio Jesu dispensationem incarnationis, qua ad nos venire, ac nobis exempla vivendi praebere, dignatus est, insinuat; sicut mansio ejus aeternitatem divinitatis, in qua semper est Patri aequalis, aptissime designat. Respiciens ergo Jesum ambulantem Joannes dicit: Ecce Agnus Dei, quia videns eum inter homines conversantem, profectumque illis vitae coelestis et factis demonstrantem, et verbis aperte pronuntiabat, quia non ipse, ut putabant, sed ille esset, qui ad redemptionem generis humani a Deo Patre missus esset in mundum, ille qui formam innocentiae et patientiae in se credentibus esset daturus, de quo in carne venturo praecinens propheta dicebat: Sicut ovis ad occisionem ducetur, et sicut agnus coram tondente se sine voce sic obmutescet (Isai. LIII). Et iterum: Ipse autem vulneratus est propter peccata nostra, et livore ejus sanati sumus.
And looking upon Jesus walking, it says, he says: Behold the Lamb of God. The walking of Jesus signifies the dispensation of the Incarnation, by which He deigned to come to us and to furnish us with examples of living; just as His abiding most fittingly designates the eternity of the Godhead, in which He is ever equal to the Father. Looking then upon Jesus walking, John says: Behold the Lamb of God, because, seeing Him dwelling among men and showing them by deeds the advance of the heavenly life, he also proclaimed openly in words that not he himself, as they supposed, but that One was He who had been sent into the world by God the Father for the redemption of the human race, He who would give to those believing in Him the pattern of innocence and patience, of whom, as One who was to come in the flesh, the prophet sang beforehand, saying: As a sheep He will be led to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer, without a sound, so will He be dumb (Isa. 53:7). And again: But He was wounded for our sins, and by His bruise we have been healed.
Et audierunt eum duo discipuli loquentem, et secuti sunt Jesum. Testimonium perhibente Joanne, quia Jesus esset Agnus Dei, secuti sunt illum duo discipuli, magis desiderantes ab ipso Jesu, quam a praecursore illius verbum gratiae percipere, quo et ipsi mererentur in agnorum Dei sorte computari. Bene autem duo discipuli sunt inventi, qui Dominum primi sequerentur, ut etiam mystice designarent omnes qui illum perfecte sequerentur, gemina dilectione devotos esse debere, hoc est, et ejusdem sui Redemptoris et fratrum simul amore flagrantes.
And the two disciples heard him speaking, and they followed Jesus. When John bore witness that Jesus was the Lamb of God, the two disciples followed Him, desiring to receive the word of grace from Jesus Himself rather than from His forerunner, whereby they too might be worthy to be counted in the lot of the lambs of God. And it is well that two disciples were found to be the first to follow the Lord, so that they might also mystically designate that all who would follow Him perfectly must be devoted with a twofold love, that is, burning with love both of that same Redeemer of theirs and of their brethren at once.
Conversus autem Jesus, et videns eos sequentes se, dicit eis: Quid quaeritis? Non potuit ignorare Dominus, quid sequentes se discipuli Joannis quaererent, sed in eo quod ad illos se sequentes convertitur, quod ipse prior quid quaererent interrogat, quod dat eis fiduciam quaeque [Al., quaecunque] vellent rogandi, manifeste innotuit, quantum bonis nostris studiis delectetur, quam libenter iter veritatis inchoantibus ipse auxilium laturus occurrat.
But Jesus, turning and seeing them following Him, says to them: What are you seeking? The Lord could not be ignorant of what John's disciples, following Him, were seeking; but in that He turns to them as they follow Him, in that He Himself first asks what they are seeking, in that He gives them confidence to ask whatever [Al., whatsoever] they wished, He made plainly known how much He delights in our good endeavours, how gladly He Himself comes to meet those who are beginning the way of truth, to bring them help.
Qui dixerunt ei: Rabbi, quod dicitur interpretatatum MAGISTER, ubi habitas? Nolebant transitorie magisterio veritatis perfrui, sed mansionem potius, in qua habitaret, inquirebant; quatenus et tunc liberius in secreto verbis illius imbui, et exinde saepius eum possent visitare plenius instruendi. Unde et ipse, quia illos bene petentes, quaerentes, pulsantes vidit, libens eis secretarium sui reseravit arcani, eosque introducens veritatis evangelicae rudimentis, quae desiderabant illustravit. Nam sequitur:
They said to Him: Rabbi, which is to say, being interpreted, MASTER, where do You dwell? They did not wish to enjoy the teaching of the Truth in passing, but rather sought the abode in which He dwelt, so that they might both then be imbued with His words more freely in private, and thereafter visit Him more often, to be more fully instructed. Hence He too, because He saw them asking, seeking, knocking well, gladly opened to them the inner chamber of His secret, and, bringing them in, enlightened them with the rudiments of Gospel truth, which they desired. For there follows:
Dicit eis: Venite et videte. Statimque subjungitur: Venerunt et viderunt ubi maneret, et apud eum manserunt die illo. Quod si altiore sensu libet inspicere, quid nobis agendum insinuent discipuli in eo quod ad Dominum quidem ambulantem venerunt; sed locum continuo ubi habitaret inquirebant, admonent
He says to them: Come and see. And at once is added: They came and saw where He was abiding, and they abode with Him that day. But if one wishes to look into it in a higher sense, [as to] what the disciples intimate that we must do, in that they came indeed to the Lord as He walked, but straightway sought the place where He dwelt, they admonish
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- running head: 257 SECT. I. HOMILIÆ. — LIB. II. [rest on facing column]
- marginal letters: A ‹dejici. Stabant cum illo›; B ‹esset daturus, de quo in carne›; C ‹gnarent omnes qui illum perfecte›; D ‹magisterio veritatis perfrui, sed mansionem potius›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: "Statimque" printed with the i damaged or dropped ("Stat'mque"); set as Statimque; UNSURE whether a ⟨i⟩ is lost to type damage. "interpretatatum" falls across a line break (interpreta-|tatum).
utique nos, ut quoties incarnationis ejus transitum ad mentem reducimus, sollicito semper eum corde rogemus, ut habitationem nobis aeternae suae mansionis, quae est apud Patrem, ostendere dignetur, dicentes cum Moyse: Domine, ostende nobis gloriam tuam (Exod. XXXIII). Quia autem ipse discipulos venire, et ubi maneret videre praecipit, virtutum profecto studium, quibus ad aeterna gaudia perveniamus, subeundum nobis ostendit. Venire etenim post Jesum est, ut mansionem ejus videre possimus, bonis operibus quae ipse praemonstravit insistere, horumque quotidianis profectibus ad celsitudinem divinae visionis attingere.
us surely that, as often as we bring back to mind the passage of His Incarnation, we should always ask Him with an anxious heart to deign to show us the dwelling of His eternal mansion, which is with the Father, saying with Moses: Lord, show us Your glory (Exod. 33:18). And because He Himself bids the disciples come and see where He abides, He shows us indeed that we must take up the pursuit of the virtues, by which we may come to eternal joys. For to come after Jesus, so that we may see His abode, is to persevere in the good works He Himself showed beforehand, and by daily progress in them to attain to the height of the divine vision.
Venerunt, inquit, et viderunt ubi maneret, et apud eum manserunt die illo: hora autem erat quasi decima. Quia lex in decem praeceptis data est, solet in denario numero perfectio legis indicari. Bene ergo decima hora venerunt discipuli, ut mansionem Jesu viderent, quia nimirum necesse est, ut qui Deum videre desiderat, Dei se mandatis humiliter subdat; quique luce divinae contemplationis postmodum frui appetit, prius, adjuvante Domino, decalogum legis per opera lucis, quasi decem horas diei sole illustrante, compleat. Et illi quidem die illo manentes apud Dominum, felicissima veritatis speculatione vesperam exspectabant. At vero omnes electi post operum bonorum perfectionem, post impleta legis Dei praecepta, perpetuum et nulli fini obnoxium diem sunt cum illo acturi, illum, videlicet, quem videre desiderans propheta cantabat: Quia melior est dies una in atriis tuis super millia.
They came, it says, and saw where He was abiding, and they abode with Him that day: and it was about the tenth hour. Because the law was given in ten precepts, the perfection of the law is customarily indicated by the number ten. Well, then, did the disciples come at the tenth hour to see Jesus' abode, because surely it is necessary that he who desires to see God should humbly subject himself to God's commandments; and that he who longs afterwards to enjoy the light of divine contemplation should first, with the Lord's help, fulfil the decalogue of the law through works of light, as if through the ten hours of the day lit by the sun. And they indeed, abiding with the Lord that day, awaited the evening in a most happy beholding of the Truth. But all the elect, after the perfecting of good works, after fulfilling the precepts of God's law, will spend with Him a day everlasting and subject to no end, that day, namely, which the prophet, desiring to see it, sang of: For one day in Your courts is better than thousands.
Erat autem Andreas, frater Simonis Petri, unus ex duobus qui audierant a Joanne, et secuti fuerant eum. Invenit hic primum fratrem suum Simonem, et dicit ei: Invenimus Messiam, quod est interpretatum CHRISTUS. Et adduxit eum ad Jesum. Andreas Dominum quem invenit, etiam fratri Simoni sequendum evangelizat, quia hoc est vere Dominum invenire, vera [Al., vere] illius dilectione fervere, fraternae quoque salutis curam gerere. Ille enim perfecte Conditoris sui ducatum sequitur, qui etiam proximi, quantum valet, habere comitatum nititur. Invenimus, inquit, Messiam, quod est interpretatum CHRISTUS. Messias idem est quod Christus; sed Messias Hebraeo sermone, Christus dicitur Graeco, Latine autem unctus interpretatur. Unde et chrisma Graece, Latine unctio dicitur. Christus autem, id est, unctus, appellatur Dominus, quia, sicut Petrus ait, Unxit eum Deus Spiritu sancto et virtute (Act. X). Unde etiam Psalmista in ejus laude loquitur: Unxit te Deus, Deus tuus, oleo laetitiae prae consortibus tuis (Psal. XLIV). Consortes autem ejus nos vocat, qui ad accipiendam Spiritus sancti gratiam in baptismo etiam chrismate visibili perungimur, et a Christi nomine Christiani vocamur. Sed ille prae consortibus unctus est, cui, sicut Joannes Baptista testatur, non ad mensuram dat Deus spiritum, sed omnia dedit in manu ejus. Nam de consortibus ejusdem unctionis dicit Apostolus: Unicuique autem nostrum data est gratia secundum
Now Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who had heard from John and had followed Him. He first found his brother Simon and says to him: We have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, CHRIST. And he brought him to Jesus. Andrew proclaims the Lord whom he has found to his brother Simon too, to be followed, because this is truly to find the Lord: to burn with true [Al., truly with] love of Him, and to have care also for a brother's salvation. For he follows the leading of his Maker perfectly who strives, as far as he is able, to have his neighbour also as companion. We have found, he says, the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, CHRIST. Messiah is the same as Christ; but it is Messiah in the Hebrew tongue and is called Christ in Greek, while in Latin it is interpreted "anointed". Hence too chrisma is said in Greek, in Latin unctio, "anointing". And the Lord is called Christ, that is, anointed, because, as Peter says, God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power (Acts 10:38). Hence the Psalmist also says in His praise: God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your fellows (Ps. 44:8). And he calls us His fellows, who for receiving the grace of the Holy Spirit in baptism are also anointed with visible chrism, and from the name of Christ are called Christians. But He was anointed above His fellows, to whom, as John the Baptist testifies, God gives the Spirit not by measure, but has given all things into His hand. For of the sharers in that same anointing the Apostle says: But to each one of us grace has been given according
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- running head: [left part on facing column] Æ. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINÆ. 258
- marginal letters: A ‹utique nos, ut quoties›; B ‹Quia lex in decem praeceptis›; C ‹desiderans propheta cantabat›; D ‹Christus dicitur Graeco›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: Column ends with "secun-" broken at the foot; completion not seen (next column's top not available); set as printed. Exodus reference: the last numeral letter is damaged on the page; read as XXXIII (Exod. 33:18); UNSURE.
mensuram donationis Christi (Ephes. IV). Vocabantur autem Christi, et sacerdotes in lege et reges, in figuram nimirum ejusdem viri [Al., veri] regis, et pontificis magni, Domini ac Salvatoris, in cujus typo etiam materiali liniebantur oleo. Non solum autem illi, sed et nostri temporis fideles, ut a Christo Christiani, ita etiam ab ipsa sacri chrismatis unctione, et ab ipsa Spiritus sancti gratia, qua consecrantur, Christi recte nuncupantur, propheta teste qui ait: Existi in salutem populi tui, ut salvos facias christos tuos (Habac. III). Exiit quippe in salutem populi tui, ut salvos faciat [Al., faceret] christos suos, qui propter nos homines, et propter nostram salutem descendit de coelis, et incarnatus est, ut [Al. add. nos] spirituali gratia perunctos ac sanatos suis ancti nominis donaret esse participes. Sequitur:
to the measure of the gift of Christ (Eph. 4:7). Now in the law both priests and kings were called christs, namely as a figure of the same true [variant: true] King and great High Priest, the Lord and Saviour, in whose type they were also anointed with material oil. And not only they, but the faithful of our own time too, as from Christ they are called Christians, so also from the very anointing of the sacred chrism, and from the very grace of the Holy Spirit by which they are consecrated, are rightly called christs, as the prophet testifies who says: Thou wentest forth for the salvation of Thy people, to save Thy christs (Hab. 3:13). For He went forth for the salvation of His people, to save [variant: that He might save] His christs, who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was made flesh, that He might grant to those anointed and healed by spiritual grace [variant adds: us] to be partakers of His anointed name. There follows:
Intuitus autem eum Jesus, dixit: Tu es Simon filius Joanna. Intuitus est Simonem Jesus, non exterioribus solum oculis, sed et interno divinitatis intuitu, juxta illud beati Samuelis: Homo videt in facie, Deus autem intuetur cor (I Reg. XVI). Vidit cordis ejus simplicitatem, vidit animi sublimitatem, cujus merito cunctae esset praeferendus Ecclesiae. Vidit quia, vocante Andrea, fervente ad se amore pervolaverit; ideoque venientem mox familiari affatur eloquio: Tu es, inquiens, Simon filius Joanna. Nec magnum est Domino vocabulum cujuslibet hominis vel patris ejus dicere, qui omnium sanctorum nomina scripta tenet in coelo; sed positurus discipulo nomen meriti sublimioris, ditaturus vocabulo [Al., daturus vocabulum], quod totius Ecclesiae praesuli congrueret, primo voluit ostendere quia quod a parentibus acceperat nomen etiam ipsum significatione virtutis non careret. Simon ergo obediens Joanna dicitur Domini gratia. Tu es Simon filius Joanna, tu es obediens filius gratiae Dei. Et merito ille obedientis nomine censetur, qui et prius, invitante Andrea, mox Dominum videre curavit; et postmodum cum ipse Dominus eum ad discipulatum vocaret, statim cum eodem Andrea, quem pariter vocavit, relictis retibus quorum usu vivebat, eum sequi non distulit. Unde et Andreae quoque nomen veram mentis ejus imaginem praefert. Andreas namque Graece, Latine dicitur virilis. Et illi [Al., ille] libenter Dominum vel ad praedicationem Joannis, vel ad ipsius Domini jussionem sequendo ad eorum se sortem pertinere docet, qui temporalia quae possident fortiter aeternorum amore contemnunt: qui credentes videre bona Domini in terra viventium, donec haec percipiant, exspectare Dominum cum Psalmista, et viriliter agere, ac cor suum confortare contendunt. Quod autem Simon filius fuit Joanna, id est, gratiae Dei, aperte demonstrat, quia quidquid devotae obeditionis Domino impendit, quidquid merito obedientiae praemii perennis a Domino recepit, totum hoc nimirum praeveniente se gratia supernae pietatis, ut habere posset, accepit. Ecce audistis, fratres charissimi, quare primus Apostolorum prius Simon dictus, quo mysterio filius sit Joanna; restat
And Jesus, looking upon him, said: You are Simon the son of Joanna. Jesus looked upon Simon not only with outward eyes but also with the inward gaze of divinity, according to that saying of blessed Samuel: Man sees in the face, but God looks upon the heart (1 Sam. 16:7). He saw the simplicity of his heart, He saw the loftiness of his mind, by whose merit he was to be set over the whole Church. He saw that at Andrew's calling he had flown to Him with fervent love; and therefore, as he came, He at once addresses him in familiar speech, saying: You are Simon the son of Joanna. Nor is it a great thing for the Lord to say the name of any man or of his father, He who holds the names of all the saints written in heaven; but being about to give His disciple a name of loftier merit, about to enrich him with a title [variant: to give him a title] that would befit the chief of the whole Church, He first wished to show that even the name he had received from his parents was not lacking in a meaning of virtue. Simon, then, means obedient; Joanna, the grace of the Lord. You are Simon the son of Joanna: you are the obedient son of the grace of God. And rightly is he reckoned by the name of one obedient, who both earlier, at Andrew's invitation, at once took care to see the Lord; and afterwards, when the Lord Himself called him to discipleship, immediately, together with the same Andrew, whom He called likewise, leaving the nets by whose use he lived, did not delay to follow Him. Hence also Andrew's name too bears the true image of his mind. For Andrew in Greek is called in Latin manly. And he [variant: he], by gladly following the Lord whether at the preaching of John or at the bidding of the Lord Himself, shows that he belongs to the lot of those who bravely despise the temporal things they possess for love of the eternal: who, believing that they will see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living, strive until they receive them to wait for the Lord with the Psalmist, and to act manfully, and to strengthen their heart. And that Simon was the son of Joanna, that is, of the grace of God, plainly shows that whatever of devoted obedience he paid to the Lord, whatever reward of eternity he received from the Lord by the merit of obedience, all this he received, that he might be able to have it, by the grace of heavenly goodness going before him. See, you have heard, dearest brethren, why the first of the Apostles was first called Simon, and by what mystery he is the son of Joanna; it remains
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- running head: 259 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS II
- marginal letters: A ‹dum mensuram donationis›; B ‹tos suis ancti nominis›; C ‹ditaturus vocabulo›; D ‹libenter Dominum vel›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
perscrutari quid arcani contineat nomen, quo eum denuo Salvator appellavit.
to search out what secret is contained in the name by which the Saviour then called him anew.
Tu, inquit, vocaberis Cephas, quod interpretatur Petrus. Neque vero Petri vocabulo, quasi Hebraeo vel Syro, aliam interpretationem quaerere oportet, sed pro certo nosce quia idem Graece et Latine Petrus quod Syriace Cephas significat, et in utraque lingua nomen a petra derivatum est. Vocatur autem Petrus ob firmitatem fidei; vocatur Petrus ob invincibile robur mentis; vocatur Petrus, quia illi solidissimae petrae, de qua Apostolus ait: Petra autem erat Christus (I Cor. X), unica devotione adhaesit. Hinc est enim, quod eadem petra, videlicet Christus, cum interrogaret discipulos suos quem eum dicerent esse, ac Petrus responderet, dicens: Tu es Christus, Filius Dei vivi (Matth. XVI), continuo puram ejus confessionem juxta utriusque nominis significantiam digna remuneratione donavit; sed et ipsa Petri appellatio quid in se sacramenti gestaret aperuit. Primo namque ait de Simone: Beatus es, Simon Barjona, quia caro et sanguis non revelavit tibi, sed Pater meus, qui in coelis est; ac deinde subjunxit de Petro: Et ego dico tibi, quia tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam. Tu es, inquit, Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam; tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram, a qua tu nomen accepisti, hoc est, super meipsum, aedificabo Ecclesiam meam; super hanc fidei perfectionem, quam tu confessus es, aedificabo Ecclesiam meam, a cujus societate confessionis quisque [Al., quisquis] deviaverit, quamvis sibi magna videatur agere, ad aedificium Ecclesiae meae non pertinet. Petrus igitur a firma petra, videlicet Christo, quem ardenter amavit, nomen accepit. Christus etenim vocatur petra, quia inexpugnabile ad se confugientibus praesidium tribuit, quoniam sperantes in se ab antiqui hostis insidiis munitos reddit et tutos. Nec praetereundum est quod ob hoc quoque Dominus petra vocatur, quia spiritualium nobis charismatum fluenta ministrat, quia sacrosancta nos sui sanguinis communione purificat. Quod facilius intelligitur, et jucundius forte retinebitur, si ad memoriam revocetur, quae sit juxta historiam petra de qua Apostolus mystice quia Christum significaret exponit (I Cor. X). Liberatus namque [Al., add. de] Aegyptia servitute populus, per mare Rubrum venit in desertum, in quo per annos XL, donec ad terram repromissionis veniret, iter agebat. Quid quodam tempore fame ac siti fatigatus, in eremo clamavit ad Moysen. At Dominus, orante Moyse, sicut scriptum est, pluit illis manna, manducare panem coeli dedit eis. Rursus quoque praecepit Moysi, ut percuteret virga petram. Quod dum faceret, exiit aqua, et bibit populus. Unde dicit [Al., dicitur] in Psalmis: Quoniam percussit petram, et fluxerunt aquae (Psal. LXXVII). Nos ergo, fratres charissimi, nos sumus populus Dei, quia [Al., qui] Aegyptiae servitutis jugum per mare Rubrum liberati evasimus, quia [Al., qui] per aquam baptismi remissionem peccatorum, quae nos premebant, accepimus,
You, He says, shall be called Cephas, which is interpreted Peter. Nor should one seek another interpretation for the word Peter, as though it were Hebrew or Syriac, but know for certain that Peter in Greek and Latin means the same as Cephas in Syriac, and in both languages the name is derived from rock. And he is called Peter for the firmness of his faith; he is called Peter for the invincible strength of his mind; he is called Peter because he clung with singular devotion to that most solid rock of which the Apostle says: And the rock was Christ (1 Cor. 10:4). For hence it is that the same rock, namely Christ, when He asked His disciples whom they said He was, and Peter answered, saying: You are the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matt. 16:16), at once rewarded his pure confession with a worthy recompense according to the meaning of both names; and He also disclosed what sacrament the very name Peter bore within it. For first He says of Simon: Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona, because flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but My Father who is in heaven; and then He added of Peter: And I say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church. You are Peter, He says, and upon this rock I will build My Church; you are Peter, and upon this rock from which you have received your name, that is, upon Myself, I will build My Church; upon this perfection of faith which you have confessed I will build My Church, and whoever [variant: whosoever] strays from the fellowship of this confession, however great the things he seems to himself to do, does not belong to the building of My Church. Peter, then, received his name from the firm rock, namely Christ, whom he ardently loved. For Christ is called the rock because He grants an impregnable defence to those who flee to Him, since He renders those who hope in Him fortified and safe against the snares of the ancient enemy. Nor should it be passed over that the Lord is called the rock for this reason too, that He supplies to us the streams of spiritual gifts, that He purifies us by the most holy communion of His blood. This is more easily understood, and will perhaps be more gladly retained, if one recalls what, according to the history, was the rock which the Apostle expounds mystically as signifying Christ (1 Cor. 10:4). For the people, freed from [variant adds: from] Egyptian bondage, came through the Red Sea into the desert, in which they journeyed for forty years until they should come to the land of promise. Which [people], at a certain time worn out by hunger and thirst, cried out in the wilderness to Moses. And the Lord, at the prayer of Moses, as it is written, rained down manna for them and gave them the bread of heaven to eat. And again He commanded Moses to strike the rock with his rod. And when he did so, water came forth, and the people drank. Hence he says [variant: it is said] in the Psalms: For He struck the rock, and the waters flowed (Ps. 77:20). We then, dearest brethren, we are the people of God, because [variant: who] we have escaped the yoke of Egyptian bondage, freed through the Red Sea, because [variant: who] through the water of baptism we have received the remission of the sins that weighed upon us,
Editors' notes and page, col. 260
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- running head: S OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 260
- marginal letters: A ‹perscrutari quid arcani›; B ‹Filius Dei vivi›; C ‹quamvis sibi magna›; D ‹que [Al., add. de] Aegyptia›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
nos qui inter aerumnas vitae praesentis, quasi in siccitate eremi, promissum nobis patriae coelestis exspectamus ingressum, in qua, videlicet, eremo siti periclitamur, et fame spirituali deficimus, si non Redemptoris nostri nos dona confirment, si non incarnationis ejus sacramenta renovet [Al., renovent]. Ipse est enim manna quae nos victu coelesti, ne in hujus saeculi itinere deficiamus, recreat; ipse petra, quae spiritualibus nos donis inebriat, quae ligno crucis percussa, poculum nobis vitae suo de latere manavit. Unde dicit in Evangelio: Ego sum panis vitae. Qui venit ad me, non esuriet; et qui credit in me, non sitiet unquam (Joan. VI). Et congruenti satis figurarum ordine primo populus per mare salvatus est, ac sic ad cibum mannae atque ad petram mystici potus pervenit, quia primum quidem aqua nos regenerationis abluit, ac deinde ad participationem sacri altaris, ubi Redemptoris nostri carni ac sanguini communicemus, transmittit. Haec de mysterio petrae spiritualis, a qua primus pastor Ecclesiae nomen accepit, et in qua totius sanctae Ecclesiae fabrica immobilis et inconcussa persistit, et per quam ipsa Ecclesia nascitur ac nutritur, latius exponendo dicere libuit, quia solent arctius multo et aliquando dulcius inhaerere cordibus audientium ea quae, figurarum antiquitate praemissa, sic demum nova spiritualiter explanatione dilucidantur, quam quae sine ullis figurarum exemplis simplici tantum narratione credenda vel agenda monentur. Curemus autem, fratres charissimi, ut hujus petrae praesidio semper adhaerentes nulla labentium rerum contrarietate terrente, nulla blandiente serenitate, a fidei firmitate divellamur. Neglectis deliciis temporalibus, sola nos in praesenti Redemptoris nostri dona coelestia delectent, sola inter aerumnas saeculi spes visionis illius consoletur. Recolamus seduli egregium David prophetae et regis exemplum, qui cum in tantis regni affluentiis, honoribus ac divitiis, nullum animae suae solatium posset invenire, tandem ad superna desideria, erecto mentis intuitu, memor fuit Dei, et delectatus est (Psal. LXXVI). Utque ad eamdem ejus visionem pervenire mereamur, obstacula vitiorum, quae hanc impedire solent, satagamus a nostro et corpore et mente excludere. Neque enim ad eum nisi rectis operum gressibus pervenitur, neque facies ejus munda nisi a mundis corde videtur. Beati autem mundo corde, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt (Matth. V). Quod ipse nobis praestare dignetur, qui promittere dignatus est Jesus Chris⟨t⟩us, Deus et Dominus noster, qui vivit et regnat cum Patre in unitate Spiritus sancti per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.
we who amid the hardships of the present life, as in the dryness of the desert, await the entry promised us into the heavenly homeland; in which desert, namely, we are endangered by thirst and faint from spiritual hunger, unless the gifts of our Redeemer strengthen us, unless the sacraments of His incarnation renew [variant: renew] us. For He Himself is the manna which refreshes us with heavenly food, lest we faint on the journey of this world; He Himself is the rock which inebriates us with spiritual gifts, which, struck by the wood of the cross, has poured out for us from its side the cup of life. Hence He says in the Gospel: I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall not hunger; and he who believes in Me shall never thirst (John 6:35). And in a quite fitting order of figures the people was first saved through the sea, and so came to the food of manna and to the rock of mystic drink, because water first washes us in regeneration, and then sends us on to participation in the sacred altar, where we may communicate in the flesh and blood of our Redeemer. These things concerning the mystery of the spiritual rock, from which the first shepherd of the Church received his name, and on which the fabric of the whole holy Church stands immovable and unshaken, and through which the Church herself is born and nourished, it has pleased me to say by expounding them more broadly, because those things are wont to cling far more closely, and at times more sweetly, to the hearts of the hearers which, the ancient figures being set forth first, are only then made clear by a new spiritual explanation, than those which, without any examples of figures, are urged to be believed or done by simple narration alone. Let us take care, then, dearest brethren, that ever clinging to the protection of this rock, we be torn from the firmness of faith neither by any adversity of passing things that terrifies us nor by any serenity that flatters us. Disregarding temporal delights, let the heavenly gifts of our Redeemer alone delight us in the present, let the hope of that vision alone console us amid the hardships of the world. Let us diligently call to mind the excellent example of David, prophet and king, who, when amid such abundance of a kingdom, of honours and riches, he could find no comfort for his soul, at last, raising the gaze of his mind to heavenly desires, remembered God and was delighted (Ps. 76:4). And that we may deserve to come to the same vision of Him, let us strive to shut out from both our body and our mind the obstacles of vices which are wont to hinder it. For one does not come to Him except by the upright steps of works, nor is His face seen, pure as it is, except by the pure in heart. And blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matt. 5:8). May He deign to grant us this who deigned to promise it, Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, who lives and reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit for all ages of ages. Amen.
HOMILIA XXIV. JOAN. I. In illo tempore, voluit Jesus exire in Galilaeam, et invenit Philippum, et dicit illi Jesus: Sequere me.
HOMILY XXIV. JOHN 1. At that time, Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and He found Philip, and Jesus says to him: Follow Me.
Audivimus ex lectione Evangelii, fratres charissimi, benignam Redemptoris nostri gratiam, quia non solum nos misericorditer ad se sequendum vocare,
We have heard from the reading of the Gospel, dearest brethren, the kindly grace of our Redeemer, that not only does He mercifully call us to follow Him,
Editors' notes and page, col. 261
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- running head: 261 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II.
- marginal letters: A ‹nos qui inter aerumnas›; B ‹tus pervenit, quia›; C ‹nulla labentium rerum›; D ‹gressibus pervenitur›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
sed et venientes grate suscipere, atque ad cognoscendam divinitatis suae claritatem pie consuevit provehere. Audivimus devotam discipulorum fidem, charitatem et operationem, quibus nimirum tribus vitae coelestis virtutibus tota praesentis Ecclesiae perfectio consistit. quia et sine fide impossibile est placere Deo, et fides sine operibus otiosa est; et quibuslibet quis sit praeditus virtutibus, quantalibet fide profecerit, si charitatem non habuerit, nihil illi prodest. Quod enim vocantem se Jesum Philippus non tantum ipse sequitur, verum etiam Nathanaeli sequendum praedicat, fides profecto est quae per dilectionem operatur; fides, videlicet, quia in Jesum credere non distulit, quem Christum esse cognovit: opus autem dilectionis, quia quantum diligeret quem cognovit, mox sequendo patefecit; quantum etiam proximi amore flagraret, eidem evangelizando perdocuit. Ipse quoque proximus ejus Nathanael quantum curae ac dilectionis erga magistrum veritatis haberet ostendit. Ad quem mox vocatus venire non tardavit, quantum ejus magnitudinem fidei perfectione caperet intimavit: quem continuo Filium Dei et Regem Israel, id est, Christum, aperta voce confessus est. Verum quia ista breviter praelibavimus, libet ab exordio repetentes totam evangelicae lectionis seriem latius scrutando percurrere.
but He is also wont graciously to receive those who come, and lovingly to lead them on to know the brightness of His divinity. We have heard of the devoted faith, charity and working of the disciples, in which three virtues of the heavenly life the whole perfection of the present Church consists, since without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6), and faith without works is idle (cf. Jas. 2:20); and with whatever virtues one may be endowed, however far one may have advanced in faith, if he has not charity, it profits him nothing (cf. 1 Cor. 13:2–3). For that Philip not only himself follows Jesus who calls him, but also preaches to Nathanael that He is to be followed, is surely the faith that works through love (Gal. 5:6): faith, namely, because he did not delay to believe in Jesus, whom he knew to be the Christ; but the work of love, because by at once following he made plain how much he loved Him whom he knew, and by bringing him the good news he fully showed how greatly he burned with love of his neighbour too. Nathanael also, his neighbour, showed how much care and love he had towards the Master of truth. For when called he did not delay to come to Him, and he made known how far he grasped His greatness by the perfection of his faith: he at once confessed Him with open voice as the Son of God and King of Israel, that is, the Christ (cf. John 1:49). But since we have touched on these things briefly, it is pleasing to go back to the beginning and run through the whole course of the Gospel reading, examining it more broadly.
Voluit Jesus, inquit, exire in Galilaeam, et invenit Philippum, et dicit ei: Sequere me. Jam patet ex superioribus unde voluerit Jesus exire in Galilaeam, videlicet, a Judaea, ubi erat Joannes baptizans, et testimonium illi perhibens quod esset Agnus Dei. Duos ex discipulis suis ad eum sequendum provocavit, e quibus unus Andreas ad illum etiam fratrem Petrum adduxit. Patet juxta sensum spiritualem, et crebra expositione vestrae fraternitati jam cognitum est quid sit Dominum sequi. Sequitur namque Dominum, qui imitatur; sequitur Dominum, qui, quantum fragilitas humana patitur, ea quae in homine monstravit Filius Dei humilitatis exempla non deserit; sequitur, qui, socius passionum existendo, ad consortium resurrectionis ejus et ascensionis pertingere sedulus exoptat. Sed non sine certi ratione mysterii refertur quod dicturus Philippo Jesus Sequere me, voluit exire in Galilaeam. Galilaea namque transmigratio facta dicitur, profectum fidelium designans, quo vel de vitiis ad virtutum celsitudinem transmigrare, vel in ipsius virtutibus paulatim proficere, ac de minoribus ad majora quotidie subire contendunt, quousque de hac valle lacrymarum ad arcem laetitiae coelestis, Domino auxiliante, perveniant. In eo autem quod revelationem sonat, ipsam vitae aeternae beatitudinem, pro qua in praesenti laborant insinuans, cujus utramque interpretationem nominis Psalmista uno versiculo comprehendit, ubi ait: Ambulabunt de virtute in virtutem, videbitur Deus deorum in Sion (Psal. LXXXIII). Haec namque visio de qua dicit Apostolus: Nos autem revelata facie gloriam Domini speculantes, in eamdem imaginem transformamur a gloria in gloriam tanquam a Domini Spiritu (II Cor.
Jesus would go forth, he says, into Galilee, and He found Philip, and says to him: Follow Me (John 1:43). It is already plain from what went before whence Jesus would go forth into Galilee, namely from Judaea, where John was baptizing and bearing witness to Him that He was the Lamb of God (cf. John 1:29, 36). He [John] urged two of his disciples to follow Him, of whom one, Andrew, also brought his brother Peter to Him (cf. John 1:35–42). It is plain according to the spiritual sense, and is already known to your fraternity by frequent exposition, what it is to follow the Lord. For he follows the Lord who imitates Him; he follows the Lord who, as far as human frailty allows, does not forsake those examples of humility which the Son of God showed in His manhood; he follows who, being a sharer in His sufferings, earnestly longs to attain to the fellowship of His resurrection and ascension. But not without the reason of a definite mystery is it related that Jesus, about to say to Philip Follow Me, would go forth into Galilee. For Galilee is said to mean a migration made, signifying the progress of the faithful, by which they strive either to pass over from vices to the height of the virtues, or to advance little by little in the virtues themselves, and to rise daily from lesser things to greater, until, with the Lord's help, they come from this vale of tears to the citadel of heavenly joy. And in that it means revelation, it hints at the very blessedness of eternal life for which they labour in the present; both interpretations of which name the Psalmist embraces in one short verse, where he says: They shall walk from virtue to virtue; the God of gods shall be seen in Sion (Ps. 83:8). For this is the vision of which the Apostle says: But we, beholding the glory of the Lord with face unveiled, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Cor.
Editors' notes and page, col. 262
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- running head: [HOMILI]AE. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE. 262
- marginal letters: A ‹care, sed et venientes›; B ‹cognovit, mox sequendo›; C ‹testimonium illi perhibens›; D ‹facta dicitur, profectum›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
- other: column opens with "care", the second half of "vo-care" from col. 261. The page prints a full stop before lower-case "quia" ("consistit. quia"); kept as printed. "in ipsius virtutibus" kept as printed. The heading HOMILIA XXIV and its Gospel line stand in col. 261; no heading falls in this column. The column ends inside the reference "(II Cor.", completed in col. 263.
III). Bene ergo vocaturus ad sequendum se discipulum voluit exire in Galilaeam, id est, in transmigrationem factam, sive revelationem, ut, videlicet, sicut ipse, teste Evangelio, proficiebat aetate et sapientia et gratia apud Deum et homines, sicut passus est et resurrexit, et ita intravit in gloriam suam; sic etiam suos sequaces ostenderet proficere virtutibus, ac per passiones transitorias ad aeternorum dona gaudiorum transmigrare debere.
3:18). Fittingly, then, being about to call a disciple to follow Him, He would go forth into Galilee, that is, into a migration made, or revelation, so that, namely, as He Himself, as the Gospel testifies, advanced in age and wisdom and grace with God and men, as He suffered and rose again and so entered into His glory, so He might show that His followers too must advance in virtues, and through passing sufferings pass over to the gifts of eternal joys.
Erat autem Philippus a Bethsaida civitate Andreae et Petri. Non est putandus evangelista fortuitu et absque ratione mystica nomen civitatis de qua esset Philippus, et quod eadem Andreae quoque et Petri esset voluisse monstrare; sed per nomen civitatis typice qualis tunc animo Philippus, qualis officio esset futurus, qualis etiam Petrus et Andreas ostenderet curasse. Bethsaida quippe domus venatorum dicitur, et venatores utique erant qui audiebant a Domino: Venite post me, et faciam vos fieri piscatores hominum (Matth. IV). Venator et ille qui et antequam ad praedicationis officium ordinaretur a Domino, quantum capiendis ad vitam animabus esset intentus, mox sponte praedicando monstravit. Invenit enim Nathanael, et dicit ei: Quem scripsit Moyses in lege, et prophetae, invenimus Jesum a Nazareth. Videamus quantum rete fidei, quam capacibus devotae praedicationis maculis intextum invento fratri circumdet, quem ad aeternam cupit providus captare salutem. Illum dicit inventum quem Moyses et prophetae venturum suis scriptis signaverint, ut eo cunctis sequentibus intelligatur, quod ipse sit cujus adventui praeconando universa veterum scripta servierint. Ideo nuncupat, quod nomen Christi futurum prophetarum oracula concinebant. Dicit namque Habacuc per gratiam ejus salvari desiderans: Ego autem in Domino gloriabor, gaudebo in Deo Jesu meo (Habac. III). Sed et Zacharias tentationis in qua diabolum vicit mentionem faciens: Et ostendit, inquit, mihi Jesum sacerdotem magnum, et stabat coram angelo Domini, et Satan stabat a dextris ejus, ut adversaretur ei (Zach. III). Item Jacob patriarcha mysterium Incarnationis ejus a longe salutans, et exspectans: Salutare tuum, inquit, exspectabo, Domine (Gen. XLVIII). Quod enim hebraice Jesu, Latine dicitur Salutaris, sive Salvator. Item Psalmista aeternam ejus visionem fidelium populo promittens, dicit ex persona Dei Patris: Longitudine dierum replebo eum, et ostendam illi Salutare meum (Psal. XC). Simeon quoque venerabilis ille senex ac Novi Testamenti propheta, cum eum parvum corpore in manibus acciperet, sed magnum divinitate mente sentiret, eodem Spiritu instructus, ita gratias egit: Nunc dimitte servum tuum, Domine, secundum verbum tuum, in pace, quia viderunt oculi mei Salutare tuum (Luc. II). Filium Joseph appellat, non ut hunc ex conjunctione maris et feminae
Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. The evangelist is not to be thought to have wished to show by chance and without mystical reason the name of the city from which Philip came, and that the same was also Andrew's and Peter's; but through the name of the city he showed in a figure what manner of man Philip was then in mind, what manner he would be in office, and what manner also Peter and Andrew had taken care to be. For Bethsaida means house of hunters, and hunters indeed were they who heard from the Lord: Come after Me, and I will make you become fishers of men (Matt. 4:19). A hunter too was he who, even before he was ordained by the Lord to the office of preaching, at once showed of his own accord by preaching how intent he was on catching souls for life. For he finds Nathanael and says to him: Him of whom Moses wrote in the law, and the prophets, we have found, Jesus of Nazareth. Let us see how great a net of faith, woven with the wide meshes of devoted preaching, he casts around the brother he has found, whom in his foresight he longs to capture for eternal salvation. He says that He has been found whom Moses and the prophets had marked out in their writings as to come, so that by this it may be understood by all who follow that He is the one whose coming all the writings of the ancients served by heralding it. He names Him so because the oracles of the prophets sang in harmony of the name of the Christ to come. For Habakkuk, desiring to be saved through His grace, says: But I will glory in the Lord, I will rejoice in God my Jesus (Hab. 3:18). And Zechariah also, making mention of the temptation in which He overcame the devil: And he showed me, he says, Jesus the high priest, and he was standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan was standing at his right hand to oppose him (Zech. 3:1). Again the patriarch Jacob, saluting from afar the mystery of His Incarnation, and awaiting it: I will wait, he says, for Thy salvation, O Lord (Gen. 49:18). For what in Hebrew is Jesu is in Latin called Salutaris, or Saviour. Again the Psalmist, promising His eternal vision to the people of the faithful, says in the person of God the Father: With length of days I will fill him, and I will show him My salvation (Ps. 90:16). Simeon too, that venerable old man and prophet of the New Testament, when he took Him in his hands, small in body but perceived in mind to be great in divinity, instructed by the same Spirit, gave thanks thus: Now Thou dost dismiss Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word, in peace, because my eyes have seen Thy salvation (Luke 2:29–30). He calls Him the son of Joseph, not as though He [had been born] of the union of male and female
Editors' notes and page, col. 263
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- running head: 263 BEDAE VENERABILIS OPP. PARS II[I]
- marginal letters: A ‹III). Bene ergo vocaturus›; B ‹ficio esset futurus›; C ‹eo cunctis sequentibus›; D ‹Jesu, Latine dicitur›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
natum asseveret, quem de Virgine nasciturum in prophetis didicerat, sed de domo ac familia David unde noverat Joseph ortum, secundum vaticinia prophetarum eum venisse doceret. Neque enim mirandum si Philippus eum filium Joseph quem intemeratae genitricis illius virum noverat vocet, cum ipsa genitrix intemerata semper Virgo, consuetudinem vulgi sequens, sic locuta legatur: Fili, quid fecisti nobis sic? Ecce pater tuus et ego dolentes quaerebamus te (Luc. II). Addit et patriam a Nazareth, ut ipsum esse signaret de quo legerant in prophetis: Quoniam Nazaraeus vocabitur. Non ergo mirum si mox ad consensum credendi ac veniendi ad Christum captavit Philippus Nathanael, cui tantos undique veritatis casses praetendit: quem scripsit Moyses in lege, et prophetae, invenimus Jesum filium Joseph a Nazareth. Neque immerito Bethsaida, id est, domo venatorum oriundus asseritur, qui tantam Deo dilectae venationis curam pariter et gratiam accepisse monstratur. Nam sequitur:
should assert that He was born, whom he had learned from the prophets was to be born of a Virgin, but that he might teach that He had come according to the prophecies of the prophets from the house and family of David, from which he knew Joseph had sprung. Nor is it to be wondered at if Philip calls Him the son of Joseph, whom he knew to be the husband of His undefiled mother, since His undefiled mother herself, ever Virgin, following the custom of the people, is read to have spoken thus: Son, why have You done so to us? Behold, Your father and I have been seeking You sorrowing (Luke 2:48). He adds also His home town, from Nazareth, so as to mark Him as the one of whom they had read in the prophets: For He shall be called a Nazarene. It is no wonder, then, if Philip at once won Nathanael to consent to believe and to come to Christ, when he spread before him on every side such great nets of truth: Him of whom Moses wrote in the law, and the prophets, we have found, Jesus the son of Joseph, from Nazareth. Nor is it without reason that he is said to come from Bethsaida, that is, from the house of hunters, who is shown to have received both the care and the grace of a hunting so beloved of God. For there follows:
Et dixit ei Nathanael: A Nazareth potest aliquid boni esse. Nazareth munditiae, sive flos ejus, aut separata, interpretatur. Annuens ergo verbis evangelizantis sibi Philippi Nathanael: A Nazareth, inquit, potest aliquid boni esse. Ac si aperte dicat: Potest fieri ut a civitate tanti nominis aliquid summae gratiae nobis oriatur. Vel ipse, videlicet, mundi Salvator Dominus qui singulariter sanctus est, innocens, impollutus, segregatus a peccatoribus, quique loquitur in Canticis canticorum: Ego flos campi et lilium convallium (Cant. II); et de quo propheta: Exiet, inquit, virga de radice Jesse, et Nazaraeus, id est, flos de radice ejus, ascendet (Isai. XI), vel certe aliquis doctor eximius, qui florem nobis virtutum munditiamque sanctitatis praedicare sit missus. Possumus hunc locum et ita recte intelligere, quod, dicente Philippo: quem scripsit Moyses in lege, et prophetae, invenimus Jesum, filium Joseph a Nazareth, Nathanael bene intellexerit, miratus sit autem quomodo a Nazareth Christum venisse dixerit, quem de domo David et de Bethlehem civitate, ubi erat David, venturum prophetae canebant; ideoque admirando responderit a Nazareth; sed continuo reminiscens quantum etiam vocabulum Nazareth mysteriis Christi congrueret, caute assenserit praedicanti: potest, inquit, aliquid boni esse. Utrique sensui potest convenire quod sequitur:
And Nathanael said to him: From Nazareth something good can come. Nazareth is interpreted of cleanness, or its flower, or separated. Nathanael, then, nodding assent to the words of Philip bringing him the good news, says: From Nazareth something good can come. As if he were to say openly: It may be that from a city of so great a name something of the highest grace may arise for us. Either, namely, the Lord Himself, the Saviour of the world, who alone is holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and who speaks in the Song of Songs: I am the flower of the field and the lily of the valleys (Song 2:1); and of whom the prophet says: There shall come forth a rod from the root of Jesse, and a Nazarene, that is, a flower from his root, shall rise up (Isa. 11:1); or at least some outstanding teacher, sent to preach to us the flower of the virtues and the cleanness of holiness. We can also rightly understand this place thus: that when Philip said, Him of whom Moses wrote in the law, and the prophets, we have found, Jesus, the son of Joseph, from Nazareth, Nathanael understood well, but wondered how he could say that the Christ had come from Nazareth, whom the prophets sang would come from the house of David and from the city of Bethlehem, where David was; and therefore answered in wonder, From Nazareth; but at once recalling how well the very name of Nazareth befitted the mysteries of Christ, cautiously assented to the preacher: something good, he says, can come. What follows can suit either sense:
Dicit et Philippus: Veni et vide. Ipsum namque venire et videre monebat, ut si quid ei ad verba praedicantis ambigui in corde resedisset, totum hoc visio et allocutio praesens ejus quem praedicabat abstergeret. Nec distulit pius auditor praedicatum sibi lumen veritatis sollicite quaerendo ac pie pulsando, ut percipere mereretur insistere; unde mox Dominus satiare in bonis desiderium ejus accelerans, salutaria
And Philip says: Come and see. For he urged him to come and see Him, so that if anything doubtful had remained in his heart at the preacher's words, the sight and the present speech of Him whom he preached might wipe it all away. Nor did the devout hearer delay to press on, by anxiously seeking and devoutly knocking, so that he might deserve to receive the light of truth preached to him; whence the Lord, hastening at once to satisfy his desire with good things, rewards his salutary
Editors' notes and page, col. 264
Footnotes
() ‹anchor: Philippi Nathanael :› · call in col 264 Hæc verba, *a Nazareth potest aliquid boni esse, non modo interrogativo, sed affirmativo modo, a Nathanael prolata hic intelligit Beda.
Bede here understands these words, Can anything good come out of Nazareth, as spoken by Nathanael not as a question but as an affirmation.
(printed under page 136)
Page
- running head: [BEDAE VENERABILIS] OPP. PARS III. — PARAENETICA. 264
- marginal letters: A ‹natum asseveret›; B ‹lege, et prophetae›; C ‹quo loquitur in Canticis›; D ‹riis Christi congrueret›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
ejus coepta provida laudatione remunerat, ut hunc paulatim ad altiora quaerenda simul et capienda provehat.
beginnings with provident praise, so as to lead him on little by little both to seek and to grasp higher things.
Vidit namque eum venientem ad se, et dixit de eo: Ecce vere Israelita in quo dolus non est. Ubi notandum quod laudans hominem qui novit corda Deus, non eum absque peccato, sed absque dolo exstitisse confirmat. Non est enim homo justus in terra qui faciat bonum et non peccet: multi autem sine dolo incessisse, id est, simplici et mundo corde conversati esse leguntur; imo cuncti fideles taliter vivere docentur, dicente Scriptura: Sentite de Domino in bonitate, et in simplicitate cordis quaerite illum (Sap. I). Et ipse Dominus: Estote, inquit, prudentes sicut serpentes, et simplices sicut columbae (Matth. X). Talis erat exemplar patientiae Job, de quo scriptum est: Erat autem vir ille simplex et rectus (Job I). Talis Jacob patriarcha, de quo dictum est: Jacob autem vir simplex habitabat in tabernaculis (Gen. XXV); qui quoniam puritate conscientiae simplicis Deum videre meruit, etiam Israel, id est vir videns Deum appellatus est. Talis iste Nathanael quem Dominus, ob parilitatem innoxiae conversationis, ejusdem patriarchae meritis simul et nomine dignum ducit: Ecce, inquiens, vere Israelita, in quo dolus non est (Joan. I). Ecce qui vere a patriarcha Deum vidente genus ducit, cui sicut et ipsi patriarchae doli duplicitas nulla inesse probatur. O quam pulchrum auspicium venienti ad Deum et videre illum cupienti: Ecce vere Israelita in quo dolus non est. Beati mundo corde, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt (Matth. V)! Et hic videre Deum desiderans, non ab alio, sed ab ipso qui scrutatur renes et corda Deo, mundus corde laudatur et Israelita, hoc est, a viro Deum vidente generatus astruitur. O quam magna nobis quoque, qui de gentibus ad fidem venimus, in hac sententia nostri Redemptoris spes aperitur salutis! Si enim vere Israelita est qui doli nescius incedit, jam perdidere Judaei nomen Israelitarum, quamvis carnaliter nati de Israel quotquot doloso corde a simplicitate patriarchae sui degeneraverunt, et asciti sumus ipsi in semen Israelitarum, qui quamlibet aliis de nationibus genus carnis habentes, fide tamen veritatis et munditia mentis ac corporis vestigia sequimur Israel, juxta illud Apostoli: Non enim omnes qui ex Israel, hi sunt Israelitae. Neque quia semen sunt Abrahae, omnes filii, sed in Isaac vocabitur tibi semen (Rom. IX, 6), id est, non qui filii carnis, hi filii Dei; sed qui filii sunt repromissionis aestimantur in semine. Sequitur:
For He saw him coming to Him, and said of him: Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile. Here it is to be noted that God, who knows hearts, in praising the man does not affirm that he was without sin, but without guile. For there is no just man on earth who does good and does not sin: but many are read to have walked without guile, that is, to have lived with a simple and pure heart; indeed all the faithful are taught to live so, as Scripture says: Think of the Lord in goodness, and seek Him in simplicity of heart (Wis. 1:1). And the Lord Himself says: Be prudent as serpents, and simple as doves (Matt. 10:16). Such was Job, the pattern of patience, of whom it is written: Now that man was simple and upright (Job 1:1). Such was the patriarch Jacob, of whom it was said: But Jacob, a simple man, dwelt in tents (Gen. 25:27); who, because by the purity of a simple conscience he deserved to see God, was also called Israel, that is, a man seeing God. Such was this Nathanael, whom the Lord, for the likeness of his harmless way of life, accounts worthy of the same patriarch's merits and name together, saying: Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile (John 1:47). Behold one who truly draws his descent from the patriarch who saw God, in whom, as in the patriarch himself, no duplicity of guile is found to be. O how fair an omen for one coming to God and longing to see Him: Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matt. 5:8)! And this man, desiring to see God, is praised as pure in heart, not by another but by God Himself who searches the reins and hearts, and is declared an Israelite, that is, begotten of the man who saw God. O how great a hope of salvation is opened to us too, who have come to the faith from the gentiles, in this saying of our Redeemer! For if he is truly an Israelite who walks knowing no guile, then the Jews, although born of Israel according to the flesh, as many as have fallen away with guileful heart from the simplicity of their patriarch, have now lost the name of Israelites, and we ourselves have been taken into the seed of the Israelites, who, however much we have our fleshly descent from other nations, yet by faith in the truth and by purity of mind and body follow the footsteps of Israel, according to that saying of the Apostle: For not all who are of Israel are Israelites. Nor because they are the seed of Abraham are they all sons, but in Isaac shall your seed be called (Rom. 9:6–7); that is, not those who are sons of the flesh are sons of God, but those who are sons of the promise are reckoned for the seed. There follows:
Dicit ei Nathanael: Unde me nosti? Respondit Jesus et dixit ei: Priusquam te Philippus vocaret cum esses sub ficu, vidi te. Respondit ei Nathanael, et ait: Rabbi, tu es Filius Dei, tu es rex Israel. Quia cognovit Nathanael vidisse et nosse Dominum quae alio in loco gererentur, id est, quomodo et ubi vocatus sit a Philippo, cum ipse ibi corporaliter non esset, divinae hic majestatis intuitum considerans, protinus eum non solum Rabbi, id est magistrum,
Nathanael says to Him: Whence do You know me? Jesus answered and said to him: Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you. Nathanael answered Him and said: Rabbi, You are the Son of God, You are the King of Israel. Because Nathanael recognized that the Lord had seen and known what was done in another place, that is, how and where he was called by Philip, though He was not bodily there, considering in this the gaze of the divine majesty, he at once [confessed] Him not only as Rabbi, that is, master,
Editors' notes and page, col. 265
Page
- running head: 265 SECT. I. HOMILIAE. — LIB. II. [HOM. GENUINAE.]
- marginal letters: A ‹lutaria ejus coepta›; B ‹est: Erat autem vir›; C ‹corde, quoniam ipsi›; D ‹ex Israel, hi sunt›
- old-edition numerals: (none)
sed et Filium Dei ac Regem Israel, id est Christum confessus est. Et libet intueri quam prudens laudanti Domino confessio respondet servi. Ille vere hunc Israelitam, id est, virum qui Deum videre posset, eo quod dolum minime habet, astruxit; iste eum non magistrum tantummodo qui utilia praeciperet, verum etiam Filium Dei qui coelestia dona tribueret, et Regem Israel, id est, populi Deum videntis religiosa devotione fatetur, ut hac confessione suum quoque hunc Regem, et se ejus regni militem significet. Potest autem haec Domini sententia, qua dixit se Nathanael, priusquam vocaretur a Philippo cum esset sub ficu, vidisse, super electionem spiritualis Israel, id est, populi Christiani mystice intelligi, quem Dominus necdum se videntem, necdum per apostolos ejus ad fidei gratiam vocatum, sed sub tegmine adhuc peccati prementis abditum misericorditer videre dignatus est, Paulo attestante, qui ait: Qui benedixit nos in omni benedictione spirituali in coelestibus in Christo, sicut elegit nos in ipso ante mundi constitutionem, ut essemus sancti et immaculati in conspectu ejus in charitate (Ephes. I). Et quidem fici arbor aliquando in Scripturis dulcedinem supernae dilectionis insinuat, unde scriptum est: Qui servat ficum, comedit fructum ejus; et qui custos est Domini sui, glorificabitur (Prov. XXVII); sed quia primi parentes nostri, reatu praevaricationis confusi, de fici sibi foliis succinctoria fecerunt, potest arbor fici non incongrue male dulcoratam generi humano consuetudinem peccandi signare, sub qua positos electos suos adhuc, sed necdum electionis suae gratiam cognoscentes, quasi sub ficu constitutum, nec se jam videntem Dominus videt Nathanael. Novit enim Dominus qui sunt ejus; quorum salvationi ipsum quoque nomen Nathanael aptissime convenit. Nathanael namque donum Dei interpretatur, et nisi dono Dei quisque vocatus, nunquam reatum primae transgressionis, nunquam male blandientia algescentium quotidie peccatorum umbracula evadit, nunquam salvandus venire meretur ad Christum; unde dicit Apostolus: Gratia enim salvati estis per fidem (Ephes. I). Et hoc non ex vobis, sed Dei donum est, non ex operibus, ut ne quis glorietur. Sequitur:
but also as the Son of God and King of Israel, that is, the Christ. And it is pleasing to observe how wisely the servant's confession answers the Lord who praised him. He declared him truly an Israelite, that is, a man who could see God, because he has no guile at all; this man confesses Him with religious devotion not only as a master who would teach useful things, but also as the Son of God who would bestow heavenly gifts, and as King of Israel, that is, of the people that sees God, so as to signify by this confession that He was his King too, and he himself a soldier of His kingdom. And this saying of the Lord, in which He said He had seen Nathanael before he was called by Philip, when he was under the fig tree, can be understood mystically of the election of the spiritual Israel, that is, of the Christian people, which the Lord mercifully deigned to see when it did not yet see Him, when it was not yet called through His apostles to the grace of faith, but was still hidden under the covering of oppressive sin, as Paul testifies, who says: Who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and unspotted in His sight in charity (Eph. 1:3–4). And indeed the fig tree sometimes in the Scriptures signifies the sweetness of heavenly love, whence it is written: He who keeps the fig tree eats its fruit; and he who is the keeper of his lord shall be glorified (Prov. 27:18); but because our first parents, confounded by the guilt of transgression, made themselves aprons of fig leaves, the fig tree can not unfittingly signify the habit of sinning, wickedly sweetened for the human race; and the Lord sees Nathanael, set as it were under the fig tree and not yet seeing Him, His elect placed still under it but not yet knowing the grace of their election. For the Lord knows who are His; and to their salvation the very name Nathanael is most aptly suited. For Nathanael is interpreted gift of God, and unless each is called by the gift of God, he never escapes the guilt of the first transgression, never the wickedly alluring shade of the sins that grow cold daily, never deserves to come to Christ to be saved; whence the Apostle says: For by grace you have been saved through faith (Eph. 2:8). And this not of yourselves, but it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. There follows:
Respondit Jesus, et dixit ei: Quia dixi tibi: Vidi te sub ficu, credis. Majus his videbis. Quid sit majus de quo dicit, ipse subsequenter aperit, futuram credentibus spondendo apertionem regni coelestis, et praedicandam mundo utramque unius suae naturam personae, quod revera multo excellentius est arcanum, quam quod nos in peccati adhuc umbra positos a se illuminandos praevidit. Majus est enim quod nos salvatos gratia suae cognitionis imbuit, quod coeli nobis gaudia pandit, quod praedicatores suae fidei in mundo dispersit, quam quod nos salvandos potentia suae majestatis ante saecula praescivit.
Jesus answered and said to him: Because I said to you, I saw you under the fig tree, you believe. You shall see greater things than these. What the greater thing is of which He speaks He Himself discloses afterwards, promising to believers the opening of the heavenly kingdom that was to come, and that both natures of His one person were to be preached to the world, which is in truth a far more excellent secret than that He foresaw that we, still set in the shadow of sin, were to be enlightened by Him. For it is greater that He has imbued us, once saved, with the grace of knowing Him, that He opens to us the joys of heaven, that He has scattered the preachers of His faith through the world, than that by the power of His majesty He foreknew before the ages that we were to be saved.
Amen amen, inquit, dico vobis, videbitis coelum apertum et angelos Dei ascendentes et descendentes supra Filium hominis. Jam completum cernimus
Amen, amen, He says, I say to you, you shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man. We see already fulfilled
Editors' notes and page, col. 266
Page
- running head: [HOMILI]AE. — LIB. II. HOM. GENUINAE. 266
- marginal letters: A ‹sed et Filium Dei›; B ‹apostolos ejus ad fidei›; C ‹electos suos adhuc›; D ‹Respondit Jesus, et dixit›
- old-edition numerals: (none)